Podcasts about pdfs

Matt Forbeck is all that and so much more. He grew up in Wisconsin as what he describes as a wimpy kid, too short and not overly healthy. He took to gaming at a pretty early age and has grown to be a game creator, author and award-winning storyteller.   Matt has been designing games now for over 35 years. He tells us how he believes that many of the most successful games today have stories to tell, and he loves to create some of the most successful ones. What I find most intriguing about Matt is that he clearly is absolutely totally happy in his work. For most of Matt's career he has worked for himself and continues today to be an independent freelancer.   Matt and his wife have five children, including a set of quadruplets. The quadruplets are 23 and Matt's oldest son is 28 and is following in his father's footsteps.   During our conversation we touch on interesting topics such as trust and work ethics. I know you will find this episode stimulating and worth listening to more than once.     About the Guest:   Matt Forbeck is an award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author and game designer of over thirty-five novels and countless other books and games. His projects have won a Peabody Award, a Scribe Award, and numerous ENnies and Origins Awards. He is also the president of the Diana Jones Award Foundation, which celebrates excellence in gaming.    Matt has made a living full-time on games and fiction since 1989, when he graduated from the Residential College at the University of Michigan with a degree in Creative Writing. With the exception of a four-year stint as the president of Pinnacle Entertainment Group and a year and a half as the director of the adventure games division of Human Head Studios, he has spent his career as an independent freelancer.   Matt has designed collectible card games, roleplaying games, miniatures games, board games, interactive fiction, interactive audiobooks, games for museum installations, and logic systems for toys. He has directed voiceover work and written short fiction, comic books, novels, screenplays, and video game scripts and stories. His work has been translated into at least 15 languages.   His latest work includes the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Core Rulebook, the Spider-Verse Expansion, Monster Academy (novels and board game), the Shotguns & Sorcery 5E Sourcebook based on his novels, and the Minecraft: Roll for Adventure game books. He is the father of five, including a set of quadruplets. He lives in Beloit, Wisconsin, with his wife and a rotating cast of college-age children. For more about him and his work, visit Forbeck.com.   Ways to connect with Matt:   Twitter: https://twitter.com/mforbeck Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forbeck Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/forbeck.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@mforbeck Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mforbeck/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/forbeck/ Website: https://www.forbeck.com/     About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset today. We get to play games. Well, not really, but we'll try. Our guest is Matt Forbeck, who is an award winning author. He is a game designer and all sorts of other kinds of things that I'm sure he's going to tell us about, and we actually just before we started the the episode, we were talking about how one might explore making more games accessible for blind and persons with other disabilities. It's, it's a challenge, and there, there are a lot of tricks. But anyway, Matt, I want to welcome you to unstoppable mindset. We're glad you're here.   Matt Forbeck ** 02:02 Well, thank you, Michael for inviting me and having me on. I appreciate it.   Speaker 1 ** 02:06 I think we're going to have a lot of fun, and I think it'll work out really well. I'm I am sure of that. So why don't we start just out of curiosity, why don't you tell us kind of about the early Matt, growing up?   Matt Forbeck ** 02:18 Uh, well, I grew up. I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I grew up in a little town called Beloit, Wisconsin, which actually live in now, despite having moved away for 13 years at one point, and I had terrible asthma, I was a sick and short kid, and with the advent of medication, I finally started to be healthy when I was around nine, and Part of that, I started getting into playing games, right? Because when you're sick, you do a lot of sitting around rather than running around. So I did a lot of reading and playing games and things like that. I happen to grow up in the part of the world where Dungeons and Dragons was invented, which is in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, about 30 miles from where I live. And because of that I was I started going to conventions and playing games and such, when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I started doing it when I was a little bit older. I started doing it professionally, and started doing it when I was in college. And amazingly enough, even to my own astonishment, I've made a career out of it.   Speaker 1 ** 03:17 Where did you go to college? I went to the University   Matt Forbeck ** 03:21 of Michigan over in Ann Arbor. I had a great time there. There's a wonderful little college, Beloit College, in my hometown here, and most of my family has gone to UW Milwaukee over the years. My parents met at Marquette in Milwaukee, but I wanted to get the heck out of the area, so I went to Michigan, and then found myself coming back as soon as we started having   Speaker 1 ** 03:42 kids well, and of course, I would presume that when you were at the University of Michigan, you rooted for them and against Ohio State. That was   Matt Forbeck ** 03:50 kind of, you know, if you did it the other way around, they back out of town. So, yeah, I was always kind of astonished, though, because having grown up in Wisconsin, where every sports team was a losing team when I was growing up, including the Packers, for decades. You know, we were just happy to be playing. They were more excuse to have beers than they were to cheer on teams. And I went to Michigan where they were, they were angry if the team wasn't up by two touchdowns. You know, at any point, I'm like, You guys are silly. This is we're here for fun.   Speaker 1 ** 04:17 But it is amazing how seriously some people take sports. I remember being in New Zealand helping the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind. Well now 22 years ago, it's 2003 and the America's Cup had just finished before we got there, and in America beat New Zealand, and the people in New Zealand were just irate. They were complaining that the government didn't put enough money into the design of the boat and helping with the with the yacht and all that. It was just amazing how seriously people take it, yeah,   Matt Forbeck ** 04:58 once, I mean, it becomes a part of your. Identity in a lot of ways, right for many people, and I've never had to worry about that too much. I've got other things on my mind, but there you go.   Speaker 1 ** 05:08 Well, I do like it when the Dodgers win, and my wife did her graduate work at USC, and so I like it when the Trojans win, but it's not the end of the world, and you do need to keep it in perspective. I I do wish more people would I know once I delivered a speech in brether County, Kentucky, and I was told that when I started the speech had to end no later than preferably exactly at 6:30pm not a minute later, because it was the night of the NCAA Basketball Championship, and the Kentucky Wildcats were in the championship, and at 630 everyone was going to get up and leave and go home to watch the game. So I ended at 630 and literally, by 631 I timed it. The gym was empty and it was full to start with.   Matt Forbeck ** 06:02 People were probably, you know, counting down on their watches, just to make sure, right?   Speaker 1 ** 06:06 Oh, I'm sure they were. What do you do? It's, it is kind of fun. Well, so why did you decide to get started in games? What? What? What attracted to you, to it as a young person, much less later on?   Matt Forbeck ** 06:21 Well, I was, yeah, I was an awkward kid, kind of nerdy and, you know, glasses and asthma and all that kind of stuff. And games were the kind of thing where, if you didn't know how to interact with people, you could sit down at a table across them and you could practice. You can say, okay, we're all here. We've got this kind of a magic circle around us where we've agreed to take this one silly activity seriously for a short period of time, right? And it may be that you're having fun during that activity, but you know, there's, there's no reason that rolling dice or moving things around on a table should be taken seriously. It's all just for fun, right? But for that moment, you actually just like Las Vegas Exactly, right? When there's money on the line, it's different, but if you're just doing it for grins. You know, it was a good way for me to learn how to interact with people of all sorts and of different ages. And I really enjoyed playing the games, and I really wanted to be a writer, too. And a lot of these things interacted with story at a very basic level. So breaking in as a writer is tough, but it turned out breaking as a game designer, wasn't nearly his stuff, so I started out over there instead, because it was a very young field at the time, right? D and D is now 50 years old, so I've been doing this 35 years, which means I started around professionally and even doing it before that, I started in the period when the game and that industry were only like 10 or 15 years old, so yeah, weren't quite as much competition in those   Speaker 1 ** 07:43 days. I remember some of the early games that I did play, that I could play, were DOS based games, adventure. You're familiar with adventure? Yeah, oh, yeah. Then later, Zork and all that. And I still think those are fun games. And I the reason I like a lot of those kinds of games is they really make you think, which I think most games do, even though the video even the video games and so on, they they help your or can help your reactions, but they're designed by people who do try to make you think,   Matt Forbeck ** 08:15 yeah. I mean, we basically are designing puzzles for people to solve, even if they're story puzzles or graphic puzzles or sound puzzles or whatever, you know, even spatial puzzles. There the idea is to give somebody something fun that is intriguing to play with, then you end up coming with story and after that, because after a while, even the most most exciting mechanics get dull, right? I mean, you start out shooting spaceships, but you can only shoot spaceships for so long, or you start out playing Tetris, and you only put shapes together for so long before it doesn't mean anything that then you start adding in story to give people a reason to keep playing right and a reason to keep going through these things. And I've written a lot of video games over the years, basically with that kind of a philosophy, is give people nuggets of story, give them a plot to work their way through, and reward them for getting through different stages, and they will pretty much follow you through anything. It's amazing.   Michael Hingson ** 09:09 Is that true Dungeons and Dragons too?   Matt Forbeck ** 09:13 It is. All of the stories are less structured there. If you're doing a video game, you know you the team has a lot of control over you. Give the player a limited amount of control to do things, but if you're playing around a table with people, it's more of a cooperative kind of experience, where we're all kind of coming up with a story, the narrator or the Game Master, the Dungeon Master, sets the stage for everything, but then the players have a lot of leeway doing that, and they will always screw things up for you, too. No matter what you think is going to happen, the players will do something different, because they're individuals, and they're all amazing people. That's actually to me, one of the fun things about doing tabletop games is that, you know, the computer can only react in a limited number of ways, whereas a human narrator and actually change things quite drastically and roll. With whatever people come up with, and that makes it tremendous fun.   Speaker 1 ** 10:04 Do you think AI is going to enter into all that and maybe improve some of the   Matt Forbeck ** 10:09 old stuff? It's going to add your end to it, whether it's an ad, it's going to approve it as a large question. Yeah. So I've been ranting about AI quite a bit lately with my friends and family. But, you know, I think the problem with AI, it can be very helpful a lot of ways, but I think it's being oversold. And I think it's especially when it's being oversold for thing, for ways for people to replace writers and creative thinking, Yeah, you know, you're taking the fun out of everything. I mean, the one thing I like to say is if, if you can't be bothered to write this thing that you want to communicate to me, I'm not sure why I should be bothered to read this thing well.   Speaker 1 ** 10:48 And I think that AI will will evolve in whatever way it does. But the fact of the matter is, So do people. And I think that, in fact, people are always going to be necessary to make the process really work? AI can only do and computers can only do so much. I mean, even Ray Kurzweil talks about the singularity when people and computer brains are married, but that still means that you're going to have the human element. So it's not all going to be the computer. And I'm not ready to totally buy into to what Ray says. And I used to work for Ray, so I mean, I know Ray Well, but, but the but the bottom line is, I think that, in fact, people are always going to be able to be kind of the, the mainstay of it, as long as we allow that, if we, if we give AI too much power, then over time, it'll take more power, and that's a problem, but that's up to us to deal with?   Matt Forbeck ** 11:41 No, I totally agree with that. I just think right now, there's a very large faction of people who it's in their economic interest to oversell these things. You know, people are making chips. They're building server farms. A lot of them are being transferred from people are doing blockchain just a few years ago, and they see it as the hot new thing. The difference is that AI actually has a lot of good uses. There's some amazing things will come out of llms and such. But I again, people are over the people are selling this to us. Are often over promising things, right?   Speaker 1 ** 12:11 Yeah, well, they're not only over promising but they're they're really misdirecting people. But the other side of it is that, that, in fact, AI as a concept and as a technology is here, and we have control over how we use it. I've said a couple times on this this podcast, and I've said to others, I remember when I first started hearing about AI, I heard about the the fact that teachers were bemoaning the pack, that kids were writing their papers just using AI and turning them in, and it wasn't always easy to tell whether it was something that was written by AI or was written by the student. And I come from a little bit different view than I think a lot of people do. And my view basically is, let the kids write it if with AI, if that's what they're going to do, but then what the teacher needs to do is to take one period, for example, and give every student in that class the opportunity to come up and defend whatever paper they have. And the real question is, can they defend the paper? Which means, have they really learned the subject, or are they just relying on AI,   Matt Forbeck ** 13:18 yeah, I agree with that. I think the trouble is, a lot of people, children, you know, who are developing their abilities and their morals about this stuff, they use it as just a way to complete the assignment, right? And many of them don't even read what they turn in, right, right? Just know that they've got something here that will so again, if you can't be bothered to read the thing that you manufactured, you're not learning anything about it,   Speaker 1 ** 13:39 which is why, if you are forced to defend it, it's going to become pretty obvious pretty fast, whether you really know it or not. Now, I've used AI on a number of occasions in various ways, but I use it to maybe give me ideas or prepare something that I then modify and shape. And I may even interact with AI a couple of times, but I'm definitely involved with the process all the way down the line, because it still has to be something that I'm responsible for.   Matt Forbeck ** 14:09 I agree. I mean, the whole point of doing these things is for people to connect with each other, right? I want to learn about the ideas you have in your head. I want to see how they jive with ones in my head. But if I'm just getting something that's being spit out by a machine and not you, and not being curated by you at any point, that doesn't seem very useful, right? So if you're the more involved people are in it, the more useful it is.   Speaker 1 ** 14:31 Well, I agree, and you know, I think again, it's a tool, and we have to decide how the tool is going to be used, which is always the way it ought to be. Right?   Matt Forbeck ** 14:42 Exactly, although sometimes it's large corporations deciding,   Speaker 1 ** 14:45 yeah, well, there's that too. Well, individuals,   Matt Forbeck ** 14:49 we get to make our own choices. Though you're right,   Speaker 1 ** 14:51 yes, and should Well, so, so when did you start bringing writing into what you. Did, and make that a really significant part of what you did?   Matt Forbeck ** 15:03 Well, pretty early on, I mean, I started doing one of the first things I did was a gaming zine, which was basically just a print magazine that was like, you know, 32 pages, black and white, about the different tabletop games. So we were writing those in the days, design and writing are very closely linked when it comes to tabletop games and even in video games. The trick of course is that designing a game and writing the rules are actually two separate sets of skills. So one of the first professional gig I ever had during writing was in games was some friends of mine had designed a game for a company called Mayfair games, which went on to do sellers of contain, which is a big, uh, entry level game, and but they needed somebody to write the rules, so they called me over, showed me how to play the game. I took notes and I I wrote it down in an easy to understand, clear way that people had just picked up the box. Could then pick it up and teach themselves how to play, right? So that was early on how I did it. But the neat thing about that is it also taught me to think about game design. I'm like, when I work on games, I think about, who is this game going to be for, and how are we going to teach it to them? Because if they can't learn the game, there's no point of the game at all, right?   Speaker 1 ** 16:18 And and so I'm right? I'm a firm believer that a lot of technical writers don't do a very good job of technical writing, and they write way over people's heads. I remember the first time I had to write, well, actually, I mentioned I worked for Kurzweil. I was involved with a project where Ray Kurzweil had developed his original omniprent optical character recognition system. And I and the National Federation of the Blind created with him a project to put machines around the country so that blind people could use them and give back to Ray by the time we were all done, recommendations as to what needed to go in the final first production model of the machine. So I had to write a training manual to teach people how to use it. And I wrote this manual, and I was always of the opinion that it had to be pretty readable and usable by people who didn't have a lot of technical knowledge. So I wrote the manual, gave it to somebody to read, and said, Follow the directions and and work with the machine and all that. And they did, and I was in another room, and they were playing with it for a couple of hours, and they came in and they said, I'm having a problem. I can't figure out how to turn off the machine. And it turns out that I had forgotten to put in the instruction to turn off the machine. And it wasn't totally trivial. There were steps you had to go through. It was a Data General Nova two computer, and you had to turn it off the right way and the whole system off the appropriate way, or you could, could mess everything up. So there was a process to doing it. So I wrote it in, and it was fine. But, you know, I've always been a believer that the textbooks are way too boring. Having a master's degree in physics, I am of the opinion that physics textbook writers, who are usually pretty famous and knowledgeable scientists, ought to include with all the text and the technical stuff they want to put in, they should put in stories about what they did in you bring people in, draw them into the whole thing, rather than just spewing out a bunch of technical facts.   Matt Forbeck ** 18:23 No, I agree. My my first calculus professor was a guy who actually explained how Newton and Leipzig actually came up with calculus, and then he would, you know, draw everything on the board and turn around say, and isn't that amazing? And you were, like, just absolutely enamored with the idea of how they had done these things, right? Yeah. And what you're doing there, when you, when you, when you give the instructions to somebody and say, try this out. That's a very big part of gaming, actually, because what we do this thing called play testing, where we take something before it's ready to be shown to the public, and we give it to other people and say, try this out. See how it works. Let me know when you're starting out of your first playing you play with like your family and friends and people will be brutal with you and give you hints about how you can improve things. But then, even when you get to the rules you're you send those out cold to people, or, you know, if you're a big company, you watch them through a two way mirror or one way mirror, and say, Hey, let's see how they react to everything. And then you take notes, and you try to make it better every time you go through. And when I'm teaching people to play games at conventions, for instance, I will often say to them, please ask questions if you don't understand anything, that doesn't mean you're dumb. Means I didn't explain it well enough, right? And my job as a person writing these rules is to explain it as well as I humanly can so it can't be misconstrued or misinterpreted. Now that doesn't mean you can correct everything. Somebody's always got like, Oh, I missed that sentence, you know, whatever. But you do that over and over so you can try to make it as clear and concise as possible, yeah.   Speaker 1 ** 19:52 Well, you have somewhat of a built in group of people to help if you let your kids get involved. Involved. So how old are your kids?   Matt Forbeck ** 20:03 My eldest is 26 he'll be 27 in January. Marty is a game designer, actually works with me on the marble tabletop role playing game, and we have a new book coming out, game book for Minecraft, called Minecraft role for adventure, that's coming out on July 7, I think, and the rest of the kids are 23 we have 423 year olds instead of quadruplets, one of whom is actually going into game design as well, and the other says two are still in college, and one has moved off to the work in the woods. He's a very woodsy boy. Likes to do environmental education with people.   Speaker 1 ** 20:39 Wow. Well, see, but you, but you still have a good group of potential game designers or game critics anyway.   Matt Forbeck ** 20:47 Oh, we all play games together. We have a great time. We do weekly game nights here. Sometimes they're movie nights, sometimes they're just pizza nights, but we shoot for game and pizza   Speaker 1 ** 20:56 if we get lucky and your wife goes along with all this too.   Matt Forbeck ** 21:00 She does. She doesn't go to the game conventions and stuff as much, and she's not as hardcore of a gamer, but she likes hanging out with the kids and doing everything with us. We have a great time.   Speaker 1 ** 21:10 That's that's pretty cool. Well, you, you've got, you've got to build an audience of some sorts, and that's neat that a couple of them are involved in it as well. So they really like what dad does, yeah,   Matt Forbeck ** 21:23 yeah. We, I started taking them each to conventions, which are, you know, large gatherings gamers in real life. The biggest one is Gen Con, which happens in Indianapolis in August. And last year, I think, we had 72,000 people show up. And I started taking the kids when they were 10 years old, and my wife would come up with them then. And, you know, 10 years old is a lot. 72,000 people is a lot for a 10 year old. So she can mention one day and then to a park the next day, you know, decompress a lot, and then come back on Saturday and then leave on Sunday or whatever, so that we didn't have them too over stimulated. But they really grown to love it. I mean, it's part of our annual family traditions in the summer, is to go do these conventions and play lots of games with each other and meet new people too well.   Speaker 1 ** 22:08 And I like the way you put it. The games are really puzzles, which they are, and it's and it's fun. If people would approach it that way, no matter what the game is, they're, they're aspects of puzzles involved in most everything that has to do with the game, and that's what makes it so fun.   Matt Forbeck ** 22:25 Exactly, no. The interesting thing is, when you're playing with other people, the other people are changing the puzzles from their end that you have to solve on your end. And sometimes the puzzle is, how do I beat this person, or how do I defeat their strategy, or how do I make an alliance with somebody else so we can win? And it's really always very intriguing. There's so many different types of games. There's nowadays, there's like something like 50 to 100 new board games that come out and tabletop games every month, right? It's just like a fire hose. It's almost like, when I was starting out as a novelist, I would go into Barnes and Noble or borders and go, Oh my gosh, look at all these books. And now I do the same thing about games. It's just, it's incredible. Nobody, no one person, could keep up with all of them.   Speaker 1 ** 23:06 Yeah, yeah, yeah, way too much. I would love to explore playing more video games, but I don't. I don't own a lot of the technology, although I'm sure that there are any number of them that can be played on a computer, but we'll have to really explore and see if we can find some. I know there are some that are accessible for like blind people with screen readers. I know that some people have written a few, which is kind of cool. Yeah.   Matt Forbeck ** 23:36 And Xbox has got a new controller out that's meant to be accessible to large amount of people. I'm not sure, all the different aspects of it, but that's done pretty well, too   Speaker 1 ** 23:44 well. And again, it comes down to making it a priority to put all of that stuff in. It's not like it's magic to do. It's just that people don't know how to do it. But I also think something else, which is, if you really make the products more usable, let's say by blind people with screen readers. You may be especially if it's well promoted, surprised. I'm not you necessarily, but people might well be surprised as to how many others might take advantage of it so that they don't necessarily have to look at the screen, or that you're forced to listen as well as look in order to figure out what's going on or take actions.   Matt Forbeck ** 24:29 No, definitely true. It's, you know, people audio books are a massive thing nowadays. Games tend to fall further behind that way, but it's become this incredible thing that obviously, blind people get a great use out of but my wife is addicted to audio books now. She actually does more of those than she does reading. I mean, I technically think they're both reading. It's just one's done with yours and one's done with your eyes.   Speaker 1 ** 24:51 Yeah, there's but there's some stuff, whether you're using your eyes or your fingers and reading braille, there's something about reading a book that way that's. Even so a little bit different than listening to it. Yeah, and there's you're drawn in in some ways, in terms of actually reading that you're not necessarily as drawn into when you're when you're listening to it, but still, really good audio book readers can help draw you in, which is important, too,   Matt Forbeck ** 25:19 very much. So yeah, I think the main difference for reading, whether it's, you know, again, through Braille or through traditional print, is that you can stop. You can do it at your own pace. You can go back and look at things very easily, or read or check things, read things very easily. That you know, if you're reading, if you're doing an audio book, it just goes on and it's straight on, boom, boom, boom, pace. You can say, Wait, I'm going to put this down here. What was that thing? I remember back there? It was like three pages back, but it's really important, let me go check that right.   Speaker 1 ** 25:50 There are some technologies that allow blind people and low vision people and others, like people with dyslexia to use an audio book and actually be able to navigate two different sections of it. But it's not something that is generally available to the whole world, at least to the level that it is for blind people. But I can, I can use readers that are made to be able to accept the different formats and go back and look at pages, go back and look at headings, and even create bookmarks to bookmark things like you would normally by using a pen or a pencil or something like that. So there are ways to do some of that. So again, the technology is making strides.   Matt Forbeck ** 26:37 That's fantastic. Actually, it's wonderful. Just, yeah, it's great. I actually, you know, I lost half the vision of my right eye during back through an autoimmune disease about 13 years ago, and I've always had poor vision. So I'm a big fan of any kind of way to make things easier,   Speaker 1 ** 26:54 like that. Well, there, there are things that that are available. It's pretty amazing. A guy named George curser. Curser created a lot of it years ago, and it's called the DAISY format. And the whole idea behind it is that you can actually create a book. In addition to the audio tracks, there are XML files that literally give you the ability to move and navigate around the book, depending on how it's created, as final level as you choose.   Matt Forbeck ** 27:25 Oh, that's That's amazing. That's fantastic. I'm actually really glad to hear that.   