Podcasts about Honestly

October has begun, so you know what that means: Spooky Season™ has officially arrived! We asked you all what movie we should watch to kick off the fall vibes and the results were neck-and-neck between Halloweentown and the eventual winner The Evil Dead. Honestly, we weren't very big fans of this movie. But let us know what you think! Should we watch more movies from the franchise? Perhaps the second one? Sensitive topics: Death, gore, mutilation, dismemberment, sexual assault, nudity "Crypto", "Redletter"Kevin MacLeod (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠incompetech.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WhoJay Dougherty, President and General Manager of Mount Southington, ConnecticutDate RecordedOct. 2, 2026About Mount SouthingtonOwned by: Multiple shareholders descended from the ski area's foundersYear founded: 1964Pass affiliations:* Snow Pass – 2 days, no blackouts* Snow Triple Play – up to 2 days, no blackoutsThese two passes have a lot of overlap, but completely different rosters:Base elevation: 210 feetSummit elevation: 571 feetVertical drop: 361 feetSkiable acres: 51 acresAverage annual snowfall: 40 inchesLift count: 8 (1 triple, 3 doubles, 4 carpets) – view Lift Blog's inventory of Mount Southington's lift fleetWhy I interviewed himA lot of ski areas are beautiful because they're set within nature's masterpieces. Mount Southington is beautiful because it's not: How cool is that? A ski area in the middle of a neighborhood. A neighborhood that most of us could probably afford to live in. Kids grow up across the street. If it snows enough, they can probably ski from their front door to the lifts. Good thing the ski hill is already there. We rarely build cool things next to where we actually live anymore. But it's hard to get rid of a ski area once it's built, unless it fails. Southington [Suh-thing-ton] is not going anywhere. Three of the bump's chairlifts are under 20 years old (two are younger than five), and a replacement for the fourth - Stardust - starts, well, any second now (a new top terminal is sitting in the parking lot). A few dozen neighborhood ski areas like this still exist across America, mostly east of the Mississippi. Sometimes the neighbors hate them, especially during all-night snowmaking season. But very few people living in a house near a ski area today would have been surprised to find themselves living near a ski area, since the facility would have in most cases preceded them. Maybe a few even moved in to be close to skiing. It's cool to imagine being one of them, waking up to morning turns three months per year. How cool - like having a lake house on a kinda small lake. It's not Aspen, but most of us aren't billionaires, and it's nice to think that, in a few far-flung corners of America, there's a backdoor to that sort of life that no one's really checking.Additional resources* New England Ski History details Mount Southington's early days.* A bit more on Southington's Northstar lift, received second-hand from Craigmeur, New Jersey, migrating for its third life as Lost Valley, Maine's Chair 3.* Somehow all my Mount Southington photos have vanished into the digital void, but Instapost preserves this shot of a really awesome sunset from my 2021 visit. Top of the Stardust chair:TranscriptsThere are two transcripts. Both are generated by robots. Both are helpful and defective in their own unique ways. I do not proofread either of them.Transcript 1: Click the “transcript” button at the top of this article. You can only see this transcript on a computer. Because I don't know why exactly but everything is getting better and dumber all at once it seems. Anyway, this is the transcript that the robots create when I upload the podcast to the internet. The cool thing about it is that you can click on any block of text and the audio will teleport there instantly. The uncool thing about this transcript is that it does not indicate who is talking at any given moment.Transcript 2: You can read this below. This is the transcript that Zoom creates as we record the podcast. The cool thing about this transcript is that it indicates who is talking at any given moment. The uncool thing about this transcript is that the timestamps do not match the audio. Also, you cannot click on this text to move to the associated point in the audio.ZoomStuart Winchester: My guest today has been president and general manager of Mount Southington, Connecticut since 2014.00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:37.000Stuart Winchester: Established in 1964, Mount Southington offers 51 acres of skiable terrain served by four chairlifts and several surface lifts. Jay Doherty is my guest. Jay, welcome to the storm. You are the first Connecticut representative to ever be on the podcast, not.00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.000Jay Dougherty: Okay.00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:42.000Stuart Winchester: for any reason other than I haven't been able to figure out who to talk to, so thank you very much for coming on today.00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:45.000Jay Dougherty: Oh, absolutely. I'm excited to be here. Excited to join you.00:03:44.000 --> 00:04:01.000Stuart Winchester: And you're a true Connecticut guy. We were chatting a little bit, and you said that Southington, and I don't know if I'm even pronouncing that right, is in — OK, there we go. There we go. All right, see, this is why I need to get you on the pod, because otherwise I mess up simple things.00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:56.000Jay Dougherty: It's Southern Vin. Yeah, there you go. It's all good.00:03:57.000 --> 00:03:59.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, exactly.00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:06.000Stuart Winchester: From right down the street, he said, tell us about Southington and what it means to you. Southington.00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:25.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, so I'm one of those fortunate few to get, have the opportunity to run the actual ski area that I grew up at. You know, I've had a season's pass here since I was probably seven, eight years old. You know, and then I worked, this was my first job was in the rental department here. So it means a lot to me and about something that's got a great community connection.00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:17.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:26.000Jay Dougherty: Oh.00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:37.000Stuart Winchester: And did you… I noted that you've been general manager since 2014. That's as far back as I could find your history online. Did you work there as a lifty in high school or anything? Was it your first job?00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:52.000Jay Dougherty: I did, yeah, so it was my first job, I worked in the rental department as a technician, um, and then I was going to college for elementary ed, um, didn't really know what I wanted to do, and my parents were like, well, I gotta do something. So I'm like, yeah, alright, you know, there's a shortage of.00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:46.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:04:52.000 --> 00:05:09.000Jay Dougherty: male, young elementary school teacher. So I'm like, that sounds like a great opportunity. But I was working here and got offered a year-round position painting lifts. And I fell in love with it at that point. And then I found a college program that was just starting out with Green Mountain College in connection with Killington.00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:19.000Jay Dougherty: Uh, and I ended up going there, and, you know, I graduated 2004, uh, worked for Killington for a very short while, and then came back here as Assistant Mountain Manager.00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:15.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:34.000Stuart Winchester: So talk to us a little bit about who owns Mount Southington. There's a really good, you know, New England Ski History, this site does a great job with the origin stories and there's a little bit on your site about the doctor and his wife, Dr. Harold Richmond and his wife who started it.00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:27.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:34.000Jay Dougherty: Oh.00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:38.000Stuart Winchester: I'm not sure who owns it now, but who do you report to?00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:48.000Jay Dougherty: Uh, this is the best story, because it's actually the kin of all the original owners. So all of their kids own it, and now we're starting to see actual, like, fourth generation, like…00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:41.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:45.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, really? Oh, cool.00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:48.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, wow.00:05:48.000 --> 00:06:05.000Jay Dougherty: starting to enjoy the ski area. You see all the little kids and the nephews, cousins. So, uh, there's actually probably about 25, um, actual owners, um, but we're very organized down to, like, the board of directors that I answer to, that is comprised of those owners.00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:49.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:52.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:00.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:08.000Stuart Winchester: So are they still mostly local folks then?00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:14.000Jay Dougherty: No, not at all. Everybody's spread out, uh, basically worldwide at this point.00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:10.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:11.000Stuart Winchester: All over.00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:12.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:14.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:20.000Stuart Winchester: You know, I… maybe you're not able to speak for them on this, but I'll ask, because I'm seeing…00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:21.000Jay Dougherty: Hmm?00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.000Stuart Winchester: Family-owned ski areas all over the country. Go through a sort of, uh…00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:42.000Stuart Winchester: ownership existential crisis where maybe the parents were really into it, or the grandparents, or even the grandkids, but then along comes a generation that maybe just doesn't have an interest in running a ski area. You know, that's how Vail ends up with a lot of its ski areas. They just, they were family owned, and they get.00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:41.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:57.000Stuart Winchester: rolled over. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, I'm just saying that it's a model that is uniquely challenged by, you know, generational transition. What's your sense from Southington and the owners that you work with that.00:06:57.000 --> 00:07:05.000Stuart Winchester: They would like to keep this, as it is, a community ski area owned by families for, you know, the foreseeable future, or not.00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:24.000Jay Dougherty: So what I can say is that they're great at advocating themselves, like the board of directors that advocates amongst the ownership group for involvement. Um, subcommittees, um, and obviously we always promote to them, like, you know, take advantage of this great opportunity that, like, your grandparents, again, or great-grandparents.00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:14.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:28.000Jay Dougherty: Ah, set you up for it. I mean, there's a lot of, um.00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:26.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah. Okay.00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:34.000Jay Dougherty: There's a lot of benefits to owning a portion of a ski area and being involved with it.00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:38.000Stuart Winchester: So as it is, it's had all this time to…00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:48.000Stuart Winchester: grow under the original owners, and I imagine it gives it a really cool character, and I want to talk about some of the character things in a minute, but can you tell us, and this is going to sound like a dumb question, Jay, but.00:07:49.000 --> 00:08:05.000Stuart Winchester: I think you're uniquely qualified to answer it, having grown up down the road. What is Mount Southington? And what I mean by that is you look in New England, there's a hundred ski areas, right? And you don't have to go very far north to get to some really big ski areas, some really nice ski areas, you know, Mount Snow, maybe the first one north if you're going.00:07:58.000 --> 00:07:59.000Jay Dougherty: Yes.00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.000Stuart Winchester: And…00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:15.000Stuart Winchester: I think a lot of folks kind of look at skiing as, like, up and out. You know, I conquered Southington, so I don't have any reason to go back there, and I talk to people all.00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:21.000Stuart Winchester: who live in New Jersey, and I'm like, do you have a Mountain Creek Pass? They're like, no, why.00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:31.000Stuart Winchester: Right, it's not, you know, Jackson Hole, but it has 1,000 vertical feet and high-speed lifts. Now, Slingson's a different thing, but you have pretty new infrastructure. So, what do you think…00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:47.000Stuart Winchester: Southington is. Is it just a place for the kids? Do you try to make it nice for that? I know every skier has got that, uh, crew of dudes who are, like, 75 and then boot up every morning in the lodge. I think that's a Northeast thing. So, so what is Southington to you, and, and.00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:44.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:50.000Stuart Winchester: What's your kind of core audience you focus on?00:08:50.000 --> 00:09:10.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah. So we're we're really the feeder, right? And and one of the things that we really strive to do, especially over the last decade. So my tenure as general manager is try to create pathways to keep everybody engaged a lot of times. What you'd find is you get that kid that gets to middle school, and they kind of like fall off, and they're no longer interested. So like.00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:53.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, yeah, yeah.00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:26.000Jay Dougherty: What we've tried to do is create pathways for those interested in terrain parks. We've introduced like an intro to free ride or freestyle for those interested in alpine racing. There's intro programs for that. We have weekend.00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:47.000Jay Dougherty: snow sports, school programs like our wild things and all of those type of things. So really, what we focus on are the kids, but also families. I think it's a great family atmosphere. If I had to like, we do a lot of things, and we do a lot of things pretty well. I mean, we go everywhere from like high school racing.00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:45.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:09:47.000 --> 00:10:00.000Jay Dougherty: Um, we're the home of Connecticut's high school, like, at least the public school leagues. Uh, we have adult night racing, um, and then, like, we host USASA events, uh.00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:06.000Jay Dougherty: So it's it's it's a lot and it's a really orchestrated operation.00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:07.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:13.000Jay Dougherty: You gotta be, you know, sometimes, uh, you can almost think of it as, like, being a maestro, trying to keep everything moving, and…00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:28.000Jay Dougherty: So it's not stepping on something else, you know, because we we really do change, and that that could happen in one day. The demographic completely shifts from yesterday. 75 plus crew that's here during the day. You hit 3 o'clock and the buses start unloading, and it's just.00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:16.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:39.000Jay Dougherty: crazy here. And then, at the same time, um, we're really unique in, like, our seasons past. Like, most of the visits that come from our seasons past, those folks live within, like.00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:51.000Jay Dougherty: probably a 15-mile radius of the mountain. So after school, all of those teenagers are getting dropped off here. Uh, so it's… it's… it's unique, um, in that sense. And then 8 o'clock, it's night racing.00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:46.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:53.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:53.000Jay Dougherty: So.00:10:53.000 --> 00:11:08.000Stuart Winchester: So I've pulled up your trail map here, for those who are watching this on StormSkiing.com or YouTube, and the Connecticut ski areas, all four of them that are public, they remind me of Midwest ski areas, and that's… I say that because that's where I grew up, and Midwest ski areas are very.00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:05.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:19.000Stuart Winchester: efficient, right? They have the racing lane and the terrain park, and what I really liked, I thought was impressive when I came to Southington, was you had a little mogul patch, maybe it was right here when I came.00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:28.000Stuart Winchester: This seemed to be the race hill. Wasn't much going on the day I was there, but that's neither here nor there. That's what I was assuming that was for. And there's some really nice park stuff.00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:35.000Stuart Winchester: I don't know, just… I mean, you can see it on the trail map where it's marked, but… but it's… it's, like, thought.00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.000Stuart Winchester: to, you know, give variety and make a small place.00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:49.000Stuart Winchester: feel bigger. I also like how you haven't widened the trails too much up top. So, just talk a little bit about that, you know, efficiency of use, and how challenging it is to make a mountain for everyone.00:11:49.000 --> 00:12:06.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, it is a challenge, especially when you're only dealing with like 51 acres, right? A skiable terrain. But you, you know, we want our programs to be successful. We want everybody to have a good time. We're fortunate in that, like our lift capacity somewhat matches our parking capacity.00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:55.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:02.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:26.000Jay Dougherty: So, like, people see the lots fall. Connecticut's a small state, so, like, if we're full, it's very accessible to go somewhere else. Not that we're encouraging that, but we don't want to… we don't want to overcrowd our trails, right? And yes, I admittedly catch flack, because when you do run high school racing in the afternoons, oftentimes you have to close down that.00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:11.000Stuart Winchester: Down.00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:19.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:34.000Jay Dougherty: Thunderbolt Trail in its entirety. There's sometimes four GS lanes that are set up across it during training and race days.00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:28.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:45.000Jay Dougherty: Um, but you… you try to do a good job at everything you're gonna offer. Um, so, you know, oftentimes, we… we get questions about things like tubing, right? Like, why… why don't you have tubing, right? So…00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:57.000Jay Dougherty: unless I can do a really good job at it, um, which our acres just doesn't allow for right now, and our parking capacity, like, it's… it just doesn't make sense to do it, because I don't want to…00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:07.000Jay Dougherty: offer, like, a poor product, a poor on-snow product, so… Um, but yeah, it's, uh, it is a big challenge, uh, for sure, especially when you're…00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:19.000Jay Dougherty: you know again, going back to that demographic shift like on a Saturday or Sunday morning, and you have all these lessons that are out there, and they're all fighting for beginner terrain. Yeah, it's a it's a challenge.00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:18.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:23.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, and for folks who may be wondering why…00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:35.000Stuart Winchester: Southington doesn't put in more. Here is Southington on the map, right? This is a Google map, and you can see neighborhood. You have development all around you, and I think… what is this, like a nature preserve in the back?00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:27.000Jay Dougherty: No.00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:43.000Jay Dougherty: Uh, so that's actually Southington Water Department, so yeah, there's no… there's no expansion that's gonna happen back there, yeah.00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:36.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:41.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:48.000Stuart Winchester: Right, and if you really zoom in, I mean, some of these houses, they probably have ski-in, ski-out if they want it. I.00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, they're really good. Some do, actually.00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:49.000Stuart Winchester: I don't know if they do.00:13:49.000 --> 00:14:05.000Stuart Winchester: But you have this, uh, it's a really unique location, and it feels very New England, because you, you get off the highway, you get off 84, and you're driving through these neighborhoods, you're like, where is this, is there really a ski area here? You know, I'm just blindly following my Google Maps like everyone else, and you pull up, and there's this.00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:01.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:17.000Stuart Winchester: barn. And I was reading a little bit about the history of it, but I'll let you tell us, what is this barn, and what can you tell us about the history of Southington as far as how you crammed a ski area.00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:07.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:21.000Stuart Winchester: Or how a scary is crammed into a neighborhood that probably wants a neighborhood.00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:39.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, so, the story goes, as you can read on the website, uh, Dr. Harold Richmond took his family on a ski trip up north, uh, I'm assuming it was probably Mount Snow, and, uh, I wanted to recreate that in Connecticut. I mean, there were already existing areas in Connecticut, obviously Mohawk was around, um, it was Satan Ridge at the time.00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:54.000Jay Dougherty: So he came back and was looking for a spot. Initially, I think he wanted to open a skating rink in the town of Southington, and that got like shot down by the planning zoning at the time. So this farm was up for sale on the west side of town.00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:50.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:14:54.000 --> 00:15:02.000Jay Dougherty: At that time period, all of those houses weren't there. There were some, but not nearly the messages there on the map.00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:02.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:08.000Jay Dougherty: And, you know, he purchased the farm. Uh, he was an orthodontist, which…00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:22.000Jay Dougherty: typically doesn't blend well with construction, uh, at least, uh, on-hill construction. Uh, so they partnered with Palmisano Construction out of Bristol, and they built out the ski area. Uh, in 1964, it opened, so…00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:18.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:25.000Jay Dougherty: Been going ever since.00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:35.000Stuart Winchester: And then the barn, I understand that this property, I think, was assembled from a lot of things, but part of it was actually a dairy farm, right?00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:29.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:33.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:34.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:49.000Jay Dougherty: So, yeah, so, yes, I have, uh, actual photos of, um, cows being milked in that barn, uh, by the original owners, uh, which one of the original owners, actually, the family still lives in an adjacent property, so…00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:49.000Stuart Winchester: Really?00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:50.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:52.000Stuart Winchester: Do you have any idea how old the barn is?00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:56.000Jay Dougherty: Uh, roughly, I think there's a stamp on the side, it's like 1937.00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:12.000Stuart Winchester: Okay, so have you, you know, I imagine a lot of renovations have happened over the years. Do they have to winterize it? Did they, like, what do you, what does it take to maintain a building that's this old? Because it looks super cool, but one other thing I know about old buildings by living in a bunch of them is they're a pain in the butt.00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:03.000Jay Dougherty: Yes.00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:09.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:28.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, yeah, it's a challenge. It certainly is. You know, they're not the most efficient structures and like, especially when you're striving for sustainability these days and trying to reduce your carbon footprint and an older facility like that.00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:15.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:19.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:43.000Jay Dougherty: you know it. It's it is oftentimes drafty. But there there is that like quaint New England feeling to it when you walk in. Certainly, if it were much larger, it would. It would better service the folks visiting here. But we also have the mountain room, which is a second restaurant.00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:36.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:42.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.000Jay Dougherty: Um…00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:51.000Jay Dougherty: and lounge area. So, you know, we do a good job of spreading folks out, and.00:16:51.000 --> 00:17:01.000Jay Dougherty: you know, in the post-COVID era, people seem to not be as afraid to eat outside anymore. So, like, we've taken full advantage of, like, patio space and things like that.00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:58.000Stuart Winchester: Okay. Yeah.00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:01.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:06.000Stuart Winchester: That's cool, and then the old original farmhouse, I believe, is your ticket office, is that right?00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:10.000Jay Dougherty: Yep. Yeah, I'm sitting in it right now. My office is in there, guest service office, everything like that.00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:08.000Stuart Winchester: But.00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:26.000Stuart Winchester: That is so cool. So another quirk of Southington and Southington, and you, you find this only, well, I'm sure you find it elsewhere, but I've only seen it in the northeast, is the parking lot across the street. And so I know you have overflow parking here, but I always think it's kind of neat, but also kind of.00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:21.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:36.000Stuart Winchester: scary, considering your demo of kids. I mean, how much of a pain is this? Is this, like, the apple orchards where… because I came on a non-busy day, like I usually do these places, and uh…00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:29.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:35.000Jay Dougherty: Mm-hmm.00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:44.000Stuart Winchester: you know, like, I know the apple orchards in the fall have to set up a cop to safely get people across the road. What's the… what's the safety situation here?00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:50.000Jay Dougherty: So the states provided us with a great, like, crosswalk there of solar power.00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:56.000Jay Dougherty: It's not… Mount Vernon Road, unless the traffic's coming here, is not typically that busy.00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:01.000Jay Dougherty: It's not one of the main, like, thoroughfares in Southampton by any means.00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:18.000Jay Dougherty: And for the most part, yes, occasionally you get the rogue driver that's doing over the speed limit, and you do encounter a scary situation. But knock on wood, I mean, for the most part, it's function. People know we're here. Certainly anybody in town knows we're here.00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:13.000Stuart Winchester: No.00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:30.000Jay Dougherty: So, it really hasn't been quite that big of an issue. It's well-lit, like, you know, at night, the skier would glow.00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:24.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:40.000Jay Dougherty: as, you know, we put it, it's there. I mean, you know, it hasn't been a huge issue, but it is unique to, you know, New England skiers. You really don't see it anywhere else.00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:35.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:56.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, so, so when I, when I see all these houses, you know, I made the crack that they might have ski in, ski out, and that's my brain going to, I would love to live on the side of a ski area. Uh, not everyone necessarily does. I was talking to the folks over at Thunder Ridge last week up at, uh, the Ski Areas of New York convention.00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:12.000Stuart Winchester: And they're similarly built, kind of, aside a neighborhood. But, you know, the ski area's been there longer than most people live there. They said they've been having some issues with neighbors. I don't know how Southington sits with its neighbors, or if this is a blessing or curse to have these homes right here.00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:32.000Jay Dougherty: Um, obviously, the ski area itself, before a lot of those homes, especially ones that are trailside, um, you know, the ski area existed. Uh, early on, yeah, there were certainly issues. I mean, they were running, and I don't know if you're familiar with, like, snowmaking equipment, but, like, Radnik's, like, Sky Giant 2, or.00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:20.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, thank you.00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:23.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:49.000Jay Dougherty: snow giant tubes, which were loud, sounded like a jet engine taking off. They were running compressors. They used to pump air into mines in Pennsylvania, like, very much a smaller version of what Hunter had going on a few years ago. And, like, it would, you know, thump and…00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:35.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:37.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:47.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:19:49.000 --> 00:20:04.000Jay Dougherty: shaking foundations. We've since modernized a lot of our equipment. We've gone to mostly fan technology, and it's quieted down quite a bit, but it was such an issue back then. The town recognized how important the steering was.00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:57.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:16.000Jay Dougherty: you know, to tax revenue. We bring a lot of skier visits in. Um, you know, I think about this here, it's like a ton of volume on small acreage. So, you know.00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:07.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:26.000Jay Dougherty: They actually worked with my predecessor, and it's actually in the town ordinance that we're exempt from the noise at night.00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:26.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:30.000Jay Dougherty: Um, yeah, so…00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:37.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, I have to imagine, too, that as your equipment has gotten more efficient, I've seen a lot of skiers, their snowmaking window has really shrunk.00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:37.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:55.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, that's absolutely us. Um, we have a really difficult climate where we are. You know, it's somewhat coastal. Uh, we deal with Long Island Sound, you're close to the Connecticut River. Um, you know, we always talk about that I-84 corridor in Connecticut before, like the snow line versus rain line, and um…00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, yeah, yeah.00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:52.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:56.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:20:55.000 --> 00:21:10.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, it is a challenge year after year. So, like, staying on top of ZoomMate, that's probably one of our largest investments that we do. We put our new pump house in, fully automated in 2018, and now we've been, every year, just adding more automation to the hill.00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:03.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:16.000Jay Dougherty: Um, this year we added another, like, 10 TL8 Lances from TechnoAlpin, um…00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:12.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:16.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:22.000Jay Dougherty: and yeah, I mean, it's the way to go, uh, because our winters are so short, like…00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:20.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:22.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, thank you.00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:23.000Jay Dougherty: Oh.00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:37.000Jay Dougherty: like, manual snowmaking equipment, like, you'll never be able to keep up with a computer as far as, like, changes in the atmosphere and conditions, so it's worked really well for us. And it's manageable because we're small, you know, like, we can bite off small investments at a time with it.00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:28.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:41.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, I try to make that point to my listeners and readers a lot, is that…00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:51.000Stuart Winchester: I was certainly surprised by this when I started this podcast, is sometimes the smallest ski areas have the best snowmaking, and I always point to Pennsylvania, they are just…00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:50.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:21:51.000 --> 00:22:03.000Stuart Winchester: have some incredible snowmaking systems, because they have very challenging weather patterns, and that rain-snow line you're talking about, a lot of times, folks who are in the Northeast, our weather goes sort of up at an angle.00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:05.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, yeah.00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:14.000Stuart Winchester: So… so it comes from wherever it comes from, and then goes… so there's sometimes this fun little rain-snow line that… that sometimes you're below, but sometimes you're above, right?00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:31.000Jay Dougherty: Right, and you have to be able to recover quickly, and that's what it's all about. I mean, like, typically after you get, like, one of those events, um, you do have usually some colder weather that'll follow in, and you have to take full advantage of that, and you want to be able to resurface as much terrain as possible, so…00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:18.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm. And are you feeding from this… this pond down here?00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:44.000Jay Dougherty: Yes, but we also have a, uh, water supply from the town. The town owns their own water here, so yeah. And we pay for it, um, but that's another expense item.00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:39.000Stuart Winchester: Oh.00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:41.