Podcasts about like jeff

Picture this: A flat grey truck with no top of the line speaker system. No big navigation screen or fancy leather interior. Not even automatic windows.Just a plain, stripped-down, bare bones truck. And people are lining up to buy it.The company is called Slate, and it's an innovative, low cost customizable vehicle - kind of a LEGO kit on wheels - that starts at about $25,000. Join me today as I explore why selling something unfinished can be more powerful than selling something perfect - and how Slate Trucks uses psychology to make customers fall in love with a blank canvas (and you can, too). ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Please take 12 seconds to rate and review the podcast because it helps us find new listeners ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐COACHING✅ To learn more about working one-on-one with Jen and book your free Connection Call, visit https://www.choicehacking.com/coaching-inviteThis month I have 3 spots available - first come, first serve.FREE RESOURCES✅ Get a free digital copy of my bestselling book for a limited time, Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings. Get it here: https://www.choicehacking.com/free-book/ ✅ Get FREE weekly marketing psychology insights when you join my newsletter, Choice Hacking Ideas: Join the 10k+ people getting daily insights on how to 2x their marketing effectiveness (so sales and profit 2x, too) using buyer psychology. Join here: https://www.choicehacking.com/read/✅ Connect with host Jennifer Clinehens on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok @ChoiceHackingWORK WITH JEN CLINEHENS & CHOICE HACKING✅ Training & Workshops: Get your team up-skilled marketing psychology and behavioral science with a workshop or training session. Choice Hacking has worked with brands like Microsoft, T-Mobile, and McDonalds to help their teams apply behavioral science and marketing psychology.Learn more here, and get in touch using the contact form at the bottom of the page: https://www.choicehacking.com/training/✅ Join the Choice Hacking Pro community: Get a Chief Marketing Copilot (powered by psychology) for your business when you join the Pro community. Get live weekly Workshops, Group Coaching and Office Hours.Learn more here: https://choicehacking.academy/pro/✅ Buy my book in Kindle, paperback, or audiobook form: "Choice Hacking: How to use psychology and behavioral science to create an experience that sings": https://choicehacking.com/PodBook/ ★ Support this podcast ★

Chris Riegel, CEO of scala.com, counters AI doomsayers like Jeff Hinton, emphasizing AI's transformational potential as a tool. He highlights the immense investment, hundreds of billions, in building gigawatt-plus data centers across the United States. This infrastructure drive is creating new industries and jobs, establishing the US as a global leader in AI, while also noting Asia's keen interest in US AI technology and Europe's lack of a cohesive strategy.

Selling like Amazon is an art that transcends conventional sales techniques, a discipline that requires an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. The success of Amazon, a company that has achieved a staggering valuation of $2 trillion within a mere three decades, is a testament to the effectiveness of this approach. The key to their triumph lies in their relentless obsession with understanding and serving their customers' needs. This episode delves into the essential principles that underpin Amazon's sales methodology, emphasising the importance of simplicity in the buying process, the power of customer reviews, and the necessity of fostering long-term relationships rather than seeking immediate profits. Join us as we explore these pivotal strategies that can revolutionise your approach to selling, propelling your business towards sustained success.Takeaways: The paramount importance of cultivating a profound obsession with the customer is crucial for any business. Streamlining the purchasing process enhances customer satisfaction and significantly increases conversion rates. Leveraging customer reviews and social proof is integral to establishing trust and encouraging sales. Understanding the necessity of providing value over time fosters customer loyalty and repeat business opportunities. Prioritising speed in delivery and service can differentiate your business in a competitive market. Recognising and addressing the actual problems faced by customers is essential for a successful sales strategy. Frustrated by missing sales targets? Struggling to hit your sales goals month after month? Stop guessing! Our scorecard reveals why you're falling short. Take it now https://www.missingsalestargets.com/Enjoy the podcast, and why not get in touch to tell us what you would like James to cover in future podcasts by emailing hello@jameswhite.business if you've enjoyed the podcast, please give us a review.

▶▶ FREE Blues Soloing Course - https://www.playguitaracademy.com/bluessolobreakthrough Ever wonder how Jeff Beck made just one bend sound better than a whole solo? In this episode, I explore what made his playing so tasteful—and how trying to capture that same emotional feel is reshaping my approach to guitar. SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE- https://www.playguitaracademy.com/blog/would-you-like-to-play-like-jeff-beck-418 PLAY GUITAR ACADEMY - Instant access to the tabs, backing tracks, and guitar pro files from all my lick videos, Monthly masterclasses, and weekly Q&A. https://www.playguitaracademy.com 1-on-1 Guitar Lessons - https://www.playguitaracademy.com/play-guitar-coaching PLAY GUITAR PODCAST - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/play-guitar-podcast/id1341900209 https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxjU2Y0L8PoYiTKmCtvpt YOUTUBE  (SUBSCRIBE)- https://www.youtube.com/@playguitaracademy FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/PlayGuitarAcademy/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/playguitargroup/ INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/playguitaracademy Copyright ©2025 Play Guitar Academy

Pedestrians pushing a crosswalk button near the University of Washington earlier this week got to listen to “Bezos” spout on about not taxing the rich and even reference Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of United Healthcare's CEO last year. Forbes money in politics reporter Kyle Khan-Mullins joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Shiver me timbers, it's gold and silver!This week, the girls are setting sail to find some buried treasure and uncover mysteries like, "where are people selling their gold and also who?", "what is that Silver Fox's name?", "gold leaf?!", and "how were pirates getting so much done when one of their hands was a hook?". It's all the big questions!Tune in or rust in the rain like common steel, and stainful steel at that. Speaking of gold, follow us on Instagram and TikTok @twofreaksnotice for internationally award-winning content! Literally, we have trophies from every country.

The wealth of the world's billionaires grew at roughly $5.7 billion (€5.5 billion) per day last year, according to Oxfam's annual report on the financial affairs of the richest people on earth.Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990, according to the World Bank.Oxfam's latest research reveals the number of Irish billionaires has risen from nine to 11 in the past year, and that their combined wealth has increased by more than a third to just over €50 billion.Oxfam is using the report, issued to coincide with the annual Davos gathering of the super wealthy, to argue for new taxes on the rich. But, while better-off people generally pay more tax on their incomes, the world's billionaires pay extremely low levels of income tax and, on some occasions, none at all.How does a system exist where the super wealthy pay a lower tax rate than a teacher or a retail worker?And will a tax for the super-rich ever happen or are things only going to get worse with Donald Trump sitting in the White House, surrounded by billionaires?Irish Times writer specialising in economics and finance Cliff Taylor explains why the richest people on earth are able to avoid paying tax.Presented by Sorcha Pollak. Produced by Suzanne Brenna Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the PWHL takes too many breaks, Maggie Flaherty is suspended, Jacob Trouba is traded, and Benjamin recounts the history of international hockey tournaments.0:00 Benjamin welcomes SJ to the Neutral Zone Hotel1:37 First up is a discussion about the length of the PWHL schedule because of the large number of international breaks.8:11 The Minnesota Frost's Maggie Flaherty was suspended 2 games for a hit on Boston's Alina Müller.10:26 The Rangers traded captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim and then signed Igor Shesterkin to an extension.22:25 THe Chicago Blackhawks have fired head coach Luke Richardson and replaced him with interim coach Anders Sorenson.26:49 Colorado has traded all the goaltenders for all the Wood tenders.34:40 The final rosters for the Four Nations tournament have been revealed and so Benjamin was inspired to lead a discussion on the history of international hockey tournaments. Neutral Zone Hotel is a production of the Neutral Zone Hotel Team.More information is available at https://neutralzonehotel.comLogo design by Emily Mowbray.We're available on YouTube and all the major podcast platforms.You can follow us on social media:Instagram: @neutralzonehotel Bluesky: @neutralzonehotel.bsky.socialYou can join our Discord server at https://neutralzonehotel.com/discord