Speaker 1 ** 27:28 So, yeah, it is kind of fun. So there's a lot of technology that's that's doing a lot of different sorts of things and and it helps. But um, so for you, in terms of dealing with, with the games, you've, you've written games, but you've, you've actually written some novels as well, right?   Matt Forbeck ** 27:50 Yeah, I've got like 30, it depends on how you count a novel, right? Okay, like some of my books are to pick a path books, right? Choose Your Own Adventure type stuff. So, but I've got 35 traditional novels written or more, I guess, now, I lost track a while ago, and probably another dozen of these interactive fiction books as well. So, and I like doing those. I've also written things like Marvel encyclopedias and Avengers encyclopedias and all sorts of different pop culture books. And, you know, I like playing in different worlds. I like writing science fiction, fantasy, even modern stuff. And most of it, for me comes down to telling stories, right? If you like to tell stories, you can tell stories through a game or book or audio play or a TV show or a comic, or I've done, you know, interactive museum, games and displays, things like that. The main thing is really a story. I mean, if you're comfortable sitting down at a bar and having a drink with somebody, doesn't have to be alcohol, just sitting down and telling stories with each other for fun. That's where the core of it all is really   Speaker 1 ** 28:58 right. Tell me about interactive fiction book.   Matt Forbeck ** 29:01 Sure, a lot of these are basically just done, like flow charts, kind of like the original Zork and adventure that you were talking about where you I actually, I was just last year, I brought rose Estes, who's the inventor of the endless quest books, which were a cross between Dungeons and Dragons, and choose your own adventure books. She would write the whole thing out page by page on a typewriter, and then, in order to shuffle the pages around so that people wouldn't just read straight through them, she'd throw them all up in the air and then just put them back in whatever order they happen to be. But essentially, you read a section of a book, you get to the end, and it gives you a choice. Would you like to go this way or that way? Would you like to go beat up this goblin? Or would you like to make friends with this warrior over here? If you want to do one of these things, go do page xx, right? Got it. So then you turn to that page and you go, boom, some, actually, some of the endless quest books I know were turned into audio books, right? And I actually, I. Um, oddly, have written a couple Dungeons and Dragons, interactive books, audio books that have only been released in French, right? Because there's a company called Looney l, u n, i, i that has this little handheld device that's for children, that has an A and a B button and a volume button. And you, you know, you get to the point that says, if you want to do this, push a, if you want to do that, push B, and the kids can go through these interactive stories and and, you know, there's ones for clue and Dungeons and Dragons and all sorts of other licenses, and some original stories too. But that way there's usually, like, you know, it depends on the story, but sometimes there's, like, 10 to 20 different endings. A lot of them are like, Oh no, you've been killed. Go back to where you started, right? And if you're lucky, the longer ones are, the more fun ones. And you get to, you know, save the kingdom and rescue the people and make good friends and all that good stuff,   Michael Hingson ** 30:59 yeah, and maybe fall in love with the princess or Prince.   Matt Forbeck ** 31:02 Yeah, exactly right. It all depends on the genre and what you're working in. But the idea is to give people some some choices over how they want the story to go. You're like, Well, do you want to investigate this dark, cold closet over here, or would you rather go running outside and playing around? And some of them can seem like very innocent choices, and other ones are like, well, uh, 10 ton weight just fell on. You go back to the last thing.   Speaker 1 ** 31:23 So that dark hole closet can be a good thing or a bad thing,   Matt Forbeck ** 31:28 exactly. And the trick is to make the deaths the bad endings, actually just as entertaining as anything else, right? And then people go, Well, I got beat, and I gotta go back and try that again. So yeah, if they just get the good ending all the way through, they often won't go back and look at all the terrible ones. So it's fun to trick them sometimes and have them go into terrible spots. And I like to put this one page in books too that sometimes says, How did you get here? You've been cheating there. This book, this page, is actually not led to from any other part of the book. You're just flipping   Speaker 1 ** 31:59 through. Cheater, cheater book, do what you   Matt Forbeck ** 32:04 want, but if you want to play it the right way, go back.   Speaker 1 ** 32:07 Kid, if you want to play the game. Yeah, exactly. On the other hand, some people are nosy.   Matt Forbeck ** 32:15 You know, I was always a kid who would poke around and wanted to see how things were, so I'm sure I would have found that myself but absolutely related, you know,   Speaker 1 ** 32:23 yeah, I had a general science teacher who brought in a test one day, and he gave it to everyone. And so he came over to me because it was, it was a printed test. He said, Well, I'm not going to give you the test, because the first thing it says is, read all the instructions, read, read the test through before you pass it, before you take it. And he said, most people won't do that. And he said, I know you would. And the last question on the test is answer, only question one.   Matt Forbeck ** 32:55 That's great. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah,   Speaker 1 ** 32:57 that was cute. And he said, I know that. I that there's no way you would, would would fall for that, because you would say, Okay, let's read the instructions and then read the whole test. That's what it said. And the instruction were, just read the whole test before you start. And people won't do that.   Matt Forbeck ** 33:13 No, they'll go through, take the whole thing. They get there and go, oh, did I get there? Was a, there's a game publisher. I think it was Steve Jackson Games, when they were looking for people, write for them, or design stuff for them, or submit stuff to them, would have something toward the end of the instructions that would say, put like a the letter seven, or put seven a on page one right, and that way they would know if you had read the instructions, if you hadn't bothered to Read the instructions, they wouldn't bother reading anything else.   Speaker 1 ** 33:42 Yeah, which is fair, because the a little harsh, well, but, but, you know, we often don't learn enough to pay attention to details. I know that when I was taking physics in college, that was stressed so often it isn't enough to get the numbers right. If you don't get the units right as well. Then you're, you're not really paying attention to the details. And paying attention to the details is so important.   Matt Forbeck ** 34:07 That's how they crash from those Mars rovers, wasn't it? They somebody messed up the units, but going back and forth between metric and, yeah, and Imperial and, well, you know, it cost somebody a lot of money at one point. Yeah. Yeah. What do you   Speaker 1 ** 34:21 this is kind of the way it goes. Well, tell me, yeah. Well, they do matter, no matter what people think, sometimes they do matter. Well, tell me about the Diana Jones award. First of all, of course, the logical question for many people is, who is Diana Jones? Yeah, Diana Jones doesn't exist, right? That's There you go. She's part game somewhere? No, no, it doesn't be in a game somewhere.   Matt Forbeck ** 34:43 Then now there's actually an author named Diana Wynne Jones, who's written some amazing fantasy stories, including Howell's Moving Castle, which has turned into a wonderful anime movie, but it has nothing to do with her or any other person. Because originally, the Diana Jones award came about. Because a friend of mine, James Wallace, had somehow stumbled across a trophy that fell into his hands, and it was a pub trivia trophy that used to be used between two different gaming companies in the UK, and one of those was TSR, UK, the United Kingdom department. And at one point, the company had laid off everybody in that division just say, Okay, we're closing it all down. So the guys went and burned a lot of the stuff that they had, including a copy of the Indiana Jones role playing game, and the only part of the logo that was left said Diana Jones. And for some reason, they put this in a in a fiberglass or Plexiglas pyramid, put it on a base, a wooden base, and it said the Diana Jones award trophy, right? And this was the trophy that they used they passed back and forth as a joke for their pub trivia contest. Fell into James's hands, and he decided, You know what, we're going to give this out for the most excellent thing in gaming every year. And we've now done this. This will be 25 years this summer. We do it at the Wednesday night before Gen Con, which starts on Thursday, usually at the end of July or early August. And as part of that, actually, about five years ago, we started, one of the guys suggested we should do something called the emerging designers program. So we actually became a 501, c3, so we could take donations. And now we take four designers every year, fly them in from wherever they happen to be in the world, and put them up in a hotel, give them a badge the show, introduce them to everybody, give them an honorarium so they can afford to skip work for a week and try to help launch their careers. I mean, these are people that are in the first three years of their design careers, and we try to work mostly with marginalized or et cetera, people who need a little bit more representation in the industry too. Although we can select anybody, and it's been really well received, it's been amazing. And there's a group called the bundle of holding which sells tabletop role playing game PDFs, and they've donated 10s of 1000s of dollars every year for us to be able to do this. And it's kind of funny, because I never thought I'd be end up running a nonprofit, but here I'm just the guy who writes checks to the different to the emerging designer program. Folks are much more tied into that community that I am. But one of the real reasons I wanted to do something like that or be involved with it, because if you wander around with these conventions and you notice that it starts getting very gray after a while, right? It's you're like, oh, there's no new people coming in. It's all older people. I we didn't I didn't want us to all end up as like the Grandpa, grandpa doing the HO model railroad stuff in the basement, right? This dying hobby that only people in their 60s and 70s care about. So bringing in fresh people, fresh voices, I think, is very important, and hopefully we're doing some good with that. It's been a lot of fun either way.   Speaker 1 ** 37:59 Well, I have you had some success with it? Yeah, we've   Matt Forbeck ** 38:02 had, well, let's see. I think we've got like 14 people. We've brought in some have already gone on to do some amazing things. I mean, it's only been a few years, so it's hard to tell if they're gonna be legends in their time, but again, having them as models for other people to look at and say, Oh, maybe I could do that. That's been a great thing. The other well, coincidentally, Dungeons and Dragons is having its best 10 year streak in its history right now, and probably is the best selling it's ever been. So coinciding with that, we've seen a lot more diversity and a lot more people showing up to these wonderful conventions and playing these kinds of games. There's also been an advent of this thing called actual play, which is the biggest one, is a group called Critical Role, which is a whole bunch of voice actors who do different cartoons and video games and such, and they play D and D with each other, and then they record the games, and they produce them on YouTube and for podcasts. And these guys are amazing. There's a couple of other ones too, like dimension 20 and glass cannon, the critical role guys actually sold out a live performance at Wembley Arena last summer. Wow. And dimension. Dimension 20 sold out Madison Square Garden. I'm like, if you'd have told me 20 years ago that you know you could sell out an entire rock stadium to have people watch you play Dungeons and Dragons, I would have laughed. I mean, there's no way it would have been possible. But now, you know, people are very much interested in this. It's kind of wild, and it's, it's fun to be a part of that. At some level,   Speaker 1 ** 39:31 how does the audience get drawn in to something like that? Because they are watching it, but there must be something that draws them in.   Matt Forbeck ** 39:39 Yeah, part of it is that you have some really skilled some actors are very funny, very traumatic and very skilled at improvisation, right? So the the dungeon master or Game Master will sit there and present them with an idea or whatever. They come up each with their own characters. They put them in wonderful, strong voices. They kind of inhabit the roles in a way that an actor. A really top level actor would, as opposed to just, you know, me sitting around a table with my friends. And because of that, they become compelling, right? My Marty and my his wife and I were actually at a convention in Columbus, Ohio last weekend, and this group called the McElroy family, actually, they do my brother, my brother and me, which is a hit podcast, but they also do an actual play podcast called The Adventure zone, where they just play different games. And they are so funny. These guys are just some of the best comedians you'll ever hear. And so them playing, they actually played our Marvel game for a five game session, or a five podcast session, or whatever, and it was just stunningly fun to listen to. People are really talented mess around with something that we built right it's very edifying to see people enjoying something that you worked on.   Speaker 1 ** 40:51 Do you find that the audiences get drawn in and they're actually sort of playing the game along, or as well? And may disagree with what some of the choices are that people make?   Matt Forbeck ** 41:02 Oh, sure. But I mean, if the choices are made from a point of the character that's been expressed, that people are following along and they they already like the character, they might go, Oh, those mean, you know that guy, there are some characters they love to hate. There are some people they're they're angry at whatever, but they always really appreciate the actors. I mean, the actors have become celebrities in their own right. They've they sell millions of dollars for the comic books and animated TV shows and all these amazing things affiliated with their actual play stuff. And it's, I think it, part of it is because, it's because it makes the games more accessible. Some people are intimidated by these games. So it's not really, you know, from a from a physical disability kind of point. It's more of a it makes it more accessible for people to be nervous, to try these things on their own, or don't really quite get how they work. They can just sit down and pop up YouTube or their podcast program and listen into people doing a really good job at it. The unfortunate problem is that the converse of that is, when you're watching somebody do that good of a job at it, it's actually hard to live up to that right. Most people who play these games are just having fun with their friends around a table. They're not performing for, you know, 10s of 1000s, if not hundreds of 1000s of people. So there's a different level of investments, really, at that point, and some people have been known to be cowed by that, by that, or daunted by that.   Speaker 1 ** 42:28 You work on a lot of different things. I gather at the same time. What do you what do you think about that? How do you like working on a lot of different projects? Or do you, do you more focus on one thing, but you've got several things going on, so you'll work on something for one day, then you'll work on something else. Or how do you how do you do it all?   Matt Forbeck ** 42:47 That's a good question. I would love to just focus on one thing at a time. Now, you know the trouble is, I'm a freelancer, right? I don't set my I don't always get to say what I want to work on. I haven't had to look for work for over a decade, though, which has been great. People just come to me with interesting things. The trouble is that when you're a freelancer, people come in and say, Hey, let's work on this. I'm like, Yeah, tell me when you're ready to start. And you do that with like, 10 different people, and they don't always line up in sequence properly, right? Yeah? Sometimes somebody comes up and says, I need this now. And I'm like, Yeah, but I'm in the middle of this other thing right now, so I need to not sleep for another week, and I need to try to figure out how I'm going to put this in between other things I'm working on. And I have noticed that after I finish a project, it takes me about a day or three to just jump track. So if I really need to, I can do little bits here and there, but to just fully get my brain wrapped around everything I'm doing for a very complex project, takes me a day or three to say, Okay, now I'm ready to start this next thing and really devote myself to it. Otherwise, it's more juggling right now, having had all those kids, probably has prepared me to juggle. So I'm used to having short attention span theater going on in my head at all times, because I have to jump back and forth between things. But it is. It's a challenge, and it's a skill that you develop over time where you're like, Okay, I can put this one away here and work on this one here for a little while. Like today, yeah, I knew I was going to talk to you, Michael. So I actually had lined up another podcast that a friend of mine wanted to do with me. I said, Let's do them on the same day. This way I'm not interrupting my workflow so much, right? Makes sense? You know, try to gang those all together and the other little fiddly bits I need to do for administration on a day. Then I'm like, Okay, this is not a day off. It's just a day off from that kind of work. It's a day I'm focusing on this aspect of what I do.   Speaker 1 ** 44:39 But that's a actually brings up an interesting point. Do you ever take a day off or do what do you do when you're when you deciding that you don't want to do gaming for a while?   Matt Forbeck ** 44:49 Yeah, I actually kind of terrible. But you know, you know, my wife will often drag me off to places and say we're going to go do this when. Yes, we have a family cabin up north in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that we go to. Although, you know, my habit there is, I'll work. I'll start work in the morning on a laptop or iPad until my battery runs out, and then I shut it down, put on a charger, and then I go out and swim with everybody for the rest of the day. So it depends if I'm on a deadline or not, and I'm almost always on a deadline, but there are times I could take weekends off there. One of the great things of being a freelancer, though, and especially being a stay at home father, which is part of what I was doing, is that when things come up during the middle of the week, I could say, oh, sure, I can be flexible, right? The trouble is that I have to pay for that time on my weekends, a lot of the time, so I don't really get a lot of weekends off. On the other hand, I'm not I'm not committed to having to work every day of the week either, right? I need to go do doctor appointments, or we want to run off to Great America and do a theme park or whatever. I can do that anytime I want to. It's just I have to make up the time at other points during the week. Does your wife work? She does. She was a school social worker for many years, and now as a recruiter at a local technical college here called Black Hawk tech. And she's amazing, right? She's fantastic. She has always liked working. The only time she stopped working was for about a year and a half after the quads were born, I guess, two years. And that was the only time I ever took a job working with anybody else, because we needed the health insurance, so I we always got it through her. And then when she said, Well, I'm gonna stay home with the kids, which made tons of sense, I went and took a job with a video game company up in Madison, Wisconsin called Human Head Studios for about 18 months, 20 months. And then the moment she told me she was thinking about going back to work, I'm like, Oh, good, I can we can Cobra for 18 months and pay for our own health insurance, and I'm giving notice this week, and, you know, we'll work. I left on good terms that everybody. I still talk to them and whatever, but I very much like being my own boss and not worrying about what other people are going to tell me to do. I work with a lot of clients, which means I have a lot of people telling me what to do. But you know, if it turns out bad, I can walk I can walk away. If it turns out good, hopefully we get to do things together, like the the gig I've been working out with Marvel, I guess, has been going on for like, four years now, with pretty continuous work with them, and I'm enjoying every bit of it. They're great people to work with.   Speaker 1 ** 47:19 Now, you were the president of Pinnacle entertainment for a little while. Tell me about that.   Matt Forbeck ** 47:24 I was, that was a small gaming company I started up with a guy named Shane Hensley, who was another tabletop game designer. Our big game was something called Dead Lands, which was a Western zombie cowboy kind of thing. Oh gosh, Western horror. So. And it was pretty much a, you know, nobody was doing Western horror back in those days. So we thought, Oh, this is safe. And to give you an example of parallel development, we were six months into development, and another company, White Wolf, which had done a game called Vampire the Masquerade, announced that they were doing Werewolf the Wild West. And we're like, you gotta be kidding me, right? Fortunately, we still released our game three months before there, so everybody thought we were copying them, rather than the other way around. But the fact is, we were. We both just came up with the idea independently. Right? When you work in creative fields, often, if somebody wants to show you something, you say, I'd like to look at you have to sign a waiver first that says, If I do something like this, you can't sue me. And it's not because people are trying to rip you off. It's because they may actually be working on something similar, right already. Because we're all, you know, swimming in the same cultural pool. We're all, you know, eating the same cultural soup. We're watching or watching movies, playing games, doing whatever, reading books. And so it's not unusual that some of us will come up with similar ideas   Speaker 1 ** 48:45 well, and it's not surprising that from time to time, two different people are going to come up with somewhat similar concepts. So that's not a big surprise, exactly, but   Matt Forbeck ** 48:56 you don't want people getting litigious over it, like no, you don't be accused of ripping anybody off, right? You just want to be as upfront with people. With people. And I don't think I've ever actually seen somebody, at least in gaming, in tabletop games, rip somebody off like that. Just say, Oh, that's a great idea. We're stealing that it's easier to pay somebody to just say, Yes, that's a great idea. We'll buy that from you, right? As opposed to trying to do something unseemly and criminal?   Speaker 1 ** 49:24 Yeah, there's, there's something to be said for having real honor in the whole process.   Matt Forbeck ** 49:30 Yeah, I agree, and I think that especially if you're trying to have a long term career in any field that follows you, if you get a reputation for being somebody who plays dirty, nobody wants to play with you in the future, and I've always found it to be best to be as straightforward with people and honest, especially professionally, just to make sure that they trust you. Before my quadruplets were born, you could have set your clock by me as a freelancer, I never missed a deadline ever, and since then, I've probably it's a. Rare earth thing to make a deadline, because, you know, family stuff happens, and you know, there's just no controlling it. But whenever something does happen, I just call people up and say, hey, look, it's going to be another week or two. This is what's going on. And because I have a good reputation for completing the job and finishing quality work, they don't mind. They're like, Oh, okay, I know you're going to get this to me. You're not just trying to dodge me. So they're willing to wait a couple weeks if they need to, to get to get what they need. And I'm very grateful to them for that. And I'm the worst thing somebody can do is what do, what I call turtling down, which is when it's like, Oh no, I'm late. And then, you know, they cut off all communication. They don't talk to anybody. They just kind of try to disappear as much as they can. And we all, all adults, understand that things happen in your life. It's okay. We can cut you some slack every now and then, but if you just try to vanish, that's not even possible.   Speaker 1 ** 50:54 No, there's a lot to be there's a lot to be said for trust and and it's so important, I think in most anything that we do, and I have found in so many ways, that there's nothing better than really earning someone's trust, and they earning your trust. And it's something I talk about in my books, like when live with a guide dog, live like a guide dog, which is my newest book, it talks a lot about trust, because when you're working with a guide dog, you're really building a team, and each member of the team has a specific job to do, and as the leader of the team, it's my job to also learn how to communicate with the other member of the team. But the reality is, it still comes down to ultimately, trust, because I and I do believe that dogs do love unconditionally, but they don't trust unconditionally. But the difference between dogs and people is that people that dogs are much more open to trust, for the most part, unless they've just been totally traumatized by something, but they're more open to trust. And there's a lesson to be learned there. No, I   Matt Forbeck ** 52:03 absolutely agree with that. I think, I think most people in general are trustworthy, but as you say, a lot of them have trauma in their past that makes it difficult for them to open themselves up to that. So that's actually a pretty wonderful way to think about things. I like that,   Speaker 1 ** 52:17 yeah, well, I think that trust is is so important. And I know when I worked in professional sales, it was all about trust. In fact, whenever I interviewed people for jobs, I always asked them what they were going to sell, and only one person ever answered me the way. I really hoped that everybody would answer when I said, So, tell me what you're going to be selling. He said, The only thing I have to really sell is myself and my word, and nothing else. It really matters. Everything else is stuff. What you have is stuff. It's me selling myself and my word, and you have to, and I would expect you to back me up. And my response was, as long as you're being trustworthy, then you're going to get my backing all the way. And he was my most successful salesperson for a lot of reasons, because he got it.   Matt Forbeck ** 53:08 Yeah, that's amazing. I mean, I mean, I've worked with people sourcing different things too, for sales, and if you can rely on somebody to, especially when things go wrong, to come through for you. And to be honest with you about, you know, there's really that's a hard thing to find. If you can't depend on your sources for what you're building, then you can't depend on anything. Everything else falls apart.   Speaker 1 ** 53:29 It does. You've got to start at the beginning. And if people can't earn your trust, and you earn theirs, there's a problem somewhere, and it's just not going to work.   Matt Forbeck ** 53:39 Yeah, I just generally think people are decent and want to help. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've had issues. Car breaks down the road in Wisconsin. Here, if somebody's car goes in the ditch, everybody stops and just hauls them out. It's what you do when the quads were born, my stepmother came up with a sign up sheet, a booklet that she actually had spiral bound, that people could sign up every three three hours to help come over and feed and bathe, diaper, whatever the kids and we had 30 to 35 volunteers coming in every week. Wow, to help us out with that was amazing, right? They just each pick slots, feeding slots, and come in and help us out. I had to take the 2am feeding, and my wife had to take the 5am feeding by ourselves. But the rest of the week we had lots and lots of help, and we were those kids became the surrogate grandchildren for, you know, 30 to 35 women and couples really, around the entire area, and it was fantastic. Probably couldn't have survived   Speaker 1 ** 54:38 without it. And the other part about it is that all those volunteers loved it, because you all appreciated each other, and it was always all about helping and assisting.   Matt Forbeck ** 54:48 No, we appreciate them greatly. But you know every most of them, like 99% of them, whatever were women, 95 women who are ready for grandchildren and didn't have them. Had grandchildren, and they weren't in the area, right? And they had that, that love they wanted to share, and they just loved the opportunity to do it. It was, I'm choking up here talking about such a great time for us in   Speaker 1 ** 55:11 that way. Now I'm assuming today, nobody has to do diaper duty with the quads, right?   Matt Forbeck ** 55:16 Not until they have their own kids. Just checking, just checking, thankfully, think we're that is long in our past,   Speaker 1 ** 55:23 is it? Is it coming fairly soon for anybody in the future?   Matt Forbeck ** 55:27 Oh, I don't know. That's really entirely up to them. We would love to have grandchildren, but you know, it all comes in its own time. They're not doing no well. I, one of my sons is married, so it's possible, right? And one of my other sons has a long term girlfriend, so that's possible, but, you know, who knows? Hopefully they're they have them when they're ready. I always say, if you have kids and you want them, that's great. If you have, if you don't have kids and you don't want them, that's great. It's when you cross the two things that,   Speaker 1 ** 55:57 yeah, trouble, yeah, that's that is, that is a problem. But you really like working with yourself. You love the entre