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, that's great.00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:58.000Stuart Winchester: So, snowmaking's big. Another thing that Southington has really been investing in is lifts, and you're… you have one of the newer lift fleets that I'm aware of for a small ski area, and uh…00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:45.000Jay Dougherty: I don't know how.00:22:58.000 --> 00:23:04.000Stuart Winchester: Let me just pull up my notes here so I get this correct. But the…00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:15.000Stuart Winchester: So you put in North Star just three years ago, right, or two years ago, or 2023. Avalanche was new in 2021, I think.00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:08.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:18.000Stuart Winchester: Thunderbolt was new in, like, 2011, is that right?00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:21.000Jay Dougherty: Uh, 2009 for Thunderbolt.00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:33.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, 2009. Right, and so, uh, before I ask you about these lists individually, I was up at, again, I was at Skiers in New York last year, or last week, and one of the big concerns with these guys, because New York has the most Skiers, but it's mostly family owned.00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:40.000Stuart Winchester: And one of their big concerns is just the cost of new lifts. All your lifts are ParTech lifts.00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:41.000Jay Dougherty: Correct.00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:42.000Stuart Winchester: And I've talked to Hagen, and…00:23:42.000 --> 00:24:00.000Stuart Winchester: Small operators, especially in the Northeast, or actually whoever's worked with them, speak very reverently of Hagen and how if he wasn't around, it would be very hard to afford new lifts. So can you just talk about working with Hagen on these lifts? And I realize, Thunderbolt, you were not in the GM role at that time, but it sounds like you were on site.00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:01.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:09.000Stuart Winchester: So just talk about Hagen and what it's like to work with him and how important he is to small ski areas in the 2020s.00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:15.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, so Hagen… Hagen's great. I mean, like, I have a long-standing relationship with Hagen, and…00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:12.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:31.000Jay Dougherty: he's the guy that you can call on, like, Sunday morning, and, like, if you need him to take a ride here to look at something, he will. Um, stands behind his product, always fix it, you know, he'll work with you. He's a solutions guy, really, um, is what it boils down to. And I feel like, um.00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:19.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:23.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:28.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:35.000Jay Dougherty: you know, when it comes to Hagen, like…00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:41.000Jay Dougherty: He's willing to work more with you than… than…00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:56.000Jay Dougherty: I don't have much experience working with the other manufacturers, because really, like, I've only really considered that, because, I mean, one of the important things for me is to try to standardize everything here. It makes it easier on my crew, it makes it easier on what we have to stock for lift parts.00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:45.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:47.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:52.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:12.000Jay Dougherty: and all of the above. Um, so, like, every one of our lifts now has the same grip in it, you know, assemblies are all similar, except for one lift, which we'll talk about, I'm sure. Um, but yeah, I mean, I have nothing but good things to say about Hagen, and he's.00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:03.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:16.000Jay Dougherty: incredibly important to this, and you say you're from the Midwest, so, like…00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:33.000Jay Dougherty: that's where I think you know where where you don't have you know that the lift ticket pricing in general in the Midwest is a bit lower than it is in the northeast, but we all spend have to spend the same amount of money on upgrading our facilities like it's not like there's a.00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:26.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:32.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, thank you.00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:42.000Jay Dougherty: a discount for buying techno alpine equipment if you live in the Midwest, or you're here in the Midwest, or buying, you know, chairlifts. So…00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:38.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:51.000Jay Dougherty: um, yeah, it's a concern, and guys like Hagen are the… are… what can keep that alive, and come up with the solutions, um, for the future. I mean, like…00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:59.000Jay Dougherty: it, for us, it just makes sense, too. Pine Island, New York's not that far from Southern, like, it's an hour and a half, maybe.00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:06.000Stuart Winchester: Right. How worried are you about Hagen retiring and what's going to happen after that?00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:00.000Jay Dougherty: So.00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:07.000Jay Dougherty: Um…00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:09.000Jay Dougherty: I mean…00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:22.000Jay Dougherty: as with most lift manufacturers, somebody inevitably takes it over and takes care of it, but very concerned. I mean, the loss of, like, Hagen in the industry, if and when he decides to retire.00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:36.000Jay Dougherty: Um, it's gonna be huge for… for the areas that it relied on. There's a ton of part-tech lifts in the Northeast, and you find them at small areas like Mount Southington, and then private clubs, and things like that, and he's still servicing all the old boardwreck equipment.00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:47.000Jay Dougherty: Which I know, like, many people have had issues with Borbug in the past, but truth be told, I mean, there's a number of those installations that are still running from the mid-70s, so…00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:41.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:47.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, thank you.00:26:47.000 --> 00:27:08.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, and one of them is right here. The Stardust, which according to LiftBlog is a 1978 Borvig triple. So you have one, two, three new lifts. Well, I'm going to say they're, you know, anything built in this century, I call it new. And then you have this guy here. What's your thinking on Stardust long term? Are you happy with it? Do you like it? Do you want to replace it?00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:51.000Jay Dougherty: Exactly. Yeah.00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:10.000Stuart Winchester: What's popping around?00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:26.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, so, speaking of Hagen, we've been working with Hagen, and actually, the new, uh, idler return terminal is actually sitting on site right now, and that's getting replaced. So, we're somewhat redesigning the unload of that area, we're moving it downhill, gaining a little bit of elevation for now, and it's part of, uh.00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:19.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:22.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:35.000Jay Dougherty: pretty much a three-year, uh, as of right now, it's planned for three years. It could be a shortage, too. Um, planned full replacement of that list.00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:32.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:38.000Stuart Winchester: Okay, so, so, so you're, you're getting a new…00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:36.000Jay Dougherty: So.00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:44.000Stuart Winchester: So you'll get a new top terminal, then a new… I mean, I guess just take us through the timeline that you plan.00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:41.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:27:44.000 --> 00:28:04.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, so it'd be a new top terminal first year, probably a new bottom terminal the second and then towers in between the third. So unique to board big lifts, they have the hanging ship assemblies, right? So that changes, you know, the dynamic of your of your carrier, right? So you have a shorter with those hanging ship assemblies, you have a shorter hanger.00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:47.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:53.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:56.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, I think so.00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:06.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:14.000Jay Dougherty: attached to your chair. Um, so for me to do… I couldn't do the towers before I did the terminals, but I could do the terminals before the towers.00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:17.000Stuart Winchester: Okay, so that's essentially going to be a brand new Partech lift.00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:22.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, essentially. I mean, there'll be huge components in it. Um, the gearbox is…00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:19.000Stuart Winchester: The the.00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:21.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, yeah, yeah.00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:29.000Jay Dougherty: We're in great shape still, so I think that would probably get repurposed into the lift, so… but other than that, yeah.00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:43.000Stuart Winchester: That's an interesting strategy, uh, Lonnie Gleiberman, who runs Ischeria Mount Bohemia up in northern Michigan, he had some old riblets, and he replaced the top terminal and bottom terminal with SkyTrak terminals, and just left all the chairs and, uh…00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:51.000Stuart Winchester: towers in place, because he said it was going to be another couple million dollars to do those, and he said I could just build another lift for that. Talk to us about the 3-year…00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:58.000Stuart Winchester: construction? Is that just a money thing? Is that a labor availability thing? What makes you spread it over 3 years?00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:13.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, we do a lot in-house, right? I have a very talented team. Most of these guys, they're 10 years or 10 plus years. I mean, we've been working together for a long time, so we know our abilities, we know our timelines, we know what we can fit in. Um, and me coming from the operation end, I know what's, like, feas.00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:01.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:05.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, so. Yeah.00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:14.000Jay Dougherty: So…00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:30.000Jay Dougherty: you know, we… when we… when we plan these things, yeah, there's a financial component, because, like, just maintaining a ski area like this takes a lot, but we also have a lot of summer activity that goes on here. Last fiscal year, I think we did 39 weddings. Um, we have a summer camp.00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:23.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:43.000Jay Dougherty: for 9 or 10 weeks that operates out of here. Uh, and then midweek, we have sand volleyball and cornhole leagues, so there's always something going on. Oftentimes, we're busier in the summer than we are during the winter.00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:33.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:40.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:44.000Stuart Winchester: Really.00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:51.000Jay Dougherty: Um, but that's all part of the sustainability strategy for the skier, you know, you want to be able to absorb those, those bad years.00:29:51.000 --> 00:30:05.000Jay Dougherty: But, with all that activity, um, you know, construction periods get into smaller and smaller, uh, time frames, you know? You can't be running site trucks by, uh, summer camp, you know what I mean? So…00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:53.000Stuart Winchester: That's it.00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:59.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:05.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:07.000Stuart Winchester: And do you guys self-install?00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:13.000Jay Dougherty: Um, we assist with installation, like, obviously, um, but, I mean…00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:11.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah. Okay.00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:18.000Jay Dougherty: I'll hire somebody to put the towers in, I'll, you know…00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:17.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, thank you.00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:21.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, no, I know it's rare. The reason I ask…00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:26.000Jay Dougherty: We're very actively involved in installation, I'll say that. It's local concrete work, uh, local site work. It's not, like.00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:24.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:25.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:33.000Jay Dougherty: that, you know, Ropeway Construction's helped us a ton. Randy Glennis has been a great partner of ours, so, yeah.00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:31.000Stuart Winchester: Yes.00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:48.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, most people don't. The only reason I ask is I have Dennis Eschbach from Holiday Valley coming on later today, and he's one of the few that has an in-house team that just, they drop the lift off and they put it up. It's kind of amazing. So, you know, you said you were sticking, you know, you had a good gearbox and.00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:45.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:53.000Stuart Winchester: Assuming that you're just gonna have a, uh, replace Stardust with a triple, then?00:30:52.000 --> 00:31:09.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, it's going to be a trouble. It's going to remain. In fact, the chairs will be repurposed. So those aren't obviously the original boardwreck chairs that were on it. Those were flats, and they had issues with the chairs back in… that was probably about 2002. I think that was in College Way, and they replaced them with Partech.00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:55.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:58.000Stuart Winchester: Oh.00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:00.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, okay.00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:06.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:10.000Jay Dougherty: chairs at that time.00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:25.000Stuart Winchester: Right. So moving over to Avalanche, I don't know if you followed a similar multi-year process with that, but interesting to me that you kept it as a double. We don't build a lot of new doubles these days, just the ski industry in general. I mean, certainly like A-Basin built Pally.00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:16.000Jay Dougherty: We did.00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:34.000Stuart Winchester: a few years ago, replaced with a double. Was that the same kind of thing where you were modifying, or was there another reason why you went with a double chair instead of upgrading to that to maybe a triple or quad?00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:27.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:47.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, so there was a lot that went into that decision, right? So, 2010, I want to say, that terminal at the bottom was replaced. So, there was originally a haul lift there. Um, I think it was, like, a 75 horsepower haul double chair. Um…00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:42.000Stuart Winchester: Hmm.00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:54.000Jay Dougherty: And… you know, it had some issues in the lower terminal, so we knew we had to replace that, so we…00:31:54.000 --> 00:32:11.000Jay Dougherty: took the hall wheel at the time, had a new hub put into it, so it would fit on a gearbox, a, uh, Kistling gearbox, and we had Hagen build a terminal around… around that to service the hall, and we ran it for… well, right up until we did the… all the…00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:23.000Jay Dougherty: last replacement of it. When that lift went in, it was designed that it could be a triple, so Hagen offered, like, two types of terminals at the time, and one could accept both a triple and a double.00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:14.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:20.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:35.000Jay Dougherty: Fast forward to 2011, and then time in between, ANSI standard changed. So your swing clearance has changed. Um, and that kind of brought in the issue of the lower terminal legs for us.00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:31.000Stuart Winchester: Umm.00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:50.000Jay Dougherty: And uh… so that was one of them. So I would have… if I wanted to change it to a triple at that point, it would have been a complete teardown of the lower terminal, new concrete, and a lot of… a lot of work that would go into that. Then you have the top, and if… I'm assuming you rode that lift when you're here?00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:44.000Stuart Winchester: Mmm.00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:58.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, Thunderbolt wasn't running, but I rode the other ones. But this was actually before you replaced it, so I rode the old Avalanche.00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:52.000Jay Dougherty: Very tight.00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:55.000Jay Dougherty: Yes.00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:04.000Jay Dougherty: Okay, okay. So, when you get off the avalanche double chair, right, it's a really tight spot at the top.00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:05.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah. Oh, and suddenly that little hill, yeah.00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:18.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, yeah. Um, so… one of the things that we salvaged out of that was the original concrete off the top. We had everything, like, NDT'd and tested, and we dug down to the base of the footing and all nine yards. Um…00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:33.000Jay Dougherty: And I got to thinking, I'm like, alright, if we're gonna, you know, add a little bit of uphill capacity, because the difference in all reality between a double and a triple is not… it's not crazy, it's not… you're not getting 33% more people uphill.00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:31.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:33.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:34.000Jay Dougherty: um…00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:51.000Jay Dougherty: it boiled down to, like, bang for the buck, and we accomplished this in a different way, and is this the ultimate, um, you know, top unloading for all of Mount Sinai? Can we try to stay, like, 5, 10 years ahead when we think about some of these things? And it's like, well, we knew we had the Stardust triple up there, and.00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:48.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:33:51.000 --> 00:34:16.000Jay Dougherty: you know, that's become more of the lift when we're busy. Yes, the avalanche double runs during the day, because the easy to access lift for the you know, the older crowd that's here skiing during the day. But anytime it's busy, or there's kids here. Family is adaptive programs. It's mostly the starters triple. And really what you lose between the 2 lifts or lost before this year when we replaced doctor and all of.00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:23.000Jay Dougherty: Stardust was probably 2, 3 acres of terrain. That's yeah.00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:18.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:22.000Stuart Winchester: Right. Okay.00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:24.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah. Okay.00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:28.000Jay Dougherty: it wasn't… it wasn't that much. I mean, you can still access the primary terrain from the other way.00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:36.000Stuart Winchester: And so you have good reliability to the top. It sounds like you're going to improve it. Well, you said start us starting this summer with that new terminal.00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:40.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, oh no, the terminal's on site, there's no chairs on the line right now, it's in progress.00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:39.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, wow.00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:45.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, great. Uh, oh, wait, so will that be in place for 26-27 ski season?00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:41.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:48.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, the top, the top of it, yeah. Just the top row, yeah.00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:48.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, okay. Okay.00:34:48.000 --> 00:35:02.000Stuart Winchester: Okay, no, that's awesome. Then, North Star is your most recent lift. So, this one's interesting. You went from a double to a triple here. I think I know why, but just tell us about this lift and why you wanted to go triple over here.00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:09.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, again, our big focus is on teaching people to ski and ride, and, um, you know, when you have… and we have a ton of kids here.00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:06.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:29.000Jay Dougherty: So, uh, a double chair really didn't make sense, like, it was, you know, for a, um, instructor to ride with only one student. Uh, or a lot of times you'll get families, and the parents want to teach their kids how to ski, and you'll get one parent that skis, and another that sits in the base lodge, and they've got two children with them, so…00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:19.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:31.000Jay Dougherty: You know, triple makes more sense there.00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:31.000Stuart Winchester: Mmhm.00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:47.000Jay Dougherty: Absolutely. So that that was the primary driver of changing that to a triple, and that lift was put in. You know the lift that that replaced was a salvage lift from Craigmere in New Jersey.00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:48.000Stuart Winchester: Right.00:35:47.000 --> 00:36:00.000Jay Dougherty: Uh, many years ago, uh, which I was part of taking down. Um, yeah, so, like, steel has an age, and I'm gonna be the first one to tell you that. So that was one of the decisions of, like, where we're, like, you know, let's just get it and replace this.00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:52.000Stuart Winchester: Were you really?00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:56.000Stuart Winchester: Yes.00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:01.000Jay Dougherty: So.00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:12.000Stuart Winchester: That's wild. So that lift is, from what I can tell, it was installed in 76 at Cregmer, and then you guys put it in, I think, 01.00:36:11.000 --> 00:36:13.000Jay Dougherty: Yep.00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:20.000Stuart Winchester: And then when you took it down, Lost Valley, Maine took it, and they made it their chair 3, and I rode that chair last year, and I was like…00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:25.000Stuart Winchester: Hey, is this the one they moved from Southington? Because this is… they did a really good job with it, but…00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:25.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:30.000Stuart Winchester: how did that whole deal happen? Were you like, dude, you're crazy, this chairlift is, like, 50 years old?00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:39.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, I mean, so, Scott's very talented, right? And, like, you know, his, um…00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:36.000Stuart Winchester: There.00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:54.000Jay Dougherty: he knows everything there is to know about all grips, and he has access to a lot of parts, so… I mean, for him, it worked. Uh, for us, you know, like, with the volume of people that we do, and what our challenge was with that lift.00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:45.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:36:54.000 --> 00:37:07.000Jay Dougherty: you know, I would say more of it into the functionality of the lift was the… was the reason for the replacement than the age. Yes, steel does have an age, like I said, but I mean, I think for me, it was more, you know.00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:14.000Jay Dougherty: we need this because of the volume of lessons we're doing, and, like, the pinch point it's causing with instructors, so…00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:11.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah. Okay.00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:20.000Stuart Winchester: Right. Yeah, you know, one of the arguments I hear from the larger operators.00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:26.000Stuart Winchester: for the reason that they don't sell older lifts, they're worried about liability. You know.00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:30.000Stuart Winchester: I find that dubious. Was that a consideration when you…00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:31.000Stuart Winchester: Sold.00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:33.000Stuart Winchester: To… to Lost Valley?00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:42.000Jay Dougherty: No, I… you know, when you're… when you write up paperwork, you can write it up as you're selling it for scrap, and I don't care what they're doing with it afterwards.00:37:37.000 --> 00:37:38.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:57.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, right, right, yeah. And they have other halls up there, and there's still a couple hundred halls running in the country. So, but it was probably good, nice for you to get rid of the last one you had. I'm curious about Snowflake, this little, I think this is the handle toe, and then you have the carpets over here.00:37:57.000 --> 00:38:02.000Stuart Winchester: Do you like the handle toes still here, or are you gonna move to a carpet? What's your thinking around there?00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:19.000Jay Dougherty: So, Snowflake is actually a, uh, it was a conveyor lift, um, that was there. The handle tow that we had is over on Whoopi, and that's since gone. Uh, that's moved its way out west to tubing operation this summer. Um, and the conveyor lift that was on Snowflake, our crews kind of, uh.00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:06.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:11.000Stuart Winchester: Oh, okay.00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:31.000Jay Dougherty: redoing, and that conveyor is moving over to replace the Whoopie handle towel, and we have a new conveyor that arrived yesterday that's, uh, replacing the snowflake, yeah.00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:25.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.000Stuart Winchester: Man, there's a lot happening. So you're gonna have, uh, four carpets.00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:36.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah, 4 conveyors, and then, yep.00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:41.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, so that's… look, this is all really impressive, and if I…00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:59.000Stuart Winchester: was looking at any skier area in the country, I think you probably have, top to bottom, one of the newer Lyft fleets, even including Stardust, right? And, you know, I cover skier areas all over the country, and a lot of times, there's so much deferred maintenance, you get something like a Holiday Mountain in New York, where.00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:50.000Jay Dougherty: Yeah.00:38:59.000 --> 00:39:14.000Stuart Winchester: Mike Taylor, I'm not sure if you're acquainted with him, but he bought it, and it was just… it was a junker, and he had to do everything all at once. It sounds like Southington's been able to keep up. And I asked this question, because I have a lot of people who listen to this who run skier areas or want to run skier areas. Is all this money.00:39:14.000 --> 00:39:30.000Stuart Winchester: to upgrade Southington coming from Southington, or is it… is there an outside business that helps feed in, or is it, hey, like, Patch Peak, the ski area, has to make a profit, even though the family owns a bunch of different ski areas. It's, uh, you know, Patch Peak can't take money from whatever their other businesses are.00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:49.000Jay Dougherty: Nope, it's all from outside of it, honestly. And that's, uh, you know, that's the best part of it all, you know, like… And, you know, it's having that strategy of how to continue operating under, like, all these outside pressures that we have. And, you know, we compete with everything.00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:34.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:52.000Jay Dougherty: Compute with video to complete.00:39:51.000 --> 00:39:52.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:39:52.000 --> 00:40:07.000Jay Dougherty: everything that's on the outside. We're just very fortunate to have like that main artery that runs through Connecticut and I 84 makes us accessible. Honestly, that's that's one of the biggest drivers. So it's helped us develop our after school programs.00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:01.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:13.000Jay Dougherty: It's helped us become the home for, you know, the high school race leagues.00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:19.000Jay Dougherty: all of those things. And, like, New York City, like, I can be down in New York City in, like, 2 hours.00:40:19.000 --> 00:40:29.000Jay Dougherty: Yankee Stadium, whatever. And, uh, it… we get a lot of traffic from there. We get traffic from Long Island, we get traffic from Westchester County, Fairfield County.00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:21.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:40:29.000 --> 00:40:36.000Jay Dougherty: Um, you name it. So, like, just being accessible has been, like, the key to the success of it, really.00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah, it really is. There's not… There's a lot of…00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:54.000Stuart Winchester: good ski areas that orbit New York City, that that's their main purpose. I, you know, Mount Peter is our go-to for my son for his seasonal program. Thunder Ridge, another one I mentioned. Uh, and there's Camp Gaughan, New Jersey. But then, the Connecticut ski areas, I think, are great, and they're actually…00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:45.000Jay Dougherty: that.00:40:54.000 --> 00:41:01.000Stuart Winchester: So, let's… let's wrap up on this today, Jay. You… last year, Southington joined the Snow Triple Play.00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:56.000Jay Dougherty: Yes.00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:02.000Jay Dougherty: Right.00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:17.000Stuart Winchester: And this year, you are on that product again, plus Snow Partners' new Snow Pass, which has two days each at 16 ski areas. And just to lay this out a little bit for the listeners, the way that I see Southington feeding into this is it's, you have Southington, you have Butternut.00:41:17.000 --> 00:41:33.000Stuart Winchester: Uh, and then you have Bel Air, Gore, Whiteface. So you kind of got those beginner ski areas where people can hop around and learn and then go up to the more aspirational ski areas, I'll call them. But just talk about those passes and snow operating and why.00:41:33.000 --> 00:41:40.000Stuart Winchester: Because I imagine you could have joined IndyPass years ago, but why did you finally go with Snow Operating?00:41:41.000 --> 00:41:52.000Jay Dougherty: So, we've had a great relationship with Snow Operating. Obviously, we're a little later in the ballgame with the attorney-based learning, um, but we've had such good success with them, and such a positive relationship with.00:41:43.000 --> 00:41:44.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:48.000Stuart Winchester: Okay.00:41:49.000 --> 00:41:50.000Stuart Winchester: Okay. Yeah.00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:59.000Jay Dougherty: with Joe and Hugh and that whole group, um, that it was kind of, like, the natural choice for us to go with them.00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:00.000Stuart Winchester: Yeah.00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:13.000Jay Dougherty: Um, last year, yeah, we were on the, uh, the Triple Play, which was kind of the product that came out of something they were doing at Mountain Creek for a number of years. And, you know, thinking about it, when you approached us with the idea, it was like, yeah, we'd love to attract new.00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:08.000Stuart Winchester: Mm-hmm.00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:19.000Jay Dougherty: with folks, and, like, we share a similar demographic. Um, people go south to them, they come n

I've been challenging you to become intentional about praying at all times about everything. Just talking to God all day long. He's with you at all times, so why not take advantage of that and talk to him at all times. One of the difficulties we have with praying at all times is that our lives are full of distractions, and in the last few decades, that has become an increasingly real issue. In addition to praying with our eyes wide open through our entire day, busy or not, we do need times when we put the distractions aside and turn them off while we communicate with God. It is not uncommon for me to work on my computer at home. It's there, all my work is there, so I am often found sitting in my home with a computer in my lap, working or surfing the internet or texting or something. When my husband was alive, he would begin a conversation with me, which I would catch maybe halfway through because I was distracted by my computer. And he often said, “Can you just put that away for a minute so I can talk to you?” I wonder how often God thinks the same thing about me. “Mary, can you just put those distractions aside long enough to give me your full attention and talk to me and listen to me?” Honestly, I think we have to be even more proactive in guarding and keeping our prayer time with God than in former days because there are so many gadgets all around us, making noise, interrupting our thoughts, demanding our attention. A few years ago, our pastor challenged us to turn off all electronics for three days. Unless our work demanded it, we were asked to turn off televisions, radios, computers, smart phones, all the things that demand so much of our attention in a normal day. Let me tell you, it was not easy to do at first. The silence was deafening. But those who took part in this agreed that we came to love the quietness and it reduced our stress. Of course, it gave us more opportunities to communicate with the Lord, to recognize his presence, and keep the conversation going with him. So, praying at all times is learning to pray in the midst of our busy lives, in crowded places and public arenas. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, it is learning to pray: in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people (Ephesians 6:18).

