Podcasts about NTH

Quaranteam-Northwest: Part 2 The Start of Something New Based on a post by Break The Bar. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels. Grierson finally sat forward, meeting me energy-to-energy as he kept my gaze locked in. "And yet, here we are, Mr. Black. We can either come up with a deal, or I swear to Christ and all the Saints that the government will seize this land for eminent domain under the emergency provisions of the pandemic and you won't be able to do a fucking thing about it." "Sell, or die," I said. "So you can build a 'resettlement camp?' Jesus Christ, yourself. If you know so much about my family history, you know building a fucking 'camp' of any sort on this land would be the absolute last thing I would bend over for." "I didn't say 'camp.'" Grierson said. "No matter what your Native, and Japanese, forebears had to go through, listen to me; this is the farthest thing from that." I was 1/32nd native from my father's side and 1/16th Japanese from my mother's side. Again, not the hardest thing to dig up, but while I had the black hair of both those ancestries, I mostly just looked like a tall white guy with a pretty generic last name. No one ever assumed I was anything else in passing. "What does that even mean?" Erica asked. "It means we aren't building concentration camps," Grierson said, glancing over at her. "We aren't building a reservation, or an internment camp, or any of the other shitty things our and other governments have done to people." He looked back at me again. "We're going to develop this land into a neighborhood. The God damned fanciest kind of gated community you can think of. Big houses, big properties, for people who do or did important work to settle in safety and stability as we try to survive this shit show virus." "None of this answers why," I said. "Why should I agree to this? Why shouldn't I make it so fucking annoying that you go find a different patch of land and leave me alone?" Grierson frowned, though I had the feeling he'd been planning this from the start. He wanted me to work to peel back the layers of information, to earn the answers because that would make me believe them more. It would tick off boxes in my psychology and experience. The fucking problem was even though I knew he was doing it, it was also working. "Because you'd be saving lives," Grierson answered. "Our pilot development down in California is called New Eden; the place is only two-thirds built to starting specs, and we're already out of room on the next five phases of development once it's opened. Now it's my job to set up the next locations and get them rolling because our current projections are that within the next six months, the death toll is only going to skyrocket. We can't even get a grasp on what the numbers might reasonably be because the range is so fucking staggering. Millions is the easy number, Mr. Black." It was my turn to say it. "Fuck." "Now, you're not going to hear that on the TV," Walters said. "You won't hear it from the CDC, or the other health agencies. The only reason we are cleared to tell you this is because folks in our circles have developed the preference to work with reasonable people when they are useful. And also, who would fucking believe you?" "Here's our offer," Grierson said, pulling out a slip of folded paper from inside his suit jacket and putting it on the coffee table. "That's the hard cash number we've designated for this deal. No taxes. Straight transfer from us to you. There will also be other perks, including homes inside the settlement for you and Mr. Lacoste. Things are about to get really weird in the world. Have you heard anything about the Tier system?" "Nothing," I said, but Leo spoke up. "I saw some rumors. It's supposed to be some kind of a terrifying triage, right?" he asked. "Who's the most worthy kind of shit. People started protesting, but I thought it got debunked." Grierson nodded. "Oh, we stopped the protests, but it's all too real. I won't hide it; I find the entire thing absolutely un-American. It's the kind of shit the Chinese government operates, but it is what it is." Walters drained the last of his coffee and set the mug onto the coaster on the coffee table politely. "Suffice it to say, it's a sort of social karma system. The more important you are to society, the more protections and comforts you're afforded as we roll out our limited resources on quarantine defenses. There's 5 tiers, one being the lowest and five the highest. Most of society will land in the 1's and 2's, including all three of you. This development we'll be building is mostly going to house 3's and 4's. As part of the deal, we'll place Leo at tier 3 for resettlement purposes, and you Harrison would be placed at tier 4 despite your lack of qualification in the matter." This entire conversation felt like I was running downhill trying to keep up with an avalanche. "That sounds an awful lot like a really great way to set up for corruption," I said. "A fucking caste society? Really?" "It's already done," Grierson said. "Believe me, there were a lot of in-the-know people against the idea. But it's the only idea that works in this situation. We've gamed it out to the Nth degree. Leo, your description is pretty much the best that we were able to make internally. We're triaging society to make sure it stays together and can weather this hurricane." "What would we tier at without this?" Leo asked. "Leo Lacoste," Grierson said, talking as if he were reading directly off of a portfolio even though he rattled it off without referencing anything. "Positives: Early thirties age bracket, relatively fit and healthy. Low-to-Mid career path; carpentry skills of moderate qualification. No criminal record. Negatives: No community investment. Likely rating: Tier 1." "Harrison Black," he continued. "Positives: Early thirties age bracket, relatively fit and healthy. Former military service including Military Police service, honorable discharge at the rank of MP Investigations Special Agent, no known psychological impacts. No criminal record. Negatives: No community investment, null-rank career; freelance artist. Likely rating: Tier 1." "To be fair, there is a big question mark on your file that we couldn't fill," Walters said. "Your honorable discharge happened mid-tour, without any reported incidents or injuries. It's surprising you haven't been called back into at least reserve service with the Emergencies Acts. A decent answer would probably bump you up to tier two." "I can't talk about it," I said. Erica snorted and rolled her eyes, and both men looked at her. "Erica," I warned her. "What?" she demanded. "They just called you 'low tier,' Harri. If you're not going to tell them then I will." "I can't talk about it," I said again. "Harrison knocked out an Air Force bigwig when he was an MP and stationed in Germany," Leo cut in. "The guy was abusing and trying to blackmail a female subordinate into sex. The only reason we know is because she tracked Harri down a few years ago and we met her in a bar in Portland." "The bigwig was politically protected and nothing happened in the end," Erica said. "At least, that's what she said. He got shuffled around, and Harrison got the boot." "I got an honorable discharge instead of a court martial for striking a very superior officer of a different branch," I said. "And part of that deal was that I not talk about it." "Well that explains some things," Grierson said. "It wouldn't change anything though. If you were doing something more useful with your life than painting little pictures, you might have made tier two or three without this offer." "Says you," Erica scoffed. "Art is useful. And important!" Grierson pursed his lips slightly. "Erica Lacoste. Not an official resident of the property, but I know enough. Positives: Early thirties age bracket, relatively fit and healthy. Negatives: Criminal record, including battery, two counts of public drunkenness, and public urination. No community investment. Null rank career; tattoo artist. Likely rating: Tier 1." "Hey, fuck you too," Erica said, and pointed her middle finger at Grierson, along with a scowl to go with it. Honestly, none of that was surprising news about Erica for me except for the Battery charge, I definitely needed to get that story out of her. "Okay, we get it," I said, interrupting what I had a feeling was about to become a degenerating path of conversation. "You know about us. You do realize this is all a little much, right? It comes across as insane." "Of course it does," Grierson sighed. "But a year ago, only bored analysts tripping on LSD were asked to think about these kinds of situations. Now we're in it, right in the damned middle of the clusterfuck." "You should really look at the offer," Walters said, gesturing to the folded paper I hadn't looked into yet. It sat on the coffee table like an accusing finger pointed at me by my father, and his father before him. How dare I even consider this? "So it's a butt load of cash," I said, still not opening the paper. "And we get treated like what, royalty? And in exchange, I lose my family legacy." "Royalty is a stretch; you're selling us land, not curing cancer. We'll take care of you like valued members of society. You'll also get early access to the vaccine," Grierson said. "There's a vaccine?" Leo immediately asked. "Social media has been wild with rumors but,” "It's still experimental," Walters said. "And undergoing trials. But it's functioning, with some unconventional side effects. They're still doing long-term tests down in California, but we're going to start rolling it out down there any day now once the doctors are happy with the plan. That's how bad we need it, FDA bullshit be damned." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Flipside, stick. If I don't cut a deal, you'll use the might of the US government to bend me over and rip my family legacy right out of my ass." "You got it. But like I said, we prefer working with people. There's always a silver lining to making friends," Walters said. "Fuck," I said again. Then I flipped one half of the paper open and looked at the number written on the inside. There were a damn lot of zeros. "I need to call my sister," I said. "But pending her approval, I'll lease it to you. All 560 acres, for a hundred years less a day; that's what people do, right? And Leo and I get to pick where our houses are built." "That's not how this works," Walters said. "It's my counter offer," I said. "Hold on," Grierson said, raising a hand to his partner. He narrowed his eyes as he looked me over again. He was a man who made judgment calls on the fly, despite his ability to reel off memorized facts like he'd been living with them for years. I could practically see the rusty old gears turning behind his grizzled facade. "Fuck it," he finally said. "We need to survive the next six months, year, five years and decade before anyone will be worrying about next century. Make your call." "You're really doing this?" Leo asked me as I stood up and fished in my pocket for my cell. "My family has had to defend this land from everything and everyone except the federal government," I said. "Up until now, they might be the only people who haven't thought they had some claim to it. Obviously, this will all need to be in writing before I make a final agreement, but look at the news; everything they're saying makes some sort of terrible sense. And I'd rather get the carrot than a stick so far up my ass it's tickling my brain stem." I went outside to the porch to make the call to Valerie, my older sister. It was quicker than I thought it would be; Val and her husband Brad were hearing horror stories from their nursing friends in the local hospitals, and she immediately understood the position we were in. We hadn't always gotten along the best growing up, but if Val had one thing it was a practical head on her shoulders. When I came back inside, I nodded to Grierson. "Add in another house for my sister and her family, and we've got a deal." "In exchange for the Lease, and the extra house," Walters said, "We're going to need your help in identifying the landscape. I assume you know it fairly well; we'll want you to walk our surveyors through to show any odd landscape elements, seasonal issues like flood areas, that sort of thing." "Done, as long as I can point out the shit they shouldn't fuck with and they actually listen," I said. "There are some pretty big old growth trees out there that would be a fucking shame to cut down." "I understand your concerns, son," Grierson said, as he stood and offered his hand. "But believe me when I say this; we aren't looking to build any high rises or pave over the place. These developments are for people important to society for one reason or another, and that means we're making sure to give them the best we can. Landscape included." One last deep breath and I reached out and hovered my own hand near his. "In writing before it's official." "The contract will be done by this afternoon and we'll email it over. Our lawyers work on our timeline, not their own," he said and grasped my hand in his. We both had larger hands than most, but I could immediately tell he had the grip of a man made from the iron bones of a hard life. I'd like to think he felt the same in my grip, but I had a feeling he'd shaken hands with much harder and scarier people than me. "When can we get vaccinated?" Leo asked. "If we're going to be working with surveyors and shit, shouldn't we all be as safe as we can?" "We have a testing site opening up in Portland as we speak, so it can get done as soon as possible," Walters said. "Though, as I mentioned, things are a little bit unorthodox right now. Harrison and Leo, you'll need these codes. Get online this afternoon, go to the website and fill out the questionnaire. It's extremely important you are entirely truthful. Your answers will affect how your tier ranking will play out for you as we roll it out over the next few months across the west coast." He pulled out two business cards from a pocket, each with their names, an URL and a twenty-five-digit passcode, and handed them to Leo and me. "What about me?" Erica asked. "Vaccination side effects and implementation are different between men and women," Grierson said. "Just like the virus is overly affecting men, the vaccine has different effects. If you want your vaccine immediately, Miss Lacoste, you're going to need to fly with us back up to Portland and attend the information session this afternoon that some of our volunteer human guinea pigs are doing. Then, if you agree to the risks and side effects, we can have you immunized as soon as tomorrow morning." Things moved quickly after that. Erica went to pack an overnight bag and put on her 'going out into the world' gear that she usually wore for grocery trips into town; she'd be put up in a quarantine hotel while in Portland for the night before she returned the next day. Within ten minutes she was ready to go and Walters was escorting her out, and the helicopter was warming up its rotors with a whining hum in the front yard. "I'm glad you agreed to the deal," Grierson said, offering his hand to me again, which I shook. "You may not fully understand what you've agreed to yet, but when you do I expect a more enthusiastic thank you. I get that the cash wasn't the important factor with you, son. I grew up on a ranch in North Dakota, I know what family land means. This place is going to do a lot of good for people." "Are you managing the development?" I asked, raising my voice to be heard over the rising thrum of the helicopter. "Not a chance," he said. "It'll be managed by the Air Force, they've been spearheading with the CDC on all these efforts. I'm just the pre-show, but I'll be around to check in on the progress every once in a while, and do the problem solving other people can't handle." "What does that look like?" I asked. "Any way it needs to," he grinned, and I saw the look that all veteran soldiers had. An acceptance that violence could come easily into the life of a person, and that they knew how to handle it when it came. "And don't be alarmed, but we've already had a crew starting to widen your driveway down at the highway. They'll work through the night and probably make it up here by tomorrow morning." "What's the rush?" I asked. Grierson barked a laugh as he started backing away from me towards the open helicopter door. Sour-puss lady was leaning out, holding onto the door and looking like she was about to try and scold Grierson for keeping them waiting. "Kid, in two weeks' time there's going to be well over a thousand lumberjacks, construction workers, surveyors and architects up here. Government moves slow, but OGA were designed to do the opposite. Your life is about to get a little crazy, I'd strap in." I had too many questions to even start one as Grierson hopped into the dark interior of the helicopter. The door slammed, the motor whined at a higher pitch, and it leapt into the sky and started heading north. "Hey, does this questionnaire strike you as way too fucking personal?" "Hmm?" I asked. I was sitting on the front porch with my laptop open, but I hadn't even keyed in the website URL. Instead, I'd been sitting there for over an hour just looking out at the trees, wondering if I'd just betrayed six generations of my family in under thirty minutes. "These questions," Leo said, holding up his own laptop. He'd stepped out the front door and had a look of confusion plastered on his face. "It's like... sex stuff. Shit I wouldn't talk to you about, let alone the government." "What?" I asked. "Are you sure you're on the right site? It's supposed to be about the tier thing." "Yeah, I'm sure. Dot-Gov link and everything." "Fucking OGA," I grimaced. "You and that Agent dude kept saying that. What does it mean?" I sighed. "Other Government Agency. It's kind of a military meme for when someone from the CIA doesn't want to say they are from the CIA. Or, if you're into conspiracies, it's completely separate from the CIA but they're so secretive they don't even have a name." Leo just shook his head and sighed before sitting down in the other deck chair. He joined me in looking out at the forested hills that had surrounded us for the last five years. "Did I fuck everything up?" I asked him. "What? No," he said. "Well, I mean, it's hard to know. But no, I don't think so." "This is all going to go away," I said, gesturing out to the wilds that had been my childhood, and our shared backyard. "My family has been on this land for over a hundred and fifty years, and I just agreed to let the government wipe it out." "It's not like you had much of a choice, Harrison. Carrot and stick, like you said. And whether those guys were CIA or something else, they definitely seemed to have a really big fucking stick. They flew in on a damn helicopter." "Still," I said. "I feel like I'm selling out my childhood." We talked for a while, reminiscing. Leo let me tell some old family stories he'd already heard a half dozen times before. We joked about the shit we'd gotten up to, living out in our backwoods paradise. "Maybe it's time for a change," I sighed. "This was never going to last forever." "Felt like it though, didn't it?" Leo asked. "Yeah, it did." Poing! Leo's laptop, sitting forgotten, made a horrible noise. He glanced at it, "Ah, shit. I timed out. Now I gotta start all over again." He started typing away, and I finally opened my own laptop. The first thing I did was open my emails, and sitting right at the top, already marked with an 'important' star, was the email with the contract. Everything is as discussed. Print and sign, someone will be by tomorrow to collect. Make sure you fill out the questionnaire!; Walters. "Jesus," I muttered. "They really are putting a lot of emphasis on this thing." I opened up the website, starting by filling out all the basic information. Then, just like Leo said, it started to get weird. It was like filling out the most invasive and specific dating app ever. "I feel like they're going to try and 3D Print me a girlfriend," Leo laughed at one point. "Maybe it's cloning," I snickered. "That's fair. I wonder if they can clone me an Angelina Jolie?" "Gone in 60 Seconds Jolie, or Wanted Jolie?" I asked. He snorted. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith Jolie will always be my peak. Or Tomb Raider." "Ugh," I scoffed. We went back and forth like that, laughing at the ridiculousness of the questions and suggestions. The list of kinks we were attracted to, or turned off by was immense. We had to help each other even figure out what some of them were. I found myself ticking off some that surprised me because I'd never considered them before but they sounded hot. Other stuff I down voted hard, and I couldn't believe someone would ever admit to the government that they were into them. Hell, one of the suggested kinks was the government. Who the fuck got hot under the collar about bureaucracy and paperwork? I mean, I guess someone would, somewhere, or it wouldn't have been on the list. "What did you put for that last one?" Leo asked me as I was closing my laptop. "The relationship style scale?" I asked. "Yeah. I put a full 10, polyamory all the way. How hot would it be to be some sheikh with a harem of ladies?" "I went for a 6," I said. "I'm not going to turn down a threesome or anything if that's what my girl wants, but I'm also not into the idea of sharing with another boner." Leo shrugged, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair. "I don't know, my dude. The Agents did say the world is changing. Maybe the norm will be great big orgies next year, and we'll all be smashing like it's our jobs." I snorted and smirked. "Yeah, sure. Society threatens to collapse and we all devolve into Eyes Wide Shut perverts." "One can dream," Leo laughed. We spent the evening starting to pack. It was tough, since we weren't really sure what the actual plan was. The contract fully outlined that we'd be getting new residences in the development, which was being called 'Valhalla,' but it wasn't exactly clear what the timeline was. I pushed for Leo to get packing sooner than later. My days in the military had me trained to expect 'hurry up and wait' to never mean waiting on the little guy, and right now we were definitely the little guy. We were woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of machinery, and we got dressed and rode the ATVs down the driveway. The gravel trail stretched about a half mile from the highway up to the house, but we only made it around a couple of bends before we came to the lights and action. "Stop right there," someone with a megaphone called to us, and we pulled our rides to a halt and cut the engines. "Who the fuck are you?" the voice asked. "Harrison Black. You're on my,” I had to stop myself. As of that evening, I'd signed the contract. It wasn't mine anymore. "We live here," I corrected. "Oh, it's you," said the voice. One of the workers stepped forward. He had on a big, bright orange reflective vest, and had a clipboard in one hand and the megaphone in the other. "Keep working, boys!" he shouted, and the machinery ground into action again. He approached us and stopped about ten feet away, despite needing to shout to be heard over the machinery. "Sorry about the noise. We've got orders to get this road done up to your house by tomorrow." "We heard," Leo said. "How does this all work?" I asked. "Shouldn't you guys be in quarantine gear or something?" "We got tested twice over the last two days in preparation for the job," the guy said. "Everyone on the crew is clean, and we all damn well needed the work. Fastest turnaround and the highest pay I've ever seen. Still, we're supposed to keep our distance from anyone other than the team. You guys get tested?" "No," I shouted back. "But the Government guys who set this up didn't seem to care." "Yeah, they did that with us, too. Acted like they were immune. Hell, maybe they are," the worker said. "You hear about what that idiot in the White House said yesterday?" We traded some stories we'd heard. It was strange, usually Leo and I were pretty private with strangers, but after so long in isolation with just each other and Erica, and the fucking weird encounter with the Agents, it was nice to just shoot the shit with someone new and normal. Even if it was shouting over the sound of machinery. Williams was the foreman of the operation that was clearing the trees to either side of the road. Another crew was working behind them, and trucks were already dumping off heavy set gravel at the entrance to widen it into a three-lane road. By morning they expected to have all of the trees, stumps and all, ripped out and stacked up for processing, and the driveway would be graded and levelled by lunch. The speed at which the crew worked was almost frightening. They were all experienced hands and did everything safely, but it was clear that they were motivated. While we were talking, Leo and I had to back up our ATVs twice to clear space for the crew to move ahead. Eventually, we said good night to Williams and headed back up to the house. I went back to bed, wondering if I'd made a terrible mistake. True to their words, by the time Leo and I woke up in the early morning, the clanging and crashing was just fifty yards from the front door. We made a couple big pots of coffee and brought it out to the guys, and one at a time they all walked over to the stump we used as a table and poured it into their thermoses while we stayed back. I had to make two more trips with more fresh coffee to cover everyone; in the dark it had been hard to tell how many people were working stretched out along the driveway. The clearing crew itself had to be thirty people, and a tired but thankful Williams said the gravel grading and levelling crew was probably just as big. "I'm sure we'll see you around," Williams called as the workers started packing up their equipment and prepping their heavier machinery for transport. "Supposed to be lots more work to do up here, yeah?" "Guess so," I called back. "Where are you guys headed now?" "They set us up in a motel about 20 minutes south. We've got guys on the crew from all over; they recruited all of us to fly out for this work, all expenses paid. Gotta tell you, it felt like hitting the lottery after sitting around in quarantine with my savings siphoning away." They left behind stacks of logs and stumps along the side of the now widened driveway area, and soon Leo and I were prepping a whole new serving of coffee as the morning wore on and the grading crew made its way up my old driveway. The guys on that crew were a little more hesitant to chat since they felt like they were running behind schedule, but they were happy enough to take the hot coffee after a whole night of work. It was around noon when one of the grading crew came up and knocked on the front door of the house. I'd been busy cleaning out the attic; one of those jobs I'd always had on my list of things to do around the property but never got around to. If there was anything up there worth saving, I hadn't found it yet, but it was worth the look. I came down to the front door covered in dust. The guy took one look at me from where he'd backed to 'social distance' and started laughing. I took one look at him, covered in gravel dust with rings of sweat from where he'd taken off his hard hat, and laughed right back. "Sir," he finally said after a minute, "We just thought you should know that the crew down at the far end of the road said someone in a green pickup truck drove by real slow a few times. The third time they pulled over and asked what was going on, but the boys down there followed orders and didn't tell him anything, so he peeled out. Just figured we'd let you know." "I appreciate that," I said, and sighed in the way that only old family history could make me sigh. Deep, long and aggravated. "And I think I know who it probably was. Thanks for letting me know." He nodded and went back to work. I didn't even think to ask what all was going on down at the end of the new road they had installed until he was already at the other end of the yard. "What's up?" Leo asked when I went to join him in the barn. "One of the crew guys said they saw a green pickup doing drive-buys." "Hah! Well, I guess that's not going to be your problem anymore, is it?" Leo laughed. I smirked. "Not legally. I'm sure I'm still going to be on Kara's shit-list and get a fucking earful though." I ended up spending the early afternoon helping Leo pack up a bunch of his woodworking equipment. The smaller stuff was fairly easy, but he needed the extra body for some of the larger presses and table-mounted saws. It felt like we'd barely made a dent when the double-honk of a car broke our concentration. We both headed around the side of the barn to find Erica getting out of the passenger seat of a black town car that had eaten a whole lot of the fresh gravel dust and now looked like someone had dusted it with flour. Sour-puss Agent Maggie was getting out of the driver's seat. "Hey, sis, how was it?" Leo asked. "Umm-Hmm," Erica said, shaking her head and holding up a finger to keep him from hugging her. "I need to talk to both of you inside." She had nervous energy going on, bouncing her weight on one leg and chewing on the corner of her lower lip. "Give me twenty; no, give me thirty minutes." "Is everything alright?" I asked. Erica was already moving quickly into the house. She'd had a look on her face like she was sick, and flushed with a fever or something. I turned to Agent Maggie. "Did something happen? She didn't catch the virus, did she?" "No," sour-puss said, that permanent sneer never breaking. "She knows everything she needs to, and needs to talk. Just do what she says." "What are you talking about?" I asked. Leo had followed Erica inside to make sure she was Okay. "Look, prick. Your little 'send her to the car' thing yesterday made me look bad, and now I'm stuck as a glorified cab driver while my boss and my partner are off to another shitty corner of the country like this one to bribe someone else into handing over their property to the government. Just fuck off inside and enjoy your new fucking world, you Mamoa-wannabe jerk." She got back in her car and slammed the door closed, then started to peel away and spin the car around before slamming the breaks and rolling down the window. "I'll be back again in a few hours with Lacosta's partner. He needs to be here waiting." "What?" I asked. She just flashed me her middle finger as she drove away. God damn woman, I sighed, watching her kick up dust and loose stones as she drove way too fast down the brand new gravel road. I shook my head and went inside. Erica was already upstairs and I could hear the shower running. Leo just shook his head and shrugged, "She wouldn't say anything. Just muttered about needing to get ready for something." "This is weird," I said. "I'm really fucking hoping this whole thing isn't going to blow up in our faces." "If it is, we might as well take it head on. Too late to do anything else," Leo said. "That's too fucking true, my friend," I said. Thirty-five minutes later Erica, dressed in a pair of her tight jeans with all the holes 'stylishly' cut into them down the legs and a black Metallica hoodie, strutted down the stairs and immediately began pacing and fidgeting with the strings of her sweater hood. She had done her full makeup, and seeing her like that was almost as shocking as the first time she'd gone without it; it had been a month since she had bothered with makeup at all, since even when she went out on grocery runs she was entirely covered up. "Sit," she demanded when we joined her in the living room, pointing me to my usual chair and Leo to the couch. He furrowed his brow as he watched his sister's nervous energy, but I wasn't sure it was because he was worried or didn't like her ordering him around. Their whole twin thing had always been more bouncing off each other than working in parallel. "Alright, alright," I said, hands up as I went to sit. "What's going on, E?" She stopped pacing and looked at both of us, transferring her energy into tapping her foot. I'd only ever seen her like this once before, right before we'd had our big group conversation about her staying indefinitely through the quarantine. Later, she'd elaborated to me a little bit more as to why she'd been so nervous; beyond the pandemic dangers, and feeling alone if she left, Erica had been chipping in for groceries with us, but that was it; the woman couldn't work during the pandemic, and tattooing hadn't exactly fueled her savings accounts. Everything all piling on at once had turned her into a nervous wreck, the opposite of her usual self. So what was doing this to her now? "Erica," Leo said, snapping her out of the train of thought she'd lost herself in staring at me. Her gaze was intense, only added to by her sexy post-punk look. It was like she'd erected a wall of armor around herself, or was taking on a persona that she'd let drop. "Right, sorry, I'm just really fucking distracted," she said. "Look, there's no way to say this easily without sounding sort of crazy at first, Okay? So I'm just going to say it, and you both need to listen cause I'm only explaining it once, alright?" Leo and I both nodded. "Alright, so the vaccine isn't just like, a shot. Well, it is for women. I got it this morning, and I'm something like 97% immune to the virus. But for men it isn't a shot. I did that information session and they showed us a bunch of research I only half-understood thanks to my AP bio classes back in high school, but I definitely got the video. The vaccine is pretty much lethal for men, and it has some weird side effects for women. They couldn't remove those aspects, so they modified it in other ways to try and adjust." "So how are we supposed to get vaccinated?" Leo asked. Erica licked her lips, and I realized she was sweating slightly. She glared at her brother, then looked at me and her eyes softened, then hardened, and I couldn't tell if she was angry at me or what. Then she glared back at her brother again. "They basically turned the vaccine into an STD, and it's the only way for men to get vaccinated. It's not permanent and needs frequent upkeep in both men and women, and it turns women fucking horny as hell if they go without for too long." "I'm sorry, what!?" Leo burst out. "And you took the shot?" "Just shut up, Leo!" Erica tried to shout him down. "I heard all the evidence, I weighed my options, and I decided this was the best thing to do. The whole tier system thing? I did the same questionnaire as you guys did, and they gave me a list of good matches. People I could go become a partner of. Like, sexually, and maybe romantically. We'd live together in quarantine, screw each other into immunity, and be that way for the foreseeable future until they fix this vaccine." "That's so fucked up," I said. "They wanted you to just shack up with someone you didn't know?" "Yeah, except someone I did know was on my list," she said. "Who?" Leo asked. "Are you moving back to Portland?" Erica turned from her brother and looked right at me. "Oh, no," Leo said. "No, no, no. You two are not becoming fuck buddies. We discussed this, Erica!" "Wait, what?" I said. "You discussed,” "Not important!" Leo shouted. "It's not important. It's not happening." "It's too late, Leo," Erica said. Then she turned to me. "At least, it is if you're into it. Look, Harrison, you can say no. I can't make you do this. What's-her-name will come back and get me, and I'll pick someone else on that list they gave me, and I'll go stay with them wherever they are. No hard feelings, you've done so much for me already that I can't even start to say thank you properly. But fuck I really want to fuck you. I've been getting off thinking about you almost exclusively for weeks, and the only reason I never asked you out in all these years is because I promised Leo back in high school I wouldn't ever date his friends." "And this is better?!" Leo squawked. "Shut up, Leo!" Erica shouted back at him. "You're not seriously considering this, are you?" Leo asked me. "You can't; Why; Come on, dude. She's my twin sister, it would be like... ugh!" He threw his hands up in the air in frustration. I rubbed my face with both hands and took in a deep breath before looking back at the siblings. "Alright," I said slowly. "First off, Erica, is this the vaccine talking? Just try and focus, cause this sounds an awful lot like some crazy date-rape drug and not a vaccine." "God, fuck. Why do men have to make things so hard?" she said. "I've wanted to fuck you for ages, Harrison. You being on my compatibility list at the vaccine center just made the decision fucking convenient instead of a fantasy." I turned to Leo. "Would you rather it be me, or some freak you know nothing about?" "I'd rather it be no one!" Leo said. "That's not an option anymore," Erica growled. "I've already got the shot. I'm just going to get hornier and hornier until I fucking snap, Leo. Then I'll fuck anything that fucking moves, that's the way it works. I need to bond with someone or I'll lose my goddamn mind. There are still a few days before I apparently go full-on bitch-in-heat feral, but I'm already feeling an itch all over and the only thing that I know, I know, is going to relieve that itch is cock." "Jaysus," I muttered, sitting back. Erica turned back to me, hugging herself. "Please, Harrison? Just; just tell me yes or no. Standing here without an answer is killing me, cause I don't know if I need to fight the feeling or I can give in." "I; Erica, you are absolutely gorgeous. I always assumed you weren't interested in me, or just wanted a friend. Honestly, I sort of thought you were gay with the comments you make about the women you work on in your shop. You're always talking about perky tits and firm asses and stuff like that," I said. "I'm Bi," she clarified. "And I work with people's bodies all day. I know what's hot and what's not for me, and Harri, you've fucking revved my engine since that first weekend Leo introduced us. I just want to rub my body all over,” "Erica!" Leo interrupted her. "Sorry, sorry, too much," she said. "I told you, this fucking vaccine is damn distracting right now. I need some relief here." "I'll do it," I said. "I just; this feels like the drug or whatever talking, Erica. Are you absolutely sure?" She was on me, straddling my lap and pressing her mouth to mine. Erica grabbed my head in her hands as she started forcefully making out with me, muttering 'Thank you' over and over into my lips. Her tongue pushed against mine, and then she grabbed my hands with hers and pulled them around to grab her ass. It was wonderfully firm, with a good amount of muscle that kept it looking full even if it wasn't particularly plump. "At least go get a room," Leo growled loudly. I pushed Erica back far enough that we could look each other in the eyes. Hers were bright, lucid, and silently pleading with me in a way that made her seem smaller and more vulnerable than the tough chick I'd come to know. "Let's go upstairs," I said to her. "I didn't mean literally get a room, right now," Leo said. "We need to talk this over! You made me a promise, Erica." "Shut up, Leo," Erica said. "I'll make it up to you, this isn't the end of the world. Probably. I think." She grabbed my hand, scrambled out of my lap and started pulling me up out of my chair. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?" Leo asked. "How am I getting vaccinated?" "Whenever they find someone who actually wants to fuck you, dorkus," Erica told her brother. "That lady agent said she'd be back in a few hours with your 'partner,'" I told him as I passed by, still getting pulled by Erica towards the stairs. "I didn't know what she meant at the time, but I guess;?" "Is she hot?" Leo asked me. I was already getting pulled up the stairs. "How am I supposed to know?" I yelled down to him. It's funny how energy can rise and fall at the drop of a hat. Erica pulled me into the guest bedroom she'd been using as her bedroom, slammed the door shut and turned to me; and stopped. She bit her lip, one leg bouncing at the knee as she shifted her weight. "Second thoughts?" I asked. "No, no," Erica said, shaking her head. "Definitely not. God, fuck, no. I didn't want to get into it in front of Leo like that, but you're also just being so you that I feel like I need to explain myself more." "So tell me," I said, sitting down on the bed. Erica started pacing again but stopped after one back-and-forth. "Okay, look. What I said down there is true. I would have asked you out years ago, after that first time we met at Burleson's when Leo brought you around." "The pub around the corner from your shop? That wasn't the first time we met," I said. "I know," she replied. "That was when you were moving into Leo's apartment. We passed each other in the building lobby and I saw you glance at my tits. I thought you were just another fuckboy asshole." "Wait, I don't remember that," I said. "Why didn't you ever tell me that happened? I thought the first time was when you gave Leo the fish tattoo on his side." "That's the first time we actually spoke," Erica said. "And you had an uphill fucking battle to try and change my mind about my first impression of you. You only made it far enough that I didn't bitch about Leo bringing you to the pub a couple nights later. That was when I got to actually focus on talking to you instead of chatting while I was at work. I also remember being super fucking pissed at Leo that night, because I asked him if I could go back on our deal from high school and hook up with you, and he said no." "Okay, whoa; we could have been having sex for seven years and you held to an agreement you made in high school? What was this fucking thing, a treaty ratified by the Pope?" Erica snorted a laugh and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "No, it was stupid. And honestly, looking back, we probably would have had a lot better of a time if he and I had agreed on the opposite. But Leo was a jock, and I was a scene girl, and we made an agreement that we didn't want each other messing with our friend groups. So no dating, no crushing, no nothing if the other twin claimed them first. We wanted to guard what we had, instead of helping each other out." I huffed a soft laugh. "Sounds like teenage bullshit to me." "Yeah, well, I'll just claim twin loyalty, Okay?" Erica said. "But that's not the really fucked up thing about this. When you invited me down from the city to stay with you guys, Leo and I had a separate talk. Harrison, my brother fucking loves you. Not like in a sexual way, but you're the best friend he's ever had. Period. No doubt about it. And he may not have ever said it to you but he was really worried that I would screw up the dynamic you guys have; and now here I am doing it." Erica squeezed her eyes shut and tilted her face to the ceiling. "Shit, maybe this was a bad idea after all. Fuck, he's never going to forgive me, I,” "Hey, hey," I said, standing and pulling her into a hug. Erica was a tall woman, easily 5'9 or a bit more, but I still towered over her with my 6'6". She clung to the sides of my shirt instead of hugging back, but buried her face into my chest. "I didn't know any of this, E. But we're all adults, we can handle this better than making promises we don't want to keep." "I know," she mumbled into my shirt, and slowly let go of my sides and slid her arms around until she was hugging me back. "You should know that I would have asked you out in a second if I thought you were interested," I said. "I'm still not exactly comfortable with the big picture on all of this, but this right here? I will definitely take this silver lining." "God, you make me so hot, Harrison," Erica said, and she looked up into my eyes. I kissed her as we held each other. Her considerable chest was pressing against my sternum, and as she shifted her arms up to wrap them around my neck and pull me closer to her, I lowered mine until I hooked my fingers into the belt loops of her jeans. We held that for a while, eyes closed and enjoying the feeling like we were teenagers again. God, we're both over thirty, I laughed in my head. We should be a lot bet

