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The Blooming Court Ch. 2The group finishes plans to go to the Ren Faire, recounting the fight and what transpired during some members' visit to the other side. They decide to pick up some supplies, place some orders, and stock up before the next leg of their trip. Eventually, they finally arrive at the Ren Faire, and Arguile gives a lay of the land. Shanks and Zechs make quick work of the archery game, Turk enters an exhibition fight to test his new abilities but gets promptly defeated, and Galahad has... a slightly more unique experience. The champion of Bahamut enters the jousting competition, summoning a pegasus as his mount. He loses the first match with the crowd favorite, The Red Knight, but with such a great battle, they go into a rematch right away. We see Galahad the victor, but he brings the Knight near death's door, thankfully bringing him back with Lay on Hands. He hands him some coins as an apology and promptly leaves. In his exit, he unfurls the pegasus wings and hits a few onlookers with them before flying off. The rest of the crew split into groups. Turk and Zechs head to a fortune teller and get some very on-the-nose readings. Arguile and Shanks head to the casino, later meeting up with Zechs and Turk, where some had better luck than others. There's so much happening, and that's where we pick up…Find out what happens next in this episode of the Medusa's Cascade: Collateral Damage!Theme Music is written and performed by EfflorescenceMixed by Thomas Lapierre IIITitle Card by Pierce Graphics Check out the show at themedusascascade.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Noah Jackson and AJ Wadian — the Co-Founders of Premier Home ProsLaunched in December 2022 with just $65,000 of their own capital and a decision made around a dinner table, Premier Home Pros has scaled from zero to more than $150 million in annual gross sales in just three years — surpassing $100 million in under 24 months — all without raising a single dollar of outside capital. Headquartered in Canton, Ohio, Premier now operates across 14 states and continues to expand at a pace that few companies in any industry achieve.In our conversation, Noah and AJ walk through the entire evolution of the business from doing over half a million dollars in sales in their first month — and the relentless execution required to turn early momentum into a scalable, multi-state operation. We talk about what it really means to build the plane while flying it, the mistakes they've made along the way, why bathrooms are far more complex than they appear, and how process, data, and elite talent compound when aligned correctly.We also explore their leadership evolution — how the business at times has grown faster than the people, what it takes to lead from the front, how they disagree productively as partners, and why Northeast Ohio remains home even as the company becomes increasingly national.This is a conversation about ambition, resilience, systems, and building something enduring — right here in northeast Ohio.Noah and AJ are operating at a level of demonstrated performance, intensity, and conviction that is rare and admirable — I took a lot away from their ambition and focus and and hope you all enjoy our conversation.00:00 The Ambitious Journey Begins08:34 Navigating Challenges and Learning from Mistakes29:02 Leadership Evolution in a Rapidly Growing Company37:52 Understanding the Bathroom Industry's Challenges40:57 Innovation and Trends in Bathroom Design43:22 Evolving Motivations and Definitions of Success48:54 Building a Business in Northeast Ohio52:31 Hidden Gems of Northeast Ohio-----LINKS:Noah Jackson: njackson@premier-homepros.comAugustine Wadian: awadian@premier-homepros.comhttps://premier-homepros.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/aj-w-2815a6177/https://www.linkedin.com/in/njackson1005/-----SPONSOR:Cerity PartnersCerity Partners, a full-service investment and wealth management firm serving high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and business owners, is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. The firm has local roots in Cleveland and across Ohio, and like this podcast, Cerity Partners advisors specialize in serving the interests of local entrepreneurs and business leaders. They understand how to manage the total picture of wealth, both personal and professional. Cerity Partners has a unified team of specialists who collaborate on almost every aspect of a client's financial life, including business ownership. The firm's national presence means it can offer the resources and specialized knowledge of the largest institutions with the independence and service of a neighbor. The Cerity Partners Cleveland team understands the complexity that comes with wealth, and they adhere to fiduciary standards. Discover the financial lay of your land.Learn more at ceritypartners.com/NPR or call 216-464-6266.Roundstone InsuranceRoundstone Insurance is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. Founder and CEO, Michael Schroeder, has committed full-year support for the podcast, recognizing its alignment with the company's passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and community leadership.Headquartered in Rocky River, Ohio, Roundstone was founded in 2005 with a vision to deliver better healthcare outcomes at a more affordable cost. To bring that vision to life, the company pioneered the group medical captive model — a self-funded health insurance solution that provides small and mid-sized businesses with greater control and significant savings.Over the past two decades, Roundstone has grown rapidly, creating nearly 200 jobs in Northeast Ohio. The company works closely with employers and benefits advisors to navigate the complexities of commercial health insurance and build custom plans that prioritize employee well-being over shareholder returns. By focusing on aligned incentives and better health outcomes, Roundstone is helping businesses save thousands in Per Employee Per Year healthcare costs. Roundstone Insurance — Built for entrepreneurs. Backed by innovation. Committed to Cleveland. https://roundstoneinsurance.com/-----Stay up to date by signing up for Lay of The Land's weekly newsletter — sign up here: https://layoftheland.ck.page/5f0c1e28faConnect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/Follow Lay of The Land on X @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/
Welcome to Episode 6 of unScripted — live real talk on what's happening in the Seventh-day Adventist Church right now. Shawn Boonstra and Justin Kim unpack the latest Adventist Review, Bible truths, and jaw-dropping mission stories. This episode covers: New March 2026 Adventist Review spotlight: Superstition cover story + Justin's editorial "etcetera" on Daniel 3—why the Bible's repetitive lists poetically shout God's total supremacy over every power and ritual. The One Voice global initiative: Coordinated revival and evangelism in 2026, studying Daniel chapter-by-chapter (March on Daniel 3). Fresh insights, reading tips, and why prophecy matters. Inspiring testimony: "From Iran to God's Ultimate Freedom"—Raha flees oppression in Iran, finds a loving God through providential SDA connections in Polish refugee centers. Exclusive PNG follow-up: After PNG for Christ's massive baptisms (250,000+ reported), Shawn and Kyle went on-site. Hear Philip's transformation—from rebel/prisoner to baptizing 50 and leading a home for abused kids. Lay-led revival in action. No fluff, just honest encouragement on faith, prophecy, and God's leading. Your thoughts? Comment below—we read and respond! Suggest next topics?
Connect with Jamie and A to Z Adventure GearLay and Play Adventure MatA portable baby play mat designed for travel and outdoor adventures. It gives parents a clean, comfortable place to put their baby while exploring parks, airports, campsites, and everyday outings.https://www.atozadventuregear.com/products/lay-and-play-adventure-matEveryday Adventures: A Screen-Lite Guide for Raising Curious KidsA guide with simple ideas to help families spend more time exploring, playing, and connecting together without relying on screens.https://www.atozadventuregear.com/pages/screen-free-parenting-for-young-kidsThe Story Behind A to Z Adventure GearHow Jamie and her husband invented the Lay and Play Adventure Mat after struggling with bulky baby gear while traveling with their own kids.https://www.atozadventuregear.com/pages/about-us Free Guide: 7 Baby Travel Hacks You Wish You Knew SoonerSimple tips that make traveling with a baby easier and less stressful.https://www.atozadventuregear.com/pages/free-baby-travel-hacksConnect with Kiera on InstagramVisit www.frameoflife.co
Terwijl de wetenschap de vraag probeert te beantwoorden of de mens met uitsterven wordt bedreigd, bespreken wij alvast vanuit een meer filosofisch perspectief of het uitsterven van de mens eigenlijk erg zou zijn. Hier zijn binnen de filosofie verschillende ideeën over die de revue zullen passeren. Ook bespreken we hoe er binnen de psychologie onderzoek naar dit onderwerp wordt gedaan. Toegegeven, het is niet het gezelligste onderwerp dat we ooit hebben behandeld, maar wel zeer interessant en aan het eind van de uitzending wordt er aardig gelachen.Onderzoek: Dr. Anita Eerland, prof.dr. Rolf ZwaanPresentatie: Rolf Zwaan & Anita EerlandMuziek: Rolf ZwaanBronnenColeman, M. B., Caviola, L., Lewis, J., & Goodwin, G. (21 oktober 2023). How important is the end of humanity? Lay people prioritize extinction prevention but not above all other societal issues. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/qn7k5Lambeets, K. (11 januari 2024). Universiteit past nieuwe campagne aan na kritiek van wetenschappers. VOX. https://www.voxweb.nl/nieuws/universiteit-past-nieuwe-campagne-aan-na-kritiek-van-wetenschappersTorres, É.P. (2023, February 20). The ethics of human extinction. Aeon. https://aeon.co/essays/what-are-the-moral-implications-of-humanity-going-extinctEen compleet overzicht met alle thema's uit de podcast en de bijbehorende afleveringen is hier te vinden. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you. 2 Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Tell wisdom, "You are my sister." Call understanding your relative, 5 that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words. 6 For at the window of my house, I looked out through my lattice. 7 I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding, 8 passing through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house, 9 in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the middle of the night and in the darkness. 10 Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent. 11 She is loud and defiant. Her feet don't stay in her house. 12 Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner. 13 So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him: 14 "Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. Today I have paid my vows. 15 Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you. 16 I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt. 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let's take our fill of loving until the morning. Let's solace ourselves with loving. 19 For my husband isn't at home. He has gone on a long journey. 20 He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon." 21 With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him. 22 He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose. 23 Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn't know that it will cost his life. 24 Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth. 25 Don't let your heart turn to her ways. Don't go astray in her paths, 26 for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army. 27 Her house is the way to Sheol,* going down to the rooms of death. Listen Donate Subscribe: Proverbs Daily Podcast Psalms Daily Podcast
This week, the Queens are crunching on some familiar flavors in new forms with Frito-Lay's Flavor Swap! Have you been longing for a Dorito-flavored Ruffle? A Ruffle-flavored Dorito? Or a barbecue Lay's-flavored Cheeto? The 2026 edition of Flavor Swap is here to make all of our dreams come true. Special thanks to Pepsi Co for gifting us these snacks!
In today's episode, we're speaking with Emi Fukahori and Mathieu Theis, Co-founders of Swiss specialty coffee business MAME.Multiple-time Swiss competition winners, Emi and Mathieu founded MAME in Zurich in 2016, driven by a shared passion for coffee tasting, sensory analysis and competition craft, combined with Japanese precision. Today, they operate eight coffee shops across Zurich and Geneva and, one most recently, Tokyo.In this conversation, Emi and Mathieu share their guiding principles for tailoring every guest experience and creating memorable coffee moments. They also discuss how they've drawn inspiration from Michelin-starred chefs to scale high-quality and maintain a strong brand identity as they grow internationally.Credits music: "Lay on Grass" by Sam Stokes in association with The Coffee Music Project and SEB Collective. Tune into the 5THWAVE Playlist on Spotify for more music from the showSign up for our newsletter to receive the latest coffee news at worldcoffeeportal.comSubscribe to 5THWAVE on Instagram @5thWaveCoffee and tell us what topics you'd like to hear
Scot Lowry — Managing Partner and Co-Founder of PromiseONE CompaniesScot is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of PromiseONE Companies, a Cleveland-based investment firm that helps purpose-driven entrepreneurs acquire and grow established businesses through Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition, or ETA. Prior to launching PromiseONE, Scot acquired and led Fathom, a digital marketing firm he grew more than 450% over a decade — an experience that became both the financial engine and talent incubator behind PromiseONE's long-term portfolio strategy. Today, Scot also serves as the Richard Osborne Professor of Entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University, where he teaches acquisition entrepreneurship and helps steward one of the nation's longest-standing ETA programs.In our conversation, Scot and I explore Cleveland's unique “right to win” in ETA and the decades-long lineage that traces back to his mentor, Richard Osborne. We talk about what it truly means to become a credible buyer, how to earn the trust of legacy sellers, and why understanding what matters most to them is the foundation of great dealmaking. We unpack the evolution of PromiseONE's patient capital model, the philosophy of “your dream is my dream,” and how Scot has helped multiple operators transition from employee to business owner. We also discuss negotiation, long-term ownership versus traditional private equity, mentorship, and a deeply personal crucible moment that reshaped Scot's leadership philosophy and sense of purpose.Scot is a thoughtful entrepreneur, investor, and teacher, and this was a really meaningful conversation — please enjoy.00:00 Introduction to Promise Partners and Scott Lowry03:08 Cleveland's Right to Win in Entrepreneurship05:51 The Role of Richard Osborne and Promise Partners08:57 Building Credibility as a Buyer12:07 The Evolution of Promise One Companies14:55 Understanding Legacy Sellers18:04 The Importance of Relationships in Deal Making20:55 Navigating the Acquisition Process23:48 Lessons from Fathom's Growth and Leadership27:06 The Philosophy Behind Promise One's Model37:56 Choosing the Path of Entrepreneurship40:06 Building a Community of Entrepreneurs43:13 Incubating New Business Ideas46:04 The Promise Partners Model48:46 Long-Term Vision and Patient Capital51:53 The Art of Deal Making56:03 Teaching and Mentoring Future Entrepreneurs01:00:13 Reflections on Personal Growth and Purpose-----LINKS:https://promiseone.com/about-us/https://case.edu/weatherhead/academics/entrepreneurship-through-acquisitionhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/scotlowry/-----SPONSOR:Roundstone Insurance — https://roundstoneinsurance.com/Roundstone Insurance is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. Founder and CEO, Michael Schroeder, has committed full-year support for the podcast, recognizing its alignment with the company's passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and community leadership.Headquartered in Rocky River, Ohio, Roundstone was founded in 2005 with a vision to deliver better healthcare outcomes at a more affordable cost. To bring that vision to life, the company pioneered the group medical captive model — a self-funded health insurance solution that provides small and mid-sized businesses with greater control and significant savings.Over the past two decades, Roundstone has grown rapidly, creating nearly 200 jobs in Northeast Ohio. The company works closely with employers and benefits advisors to navigate the complexities of commercial health insurance and build custom plans that prioritize employee well-being over shareholder returns. By focusing on aligned incentives and better health outcomes, Roundstone is helping businesses save thousands in Per Employee Per Year healthcare costs. Roundstone Insurance — Built for entrepreneurs. Backed by innovation. Committed to Cleveland.Cerity PartnersCerity Partners, a full-service investment and wealth management firm serving high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and business owners, is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. The firm has local roots in Cleveland and across Ohio, and like this podcast, Cerity Partners advisors specialize in serving the interests of local entrepreneurs and business leaders. They understand how to manage the total picture of wealth, both personal and professional. Cerity Partners has a unified team of specialists who collaborate on almost every aspect of a client's financial life, including business ownership. The firm's national presence means it can offer the resources and specialized knowledge of the largest institutions with the independence and service of a neighbor. The Cerity Partners Cleveland team understands the complexity that comes with wealth, and they adhere to fiduciary standards. Discover the financial lay of your land.Learn more at ceritypartners.com/NPR or call 216-464-6266.-----Stay up to date by signing up for Lay of The Land's weekly newsletter — sign up here: https://layoftheland.ck.page/5f0c1e28faConnect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/Follow Lay of The Land on X @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/
Rabbi Steve Berkson takes us on a deep dive into scripture, into the spiritual underworld, led by an entity known in scripture as HaSatan. Understanding the enemy of our belief is crucial to successfully living a Torah-observant life.• Reset / Review• 1 John 3:10-15 – Love one another, not as Cain…•1 John 3:16-17 – Lay down your life for your brother?• 1 John 3:18 – Don't be a hypocrite • 1 John 3:19-20 – If our heart condemns us?• 1 John 3:21 – We can have boldness with Elohim?• 1 John 3:22-24 – Because we guard the commands• 1 John 3:24 – By the Spirit that he gave us?• Stay in Him? - John 15• Even as I have guarded my Father's commands• No more joy?• 2 Thessalonians 2:9 – The lawless one?• 2 Thessalonians 2:5-7 – This is what restrains him?• 2 Thessalonians 2:8 – The lawless one revealed?• 2 Thessalonians 2:9-14 – Few are chosen?• 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17 – Every good word and work• 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 – Whose signs and wonders?• PrayerListen to the Afterburn tomorrowSubscribe to be notified of new content each week.Learn more about MTOI:https://mtoi.orgThe MTOI App https://mtoi.org/download-the-mtoi-appFollow MTOI:https://www.facebook.com/mtoiworldwide https://www.instagram.com/mtoi_worldwidehttps://www.tiktok.com/@mtoi_worldwide Contact MTOI:
This special episode features recorded sessions from Day 2 of the 2026 Lay of the Land® Conference, focusing on the policy decisions, infrastructure investments, and land sales data influencing Florida's real estate market. Florida Senate President Ben Albritton delivers a legislative update addressing property tax reform discussions, conservation funding priorities, and broader policy considerations impacting landowners and investors across the state. James M. Driggers, P.E., District One Secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation, then outlines the state's Advanced Air Mobility strategy and the continued development of SunTrax as a testing and implementation hub for emerging transportation technologies. The program concludes with Saunders Real Estate advisors presenting the 2026 Lay of the Land® Market Report, offering expert analysis of verified transaction data across key asset classes and examining how land market activity shifted over the past year. Learn more about our upcoming conferences at LayOfTheLandConference.com. Chapters(00:00:41) Legislative Update(00:15:50) SunTrax and Florida's Air Taxi Network(00:42:15) Lay of the Land® Market Report
Recorded live in Lakeland, this episode features panels from the 2026 Lay of the Land® Conference, including expert-led discussions on the economic, investment, and policy dynamics shaping the Florida land market. The program opens with an economic outlook delivered by Jerry D. Parrish, Ph.D., Chief Economist for the Metro Atlanta Chamber, examining interest rates, capital flows, and broader market conditions influencing transaction activity. From there, breakout sessions explore commercial property investing fundamentals, utility-scale solar energy development in Florida, the feasibility considerations behind unlocking land value through mining, and a focused discussion on tax reform and estate planning strategies. Together, these conversations provide timely insight for landowners, investors, and advisors navigating a market adjusting to new capital conditions. Learn more about our upcoming events at LayOfTheLandConference.com. Chapters(00:01:42) Florida's Economic Outlook(00:52:19) Commercial Property Investing 101(01:43:48) Solar Energy Development in Florida(02:44:19) Unlocking Land Value Through Mining(03:14:32) Tax Reform & Estate Planning
We had hoped to drop this yesterday but wartime exigencies got in the way. The message is just as relevant today - the holiday of Purim was on Tuesday, March 3. It commemorates a miracle - when the Jews in ancient Persia were ordered by a King's decree to be murdered. Every last one. And yet, by a series of coincidences, they were spared. That was thousands of years ago. Since that time Jews have faced many tyrants who were determined to end their existence. The most recent and current one was Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He led a regime obsessed with destroying Israel and Jews. The historical arc is fascinating. And real. The decree in ancient Persia was real. Hitler was real. And Khamenei - until a few days ago - was real.I thought we'd take a breather from missiles and bomb shelters and reflect on the historical arc into which this wild war fits. Neatly.I spoke with two fabulous rabbis: my old friend from London, Ontario, Ephraim Shore.....and a new friend from Boston, Mass., Rabbi Bill Hamilton. An interesting and very pertinent podcast.Tomorrow we will be back with more hardcore straight up war-talk.We are going flat out. If you have not done so already please consider supporting us with a paid subscription - either on our website or at Buy me a Coffee. It makes a huge difference….allowing us to continue our work and, even more so, knowing that you appreciate what we do. State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Our guests today:Rabbi Ephraim Shore/Tour Guide Extraordinaire:Insta: @ephraimshore Rabbi William G. Hamilton has led Kehillath Israel since 1995. He strives to activate Torah in the service of meaningful living – nourishing growth, solacing grief, and deepening joy.Empowering learners is at the heart of his leadership approach. Lay-leaders, Jews-by-choice, and rabbinic interns, all take responsibility for creating community and celebrating Judaism. A commitment to inclusion is also central to Rabbi Hamilton. His deep involvement with the Ruderman Foundation's work for disability inclusion alongside his Board leadership with New England Yachad, complements a principled commitment to gender, ideological, and diversified practice inclusion at KI.Rabbi Hamilton's vision for partnership practice now shapes a new century at Kehillath Israel. Establishing a campus that hosts five prayer-communities and several other agencies under his leadership has made KI the subject of a Harvard Business School Case-Study. His impact and influence are strengthened by exceptionally strong engagement with Israel. As a founder of The David Project (Campus advocacy) and the New England Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces, Rabbi Hamilton regularly brings groups on specialized tours of Israel. He sees resourcing Israel as essential to deepening Jewish commitments and furnishing richer inner-lives.His leadership in civic settings also distinguishes his voice throughout our region. For twenty years he has served as Chaplain of the Massachusetts State Police, on the Board of ADL, and on Harvard University's Board of Ministry.He enjoys playing sports and rooting for local teams. His wife, Debbie Block, an accomplished historian and educator, gathered, produced and edited Kehillath Israel: The First 100 Years. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe
In this episode, Reverend Eric Alexander delves deeper into the High Priestly Prayer of John 17. Lay hold of the special affection that Jesus has for His own as He intercedes for their perseverance and sanctification. Find security and serenity in a Savior who pleads our cause on Hear the Word of God. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/581/29?v=20251111
Why aren't our babies sleeping? That's the question. But this episode isn't just about sleep. It's about leadership, ownership, energy, and what happens when a system that once worked starts slipping after a new variable is introduced. Sleep training is project management. Regression is iteration. Exhaustion changes your standards. We talk about: · Why knowing what to do isn't the same as doing it · How depletion impacts decision making · Ownership vs resentment · Redefining "done" when circumstances change · Why you shouldn't make system decisions when you're exhausted Whether you're leading a household, a team, or yourself, the lesson is the same: Step back. Lay it out. Define the next iteration. Then execute — rested. Embrace the blind spot.
Before we talk about confidence. Before we talk about willingness to pay. Before we talk about buyer disconnect. We need to question something far more fundamental: What are buyers actually doing when they decide? In this pilot episode of the Decision Series, Mark Stiving and Rebecca Kalogeris unpack a deceptively simple idea that reframes how every purchase works; especially in B2B. They explore why value isn't as concrete as we assume, why certainty is often an illusion, and why so many pricing conversations miss what's really driving the decision. If pricing sometimes feels disconnected from buyer behavior, this episode starts to reveal why. Why You Have to Listen: Understand why value doesn't exist at the moment of purchase; and what buyers are actually evaluating instead. Reframe perceived value as a belief about the future, not a fact in the present. Lay the foundation for everything that follows in the Buyer Decision series. "Buying is a prediction of the future." – Mark Stiving Topics Covered: 00:00 – Buying Is a Prediction of the Future. The foundational idea that reshapes how we think about value 01:40 – What Is Buyer Disconnect? The gap between how buyers perceive value and how sellers think buyers perceive value 04:30 – The Drill Example: When Does Value Actually Happen? Value doesn't exist at purchase — it only exists if the future plays out as expected 06:20 – Perceived Value vs. Real Value. Why perceived value is all buyers have when they decide 09:45 – Why B2B Raises the Stakes. Business buyers are predicting both product outcomes and reputational consequences 11:40 – What Comes Next: Confidence. If buying is prediction, the next question is obvious — how do buyers build enough confidence to act? Key Takeaways: "Value doesn't exist at the time of purchase." – Mark Stiving "Buyer disconnect is the gap between how buyers perceive value and how sellers think buyers perceive value." – Mark Stiving "In B2B, buyers aren't just predicting product outcomes — they're predicting what happens to their reputation." – Mark Stiving "There are two predictions in every purchase; I assume the product will behave the way I expect, and I assume I'll behave the way I expect." – Rebecca Kalogeris Resources and People Mentioned: Yogi Berra Buyer Disconnect (Mark Stiving's Upcoming Book) Connect with Rebecca Kalogeris: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-kalogeris Connect with Mark Stiving: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stiving/ Email: mark@impactpricing.com
Summary of Message by Pastor Bryan Hudson, DMin FORWARD: The Only Direction God Is Moving (Generated by OpenAI) This message presents “Forward” as a foundational theme: God's direction is always forward, and those who walk with Him must align themselves with that movement. The focus is on developing the right perspective, mindset, and faith to move into a new season with clarity and spiritual strength. Hebrews 12:1–2, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Perception by Ryan Holiday: Perception is how we see and understand what occurs around us—and what we decide those events will mean. Our perceptions can be a source of strength or of great weakness. Just because other people say that something is hopeless or crazy or broken to pieces doesn't mean it is. We decide what story to tell ourselves. Or whether we will tell one at all. Welcome to the power of perception. Forward Is a Mindset Forward is more than physical movement. It is a way of thinking and living. Without a forward mindset, life becomes confined to two realities: The past (what has already happened) The present (what is currently happening) But God is always revealing something beyond what we currently see. A forward mindset embraces growth, development, and destiny rather than remaining trapped in memory or circumstance. Perception Shapes Experience A central principle of the message is that perception influences reality. Events are real, but how we interpret them determines how they shape us. Believers must guard against allowing: Other people's narratives Cultural narratives Emotional reactions to define their reality. This is not about positive thinking alone; it is about aligning perception with God's Word, promises, and character. Faith itself is a God-centered perspective. What you perceive may not automatically change circumstances—but it will change you, and that transformation positions you for forward movement. Hebrews 12:1–2 — The Roadmap for Forward Movement The message uses Hebrews 12:1–2 as a spiritual roadmap for going forward: Lay aside every weight — not everything that slows you down is sinful, but unnecessary burdens must be released. Lay aside sin — entanglements that ensnare must be removed. Run with endurance — forward progress requires persistence, not speed. Run your race — avoid distraction, comparison, and outside noise. Look unto Jesus — He is both the author (starter) and finisher (developer) of faith. Forward living requires discipline and focus. Just as travel requires a map, purposeful spiritual movement requires direction and clarity. The Greatest Obstacles: The Past and the Present The message identifies two major threats to forward progress, along with a third contrasting promise: The Peril of the Past The Peril of the Present The Promise of the Future The Peril of the Past The past becomes dangerous when it pulls us backward emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The peril of the past includes: Successes that create complacency Failures that create shame Mistakes that create regret People who try to hold us in old versions of ourselves A key distinction is made: Remembering means learning lessons. Looking back means longing to return. Looking back prevents growth because it distracts from what God is doing now. The warning of Lot's wife illustrates that backward movement can lead to destruction. She was instructed to flee judgment, but instead turned back toward what she was leaving. The lesson: when God says move forward, hesitation and reversal are dangerous. The message also emphasizes the importance of accurate remembrance. Ignoring or distorting history does not solve problems; it perpetuates them. To move forward properly, foundations must be truthful and sound. The Peril of the Present The present becomes perilous when circumstances alone define identity and possibility. The example of Israel at the Red Sea (Exodus 14) demonstrates this danger. They had been delivered from slavery but faced: An impassable sea ahead An advancing army behind Their past slavery mindset combined with present fear tempted them to retreat. Circumstances seemed to say they would never be free. The command “Go forward” was not merely directional; it was transformational. It was a call to: Change perspective Reject fear-driven narratives Align with God's promise Even when nothing had visibly changed in the moment, God's word introduced a new reality. The message stresses that the greatest difference between a crisis and victory is often what you think about it. God's perspective interrupts fear and invites repentance—not necessarily from sin, but from wrong thinking. Repentance is defined as changing the mind, and mindset change becomes the gateway to blessing. Moving Forward Requires Intentional Alignment Forward progress may require practical changes: Adjusting what influences your thinking Limiting negative or fear-based inputs Choosing trusted voices Refusing paralysis by over-analysis Standing still is easy. Moving forward is difficult because it involves risk, mistakes, and emotional discomfort. But stopping is not an option if God is moving. The Promise of the Future If the past contains peril and the present contains pressure, the future contains promise. The promise of the future rests on two anchors: Character in Christ God's promises These provide stability when circumstances fluctuate. Jesus endured the cross “for the joy set before Him,” seeing the future redemption of humanity. That forward vision sustained Him through suffering. Likewise, believers endure by focusing on what God is building ahead. The Meaning of FORWARD The message concludes by defining forward living through seven qualities: Faithful — steady and full of faith Obedient — responsive to God without delay Resilient — able to recover after setbacks Wise — operating in Christ-centered discernment Aligned — staying in step with God's Word and plan Redemptive — participating in spiritual and social restoration Destined — moving toward God's appointed purpose Final Emphasis The core declaration remains clear: Do not be trapped by the peril of the past. Do not be defined by the peril of the present. Live in the promise of the future. God's way is forward. Those who walk with Him must move in that same direction—mentally, spiritually, relationally, and missionally—bringing others along toward redemption and purpose.
Cook time: 40 minutes Prep time: 60 minutes Serves: 6-8 1 size 14 chicken 2 litres cold water 200 gm un-iodized salt 2 tbsp unsalted butter 2 tbsp flour 1 onion, peeled and sliced 4 cloves garlic, crushed 500 ml chicken stock 1 tbsp dijion mustard 1 lemon, zested 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan 2 sheets puff pastry 1 egg Whisk the salt into the water until dissolved. Submerge the chicken into the brine and place into the fridge over night or 12 hours. Remove the chicken from the brine and place into a pot and cover with cold fresh water. Place on medium heat and slowly bring up to the to the boil, Simmer until cooked or until the chicken reaches a internal temperature of 75*c. Once the chicken is cooked, turn off the heat and allow to cool in the liquid,. Once cool enough to handle remove the chicken and shred down the meat, discarding the bones and skin. Place the sliced onions and garlic into a pot and melt the butter, slowly saute the onions and garlic until soft. Add in the flour and cook for a further minute. Slowly start to add the chicken stock, stirring in between each to remove any lumps. Once all the stock has been added bring up to the boil and season with salt. Turn off the heat and add in the chicken and mustard. Spray a family size pie dish with cooking spray and lay a sheet of pastry in the bottom, cutting around the edge. Spoon in chicken mix. Topped with parmesan and lemon zest. Whisk egg and brush onto the edge of pastry Lay the second sheet of pastry on top. With your fingers, press the two sheets of pastry together around the edges. Prick the top sheet with a fork and brush with eggwash. Bake pie in oven on 180*c for 40 minutes. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Amigos muy buen fin de semana, de mes, de quincena tengan todes. Alegren su viernes con las recomendaciones de cine y series con Gaby Cam. El Dr García nos cuenta cuando aplicó el salto del tigre y vivimos el reencuentro de Layún con su verdadero padre. Raúl Jiménez nos da el secreto de su éxito y 'Alito' Moreno invita el desayuno para todos.
Chad Delligatti — CEO of InnoSourceChad Delligatti is the CEO of InnoSource — a more than two-decade-old, Ohio-based company that has grown into a national workforce solutions platform serving Fortune 500 and midsized organizations across the country.Since joining InnoSource in 2000 as one of its earliest employees, Chad has devoted his entire professional career to building the company — helping it evolve from a regional staffing firm into the leading HR, talent, outsourcing, and data solutions partner it is today, employing more than 2,000 associates across North America, partnering with clients to deliver highly customized recruiting and workforce management solutions.But this isn't just a story about staffing…From sweeping neighbors' floors in Bexley as a child, to running a lawn care business in Granville, to flipping Beanie Babies in college, Chad's entrepreneurial drive showed up early. And when faced with the choice between joining a large corporation or becoming one of the first employees at a small, fledgling company called InnoSource, he chose the entrepreneurial path — a decision that shaped the next 25 years of his life.In our conversation, Chad reflects on what it means to dedicate decades to building one company — the evolution of the staffing and outsourcing industry from newspaper classifieds to job boards to AI-driven recruiting — and how InnoSource is now entering a new chapter powered by technology.We unpack how the implementation of AI is reshaping hiring funnels, reducing time-to-offer, improving tenure, and fundamentally transforming how workforce solutions are delivered. We also explore what hasn't changed: the company's cultural anchors, leadership principles, and Chad's conviction that technology must enhance — not replace — the human touch.This conversation was a lot of fun — chad exudes passion for his work and it comes through in spades. Please So please enjoy this awesome discussion with Chad Delligatti.00:00 The Journey of InnoSource: A Personal Story15:07 InnoSource Today: Services and Innovations19:26 Evolution of the Staffing Industry: Adapting to Change26:47 AI in Recruitment: Transforming the Landscape31:20 The Human Touch: Balancing AI and Personal Connection33:13 Embracing Change in Recruitment37:22 Leadership Lessons from Experience46:59 Core Values and Company Culture55:24 Defining Success and Motivation01:01:21 Upskilling for Future Opportunities01:05:10 Outro-----LINKS:https://innosource.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-delligatti-621bba2/-----SPONSOR:Roundstone InsuranceRoundstone Insurance is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. Founder and CEO, Michael Schroeder, has committed full-year support for the podcast, recognizing its alignment with the company's passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and community leadership.Headquartered in Rocky River, Ohio, Roundstone was founded in 2005 with a vision to deliver better healthcare outcomes at a more affordable cost. To bring that vision to life, the company pioneered the group medical captive model — a self-funded health insurance solution that provides small and mid-sized businesses with greater control and significant savings.Over the past two decades, Roundstone has grown rapidly, creating nearly 200 jobs in Northeast Ohio. The company works closely with employers and benefits advisors to navigate the complexities of commercial health insurance and build custom plans that prioritize employee well-being over shareholder returns. By focusing on aligned incentives and better health outcomes, Roundstone is helping businesses save thousands in Per Employee Per Year healthcare costs. Roundstone Insurance — Built for entrepreneurs. Backed by innovation. Committed to Cleveland.Cerity PartnersCerity Partners, a full-service investment and wealth management firm serving high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and business owners, is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. The firm has local roots in Cleveland and across Ohio, and like this podcast, Cerity Partners advisors specialize in serving the interests of local entrepreneurs and business leaders. They understand how to manage the total picture of wealth, both personal and professional. Cerity Partners has a unified team of specialists who collaborate on almost every aspect of a client's financial life, including business ownership. The firm's national presence means it can offer the resources and specialized knowledge of the largest institutions with the independence and service of a neighbor. The Cerity Partners Cleveland team understands the complexity that comes with wealth, and they adhere to fiduciary standards. Discover the financial lay of your land.Learn more at ceritypartners.com/NPR or call 216-464-6266.-----Stay up to date by signing up for Lay of The Land's weekly newsletter — sign up here: https://layoftheland.ck.page/5f0c1e28faConnect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/Follow Lay of The Land on X @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/
Here we are- Game of the Year. The big finale. We've had quite enough preamble- let's get to it. The Nominees Are: Aotenjo: Infinite Hands of the Devil (Episodes I + II) Dragon Quest I + II HD-2D Remake Dynasty Warriors: Origins Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Fields of Mistria The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment The Legend of Sword & Fairy Pinfeather Rise of the Ronin Skate Story Sonic x Shadow Generations Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3: Community Edition Unbeatable Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O -World Stage- Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2024 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.
Hotwire Trivia - Gene vs Catrell MLB - AL Central Lineups CBB - Darryn Peterson discussion, Lay of the Land YGBKM
Cast-aways At College: part 2Survivors savor the joy of living, and their bravery turns to romantic discovery.By SilverFoxMullet.Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Luckily for me, my room was on the ground floor, as my building has no elevators. I had my key on a lanyard around my neck, and I unlocked the door. I let her precede me inside, and I shut the door once I got in. She looked around the room, which I usually keep fairly neat, but lately it’s been immaculate. I am not as active with crutches, so I’ve stayed in a fair bit the last couple of weeks. And I clean when I get bored.“Your room is so neat. I expected, um, sorry, a pigsty. You know, ‘guy’?”“It’s not usually this nice, but I’ve been staying in a lot recently." Tapping my cast for emphasis.She looked at my leg, then asked "Can I sign your cast?”“Only if I can sign yours." I negotiated."Deal. Got a pen?” She inquired.“Desk, top drawer." I responded, and suddenly thought. Oh No. "Uh, I’ll get one for you.”She was too quick, you know, having moveable feet and all, and she pulled the drawer open. First thing she sees is the unopened box of condoms my dorm buddies gave me for Christmas. Her eyebrows rose, and she put a finger on the still-sealed box. Then she turned bright red, and picked up a sharpie.“Your cast is covered up, I can’t get at it.” she said in a slightly quavering voice. She looked nervous and fidgety. I knew I was nervous as all hell. That box of condoms was meant as a joke, as I was notorious for not getting anywhere with the ladies. I’d kissed a couple of girls, but that was as far as I’d ever gotten. I just wasn’t able to pursue them the way other guys did. I always backed off. Just couldn’t put myself forward like that.I looked down at my leg, covered by the sweatpants. It took every ounce of bravery I could muster to open my mouth and say the words. “I’ll have to uncover it I guess.”She knelt in front of me. I could see how nervous she was. Hell, I could feel how nervous I was. “Suzanne? I, uh, I never-”“Me too." She affirmed.I looked in her eyes and asked; "Are you sure?”“Yes.” she said, and she reached for my waistband.“Wait.” I interrupted.She stopped, and had a fearful expression on her face, like I’d just said something that hurt her. Damn, that hurts me, to see her look of feeling rejected.“Let me get on the bed first, this chair is so uncomfortable.”“Oh, Okay. Can I help you?”“Yeah, just hold the chair still?”She got behind it, and I heard her say “Hey there’s brakes.” Once the brakes were set, it was easy to get out of the chair and sat the bed. She unset the brakes and slipped the chair into the corner, then knelt down before me again. This time I leaned back on my elbows & she reached out to pull down my sweats with a little more confidence. She got them to my knees, and stopped to pull off the shoe on my good leg.The sweats slipped off my legs, leaving me semi-reclined in my polo shirt and briefs. The briefs were definitely bulging now. She stared at my crotch for long enough that I became self-conscious, and I blushed almost as red as she was.Grinning big, she picked up the sharpie, then wrote a note on my cast.“To Robert, I saved myself for the one who saved my life, Suzanne”It was difficult to read from my angle, so she read it out loud to me. My heart started to race, and I felt a little dizzy. "Really?“ I said.She blushed harder, as if that were even possible, and looked at the floor."I think I’ve been saving myself for someone like you, too.” I said.She looked up at me, with what I thought was panic at first, but the smile that grew from that look was anything but panicked. I held out my hand for the pen. She sat to my left and held out her arm. It was covered by her blouse, so I said “Uh, It’s covered”.“Then you’ll have to uncover it I guess,” she beamed.She shifted up over me and I reached up with trembling fingers to work the front buttons on her silky long sleeved top. It felt like I had never operated a button in my life, I was so uncoordinated. But I finally got the job done, and her blouse fell open. I slid it off her far shoulder, and she pulled her left arm free. I stared in wonder at her tits. She didn’t have a bra on, probably because she needed both hands to get it on and off. Oh My Fucking God.I absently drew her blouse off her right shoulder, and slid the puffy long sleeve down & off her right arm and it's cast. Only then did I take in the veritable wonder of an actual pair of real live tits in front of my eyes. “Wow” I said with bright eyes. Her tits were a smaller B cup, with areolas a shade darker than her skin tone, and stiff little nipples poking out.“They’re not too small?” she timidly asked.“God no, wow! You’re beautiful!” I said with a giddiness I couldn t suppress.She blushed and looked away shyly for a second. I remembered the pen in my hand, so I had her lay on her back so I could write on her cast.“To Suzanne, saving each other, saved for each other, Robert”As I was capping the pen her left hand pulled me down against her, and her lips rushed to meet mine. I had thought she had nice lips when I kissed her earlier, but that was mostly one-sided. This was phenomenal. I dropped the pen somewhere, and wrapped my arms around her. We kissed like this for minutes, or maybe it was days, I dunno, I didn’t care. She lay half across my lap, and I bent over her, our lips and tongues entwined for such a glorious time.It was never like this. I was always so nervous trying to kiss a girl before, but this was passion and perfection. We finally had to come up for air, and she smiled sweetly at me as she lay back on my bed. I guess that’s when she felt my erection pressing into her hip. Her eyes went wide, then she grinned up at me.“Am I as fetching as you thought?”“Yeah, fetching is not the half of it. Arousing, beautiful, and literally stunning. I have no more words.”“Shall I get the, um, the box, from your desk?” she offered.“Not yet.” I replied, hobbling up off the bed, then guiding her to her feet. I undid the zipper on her slacks, and slipped them down to pile up around her ankles. She kicked her shoes off and stepped out of her slacks. “Damn” I said. She was so pale and delicate. Not a small girl, probably the same height as me, but she was certainly slimmer than I was, overall.Her hands seemed to want to cover her boobs, but she fought that urge, standing before me as a lover, not a recently met stranger. I was drawn to her, & I could feel the pull, like gravity between us. She tentatively reached toward me, and I realized she wanted me as naked as she was, so we peeled off my polo shirt.She gasped, looked me up and down, her gaze settling on the sharply defined summit in my underwear. She reached out again, and clumsily pulled down the front of my briefs with her left hand. I hooked my thumb into the waistband behind me and it made her mission move along quickly. But as she leaned down to complete the descent, she nearly got poked in the eye.“Oh dear” she said as my stiff cock sprang free of its confinement and pointed upward toward her. “That’s so… different. Bigger.” Her eyes were wide now as she took in what was apparently her first sight of a full erection.I reached for her, and she started to back away, so I laid back down and waited. She fidgeted some more, some kind of internal debate, and then she knelt and leaned right up to me, nodding. “Okay” she said.I reached down again, and ever so slowly peeled her panties off. Fuck. A neat little triangle of sparse, dark hair was there, just above a puffy slit. I’d seen lots of porn, but this was not like any of that. All those porn stars shaved and trimmed and waxed away everything. This was whatever she had, all of it, come as you are.Her panties dropped to her knees, and I said “Wow. You’re beautiful.”“You think so?” she asked.“Oh yes, I know so.” I said with conviction.She smiled, then shifted nervously and flipped her panties to the floor. Then she paused again, a fleeting glance back to the desk. "Lay down here with me for a while.“ I said.Relaxing the tiniest bit, she laid alongside and half on me, and we embraced, as best we could with two limbs encased in plaster. We kissed again, and it was similar to before, but the extra skin contact made the sensation so much better. I put my hands to use, stroking her back, her neck, her tits, and her thighs as she shivered from my touch. Then she shifted onto her side and her left hand was around the back of my neck, drawing our kiss closer, pressing her pert tits into my chest, crushing me to her. As before, we kissed forever, it seemed. Once she let up on her clutching me, I gently rolled her onto her back, on the bed.I wanted to see that pussy. To touch it, smell it, taste it! I’d read about eating a girl out, I’d watched innumerable videos, and now I had the opportunity to try it. Some guys said it was gross, and wouldn’t do it. Some said it was the best way to get a girl worked up, so don’t mind the smell and taste, just do it. Me, I just wanted to find out what it was like, I didn’t care if it was good or bad, I was gonna do this.Gently, I scooted myself up, then farther down the bed. I pushed her legs apart, and she watched in wonder as I leaned down to look at her. Wow, this was amazing. "You’re beautiful” I said to her pussy. I leaned right in and kissed her patch. There was a sharp sour tang to her, but it wasn’t bad, just new, different. I swept my tongue along her slit, picking up even more of her strong flavour. Inside, it was different, still not good or bad, I guessed that this was just what a pussy tasted like.Again and again I lapped at her, and she got wetter and wetter. Her knees bent as she opened herself up, inviting me farther inside. This wetness might have been me drooling on her, or her arousal, I didn’t know. She was making joyous little noises up there, in time to my activities with my tongue. That felt good, really good, to me! I caressed her thighs, then ran my fingers through her delicate fur, and her hips moved in a way I had never imagined I would ever see. I could FEEL her arousal in that motion, she was so happy with what I was doing, and that made me happy!I knew her clitoris was supposed to be up here somewhere, so I began licking at the apex of her slit. Her soft cries and shudders let me now when I found it. Yes, there she was, and when I used my tongue the way I saw in those videos, she reacted with an astonishing cry and multiple thrusts of her hips. She practically bounced on the bed and yelped in her efforts to seemingly avoid my tongue and ram herself onto it at one and the same time.Her hand came down to twine her fingers in my hair, not too push me away, or even to draw me in, but just to make contact, to be part of what was happening to her. I continued to lick her clit gently, and her hips began a hypnotic rolling motion, over and over, slowly cycling up and down.I put a finger down where I thought her opening was, and moved it around, between her slick labia. I found what I sought, and as my finger slipped inside of her, the tone of her soft noises changed, from one of languid pleasure to one of lust and need. I continued this double activity, which came so much easier to me than the old patting-head and rubbing-tummy trick. I always botched that, but not this!I had thought that I’d made her cum a while earlier, when she’d made that louder noise, but I was wrong, or perhaps this was a new order of magnitude for her. This time her entire body tensed up, and she shook and made small gasping sounds for a half a minute. Now her hand was pushing me away, her breath rasping in her throat, as she’d had enough of this.“Oh, Robert” she whispered hoarsely.I sat up and let my casted leg hang over the side of the bed. Then I looked down upon her, spread out before me, spread eagle, gasping for air in her glory.“Did I do Okay?” I asked.She laughed weakly, then said; “I didn’t know it could be like that.”“Me neither.” I admitted.“Do, do we need those uh, things now?”“Condoms. Yes, we’ll need those, I hope?” I eager looked at her.“I’d get them, but I can’t seem to move right now, she revealed. Can I catch my breath for a bit?” She was still breathing heavily.“That’s Okay, we re in no hurry, I assured her.I felt like I would never tire of watching her when she was naked and aroused. Beautiful, amazing. After a while she struggled to sit up, difficult with one arm and tangled up with another person in bed. She stepped over to the desk and got out that box, then brought it to me. She sat down on the side of the bed and watched closely as I opened it and pulled out a strip of condoms. A folded instruction sheet fell out in my lap, and she picked it up. I tore one of the condom packages off the strip as she unfolded the paper & flipped it over to read the English side. I peered over her shoulder at the little diagram, and tore open the packet. Suzanne dropped the paper and looked closely at what I was doing as I squeezed the tip and rolled it on."That’s it?” she asked.“Yup, I think so, I surmised.She lifted her cast-encased arm and said "How do we do this?”“You on top, I think.”“On top?” she asked, “I don’t understand.”“Can I show you a video?” I offered.“Oh, Okay. You mean like, a porn video?”“Uh huh, so you can see what position might work.”“O, kay?”She got up, unplugged my laptop, and brought it over, placing it on our laps. I surfed to a site I knew had good videos. I typed cowgirl in the search box and scrolled through the resulting thumbnails. I soon found a promising one, and clicked on it. I had to fast forward through a lot of it, and she said “Go back to that last part.”I backed up a bit and she watched in rapt fascination as a girl on the screen took a guy’s cock deep into her mouth. “Can I try that?” she asked.“Sure! if you want.”The girl on the screen pulled away and continued to stroke the guy, his cum splattering her face, then she took him back in to finish.“Yew. Maybe not.”“Like I said, only if you want.”“Well, you did that for me, so maybe I should do that for you, too.”“Let’s find the bit we’re looking for first.”I skipped forward a bit more, then found the cowgirl segment. “See, she’s on top, our casts won’t be in the way too much like that. Plus, it gives you the ability to take things along as you re comfortable.We watched for a minute. "Okay, I can do that.” she said.Closing the laptop, she put it on the floor and slid it under the bed. She got off the bed, and let me shift around, and clambered back on. Straddling my thighs, she bit her lip and said, “It’s supposed to hurt the first time, isn’t it?”“I think so. You’ll have to be gentle.” That s why I wanted us to try it this way.She nodded, then reached down and grasped my cock. She took a few minutes to fondle and stroke my cock, with a look of curiosity, desire, and giddiness. She knelt straight up, and shifted her body forward to align her new play tool with her cunt, moving her hips and my cock, to find the right spot. Once engaged, she withdrew her hand and sank halfway down onto me.She froze, with a curious look on her face.“Huh” she groaned.“Oh god, Suzanne” I said, basking in the hot wet tightness of her pussy. It was incredible. I was gonna cum, and soon, this was so astonishingly good!She was descended in front of me, pert tits caped with tight hard nipples, hair hanging in disarray about her face, and her pussy - holy fuck - I could see my cock impaling her. Labia distended and wrapped around my shaft, and the sensations from inside her were amazing! As she raised back up, my cock looked like it had a pussy doughnut encircling it.It was like some weird sheathed hand, wrapped around my cock, with rippling touches here and there. Her thousand-yard stare suddenly focused back on me, and she said “Wow” and slid down my shaft until she bottomed out. “That didn’t hurt at all” she whispered in awe. “That feels so good! You feel so big inside me.”Recalling the video we’d previewed, she started humping and grinding and bouncing on my shaft. I was trying not to cum yet, I wanted to please her first, and luckily, what she was doing wasn’t over stimulating me. Except visually, I was getting so turned on by the sight of a naked girl getting turned on by my own cock! And guys are visual creatures, so it was difficult to hold back.But she did cum again, and hard, and I could feel it from the inside. Her orgasm was a rippling and clenching of muscles, both inside her pussy, and over her whole body. Her arms, her legs, her abs, everything tensed and shook. Maybe there s nothing so visually erotic as watching a sexy woman having a massive trance orgasm.And that was all I could stand before I exploded.I thought the condom was gonna explode, I pumped so much cum into it. The sight of her there, on me, cumming, fuck that was intense.When it had passed, she opened her eyes in wonder and looked down at me. “Oh god Robert, this is amazing! You’re amazing.” All I could do was smile up at her. Then she said “Did you finish yet?”“Oh Yeah." I assured her.She smiled with a deep sense of accomplishment, then asked me; "Can I try that mouth thing?” Her innocence is so sexy.“A blowjob?" I asked."That’s a blowjob? she seemed inquisitive. I heard other people talk about it, but was always afraid to ask what it was. I really want to try that.”She rose up off of me and tried to get the condom off. Left handed wasn’t working well, so I removed it, and asked her to reach over to the desk for some tissues to clean up. “Thanks” she said, then she went around to the foot of the bed and crawled up to get at my cock.She sat cross-legged and leaned down to get closer to her new favorite sex toy.She held my semi-flaccid cock and gave the tip a tentative lick first, then smiled at me and licked harder. She spent a minute or so licking me like a popsicle. Wow, you taste sorta salty and manly she observed. Then she took my head into her mouth and I gasped and whimpered “Please, No teeth”.“Sorry.” she said. Then I was engulfed again, and she hummed on me, which wa
Cast-aways At College: part 2Survivors savor the joy of living, and their bravery turns to romantic discovery.By SilverFoxMullet.Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Luckily for me, my room was on the ground floor, as my building has no elevators. I had my key on a lanyard around my neck, and I unlocked the door. I let her precede me inside, and I shut the door once I got in. She looked around the room, which I usually keep fairly neat, but lately it’s been immaculate. I am not as active with crutches, so I’ve stayed in a fair bit the last couple of weeks. And I clean when I get bored.“Your room is so neat. I expected, um, sorry, a pigsty. You know, ‘guy’?”“It’s not usually this nice, but I’ve been staying in a lot recently." Tapping my cast for emphasis.She looked at my leg, then asked "Can I sign your cast?”“Only if I can sign yours." I negotiated."Deal. Got a pen?” She inquired.“Desk, top drawer." I responded, and suddenly thought. Oh No. "Uh, I’ll get one for you.”She was too quick, you know, having moveable feet and all, and she pulled the drawer open. First thing she sees is the unopened box of condoms my dorm buddies gave me for Christmas. Her eyebrows rose, and she put a finger on the still-sealed box. Then she turned bright red, and picked up a sharpie.“Your cast is covered up, I can’t get at it.” she said in a slightly quavering voice. She looked nervous and fidgety. I knew I was nervous as all hell. That box of condoms was meant as a joke, as I was notorious for not getting anywhere with the ladies. I’d kissed a couple of girls, but that was as far as I’d ever gotten. I just wasn’t able to pursue them the way other guys did. I always backed off. Just couldn’t put myself forward like that.I looked down at my leg, covered by the sweatpants. It took every ounce of bravery I could muster to open my mouth and say the words. “I’ll have to uncover it I guess.”She knelt in front of me. I could see how nervous she was. Hell, I could feel how nervous I was. “Suzanne? I, uh, I never-”“Me too." She affirmed.I looked in her eyes and asked; "Are you sure?”“Yes.” she said, and she reached for my waistband.“Wait.” I interrupted.She stopped, and had a fearful expression on her face, like I’d just said something that hurt her. Damn, that hurts me, to see her look of feeling rejected.“Let me get on the bed first, this chair is so uncomfortable.”“Oh, Okay. Can I help you?”“Yeah, just hold the chair still?”She got behind it, and I heard her say “Hey there’s brakes.” Once the brakes were set, it was easy to get out of the chair and sat the bed. She unset the brakes and slipped the chair into the corner, then knelt down before me again. This time I leaned back on my elbows & she reached out to pull down my sweats with a little more confidence. She got them to my knees, and stopped to pull off the shoe on my good leg.The sweats slipped off my legs, leaving me semi-reclined in my polo shirt and briefs. The briefs were definitely bulging now. She stared at my crotch for long enough that I became self-conscious, and I blushed almost as red as she was.Grinning big, she picked up the sharpie, then wrote a note on my cast.“To Robert, I saved myself for the one who saved my life, Suzanne”It was difficult to read from my angle, so she read it out loud to me. My heart started to race, and I felt a little dizzy. "Really?“ I said.She blushed harder, as if that were even possible, and looked at the floor."I think I’ve been saving myself for someone like you, too.” I said.She looked up at me, with what I thought was panic at first, but the smile that grew from that look was anything but panicked. I held out my hand for the pen. She sat to my left and held out her arm. It was covered by her blouse, so I said “Uh, It’s covered”.“Then you’ll have to uncover it I guess,” she beamed.She shifted up over me and I reached up with trembling fingers to work the front buttons on her silky long sleeved top. It felt like I had never operated a button in my life, I was so uncoordinated. But I finally got the job done, and her blouse fell open. I slid it off her far shoulder, and she pulled her left arm free. I stared in wonder at her tits. She didn’t have a bra on, probably because she needed both hands to get it on and off. Oh My Fucking God.I absently drew her blouse off her right shoulder, and slid the puffy long sleeve down & off her right arm and it's cast. Only then did I take in the veritable wonder of an actual pair of real live tits in front of my eyes. “Wow” I said with bright eyes. Her tits were a smaller B cup, with areolas a shade darker than her skin tone, and stiff little nipples poking out.“They’re not too small?” she timidly asked.“God no, wow! You’re beautiful!” I said with a giddiness I couldn t suppress.She blushed and looked away shyly for a second. I remembered the pen in my hand, so I had her lay on her back so I could write on her cast.“To Suzanne, saving each other, saved for each other, Robert”As I was capping the pen her left hand pulled me down against her, and her lips rushed to meet mine. I had thought she had nice lips when I kissed her earlier, but that was mostly one-sided. This was phenomenal. I dropped the pen somewhere, and wrapped my arms around her. We kissed like this for minutes, or maybe it was days, I dunno, I didn’t care. She lay half across my lap, and I bent over her, our lips and tongues entwined for such a glorious time.It was never like this. I was always so nervous trying to kiss a girl before, but this was passion and perfection. We finally had to come up for air, and she smiled sweetly at me as she lay back on my bed. I guess that’s when she felt my erection pressing into her hip. Her eyes went wide, then she grinned up at me.“Am I as fetching as you thought?”“Yeah, fetching is not the half of it. Arousing, beautiful, and literally stunning. I have no more words.”“Shall I get the, um, the box, from your desk?” she offered.“Not yet.” I replied, hobbling up off the bed, then guiding her to her feet. I undid the zipper on her slacks, and slipped them down to pile up around her ankles. She kicked her shoes off and stepped out of her slacks. “Damn” I said. She was so pale and delicate. Not a small girl, probably the same height as me, but she was certainly slimmer than I was, overall.Her hands seemed to want to cover her boobs, but she fought that urge, standing before me as a lover, not a recently met stranger. I was drawn to her, & I could feel the pull, like gravity between us. She tentatively reached toward me, and I realized she wanted me as naked as she was, so we peeled off my polo shirt.She gasped, looked me up and down, her gaze settling on the sharply defined summit in my underwear. She reached out again, and clumsily pulled down the front of my briefs with her left hand. I hooked my thumb into the waistband behind me and it made her mission move along quickly. But as she leaned down to complete the descent, she nearly got poked in the eye.“Oh dear” she said as my stiff cock sprang free of its confinement and pointed upward toward her. “That’s so… different. Bigger.” Her eyes were wide now as she took in what was apparently her first sight of a full erection.I reached for her, and she started to back away, so I laid back down and waited. She fidgeted some more, some kind of internal debate, and then she knelt and leaned right up to me, nodding. “Okay” she said.I reached down again, and ever so slowly peeled her panties off. Fuck. A neat little triangle of sparse, dark hair was there, just above a puffy slit. I’d seen lots of porn, but this was not like any of that. All those porn stars shaved and trimmed and waxed away everything. This was whatever she had, all of it, come as you are.Her panties dropped to her knees, and I said “Wow. You’re beautiful.”“You think so?” she asked.“Oh yes, I know so.” I said with conviction.She smiled, then shifted nervously and flipped her panties to the floor. Then she paused again, a fleeting glance back to the desk. "Lay down here with me for a while.“ I said.Relaxing the tiniest bit, she laid alongside and half on me, and we embraced, as best we could with two limbs encased in plaster. We kissed again, and it was similar to before, but the extra skin contact made the sensation so much better. I put my hands to use, stroking her back, her neck, her tits, and her thighs as she shivered from my touch. Then she shifted onto her side and her left hand was around the back of my neck, drawing our kiss closer, pressing her pert tits into my chest, crushing me to her. As before, we kissed forever, it seemed. Once she let up on her clutching me, I gently rolled her onto her back, on the bed.I wanted to see that pussy. To touch it, smell it, taste it! I’d read about eating a girl out, I’d watched innumerable videos, and now I had the opportunity to try it. Some guys said it was gross, and wouldn’t do it. Some said it was the best way to get a girl worked up, so don’t mind the smell and taste, just do it. Me, I just wanted to find out what it was like, I didn’t care if it was good or bad, I was gonna do this.Gently, I scooted myself up, then farther down the bed. I pushed her legs apart, and she watched in wonder as I leaned down to look at her. Wow, this was amazing. "You’re beautiful” I said to her pussy. I leaned right in and kissed her patch. There was a sharp sour tang to her, but it wasn’t bad, just new, different. I swept my tongue along her slit, picking up even more of her strong flavour. Inside, it was different, still not good or bad, I guessed that this was just what a pussy tasted like.Again and again I lapped at her, and she got wetter and wetter. Her knees bent as she opened herself up, inviting me farther inside. This wetness might have been me drooling on her, or her arousal, I didn’t know. She was making joyous little noises up there, in time to my activities with my tongue. That felt good, really good, to me! I caressed her thighs, then ran my fingers through her delicate fur, and her hips moved in a way I had never imagined I would ever see. I could FEEL her arousal in that motion, she was so happy with what I was doing, and that made me happy!I knew her clitoris was supposed to be up here somewhere, so I began licking at the apex of her slit. Her soft cries and shudders let me now when I found it. Yes, there she was, and when I used my tongue the way I saw in those videos, she reacted with an astonishing cry and multiple thrusts of her hips. She practically bounced on the bed and yelped in her efforts to seemingly avoid my tongue and ram herself onto it at one and the same time.Her hand came down to twine her fingers in my hair, not too push me away, or even to draw me in, but just to make contact, to be part of what was happening to her. I continued to lick her clit gently, and her hips began a hypnotic rolling motion, over and over, slowly cycling up and down.I put a finger down where I thought her opening was, and moved it around, between her slick labia. I found what I sought, and as my finger slipped inside of her, the tone of her soft noises changed, from one of languid pleasure to one of lust and need. I continued this double activity, which came so much easier to me than the old patting-head and rubbing-tummy trick. I always botched that, but not this!I had thought that I’d made her cum a while earlier, when she’d made that louder noise, but I was wrong, or perhaps this was a new order of magnitude for her. This time her entire body tensed up, and she shook and made small gasping sounds for a half a minute. Now her hand was pushing me away, her breath rasping in her throat, as she’d had enough of this.“Oh, Robert” she whispered hoarsely.I sat up and let my casted leg hang over the side of the bed. Then I looked down upon her, spread out before me, spread eagle, gasping for air in her glory.“Did I do Okay?” I asked.She laughed weakly, then said; “I didn’t know it could be like that.”“Me neither.” I admitted.“Do, do we need those uh, things now?”“Condoms. Yes, we’ll need those, I hope?” I eager looked at her.“I’d get them, but I can’t seem to move right now, she revealed. Can I catch my breath for a bit?” She was still breathing heavily.“That’s Okay, we re in no hurry, I assured her.I felt like I would never tire of watching her when she was naked and aroused. Beautiful, amazing. After a while she struggled to sit up, difficult with one arm and tangled up with another person in bed. She stepped over to the desk and got out that box, then brought it to me. She sat down on the side of the bed and watched closely as I opened it and pulled out a strip of condoms. A folded instruction sheet fell out in my lap, and she picked it up. I tore one of the condom packages off the strip as she unfolded the paper & flipped it over to read the English side. I peered over her shoulder at the little diagram, and tore open the packet. Suzanne dropped the paper and looked closely at what I was doing as I squeezed the tip and rolled it on."That’s it?” she asked.“Yup, I think so, I surmised.She lifted her cast-encased arm and said "How do we do this?”“You on top, I think.”“On top?” she asked, “I don’t understand.”“Can I show you a video?” I offered.“Oh, Okay. You mean like, a porn video?”“Uh huh, so you can see what position might work.”“O, kay?”She got up, unplugged my laptop, and brought it over, placing it on our laps. I surfed to a site I knew had good videos. I typed cowgirl in the search box and scrolled through the resulting thumbnails. I soon found a promising one, and clicked on it. I had to fast forward through a lot of it, and she said “Go back to that last part.”I backed up a bit and she watched in rapt fascination as a girl on the screen took a guy’s cock deep into her mouth. “Can I try that?” she asked.“Sure! if you want.”The girl on the screen pulled away and continued to stroke the guy, his cum splattering her face, then she took him back in to finish.“Yew. Maybe not.”“Like I said, only if you want.”“Well, you did that for me, so maybe I should do that for you, too.”“Let’s find the bit we’re looking for first.”I skipped forward a bit more, then found the cowgirl segment. “See, she’s on top, our casts won’t be in the way too much like that. Plus, it gives you the ability to take things along as you re comfortable.We watched for a minute. "Okay, I can do that.” she said.Closing the laptop, she put it on the floor and slid it under the bed. She got off the bed, and let me shift around, and clambered back on. Straddling my thighs, she bit her lip and said, “It’s supposed to hurt the first time, isn’t it?”“I think so. You’ll have to be gentle.” That s why I wanted us to try it this way.She nodded, then reached down and grasped my cock. She took a few minutes to fondle and stroke my cock, with a look of curiosity, desire, and giddiness. She knelt straight up, and shifted her body forward to align her new play tool with her cunt, moving her hips and my cock, to find the right spot. Once engaged, she withdrew her hand and sank halfway down onto me.She froze, with a curious look on her face.“Huh” she groaned.“Oh god, Suzanne” I said, basking in the hot wet tightness of her pussy. It was incredible. I was gonna cum, and soon, this was so astonishingly good!She was descended in front of me, pert tits caped with tight hard nipples, hair hanging in disarray about her face, and her pussy - holy fuck - I could see my cock impaling her. Labia distended and wrapped around my shaft, and the sensations from inside her were amazing! As she raised back up, my cock looked like it had a pussy doughnut encircling it.It was like some weird sheathed hand, wrapped around my cock, with rippling touches here and there. Her thousand-yard stare suddenly focused back on me, and she said “Wow” and slid down my shaft until she bottomed out. “That didn’t hurt at all” she whispered in awe. “That feels so good! You feel so big inside me.”Recalling the video we’d previewed, she started humping and grinding and bouncing on my shaft. I was trying not to cum yet, I wanted to please her first, and luckily, what she was doing wasn’t over stimulating me. Except visually, I was getting so turned on by the sight of a naked girl getting turned on by my own cock! And guys are visual creatures, so it was difficult to hold back.But she did cum again, and hard, and I could feel it from the inside. Her orgasm was a rippling and clenching of muscles, both inside her pussy, and over her whole body. Her arms, her legs, her abs, everything tensed and shook. Maybe there s nothing so visually erotic as watching a sexy woman having a massive trance orgasm.And that was all I could stand before I exploded.I thought the condom was gonna explode, I pumped so much cum into it. The sight of her there, on me, cumming, fuck that was intense.When it had passed, she opened her eyes in wonder and looked down at me. “Oh god Robert, this is amazing! You’re amazing.” All I could do was smile up at her. Then she said “Did you finish yet?”“Oh Yeah." I assured her.She smiled with a deep sense of accomplishment, then asked me; "Can I try that mouth thing?” Her innocence is so sexy.“A blowjob?" I asked."That’s a blowjob? she seemed inquisitive. I heard other people talk about it, but was always afraid to ask what it was. I really want to try that.”She rose up off of me and tried to get the condom off. Left handed wasn’t working well, so I removed it, and asked her to reach over to the desk for some tissues to clean up. “Thanks” she said, then she went around to the foot of the bed and crawled up to get at my cock.She sat cross-legged and leaned down to get closer to her new favorite sex toy.She held my semi-flaccid cock and gave the tip a tentative lick first, then smiled at me and licked harder. She spent a minute or so licking me like a popsicle. Wow, you taste sorta salty and manly she observed. Then she took my head into her mouth and I gasped and whimpered “Please, No teeth”.“Sorry.” she said. Then I was engulfed again, and she hummed on me, which wa
Cast-aways At College: part 2Survivors savor the joy of living, and their bravery turns to romantic discovery.By SilverFoxMullet.Listen to the ►Podcast at Steamy Stories.Luckily for me, my room was on the ground floor, as my building has no elevators. I had my key on a lanyard around my neck, and I unlocked the door. I let her precede me inside, and I shut the door once I got in. She looked around the room, which I usually keep fairly neat, but lately it’s been immaculate. I am not as active with crutches, so I’ve stayed in a fair bit the last couple of weeks. And I clean when I get bored.“Your room is so neat. I expected, um, sorry, a pigsty. You know, ‘guy’?”“It’s not usually this nice, but I’ve been staying in a lot recently." Tapping my cast for emphasis.She looked at my leg, then asked "Can I sign your cast?”“Only if I can sign yours." I negotiated."Deal. Got a pen?” She inquired.“Desk, top drawer." I responded, and suddenly thought. Oh No. "Uh, I’ll get one for you.”She was too quick, you know, having moveable feet and all, and she pulled the drawer open. First thing she sees is the unopened box of condoms my dorm buddies gave me for Christmas. Her eyebrows rose, and she put a finger on the still-sealed box. Then she turned bright red, and picked up a sharpie.“Your cast is covered up, I can’t get at it.” she said in a slightly quavering voice. She looked nervous and fidgety. I knew I was nervous as all hell. That box of condoms was meant as a joke, as I was notorious for not getting anywhere with the ladies. I’d kissed a couple of girls, but that was as far as I’d ever gotten. I just wasn’t able to pursue them the way other guys did. I always backed off. Just couldn’t put myself forward like that.I looked down at my leg, covered by the sweatpants. It took every ounce of bravery I could muster to open my mouth and say the words. “I’ll have to uncover it I guess.”She knelt in front of me. I could see how nervous she was. Hell, I could feel how nervous I was. “Suzanne? I, uh, I never-”“Me too." She affirmed.I looked in her eyes and asked; "Are you sure?”“Yes.” she said, and she reached for my waistband.“Wait.” I interrupted.She stopped, and had a fearful expression on her face, like I’d just said something that hurt her. Damn, that hurts me, to see her look of feeling rejected.“Let me get on the bed first, this chair is so uncomfortable.”“Oh, Okay. Can I help you?”“Yeah, just hold the chair still?”She got behind it, and I heard her say “Hey there’s brakes.” Once the brakes were set, it was easy to get out of the chair and sat the bed. She unset the brakes and slipped the chair into the corner, then knelt down before me again. This time I leaned back on my elbows & she reached out to pull down my sweats with a little more confidence. She got them to my knees, and stopped to pull off the shoe on my good leg.The sweats slipped off my legs, leaving me semi-reclined in my polo shirt and briefs. The briefs were definitely bulging now. She stared at my crotch for long enough that I became self-conscious, and I blushed almost as red as she was.Grinning big, she picked up the sharpie, then wrote a note on my cast.“To Robert, I saved myself for the one who saved my life, Suzanne”It was difficult to read from my angle, so she read it out loud to me. My heart started to race, and I felt a little dizzy. "Really?“ I said.She blushed harder, as if that were even possible, and looked at the floor."I think I’ve been saving myself for someone like you, too.” I said.She looked up at me, with what I thought was panic at first, but the smile that grew from that look was anything but panicked. I held out my hand for the pen. She sat to my left and held out her arm. It was covered by her blouse, so I said “Uh, It’s covered”.“Then you’ll have to uncover it I guess,” she beamed.She shifted up over me and I reached up with trembling fingers to work the front buttons on her silky long sleeved top. It felt like I had never operated a button in my life, I was so uncoordinated. But I finally got the job done, and her blouse fell open. I slid it off her far shoulder, and she pulled her left arm free. I stared in wonder at her tits. She didn’t have a bra on, probably because she needed both hands to get it on and off. Oh My Fucking God.I absently drew her blouse off her right shoulder, and slid the puffy long sleeve down & off her right arm and it's cast. Only then did I take in the veritable wonder of an actual pair of real live tits in front of my eyes. “Wow” I said with bright eyes. Her tits were a smaller B cup, with areolas a shade darker than her skin tone, and stiff little nipples poking out.“They’re not too small?” she timidly asked.“God no, wow! You’re beautiful!” I said with a giddiness I couldn t suppress.She blushed and looked away shyly for a second. I remembered the pen in my hand, so I had her lay on her back so I could write on her cast.“To Suzanne, saving each other, saved for each other, Robert”As I was capping the pen her left hand pulled me down against her, and her lips rushed to meet mine. I had thought she had nice lips when I kissed her earlier, but that was mostly one-sided. This was phenomenal. I dropped the pen somewhere, and wrapped my arms around her. We kissed like this for minutes, or maybe it was days, I dunno, I didn’t care. She lay half across my lap, and I bent over her, our lips and tongues entwined for such a glorious time.It was never like this. I was always so nervous trying to kiss a girl before, but this was passion and perfection. We finally had to come up for air, and she smiled sweetly at me as she lay back on my bed. I guess that’s when she felt my erection pressing into her hip. Her eyes went wide, then she grinned up at me.“Am I as fetching as you thought?”“Yeah, fetching is not the half of it. Arousing, beautiful, and literally stunning. I have no more words.”“Shall I get the, um, the box, from your desk?” she offered.“Not yet.” I replied, hobbling up off the bed, then guiding her to her feet. I undid the zipper on her slacks, and slipped them down to pile up around her ankles. She kicked her shoes off and stepped out of her slacks. “Damn” I said. She was so pale and delicate. Not a small girl, probably the same height as me, but she was certainly slimmer than I was, overall.Her hands seemed to want to cover her boobs, but she fought that urge, standing before me as a lover, not a recently met stranger. I was drawn to her, & I could feel the pull, like gravity between us. She tentatively reached toward me, and I realized she wanted me as naked as she was, so we peeled off my polo shirt.She gasped, looked me up and down, her gaze settling on the sharply defined summit in my underwear. She reached out again, and clumsily pulled down the front of my briefs with her left hand. I hooked my thumb into the waistband behind me and it made her mission move along quickly. But as she leaned down to complete the descent, she nearly got poked in the eye.“Oh dear” she said as my stiff cock sprang free of its confinement and pointed upward toward her. “That’s so… different. Bigger.” Her eyes were wide now as she took in what was apparently her first sight of a full erection.I reached for her, and she started to back away, so I laid back down and waited. She fidgeted some more, some kind of internal debate, and then she knelt and leaned right up to me, nodding. “Okay” she said.I reached down again, and ever so slowly peeled her panties off. Fuck. A neat little triangle of sparse, dark hair was there, just above a puffy slit. I’d seen lots of porn, but this was not like any of that. All those porn stars shaved and trimmed and waxed away everything. This was whatever she had, all of it, come as you are.Her panties dropped to her knees, and I said “Wow. You’re beautiful.”“You think so?” she asked.“Oh yes, I know so.” I said with conviction.She smiled, then shifted nervously and flipped her panties to the floor. Then she paused again, a fleeting glance back to the desk. "Lay down here with me for a while.“ I said.Relaxing the tiniest bit, she laid alongside and half on me, and we embraced, as best we could with two limbs encased in plaster. We kissed again, and it was similar to before, but the extra skin contact made the sensation so much better. I put my hands to use, stroking her back, her neck, her tits, and her thighs as she shivered from my touch. Then she shifted onto her side and her left hand was around the back of my neck, drawing our kiss closer, pressing her pert tits into my chest, crushing me to her. As before, we kissed forever, it seemed. Once she let up on her clutching me, I gently rolled her onto her back, on the bed.I wanted to see that pussy. To touch it, smell it, taste it! I’d read about eating a girl out, I’d watched innumerable videos, and now I had the opportunity to try it. Some guys said it was gross, and wouldn’t do it. Some said it was the best way to get a girl worked up, so don’t mind the smell and taste, just do it. Me, I just wanted to find out what it was like, I didn’t care if it was good or bad, I was gonna do this.Gently, I scooted myself up, then farther down the bed. I pushed her legs apart, and she watched in wonder as I leaned down to look at her. Wow, this was amazing. "You’re beautiful” I said to her pussy. I leaned right in and kissed her patch. There was a sharp sour tang to her, but it wasn’t bad, just new, different. I swept my tongue along her slit, picking up even more of her strong flavour. Inside, it was different, still not good or bad, I guessed that this was just what a pussy tasted like.Again and again I lapped at her, and she got wetter and wetter. Her knees bent as she opened herself up, inviting me farther inside. This wetness might have been me drooling on her, or her arousal, I didn’t know. She was making joyous little noises up there, in time to my activities with my tongue. That felt good, really good, to me! I caressed her thighs, then ran my fingers through her delicate fur, and her hips moved in a way I had never imagined I would ever see. I could FEEL her arousal in that motion, she was so happy with what I was doing, and that made me happy!I knew her clitoris was supposed to be up here somewhere, so I began licking at the apex of her slit. Her soft cries and shudders let me now when I found it. Yes, there she was, and when I used my tongue the way I saw in those videos, she reacted with an astonishing cry and multiple thrusts of her hips. She practically bounced on the bed and yelped in her efforts to seemingly avoid my tongue and ram herself onto it at one and the same time.Her hand came down to twine her fingers in my hair, not too push me away, or even to draw me in, but just to make contact, to be part of what was happening to her. I continued to lick her clit gently, and her hips began a hypnotic rolling motion, over and over, slowly cycling up and down.I put a finger down where I thought her opening was, and moved it around, between her slick labia. I found what I sought, and as my finger slipped inside of her, the tone of her soft noises changed, from one of languid pleasure to one of lust and need. I continued this double activity, which came so much easier to me than the old patting-head and rubbing-tummy trick. I always botched that, but not this!I had thought that I’d made her cum a while earlier, when she’d made that louder noise, but I was wrong, or perhaps this was a new order of magnitude for her. This time her entire body tensed up, and she shook and made small gasping sounds for a half a minute. Now her hand was pushing me away, her breath rasping in her throat, as she’d had enough of this.“Oh, Robert” she whispered hoarsely.I sat up and let my casted leg hang over the side of the bed. Then I looked down upon her, spread out before me, spread eagle, gasping for air in her glory.“Did I do Okay?” I asked.She laughed weakly, then said; “I didn’t know it could be like that.”“Me neither.” I admitted.“Do, do we need those uh, things now?”“Condoms. Yes, we’ll need those, I hope?” I eager looked at her.“I’d get them, but I can’t seem to move right now, she revealed. Can I catch my breath for a bit?” She was still breathing heavily.“That’s Okay, we re in no hurry, I assured her.I felt like I would never tire of watching her when she was naked and aroused. Beautiful, amazing. After a while she struggled to sit up, difficult with one arm and tangled up with another person in bed. She stepped over to the desk and got out that box, then brought it to me. She sat down on the side of the bed and watched closely as I opened it and pulled out a strip of condoms. A folded instruction sheet fell out in my lap, and she picked it up. I tore one of the condom packages off the strip as she unfolded the paper & flipped it over to read the English side. I peered over her shoulder at the little diagram, and tore open the packet. Suzanne dropped the paper and looked closely at what I was doing as I squeezed the tip and rolled it on."That’s it?” she asked.“Yup, I think so, I surmised.She lifted her cast-encased arm and said "How do we do this?”“You on top, I think.”“On top?” she asked, “I don’t understand.”“Can I show you a video?” I offered.“Oh, Okay. You mean like, a porn video?”“Uh huh, so you can see what position might work.”“O, kay?”She got up, unplugged my laptop, and brought it over, placing it on our laps. I surfed to a site I knew had good videos. I typed cowgirl in the search box and scrolled through the resulting thumbnails. I soon found a promising one, and clicked on it. I had to fast forward through a lot of it, and she said “Go back to that last part.”I backed up a bit and she watched in rapt fascination as a girl on the screen took a guy’s cock deep into her mouth. “Can I try that?” she asked.“Sure! if you want.”The girl on the screen pulled away and continued to stroke the guy, his cum splattering her face, then she took him back in to finish.“Yew. Maybe not.”“Like I said, only if you want.”“Well, you did that for me, so maybe I should do that for you, too.”“Let’s find the bit we’re looking for first.”I skipped forward a bit more, then found the cowgirl segment. “See, she’s on top, our casts won’t be in the way too much like that. Plus, it gives you the ability to take things along as you re comfortable.We watched for a minute. "Okay, I can do that.” she said.Closing the laptop, she put it on the floor and slid it under the bed. She got off the bed, and let me shift around, and clambered back on. Straddling my thighs, she bit her lip and said, “It’s supposed to hurt the first time, isn’t it?”“I think so. You’ll have to be gentle.” That s why I wanted us to try it this way.She nodded, then reached down and grasped my cock. She took a few minutes to fondle and stroke my cock, with a look of curiosity, desire, and giddiness. She knelt straight up, and shifted her body forward to align her new play tool with her cunt, moving her hips and my cock, to find the right spot. Once engaged, she withdrew her hand and sank halfway down onto me.She froze, with a curious look on her face.“Huh” she groaned.“Oh god, Suzanne” I said, basking in the hot wet tightness of her pussy. It was incredible. I was gonna cum, and soon, this was so astonishingly good!She was descended in front of me, pert tits caped with tight hard nipples, hair hanging in disarray about her face, and her pussy - holy fuck - I could see my cock impaling her. Labia distended and wrapped around my shaft, and the sensations from inside her were amazing! As she raised back up, my cock looked like it had a pussy doughnut encircling it.It was like some weird sheathed hand, wrapped around my cock, with rippling touches here and there. Her thousand-yard stare suddenly focused back on me, and she said “Wow” and slid down my shaft until she bottomed out. “That didn’t hurt at all” she whispered in awe. “That feels so good! You feel so big inside me.”Recalling the video we’d previewed, she started humping and grinding and bouncing on my shaft. I was trying not to cum yet, I wanted to please her first, and luckily, what she was doing wasn’t over stimulating me. Except visually, I was getting so turned on by the sight of a naked girl getting turned on by my own cock! And guys are visual creatures, so it was difficult to hold back.But she did cum again, and hard, and I could feel it from the inside. Her orgasm was a rippling and clenching of muscles, both inside her pussy, and over her whole body. Her arms, her legs, her abs, everything tensed and shook. Maybe there s nothing so visually erotic as watching a sexy woman having a massive trance orgasm.And that was all I could stand before I exploded.I thought the condom was gonna explode, I pumped so much cum into it. The sight of her there, on me, cumming, fuck that was intense.When it had passed, she opened her eyes in wonder and looked down at me. “Oh god Robert, this is amazing! You’re amazing.” All I could do was smile up at her. Then she said “Did you finish yet?”“Oh Yeah." I assured her.She smiled with a deep sense of accomplishment, then asked me; "Can I try that mouth thing?” Her innocence is so sexy.“A blowjob?" I asked."That’s a blowjob? she seemed inquisitive. I heard other people talk about it, but was always afraid to ask what it was. I really want to try that.”She rose up off of me and tried to get the condom off. Left handed wasn’t working well, so I removed it, and asked her to reach over to the desk for some tissues to clean up. “Thanks” she said, then she went around to the foot of the bed and crawled up to get at my cock.She sat cross-legged and leaned down to get closer to her new favorite sex toy.She held my semi-flaccid cock and gave the tip a tentative lick first, then smiled at me and licked harder. She spent a minute or so licking me like a popsicle. Wow, you taste sorta salty and manly she observed. Then she took my head into her mouth and I gasped and whimpered “Please, No teeth”.“Sorry.” she said. Then I was engulfed again, and she hummed on me, which wa
After decades in fine dining, renowned restaurateur Jamie Mammano turned his attention to a new challenge: reinventing the tortilla chip. In this episode, he shares how a small tortilla bakery experiment evolved into Mi Niña, one of the country's fastest-growing premium tortilla chip brands, now sold in thousands of retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods, Target and Wegmans. Inspired by his Mexican family and frustrated by the lack of authentic, high-quality tortillas in the market, Jamie discusses how Mi Niña's clean-label, organic positioning helps it stand out in a crowded snack aisle, why innovations like olive oil- and protein-enhanced varieties are driving its next phase of growth, and why he's choosing to forgo private equity as he builds the company on his own terms. Show notes: 0:20: Jamie Mammano, Founder, Mi Niña – Jamie reflects on the origins of Mi Niña, explaining how an early pivot from his initial CPG concept became the catalyst for the brand's growth. He recounts how a chance meeting with Whole Foods sparked early retail momentum and how the company has since expanded to roughly 7,000 stores nationwide. He details how Mi Niña differentiates itself with organic ingredients, clean labels, small-batch production and distinctive packaging, and why he credits product quality and consumer trial—not heavy marketing—for its success. Jamie also discusses staying true to the brand's roots while innovating with new offerings, including an upcoming protein-enhanced chip, addresses private equity interest in the company, explains why he sees CPG as more competitive than the restaurant industry, and shares his vision of "changing the snack game." Brands in this episode: Mi Niña, Tito's, Lay's, Doritos
Are you jealous of how your wife treats your kids?If so, there's probably a younger you that needs some love and attention.Most of us don't know how to take care of the younger us.Here's a simple tool:Lay on the groundPicture the younger youTalk to him and see what he needsThat's it!Do that for a few minutes each day and see what happens.I be you'll be a better husband and father.To hear more about God's message to me about how my wife sucked… if she married a 3 year old…And how celebrating poop helped me…Listen on the Strong Men Strong Marriages Podcast. Watch on YouTube here.Dr. Mike P.S. Get the 7 Day Email Series: How To Be More Attractive To Your Wife at StrongMen.io
With multiple anime and manga podcasts, it's clear we love this medium a lot. And in 2025 we saw so many cool things. In this penultimate category, we celebrate our favorite anime and manga of the year. The Nominees Are: Apocalypse Hotel The Apothecary Dairies City the Animation Daemons of the Shadow Realm Gosick Knight in One Frame Medalist Red Ranger Isekai Super Dragon Ball Heroes They Were Eleven Umamusume: Pretty Derby - Beginning of a New Era A Wild Last Boss Appeared! Witch Watch The Wonderful World of Puss 'n' Boots Our intro and outro music for the Gimmick Awards 2025 is Lay back by Kazuki Kaneko, and our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.
Brian H. Waters kicks off Wrestling for the Culture discussing Je'Von Evan's subtle response to Kevin Nash after his Mr. Bojangles comment. He also discusses Kiana James shocking win to qualify for the Elimination Chamber, Swerve Strickland's statement win over Kenny Omega plus a few title changes on the independents including Lay'lah James making history at RWA and Mr. Grim adding more gold to his bag and so much more. The rundown:(1:53) Je'Von Evans response to Kevin Nash(6:30) Trick Williams qualifies for the Elimination Chamber (7:48) Kiana James shocks the world pinning Charlotte to qualify for the Elimination Chamber(9:07) Jade Cargill's face to face with Charlotte Flair on Smackdown(9:51) Michin is back (10:32) Oba Femi proves he's more than a big man who can dominate in the ring(11:42) Jaida Parker sidelined with a neck injury(12:33) Kelani Jordan's win over Lola Vice(13:18) Can Sol Ruca trust Zaria?(13:50) Willow Nightingale retains TBS title in four way match(14:21) The Rascalz defeat FTR in AEW Eliminator Tag Team match(14:36) Jet Set Rodeao retain trios titles(15:17) Swerve Strickland destroys Kenny Omega(15:45) Trey Miguel successfully defends TNA International Title(17:20) Layla James becomes first woman to win RWA men's title(17:45) King Koley retains his SCW Michigan Interstate Title(18:12) Mr. Grim wins the vacant WDWA Heavyweight title(18:31) Silk City Kings win the Outlaw Pro Wrestling Tag Titles(18:52) Jade Stone def. Draya Mitchell(19:34) J-Heru & Ace Romero, Aiden Aggro def. Leo Sparrow & B3 (Aaron Ortiz & Anthony Vecchio)(19:56) The Mane Event score big win at House of Glory(20:04) Private Party win big on home turf(20:30) Darien Hardway & The Lost Boys score big win (20:42) Cheeseburger def. Leon Ruff battle at LOL Love/Hate(20:49) Ezabella Wilder def Azura Quinn at WW4A(21:12) JBoujii introduces us to the Greatest Wrestlng Alliance in the BronxCreate some of the best social clips using OPUS Clip. Be sure to click my link belowhttps://www.opus.pro/?via=brianhwaters
Drift into deep, peaceful sleep with this soothing sleep story set in the Scottish Highlands where we ride a steam train from Edinburgh into the peaceful Scottish Glens! Journey to forgotten tranquility hidden among misty mountains and ancient mountains, where my gentle narration, calming Scottish ambience, and soft ASMR help quiet the mind and ease you into rest. This relaxing bedtime story is perfect for insomnia relief, stress reduction, meditation, or falling asleep fast.Let me know how you enjoy it! :)Sam x❤️ Visit https://snoozewithsam.com/ and support us through our amazing merchandise! ❤️Make yourself comfortable and relax with this soothing tale.Support me in creating these stories on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/snoozewithsamIf you enjoy these sleep stories, it would mean to world to me if you showed your appreciation and support through my Patreon. This way I can continue to do what I do!Thank you.Sam00:00 - Introduction04:22 - Edinburgh City07:39 - Streets to Scenery 18:43 - Tea in the Glens23:25 - Discovering Utter Peace32:20 - The Train Waits45:06 - Soothing Highland Nature & Sleep MusicSupport me here: https://www.patreon.com/snoozewithsamListen on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5LJgW_uI99g0ZAA-Yj2azQListen on Amazon Music:https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/40f901d4-2422-424f-9ad8-0a9e34ce86a8/snooze-with-samMusic and visuals are a combination of original productions and/or may include licensed and adapted, remixed, or transformed material from:https://freemusicarchive.org/homehttp://www.epidemicsound.com/https://www.videvo.net/https://www.canva.com/Spatium by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoonMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Music : "The End of the World" by Tristan Lohengrinwww.tristanlohengrin.comLicensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"Snooze with Sam" whispers sleepy stories of Scotland's natural world, all with the help of a soft, soothing Island voice. Lay yourself down, get comfortable and lose yourself in the sea of gentle tones gifted by one of the world's most beautiful countries."Snooze with Sam" is brought to you by Sam Lawson, an entrepreneur, health and fitness professional and lifelong musician from the Isle of Skye. He runs a Coaching business in Glasgow, Scotland, and finds great satisfaction in helping others find peace within themselves, coaching them on towards personal transformation.These original works are the property of Snooze with Sam, © Copyright 2020-2026. All rights reserved.YOU CAN NOW DONATE HERE: https://ko-fi.com/snoozewithsamThank you! :) S x Visit snoozewithsam.com and support us through our amazing merchandise!
Die allererste Fastnacht in Mainz endet für Basti im viel zu engen Mario-Kostüm mit einer Küche voller Kollateralschäden. Währenddessen zweifelt anredo nach einem beunruhigenden Zahnarzt-Besuch an seiner eigenen Ersatzteilfähigkeit. BastiMasti hätte sich seinen ersten Rosenmontag zur Fastnacht in Mainz definitiv anders vorgestellt. Nicht nur sein Freundeskreis macht schlapp, auch das neue Heimatdomizil Mainz weiß nicht so recht zu begeistern. So endet der nachgemachte Kölner Karneval in der nachgemachten Domstadt nicht nur mit Erbrochenem, sondern mit einem Polyester-Overall, der wirklich jede Ader sichtbar macht. Jede. Einzelne. Die Zuchthengst-Ader inklusive. Der Versuch, das Mario-Kostüm gemächtsfähig zu machen, scheitert kläglich. Stattdessen wird kurzfristig auf Cowboy umgerüstet, während draußen Menschen in Hauseingänge urinieren und ein Typ mit dem Teppichreiniger von Rossmann durch die Stadt irrt. Zwischen Weinschorle-Frühstück, Dixi-Klo-Eskapaden und einem Notfall-Küchen-GAU mit LocknLock-Frischhaltedosen, Nicer Dicer und einer Pfanne voller Elend wird klar: Alkohol ist vielleicht doch kein Lifestyle für die Mainz-Era von Sebastian Mast. Parallel kämpft Ex-Internetstar anredo mit seinem lauten Kiefer. Ist er ein abnormales Knack-und-Back-Brötchen? Braucht er eine Knirsch-Schiene oder muss der komplette Kiefer ausgetauscht werden wie ein defektes IKEA-Teil? Und warum schmeckt sein Notvorrat-Wasser aus den neuen Soda Stream Flaschen plötzlich besser als je zuvor? Dazu gibt es eine Exkursion in die Welt von Xavier Naidoo und die große Frage, ob man im Ernstfall lieber Lay’s Chips oder Karnevalskostüme bunkern sollte… Diese und alle anderen Episoden #rundfunk17 findet ihr unter anderem bei Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer und als RSS-Feed.
What kind of faith gets Heaven’s attention? In Luke 7, Jesus was amazed by a Roman centurion’s faith—not a religious leader, but a soldier who understood authority and believed Jesus could heal his servant with just a word... Notes The Roman soldier’s amazing faith got Heaven’s attention. Weak or strong, everyone has a form of faith. Read Luke 7:1–10 Luke 7:9When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following Him, He said, "I tell you, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!" Everything about Jesus was amazing. Matthew 8:27They were amazed and said, "What kind of Man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!" Luke 7:9When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Roman centurions were significant people. This centurion somehow knew Jesus could heal his beloved servant. Sometimes non-believers have more faith than believers. The two disciples on the Emmaus Road summed it up, “We had hoped He was the One.” The non-believers remembered what Jesus said would happen after He died. Matthew 27:63We remember that while He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' Where does sickness come from? Sickness and death were not part of God’s original plan for us. Romans 5:12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. Satan brought the afflictions in Job's life. God will, on occasion, allow sickness in our lives to keep us humble, to teach us lessons, and to prepare us for the future. #1 Natural healing is what God built into the human body. #2 There is supernatural healing too. There is a promise of healing in the book of Isaiah.(Isaiah 53:4–5) 1 Peter 2:24"He himself bore our sins" in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by His wounds you have been healed." Lay hold of this promise when you need His healing touch. Why are some of us still sick?One reason is simply a lack of asking.(James. 4:2) Mark 6:5–6And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. The people who knew Jesus best couldn’t see Him for who He really was. Hebrews 11:1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The safest place to put your faith is in God. Faith is belief plus action. Faith does things. Amazing faith is to be used, applied, and put through its paces. The Christian life is lived by and through faith. Faith can make the difference between something happening and not happening. God is the One who works.But He chooses to work through humans living by faith. Even death is not the end. Jesus said, “I am the living One. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever!I hold the keys of death and the grave.” The powerful centurion had rank, influence, and resources.The widow had nothing. The centurion reached out to Jesus.But Jesus reached out to the woman. Read Luke 7:11–17 Luke 7:13When the Lord saw her, His heart overflowed with compassion. "Don't cry!" He said. Jesus was deeply moved by the widow’s plight. Jonah knew the nature of God was to forgive. Jesus feels sorrow and compassion for those who have lost loved ones. We will see our loved ones who died in faith again. Paul uses the word “harpazō”, translated as “caught up.”(1 Thessalonians 4:16–17) The centurion demonstrated amazing faith. For the people of Nazareth, their familiarity bred contempt. The church is a dangerous place. Every time you hear the gospel and do not respond, your heart gets harder. — Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years. Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Christian, test what you believe, ensuring it aligns with the gospel of Christ. Embrace this lineage of faith. Lay aside fear and dread. For God is love and He loves us. Now go and love others in the same way.
What kind of faith gets Heaven’s attention? In Luke 7, Jesus was amazed by a Roman centurion’s faith—not a religious leader, but a soldier who understood authority and believed Jesus could heal his servant with just a word... Notes The Roman soldier’s amazing faith got Heaven’s attention. Weak or strong, everyone has a form of faith. Read Luke 7:1–10 Luke 7:9When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following Him, He said, "I tell you, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!" Everything about Jesus was amazing. Matthew 8:27They were amazed and said, "What kind of Man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!" Luke 7:9When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Roman centurions were significant people. This centurion somehow knew Jesus could heal his beloved servant. Sometimes non-believers have more faith than believers. The two disciples on the Emmaus Road summed it up, “We had hoped He was the One.” The non-believers remembered what Jesus said would happen after He died. Matthew 27:63We remember that while He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' Where does sickness come from? Sickness and death were not part of God’s original plan for us. Romans 5:12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. Satan brought the afflictions in Job's life. God will, on occasion, allow sickness in our lives to keep us humble, to teach us lessons, and to prepare us for the future. #1 Natural healing is what God built into the human body. #2 There is supernatural healing too. There is a promise of healing in the book of Isaiah.(Isaiah 53:4–5) 1 Peter 2:24"He himself bore our sins" in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by His wounds you have been healed." Lay hold of this promise when you need His healing touch. Why are some of us still sick?One reason is simply a lack of asking.(James. 4:2) Mark 6:5–6And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. The people who knew Jesus best couldn’t see Him for who He really was. Hebrews 11:1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The safest place to put your faith is in God. Faith is belief plus action. Faith does things. Amazing faith is to be used, applied, and put through its paces. The Christian life is lived by and through faith. Faith can make the difference between something happening and not happening. God is the One who works.But He chooses to work through humans living by faith. Even death is not the end. Jesus said, “I am the living One. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever!I hold the keys of death and the grave.” The powerful centurion had rank, influence, and resources.The widow had nothing. The centurion reached out to Jesus.But Jesus reached out to the woman. Read Luke 7:11–17 Luke 7:13When the Lord saw her, His heart overflowed with compassion. "Don't cry!" He said. Jesus was deeply moved by the widow’s plight. Jonah knew the nature of God was to forgive. Jesus feels sorrow and compassion for those who have lost loved ones. We will see our loved ones who died in faith again. Paul uses the word “harpazō”, translated as “caught up.”(1 Thessalonians 4:16–17) The centurion demonstrated amazing faith. For the people of Nazareth, their familiarity bred contempt. The church is a dangerous place. Every time you hear the gospel and do not respond, your heart gets harder. — Become a Harvest Partner today and join us in knowing God and making Him known through media and large-scale evangelism, our mission of over 30 years. Explore more resources from Pastor Greg Laurie, including daily devotionals and blogs, designed to answer your spiritual questions and equip you to walk closely with Christ.Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Self Created Valuation Boosts Apple Announces new Podcast push AI – A breakdown Playing them like a fiddle – Warner Brothers PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Warm-Up - A NEW CTP just announced - China releasing new AI models - AI - A breakdown - we are on overload - Big Employment news.... Markets - Self Created Valuation Boosts - Apple Announces new Podcast push - Playing them like a fiddle - Warner Brothers Quick Note - Going to rip up the playbook on something this week on TDI Podcast. Anyone who owns an annuity should listen to what is about to come on next Sundays show..... No Agenda... Olympics - Anything to discuss? MONEY FOR ALL - The average tax refund is 10.9% higher so far this season, compared to about the same point in 2025, according to early filing data from the IRS. - The 2026 tax season opened Jan. 26, and the average refund amount was $2,290 as of Feb. 6, up from $2,065 about one year prior, the IRS reported Friday night. - As of Feb. 6, the total amount refunded was more than $16.9 billion, up 1.9% compared to last year, according to the IRS release. That figure reflects current-year returns only. - This is partly because there were excess-witholdings from last year on the rules changed and paycheck withholdings were not adjusted. This is a one time situation.. Emplyment - 4.3% - "Better" than expected payrolls number - A major revision was released last Wednesday. Overall 2025 job growth was much weaker than initially reported. The total net change for the full year 2025 was revised down from +584,000 jobs to just +181,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) — an average of only about 15,000 jobs added per month instead of ~49,000. This made 2025 one of the weakest years for job creation in recent non-recession periods. - Employment levels were consistently overstated throughout 2025 by roughly 800,000 to over 1 million jobs, peaking around mid-year. For example: By March 2025, the level was revised down by 898,000. By December 2025 (preliminary), down by 1,029,000. - Monthly changes were also adjusted downward in most cases (e.g., August's originally reported -26,000 became a larger loss of -70,000; September's +108,000 became +76,000). - The revisions reflect normal annual benchmarking, but this one was unusually large (larger than the typical 0.2% average over the prior decade), likely due to factors like overestimation of business births or other data mismatches. - In short, the data reveals that the U.S. labor market in 2025 was significantly softer than the monthly headlines suggested at the time — job growth was overstated by a substantial margin, painting a picture of a much weaker employment picture for the year. AI Updates - While U.S. markets have been focused on the impact of Anthropic and Altruist's tools on software and financial services, China's tech giants have released AI models this week that have shown advancements in robotics and video generation. - Google is reporting that China's AI models are just MONTHS behind western models - However - is this progress? In a video demo, Alibaba showed a robot with pincers for hands that appeared to be able to count oranges, pick them up and place them in a basket. It was also shown taking milk out of a fridge. - Alibaba on Monday unveiled a new artificial intelligence model Qwen 3.5 designed to execute complex tasks independently, with big improvements in performance and cost that the Chinese tech giant claims beat major U.S. rival models on several benchmarks. - Zhipu AI — which trades as Knowledge Atlas Technology in Hong Kong said the model approaches Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.5 in coding benchmarks while surpassing Google's Gemini 3 Pro on some tests. - Shares of MiniMax also jumped Thursday after it launched its updated M2.5 open-source model with enhanced AI agent tools. Grok Update - Grok, Elon Musk's AI chatbot, has been gaining ground in the U.S. over the past months, data showed, even as it draws global censure and regulatory scrutiny after being used to generate a wave of non-consensual sexualized images of women and minors. - U.S. market share of the tool rose to 17.8% last month from 14% in December, and 1.9% in January 2025, according to data from research firm Apptopia. - Men are still the largest % users of Grok ~ 78% (down from 89% in April 2025) AI Market Share - ChatGPT's share slumped to 52.9% last month from 80.9% in January last year, while Gemini's grew to 29.4% from 17.3% over the same period. AI Market Share InfoGrapic and AI Understanding - Have we gone through this? - At its core, AI is technology that lets machines perform tasks that normally require human intelligence — things like understanding language, recognizing images, making decisions, or solving problems. - Modern AI (especially since ~2022) is dominated by machine learning — systems that learn patterns from huge amounts of data instead of being explicitly programmed rule-by-rule. - Inference is the "using" or "applying" phase of AI — when a trained model takes new input and produces an output / prediction / answer. Contrast with training (the "learning" phase): ------ Training ? Like a student studying for years: very compute-heavy, expensive, done once (or rarely) on massive servers/GPUs, adjusts billions of parameters based on examples. ------ Inference ? Like the student taking a test or doing their job: much faster, cheaper, runs on your phone/laptop/cloud, uses the fixed knowledge from training to respond instantly. - gentic AI takes regular AI (like chat models) to the next level: instead of just answering questions or generating text, these systems act autonomously to achieve goals with minimal human help. "Agentic" comes from "agency" — the ability to make decisions, plan, use tools, take actions, adapt, and even learn from results — like a smart digital employee rather than just a smart answer machine. AI Infographic Last AI Item - A shortage of memory chips is hammering profits, derailing corporate plans, and inflating price tags on various products, with the crunch expected to get worse. - The fundamental reason for the squeeze is the buildout of AI data centers, with companies like Alphabet and OpenAI buying up large shares of memory chip production, leaving consumer electronics producers fighting over a dwindling supply. - The resulting price spikes are causing concern, with some warning of "RAMmageddon" and others predicting that memory chip prices will go "parabolic", bringing lavish profits to some companies but painful prices to the rest of the electronics sector. Here is something: - Gallup will no longer track presidential approval ratings after nearly 90 years - Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the Washington, DC-based management company began tracking the president's job performance 88 years ago. - Gallup told USA TODAY it will no longer publish "favorability ratings of political figures," a decision it said "reflects an evolution in how Gallup focuses its public research and thought leadership." - Gallup said the ratings are now "widely produced, aggregated and interpreted, and no longer represent an area where Gallup can make its most distinctive contribution." - "Our commitment is to long-term, methodologically sound research on issues and conditions that shape people's lives," the company wrote, adding that its work will continue through the Gallup Poll Social Series, the Gallup Quarterly Business Review, the World Poll and more. - Seems like they are unable to SHAPE opinion due to social media etc.....? Apple Podcast Update - Big news! - Apple on Monday announced that it will bring a new integrated video podcast experience to Apple Podcasts this spring. - The move comes as video viewership continues to reshape podcasting. About 37% of people over age 12 watch video podcasts monthly, according to Edison Research. - The update brings Apple Podcasts more in-line with its competitors Spotify, YouTube and now Netflix, which have increasingly leaned into video podcasting. -“Twenty years ago, Apple helped take podcasting mainstream by adding podcasts to iTunes, and more than a decade ago, we introduced the dedicated Apple Podcasts app,” said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Services, in a statement. “ - By bringing a category-leading video experience to Apple Podcasts, we're putting creators in full control of their content and how they build their businesses, while making it easier than ever for audiences to listen to or watch podcasts.” M&A - Texas Instruments Inc. has reached an agreement to buy Silicon Laboratories Inc. for about $7.5 billion, deepening its exposure to several markets for chips. - Silicon Labs investors will receive $231 in cash for each share of the company's common stock and the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027. - The transaction still needs to win approval by investors in Silicon Labs and shares of Silicon Labs surged by 51% to $206.48 after the announcement. Inflation - This helps - PepsiCo, will cut prices on core brands such as Lay's and Doritos by up to 15% following a consumer backlash against several previous price hikes, the snacks and beverage maker said on Tuesday after it topped fourth-quarter results. Miran - Moving - Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran is leaving his post as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, CNBC has confirmed. - He joined the CEA in January 2025, but had been on leave from that post since last September when he filled the unexpired term of former Fed Governor Adriana Kugler.- He reamins on Fed board No Biggie???? - There are some astonishing cased being reported of Bad AI in the operating room - JNJ's TruDi Navigation System - Since AI was added to the device, the FDA has received unconfirmed reports of at least 100 malfunctions and adverse events. - At least 10 people were injured between late 2021 and November 2025, according to the reports. Most allegedly involved errors in which the TruDi Navigation System misinformed surgeons about the location of their instruments while they were using them inside patients' heads during operations. - Cerebrospinal fluid reportedly leaked from one patient's nose. In another reported case, a surgeon mistakenly punctured the base of a patient's skull. In two other cases, patients each allegedly suffered strokes after a major artery was accidentally injured. Cuba - The main airport has putt out a bulletin that they are out of Jet Fuel - Blackouts and lack of other fuels are creating big problems - No airlines have stopped running at this point, but many will as they cannot refuel - This is a bigger problem for cargo planes (supplies) that may not be able to risk flying to Cuba as they will not be able to get out. Dalio Warning - Legendary investor Ray Dalio said on Tuesday the world was “on the brink” of a capital war. - He said central banks and sovereign wealth funds were already preparing for measures like foreign exchange and capital controls. - "When money is weaponized using measures like trade embargoes, blocking access to capital markets, or using ownership of debt as leverage." - “Capital, money, matters,” Dalio said Tuesday. “We're seeing capital controls … taking place all over the world today, and who will experience that is questionable. So, we are on the brink — that doesn't mean we are in [a capital war now], but it means that it's a logical concern.” - Could this be why gold and siver are being hoarded (physical assets over digital currency? - Is China's edict to banks to diversify away from US Treasuries a sign? Self Boosted Valuation - Waymo is aiming to raise about $16 billion in a financing-round that would value it at nearly $110 billion, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. - Alphabet would provide about $13 billion to the autonomous driving firm while the rest would come from investors including Sequoia Capital, DST Global and Dragoneer Investment Group, the report added. - Soooooo - Waymo is a unit of Alphabet.... Alphabet providing 80% of the funding that boosts valuations..... Hmmmmmmmm Warner Brothers - Warner Bros Discovery Inc is considering reopening sale talks with Paramount Skydance Corp after receiving its amended offer. - The Warner Bros board is discussing whether Paramount could offer a path to a superior deal, which may ignite a second bidding war with Netflix Inc. - Paramount submitted amended terms that addressed several concerns, including covering a fee owed to Netflix and offering to backstop a Warner Bros debt refinancing. Economics Coming Up - Short Week - plenty of Reports - Wednesday - Durable Goods, Housing Starts, Industrial Production, FOMC Minutes - Thursday - Philly Fed, Initial Claims - Friday: PCE, Personal Income and Spending, GDP for Q4 (3.6%) ----- New Home Sales, UMich Feb Final Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? ANNOUNCING THE THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN for CATERPILLAR Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt! FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS See this week's stock picks HERE Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter
This week, the Creeps will always try a new Coke. They sip on some of the new Coke Zero Cherry Float. They then try the Super Bowl fresh bag of Lay's plain original potato chips fresh off the line.Then, Kelsey talks about a man in Putnam County, WV who broke into a gas station while wearing a wonderful and foolproof disguise.They also talk about the Super Bowl, the Halftime Show, and Matt's longstanding hatred of the Patriots, and chip crispiness.
Philly J. Lay is a powerhouse in getting out the truth of natural remedies as well as the truth in general... western medicine, cancer, vaxjabs, chemicals, GMOs, etc. Speaking up about radishes, dandelions and cayenne pepper. Her podcast, "The Wellness Way," reached the top 2% globally and secured 13 number one slots on Apple Podcasts. In our show, she speaks about her major two-year recovery from spinal fusion, to cold-turkey stopping sugar and more, grief, her spiritually transformative EFT experience, then talking about what is going on in the UK now. Shocking.Philly leads the "Just Be Practice," with a wonderful share of EFT/Matrix Reimprinting.Connect to Philly:Website (see her newsletter/podcast/events): https://www.phillyjlay.com*Host Eden Koz is a soul realignment specialist utilizing psychological empathy, intuition, psychic ability, mediumship, meditation, mindset shift, Reiki, dimensional and galactic healing, to name a few. She also performs spiritual Co#id Vac+ Healing as well as remote & face-to-face sessions with individuals and groups. **Additionally, in spreading the word... If you are questioning your Gold IRA because of potential scams (see EP188) or want to invest in a precious metals company with integrity...email: info@milesfranklin.com and put "Eden" in the subject line (they know me personally, so the best of attention and heart will come your way.)Miles Franklin website: https://milesfranklin.com Contact info for Eden Koz / Just Be®, LLC:Website: EdenJustBe.com Socials: TikTok, FB, FB (Just Be), X, Insta, LinkedInJust Be~Spiritual BOOM Podcast - Video Directories: BitChute, Rumble, ...
16 And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.Cum autem jejunatis, nolite fieri sicut hypocritae, tristes. Exterminant enim facies suas, ut appareant hominibus jejunantes. Amen dico vobis, quia receperunt mercedem suam. 17 But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face;Tu autem, cum jejunas, unge caput tuum, et faciem tuam lava, 18 That thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee.ne videaris hominibus jejunans, sed Patri tuo, qui est in abscondito : et Pater tuus, qui videt in abscondito, reddet tibi. 19 Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust, and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal.Nolite thesaurizare vobis thesauros in terra : ubi aerugo, et tinea demolitur : et ubi fures effodiunt, et furantur. 20 But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through, nor steal.Thesaurizate autem vobis thesauros in caelo, ubi neque aerugo, neque tinea demolitur, et ubi fures non effodiunt, nec furantur. 21 For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.Ubi enim est thesaurus tuus, ibi est et cor tuum.
In this episode of What the Prophets Say, Matt Johnson is joined by Jonah Wilson and Karyn Stuart for a raw conversation about loving well in grief and leading through a hard season.We talk honestly about what happens when loss hits, when you still have responsibility, and when you're trying to hold others while you're also grieving. Jonah shares why dependency on Jesus is not optional, how prophetic “foreshadowing” can prepare the heart, and why leaders must release the burden of the saviour complex.Karyn brings wisdom about discipleship, vulnerability, and what it means to let yourself be seen without “leaking” on the people you lead. And the episode closes with prayer and a clear reminder for anyone in grief:Lay your hands on your heart and remember: you are loved by the Father.
But we still have THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER NEXT WEEK! Today on the Show, Blake is PISSED but have no fear we are the modern day springer. Lay it on us for all to hear. Then, Gabby messaged us that she needed an Emergency WAR OF THE ROSES on a FRIDAY so we took the case but then she pitched something else entirely. What a MESS. Also, it's the LOVE SHOW today! WE GOT TO AS MUCH VALENTINES DAY STUFF AS WE COULD! We hope you have an amazing weekend! SEND US ALL YOUR ROMANTIC STORIES GOOD AND BAD and we will tackle them back here TUESDAY MORNING! (Monday is Presidents Day)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When your property management business isn't growing, hiring a salesperson might seem like the obvious solution, but what if that's actually where most owners go wrong… In this episode of the #DoorGrowShow, property management growth experts Jason and Sarah Hull break down why most BDM hires fail, the critical mistakes owners make with commission-only roles, and the exact systems required to make a salesperson successful. They dive into DoorGrow's Three Fits framework, the three non-negotiable ingredients for BDM success, and tease a game-changing new growth model designed to help property managers scale without burnout, bad leads, or broken systems. You'll Learn (00:00) Introduction: The Three Fits for Hiring (01:16) The Challenges of Hiring a Business Development Manager (BDM) (02:42) The Three Key Ingredients for BDM Success (04:40) Mistakes in BDM Compensation: The Commission-Only Pitfall (05:40) The Three Roles of a BDM and the Problem with Buying Leads (09:54) The "Door Machine" Teaser: The Easy Button for Growth (14:39) Advanced Community, AI, and Final Thoughts Quotables "A BDM has zero chance of success if you hire the wrong person." "If they're not all three, they will fail. Or you'll fire them. Or they will leave you because they're not making enough money." "If you do not have the right system to plug a BDM or a salesperson into, you can hire as many of them as you want, and they will still not work." Resources DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind DoorGrow Academy DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrowClub DoorGrowLive Transcript Jason Hull (00:01) All right, five, four, three, two, one. All right, we are Jason and Sarah Hull, the owners of DoorGrow, the world's leading and most comprehensive coaching company for long-term residential property management entrepreneurs. For over a decade and a half, we brought innovative strategies and optimization to the property management industry. At DoorGrow, we have spoken to thousands of property management business owners, coached, consulted, and cleaned up hundreds of businesses, helping them at doors. improve pricing, increase profits, simplify operations, and we run the leading property management mastermind with more video testimonials and reviews than any other coach or consultant in the industry. We're the best. At DoorGrow, we believe that good property managers can change the world and that property management is the ultimate high trust gateway to real estate deals, relationships, and residual income. At DoorGrow, we are on a mission to transform property management, business owners, and their businesses. We want to transform the industry. eliminate the BS, build awareness, change perception, expand the market, and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. Now, let's get into the show. All right. So today, we're going to be chatting a little bit about the challenges of getting a business development manager, a BDM, or a salesperson for your property management business that we've seen. Yes. So a lot of times people think, hey, I need to grow my business. and they either don't wanna do it, they don't have the time to do it, or they just want help doing it. And then their go-to is, well, I'll just hire someone to do it, right? What could go wrong? Yeah, and that's where they make their first mistakes. Hiring is tough. Hiring is tough. And so, a BDM has zero chance of success if you hire the wrong person. And so, we... started solving this challenge for our clients by building out a hiring system. We call it door for a hiring. And we focus on what we call the three fits. They gotta be the right culture fit, which means they actually share your values. You can trust them. Because if they don't, aren't a culture fit, they'll steal from you or they'll do something off. And if culture's off, generally everything else goes south. It doesn't work. They have to be the right personality fit, which means they have to have the right personality to be willing and love and be able to do sales. And they have the right skill fit, which means they have to be intellectually capable of developing the skill or they have to have the sales skill already. If they're not all three, they will fail. Or you'll fire them, which is basically because they're failing. Or they will leave you because they're not making enough money. Okay, then once you hire them, assuming you get the right person, there's three key ingredients we found that are critical for BDM success and it's really difficult to get all three of these dialed in. It's even difficult for our clients who we coach to do these three things and so generally we see a lot of other BDM coaching companies they probably do a good job of maybe hiring the right people. My guess is they know how to read disk assessments and they use other tools and they can find good salespeople. but I hear a lot of them fail. Like my brother hired two salespeople from one of these BDM placement coaching companies and he fired both of them. And it probably was my brother's fault. I don't know. Sorry, Brian. But it might've been he just didn't have these three key ingredients in place. They might've been able to have a chance. So these three key ingredients are one, training. And. Basically they have the right strategies and training in order to succeed. Second, they have to have the right accountability. A lot of business owners just are like, here, here's what you do, or they rely on the BDM coaching company to just make it work. And sometimes they just get bad strategy. I don't think anybody has as good a strategy or clever or unique as I do as Dorgo does. We were very innovative on that. I think then ⁓ the third piece is we've got training, we've got then accountability, there has to be transparency, visibility, metrics, things like this. they're being, you you can see where the gaps are, where the problems are. And third, compensation. And so the compensation has to be right. If the compensation structure is off, compensation is incentive. And if the incentive structure is off, either they won't be making enough money, and they'll quit or you'll be paying them maybe too much money in the wrong way and then they get lazy and they're not incentivized to continue because they're making enough money or they're not getting motivated enough to get the results that you need so you'll fire them. There's so many ways compensation gets messed up. A lot of you think, I could just pay them commission only. Then I don't have to pay them anything unless they make money and then they're not motivated or they're not doing the leading actions. and then they fail. So we've just seen a lot of mistakes made there. And I think one of the biggest ones is the idea, well, I'll just pay them commission only. And that's a really nice thought, but in practical application, it's just not a way to set things up to be successful. And the reason is, I know everybody's going, that's what I want. Yes, we can want these things, but... In reality, the problem is that unless someone can start working in your business today and have the ability to close deals this week, then a commission only structure is just not going to work. And what I mean by that is not just, ⁓ no, they can, they can close a deal. They could close a deal right away. Great. do you have a few thousand leads for them to call today? So if they get hired today and they get trained today and then tomorrow they start making calls, do you have a whole list of people that they can call and then close deals as early as like four days later, three days later? Because if the answer to that is no, No, Sarah, I don't have an entire list. If I had an entire list, I would just call them myself and I would just work that list myself. Great. So then what you're doing is you're bringing someone in who can only make money if they close a deal and somehow expecting them, you're expecting them to close a deal, but not providing them with leads to work. So it's essentially saying, all right, I... We'll pay you if you close deals. You can get started today. I don't have a list, a long list. Don't give them 10 people. 10 leads is not good enough. I don't have many leads for you to work. I have some, but I don't have a whole list of leads ready for you to just start working that are already in the system. ⁓ You need to go find the leads and create the connections and the relationships. to get the leads and then you need to build a relationship with them and take them through the entire sales process and then you can close them and that might take two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, two months, three months. So what usually ends up happening on a commission only structure is the BDM, the first month makes zero dollars. So imagine if you did work for an entire month and you made nothing. Would you want to be in that situation? Probably not. But then we're expecting other people to want to be in that situation. And for some people, that is doable. But for the majority of people, that's just not possible. They have bills to pay, they have a mortgage or rent, they have to feed themselves, they might have a family. It's not possible to just say, well, hopefully you figure it out really quickly, even though I'm not going to give you what you need in order to be successful quickly, I hope you figure it out quickly because that's how you'll get paid. And then people wonder, why is no one applying for my job? So the problem, a medium is a little bit unique. Having a property management salesperson, they need to be not just a closer in which you like they just closed deals. They also need to be a setter. They need to be doing outreach and outbound, but they also need to be a networker. They need to be going to networking events, connecting, walking into offices, meeting with people. And so the challenge is if they're a setter, a networker, and ⁓ a closer, they really need to be compensated the way you would compensate all three. we talk about this. There's a YouTube video up where I talk about how to compensate a BDM. Check it out. ⁓ But basically there needs to be a base plus commission and there's a strategy to how to do this correctly. Feel free to check out our video about that. But a lot of people get this wrong. All right, so assuming that you get all of these things dialed in, it's still a struggle for some of our clients to manage their own BDM to do this. I'm going to share, we're going to give you a little sneak peek about something that we have coming up. But first, that's going to be a game changer for this industry. If you struggle to grow, if you tried lots of different lead sources, you tried lots of different programs, we're going to tell you about how DoorGrow will just grow your business for you. as a teaser. But before we do that, I'm going to read a word from our sponsor. So this is our sponsor for today's episode is Blanket. Wait, Blanket. Lior from Blanket. It's his birthday today, which I did not plan. But happy birthday, Lior. Yeah, happy birthday. So by the time this goes live, it'll be past. But for those that watching the live stream, maybe if it goes out today, then cool. All right, here we go. Blanket is a property retention growth platform. that helps property managers stop losing doors, add more revenue, and increase the number of properties they manage, while your clients with a branded investor dashboard and an off-market marketplace, while your team gets all the tools they need to identify owners at risk of churning and powerful systems to help you add more doors. I think Blanket's an awesome platform. You want to keep your properties, even if your clients are kind of like selling, you can keep the property and get other owners into it, and there's a network of owners that will. choose in to being your property management client and take over this property. So I think it's a no-brainer. Everybody should have a blanket. Check it out. Okay. So let's talk about something that's uncomfortable when it comes to growth and sales and hiring a BDM. So a lot of people think that in order to solve their growth problem, they need to hire a salesperson. Okay. Right? Yeah. So they go, okay, well. growth isn't happening, let me just like hire a salesperson because either I don't want to do it or I'm not the right person to do it or I am busy with other things and I just don't have enough time to dedicate to it or maybe I am doing it but it'd be nice to have some extra deals so let me hire somebody else to do it alongside with me and then I can double my growth if there's two of us. Yeah or even worse a lot of people think well I don't need a salesperson I can do it myself I just need more leads. And if you're listening and you're saying that, there's reason why you probably haven't had great growth or significant growth if you haven't and you're saying that. Not all leads are equal. We talk about this a lot. Reach out to us. Just give us a shout out on any social media. Just say leads to us and we'll send you our leads training for free or go to doorgo.com slash leads and watch this training and I break down how to get unlimited leads for free and why not all leads are equal. You don't. have to be paying anyone for leads. In fact, I recommend you don't because it slows down your BDM, it makes your BDM focus on the wrong strategies, and then your BDM is dealing with a lot of cold, unqualified leads from the internet that are the cheapest owners, that are the most difficult to manage, that have the highest operational cost, and are the most price sensitive. And this is why a lot of businesses and property management start to struggle and be unable to scale because of the types of clients and properties and owners that they're taking on. And the sales cycle time takes way longer than what our strategies are, way longer than warm leads. And so you don't want to give your BDM a pile of cold crappy leads from the internet and slow them down. And so they're not able to add easily 10, 20, 30 units a month. They need better strategy. Okay. Okay. So the uncomfortable thing is that if you do not have the right system, to plug a BDM or a salesperson into, you can hire as many of them as you want and they will still not work. So if you're trying to get a BDM in your business and grow the company without the right system in place for that BDM, it essentially is like saying, hey, I want to get in shape and I hired a personal trainer and then he's gonna do all the work. Yeah. Well, you have the right person, but it doesn't alleviate you from being involved and putting in work. So even if you have a BDM, you still have to be involved in it. It's not many times, it's not like, this BDM is just gonna come in and figure everything out and build everything and figure out what to do and how to do things and close the deals and everything's gonna be great. Yeah, normally it's not turnkey at all. I mean, I'll give you an example. I knew of a property management business here in Texas. They have since sold their business, but they had multiple BDMs. They had a whole bunch. They were shelling out a massive amount of money for cold leads and digital marketing. And they were paying for some sort of sales program that was very expensive with one of these big name gurus who I won't mention in sales. strategies and tactics are outdated and old school, pushy sales, manipulation type stuff. And they were just showing up a massive amount of money for client acquisition. It was ridiculous. And it wasn't really that effective. And they ended up selling the business because really the business was, it was just a numbers play. They were trying to stack in a bunch of doors just to get out and they exited. But, and ⁓ you know, on these, This was the CEO, this was somebody that was coaching in the industry, but the margins were really difficult and that was because they were taking on bad doors and bad clients. All right, so what do we want to share today? So what if? We're gonna play the what if game because this is what we did. And actually, this is something we had kicked around for a while and then I was talking actually with John and I said, this is this thought that I had, and what if it worked like this? But then what if we actually do it like this instead? And ⁓ then Jason and I had been kind of chatting about this, and we've developed this idea. I think it's something that we feel like we have to do for this industry. Because... Man, it just gets under my skin so bad when I see property managers doing everything wrong. And when I see them failing. And especially when they're trying so hard and it's still not getting them the results that they want. So what if there was a way to press the easy button and just have growth happen and you don't actually need to be involved in it at all? What if you were able to just have the company grow and you don't need to take any of the action. You don't need to be involved in the growth. You don't need to do any of the strategies. You don't need to buy leads. You really would just be closing a deal, having a conversation with somebody who has already warmed up and ready to go. which is I think what most people want when they say they want leads. Right. They say they want to leads. don't actually, you don't want leads. Let's be real. Easy lay down You don't want a lead because you have to work that lead. What you really want is you want someone to come to you and say, hello, I'm ready to sign up with you. And what do I need to do to make that happen? I get it because I was there. That's, I did not want to do sales in my business. And that was the only way after. I had grown it to a certain point. That was the only way I would sign on a new client is if they came to me and said, hi, I want you to be my property manager, but what do I need to do? Yeah, here, sign this. Here's the agreement. Lay it out. Easy deals. it. So I know that that's what you guys want is you just, you love the actual closing and the pitching of the deal. You don't like all of the other stuff. You don't like the outbound calls and the follow-ups and the scheduling and the rescheduling. and the nurturing and the warming up of the relationship. And a lot of times, networking, sometimes they like it and sometimes they don't. They're like, well, I don't know, I could kind of do that. But it's not really like you're forte. Really, you're like, I would love to just get on calls with people all day who are just ready to go. Yeah. They're just ready to go. So what if that was an option? That would be a game changer for this entire industry. and we would make a ton of money here at DoorGrowl and you, if you're one of our clients, would make a ton of money and it would be a win-win-win for all three parties. the salesperson would also make a ton of money. So with this idea, I feel like we can richen the entire industry, which is exciting to me. We will be creating multi-million dollar business owners with this new offer that we're going to be launching. We're calling it The Door Machine, that's our working title right now. So this is gonna be a game changer for the industry. If you are interested in maybe what this might be, because we don't wanna announce it yet. Yeah, I'm not fully... Then reach out to us. out to us and we're gonna be starting with our clients that have gone through our rapid revamp, where we rehab their business. These are clients that we've cleaned up their branding, their website, their sales pitch, their pricing, their purpose, which is the actual product. ⁓ We're rehabbing, it's like bar rescue for property managers. We're cleaning up the business. We are gonna start with them, because we need all the friction removed from the business. And a lot of your businesses have a lot of friction and a lot of problems and a lot of leaks in the hose, and you're thinking, how do I turn on the hose more? the host has these massive leaks. So we're going to be working with businesses that we've cleaned up the leaks first. They're going to get dibs to this. And so if you're interested in this, come to DoorGrow. We'll show you the leaks. We'll help you clean that up. And then you will be one of the people that can get access to the door machine where basically we give you the doors. We throw the doors at you. You have lay downs and your business can just scale and grow and We are almost like a partner with you. We're involved in the growth of your business and we'll help you grow it. These are doors you wouldn't have gotten otherwise and it's gonna be a no-brainer. So yeah, so reach out and let us know if you're interested. Anything else we wanna say about it? I don't think we're gonna give too much more We're keep it a little close to the best. Right now. Because it's not public yet. we haven't, it's... It hasn't been officially launched. We have chatted with a few of our clients about this so far and all of them said yeah, like I'm in, it. I'll give one other clue about something other than this that we're also doing. We're also going to be launching a new community, an advanced community, leveraging AI, leveraging AI tools, giving access to AI stuff that is going to be, I think, also a game changer for the industry. We're gonna be consolidating our Dorgo Club Facebook group, our Telegram community for clients into one platform that's gonna be a game changer for the industry. And we're figuring out some low dollar price points to get people in to this group so that you can easily get your first 10, 20 units, which would make affording our mastermind program easy, offset, a no-brainer, already paid for basically. And so these are some of the things on the horizon. and I've got some new team members helping me take sales off my plate. And so I'm gonna go deep into the rabbit hole of building all this stuff out. And we've got a really strong vision. think this is gonna be, this coming year for DoorGrow is gonna be one of the biggest, this will be the biggest. I think this year we may make as much money and have as much impact as we've had in the entire life of our business over the last decade and a half. So I think it's gonna be that significant. So I'm excited to see what we're able to create. and I think it's going to be a game changer. We've got some strategies where we're going contrarian in the opposite direction of AI. And we're leveraging AI, but I think the future is human. And I think depth is going to be the key to scalability. And we're going to be applying that to DoorGrow, and we're going to be helping our clients apply that. And it's going to be a game changer because the more AI slop and goop and grossness and junk that's out there because anything can be created now, the more humans are gonna matter if you do it in the right way. You gotta leverage, you gotta use AI. You gotta get on that AI stuff, but you gotta do it in the right way. And where you can use humans, where you should use humans, you gotta go all in on that. that's part of our strategy for the next year and beyond. So stay tuned, it's gonna be amazing. So anything else we should say before wrapping this up? ⁓ Nope, do you wanna talk about the newsletter? What about it? We have a newsletter. I'll mention it in our little outro here. Great. I don't know if that was in there. So I'll mention that. So for those of you that watching, listening, if you've ever felt stuck or stagnant in your property management business, you want to take it to the next level, reach out to us at drover.com. For a free training on how to get unlimited free leads, this leads training, you can just text the word leads to 512-648. Also join our free Facebook community just for property management business owners by going to doorgrohclub.com. And if you would like to get the best ideas in property management, join our newsletter by going to doorgroh.com slash subscribe and get tips, ideas, Sarah writes stuff, I'll write stuff. Like you'll get some really good info from that. And if you found out, if you found this to be even a little bit helpful, any of our episodes, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. We'd really appreciate it. helps us reach others and help others. And until next time, remember the slowest path to growth is to do it alone. So let's grow together. Bye everyone.
Matt Kalina — Founder and CEO of TandemStrideMatt Kalina is the Founder and CEO of TandemStride, a healthcare marketplace that connects trauma survivors with peers, care partners, and providers to support long-term recovery. Inspired by his family's firsthand experience with traumatic injury, Matt is dedicated to building solutions that close the gap between emergency care and ongoing support. With his leadership, TandemStride is advancing a more connected and compassionate model of recovery.In our conversation, Matt and I explore the often-overlooked realities of life after traumatic injury, why peer support is such a powerful layer of care, how his family adapted to his brother's traumatic loss of his both his legs in 2012 and have come together through TandemStride to building the support platform they wish had existed by meeting people in moments of real crisis, not months later. We also talk about Matt's evolution as a leadership, his Ohio go-to-market strategy, the power of incentives, the business of trauma, working with his family in the company, empathy, and coming into your life's work. Matt is an inspiring entrepreneur and this was a really special conversation – please enjoy.00:00 Introduction to Tandem Stride02:46 Introduction and Personal Connection04:42 The Journey to Tandem Stride07:15 Identifying Gaps in Injury Care09:47 Understanding Patient Needs12:21 Building the Tandem Stride Platform15:13 Engagement and Outreach Strategies17:57 Navigating Healthcare Partnerships20:30 The Business Model and Future Vision33:39 Engaging in Healthcare Innovation34:42 Defining the Vision for TandemStride37:37 Creating a New Category in Injury Care40:09 Changing Incentives in Healthcare44:07 Long-Term Policy Initiatives45:05 Personal Growth as a Leader48:59 Family Dynamics in Business51:46 Exciting Developments Ahead54:53 Embracing Uncertainty in Entrepreneurship59:21 Outro-----LINKS:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalinamatt/https://www.tandemstride.com/https://www.amazon.com/Cut-Through-Shortcut-That-Everything/dp/0960083766-----SPONSOR:Roundstone InsuranceRoundstone Insurance is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. Founder and CEO, Michael Schroeder, has committed full-year support for the podcast, recognizing its alignment with the company's passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and community leadership.Headquartered in Rocky River, Ohio, Roundstone was founded in 2005 with a vision to deliver better healthcare outcomes at a more affordable cost. To bring that vision to life, the company pioneered the group medical captive model — a self-funded health insurance solution that provides small and mid-sized businesses with greater control and significant savings.Over the past two decades, Roundstone has grown rapidly, creating nearly 200 jobs in Northeast Ohio. The company works closely with employers and benefits advisors to navigate the complexities of commercial health insurance and build custom plans that prioritize employee well-being over shareholder returns. By focusing on aligned incentives and better health outcomes, Roundstone is helping businesses save thousands in Per Employee Per Year healthcare costs. Roundstone Insurance — Built for entrepreneurs. Backed by innovation. Committed to Cleveland.Cerity PartnersCerity Partners, a full-service investment and wealth management firm serving high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and business owners, is proud to sponsor Lay of The Land. The firm has local roots in Cleveland and across Ohio, and like this podcast, Cerity Partners advisors specialize in serving the interests of local entrepreneurs and business leaders. They understand how to manage the total picture of wealth, both personal and professional. Cerity Partners has a unified team of specialists who collaborate on almost every aspect of a client's financial life, including business ownership. The firm's national presence means it can offer the resources and specialized knowledge of the largest institutions with the independence and service of a neighbor. The Cerity Partners Cleveland team understands the complexity that comes with wealth, and they adhere to fiduciary standards. Discover the financial lay of your land.Learn more at ceritypartners.com/NPR or call 216-464-6266.-----Stay up to date by signing up for Lay of The Land's weekly newsletter — sign up here: https://layoftheland.ck.page/5f0c1e28faConnect with Jeffrey Stern on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreypstern/Follow Lay of The Land on X @podlayofthelandhttps://www.jeffreys.page/
1. The Case at the Supreme Court The case is Trump v. Vos Selections, argued on Nov. 5, 2025. Small businesses are challenging Trump-era tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). 2. Central Legal Questions Does IEEPA’s power to “regulate imports” include authority to impose tariffs? Did Congress delegate too much taxing authority to the President?→ This triggers two major constitutional doctrines: Non‑Delegation Doctrine – Congress cannot hand over core lawmaking powers (like taxation) without clear limits. Major Questions Doctrine – Major economic or political actions require explicit congressional authorization. 3. Constitutional Tension Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power to: Lay and collect taxes/tariffs Regulate commerce with foreign nations Tariffs sit at the intersection of foreign policy (executive power) and taxation (legislative power). 4. Oral Argument Themes Justices skeptical of Trump’s argument: Roberts – Concerned tariffs are fundamentally taxes on Americans, which is Congress’s domain. Gorsuch & Barrett – Pressed the need for clear statutory limits; worried about unchecked executive authority. Justices leaning toward upholding the tariffs: Kavanaugh – Emphasized long history of broad presidential discretion in foreign affairs. Thomas – Focused on historical practice of using tariffs as trade tools. Alito – Concerned about practical impacts and the large reliance interests ($133B already collected). 5. Predicted Outcome (from the document’s speaker) Expected ruling: 5–4 in favor of Trump, upholding tariff authority. Predicted majority: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kavanaugh + either Barrett or Gorsuch. Reasoning: Court is reluctant to disrupt years of foreign policy and economic decisions already relying on the tariffs. Institutional stability concerns—similar to Roberts’ reasoning in the Affordable Care Act case. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdictwithtedcruz X: https://x.com/tedcruz X: https://x.com/benfergusonshowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Silver, Gold and Crypto (oh my) Hang on – Wild ride here Superbowl, Olympics- Wait until you hear about the CAPex spending! Shakeup in Dietville PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Interactive Brokers Warm-Up - Silver, Gold and Crypto (oh my) - Need a stock for CTP - Hang on - Wild ride here - Superbowl, Olympics- Wait until you hear about the CAPex spending! - Shakeup in Dietville Markets - Massive moved during the week - - Bitcoin clipped $60k before rebounding - DJIA tops 50,000 for the first time - Wait until you hear about the CAPex spending! - CAT == 1,100 points on the DJIA in 2026 Superbowl and Superbowl ads - Game review - Any ad stick out? - $10M per ad this year - Half Time with Bad Bunny? - Anthropic busting on OpenAi Last Week! - Massive moved - quick calc showed that about $1T was wiped from market caps in the sell-off, particularly in tech names. - HOWEVER - Friday alone is estimated to have added $1.5T to market cap AI Ripping Through - Plenty of names getting cooked over AI announcements - First it was the software companies - Now there are names in legal and finance that got clocked - Today - Altruist.ai can do tax planning and that hurt companies in financial space Earnings Season Update - Reporting so far: 59% of S&P 500 companies have reported Q4 2025 results. - Beat rate: 76% have topped EPS estimates (vs. 5-yr average: 78% (slightly lower) vs. 10-yr average: 76% (in line) - Magnitude of beats (aggregate): earnings are 7.6% above estimates vs. 5-yr average: 7.7% (about the same) vs. 10-yr average: 7.0% (a bit better) - Nothing great, like Goldilocks Earnings Highlights - Palantir (PLTR): Reported strong Q4 results early in the week , beating estimates with revenue ~$1.41B (vs. ~$1.33B expected) and EPS $0.25 (vs. $0.23). Guidance for 2026 was upbeat (~61% revenue growth). Shares rallied sharply initially (~7–11% post-earnings), but gave back some gains amid broader tech volatility (e.g., down ~11–22% in parts of the week from peaks). - AMD: Reported mid-week, beating EPS (~$1.53 vs. lower expectations) with solid data center growth (~39%). However, Q1 guidance disappointed relative to high expectations in the AI chip space. Shares sank dramatically — down ~15–17% the next day, with some reports noting up to 20%+ drops at points, contributing to broader chip sector pressure. - Alphabet (GOOGL/GOOG): Reported beating on revenue (~$113.8B) and EPS (~$2.82), with strong core performance. But capex guidance for 2026 ($175–$185B, roughly double prior levels) sparked AI spending worries. Shares dipped post-earnings (down ~0.5–5% initially, flat to lower the next day, with some volatility pulling it below key moving averages). - Amazon (AMZN): Reported after hours on February 5, with mixed results — EPS ~$1.95 (narrow miss vs. ~$1.97 expected), but solid overall. The big negative was a surprise $200B capex forecast for 2026 (well above expectations), tied to AI/cloud buildout. Shares plunged sharply — down ~7–10% in after-hours/extended trading, with Friday moves around -5–8% in some sessions. Recent Tech CAPEX announcements - Amazon (AMZN) — Guided to approximately $200 billion in capex for 2026 (a massive jump from ~$125–131 billion in 2025, with ~80% likely AI-related per analyst commentary). This was the largest single-company figure and a major surprise, contributing heavily to the week's "wild" reactions. - Alphabet (GOOGL/GOOG) — Guided to $175–185 billion in capex for 2026 (roughly double the $91 billion spent in 2025, far above analyst expectations of ~$115–119 billion). Emphasis was on AI compute capacity, servers, data centers, and networking to meet demand for Gemini and cloud services. - Meta Platforms (META) — Guidance from late January (but heavily discussed last week): $115–135 billion for 2026 (up significantly from ~$70–72 billion in 2025, potentially an ~87% increase). - Microsoft (MSFT) — No new full explicit 2026 guidance in early February (fiscal year runs July–June), but recent quarterly run-rate and analyst projections put it around $97–145 billion (with some sources citing ~$105 billion or higher based on Q2 spending trends and signals of continued growth from prior levels of ~$88 billion in FY2025). ------!!!!Combined 2026 capex projected at $635–665 billion (low/high ends) or up to $650–700 billion in some reports — a ~60–74% increase from their collective ~$381 billion in 2025. Market Reaction from all of this.... - Markets were a bit spooked on the Anthropic announcement earlier in the week - software sold off and set a sour mood - Microsoft dumped pretty hard as the amount of spend was higher than anticipated, especially with some slower growth in Azure. - Amazon took a beating on the increased spend they anticipate *(extra by $50B) - BUT: Friday markets rallied as there was realization that the $200B spend by Amazon would seep into the economy and fuel infrastructure spending along with chips, tech etc. Other Earnings of Interest - Reddit reported fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday in which the social media company beat on the top and bottom lines. - The company said it expects first-quarter sales to come in the range of $595 million to $605 million, which is higher than Wall Street expectations of $577 million. - Reddit also announced a $1 billion share repurchase program. - Reddit gets about $250 million a year from OpenAi and Google to have your data for training their LLMs While we are on the subject - Friday, DJIA hit 50,000 - first time ever! - Up 1,200 point of which approx 350 was from caterpillar and 280 was from Goldman Sachs Hats off to WalMart - Walmart Inc. shares pushed its market capitalization past $1 trillion on Tuesday for the first time ever| - Big transformation over the pst year - Walmart has maintained its appeal to households looking for value, its online offerings are drawing new, wealthier shoppers seeking convenience. Google Bond Offering - Issuing several tranches of bonds, denominated in Stirling - one as long as 100 years - Would you buy that? - The Google parent is set to raise $20 billion from a US dollar bond offering on Monday — more than the $15 billion initially expected — and is also pitching investors on what would be its first ever offerings in Switzerland and the UK. - The latter would include a rare sale of 100-year bonds, the first time a tech company has tried such an offering since the dotcom frenzy of the late 1990s Fat Profits in Dietville - Really interesting sequence of events happening... - Hims launches compounded pill at prices as low as $49 per month - Analysts cite questions on efficacy, legality of pill - Hims' move shifts focus from Novo's strong Wegovy pill launch - Broader obesity market whipsawed as pricing pressure rises THEN.. - Hims and Hers Health shares dive 14% after hours on Friday (Down 25% on Monday) - FDA cites concerns over quality, safety, federal law - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it would take action against telehealth provider Hims & Hers, for its $49 weight-loss pill, including restricting access to the drug's ingredients and referring the company to the Department of Justice for potential violations of federal law. AND.... - Eli Lilly last Wednesday posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue and 2026 guidance that blew past estimates, as demand for its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro soars. - The pharmaceutical giant anticipates its 2026 revenue will come in between $80 billion and $83 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $77.62 billion, according to LSEG. - Meanwhile, NOVO had a really bad outlook that took the shares down 13% after the report. Japan Markets Soar - Japanese stocks jumped to a record high Monday, leading gains in the region after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a landmark election victory. - The ruling Liberal Democratic Party captured a two-thirds supermajority in the 465-seat lower house, public broadcaster NHK reported. - Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped past 57,000 for the first time before paring gains to close 3.9% higher at 56,363.94, while the Topix also notched a record high, closing at 3,783.94, up 2.3%. Employment Report? - Government shutdown is forcing them to postpone again (Which is dumb) - Number due this Wednesday - Maybe because of this:U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% from December 2025. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009. - At the same time, companies announced just 5,306 new hires, also the lowest January since 2009, which is when Challenger, Gray & Christmas began tracking such data. - Also, job openings fell sharply in December to 6.54 million, to their lowest since September 2020. - Available jobs are down by more than 900,000 just since October. - NO! Ai and advancements in tech have noting to do with this! NO NO NO M&A - Texas Instruments Inc. has reached an agreement to buy Silicon Laboratories Inc. for about $7.5 billion, deepening its exposure to several markets for chips. - Silicon Labs investors will receive $231 in cash for each share of the company's common stock and the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027. - The transaction still needs to win approval by investors in Silicon Labs and shares of Silicon Labs surged by 51% to $206.48 after the announcement. Inflation - This helps - PepsiCo (PEP.O), opens new tab will cut prices on core brands such as Lay's and Doritos by up to 15% following a consumer backlash against several previous price hikes, the snacks and beverage maker said on Tuesday after it topped fourth-quarter results. Miran - Moving - Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran is leaving his post as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, CNBC has confirmed. - He joined the CEA in January 2025, but had been on leave from that post since last September when he filled the unexpired term of former Fed Governor Adriana Kugler.- He reamins on Fed board No Biggie???? - There are some astonishing cased being reported of Bad AI in the operating room - JNJ's TruDi Navigation System - Since AI was added to the device, the FDA has received unconfirmed reports of at least 100 malfunctions and adverse events. - At least 10 people were injured between late 2021 and November 2025, according to the reports. Most allegedly involved errors in which the TruDi Navigation System misinformed surgeons about the location of their instruments while they were using them inside patients' heads during operations. - Cerebrospinal fluid reportedly leaked from one patient's nose. In another reported case, a surgeon mistakenly punctured the base of a patient's skull. In two other cases, patients each allegedly suffered strokes after a major artery was accidentally injured. Cuba - The main airport has putt out a bulletin that they are out of Jet Fuel - Blackouts and lack of other fuels are creating big problems - No airlines have stopped running at this point, but many will as they cannot refuel - This is a bigger problem for cargo planes (supplies) that may not be able to risk flying to Cuba as they will not be able to get out. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? ANNOUNCING THE WINNER OF THE THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN CUP 2025 Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt! FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS See this week's stock picks HERE Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter
The Rickey Smiley Morning Show Podcast kicks off with a look at Coco Jones preparing to perform the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” at Super Bowl LX. Jones shared that she’s been leaning on a vocal trick once used by Whitney Houston—eating Lay’s potato chips to keep her voice “oiled” before major performances—as she gears up for one of the biggest stages in sports. Reports also confirm Coco’s performance continues the NFL’s now‑annual inclusion of the Black National Anthem before kickoff, with Jones joining a lineup that includes Charlie Puth and Brandi Carlile during pre‑game ceremonies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This episode of The Rickey Smiley Morning Show Podcast kicks off with a look at Coco Jones preparing to perform the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” at Super Bowl LX. Jones shared that she’s been leaning on a vocal trick once used by Whitney Houston—eating Lay’s potato chips to keep her voice “oiled” before major performances—as she gears up for one of the biggest stages in sports. Reports also confirm Coco’s performance continues the NFL’s now‑annual inclusion of the Black National Anthem before kickoff, with Jones joining a lineup that includes Charlie Puth and Brandi Carlile during pre‑game ceremonies. Meanwhile, the show addresses online buzz about SZA and country‑hip‑hop artist Shaboozey, with multiple sources confirming that despite months of speculation, the two have never been romantically involved and maintain only a platonic friendship. Later, listeners get a lively segment featuring super‑producer Teddy Riley, whose new memoir Remember the Times chronicles his rise from Harlem to shaping the sound of modern R&B and hip‑hop through the creation of New Jack Swing and collaborations with icons like Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige, and Jay‑Z. As conversation turns political, the team reacts to Donald Trump’s recent repost of an AI‑generated video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes, which sparked bipartisan condemnation before the White House deleted it, claiming a staffer posted it in error. The episode blends entertainment, culture, and headline news, giving listeners a sharp, humorous, and insightful take on everything happening right now. Website: https://www.urban1podcasts.com/rickey-smiley-morning-show See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 5, 2026 is: adulation • aj-uh-LAY-shun • noun Adulation refers to extreme or excessive admiration, flattery, or praise. // The triumphant players were greeted with shouts of adulation. See the entry > Examples: “Curators focus on the sunnier side of Elvis's tragic story, yet Graceland still provides an intimate glimpse into superstardom and all that comes with it: the adulation, the opulence, the hangers-on and the darkness that counterbalances such a burst of light.” — Rick Rojas, The New York Times, 29 Nov. 2025 Did you know? If witnessing a display of adulation reminds you of a dog panting after its beloved person, you've picked up adulation's etymological “scent”; the word ultimately comes from the Latin verb adūlārī, meaning “to fawn on” (a sense used specifically of the affectionate behavior of dogs) or “to praise insincerely.” Adulation has been in use in English since the 15th century. The verb adulate, noun adulator, and adjective adulatory followed dutifully behind.
Pepsi is slashing prices for some of its most popular brands, some by 15%. The company said it has spent the past year listening to consumer feedback. Nah. What happened is always what happens in this economy and why there is no breakout inflation. Companies that do raise prices end up sacrificing volumes because their customers can't afford to pay more. Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis----------------------------------------------------------------Eurodollar University LIVE — February 2026, President's Day WeekendSmall group. Intimate setting. Direct access to experts you won't get anywhere else. Only a few VIP slots remain.Sign up here: https://eurodollar-university.com/event-home-page----------------------------------------------------------------PepsiCo to cut prices of Lay's, Doritos as consumers push backhttps://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/pepsico-tops-quarterly-revenue-estimates-resilient-demand-sodas-2026-02-03/After Years of Increases, PepsiCo Pledges to Cut Prices on Snackshttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/business/pepsi-doritos-cheetos-prices.htmlhttps://www.eurodollar.universityTwitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSnider_EDU
This week, legendary Christian rapper Trip Lee tells us about his unexpected move into worship music with his new album. Before that, the crew swaps stories from last week's historic winter storm—Emily survived three days without power in freezing temps and Jesse narrowly avoided going to a fun Orlando Magic game with Cameron.In RELEVANT Buzz, we break down Jelly Roll's powerful Grammy acceptance moment, plus the youngest Grammy winner at just eight years old. We also dive into new research showing the vast majority of people want authentic faith representation in TV and movies, and then Emily previews two interesting new shows: Jury Duty Season 2's unexpected premise and Neighbors, HBO and A24's reality series about strangers forced to live together.Plus, Jesse announces his new podcast Target Intelligence: Psyop and Derek plugs his brand-new show, You Can't Say That in Church. Jesse of course brings his most rewatched video of the week: a Medieval Combat League warrior armed with a real axe who keeps targeting opponents from behind with hilarious headshots. Then in SLICES we cover Miami's iguana apocalypse—dinosaurs falling from trees as residents collect them by the armload (and definitely aren't disposing of them properly).And to close it out, it's Super Bowl week, so we're playing a special edition of "One Has to Go" covering everything from iconic Super Bowl commercials and halftime show moments to game-day snacks and controversial performances. Spoiler: mozzarella sticks do not survive Jesse's hot take.Highlights:00:00 — Intro & Winter Storm Survival Stories07:43 — RELEVANT Buzz08:00 — Jelly Roll's Powerful Grammy Acceptance Speech11:27 — Eight-Year-Old Becomes Youngest Grammy Winner in History12:33 — New Study: 92% of Viewers Want Authentic Faith in TV & Movies16:37 — Jury Duty Season 2 Preview: Hot Sauce Company Chaos18:00 — Neighbors: HBO and A24's New Reality Series24:00 — Medieval Combat League Axe Warrior Goes Viral31:09 — Trip Lee 32:00 — Why Trip Lee Made a Worship Album After Years in Hip-Hop35:00 — Trip Lee on Being a Teaching Pastor and Collaborating With Worship Leaders37:00 — SLICES: Miami's Iguana Apocalypse43:30 — Super Bowl Edition: "One Has to Go" Game45:53 — Iconic Super Bowl Commercials (Doritos, Tide, QR Code)46:21 — Controversial Super Bowl Ads (GoDaddy, Carl's Jr., Axe)47:04 — Super Bowl Snacks Face-Off (Doritos, Lay's, Pringles)47:30 — Soda Showdown (Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew)48:00 — Jesse's Mozzarella Stick Hot Take Sparks Chaos49:31 — Halftime Show Showdown (Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé)50:01 — Most Controversial Halftime Moments (Nipplegate, Dancing Sharks)50:52 — Halftime Props (JLo's Pole, Usher's Skates, Dr. Dre's Lowrider)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
How to Start Losing Weight for Summer, Now! The real work is in the offseason. Lay down the foundation NOW! (1:24) 5 Steps How to Start Losing Weight for Summer, Now! 1. Reverse diet and build muscle. (3:38) 2. Begin cutting calories. (9:47) 3. Adjust workouts. (11:13) 4. Add steps. (12:36) 5. Add cardio. (15:30) Related Links/Products Mentioned 3 Steps to Fat Loss Guide Visit Vuori Clothing for an exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! ** No code to receive 20% off your first order. ** January Promotion: Code NEWYEAR50 at checkout for 50% off the following programs: MAPS Starter, Transform, Anabolic, and Performance! Mind Pump Store Mind Pump #2690: The NEW DIET Everyone Is Using For Fat Loss Mind Pump Podcast – YouTube Mind Pump Free Resources People Mentioned Corinne Schmiedhauser (@mindpumpcorinne) Instagram
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