Hub Headlines features audio versions of the best commentaries and analysis published daily in The Hub. Enjoy listening to original and provocative takes on the issues that matter while you are on the go.0:22 - Canada's inability to honestly discuss residential schools has failed the Indigenous children we lost, by Karen Restoule7:22 - How I'm voting in the Alberta referendum, by Howard AnglinThis program is narrated by automated voices. To get full-length editions of popular Hub podcasts and other great perks, subscribe to the Hub for only $2 a week: https://thehub.ca/join/hero/Subscribe to The Hub's podcast feed to get all our best content:https://tinyurl.com/3a7zpd7e (Apple)https://tinyurl.com/y8akmfn7 (Spotify)Watch The Hub on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheHubCanadaThe Hub on X: https://x.com/thehubcanada?lang=enCREDITS:Pouya Daneshpajooh – Producer & Editor Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you know if you actually have a drinking problem? You make rules about when you’ll drink. You negotiate how many you’re going to have. You promise yourself tonight will be different. You replay last night trying to figure out exactly what happened. You take breaks, make new rules, Google questions, take quizzes, compare yourself to other people—and somehow alcohol keeps requiring more and more of your attention. At some point, that’s worth looking at. In this episode of Addiction Unlimited, we’re getting away from arbitrary drinking counts and labels and looking at something far more revealing: your actual relationship with alcohol. In this episode, we’re getting away from labels and arbitrary drinking counts and looking at something far more useful: your actual relationship with alcohol. Is it really a drinking problem? The surprisingly revealing question that has nothing to do with how much or how often you drink Why taking 30 days off alcohol may not prove what you think it proves The difference between having a plan for the night and actually being in control of what happens When researching your drinking stops giving you answers—and starts becoming part of the answer And after all the research, analyzing and comparing—you already have enough information—you just have to be willing to do something with it. Because sometimes the amount of work you’re doing to prove alcohol isn’t a problem tells you more than another quiz ever will. You don’t have to decide what to call yourself today. You don’t need the perfect label or one more piece of evidence. You can simply acknowledge that your relationship with alcohol isn’t working anymore—and let that be enough truth to take the next step.   Links mentioned in this episode:  Book A Call Here: addictionunlimited.com/call Sober Society Membership: addictionunlimited.com/membership Related Episode:  Why Am I An Alcoholic – the Bio-Psycho-Social Truth About Addiction Follow me on Instagram: @addictionunlimited Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited     Prefer to read instead of listen? Here's the full transcript of this episode. 455 Transcript Angela (00:07.374) Hello, my friend. Welcome back to the Addiction Unlimited podcast. I’m your coach, Angela Pugh. How do I know if I actually have a drinking problem? This is probably one of the most common questions people ask themselves when they start getting uncomfortable with their drinking. Am I really an alcoholic? Do I actually have a problem? Or am I just drinking a little too much right now? Maybe I just need to cut back. Maybe I need to take a break.Maybe I should stop drinking during the week and only drink on weekends. We will create an entire strategic plan around drinking before we’ll sit down and ask ourselves the most obvious question. What the hell is going on with me and alcohol? And here’s the first thing I want you to understand. I am not going to give you a diagnostic quiz today. I’m not interested in do you drink X number of drinks on X number of nights? Have you had X number of consequences? Check seven boxes and congratulations, here’s your label. That’s not how I look at this. And I never tell people. Angela (01:52.102) And I never tell people they’re alcoholics. First of all, way too many people can’t handle that word. We have some very delicate sensitivities these days. And I’m a little different about that stuff. I am a no BS human. Tell me the truth so I can figure out the solution. I don’t need you to beat around the bush or hold my hand or find the softest, prettiest language possible. If I’m trying to fix a major problem in my life, I just let’s get on with it. I don’t particularly care what we call it. I care about how I’m fucking up and what I need to do to stop fucking up. I also understand that not everybody feels that way. So when somebody says to me, I don’t know if I’m an alcoholic, I think maybe I just drink too much sometimes. The first thing I notice is that they’re asking the question. at all because that tells me something has shifted. Angela (03:02.24) You are questioning your connection with alcohol because somewhere along the way you felt that relationship start to change. You probably can’t even pinpoint exactly when it happened. You just know you’re thinking about alcohol more than you used to. You’re relying on it in ways you didn’t before. You’re planning around it, recovering from it, wondering about it, worrying about it. And there’s this little voice in the back of your head saying. Something about this doesn’t feel right anymore. And that’s usually when we start asking the question. Then here’s what happens next. Almost immediately after someone tells me they’re wondering if they have a drinking problem, they start giving me all the reasons they don’t. I don’t drink every day. I’ve never had a DUI, I don’t drink in the morning, I have a good job, my kids are taken care of, I don’t hide bottles, I can go days without drinking. And I’m just listening. Because here’s the thing: if an idea is completely preposterous to you. You don’t have to build a defense against it. If somebody said to me, Angela, I think you might secretly be a six foot four professional basketball player. I’m not gonna spend the next three hours Googling the average height of WNBA players and gathering evidence to prove I’m not, right? I’m gonna say that’s absurd. And then I’m gonna move on with my life. When something happens, Clearly doesn’t apply to us. We don’t usually have to convince ourselves that it doesn’t apply. So when you’ve built an entire defense around why you’re definitely not an alcoholic, I’m interested in why you need the defense in the first place. And I think part of the reason people fight this so hard is because they’re not only fighting a conclusion about alcohol. Angela (05:07.69) They’re fighting what they believe that conclusion says about them. To a lot of people, the word alcoholic means, I’m not even really sure, weak, I guess, broken, irresponsible, a bad parent, a bad partner, a failure, somebody who can’t get their shit together. So sometimes when you’re fighting the possibility that you’re an alcoholic, you’re not even protecting alcohol. You’re protecting your identity. You’re saying I’m successful, I’m responsible, I’m a good person, I take care of my family. I’m not that. And somewhere along the way, you’ve decided that being a person with an alcohol problem is incompatible with all those other things. I don’t see it that way at all. I wear the label alcoholic as a badge of honor. Angela (06:06.112) I wear the label alcoholic as a badge of honor. I have a tremendous amount of pride in being an alcoholic because to me, the word represents something I survived, confronted, and overcame. I’ve dealt with something that most people aren’t equipped to handle, recognize, and least of all have the balls to actually do something about it. And I’ve always been a little different in that way. Even when I was drinking, I knew I was an alcoholic. There was nothing normal about how I drank. But I lived in Los Angeles for many, many years. There were sober people everywhere, successful people, powerful people, celebrities. I had plenty of evidence around me that being sober didn’t mean your life was over, and being an alcoholic didn’t mean you were a loser, right? So I wore my alcoholism as a badge of honor. Angela (07:12.556) What embarrassed me wasn’t that I was an alcoholic. What embarrassed me was that I couldn’t handle my life. I was high functioning too. I could work, I made money, I could show up and perform and take care of all the things. But emotionally, I wasn’t growing. I couldn’t cope with my own feelings. I wasn’t advancing in life. Like I was just stuck. And drinking was the thing I used. So I didn’t have to deal with any of it. That’s why I’m not particularly interested in convincing anyone to use the word alcoholic. I love the label. You don’t have to. The label isn’t the fucking point, right? The point is what is actually happening in your life, and are you willing to tell yourself the truth about it? Because I think one of the reasons people stay. Angela (08:20.962) Because one of the reasons people stay confused about this for so long is that we’re looking in the wrong place. We’re obsessed with quantity. How many drinks do I have? How many nights a week do I drink? How many drinks does an alcoholic have? Can an alcoholic go days without drinking? Can an alcoholic only drink on weekends? Can an alcoholic do dry January? And those questions can give you information for sure. But they don’t tell me nearly as much as people think they do. I want to know about your relationship with alcohol. How much mental real estate is it taking up? How much of your time is spent thinking about drinking, planning drinking, actually drinking, or recovering from drinking? Because I had three stages of life. I was thinking about it, doing it, or recovering from it. There wasn’t much room for anything else. And that’s what I want you to look at in your own life, because maybe you don’t drink every day, but you’re thinking about it every day. Maybe you’re making rules about when you can drink, breaking the rules, creating new rules, counting drinks, checking how much wine is left before people come over, wondering whether you need another bottle just in case. Angela (09:40.748) Maybe you wake up the next morning trying to reconstruct the night before. Like, how many did I have? Was it five or was it six? Did anybody notice? Was I too loud? Did I say anything stupid? And then by afternoon, you’re already negotiating with yourself about tonight. I’m not drinking tonight. Except you’re going out. So maybe you’ll have two. You’ll be good tonight. You’ll drink water between drinks, you’ll leave early. And now you’re conducting a forensic investigation into Friday night while simultaneously negotiating the terms of Saturday night. Look at how much work that takes. Angela (10:23.052) Because all the things sneaking, minimizing, planning, counting, defending, negotiating, recovering, making rules and renegotiating new rules, those are not isolated behaviors. They’re an ecosystem. Alcohol has become important enough in your life that you’re having to manage your relationship with it. That’s what I want you to look at. Not whether somebody on the internet says six drinks makes you an alcoholic and five doesn’t. Look at how much of your life revolves around managing alcohol. And if you want an interesting comparison, watch somebody who genuinely has an uncomplicated relationship with alcohol. These fucking weirdos don’t think about it at all. They’re not obsessing about whether or not they’re gonna drink tonight. They’re not freaking out about dinner with friends because they don’t know what they’re gonna drink. They’re not looking at the restaurant menu three days in advance to make sure they have mocktails. They simply don’t care. What’s in their glass? If somebody offers them a drink and they don’t want one, they say, no thanks, and that’s it. No internal crisis, no elaborate explanation, no concern about whether everybody is gonna think they’re weird. They don’t want to drink, so they don’t have one. Angela (11:55.894) And here’s another thing these weirdos do. They don’t finish their drinks. Like, what the fuck is that? They sip. They leave half of it sitting on the table. They forget about it. Meanwhile, we’re watching the level in the glass and calculating whether the server’s going to be back here fast enough because we’re going to need another one. They’re not wondering whether there’s going to be alcohol at the party or the neighborhood barbecue or the camping trip. They go camping to actually camp and enjoy their friends and family, not as an excuse to sit and drink in a different location. Alcohol has no gravitational pull for them. It doesn’t require management because it simply isn’t that important. Angela (12:56.854) And that is a much more interesting thing for you to examine than whether or not you drank three nights or four this week. Angela (13:07.98) And there’s another piece of this that I think is even more important, and that’s control. Because people love to tell me they can go days or weeks without alcohol and not even really think about it. Okay, a lot of us can stop for periods of time. We are fairly defiant people by nature. And especially if somebody tells us we can’t do something, boy, nothing will make me act like a toddler. faster than feeling like somebody’s telling me what to do. So if your spouse gives you a little shit about how much you drink, it doesn’t surprise me at all that you would go, okay, bitch, watch this, and quit for months, even. Because we are defiant and rebellious and we’re control freaks. So if you tell me in some way that you’re paying attention to my drinking, which means you’re trying to control how I’m drinking, of course I’m gonna do something major to prove you wrong. Honestly. A decent amount of my resolve in sobriety came from spite because it was me against alcohol and I wasn’t fucking losing. Period. Angela (14:24.586) One of the realizations I had in my own rock bottom moment was that alcohol was controlling me. It was controlling my choices, my behavior, my chaos and consequences. And that pisses me off. I don’t like being told what to do by anyone. And as soon as I understood that alcohol was running the show, that fueled my fire in a huge way to stay sober because I am the boss of me, not alcohol. So, yes, you may absolutely be able to decide not to pick up the first drink for thirty days or sixty days or however many days, but that’s not the only kind of control. Angela (15:11.17) But that’s not the kind of control I’m interested in. I want you to think about Angela (15:21.868) I want you to think about the last few times you drank before you had the first drink. Maybe you told yourself how you wanted the night to go, right? We love to do that. I’m only gonna have a couple, I’m gonna leave by 10, I have a workout tomorrow. So I’m definitely not gonna get crazy tonight. And here’s what I want you to notice. How much confidence do you actually have in that plan? Not how badly you want it to happen, not whether you’ve successfully done it before. But when you put that first drink to your lips, do you know with certainty how the night’s gonna end? Or are you just crossing your fingers? Because those are two very different things. Are you having one drink? Or are you having a drink and hoping everything goes okay? Because hope is not control. Maybe tonight you have two and go home. Maybe tonight you have six. Maybe you’re home by 10, maybe it’s two in the morning. Maybe you remember everything, maybe there are fuzzy parts. Maybe you’re perfectly pleasant all night long. Maybe you get a little too loud and develop a little attitude with somebody you secretly don’t like. Maybe you get home, wash your makeup off, get everything ready for tomorrow, get to bed, and make your workout in the morning. Or maybe You wake up with a headache, cancel everything you planned, and spend half the day trying to piece together the night before while guilt and anxiety eat you alive. The question isn’t whether the worst case scenario happens every time. The question is whether you know which version you’re getting before you take that first drink. Angela (17:18.786) The question isn’t whether the worst case scenario happens every time. The question is whether you know which version you’re getting before you take that first drink. If you don’t know, that’s the part I want you to pay attention to. That’s the loss of control I’m talking about. And frequency doesn’t answer that question. But I only drink on weekends. Okay, but what happens when you drink on weekends? I only drink a couple times a month. Okay. What happens those couple times a month? You could drink once a year. And if every time you take that first drink, you have no idea whether you’re gonna have two or 12, whether you’re home at 10 or 2, whether you remember the whole night or wake up wondering what the fuck happened, that’s worth paying attention to. Not quantity, predictability. And while you’re looking at that. Stop using other people’s drinking to answer questions about yours. I hear this stuff all the time. My husband drinks way more than I do. My sister drinks every night. My friend gets way drunker than me. At least I’ve never blacked out. Okay. I was a raging alcoholic. I didn’t black out either. You can count on one hand the number of times I blacked out in 15 years of daily drinking. I didn’t drink alone. I didn’t drink in the morning. And it took me 14 years to get a DUI. If I had picked any one of those arbitrary behaviors as the offensive Angela (19:03.798) If I had picked any one of those arbitrary behaviors as the official benchmark for alcoholism, I could have built a very compelling case that I was doing just fine. And I wasn’t. How much or how often somebody else drinks has absolutely nothing to do with your relationship with alcohol. There are probably plenty of people around you who have drinking problems. It’s really none of your business. Your business is your drinking problem. My mom doesn’t drink at all. Oddly, that had no impact on how much I drank, right? So stop looking sideways and just look at yourself. Angela (20:04.856) So, how do you know if you actually have a drinking problem? If you’ve been asking this question repeatedly, you’ve probably done some research. You’ve Googled it, you’ve taken the quizzes, you’ve read the articles and listened to the podcasts, and you’ve looked up how many drinks qualify as alcoholism. You’ve compared yourself to people who drink more than you do. And here’s what I want you to notice about that process. What happens when you get an answer? You don’t like? Do you stop or do you keep searching? Because last week we talked about resistance. Angela (20:52.908) Because on last week’s episode, we talked about resistance and how when we don’t like the answer we’re getting, we just keep searching for a different answer. And this is what resistance can look like in real life. It doesn’t always look like somebody sitting on the couch saying, I refuse to deal with this. Sometimes resistance looks incredibly productive. You’re researching, you’re reading, you’re listening, you’re analyzing, you’re busy as hell, but you’re not moving. The searching looks like problem solving, but it’s really procrastination dressed up as problem solving. Because think about it, if somebody finally looked at you and said, with everything you’ve told me, If somebody finally looked at everything you’ve told them and said, nope, you’re fine. You absolutely do not have a drinking problem, would you believe them? I don’t think you would. Because somewhere underneath all the noise, you already know the truth. Even if you’re a master of denial, you know when something isn’t right. That’s why you’re Googling it in the first place. Angela (22:09.304) People who have an uncomplicated relationship with alcohol aren’t repeatedly searching, am I an alcoholic? Because alcohol doesn’t have enough presence in their lives for them to wonder whether it’s out of control. So when you’re sitting in a pile of evidence and continuing to search for more evidence, eventually we have to ask, what are you actually looking for? Angela (22:40.588) Because sometimes you’re actually stalling. Because knowing creates responsibility. So as long as you’re still quote unquote figuring it out, you can stay exactly where you are. You can keep drinking while telling yourself you’re researching. You can stay in the comfort zone. You can stay in denial. You can stay in avoidance. Angela (23:09.41) But once you finally say this isn’t working anymore, well, now you have a decision to make. And that’s why underneath the question, Am I an alcoholic? there’s another question. And that question is is this bad enough that I actually have to do something about it? Because if the answer is yes, it’s like, fuck, now there’s another thing you have to fix. And I understand that. You’re already exhausted. You’re working and parenting and running a household and trying to exercise and pay bills and managing relationships. You’re taking care of everybody. You already need an extra three hours in every day. And now the thing you’ve been using because you’re overwhelmed is apparently another fucking problem you have to solve. Of course, your brain wants to keep researching. Your brain is like, well, maybe. We should make absolutely certain first. Let’s take another quiz. But there’s also a problem with the belief that recovery is. Angela (24:30.484) Of course, your brain wants to keep researching. Your brain’s like, maybe we should just make absolutely certain first. Let’s take another quiz. But here’s another problem. There’s a real problem with the belief that recovery is going to require all this time and energy you don’t have. We’re pretending drinking doesn’t already require those things. We talk about recovery like it’s this enormous additional expense, another thing requiring time and money and energy and attention and inconvenience. But we’re making a huge error in that calculation. We’re treating drinking like it’s free. It’s not. Think about what you’re already spending to maintain your relationship with alcohol, not just money, although God knows we’re spending that. But think about your time. The evenings that disappear, the mornings you lose because you don’t feel good, the workouts you skip, the hours of anxiety replaying what you said. The emotional energy it takes to negotiate with yourself about whether or not you’re drinking tonight, or how much you’re gonna have, or whether you’ve been drinking too much, or whether you need to take a break, whether you have a problem, whether you need to quit. Think about how much of your life is already being consumed by this thing you’re telling yourself you don’t have time to address. You’re already paying. Angela (26:06.518) Recovery isn’t suddenly asking you to find resources you don’t have. It’s asking you to start redirecting resources you’re already spending. I had to be equally committed to my recovery as I was to my drinking. That means I did my recovery when I was tired because I drank when I was tired. I did my recovery when I had a bad day because I drank when I had a bad day. I drank when I didn’t feel good. I went to the liquor store or the bar when the weather was bad. So when it was time to recover, I couldn’t suddenly decide that being tired or having a bad day or the weather being shitty meant I couldn’t show up. Angela (26:53.814) If it’s snowing out and you don’t want to go to a meeting, ask yourself a simple question. Would the snow have stopped you from drinking? Would the snow or the rain or whatever have stopped you from going to the liquor store or the bar? No. Then apparently snow isn’t the barrier. We will tolerate an unbelievable amount of inconvenience for drinking. We’ll spend the money we don’t have. We’ll sacrifice tomorrow morning. We’ll be hungover. We’ll miss the workout. We’ll be impatient with our kids. We’ll lose an entire day. We’ll tolerate anxiety and guilt and embarrassment and making apologies. Then recovery asks us to be inconvenienced. And suddenly we’re like, whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s not get crazy. I don’t have time for all that. But here’s what I need you to understand: doing nothing isn’t the free option. Angela (27:54.142) One path costs you time, money, energy, and comfort and takes you straight into a dead end. The other path costs you time, money, energy, and comfort and gives you a path to freedom. You’re gonna spend the resources either way. The question is, what are you buying with them? The dead end or freedom? So let’s go back to the question we started with because I don’t want you to get to the end of this episode and think I never actually answered it. How do I know if I actually have a drinking problem? I’m not gonna tell you it’s because you drink four nights a week instead of three. I’m not gonna give you a number of drinks or tell you which consequences officially qualify you. I’m gonna tell you to look at the relationship. First, how much mental real estate is alcohol taking up? How often are you thinking about it, planning it, negotiating with yourself about it, doing it, or recovering from it? If alcohol requires that much management, if you are constantly creating rules around it, worrying about it, thinking about whether there’s enough, promising yourself you’ll do something different next time, that’s a clue. Second, what happens to your control after the first drink? Not whether you can quit for a week or do dry January, but when you have that first drink, can you reliably predict what’s going to happen? Do you know you’re having two and going home at 10? Or are you hoping you’ll have two and go home at 10? Because hope is not control. Angela (29:39.064) Third, what are you doing to protect your drinking? Are you minimizing it, hiding it, sneaking it, defending it, comparing yourself to people who drink more, looking for all the reasons you can’t possibly have a problem because you’ve never had a DUI or you don’t drink in the morning or you’ve never blacked out? If you’re working that hard to prove If you’re working that hard to prove alcohol isn’t a problem, I want you to ask yourself why you need such a strong defense for it in the first place. And fourth, what is alcohol costing you? Not just catastrophes. I don’t care whether you’ve lost your house, your marriage, or your job. What is it costing you today? Your mornings, your energy, your workouts, your patience, your presence in your family, your confidence in yourself, your emotional growth, hours of your life spent recovering, days spent feeling anxious and guilty about the things you said or did. You don’t need a catastrophic rock bottom. before the cost counts. Angela (30:54.01) And finally, why are you still asking the question? If this is the fifth article you’ve read, the tenth podcast you’ve listened to, the 20th quiz you’ve taken, what answer are you still looking for? Because at some point the searching becomes part of the answer. The obsession with proving you don’t have a problem becomes evidence that something isn’t right. People who have an uncomplicated relationship with alcohol don’t spend this much time trying to figure out whether their relationship with alcohol is complicated. Angela (31:47.138) Deciding or understanding you have a drinking problem is a very personal decision that you have to make for yourself. But I can tell you that if alcohol is taking too much space in your brain, if you can’t reliably predict what happens after the first drink, if you’re constantly managing and defending your drinking, if alcohol is costing you things you care about, and if you keep coming back to this question over and over again. You have enough information to stop dismissing what you’re seeing. Angela (32:24.022) You don’t need to figure out the perfect word for it before you’re allowed to do something about it. Maybe today all you’re ready to say is my relationship with alcohol isn’t okay anymore. That’s enough truth to start with. And then get out of your own head because your head is not a reliable source of information. It’s what got you into this mess. Go find a sober community. Start listening to people. And I mean actually listen. Don’t walk into the room and immediately start scanning for all the reasons you’re different. Don’t look at what they’re wearing, what they do for a living, whether they drank more than you or less than you, or whether their story looks exactly like yours. Listen to how people think. Listen to the rules they made, the negotiations they had with themselves. Listen to the guilt. Listen to how much space alcohol took up in their lives. Listen to what happened inside their brain after that first drink. Because that’s where you’re going to hear someone who is successful and accomplished and married and raising kids and running a company and doing all the things. And suddenly you’re going to think, fuck, she thinks exactly like I do. That’s what you need. Perspective. Angela (33:49.824) You need to see that you’re not the only high-functioning person on the planet who ended up with a fucked up relationship with alcohol. Not everybody has some desperate, catastrophic, rock bottom moment, and you don’t need one. You need people who are further down the road than you are so you can see what this looks like on the other side. And if you don’t have that community, that’s exactly why I created Sober Society. We have meetings every week. with real people having real conversations about sobriety and life, the feelings, relationships, triggers, growth, all that shit that happens when you stop using alcohol as the answer to everything. Just get out of isolation and start hearing from people who understand the conversation happening in your head. And if you want to join me, you can find sober society, addictionunlimited dot com forward slash membership. That link is also in the show notes, addictionunlimited.com forward slash membership. And whether you join us or you find another sober community that feels right for you, I want to leave you with this. Angela (35:05.184) Out of millions and millions and millions of sober people, there are people just like you too. You are not the one special case that no one has ever seen before. There are people who drank like you, who thought like you, who were successful like you, who were scared like you, people who sat up at night Googling the exact same questions you’re Googling. Angela (35:33.12) And there are people who found their way through it. Maybe you don’t need one more quiz or challenge or one more definition, one more comparison or consequence or one more terrible morning. Maybe you already have. Angela (35:58.243) Maybe you already have enough information. Maybe the next step isn’t finding another answer. Maybe it’s finally doing something with the one you already have. I love you, my friend. I hope you’re having a fantastic day, and I’ll see you next week.