In this special on-location episode, Kerry Moynahan takes you behind the velvet ropes at The Nth 2025, one of the most prestigious luxury whiskey events in the world. Join Kerry as she reconnects with some of the industry's most respected voices—and tastes some of the rarest expressions on the market. From brand-new American launches and collector-level Scotch to unique rice whiskies from Japan and elegant cask-finished releases, this episode showcases the craftsmanship, innovation, and personality behind the glass.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:4-7). No confidence in the flesh, Paul says, speaking firmly against any sort of “Jesus-and” faith. Like a faith that says salvation comes by Jesus, and circumcision; or Jesus and following the law; or Jesus and good worship; or Jesus and good kid's programs; or Jesus and good ethics. Certainly, these things are important in the life of the church and the life of the Christian—but they have no place in securing our salvation. In the shifting sands of culture and technology, we tend to reach for something more than Jesus—something tangible we can hold on to, to know we're safe and secure. We build up walls of policy and doctrine, or of research and knowledge, or of wealth and possessions, or of whatever. Something tangible that we can control so that we can keep the sky from falling on us. This has been going on since the beginning of the church—like it does here in Philippians. There's nothing new under the sun. But the Christian faith is not a “Jesus-and” faith. It's just Jesus that saves us. Him alone. We put no confidence in the flesh. No confidence in any of the things that we can see, achieve, hold on to, or control. Paul gives an example. As far as Judaism goes: Paul was at the top of the class. Not only was he born into the privilege of a strong, practicing Jewish pedigree—but he also had the smarts and the drive to pursue that Jewish faith to the Nth degree—not content with the achievements of joining the legally righteous Pharisaical sect, but also pursuing an absolutely faultless life and a zealous persecution of all those who stepped outside it—like Christians. But now: all these things he once considered gain he counts as loss. Paul does not see his previous privilege and achievements as garbage—they were gains!  But considering the surpassing greatness and sufficiency of Jesus and him alone—he considers all else loss. Even what he had previously considered as gains. So it is for our wealth and our institutions, our success and our knowledge—they may very well be gains in any other sense. But they don't save us. There's nothing there to put confidence in. In fact, compared to the surpassing sufficiency of Christ, they are a loss. Or perhaps better said, they are to be lost. Our need for them must die, such that we hold on to nothing else but Jesus. This is what Paul's getting at. What gains in the world of the flesh do you rest your spiritual security upon? That is, your salvation? Does it rest on nothing but Jesus? Do you hold onto Jesus and some other things? What do you need to lose? How do we go about losing those things? Two things to start: as Kyra said yesterday, worship the triune God, including within the context of public worship. Second, get to know Jesus. You will discover that he is up to the task of saving you.  As you journey on, go with the blessing of God: May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

After Jimmy finished reading Hawkgirl: Once upon a Galaxy, he had to invite Jadzia Axelrod onto the podcast. Not only is her Hawkgirl run with Amancay Nahuelpan tremendous, it is now canon that Kendra is a Philadelphia Eagles fan and her "Go Birds!" may be the first in DC Comics history. Of course, Jadzia and Jimmy discuss Galaxy: The Prettiest Star, Galaxy's appearance in Hawkgirl, and Jadzia teases the just announced Galaxy: As the World Falls Down! This is a fantastic conversation about comics, but don't miss Jadzia discussing the development of the Metropolis hot dog. Go Birds!  Jadzia's website: https://www.jadziaaxelrod.com/ Follow Jadzia on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/planetx.bsky.social Galaxy: As The World Falls Down! From the publisher The highly anticipated sequel to the YA trans coming-out graphic novel Galaxy: The Prettiest Star brings more romance, more action, and more queer joy as Taylor faces her biggest fear: the Vane. Taylor Barzelay is finally living as her authentic self, a purple alien space princess with blue hair and superpowers. With a loving girlfriend, Kat, and an adorable talking corgi that doubles as a bodyguard, Taylor should feel more at home on Earth than ever. So why doesn't she? As Kat plans for life after high school, Taylor begins to wonder what the future holds for her. Despite dealing with bigots in her hometown, protecting her friend Nia Nal from an evil alien aunt, and honing her powers more than ever before, Taylor still isn't sure she can claim her identity as the superhero Galaxy. When the Vane, an alien race that destroyed her home planet, finally arrive on earth in search of Taylor, her biggest fear becomes reality. If Superman can't even handle this threat, what chance does Taylor have to save her best friend, the love of her life, and the entire world?! Will she cast aside any doubt in time to become the hero she was always destined to be? Hawkgirl: Once Upon a Galaxy From the publisher SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS, BATTLING NEW FOES! Hawkgirl, a.k.a. Kendra Saunders, needs a fresh start…and Metropolis is just the place to begin her new post Justice-League life. But when a mysterious villain with a powerful connection to the Nth metal that makes up Hawkgirl's wings starts causing trouble, Kendra will finally have to admit she needs help. New hero Galaxy can manipulate all kinds of energy, and her dog Argus can talk, but will they be enough to stop the monsters terrorizing nightclubs, dragons destroying skyscrapers, and the very dimension they live in collapsing in on itself? And can they survive…the Nth World?! This brand-new adventure with sky-high action, adventure, and intrigue by Jadzia Axelrod (Galaxy: The Prettiest Star) and Amancay Nahuelpan (Wonder Woman, Detective Comics, The Flash) collects Hawkgirl #1-6. PATREON We have a new Patreon, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CryptidCreatorCornerpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. If you like what we do, please consider supporting us. We got two simple tiers, $1 and $3. Want to know more, you know what to do. THE ORDER OF THE NUN-YA STARBURST: VIOLA Make sure to check out our friend's new crowdfunding campaign The Order of the Nun-Ya Starburst: Viola that I mentioned in the episode. (LINK) ARKENFORGE Play TTRPG games? Make sure to check out our partner ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arkenforge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Use the discount code YETI5 to get $5 off your order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brought to you by AAMI, When Clangers Happen, Lucky You're With AAMI. Wow! Round 14 of the footy was certainly a round! Sam Darcy is back and so is Port, maybe? Foodcourts are discussed at length and BT talking about Bont's doodle is remixed. 00:00 - Intro 01:54 - Round The Grounds 03:40 - Nth vs Freo 08:00 - GWS vs Brisbane 10:20 - Bont Got Hit In The Doodle 15:30 - Melb vs Port 19:33 - Geelong vs Dons 22:10 - Hawks vs Adelaide 25:06 - Food Court Chat 33:47 - Saints vs Dogs 36:00 - Carlton vs WCE 37:56 - The Rev Up with Broden, brought to you by AAMI Insurance 42:00 - Headlines 45:46 - Malaka Of The Week

5月20日录制的第308期深圳展节目末尾，孟获在老牌音响网站www.whathifi.com 上，看到了RØDE 即将发布的压耳式的新监听nth-50 的消息，当即崩溃。一方面，RØDE 之前唯一一款耳机产品NTH-100 亮眼的设计和出色的做工，让我们对这个专业品牌的后续产品期待满满；另一方面，这个东西长得……可以说既熟悉又陌生，也就有了今天的标题，「似是故人来」。作为Sennheiser HD25 十几年坚定拥趸，我目睹了各种对这只经典耳机的致敬、模仿、改良，但至今这个1988年的老框架仍然基本未动。on-ear 监听耳机的王位上，这位老王已经等待太久。终于，我盼到了这个身子结实的澳大利亚年轻人，向着那个曾经诱人，现在，在这个民用产品无线化时代里，已经无人问津的王位，发起新的冲锋。拿到nth50 之后我才发现，这里面有很多一厢情愿。或者说，从图片和宣传上，RØDE 和NTH-50 多少误导了我们——RØDE NTH-50 并不是一个hd25 的继任者。时隔近40年的两个产品，它们的起点或许近似，但前方的星辰大海非常不同。感谢罗德中国提供给了本期节目的体验样品，各位听众也可以在听众群里联系几位主播，开启后续的巡回试听。如果你喜欢「声波飞行员」，别忘了在「爱发电」平台为我们打赏，增加它继续飞行下去的动力，谢谢。哦对，补充一下，Koss 之外，RØDE 是目前我们知道唯一提供产品终身免费维修，Life-Time Warranty 的厂家。这次录音时忘记提了，特别表扬一下。（罗德那个叫NTR 的麦克风真帅啊……希望未来十年的打赏，能让我买一只？）时间轴： [00:00:03] BGM#1. Richard Cheese - Yellow [00:01:30] 节目开始；这是一期重录的节目与孟获的怨念；嘉宾老刘与之前罗德的合作节目：218期对NTH-100 的体验； [00:05:42] 怨念继续与nth50 到手的第一印象；拉杆音效现场演示； [00:10:58] 强行设计的新结构：分优缺点聊聊RØDE NTH-50；漫长的前摇； [00:16:29] 产品优点 Part I：做工、超强密闭性；佩戴、模块化设计、双边入线、未来的扩展性； [00:28:06] 产品优点 Part II：声音与调音取向；与NTH-100 定位的不同； [00:37:48] 产品缺点与局限：超强密闭性带来的负面效果；对前端的要求较高； [00:50:52] 良心定价；RØDE （在中国）太不容易了； [00:56:15] BGM#2. AC/DC - It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll) [00:58:12] 外延部分：让老刘聊聊罗德RØDE 这个品牌：除了wireless GO 之外，有什么专业产品线；老刘最爱的RØDE 产品TOP 4；真的有个麦克风叫NTR； [01:02:45] 澳大利亚总部的状况；未来的产品布局；老刘不知道Beyerdynamic 被收购了；孟获以为是个新兴品牌的RØDE 其实已经快60岁了（我真的不知道，失敬失敬）；老刘的同学，录制风暴的Bilibili up主「风羽酱-sdk」； [01:23:37] BGM#3. 韦礼安 - Mr. Tambourine Man [01:24:35] 结束语；期待罗德的下一个产品。RØDE 历史节目： #218. 「西装暴徒」RØDE NTH-100，防身要诀与鸡尾酒调制指南参与录音： 包雪龙 刘知杰 @RØDE 罗德中国 KingTsui @RKTALLK 孟获

Tina Hoye, recently retired president of NTH, talks to F&C reporter Brian Johnson. Hoye talks about her commercial real estate journey, her decision to retire, and efforts to attract more women to the industry, among other topics.