A SPECIAL TREAT THIS WEEK, REFINER!!We're having so much fun talking to 'Severance' production people, we're taking another week off from the re-watch to get in a FANTASTIC interview. Kick back and enjoy a really fun discussion with Tansy Michaud from the 'Severance' graphics department. Tanys is the lead designer for 'Severance.' She's been doing this since before there were any Lumon hallways. She created the Lumon Logo!! (plus DOZENS of other iconic items from the show).We'll get into the tall weeds talking about graphic design and the indelible mark Tansy has left on the show!  ***A BIG 'thank you' to Research Volunteer/Producer Refiner Vinny P. Vinny has been providing outstanding research and information during the Season Two Rewatch Episodes.Huge thanks to Adam Scott, star of 'Severance' and host of the Severance Podcast for recording a custom intro for "Severed." Make sure to check out 'The Severance Podcast w/Ben Stiller & Adam Scott" wherever you found this one!A big 'thank you' to friend of the pod Kier Eagan, er I mean Marc Geller! Marc both sat for an interview (make sure to check it out) AND recorded some great bumpers as Kier himself. Follow Marc on Instagram @geller_marc.Support the show on Patreon! (Click here)APPLE PODCAST LISTENERS: If you are enjoying "Severed: The Ultimate 'Severance' Podcast" please make sure to leave a 5-star rating (and, if you want, a review telling others to give it a try). Higher rated podcasts get better placement in suggestion lists. It helps more "Severance" fans find the show. Thanks!!! (Unfortunately, I can't respond to any questions or comments made in Apple Podcast Reviews. Send those to: SeveredPod@gmail.com)Season 2 of "Severance" kicked off 1/17/2025 and ran through 3/20/2025. The Second Season of the "Severed" Podcast Rewatch Episodes kicked off on April 24th, 2025. To support the Severed Podcast: (www.patreon.com/SeveredPod) Join the fun on our Facebook page @SeveredPod. I always try to keep page followers  updated on news about the show. Also, let's talk!! Comments? Theories? Corrections? I LOVE 'EM!! Send to: SeveredPod@gmail.comPLEASE MAKE SURE TO SHARE THE PODCAST WITH YOUR FRIENDS WHO ARE 'SEVERANCE' FANS. THE SHOW GROWS THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH!!Needing your own copies of the Lexington Letter and Orientation Booklet? I've got you covered with downloadable PDFs of both documents:LETTER: LEXINGTONLETTER-TheLetter.pdf HANDBOOK: LEXINGTONLETTER-MDROrientationHandbook.pdfYou haven't completely watched 'Severance' until you've listened to 'Severed'.