Her son was murdered and husband killed in an accident. Her Husband Died in a Motorcycle Accident. Years Later, Her Son Was Murdered. Teri Busse Refused to Let Loss Define His Life. Supporting articles about this and much more from  Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast in platforms like Medium , Blogspot and Linkedin. The former paramedic, firefighter, and corrections officer speaks about her son Rylee James, thirteen days of uncertainty, sober recovery, and the difficult work of rebuilding after tragedy. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast social media like their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other social media platforms. Teri Busse spent more than 25 years in emergency services and public safety. As a paramedic, firefighter, and corrections officer, she encountered people during some of the most frightening moments of their lives. The Podcast is available for free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartradio and most major podcast platforms. #LawEnforcementTalk #Free #Podcast #Radio She understood emergencies from the responder's side. She knew that a family might remember every word spoken during a crisis, even when the person delivering those words had already moved on to the next call. Then Busse became the family member waiting for answers. Years before her son's death, her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident. Busse struggled with alcohol after losing him. She entered sober recovery a few years later and has remained sober for many years. Her son was murdered and husband killed in an accident. In February 2022, she faced another loss. Her son, Rylee James, had been murdered. What followed became the subject of her book, 13 Days of Silence: A Mother's Voice from the Ashes. It is the story of a young man's death, a mother's search for answers, and a criminal case that grew far beyond what she could have imagined. A burned vehicle near Leavenworth In February 2022, a burned vehicle was discovered near Leavenworth, Kansas. Human remains were found inside its trunk. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast, is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast platforms. The interview is also featured across Facebook and Instagram. At first, Busse received inquiries from law enforcement about a car. The questions were vague, but she feared something was terribly wrong. Rylee was missing, and the passage of time brought no reassuring explanation. Then came a request for dental records. For thirteen days after her last contact with Rylee, Busse waited for official confirmation. She had years of experience around emergencies, investigations, and people in crisis. None of it could prepare her to wait as a mother for news about her own son. Her son was murdered and husband killed in an accident. The eventual confirmation gave the remains a name. It also made the loss irrevocably real: Rylee James was dead. The phrase “thirteen days of silence” describes more than a period on a calendar. It marks the distance between fearing the worst and hearing it confirmed, days filled with questions that could not yet be answered. When a son becomes part of a larger case The investigation into Rylee's murder became tied to one of Kansas's early state-level RICO prosecutions. The case expanded beyond a single killing into allegations involving a broader criminal enterprise. According to Busse's account, two people charged in connection with Rylee's killing accepted plea deals. Another was acquitted. The episode is available across major platforms including their website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, with highlights shared across their Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles. Those outcomes are part of the legal record. For Busse, they are also part of a deeply personal story about what a family hopes to learn from the justice system and what it may still be left wondering afterward. A prosecution must address charges, evidence, and the people accused. A mother has other questions, too. She wants to know what happened to her son. She wants his life to be understood as more than the circumstances of his death. That tension runs through 13 Days of Silence: A Mother's Voice from the Ashes. Busse writes from the position of the person who lived through the waiting, the confirmation, and the years that followed. Her book keeps Rylee at the center of a story that could otherwise be told only through investigative files and courtroom proceedings. Her son was murdered and husband killed in an accident. He was her son before he was a victim in a murder case. He remains her son after the case. The responder on the other side of the call Busse's career gives her account an unusual perspective. For more than two decades, she worked in roles that required her to act when other people were overwhelmed. Paramedics, firefighters, and corrections officers are expected to stay focused under pressure. They assess situations, make decisions, and carry out their responsibilities while the people around them may be frightened or grieving. Busse knew that world. But knowing how emergency and public safety systems operate did not make her own experience predictable. She still had to endure uncertain phone calls, long waits, and the painful gap between what she feared and what anyone could officially tell her. Her story shows how differently a crisis feels depending on where a person stands. From inside an emergency response, the next step may be clear. For a family waiting for news, each unanswered question can fill an entire day. The Podcast is available for free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartradio and most major podcast platforms. A recovery that began before Rylee's death Busse's experience with loss did not begin in 2022. After her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident, she turned to alcohol. She later entered sober recovery and has maintained her sobriety for many years. She speaks about that history because recovery is part of her life, not a separate chapter that ended before Rylee's murder. When she faced another devastating loss, she did so as someone who had already spent years working to remain sober. There is no simple formula for living through grief. Busse's account offers her experience: a life marked by painful events, sustained recovery, and the continuing choice to speak honestly about both. Her son was murdered and husband killed in an accident. “These days, I write and speak about grief, trauma, recovery, resilience, true crime, and what happens when life doesn't go remotely according to plan,” she says. That work reaches beyond one book. Busse is an award-winning author, screenwriter, speaker, podcast host, and psychology graduate student. Her projects include the screenplay When Silence Never Ends and the podcast 13 Days of Silence: Living in the After. The title of that podcast points to another part of her story. The thirteen days ended when Rylee was identified. Living in the aftermath did not. Keeping Rylee's name in the story True crime accounts often focus on the investigation: the discovery, the charges, the plea deals, and the verdict. Those details matter. They explain what happened in court. Busse also asks people to remember whose life was lost. Her book is a mother's account of the days before confirmation, the proceedings that followed, and the grief that continued when the public's attention moved elsewhere. It is her way of speaking about Rylee as more than “ashes and evidence.” On the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast, Busse discusses her son's murder, the criminal case, her husband's earlier death, and her long journey in sober recovery. She also talks about writing and speaking after loss, about finding a way to tell a story that remains painful because the person at its heart remains loved. Her son was murdered and husband killed in an accident. Rylee James was a son. Teri Busse wants his name, and his humanity, to remain at the center of the conversation. Listen to Teri Busse's interview on the free podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and the show's website. Her book, 13 Days of Silence: A Mother's Voice from the Ashes, shares the story from her perspective. Please share this conversation on Facebook or Instagram so others facing grief or working to sustain sober recovery can hear it. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast, is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast platforms. The interview is also featured across Facebook and Instagram. This episode of the show is brought to you in part by Mars Men. You hit your 30s and 40s, and things start to feel different. Now that I'm in my 60s, I've really noticed the change. My energy drops faster. Recovery takes longer. Workouts don't have the same impact they once did. Most importantly, what worked for me in my 20s simply doesn't work anymore. So, I started looking for answers. Honestly, the testosterone-support space can be confusing, and much of it sounded sketchy. I don't want to become a professional bodybuilder. I just want to look and feel more like the old me. Thankfully, I found Mars Men, and I couldn't be more grateful. Mars Men is made in the USA, third-party tested, and formulated to support healthy testosterone levels, energy and stamina. It's now available at GNC stores nationwide. For a limited time, our listeners get 50% off for life plus Free Shipping AND 3 Free Gifts at Men Go To Mars dot com. That's MenGoToMars.com for 50% Off AND 3 Free Gifts when you checkout. After you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. PLEASE support our show and tell them our show sent you. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast continues bringing listeners real conversations from the front lines of crime, policing, trauma, survival, and healing. Learn and get access to money saving tips and how to increase your net worth at www.LetSavings.com Download the Free Ebook about ways and tips to improve your health. 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Follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other Social Media platforms for more real stories about trauma, survival and transformation. Listen to the Show, share the episode, and follow the latest Radio, Podcast, and News content from the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast. Be sure to check out our website . Be sure to follow us on X , Instagram , Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin and other social media platforms for the latest episodes and news. Follow the Law Enforcement Today Radio Show and Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube for more powerful interviews with law enforcement officers, survivors, first responders, and others whose lives have been changed by crime and trauma. Her son was murdered and husband killed in an accident. Attributions Teri Busse Amazon Facebook Facebook Group Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Another Q&A, mostly about growth!

The Mousedebaters talk California Adventure Night at the Museum--------Apparently we weren't done asking what happens when Disney parks close and everything comes to life.But first, we test our California Adventure knowledge, make a very normal and legally binding pact about putting each other's skulls on Pirates when we die, and play Name That Song with varying degrees of competence.Then we get back to the important question: what exactly are the residents of California Adventure getting up to after hours? This somehow leads us to Meester Pepper, The Gizzard of Oz, Al-al-al-Al's Toy Barn, and an investigation into what Triton is bad at.Then, Brit absolutely cannot say “Lunar New Year.” Nobody stops her from trying. And eventually we arrive at the completely reasonable conclusion that California Adventure needs human-sized pneumatic tubes? Honestly, we may have solved a lot of problems in this one.

What do men value more than sex?Peace? Freedom? God? Purpose? Money? Career? Family? Solitude?Men are often portrayed as though sexual desire drives virtually everything they do. But what happens when a man still desires women, sex, intimacy, and companionship—yet discovers he can live perfectly well without sex controlling his decisions? In this provocative episode of Snakz Thoughts, Eric J Broadus explores what men really want, male priorities, modern dating, relationships, marriage, celibacy, sexual desire, faith, purpose, peace, freedom, companionship, and personal autonomy.Then we're turning the question around.Women: Before hearing the men's answers, what do YOU predict they'll choose?And here's the question that might start an argument:If a man wants sex—but doesn't need it badly enough to sacrifice his peace, freedom, purpose, or values—does that change the relationship equation?Men: Give us ONE answer.Women: Make ONE prediction.Then compare the results.Created by Morgan L BrooksHosted by Eric J BroadusSnakz Thoughts — Real Talk. No Filter.

This week we are so happy to be celebrating the opening of The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art with our friend, Nick Tierce ! Join us as we explore Lucas' vision, the critics getting it all wrong, Nick's meeting with the legend Rick McCallum, Marfalump and so much more. So get that grilled cheese sandwich, celebrate the love and listen today! Connect with Nick here ! https://nicktierce.com/ JOIN THE BLAST POINTS ARMY and SUPPORT BLAST POINTS ON PATREON! DOWNLOADABLE SHOW MUSIC! STAR WARS TV FULL COMMENTARIES! HEAR NEW EPISODES EARLY! and so much MORE! www.patreon.com/blastpoints If you dug the show, please leave BLAST POINTS a review on iTunes, Spotify and share the show with friends! If you leave an iTunes review, we will read it on a future episode! Honestly! Talk to Blast Points on twitter at @blast_points "Like" Blast Points on Facebook Join the Blast Points Super Star Wars Chill Group here www.facebook.com/groups/BlastPointsGroup/ we are also on Instagram! Wow! www.instagram.com/blastpoints Your hosts are Jason Gibner & Gabe Bott! contact BLAST POINTS at : contact@blastpointspodcast.com May the Force be with you, always! This podcast is not affiliated in any way with Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, The Walt Disney Company, or any of their affiliates or subsidiaries.