Parce que… c'est l'épisode 0x591! Shameless plug 03 au 05 juin 2025 - Infosecurity Europe 27 et 29 juin 2025 - LeHACK 12 au 17 octobre 2025 - Objective by the sea v8 10 au 12 novembre 2025 - IAQ - Le Rendez-vous IA Québec 17 au 20 novembre 2025 - European Cyber Week 25 et 26 février 2026 - SéQCure 2065 Description Contexte et Participants Ce quatrième épisode de collaboration entre “Cyber Citoyen” et “PolySécure” réunit Catherine Dupot-Gagnon et Sam Harper, animé par Nicolas-Loïc Fortin. L'enregistrement fait suite à leur participation au NorthSec (NSec), une conférence de cybersécurité qui vient de se terminer. Retour sur NorthSec 2024 Impressions Générales Catherine exprime son enthousiasme pour NorthSec, qu'elle considère comme sa conférence préférée dans l'écosystème cybersécurité. Elle souligne l'aspect inclusif et accueillant de la communauté, même pour ceux qui ne correspondent pas au profil typique des participants. La diversité et la richesse des conférences, ainsi que l'authenticité des présentations (versus les conférences trop sponsorisées), contribuent à cette appréciation positive. Sam partage cette vision positive, notant que malgré une fatigue initiale, il a apprécié la variété des présentations allant du très technique à la gouvernance. Il souligne particulièrement la présence d'académiques présentant leurs recherches pour la première fois, ce qui enrichit considérablement le contenu. L'événement se distingue par son degré d'inclusion remarquable, comparable selon Nicolas au Blue Team Con de Chicago. Cette atmosphère inclusive est attribuée aux valeurs du comité organisateur qui se propagent naturellement à travers l'événement. Conférence Coup de Cœur : Le Phishing Basé sur des Données Sam présente en détail une conférence particulièrement marquante sur le phishing, adoptant une approche scientifique et non-jugeante. Cette présentation analysait les comportements face aux tentatives de phishing sans blâmer les individus, mais en se concentrant sur les données statistiques. Les résultats révèlent des patterns fascinants : même 5 minutes après une formation sur le phishing, 0,3% des personnes cliquent encore sur les liens malveillants. L'étude montre qu'il est impossible d'atteindre un taux de réussite de 100%, certaines personnes continuant à cliquer indépendamment des formations reçues. Un élément particulièrement intéressant concerne le timing : la plupart des clics se produisent le lundi matin, quand les employés arrivent au travail avec des boîtes de réception pleines. Cette découverte suggère des solutions organisationnelles plutôt que techniques, comme reporter les réunions du lundi matin ou gérer différemment les emails de fin de semaine. Activités Annexes Les participants évoquent également les activités de soudure (badge hacking) et les CTF (Capture The Flag). Cette année, le thème était celui d'un bateau de croisière avec un casino intégré, permettant aux participants d'interagir avec des machines de casino pour découvrir des “flags” cachés. Ces activités offrent des défis variés, incluant des éléments plus “puzzle” accessibles aux non-programmeurs. Actualités Cybersécurité Storm-1516 : Opérations d'Influence Russe Sam présente un rapport détaillé de Viginum, l'agence française de vigilance numérique, sur Storm-1516, une opération d'influence russe active depuis août 2023. Cette analyse de 77 opérations révèle une machine de désinformation sophistiquée. Objectifs et Méthodes Les campagnes visent principalement à discréditer le gouvernement ukrainien, particulièrement Zelensky, tout en s'attaquant à l'opposition russe et aux gouvernements occidentaux. Une vingtaine d'opérations ciblaient spécifiquement des élections (européennes, françaises, américaines, allemandes). Schéma de Diffusion Le rapport détaille un processus en plusieurs étapes : Planification : Rédaction de scripts, recrutement d'acteurs, création de deepfakes et montages vidéo Primo-diffusion : Utilisation de comptes jetables se faisant passer pour des lanceurs d'alerte ou journalistes pigistes Blanchiment : Reprise par des médias étrangers rémunérés, particulièrement en Afrique et Asie, et par des influenceurs payés Amplification : Utilisation de réseaux comme CopyСop pour créer de faux sites d'information Récupération : Reprise finale par les médias pro-russes et l'écosystème occidental sympathisant Implications et Sophistication Catherine fait le parallèle avec le jeu éducatif “Get Bad News” qu'elle utilise dans ses cours sur la désinformation, qui reproduit exactement ces stratégies. La sophistication de ces opérations rend leur détection par les utilisateurs ordinaires quasi impossible, même pour des experts du domaine. Telegram : Coopération Forcée L'arrestation de Pavel Durov, fondateur de Telegram, a marqué un tournant dans la coopération de la plateforme avec les autorités. Environ 5000 requêtes gouvernementales ont abouti à la transmission de données sur 20000 utilisateurs, principalement suite à des demandes françaises et américaines. Contexte et Controverses Catherine souligne l'ironie de la situation : Telegram, qui se vantait d'être une plateforme de libre expression sans contrôle, a rapidement changé de position face aux pressions judiciaires. Elle évoque le scandale des “Nth rooms” en Corée du Sud, où 73 victimes (dont 26 mineures) avaient été exploitées via des salles de conversation Telegram, illustrant les dérives possibles de la liberté d'expression absolue. Débat sur la Liberté d'Expression La discussion révèle la tension fondamentale entre liberté d'expression et protection des droits humains. Sam note que l'anonymat combiné au “free speech” total crée un environnement sans conséquences, favorisant les comportements extrêmes. L'expérience historique montre qu'aucune plateforme de libre expression absolue n'a eu d'issue positive. Catherine et Sam reconnaissent néanmoins l'importance de préserver des espaces de communication sécurisés pour les communautés persécutées (LGBTQ+, dissidents politiques). L'équilibre reste difficile à trouver entre protection des vulnérables et prévention des abus. SignalGate : Nouvelles Préoccupations Nicolas introduit un nouveau volet du “SignalGate” concernant TeleMessage, un client Signal utilisé par des fonctionnaires américains pour la rétention légale des messages. Cette plateforme a été compromise facilement, soulevant des questions sur l'écosystème distribué de Signal. Problème Fondamental Le modèle de sécurité de Signal repose sur la confiance accordée aux clients. Or, rien ne garantit que l'interlocuteur utilise un client légitime. TeleMessage enregistrait tous les messages, contredisant les promesses de confidentialité de Signal. Absence de Réponse Catherine exprime sa déception face au silence de Signal sur cette problématique. Contrairement à leur habitude de communication proactive, l'organisation n'a émis aucun communiqué ni annoncé de solution pour détecter les clients non-officiels. Solutions Techniques Possibles Les participants discutent de solutions potentielles : Signal pourrait alerter les utilisateurs quand leur correspondant utilise un client desktop ou non-officiel. Cette information existe déjà dans le protocole, rendant l'implémentation techniquement faisable. Sam note que l'impact va au-delà : le groupe Distributed Denial of Secrets a publié 410 Go de données extraites de TeleMessage, incluant messages et métadonnées, compromettant potentiellement des lanceurs d'alerte. Réflexions sur l'Écosystème Numérique Gestion du Risque et Éducation La discussion révèle un déficit généralisé dans la compréhension et la gestion du risque numérique. Les participants soulignent que même des personnes éduquées (secrétaires d'État, universitaires) peinent à évaluer correctement les risques liés aux outils qu'ils utilisent. Guillaume insiste sur la nécessité d'intégrer une forme de gestion de risque rapide dans l'usage quotidien des technologies, reconnaissant que l'humain résiste naturellement au changement d'habitudes, même face à des statistiques alarmantes. Évolution des Menaces L'ensemble des sujets abordés illustre une sophistication croissante des menaces, que ce soit dans la désinformation d'État ou l'exploitation des plateformes de communication. Les “gentils” se retrouvent systématiquement en position défensive, avec des moyens limités face à des adversaires qui exploitent efficacement les technologies conçues pour faciliter la communication. Incident du Chicago Sun-Times En conclusion plus légère, Catherine présente le cas du Chicago Sun-Times qui a publié une liste de livres d'été générée par IA, incluant des titres complètement inventés (hallucinations). Cet incident illustre une paresse journalistique préoccupante où l'économie de temps permise par l'IA (réduire 5 jours de travail à 3) ne s'accompagne même pas d'une vérification minimale. Problème de Compréhension des Outils IA Catherine souligne que beaucoup de personnes, même éduquées, ne comprennent pas la différence fondamentale entre une recherche Google (qui indexe du contenu existant) et une requête ChatGPT (qui génère statistiquement des réponses plausibles). Cette confusion contribue à l'acceptation aveugle de contenus générés artificiellement. L'exemple de l'étudiant ayant demandé à ChatGPT une citation de Catherine Dupot-Gagnon, aboutissant à une référence vers un livre inexistant, illustre parfaitement ces dérives. Les modèles IA peuvent également être manipulés, comme l'exemple de Bing temporairement convaincu que l'Australie n'existait pas après avoir été entraîné sur des blagues Reddit. Conclusions et Perspectives Ce podcast révèle un écosystème numérique en mutation profonde, où les technologies conçues pour faciliter la communication et l'accès à l'information sont systématiquement détournées par des acteurs malveillants. Que ce soit les opérations de désinformation d'État, l'exploitation des plateformes de communication, ou la génération de fausses informations par IA, les défis s'accumulent. Les participants identifient plusieurs problèmes structurels : le déficit d'éducation à la gestion du risque numérique, la difficulté à maintenir un équilibre entre liberté d'expression et protection des droits humains, et l'asymétrie fondamentale entre la facilité de créer de fausses informations et la difficulté de les combattre. Malgré ce tableau sombre, l'échange maintient une note d'espoir, rappelant que la sensibilisation et l'éducation restent nos meilleurs outils. L'exemple de NorthSec montre qu'il est possible de créer des espaces inclusifs et constructifs pour aborder ces défis collectivement. La discussion se termine sur une note humoristique évoquant une retraite vers “une cabane dans le bois” avec élevage de brebis et poules pour échapper à la singularité technologique, illustrant avec ironie les sentiments d'impuissance face à l'ampleur des défis identifiés. Collaborateurs Nicolas-Loïc Fortin Catherine Dupont-Gagnon Samuel Harper Crédits Montage par Intrasecure inc Locaux virtuels par Riverside.fm

Entérate de lo que está cambiando el podcasting y el marketing digital:-Steve Goldstein: la palabra “pódcast” sigue teniendo un poder único, aunque su definición cambie.-BetterHelp lanza su primer pódcast original tras años de inversión publicitaria en la industria.-Medios acusan a Google de “robo” por su nueva función AI Mode.-VeePod revoluciona la producción de pódcast en video con tecnología inmersiva y automatización inteligente.-RØDE lanza los NTH-50, nuevos auriculares profesionales con sonido preciso y diseño duradero.Patrocinios ¿Estás en la CDMX y quieres grabar tu pódcast? RSS.media by RSS.com es tu “ONE STOP SHOP”. Graba, edita, aloja, promueve y monetiza con nosotros. Visítanos en www.rss.media y haz tu idea realidad.Entérate, en solo cinco minutos, sobre las noticias, herramientas, tips y recursos que te ayudarán a crear un pódcast genial y exitoso. Subscríbete a la “newsletter“ de Via Podcast.

RØDE ha lanzado una nueva gama de auriculares que comparte muchas características de los NTH-100, pero al mismo tiempo tienen bastante diferencias, empezando por el diseño. https://rode.com/en-us/headphones/on-ear/nth-50 https://rode.com/en-us/headphones/over-ear/nth-100 https://aiaiai.audio/ Te invito a debatir sobre este tema en el Foro de la Comunidad de TuPodcast https://foro.tupodcast.com Y otras formas de contacto las encuentran en: https://ernestoacosta.me/contacto.html Todos los medios donde publico contenido los encuentras en: https://ernestoacosta.me/ Si quieres comprar productos de RØDE, este es mi link de afiliados: https://brandstore.rode.com/?sca_ref=5066237.YwvTR4eCu1

By listener request, we're talking about our personal file organization and storage layouts this week, with a focus on our desktop computers--including how we use our OS-level home folders, whether to interact with the root system drive or not, and how much data we even keep on those machines these days--and also how we attempt to organize media, archives, backups and more on our home servers. Plus, a check-in on the state of Windows backup tools. Is it actually possible to avoid the dreaded Nth-level nested "old desktop" folder? Maybe!Software mentioned in this episode:Ventoy, the multi-ISO bootable USB image: https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.htmlEverything, the universal search tool: https://www.voidtools.com/How to use Windows File History: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/backup-and-restore-with-file-history-7bf065bf-f1ea-0a78-c1cf-7dcf51cc8bfcMore info on Windows Libraries: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/client-tools/windows-librariesEaseUS' free Windows backup utility: https://www.easeus.com/backup-software/tb-free.html Support the Pod! Contribute to the Tech Pod Patreon and get access to our booming Discord, a monthly bonus episode, your name in the credits, and other great benefits! You can support the show at: https://patreon.com/techpod

Show notes provided by Joe PelusoWhat do you get when you take a police procedural, mix it with science fiction and super-heroes, throw in social and political overtones that reflect modern society--and--call it an origin story? You get one guess--and it has nothing to do with a dead planet named Krypton. Give up? Well, the answer is Timothy Truman's three issuemasterpiece--HAWKWORLD.    Join you hosts Keith and Joe for another installment of "Thinking Out of the Longbox With Keith" as the boys strap on their Nth metal wings and fly into an adventure of dynamic discovery of one of DC's seminal characters--Hawkman. The later half of the decade of the 1980's saw many DC icons reimagined for a modern age as the Crisis on Infinite Earths opened the door to new, fresh version of Superman, Wonder Woman, The Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, and the "wingedwonder" from the Planet Thanagar!    Truman's Hawkworld is a gritty, commentary on the abuse of power, and how it can tear apart an individual who has had his life mapped out for him. Katar Hol is a man fighting demons of the heart and mind, as well as those that prey on the less fortunate in the real world.The guys discuss the themes and tones such a world would impose on one man, and how he must fall from grace to eventually conquer all his demons so that he may become the beloved Silver Age version of Hawkman.    And as they extol the virtues of Truman's dynamic and nuanced writing, they fairly flip their minds when they profusely praise his incredible art.    This is a book the guys have been wanting to wax poetic about for a long time. We feel sure you will enjoy the discourse of this somewhat overlooked gem from comics best decade.And that classic exclamation "Look up in the sky!"--takes on a whole new meaning after reading Hawkworld!

Sandvika stasjon i september 1941: Fire år gammel ser Hans Leif Tronstad sin far for siste gang. Faren er NTH-professor Leif Tronstad. Han er allerede så involvert i motstandsarbeidet at tyskerne er på jakt etter ham. Leif Tronstad regnes av mange som den som hadde ideen til opprettelsen av FFI. I denne episoden forteller sønnen, Hans Leif Tronstad, historien om sin egen far før og under krigen. Med seg i studio har han John Fredrik Moxnes, sjefsforsker ved FFIs avdeling Forsvarssystemer og en av dem som kjenner historien om professor Tronstads krig best.

Review các phim ra rạp từ ngày 04/04/2025ĐỊA ĐẠO: MẶT TRỜI TRONG BÓNG TỐI –T16Đạo diễn:  Bùi Thạc ChuyênDiễn viên:  Thái Hòa; Quang Tuấn; Diễm Hằng Lamoon; Anh Tú Wilson; Hồ Thu Anh; Uyển ÂnThể loại: Chiến tranh, lịch SửNhân dịp kỷ niệm 50 năm đất nước hoà bình này còn phim nào thoả được nỗi niềm thưởng thức thước phim thời chiến đầy hào hùng như Địa Đạo: Mặt Trời Trong Bóng Tối. Nay còn có thêm định dạng 4DX cho khán giả trải nghiệm chui hầm dưới lòng Củ Chi đất thép.MẬT VỤ PHỤ HỒ - T18Đạo diễn:  David AyerDiễn viên:  Jason Statham, David Harbour, Michael Peña, Jason FlemyngThể loại:  Hành Động, Hồi hộpLevon Cade - cựu biệt kích tinh nhuệ thuộc lực lượng Thủy quân Lục chiến Hoàng gia Anh. Sau khi nghỉ hưu, anh sống cuộc đời yên bình là một công nhân xây dựng tại Chicago (Mỹ). Levon có mối quan hệ rất tốt với gia đình ông chủ Joe Garcia (Michael Peña). Một ngày nọ, cô con gái tuổi teen Jenny (Arianna Rivas) của Joe bị bắt cóc khiến chàng cựu quân nhân phải sử dụng lại các kỹ năng giết chóc của mình để giúp đỡ.MỘT BỘ PHIM MINECRAFT - KĐạo diễn:  Jared HessDiễn viên:  Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, Danielle Brooks,...Thể loại:  Gia đình, Hành Động, Phiêu Lưu, Thần thoạiChào mừng bạn đến với thế giới của Minecraft, nơi sự sáng tạo không chỉ giúp bạn chế tạo mà còn là yếu tố quan trọng để sống sót! Bốn kẻ lạc lõng - Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Hansen), Natalie (Myers) và Dawn (Brooks) - bất ngờ gặp rắc rối khi họ bị kéo qua cánh cửa bí ẩn dẫn đến Overworld: một thế giới kỳ lạ được tạo bởi những khối lập phương và phát triển nhờ vào trí tưởng tượng. Để trở về nhà, họ cần phải làm chủ được thế giới này (và bảo vệ nó khỏi những thực thể tà ác như Piglins và Thây Ma) trong khi dấn thân vào chuyến phiêu lưu màu nhiệm với một thợ chế tạo chuyên nghiệp và khó lường - Steve (Black). Chuyến hành trình này sẽ thách thức sự can đảm của cả năm người, thúcđẩy họ tìm lại với những phẩm chất làm nên sự đặc biệt của riêng mình,… đồng thời là những kỹ năng cần thiết để trở lại với thế giới thật.OÁN LINH NHẬP XÁC – T18Đạo diễn:  Upi AviantoDiễn viên:  Hana Malasan, Yasamin Jasem, Egy FedlyThể loại:  Kinh DịOán Linh Nhập Xác xoay quanh hành trình đầy bí ẩn của hai chị em gái Hanif và Isti trong căn nhà ma quái. Mồ côi cha mẹ, chuyển lên thành phố sống từ lâu, Hanif và Isti bất ngờ phải trở về quê nhà sau cuộc gọi từ người dì, thông báo rằng chú của họ đang gặp nguy kịch. Luôn miệng cầu xin hai chị em tha thứ, chú Khair qua đời trong tình trạng yếu ớt và lạnh cóng, còn Hanif và Isti bắt đầu trải qua những sự việc kinh hoàng, thậm chí đe dọa đến mạng sống. Khi người chú không hề siêu thoát mà hóa thành oan hồn đem thảm họa đến căn nhà, Hanif và Isti phải cùng nhau vượt qua, nhưng cũng từ đó khám phá ra những bí mật bị chôn giấu ở nơi đây, về cái chết thảm khốc của cha mẹ và những thành viên khác trong gia đình mình.KAYARA: CÔ BÉ CHIẾN BINHĐạo diễn:  César ZeladaThể loại: Hoạt HìnhKayara, một thiếu nữ xinh đẹp và mạnh mẽ, quyết tâm trở thành nữ sứ giả đầu tiên của Đế chế Inca. Trên hành trình đầy thử thách, cô gái phải vượt qua nhiều khó khăn và sự hiểm trở để bảo vệ thành phố Vàng khỏi những nguy cơ khai thác và cứu bạn bè, gia đình khỏi những mối đe dọa bất ngờ. Trong hành trình đầy thử thách đó, Kayara học được rằng sức mạnh thực sự không chỉ nằm ở thể chất mà còn ở sức mạnh của trí tuệ và sự đoàn kết.