According to research from Harvard Business Review, in 2022, the average employee experienced 10 planned enterprise changes, driving higher levels of change fatigue. So, how can you lead a change management strategy that helps reps navigate these shifts while maintaining GTM efficiency? Riley Rogers: Hi, and welcome to the Win-Win podcast. I’m your host, Riley Rogers. Join us as we dive into changing trends in the workplace and how to navigate them successfully. Here to discuss this topic is Megan Backus, director of MarComm and Sales Enablement at Culligan Quench. Thank you so much for joining us, Megan. We’re super excited to have you here today. As we’re getting started, I’d love if you could just kick us off by telling us a little bit about yourself, your background, and your role. Megan Backus: Yeah, so Megan Backus. I am based outside Philadelphia, so you might pick up a little bit of my Philly accent. I can’t help it. So I’ve been with Quench now Culligan Quench for about 12 years, the last two in this MarComm sales enablement role. Prior to that it was marketing and I like to joke that I’ve probably touched a little bit of every single aspect of marketing in that time. So always kind of. In the role of creating the content as part of our customer’s buying journey. Another way of looking at it is the content that our sales team needs to close deals. So currently the best way to describe it is it’s kind of this weird crossroads between marketing and sales enablement, where I think with a marketer’s hat on making sure our reps have. The tools, the collateral, and the talking points that they need to combat any sort of questions or objections that they might get in the field? You know, the easiest way of saying, and my wonderful team, and we are a very small but mighty team of five women, we create all the collateral that our sales team uses. So everything from items for prospects at the very top of the sales funnel, everything to lead ’em through the sales funnel, and then even some items for after the sale is closed. RR: Amazing. Well, I think one of my favorite things about talking to folks working at enablement is all of the different weird ways that you come to enablement as a function, and everybody always has a different slant on how the function works and how it operates in their organization. So super excited to get that kind of marketing slant on it today. Got kind of a big question to start us off. I saw on LinkedIn that you mentioned being driven by impossible problems. So what are some of those impossible problems and maybe some of the key initiatives? That you’re focused last year? MB: Yeah, so it’s actually a misnomer. It’s that marketing hat that I wear, but in my view, there is no impossible problems. It’s in a belief in life that I have, whether it’s at work or outside of work, nothing is really impossible. Everything is actually figureoutable and I will be trademarking that. But, so I don’t necessarily view ’em as impossible problems, but I guess the best way, you know, kind of think of it is those problems where you’re just like, I don’t know how I’m gonna tackle this. So this year’s quote unquote impossible problem is finding the time management and the time to accomplish everything that we want to accomplish this year. Quench calling and quench, if you will, we like to have lots of key initiatives happening at the exact same time. My poor customer success manager with Highspot, I feel I always give her like anxiety attacks when we meet. ’cause I’m like, all right. I know we talked about this two weeks ago. We’ve moved on and we’re doing something else. But so some of the things that we’re working on this year, so this past January, we kind of ripped off the bandaid, if you will, and moved our sales team from being very territorial focused in their selling to more, we call it domains, but more brand focused and brand selling. So a lot of this year has been evaluating our newly rebranded content to make sure. It aligns with that focus and realigning it where necessary to support that transition. And like I said, we like to do multiple things at the same time. So last year we did our US rebrand. This year we’re also focusing on finishing up that rebrand, supporting our friends to the North and Canada with their rebrand and our friends to the South and Puerto Rico with their rebrand. While ever supporting our ever-growing sales team, so a lot of things all at the same time. So being the impossible problem, if you will for this year has been being able to juggle all of those key initiatives while maintaining my team. I’m gonna call it sanity, but making sure no one gets burned out or frustrated or just getting to a point of like, no, I don’t wanna do this. Because, you know, with that, we, you know, kind of ask the team to walk through fire. So every once in a while you gotta make sure you’re, you’re not getting burned. RR: Yeah, absolutely. It seems like you guys are no strangers to being agile and being asked to being agile. That is a lot on your plate, so I love that you have that. There’s no impossible problem perspective. ’cause I think you can’t approach this work without it. Especially, and you touched on a little bit on this, knowing just the volume of work that’s been going into the rebrand process, both in the US and in Canada and Puerto Rico, as you mentioned, for one, congratulations. Just knowing how much change that a rebrand like that tends to bring to sales teams. I’d love to know what some of your best practices for helping those teams effectively navigate those transitions are. MB: Yeah, I think, I don’t know whether it’s taking it back to the basics or best practice, but I think the best way of thinking about these big changes in, in our case, these rebrands is. They’re not thinking of them as anxiety inducing events, but thinking of them reframing it in our minds, which helps us reframe it for our sales team of growing opportunities. They’re just opportunities to grow, to learn, to do more, to do more exciting things. And I think that’s kind of really, I guess if I had to put a best practice on something, is recognizing that big change. You know, whatever it is, is just an opportunity to grow and adapt. So with our sales team, we do have some, uh, I affectionately call them nervous Nellie, but those who their first reaction to is not to embrace change, to help those people and they can, you know, hurt your momentum and hurt the morale. But having them kind of come on board and recognize that it’s not as big as it looks. It’s not as daunting or scary as it looks. And we do that by reiterating what’s staying the same. What support they’ll continue to get. And we break down this, these big overarching changes into more bite size and manageable bites to kind of ease those anxieties of like, alright, we have over a thousand pieces of collateral. You know, we have 200 and some odd sales reps and we have to rebrand everything on, you know, new colors, new ev, let’s backtrack it. Let’s do our product sheets first. Sales reps, the products aren’t changing. You can still sell the products. We’re just gonna have different colors. So kind of just breaking it down for them to be like, oh, this isn’t really as big of a change as I thought it was. RR: I feel like I’m getting a philosophy lesson here from you. Nothing is impossible. Change is an opportunity, not a scary thing. I’d like to switch gears a little bit. So we’ve talked about the rebrand, but I also know that as a part of that rebrand and maybe as a. Result of that rebrand, you guys have also experienced like hyper growth over the past year sales team headcount has increased significantly, which again, never an easy problem to tackle, but also a great opportunity. So what challenges have you kind of noticed that came with this growth, and then how have you overcome them or maybe reframed those challenges into opportunities? MB: Yeah. So yeah, hypergrowth, I wouldn’t classify a hypergrowth happen with the rebrand, but it’s one of those things we’re like, we’re gonna do lots of things at the same time. But yeah, we hired 50 reps in a three month period. As with any sort of hiring process, especially, uh, at the hypergrowth. Level, it was the onboarding. How quickly can we get these new reps talking about our machines, understanding our sales process, understanding our customers, and we have a very incredible training team who took on a lot of that, those sort of challenges of how do we get them onboarded as quickly as possible. But I think having Highspot as our content management system. Was incredibly helpful in that regard because it new and tenured reps, so whether the new rep was still in the training class or whether they’re sitting next to Joe Schmo and Joe Schmo needed to help them find an answer, any question, they could go to Highspot. And you know, one of our favorite features at Collagen Quench is. Using the search bar to ask questions, adding that little question mark in that search bar, and it allows the rep, whether they’re new or tenured, to be more empowered to find the answers themselves. Because with onboarding, what we find is there’s a million questions and they can be as minute as, I don’t know what the to price this as, or as big and philosophical as I have no idea how to put in a sale into Salesforce. So by having everything in one spot and. Really honing in with our sales team, our tenured reps, that everything they need is in Highspot. They can help each other. And so for our small Mighty training team, our small mighty sales enablement team is not bogged down in, Hey, I don’t know how to do this. Hey, they can kind of work together. And you have peer leaders to really get them. Using Highspot, finding the answers themselves. And if they do have that, that issue of legitimate issue, then the training team and the sales and need movement team can really focus on the bigger issues, bigger questions that we’re getting from these onboarding teams. But it kinda helps with. Empowering the rep to find the answers, I think is the biggest challenge that we had is onboarding. It’s, it’s a million questions and we have a very wide product line, and having Highspot allows them to find the answers themselves, or at least find enough of the answers that last little bit, the last little 10 yards or whatever. They can come to us and we can help them in that regard. RR: So we’ve heard a little bit about you know how you’re enabling new sellers to deal with coming into the organization and doing so at scale. When you have a bunch of folks coming in new, I’d be curious to know then how the platform kind of helps you during these change heavy moments and how it helps you orchestrate the entire organization. So if you could talk to us a little bit about that, that would be great. MB: The way that we and if for every one of our meetings, reiterate all the time, Highspot is where you’re gonna find your answers. Highspot is where you’re gonna find your collateral. Highspot is going to be where you find your best practices, your recorded trainings. Highspot is where you need to go. So we have a weekly newsletter that goes out to our sales team and everything that we reference in there, we go to Highspot it. We kind of. Drill into them often that any sort of question that they have, any sort of concern that start at Highspot. If Highspot doesn’t have it, then come back to us. We’ll work on it and then get it into Highspot by having Highspot as our one source of truth, if you will. It really enables them to not have to worry about, you know, all the noise prior to having Highspot. There was a point where I was sitting and there was, I think it was like 20 emails all about one topic and sitting there and putting on, you know, well, if I’m a sales rep and I got 20 emails and it’s all in one topic, which email is the correct information? Because this one over here hits one thing this. So, and by having it in one spot and allowing our reps to really recognize that it’s their one source of truth, it forces us who create, you know, the content to make sure we’re all on the same page because we’re only gonna put it once in Highspot to really kinda help the reps steer them in the right direction. RR: I kind of wanna dig into that a little bit more, which is, I know, like you said, you and a small and mighty team of five women, it’s all on you with content. So I’d really like to know how you’re equipping using the platform reps with the content and the messaging that you’re creating all of it in there to help them effectively sell to commercial and workplace buyers. So what is your approach there? How are you making that happen in the platform? MB: So I think we’re making it happen within the platform by being incredibly organized, I think is the best way of putting it, and not being organized in the way that makes the most sense from a marketing perspective, but making it make the most sense from a sales perspective. So oftentimes, you know, with that marketing hat on, you run marketing campaigns and the point of the campaign is to, you know, talk about this feature or talk about that feature. But from a sales rep perspective, it’s not necessarily breaking it out by features. And you know, we do bottles water coolers. So we have seven machines that all feature, and I’m making up seven. We have more, but we have seven machines that all feature touchless dispensing. Well, from a rep’s perspective. It. Have a touchless dispensing spot, not have a spot for that machine, this machine and that machine, and then tell them, Hey, we have seven spots for seven different machines and they all have touchless. We kind of take a point of making sure. Everything that we put in Highspot, the spots make sense from a sales perspective and not necessarily from a marketing or a content subject matter. If I were a rep, where am I going to find this? If I’m a rep, how am I going to ask the question to find this, versus this is our Spring 2024 campaign on, you know, this machine. No, no, no, no, no. This is an ice machine. It’s going in the ice machine spot because from a rep’s perspective, I’m gonna find it in ice machines. It’s an ice machine. RR: I think that’s so key of your reps are your customers and you kind of need to serve them in the way that makes sense to them. Otherwise, you’re not gonna see the usage that you’re looking for, which is what you’re aiming to accomplish there from one marketer to another. I know that a big part of your day-to-day is probably that organization piece governing managing your content just to keep reps on brand accurate, up to date, all of that fun stuff. So could you walk me through your strategy for managing and governing content? So those reps are not only aligned, but also informed and up to date. MB: Yeah, so I don’t really have a very complicated answer to this. It’s actually quite simple of. First, we think all of our content that we create, we’re trying to create it from a perspective of what questions or what objections our sales reps are receiving. And then when we are creating from that perspective, then it allows us to make sure we’re creating the collateral that they want to use. And then, you know, back to, it’s a small but mighty team. We have the advantage of having very few people. Adding new content into Highspot, kind of limit that to I think six people. I think we have one person from the training team. We limit that in the way that to make sure, and we have very clear rules, I guess you could say, that we’ve imparted on what goes in what spot. How it’s tagged, how you upload it, what’s your file name process, so that there’s not too many cooks in the kitchen, if you will. There’s a lot of, you know, pros and cons of having a small team, but that I really think is one of our pros is we can keep it very limited as to who is uploading so that we can make sure the structure stays the way that we’ve decided that that’s the structure we want. We take a point of when we’re creating content to be as evergreen as possible. So when there are changes, we’re not constantly having to update everything. We also evaluate all of our content twice a year. So we put, I guess you could say an alarm in Highspot where after six months, Hey, take a look at this, make sure it’s still accurate, because to our earlier point of. Colligan Quench does a lot at the same time. So it’s important from my perspective to take, and if you’re doing it regularly, it doesn’t take that long, but take that moment to make sure the content that’s available is still answering the questions and the objections that you might get from your customers. And it is still being used by the sales team. If it’s not being used, there’s a reason and reevaluate the content on a regular basis, and I think that’s how we kind of keep our governance in check. We did just recently, I think we’re at like 44% or something, which seems low, but given that we have thousands of pieces of content, our content is being used, it’s accurate, and I think that’s really what we, we strive for. Make sure it’s, it’s being used and make sure it’s accurate. And then the rest will kind of just follow, RR: you know, you started your answer there by saying it’s not a complicated process. And you’re right, but also it’s those core foundationals that are gonna get you where you need to go. So I think you guys are doing all of the right things and you’re doing them on the right cadence. I think oftentimes as marketers we have that intention of like, I will govern my content, and then a month goes by and maybe another. So I love that you guys are sticking to that cadence, and I think this goes back to that LinkedIn deep dive that we started with, which is that you’ve mentioned that effective communication is one of your strengths. But beyond good content management and governance, do you have any best practices that you could share for marketing teams looking to improve how they communicate? Big changes like rebrands or smaller updates, like newly published content to reps? MB: Yeah, so I always frame everything on how it helps the reps. You have to take a moment. ’cause as a marketer you’re like, well, I’m doing this for this marketing reason. Well, if that marketing reason doesn’t resonate with the sales rep, as you express it in a marketing way, the sales rep isn’t necessarily going to use it. But if you can reframe that in a way that allows the rep to understand the benefit to themselves, they’re more than likely to use it. So it’s a very simple thing. As creators, we can kind of get wrapped up in. Well, this is a really cool piece of content because I finally learned how to insert a GIF into a PDF, making that up. But if that doesn’t really help the rep in the objection that you’re actually trying to write the content for, and they don’t put two and two together, it’s just gonna sit on a shelf and high spy and get dusty. It’s always about showing them the benefits of this piece, showing them the benefits of the rebrand and how it helps them specifically as a sales rep, not necessarily how it helps the brand or the marketing team or that product line, how it’s going to help them. RR: And then the rest kind of just follows. I think that’s great advice, and it’s obviously coming from somebody who’s, who’s doing the work, looking at the data, we’ve seen that you’ve achieved a really impressive 94% adoption rate in Highspot. So what are your tips and tricks for driving such like consistently high adoption? Because that is an impressive number. MB: Yeah, we want to be at 97 to reach it and sustain it. Again, I don’t think there’s really any big secret. We kind of base it on like three main tenets. So one, and I’ve mentioned it before, make sure your content is aligned with the needs of the customer. Which will allow you to align with the needs of the sales rep. The sales rep is the person who’s getting all those questions from the customer. So if you’re making sure your content aligns there and it’s accurate, then the sales rep is going to use it. And if you’re using Highspot as we do of your one source of truth, the only place that they’re gonna be able to get to that content so they can use it is with Highspot. And then, you know. Back to that framing, Highspot as the one source of truth. Everything that the rep needs, wants, or possibly wants is in Highspot. Getting them in that habit of using Highspot as that one source of truth is really what helps us get that adoption rate. And the way that we got there, I basically used, uh, sales reps competitive nature to my advantage. So we had early adoption when we launched Highspot because the day we launched it, we actually had a scavenger hunt. In Highspot where we came up with, you know, using our marketing brains, you know, the puns and the brain teasers. We came up with a four item brain teaser scavenger hunt that then had the reps find those pieces of content in Highspot, send a pitch, and this was before digital room. So send a pitch. To myself to A, make sure they have the right content. B sent the pitch correctly. C made sure that part of the scavenger hunt is setting up their profiles and all that. And then the top, the fastest five got prizes. Now the prizes weren’t anything. To write home about. It was very, you know, I think one of the prizes was amok. The prize wasn’t necessarily the goal, but using that competitive nature among reps, we had a crazy high adoption rate. I think our first week we had close to 70% of our sales team in the first week. Something crazy like that. And then we kind of just continue to use that competitive nature. To our advantage. We stack rank our reps daily in what we call our flash report, but it’s basically their percentage to quota as it relates to where we are in the month and the hype of hypergrowth. So we are hiring more people than we can count, basically in a very short amount of time to get to that same, you know, scavenger hunt mentality. What we did is we did another scavenger hunt, but before we launched that scavenger hunt. We actually showed a statistic that our top, and I don’t have the numbers with me, but our top quota beaters, people who are well and above their quota, were also our top super users in Highspot. So we kind of put, you know, as a new rep, I just got hired into this company, I’m getting my sea legs, and as with anyone coming into what is good, how do I get them to be the best if I’m a sales rep? Well, if someone’s telling me the best of the sales reps are also the people who are using this tool called Highspot, I probably should learn what that is. Let me learn what that is as quickly as I can. So I myself can be a top sales rep. So we kind of just take that competitive nature of our sales reps, which I think is easily replicated and use it to our advantage. We, we regularly give out prizes. We’ve done a couple other scavenger hunts and we’ve done a couple other items where, you know, adding a little bit of fun to it. And like I said, none of the prizes are anything super special, like there’s no monetary value to any of these prizes. But I think the sales reps enjoy that competitive nature. They enjoy. You know, the little bit of silliness with it and it gets ’em back in the tool and recognizing that, you know, it’s not hard. It’s not a hard tool to learn, it’s not a hard activity to send a pitch or a digital room, but if you’re. Not experienced. If they’ve never done it before, it can feel intimidating. But by adding a little bit of fun to it, it helps them recognize that, take that first step, do the first pitch, do the first digital room. It’s low stakes ’cause it’s just coming to me and I’m just gonna evaluate to make sure you have the right content in there. It takes away that intimidation factor and they’re like, oh, this took me all of 10 minutes and I got a cup out of it. I think taking that away from it, it really helps us keep that high adoption rate. We don’t do, you know, scavenger hunts for every single new hire class ’cause we’re constantly, you know, growing and hiring. But we do keep that your first pitch, your first digital room. It’s low stakes. It’s not going out to a customer, it’s going to our training team, it’s going to me, it’s going to our, our senior director of sales enablement to kind take out that intimidation factor. And put in a little bit of fun into it. And then that kind of helps them get to a point of like, oh, this is not hard. This isn’t a big change. I’m doing the same thing as I would if I’m writing an email and attaching PDFs. I’m just making it better next level. And I think that’s kind of how we, we keep that adoption rate. But like I said, we’re striving for that 97%. I would love to get to a hundred, but I, I think that might be an impossible goal, but. Who knows, maybe in a couple years we will be, but we’re aiming for 97% and we wanna sustain that. RR: I think it’s always funny chatting with folks about the things that, you know, we feel are successful and almost always the response is, that’s not good enough. We can do better. So we’ll have to check back and I hope in the next couple of months we’ll see that 97% from you. Thinking of other wins that you’ve had with the platform, I’d love to know, since implementing Highspot, what business results have you achieved? Or maybe in addition to that, what wins have you accomplished or goals that you’ve met that you and your team are really proud of? MB: Yeah, so I think the thing that we’re most proud of is we had a very quick adoption of this rebrand, Culligan Quench, and we did the. Rebrand about a year after merging with who was our oldest competitor. So within a year we had onboarded people who. Our tenured reps and I say are, and it’s giving me a trip up ’cause they’re all our reps now, but we’re onboarding people who we used to go head to head with in deals and then we’re in a year in and we’re like, Hey, guess what? We’re now Culligan Quench and everything looks different. We have a new logo. We’re gonna talk about ourselves a little bit differently, and we had a really quick adoption to that and we didn’t get too many objections from it. And I think, I don’t have hard numbers against it, but the attitude around it was very positive, and I think a lot of that stems from. High spas not going anywhere. The content’s all gonna be there on this day. All of your content that you’ve been using for years is all gonna be, it’s just gonna look different. So I think that is a crazy achievement and a win that I will. Keep talking about until the day I retire. But another one is ramping reps. So getting reps up and running quickly is something that we really pride ourselves on. We have a very big product line we have. A very wide customer base. It’s basically any workplace that needs water. Spoiler alert, it’s all of you. From a new hire perspective, it can be a little intimidating. We have over 50 products and you’re, what do you mean? I’m going after every single industry on the world in the United States, but having Highspot, it allows us to ramp our new hires pretty quickly. On average, new hires are, you know, within. Three months, they’ve had at least one of their own first deals. Within six months, we take them off of what we call ramping, where they’re owners of their commissions and their quotas. But given how wide of a customer base we have and how many products we have, it’s pretty impressive that you can go from a Joe Schmo and in six months you’re using this very awesome next level tool to pitch. To every industry over 54 machines. So that’s something that we, we hold pretty high in a win. And like I said, I don’t, and I’ve mentioned this before and I don’t have exact numbers, but the, you know, our top quota beaters, consistent quota beaters that we see month after month, year after year. There also are super users in Highspot. So not only we producing the right content for the team, but the team is adapting to using Highspot and really proving, you know what I thought when I proposed us switching to Highspot years ago, it’s gonna set us apart from our competitors. And it’s, I think that stack kind of proves it, not only do we have reps using the tool, which was a fear that senior leaders had of why are we gonna invest in this tool? And reps are gonna still send emails, they’re using the tool and they’re winning what using the tool. So I think it kind of just furthers that, you know, loop that I’ve mentioned of. Getting reps to use the tool and everything else will kind of fall in all into place. And then the biggest win that I can share and that what I kinda put my hat on is we’ve pitched, and I can’t name names, but we pitched to some. Big international organizations using digital rooms. You know, you have the PowerPoint presentation and we have, you know, links in the PowerPoint presentation to the digital room for more information and a couple of times. You know, we’re pitching to C level of these international organizations and they’re going, this is incredible, this digital room presentation, I’ve never seen something like it. This is, you know, really sets you apart and I think. Because we are one of the few in our industry who are using Highspot. I don’t, I might be the only one in our industry using it, so I don’t wanna calculate a gamble, I guess you could say, on doing something different has really worked out. I think that’s a, a big win that I like to, to hang my hat on and getting you. We had a couple of senior leaders who were very skeptical of the whole process and getting them to a point where they’re like, they get a question or someone asks, they go, I don’t know, go ask Highspot. I don’t think I could say how often people are like, I don’t know. It’s in Highspot right now. We only have our sales team on it, but we have other people in other departments going, Hey, can I get Highspot? And I have to be like, no, you’re not in sales. You wanna come over to sales? I can give you when you’re ever in sales. But I think that’s a major win of just getting everyone on board. Rowing the same direction. Through all this change, we’ve maintained that adoption rate through all this change, through all this hiring. Yeah, I think that’s the biggest win. RR: Well, I think the volume of these wins kind of speaks to that point earlier of things are always changing, there’s new priorities, but you guys are coming out successful on the other side. Time and again, so that’s incredible to hear. So thank you for sharing. Just one last question for you to close this out. If you could share one key lesson that you’ve learned from your experience as a marketer tasked with supporting teams through all of this change, what would it be? I know that’s a big question. MB: I don’t know whether it’s a lesson learned or a lesson reiterated, but it goes back to nothing is impossible. Everything is figureoutable. I guess best advice is take the time to really think it through so you can set yourself up for later success. You know, break it down into pieces and really think it through. And often when there’s a lot of change or you know, big deadlines, you immediately wanna just jump in and start running. And sometimes the fastest way to get started is to actually think it through. Take a moment, think it through, break it down into pieces, and then just keep going. Just putting one foot in front of the other through the big change through the crazy deadlines is my best advice is just break it down part by. Foot over foot, and then next thing you know, it’s 12 years later and you’re like, whoa, look at all this stuff that has changed in the past 12 years. But yeah, it, I think that’s what it is. It everything is figureoutable. You just gotta dedicate a little time to figure it out. RR: I think that’s great advice. It’s that slow down to go fast mentality. I think that’s a great approach to close us out on. So we’ll end there. Thank you so much for coming on and joining us today. I think we’ve learned a lot from you and we have some really great advice and some philosophical frameworks to take us forward. MB: I couldn’t help it. That philosophy just comes out every once in a while. RR: Well, it’s amazing. To our audience, thank you for listening to this episode of the Win-Win podcast. Be sure to tune in next time for more insights on how you can maximize enablement success at Highspot.