Lez Hang Out is proud to be sponsored by Bellesa Boutique. EVERYONE who signs up to our giveaway wins a FREE spicy toy or gift card for toys! https://bbvibes.com/lezhangout  #bbpartner ****************************************** Getting to create and grow our Patreon family has been one of our favorite experiences of the past 10 years. We have so many wonderful memories from watch parties, game nights, trivia, and even getting to meet some of you in person! Now, we're asking our community to help us hit a very specific goal: 100 paid $10-tier patrons by October 1st. It costs us about $800 every month just to produce Lez Hang Out, regardless of how many people listen. And while we don't currently pay ourselves for hosting and producing the show, we do want to continue paying our Production Assistant, Kristin, who keeps approximately 700,000 things running behind the scenes. Your Patreon support helps cover the real costs of making this show and allows us to keep compensating the person doing the behind-the-scenes work that keeps Lez Hang Out going. If you want to become part of our exclusive community (one of us, one of us!), you can join today for $10/month. Choose the annual option at sign-up for an automatic discount! 100 patrons at $10/month would make a huge difference for us. If you love Lez Hang Out and want to help us keep making it, this is one of the most direct ways you can support the show.  Do you feel that chill in the air? Stock up now for hoa hoa homo season at bit.ly/lezmerch with our special collection featuring gay ghosties and the skeletons that refused to stay in the closet.  ****************************************** Welcome back to Lez Hang Out, the podcast that knows figuring out who you are is rarely a straight line. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) is joined by award-winning author, KB Brookins (@earthtokb), for a discussion about their 2025 Lambda Award Winning debut memoir, Pretty, now available in paperback!  In Pretty, KB explores the complicated gap between how we see ourselves and how the world sees us. Part memoir, part cultural critique, it's a love letter to Black trans masculinity and a powerful call for all humans to question the assumptions and expectations we inherit from being raised within a structurally racist, cisheteronormative society. Using a mix of poetry and prose, KB reflects on growing up in the '90s and 2000s, when “no homo” was a punchline, “that's so gay” was a common insult, same-sex marriage was still illegal, and the language available for understanding queer and trans identities was often limited, stigmatizing, or outright harmful.  Honestly, Emma Specter of Vogue said it perfectly already–Pretty, “at its heart is a carefully sketched-out–and often devastating–portrait of what it means to be Black and transmasculine in Texas, a state that continues to criminalize both of those identities”.   While today's greater visibility of trans and nonbinary identities gives people more opportunities to question, explore, and understand themselves, KB's journey was also shaped by the specific cultural expectations and assumptions attached to being perceived as a Black girl in Texas. Pretty traces that winding process of unlearning those expectations, questioning who they were told they should be, and ultimately finding the freedom to recognize themselves as the Black transmasculine person they have always been inside. Don't forget to support your local bookstores by snagging your own copy of Pretty at Bookshop.org.  Lez Hang Out is an independently produced show. Find us on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok and Bluesky (@lezhangoutpod) or email us at lezhangoutpod@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dentistry is most important when a patient is in the practice. As soon as they leave, there are a million other parts of their life competing for priority. Tiff and Dana discuss how to talk about dental care with your patients so it doesn't get lost under the heap of everything else.  Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Tiffanie (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. We are back again to podcast with you. To yeah, I loved that Dana. Dana's got some excitement in her veins today. I think it's nice out. Honestly, it's nice out. I had I had to close this window the last podcast. That's what you saw me do. and then I have another window open and I'm in Phoenix. We don't open our windows often, and I've only got like probably thirty minutes left of this window being open.   DAT-Dana (00:27) Right.   Tiffanie (00:29) but it's energizing. I feel like   I just need the fresh air and and it's just beautiful out. So I can imagine Dana where you are if it's this beautiful here and then Brodie's in he's forty five minutes south. So he's in Tempe and he sent a picture and it was more beautiful and I'm like, gosh, go another hour and a half past that towards Dana. It's gotta be just gorgeous down there right now.   DAT-Dana (00:51) It is. I feel like though Phoenix can just be gorgeous and be gorgeous. Further south, and there's an as you know, Tiff, because you kind of grew up in this area.   Tiffanie (00:58) Mm-hmm.   DAT-Dana (01:00) if it is sunny and beautiful, then typically it's paired with wind, right? So I feel like my windows are never   Tiffanie (01:04) This is   DAT-Dana (01:06) open because even when in the temperature is beautiful enough to have them open, the wind is going and I don't want all   Tiffanie (01:12) yeah.   DAT-Dana (01:13) the desert dust you know, sitting in my living room. So   Tiffanie (01:17) I love   what you just said. I love it. So Brodie texted me a picture and I said, Gosh, that's prettier than here. I said, This is this weather is the only thing I miss about living in Sierra Vista. And what you just said, people say, Why did you move? Like the weather was the weather is better in Sierra Vista. It literally is. The temperatures   DAT-Dana (01:33) Yeah. Yes.   Tiffanie (01:35) are better. You get a better winter, you get better seasonality. Like it is just better. And people say, Well, why did you move? And I say, Because of the wind. I legitimately   90% moved because I couldn't you just can't be in it. It whips your hair, like it hurts my hair hitting my face as a child. I remember the pain of that and the tangles and brushing my hair out at the end of the day because I had to walk home from the bus. Like legitimately, Dana, the wind. I can't handle Southern Arizona winds. Yeah. Yeah.   DAT-Dana (02:12) Yep, yep, you   hit it. You hit it right on.   Tiffanie (02:15) Spent   my I spent my whole childhood there. I lived in Sierra Vista till I was what, twenty? I think I moved up here when I was twenty. I can't I can't do it. So yeah, I love that you said that. And everyone listening, you just got a nice little taste of the Arizona weather history there. It's never changed. It's still windy. So if you want wind, go down south. If you want really cool honestly, it's it's beautiful down there. So if you haven't visited Southern Arizona, meaning   Like Phoenix is cool too. Obviously Sedona. But if you haven't been south of Phoenix, Tucson has some really cool stuff. But then you get into like Saurita, where you are, and Senoida, there's like wine country, there's Tombstone, Isbe. Like there's a lot to do down there. And I discredit it and disvalue it 'cause I grew up in it. but it is really beautiful. And   on to dental. Yeah. Yeah.   DAT-Dana (03:08) Yeah, but my windows just stay closed. So I can look at   the beauty. I just Yep. Right. Yeah.   Tiffanie (03:13) My windows stay closed because it's too hot. So in Arizona we just don't open windows. Okay.   It's just stifling in our house all the time. It's fine. So on that note, dental. Dana, we get fed podcast topics. and then you and I, I love that you and I are just like, nah, we're not gonna do that one today. I don't I didn't like the other one. So today we we already talked about kind of   Prepping for changes and and systems that work in the midst of change. That was a a podcast we just recorded. So if you haven't heard that one, go back, find it after this one. You don't need it beforehand. But they kinda go I think they kinda go hand in hand because one change that we oftentimes don't prep for because we don't know it's coming, is accepted treatment still like falling off of a schedule. And I think that happens a lot. I have a lot of practices that are like,   It's full until the day before or two days before or gosh my hygiene schedule's full six months. I can't get ab get anybody in. But then the week of it's falling apart. So we're not here to talk about hygiene. There's plenty of those podcasts. Go search it. But we are going to talk about why accepted treatment still falls off of the schedule. And Dana, right before we started this podcast, you said something and I was like, Yep, another drop mic drop moment from Dana. She'll always give them to us.   I would love for you to repeat what you said right before we got on this podcast because I think that it's true and I think that's where we start.   DAT-Dana (04:38) Yeah. I I am known for my brutal honesty tips. So what I   Tiffanie (04:42) Ha ha   DAT-Dana (04:44) said before we got on is like treatment that falls up after the fact is typically for the same reasons that we hear patients give us that they don't schedule to begin with.   Tiffanie (04:53) Yes, yes. And I got excited about that because I believe that oftentimes we work so hard in like the sales side of dentistry that or not that we work so hard on the sales side of dentistry to get a yes that they're just like, okay, yes, fine, I'll schedule it. Like, well, what about this hurdle? What about this hurdle? And yes, I wanna work objections and I wanna I wanna get over hurdles.   But I think Dana, in what you said, you said the same, they they fall off the schedule for the same reason that people don't schedule. And I wonder if not every time, but if sometimes those patients who are falling off weren't actually a yes, they were a let me out of this office right now, right? Because I I've taken a lot of   Communication courses, a lot of relationship style courses. I've done a lot of emotional intelligence and just like communication stuff. And something that is tried and true in every aspect of anything that I've done extracurricularly is the relationship comes first. And   Knowing   the person, knowing the why, knowing the reason, and speaking to that and overcoming, helping someone overcome an issue or a problem and seeing better on the other side is the most important factor. And oftentimes in our objections and our conversations of our hurdles, I wonder if that aspect of the communication gets missed because it's more about checking check boxes.   than it is about investing in the person. And maybe I'm being wild, but when you said that, that's where my brain went and I was like, gosh, it's the relationships. Dana, what are you what's your perspective? What are you seeing on your side?   DAT-Dana (06:47) Yeah, I 100% agree with you. And I feel like when because we hear it all the time when we go into park, well, it falls out because life happens, right? Well, you're right.   Tiffanie (06:55) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (06:56) Life is going to happen. and typically we will also kind of say that like dentistry is most important when the patient is in the office. So then when life happens, right, it becomes less and less important. And I think that you're absolutely right. And to me, it tells me that like   I actually didn't really listen and get to the bottom of what actually was holding the patient back or what their no actually was. And so yes, I got a yes, which great, but I didn't actually get a yes that meant I'm fully committed, I fully understand, I'm fully ready to go. and so then that's kind of why we see it fall off. And I feel like   The biggest thing is life is going to happen for your patients when they leave the practice. So if they don't know where, when, how to prioritize the dentistry that you are talking about with them in life happening, then we didn't get it right.   Right, because life is gonna happen and I need to know that if my dog chews 35 Legos, like she's been doing every week and has to have an emergency vet visit, right? That   Tiffanie (08:00) Yep.   DAT-Dana (08:01) like I know where my dentistry needs to fall in the spectrum of the things of my dog eating 35 Legos, right? Do I need   Tiffanie (08:08) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (08:08) that crown or does the dog need to so life happens, absolutely.   Tiffanie (08:12) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (08:13) But I think our biggest tool is   treatment coordinators or people that talk about treatment or even the dentists, right? Tre doing the treatment planning in the back is they need to know where to prioritize the dental work that needs done with the life things that are going to happen. And I think when we just get that artificial yes, that didn't happen.   Because they   Tiffanie (08:34) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (08:34) left and something came up in their life, or they left and were just like, I do it all the time. I go to Target, I put all these things in my cart, and as I'm walking up to the thing, I'm like, I don't really need that. Or   Tiffanie (08:44) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.   DAT-Dana (08:46) you know what? I don't, I don't really need my lips moisturized. That chapstick can go. Right. And so   Tiffanie (08:50) Yep. Yep.   DAT-Dana (08:51) those things start to happen. And if you think about doing that and you think about, okay, well, how   What would make someone take the dentistry out of their cart, right, and stick it back on the shelf? It's probably because we didn't get to the bottom of what is important to them. We didn't build that relationship with them. We didn't understand who they were and how they make their decisions. And we didn't get through to them where to prioritize this decision and all the other decisions they're going to make the second they leave the office.   Tiffanie (09:21) Absolutely agree. Absolutely agree. And that's not something that I think people innately know how to do, especially in the workplace, because in my opinion, we think of work as transactional, right? You go it work, the word work is transactional, right? You do something for something. you work out at the gym to get stronger, right? To get healthier. You do something for something. So it's always transactional.   And transactional doesn't always translate to the emotional side of it. And we miss that mark. And in in dentistry, dentistry is weird, right? Because d medical, like med they don't have to think about this very often, right? One, they've got a million people walking through the door all day. They don't it's a rare occasion that someone's really concerned if you're coming back or not. So if you have a provider like that, please by all means share it on all the platforms because we all need one.   In dentistry, one, it's that's not how it happens. We don't have a million people coming through the doors. And two, we actually literally are more invested in the people that are coming to our practices. Dentists in general sought out dentistry for a different reason than many medical professionals at least are practicing now, right? I think that they probably had a good reason to get into it, but throughout the years something shifted and changed for for many people. My point of that.   is that we discredit that emotional side of it and we become more transactional where it's like, okay, the next step in the in the flow is schedule. And so we're like, okay, great. I reviewed the estimate. You've got that estimate. No questions. Great. Let's schedule. Right. And then they're like, I'll call you. And we're like, well, what difference is let me get you on the schedule now. So that I would hate for you to forget. Let me put you on the schedule now. We'll block out the time. And then if if there's you get to work and there's a work   Event in the way, give me a call. Right? I've done that a million times. Like, no, no. Now I'm supposed to say, Well, let's get it on the schedule, because now it's on the schedule, it's accepted. Right? But then that patient is like laxadaisy about the appointment or what have you. Because I didn't I didn't ask what's holding you back. Like, great, tell me more about this. Tell me when I would sit patients down for a treatment plan, I've I've done this for a long time. And in the same practice I had   the   awesome opportunity of testing out a million things over the almost 13 years I was at this practice and I've watched myself evolve. I can look back now and see like how I evolved from the transactional to the they sit down in front of me and I'm like, hey, they said you need a crown. Wha how what do you think about that? And sometimes patients were like they would just cry. They're like, I don't even I don't have anything like this. Or sometimes patients are like, I knew it was coming or can't they just pull it?   Like now I'm in a conversation and now I can learn more about the patient, their thought process, their priorities, right? Like can't you just pull it? Well, tell me why that's where you jump. From a crown to a pull, for me, that's a massive, that's a massive jump. Let me tell you why. And then you tell me why you took that leap. What's the priority there for you so that I can understand more? But instead we're so transactional, we're like, no, that would be wild. You need a crown.   And it's gonna be this much. And we stick to that transactional checklist instead of being like, Well, let me be curious, like what makes you wanna just pull out the tooth? Because to me, in dentistry, you blew my mind with that statement. So tell me why you want to pull that tooth out. But we don't always think to ask those questions. So Dana, like this is all very Kiera would be like, Yes, Tiff, this is great, but like what's the track like what's the action item, right? So like   This is all great. How do we train? And I know you and I both work on this with practices, but how do we train a treatment coordinator or a doctor, right? A dentist diagnosing can do these things too. So what   DAT-Dana (13:30) Yeah.   Tiffanie (13:30) are some like tips that you give practices to say, hey, get more relational and less transactional without saying those words?   DAT-Dana (13:38) Yeah. I   I think one, it is just just like you said, it's kind of shifting your mindset. I always teach teams at the end of the day, we want the yes, right? But we want a yes that is good for both of you, right? Like you as a treatment coordinator and them as the patient. And just getting a yes, like you said, is super transactional. So to me, how I train teams is we have to just ask more questions. We have to ask what's holding them back. We have to ask.   what would a budget be that they're comfortable with? We have to ask like if they feel like third party financing is an option for them. We have to ask if they even want to save the tooth. We have   Tiffanie (14:14) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (14:14) to just ask more questions. And I feel like   It's again, I like gonna highlight the podcast we did before. Please go find it. It was a good one, but like it comes down to communication and it comes down to just asking more questions because every question that you ask is going to break down a barrier in some way. And it might present a new one that we have to work through, but it's getting treatment coordinators to understand that your job is to partner with the patient and figure out a way. There is   always away. And I like I say this all the time. There's no financial barrier that you like really can't truly overcome. You can break down treatment, you can break down payments, you can pay ahead of time and then add third party. You can like there are you have to get super creative sometimes, absolutely. But you have to really feel in your bones that it is so important for this patient to have done what is needed to be done and you have to be willing to ask whatever question it takes.   to get to the point where you can both feel really good about a yes. Not just you, because you got the yes. You both have to feel really good about the yes.   Tiffanie (15:23) I totally agree. Yeah, that was beautiful. And then get some pre-collect.   DAT-Dana (15:28) Yes.   Tiffanie (15:29) I the money mindset is far overlooked. there's a statement I wanted to remember to say. One of the things that I learned in all of the training that I've done is to be more interested than interesting. And I think about that all the time because human nature is to talk about ourselves, right? Or to be right or to have the the   most information and in dentistry, especially my treatment coordinators, my office managers, my billing reps. Like we I think sometimes feel like we have something to prove, right? That we're we do know what we're talking about because there isn't a formal you don't get to go to school to be a treatment coordinator and you come out with a certificate or a degree in treatment planning. Like you just don't we learn it on the job. We learn it by going to CE. We learn it because we hired a consultant, the Dental A Team and they were wonderful. Like   We learn these things through doing it. And so I think sometimes we wanna make sure that people know what we know what we're doing. So we can get a little transactional in it and a little dry. So making sure that we're being more interested, meaning to Dana's point, like asking more questions. Be be in the why, be in the why is it that way? What do you feel about that? Tell me more, right? So the one aspect. And then the the   like hurdle of the collecting in advance or something you've already paid for, right? Everybody, it's all over Instagram. You guys just look up like girl math, right? But this is one majority of your patients are probably female. I'm just gonna point that out there. Okay. So girl math works. Two, I don't think it's just women who think this way 99.9% of the time, right? Money out, money spent is already gone. You're likely not going to have someone call you and it it does happen. I'm not gonna say it won't.   It does happen, especially for large sums, but it is going to be very rare that someone calls and says, Hey, my dog ate 35 Legos yesterday and I need that $600 that I put towards that crown back so I can take him to the vet. They're gonna find another way to pay for the vet bill because they've already paid the $600 or whatever towards the treatment that they're getting done at your practice. So whether they're paying full in advance, they're paying partial, having some skin in the game.   And   having committed financially locks it in place. And it is a psychological proven skill that works every single time. Money is already gone. We've already accounted for that money to be gone. We've already formulated a plan to get it back. And we're we've moved forward. So Dana, do you I do you still this is a real question? Do you still find that you   Have pushback from teams to collect in advance. I feel like for me, it's like less and less over time. It's 2026 now, and the time of recording this, I can tell you five years ago it was much different than it is today. What are you seeing? you see more new clients than I do. I don't, I don't   DAT-Dana (18:38) Do   Tiffanie (18:38) take on new clients, so you're gonna have a better pool to choose from. Are you still seeing pushback from teams when it comes to pre collecting?   DAT-Dana (18:48) Feel like I do still see some because it's an uncomfortable space. It's a new space. And I think anytime we're putting people in a new space, you do get a little bit of resistance, but it is nowhere near what I used to get because honestly and truly Tiff, teams are exhausted in trying to   Tiffanie (19:03) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (19:03) build and rebuild and refill and backfill and replace what they've already replaced in their schedule. And and I think that.   For so long, like yes, cancellation policies are great. Yes, all those pieces we wanna have them in place, but I think   Pre-collecting, I think, works wonders in that area. And I think that team members are willing to do things or try things like just to keep their schedule solid. So   I agree with you. I think that more and more team members are open to it. More and more team members also just understand, like I think sometimes just put your patient hat on and yeah, I'm probably not gonna miss an appointment that I've already paid for. And so I do feel like   A lot of my calls are around like just schedule changes and then the process of that. And then, you know, we're trying to chase down patients because they're working the same hours we're working and and all of that. And I think teams are exhausted from trying to fill and backfill their schedule. And so I do think that like pre-collecting in those pieces, because again, it's like a yes that you can be super confident is a yes.   Like I   Tiffanie (20:17) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (20:18) said before, I yes, it feels good for both of you. I think when it's yes and there's a financial commitment that feels really good for me because I know that patient is invested, is going to come. And that's probably not a spot unless there's a super rare thing that pops up that I'm gonna have to then do that extra behind the scenes work to fill. And so I   Tiffanie (20:39) Yeah.   DAT-Dana (20:40) agree with you. I think teams are a little bit more open to it. I think teams are a little bit   more willing to kind of see the benefits of it because honestly and truly schedule changes I think are still just a really big highlight in a practice. And anything that's going to lighten that load, I think is massive for teams.   Tiffanie (21:02) I   completely agree. Thank you. I hope that the dentists who are listening today heard that. The office managers who are listening. Because I I think, Dana, from what I've seen, I agree with you. I think teams are exhausted and they're like, I'll do it, I'll try it. Right. And I think we have to we're so used to paying for things these days before we get it. It used to be like, Well, I can't get like I don't get my stuff from Target. Like I walk out and I pay for it at the same time. But now   It's an Amazon Prime culture. We're paying for things before it ever ships to our door. And I'm gonna tell you right now, there are times that that thing never even comes. Right? It never gets here. And I'm like, it's lost in someone's trunk and they're sending me a new one. massage therapists, right? I booked a massage for a surprise massage for Aaron a couple months ago. I had to pay online, I had to pay on the app to before I could schedule the appointment for him. So I'm like, well, he's he better freaking go because I already paid for it.   concert tickets, there's nothing there's not a lot right now that we pay for that we're not paying before we get the thing. And we're paying pretty far in advance for something. So it's that culture, that mindset has shifted. But I think that business owners, it's it's personal. Right? They're paying for your treatment, for your business, for you to provide them with something. So it's more personal. And I say this because to   To everything that Dana said, I want you to take that to heart because I think it's more often a dentist and a business owner that says, my team's not going to like that, than the team saying no, we won't do that. And so I want you to give them the chance, the shot, the opportunity to make their lives easier and get the actual yes. Because in my opinion, case acceptance is scheduled and paid for. Treatment that is scheduled and paid for.   Is accepted, right? And I don't hold that, I don't, that's not my like standard bar for everyone. You guys get to decide what that looks like, but to Dana's point, scheduled and paid for is less likely to fall off the schedule. So if that's where you can set your bar, you're gonna have a more full schedule. So I love that, Dana. So I would say one, I loved your ask more questions, so B   Be invested in the person, be interested in who they are and why they're making decisions the way that they do. And I think Dana, something you said was how are they making the decisions? Like how, what is their priority in the decision making? If you can get to that point in just asking more questions and being interested in them, you're gonna get your yes. And then I would say if you don't do some sort of prepayments, if your schedule is falling apart, even if it's not, I think it's smart. But if you're someone who's here because that title said   accept a treatment is still falling off your schedule, put in those pre-collects. At least collect a portion, I would say 50% to 60% down holds the appointment. Dana, thank you so much. I knew this one would go I knew it would go well. We didn't super prep for it. And I feel like the ones that we don't super prep for are the ones where our minds really start getting on a a good track. So Dana, thank you for your time today. Thank you for your nuggets as always. And   On behalf of everyone, Dana, thank you for your brutal honesty. Always a pleasure. Thank you. It's   DAT-Dana (24:25) Anytime   Tiffanie (24:27) always accepted. I love brutal honesty. and with that, that is a wrap for today's podcast. You guys go re-listen. There were some gems in here. Like Dana, thank you so much. You you dropped some massive gems, and business owners, try it, just try it out, see if it works, see how it works, see how you can manipulate it to work best for you guys. If you guys need help with it, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com.   Also TheDentalATeam.com, you can sign up for a live like video call session with our team, and they'll help you figure out the gaps and figure out a way to fill those gaps. And so Hello@TheDentalATeam.com and TheDentalATeam.com as always. Thank you for listening. Drop us a five-star review below. We love to hear from you. And we'll catch you next time.  

Something wicked this way comes…And that wicked is Ryan Murphy and he brought Jessica Lange, 13 dead bitches on a plane, two Evan Peters, a Black Dahlia, new reasons to fear clowns, the portal to Hell, creaky bones, John Waters and urethra swabs. American Horror Story is BACK.Welcome to AHS: 13 Honestly, the six-week side piece from the team behind Butt Honestly.I'm Dangilo, joined by Doctor Carlton and Producer/Dr Tony Bejerano who is going to be on air talent for this haunted jaunt where every week we're breaking down the newest episodes of American Horror Story: 13.This is not an official AHS podcast. We are just longtime fans with microphones, opinions and absolutely no insider information—which will not prevent us from making wildly confident predictions..FOLLOW THE SHOW AT:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ahs-13-honestly/id6816127674Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Have you ever checked your account balance and realized one unexpected expense could throw everything off track? Today, we're talking about the power of a cash cushion and how having a little extra money set aside can help you handle life's surprises with a lot less stress. Links: Check out TCU University for financial education tips and resources! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Learn more about Triangle Credit Union Transcript: Welcome to Money Tip Tuesday from the Making Money Personal podcast.  Have you ever checked your checking account balance and thought, “I know I have money… but how much of it can I actually spend?”  That's where a cash cushion comes in.  A cash cushion is money you intentionally keep available to cover the unexpected — a larger-than-normal utility bill, a car repair, a medical expense, or simply a week when more bills hit your account than usual.  It's not necessarily your emergency fund. It's more like the financial buffer between your everyday spending and your larger savings goals.  Today, we're talking about the ins and outs of a cash cushion, how much you might want to keep, and an important question: Should that money stay in your checking account, or should you keep it in a liquid savings account and move it over when you need it?    WHAT IS A CASH CUSHION? Let's start with what a cash cushion actually does.  Think of your checking account as the place where your money comes and goes. Your paycheck comes in, bills go out, groceries are purchased, and everyday expenses are paid.  But if you keep your checking balance too close to zero, even a small surprise can throw things off.  A cash cushion gives you some breathing room.  For example, suppose you normally have $1,500 left in your checking account after your regular bills are paid. Instead of thinking, “I have $1,500 available to spend,” you might decide that $500 of that is your cash cushion.  That means your true spending balance is $1,000.  The $500 isn't money you plan to spend. It's there to absorb the unexpected.  And that distinction is important because a cash cushion is really about peace of mind and cash-flow management, not just having extra money sitting around.    HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU KEEP? So, how much should your cash cushion be?  There isn't one magic number.  A good starting point is to look at your typical monthly expenses and how predictable your income is.  If you have a steady paycheck and relatively predictable expenses, you might be comfortable with a smaller cushion — perhaps a few hundred dollars or enough to cover one or two unexpected expenses.  If your income fluctuates, you're self-employed, or your expenses vary significantly from month to month, you may want a larger cushion.  And remember: your cash cushion is different from your emergency fund.  An emergency fund is designed for bigger, less frequent financial emergencies — things like a major car repair, an extended period without income, or a significant unexpected expense.  Your cash cushion is more about the little financial surprises and timing issues that happen in everyday life.    CHECKING OR SAVINGS? Now we get to the big question.  Should your cash cushion actually sit in your checking account?  There are advantages to doing that.  First, it's extremely convenient. The money is already there, so you don't have to transfer anything when an unexpected expense pops up.  It can also help prevent overdrafts and give you a little breathing room between paychecks.  But there's one big downside:  Money that's sitting in your checking account can look like money that's available to spend.  You might tell yourself, “I have $2,000 in checking,” when really $500 of that is supposed to be your cushion.  And if you spend the cushion, you've defeated the purpose.  That's why another strategy is to keep your cash cushion in a liquid savings account — somewhere you can access the money quickly, but where it's separate from your everyday spending.  For example, you might decide that you want a $500 cushion.  Instead of keeping $500 extra in checking, you could keep your checking account at the amount you need for normal expenses and hold that $500 in savings.  When an unexpected expense comes up, you simply transfer the money from savings into checking.  This approach creates a little psychological separation between money I can spend and money I have available if I need it.    WHICH STRATEGY IS BETTER? So which option is better?  Honestly, it depends on how you manage money.  If you tend to spend whatever is sitting in your checking account, keeping your cushion in savings may be the better strategy.  It creates a boundary.  If you have excellent discipline and prefer the convenience of having everything immediately available, keeping a cushion in checking may work just fine.  You can even take a hybrid approach.  Maybe you keep $200 in checking as an immediate buffer and another $500 in liquid savings.  That way, you have a little flexibility without keeping a large amount of extra cash in your everyday account.  The key is to give every dollar a job.  If $500 is your cushion, mentally—and ideally physically—designate it as your cushion.  Don't count it as spending money.    THE CASH CUSHION RULE Here's a simple rule to remember:  Your checking account should help you manage today. Your savings account can help protect tomorrow.  Your cash cushion sits somewhere in between.  It's there to make today's financial surprises less stressful without forcing you to dip into your larger emergency savings.  And if you do use your cushion, make replenishing it a priority.  For example, if your $500 cushion gets used for an unexpected car repair, don't think of that as money that's simply gone.  Think of it as a signal: now I need to rebuild that $500 before the next surprise happens.  That's how a cash cushion becomes a habit rather than just a balance in your account.  At the end of the day, a cash cushion isn't about having a huge amount of money sitting around.  It's about creating margin in your finances.  Whether you keep it in checking or in a liquid savings account, the goal is the same: to give yourself room when life doesn't go exactly according to plan.  So take a look at your checking account today and ask yourself:  “How much of this money is actually available for me to spend — and how much should be left untouched as my cushion?”  Once you know that number, you're one step closer to making your money work with you instead of constantly worrying about whether you have enough.  Thanks for listening, and remember: a little financial breathing room can make a big difference.     

A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli with Foundry UMC September 20, 2026, the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost. “Be Astonished” series. Texts:  Psalm 19:1-4, Matthew 6:25-33                                  “The heavens are telling the glory of God.” I love that phrase. It's so poetic and so deeply true. The heavens are telling. Day pours forth speech to day. Night declares knowledge to night. The whole creation, the Psalmist imagines, is engaged in this unceasikng testimony to the glory of God. And then comes this: “There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.” Creation is telling us something without saying a word. The sky is telling. The trees are telling. The oceans and rivers, birds and flowers, creatures we can see and creatures buried in the soil beneath our feet are telling. The question is whether we notice. Perhaps that is why, centuries later, Jesus says: Look at the birds. Consider the lilies. Pay attention. In fact, the words Jesus uses are stronger than our English translations sometimes make them sound. When Jesus says “look at the birds,” it's an invitation to really look, to direct your attention toward them. And the word translated “consider” the lilies means something like observe carefully or learn thoroughly. This makes me feel better about becoming one of “those people” who have a collection of bird books and are constantly recording birdsong in the Merlin app to identify what birds are around. Jesus says not just “look” or notice, but study the birds. There is something here for you to learn. And notice who he says this to. Anxious people. People worried about what they will eat and what they will drink and what they will wear. People preoccupied with all the things that might go wrong. Jesus doesn't respond to anxiety with an argument or a philosophy. He instead gently redirects attention. Look at the birds. Consider the lilies. For Jesus, the birds and lilies aren't simply beautiful distractions from anxiety. They are witnesses to a creation—including anxious humans!—held in the care of God. Pay attention, Jesus seems to say, and you may begin to notice not only the wonder of the world, but the faithfulness of the God who's got the whole world in God's hands. Jesus teaches this way throughout the gospels. Pay attention to seeds and soil. Watch how yeast works its way through dough. Notice vineyards and fig trees and sheep and weather. Jesus moves through the world as though everything is shimmering with the possibility of revelation. Which suggests that paying attention to creation isn't a side hustle to the spiritual life. Paying attention to creation is part of how we learn to see. It's a way we come to learn the wisdom, the love, and the care of God. Annie Dillard, who died this past week, once described coming to a place where you say to the woods, the sea, the mountains: “Now I am ready. Now I will stop and be wholly attentive.” What if awe begins there? Not with some extraordinary experience, but with stopping. With noticing. With allowing something other than our own thoughts, fears, schedules, screens, and preoccupations to claim our attention. The psychologist Dacher Keltner identifies nature as one of the great sources of human awe. He calls it “wild awe.” And wild awe can certainly happen in spectacular places. Standing on the rim of a canyon. Looking across an ocean. Walking among trees that were ancient before any of us were born. Looking up on a clear night and suddenly comprehending—or failing to comprehend—how enormous the universe actually is. But one of the things I appreciate about Keltner's work is his insistence that awe doesn't require a plane ticket. We can learn to notice astonishing things happening all around us. We live on a planet where bees use dance to give other bees directions to the next flower. Where crows remember human faces and teach their young which humans to avoid. Where ants beneath our feet build whole communities, carrying many times their own weight. Where birds somehow know when it is time to leave and where to go. Where tiny seeds split themselves open underground and reach toward light they have never seen. Where after a devastating fire, the earth grows flowers again. “The heavens are telling the glory of God.” They have been telling us all along. The question is whether we have stopped noticing. And we have some good reasons for that. There is so much competing for our attention. So much designed to steal our attention. News alerts. Emails. Texts. Advertisements. The infinite scroll. Much of what draws our focus is what frightens or angers us. And I want us to be gentle with ourselves on this point—you know, it isn't a moral failure to get hooked by upsetting things. Human beings are wired to notice threat. It has helped keep us alive. But if threat is all we notice, it begins to look like threat is all there is. If all I take in are the things that are falling apart, then eventually I begin to believe that falling apart is the truest thing about the world. If all I see is what frightens me, fear begins to determine the size and shape of my world. And this, I think, is why the late Wendell Berry's beloved poem “The Peace of Wild Things” resonates with so many people. He begins, “When despair for the world grows in me...” You know anything about that? When despair for the world grows in me, Berry wrote, he goes out into the presence of the wild things. He lies down near still water. He looks up into the stars. And by the end he can say, “I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” The problems haven't gone away. The world hasn't suddenly gotten sorted. Something has changed in him. His field of vision has widened. He has remembered that the thing causing him despair is real—but it is not everything that is real. This is such an important thread that we will pull through this entire series: paying attention to wonder, learning to notice—these aren't ways of escaping the world's pain. They are ways of refusing to let pain become the whole story. Robin Wall Kimmerer says it beautifully in her book Braiding Sweetgrass: “Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.” Awe helps us hold more than one thing at a time. And Keltner's research suggests that this does something important to us. Experiences of awe can evoke what researchers sometimes call the “small self.” Honestly, I wasn't a fan of this phrase when I first saw it. Because our faith certainly doesn't teach that human beings are insignificant. You bear the image of God. You are beloved. Your life matters. But I came to understand that the “small self” is connected to the spiritual practice of humility. There is a difference between knowing that my life matters and believing that I am the center of everything. Wild awe can remind us of the difference. Stand under a sky filled with stars and you remember: I am small. And I belong here. Stand beside the ocean and remember: I do not control all of this. And I am part of it. Watch some tiny creature making its way through the world and remember: There are lives being lived all around me that have nothing to do with my agenda. And researchers are discovering that this change in perspective has consequences. Awe is associated with greater feelings of connection. It can widen the boundaries of our moral concern—not only toward other people, but toward animals, plants, and the environment. It can make us more generous, more cooperative, more aware that we belong to something larger than ourselves. We are earth creatures, given breath we did not create, dependent upon soil and water and sunlight and the labor and lives of innumerable creatures we rarely even notice. We are part of God's vast, glorious, good creation. And what a strange thing we human beings have done—to begin imagining that creation is simply the scenery behind the main stage, with us at the center and always in the spotlight. Scripture tells the story differently. “The heavens are telling the glory of God.” Creation isn't scenery. Creation is revelation. Creation is our teacher, our neighbor. Creation is an astonishing gift. And when we begin to receive it that way, perhaps we also begin to live differently within it. Because reverence changes relationship. It is harder to treat as disposable something you've come to know as wonder-full. It is harder to think of the earth merely as a collection of resources when you have begun to perceive yourself as part of its beautiful, intricate community of life. And perhaps it becomes harder to treat other human beings as disposable too. If awe teaches me that I am not the center, then that sets me in a different relationship with my neighbor. Perhaps I can hold my certainty a little more lightly. Perhaps I can become curious again. Perhaps I can recognize that my perspective is one perspective within a world vastly bigger than I can see. Perhaps wonder can loosen some of the fear and defensiveness that separate us from one another. Allowing the experience of wild awe to soften the hard boundaries that grow up among and between people doesn't mean we stop caring about truth or justice. It does mean we remember our place in the vastness of creation and the human family. We are not insignificant nor are we all-important. We are not powerless nor are we all-powerful. We are beloved, responsible, and deeply interconnected with all beings and the whole creation. Jesus says: Look at the birds. Consider the lilies. Maybe those aren't just lovely illustrations for a sermon about worry. Maybe Jesus is giving us a spiritual practice: Learn to notice. Go outside and look at something long enough that it becomes more than background. Take a walk without filling your ears with something. Look up. Learn the name of a bird or the sound of its song. Watch clouds move. Notice the astonishing architecture of a leaf. Find water and sit beside it. Look at the moon long enough to remember that generations upon generations of human beings have looked at that same moon. Attend to something that does not need anything from you. And perhaps, once in a while, allow yourself to be astonished. Not as an escape from this wounded world, but for the sake of your own well-being and for the sake of this beautiful, broken world. Because we need people able to see beyond the crisis immediately in front of them and remember that God's world is wider, older, stranger, more beautiful, and more resilient than any one terrible moment. The heavens are still telling. Day to day still pours forth speech. Night to night still declares knowledge. The testimony has not stopped. Maybe our practice this week is simply to learn to notice. Look at the birds. Consider the lilies. Slow down. Pay attention. Be astonished. And discover what this beautiful and broken world has been trying to tell us all along.