Az, Jackson, and Devin talk about modern   Boxing glove: mostly vs 60 point Hadari but can be good vs any Hadari if you don't need others, also if you notice that a two damage knockback is enough to ko something that's hard to hit or you're going to use rivalry on, if it's not hard to hit just run Big Nth metal: vs anyone with stop clicks or cosmic energy TA, great with outwit Acid: mostly overshadowed by Nth metal at this point, better if you have no outwit and vs Juggernaut/Kong Too Dangerous: good vs swarms that like to stick together and high defense characters without super long dials Big: your default if you don't need any of the others specifically USB: honestly I never use this one but theoretically ok in motorcycle matchups if your trick arrow user isn't a primary attacker Hypnotic: good vs Hadari teams that have good stuff for her to kill if MCd My usual setups: 60 Hadari/Colossus: Boxing Glove/Nth/Big 100 Hadari/Colossus:Big/Big/Nth or sometimes Nth/Nth/Big if they have DMWW 200 Kong:Acid/Acid/Big Collector:Nth/Nth/Big Random swarm stuff with a thing with a stop: Big/Too Dangerous/Nth Random swarm with no stop:Big/Big/Too Dangerous   Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jsaclix Have you heard of http://ClixNexus.com? Clixnexus.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/clixnexus Dishin' Up Clix Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DishinUpClix Dial H: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRFVQVhJX6evub-SvQyLtMg Check out some Roll20 tutorials here: Happy Little Heroclix - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPJBi-PNiW4 Emily - http://withemily.ca/roll20-for-heroclix-tutorial-set-up-play-tips/

In Folge 241 sprechen die ApfelNerds über das Beste von 2024: Die Hörgerätefunktion der AirPods Pro 2, die M4-Prozessoren, mathematische Notizen, die neue Kalenderansicht und die "Dialoge verbessern"-Funktion in tvOS. Die Flops des Jahres sind die Vision Pro, Apple Intelligence, die andauernde iPad-Software-Krise und InSight für Filme und Serien. Saschas Gadgets des Jahres sind der Rode NTH-100, sein neuer Schreibtisch (SecretLabs Magnus Pro), sein Unifi-Netzwerk (Cloud Gateway Ultra, Flex Switches, U6 Pro), der Aquara U200 und sein Ring Intercom. Daniels Gadgets des Jahres sind Action Cams (Insta360 Ace Pro 2 & GO 3S, sowie DJI Action 5) und seine Drohnen (DJI Mini 4K & Neo), und seinen Røde NTH-100 findet er immernoch toll! Als Bonus: Die ApfelNerds-Videos auf YouTube. Guten Rutsch! Wir hören/sehen uns in 2025!

In this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles, Kerry Moynahan takes you on an exclusive journey through the Nth, the world's premier whiskey and luxury spirits experience held at The Wynn in Las Vegas. Kerry had the incredible opportunity to speak with some of the most esteemed figures in the whiskey industry, including Master Blender Richard Paterson from The Dalmore, Deborah Stewart of Glenfarclas, Gareth Howells from Aberfeldy, Alex Goode from Glen Grant, and John Kennedy from Bonnington Distillery.

If any season is movie-watching season, it's now. When we knew we wanted to make a Christmas movie-focused episode, 2008's A Christmas Tale and 2005's The Family Stone sprang to mind right away: These are matriarch-centric Christmas movies that take the whole mom-at-Christmastime thing to the Nth degree. Each in their own way, they put the intense time we spend gathered together with our families of origin at the holidays under a microscope. So, what do The Family Stone and A Christmas Tale have in common? Just about everything, except that one is American and has Dermot Mulroney at his hottest(?) and the other is extremely French and involves a LOT of people smoking cigarettes non-stop. We get dig under the surface of these two films — both of which are centered around big families gathered at the holidays around powerful, complicated matriarchs — with our (new) friends Andie and Sabrina of the Pop Culture Moms podcast.Links: * A Christmas Tale* The Family Stone* Pop Culture Moms on Apple Podcasts, Instagram, and Spotify This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

Send us a textThe Bums are back in the rail yard for S4:E0119, where the prologue dives headlong into NFL updates and the Chicago Bears clown show; Jaquan Brisker is beyond concussed (IR), Thomas Brown takes the OC controls, Caleb Williams is outplayed by… well, almost everyone, the Bears notoriously slow starts on offensive (numbers don't lie), and Packer week isn't hitting like the ol' days; QB journeyman Derek Carr is the first to 31; the KC Swifts put misogynistic asshole Harrison Butker on IR (karma police working OT); talk turns to NCAAF with IU cracking the Top 10 (but have they played ANYONE… crickets), latest Top 4 incudes Ohio State (not THE, just OS), Ducks, Horns and Penn State; baseball and the Cubs bid adieu to the Professor, Ian Happ gets gold hardware; pugilism is set for an epic embarrassment, with Iron Mike set to dance with serial douche bag Jake “Can't Read” Paul (aka. Dancing With The Stars); Eddie casts on eye on Kaner and Conor at the United Center; and Paddy lights up Geno Auriemma like Chevy Chase's house in Christmas Vacation (nobody, and I mean nobody, puts Caitlin in the corner). The epilogue predictably includes another multi-universal beer review, this time at the hands Batavia IL's pride, Energy City Brewing and their “Batisserie Chocolate Caliente” (ABV 10%), a delicious Imperial milk stout with chocolate, habanero & cinnamon (and maybe burnt marshmallow if you close your eyes); Old Irving Brewing's seasonal line of Krampus sells our in a matter of hours (Festivus gods are pleased); Rocky rolls through a B.O.M. quarterly business review and a stat spotting update; discussion turns to post-election social media trends including the death of Twitter (fuck Elon Musk, I'll never call it “x”) and the emergent BlueSky app; Rocky tries his hand at emulating Paddy's IDKNT segment with a send off, celebrating absolute legend Quincy Jones (and 11 fast facts); the weather in Chicago is changing how we dress and pay utility bills; Paddy's Notes include a tutorial on what happens when you're stupid and get hooked by the PoPo; and close with a new trend of Blue Women who are shaving their heads and striking coitus.  All of this majesty while enduring election hangovers of the Nth degree.  Get some before Rocky is deported. Recorded on November 14th, 2024 at B.O.M. northwest headquarters ‘The Eagle's Nest' in Chicago, IL USA.

The first building block to becoming a truly productive person is scheduling. Gretchen Rubin's personality test shows me as a questioner leaning towards a rebel. I love reinventing the wheel. As you know, I have been doing this through my PhD. And I recently came across a study that I have now read many times called “Who's Remembering to Buy The Eggs?” by Julie Holliday Wayne et al. It uses the term Invisible Family Load. Invisible Family Load I just loved the intentionality and thoroughness of the words she selected to sum up the invisible work of household managers. She started with invisible instead of mental which would imply mental only, but what about scheduling? Planning or worrying? Invisible is inclusive and encompassing. And then she used the word family to include people outside the structure of the home that a household manager would be caring for, like a college student or elderly family member. And lastly, she selected load instead of labor. Labor you get paid to do. Load was explained as being put on, burdensome, or weighing down a mind, thus requiring cognitive load and not getting paid for it. Do you know the top two tasks people marked the most as invisible in a study? Planning (#1) and Scheduling (#2); I think I'm onto something!!  Schedules Sunday Basket® I explained a few times that I created different types of schedules I have had in this episode. When I was still in-home organizing, I developed two types of schedules. I had one for working outside my home and one for working from home. I found that when a client canceled at the last minute, I would get frustrated and I was stumped on how to move forward with my day. Once I developed schedules, or scaffolding, for outside or inside work, I would just move to my working from home schedule when clients canceled. For my family, we had a weekend schedule and weekday schedule. Schedules simply keep you on task and eliminate decision making. Every Sunday, I go through my Sunday Basket®. Depending on things that need to get done that week, I can fill in my schedule, keeping in mind the routines I have established. It's a general guide or, as I mentioned, scaffolding.  Scaffolding Planning Days Schedules give you structure but keep in mind, they can be reevaluated. Planning Days give you an opportunity to tweak your schedules. The Sunday Basket® is weekly and Planning Days offer the scaffolding, zooming out a little. Maybe you notice you want to change activities on different days due to a sports schedule change or getting your PhD. In Home Planning Day, we develop routines for morning, afternoon, and evening. In Workbox Planning Day, we develop routines for starting your work day, mid day, and ending your work day. Those six routines reduce your cognitive load. You made a plan proactively, now all you have to do is run it, go on autopilot.  Level Up Scheduling Wanna take scheduling to the Nth degree? Schedule the people coming to your home. I mean, book them out far enough that you can get a complete list of all tasks before they come for the appointment. Once you know they are coming, you may find more tasks for them to complete. And schedule meetings with people. I used to want to connect with people but felt rude telling them it would have to wait two weeks, so I just wouldn't reach out or reply. I found over time that people don't mind at all. Book the meeting and connect. It may seem weird to book out two months, but the day will be there before you know it and you'll be connecting like you desired. Truly productive people are always looking at their schedules and realize they support them through scaffolding. Schedules do not limit them. Up next? Consistency! EPISODE RESOURCES: Organize 365® Podcast Resources The Sunday Basket® Organize 365® Home Planning Day Friday Workbox® Planning Day Podcast 10 Year Anniversary Giveaway Sign Up for the Organize 365® Newsletter  Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Share this episode with a friend and be sure to tag Organize 365® when you share on social media!

En Corée du Sud, la découverte de groupes privés Telegram révèle l'ampleur des cas de harcèlement sexuel en ligne dont les femmes sont les premières victimes. Des groupes féministes coréens ont révélé l'existence de salons de discussion privés où plus de 200 000 hommes échangeraient des photos et vidéos de femmes prises sans leur consentement ou même modifiées par intelligence artificielle pour en faire des vidéos pornographiques. Un énième scandale de la sorte après celui du salon de discussion similaire « Nth room », en 2018 et 2020, qui révèle une forme de banalité des violences sexuelles dans la société sud-coréenne. De notre correspondant à Séoul,Du lycée à l'entreprise, les témoignages de femmes victimes de harcèlement sexuel en ligne affluent depuis plusieurs jours sur les réseaux sociaux. Et ces révélations secouent la Corée du Sud. « Quand j'étais au lycée, j'ai été harcelée sur Facebook par un garçon de mon établissement. À cette période, mon nom, mon école, ma classe, mes notes, ont été révélés », témoigne une jeune femme, qui préfère rester anonyme. « Pour être honnête, j'ai peu d'espoir, continue-t-elle, peu importe si j'évite les hommes, ils n'utilisent pas seulement les photos que nous postons sur nos réseaux sociaux, ils piratent également ces comptes, utilisent nos visages sur des photos de groupes, même nos photos de classe, pour créer des vidéos de deepfake. » Pour parvenir à de fausses vidéos très croyables, l'intelligence artificielle (IA) est en effet utilisée pour calquer le visage de victimes à partir d'une photo sur une vidéo pornographique. Cela afin de créer une fausse sextape. À écouter dans 8 milliards de voisinsLes femmes face au cyberharcèlement: comment se défendre?Depuis 2018 et le premier scandale de la « Nth room », des associations d'aide aux victimes se sont créées. Shin Seong-yeon en dirige une spécialisée sur le cyberharcèlement et connaît bien les rouages de ce système. « Ce genre d'images sont partagées dans des groupes comme sur Telegram ou d'autres sites. Il en existe énormément avec plusieurs dizaines de milliers de membres chacun », explique-t-elle. Et l'enjeu économique est fort : « Sur ces groupes, il y a des vendeurs qui échangent des photos, des vidéos contre de l'argent. De quelques centimes à environ sept euros pour une image, ce n'est vraiment pas cher, mais certains sont devenus riches grâce à cela. »Une législation défaillante qui pourrait être mise à jourUn phénomène aggravé par les progrès de la technologie de l'intelligence artificielle dont la législation coréenne peine à suivre, poursuit Shin Seong-yeon : « En Corée, il n'existe pas vraiment de loi contre ce genre de crime. Seule la loi contre la pornographie interdit la vente et la diffusion d'images à caractère sexuel. Mais cela ne prend pas en compte le préjudice, la violence contre les victimes. En Corée, le corps nu d'une femme est un plus grand problème que la violence qu'elle subit. »C'est pourquoi elle plaide pour une prise en compte par les politiques de ce sujet : « Il est nécessaire que les politiques prennent conscience de ce vide juridique et écrivent une nouvelle loi pour punir les cas de harcèlement sexuel en ligne. »Le président Yoon Suk-yeol a annoncé prendre au sérieux cette vague de crime qui touche, entre autres, des mineurs. Une commission parlementaire va également être mise en place pour potentiellement établir une nouvelle législation.À lire aussiTunisie: la forte cyberviolence dissuade les femmes de se lancer dans la politique et l'activisme

In this video, Nima is joined by ⁠FPL_TT⁠ to share their insights on the best Newcastle FPL assets for the 2024/25 season. We will also learn more about TT's play style as an FPL manager and his thoughts on the new rules. Finally we will review his current GW1 draft and takes Q&A from the live chat and X. Today is the beginning of a new chapter as Net That Haul FPL becomes Locked in FPL. After four seasons, the show will be taking a new direction with Nima relaunching the channel solo with a rotating roster of weekly guests every Wednesday. Please bear with us as we work towards finalising the rebrand! Get valuable tips and strategies ahead of GW1 for your Fantasy Premier League team, with top picks from the Newcastle squad. Watch now to stay ahead in the game! Episode 182 (formerly Net That Haul FPL) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Timestamps 0:00:00 Intro 0:00:02 Nima and TT 0:00:48 Farewell NTH 0:01:18 Launching Locked In FPL E1 0:01:48 New Rules Thoughts 0:05:25 Questions for TT about his play style? 0:15:23 Newcastle PreSeason and Fan Expectations 0:19:31 Best 3 Newcastle players? 0:30:11 Shout out live viewer comments 0:33:53 Pope, Murphy, Willock and Bruno G 0:39:15 @RobTFPL Top Projectors Scorers 0:40:07 Projected Goal Involvements (G+A) 0:42:03 TT Draft GW1 0:53:44 Thank You Haulers (YouTube Members & Patrons)0:55:02 Q&A of all Live Questions1:02:07 TOCA Social Harry, Pras, Baker, Sonaldo, Fran, RJ, TT & Nima at Toca Social ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ There will also be another secret launch on Tuesday 13th August here: ⁠https://youtube.com/@lawnmower-c8b?si=xhFlPkrL1xbhI11U⁠ (TBA currently incubating in stealth mode). Would love if we can build on all the amazing stuff we have done so far together and retain that amazingness in new ways going forwards. £300 Prizepot Minileague on X: ⁠https://x.com/FPLNima/status/1816800432221553045⁠ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Join the Haulers one last time for our first impressions on the game launch and reminisce with the Haulers in the live chat for all their support over the last 4 seasons! @FPLNima will be joined by special cohost @ManOnPod_Craig tonight. If you missed the announcement please read our letter to the Haulers below as we come to the close of this foundational chapter in our heritage. The next chapter will arrive for NTH with a new podcast relaunch next week. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━ There will also be another secret launch on Tuesday 13th August here: https://youtube.com/@lawnmower-c8b?si=xhFlPkrL1xbhI11U (TBA currently incubating in stealth mode). Would love if we can build on all the amazing stuff we have done so far together and retain that amazingness in new ways going forwards. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Por fin, después de más de un mes, me llegaron los accesorios (almohadillas) naranjas para mis NTH-100, los cascos/auriculares/audífonos de RØDE. Y si, son fáciles de reemplazar. Me pueden contactar en: https://ernestoacosta.me/contacto.html Todos los medios donde publico contenido los encuentras en: https://ernestoacosta.me/

First time is a charm, right? For many climate technologies, building a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) project is a major barrier to widespread adoption and commercialization. The ecosystem of early-stage climate tech funding, such as venture capital and grants, is well-known and used to taking substantial risk for outsized impact. The pools of capital and expertise for turning those technologies into commercial-scale projects, however, is more challenging to navigate. Nevertheless, it is critical for companies to learn to navigate this gap to bring impactful technologies to scale. Deanna Zhang, CEO of V1 Climate Solutions, joins us on the show to talk all things FOAK. With a background in investment banking, she has built an expertise in helping companies navigate the pitfalls of FOAK projects and works with startups, investors, and corporates to help them define strategies to successful scale-up climate technologies. Tune in to learn more about how we can best bridge the gap between FOAK and Nth-of-a-kind projects and what developments are needed to make that possible.