Welcome to the Part Time Pilot Audio Ground School Podcast! This podcast releases a 2 new episodes every week on Mondays and Wednesdays. Every Monday, we release an episode that is the next lesson of our IFR Online Ground School. Every Wednesday, we release an episode that is the next lesson of our Private Pilot Online Ground School.    We are working our way through both Online Ground Schools for students to listen to ground school for FREE! If you don't want to wait for new podcasts or you don't want to hear ads or course updates, you can join us in our VIP podcast. In order to join the VIP podcast, you must purchase our Online Ground School. When you do, you'll get sent an email invite to the VIP podcast to download and listen on your favorite podcast app, plus all the amazing lifetime features inside our Online Ground Schools (lessons, videos, audio, quizzes, practice tests, flash cards, test prep PDFs, grade tracking, digital notes, trained AI instructor chat, 7-day a week email support, online study group, scholarships and more).    The #1 reason student pilots never end up becoming a private pilot is NOT due to money. The real reason is actually deeper than that. Yes, flight training is expensive. But every student pilot knows this and budgets for it when they decide to do it.   The actual #1 reason a student pilot fails is because they do not have a good, fundamental understanding of the private pilot knowledge they are meant to learn in ground school.    You see when a student does not have a good grasp of this knowledge they get to a point in their flight training where their mind just can't keep up. They start making mistakes and having to redo lessons. And THAT is when it starts getting too expensive.    This audio ground school is meant for the modern day student pilot... aka the part time student pilot. Let's face it, the majority of us have full time responsibilities on top of flight training. Whether it is a job, kids, family, school, etc. we all keep ourselves busy with the things that are important to us. And with today's economy we have to maintain that job just to pay for the training. The modern day student pilot is busy, on the go and always trying to find time throughout his or her day to stay up on their studies. The audio ground school allows them to consume high quality content while walking, running, working out, sitting in traffic, traveling, or even just a break from the boring FAR/AIM or ground school lecture.    Did I meant high quality content? The audio ground school is taken straight out of the 5-star rated Part Time Pilot Online Ground School that has had over 2000 students take and pass their Private Pilot & IFR exams with only 2 total students failing the written. That's a 99.9% success rate! And the 2 that failed? We refunded their cost of ground school and helped them pass on their second attempt. We do this by keeping ground school engaging, fun, light and consumable. We have written lessons, videos, audio lessons, live video lessons, community chats, quizzes, practice tests, flash cards, study guides, eBooks and much more.   Part Time Pilot was created to be a breath of fresh air for student pilots. To be that flight training provider that looks out for them and their needs. So that is just what we are doing with this podcast.    Private Pilot - Section 5 - Lesson #8: In this FREE Private Pilot Online Ground School lesson we talk about everything a student pilot needs to know about Clouds. The FAA is not necessarily interested in you memorizing or being able to point out and recognize clouds but more so interested in the types of weather and hazardous weather associated with each cloud type so that you can use clouds to understand the weather and hazards around you.    Links mentioned in the episode: Online Ground School: https://parttimepilot.com/private-pilot-online-ground-school/?utm_source=podcast Free How to Become a Private Pilot course: https://parttimepilot.com/free-how-to-become-a-pilot/   PPL study group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/parttimepilot  IFR study group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/parttimepilotifr/  Recommended Products & Discounts:  https://parttimepilot.com/recommended-products-for-student-pilots/ 

Gaeilge Weekly

Gaeilge Weekly

Gaeilge Weekly

I sat down with Leo de Araujo, Head of Global Business Innovation at Syntax Systems, to unpack a problem every SAP team knows too well. Years of enhancements and quick fixes leave you with custom code that nobody wants to document, a maze of SharePoint folders, and hard questions whenever S/4HANA comes up. What does this program do. What breaks if we change that field. Do we have three versions of the same thing. Leo's answer is Syntax AI CodeGenie, an agentic AI solution with a built-in chatbot that finally treats documentation and code understanding as a living part of the system, not an afterthought. Here's the thing. CodeGenie automates the creation and upkeep of custom code documentation, then lets you ask plain-language questions about function and business value. Instead of hunting through 40-page PDFs, teams can ask, “Do we already upload sales orders from Excel,” or “What depends on this BAdI,” and get an instant explanation. That changes migration planning. You can see what to keep, what to retire, and where standard capabilities or new extensions make more sense, which shortens the path to S/4HANA Cloud and helps you stay on a clean core. We also talk about how this is delivered. CodeGenie runs on SAP Business Technology Platform, connects through standard APIs, and avoids intrusive add-ons. It is compatible with SAP S/4HANA, S/4HANA Cloud Private Edition through RISE with SAP, and on-premises ECC. Security comes first, with tenant isolation for each customer and no custom code shared externally or used for AI model training. The result is a setup that respects enterprise guardrails while still giving developers and architects fast answers. Clean core gets a plain explanation in this episode. Build outside the application with published APIs, keep upgrades predictable, and innovate at the edge where you can move quickly. CodeGenie gives you the visibility to make that real, surfacing what you actually run today and how it ties to outcomes, so you can design a migration roadmap that fits the business rather than guessing from stale documents. Leo also previews the Gen AI Starter Pack, launching September 9. It bundles a managed, model-flexible platform with workshops, use-case ideation, and initial builds, so teams can move from curiosity to working solutions without locking themselves into a single provider. Paired with CodeGenie and Syntax's development accelerators, the Starter Pack points toward something SAP leaders have wanted for years, a practical way to shift from in-core customizations to clean-core extensions with much less friction. If you are planning S/4HANA, balancing hybrid and multi-cloud realities, or simply tired of tribal knowledge around critical programs, this conversation is for you. We get specific about how CodeGenie works, where it saves time and cost, and how Syntax is shaping a playbook for AI that helps teams deliver results they can trust. ********* Visit the Sponsor of Tech Talks Network: Land your first job  in tech in 6 months as a Software QA Engineering Bootcamp with Careerist https://crst.co/OGCLA

Tired of boring PDFs and freebies that no one downloads?

This week's segments: 1. Lairs and Environments 2. Homebrewing "The Silver Lining" 3. Draft of Best Spells for Friendly NPCs to Cast (Lvl 4-6) Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/TotalPartySkill/home to get access to PDFs of our homebrew and see uncut video from the podcast! Plus, bonus content exclusive only to patrons! Subscribe for more weekly Dungeons & Dragons content! And follow us on our socials for previous draft videos and to learn more about us: Gabe -- @gabespan (TikTok, Instagram) George -- @dmgeorge_primavera (Instagram, TikTok) Dylan -- @whatcha_mccollum (Instagram)

Send us a textWhat's up PE Nation!Don't let kindergarten scare you!Teaching kindergarten PE requires a thoughtful approach centered on structure, simplicity, positive reinforcement, basic games, and genuine enjoyment. When these five elements come together, kindergarten classes transform from potentially chaotic experiences into joyful learning environments where young students thrive.• Structure forms the foundation for kindergarten success• Students need consistent routines and expectations• Keep instructions simple • Praise specific positive behaviors • Use tangible rewards • Stick to basic games • Have fun!Take care and happy teaching!DaveCheck out supersizedphysed.com for more resources, including free PDFs, articles, and courses to help with your kindergarten PE program. Please leave a review to help grow this podcast and keep pushing our profession forward.-Team Building Games Ebook (with preview): https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Team-Building-Games-and-Activities-for-PE-Class-14063095-Kindergarten PE Kickoff Guide: article-Free resources include Substack and Medium articles with PE tips, games, and strategies-A free video course on the "PE-9": principles for improving your PE program-High Fives and Empowering Lives  book available as an ebook or paperback-Paperback or download: HERE-Amazon Ebook: HEREPlease take 3.5 seconds to leave a review

Willkommen zu meinem Video über Deadlands, das legendäre Pen & Paper Setting für Savage Worlds!Deadlands vereint den Wilden Westen mit düsterem Horror, übernatürlichen Phänomenen und abgefahrener Technik. In dieser alternativen Geschichtswelt treffen Revolverhelden auf Geisterwesen, Mad Scientists bauen dampfbetriebene Maschinen, und finstere Mächte ziehen im Hintergrund die Fäden.In diesem Video gebe ich dir einen kompakten Überblick über das Setting, seine Besonderheiten und was Deadlands so einzigartig macht.Ab sofort kannst du das komplette Deadlands-Sortiment – Regelwerke, Abenteuer, Karten und vieles mehr – in meinem Webshop bestellen. Perfekt für alle, die den Weird West selbst erleben wollen.Jetzt reinschauen und loslegen: https://www.dans-abenteuerwelt.de/abenteuershop?Kategorie=DeadlandsDEADLANDS für Savage Worlds

This month's theme is BE STILL!Psalm 46:10Be still, and know that I am God(RSV2CE Translation)***2 SPOTS LEFT! PILGRIMAGE to Medjugorje and Croatia with Jackie Angel, Kim Zember, and Fr. Edwin Leonard September 20-29, 2025. See link below:https://selectinternationaltours.com/product/pilgrimage-to-medjugorje-with-kim-zember-jackie-francois-angel-and-fr-edwin-leonard/***“Memorize Scripture” Book NOW AVAILABLE!Get 10% off!Link to Order:https://avemariapress.com/?ref=JACKIE10PROMO CODE: JACKIE10****PATREON: For downloadable and printable PDFs of each scripture verse, support us on Patreon at Patreon.com/JackieandBobby at the $5/month level!

Motty Steinmetz (מוטי שטיינמץ) is a world-renowned Chassidic Jewish singer from Bnei Brak, cherished for his angelic voice, heartfelt niggunim, and soulful tefillos. Coming from a Vizhnitz chassidic family, he carries the mesorah of Jewish music that connects generations, blending old-world chassidish warmth with contemporary Jewish inspiration. His songs, drawn from Torah, tefillah, and pesukim, are filled with emunah, dveikus, and yiras Shamayim, reminding us that music is a vessel for avodas Hashem. Motty Steinmetz has become a leading voice in Jewish music, Hasidic niggunim, kumzitz gatherings, weddings, and concerts, uplifting klal Yisrael with sincerity and faith.Motty's new album!→ Spotify: http://bit.ly/41DwW7a→ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mottysteinmetzofficial/featured→ Album: https://album.link/EmunahUbitachon✬ SPONSORS OF THE EPISODE ✬► Smach Zevulun: Experience a Connection to Torah like Never BeforeIn Eretz Yisrael are thousands of Talmidei Chachamim who sacrifice every day to lead Torah lives. Abroad, there are those who work to earn an honest living, who are נהנה מיגיע כפיהם but wish to do more for Torah.Become a Partner Here → https://smachzevulun.com/► Feldheim: Top Books This MonthGet into the Elul mode with these best-sellers!Code INSPIRE for 10% OFFMaking of the Siddur→ https://bit.ly/4paW8MuOrchos Tzadikim Compact Edition→ https://bit.ly/3HVcTKTI Messed Up→ https://bit.ly/4m80elL► Tehillim Unveiled: Your Next PodcastDive into L'Dovid and actually know what is going on in your davening and tehillim.→ Spotify: https://sholink.to/LDovid-Spotify-LL→ YouTube: https://sholink.to/LDovid-Apple-LL► ShulSpace: Give Your Shul an AliyahSay goodbye to cloudy software that make simple things complicated. By speaking to hundreds of shuls, we've shaped a software that puts simple back into it's original intention. Powered by BitBean.Reach Out Here→ https://bit.ly/4kaTVN8► Wheels To Lease: #1 Car CompanyFor over 35 years, Wheels To Lease has offered stress-free car buying with upfront pricing, no hidden fees, and door-to-door delivery.Call today!→ CALL/TEXT: 718-871-8715→ EMAIL: inspire@wheelstolease.com→ WEB: https://bit.ly/41lnzYU→ WHATSAPP: https://wa.link/0w46ce►MusicOnTime.com: Your Source for Jewish Music.MusicOnTime brings you the latest Jewish singles, videos, wedding recordings, and album updates with previews, PDFs, and purchase links. Join on WhatsApp or Telegram:https://bit.ly/3JQ6Fwk✬ IN MEMORY OF ✬This episode is in memory of:​ Shimon Dovid ben Yaakov Shloima​ Miriam Sarah bas Yaakov Moshe​ Rachel Aliza bat OraThis episode is for the speedy recovery of:​ Yosef Chaim ben Devorah Chaya Golda​ Aviva Bracha bat OraHave a specific question? email us hi@livinglchaim.comLchaim.

A SPECIAL TREAT THIS WEEK, REFINER!!We're taking another little break from the very intense Season Two rewatch to talk to a couple of guys who know a LOT about 'Severance' Sound. Kick back and enjoy an animated discussion with Jacob Ribicoff and Bob Chefalas from the 'Severance' Sound Crew. Both of these guys are currently nominated for Emmys for their work on Severance. They know what they're talking about!We'll get into the tall weeds talking about everything that makes noise on 'Severance.' Heard about those elevator dings?? We'll get the lowdown from the guys who made them. It's the 'Severed' interview with the 'Severance' Sound Department!! Don't miss it!And speaking of elevator dings, if you'd like to watch the video I reference during the interview, here is a link. It's pretty awesome even if a lot of it was NOT intentional:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG26Tu_p_m8***A BIG 'thank you' to Research Volunteer/Producer Refiner Vinny P. Vinny has been providing outstanding research and information during the Season Two Rewatch Episodes.Huge thanks to Adam Scott, star of 'Severance' and host of the Severance Podcast for recording a custom intro for "Severed." Make sure to check out 'The Severance Podcast w/Ben Stiller & Adam Scott" wherever you found this one!A big 'thank you' to friend of the pod Kier Eagan, er I mean Marc Geller! Marc both sat for an interview (make sure to check it out) AND recorded some great bumpers as Kier himself. Follow Marc on Instagram @geller_marc.Support the show on Patreon! (Click here)APPLE PODCAST LISTENERS: If you are enjoying "Severed: The Ultimate 'Severance' Podcast" please make sure to leave a 5-star rating (and, if you want, a review telling others to give it a try). Higher rated podcasts get better placement in suggestion lists. It helps more "Severance" fans find the show. Thanks!!! (Unfortunately, I can't respond to any questions or comments made in Apple Podcast Reviews. Send those to: SeveredPod@gmail.com)Season 2 of "Severance" kicked off 1/17/2025 and ran through 3/20/2025. The Second Season of the "Severed" Podcast Rewatch Episodes kicked off on April 24th, 2025. To support the Severed Podcast: (www.patreon.com/SeveredPod) Join the fun on our Facebook page @SeveredPod. I always try to keep page followers  updated on news about the show. Also, let's talk!! Comments? Theories? Corrections? I LOVE 'EM!! Send to: SeveredPod@gmail.comPLEASE MAKE SURE TO SHARE THE PODCAST WITH YOUR FRIENDS WHO ARE 'SEVERANCE' FANS. THE SHOW GROWS THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH!!Needing your own copies of the Lexington Letter and Orientation Booklet? I've got you covered with downloadable PDFs of both documents:LETTER: LEXINGTONLETTER-TheLetter.pdf HANDBOOK: LEXINGTONLETTER-MDROrientationHandbook.pdfYou haven't completely watched 'Severance' until you've listened to 'Severed'.

Host Pierce Salguero sits down with Richard Saville-Smith, an independent scholar of madness, religion, and psychiatry. We discuss Richard's book Acute Religious Experiences (2023), which argues that frameworks from Mad Studies can get us out from under the academy's current habit of either pathologizing or sanitizing religious experiences. Along the way, we talk about the power struggle between psychiatry & the humanities, the influence of Queer Studies on Richard's work, and his reinterpretation of Jesus as a madman. If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show! Resources mentioned in this episode: Acute Religious Experiences: Madness, Psychosis and Religious Studies (2023) Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including PDFs of some of these resources. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University's Abington College, located near Philadelphia. www.piercesalguero.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychoanalysis

Host Pierce Salguero sits down with Richard Saville-Smith, an independent scholar of madness, religion, and psychiatry. We discuss Richard's book Acute Religious Experiences (2023), which argues that frameworks from Mad Studies can get us out from under the academy's current habit of either pathologizing or sanitizing religious experiences. Along the way, we talk about the power struggle between psychiatry & the humanities, the influence of Queer Studies on Richard's work, and his reinterpretation of Jesus as a madman. If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show! Resources mentioned in this episode: Acute Religious Experiences: Madness, Psychosis and Religious Studies (2023) Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including PDFs of some of these resources. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University's Abington College, located near Philadelphia. www.piercesalguero.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

n this August 2025 edition, we break down major regulatory shifts, essential training deadlines, and new tools to help pilots and instructors stay ahead. Sport Pilot Regulations Update – Two new FAA draft Advisory Circulars (AC 61-146 & AC 61-65K) are out for public comment. These clarify aircraft privileges and reshape how CFIs train Sport Pilots. Proficiency Checks Ending Oct 22 – Big change: after Oct 22, you'll need a DPE or ASI to add Sport Pilot airplane or helicopter privileges. Until then, you can still use the 2-CFI method. NAFI Summit Preview – Mark your calendar: the 2025 NAFI Summit is Sept 21–23 in Akron, Ohio, with sessions focused on CFIs, examiners, and training trends. Private Pilot ACS SmartStudy PRO – Launching in early September, this audio-first prep course covers the full ACS—ideal for flight review or checkride prep during your commute. Includes companion PDFs and optional video. ProTips Why training momentum matters How to trim efficiently The difference between slipping and skidding stalls—and which one leads to a spin Resources → Comment on the AC drafts: [FAA.gov] → SmartStudy PRO early access: [cfibootcamp.com] → NAFI Summit info: nafisummit.org/attendee-info

Host Pierce Salguero sits down with Richard Saville-Smith, an independent scholar of madness, religion, and psychiatry. We discuss Richard's book Acute Religious Experiences (2023), which argues that frameworks from Mad Studies can get us out from under the academy's current habit of either pathologizing or sanitizing religious experiences. Along the way, we talk about the power struggle between psychiatry & the humanities, the influence of Queer Studies on Richard's work, and his reinterpretation of Jesus as a madman. If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show! Resources mentioned in this episode: Acute Religious Experiences: Madness, Psychosis and Religious Studies (2023) Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including PDFs of some of these resources. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University's Abington College, located near Philadelphia. www.piercesalguero.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Host Pierce Salguero sits down with Richard Saville-Smith, an independent scholar of madness, religion, and psychiatry. We discuss Richard's book Acute Religious Experiences (2023), which argues that frameworks from Mad Studies can get us out from under the academy's current habit of either pathologizing or sanitizing religious experiences. Along the way, we talk about the power struggle between psychiatry & the humanities, the influence of Queer Studies on Richard's work, and his reinterpretation of Jesus as a madman. If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show! Resources mentioned in this episode: Acute Religious Experiences: Madness, Psychosis and Religious Studies (2023) Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including PDFs of some of these resources. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University's Abington College, located near Philadelphia. www.piercesalguero.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Host Pierce Salguero sits down with Richard Saville-Smith, an independent scholar of madness, religion, and psychiatry. We discuss Richard's book Acute Religious Experiences (2023), which argues that frameworks from Mad Studies can get us out from under the academy's current habit of either pathologizing or sanitizing religious experiences. Along the way, we talk about the power struggle between psychiatry & the humanities, the influence of Queer Studies on Richard's work, and his reinterpretation of Jesus as a madman. If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show! Resources mentioned in this episode: Acute Religious Experiences: Madness, Psychosis and Religious Studies (2023) Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including PDFs of some of these resources. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University's Abington College, located near Philadelphia. www.piercesalguero.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Host Pierce Salguero sits down with Richard Saville-Smith, an independent scholar of madness, religion, and psychiatry. We discuss Richard's book Acute Religious Experiences (2023), which argues that frameworks from Mad Studies can get us out from under the academy's current habit of either pathologizing or sanitizing religious experiences. Along the way, we talk about the power struggle between psychiatry & the humanities, the influence of Queer Studies on Richard's work, and his reinterpretation of Jesus as a madman. If you want to hear scholars and practitioners engaging in deep conversations about the dark side of Asian religions and medicines, then subscribe to Black Beryl wherever you get your podcasts. Also check out our members-only benefits on Substack.com to see what our guests have shared with you. Enjoy the show! Resources mentioned in this episode: Acute Religious Experiences: Madness, Psychosis and Religious Studies (2023) Become a paid subscriber on blackberyl.substack.com to unlock our members-only benefits, including PDFs of some of these resources. Pierce Salguero is a transdisciplinary scholar of health humanities who is fascinated by historical and contemporary intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and crosscultural exchange. He has a Ph.D. in History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (2010), and teaches Asian history, medicine, and religion at Penn State University's Abington College, located near Philadelphia. www.piercesalguero.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Why does B2B influencer marketing feel so chaotic right now?

Gaeilge Weekly

Gaeilge Weekly

Gaeilge Weekly

Man's nature and purpose are not according to the autonomous will of man but determined, ordained, and commanded by the sovereignty of God. A biblical worldview affirms the sovereignty of God over all of creation, including man, but the world claims that each person has total autonomy, independent of any authority. Genesis 1:26-31 testifies to the creation of man and man's nature and purpose.In the sermon from Genesis 1:26-31, Pastor Ben explains that God's creation of man demands that you honor every human life as God's image bearer, be a good steward of God's creation, and submit to God's authority to create and command.Find Out More:Ben Smith is the pastor of Central Baptist Church, Waycross, GA.Additional podcasts, books, and downloadable PDFs of Pastor Ben's sermon outlines and manuscripts are available at http://bensmithsr.org.You can find information about Central Baptist Church at cbcwaycross.org.Special thanks to David Carnes for his beautiful rendition of This Is My Father's World from the album Journey… a Praise Offering. You can explore this recording and more of his music at Apple Music.This sermon was originally preached on 8/24/2025.

Host Aydin Mirzaee welcomes Marquis Murray, productivity consultant and YouTuber, to share how AI agents are transforming day-to-day work. Marquis walks through live demos connecting Claude to Asana via MCP to auto-build projects from transcripts, generate executive-ready status PDFs, and create “AI teammates” in Asana that triage requests, draft briefs, write emails/blogs, and route approvals—keeping humans in the loop. Once you see it, you won't go back to manual setup.Timestamps0:06 – Why manual project planning is over; AI compresses weeks into minutes.0:17 – Introducing Marquis Murray.0:43 – Starting the YouTube channel during lockdowns; documenting Asana learnings.2:06 – From corporate to consulting; helping teams adopt Asana, HubSpot, Zoom, Slack.4:05 – Making companies more productive with AI and integrations.4:53 – Today's plan: Claude + Asana + agents.6:06 – Using Claude as a “central AI” via MCP.8:17 – Building a Customer Appreciation Event project in Asana directly from Claude.12:20 – Custom fields/sections: what connectors can and can't create.13:06 – Finished example: phases, tasks, owners, dates.14:05 – Feeding transcripts and docs to generate realistic demo projects.19:05 – “If you're not doing this yet, start today.”19:42 – Pulling Asana status into Claude and exporting a polished PDF.23:34 – Exec-friendly reports: progress bars, metrics, priorities.24:50 – Asana AI Studio: agents as virtual teammates.27:23 – Auto-correcting human errors: naming, missing info, duplicates.29:02 – Agents rename tasks, create briefs, draft assets.35:42 – Agents gatekeep incomplete requests; ask for specifics.37:13 – AI-generated campaign brief, email, and blog drafts.39:08 – Human-in-the-loop approvals before going live.43:01 – Triage demo: vague video request → structured follow-ups.45:25 – Auto-created subtasks to collect missing details.46:33 – “Easy mode” for building agents with natural language.47:03 – Marquis's wish: a true AI chief of staff that restructures your day.48:56 – Where to find Marquis's tutorials; wrap-up.Tools & Technologies MentionedAsana — Project management platform; AI Studio builds rule/LLM agents (“teammates”).Claude (Anthropic) — AI assistant used for brainstorming, MCP connections, summaries.Perplexity — AI search and research assistant.HubSpot / Salesforce / Jira — CRM/dev tools commonly integrated with Asana workflows.Zoom & Slack — Core collaboration stack surfaced during remote shift.MCP (Model Context Protocol) — Lets LLMs securely interact with external tools like Asana.Fellow.ai — AI meeting assistant for accurate summaries, action items, and insights.Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Canva — Connected apps Claude can use to orchestrate work.Subscribe at⁠ thisnewway.com⁠ to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.

Think you know Adobe Acrobat? Think again! Chad and Dax pull back the curtain on the most misunderstood Acrobat features, busting myths about tag trees, reading order, and common mistakes that trip up even seasoned pros. Get practical, real-world advice on cleaning up your tags, using the right tools (and avoiding the wrong ones), and ensuring your PDFs are truly accessible. Whether you're a document novice or a seasoned remediator, these rapid-fire tips will save you time, headaches, and frustration.

NotebookLM transforms how we work with documents by turning any PDF, YouTube video, or audio file into multiple AI-powered formats with zero prompting required. In this hands-on demo, see how Google's source-grounded AI instantly creates professional 6-minute video summaries, interactive podcasts where you can interrupt and ask questions, visual mind maps for exploring concepts, comprehensive study guides with quizzes, and chronological timelines from your uploaded content. Unlike ChatGPT, NotebookLM never hallucinates because it only references your sources, making it perfect for analyzing research papers, creating course materials, conducting competitive analysis, or synthesizing hours of content into minutes. Real examples show 75% time savings in document analysis, Walter Isaacson using it for biography research, and Element451 creating complete employee onboarding from company documents - proving NotebookLM is the breakthrough tool for anyone drowning in information who needs actionable insights.Back to School Season and Why NotebookLM Matters (00:00:06)Discussion about the start of the school year and its significanceThe class of 2026 as the first to graduate having used ChatGPT throughout collegeIntroduction to NotebookLM as Google's AI-powered research and thinking partnerSetting the stage for practical demonstrations of game-changing featuresWhat Makes NotebookLM Revolutionary (00:05:07)Source-driven design that eliminates AI hallucinationsZero web knowledge - complete focus on your uploaded documentsBuilt on Gemini models but grounded strictly on your sourcesDirect citations and accuracy that ChatGPT can't match for document analysisNotebookLM Interface and Capabilities Overview (00:07:42)Sources panel supporting 50+ documents in pro versionAutomatic summary generation upon any document uploadThe Studio feature that creates multiple asset types instantlySupport for PDFs, audio files, YouTube videos, websites, Google DocsPowerful Real-World Applications at Element451 (00:15:47)Complete employee onboarding packages from company documentsLeadership assessment interpretation from multiple Hogan personality testsCreating interconnected insights from disparate sourcesGenerating training materials that would take weeks in minutesLive Demo: Instant Video Creation from PDF (00:19:30)Loading "Driving Toward a Degree 2025" report demonstration6-minute professional video generated without any promptingMultimedia output with synchronized audio and visual elementsFine-tuning options for specific chapters or topicsRevolutionary Interactive Podcast Feature (00:25:33)AI-generated conversational podcasts from any documentLive interaction where users can interrupt and ask questionsReal-time dialogue with AI hosts about document contentPerfect for learning complex materials through conversationMind Map Navigation for Complex Documents (00:30:29)Visual hierarchy of all document concepts and relationshipsInteractive exploration revealing hidden connectionsDeep-diving capability with automatic source citationsPattern discovery that human readers might missInstant Study Guide and Assessment Generation (00:35:23)Complete study materials created in secondsQuiz generation with answers for immediate useComprehensive glossaries for specialized terminologyFaculty saving entire summers of prep workAdvanced Asset Creation: Timelines and FAQs (00:42:36)Chronological timeline extraction from multiple documentsFAQ generation that took agencies weeks now done instantlyBriefing documents for executive summariesLLM-ready content for chatbot trainingCollaboration and Sharing Capabilities (00:44:38)Share entire notebooks with classes or teamsCreate departmental resources accessible to allPrivacy-protected individual workspacesPerfect for distributed learning environmentsGame-Changing Professional Use Cases (00:46:45)Walter Isaacson analyzing Marie Curie's journals for biographyCreative professionals discovering unconscious patterns in their workFantasy writers maintaining consistency across complex worldsChief Strategy Officer achieving 75% reduction in analysis timeNotebookLM for Learning and Training (00:51:21)Converting 3-4 hours of Kubernetes training into digestible segmentsFinding specific moments in hours of YouTube contentJob interview prep using company websites and descriptionsCompetitive intelligence from competitor materialsWhy NotebookLM Changes Everything (00:56:29)The shift from searching to synthesizing informationElement451's complete adoption for internal processesHow source-focused AI eliminates misinformationThe future of personalized, interactive learning experiences - - - -Connect With Our Co-Hosts:Ardis Kadiuhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ardis/https://twitter.com/ardisDr. JC Bonillahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jcbonilla/https://twitter.com/jbonillxAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:Generation AI is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you'll like other Enrollify shows too! Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — The AI Workforce Platform for Higher Ed. Learn more at element451.com.

JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more:⁠ ⁠https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep155Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!Most coffee shops struggle to grow, but we share how we went from $87 pop-up days to cafés on track for $1M each. We talk about the simple things that actually get people through the door—like guest experience, location, and staying consistent—plus plenty of laughs and stories from along the way. If you've ever wondered what it takes to keep a coffee shop alive (and thriving), this one's for you.This week's episode is brought to you by our friends at Odeko: Use our code VALOR10 for 10% off your first supply order! Hit the link below to sign up now:n https://portal.odeko.com/signup*If you purchase something through one of our links, we may be entitled to a share of the sale*Buy Valor Coffee: ⁠⁠https://valor.coffee/shop?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep155Watch on Youtube: ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/valorcoffee16⁠⁠Want to become a Wholesale Partner? Email us at wholesale@valor.coffee to set up an account!Want to send us coffee? Have a question you want to answer on the show? Send us an email to info@valor.coffeeWant to get your business in front of more people? We partnered with Local Eyes Growth to grow our business through SEO and the results have been incredible. Local Eyes is offering a FREE backlink ($300 value) to Valor Coffee Podcast listeners who partner through our exclusive link. Visit ⁠⁠https://localeyesgrowth.com/valor⁠⁠ to get the ball rolling!Follow the Valor Coffee Podcast on Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/valorcoffeepod⁠⁠Follow Valor on Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/valor.coffee⁠⁠Subscribe to Riley's YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@rileywestbrook⁠⁠Follow Riley:  ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/rileywestbrook⁠⁠Follow Ross: ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/rosswalters⁠⁠Follow Ethan's Parody Account:  ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/ethanrivers777

Want the full episode + supporting PDFs? Join my podcast coaching program, The Elevate Insider. Get your first month free by clicking here. The Salon Owner Blueprint & My Salon Owner Community: https://www.opulentbeautypro.com/blueprint 12 Week Training Program: https://www.opulentbeautypro.com/training 1 On 1 Coaching: https://www.opulentbeautypro.com/coaching Hands-On & Virtual Extension Education: https://www.opulentbeautypro.com/extensions Social Media Support: https://www.opulentbeautypro.com/socialmedia Free Education: https://www.opulentbeautypro.com/free Socials: Business Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opulentbeautypro/Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricia_nowakowski_obs/#YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@opulentbeautypro/featured To download today's PDF that will help you support independent stylists going back to a commission salon, click here: https://www.opulentbeautypro.com/offers/ByTUtzph/checkout Over the last 3 months, I've had not one... not two... but three independent stylist start working for me at my commission salon. With the rise of independent stylists and suite rental over the last 5 years, I was curious why they decided to make the switch back to commission. And I took it a step further: I asked them why they decided to choose my salon over all the other salons in the area. Their answers were honest and clear. Doing everything on your own isn't easy, and sometimes the payout isn't worth it. I share my thoughts and how we can support independent stylists who want to go back to a commission salon in this episode!

This week's segments: 1. Lorekeeping & Notetaking  2. Homebrewing "The Unspeakable Truth" 3. Draft of Best Spells for Friendly NPCs to Cast (Cantrips- Lvl 3) Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/TotalPartySkill/home to get access to PDFs of our homebrew and see uncut video from the podcast! Plus, bonus content exclusive only to patrons! Subscribe for more weekly Dungeons & Dragons content! And follow us on our socials for previous draft videos and to learn more about us: Gabe -- @gabespan (TikTok, Instagram) George -- @dmgeorge_primavera (Instagram, TikTok) Dylan -- @whatcha_mccollum (Instagram) Dani -- @thisdanicarr (Instagram)

Send us a textWhat's up PE Nation!Today we dive deep into "Level 3" equipment for physical education programs, exploring how to dream big and significantly elevate your PE offerings beyond the basics. From securing $9,000 obstacle courses to writing effective grants, this episode provides a roadmap for transforming your program with strategic equipment investments.• Define your "why" before investing in major equipment• Create a list of "moonshot" equipment dreams you'd like to pursue• Focus on equipment that benefits many students simultaneously• Write effective grants by demonstrating educational impact through pre/post testing• Partner with school foundations, PTOs, and local businesses for funding• Think beyond traditional PE equipment to create unique, memorable experiences• Don't let rejections stop you from pursuing program-enhancing equipment• Ensure equipment aligns with your program vision and curriculum needs• Transform teaching from a job into a passionate career through strategic investmentsTake care and happy teaching,Dave Please take 3.5 seconds to leave a reviewArticle on Level 3 Equipment with checklistBeg, Borrow, Build and Steal ebook with links, Free game PDFs and my personal grant writing files: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Beg-Borrow-Build-and-Steal-Equipment-13063549Join my Substack newsletter, where I share PE tips, games and strategies.FREE E-Book on setting up your PE programMy website: https://www.supersizedphysed.comPlease take 3.5 seconds to leave a review

This month's theme is DELIGHT!***2 SPOTS LEFT! PILGRIMAGE to Medjugorje and Croatia with Jackie Angel, Kim Zember, and Fr. Edwin Leonard September 20-29, 2025. See link below:https://selectinternationaltours.com/product/pilgrimage-to-medjugorje-with-kim-zember-jackie-francois-angel-and-fr-edwin-leonard/***“Memorize Scripture” Book NOW AVAILABLE!Get 10% off!Link to Order:https://avemariapress.com/?ref=JACKIE10PROMO CODE: JACKIE10****PATREON: For downloadable and printable PDFs of each scripture verse, support us on Patreon at Patreon.com/JackieandBobby at the $5/month level!

This week Eden and Peter dive into William Friedkin's gritty 1977 thriller Sorcerer, a tense and sweat-soaked remake of The Wages of Fear. They talk through the film's nihilistic worldview, Friedkin's unrelenting direction, and Tangerine Dream's eerie score that pushes the movie into fever-dream territory. Along the way, they share personal stories of how the film lingered in memory for decades, debate whether Sorcerer deserved its original flop status, and marvel at the sheer intensity of the bridge sequence. They also connect the film to broader cultural legacies—from the shadow of Star Wars to the way cult classics find redemption years later.Show NotesOpening catch-upSummer weather updates and life events.Peter finishes Donkey Kong Bonanza and shares thoughts on Taskmaster series 7 vs 8.Music chat: new Deftones (Private Music), Testament's upcoming Parabellum, and the death of Mastodon's Brett Hinds.Work & reading tangents Eden's deep dive into accessibility struggles with LaTeX, Pandoc, and PDFs (“the world's worst file format”).Reading The Apothecary Diaries and Azumanga Daioh; comparisons with Nichijo and City.Listening to Tangerine Dream's catalog and soundtrack prep for the film.Imperfect Practice launch Peter introduces his new blog and YouTube channel, “Imperfect Practice,” focused on experiments with productivity, journaling, and workflows.Main Event: SorcererEden's blind pick, Peter's buried childhood memory of the Tangerine Dream LP, and initial impressions.Full plot breakdown with detailed discussion of:The four opening vignettes.Building the trucks and loading unstable dynamite.The infamous 12-minute bridge sequence.The brutal downer ending and themes of fate and nihilism.Discussion of the title Sorcerer (why it's terrible, Friedkin's explanation).Behind-the-scenes misery, budget overruns, and authenticity (actors did most of their own stunts).The soundtrack's role in creating alienation and tension.Release woes: arriving weeks after Star Wars and being critically panned before decades-later reevaluation into cult-classic canon.Wrap-up Reflections on its heavy but unforgettable impact.LinksImperfect PracticeImperfect Practice on YouTube

From London, England...A tech tip about four different tools for working with PDFs, including apps for sharing, editing, and using AI to extract data.Some concise advice about how to use feedback frameworks, or scripts, to effectively hold employees accountable and deliver feedback without drama or emotional reactions.00:00 Location Update01:23 Tech Tip06:49 Concise Advice13:59 Wrapping up

Welcome to the Part Time Pilot Audio Ground School Podcast! This podcast releases a 2 new episodes every week on Mondays and Wednesdays. Every Monday, we release an episode that is the next lesson of our IFR Online Ground School. Every Wednesday, we release an episode that is the next lesson of our Private Pilot Online Ground School.    We are working our way through both Online Ground Schools for students to listen to ground school for FREE! If you don't want to wait for new podcasts or you don't want to hear ads or course updates, you can join us in our VIP podcast. In order to join the VIP podcast, you must purchase our Online Ground School. When you do, you'll get sent an email invite to the VIP podcast to download and listen on your favorite podcast app, plus all the amazing lifetime features inside our Online Ground Schools (lessons, videos, audio, quizzes, practice tests, flash cards, test prep PDFs, grade tracking, digital notes, trained AI instructor chat, 7-day a week email support, online study group, scholarships and more).    The #1 reason student pilots never end up becoming a private pilot is NOT due to money. The real reason is actually deeper than that. Yes, flight training is expensive. But every student pilot knows this and budgets for it when they decide to do it.   The actual #1 reason a student pilot fails is because they do not have a good, fundamental understanding of the private pilot knowledge they are meant to learn in ground school.    You see when a student does not have a good grasp of this knowledge they get to a point in their flight training where their mind just can't keep up. They start making mistakes and having to redo lessons. And THAT is when it starts getting too expensive.    This audio ground school is meant for the modern day student pilot... aka the part time student pilot. Let's face it, the majority of us have full time responsibilities on top of flight training. Whether it is a job, kids, family, school, etc. we all keep ourselves busy with the things that are important to us. And with today's economy we have to maintain that job just to pay for the training. The modern day student pilot is busy, on the go and always trying to find time throughout his or her day to stay up on their studies. The audio ground school allows them to consume high quality content while walking, running, working out, sitting in traffic, traveling, or even just a break from the boring FAR/AIM or ground school lecture.    Did I meant high quality content? The audio ground school is taken straight out of the 5-star rated Part Time Pilot Online Ground School that has had over 2000 students take and pass their Private Pilot & IFR exams with only 2 total students failing the written. That's a 99.9% success rate! And the 2 that failed? We refunded their cost of ground school and helped them pass on their second attempt. We do this by keeping ground school engaging, fun, light and consumable. We have written lessons, videos, audio lessons, live video lessons, community chats, quizzes, practice tests, flash cards, study guides, eBooks and much more.   Part Time Pilot was created to be a breath of fresh air for student pilots. To be that flight training provider that looks out for them and their needs. So that is just what we are doing with this podcast.    Private Pilot - Section 5 - Lesson #7: In this lesson, we talk about dew point and clouds. Understanding the dew point can be a useful tool for student pilots and help you even estimate the height of clouds. Then, we talk about the different types of clouds but most importantly the hazardous weather associated with each.    Links mentioned in the episode: Online Ground School: https://parttimepilot.com/private-pilot-online-ground-school/?utm_source=podcast Free How to Become a Private Pilot course: https://parttimepilot.com/free-how-to-become-a-pilot/ Video on How to Calculate Cloud Base with Electronic E6B: https://youtu.be/giJo2NuCRy8  Recommend Electronic E6B Calculator: https://amzn.to/3XjJHjj    Recommended Products & Discounts: https://parttimepilot.com/recommended-products-for-student-pilots/    Private Pilot Ultimate Flash Card book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NKd0bu Private Pilot Ultimate Test Prep book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AqpPER Private Pilot Ultimate Oral Prep Questions book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4flgQ75

Adobe has opened a new door on their AI strategy, unveiling a new AI service for PDFs. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius. Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and Norbert Frassa weigh its usefulness against privacy risks and academic research tools. They discuss the Dia browser's pricey subscription model, compare trends in $20–$25 monthly services, and question long-term sustainability. Finally, just for fun, the panel has thoughts on a foldable phone durability test and how it compares to probable real world use.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the come “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Adobe's new PDF AI hub and first impressions[2:28] Enterprise-level document analysis and consumer use[5:35] Privacy concerns and proprietary data risks with Adobe[9:10] Academic research tools like Elicit compared[10:43] PDF history and standards discussion[14:06] Launch of the DIA browser and subscription costs[15:32] Comparing AI services, subscriptions, and pricing strategies[18:11] Subscription fatigue and streaming service parallels[19:40] Fun segment: foldable phone durability test[21:55] Real-world math on folding use cases[23:09] Humor and closing reflections on tech hype Links: Acrobat Studio is Adobe's new AI-powered hub for PDFshttps://www.engadget.com/ai/acrobat-studio-is-adobes-new-ai-powered-hub-for-pdfs-130003264.html The Dia browser now offers a $20/month subscription planhttps://9to5mac.com/2025/08/07/the-dia-browser-now-offers-a-20-month-subscription-plan/ What happens when you fold a Galaxy Z Fold 7 200,000 times? Creaking, leaking, and crashinghttps://www.macworld.com/article/2870354/what-happens-when-you-fold-a-galaxy-z-fold-7-200000-times-creaking-leaking-and-crashing.html Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Norbert Frassa is a technology “man about town.” Follow him on Twitter and see what he's up to. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon     http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:     http://macvoices.com      Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner     http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:     https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:     https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:     https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes     Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Adobe has opened a new door on their AI strategy, unveiling a new AI service for PDFs. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Jim Rea, Web Bixby, and Norbert Frassa weigh its usefulness against privacy risks and academic research tools. They discuss the Dia browser's pricey subscription model, compare trends in $20–$25 monthly services, and question long-term sustainability. Finally, just for fun, the panel has thoughts on a foldable phone durability test and how it compares to probable real world use.  Today's MacVoices is supported by Insta360 and their new GO Ultra, the tiny 4K camera that goes everywhere with you. Visit store.Insta360.com and use the come “MacVoices” for a free set of Sticky Tabs. Show Notes: Chapters: [0:00] Adobe's new PDF AI hub and first impressions [2:28] Enterprise-level document analysis and consumer use [5:35] Privacy concerns and proprietary data risks with Adobe [9:10] Academic research tools like Elicit compared [10:43] PDF history and standards discussion [14:06] Launch of the DIA browser and subscription costs [15:32] Comparing AI services, subscriptions, and pricing strategies [18:11] Subscription fatigue and streaming service parallels [19:40] Fun segment: foldable phone durability test [21:55] Real-world math on folding use cases[23:09] Humor and closing reflections on tech hype Links: Acrobat Studio is Adobe's new AI-powered hub for PDFs https://www.engadget.com/ai/acrobat-studio-is-adobes-new-ai-powered-hub-for-pdfs-130003264.html The Dia browser now offers a $20/month subscription plan https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/07/the-dia-browser-now-offers-a-20-month-subscription-plan/ What happens when you fold a Galaxy Z Fold 7 200,000 times? Creaking, leaking, and crashing https://www.macworld.com/article/2870354/what-happens-when-you-fold-a-galaxy-z-fold-7-200000-times-creaking-leaking-and-crashing.html Guests: Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky. Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast. Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud. Norbert Frassa is a technology “man about town.” Follow him on Twitter and see what he's up to. Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet. David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud. Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC). Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon. Support:      Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon      http://patreon.com/macvoices      Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal Connect:      Web:      http://macvoices.com      Twitter:      http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner      http://www.twitter.com/macvoices      Mastodon:      https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner      Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner      MacVoices Page on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/      MacVoices Group on Facebook:      http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice      LinkedIn:      https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/      Instagram:      https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/ Subscribe:      Audio in iTunes      Video in iTunes      Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:      Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss      Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Portable Document Format (PDF) files are commonly used to share information across multiple platforms and are often required in school and employment settings. Objectives: We'll provide an overview of PDFs, discuss multiple ways to access, read, and interact with them, plus show you how to: Set the default application for opening PDFs Set Adobe Reader accessibility settings Process an untagged document Search for text in a PDF Change reading order on-the-fly Open a PDF in Word Freedom Scientific Presenters: Elizabeth Whitaker and Rachel Buchanan

AWS's Daniele Stroppa, Worldwide Technical Lead for AWS partners in retail, joins us to announce August's retail tech startup of the month: Vody. Daniele breaks down how Vody makes data ready for AI and AI agents through their intelligent data infrastructure solutions. Unlike typical approaches that tackle product discoverability with chatbots or search improvements, Vody addresses the challenge at its foundation – the data itself. Their sophisticated system transforms messy product catalogs into AI-optimized data using state-of-the-art multimodal large language models specifically fine-tuned for retail.

JOIN THE VALOR COFFEE COMMUNITY – Courses, Exclusive Videos, PDFs, Spreadsheets and more:⁠ ⁠https://community.valor.coffee?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep154Thanks for listening, following/subscribing, giving us a good review, and sharing with your friends on social media. It goes a long way!In this week's episode, the boys take a little detour to Starbucks before hitting the studio. They try out a lineup of Starbucks drinks (mostly recommended by their wives), share what they genuinely enjoy about the coffee giant, and dive into why the specialty coffee world often has a love-hate relationship with them. Join us for a unconventional taste test and some honest coffee talk from a specialty coffee perspective.This week's episode is brought to you by our friends at Odeko: Use our code VALOR10 for 10% off your first supply order! Hit the link below to sign up now!https://portal.odeko.com/signup*If you purchase something through one of our links, we may be entitled to a share of the sale*Buy Valor Coffee: ⁠⁠https://valor.coffee/shop?utm_source=spotify&utm_campaign=ep154Watch on Youtube: ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/valorcoffee16⁠⁠Want to become a Wholesale Partner? Email us at wholesale@valor.coffee to set up an account!Want to send us coffee? Have a question you want to answer on the show? Send us an email to info@valor.coffeeWant to get your business in front of more people? We partnered with Local Eyes Growth to grow our business through SEO and the results have been incredible. Local Eyes is offering a FREE backlink ($300 value) to Valor Coffee Podcast listeners who partner through our exclusive link. Visit ⁠⁠https://localeyesgrowth.com/valor⁠⁠ to get the ball rolling!Follow the Valor Coffee Podcast on Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/valorcoffeepod⁠⁠Follow Valor on Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/valor.coffee⁠⁠Subscribe to Riley's YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@rileywestbrook⁠⁠Follow Riley:  ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/rileywestbrook⁠⁠Follow Ross: ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/rosswalters⁠⁠Follow Ethan's Parody Account:  ⁠⁠https://instagram.com/ethanrivers777

This week's segments: 1. Differences of Running a Limited Session Campaign or an Ongoing Campaign 2. Homebrewing "The College of Business" Bard Subclass 3. Draft of Pokemon that would make the Best D&D Monsters (Gen IX) Support us on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/c/TotalPartySkill/home to get access to PDFs of our homebrew and see uncut video from the podcast! Plus, bonus content exclusive only to patrons! Subscribe for more weekly Dungeons & Dragons content! And follow us on our socials for previous draft videos and to learn more about us: Gabe -- @gabespan (TikTok, Instagram) George -- @dmgeorge_primavera (Instagram, TikTok) Dylan -- @whatcha_mccollum (Instagram)

STOP THINKING AND DO IT. With the device in hand, the crew must find their way out of the GS&S Laboratory. Shadows of a dark past continue to linger over Kabu, Mac's babyfieber finally wins out, and Merik finds a flamethrower.The Homebrew crew is Grant Mielke, Andi Hadfield, Cody Smith, Emily Foulger, Mike Kennel, John Caley, and Tyrell Nye. We are currently engaged in our 3rd campaign: Beneath the Cracked Sky!You can support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://patreon.com/TheHomebrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Campaign 1: Absurdism and a Millennium Abroad and Campaign 2: Retrograde Infinitum (Played on Cyberpunk Red) and a TON more bonus episodes, PDFs, artwork, and extras are available, along with member recognition! Join the discord at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/TheHomebrewPodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check us out on Twitch! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitch.tv/thehomebrewnetwork⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Merch and other links at⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thehomebrewpodcast.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review, make sure you're following or subscribed, and share with your friends!

This month's theme is DELIGHT!Isaiah 62:4"No more shall you be called “Forsaken,”nor your land called “Desolate,”But you shall be called “My Delight is in her,”and your land “Espoused.”For the LORD delights in you,and your land shall be espoused."(NAB Translation)***2 SPOTS LEFT! PILGRIMAGE to Medjugorje and Croatia with Jackie Angel, Kim Zember, and Fr. Edwin Leonard September 20-29, 2025. See link below:https://selectinternationaltours.com/product/pilgrimage-to-medjugorje-with-kim-zember-jackie-francois-angel-and-fr-edwin-leonard/***“Memorize Scripture” Book NOW AVAILABLE!Get 10% off!Link to Order:https://avemariapress.com/?ref=JACKIE10PROMO CODE: JACKIE10****PATREON: For downloadable and printable PDFs of each scripture verse, support us on Patreon at Patreon.com/JackieandBobby at the $5/month level!

Are you ready to take your English pronunciation to the next level? We're offering 10 full scholarships for lifetime access to New Sound, my transformative 12-week pronunciation coaching program. This is your chance to get world-class training and personal support, all completely free! Apply here: https://hadarshemesh.com/scholarship What does the scholarship include? Lifetime access to the New Sound program 12 on-demand video modules with lessons, PDFs, audio recordings, and quizzes 12 weeks of live coaching with a supportive community for extra guidance 12 weeks of HadarAI, your digital fluency coach available 24/7 Exclusive bonuses and mini-trainings tailored just for New Sound students Apply here: https://hadarshemesh.com/scholarship Get on the New Sound waitlist to be notified when we open doors in September: https://bit.ly/3I9wNkY

Sarah Franklin from Lulu teaches us how to turn our content into professional-quality books that build our brand and create new revenue streams. Sarah is the Public Relations Manager for Lulu.com, the publishing and print on demand company started in 2002 by Red Hat Founder Bob Young. Her primary role is to educate creators about the benefits of Lulu. With over 16 years experience in the publishing industry, Sarah is passionate about helping authors find ways to connect with their audience. In previous roles, she led author public relations campaigns and coached many more in preparation for their book launches. She lives in Raleigh with her family. Publishing a cookbook does not have to mean chasing a traditional book deal or managing inventory from your garage. Sarah shares how food bloggers can use Lulu's print-on-demand platform to create beautiful, flexible products without the hassle. From simple PDFs to polished spiral-bound books, this episode will help you see your content in a whole new light. Key points discussed include: - Cookbooks increase your authority: A printed book helps establish your expertise and leaves a lasting impression on your audience. - Print on demand keeps things simple: Skip the upfront investment and sell only when someone places an order. - Customize every detail: Choose your format, binding, paper type, and more to match your brand and audience preferences. - You can start small: A holiday collection, themed mini book, or even a recipe calendar is a great way to begin. - Revenue stays in your hands: You keep the profits instead of splitting them with publishers or distributors. - Publishing is easier than you think: All you need is a PDF of your book and cover, and Lulu provides templates to guide the process. - Marketing starts early: Build momentum before launch with pre-release buzz, giveaways, and local media outreach. - You are qualified right now: You do not need permission or a giant audience to publish something valuable. Connect with Sarah Franklin Website | Instagram

WELCOME BACK, REFINER! It's time to re-open "Chikhai Bardo'!Mark is still unconscious. Other than him being a slug on the sad couch, there is a LOT happening in this episode! We're flashing back...and then forward...then back again. This time out we're going to witness the blooming love affair between Mark Scout and the woman we onliy know as 'Gemma.' We get to MEET Gemma!We're going to hang out on the testing floor. We'll have dinner with Devon and Ricken back before Ricken was so weird. We've got tons of set dec, some random trivia about Mt. Everest and...watchers!What are you waiting for, Refiner?? Open the file called "Chikhai Bardo-PT02"!! ***A BIG 'thank you' to Research Volunteer Refiner Vinny P. Vinny has been providing outstanding research and information during the Season Two Rewatch Episodes.Huge thanks to Adam Scott, star of 'Severance' and host of the Severance Podcast for recording a custom intro for "Severed." Make sure to check out 'The Severance Podcast w/Ben Stiller & Adam Scott" wherever you found this one!A big 'thank you' to friend of the pod Kier Eagan, er I mean Marc Geller! Marc both sat for an interview (make sure to check it out) AND recorded some great bumpers as Kier himself. Follow Marc on Instagram @geller_marc.Support the show on Patreon! (Click here)APPLE PODCAST LISTENERS: If you are enjoying "Severed: The Ultimate 'Severance' Podcast" please make sure to leave a 5-star rating (and, if you want, a review telling others to give it a try). Higher rated podcasts get better placement in suggestion lists. It helps more "Severance" fans find the show. Thanks!!! (Unfortunately, I can't respond to any questions or comments made in Apple Podcast Reviews. Send those to: SeveredPod@gmail.com)Season 2 of "Severance" kicked off 1/17/2025 and ran through 3/20/2025. The Second Season of the "Severed" Podcast Rewatch Episodes kicked off on April 24th, 2025. To support the Severed Podcast: (www.patreon.com/SeveredPod) Join the fun on our Facebook page @SeveredPod. I always try to keep page followers  updated on news about the show. Also, let's talk!! Comments? Theories? Corrections? I LOVE 'EM!! Send to: SeveredPod@gmail.comPLEASE MAKE SURE TO SHARE THE PODCAST WITH YOUR FRIENDS WHO ARE 'SEVERANCE' FANS. THE SHOW GROWS THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH!!Needing your own copies of the Lexington Letter and Orientation Booklet? I've got you covered with downloadable PDFs of both documents:LETTER: LEXINGTONLETTER-TheLetter.pdf HANDBOOK: LEXINGTONLETTER-MDROrientationHandbook.pdfYou haven't completely watched 'Severance' until you've listened to 'Severed'.

This week's Mac Geek Gab with Pilot Pete, Adam Christianson, and Dave Hamilton packs in quick tips, clever hacks, and gear finds to level up your Apple life. You'll learn how to instantly turn screenshots into PDFs, scan docs like a pro, and understand why most Macs can't handle 20Gbps […]