On this week's episode, Jess was flying solo as singer and guitarist Kyle Devlin of Gametime joined her on the podcast! Hailing from the Kansas City area you might remember this awesome Pop-Punk band from the early 2000s who ghosted the scene in 2004 and is now making a comeback!The two of them had a great conversation about Gametimes musical identity, insight on their new album dropping this Friday, randomly talked about Christian rock, nostalgia and personal reflection, songwriting and vulnerability in music, memories of younger years, Pokemon, spiders, tacos and of course much more in between!This conversation felt like one between long time friends just chatting, full of laughs, memories and good times! Honestly they probably could have talked for hours. All that being said we're sure you're going to enjoy the conversation she had with Kyle Devlin of Gametime as much as she did! So sit back relax and enjoy!

In this week's episode, we're going down a very silly path with the 1989 comedy/horror film "C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D." Honestly it's hard to believe it's real. Special topics for your consideration include: a shocking comparison to a film we reference too regularly, being a professional hater, weird swimwear, exercise motivation, and sassy children. Hey we did these movies in order! We covered the original in Episode 253. You can support us at patreon.com/werewolfambulance and listen to a ton of action movie episodes. We'll have a poll up soon to choose a new action movie in the James Bonds series. That's his name, right? We are also getting into the meat of our second season of "Nice One, Mate!" which is FREE EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT A PATRON.   leave us a message at 412-407-7025 hang out with some cool listeners at https://discord.gg/DutFjx3cBD buy merch at www.teepublic.com/user/werewolfambulance the best place to reach us is at werewolfambulance@gmail.com we're on Reddit at r/werewolfambulance www.werewolfambulance.com if you feel you really must lodge a complaint with us, please do it on Facebook at facebook.com/werewolfambulance because we are probably not gonna see that, ever. If you liked this, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen! It helps others find us and allows us to continue to grow. Intro song is by Alex Van Luvie Outro song is A. Wallis- "EMT" Seriously we have the best EMTs, hands down.

Do you have one word that has turned your life upside down? Maybe your one word is cancer? Maybe it is Divorce? Infertility? Miscarriage? I believe one word can change our life forever. This week on the podcast, we are going to talk about cancer. I am so excited to highlight Kim Harms' book, *Carried Through Cancer: 70 Days or Spiritual Strength from Cancer Fighters, Survivors, and Caregivers.  It has 70 stories of women of how God has carried them through the cancer diagnosis, the treatment, the entire journey.  Kim shares parts of her story and invites others to share theirs. Not every story is the same type of cancer, stage of cancer, or age of the person. I know if you or a loved one finds yourself on this hard journey, this book will encourage you and give you hope. Also, I am so excited for someone to win a copy of Kim's book, *Carried Through Cancer. All the details of the book giveaway are on my website at jodisnowdon.com or you can click this direct link: https://kingsumo.com/g/1wg776m/carried-through-cancer-book Important Links: Depth Podcast Episode 158: Suzie Eller's third time on the podcast to talk about her latest book, *Prayer Starters: Talking with God About Hard Times. One of my favorite episodes- She cries, I cry… there are just some tender, vulnerable moments and lots of wisdom from Suzie. Depth Podcast Episode 46: Suzie's second time on the podcast to talk about her book, *JoyKeeper: 6 Truths That Change Everything You Thought You Know about Joy. I cannot wait for you to hear the Joy Keeper vs. Joy Stealer statements. Depth Podcast Episode 7: Her first time on the podcast to talk about her book, *The Mended Heart. Sharing my testimony with my cracked clay pot came from this book on brokenness. Honestly, it is one of my life changing books. 10 Ways to Support Your Loved One Through Cancer: Another friend shared with me her heartbreaking cancer diagnosis. If you find yourself in this difficult situation, I hope this practical list of ways to support your loved one will help. Book Recommendations: *Waking Up To the Goodness of God by Susie Larson *Watching for the Morning: 90 Devotionals for When Hope is Hard To Find by Vaneetha Risner *A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken Kim Harms is a two-time breast cancer survivor and the author of Carried Through Cancer: 70 Days of Spiritual Strength from Cancer Fighters, Survivors and Caregivers, and Life Reconstructed: Navigating the World of Mastectomies and Breast Reconstruction.  She has a degree in English from Iowa State University and close to three decades of professional writing experience for a wide variety of publications. Married to Corey for almost 28 years, the two have three grown sons and an English Springer Spaniel. Kim offers support and resources for cancer fighters at kimharms.com. She can also be found on Instagram  @kimharmsauthor and Facebook at KimHarmsAuthor *Note: If you are interested in purchasing this book or the books recommended, I would love for you to use the Amazon Affiliate link above to help support the podcast. Thank you!    

Jim Cantore joined us to talk about the nor’easter before it hit this past weekend. This was taped back on Tuesday, September 22nd, and while we obviously wanted to talk weather, Cantore also happens to LOVE the game of baseball. Of course, we had to ask him who his “guy” was growing up, the player who made him fall in love with the game. His love of weather and baseball regularly intersect, including a friendship he has developed with Mike Trout. YES, you read that right. Mike Trout is a big weather fan, as we’ve learned, and that shared passion has helped create a pretty cool friendship between the two. October baseball cannot be threatened by weather, so we were hoping to get Cantore to promise us he would keep it at bay. Honestly, after this past weekend, we’re hoping the worst of it is behind us! Jim was such a fun guest to have on the show. Tomorrow, we bring you our playoff preview as October baseball officially gets ready to take over. Thank you so much for listening, and as always, thanks for being a part of our family! Use our code for 10% off your next order of MLB tickets on SeatGeek*: seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/TERRITORY10 Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discountSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comedian, writer, and VP impressionist Dan Wilbur makes his long awaited return to the show for a truly bonkers episode. Whether you want cheap space CGI effects, sociopath Taub, or gross sex stuff, we've got you covered!Oh, and House invents a machine that lets you see people's dreams. It doesn't actually lead to much, but it's fun to know that magic exists in the world of House. Honestly, there's too much bonkers stuff to even get into here, you'll just have to listen to learn all about it!Also my audio also sounds like I'm a little underwater so sorry about that! I don't know why! It's still a good episode though, I promise!

Why Can't I Answer When Someone Asks How I Am? — A 10-Minute Meditation for When the Words Won't Come Somebody asked you properly today. They stopped, looked at you, and said, "How are you doing?" — and then they actually waited. There was a half a second in there where you had the chance to tell them. But what came out was, "Yeah, good, you." And you've been carrying that little moment around ever since, because it felt like a lie. It wasn't. This is for anyone who freezes when someone asks how they're doing, who can't find the words to answer honestly, and who's been quietly wondering why such a small question lands so hard. For a place to return to rather than another place to explain yourself, download Anchored, Calming Anxiety's companion app, on the App Store athttps://apps.apple.com/us/app/anchored-panic-anxiety/id6785035669 or on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinhewlett.anchored. Inside it there's a daily check-in that never asks a follow-up question — no one on the other end, nothing to explain, some days you just need to be asked the right amount. This session uses 4-2-6 breathing — in through the nose for four, a two-count rest, out through the mouth for six — and it asks you to notice that rest without gripping it or bracing against it, because it's not a hole to fill, it's two counts in which absolutely nothing is being asked of you. From there we sit with the idea that not having the words isn't the same as not being honest, and that you're not lying to anyone — you just haven't read yourself properly yet. Hosted by clinical hypnotherapist and former paramedic Martin Hewlett, this episode is for the moment right after someone asks, and for anyone who's ever wanted to give a truer answer than the one that came out. ⏱️ Time Chapters* 00:00 – The half-second before you answer* 00:53 – Welcome to Calming Anxiety and the Anchored check-in* 01:32 – Why does such a small question land so hard?* 01:46 – Finding your quiet place* 01:54 – 4-2-6 breathing: the rest that asks nothing of you* 03:54 – You're not lying, you just haven't read yourself yet* 04:19 – Guided affirmations* 07:56 – Three daily caring tips* 08:55 – Coming back gently* 09:19 – Closing and sign-off 

An Hour-Long Life-or-Death Battle Before His Police Career. A convoy of 20 trucks was moving through Iraq when the attack began. The soldiers protecting it were outnumbered. The civilian drivers were counting on them to find a way through. The Podcast is available for free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartradio and most major podcast platforms. #LawEnforcementTalk #Free #Podcast #Radio Staff Sgt. Chad Malmberg, a Minnesota National Guard soldier from St. Paul, led 15 soldiers in the fierce firefight south of Baghdad. For roughly an hour, his unit fought to defend the convoy and the people inside it. Supporting articles about this and much more from Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast in platforms like Medium , Blogspot and Linkedin. Three times, Malmberg left the protection of his armored vehicle to fire a rocket or throw grenades at the attackers. When the battle ended, the convoy had escaped. No soldiers or civilian drivers had been killed or wounded. Not one vehicle was lost. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast social media like their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other social media platforms. Malmberg's actions earned him the Silver Star for gallantry in combat. He became the first Minnesota National Guard member since World War II to receive the medal. At a ceremony before about 1,000 soldiers and family members at St. Paul RiverCentre, then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty described him plainly: “He's a hero, no question about it.” An Hour-Long Life-or-Death Battle Before His Police Career. Malmberg credited the training, weapons, and courage of the soldiers under his command. He recalled something his father had told him when he was young: “It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but it's the size of the fight in the dog. That day, we had a lot of fight in us,” Malmberg said. The wounds no one could see The convoy made it out without a physical injury to a soldier or driver. But surviving a battle does not mean leaving it behind. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast, is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast platforms. The interview is also featured across Facebook and Instagram. Malmberg says many of the men he led struggled afterward with mental health challenges. He did, too. Their experience is a reminder that the effects of combat can follow service members home, even when the people around them see no obvious wound. For Malmberg, coming home also meant beginning another demanding career. His father and uncle had served as police officers, and he followed them into law enforcement, joining the St. Paul Police Department. An Hour-Long Life-or-Death Battle Before His Police Career. The setting had changed from Iraq to Minnesota. The responsibility to make decisions under pressure remained. Police officers routinely respond to violence, crises, injuries, and people experiencing some of the worst moments of their lives. Those experiences can accumulate, while the pressure to appear unaffected can make it difficult to ask for help. In this special episode of the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast, Malmberg speaks about his own struggles, what helped him move forward, and what he still does to maintain the life he has built. His account connects two conversations that are too often kept separate: the mental health of combat veterans and the mental health of police officers. The episode is available across major platforms including their website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, with highlights shared across their Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles. A new mission after policing Malmberg eventually left the St. Paul Police Department and co-founded the STORM Training Group with Tom Menton. Their work focuses on defensive tactics, de-escalation, and coordinated team responses for law enforcement agencies. The training emphasizes control, positioning, and decisions made under stress. Its aim is to give officers practical ways to manage physical encounters while reducing the chances that officers or the people they encounter will be injured. STORM reports that departments using its training have seen reductions in use of force and injuries. Malmberg discusses those results and the thinking behind the methods in the episode. For someone who has led soldiers through combat and later worked as a police officer, training is more than an abstract policy discussion. It shapes what people are prepared to do when a situation changes in seconds. An Hour-Long Life-or-Death Battle Before His Police Career. The Podcast is available for free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartradio and most major podcast platforms. Malmberg's story is also about what happens after those seconds pass. A successful outcome during a critical incident can still leave lasting effects on the people who were there. He talks about both: the decisions that helped his convoy survive and the personal work that followed him home. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast, is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast platforms. The interview is also featured across Facebook and Instagram. Chad Malmberg's life-or-death battle took place before his police career began. His story did not end when the gunfire stopped. Listen to the Free Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or the show's website. Follow and share the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other Social Media platforms so more veterans, police officers, and families can hear it. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast continues bringing listeners real conversations from the front lines of crime, policing, trauma, survival, and healing. Learn and get access to money saving tips and how to increase your net worth at www.LetSavings.com Download the Free Ebook about ways and tips to improve your  health. You can get the ebook for free at www.LetHealthy.com Listen to the  Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast on their website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Apple  Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and most major podcast platforms. Get the Free Clubhouse App, it is Drop In Social Audio. Think of it as your own talk radio show on your phone, and best of all it is free. Be sure to look for me and follow me, that's John J Wiley or @letradioshow you can do all that here. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast social media like their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other social media platforms. You can contact John J. “Jay” Wiley by email at Jay@letradio.com , or learn more about him on their website . Find a wide variety of great podcasts online at The Podcast Zone Facebook Page , look for the one with the bright green logo. Listen to the free Podcast on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show website and through major platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other Social Media platforms for more real stories about trauma, survival and transformation. Listen to the Show, share the episode, and follow the latest Radio, Podcast, and News content from the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast. This episode of the show is brought to you in part by Mars Men. You hit your 30s and 40s, and things start to feel different. Now that I'm in my 60s, I've really noticed the change. My energy drops faster. Recovery takes longer. Workouts don't have the same impact they once did. Most importantly, what worked for me in my 20s simply doesn't work anymore. So, I started looking for answers. Honestly, the testosterone-support space can be confusing, and much of it sounded sketchy. I don't want to become a professional bodybuilder. I just want to look and feel more like the old me. Thankfully, I found Mars Men, and I couldn't be more grateful. Mars Men is made in the USA, third-party tested, and formulated to support healthy testosterone levels, energy and stamina. It's now available at GNC stores nationwide. For a limited time, our listeners get 50% off for life plus Free Shipping AND 3 Free Gifts at Men Go To Mars dot com. That's MenGoToMars.com for 50% Off AND 3 Free Gifts when you checkout. After you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. PLEASE support our show and tell them our show sent you. Be sure to check out our website . Be sure to follow us on X , Instagram , Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin and other social media platforms for the latest episodes and news. Follow the Law Enforcement Today Radio Show and Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube for more powerful interviews with law enforcement officers, survivors, first responders, and others whose lives have been changed by crime and trauma. An Hour-Long Life-or-Death Battle Before His Police Career. Attributions The Storm Training Group US Army St. Paul Police Department Facebook Facebook Group Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

September 27, 2007 — Charlotte, North Carolina. Nineteen years ago tonight, Van Halen officially hit the road with David Lee Roth for the first time since 1984!

A True Grace Primer in Systematic Theology is more than just another introduction to doctrine. It is a faithful and accessible guide to Scripture's great themes-written from a consistent dispensational interpretation, highlighting the implications of true grace, and uniquely integrating the long-neglected doctrine of Israelology into the larger framework of God's revelation. Dr. Steven R. Cook brings together decades of biblical study, discipleship ministry, and teaching experience to help believers think biblically about God, His Word, and His plan for history. With clarity and precision, he demonstrates how the literal, grammatical, historical method of interpretation safeguards both the gospel of grace and the integrity of God's plan for and promises to His people.https://www.amazon.com/True-Grace-Primer-Systematic-Theology/dp/1964184460/ref=books_amazonstores_desktop_mfs_author_smart_catalog_unrecognized_4?_encoding=UTF8We, Scott and Gabe, need to know if you guys like the content. Honestly though, every like, subscribe, and follow shows us that our conversations are helping you. We are on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Anchor, and any podcasting platform. Support us on every platform below! #hearthebookpodInstagram: @hearthebookpodBuy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearthebookpodYouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC8AAn7YxgYVoWa7RmeojyFQFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/hearthebookpod/Twitter: https://twitter.com/hearthebookpodAnchor: https://anchor.fm/hearthebookpodThank you to Brook Sprague and Michael Card for their music in our podcast!https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvI-t0MK5kgMJw7REobBCbQSong: The BookID: 362574Writers: Michael CardPublishers: Mole End Music

Brand new episode!This is an intense 2-hour workout set packed strictly with Peak Time & Driving Techno, designed to push your limits and keep the energy at maximum throughout the entire session.Want the full experience? The complete 2-hour set is available exclusively on Patreon, loaded with unreleased track exclusives and unrelenting peak-time energy. Honestly, this is one of the most powerful workout mixes I have recorded!Enjoy this 30-minute Free Preview! Unlock the full uncut 2-hour set and support the project here:www.patreon.com/wandeepsessionSubscribe for more sets and turn on notifications!Follow our social media:www.instagram.com/iamquantomwww.instagram.com/technocollectiverecords/www.instagram.com/wandeepsessionofficial/www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-KJIB3z5jM4WpBI-TKoTQFollow our Spotify Playlist:open.spotify.com/playlist/4i4M6A9QvdIAgOStjjWQPrTAG #wandeepsession on IGFollow our group on Telegram for more music: t.me/wanderlustrecordsEmail: tcrpublishing@outlook.com© Techno Collective Records a division of Wanderlust Records Ltd. 2017-2026 All Rights Reserved

Inside a UFO...ambience—sit in a UFO over some crop field you just made awesome for a Led Zeppelin box edition! Whether you're studying, working, reading, sleeping, or unwinding after a long day, this immersive ambient soundscape provides the perfect background track. No talking, no interruptions, just UFO relaxation (the F stands for fun).Ignore the world._____________We're ditching cozy vinyl for the chill depths of a hovering UFO this week. Interstellar travelers visiting the human mote of dust—turn back! Like, if I'm an alien, I'm immediately noting one species is eating all of the other species—if I land on Earth, humans might wonder what I taste like. (Or if I explode.)This week's episode is a low-frequency drift week for uncommon ambience Stans. BTW: Stans are celebrity devotees—it's the hip youthful way of saying “fan” by harkening to a brutal Eminem track about obsession and dark parasocial relationships. And while it's nice imagining fans of this podcast, “Stan”—obviously much. Honestly, I only followed this tangent to type out cringe: “DEAR MISTER HASN'T MADE A THUNDERSTORM EPISODE IN MONTHS.” Ooph; has anyone listened to that Eminem track? How did it get so popular? It's extremely tragic, what's the playback desire? (I mean I guess we've always had hit songs about tragedy, the late 50's had one about lovers stalling on a railroad track and getting hit by a train). Gawd, cable news people will just weave “Stan” into their on-air persona; embracing youthful aesthetics. News suits will say they do it to adopt the “culture of now,” but it's not that; cable screws think it will build a gangway to new audiences. Their viewership numbers are sinking, and a lot of legacy news ******** think adopting on-trend vibes will attract the youth demo. Viewership might be down 'cause y'all gloss over the real terrible news for lower stakes terrible news (street crime, cultural differences, internal strife, dip****s yelling at each other). And then we're unceremoniously dumped into **** pills and gambling commercials. Only to return to telegenic faces talking odds or betting lines related to the scary stories… And a minute later, drop “Stan” into a gush over a notable wedding. We're not being informed, we're being sold something.Bahahaha—Soapbox! Look at that ambience gentleman shout into the void again! Btw, I told y'all I changed my creator name again, right? I am now the “ambience gentleman.” It didn't feel right affixing a “Dr.” to my fictional moniker (as I am not a doctor). I told my wife that I am now the “ambience gentleman,” and she didn't like it.  (See here for more)“Does that make me the ambience mistress?” she asks. And I was like, “Hon, this is a family show.”Ehem. Welp, let's start over (ignore everything you've read to this point, except you should still turn off commercial news, you don't need it). This week we are voyaging on an alien spaceship. You can imagine sitting in the command chair of a morphing metallic time-traveling UFO with the personality of Pee-Wee Herman.Or you could be in the spaceship from Stephen King's novel The Tommyknockers—spoilers: the book has a switcheroo hero who straps himself into a spaceship and yeets himself into the universe to save the planet. (Asked my daughter if I used “yeet” correctly—she said, “Kinda'?”)See—in The Tommyknockers, there's this lady character named Bobbi, and she is the heart of the book (until she isn't).The former lover guy pal character, whom I'm sure King wanted to be likable (isn't)—that guy swings in to rescue humanity by catching smoke with humans morphing into space-mogging chimeras. So he yeets himself into space to remove the alien craft ultimately responsible for all of that.There's also a side-character journalist who swings in to disrupt every cliffhanger and is fortunately hit by a flying vending machine.PS: Used Gibber (voice generator) by artist Fred Yuan Feng for a few sounds this episode.

75 paid hours. That's what ICF asks for before you can get your ACC.And most coaches try to get there one barter session at a time. Or $60 at a time through a matching company.Honestly? That's a slow way to get certified. And it's an even slower way to build a coaching business.Here's the thing. Getting your hours and getting paying clients can be the SAME path.In this episode of the Make It Visible Podcast, I walk you through how I did it. I bartered for one round, just 12 hours, and said "Wait, I am not doing this." Then I started running paid workshops at a local women's club. Time management. Stress management. Slides, projector, the whole thing.Some days, 2 people showed up. Some days, zero. I kept going anyway.In this episode, you'll hear:Why $60 matching companies make it harder to build a real coaching businessWhere your dream clients already gather: Meetup, gyms, libraries, hospitals, and even your workplaceHow to plant the seed so your pro bono clients want to keep working with youWhy you need a renewal package before your first package even endsThe exact question to ask at the end of every session: "What feels right for you?"Why a 4-week package is easier to say yes to than a 3-month commitmentYour homework Pick ONE place where your dream clients already hang out. Find out who plans their events. Reach out before Friday.Not next month. Before Friday.Resources mentionedFree strategy callNiche & Avatar Builder (inside The Builder)Coach With Clients AcademySave your seat for live Office Hours for FREEMeetupEventbriteICF ACC requirementsQuick ICF note: For your ACC, you need 100 coaching hours with at least 8 clients. At least 75 of those hours must be paid. Always check ICF's site for the latest rules.Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michellekueispeakLoved this episode? Share it with a coach friend who's still bartering hours.Drop me a line and share your thoughts!About the host:Michelle Kuei is a business and marketing coach for coaches. She helps women coaches across all niches stop chasing clients and start attracting them using her Client Enrollment Method. She's the founder of Elevate LifeCoaching, the creator of Coaching Biz Builder, and the host of the Make It Visible podcast.Subscribe & review:If this episode helped you, the best thank-you is a quick rating and review wherever you listen. 