Loading Up for Mayhem.By ronde, in 3 parts. Listen to the ► podcast at Connected.One thing that nagged at me was what I’d do in a medical emergency, like if I cut myself chopping firewood or fell down and broke my arm or leg. The first aid kit in my bug-out bag wouldn’t do anything for either of those situations. I did a lot of reading and finally bought what would probably be in any combat medic’s kit. I couldn’t do surgery, but I had enough to splint a broken limb, stop severe bleeding, and sew up a bad cut.Every week, I stopped by the local liquor store and bought a bottle each of reasonably good scotch, bourbon, vodka, and rum. My logic for that much alcohol was it’s a good mild anesthetic and all the experts said it would be good trading material if money became worthless. I figured the extra hundred dollars a week that cost me was just good preparation, and I could always drink it or give it away if things got back to normal.Another piece of advice I learned from one book was the saying, “Two is one and one is none.” What that means is if you have only one of something, like say, an axe, if it breaks you have none. If you have two or more, you’ll at least have one that’s usable while you’re fixing the other. When I was buying tools, I made sure I had duplicates of anything that I thought would be vital to my survival.The last thing to go into my storage space was more of an impulse buy than anything else. I was browsing through the gardening department of a local big box store that September and looking for what they’d put on sale when I passed a display of garden seeds. They were marked down by half. I’d been reading that having a garden is a must for long-term survival. Like Jeff had said about the guy in Montana, I had no idea what might happen, but being prepared was better than not being prepared. I searched through the seed packets looking for “heirloom” varieties because they’ll reproduce true from seed year after year. I bought enough to plant a huge garden and hoped I’d never need to.It was surprising how little money I really spent and how much food and other stuff that money bought. Once I had a year’s supply, I looked at it and it didn’t seem very big so I just kept buying food and supplies like I had before. By the summer after my bunker was built and furnished, I figured I had enough food and other supplies to last me about five years if I didn’t hunt and fish and I’d spent a total of about fifteen grand.That was less than two months of my salary, and if I hadn’t spent it, it would have just sat in my bank. I figured having the stuff more than made up for the loss of interest my bank would have paid me. A lot of articles I  read said in a lot of SHTF situations, money wouldn’t be worth anything anyway.Prepper Drills.Once I started stocking my bunker, I started making the drive out there on Friday night after work and staying until Sunday about noon. That gave me a chance to practice using the stove, food, and lighting to see if I needed to change anything. I did miss having a TV at first, but a good selection of books were almost as good and I didn’t have to watch any dumb commercials. If I got tired of reading, I could go outside and listen to music, news, and even some people on short wave on my hand-cranked radio.What I found is that living in my bunker wasn’t all that bad. I learned how to cook on my little wood stove and how to make my beans and rice taste good. I even figured out how to make cornbread in the little oven. That all worked out really well up until the twenty-eighth of December of the next year.White-out.When I woke up, it was snowing up a storm, but I had to go to the base. There was a software upgrade to one of our simulators that absolutely couldn’t wait until after New Year’s Day. It took me an hour to drive the twenty miles.I was making pretty good progress on the upgrade when about ten in the morning all the lights in the building went out. The emergency lights came on when the emergency generators started, so I figured for some reason one of the main circuit breakers in the building had tripped. Sometimes one would trip for no apparent reason, and resetting it fixed the problem.When I went to the power house in the building to see, they were all fine. The meters on the main switchgear were all dark though, and that told me there was no power coming into the building. That meant it was probably a circuit breaker at the base substation, but when I went outside, there were people coming out of all the other buildings as well. It looked as if the whole base had lost power.That couldn’t happen, or at least it wasn’t supposed to happen. The base was connected directly to the grid and the base substation and lines that serve it were supposed to be hardened against about any natural disaster. There was no natural disaster taking place, so at least a major part of the electrical grid must have gone down.I was rapidly getting a funny feeling in my gut, because there were only three reasons I could think of that would cause a major part of the electrical grid to go down.One was a nuclear device detonated high in the atmosphere. That would cause a massive EMP that could take the control systems at almost all the generating plants and distribution stations off-line. It would also disable most communication systems, including communications satellites and their ground-based relay stations. At least some of the military communications equipment on the ground, in the air, and at sea would survive, but without the satellites, they would be useless.Protecting against EMP was expensive and troublesome to work with because it entailed enclosing all equipment in a wire cage that was grounded to the earth. That’s why most protection was done by the military. They could afford it.Power companies and factories couldn’t afford to protect the huge substations they had without government money, and the cost to do so was astronomical. So far, Congress hadn’t seen fit to provide that money because doing so would have meant cutting back on the social programs most politicians used to keep getting themselves elected.Another was a solar flare big enough to do the same thing, but NASA would have figured out that it was going to happen and sent out a warning days before it was to hit the earth. They hadn’t.The other was a terrorist attack, either physical or cyber that did the same thing. All it takes to effectively kill the U S electrical grid is to shut down ten major distribution substations. We know that because of studies that were done by Homeland Security after 9 11. Terrorists may be a lot of things, but they keep proving they’re not stupid. It wasn’t crazy to think at least one group knew what ten substations would kill the grid and had a plan to take them out when they were ready.Even if something or someone didn’t manage to take out all ten, once part of the grid was down, operators would try to shift the load to another part. This would quickly overload the grid in that area and operators would shut it down in an attempt to keep from damaging their equipment. It would be a chain-reaction of shut-downs until the whole grid lost power.It really didn’t matter why the grid went down. Whatever the cause, it might take a long time to get it back up again. Any damaged hardware would have to be replaced and a lot of that equipment is not on the shelf someplace. It’s made to order and delivery times are months to over a year. If there was no power, there would be no way to make replacements. Even if there were replacements available, they’d have to be installed and then the grid brought back on-line in a very controlled manner to prevent phase mismatch and overloads.Doing that was sort of a “Catch 22” scenario. Some of the electricity generated by a power station is used to run the control systems for that station. Without some source of power, even if everything was repaired, they’d have to get electricity from somewhere in order to fire up the generating plant. The plan for most of the generating plants on the grid was either one special generating plant or diesel-powered generators mounted on trucks. An EMP pulse big enough to take out the grid would also take out the control systems for those special generating plants and truck mounted generators. A terrorist attack would surely have included those special generating plants and at least some of the standby generators.Taking Action.I left everything where it was and got in my truck. The fact that my truck started pretty much eliminated an EMP event as the cause of the black-out. Any electronic device would be affected by EMP, and the computer controls in cars and trucks would be among the first to go unless they weren’t older than a couple years. My truck was five years old.My first stop was my apartment. I put all my clothes in plastic garbage bags, filled a plastic storage box with all my pots and pans and kitchen stuff that didn’t need electricity, and filled another plastic storage box with my books and magazines about survival and engineering. After I hauled all that out the door and dumped it in the bed of my truck, I took a last look around for anything I’d missed that I might need. All I picked up was a picture of me, Mom, and Dad in front of the old farmhouse on the farm taken when I graduated from high school. I didn’t need it, but I wanted it.My second stop was the assisted living home where my mother was staying. I wasn’t about to leave her there with no guarantee that she’d be safe. I tried the local radio stations, both AM and FM on the way. They were broadcasting with generator power and confirmed the blackout was across at least the entire state, but had no explanation for what happened.As I drove into the drive of Fairlawn Retirement Community, the newsperson said they had unverified information that the entire U S electrical grid was down. Cell phone towers would continue to work until their battery backups failed, so law enforcement was still monitoring the 911 system and responding as quickly as they could.It might take weeks to find out what really happened if we ever could. With no electricity, it would be impossible to check any servers for any unauthorized entry of any computer control system for manipulation of the control parameters. Since nobody seemed to know the cause, I was putting my money on a cyber attack on the U S electrical grid, and probably the attack had been aimed at damaging as much equipment as possible.With no electricity, Fairlawn’s intercom system didn’t work so I had to pound on the door for a while before one of the nurses came to the door. Thankfully, she recognized me and let me in. When I found Mom’s room, I didn’t give her a chance to tell me no. I just grabbed all the clothes in her closet and told her we were leaving. All she said was she needed some underwear and shoes too, so I waited until she stuffed them in a suitcase. I wouldn’t have let the nurses stop me from taking Mom out if they’d tried, but they were too busy trying to make sure everybody was in their rooms.From there, I drove to my bunker and parked my pickup beside the hatch, then helped Mom down the stairs and inside. After a couple trips back to my truck to get her clothes and my other stuff, I parked the truck behind some trees, went to the bunker, and locked the door behind me.Mom was pretty shaken up.“Teddy, what happened and why did you drag me out of Fairlawn? The electricity has gone out before. It always comes back on in a day or two at most. At least at Fairlawn I’d have been warm. It’s like a refrigerator in here.”As I built a fire in the stove, I tried to explain what I thought had happened and why I wanted her here with me.“Mom, you heard the radio. It’s not just this area or even just South Dakota. It’s the whole U S. My best guess is somebody hacked into the U S electrical grid and shut it down. The grid and other businesses have been hacked before, just not on this large a scale. There was even a nuclear power plant in Kansas that was hacked in 2017. It’s also happened in South Korea, India, and Germany. In the Kansas plant, the FBI said it looked like the hackers were mapping the computer systems in preparation for another attack. I think this was that attack."If the whole grid is down like they’re saying, the U S will basically come to a screeching halt, because nothing will work. Factories won’t be able to make anything, including food. Trucking companies won’t be able to dispatch trucks or re-fuel them. Warehouses won’t know what inventory they have or where it is. You won’t even be able to pay for something a store has and you need because the cash registers won’t work."What that means is people who need food will be breaking into anyplace that has food. Other people will be waiting to take that food from them. People who are cold will be trying to find someplace with heat that still works and they’ll break in if they have to.”I put my hand on her shoulder so she’d know I was serious.“Mom, I really, really hope I’m overreacting, but what I’m talking about is riots in the streets and nobody there will be safe. Here, I have enough food to keep us going for at least a couple years, I can keep you warm, and nobody can break in here. That’s why I dragged you out of Fairlawn. Please don’t be mad at me.”Mom looked up and smiled.“I’m not mad at you Ted. Your dad would have done the same thing in this situation. He’d be proud that you did."So, what do you do down here for entertainment? I guess I won’t be playing Hearts with the girls for at least a while.”Settling In.I gave Mom the bedroom and I slept on the fold-out couch. After I cooked a couple of meals, Mom laughed and said she hadn’t done a very good job in teaching me. I had to admit her meals were a lot better than mine. At night, we’d read or just talk. We hadn’t just talked for a long time.I guess that’s what happens when your parents are close enough you see them a lot. You tend to talk about the small stuff instead of what’s really important. I found out more about Mom and Dad and their relationship than I’d ever even suspected.I’d always thought Mom was a prim and proper housewife who lived for her husband and me. Well, she was that, but apparently not before I was born. She was waiting tables in a bar when Dad and a couple of his friends walked in and sat down at one of her tables. Dad took one look at her and said, “Honey, what time do you get off?”Mom laughed then and said he only looked at her because she was only half dressed at the time.“I knew guys liked to see boobs and long legs and I had both so I dressed to show them off. They got me a lot of tips. They also got me your Dad, though I didn’t know it at the time. He said he had a little ranch and he’d teach me to ride a horse if I’d come out. Well, I did, and he did teach me. I moved in with him two months later, just to try things out. After another three months, we decided we fit together pretty good, so we got married.”Apparently, their first years had been a struggle. Cattle prices were down so Dad went to work at a sawmill so they’d have enough money to eat. Mom told me some of the ways she stretched the food budget, ways I hadn’t thought of but proved to be useful as time went on.Every day for the first week, I’d crank up my radio and go outside to see if anything had changed. The only thing that had changed was the radio stations had evidently used up their generator fuel supply because none of them were broadcasting. I did tune in a couple of ham radio operators every day. They didn’t know anything more than I did, but they confirmed the entire U S was affected as well as at least some of the European Union. They were able to transmit only because they had solar panel arrays and battery packs.I also watched the sky in the direction of the base. In addition to housing the 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB was a training center for B 1 B bomber crews. All training flights had been cancelled for the holidays, but now that it was January, there should have been at least one or two flights a day. I didn’t see anything in the sky except two turkey vultures and one bald eagle. If the training flights weren’t taking place, the base wasn’t up and running, and that probably meant nothing else was either.At night, I noticed another thing. My bunker was about twenty miles from Rapid City, but on the nights I’d stayed there, I could see the lights of the city reflected by any clouds in the sky. I hadn’t seen that since the power went out, so Rapid City and Ellsworth were still in the dark. I decided I needed to find out for sure.It was a Tuesday morning, if I remember right, when I told Mom what I was going to do.“I’m going to drive over to the base and see what’s going on. Don’t worry. I’m not going to take any chances. I’m just going to drive close enough to the main gate to see if anybody’s going in or out. If things look OK, I’ll take you back to Fairlawn. If not, well, at least we’ll know."Now, I showed you how to lock the deadbolts on the door. Lock them all when I leave. When I come back, I’ll tap on the door three times, wait for two seconds, and then tap two more times. If you don’t hear that, don’t open the door.”I strapped the 3 57 Mag on my belt and left. When I was outside, I waited until I heard each bolt slide. Ten minutes later I was on the county road and headed toward Ellsworth.National Emergency.I got within a block of the main gate at Ellsworth and it was worse than I thought it might be. Before, the main gate was always open and guarded by two guards with M-4 rifles from the 28th Security Squadron. If you had a sticker on your windshield, they’d salute you as you drove through. If you didn’t they’d stop you and ask why you wanted on base. If your name was on the access list for the day, they let you through. If it wasn’t they’d ask for the name of the person you were going to contact. They’d phone that person and ask if you had a legitimate appointment. If you did, they’d apologize for the inconvenience and let you through. If not, they’d respectfully tell you they couldn’t let you on base and show you where you could turn around.That day, I counted ten guards with M-4’s, three standing in front of the closed gate and the rest behind sandbags on each side of the entrance drive. When I looked closer, there was a machine gun with crew on each side as well.I didn’t try to drive in. I’d seen enough to know that Ellsworth was in a maximum security scenario. Instead, I turned down the street before the gate and then drove to Fairlawn because I knew Mom would want to know if everything was all right there. Along the way I passed several gas stations and stores that were all closed. A couple of the grocery stores had plywood screwed over the windows.Because of that, I decided not to tell Mom about

Loading Up for Mayhem.By ronde, in 3 parts. Listen to the ► podcast at Connected.One thing that nagged at me was what I’d do in a medical emergency, like if I cut myself chopping firewood or fell down and broke my arm or leg. The first aid kit in my bug-out bag wouldn’t do anything for either of those situations. I did a lot of reading and finally bought what would probably be in any combat medic’s kit. I couldn’t do surgery, but I had enough to splint a broken limb, stop severe bleeding, and sew up a bad cut.Every week, I stopped by the local liquor store and bought a bottle each of reasonably good scotch, bourbon, vodka, and rum. My logic for that much alcohol was it’s a good mild anesthetic and all the experts said it would be good trading material if money became worthless. I figured the extra hundred dollars a week that cost me was just good preparation, and I could always drink it or give it away if things got back to normal.Another piece of advice I learned from one book was the saying, “Two is one and one is none.” What that means is if you have only one of something, like say, an axe, if it breaks you have none. If you have two or more, you’ll at least have one that’s usable while you’re fixing the other. When I was buying tools, I made sure I had duplicates of anything that I thought would be vital to my survival.The last thing to go into my storage space was more of an impulse buy than anything else. I was browsing through the gardening department of a local big box store that September and looking for what they’d put on sale when I passed a display of garden seeds. They were marked down by half. I’d been reading that having a garden is a must for long-term survival. Like Jeff had said about the guy in Montana, I had no idea what might happen, but being prepared was better than not being prepared. I searched through the seed packets looking for “heirloom” varieties because they’ll reproduce true from seed year after year. I bought enough to plant a huge garden and hoped I’d never need to.It was surprising how little money I really spent and how much food and other stuff that money bought. Once I had a year’s supply, I looked at it and it didn’t seem very big so I just kept buying food and supplies like I had before. By the summer after my bunker was built and furnished, I figured I had enough food and other supplies to last me about five years if I didn’t hunt and fish and I’d spent a total of about fifteen grand.That was less than two months of my salary, and if I hadn’t spent it, it would have just sat in my bank. I figured having the stuff more than made up for the loss of interest my bank would have paid me. A lot of articles I  read said in a lot of SHTF situations, money wouldn’t be worth anything anyway.Prepper Drills.Once I started stocking my bunker, I started making the drive out there on Friday night after work and staying until Sunday about noon. That gave me a chance to practice using the stove, food, and lighting to see if I needed to change anything. I did miss having a TV at first, but a good selection of books were almost as good and I didn’t have to watch any dumb commercials. If I got tired of reading, I could go outside and listen to music, news, and even some people on short wave on my hand-cranked radio.What I found is that living in my bunker wasn’t all that bad. I learned how to cook on my little wood stove and how to make my beans and rice taste good. I even figured out how to make cornbread in the little oven. That all worked out really well up until the twenty-eighth of December of the next year.White-out.When I woke up, it was snowing up a storm, but I had to go to the base. There was a software upgrade to one of our simulators that absolutely couldn’t wait until after New Year’s Day. It took me an hour to drive the twenty miles.I was making pretty good progress on the upgrade when about ten in the morning all the lights in the building went out. The emergency lights came on when the emergency generators started, so I figured for some reason one of the main circuit breakers in the building had tripped. Sometimes one would trip for no apparent reason, and resetting it fixed the problem.When I went to the power house in the building to see, they were all fine. The meters on the main switchgear were all dark though, and that told me there was no power coming into the building. That meant it was probably a circuit breaker at the base substation, but when I went outside, there were people coming out of all the other buildings as well. It looked as if the whole base had lost power.That couldn’t happen, or at least it wasn’t supposed to happen. The base was connected directly to the grid and the base substation and lines that serve it were supposed to be hardened against about any natural disaster. There was no natural disaster taking place, so at least a major part of the electrical grid must have gone down.I was rapidly getting a funny feeling in my gut, because there were only three reasons I could think of that would cause a major part of the electrical grid to go down.One was a nuclear device detonated high in the atmosphere. That would cause a massive EMP that could take the control systems at almost all the generating plants and distribution stations off-line. It would also disable most communication systems, including communications satellites and their ground-based relay stations. At least some of the military communications equipment on the ground, in the air, and at sea would survive, but without the satellites, they would be useless.Protecting against EMP was expensive and troublesome to work with because it entailed enclosing all equipment in a wire cage that was grounded to the earth. That’s why most protection was done by the military. They could afford it.Power companies and factories couldn’t afford to protect the huge substations they had without government money, and the cost to do so was astronomical. So far, Congress hadn’t seen fit to provide that money because doing so would have meant cutting back on the social programs most politicians used to keep getting themselves elected.Another was a solar flare big enough to do the same thing, but NASA would have figured out that it was going to happen and sent out a warning days before it was to hit the earth. They hadn’t.The other was a terrorist attack, either physical or cyber that did the same thing. All it takes to effectively kill the U S electrical grid is to shut down ten major distribution substations. We know that because of studies that were done by Homeland Security after 9 11. Terrorists may be a lot of things, but they keep proving they’re not stupid. It wasn’t crazy to think at least one group knew what ten substations would kill the grid and had a plan to take them out when they were ready.Even if something or someone didn’t manage to take out all ten, once part of the grid was down, operators would try to shift the load to another part. This would quickly overload the grid in that area and operators would shut it down in an attempt to keep from damaging their equipment. It would be a chain-reaction of shut-downs until the whole grid lost power.It really didn’t matter why the grid went down. Whatever the cause, it might take a long time to get it back up again. Any damaged hardware would have to be replaced and a lot of that equipment is not on the shelf someplace. It’s made to order and delivery times are months to over a year. If there was no power, there would be no way to make replacements. Even if there were replacements available, they’d have to be installed and then the grid brought back on-line in a very controlled manner to prevent phase mismatch and overloads.Doing that was sort of a “Catch 22” scenario. Some of the electricity generated by a power station is used to run the control systems for that station. Without some source of power, even if everything was repaired, they’d have to get electricity from somewhere in order to fire up the generating plant. The plan for most of the generating plants on the grid was either one special generating plant or diesel-powered generators mounted on trucks. An EMP pulse big enough to take out the grid would also take out the control systems for those special generating plants and truck mounted generators. A terrorist attack would surely have included those special generating plants and at least some of the standby generators.Taking Action.I left everything where it was and got in my truck. The fact that my truck started pretty much eliminated an EMP event as the cause of the black-out. Any electronic device would be affected by EMP, and the computer controls in cars and trucks would be among the first to go unless they weren’t older than a couple years. My truck was five years old.My first stop was my apartment. I put all my clothes in plastic garbage bags, filled a plastic storage box with all my pots and pans and kitchen stuff that didn’t need electricity, and filled another plastic storage box with my books and magazines about survival and engineering. After I hauled all that out the door and dumped it in the bed of my truck, I took a last look around for anything I’d missed that I might need. All I picked up was a picture of me, Mom, and Dad in front of the old farmhouse on the farm taken when I graduated from high school. I didn’t need it, but I wanted it.My second stop was the assisted living home where my mother was staying. I wasn’t about to leave her there with no guarantee that she’d be safe. I tried the local radio stations, both AM and FM on the way. They were broadcasting with generator power and confirmed the blackout was across at least the entire state, but had no explanation for what happened.As I drove into the drive of Fairlawn Retirement Community, the newsperson said they had unverified information that the entire U S electrical grid was down. Cell phone towers would continue to work until their battery backups failed, so law enforcement was still monitoring the 911 system and responding as quickly as they could.It might take weeks to find out what really happened if we ever could. With no electricity, it would be impossible to check any servers for any unauthorized entry of any computer control system for manipulation of the control parameters. Since nobody seemed to know the cause, I was putting my money on a cyber attack on the U S electrical grid, and probably the attack had been aimed at damaging as much equipment as possible.With no electricity, Fairlawn’s intercom system didn’t work so I had to pound on the door for a while before one of the nurses came to the door. Thankfully, she recognized me and let me in. When I found Mom’s room, I didn’t give her a chance to tell me no. I just grabbed all the clothes in her closet and told her we were leaving. All she said was she needed some underwear and shoes too, so I waited until she stuffed them in a suitcase. I wouldn’t have let the nurses stop me from taking Mom out if they’d tried, but they were too busy trying to make sure everybody was in their rooms.From there, I drove to my bunker and parked my pickup beside the hatch, then helped Mom down the stairs and inside. After a couple trips back to my truck to get her clothes and my other stuff, I parked the truck behind some trees, went to the bunker, and locked the door behind me.Mom was pretty shaken up.“Teddy, what happened and why did you drag me out of Fairlawn? The electricity has gone out before. It always comes back on in a day or two at most. At least at Fairlawn I’d have been warm. It’s like a refrigerator in here.”As I built a fire in the stove, I tried to explain what I thought had happened and why I wanted her here with me.“Mom, you heard the radio. It’s not just this area or even just South Dakota. It’s the whole U S. My best guess is somebody hacked into the U S electrical grid and shut it down. The grid and other businesses have been hacked before, just not on this large a scale. There was even a nuclear power plant in Kansas that was hacked in 2017. It’s also happened in South Korea, India, and Germany. In the Kansas plant, the FBI said it looked like the hackers were mapping the computer systems in preparation for another attack. I think this was that attack."If the whole grid is down like they’re saying, the U S will basically come to a screeching halt, because nothing will work. Factories won’t be able to make anything, including food. Trucking companies won’t be able to dispatch trucks or re-fuel them. Warehouses won’t know what inventory they have or where it is. You won’t even be able to pay for something a store has and you need because the cash registers won’t work."What that means is people who need food will be breaking into anyplace that has food. Other people will be waiting to take that food from them. People who are cold will be trying to find someplace with heat that still works and they’ll break in if they have to.”I put my hand on her shoulder so she’d know I was serious.“Mom, I really, really hope I’m overreacting, but what I’m talking about is riots in the streets and nobody there will be safe. Here, I have enough food to keep us going for at least a couple years, I can keep you warm, and nobody can break in here. That’s why I dragged you out of Fairlawn. Please don’t be mad at me.”Mom looked up and smiled.“I’m not mad at you Ted. Your dad would have done the same thing in this situation. He’d be proud that you did."So, what do you do down here for entertainment? I guess I won’t be playing Hearts with the girls for at least a while.”Settling In.I gave Mom the bedroom and I slept on the fold-out couch. After I cooked a couple of meals, Mom laughed and said she hadn’t done a very good job in teaching me. I had to admit her meals were a lot better than mine. At night, we’d read or just talk. We hadn’t just talked for a long time.I guess that’s what happens when your parents are close enough you see them a lot. You tend to talk about the small stuff instead of what’s really important. I found out more about Mom and Dad and their relationship than I’d ever even suspected.I’d always thought Mom was a prim and proper housewife who lived for her husband and me. Well, she was that, but apparently not before I was born. She was waiting tables in a bar when Dad and a couple of his friends walked in and sat down at one of her tables. Dad took one look at her and said, “Honey, what time do you get off?”Mom laughed then and said he only looked at her because she was only half dressed at the time.“I knew guys liked to see boobs and long legs and I had both so I dressed to show them off. They got me a lot of tips. They also got me your Dad, though I didn’t know it at the time. He said he had a little ranch and he’d teach me to ride a horse if I’d come out. Well, I did, and he did teach me. I moved in with him two months later, just to try things out. After another three months, we decided we fit together pretty good, so we got married.”Apparently, their first years had been a struggle. Cattle prices were down so Dad went to work at a sawmill so they’d have enough money to eat. Mom told me some of the ways she stretched the food budget, ways I hadn’t thought of but proved to be useful as time went on.Every day for the first week, I’d crank up my radio and go outside to see if anything had changed. The only thing that had changed was the radio stations had evidently used up their generator fuel supply because none of them were broadcasting. I did tune in a couple of ham radio operators every day. They didn’t know anything more than I did, but they confirmed the entire U S was affected as well as at least some of the European Union. They were able to transmit only because they had solar panel arrays and battery packs.I also watched the sky in the direction of the base. In addition to housing the 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB was a training center for B 1 B bomber crews. All training flights had been cancelled for the holidays, but now that it was January, there should have been at least one or two flights a day. I didn’t see anything in the sky except two turkey vultures and one bald eagle. If the training flights weren’t taking place, the base wasn’t up and running, and that probably meant nothing else was either.At night, I noticed another thing. My bunker was about twenty miles from Rapid City, but on the nights I’d stayed there, I could see the lights of the city reflected by any clouds in the sky. I hadn’t seen that since the power went out, so Rapid City and Ellsworth were still in the dark. I decided I needed to find out for sure.It was a Tuesday morning, if I remember right, when I told Mom what I was going to do.“I’m going to drive over to the base and see what’s going on. Don’t worry. I’m not going to take any chances. I’m just going to drive close enough to the main gate to see if anybody’s going in or out. If things look OK, I’ll take you back to Fairlawn. If not, well, at least we’ll know."Now, I showed you how to lock the deadbolts on the door. Lock them all when I leave. When I come back, I’ll tap on the door three times, wait for two seconds, and then tap two more times. If you don’t hear that, don’t open the door.”I strapped the 3 57 Mag on my belt and left. When I was outside, I waited until I heard each bolt slide. Ten minutes later I was on the county road and headed toward Ellsworth.National Emergency.I got within a block of the main gate at Ellsworth and it was worse than I thought it might be. Before, the main gate was always open and guarded by two guards with M-4 rifles from the 28th Security Squadron. If you had a sticker on your windshield, they’d salute you as you drove through. If you didn’t they’d stop you and ask why you wanted on base. If your name was on the access list for the day, they let you through. If it wasn’t they’d ask for the name of the person you were going to contact. They’d phone that person and ask if you had a legitimate appointment. If you did, they’d apologize for the inconvenience and let you through. If not, they’d respectfully tell you they couldn’t let you on base and show you where you could turn around.That day, I counted ten guards with M-4’s, three standing in front of the closed gate and the rest behind sandbags on each side of the entrance drive. When I looked closer, there was a machine gun with crew on each side as well.I didn’t try to drive in. I’d seen enough to know that Ellsworth was in a maximum security scenario. Instead, I turned down the street before the gate and then drove to Fairlawn because I knew Mom would want to know if everything was all right there. Along the way I passed several gas stations and stores that were all closed. A couple of the grocery stores had plywood screwed over the windows.Because of that, I decided not to tell Mom about

Loading Up for Mayhem.By ronde, in 3 parts. Listen to the ► podcast at Connected.One thing that nagged at me was what I’d do in a medical emergency, like if I cut myself chopping firewood or fell down and broke my arm or leg. The first aid kit in my bug-out bag wouldn’t do anything for either of those situations. I did a lot of reading and finally bought what would probably be in any combat medic’s kit. I couldn’t do surgery, but I had enough to splint a broken limb, stop severe bleeding, and sew up a bad cut.Every week, I stopped by the local liquor store and bought a bottle each of reasonably good scotch, bourbon, vodka, and rum. My logic for that much alcohol was it’s a good mild anesthetic and all the experts said it would be good trading material if money became worthless. I figured the extra hundred dollars a week that cost me was just good preparation, and I could always drink it or give it away if things got back to normal.Another piece of advice I learned from one book was the saying, “Two is one and one is none.” What that means is if you have only one of something, like say, an axe, if it breaks you have none. If you have two or more, you’ll at least have one that’s usable while you’re fixing the other. When I was buying tools, I made sure I had duplicates of anything that I thought would be vital to my survival.The last thing to go into my storage space was more of an impulse buy than anything else. I was browsing through the gardening department of a local big box store that September and looking for what they’d put on sale when I passed a display of garden seeds. They were marked down by half. I’d been reading that having a garden is a must for long-term survival. Like Jeff had said about the guy in Montana, I had no idea what might happen, but being prepared was better than not being prepared. I searched through the seed packets looking for “heirloom” varieties because they’ll reproduce true from seed year after year. I bought enough to plant a huge garden and hoped I’d never need to.It was surprising how little money I really spent and how much food and other stuff that money bought. Once I had a year’s supply, I looked at it and it didn’t seem very big so I just kept buying food and supplies like I had before. By the summer after my bunker was built and furnished, I figured I had enough food and other supplies to last me about five years if I didn’t hunt and fish and I’d spent a total of about fifteen grand.That was less than two months of my salary, and if I hadn’t spent it, it would have just sat in my bank. I figured having the stuff more than made up for the loss of interest my bank would have paid me. A lot of articles I  read said in a lot of SHTF situations, money wouldn’t be worth anything anyway.Prepper Drills.Once I started stocking my bunker, I started making the drive out there on Friday night after work and staying until Sunday about noon. That gave me a chance to practice using the stove, food, and lighting to see if I needed to change anything. I did miss having a TV at first, but a good selection of books were almost as good and I didn’t have to watch any dumb commercials. If I got tired of reading, I could go outside and listen to music, news, and even some people on short wave on my hand-cranked radio.What I found is that living in my bunker wasn’t all that bad. I learned how to cook on my little wood stove and how to make my beans and rice taste good. I even figured out how to make cornbread in the little oven. That all worked out really well up until the twenty-eighth of December of the next year.White-out.When I woke up, it was snowing up a storm, but I had to go to the base. There was a software upgrade to one of our simulators that absolutely couldn’t wait until after New Year’s Day. It took me an hour to drive the twenty miles.I was making pretty good progress on the upgrade when about ten in the morning all the lights in the building went out. The emergency lights came on when the emergency generators started, so I figured for some reason one of the main circuit breakers in the building had tripped. Sometimes one would trip for no apparent reason, and resetting it fixed the problem.When I went to the power house in the building to see, they were all fine. The meters on the main switchgear were all dark though, and that told me there was no power coming into the building. That meant it was probably a circuit breaker at the base substation, but when I went outside, there were people coming out of all the other buildings as well. It looked as if the whole base had lost power.That couldn’t happen, or at least it wasn’t supposed to happen. The base was connected directly to the grid and the base substation and lines that serve it were supposed to be hardened against about any natural disaster. There was no natural disaster taking place, so at least a major part of the electrical grid must have gone down.I was rapidly getting a funny feeling in my gut, because there were only three reasons I could think of that would cause a major part of the electrical grid to go down.One was a nuclear device detonated high in the atmosphere. That would cause a massive EMP that could take the control systems at almost all the generating plants and distribution stations off-line. It would also disable most communication systems, including communications satellites and their ground-based relay stations. At least some of the military communications equipment on the ground, in the air, and at sea would survive, but without the satellites, they would be useless.Protecting against EMP was expensive and troublesome to work with because it entailed enclosing all equipment in a wire cage that was grounded to the earth. That’s why most protection was done by the military. They could afford it.Power companies and factories couldn’t afford to protect the huge substations they had without government money, and the cost to do so was astronomical. So far, Congress hadn’t seen fit to provide that money because doing so would have meant cutting back on the social programs most politicians used to keep getting themselves elected.Another was a solar flare big enough to do the same thing, but NASA would have figured out that it was going to happen and sent out a warning days before it was to hit the earth. They hadn’t.The other was a terrorist attack, either physical or cyber that did the same thing. All it takes to effectively kill the U S electrical grid is to shut down ten major distribution substations. We know that because of studies that were done by Homeland Security after 9 11. Terrorists may be a lot of things, but they keep proving they’re not stupid. It wasn’t crazy to think at least one group knew what ten substations would kill the grid and had a plan to take them out when they were ready.Even if something or someone didn’t manage to take out all ten, once part of the grid was down, operators would try to shift the load to another part. This would quickly overload the grid in that area and operators would shut it down in an attempt to keep from damaging their equipment. It would be a chain-reaction of shut-downs until the whole grid lost power.It really didn’t matter why the grid went down. Whatever the cause, it might take a long time to get it back up again. Any damaged hardware would have to be replaced and a lot of that equipment is not on the shelf someplace. It’s made to order and delivery times are months to over a year. If there was no power, there would be no way to make replacements. Even if there were replacements available, they’d have to be installed and then the grid brought back on-line in a very controlled manner to prevent phase mismatch and overloads.Doing that was sort of a “Catch 22” scenario. Some of the electricity generated by a power station is used to run the control systems for that station. Without some source of power, even if everything was repaired, they’d have to get electricity from somewhere in order to fire up the generating plant. The plan for most of the generating plants on the grid was either one special generating plant or diesel-powered generators mounted on trucks. An EMP pulse big enough to take out the grid would also take out the control systems for those special generating plants and truck mounted generators. A terrorist attack would surely have included those special generating plants and at least some of the standby generators.Taking Action.I left everything where it was and got in my truck. The fact that my truck started pretty much eliminated an EMP event as the cause of the black-out. Any electronic device would be affected by EMP, and the computer controls in cars and trucks would be among the first to go unless they weren’t older than a couple years. My truck was five years old.My first stop was my apartment. I put all my clothes in plastic garbage bags, filled a plastic storage box with all my pots and pans and kitchen stuff that didn’t need electricity, and filled another plastic storage box with my books and magazines about survival and engineering. After I hauled all that out the door and dumped it in the bed of my truck, I took a last look around for anything I’d missed that I might need. All I picked up was a picture of me, Mom, and Dad in front of the old farmhouse on the farm taken when I graduated from high school. I didn’t need it, but I wanted it.My second stop was the assisted living home where my mother was staying. I wasn’t about to leave her there with no guarantee that she’d be safe. I tried the local radio stations, both AM and FM on the way. They were broadcasting with generator power and confirmed the blackout was across at least the entire state, but had no explanation for what happened.As I drove into the drive of Fairlawn Retirement Community, the newsperson said they had unverified information that the entire U S electrical grid was down. Cell phone towers would continue to work until their battery backups failed, so law enforcement was still monitoring the 911 system and responding as quickly as they could.It might take weeks to find out what really happened if we ever could. With no electricity, it would be impossible to check any servers for any unauthorized entry of any computer control system for manipulation of the control parameters. Since nobody seemed to know the cause, I was putting my money on a cyber attack on the U S electrical grid, and probably the attack had been aimed at damaging as much equipment as possible.With no electricity, Fairlawn’s intercom system didn’t work so I had to pound on the door for a while before one of the nurses came to the door. Thankfully, she recognized me and let me in. When I found Mom’s room, I didn’t give her a chance to tell me no. I just grabbed all the clothes in her closet and told her we were leaving. All she said was she needed some underwear and shoes too, so I waited until she stuffed them in a suitcase. I wouldn’t have let the nurses stop me from taking Mom out if they’d tried, but they were too busy trying to make sure everybody was in their rooms.From there, I drove to my bunker and parked my pickup beside the hatch, then helped Mom down the stairs and inside. After a couple trips back to my truck to get her clothes and my other stuff, I parked the truck behind some trees, went to the bunker, and locked the door behind me.Mom was pretty shaken up.“Teddy, what happened and why did you drag me out of Fairlawn? The electricity has gone out before. It always comes back on in a day or two at most. At least at Fairlawn I’d have been warm. It’s like a refrigerator in here.”As I built a fire in the stove, I tried to explain what I thought had happened and why I wanted her here with me.“Mom, you heard the radio. It’s not just this area or even just South Dakota. It’s the whole U S. My best guess is somebody hacked into the U S electrical grid and shut it down. The grid and other businesses have been hacked before, just not on this large a scale. There was even a nuclear power plant in Kansas that was hacked in 2017. It’s also happened in South Korea, India, and Germany. In the Kansas plant, the FBI said it looked like the hackers were mapping the computer systems in preparation for another attack. I think this was that attack."If the whole grid is down like they’re saying, the U S will basically come to a screeching halt, because nothing will work. Factories won’t be able to make anything, including food. Trucking companies won’t be able to dispatch trucks or re-fuel them. Warehouses won’t know what inventory they have or where it is. You won’t even be able to pay for something a store has and you need because the cash registers won’t work."What that means is people who need food will be breaking into anyplace that has food. Other people will be waiting to take that food from them. People who are cold will be trying to find someplace with heat that still works and they’ll break in if they have to.”I put my hand on her shoulder so she’d know I was serious.“Mom, I really, really hope I’m overreacting, but what I’m talking about is riots in the streets and nobody there will be safe. Here, I have enough food to keep us going for at least a couple years, I can keep you warm, and nobody can break in here. That’s why I dragged you out of Fairlawn. Please don’t be mad at me.”Mom looked up and smiled.“I’m not mad at you Ted. Your dad would have done the same thing in this situation. He’d be proud that you did."So, what do you do down here for entertainment? I guess I won’t be playing Hearts with the girls for at least a while.”Settling In.I gave Mom the bedroom and I slept on the fold-out couch. After I cooked a couple of meals, Mom laughed and said she hadn’t done a very good job in teaching me. I had to admit her meals were a lot better than mine. At night, we’d read or just talk. We hadn’t just talked for a long time.I guess that’s what happens when your parents are close enough you see them a lot. You tend to talk about the small stuff instead of what’s really important. I found out more about Mom and Dad and their relationship than I’d ever even suspected.I’d always thought Mom was a prim and proper housewife who lived for her husband and me. Well, she was that, but apparently not before I was born. She was waiting tables in a bar when Dad and a couple of his friends walked in and sat down at one of her tables. Dad took one look at her and said, “Honey, what time do you get off?”Mom laughed then and said he only looked at her because she was only half dressed at the time.“I knew guys liked to see boobs and long legs and I had both so I dressed to show them off. They got me a lot of tips. They also got me your Dad, though I didn’t know it at the time. He said he had a little ranch and he’d teach me to ride a horse if I’d come out. Well, I did, and he did teach me. I moved in with him two months later, just to try things out. After another three months, we decided we fit together pretty good, so we got married.”Apparently, their first years had been a struggle. Cattle prices were down so Dad went to work at a sawmill so they’d have enough money to eat. Mom told me some of the ways she stretched the food budget, ways I hadn’t thought of but proved to be useful as time went on.Every day for the first week, I’d crank up my radio and go outside to see if anything had changed. The only thing that had changed was the radio stations had evidently used up their generator fuel supply because none of them were broadcasting. I did tune in a couple of ham radio operators every day. They didn’t know anything more than I did, but they confirmed the entire U S was affected as well as at least some of the European Union. They were able to transmit only because they had solar panel arrays and battery packs.I also watched the sky in the direction of the base. In addition to housing the 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth AFB was a training center for B 1 B bomber crews. All training flights had been cancelled for the holidays, but now that it was January, there should have been at least one or two flights a day. I didn’t see anything in the sky except two turkey vultures and one bald eagle. If the training flights weren’t taking place, the base wasn’t up and running, and that probably meant nothing else was either.At night, I noticed another thing. My bunker was about twenty miles from Rapid City, but on the nights I’d stayed there, I could see the lights of the city reflected by any clouds in the sky. I hadn’t seen that since the power went out, so Rapid City and Ellsworth were still in the dark. I decided I needed to find out for sure.It was a Tuesday morning, if I remember right, when I told Mom what I was going to do.“I’m going to drive over to the base and see what’s going on. Don’t worry. I’m not going to take any chances. I’m just going to drive close enough to the main gate to see if anybody’s going in or out. If things look OK, I’ll take you back to Fairlawn. If not, well, at least we’ll know."Now, I showed you how to lock the deadbolts on the door. Lock them all when I leave. When I come back, I’ll tap on the door three times, wait for two seconds, and then tap two more times. If you don’t hear that, don’t open the door.”I strapped the 3 57 Mag on my belt and left. When I was outside, I waited until I heard each bolt slide. Ten minutes later I was on the county road and headed toward Ellsworth.National Emergency.I got within a block of the main gate at Ellsworth and it was worse than I thought it might be. Before, the main gate was always open and guarded by two guards with M-4 rifles from the 28th Security Squadron. If you had a sticker on your windshield, they’d salute you as you drove through. If you didn’t they’d stop you and ask why you wanted on base. If your name was on the access list for the day, they let you through. If it wasn’t they’d ask for the name of the person you were going to contact. They’d phone that person and ask if you had a legitimate appointment. If you did, they’d apologize for the inconvenience and let you through. If not, they’d respectfully tell you they couldn’t let you on base and show you where you could turn around.That day, I counted ten guards with M-4’s, three standing in front of the closed gate and the rest behind sandbags on each side of the entrance drive. When I looked closer, there was a machine gun with crew on each side as well.I didn’t try to drive in. I’d seen enough to know that Ellsworth was in a maximum security scenario. Instead, I turned down the street before the gate and then drove to Fairlawn because I knew Mom would want to know if everything was all right there. Along the way I passed several gas stations and stores that were all closed. A couple of the grocery stores had plywood screwed over the windows.Because of that, I decided not to tell Mom about

There are moments in our lives that will define us. This is that type of moment for us as individuals and as a church. We've seen the heart of God by looking at what he searches for and what he celebrates - but how will we respond? Let's join him on the mission of being FOR those around us and welcoming them home. Like the early church, in the power of the Holy Spirit, let's show people that they matter to us, and most of all, they matter to God.   

There are moments in our lives that will define us. This is that type of moment for us as individuals and as a church. We've seen the heart of God by looking at what he searches for and what he celebrates - but how will we respond? Let's join him on the mission of being FOR those around us and welcoming them home. Like the early church, in the power of the Holy Spirit, let's show people that they matter to us, and most of all, they matter to God.   

In today's episode, Kevin dissects the infamous 4% rule and its applicability to diverse financial situations. While the rule provides a framework, Kevin emphasizes the need for personalized strategies tailored to individual circumstances, considering market dynamics and investment aggressiveness. Moreover, we explore the recent buzz surrounding Jeff Bezos' relocation to Florida for tax advantages, unraveling the complexities of tax planning for retirees. Discover how strategic tax maneuvers can safeguard your wealth and maximize legacy potential, shedding light on conversions, estate planning, and more. Want to meet with Kevin and discuss your income and tax future in retirement? CLICK HERE NOW ! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's talk about cooking, more specifically, let's simplify how to cook lighter with your Instant Pot! It's happened, I too have jumped on the bandwagon of cooking with an Instant Pot… and can I say, I LOVE IT. It makes batch cooking a cinch and the versatility of what you can make, my goodness, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface!  My special guest today is celebrity cookbook author, Jeffrey Eisner and he's simplifying how to cook lighter with an Instant Pot. While yes, you could make super gooey, creamy and decadent meals like mac-n-cheese in your Instant Pot, Jeffrey is also going to show us a way to lighten it all up, cooking to your specific eating lifestyle. Whether it's Keto, Paleo, Gluten-free, or vegetarian and vegan, it's all about eating wholesome, real food that raises your vibration rather than ones that sink you into a food coma and total brain fog… but here's the caveat: he promises we won't lose any of the flavor along the way.  Here's how.  My special guest today is Jeffrey Eisner and he's simplifying how to cook lighter with an Instant Pot. We tackle and simplify all aspects of it, including: For those just getting started using their Instant Pot, the 2-3 tips that would help you feel less intimidated, so you can get going with experimenting, playing and cooking food with it this week What “cooking lighter” looks like for him these days and which recipes he's enjoying making right now, which might give you a few ideas on what to cook tonight Which must-have staples you need stocked in your pantry, specifically for pressure cooking Lawry's seasoned salt beef, chicken, vegetable stock, specifically Better than Bouillon concentrated stock base  dried beans (black, pinto, white beans) quinoa, rice (white, brown, wild), and farro herbs & spices - TIP: buy one new spice each week to build your pantry and experiment with new flavors! How to cook for kids or picky eaters with an Instant Pot - he shares his best advice for parents without much time to cook, but want happy bellies around the dinner table …and ultimately, he shared a little bit about his own wellness journey - what he wished he knew earlier on when it comes to eating lighter and maintaining his weight. Like Jeff, I've struggled with my weight since I was a little girl. The number on the scale would go UP and it'd go down in waves. 20 lbs here, 30 lbs there… ugh. And like Jeff, recently I've started to really pay attention to the food I put into my body. Ask yourself: what is life-giving food for me and my lifestyle? And what isn't?  I hope that wherever you are in your health and wellness journey, you'll find this lighthearted interview inspires you to try something new with your Instant Pot cooking this week. Q: Are you ready to cook lighter using an Instant Pot? If yes, this one is for you. It's time to #DoTheThing! ---- Show notes with all links mentioned available here: https://thesimplifiers.com/podcast/jeffrey-eisner-cook-lighter-instant-pot-all-star-331

If you want to be a leader to others, you first have to learn how to lead yourself! Jeff Reeter is an author, speaker, and successful businessman. Jeff is sitting down with nine-time Emmy winner David Sams to give you a custom-tailored master action plan to become the best version of your authentic self. His book “Do Life Differently” will help you find extraordinary in all areas of your life. Like Jeff says, “ordinary is the enemy of extraordinary.” So learn how to stop settling by default for an average life with Jeff today. #JeffReeter #DoLifeDifferently #Leadership #DavidSams #KeepTheFaith #ContagiousInfluencer

Can you believe it's been a whole three decades of butt-whippin' time? We wanted to commemorate the occasion by re-releasing one of our favorite episodes with a hopefully fun surprise at the end (which Jeff calls an "Easter Egg," but if you announce that out loud, it's not really an "Easter Egg" anymore, is it?). Please take this time to sit and contemplate what it actually means to feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme—and listen to this episode while you do it. Like Jeff with Wayne's World, Cool Runnings was one of the first movies Angie memorized. She practiced her Sanka impression religiously, and thankfully there is no tape recording or home video proof (it was 1993, ok?). We discuss the likeability of this movie transcending age, gender, and genre preference because of its unique charm and humor. Plus, we do some true story fact checking. So without further ado: C2R listener, ya dead? Ways to support us: Rate and review us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Tell us fun things at 929-456-0304 or send us an email Find us on all the social media garbage @cruel2rewind Follow us on LinkedIn for spreadsheet recipes and Canva hacks to avoid while you're pregnant

IT's JEFF!!! …no, seriously. It's just Jeff. We did a whole episode about Jeff the land shark and the Infinity Comic dedicated to his adorable antics. If we had the chance, we'd do it again.  

Mike Mulligan and David Haugh were joined by Dan Bernstein and Laurence Holmes for transition, where they explored why Mully doesn't like former NBA coach and current ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy.

Hour 3 - 00:00 - Fred Smoot on The Commanders Draft 21:51 - Which NFL Teams Drafts Do You Like? 31:48 - Jeff Walker Draft Song

What does our own Jeff Santoro have in common with comedian Mitch Fatel? Despite Jeff's insistence, it's not being funny. Like Jeff (and many of you), Mitch began his investing journey during the Coronavirus pandemic, and now counts picking stocks and learning about the companies he owns as one of his favorite pursuits. Jason and Jeff recently had a wide-ranging conversation with Mitch about his investing story, his many decades in comedy, and how the two overlap with one another. Companies discussed: AAPL, AIG, BNGO, DDOG, DMTK, GOOG, NVDA, PGNY, PYPL, SHOP, TMDX, ZM Connect with Mitch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mitchfatel Check out Mitch's Website: https://www.mitchfatel.com/ We would love feedback on the show. Share with us at: Email: thesmatteringshow@gmail.com Twitter: @smatteringshow Check out our YouTube channel for more content: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSmatteringShow Find the 2023 Smattering Portfolio here: https://tinyurl.com/Smatterfolio

Welcome to the very very first episode of the Built Different Podcast, where we finally bring you Bill and Tom discussing everything interesting in the NFL. This week we will discuss Germany, Bills/Vikings, and much much more from week 10. If you like this, or heck, even if you're just scrolling on by. Give us a like, a subscribe, even a share. We put a lot into this and we plan on bringing you so much more

Chet & Priya sound off on summer fruit and nuts in desserts, Chet takes a bite out of a farm fresh baby corn cob, Priya's dad looks like Jeff Goldblum (which complicates things), the wonders of ALDI's, and RIP Gristedes. This week's nibbles: Priya has cantaloupe with lemon juice, and Chet made an open faced tomato sandwich Created by Chet Siegel & Priya Patel // Produced & Edited by Kurt Cruz // Developmental Producer - Jeremy Redleaf // Theme Music by The Weekend Ladies Check us out on Twitch and Instagram @nibblesandbitspod & on Twitter @nibsandbitspod

I get that he's old, and he might've pouted in Montreal, but I really like the acquisition. Hear award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic's Daily Shots of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates -- three separate podcasts -- every weekday morning on the DK Pittsburgh Sports podcasting network, available on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/dkpghsports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I get that he's old, and he might've pouted in Montreal, but I really like the acquisition.Hear award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic's Daily Shots of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates -- three separate podcasts -- every weekday morning on the DK Pittsburgh Sports podcasting network, available on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/dkpghsports

I get that he's old, and he might've pouted in Montreal, but I really like the acquisition. Hear award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic's Daily Shots of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates -- three separate podcasts -- every weekday morning on the DK Pittsburgh Sports podcasting network, available on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/dkpghsports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wait, did he REALLY just compare himself to Jeff Bezos?! Find out what happens on today's Make Up or Break Up!

It's Old School Kingfish Tournament Day, so Capt. Kevin and Capt. Kirk hit the water to see if they could win it. With them on the water, Jeff called in some reinforcements - Capt. Chip Wingo and Chef Gordon!As you would think, there was a ton of talk about the Old School, with updates coming from our guys, along with Dave Edwards and listeners, too. Founder Paul Dozier even checked in, as busy as he was, and he said 521 boats were entered! Amazing.But it wasn't all about the Old School - Jeff had a great story about an amazing find in one of his favorite shooting houses. Listen in to find out who decided to make a home out of it!Here's your L.V. Hiers gear tip of the week: Zeiss Lens Wipes are great for cleaning sunglasses on the boat/yak $12.87 on Amazon!Here's your Ring Power CAT tip of the week: Go by and get some great deals at Hagan Ace Hardware and Hagan Coastal Outfitters during their 60th Anniversary Sale! Today is the final day! See the full sales flyer here:www.haganace.comwww.hagancoastaloutfitters.comHere's your Kirbyco Builders Inc. cooking tip of the week:Chef Gordon's Meatloaf-3lbs ground meat(venison is best)-3 slices white bread (no crust)-2tbsp of Lawry's garlic salt-2tbsp of Lawry's seasoned salt (red)-1tbsp of black pepper-1 cup of Progresso Italian bread crumbs-1 cup of Cattleman's Carolina Tangy Gold BBQ Sauce-1/4 cup of beef base Better Than Bullion, or beef stock or broth. Spread meat on a sheet pan. Add the bread to the beef base (stock or broth) then, add all the ingredients to the meat, as evenly as possible, except the Carolina Gold sauce. Mix ingredients into meat without squeezing the meat. Do not knead your meat!! (Like Jeff does) The intent is to not compact the meat or firm it up. Add Caroline Gold, mix gently, reserve a little to drizzle on top, and bake in 9" x 13" pan at 375° for 25 minutes. Important that the meat isn't more than about 2.5" thick or the outer portion will be dry and well done.

We start out the third hour with former Homeland Security man Tom Homan and ask him about the fentanyl crisis happening in Philadelphia and across the country. Tom discusses how border patrol can only cover 30 percent of the border thanks to Biden's plan and that is allowing for drugs to be easily maneuvered into the country. These cartels control the border and there have been 57,000 getaways since these implementations have come about. Dom talks about the Ulta robbery in Exton, how the perpetrators surveyed the area, met back with each other and went in to rob them as authorities were waiting for them outside to commit the crime. Dom also comments on how the Philly crime wave will continue to move down the Main Line and other suburbs. Then he changes tone to state senator Art Haywood and how he will require DAs to investigate deaths of people killed by police without the officers police department help. Then our Money Melody! We come back talking Stacey Abrams bashing her own state in her campaign as well as Kamala butchering another speech with a lazy soundbite.  Finally, Jeff Bartos joins the program to discuss the election. Jeff hits on his disagreement on how votes should be counted according to Dave McCormick and agrees with Dom that this sets a bad precedent for future elections. They move the subject to John Fetterman and the Senate and how voters should ponder his radicalism among other things. Jeff talks passionately about his recent surgery on his thyroid and how it ended up removing cancer. He also discusses his mindset with trying to be Senator and how he used that approach for this this cancer. Jeff also talks the importance of the filibuster and how Fetterman talks to vote it out.  And just some jokes at the end poking fun at Germany's gas prices. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

WE'RE ON THE AIR, SLED GODS. Angie was feeling “very Olympic” last month and picked an all-time favorite, Cool Runnings, in the spirit of the 2022 Beijing games (if you even noticed the Olympics happened last month). Like Jeff with Wayne's World, Cool Runnings was one of the first movies Angie memorized all the way through. She practiced her Sanka impression religiously, and thankfully there is no tape recording or home video proof (it was 1993, ok?). We discuss the likeability of this movie transcending age, gender, and genre preference because of its unique charm and humor. Plus, we do some true story fact checking. So without further ado: C2R listener, ya dead? Ways to support us: Rate and review us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts Tell us fun things at 929-456-0304 or send us an email Find us on IG @TheC2RNetwork

In this episode, I share the method I use for business planning and how applying it this past year has increased every area of my business.   To attend the Plan Like Bezos Workshop, visit: www.planlikebezos.com   The I Love Mortgage Brokering Network is now brought to you by Finmo. To learn more, visit: www.finmo.ca/ilmb   If you have any questions you want me to answer, send me an email at scott@ilovemortgagebrokering.com   I Love Mortgage Brokering: www.ilovemortgagebrokering.com   Find out more about the 10 Loans A Month Academy: www.10loansamonth.com   Find out more about ILMB Mortgage Pros: www.get10funded.com   Find out more about the $25 Million Dollar Blueprint: www.get25million.com

Let's talk about cooking, more specifically, let's simplify how to cook lighter with your Instant Pot! It's happened, I too have jumped on the bandwagon of cooking with an Instant Pot… and can I say, I LOVE IT. It makes batch cooking a cinch and the versatility of what you can make, my goodness, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface!  My special guest today is celebrity cookbook author, Jeffrey Eisner and he's simplifying how to cook lighter with an Instant Pot. While yes, you could make super gooey, creamy and decadent meals like mac-n-cheese in your Instant Pot, Jeffrey is also going to show us a way to lighten it all up, cooking to your specific eating lifestyle. Whether it's Keto, Paleo, Gluten-free, or vegetarian and vegan, it's all about eating wholesome, real food that raises your vibration rather than ones that sink you into a food coma and total brain fog… but here's the caveat: he promises we won't lose any of the flavor along the way.  Here's how.  My special guest today is Jeffrey Eisner and he's simplifying how to cook lighter with an Instant Pot. We tackle and simplify all aspects of it, including: For those just getting started using their Instant Pot, the 2-3 tips that would help you feel less intimidated, so you can get going with experimenting, playing and cooking food with it this week What “cooking lighter” looks like for him these days and which recipes he's enjoying making right now, which might give you a few ideas on what to cook tonight Which must-have staples you need stocked in your pantry, specifically for pressure cooking Lawry's seasoned salt beef, chicken, vegetable stock, specifically Better than Bouillon concentrated stock base  dried beans (black, pinto, white beans) quinoa, rice (white, brown, wild), and farro herbs & spices - TIP: buy one new spice each week to build your pantry and experiment with new flavors! How to cook for kids or picky eaters with an Instant Pot - he shares his best advice for parents without much time to cook, but want happy bellies around the dinner table …and ultimately, he shared a little bit about his own wellness journey - what he wished he knew earlier on when it comes to eating lighter and maintaining his weight. Like Jeff, I've struggled with my weight since I was a little girl. The number on the scale would go UP and it'd go down in waves. 20 lbs here, 30 lbs there… ugh. And like Jeff, recently I've started to really pay attention to the food I put into my body. Ask yourself: what is life-giving food for me and my lifestyle? And what isn't?  I hope that wherever you are in your health and wellness journey, you'll find this lighthearted interview inspires you to try something new with your Instant Pot cooking this week. Q: Are you ready to cook lighter using an Instant Pot? If yes, this one is for you. It's time to #DoTheThing! ---- Show notes available with all LINKS mentioned here: https://thesimplifiers.com/podcast/jeffrey-eisner-cook-lighter-instant-pot-replay

*SPOILER WARNING MAKE SURE TO SKIP AND COME BACK TO THE SECTIONS YOU DON'T WANT SPOILED* The TWELFTH issue of the Raised a Geek Podcast is here! Join the conversation: Email: RaisedAGeek@gmail.com Follow on Twitter @raisedageek This week Don and Chris talk about: News (6:56) -Spider-Man No Way Home Trailer is in theaters, when will it debut -Scott Pilgrim expanded soundtrack releasing on July 9th -Sneak Peek at Shazam 2 and The Flash Sweet Tooth Episodes 1-2 (27:15) Family Tree Issues 1-12. (1:00:38) Loki preview before the premiere on June 9th. (1:14:10) What we are geeking out on (1:24:04) Don- Watching Comics podcast, Mare of Easttown finale Chris- Far Cry 5, Now Chris listened to some old Blink 182 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In this episode, Ezzy (your host) talks all about Jeff Bezos. He describes what he does on a normal day-to-day basis, and just what his life normally consists of as well as some info on Jeff Bezos that you probably didn't know.

Let's talk about cooking, more specifically, let's simplify how to cook lighter with your Instant Pot! It's happened, I too have jumped on the bandwagon of cooking with an Instant Pot… and can I say, I LOVE IT. It makes batch cooking a cinch and the versatility of what you can make, my goodness, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface!  My special guest today is celebrity cookbook author, Jeffrey Eisner and he's simplifying how to cook lighter with an Instant Pot. While yes, you could make super gooey, creamy and decadent meals like mac-n-cheese in your Instant Pot, Jeffrey is also going to show us a way to lighten it all up, cooking to your specific eating lifestyle. Whether it's Keto, Paleo, Gluten-free, or vegetarian and vegan, it's all about eating wholesome, real food that raises your vibration rather than ones that sink you into a food coma and total brain fog… but here's the caveat: he promises we won't lose any of the flavor along the way.  Here's how.  My special guest today is Jeffrey Eisner and he's simplifying how to cook lighter with an Instant Pot. We tackle and simplify all aspects of it, including: For those just getting started using their Instant Pot, the 2-3 tips that would help you feel less intimidated, so you can get going with experimenting, playing and cooking food with it this week What “cooking lighter” looks like for him these days and which recipes he's enjoying making right now, which might give you a few ideas on what to cook tonight Which must-have staples you need stocked in your pantry, specifically for pressure cooking Lawry's seasoned salt beef, chicken, vegetable stock, specifically Better than Bouillon concentrated stock base  dried beans (black, pinto, white beans) quinoa, rice (white, brown, wild), and farro herbs & spices - TIP: buy one new spice each week to build your pantry and experiment with new flavors! How to cook for kids or picky eaters with an Instant Pot - he shares his best advice for parents without much time to cook, but want happy bellies around the dinner table …and ultimately, he shared a little bit about his own wellness journey - what he wished he knew earlier on when it comes to eating lighter and maintaining his weight. Like Jeff, I've struggled with my weight since I was a little girl. The number on the scale would go UP and it'd go down in waves. 20 lbs here, 30 lbs there… ugh. And like Jeff, recently I've started to really pay attention to the food I put into my body. Ask yourself: what is life-giving food for me and my lifestyle? And what isn't?  I hope that wherever you are in your health and wellness journey, you'll find this lighthearted interview inspires you to try something new with your Instant Pot cooking this week. Q: Are you ready to cook lighter using an Instant Pot? If yes, this one is for you. It's time to #DoTheThing! Show notes available with all LINKS mentioned here:https://thesimplifiers.com/podcast/jeffrey-eisner-cook-lighter-instant-pot

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos shared on Twitter today that they are ending their 25 yr marriage. But they sound so happy! What in the world is going on? We investigated it for you and have some answers. But today's show is about why your marriage should be like the marriage Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos described in their divorce announcement! There are literally 8 things stated in the tweet that every couple would dream of experiencing in their marriage. Get all the show notes and more free stuff here: https://www.smalleyinstitute.com/blog/if-every-couple-could-have-a-marriage-like-jeff-and-mackenzie-bezos Follow us on your favorite social app: Instagram or Facebook Call us at (903) 392-0975 and leave a voicemail question or review.

Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most forward thinking filmmakers of the 20th century, advancing the art form and anticipating the taste of audiences. Through his most famous films Psycho, Rear Window, and Vertigo we find a common theme anonymous watching. This theme is exponentially more relevant today than in Hitchcocks own time, living as we do with the power to present our stories and peer into the lives of others. Though Hitchcocks cinema is often morally askew, gleefully implicating the viewer as just another peeping tom, his work offers a powerful lesson. Art offers us the chance to see ourselves through the screen. It draws us in through the chance to watch unseen, but then reveals to us our own motives. One of the most famous features of Hitchcocks movies his cameo shows us that the director is as aware of the audience as we are of the actors. Though we may think that we are bystanders in media, Hitchcock suggests, we are really participants. Like Norman in Psycho, we think we are anonymous watchers, but Hitchcocks cinema shows that there is no such thing. Someone is always watching us, if only the creator of the works we consume. Like Jeff in Rear Window, our idle past time of peeping grows to an obsession that will be found out, but it can offer moments of genuine insight. Like Scottie in Vertigo, however, if we unthinkingly accept the vistas we are offered, vision can easily degrade into delusion. Hitchcock, more than any other modern filmmaker, understood this and helps us to see it as well. This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with JOURNAL author Philip Tallon about his upcoming 2019 feature article called Caught Looking: Hitchcocks Films in the Age of Instagram

At the end of the book, God wins! God will pronounce judgment on sin. He will defeat satan once and for all. Then, all of history will culminate in a great wedding - “The Wedding Feast of the Lamb.” After the wedding, sin will be banished and a celebration will follow. This celebration is life eternal with God and with those we love in Christ. We will be fully known and fully loved. In resurrected bodies, in perfect relationship with God and in beautiful community. This will be heaven!

‘Wicked Uncle and the Smuggled Cat' Story by Bertie. Read by Richard. Proofread & audio edited by Jana Elizabeth. Duration 23 mins & 40 Hello, this is Richard, and I'm here with a Wicked Uncle story. For those of you who are new to Storynory, Uncle Jeff isn't that wicked, but he is a touch irresponsible. He is something of a hero to his niece and nephew, Jeremy and Jemima, and these days he has a steady girlfriend called Jessica. Yes I know, an awful lot of J's for one family. The instruction to “Fasten Seat Belts” was illuminated in red. Mum sighed deeply before imploring, “Jeff, can't you sit still for just one minute?” Her brother-in-law was sauntering down the aisle of the plane. “Naaa, there's no time to waste,” he said. But just before the wheels bounced on the runway, he jumped into a seat and plonked himself down into it. The cabin steward, who was firmly strapped into his own seat, glanced over at the irresponsible passenger and smiled. Mum shook her head. If they had been on a normal flight, Jeff would have received a good ticking off, and rightly so. As they were on a private jet, lent by one of his millionaire, or possibly billionaire, friends, he got away with his antics. The jet came to a halt. The steward opened the door of the cabin. Jeremy was the first onto the top of the stairs. The sunlight bouncing off the tarmac dazzled his eyes. The aggressively hot air smacked him in the face. The creaking sound of the cicadas in the bushes gave him the creeps. It was awesome. They were on holiday. Uncle Jeff's friend was called Stephanos. He had been born into a wealthy family, but by the time he had worked in banking, and then set up his own advertising and public relations company, he had made his own fortune. Even when Greece suddenly became quite a poor country, he seemed to do better and better. Like Jeff, he was good friends with that elusive person - Lady Luck. Stephanos was in Los Angeles, hanging out with Jerry Jefferson, the lead singer of the Gobsmackers. By the way, if you've never heard of Jerry Jefferson, that's because you're too young - back in ancient times, when your mum and dad were stepping out together. He was way cool. Nowadays you can mostly see his wrinkly face on late night chat shows. Anyway, Stephanos regarded this rocker as his hero, and that was why he personally handled all his PR. His villa was on the Island of Plusios, and he had lent it to Jeff for two weeks of the summer. By road, his place was quite a long and windy way out of town, but by speed boat, it took just five minutes to get there. A people carrier picked up the family from the airport and whisked them down to the harbour where the boat was waiting for them. The villa was like a cross between a luxury hotel and an Ancient Greek temple. Everything was made from marble, and was in the best possible taste. It had two swimming pools, its own private beach, and a games room with table tennis, snooker, and the latest thing in virtual reality gaming. The grounds were covered with lemon trees and the scent was simply gorgeous. They could have spent the whole holiday staying at the villa, but Jeff said they had to venture out to the town to taste some ‘real' Greek atmosphere. The most chilled Greek way of life was to be found in the cafes along the waterfront where the old men sat playing backgammon and making a little cup of strong black coffee last all morning. You could climb up the steep steps and walk among the white-washed houses admiring their little gardens and the colourful flowers growing out of old olive oil cans. In the evening, the most lively place to go was the restaurant in the square with the big plane tree. There you could eat Greek Salad made from tomatoes bursting with freshness and flavour, and you could order lamb souvlaki or fried calamari or baked sea bass and listen to live music played on the balalaika and the lyra. Later on, the more adventurous diners got up to dance sidestepping in a line, Greek Style. Every night, the hungriest of guests include a number of furry customers with imploring eyes. Occasionally, when they are especially tantalised, they meeow pathetically. Those diners with soft hearts, like Jeremy, Jemima, and Jessica, slip a sardine or a piece of lamb below the table where it quickly vanishes. One ginger cat was particularly asking Uncle Jeff for a piece of souvlaki, but he steadfastly ignored him. “He's got a heart as cold as flint,” said Jessica. Jeff was unmoved. “I'm being generous with my tough love,” he said. “If that cat's got to die of anything soon, it will be overeating. Look how fat he is! There are some poor mogs in the back streets that are just skin and bone, and then every winter the cat exterminators come round and put poison down to kill them off. If they didn't, the place would be overrun with cats and kittens. So these restaurant cats, they are the ones that have got it lucky. No need to feel sorry for them.” “What, they poison cats?! You must be making that up,” said Jessica in alarm. And she turned to Jeremy and Jemima and said, “Don't believe him. He's got a wild imagination.” “No, it's true. Stephanos told me,” insisted Jeff. “But that's so cruel,” said Jeremy. “I feel like crying,” said Mum. And even Dad looked sad. After dinner they took a late-night wander through the streets. Well, “streets” is perhaps a grand word for roads that are just about wide enough for a single donkey and cart. They climbed up to the top of the hill, and spotted the lights of the fishing boats. On the way back down, Jeremy said, “Hey look!” and he pointed to two bright green eyes. “Here, kitty, kitty,” said Jemima. The cat emerged out of the shadows. She was completely black apart from a spot of white on her right, front paw. She was a winner in the looks department of life, but in other regards she wasn't so fortunate. “Meeow,” she said pathetically. “Is this cat skinny enough for you to feel just a tad sympathetic?” Jessica asked her boyfriend. “Yes, I think she will do,” said Jeff. He took off his knapsack and fished out a little parcel of newspaper which he unwrapped. Inside there were some pieces of meat. “There you go,” he said to the cat. “Hope you like Souvlaki. Ha, well of course you do, you're a Greek cat.” “Where did that come from?” asked Jessica “I asked the waiter to wrap up our leftovers,” said Jeff, “because I knew we were bound to meet some hungry fellas on the way home.” The cat was purring loudly and appreciatively. “Oooh, can we take her back to England?” pleaded Jemima. “Yes, we must,” agreed Jeremy. “We've got to save her from being poisoned in winter.” “Uh-oh,” said Dad. “Well,” said Jeff. “You know you can't save every cat on all the Greek islands. There must be millions of them.” “But that's not the point,” said Jessica firmly. “This cat found us. She's ours now. We have to look after her.” “Tell that to Smoochies,” said Jeff. Smoochies was Jessica's dog who was staying with her sister while they were on holiday. “But this kitty can live with us, can't she Dad?” insisted Jemima. “Well,” said Dad. “Er, let's see if that's possible.” Secretly Dad hoped that the cat would disappear into the shadows and merge with all the other cats and they would never see her again. But the kids were very careful to remember that she lived in the little street around the corner from the bakery. The next night, after dinner, they went to find her and feed her again. By now she had a name - Ariadne. And so it was, every night, they came to feed Ariadne. And Jessica asked around and found an Irish vet who lived on the island and did his best for the local animals. He agreed to vaccinate and microchip the cat so that they could take her home. In the market, Jessica bought a basket, a cushion, and a bowl for Ariadne, and on Saturday morning they came to wake her up early. She was already looking a little less bony. In fact her tummy was starting to look a little rounded. They thought it might be tricky to coax her into the basket, though Jeff was prepared to get scratched. But it only took a sardine to encourage her into the basket, and soon they were carrying her to the vet for her appointment. After that she came to live with them in the villa. Ariadne was an especially fortunate cat, because normally animals have to travel in the luggage department of the airplane. It is cold, dark and scary down there, and usually they have to be sedated. But as the family were travelling by private jet, they planned to take her with them in the cabin. She could have her own seat if she wanted, just so long as she stayed in her basket, Mum said. “Naa, I'll hold her,” said Jemima. But then disaster struck. Stephanos called Jeff to apologise most terribly, that there had been a change of plan and he needed his jet to fly to Africa with Jerry Jefferson. The rock legend suddenly had a whim to watch a charity football cup in Botswana. They would have to travel home - horror of horrors - on Stingy Jet, as it was the only scheduled airline with seats available back to London. The kids were disappointed, naturally, but that was before they realised what this meant for Ariadne. Stingy Jet did not allow cats in the passenger cabin. Ariadne would have to travel in the hold. When the news sunk in, they were distraught. “Dad you can't let her travel with the bags?” pleaded Jeremy. But the rules were the rules, and there was nothing that Dad could do. Ariadne would have to go with the suitcases. “Well it's better than staying behind and being poisoned,” said Mum. “Only just,” said Jeremy sulkily. They were on the first flight of the day. That meant they had to get up at 4am in the morning. Even though they arrived at the airport early, six buses unloaded passengers just before them. The queue of sleepy holidaymakers seemed like it was about a mile long. Most people were wearing shorts and sandals or flowery beach dresses. Some were tanned, others lobster red, and only a few fair-haired Englishmen had managed to keep their pale complexions. When they finally reached the check-in desk, the Stingy Jet rep said, “You have to take the cat to our help desk.” “Where's that?” asked Dad. “It's on the other side of the airport. You have to take the yellow shuttle bus.” “Typical,” said Dad. “Don't worry, I'll go,” said Jeff. “We'll come too,” chimed in Jeremy and Jemima. They went outside to look for the shuttle bus. When they couldn't find it, they asked a police officer and he said that the service did not start until 9am. “This is starting to get a bit silly,” sighed Jeff. “Why can't we just take her with us on board?” asked Jemima. “I really can't fathom it,” said Jeff. Then he smiled one of his sly little smiles. “Look, don't even drop a hint about this to your mum and dad.” And he put Ariadne's travelling pen down on the ground and opened its door. He reached inside, and pulled her out. He held Ariadne in front of his face and said, “Shshshshsh,” before slipping her into his hand luggage. After a little wait, they went back to find Mum and Dad. “Let's hurry, we don't want to miss the flight,” said Dad, even though they had two more hours to spare. They walked through passport control quite easily, but the real problem was how to smuggle Ariadne past the x-ray machines and security checks. “What if they see a cat skeleton in your hand luggage?” asked Jeremy in a whisper. “We'll just have to meet up with her on the other side,” said Jeff. And he quietly let her out of the bag and put her down on the floor. Ariadne got the idea. It wasn't hard for a cat to sneak through the barriers. If anyone saw her, they probably assumed she was an airport cat employed to keep mice away. They met up with her again in the Duty Free shop that specialised in selling tins of black caviar. “I bet you'd like some of that cat food,” said Jeff as he scooped her up into his bag. “Purrrrrrr,” she said back, which is cat lingo for “you bet.” They squished into their seats. Jeff bent down. It was hard because he was so tall and there was so little space. He pushed his hand luggage under the seat in front. It purred, but only quietly. Jessica winked at the kids. After a long, long delay, their plane taxied down the runway and soon they were turning to the right, leaning slightly over so that the kids had one last view of the sparkling sea and rocky coast. They even spotted Stephanos's villa. It was hard to miss as it was so huge. Not so very long after the pilot turned off the “Fasten Seat Belts” sign, the purring from the bag turned into meowing. An air steward passed down the aisle asking if anyone wanted to buy bacon and egg sandwiches that had been prepared in London the night before. “Meow” said the bag. The steward looked over at Jeff and Jessica. Jessica waved and said “Meow.” Jeff explained, “It's just a little game we're playing with our niece and nephew over there.” “Meow,” said Jemima. “Meow,” said the steward. And she went on her way. But the meowing continued. “Better check what's going on,” said Jeff. He managed to pull out the bag and retrieve Ariadne. Jessica took her on her lap and comforted the frightened animal. Another steward came along. “Is that a cat?” he asked. “Just a toy,” said Jeff. “Very realistic, voice activated, made in Shenzhen, and can do all sorts of tricks and even tell bedtime stories.” “Amazing,” said the steward. Ariadne was at that moment curled round and actively licking herself - just like a real cat. “I think we got away with it that time, but only just,” said Jeff when the steward had gone.” He wanted to put Ariadne back in her bag but Jessica said that was cruel. “What are they going to do now if they find out? Throw her off the plane?” “It wouldn't surprise me,” said Jeff. Fifteen minutes later the same steward came back and said, “That really is an amazing toy.” “It is isn't it?” said Jemima who was now holding her, much to the embarrassment of Mum and Dad who were no longer in the dark about the smuggled kitty-cat. “I mean,” said the steward, “who would have thought that a toy, even a voice activated one made in China, could give birth?” “What do you mean?” said Dad. But then he took another look at Ariadne and said, “Ah, is that? No it can't be, but it is…” Because a small, wet, much licked head was popping out of Ariadne - not at the usual end where you expect a cat's head to be, but at the giving birth end. Now the meowing grew very loud. People were looking around. The steward went to the end of the plane, picked up the microphone, and said, “We have a small announcement to make. We have a cat on board that is giving birth to one or more kittens. If there is a vet or a doctor on board, we would be grateful if you could make yourself known to a member of the cabin crew.” A lady got up and said that she was a midwife. She was more used to working with human Mums and babies, but she thought the general principle was probably the same. In fact, Ariadne was doing very well on her own. Her first furry kitten was fully born and a second one was emerging, encouraged by much licking. And as it happens, Jessica is a Junior Doctor, and seeing as she had failed to spot that Ariadne was pregnant, she felt slightly annoyed with herself and decided to keep quiet. Then another kitten popped out, and then another one. Ariadne was now lying on her side. The kittens seemed to know what to do. They were latching on to drink their mother's milk. She continued giving birth. The midwife helped clean each little delivery before handing them back to the mother. Jessica and the children were beside themselves with excitement. “Ladies and gentlemen,” said the steward, “for those of you who are anxiously asking for an update on our in-flight drama, the mother is doing very well and so are the five babies that have been born so far. I'm told that another one is on its way.” Fortunately, six was the final total. Jessica said, “Yes, Ariadne, it's sensible to stop there because six babies are more than enough for any mum to look after.” “You'd better watch she doesn't try to hide any in a cupboard or under a chair,” said the midwife, “because I've heard that mother cats sometimes try to offload one or two newborn kittens.” But Ariadne just purred. She was evidently very pleased with herself. The head steward came over to congratulate the mother and her family and only gave a mild ticking off for not obeying the airline's rules. And so by the time the family reached London, they had almost doubled in size. There were now four adults, two children, one cat, and six kittens. After they had picked up their luggage off the carousel they had to decide whether or not to walk through the Green Channel or the Red one that said, “Something to Declare.” Jeff wanted to pick the green one. He looked at Dad. “Well alright,” he said. “I know what you're thinking.” And so Dad took Ariadne and the six kittens through the Red Channel and told the customs officer that they had six kittens who had been born in flight, as well as one Greek cat with a “pet passport” that was all in order. “Well, not had that one before,” said the official. He did not really know what the procedure was, but after a call to the airport vet, he allowed them through. “Well,” said Mum when they met on the other side. “It wasn't just Ariadne I was worried about. When he saw that Jeff had smuggled a cat on board, Dad almost had kittens.” And that is the story of The Wicked Uncle and the Smuggled Cat. Read by me, Richard, for Storynory.com      

Get ready for the most fun you'll have anywhere during the next 60 minutes of your life!   Tonight's Special Guest Star:  Tarot Jeff!   Call 323 657-1493 to ask him a FREE 3 Card/5-Minute Reading!  Ask, "What's in the cards for me?" Or a specific question of your choosing! Make sure to LIKE Jeff's Facebook Fanpage by clicking here to see his Card of the Week for all of the listeners! Like what you hear and want a private reading?   E-mail:  tarotjeff@gmail.com  Mention Rated G Radio and your initial 60 minute appointment is only $90 ($120 value), or get a radio-only 30 minute session for $50!

Get ready for the most fun you'll have anywhere during the next 60 minutes of your life!   Tonight's Special Guest Star:  Tarot Jeff!   Call 323 657-1493 to ask him a FREE 3 Card/5-Minute Reading!  Ask, "What's in the cards for me?" Or a specific question of your choosing! Make sure to LIKE Jeff's Facebook Fanpage by clicking here to see his Card of the Week for all of the listeners! Like what you hear and want a private reading?   E-mail:  tarotjeff@gmail.com  Mention Rated G Radio and your initial 60 minute appointment is only $90 ($120 value), or get a radio-only 30 minute session for $50!

Get ready for the most fun you'll have anywhere during the next 60 minutes of your life!   Tonight's Special Guest Star:  Tarot Jeff!   Call 323 657-1493 to ask him a FREE 3 Card/5-Minute Reading!  Ask, "What's in the cards for me?" Or a specific question of your choosing! Make sure to LIKE Jeff's Facebook Fanpage by clicking here to see his Card of the Week for all of the listeners! Like what you hear and want a private reading?   E-mail:  tarotjeff@gmail.com  Mention Rated G Radio and your initial 60 minute appointment is only $90 (normally $120), or get a radio-only 30 minute session for $50!

Get ready for the most fun you'll have anywhere during the next hour of your life!   Tonight's Special Guest Star:  Tarot Jeff is back!   Call in 323 657-1493 to ask him a FREE 3 Card/5-Minute Reading!  Ask him, "What's in the cards for me?" Or a specific question of your choosing! Make sure to LIKE Jeff's Facebook Fanpage by clicking here! Like what you hear, but want MORE time for yourself?  E-mail:  tarotjeff@gmail.com and mention Rated G Radio - and your initial 60 minute appointment is only $90 (normally $120), or get a radio-only 30 minute session for $50!

Get ready for the most fun you'll have anywhere during the next hour of your life!   Tonight's Special Guest Star:  Tarot Jeff is back!   Call in 323 657-1493 to ask him a FREE 3 Card/5-Minute Reading!  Ask him, "What's in the cards for me?" Or a specific question of your choosing! Make sure to LIKE Jeff's Facebook Fanpage by clicking here! Like what you hear, but want MORE time for yourself?  E-mail:  tarotjeff@gmail.com and mention Rated G Radio - and your initial 60 minute appointment is only $90 (normally $120), or get a radio-only 30 minute session for $50!

Get ready for the most fun you'll have anywhere during the next hour of your life!   Tonight's Special Guest Star:  Tarot Jeff is back!   Call in 323 657-1493 to ask him a FREE 3 Card/5-Minute Reading!  Ask him, "What's in the cards for me?" Or a specific question of your choosing! Make sure to LIKE Jeff's Facebook Fanpage by clicking here! Like what you hear, but want MORE time for yourself?  E-mail:  tarotjeff@gmail.com and mention Rated G Radio - and your initial 60 minute appointment is only $90 (normally $120), or get a radio-only 30 minute session for $50!