It's another full house this week on #BTLRadioShow as we welcome MEREDITH YINGER talking SCARS UNSEEN and STEVE BALDERSON talking his new streaming series, BLOODY FAMOUS! PLUS, thanks to Steve being late with his call-in to the live show, you get the added bonus of my exclusive interview with JOSH MARGOLIN talking the fun-filled and unforgettable comedy THELMA. First up, writer/director MEREDITH YINGER joins us to talk about her new feature, a powerful documentary on domestic abuse but with a new perspective that we haven't seen before, SCARS UNSEEN, which makes its World Premiere on June 30th at Dances With Films in Hollywood! Then hear my exclusive interview with writer/director JOSH MARGOLIN as he talks about his new film THELMA and 94-year-old June Squibb – Action Hero! THELMA is not only fun but warm and wonderful; a sentimental journey of action and aging! And finally, the uber-talented writer/director/author STEVE BALDERSON joins us again for the fourth time (!!!!) talking about his latest venture, and something new for Steve, the streaming series BLOODY FAMOUS! Talk about wicked, dark, twisted, satiric fun! I am in love with this episodic and hope that Steve gives us a Season 2. Think "The Bachelorette meets The Hunger Games" but ramped up to the Nth degree! Who will be the victor in this deadly game of love? http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

The infamous Nth room chat rooms, a place where women and young girls are extorted, trafficked and even tortured. All for the pleasure of over 260k paying anonymous users. Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themediahijacked?lang=en Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/theMediaHijacked/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Lbqa8NqieSOZpTCtxshQw T-Shirts “NOW AVAILABLE” https://www.themediahijacked.com/ Every Tuesday @3PM PST/6PM EST Join us on twitch.tv Follow us on Twitch.tv: https://www.twitch.tv/mediahijacked Follow us on www.kick.com/themediahijacked Billy: https://www.instagram.com/youneak/ Chris: https://www.instagram.com/sarkastik_jones/ Don't forget Rate and Subscribe!! Thanks!! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mediahijacked/support

What does the Word freedom mean to you? Well – think about it. Is it being able to do whatever you want … or is it more about being free from the things that are holding you back? Hmmm.   A Revelation of Freedom Most of us, I guess, would define freedom as being able to do whatever we want whenever we want, and that definition right there is what brings a whole world of pain crashing down on our lives. I don't think there's a single person on this planet who doesn't want to be free. Do you want to be free? Well, of course you do; me too, but if freedom is that important to us, you have to ask yourself exactly what is it. Sure, there's political freedom; freedom of speech; freedom of association; the freedom to gather; to protest; to live where you want to live; to marry who you want to marry; to choose to have children or not. In this day and age, we live in a world that's more and more fixated on our individual freedoms, our rights as individuals. After all, I'm entitled to enjoy my life. Right? So it doesn't take too long to start imagining that freedom is being able to do whatever we want whenever we want. Anything that cuts across that is a restriction of our inalienable right to be free, and yet if you travel to any kind of place where that freedom is practised, what you discover is lawlessness and anarchy. There's no safety; there's no protection; there's no security because that anything, anytime kind of freedom is a terrible thing. That's what the rule of law is all about: To keep us safe and secure. So when you think about it, what we actually need is a different definition of freedom: One that really works. Try this one on for size. Galatians 1:3-4: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to set us free from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. It seems that God takes our freedom so seriously that He sent Jesus to suffer and die to set us free. From what? Well, from our sin, and from this evil age. So according to God real freedom, the sort of freedom that Jesus purchased for you on that cross, is about setting you free from the devastating consequences of your sin, and the evil that pervades every nook and cranny of this age, so that you can live in grace and peace. Not such a bad definition when you think about it. So here's a question for you: What sin, what evil, is robbing you of the freedom that Jesus came to give you? Because that sin, that evil, is what God is calling you to hand over to Him today. His will for you is to be free to live in the grace and the peace of Jesus Christ, but that's not always an easy thing to do. One of the things you discover when you set your heart on following Jesus is that the rest of the world is not going to be standing by and cheering you on. In fact, far from it. Not long after I became a Christian, a few decades ago now, the IT consulting firm at which I was a partner had the opportunity to bid for a rather large government project in the developing world, but the simple reality was that unless you paid the bribes to the various officials, you were completely wasting your time in bidding. As you can imagine, as a brand-new Christian, I was faced with a real dilemma. And can I tell you, I came under quite some pressure to compromise? It happens in every corner of our lives because when you decide to believe in Jesus, when you decide to follow Jesus, when you decide to live your life for Him, let me tell you, the world is not going to be all that happy with you. They'll criticise you; laugh at you; persecute you, whatever fits best at the time. You see, those people want you to believe that their way is the way of freedom; of success; of enjoyment. The world wants you to believe that following Jesus somehow is going to rob you of your freedom. What do you believe? Who are you trying to please; Jesus, or those naysayers around you? Paul the apostle made a very clear decision on that question in his life. Galatians 1:10: Am I now seeking human approval, or God's approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ. People are so fickle. Have you noticed? Jesus did. That's why we're told in John 2:23-25 that: When He was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in His name – because they saw the signs that He was doing, but Jesus on His part would not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people and needed no one to testify about anyone, for He Himself knew what was in everyone. At some point, in every corner of our lives, every thought, every decision, every action, each one of us has to decide who we're trying to please; people, or God. And the way it tends to work is that it's not so much the big decisions that we make upfront that matter; it's the little decisions that we make a hundred times a day, that together tell us who we're really trying to please. Come on. Who are you trying to please with your life? Because if you're still seeking human approval, if you're still trying to please people, you wouldn't be a servant of Christ. Look. To experience freedom, real freedom, we need to stop focusing on the world. What we need is a spiritual revelation. The fact is that the freedom that only Jesus Christ can bring is a fantastic thing, but whilst the facts are incredibly important, you don't find freedom in facts. The apostle Paul was an interesting character. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling religious body in Jerusalem, and there's a reason that he made it to the top of the pile. Philippians 3:4-6: If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews. As to the Law, a Pharisee. As to zeal, a persecutor of the church. As to righteousness under the Law, blameless. So Paul's heritage, his breeding, his upbringing, ticked all the right boxes. He studied the Old Testament Law; he knew it from back to front; he worked hard at it. You know the sort of person. He had all the head-knowledge that you could ask for, all the discipline that you could ever expect of anybody. On-top of that, he was a Pharisee. Now, this sect took the idea of following the Law to incredible lengths. The very word Pharisee means to be a religious separatist. He was absolutely full-on, and yet the one thing he didn't have was freedom, until one day on the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Him, and that encounter with Jesus was the turning-point of his life. This is what he writes years later, looking back on it. Galatians 1:11-12: For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. So it wasn't something that he'd learned through years of study; it was a revelation. The original Greek word used there for revelation is the word 'apocalypsis'. In other words, it was an apocalyptic revelation. Dramatic! Powerful! Completely life-changing, and it wasn't a revelation about Jesus; it wasn't words from a book. Come on, Paul knew all those words in the Old Testament books; he'd studied them for years; he'd made it to the top of the religious pile that way, but that's not what changed his life. It wasn't a revelation about Jesus; it was a revelation of Jesus, through a personal encounter with Him. Have you had an apocalyptic revelation of the person of Jesus Christ? Have you had a dramatic, powerful, life-changing encounter with Jesus? No? Then get a revelation. Jesus is waiting for you, now. He wants to turn your life upside-down, now. All the head-knowledge in the world won't do that for you. Only Jesus.   Freedom is a Tricky Thing Freedom is a tricky thing. So often, we're our own worst enemies: Our perspective; our thoughts; our behaviour ... They all rob us of this elusive thing called freedom. Try as we might, we just can't grasp it. You've had that experience. Right? You know what it's like. There's something in your makeup, an Achilles heel if you will, that's constantly your undoing. For each one of us, it's something different, but at the end of the day, it trips you up again and again and again. Mine is perfectionism, which has a tendency to fuel anger. Yours? Well, you probably know what it is. Maybe it's insecurity; gossiping; a lack of compassion; selfishness ... Hey, the list runs as long as my arm, and then some. God has a simple name for it: He calls it sin. The devil loves to rub your nose in it, and just when you're feeling weak or tired, emotionally spent, he pushes your button and there you go again. For the apostle Paul, it was an obsessive hatred of the church. He, of course, was a Pharisee in the Jewish religion. Then Jesus came along and turned everything he'd ever believed in, everything he'd ever worked so hard for, completely upside-down. No wonder he hated Christians, but then ... Then he met Jesus and something changed in him. People were talking about it. Galatians 1:23: They heard it said, ‘The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy', and they glorified God because of me. And he had been, too. He was a terrible persecutor of the church, until that day he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. You can read about it in the book of Acts, chapter 9. Ok. So he met Jesus, but what happened to turn him from a man breathing threats against the early church to the guy who ultimately wrote almost half the books of the New Testament? That's quite a turnaround, you'd have to admit. I'll tell you what happened: Jesus changed his heart. You know and I know that when we have a change of heart, our thoughts and our actions flow out of that, just as God promised in the days of old through Ezekiel. Ezekiel 11:19-20: I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh so that they may follow My statutes and keep My ordinances and obey them. When you encounter Jesus on your road, when you draw close to Him, when His Spirit fills you to overflowing, He does what you were powerless to do. He changes your heart which, as it turns out, changes everything. Sometimes though, it feels as though nothing's happening. Nothing! So what; has God forgotten me now? Has He left me on the shelf? We all want to feel as though God has some great plan for our lives. So in those months (even years) when nothing much seems to be happening, it can be terribly disheartening. Jesus: "I came to set the captives free". You: "Yeah, right. It feels like you've forgotten me!" Other people, they seem to be powering on. You, on the other hand, feel as though there's nothing really exciting ahead. Saul is on the road to Damascus, off to persecute some more Christians; he meets Jesus along the way. That's pretty exciting! But then, he loses his sight and for three days, he's completely blind. Now that doesn't sound like such a long time, unless you've been struck blind; in which case, it probably feels like an eternity. Adversity has a way of doing that, which is why when you feel as though you've been left on the shelf, it does seem like an eternity. Am I right? "Freedom – what's that?" you ask yourself, in this prison of inactivity. When we get to that point, there's something we need to be reminded of. It's what Paul says himself in his letter to the church in Galatia. Galatians 1:15-17: But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son to me so that I might proclaim Him among the Gentiles, I didn't confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me. But I went away at once to Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus. In other words, God already had a plan for Paul, even before he was born. Along the way, people tried to kill the guy; they rioted against him; he was imprisoned; beaten; shipwrecked; bitten by a viper of all things, and eventually, he rotted out the remainder of his days in a Roman dungeon on death row. But that powerful encounter with Jesus, that incredible revelation of Christ Himself when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, that changed everything. Because no matter how dire his circumstances became, he knew that God had a plan. So in the middle of those difficult circumstances, Paul had the freedom that Jesus promised. You know, God still has a plan: A plan for today; for tomorrow; next month; next year, and indeed, for the rest of your time on this earth. God hasn't forgotten you. He hasn't lost the plot. God has a plan and that fact gives you freedom, even if you've been locked away in a dungeon or forgotten on a shelf, and that's a promise that God wants you to take into your heart today. The only sort of hope the Bible talks about is certain hope, so may the Holy Spirit write that hope on your heart.   Overcoming the Old Ways Ok, the subject for today is circumcision. I know it's not exactly something you want to be thinking about, but stick with me. There's an important point to be made, and what we're really chatting about is freedom: Your freedom here, now, today. But first, let's head back to first-century Jerusalem. You see, there's a rocky transition underway for those who believe in Jesus from Judaism (the religion of their forefathers) to Christianity; from the life lived under a complex set of religious rules to a life of freedom in Christ. A lot of the things that seem pretty obvious to us today had to be nutted out back then; it wasn't easy. One of them was male circumcision, which to this point had been part of God's Law for His people. Let's take a look at how the apostle Paul puts it in Galatians 2:3-5: But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. But because of false believers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us. We did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you. You see, there's a tussle here between the old traditionalists who didn't believe in this whole nonsense about grace through Jesus, and Paul to whom the gospel of grace (the fantastic news of God's unmerited favour towards us) had been revealed by Jesus Himself. Circumcision was just the flashpoint. The real debate was between the slavery of living under the set of rules, and the freedom that we have through our faith in Christ, and it's a struggle that continues to this day in the heart of many-a believer because grace is so radical; so counter-intuitive. We live in a 'dog-eat-dog' world, and there seems to be plenty of dog to go around, yet along comes Jesus and says in effect, "Look, it's not about following a bunch of rules. It's about experiencing My love and so that you can, I'm going to pay the price on a cross for all the things that you've done wrong in your life." The reason Paul takes this so seriously is that it strikes at the very heart of the gospel of grace; the truth. Besides, have you noticed? It's pretty much impossible to follow the rules anyway. We all fall short. That's why we need Jesus, so if you've been struggling under a bunch of rules, do yourself a favour. Ditch them. Go to Jesus instead. Start having a rich, dynamic relationship with Him, and your unbounded freedom will flow out of that relationship. Don't let rules enslave you. And you and I, we aren't the only ones that suffer from this problem. Take Peter, the apostle. We think of Peter as one of the New Testament's 'A'-list, yet he made quite a few mistakes along the way, not the least of which was political correctness. This age of rampant political correctness isn't something new in the twenty-first century. It turns out that there's nothing new under the sun. Now look. It's absolutely a good idea that we shouldn't deliberately go out there to say or do things that'll hurt others, but it's a very bad idea to take that to the ridiculous Nth degree to the point where we curtail our freedoms in order to appease those with an agenda, and that's exactly what was going on in the first century as Christianity was being birthed out of Judaism. There was a tussle between the two. There were difficult issues to work through. For instance, most Jews believed that the God of the Old Testament was for them and them alone. Many of the apostles stayed in Jerusalem for that very reason, but Paul was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles, to take the good news of salvation in Jesus to people whom the Jews referred to as dogs, so Peter is happy to dine with the Gentiles until some other legalistic old-school Jews show up, at which point he does the politically correct thing – retreating, only to eat with Jews again. Well, at this point, Paul pretty much has a pink fit. Galatians 2:11-13: But when Cephas” (that's Peter's other name) “came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood self-condemned. For until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles, but after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction, and the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy To the extent that you believe in Jesus, you are free in Christ to live out your faith. Sure; in this age of political correctness, in this age of pluralism, you will be derided for it; you'll be laughed at for it; you'll even be persecuted for it, but let Peter's mistake be a lesson to us all. Let's not be hypocrites. Let's not compromise our freedom in Christ to appease the sinners of this world. Sure; the issues today are different, but the principle remains the same. People will disagree with you because you believe in Jesus. They just will. There's nothing new in any of that ... Live out your faith in Jesus anyhow. Don't let the fear of what others will think or say or do rob you of the freedom that you have in Christ. Don't let your life compromise the truth of the gospel of grace. Isn't it funny how our old ways keep coming back to haunt us? Peter spent three-and-a-half years with Jesus! He saw the miracles; he heard the sermons; he experienced the radically different way that the Son of God approached things. Jesus wasn't afraid of upsetting religious leaders. Jesus wasn't afraid of offending people, yet still Peter falls back into his old ways. No wonder Paul took him on! It's a good thing and as I said, it's a sobering lesson to you and me about the power of the old ways to rob us of the freedoms that Jesus came to give us. Jesus said that if He sets us free, then we are free indeed. Don't throw that freedom away so easily.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Higher-Order Forecasts, published by Ozzie Gooen on May 25, 2024 on The Effective Altruism Forum. Higher-order forecasting could be a useful concept for prediction markets and forecasting systems more broadly. The core idea is straightforward: Nth-order forecasts are forecasts about (N-1)th order forecasts. Examples Here are some examples: 0-Order Forecasting (i.e., the ground truth) Biden won the 2020 U.S. presidential election The US GDP in 2023 was $27 trillion 1st-Order Forecasting (i.e., regular forecasting) What is the chance that Trump will win the 2024 U.S. presidential election? What will be the GDP of the US in 2024? 2nd-Order Forecasting How much will the forecasts for US GDP in 2024 and 2025 be correlated over the next year? How many forecasts will the question "What will be the GDP of the US in 2024?" receive in total? If the question "What is the chance that a Republican will win the 2028 Presidential Election?" was posted to Manifold, with a subsidy of 100k Mana, what would the prediction be, after 1 month?" 3rd-Order Forecasting How much will the forecasts, [How much will the forecasts for US GDP in 2024 and 2025 be correlated over the next year?] and [How many forecasts will the question "What will be the GDP of the US in 2024?" receive in total?], be correlated, from now until 2024? How valuable were all the forecasts for the question, ['How many forecasts will the question "What will be the GDP of the US in 2024?" receive in total?'] As forecasting systems mature, higher-order forecasts could play a role analogous to financial derivatives in markets. Derivatives allow for more efficient pricing, risk transfer, and information aggregation by letting market participants express views on the relationships between assets. Similarly, higher-order forecasts could allow forecasters to express views on the relationships between predictions, leading to a more efficient and informative overall forecasting ecosystem. Benefits Some potential benefits of higher-order forecasting include: 1. Identify Overconfidence Improve the accuracy of forecasts by having participants directly predict and get rewarded for estimating overconfidence or poor calibration in other forecasts. "How overconfident is [forecast/forecaster] X" 2. Prioritize Questions Prioritize the most important and decision-relevant questions by forecasting the value of information from different predictions. "How valuable is the information from forecasting question X?" 3. Surface Relationships Surface key drivers and correlations between events by letting forecasters predict how different questions relate to each other. "How correlated will the forecasts for questions X and Y be over [time period]?" 4. Faster Information Aggregation Enable faster aggregation of information by allowing forecasts on future forecast values, which may update more frequently than the underlying events. "What will the forecast for question X be on [future date], conditional on [other forecasts or events]?" 5. Leverage Existing Infrastructure Leverage the existing infrastructure and resolution processes of prediction platforms, which are already designed to handle large numbers of forecasting questions. We've already seen some early examples of higher-order forecasts on platforms like Manifold Markets. For example, with the recent questions: Will there be a Manifold bot that makes profitable bets on random 1-month markets by December 2024? (Ṁ3,000 subsidy!) Manifold Top Traders Leaderboard Ranking Prediction (2024) If Manifold begins allowing real-money withdrawals, will its accuracy improve? Is Manifold's P(Doom) by 2050 currently between 10% and 90%? [Resolves to Poll] Will Manifold be more accurate than real-money markets in forecasting the 2024 election? Challenges Of course, there are also challenges and risks to cons...

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Visualizing neural network planning, published by Nevan Wichers on May 9, 2024 on The AI Alignment Forum. TLDR We develop a technique to try and detect if a NN is doing planning internally. We apply the decoder to the intermediate representations of the network to see if it's representing the states it's planning through internally. We successfully reveal intermediate states in a simple Game of Life model, but find no evidence of planning in an AlphaZero chess model. We think the idea won't work in its current state for real world NNs because they use higher-level, abstract representations for planning that our current technique cannot decode. Please comment if you have ideas that may work for detecting more abstract ways the NN could be planning. Idea and motivation To make safe ML, it's important to know if the network is performing mesa optimization, and if so, what optimization process it's using. In this post, I'll focus on a particular form of mesa optimization: internal planning. This involves the model searching through possible future states and selecting the ones that best satisfy an internal goal. If the network is doing internal planning, then it's important the goal it's planning for is aligned with human values. An interpretability technique which could identify what states it's searching through would be very useful for safety. If the NN is doing planning it might represent the states it's considering in that plan. For example, if predicting the next move in chess, it may represent possible moves it's considering in its hidden representations. We assume that NN is given the representation of the environment as input and that the first layer of the NN encodes the information into a hidden representation. Then the network has hidden layers and finally a decoder to compute the final output. The encoder and decoder are trained as an autoencoder, so the decoder can reconstruct the environment state from the encoder output. Language models are an example of this where the encoder is the embedding lookup. Our hypothesis is that the NN may use the same representation format for states it's considering in its plan as it does for the encoder's output. Our idea is to apply the decoder to the hidden representations at different layers to decode them. If our hypothesis is correct, this will recover the states it considers in its plan. This is similar to the Logit Lens for LLMs, but we're applying it here to investigate mesa-optimization. A potential pitfall is that the NN uses a slightly different representation for the states it considers during planning than for the encoder output. In this case, the decoder won't be able to reconstruct the environment state it's considering very well. To overcome this, we train the decoder to output realistic looking environment states given the hidden representations by training it like the generator in a GAN. Note that the decoder isn't trained on ground truth environment states, because we don't know which states the NN is considering in its plan. Game of Life proof of concept (code) We consider an NN trained to predict the number of living cells after the Nth time step of the Game of Life (GoL). We chose the GoL because it has simple rules, and the NN will probably have to predict the intermediate states to get the final cell count. This NN won't do planning, but it may represent the intermediate states of the GoL in its hidden states. We use an LSTM architecture with an encoder to encode the initial GoL state, and a "count cells NN" to output the number of living cells after the final LSTM output. Note that training the NN to predict the number of alive cells at the final state makes this more difficult for our method than training the network to predict the final state since it's less obvious that the network will predict t...

The crew settles back down at Callahan Acres to try and digest the giant meal that was the trip to Fox Prairie.  They discuss the course in more detail now that they have gotten the full picture from the Halley family - not just its history but what may be in its future.  They also chronical some of the nonsensical events that occured while on the way down and back.  After reminiscing, everyone gets an update on the Fantasy league.  There are plenty of spins to be spun and punishments to hand out.Sean steals Ryan's fired up for the Nth time and buys a weedwhacker, while Alex can't wait to be naked under a kimono.  Sheila has found the best kept secret in dining establishments, Ryan gets far to worked up about grass, and Jason is fired down about not being able to appreciate things like a teenage girl.

In the seat facing away from the camera, all they could see was the student's back and her arms digging through whatever was in her lap. For several minutes, she stayed like this. Then she got up. Turned around. And looked straight into the lens of the CCTV camera in the corner.  She locked eyes and stayed like that. They felt a chill as they watched the footage. An icy stare. Frozen in place. Then she lifted up her hands and held a body up to the camera. A cat--a campus stray, lovingly named Princess by the other University students. She grabbed the back of the kitten's neck. Then, with her other hand, wrapped her grip firmly around the kitten's throat and squeezed.  Shanghai Tech's very own serial cat killer. This is the case dubbed the ‘animal Nth rooms,' about the world-wide cat (crush, torture, and kill) gang that was responsible for the viral video—the cat blender. Who is behind it all? And why? Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All the police could do was watch the livestream - the camera was set up in a motel room. They could see in the video the girl was helplessly crying as she was assaulted by a man. One by one - more men showed up to the motel room to assault her.  They all stood in line in the order that they came - waiting for their turns. The victim would be found dead soon after. When news broke in the livestream chatrooms that she died - the comments started pouring in.  “Wait, did the motel girl really die? That's so sad… we should go relieve ourselves on her funeral portrait. One last gift from us! “Dang, if she knew she was going to die, she should have given us her body one more time.” The police saw the video but they had no idea who these assaulters were, who orchestrated the attack, or how to even catch them.  All they knew was there were more victims. Hundreds of them. All victims of the Nth room. And they needed to save them before another dies.  Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who knew Nikola Tesla had a brother just as clever as he? Curdy and SALI present a story of sibling rivalry to the Nth degree as Alex Turbo tells us about an experience that led to the creation of our system of travel transportals. Strange fiction, or stranger than fiction? That's for you to decide.

Nancy Dawson. Neptune's goblets. North-West Passage.Nuts of an anchor. All these nautical terms and more defined at long last in this, the Nth chapter of the Sailor's Word Book! (With special guest Hannah Haverkamp.)

James DF Hannah joins me to chat about his latest novel: BECAUSE THE NIGHT; and, also about his short story: SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE SALVATION. The former is James' latest novel in the Henry Malone series. Henry is a wise-ass to the Nth degree. And I felt such a kinship with Henry. Henry is one tough cookie who keeps going even if the odds are against him. Henry is complex and troubled and so likeable. The West Virginia setting in both the novel and short story are total Appalachian Noir at its finest. Check out our interview and James' work. You won't be disappointed.

年末新闻上半部分，包括国际厂牌（部分为国内走失厂牌）新品信息，以及vineland 版主的日本之旅和东京「e-earphone 冬季portable 耳机祭」见闻。虽然整期都没啥好听的东西推荐，但说不定国内部分有呢？如果你喜欢「声波飞行员」，请在「爱发电」平台为我们打赏，增加它继续飞行下去的动力，谢谢。时间轴： [00:00:03] BGM#op. Sufjan Stevens - My Little Red Fox pt.1 [00:00:28] 节目开始，孟获单耳已失聪；shownotes 不保证全部cover； [00:01:23] SONY × Disney 100周年联名三个产品（见上图）；快问快答：全世界有几个迪士尼乐园； [00:04:43] SONY LinkBuds S 的Olivia Rodrigo 联名版；神奇产品Inzone Buds； [00:07:23] Astell & Kern HC4 「小尾巴」一体机和一个冷笑话；SP3000 镀金版；AK在展会上已经没人关注了； [00:10:16] 哈曼卡顿集团收购Roon； [00:11:09] Qobuz 开始锁中国IP段，以及原因推测；国内盗版流媒体平台「歌词适配」的倒台； [00:13:28] Sennheiser Accentum & Momentum 4 听感补充；Neumann NDH30 出了黑色版本； [00:15:29] Sonos 即将发布对标Apple AirPods MAX 的旗舰蓝牙头戴式耳机DUKE； [00:16:52] Beyerdynamic T1 3rd Gen 和T9ie 出假货了； [00:17:58] Røde NTH-100 在闲鱼出现了500以下的全新货源；「澳洲之光」； [00:19:30] 国际大厂铁三角；天价耳机AWKG「黑柿」；ATH-TWX7 真无线蓝牙耳塞；世界第一个软骨传导耳机CC500； [00:26:15] Ultrasone 日本限定的Signature Fusion；全日本卖断货的Signature Pure； [00:29:23] FitEar 的头戴式监听耳机Monitor-1 和SoundWarrior 外观撞车；IMarge 动铁+静电单元混合耳塞； [00:31:35] 很难出现在节目里的创新Creative；ACE / ACE 2 TWS 耳塞； [00:33:35] VE10 的诡异外观；此VE非彼微翼； [00:36:03] Yamaha ZG01 调音台联动《尼尔：自动人形》，主打游戏直播用户； [00:36:47] final ze8000mk2 和UX 系列新品； [00:38:07] 天国的AAW 带来的Canary Pro；骨传导单元成为新潮流； [00:38:42] 安桥的一堆联名产品；《孤独摇滚》是不是个好看的番；渡边信一郎没有菅野洋子也是一坨屎； [00:42:09] CrossZone 多单元耳机的新品CZ-10 / C-8A enhanced； [00:45:03] 买椟还珠第一品牌AZLA；ASE-500 ASMR；Foamax Standard 海绵套；韩国品牌×国内（县级）男团联名的翻车现场； [00:51:12] Aviot TE-I3 心形耳机；TE-Q3 / TE-D01v 的其他冷门联名； [00:53:41] vineland 的日本行与e-earphone 的「冬季耳机祭」；为什么日本TWS 耳塞普遍高档； [00:55:51] 松下Technics 的AZ 系列TWS 耳塞； [00:57:06] 本期唯一翘首以待（降价）：天龙Denon 的Perl Pro； [00:59:16] Aviot 的平板单元TWS；SONY LinkBuds S 和 WF1000xm5 听感； [01:07:00] BGM#ed. Sufjan Stevens - My Little Red Fox pt.2参与录音： 客座驾驶：King Tsui @RKTALLK 飞行员：vineland / 包雪龙 / 孟获

Today's conversation is with the legendary photographer, Chester Higgins. I've admired Chester's work for years… he's a master of his craft, and a technician to the Nth degree. But it's one thing to appreciate the work of an artist, it's another to delve into their worldview: the work we see simply being an artifact of a greater pursuit. Well, that's what today's holds. What appears to be captured images, is actually Chester's attempts at in all actuality, capturing God. In today's episode, Chester reflects on the near-death childhood experience at the age of 9 that opened his eyes to a parallel reality, introducing him to the spirit that shapes existence. He shares his insights on the interconnectedness of life, the continuous cycle of energy, and the pursuit of capturing the elusive spirit in his photographs.Connect with us on Twitter and Instagram @blackimagination, subscribe to our newsletter for updates, and support the show by clicking this support link. and explore more content on blackimagination.com.Key LinksHaile Selassie I- Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974Tuskegee University- a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama.P. H. Polk - American photographer known for his portraits of African Americans.Andrew Young - American politician, civil rights leader, and served in the U.S. House of RepresentativesWhat to ReadSacred Nile - Betsy Kissam, Chester Higgins Jr. Feeling the Spirit - Chester Higgins Jr.Elder Grace: The Nobility of Aging - Maya Angelou, Chester Higgins THROUGH THESE EYES: The Photographs of P. H. Polk - Chester Higgins Jr., Deborah Muirhead, Amalia Amaki, Meredith SolesWhat to listen toWater No Get Enemy - Fela KutiGrazing In The Grass - Hugh MasekelaMighty God (Remix) - Soweto Gospel Choir

Foundations of Amateur Radio For years I've been hosting a weekly net called F-troop. It's a one hour opportunity for new and returning amateurs to get together and share their questions, and sometimes answers, about anything and everything amateur radio, with side trips into astronomy, electronics, circuit boards, testing gear and whatever else takes our fancy on the day. The net runs for an hour every Saturday morning starting at midnight UTC, which for some is a time when they're fast asleep, though truth be told, several of our regulars are night owls. In VK6 where I am, midnight UTC is a more reasonable 8am, unless we have another referendum when we can decide if we want daylight saving, or not. So far we've had four of those, yes, really, in 1975, 1984, 1992, and 2009, and each time daylight saving or summer time was rejected. All I'm saying is that the chances are good that midnight UTC is going to be 8am in VK6 for a while yet. Anyway, that time of the morning affords me the luxury of getting out of bed at a sensible hour, having a shower, making a cup of coffee with my Significant Other, or SO, and ambling into my shack to get ready. It's a comfortable process, something I've done for over 12 years with very little in the way of variation with the exception of the 500th and 600th episodes which I hosted outdoors at a local radio club, complete with BBQ and many visitors. That and the Friday Night Technical Net with Reg VK6BQQ, but that's a story for another day. Last week a good friend, Glynn VK6PAW, asked me if I wanted to go out and have some fun, and having been pretty much cooped up for several years now, of course I said "yes". We're going to the viewing platform at the Perth International Airport, that's airport code YPPH, where I'll host the net in whatever way we figure out at the time. It's not an event, we haven't told anyone about it, and telling you now won't ruin the surprise for anyone, since this weekly rambling hits the airwaves after F-troop concludes. I knew there was a reason. Anyway, at this point you have every right to ask me, "Onno, why should I care?" Indulge me and let me see if I can explain. Most, if not all, of my amateur radio activities are planned. From time-to-time I might get in my car and drive to a nearby park and get on HF, but truth be told, I haven't done that for several years. I have regularly told you about contests I've done, often whilst operating portable, often with friends, but sometimes alone. I have activated all manner of things, climbed summits, played in parks, gone to lighthouses and other such places. Every, single, time, those activities were planned, often to within an inch of their life. What should I bring? Where am I going to set-up? What gear do I need? What spares are required? What logging tool is needed? Will I need food and water? You know, a typical 7p activity, Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. This time the plan consists of: "Do you want to go to the airport?" and "Sure!" Mind you, that's in the context of Glynn normally having several radios in his car and me not having a clue what to expect. The other day I actually had my first ever look at the location in Google Street View, only to discover that there's a shelter there, so hopefully we won't fry in the forecast 38 degrees Celsius, that's 100 degrees in Ray Bradbury's temperature scale, if you're wondering. Now, on the whole, this is a pretty low risk activity. Nobody is going to die if I don't manage to get the net going, though I do have Echolink on my phone, which reminds me, I should probably check if that still works. I'll put a pencil and a notepad in my pocket for logging and I'll bring a bottle or six of water and probably some coffee. Sorry, I can't help myself. In other words, it's entirely possible to get on air and make noise without having to go to the Nth degree of planning and still have fun. As it happens, fun is something that's been in short supply of late, so, that's also a welcome change. As an aside, in a completely unrelated and random observation, I recently installed a new font on my computer, called Hack. It's mono-spaced, sans-serif, intended for source code, and licensed under the MIT License. I'm using it right now and I'm in love. So secretly, between you and me, that's what goes for fun around here. Oh, in case you're wondering, no, I did not get paid to say that, the authors have no idea I exist, unless they're unexpectedly radio amateurs, I'm just a happy user. Also, if you're wondering about Echolink, no need to fret. I just tested and it just works straight out of the box. Gotta love that. Now, here's a question for you. When was the last time you spontaneously got on air to make noise? I'm Onno VK6FLAB

En la Web de Thomann se han publicado/filtrado 4 nuevos productos que RØDE va a lanzar de color blanco. Estamos hablando del Podmic, PSA1+, NTH-100 y la Rodecaster DUO, productos que ya existen pero de color oscuro. Rodecaster Duo Podmic NTH-100 PSA1+ Me pueden contactar en: https://ernestoacosta.me/contacto.html Todos los medios donde publico contenido los encuentras en: https://ernestoacosta.me/

When you hear the words "health policy", what comes to mind? A dry, barren desert? Not for John Silver, a nurse who has dedicated decades of his life to studying it and believes it's anything but dry and lacking in substance. He was so passionate about understanding it that he left nursing to pursue a Ph.D. in comparative studies. He serves as President of the organization, Nurses Transforming Healthcare, whose mission is to transform healthcare into a model based on wellness and disease prevention, driven by nurses, which is affordable and accessible to all. John believes we as nurses need to remember our social roots as a profession in order to affect change. The goal is ambitious, yet gaining momentum every day. I have no doubt with our collective power, John and the masterminds behind NTH will radically change healthcare. I teased him about being a deep thinker, but honestly, a world without deep thinkers would just be boring. In the five-minute snippet: Vintage guys rule! For John's bio and book recommendations, see links below!John's book listNurses Transforming Healthcare Once a Nurse, Always a Nurse podcastPublications:Completing the Circle of NursingAn Open Letter to My Fellow AmericansNursing Declaration of Independence Contact The Conversing Nurse podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theconversingnursepodcast/Website: https://theconversingnursepodcast.comGive me feedback! Leave me a review! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/leave-me-a-reviewWould you like to be a guest on my podcast? Pitch me! https://theconversingnursepodcast.com/intake-formCheck out my guests' book recommendations! https://bookshop.org/shop/theconversingnursepodcast Email: theconversingnursepodcast@gmail.comThank you and I'll see you soon!

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Does Circuit Analysis Interpretability Scale? Evidence from Multiple Choice Capabilities in Chinchilla, published by Neel Nanda on July 20, 2023 on The AI Alignment Forum. Cross-posting a paper from the Google DeepMind mech interp team, by: Tom Lieberum, Matthew Rahtz, János Kramár, Neel Nanda, Geoffrey Irving, Rohin Shah, Vladimir Mikulik Informal TLDR We tried standard mech interp techniques (direct logit attribution, activation patching, and staring at attention patterns) on an algorithmic circuit in Chinchilla (70B) for converting the knowledge of a multiple choice question's answer into outputting the correct letter. These techniques basically continued to work, and nothing fundamentally broke at scale (though it was a massive infra pain!). We then tried to dig further into the semantics of the circuit - going beyond "these specific heads and layers matter and most don't" and trying to understand the learned algorithm, and which features were implemented This kind of tracked the feature "this is the nth item in the list" but was pretty messy. However, my personal guess is that this stuff is just pretty messy at all scales, and we can productively study how clean/messy this stuff is at smaller and more tractable scales. I now feel mildly more optimistic that focusing on mech interp work on small models is just fine, and extremely worth it for the much faster feedback loops. It also seems super nice to get better at automatically finding these circuits, since this was a many month manual slog! See Tom's and my Twitter summaries for more. Note that I (Neel) am cross-posting this on behalf of the team, and neither a main research contributor nor main advisor for the project. Key Figures An overview of the weird kinds of heads found, like the "attend to B if it is correct" head! The losses under different mutations of the letters - experiments to track down exactly which features were used. Eg replacing the labels with random letters or numbers preserves the "nth item in the list" feature while shuffling ABCD lets us track the "line labelled B" feature The queries and keys of a crucial correct letter head - it's so linearly separable! We can near loss-lessly compress it to just 3 dimensions and interpret just those three dimensions. See an interactive 3D plot here Abstract Circuit analysis is a promising technique for understanding the internal mechanisms of language models. However, existing analyses are done in small models far from the state of the art. To address this, we present a case study of circuit analysis in the 70B Chinchilla model, aiming to test the scalability of circuit analysis. In particular, we study multiple-choice question answering, and investigate Chinchilla's capability to identify the correct answer label given knowledge of the correct answer text. We find that the existing techniques of logit attribution, attention pattern visualization, and activation patching naturally scale to Chinchilla, allowing us to identify and categorize a small set of 'output nodes' (attention heads and MLPs). We further study the correct letter' category of attention heads aiming to understand the semantics of their features, with mixed results. For normal multiple-choice question answers, we significantly compress the query, key and value subspaces of the head without loss of performance when operating on the answer labels for multiple-choice questions, and we show that the query and key subspaces represent an Nth item in an enumeration' feature to at least some extent. However, when we attempt to use this explanation to understand the heads' behaviour on a more general distribution including randomized answer labels, we find that it is only a partial explanation, suggesting there is more to learn about the operation of 'correct letter' heads on multiple choice q...

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Does Circuit Analysis Interpretability Scale? Evidence from Multiple Choice Capabilities in Chinchilla, published by Neel Nanda on July 20, 2023 on LessWrong. Cross-posting a paper from the Google DeepMind mech interp team, by: Tom Lieberum, Matthew Rahtz, János Kramár, Neel Nanda, Geoffrey Irving, Rohin Shah, Vladimir Mikulik Informal TLDR We tried standard mech interp techniques (direct logit attribution, activation patching, and staring at attention patterns) on an algorithmic circuit in Chinchilla (70B) for converting the knowledge of a multiple choice question's answer into outputting the correct letter. These techniques basically continued to work, and nothing fundamentally broke at scale (though it was a massive infra pain!). We then tried to dig further into the semantics of the circuit - going beyond "these specific heads and layers matter and most don't" and trying to understand the learned algorithm, and which features were implemented This kind of tracked the feature "this is the nth item in the list" but was pretty messy. However, my personal guess is that this stuff is just pretty messy at all scales, and we can productively study how clean/messy this stuff is at smaller and more tractable scales. I now feel mildly more optimistic that focusing on mech interp work on small models is just fine, and extremely worth it for the much faster feedback loops. It also seems super nice to get better at automatically finding these circuits, since this was a many month manual slog! See Tom's and my Twitter summaries for more. Note that I (Neel) am cross-posting this on behalf of the team, and neither a main research contributor nor main advisor for the project. Key Figures An overview of the weird kinds of heads found, like the "attend to B if it is correct" head! The losses under different mutations of the letters - experiments to track down exactly which features were used. Eg replacing the labels with random letters or numbers preserves the "nth item in the list" feature while shuffling ABCD lets us track the "line labelled B" feature The queries and keys of a crucial correct letter head - it's so linearly separable! We can near loss-lessly compress it to just 3 dimensions and interpret just those three dimensions. See an interactive 3D plot here Abstract Circuit analysis is a promising technique for understanding the internal mechanisms of language models. However, existing analyses are done in small models far from the state of the art. To address this, we present a case study of circuit analysis in the 70B Chinchilla model, aiming to test the scalability of circuit analysis. In particular, we study multiple-choice question answering, and investigate Chinchilla's capability to identify the correct answer label given knowledge of the correct answer text. We find that the existing techniques of logit attribution, attention pattern visualization, and activation patching naturally scale to Chinchilla, allowing us to identify and categorize a small set of output nodes (attention heads and MLPs). We further study the correct letter category of attention heads aiming to understand the semantics of their features, with mixed results. For normal multiple-choice question answers, we significantly compress the query, key and value subspaces of the head without loss of performance when operating on the answer labels for multiple-choice questions, and we show that the query and key subspaces represent an Nth item in an enumeration feature to at least some extent. However, when we attempt to use this explanation to understand the heads' behaviour on a more general distribution including randomized answer labels, we find that it is only a partial explanation, suggesting there is more to learn about the operation of correct letter heads on multiple choice question answering. ...

These are our recommendations for New Comic Book Day. What comic are you picking up today? NEW STORY ARC! The Radiants were stolen. An empire, vaster than space, has come to claim them. The end of the world is here. THE CATALYST WAR begins. And amidst the chaos, Nathan and Marshall will make the biggest decision of their lives: who will be Radiant Black? When the Gunslinger arrived in the present day, he was attacked by a demonic being. He thought that creature was destroyed. He's about to find out how wrong he was. SOARING TO NEW HEIGHTS AND BATTLING NEW FOES! Kendra Saunders, the winged warrior better known as Hawkgirl, has been one of the DCU's greatest heroes for a long time, serving as a member of both the Justice League and the Justice Society. But with the Justice League disbanded, Kendra decides she needs a fresh start and heads to Metropolis to begin a new life. That life is quickly interrupted by a mysterious villain with a powerful connection to the Nth metal that makes up Hawkgirl's wings and weapons.  What does the Man of Steel have nightmares about? Clark Kent knows why he's been pulled into the Nightmare Realm and goes in search of his family and friends, but that journey takes him to the haunted Nightly Planet, where he is confronted by the Super-Reaper! In the waking world, Superman was midflight when he was hit by the nightmare wave. Where he crash-lands will surprise you! True evil is patient. And a dark, ancient power has been simmering quietly for centuries…and when Blade himself is the one to unknowingly unleash it, Marvel's entire supernatural underworld will come out of hiding to demand he handle it. Or pay a pound of flesh for his mistakes. Bloodbaths, blackmail and Blade—you won't want to miss the explosive first issue of this new volume! Radiant Black #25Gunslinger Spawn #22Hawkgirl #1Knight Terrors: Superman #1Blade #1

This is the audio-only version of our weekly cyber security talk show, teissTalk.  Join us  for free by visiting www.teiss.co.uk/teisstalkThe panel discussion is titled:teissTalk: Building an effective infosec strategy for critical Nth-party suppliersLeveraging your relationships to build cyber resilience across your supply chain ecosystemVendor due diligence - securing your software supply chainShifting your mindset away from questionnaires and tick-box complianceThis episode is hosted by  Kevin Crainehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kevincraine/Irene Njoroge, CEO, Gadiness Ltdhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/irenenjoroge/Fene Osakwe, Group Head, Digital and Technology Assurance, Wellcome Trusthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-fene-osakwe-1617b585/Mike Seeney, Supply Chain Information Risk Lead, Pinsent Masonshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-seeney-462b7619/

Episode 2341 - On this Wednesday's show Vinnie Tortorich and Gina Grad talk about discipline, time management, always getting to something, and more. https://vinnietortorich.com/2023/06/always-getting-to-something-episode-2341 PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS   YOU CAN WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE - ALWAYS GETTING TO SOMETHING Vinnie and Gina lead the show with a little chat about musician Barry White. (2:00) They discuss discipline and habits and compare notes on how they each approach them. (6:00) In consultations, Vinnie is still hearing how the pandemic had altered people's course with their habits, and how it also affected people's relationship to alcohol and eating. (9:30) Discipline and delayed gratification are always worth it. (14:00) Vinnie shares some examples from his own life. He treats his finances the same way—by delaying gratification. Gina talks about the importance of inspiring others to avoid excuses. (16:40) Chris Kostman, who owns the Badwater Ultramarathon, told Vinnie that it wasn't just grit that helped athletes train, but the fact that they know how to manage time to the Nth degree. (19:00) Vinnie and Gina also discuss listening to success stories from AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). So many stories are great examples of how to pick yourself up and be disciplined. (20:00) Gina's mom is recently open to learning more about NSNG®. She, like most people, has struggled with “diet mentality” and is learning that everything she thought was correct was based on poor information. The show ends with more scandalous Barry White music. Check out Gina's book . She also co-hosts with Bryan Bishop for @LAmag on the Bryan & Gina Show, which you can find on any podcast platform and on . [the_ad id="20253"] PURCHASE BEYOND IMPOSSIBLE (2022) The documentary launched on January 11! Order it TODAY! This is Vinnie's third documentary in just over three years. Get it now on Apple TV (iTunes) and/or Amazon Video! Link to the film on Apple TV (iTunes):  Then, Share this link with friends, too! It's also now available on Amazon (the USA only for now)!  Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: REVIEWS: Please submit your REVIEW after you watch my films. Your positive REVIEW does matter! FAT: A DOCUMENTARY 2 (2021) Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: Then, please share my fact-based, health-focused documentary series with your friends and family. The more views, the better it ranks, so please watch it again with a new friend! REVIEWS: Please submit your REVIEW after you watch my films. Your positive REVIEW does matter! FAT: A DOCUMENTARY (2019) Visit my new Documentaries HQ to find my films everywhere: Then, please share my fact-based, health-focused documentary series with your friends and family. The more views, the better it ranks, so please watch it again with a new friend! REVIEWS: Please submit your REVIEW after you watch my films. Your positive REVIEW does matter!  

In this episode we pitch some Magic Portal fantasy movies which turn out to be less fantastical and more utterly bizarre, dimension hopping nonsense. Par for the course at this point though, right? Other movies pitched: To me, to you, to another world The Elevator to the Nth floor

The thought that success is up to you, is actually hurting you.I get it.You've been told to "take ownership" and I totally agree with that advice too.But taking it to the Nth degree, to where success is only up to you, is most likely not helping your future.I was having a conversation recently with someone who reminded me that this thought never served me when I used to think it too.Now I'm not saying that everyone is going to feel this same way, but after having thousands of coaching calls where this topic comes up, I've found the majority of time it actually gets you off track even though it might feel great when you start to say it.Think about it like this... If it's up to you, it's so easy to convince yourself to go at it alone.And if you're alone, you're stuck doing what you've always done.Which means you'll keep getting what you've always gotten.Before you know it, your belief in yourself drops off the face of the planet... But it has noting to do with your potential.It was just the "story" you were telling yourself.Which is why I created todays' video, because we need to dive into this story that "Success is up to you"  and come up with a NEW story that actually serves us.If you're ready to do that with me today, let's go!--------------------Have you considered starting a podcast? Do you know how?Check out our free Podcast Crash Course at https://resources.modernleadership.us/podcasting and learn if a podcast is right for you, and if so, all the steps you need to take to get one up and running fast! --------------------If you're looking to take your privacy back head to https://www.officerprivacy.com/marc and never have to worry about your information being out on the internet again!

We're talking to Ryan Collins from Maryland in the US. In 2017, Ryan was invited to the Olympic training center in a bid to make it to the Olympics but an accident with a car ended that dream. His dedication through surgery then rehab saw him come back to win the USA 12-hour TT national championships and setting an age group record in the World Time Trial Championship. In 2020 he held three World Records: 6hr, 100k, 200k & broke the maryland cross state record Nth to Sth by over 2hrs.in 2022 Ryan set the 12hr continental record and won12hr national and international titles. Ryan Holds an MBA and is a nutritional physiologist. 2:00 – David's London Marathon training 5:00 – Strava chat – Xylon making too many events 5:44 – Xylon's training 8:35 – Community shoutouts 18:06 – Episode starts 19:07 – What is a Nutritional Physiologist? 19:33 – How did Ryan come to use Supersapiens? 21:04 – What else aside from Supersapiens has caught Ryan's eye from a nutritional trend point of view? 22:10 – How Ryan built his own sports nutrition drink 23:38 – What is in Ryan's sports nutrition drink? 24:07 – What is Ryan's nutrition strategy for his different events; 6hr, 12hr, 100km 25:00 – How many carbohydrates does Ryan take per hour? 25:50 – Why does Ryan use liquids only during a 6hr event? 26:58 – How did Ryan use Supersapiens to dial in his nutrition for his different events? 32:20 – When did Ryan start cycling? 36:57 – How much cycling was Ryan doing once he was allowed back on the bike post-accident? 38:33 – How did Ryan's accident happen? 40:13 – What was the year between 12hr efforts like for Ryan? 41:42 – What was the trajectory like post 12hr world record? 43:40 – What are Ryan's 2023 goals? 45:01 – What does Ryan's mental preparation for his events look like? 49:10 – How does Ryan make his work his travel and training work? 51:55 – What does Ryan do for work? 52:35 – What community work does Ryan do? 54:40 – What drives Ryan to want to do some much community work? 55:36 – What does a training week look like for Ryan? 57:49 – How many hours a week does Ryan train? 58:11 – How long is the longest time Ryan has spent on a bike trainer? 59:00 – Does Ryan do short explosive work in his training? 61:29 – What are the biggest learnings Ryan has taken from using Supersapiens? 66:55 – What did Ryan change his pre-workout fuel to? 68:35 – How much rice does Ryan go through in a week? 69:43 – How Ryan uses live glucose visibility specifically 71:30 – Rush Round 82:43 – OutroScientific Study using Supersapiens Mentioned in Intro - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2023.2174452 Article Ryan Mentions - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33772787/ Ryan's Rice Cake Recipe - https://ryancwix.wixsite.com/racetothetop/post/the-ultimate-rice-cake

Episode ninety four will cover the crazy sex trafficking case known as the Nth room from South Korea. Who were the people behind this? What did they do that was so horrible? And what happened to them? Episode Sponsor: Start your credit journey with Chime. Signup only takes two minutes and doesn't affect your credit. Signup at chime.com/asian. Go to HelloFresh.com/asian21 and use code asian21 for 21 free meals plus free shipping To support this podcast, please visit: One-time donation: https://paypal.me/asianmadness Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: asianmadnesspod E-mail: asianmadnesspod@gmail.com