For my money, the most accurate television depiction of politics isn't House of Cards — villainous, murky, lethal — or The West Wing — quippy, nerdy, idealistic. It's Veep: mistake-prone, profane egos slapping lewdly against each other while supplicants protect the fragile facade of elected officials. When a story reinforces that idea, we've got to talk about it.Mary Peltola is running as a strong Democratic candidate for Senate in Alaska. She's well-liked statewide, has cross-party appeal, and doesn't talk or act like a normal Democrat. The polling bears out the idea that she could win. But a new New York Times story, based on interviews with nine former staffers, says she isn't the easiest person to work for.Politics Politics Politics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Former aides described angry and profane outbursts, slurs, firings, and one incident in which Peltola allegedly shoved a male employee in the chest. Four said they heard her use a homophobic slur, which her campaign denies. Former aides and text messages also show her using “retarded.” In one message about Planned Parenthood, she wrote, “I hope Planned Parenthood knows that if we don't win, it's more their loss than ours. F**k those b*****s.” In another, she wrote of a local Planned Parenthood board member, “I hope she dies of a botched abortion.”Staffers said Peltola sometimes jumped up and down, stomped her feet, and swept stacks of papers from her desk in frustration — something two people independently compared to a scene from Veep. They also said she would “nothing” people she believed had wronged her. One text read, “F**k that retard. Honestly, I nothing him.” Her campaign said she regrets using that word but denied that she used the homophobic slur.Nearly every Republican political operative I spoke with had the same reaction: She's going to win now. Democrats desperately want to sweep this under the rug, while Republicans seem to think she sounds kind of cool and not uptight. Some Democrats have even criticized the staffers, which isn't something you've seen much over the last decade. My assumption is that this is revenge for the campaign shakeup, when Peltola fired staffers after a fight over her signage operation.Some of the allegations also feel padded. Peltola asked aides to feed her family's chameleon, Meatball, live crickets and eventually brought Meatball into the office to make that easier. I'd be shocked if members of Congress with dogs or cats had never relied on aides to feed them. Politics is a stressful business filled with ambitious members, colorful characters, and offices that are easier or harder to work in. Does any of this mean Peltola is a good person or a good boss? That's up to you. All I'll say is this: I've heard worse.Chapters00:00:00 - Intro00:03:12 - Mary Peltola (uncensored segment)00:20:13 - Kevin Ryan on Culture01:01:17 - Update01:01:35 - WH Press Pool01:02:49 - War Powers01:05:27 - US-China Trade Truce01:08:01 - Kevin Ryan on Culture, con't01:55:44 - Wrap-up This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/subscribe

Happy to have had the opportunity to sit down with Grace Sammon, entrepreneur, speaker, radio host, educator, and author. Please join us as we discuss: Book #8 (her 2nd novel): The Reliable Narrator being silenced as a child – character dynamic story of friendship – award for Best in Friendship Fiction what she means by “because some truths aren’t hidden, they’re just waiting to be claimed” experienced abuse silenced voices helping others leave their mark on the world claiming our stories finding how to reinvent yourself balance & boundaries her radio shows and so much more! Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I am your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Amazon Music, and more, or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/. You can also catch our insightful interview on YouTube. Bio: Grace Sammon Grace Sammon is a dynamic force in the literary world — an award-winning author, radio host, entrepreneur, and educator. Recognized in Who's Who in Education and Who's Who in Literature, she is the recipient of the 2025  Indies United Publishing House's Award for Inspirational Women in Literature, Media, and Journalism. A master of reinvention, Grace transformed her career with her fourth book and debut novel, The Eves, which garnered critical acclaim. She has authored seven books, including the three-book LAUNCH PAD series, which guides writers through the journey of writing, publishing, and marketing their books. As the host of two multi-award-winning radio shows, The Storytellers and LAUNCH PAD, she amplifies voices across the literary landscape. Committed to fostering creative collaboration, she founded Author Talk Network, served as the Director of Membership and Engagement for the fast-growing reader/writer community Bookish Road Trip, and has held professional membership and board affiliations with Women's Fiction Writers' Association (WFWA), Women's National Book Association (WNBA), and Story Circle Network. Grace is firmly committed to helping others leave their mark on the world – because when our stories are told, everything changes! The Reliable Narrator, a novel (UpStream Press – May 2026) and her work in progress, Honestly, David are her latest works. Grace lives on Florida's west coast with her husband and a small herd of imaginary llamas — because every storyteller needs a touch of magic. Learn more at GraceSammon.net. Learn more about Grace at www.GraceSammon.Net Contact her at: gmsammon@gmail.com Follow her on Facebook: grace.sammon Follow her on Instagram: GraceSammonWrites/   Teri’s Amazon Storefront can be found here. Teri’s #1 best-selling books and #1 new-release book can be found here. Teri’s inspirational audiobook productions can be found here. Teri’s monthly newsletter can be found here. Teri’s book launch team can be found here. AMAZON AFFILIATE Teri Wellbrock and Unicorn Shadows are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. In other words, I make commission off of purchases made using any affiliate links on my site.

Our text today is 2 Peter 1:16-18: For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. — 2 Peter 1:16-18 Peter knew that some people would dismiss the message of Jesus as a religious hoax. So he makes his position clear: the apostles did not follow "cleverly devised myths" when they proclaimed the power and coming of Christ. Peter had seen the glory of Jesus for himself. On the Mountain of Transfiguration, he watched Jesus's appearance change before his eyes. He heard the Father declare that Jesus was his beloved Son. For a brief moment, Peter was given a preview of the majesty that will be fully revealed when Christ returns. Honestly, I am a little jealous of his sneak peek. But the point is, the Christian hope is not built on Peter's imagination. It rests on eyewitness testimony, the most powerful testimony we have still today. This matters because Christian faith is sometimes described by outsiders as belief without evidence. But biblical faith is confidence in what God has revealed through real events and trustworthy witnesses. Peter was not offering an inspiring idea about Jesus. He was reporting what he had seen and heard. There are moments when I feel the inclination to treat the return of Christ as some distant doctrine rather than a coming reality. Peter's testimony reminds me that the King whose glory he witnessed will one day be revealed to everyone. Jesus may appear irrelevant to the world right now, but Peter saw beyond the veil. He saw Christ's ultimate majesty which is our reality. Folks, we have not stood on that mountain, but we have the testimony of those who did. That witness, Peter, calls us to live with confidence, obedience, and expectation. The present realities of this world are not final. Jesus Christ is the beloved Son, the glorious King, and he is coming again. Peter saw his majesty, and he wants us to live in that reality till Jesus comes again. DO THIS: Read 2 Peter 1:16–18 slowly and underline in your scripture journal what Peter saw and heard. Then let the reality of Christ's return shape one decision you make today. ASK THIS: Why does Peter's eyewitness testimony matter for our confidence in Jesus? Do you tend to live as though Christ's return is a distant idea or a coming reality? What would change today if you remained conscious that Jesus is the glorious King? PRAY THIS: Jesus, strengthen my confidence in the apostles' testimony and help me live today in expectation of your glorious return. Amen PLAY THIS: King of Kings

On this episode, I'm joined by Ava Claire to talk about what it's like growing up around Nashville and getting started in music at such a young age. Ava shares her story of finding her love for performing, growing up in the Nashville area, and now continuing to chase her dreams as a student at Belmont University.We also dive into her new EP, Honestly, the stories behind the songs, and what she's learning as she continues to find her sound and grow as an artist. Ava's Insta: https://www.instagram.com/avaclairemusic/Our Insta: https://www.instagram.com/rcm_podcast/

The studio cameras are down, somebody needs to get on the roof with some tinfoil, and The Rizzuto Show is temporarily experiencing the ancient broadcasting tradition known as “radio.” Honestly, everybody seems a little too happy about it. While the greatest technical minds in the building allegedly work on the problem, the crew previews Tommy Davidson's return and somehow ends up comparing impeccably dressed comedy guests to the occasional comedian who arrives smelling like they lost a fight with a shower.Then we celebrate September 24 by traveling back to one of the greatest stretches in music history. September 24, 1991 gave us Nirvana's Nevermind, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger and A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory. Add Pearl Jam, Metallica, U2, Cypress Hill and everything else happening around 1991, and the crew realizes an entire generation basically had its musical operating system installed in the span of a few months.From there, this funny podcast heads directly into Crap on Celebrities, where Madonna leads the MTV VMA nominations and Moon remembers something very important: she technically owes him dinner. Back when Moon's band signed with Maverick, they were allegedly promised a Madonna meeting when the record went gold. They went gold twice. No dinner. Rizz sweetens the deal by offering Moon $500 if he ever produces photographic evidence of Madonna paying for that meal. The clock is ticking, Moon.Taylor Swift has new music coming, the BTS Army is apparently battling Woody, and Rush is helping fund a Neil Peart memorial featuring larger-than-life bronze statues. Naturally, this inspires Rizz to request the only artistic tribute worthy of his legacy: a giant butter sculpture. Preferably climate controlled. Possibly edible.Then Benny Blanco enters the chat with a passionate argument that couples should normalize farting around each other. This launches an extremely mature discussion about gastrointestinal relationship etiquette, whether Selena Gomez participates, and exactly how much romance can survive after dinner. Lern admits there is strategy involved. Rizz maintains standards. Moon mostly seems fascinated by the entire situation. Somewhere, love wins. Unfortunately, it smells terrible.The celebrity chaos keeps coming when U2 announces new music and Rizz immediately detects what he describes as an “air of arrogance,” leading Moon to accuse him of joining the fashionable Bono-hating bandwagon. Nothing says funny podcast quite like grown men debating whether one of the biggest rock bands in history is trying too hard while accidentally playing Benny Blanco audio instead of the new U2 song.Things somehow get even more '90s when Jonathan Taylor Thomas — yes, JTT himself — lands back in the headlines. According to the story discussed on the show, JTT was arrested after allegedly interfering with a traffic stop, repeatedly getting out of the vehicle and eventually kicking a deputy in the stomach. The kid from Home Improvement. Randy Taylor. Kicking a cop. Suddenly the crew realizes the '90s aren't just back; they're apparently furious.There's also an extremely strange Elizabeth Holmes documentary from Nathan Fielder, movie recommendations for King Scott, a new documentary revisiting theories about whether O.J. Simpson had an accomplice, Jean Smart joining a sequel to The Family Stone, and original Charlie Bucket actor Peter Ostrum returning to the Wonka universe decades after making one movie and wisely becoming a veterinarian instead of spending his entire life dealing with Hollywood.Plus, Dolly Parton family estate drama gets unpacked, celebrity birthdays arrive, and the crew prepares for a special podcast taping at Scott Air Force Base before Simpleton Trivia begins.Broken cameras. Historic rock albums. Madonna owing Moon dinner. Celebrity fart philosophy. U2 arguments. JTT going rogue. O.J. theories refusing to die. Just another completely normal funny podcast from The Rizzuto Show.Follow The Rizzuto Show → linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → 1057thepoint.com/RizzShow.Hear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We discuss digital night vision, a new LTT Beretta, an FRT for the M249S semi-SAW, and more. Honestly, its a lot of discussion on digital night vision. The Patreon section is the better part of this episode, TBH.

Have you ever been in such a dark place that you wondered if God cares about you, or if He even exists? Maybe it's all some cosmic joke, right?We've all been there. Humans doubt. We doubt ourselves, we doubt product labels, we doubt our kids. We question everything.But the worst one is trying to figure out where God is in the middle of life's great difficulties. Sometimes the world is just flat-out mean, and it seems like it's an entity that's trying to break you in half.And that‘s the very moment God's ancient and eternal words come to us.Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”Honestly, it doesn't get better than that! Jesus lives so that you will live forever. And in the interim, He will walk with you and carry you when necessary. He never fails, and what's more, His willingness to never leave us has been proven over and over again, in a billion different ways.If you need Him right now, don't doubt Him. Call out to Him. Your circumstances might seem impossible and impossibly unique. Don't believe it. Believe Him instead.Let's pray.Lord, you promised that you would never leave us. We know that's true, but help us with our faith in our weak moments. God, make us believe. In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

PTE 401: Hot Seat Head to Head: Mike Turner vs Bryan Nash I can't believe it… we've surpassed 400 episodes of our silly little trivia show… Honestly the best part of this whole thing is making new life long friends and mortal enemies. I'll let you determine which is which here… This week it's Mike Turner taking on Bryan Nash in a fun filled hot seat h2h match up! Support the PTE Network at: www.patreon.com/ptebb Connect with us on Discord or Facebook – www.ptebb.com Don't forget! Leave us a 5 star rating and write us a review!

AI headlines making you anxious? Try four ways to keep calm, regulate your nervous system and take your finger off the panic button today. When Jacob Coxon, an AI researcher, quit his Silicon Valley job at Anthropic on September 8th, he said AI could end us all by the close of this decade. Yikes, that’s scary. If you’re tired of these AI shock-and-horror headlines and want to know how to respond and keep calm, here are four ways that actually work, plus my honest, intuitive take that I want to share. Why AI Headlines Hit So Hard I’m tired of these AI shock and horror headlines. Even though there are no controls yet, this is a real concern. Honestly, many other world events get hyped the same way. They are written to freak us out and grab eyeballs to improve web stats and make money for advertisers. While these are real problems, the choice of words used makes everything worse. I can’t deny there isn’t something to many of these issues, from war to AI to concern about food production. But right now, I can’t move to any other world. The transport hasn’t been created and there’s no one to receive us yet on the moon or Mars. So, I’m stuck here on Earth and left to my own devices. That’s why I must find some brave way to “keep calm and carry on,” as the saying goes. Metaphysical Tools Help You Keep Calm Having studied, taught, and applied a wide range of metaphysical learning over the last 30+ years, I have a lot of material to draw upon. What’s needed are super easy, proven methods to keep us from panicking and to regulate our nervous systems. After all, you can’t live a peaceful, joy-filled life with your finger on the panic button 24/7. That just keeps you on high alert and makes you terribly edgy. Me too! So below, you’ll find four powerful, yet methods to help you stay regulated. 1. Take a Break From the News Feed You don’t need to read every article or know every detail. In fact, that’s a proven way to intensify your anxiety. The best thing you can do right now is put the phone down and stay away from screens. If that’s not possible, limit your check-ins to once or twice a day. You aren’t going to miss anything vital. Someone will tell you if anything catastrophic happens. 2. Use Sound to Regulate Your Vibe There are many ways to incorporate sound into a calming practice that regulates your nervous system. Try a few to discover what works best for you. A. Listen to spiritual chanting or prayers. Most religions use the voice as part of their service, and there’s a solid reason. Singing of any kind raises your frequency. It lifts your energy above whatever is impacting your emotions. B. Listen to solfeggio frequencies. This range of tones, conceptualized by Dr. Joseph Puleo, is used in sound healing today and there are plenty of good musical and meditation choices on  YouTube: 396 Hz for releasing fear and guilt 417 Hz for clearing trauma 528 Hz often called the “love” or “transformation” frequency 639 Hz for relationships and connection 741 Hz for expression and problem-solving 852 Hz for spiritual order and intuition, 963 Hz for connection to higher consciousness. C. Go to a sound bath. In person is best, because you can literally feel the music vibrate in your body. If you can’t get there, sound baths can also be found on YouTube. D. Sing your favorite songs. Nothing beats belting out a few show tunes or songs from your favorite band to pick up your spirits and uplift your frequency. E. Hum. Humming is a proven mood elevator. It also releases nitric oxide, a molecule your body naturally produces that relaxes blood vessels, improves blood flow. Plus, it has a broader calming effect on the parasympathetic system. 3. Make Yourself Happy Whatever healthy things you can do to make yourself happy, do more of that. Call a friend, have a meal out, snuggle with your partner, watch silly animal videos or funny movies. Doodle, paint, play an instrument, read a book. Sometimes laughter and connection are the very best medicine for calming your nerves. Spend time with your family. Play games or watch old family videos. Go out in nature. Walk by the water, pick apples, bake a pie. Life is filled with fun things to do. Find them and do them more often. Don’t put off the fun in life because it’s actually essential for your own well-being. 4. The Five-Question Method This method has roots in the coaching training I received more than 20 years ago, and I’ve added a fifth question and adapted it for this exact “scary headlines” situation. These five questions bring you back into the present moment to feel calmer and more in charge: Is this information true? Is it a fact or a prediction? Do I find this information helpful? Can I do anything about it? What does this way of thinking keep me locked into? What would I rather be thinking? Today, it’s hard to know what’s true, since many news sources present information with their own bias. That’s not how the news used to be delivered. When you go through these questions one at a time, you’re faced with a rational approach to whatever the news or social media is presenting. Because you don’t know if the information is true, that also makes it hard to know if what they’re saying is helpful. But when people like Coxon quit their AI jobs because AI might take over by the end of this decade, that’s a massive statement. Is it true? We have no way of knowing, and I’ll share where my gut lands on this massive quandary below. Keep Asking Questions That’s why the third question asking what can I do about the problem, hits hard. What can I do about AI taking over the world? Zero, nada, zilch, nothing. You and I cannot do a single thing to save us from AI. So, why spend energy on something where you have no power? That’s a reason not to spend much time on the newsfeed. If anything serious happens, someone will tell you. With the fourth question, asking what this news about AI keeps you locked into? That’s fear! The more you read, think and talk about it, the worse the fear can get. Right now there is no solution. We can only hope there will be a few grownups in government who will put up the guard rails. In the fifth question, your power comes back online. What would you rather be thinking about? When you get to choose what you spend your time thinking about and doing, you’re back in charge of your life. MY hope is that you choose happier thoughts and topics. My Take on the AI Situation This is my honest take, and it’s intuitive, not proof. I don’t believe this is how the story of humanity ends. Something in my gut says annihilation isn’t the direction we’re headed. Remember Y2K? Years of fear and preparation ands when the clock rolled around to 2000, what happened to the computers? Nothing! Yes, the risk right now is real enough that people inside these companies are standing up to state this possibility. But people on the inside taking a stand is the good news. Even Daniel Kokotajlo, the researcher who wrote the original scenario predicting AI could take over by 2027, has since pushed his own timeline back. If the person who built the doomsday clock keeps resetting it, that tells you that these predictions aren’t so solid. They’re already being revised, and that’s more good news. I keep coming back to the movie I, Robot. Will Smith’s character doesn’t save the day with a better computer or robot. He does it with his human stubbornness, instinct, and heart. I believe that’s the same combination that will get us through this difficult time as well. This is How Change Begins This is what’s essential about Coxon speaking up. His post reached over 100 million people. It got Anthropic’s own alignment lead to say publicly that the company doesn’t yet have a plan to solve safety for superintelligence. While that isn’t comforting on the surface, it’s exactly how change happens. Someone brave refuses to stay quiet, the pressure builds, and the people with power to act have to respond in the daylight. Public attention is part of how safeguards and regulation actually get built. You watching, caring, and talking about it is not nothing. But you can’t stay glued to that spot and live a healthy, happy life. I can’t tell you what AI will or won’t do in the future. Nobody can, no matter how many followers their doomsday post gets. What I can tell you is that living every day like the sky is about to fall does its own kind of damage to your body, your sleep, your relationships, and your joy. That’s the part you have full control over, starting right now. You don’t need 100% certainty about the future to take your finger off the panic button today and remember to breathe, relax, and enjoy life. So Where Is the Calm? Give the news feed a break – you won’t miss anything vital Use sound (chanting, solfeggio, sound baths, singing, or humming) to raise your vibe and regulate your nervous system Make yourself happy on purpose, every day Run scary headlines through the five-question method before you let them bother you You don’t need certainty about the future to take your finger off the panic button today FAQs How do I stop panicking about scary AI news? Take a break from your news feed, use sound like humming or chanting to calm your nervous system, do things that make you happy, and run the headline through five grounding questions before letting it take hold. Does humming actually calm you down? Yes. Humming is a proven mood elevator that also releases nitric oxide, a molecule your body naturally produces that relaxes blood vessels, improves blood flow, and calms the parasympathetic nervous system. What are solfeggio frequencies? Solfeggio frequencies are a set of tones, popularized by Dr. Joseph Puleo, used in sound healing to shift mood and energy. Each frequency, from 396 Hz to 963 Hz, is associated with a different emotional or spiritual effect. What’s the five-question method for handling scary news? Ask yourself these five questions: Is this true? Is it helpful? Can I do anything about it? What does this thinking keep me locked into? What would I rather be thinking? It moves you from reaction to a grounded, present-moment response. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is AI actually going to end humanity by 2030?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No one knows for certain. AI researcher Jacob Coxon has said the risk is real enough to be taken seriously, but Daniel Kokotajlo, who wrote the original 2027 doomsday scenario, has since pushed his own timeline back. The predictions themselves are still shifting." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I stop panicking about scary AI news?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Take a break from your news feed, use sound like humming or chanting to calm your nervous system, do things that make you happy, and run the headline through five grounding questions before letting it take hold." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does humming actually calm you down?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Humming is a proven mood elevator that also releases nitric oxide, a molecule your body naturally produces that relaxes blood vessels, improves blood flow, and calms the parasympathetic nervous system." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What are solfeggio frequencies?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Solfeggio frequencies are a set of tones, popularized by Dr. Joseph Puleo, used in sound healing to shift mood and energy. Each frequency, from 396 Hz to 963 Hz, is associated with a different emotional or spiritual effect." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What's the five-question method for handling scary news?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Ask: Is this true? Is it helpful? Can I do anything about it? What does this thinking keep me locked into? What would I rather be thinking? It moves you from reaction to a grounded, present-moment response." } } ] } The post Scary AI Headlines? 4 Ways to Respond and Keep Calm appeared first on Intuitive Edge.

EP 451 - Pirate Booty Every been overly infatuated with the girl of your dreams but no matter what you do, you just get friend zoned? Honestly it's probably for the best. Usually you put all that effort into getting her and then it just feels like she sucks you into a liminal space where everything suddenly seems skewed and you wander around life aimlessly because theres no end to the maze of emptiness. Not that Jen or I would know...but you can ask James. This week we crack a cold one, make wishes with Obsession and get lost in Backrooms. THIS WEEKS MOVIES: Obsession Backrooms THIS WEEKS BEER: Mothfire Brewing Co. - LoLo NE IPA Follow us! Twitter: @thebuzzedkillPC Instagram: @thebuzzedkillpodcast Facebook.com/thebuzzedkillpodcast Letterboxd: Buzzed Kill Podcast

“We are running honestly”    slides“1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2Hitting the wall: a point late in a long race when a runner experiences a sudden and overwhelming increase in fatigue forcing the runner to deal with the temptation to stop.   The runner hasn't necessarily lost their destination. The finish line is still exactly where it was when they began running. What has changed is how difficult the journey has becomeWe run honestlyan honest run is where we bring God our whole life1) We can run honestly because that's how Jesus ran. 2) We run honestly to Jesus by giving Jesus our whole lifeJeremiah kept bringing Jeremiah to God“He makes his sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45“15 O God, You know, remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for your sake I have suffered rebuke….17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of your hand…” Jeremiah 15:15,17“They were naked and not ashamed.” Genesis 2:25“They knew they were naked…they made coverings…and they hid themselves from the presence of God.” Genesis 3:7-8When Jeremiah brought his whole self to God, God brought his whole self to Jeremiah.“I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; they will fight against you. But I am with you to save you and deliver you.” Jeremiah 15:20“Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that J prophesized these things.” Jeremiah 20:1Magor-Missabib: terror on every side“For I heard many mocking, ‘fear on every side!'” Jeremiah 20:10He runs honestly. Jeremiah keeps bringing Jeremiah to God. Jeremiah brings his:o Embarrassment (“I am in derision daily. Everyone mocks me” Jeremiah 20:7)o Quit (“I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in this name.” Jeremiah 20:9)o Resolve (“I could not hold it in” Jeremiah 20:9)o Desire (“Let me see your vengeance on them.” Jeremiah 20:12)“14 Cursed be the day I was born! ...18 Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” Jeremiah 20:14,18“Jeremiah thought his problems could be over if he was never born. The problem was God called him before he was born or even conceived.” – David GuzikBringing his whole life to God gave Jeremiah access to the truth of his whole lie with God.Before I formed you…I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. I called you to be a prophet to the nations,” Jeremiah 1:5“Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24How to run to get the prize: - with endurance (don't stop at the wall) by - looking to Jesus (honest running).We can run with endurance by looking to Jesus: 1) We can run honestly because that's how Jesus ran. 2) We run honestly to Jesus by giving Jesus our whole lifeJeremiah was willing to let God have access to his life which gave Jeremiah access to the life of Christ.none of us ever go through something that Christ himself did not willing face and go through to completion.We were made to run. That doesn't mean our run won't come with hurdles and weights and walls. But we can have hope that those hurdles don't have to stop our run. We can run honestly! We can run because the same power that conquered the cross and the grave lives in us and we therefore are not alone in our race.  Christ is in you, the hope of glory! Run!!“1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2.

How To Keep Kids Safe From Pornographers, Plus the Investigations and Prosecutions. Special Episode. A former undercover police officer explains what families should know about online predators and the digital evidence that can help bring offenders to justice. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast social media like their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other social media platforms. For years, Brett Shavers worked undercover investigating drug and weapons organizations in the Pacific Northwest. Then his work took him into another dangerous world: investigations involving child sexual exploitation and online predators. The Podcast is available for free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartradio and most major podcast platforms. #LawEnforcementTalk #Free #Podcast #Radio Shavers, a former police officer and digital forensics professional, joins the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast to discuss the demands of undercover work, the trauma of child exploitation investigations, and the evidence investigators must preserve to help build a case. Supporting articles about this and much more from Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast in platforms like Medium , Blogspot and Linkedin. Why the words matter Federal law uses the term “child pornography,” but the Department of Justice also calls the images “child sexual abuse images.” That wording makes the reality clearer: the material documents the abuse of a child. When it circulates online, victims may face the knowledge that a record of their abuse remains available to others. Federal law prohibits conduct involving the production, distribution, receipt, and possession of this material. How To Keep Kids Safe From Pornographers, Plus the Investigations and Prosecutions. Special Episode. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast, is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast platforms. The interview is also featured across Facebook and Instagram. Online exploitation can begin wherever children communicate, including Social Media, games, and messaging apps. An offender may try to move a conversation into a private chat, ask a child for images, or pressure the child to keep the exchange secret. How parents can help keep kids safe Families do not need to understand every app to start an effective conversation. Parents can ask who their children talk with online, review privacy and chat settings together, and make clear that a child can ask for help without fearing blame. The Federal Trade Commission recommends talking early and regularly about online safety; parental controls can support those conversations. The episode is available across major platforms including their website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, with highlights shared across their Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles. Children should know that someone they meet online may not be who they claim to be. If a person requests sexual images, threatens them, or pushes them to keep a relationship secret, they should tell a trusted adult. Suspected online child sexual exploitation can be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline. How To Keep Kids Safe From Pornographers, Plus the Investigations and Prosecutions. Special Episode. The Podcast is available for free on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast website, also on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, iHeartradio and most major podcast platforms. From a device to a prosecution Digital forensics can help investigators identify devices and accounts, preserve electronic evidence, examine relevant files and communications, and present findings in a form prosecutors and courts can evaluate. Careful documentation matters throughout the process: investigators need to explain where evidence came from and how it was handled. Shavers brings that investigative perspective to a difficult conversation. His career spans undercover operations and the painstaking examination of digital evidence in cases involving children. The episode looks at the human cost of this work while keeping the focus where it belongs: protecting children and holding offenders accountable. How To Keep Kids Safe From Pornographers, Plus the Investigations and Prosecutions. Special Episode. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast continues bringing listeners real conversations from the front lines of crime, policing, trauma, survival, and healing. Listen to Brett Shavers on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast. Find the episode through the show's Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages, or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For information about his digital forensics consulting and industry-specific Books, visit Brett Shavers' website. Please listen, share this Special Episode, and help others discover the realities of hostage negotiation, fallen officers, television police work, and the man behind the badge. Please listen, follow and share this remarkable story. Listeners can find the show across Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other podcast and social media platforms. Learn and get access to money saving tips and how to increase your net worth at www.LetSavings.com Download the Free Ebook about ways and tips to improve your  health. You can get the ebook for free at www.LetHealthy.com Listen to the  Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast on their website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Apple  Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and most major podcast platforms. This episode of the show is brought to you in part by Mars Men. You hit your 30s and 40s, and things start to feel different. Now that I'm in my 60s, I've really noticed the change. My energy drops faster. Recovery takes longer. Workouts don't have the same impact they once did. Most importantly, what worked for me in my 20s simply doesn't work anymore. So, I started looking for answers. Honestly, the testosterone-support space can be confusing, and much of it sounded sketchy. I don't want to become a professional bodybuilder. I just want to look and feel more like the old me. Thankfully, I found Mars Men, and I couldn't be more grateful. Mars Men is made in the USA, third-party tested, and formulated to support healthy testosterone levels, energy and stamina. It's now available at GNC stores nationwide. For a limited time, our listeners get 50% off for life plus Free Shipping AND 3 Free Gifts at Men Go To Mars dot com. That's MenGoToMars.com for 50% Off AND 3 Free Gifts when you checkout. After you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. PLEASE support our show and tell them our show sent you. Get the Free Clubhouse App, it is Drop In Social Audio. Think of it as your own talk radio show on your phone, and best of all it is free. Be sure to look for me and follow me, that's John J Wiley or @letradioshow you can do all that here. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast social media like their Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Medium and other social media platforms. You can contact John J. “Jay” Wiley by email at Jay@letradio.com , or learn more about him on their website . Find a wide variety of great podcasts online at The Podcast Zone Facebook Page , look for the one with the bright green logo. Listen to the free Podcast on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show website and through major platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Follow the show on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other Social Media platforms for more real stories about trauma, survival and transformation. Listen to the Show, share the episode, and follow the latest Radio, Podcast, and News content from the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast. Be sure to check out our website . Be sure to follow us on X , Instagram , Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin and other social media platforms for the latest episodes and news. Follow the Law Enforcement Today Radio Show and Podcast on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube for more powerful interviews with law enforcement officers, survivors, first responders, and others whose lives have been changed by crime and trauma. How To Keep Kids Safe From Pornographers, Plus the Investigations and Prosecutions. Special Episode. Attributions Brett Shavers Missing Kids D.O.J.  Facebook Facebook Group Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

He's back and Cowier than ever!! This week it's the B Team vs. the A Team. Spoiler alert: B Team won. Other than that, we talk to a French man, or maybe men? Jaymi rants and raves about his ever-adorable son, and Carrington carries the podcast with his extreme wit and wisdom. Honestly it's getting harder to write these because I'm giving myself less and less time to complete the edit, soo thanks for listening!!! WE ADORE YOU!!!   Email: hotcrossbunspod@gmail.com Instagram/TikTok: @hotcrossbunspod

Start on Day 1 if you are new here: https://youtu.be/_ydNTMUxuOA We're Frankie and Alex. Five years full-time van life, now part-time nomads travelling internationally with a toddler and a business. 100% of what this channel earns in donations goes to charity. Every single dollar. New episode every day. Start with Day 1 if you're new here.

Abaddon's Soul Farm, Josie Sands & How to Spot Someone With No SoulA schoolteacher comes home, her husband doesn't get up to help with the groceries, asks what's for dinner, and she makes meatloaf. Out of him. Honestly, Berly and LA have some thoughts about whose side they're on.This week Sam works the case solo while Dean drinks a whole bottle of whiskey with zero effect, lies to his brother about doing research, and pocket dials Crowley like a man with a problem. The case takes Sam to Milton, Illinois, where people are losing their souls at an alarming rate, a boy is stabbing people with a steak knife covered in mashed potatoes, and an absolutely fabulous elderly woman in a matching hat and brooch shows up at the police station to tell everyone it's demons. She is right. She is also a former nun with a 1958 flashback that finally explains how Josie Sands became Abaddon, and this episode was directed by Misha Collins, who was apparently too busy behind the camera to show up in front of it.The lore this week covers how to spot someone with no soul. Berly and LA read through the list and begin to get concerned. About themselves.Drop a comment with your thoughts, and if you're enjoying the show, a review helps other fans find their way to the bunker. See you next week. Jerk. Bitch.Sources:https://supernatural.fandom.com/wiki/Mother%27s_Little_Helperhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/2076426/episodes/14574183Send us your review!Support the showDenim-wrapped Nightmares is a Supernatural rewatch podcast hosted by Berly and LA, breaking down every episode of the Winchester saga with lore deep-dives plus cast and crew interviews. Special thanks to David Fesliyan and Fesliyan Studios.Subscribe, leave a review, and, if you choose to drink, please drink responsibly.Join the hunt at linktr.ee/dwnpod where you can find links to socials and sign up for emails. Until next time, cheers!

What's up fraud fighters, and welcome back to Fraud Forward!I am bringing you more from here at IAFCI in Nashville. I've caught up with fraud fighters, bank executives, and law enforcement leaders for a rapid-fire soundcheck on where fraud is headed. I've been asking everyone I sit down with the same question. If you had one word to describe fraud in 2026, what would it be? The answers ranged from trending and explosive, to complex, and evolving. Sometimes fraud couldn't be contained by only one word. Honestly, they all fit.There were so many great conversations this week. They didn't fit into one episode. They barely fit into two. So this episode is a rapid series of conversations covering everything from bust out fraud to elder fraud prevention, dealership schemes, and where IAFCI itself is headed under new leadership. Every one of these conversations left me with something I want to bring straight back to you. These conversations are not just about what we are facing. But also how we can overcome the rising challenges in our community, the tools, the collaboration, and the partnerships between law enforcement and banking that are only getting stronger. Let's get into it. What you'll hear in this episode:Why bust out fraud is being called a real hot topic right now. How these rings are migrating away from California and Florida as enforcement catches up.How auto lending fraud, first party fraud, and income misrepresentation are showing up together. Why leaning on consortium data and application data fraud signals is more important than relying on credit reports alone.How dealerships that barely exist are financing cars that were never actually delivered.Why business email compromise is still a top concern on the commercial banking side, and the stop call and confirm habit that stops it cold.Building a fraud prevention platform started with understanding the problem firsthand by moving into senior living communities. A fresh way to think about scam education as a behavior change problem, not just an awareness problem.Why check fraud trends remain a serious concern for community bank fraud programs, even as fraudsters increasingly bring AI targeted fraud attacks to smaller institutions.How law enforcement bank collaboration through IAFCI industry working groups is turning strangers into the people you call when a case needs to move fast.What's ahead for IAFCI itself, including new fraud policy and regulation partnerships and a membership goal of 10,000 by the end of the current term.You should listen to this episode if you:Work in auto lending, dealership finance, or first party fraud detection and want real, current examples of bust out fraud.Are on the commercial banking side and want a reminder of how effective stop call and confirm still is against business email compromise.Care about elder fraud prevention and want to hear how one approach was built from direct, in-person research.Lead fraud or risk at a community bank and want perspective on check fraud trends and AI targeted fraud attacks hitting smaller institutions.Believe law enforcement bank collaboration is underrated and want real examples of what that actually looks like in practice.Want a fast-moving, one-word-answer kind of episode that still leaves you with real, usable takeaways.

Finally, the time has come where we figure out just what actually happens in the 1994 Star Wars comic series DARK EMPIRE II. Join us as we explore its troubled production history, why it has eluded for so long and what we thought of it. AND - hear about the many ways it could have inspired films in the sequel trilogy and beyond! Did our opinions change as we recorded the episode? Listen and find out! So get out your PC Myst game, tie yourself to a Jedi tree, celebrate the love and listen today! JOIN THE BLAST POINTS ARMY and SUPPORT BLAST POINTS ON PATREON! DOWNLOADABLE SHOW MUSIC! STAR WARS TV FULL COMMENTARIES! HEAR NEW EPISODES EARLY! and so much MORE! www.patreon.com/blastpoints If you dug the show, please leave BLAST POINTS a review on iTunes, Spotify and share the show with friends! If you leave an iTunes review, we will read it on a future episode! Honestly! Talk to Blast Points on twitter at @blast_points "Like" Blast Points on Facebook Join the Blast Points Super Star Wars Chill Group here www.facebook.com/groups/BlastPointsGroup/ we are also on Instagram! Wow! www.instagram.com/blastpoints Your hosts are Jason Gibner & Gabe Bott! contact BLAST POINTS at : contact@blastpointspodcast.com May the Force be with you, always! This podcast is not affiliated in any way with Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC, The Walt Disney Company, or any of their affiliates or subsidiaries.

New to plant-based eating and still figuring out…tofu? You may have passed by these strange-looking packaged white blocks at the store, but haven't been brave enough to buy or try it yet. Honestly, they do look rather intimidating to deal with…and bland. So should you stay away from it or give it a try? And why is it talked about so much by others eating plant-based? Well, let's explore this plant-based food together. In this episode, we'll look at what tofu is, how it is made, its nutrition and 5 simple tasty ways you can enjoy it. You'll walk away with meal ideas you can try in your diet transition as well. So grab a notebook with your cup of tea, and get ready to listen in!  Join -> Plant-Powered Life Transformation Course: www.plantnourished.com/ppltcourse Contact -> healthnow@plantnourished.com  Learn -> www.plantnourished.com  1:1 Coaching Support -> https://www.plantnourished.com/coachingwaitlist  Free Resource -> 7 Ways to Test-Drive a Plant-Based Diet: www.plantnourished.com/testdrive  Have a question about plant-based diets that you would like answered on the Plant Based Eating Made Easy Podcast?  Send it by email (healthnow@plantnourished.com) or submit it by a voice message here: www.speakpipe.com/plantnourished  [Plant Based Eating, Tofu Basics, Transition Tips, Soy, Kitchen Hacks, Meal Ideas, Plantbased Diet, High Protein, Nutrition, Beginner Tips, Snacks, Plant-Based Cooking]

Let's talk about your butthole.

Channing Tatum's Instagram burner account may have been discovered. Honestly, it could be so much worse.

What I talk about in this episode I've mentioned before but I talk about it here with a metaphor that hits home for everyone. Honestly, many years ago I used to read tons of books, think positively and thought that I was a good manager of my thinking, but that was far from the truth – despite my belief that it was so. In this episode I talk about: [3:16] The metaphor for the mind and thought management [4:13] The correlation between thinking and outcomes in life [5:09] Why it's important to be careful with your thoughts [7:08] Why just “thinking positive” is not the answer [9:54] How the universe shows no mercy upon our thoughts [20:11] And, why it's essential that you become aware of your skill to manage your thoughts. Listen, apply, and enjoy! Transformational Takeaway You're the “foreman” of your mind, and your life is a reflection of how good of a foreman you are. Mentioned Resources Master Thought Formula Episode 9: How The Law Of Attraction Repels The Money And Abundance You Want Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase. Let's Connect:  ⁠Instagram⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠Facebook⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠  Liked The Episode?  If you're the kind of person who likes to help others, then share this with your friends and family. If you have found value, they will too. Please leave a review on⁠ ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ so we can reach more people.  Listening on⁠ ⁠⁠Spotify⁠? Please leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you!  With gratitude, Jim 

Melissa donated $5,000 to Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis through Donny Fandango's Radiothon, chose to spend her 40th birthday hanging out with The Rizzuto Show, and was immediately rewarded with the prestigious broadcasting opportunity every aspiring radio personality dreams about:Reading an endorsement for a fake adult novelty store called The Iron Grip.Welcome to radio, Melissa.Today's funny podcast wastes absolutely no time making our birthday guest regret her generosity. Melissa joins the on-air family, gets drafted onto Rafe's team for Do It Bitch, and is handed what appears to be a legitimate live commercial for a brand-new sponsor in Edwardsville.Except The Iron Grip apparently specializes exclusively in adult products shaped like fists.Big ones. Small ones. Glow-in-the-dark ones.There's a “Heavyweight Champion,” a “Double-Ended Sparring Partner” and, naturally, the Southpaw Special Starter Kit.Melissa powers through the commercial like a professional while everybody else completely loses it, only for Rizz to announce some devastating breaking news immediately afterward:The client canceled.One read and they're gone.Advertising is a brutal business.From there, the show gets considerably more serious as Rafe and Rizz discuss Evil Dead legend Bruce Campbell and his candid comments about his cancer diagnosis.Campbell says doctors have given him a five-year prognosis, but his attitude toward it is about as Bruce Campbell as you'd expect. He plans to keep working, keep pursuing the projects he loves and deal with his health problems as they arrive instead of allowing the diagnosis to define whatever time comes next.The crew talks about his career, his incredible deadpan comedy, the evolution of Evil Dead from horror into campy horror-comedy and why Campbell deserves even more credit for turning Ash into such an iconic character.It's thoughtful.It's sincere.It's genuinely moving.So obviously we immediately follow it with Richard Gere and a gerbil.Welcome back.Rizz introduces what may be one of the greatest pieces of investigative journalism ever attempted: a reporter apparently spent SIX YEARS investigating the origins of the infamous Richard Gere gerbil urban legend.Six years.Not Watergate.Not organized crime.Gerbilgate.The rumor predates social media, Reddit and basically every modern mechanism capable of turning nonsense into accepted historical fact within eleven minutes. Yet somehow the story spread across America and became so famous that people who had never met one another were all hearing slightly different versions of the exact same ridiculous tale.According to the investigation discussed on the show, one major accelerant was a fraudulent press release supposedly from an animal-rights organization that was faxed to newsrooms and Hollywood agencies around Los Angeles.Remember fax machines?Apparently misinformation had to work much harder back then.The legend mutated as it traveled. Different versions involved different hospitals, different objects and increasingly elaborate details, while alleged secret X-rays and other “evidence” became part of the mythology.The crew starts wondering why everyone believed it.Was it because Richard Gere was handsome, famous and married to Cindy Crawford, so society collectively decided the universe needed to humble him?Rafe has a theory.If one man gets to spend years married to prime Cindy Crawford, maybe everybody else needs to believe that guy has at least ONE extremely bizarre flaw.Thus, the scales of justice demand a gerbil.Which leads to the important hypothetical question nobody had ever requested:Would you accept ten years with Cindy Crawford if everyone believed the Richard Gere rumor was about YOU?Rafe is in.Rizz is negotiating the terms.Moon doesn't care about rumors.Lern is apparently serving as legal counsel.This funny podcast has officially become a contract negotiation nobody should ever put in writing.The conversation then spirals beautifully into Richard Gere attempting to visit a hypothetical pet store, South Park's Lemmiwinks, Cindy Crawford's Illinois roots, Gere's feud with Sylvester Stallone during The Lords of Flatbush, and the glorious collection of celebrity urban legends that existed before anybody could simply Google whether they were complete garbage.Marilyn Manson's rib.Gene Simmons' tongue.Rod Stewart.Bon Jovi.Jamie Lee Curtis.And because every generation apparently deserves its own completely ridiculous celebrity rumor, Rizz nominates Machine Gun Kelly for future service.Congratulations, MGK.You weren't consulted.Then Lern brings us Crap on Celebrities, where things get slightly less gerbil-intensive but no less chaotic.The crew discusses the controversy surrounding Macklemore being removed from Ed Sheeran's tour after his pro-Palestinian comments, followed by multiple opening acts withdrawing in solidarity. Ed Sheeran says the decision wasn't his and that promoters and venue operators ultimately made the call after venues threatened not to host dates.Rafe checks the imaginary breaking-news wire and reports that Ed Sheeran has now quit his own tour.He walked out on himself.Solidarity has reached its final form.There's also speculation about Justin Bieber and Harry Styles as potential future Super Bowl halftime performers, although neither had actually been approached according to the story being discussed.Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have reportedly installed automated security warnings around their massive Ohio property, giving Rizz yet another piece of technology he desperately wants at his own house.Get too close?BACK UP.Honestly, Rizz might install one inside the studio.Kelly Osbourne opens up about one of her final conversations with Ozzy and the estrangement between Kelly and her older sister Aimee, leading the crew to remember how remarkable it was that one member of the Osbourne family managed to stay largely outside the reality-TV circus while practically everyone around her became massively famous.Moon declares that decision extremely metal.Correct.Robert De Niro is reportedly in talks to play legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda in a biopic, which immediately creates a new Hollywood controversy nobody saw coming:Why is Robert De Niro stealing jobs from fat guys?Finally, justice.Lern also discovers several pieces of music history that everyone apparently deleted from their brains, including Paul Rodgers performing with Queen and Ozzy Osbourne scoring a Top 10 hit decades after “Close My Eyes Forever” thanks to his collaboration with Post Malone and Travis Scott on “Take What You Want.”Moon's conclusion?None of this happened.Lern is inserting facts from an alternate reality.And frankly, after spending this much time discussing Richard Gere, we're no longer qualified to determine what is real.Then it's finally time to celebrate Melissa turning 40.She shares her birthday with Amy Poehler, Nick Jonas, Alexis Bledel, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Tilly, Richard Marx, David Copperfield and several others.But Melissa isn't finished earning her $5,000 donation.After already surviving The Iron Grip commercial, the birthday girl is handed one more prestigious broadcasting assignment:Reading the Porno Birthday.She handles that one like a champion, too.Melissa came to The Rizzuto Show for her 40th birthday and got fake commercials, celebrity gossip, gerbil journalism and an extremely questionable birthday-reading assignment.And she STILL has to play Do It Bitch with the crew.Follow The Rizzuto Show → linktr.ee/rizzshow for more from your favorite daily comedy show.Connect with The Rizzuto Show Comedy Podcast online → 1057thepoint.com/RizzShow.Hear The Rizz Show daily on the radio at 105.7 The Point | Hubbard Radio in St. Louis, MO.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I'm so happy to be here with you…the day before Don't Let That Hold You Back officially releases to the world! I can't wait for you to get it in your hands, so we can all start talking about how and why you've been held back and what we're going to do about it. Honestly, this episode was basically as if Jess Connolly and I sat down for breakfast to just catch up, but turned on the microphone. So, this is your invitation to pull up a chair and join us at the table. Jess has a book coming out in October called You Can't Be Brave Until You're Scared so she basically fear coached me about book launch week for half of this episode. We realized as we recorded that we both are releasing our 7th trade books this year, which is wild, so we both did a little coaching for each other and I'm just so grateful for Jess' friendship to all of us. She's SUCH a cheerleader and just a treasure. Find her Cortisol Reset Guide here Find the show notes here . . . . Order your copy of Don't Let That Hold You Back wherever you love to buy books! [pre- order gifts available dontletthatholdyouback.com] . . . . Thank you to our sponsors:  BetterHelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/thatsoundsfun. Good Ranchers: For a limited time, you can get a free Ground Beef bundle with your first Good Ranchers order. Visit GoodRanchers.com/THATSOUNDSFUN to claim. Plus, when you start a plan, you'll get free meat with every order. CreaTone: Get started with 20% off your first order. Visit TONETODAY.com… Promo Code TSF. Helix: Go to helixsleep.com/thatsoundsfun for 20% off sitewide. Daily Look: Head to DailyLook.com to take your style quiz and use code THATSOUNDSFUN for 50% off your first order. SEEDS: Download the free SEEDS app and take one small step today: plant your first seed and see what God can grow. Hearing Jesus: Visit rachaelgroll.com/book to explore the book, download free resources, and get your copy of Hearing Jesus.  Boll and Branch: Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/thatsoundsfun with code thatsoundsfun.  NYTimes bestselling Christian author, speaker, and host of popular Christian podcast, That Sounds Fun Podcast, Annie F. Downs shares with you some of her favorite things: new books, faith conversations, entertainers not to miss, and interviews with friends.  Sign up to receive the AFD Week In Review email and ask questions to future guests! #thatsoundsfunpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices