Podcasts about perusing

Roy L Hales/Cortes Currents - It has been 85 years since the Truck Loggers Association was founded to give independent loggers a collective voice in society and the forest industry. Now they would like the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) to intervene on their behalf with BC's Minister of Forests, Minister of State for Workforce Development and Chief Forester. This was disclosed during the discussion of a motion from the SRD's Natural Resources Committee at the Wednesday December 11 Board Meeting. Regional Director Robyn Mawhinney said she is not a member of the Natural Resources Committee, but the issue is a concern to her. The Forestry Practises Board recently released a report that stated there was a deficit of old growth on Quadra Island and only about 1% of the trees were greater than 250 years old. Three companies were found to be out of compliance with some aspect of forest legislation. The reported added that “the bigger issue is that no one is responsible for monitoring or ensuring that Quadra Island's old forests are conserved, or that enough mature forests are protected from logging so that they can develop into old forest in the future.” Mawhinney had brought this matter to the SRD Board asking that “that the board write a letter to the Minister of Forests, the Minister of Water, Lands and Natural Resources, and BC's Chief Forester, highlighting concerns with old forest management on Quadra Island.” Instead the matter was referred to the SRD's Natural Resources Committee, who responded with a very different motion of their own. Perusing the associated materials, Mawhinney realized,“ This motion was coming from the Truck Loggers Association.” Chief Administrative Officer David Leitch confirmed, “ Sure, this motion was crafted by the delegation, but it was supported by the committee. So this is a motion of the committee.” The Natural Resources Committee is proposing that: “WHEREAS Forestry works for communities in every corner of the province, from jobs to exports, to providing revenues for hospitals, schools and roads and communities;” AND WHEREAS the future of forestry is at risk, with the closure of half of BC mills in the last two decades, and harvest levels falling to more than 40% below the annual allowable cut; “AND WHEREAS a sustainable forest sector must have access to a reliable annual allowable cut to support the services and infrastructure British Columbians rely on to provide families with livable wages, and bring stability to the supply chain;” “THEREFORE the Natural Resources Committee directs staff to send a letter to Minister Parmar, and Minister of State Mercier, and Chief Forester Shane Berg, requesting a meeting to discuss their meaningful commitment to delivering a stable, accessible and reliable annual cut.” There was no reference to the Quadra Island backstory, when the Natural Resources Committee motion was introduced. Instead CAO David Leitch said, “Mr. Chair, this is a motion from the Natural Resources Committee, so nothing more to add from staff.” Regional Director, Gerald Whalley of Area A responded, “Just a question for staff here. The meeting, is that to involve the board or just that specific committee?” CAO Leitch: “It's unclear, you're right.” Director Whalley: “I think it should involve the board, at least for those who are interested.”

In this episode, Masie & Stuart return to the aisles of 2000's feminine cinema with the 2005 film adaptation of Jennifer Weiner's sibling drama novel In Her Shoes. Perusing the film's selection of pairs, our hosts discover a shockingly compelling family melodrama that thoughtfully tackles themes of mental illness and generational trauma in a way uncommon for other films of its era. Listen as our hosts discuss the film's compelling central sibling relationship as well as its weird 2000's beauty standards and portrayal of Toni Collette's character.   Linktree: https://linktr.ee/cinema_bones Follow Us on Social Media @ Cinema_Bones on Instagram, Twitter, and Letterboxd and Cinema-Bones on Tumblr for podcast updates.   Additional Reading/Sources: In Her Shoes - Screen Queens Retrospective Curtis Hanson NPR Interview

Today on the podcast, Anthony Kates takes the time to go through his Top 100 Fantasy Baseball Prospects rankings and discuss some of the players within. He goes over his favorite prospects in the top 100, players who need to fix some holes in their game or find themselves sliding down the rankings, a few players who haven't met expectations just yet, a few that have and any of the players he expects to make their MLB debut in 2025. Link to the 2024 Top Fantasy Baseball Prospects - End of Season Update SUBSCRIBE, Rate and Review on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on Twitter: @EthosFantasyBB Join our Fantasy Sports Discord Server: https://discord.gg/jSwGWSHqaV

Hour 1 with Joe Starkey: Starkey Six Pack. The Steelers are one of about five teams that have either reached out to the Raiders about Davante Adams or Adams would be ok playing for. Ben Cherington believes it's clear that progress has been made but it hasn't been good enough.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has been changing the face of the West Bank since he was given a role in the defense ministry , taking responsibility for civilian affairs away from the army. KAN's Mark Weiss spoke about the changes with Professor Dan Turner, a resident of the West Bank settlement of  Kfar Adumim, a veteran and politically-diverse settlement along the Jerusalem-Jericho road. (Photo:Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of The Vonu Podcast, I am honored to be joined by Ace, a former Halo 3 MLG professional gamer. After following him and some of his fellow gamers a few years back, it was evident that Ace is on a much different path. Perusing his Twitter/X account,… The post TVP #219: Major League Liberation w/ Former Halo 3 Pro Gamer, Ace appeared first on The Vonu Podcast.

Perusing the books in the gift shop of the Island County Historical Society Museum in Coupeville, I came across “A History of Whidbey's Island” by George A. Kellogg. The author's name was immediately recognizable to me as the grandson of Dr. Joseph C. Kellogg, one of the original recipients of donation claims lands on the island in the early years of white settlement in the mid-19th century. George Kellogg was born on Whidbey Island at the close of that century, but only lived there for the first seven years of his life. His bio on the book's back cover describes him as a “teacher, salesman, musician, historian, advertising man, corporate leader, and storyteller.” Following a career in advertising and corporate management in Chicago and New York, he retired to yet another island — this one off the coast of Georgia — in 1959, but frequently visited friends and relatives in Coupeville. Kellogg's book was the culmination of research for a master's thesis in Northwest history (which he never completed), and much of the material was gleaned from a collection of weekly columns published in the Oak Harbor Farm Bureau News. In the book's foreword, Kellogg refers to his work of nearly 200 pages as “only an attempt to write an informal history of a pioneer community.” But what drew me to the book was the sense of intimacy in the telling of this history. It was clear that although you could take the boy out of Whidbey Island, the many years between Kellogg's birth on the island and his death in 1983 never succeeded in taking Whidbey Island out of the boy. This Tales of the Magic Skagit podcast episode is a reading of Chapter 1 of “A History of Whidbey's Island,” in which Kellogg recounts the finding of Deception Pass by the island's namesake, Joseph Whidbey, ship's master on Captain George Vancouver's vessel, Discovery. Over the course of the next year I plan to read other chapters from Kellogg's book, which was first published in 1934 by the Island County Historical Society and is currently in its fifth printing. Kellogg graciously granted the Society not only his permission to reprint his work, but to use the royalties to further its work. From my perspective, it's arguably the best $14.95 I've ever spent. 

#LANCASTER REPORT:  Hot air balloon descending and a giant Black Bear perusing.   Jim McTague, former Washington Editor, Barrons. @MCTagueJ.  Author of the "Martin and Twyla Boundary Series."  #FriendsofHistoryDebatingSociety https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/lancaster-county-republicans-divided-over-pa-s-new-47-6b-state-budget/article_78a901ea-4089-11ef-8aec-272c41415596.html 1942 Lancaster County

Perusing the Proverbs - Pro. 522, 23 by BBC Potch

Perusing the Proverbs-Proverbs 27:1 by BBC Potch

The Peddler & the Fairy: Part 7 Devin introduces the girls to the big city. In 10 parts, by Scholarly Mori. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. More mountainous and nearly impassable compared to the eastern half of the kingdom, the western region of Lindone was a natural fortress fortified by the jagged peaks of the Snowsquall mountains to the south. This natural border, running the entire length of the country, was intersected only by the Frigid Fingers Peaks that curved northwest. [[MORE]] Along with three valleys that were the only feasible means of travel in the region, the peaks formed a T-shape. Nestled in one of these valleys was Iceford, the second largest city in terms of area but first in population. It was too hilly for farmland and lacked any valuable resources aside from stone, so all other raw materials had to be imported. Its value lay in it's strategic location, being the only practical access point connecting the two halves of the north, allowing them to share their industrial endowments. —---- "So you're telling me your eyes change color in winter, giving you scotopic vision?!?" wondered Devin as Reina led their wagon through the valley leading to Iceford. Reina nodded. Her previously-amber eyes were now sapphire. "It's an adaptation that helps us Whitehorns see better in dim light." Even though it was late morning, the light waned this far north, becoming darker as the sun's warming fingers loosened its seasonal grip. "Whichever color they are, they are lovely." "Thank you, herd-mate." "If I ever add color to my sketches, I'll have to remember that," commented Azalea, sitting next to Devin and working on drawings of everyone they met during their recent escapades on the farm. Devin stretched, glancing at Azalea's progress. "Was Ryna's chest really that big?" She cocked her head to the side. "They were big enough that I couldn't wrap my arms around them, so considering the scale of the drawing, yes. Speaking of which," she grabbed one of the gifted milk bottles. While offering Devin one, she heartily downed the other. "So thick and creamy. Do you want to stop and have some, Reina?" "I appreciate the offer. I will later. I have a good pace going." Reina seemed to have become accustomed to being the sole puller of the wagon. She glowed with healthful vigor as she thoroughly enjoyed the exertion. Azalea returned the bottle to the basket and resumed her work. "I had so much fun at grandpa Gylan's, life-mate!" "Grandpa, huh?" "Yes, grandpa. I've never had one, and he acts like it, or so I imagine what one acts like, and Ellyn was so kind to let me help with the farmwork. I learned a lot about how to milk the satyrs. Which reminds me -- life-mate, we need to have an important talk. "Reina and I were discussing a few things last night, and we decided we want to do more to help, especially me, since Reina is already assisting with the wagon." "What do you mean?" Devin asked. "Food and things." "What did you have in mind?" "Well, we wondered if you could sell our milk," she replied, lightly cupping her breasts. Devin took a swallow of Cyna's milk, considering Azalea's idea. "We could. I don't know what your milk would sell for. I don't think anyone has even considered fairy milk as a possibility, let alone sell it at a market before. We can check the records for any past transactions.'' "I can't speak for the taste as I've never tried it. Also, I'm worried I won't produce very much -- by big people's standards, anyway." "It's not always about quantity. Quality plays an important factor. Connoisseurs will pay a lot for rarity or novelty. We could take a sample and get it appraised. Who knows! We might have discovered and cornered a new niche market, but the first major hurdle is that you're not currently making any." Azalea jumped up. "Not to worry! Two lactation crests coming right up, but we'll have to adjust our affinity-sharing with Reina. I don't have enough for both of you, which means you're going to have to learn how to use the glyph I'm going to re-paint on you." Devin dug around in his pocket. "I asked Jyora to jot down some pointers before we left. Let's see what she wrote." Perusing the neat and stylish penmanship, "Huh. It's not very detailed." 1. Focus (helps to relax) & Visualize 2. Sense & Feel 3. Manipulate & Adjust *Ask Azalea for Assistance "Different people have different approaches, life-mate, so you'll have to find a way that works for you." Azalea got on all fours, her ass swaying happily as she rummaged in her pack for more of her painting tools. Finding what she needed, she sat cross-legged and laid out various accoutrements between them: a small bag of charcoal, a vial of some clear liquid, several darker liquids, and a pestle and mortar set. She poured some charcoal into the mortar, grinding it into a powder with the pestle. "Maybe think of it as something you can touch and move. You kinda have to visualize a stirring motion to both see and use it." In demonstration, she measured some of the charcoal powder into her inkhorn followed by several drops from the clear vial and what might have been a cruse of oil. Then she stirred it with quick motions. "It also helps to be a little horny," Azalia added. Her breasts spilled forward as she bent over to reach for more charcoal. As she sat back, the leaves of her dress parted slightly, giving Devin a peek of her puffy vulva squished against the wagon seat. Unless she was blatant about it, Devin was never sure if her seductiveness was intentional or coincidental. "What do you visualize, Azalea?" She smiled sweetly. "It's changed since I met you." She pumped the handle of her brush suggestively. "I find it easier to imagine a liquid, so naturally, I picture lots of delicious cum, specifically yours, and stirring my fingers through it so it coats them thoroughly, so I can slowly savor every slimy drop." After wiping the drool from her mouth, she checked the consistency of her ink. "I had to make a double batch since Reina might take a larger crest. Are you ready, life-mate?" "I guess," he responded reservedly. "Could you remove your shirt for me, please? You're giving me the 'why' look. Well, aside from enjoying looking at your topless body, I'm going to remove the supplementary crest." She reached into a pouch and rubbed iridescent, flecked powder onto his arm and chest. To Devin's surprise, the markings of the supplementary crest flaked off. "I've been wondering for a while -- won't this come off in water or fade over time?" "If it was left without activating, yes. When you pass affinity through it, it inscribes itself in and on you." Azalea brushed away the last remnants. "Now that I've seen a real glyph in action, I can paint the proper one on you." She straddled his leg, loosened the string on his pants, and pulled them as low as she dared lest she become too distracted. Devin lazily watched her work as she dipped a brush in the ink, and then stiff bristles tickled his skin. He enjoyed her closeness, the weight on his leg, and her body's warmth. "Azalea, you're going to get my lap wet," he teased. "Huh? Oh, sorry, I was so absorbed I didn't notice I was humping you." Devin cocked an eyebrow. "It's true! I kinda just do it when something is between my legs." "I didn't say I didn't like it." He grinned. Azalea playfully ground her hips with a bit more exaggeration. Their playful banter helped to pass the time. Before long, Azalea brushed some hair behind her ear, smudging her cheek with ink. "There we go! All finished," she declared. Devin looked down. Under his navel, a decorative glyph, slightly taller than it was wide, was meticulously painted in the shape of his internal reproductive organs. "Now you just need to learn how to use it. I'll leave you to it. I'm going to start on Reina now." Reina's ears swiveled upon hearing her name. "Do you need me to stop?" "I should be able to manage." Flitting her way under Reina's belly, she ran her hands through the cold, resistant fur. She ascertained a rough idea of the dimensions, but there was another issue -- painting while flying was a hassle. "Life-mate, do you have some rope?" Feeling around the bed of the wagon, he pulled out a frayed coil of rope and held it up. "Will this work?" "I think so." After retrieving the rope, Azalea returned to Reina and wrapped several loops around the Whitehorn's midsection. She left them loose to form a makeshift hammock to support herself. Then she gathered up her tools and carefully laid on her back across the loops. Reina adjusted her gait, attempting to minimize Azalea's swaying. "I've never done this before, and as far as I can remember, no one in my herd possessed any affinity. What's it going to feel like?" "What? The crest or lactating?" "The crest." "It won't feel like anything when it's not active. When it actually starts working, if the girls on the farm are any indication, it will probably feel quite nice." She placed the ink bottle on her tummy, patted down some unruly tufts, and proceeded to paint. Meanwhile, Devin was puzzling things out. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and relaxed his body.'Ok, now what?' He flexed and tensed various parts of his body, trying to detect anything remotely magical. Nothing. "I'm going to need more to go on, Azalea." "Try to paint a picture in your head, something significant or important to you." A hand extended out from under Reina, making broad strokes in the air. 'A picture, huh?' Closing his eyes again, he retreated into his mind:'Let's try envisioning a lake; a tranquil lake, still as a mirror, reflecting the starry sky.' Still nothing. 'What if I add Azalea into the scene, flying just above the water, skimming and frolicking over the surface in an elegant dance, arms swaying gracefully while performing pirouettes?' From there, his imagination took liberties: with crest aglow, she danced amongst the shadows of a cloud-obscured moon. The more she danced, the darker the color of the moon became until it blazed a fiery crimson. Skipping and flitting closer to him, she stopped at eye level with her freckled face flushed, her breath heaving white in the moonlight. A few droplets fell from between her legs, causing ripples as they broke the lake's surface. 'There; what's this feeling? It's warm but very faint. It's barely enough to be called an impression, but now that I'm aware of it, I think I just need to bring it to the surface.' Focusing on the lake, he dipped his mental hands in the warm ripples. The lower he submerged them, the hotter and more viscous they became until he hit something and couldn't reach any deeper. Everything but the water faded into the background. If only he could go just a bit further. He tried digging through the barrier, scooping out the imaginary liquid, but it all just trickled through his fingers. "Basic outline is done," announced Azalea, disrupting his concentration. "Also, you really create a lot of heat, Reina. Some cold night, we should snuggle!" She buried her face into Reina's belly and hummed. Reina had grown increasingly antsy within the last hour. "I; I wouldn't mind doing that. My kind's body temperature increases the colder it gets, s, so our faces get flushed," she purred as she bit her lip, trying to stifle a gasp. "It has led to some rumors t, that we are always a, aroused." "Oh? You mean kind of like now?" "Y, yes, but not from the cold. Azalea, Yo, your feet, " "What about my feet?" she feigned innocence. "They are; are rubbing me down there." "Rubbing your what?" Azalea giggled. "My; my udder." Azalea pressed her small feet into Reina's udder. Her tiny toes kneaded and massaged. "I remember you being sensitive down here and how much I enjoyed playing with this squishy plumpness. Does it feel nice?" "Y, yes, but shouldn't you focus on painting?" "I can do both," she reassured her. "Remember when we first met, how I flicked your cute little teats like this? I'll take those shivers as a yes. I can't wait till they are full and heavy with milk," she cooed. ------------------ As they neared the mountains, their steady progress west saw the terrain transform from milder green valleys to rocky foothills. A narrow mountain ravine stretched out before them. Stocky trees and stubby bushes climbed the edges, giving way to jutting peaks freshly powdered with snow. Reina continued to experience Azalea's full attention as the hours whittled away with each brush stroke during travel. Azalea added the finishing touches and smiled satisfactorily. Wriggling out from under Reina, she flew onto her shoulder and shared, "Definitely the largest crest I've ever drawn, but it looks great. Maybe, if we can find a mirror in the city, I can show you. Now, we just need life-mate to figure his glyph out so we can activate it." Reina leaned her head onto Azalea's and accused, "you love teasing me, don't you?" Tensing, Azalea hesitantly asked, "Did I go too far?" "No; I'm getting used to it, and; I'm kinda liking it," she encouraged her. Azalea, feeling relieved, nuzzled into her. "Only because I love you, you tell me if it's ever too much, ok?" "I will. After it's active, how long before I start producing?" "Depends. For smaller races, a few days. I'd guess maybe a week for you." Azalea nibbled Reina's ear and whispered, "I love warm milk before bed. These tiny fingers are going to have lots of fun extracting it." Reina's heart fluttered at the mental image, but before she could comment, Azalea gave her a swift but passionate kiss on the lips. "I'm going to go check on life-mate. Looks like he's been trying really hard." With that, she flew off, landing on Devin's head. "Making any progress, life-mate?" Devin opened his eyes and looked up at the cheery face looking down. "Sort of. I think I felt something but can't quite grasp it." "Keep trying. I'm sure you'll figure it out. That's more progress than I made during my first time." "What was your first time like?" "Such boldness, life-mate, asking about a girl's first time!" She put her hands to her cheeks, acting embarrassed. She dropped to his thigh and flipped onto her back, her head toward him. The flaps covering her breasts fell to the sides. Walking her fingers up his chest, she hummed, "Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime. I'll just say it was with a girl who needed some; inspiration and first-hand experience." She made a V with her fingers and licked between them. "But for now, life-mate, just keep practicing. The sooner you figure it out, the sooner you get to see these lovely beauties bigger and fuller." She puffed out her chest, squeezing her breasts in her hands. "I wonder how big they'll get? More interestingly, I wonder how much Reina will produce since she has two pairs?!" Reina looked back. "Whitehorn young are considerable eaters. Sometimes we need wet nurses. Some herds make the excess into a drink." "Have you tried any?" "I have not, but I think I remember the recipe." "Maybe we could sell that, too, life-mate!" "Possibly. Some of the local pubs or brewers might be interested." —-------------- The late morning sun was nearing its zenith. It smiled coldly down upon Snowhush Vale. Cut from what the locals called Mammoth Trees, the lofty, double-palisade wall girded the great metropolis that sprawled before the travelers. Lashed together with great bands of iron, the walls slanted sharply inward. It was hewed with a thicker base than the top. Its purpose was the same as most walls -- to keep unwanted things out. Instead of invasion or attack, however, it was a defensive measure against avalanches. Devin shielded his eyes from the sun's reflection off the snow. A line of people serpentined outward from the gate, waiting their turn to enter the city. "What's with the line, life-mate?" Azalea asked. "Just a routine checkpoint for non-citizens. It shouldn't take long." The trio took their place at the back of the line with the wagon, behind a pair of gossipy-sounding ant girls. "Oh, life-mate, don't they look cute with their pickaxe and miner hats?" whispered Azalea. She flew over to land on Reina's antlers to get a better look. Partially armored in a glossy black carapace that matched their pupil-less eyes, they were harnessed to massive wagons laden high with ore. Strapped to their backs were shovels. Each of them had one of their four limbs holding a mattock against their shoulders while two limbs rested on the runners of their wagon. Their antennae animatedly pointed at different people in the line as they held each other's free hand, giggling between themselves. "Antabelle, see that gorgeous unicorn with the silky white fur and jeweled coronet over there? The one next to the handsome Griffin women bodyguard; do you think she's a princess from the royal family?" "Maybe? What could they be doing so far from the capital?" her friend replied. "I don't know. Maybe they secretly eloped and are fleeing the country to escape an overprotective family member." "Such a romantic adventure would make a great bard tale, wouldn't it? Can you imagine if our princess did that, or worse yet, the queen? There'd be chaos! I'd have to find a new colony. Smearing your scent to all your new co-workers can be such a chore too." "I can sorta understand from the queen's perspective, though. Her highness has so many attendants it looks a bit smothering. Sometimes you just want to get out of the nest for a while and stretch your legs." "Don't you mean spread your legs?" her friend tittered. "Well, that too, but sometimes don't you crave the excitement when digging a new tunnel, hoping to find something amazing? And suddenly discovering it?" "Not me. I'd love to be a queen, just lazing around all day, pumping out eggs while all the girls fawn over my body." "You always did like a good fingering after work." "I won't deny that, but also smearing my scent all over you, so everyone in the colony knows what we did, just feels so naughty." "You have plenty to spare, even after dripping your scent trail all the way from home." Devin looked below the wagon. An evenly-spaced trail of droplets stained the ground. "I know a store in town that sells toys to stuff that slutty hole. Should we go check it out?" Azalea couldn't hear what the one named Antabelle whispered to her friend, but it was enough to make her friend blush and lick her lips. Losing interest in the two, Azalea smoothed Reina's hair. "Reina would make a lovely queen with a crown and flowing dress." "She doesn't need a crown. She's already our queen," complimented Devin "That she is, life-mate, and I love pampering her." "I think your idea of pampering is different from most," Devin taunted. "Nu-uh. Pamper is gratifying tastes, appetites, or desires. We both know Reina can't reach back there and is usually too shy to ask, so when we are on the road, it falls to me to take care of her sexy-time needs." "But you just end up teasing her without the gratifying part." "I'm building up her tolerance for edging, so when she does cum it'll be all the more satisfying," she said smugly. "You know I'd rather be the one pampering you two," interjected Reina meekly. Azalea stroked Reina's hair. "When the opportunity presents itself, I'll let you to your heart's content." Returning to people-watching, Azalea enjoyed her front row seat to everything she'd only ever read in books. "I've never seen so many humans in one place!" "Nor so many different demi-humans. How many people live here, herd-mate?" "Hmm. The last census put the population at around a hundred thousand with a split of three-to-one, with demi-humans outnumbering humans." "How do so many people manage to live together in one place?" Reina asked. "Sometimes not easily. Iceford's early history was tumultuous. Its rapid growth was very chaotic and disorganized, almost to the point of anarchy. Some semblance of civic management was needed, but how do you go about finding a form of hierarchy everyone is ok with?" "You'd need to find a common basis point," suggested Reina. "Correct. They formed a council with select representatives from each species. Initially, there was concern this wouldn't be welcomed by those who lived in swarms, herds, colonies, and other large-group-oriented races since they have a more monarchy or top-down hierarchy, but this turned out to be a moot point since those demi-humans felt Iceford was too confining and opted to live elsewhere. They do retain relationships through trade and consultation, though." Devin reached into his vest and pulled out a small, flat metal plate attached to a chain around his neck. "What's that, life-mate?" "It's my citizen and guild membership identification." "Can I see?" Azalea flew over, and she held it up to the light after he handed it to her. She marveled at the craftsmanship. It was double-sided and gold plated with embossed silver filigree twisted in interweaving vines along the edges. Written in liquefied obsidian was his citizen information: Devon Ebonplume, Human, Male Weight: 158 Ibs | Height 5' 8" Birth Date: Spring 24, 3610 Year of the Dryad Citizen of Iceford On the opposite side was the same decorated border. Etched on the right half was a cart loaded with cargo. Amidst the cargo, standing tall, was a pair of scales chiseled from an amethyst. Resting on one plate was a stack of coins, and on the other, a milk jug. In glossy text, on the left half, was written: Merchant Guild Member Amethyst Rank Subsidy Commodities & Milk Distributor Azalea's eyes sparkled as she commented, "It's beautiful!" "I'm glad you think so because you and Reina will be getting one." "We will?! Why?" "It'll be useful for skipping the obligatory guard checkpoints, and they imply a degree of trust that you are a person who'll maintain the laws within the city, so certain government employees might be more generous with their time." "Also, it'll denote we are a family, though maybe we should wait. If we really can sell your milk, we might register you with the merchant guild at the same time. It'll give you discounts at certain businesses." Azalea held it up to her body. "I won't be able to carry it if it's this big." "I'm sure they'll make one for your size. There is no small number of craftsmen available." Finally next in line, Devin flashed his ID to the guardsman. His hauberk was emblazoned with a sundial. In each quarter of the sundial were the emblems of the city's prosperity: an anvil & hammer, needle & thread, saw & plane, bread & milk. Recognizing the well-traveled merchant, the guardsman waved him on, giving the two girls inquisitive looks. They passed under the massive, arched gateway and ventured past several chiseled statues, each engaged in a specific craft. Reina leaned over and scanned a placard: Bruni Leadfoot, Guild master "Who are all these statues of herd-mate?" "Guild masters, crafters of renown, experts in their field who contributed greatly to the city who helped found the different guilds. Since the cities founding, there are statues and monuments all over the places." The entryway of statues widened into an expansive plaza with people milling about, chatting, relaxing, and some enjoying an early lunch. "Everything is so huge!" exclaimed Azalea. She darted every which way, attempting and failing to take in everything at once. "I want to know about everything, life-mate!" "Everything is a bit much," laughed Devin. "Well, there are four main districts: the Entertainment District in the northwest, the Manufacturing District in the southwest, old town in the southeast, and right now, we are entering the northeastern gate of the Commons District." Great lodges with steep A-frame roofs lined the road. Azalea noted many of the two- and three-story buildings' top floor possessed a door stepping out onto a very unsafe-looking porch. "Why do most of these buildings have a door up there, life-mate? They seem very inaccessible to anyone who can't fly." "That's precisely who they are for. There is a large population of winged demi-humans in the city who make homes up there." "They look cozy. Does Mavis live in one?" "No, she still lives at home with her parents; says it's more cost-effective." "Are we going to see her today?" "Yep, her office is in the entertainment district on the other side of the city." The trio ambled along the well-tended cobbled street. It gently sloped upward until they were above even the tallest building behind them. A trestled stone bridge came into view that was wide enough for three of Devon's wagons to cross side-by-side. "Reina, when you get to the bridge, try to stay on the left side. This is one of the best views in the city." In silent response, Reina angled the wagon, pulling up alongside the parapet near the center, and halted. The grand manufacturing capital of the north stretched out below. Wisps of smoke gently rose into the sky from the many cottages lining the busy streets. Comparable to the rings of a great tree, avenues and alleyways separated by homes and businesses encircled the city. Three of the largest thoroughfares, running parallel to each other, were paved darker and appeared better-maintained than the innumerable other connecting roads. The two outer roads were wider and sandwiched the narrower middle one. "Breathtaking," voiced Reina with awe. Azalea eye's sparkled. "I can't believe people could build all this!" "Then, would it surprise you to learn that the lake in the center was dug manually?" Azalea's jaw dropped. "It's called Chill Mirror Lake. The original river was fed by runoff from the mountains. Over time, the river was widened and deepened as a way to tame the waters during the spring melt until it became that lake. Now, the river and its tributaries double as a way to ferry goods between the various craftsmen within the city. "Centuries ago, there used to only be a small village here, surviving mostly through tolls ferrying people across during late and early winter when the waters were high." "And what's that above it?" asked Reina, pointing to an opulent complex of buildings. "That's where the city council and administration reside. I guess you could say that is where the city leaders physically and metaphorically keep an eye over the city." In the center of the lake, sitting atop mighty granite pillars sunk deep into the lakebed, were a cluster of ice-covered edifices surrounding a monumental tower. Clock faces pointed in each cardinal direction at its peak. Four arched bridges extended in the intercardinal directions, connecting to each district. Another set of bridges, running north and south, connected to H-shaped warehouses on the shores. Azalea tore her eyes away from the vista and fluttered to the edge. Far below was an unnaturally smooth ravine with a strong, flowing river. "Are those mermaids, life-mate?" she queried excitedly. "Describe them for me." Azalea set her hands on the stone guardrail and squinted, "Gills on their neck, some near their ribs. Scales on parts of their shoulders and partially around their stomach. Some look to have a big fish tail, others look like they have two." "The ones with a single tail are merfolk. The others are sahagins. They have a pair of legs with fins and can walk short distances on land. Under this bridge is the lake's exit point. Loaded barges are sent north downriver, where they'll merge into one of the fjords before finally meandering to the ocean. Once unloaded, the aquatic demi-humans bring it back." Azalea jumped back aboard the wagon, unnecessarily scrambling up onto Devin's head to make as much physical contact as possible. There, she laid flat on her belly and stroked his cheek. "Hi, life-mate," she sang. "Hi, Azalea. Having fun?" "More than I can say, but it's only extra fun because I get to experience it with you two!" Reina stretched her arms. "I feel the same way, Azalea. Even though our meeting was unorthodox, I wouldn't be here if not for you two. I'd probably still be with my herd, wondering if I'd become an old spinster mare. What are we going to do first, herd-mate?" "Let's see; we should stop by the guild since it's closest. Then we can drop the special order off with the alchemist and collect the money to give Mavis to deliver to Gylan. Depending on the request that Mavis received, we might have time for some shopping." Reina set off again, descending the arched bridge. With Devin's guidance, she turned onto a connecting road, carefully threading her way downhill. Less distracted by the sights and more self-conscious, she noticed many curious glances from passersby. Before they even exited the side road they were on, the murmur of countless voices met their ears. Reina came to an abrupt stop, almost colliding with a river of people flowing to and fro among the various stalls, storefronts, and each other in an organized cacophony of bodies. Sharp barks from vendors, shouts from customers haggling over goods, and the hollering of advertisers formed the general din of the middle ring of the city. Reina motioned, 'this way?' to avoid yelling over the noise. Devin responded with a nod. Soon after crossing the deafening street, the noise faded into the background. They continued even further down the slope they were descending, arriving at the inner ring. Two burly dockworkers carrying lumber hustled past them. They were followed by a small, brown-hooded figure with a long, hairless tail. "This is arguably the busiest ring of the city. Here, all the freight and shipments are ferried around to their respective clientele," Devin related. A moment later, a large bell tolled, causing ripples over the water as it echoed throughout the city to alert residents it was noon. Presiding near the clock faces above the bell were six stone gargoyles. They were female in design, and their large, stone, bat-like wings acted as cloaks around their muscular bodies. Four sets of horns, one pair smaller than the other, adorned their heads. They perched on fearsome-looking claws gripping the tower's ledge. Most noticeable were creepy calligrapher's brush-stroked marks, unseen during the day, glowing orange along portions of their bodies. Rumors and mysteries abound about whether the gargoyles were alive or not. On more than one occasion, Devin had felt eyes on him when he visited the council building. Once, he swore that one had changed position. Due to the height of the tower, though, he couldn't be sure. "Is that where we'll receive our ID?" "Yes, Reina, for citizenship. The other side of the ID is done at one of the two guilds -- those two buildings there." To their right was one of the H-shaped buildings they had seen from the hill. A weathered sign hung above a smudged glass window: Merchant Guild Headquarters. Approaching it, she realized it was more storage than an office building. Surrounding the many multi-story warehouses were colossal wind and watermills powering equally immense cranes. "It's a very impressive building," Reina observed. "It is. The merchant guild handles distribution orders of raw materials to the various artisans and tradesmen around the districts. The craftsman guild is on the south end. They manage the exports of finished goods to places outside the city. "Reina, pull the wagon around to the side unloading dock. I'm just going to step inside and let them know we have cargo to unload." "Ok, herd-made." Azalea sprawled on Reina's back. "This place is amazing, isn't it? I haven't even seen a fraction of it, and I feel exhausted." "It certainly does feel a bit overwhelming," Reina remarked. Amidst the flurry of activity, Azalea noticed two beady red eyes peeking at them from between two crates. She sat up to get a better look, but several people passed by blocking her gaze, and by the time they crossed, the mysterious eyes were gone. "Reina, what would you say if I said someone was watching us?" "I'd say there have been many people staring at us since we arrived. You know we are a rarity in these parts. Was this particular person different in some way?" "I guess not, though I couldn't really see anything but their eyes." "Probably just a curious townsperson wanting a look." Devin returned a few minutes later. "We can leave the wagon. They'll send someone to unload it later. Shall we walk?" Azalea jumped to the ground, strutting a few steps before exaggeratedly heaving for air." I disapprove of this suggestion," she joked, acting silly. Devin scooped her up, cuddling her. "The view under your dress is much better when you're flying, anyway." Azalea did a little twirl in the air. "And when you're tired, then you are always welcome to ride on me." "I can? I know something I'd love to ride someday," She said in a husky voice. "One day, my little nymph." He kissed her forehead and put her on Reina's back. "I'll unharness you, Reina." After grabbing their belongings, they retraced their steps, arriving back at the thronged shopping district. There, they altered their course and made their way counter-clockwise around the city. "This area looks different than the other, life-mate, even though it's the same street," Azalea observed. "Different neighborhoods have their own unique flare to them. Also helps to differentiate where you are. This one likes to feature lit lanterns and colored paper streamers over the street. Gives it a warm, inviting ambiance." With Devin leading the way, they zigzagged their way through back alleys and disorienting pathways, arriving at the more subdued edge of the manufacturing district. Making a final turn, they arrived at a dead end. Eroded brick and vines ornamented a heavily-knotted walnut door. A faded metal sign read: Owl Things Potionary. "Is that supposed to be a pun, life-mate?" "Yes, it was all I could come up with." "You came up with it?" "This Is where my alchemist friend lives. She couldn't think of a name, so I offered some suggestions." "Maybe we can persuade her to change it," chuckled Azalea. "I'm not a spur of the moment type of thinker," Devin admitted and shrugged. "Just a heads up, my friend has had a secluded upbringing, so she talks and acts a little; odd." At that, Devin reached for the handle. The hinges complained loudly as he nudged it open. They stepped into the dimly-lit room, and his nose was assaulted by the familiar, pungent scent of sulfur, preserving agents, acids, and others he couldn't identify. Long, short tables, covered in a hodge-podge of jars, bottles, beakers, and all manner of tools and apparatuses, ran the room's perimeter. Hanging over a square fire pit were several cauldrons, some bubbling actively and others slowly simmering. Azalea was the first to notice a figure standing at one of the tables, looking very engrossed in their work. Tugging at Devin's collar, she pointed to the corner. "Life-mate, " Upon hearing an unexpected voice, the figure spun its head backward. Azalea nearly fell off Devin's shoulder in surprise at the unnatural movement. The head's body soon joined in facing their way. The odd figure proceeded to walk-hop over to the trio. It was a rather cute-looking motion until they tripped over their long robe in the process, landing face down on the floor. Springing back up, they closed the distance, in the same manner, as if nothing had happened. Stopping within a comfortable, conversational distance, they pushed their hood back. Two wide, piercing eyes blinked at them from within a feathery, saucer-shaped face. The short, little boreal owlchemist adjusted her brass magnifiers. She rummaged through her apron pockets, bulging with corked beakers, bundles of dried herbs, and other paraphernalia. She pulled out a worn notebook, glancing at it. With an earnest voice, seemingly at odds with her expressionless face, she stated: "It has been 30 days, 12 hours, and, " she glanced at a wall clock, "7 minutes since the Young Patron last visited. This one is joyful you have returned safe." Bobbing her head curiously at Reina and Azalea, she fluffed her white and brown feathers, exemplifying a very thick physique. "This one's name is Jeni-feather, alumna from Queen's Tundra Academy. Minor field of study: alchemical fluid dynamics. Major field of study: practical applications for golemantic peripherals. Latest hobbies: interactive, experimental studies in cross-species mating, and soon to be Young Patron's semen extractor." "You're gonna be my what?!" Devin asked, startled. Azalea jumped up into the air about to barrage Jeni with questions when Devin grabbed her. "Now hold on Azalea, I'm pretty sure I know what you're thinking, but before you start wanting to ask to join in, let me get some clarification." Azalea clamped her hands over her mouth. Devin took a deep breath. "Jeni, would you like to elaborate on what you mean by that and why the sudden change in hobbies? Last time I was here, you were completely infatuated with documenting all of the tiny things you saw under your magnifying device." "Young Patron is not wrong. The recent investigation into the world of things too small to be seen with the naked eye was most curious. The surfaces of many objects, including blood and organisms in water, were insightful, but of particular interest was semen. The variation in smell, the gelatinous consistency, as well as the power to create life, has stirred a particularly strong desire for further academic understanding!" Jeni's statement was accompanied by short motions of her head to look at each of her visitors, but primarily Devin. "Wait; is that why you special-ordered from Gylan's farm?" he exclaimed in realization. "Partially. As the major ingredient for affinity replenishment tinctures, funds are needed to subsist during the interim until this one can collect her own samples to further her hobby. As the second most trusted and only male friend, this one has chosen Young Patron as the primary donor," she declared matter-of-factly. Devin mouth hung open, speechless. Jeni continued, "But this one lacks the necessary knowledge to extract such a precious substance, so this one has attended establishments and gleaned material about human courtship to learn human's complicated mating rituals. She has practiced with her egg hole almost every night to learn skills and techniques she is certain Young Patron will find pleasing during the extraction process. "In order to encourage Young Patron's participation, this one listened to lectures from professors in the oratory arts of human romance and attended interactive lessons in order to better learn efficient methods for extraction." Azalea, no longer able to contain herself, blurted out, "Hi, Miss Feath, " "Jeni," she cut in. "Young Patron's companions may call this one Jeni." "Jeni, my name is Azalea, and this is Reina! I, too, am very interested in the study of interspecies mating! I'd love to hear more about what you learned!" Jeni, pleased that another was interested in her research, hopped closer. "Choices for establishments were based on popularity and strictly-human participants. At first, this one was given many strange looks, possibly due to being the only demi-human attending." "A few of the patrons inquired as to this one's purpose for being there. After informing them, she received several solicitations for assistance from several males, but they were ultimately declined as this one was interested only in observation and note-taking." "Further prompting and encouragement finally led this one to accept the offers for extra samples. The process was disagreeable, though, and led this one to theorize that human males have poor hand-eye coordination as they kept expelling their semen all over this one's feathers instead of the collection vials." Devin sighed. "So, in short, you listened to licentious bardic songs to learn how humans have sex and then went to a brothel known for orgies and got tricked into being covered in strangers' semen." Jeni nodded. Azalea had pulled her notebook out from somewhere and was rapidly drawing rough sketches of the scenes as she imagined them. "What else did you learn?" she asked excitedly. Jeni blinked several times, searching her memory for a response to Azalea's question. "This one was startled by the extensive number of positions humans possess for mating as well as made confused over the particular appreciation given to the fatty lumps female mammals possess on their chests." Jeni stared at Reina's and even Azalea's more-than-modest bosoms. Placing her wings against what appeared to be a very voluminous and pillowy chest, she applied a little pressure on her feather down, deflating the trapped air. "This one does not possess such an attribute. Additional observation of a large percentage of the participating males indicated a preference to insert their breeding rod into the excretory hole in addition to the breeding hole. This one theorizes that her egg-hole might be viewed as superior as it is multipurpose and can satisfy both desires at once!" she posited, sounding strangely proud of this theoretical revelation. "The recollection even now makes this one salivate from her lower hole in intellectual curiosity." As if to drive home the point, she spun around, lifted her tail high in the air, and pushed aside her downy feathers revealing a tightly-closed cloaca. "Jeni, you might just be aroused?" suggested Reina. Devin stared at her wrinkled opening. From between her legs, Jeni's unabashed expression was ascertaining his reaction. "This one is ready to collect Young Patron's samples at any time." "Jeni, aren't you embarrassed in front of strangers?" Devin asked. "This one can smell the arousal from little Azalea, and Reina's body language suggests she is shocked but not averse to observing more." Devin looked at Reina, who shrugged bashfully. "Does Young Patron not like this one's egg hole?" "No; I mean, yes; I mean, it's a very beautiful shade of pink." "This one has read of distant lands where spectacles are performed for those who wish to see the egg-laying process. This one is more than willing to present a close-up example of how it is done in exchange for Young Patron's samples." Devin was losing this battle and quite a bit of his composure when Azalea flew to the floor, landing between Jeni's legs. She admired the inviting orifice above her head. Looking into Jeni's upside-down face, she offered, "Your egg hole is very pretty." Then she lifted up the leaf covering her own cunt. "Thank you, small one. Your breeding slit is also very aesthetically pleasing." "Might I suggest spreading your hole a little for added motivation?" "This one is unable to due to the limited dexterity of her wings. If this one had an apprentice, " "I'd be more than happy to be your assistant! In fact, I've recently had some experience! May I?" Jeni nodded. Azalea stood on her toes and spread her wide. "She's really tight, life-mate. Such a rosy color, not quite wet enough, but that shouldn't be hard to fix!" Devin, by now, had his face firmly applied to his palm. "Azalea, Jeni, we have many errands to run before nightfall. Maybe we should continue this at a later time?" coaxed Reina. "Yes," they both said in unison. Azalea reluctantly stepped away, and Jeni put her tail down and turned around. "This one, as per previous arrangement, ordered the mating secretions and milk from a female sheepgirl and a satyr male." Devin handed her the wooden box containing her order. Lifting the lid, she extracted the phial of semen and vials of pre-cum. Then she pushed her goggles down and held them up to the light. "These are most adequate. This one thanks you for your continued patronage and is glad for your support in furthering her livelihood." She pulled out a small purse. "Ten vols, as per the current market price." Devin took the square coinage and remarked, "You know you are more than welcome, Jeni." He pulled the little owl in a warm embrace. "It was good seeing you again. We have another appointment, so we must be off." Jeni didn't let go. "Thi, this one would like to request another order." "Of the same thing?" "This one requests an order of mermaid caviar." "Coastal goods, huh? Sure. Any time limit?" "No time restraints." "Alright. I'll be heading up there in a few weeks," he said. Jeni squeezed harder, looking like she desperately wanted to say something but hesitating to vocalize the words for a few moments. "This one would like to inquire how long Young Patron and company is going to remain in the city." "Maybe about three weeks," Devin replied. "Has reservations been made at any place of lodging?" "Not yet." "Is everything all right, Jeni?" asked Azalea. "This one rarely interacts with others and has a strong desire to offer you lodging until you are ready to leave," she blurted out. Devin looked at Reina, who smiled and nodded. Azalea hovered behind Jeni, nodding enthusiastically as she stroked the feathery head. "Alright, we'll try not to get too much in the way." Jeni's eyes lit up. "This one will be a good host and will prepare rooms for everyone." He added to her head pats. She closed her eyes, relishing the affection. "We do have another appointment. Can we leave our bags here?" Jeni held out her wings. They all handed over the bags they wouldn't need in town. Struggling to carry the load, Jeni waddled over to an open corner of her work table and set their things down. "We'll be back," Devin announced. Leaving Jeni's, the trio headed northwest toward the entertainment district. "Your friend is so cute and has the most interesting hobbies, life-mate!" "I'm sure she would be happy to hear you say that. She doesn't get much of a chance to share her interests with others. She was adopted by an eccentric golemancer who shunned the public, so her only friends growing up were golems he had created. Mavis and I met her when we were younger. She was insatiably curious about the world, very observant and quiet, but when she did talk, she lacked any tact or delicacy when conversing with people. She didn't do it maliciously; she just lacked experience. Mavis devoted herself to helping her acclimate to society as best she could. She left for academy a few years after I became an independent merchant, so we lost contact until she returned and opened up her shop." "She seemed rather insistent we stay with her. Is she lonely, life-mate? Why not bring her with us on our journeying?" "Several reasons, really. She's well-established here and has a successful business. While being a traveling merchant is a lot of sitting, the stress of traveling in all kinds of weather and unforeseen circumstances does take a toll. She doesn't have the strongest constitution, so it would be hard on her. Most importantly, she has her dream of creating her own golem." "Is that hard to do?" "I don't know the details, but the materials needed are not cheap. Actually building it, I hear, can take years or even decades. She wouldn't be able to accomplish that if she traveled around with us. I do feel bad that I can't be around more often to spend time with her," Devin admitted. "How about we do something fun with her while we are here?" Azalea proposed. "Like what?" asked Reina. Azalea rested her chin on her hand. "I don't know. I'll think of something." "Returning to the rest of our errands, are we going to see Mavis now, herd-mate?" "Yes, her office should be about twenty minutes from here." "Which way?" "Turn right and head north." With the exception of Reina, the trio had a chance to stretch their legs and wings. The clumped groups of stores and endless throngs of people became more sparse as they went farther north. The road and walkways became cleaner and spacious houses, decadent with costly cedar and intricate engravings, lined the more expansive streets. "Is this the right district, herd-mate?" "Yes. Locals humorously divide it up into two sections: the quiet and the loud. The quiet area is where the affluent live -- government officials and other high rankers in society -- and the loud area is coming up." Passing under a nondescript archway, lively music and laughter drifted through the air. "Oh! Musicians!" cried Azalea. "And a great many street performers," added Reina. Humans and Demi-humans, dressed in colorful regalia, gathered around the many entertainers and food stalls lining the streets, enjoying the gaiety and festivities. Azalea looked around, a bit mystified. "Mavis works here, mate?" "Yes. That building in the distance." Devin stopped and pointed up to a spire of white and blue that rose five stories above them. On each level were small porches with doors, similar to the residences they had seen earlier. They approached the tower and entered a set of double doors, triggering a sharp ringing to announce their entrance. Inside, smartly-dressed foot couriers were sorting through boxes and letters. "Why are they all wearing different colored uniforms, herd-mate?" "To differentiate between the delivery categories: blue and white is for regular mail, yellow with purple trim for express, and purple with yellow trim is for priority. For a slightly higher fee, express is a favorite option. Only a handful of applicants qualify for the last one." "Doesn't Mavis wear those colors?" asked Reina. "Yes, she does. To be ranked a priority deliverer, a large degree of trust and discreteness is required. Most of the items being delivered by these few are very costly or rare items that require speed and special care to get to their destination." "Mavis doesn't seem like a discreet type of person." "Despite her very airy behavior, she takes her job quite seriously. She is one of the elite delivery harpies who has never lost or been late delivering a package." Devin stepped up to the front desk. Without looking up, a stern old-looking looking secretary with tired eyes requested, "Send or receive?" "Appointment," was Devin's response. Pausing her wax sealing, she looked up over her glasses. "With who?" "Mavis Ebonplume." "And you are?" "Devin Ebonplume. Brother." She looked him up and down dubiously. Devin held out his ID car, anticipating the need. She shook her head and directed, "Top floor; NOT the roof; room E20." "Thank you." Heading to a circular staircase on their left, Reina tentatively put a hoof on the first step. "Can this support me?" "It should be able to. There are certain standards for civic buildings to allow accessibility for all types of demi-humans, including the four-footed ones." She added more weight, still tentative. When nothing happened, she slowly took several more steps. "Seems alright." Without any incident, they arrived on the fifth floor. Searching for Mavis' office, they found it near the northeast side. Devin knocked, but not hearing an answer, he pushed open the door. That yielded a surprisingly organized room, aside from a pile of clothes in the corner, void of Mavis. As Devin stepped in, Mavis was exiting a co-worker's office down the hallway. Seeing Reina standing in her office doorway, she sidled up to her, and gave her a quick hug. Motioning for her to be quiet, she snuck up behind Devin as he turned around. Giving a cry of joy, she jumped into his arms. As he grabbed her shapely thighs, in surprise, to support the sudden weight that landed on him, she wrapped her wings around him. Then she tilted his head back and locked her luscious lips over his. Making good on her promise from when she had met them on the road. A firm tongue requested access to his mouth. Knowing it would be futile to resist, he granted her access. Their tongues danced around one another as her familiar scent washed over him, conjuring nostalgic memories of sad times when he was alone, and her family took him in, of happy times when she complimented his cooking, and even of confusing times when he was unsure what her underlying feelings were, under all the teasing. Mavis broke the kiss. Their breaths were heavy as they stared at each other. She normally wore her mask and armor of confidence and self-sufficiency well, and she had the talent and foresight to back it up, but the mask slipped ever so slightly. Giving him pause, her sharp ruby eyes showed concern. The way her wings grasped him as if she wanted something of him but was afraid he would disappear at the mention of it reminded him of a similar time thirteen years ago, when he was eighteen, and she had turned twenty one. She was procrastinating on certain life decisions. Her parents and family were putting pressure on her about her future, but the feather that finally broke the harpie's back was the suddenness of her first egg-laying. As far as Devin could remember, that was the first time she had shown him that his older sister, while much less than most people, sometimes wanted someone to just be there and to know that he had her back when she needed it. Surprised by how intently he was looking at her, as if reading her thoughts, she released him and straightened her hat. The mask was firmly back in place. "Now that's a proper family greeting," she cooed. Azalea flew up, twiddling her thumbs, "Um, can I have one too?" "Of course, my new little-sister-in-mischievousness." Parting her lips, she let Azalea take the lead. Her tiny tongue lapped happily at Mavis'. The kiss didn't last nearly as long as with Devin, but Azalea was happy, nonetheless, at feeling included. "I originally started this to tease Devin, but maybe we should make it a family tradition," she laughed. "Well, that's two of three." She turned her attention to Reina out of politeness at not excluding her. Believing her being shy and more reserved than Azalea and that she would turn her down, she was taken aback when Reina actually nodded shyly. It wasn't often Mavis was thrown off her game. She stepped toward the tall Whitehorn, unsure how to proceed. Reina bent down. Their kiss was tentative at first, letting their lips feel each other out. As they warmed to each other, Mavis prodded with her tongue, looking for Reina's comfortability limit. Soon, the two women were going at it passionately. Azalea had recovered and flapped up to her usual perch on Devin's shoulder. "I didn't expect Reina to actually do it, too. That's actually pretty hot." "I wasn't, either. I think she'd show a formidable personality if she were just a bit more assertive." "I do love the shy, passive Reina, but if she ever wants to do anything to me, I'm totally letting her." "Once she becomes fully comfortable with you, she might just do that." The Whitehorn and harpy finally came up for air somewhat reluctantly. They let the feeling linger a second before pulling away from each other. "It's very rare when someone can get me hot and bothered, my dear. You certainly know how to kiss!" "This was only my third time." "Really? Must be a natural talent. Who was your first?" "Herd-mate." "And your second?" "Azalea." "I'm glad to see you three are getting along so well, but enough playing. We should probably get to the business at hand, or Devin might chastise me for taking work too lightly again." She winked at him. She went to her desk. Sitting down, she opened a drawer and withdrew a scrap of parchment. Then she handed it to Devin, pulled out a small pouch of what sounded like money, and set it on the desk. Devin scanned the note. "This says they would like to discuss the possibility of me being a broker for a long-distance trade negotiation between two parties, and they would like to discuss the details over dinner at Whitegold." Mavis pushed the bag toward him. "What's this?" Devin queried, making no motion to take the pouch. "A foreshadowing of what kind of profit this deal could lead to. Also, since the meeting place requires you to dress up, a reimbursement for formal clothing." "What's wrong, life-mate?" "Few things are scarier to a merchant than money given before a job is finished." Mavis pulled the drawstring

Perusing the Proverbs - Prov. 1927 by BBC Potch

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Perusing the Proverbs - Proverbs 24:11-12 by BBC Potch

Dimes and Judas discuss the legal liabilities of having a murder vision board, Taylor Swift controlling the White birth rate, and review the surreal classic “The Holy Mountain.” After dissecting two articles that show work kills fertility and the work-from-home movement has achieved victory through equilibrium, Dimes segues into the concept of phantom time through the book “A Guide to the Phantom Dark Age” by Emmett Scott. There they learn of a conspiracy to invent the Middle Ages for regency purposes, the myth of Charlemagne, and the implications the absence of a dark age occurring after the fall of an empire has on our dreams of collapse. Lastly, on this edition of The Copepranos Society, we syndicate an interview Dimes had on The Carousel where he speaks to Isaac about life in the advertising agency world and the struggle to be a non-alcoholic author. Timestamps: 00:28 – Judas Doesn't Believe In Swiss Chalet Baby Wipes 03:22 – Girls Cruelly Ghosting Dad Lies 06:19 – Representing Yourself with Autotune and Soyjaks in JFK Court 11:39 – Movie Korner: The Holy Mountain 21:04 – Caveat-Threatening Nancy Pelosi Over Insider Trading 24:00 – Are Murder Vision Boards Admissible in Court? 25:59 – Taylor Swift Not being Impregnated at the Superbowl Drove the White Birthrate Down 31:29 – Latinas Are The “Pay The Toll” Race for White Women 34:03 – Show News 37:48 – Crimes Chat: “West Would” 46:28 – Perusing r/ZeroCovidCommunity 58:05 – Part 1: “Employment is Killing Us” Article 1:10:38 – Part 2: “Remote Work Won” Article 1:28:35 – Part 3: “The Premium Mediocre Life of Maya Millennial” Article 1:34:36 – “A Guide to the Phantom Dark Age” Discussion Begins 1:37:24 – Overview of the Dark Ages 1:41:31 – Otto I, Perpetrator of Invented Time 1:46:30 – The Connective Tissue of Roman Architecture 1:52:04 – How 300 years Were Added to the Anno Domini Calendar 1:54:06 – The Social Implications of a Dark Age not Following a Collapse 1:57:29 – Dark Ages Blamed on Sudden Illiteracy and Collapsing Trade 2:00:24 – The Dark Ages in the Middle East and the Myth of Mohammad 2:05:04 – Greenland Theory 2:10:48 – “The Carousel” Interview Begins

Tommy Thomas: [00:00:00] My guests today are Michael Marquardt and Bob Tiede. Michael is Professor Emeritus of Human and Organizational Learning at George Washington University, and the author of 27 books on the topics of leadership, global teams, and action learning. Bob Tiede is the CEO of leadingwithquestions.com, a blog followed by people in more than 190 countries. Tommy Thomas: He also serves on the U.S. leadership development team for Cru and is the author of five books, including Great Leaders Ask Questions. Some of our listeners will remember Bob from earlier episodes when we discussed leader development within Cru. Gentlemen, welcome to NextGen Nonprofit Leadership. Bob Tiede: Happy to be with you, Tommy. Tommy Thomas: Talking to the two of you today reminds me of an early experience with Nathan DiGesare, a musician and a videographer in Nashville.  Nathan has recorded probably 200 videos for my company, so I've been in his house and his studio on countless occasions, but early in the relationship, we were doing some voiceovers at his house.  We finished the work, and I noticed this Steinway Grand Piano sitting in the corner. So, I strolled over and sat down and did my best rendition of Bridge Over Troubled Water. And then I think I segued into Last Date by Floyd Kramer. Little did I know that Nathan had been trained at Indiana University and was a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music. And I'm not sure if I'd have known that if I'd have been so audacious to sit at his grand piano and play those songs. So, talking with you guys, yeah, I feel like here I am asking the questions and you two are the master of the great questions. So, this is going to be fun. Bob Tiede: We're looking forward to it. Tommy Thomas:  How did the two of you get to know each other and begin collaborating? Michael Marquardt: Bob, I think you can tell that story. Bob Tiede: I will. In 2006, my wife loves to go to bookstores. She goes all over the bookstore. She knows when she's done, she'll find me still in the leadership section. And what I usually do is try to find two, or three books I've never seen before, find a chair, sit down, and peruse them to see if I'm going to buy one of them. In 2006, I found this book, the first edition of Leading with Questions by Dr. Michael Marquardt. Perusing only a few pages, I said, this one's going home and it was a page-turner. I had no idea. I love books. I eat books for breakfast. Probably every leadership book I've ever read there's been a morsel in there. I had no idea that this would change my leadership forever. Actually, set me on a new path. I was already on the U.S. leadership development team for Cru. I began to teach out of it. The response was just amazing. Fast forward, to 2012, I start a blog and I'm thinking when I start the blog, I don't want to do just another leadership blog. I want to because there are so many good ones, I'd be a small fish in a big ocean. So I asked the question, was there a niche of leadership I could blog on? And as soon as I had that question, it was like, Oh, it'd be something with this leading with questions. So I go to WordPress. I've never blogged before and WordPress guides you through. The first thing they ask is what do you want the blog to be called. In other words, let's search and see if the URL is available. On a lark and I smiled as I did it, I typed in the title of the book, leading with questions, thinking that certainly the author or publisher may have tied it up already, but it was available. And at the cheapest price, like 29 a year, so I grab it. I'm saying I had a little queasy feeling wondering this guy, this author, Dr. Michael Marquardt, how would he feel when he finds out there's a blog by the same title of his book? So, I decided I'd blog for several months, and get some content. Then I crafted, I thought a very diplomatic email to Dr. Michael Marquardt, sharing that his book had changed my leadership, thanking him for writing it, sharing that I'd start this blog, and might I have his permission to excerpt from his book, we'd include a link to Amazon for purchase, and I sent it off wondering. How will he respond? And within 24 hours, I had the most gracious response giving me carte blanche permission. Several years later, Dr. Marquardt was doing the second edition and wrote me, asking if I'd do an endorsement and if he could list leadingwithquestions.com as a recommended resource. It's yes! And probably a year after that, we were taking a group to D.C. I reached out to Dr. Michael Marquardt ahead of time, asking if he might be in town, and if would he be willing to speak. And if he would, I'd buy the second edition for everyone. And then I invited him, could he come an hour early to sign the books? And I did that rather selfishly because It would give me an hour with him and during that time I'm calling him Dr. Marquardt. He quickly says, Bob, it's Mike. Just call me Mike and I said, okay Mike, and we've been friends ever since and about two years ago Bob calls and says, Bob, it's time for a third edition. Would you be willing to co-author it with me? And I said, oh my goodness. Of course. But Mike, you have a PhD, and you teach at George Washington University. I have a Bachelor's and Mike said, but Bob, your blog has now been out there for 10 years. We need about 30 percent new content in a new edition. And you've already done the research. Summer of 2022, we worked together for about six weeks. Mike is brilliant. He knew what from the second edition he wanted to delete. There are 10 chapters in the book. I would share with him 10 times as much content as he would need. So, he would have a bunch of things he could pick and choose. But Mike did the heavy lifting. He knew what he wanted to delete. He knew where he wanted to add. And this has been such a gift for me to be the co-author and I'm so grateful to Mike for the opportunity. Tommy Thomas: Mike, what'd you think when you got that first email? Michael Marquardt: I was happy that that someone was interested in adding a blog to the whole history of getting people to use questions and so I was delighted with that, and we've had a great relationship for many years, and as Bob indicated, with all of his blogs with hundreds of people who are leaders around the world, and getting them to talk about what kind of questions they asked, I thought was just, would be just a tremendous addition to the third edition to have all these new people, and so I'm very pleased that the third edition is out. Bob's a co-author, and we have probably another 15 or 20 leaders with their questions that were not in the first two editions of the book. 7:10:00 Tommy Thomas: Mike, how did you discover this Art of the Great Question? Is there a story there? Michael Marquardt: There's a story. I became a professor at George Washington University. In 1994, I had worked globally as a consultant in areas of leadership and organizational change, and team building, and in 1994 I became a professor at George Washington University in their executive doctoral program, so we trained leaders from all over the world, and as a professor, a new professor, you are asked to identify what's the research area of interest for you in which you begin publishing and writing and work with doctoral students. And my interest was leadership. Great leaders. That was my focus. Who are the great leaders around the world? What makes them great leaders? And over the first several years as a professor, I wrote a number of books and articles on great leaders. And the one thing I discovered is that all great leaders ask great questions. And they became great leaders by asking great questions. Whether these were people I interviewed, hundreds of people all over the world in my various research efforts I go into an organization, a great organization that was considered one of the tops in its field. And I said, who are the leaders in this company? And they would identify, two or three individuals and what makes them such good leaders, whether they're hierarchical leaders, CEO, or people within the organization. And inevitably, it always came down to, they ask great questions. And so that kind of moved my area of research to more focus on the qualities of great leaders and particularly the questions they ask. And so over the past 15, almost close to 20 years that's been my area of keen interest and research. And I do a lot of work in a field called action learning and the primary, right. The element of action learning in a way it solves problems is using questions, but questions is the way that leadership is developed in a way of becoming great leaders.  And so, I feel very fortunate that became my area of research as a professor and I met Bob Tiede along the way. Tommy Thomas: Litigators, journalists, and doctors are all taught to ask questions as part of their training. Why is it that business executives aren't taught that? I'll leave, I'll throw it to both of y'all. Michael Marquardt:   Yeah. I think, lawyers are taught to ask questions, but they never ask a question that they already do not know the answer to. So they are open and great questions. Those are, they're always leading questions. A lawyer is taking a task if he ever asks a question for which he does not know the answer that's poor lawyer, lawyerly. Doctors are not trained to ask questions. They're very poor at asking questions. Although it's a very important part of their work to do a prognosis and to ask for information about the patient. But many of them are very uncomfortable in asking questions, or they ask the wrong questions, or in an ineffective way, or a discomforting way, etc. So, I agree that medical doctors could greatly benefit from getting a course and asking questions, but my wife happens to be a medical doctor, and I do not recall that she took any course on how to ask questions. I don't know of any physician or school that does that. But I think you bring up not only lawyers and doctors, but we realize now that every person in life has to ask questions. Every parent, the better questions parents ask, the better parents they are. The better questions social workers ask, the better social workers they are. The better questions that interviewers or newscasters. So all of life is your status in life your quality and being a leader in that profession is dependent upon the questions. And we know that the great newscaster Walter Cronkite in the past, they were great at asking questions, not only the words they used, but the comfort, but they all listened carefully too. And because great questions come from listening. Your premise is that doctors and lawyers are important for them to ask questions, but I think what Bob and I have discovered is that every person in every sector, and every profession will be better if they ask questions. Bob Tiede: Whenever I speak, and I'm privileged to speak many times and love it. But I always start my talk with a confession. I get up and say, I need to start with a confession. And my confession is that for most of my career, I was a benevolent dictator. Because I thought the job of a leader was to tell staff what to do. The job of a leader was to give direction. And I did not have that paradigm out of evil intent. It was just, that's what I thought the job of a leader was. I did say benevolent. I grew up in a home where I was taught to say please and thank you. So Tommy, if you'd been on my team, I don't think I ever would have said, Tommy, go do this. It'd been more like, Hey, Tommy, this week we're working on this. It'd really be great if you could please do this. And when you did it, I would have said, thank you, Tommy, at a staff meeting, Tommy, stand up. You all need to hear what Tommy did. It wasn't until I found that first edition of Mike's book, the first edition of leading with questions and reading that. And it is filled with stories just like the third edition of leaders, literally from around the globe. And they're using and as I read that first edition, I had only one question. Why hasn't anyone ever shared this paradigm with me before? It immediately made sense. I immediately saw that a leader who leads with questions would be so much more effective. When I'm speaking, another illustration I use is I have a picture of a big canoe with room for 15 participants and they all have oars. And I asked someone in the audience I said, you're the leader of this group. And as you can see, there are oars for everyone on your team. And you want to get that canoe across the lake as quickly as possible. How many would you like to have row with you? Of course, the answer is all of them. And I say, now, I know that's a silly question, but I'm going somewhere. And I go to the next slide, and there's a picture of the same team, but now they're gathered around a conference table, and there's an opportunity on the table. And I say, now, listen to this question carefully. If you're a leader like I used to be, who thinks your job is to figure out how to take advantage of the opportunity and then you'll tell them what to do? How many mental oars are in the water trying to figure out how to take advantage of the opportunity? The answer is one. Only yours. But a leader who leads with questions, who leans forward, perhaps, makes eye contact with the whole team and then says, hey gang, here's this opportunity. What do you all think we might do? Now, how many mental oars might be in the water? Maybe all of them. And I ask whoever I'm interacting with, what are the chances that you might hear an idea better than anything you were thinking? And they always say hi, yeah, it's not a guarantee, but hearing all those ideas, it's highly probable. And I say, imagine across the table, it's Sarah. And she shares a brilliant idea, and you're thinking, wow, that's so much better than anything I was thinking. And so you say, Sarah, love your idea. Sarah, would you be willing to lead our team in executing that? And then I say, now, how hard will Sarah work? A leader who leads with questions can be so much more effective. They're hearing more ideas and now they're empowering and involving their staff in the solution. It's hard. Whose idea is she executing? Her own. That's just some of the reasons that a leader who leads with questions can be so much more effective. They're hearing more ideas and now they're empowering and involving their staff in the solution. So when it comes to executing, they're executing something that they participated in creating, it works. 15:17 Tommy Thomas: Let's get up to a hundred thousand or so feet and ask the big question, what makes a great question? Michael Marquardt: There's no single right answer. I think a great question is usually not the very first question that's asked. A great question usually emerges if you're in reflection or interaction with other people. And you ask the best question you can at that point, and then there's conversation, dialogue, and based upon what you hear, you ask another question. Many of us go through life never experiencing a great question, but if we use the ability to really trust and care about what other people are thinking and saying, ask them questions, and build upon what they say and what you've heard. I think it's possible to quite normally or regularly have great questions in a problem-setting situation or environment. But great questions generally are those that stretch people. They get you outside the box. They get you looking at things from a different perspective. And that's why all the time, great questions emerge in a group with diverse thinkers. You have an engineer and a marketing person and a religious minister or whatever. Have a great question merged in that group than if they are all engineers or they're all marketing people. So, you can conditions environments in a group setting as well as within yourself that they can emerge. And so, we've all had great questions in our life and they've changed our lives, but they've been very infrequent because we don't get asked as many great questions as are available or should be asked in our lives. Bob, you may have some other thoughts. Bob Tiede: I agree with everything Mike has shared. Something that I've discovered is that some of the best questions are so simple and whenever I'm speaking again, I ask who here would like to learn to lead with questions in 30 seconds. Every hand goes up. And, of course, I say the reason I'm asking this is I sense from my audience is they'd like to learn to lead with questions, but so many times they imagine they'll have to get a master's degree in questionology. It's a nice idea, it'd be nice to be a brain surgeon, and make that kind of money. But, there are no courses for brain surgeons in 30 seconds. So, every hand goes up, I invite somebody from the audience to come up and when they come up, I say, I think I selected, John here because he has a photographic memory and whoever I brought up always shakes their head like I don't. And I say all you have to do is memorize my four favorite questions. And I've got a second hand on my watch and I say, here we go. My first favorite question is, what do you think? Second, what else? Third, what else? Fourth, what else? And I say, do you have them memorized? They always do. I say, share them with us. And they always successfully do it. And then I say, now, some of you look a little skeptical. Like you can't ask somebody, what do you think? What else? What else? What else? And I say not in that rapid fashion. But first of all, you're going to add a topic to what do you think? What do you think we ought to do about? There's going to be some topic. And when you ask, they're going to answer. Now I used to look at this like I asked a question, and they answered, that's complete. What I discovered is that people, when they're asked to give opinions and input, they instinctively roll out a safe answer. Their first answer, they're testing the waters. Now [00:19:00] they're doing this instinctively. But just to see how it's treated. So, Tommy, if I asked you, hey, what do you think about it? And you give me that first answer. I said Tommy, that's stupid. Everyone knows that you're sorry you answered. But when I say, wow, Tommy, that's good. Say more. What else? You relax and you'll give me more and then again, instead of moving on, when you pause, I'm likely to grab a pen and say, Tommy, I've got to take notes. This is pure gold. Please say more. What else? And what I've discovered is actually on the third and fourth question that I get to their gold nugget, their very best thought. And I realized we've all heard the story of the proverbial gold miner, the guy who mined for gold all his life, looking for the gold vein, never found it, finally quits. Somebody came along later and discovered the old miner was within six inches of the gold vein when he quit.  Now, that's probably just a proverbial story, but I share, if you only ask people, what do you think? Get their first answer and move on. You're a bit like that gold miner. You got close, but it's what else is down there. And I'm not disagreeing with Mike at all. I'm saying another angle on asking a great question is the what else is where you hear more and discover that they've got some incredible things. You just had to help them dig a little to uncover some of those answers that you would not have gotten to if you only said, Hey, what do you think about. Get their first answer and then move on to just another technique to get their brilliance.  Michael Marquardt: I teach people how to ask questions. I have an activity in which they work in pairs, and you ask seven questions. You're allowed seven questions. I give them the first question. What are you most proud of? And then based on your response, you get six more questions. And I tell the people the question. I said you have the opportunity to change the other person's life. In seven questions, in maybe seven to ten minutes, you can change the other person's life, because if you listen carefully to each question, the response to each of your questions, by the seventh question, you're going to have a question that will cause that other person to see something they never saw before or understand something they'd never considered before. So, they put very high expectations, and they're amazed how, gee, here's something I never knew. And in 10 minutes, we're the best of friends because great questions always build friendships. This person understood something or made a decision or an understanding that never considered before.  Wow!  I love that. Tommy Thomas: Anybody who listens to my podcast with much regularity, they would as some have gently pointed out that the biggest weakness I have is the lack of follow-up questions. So this is convicting at too many levels, but I guess it's good to be convicted by two aces. I will be more deliberate about that. Changing gears for a minute. Earlier in the week, I was talking with Matt Randerson, the Vice President of Growth and Operations at Barna organization. And we're doing a podcast on generational influences on the nonprofit sector. And so, I guess the question I have is. Have you observed any differences in the kind of questions you might ask the generations or how you would frame a question between a baby boomer and a Gen X or a millennial? Michael Marquardt:   I have not. No, if you do, I've not noticed it. Of course, ask someone a question, a generation Z responds differently than a millennial or whatever age group, they are. And so, the first question may get a different response, but I think deep down, uh, a great question will have a positive, significant impact on any age person. Bob Tiede:  I totally agree that, as Mike said, the answers, and their response may be different. But what I've discovered is that all people, regardless of their age, love to be listened to. And another thing I've shared from time to time is that when you meet a new person if you do 80 percent of the talking, they most likely will mistrust you. But if you meet a new person and you let them do 80 percent of the talking. Almost always they will leave that time trusting you and you can think, how is this, we instinctively think if I can only tell them all the great things about myself, they will love me. But when you monopolize the conversation, they tend to think, who is this person? But when you inquire and ask them questions where they do the talking and you're listening, they feel affirmed. There's a quote I love and that is that being listened to and being loved are so close to each other that for the average person, they cannot distinguish the difference. And it's not that they analyze it, but when somebody is listened to it feels good to them. It's wow, I like this person who's showing interest. And I think that goes across all generations. 24:51 Tommy Thomas: I know both of you guys work a lot with teams in his book, How You Play the Game, the 12 Leadership Principles of Dean Smith. David Chadwick, one of his players who played on the Final Four team said the concept of team may be Coach Smith's greatest contribution to basketball, leadership, and society.  So y'all work with teams. How has the concept of a team impacted your life? Michael Marquardt: I think, organizations cannot succeed without teams, successful teams that work together. And unfortunately, most teams are dysfunctional. They're frustrating. People prefer not to be in that group. When they're in the group, they're looking at their phone, or they're cutting off people, or not listening, and so forth. And if they do participate, they participate to the extent that they can try to control what the group does. I know best what the problem is, and I know best what the strategy is. Most people who work in groups or teams, spend their energy trying to convince other people through statements and expertise and power that this is the problem. This is a strategy. This is what we should do. Great teams do just the opposite. Members of great teams do just the opposite. So, when I'm a member of a great team, I spend my energy trying to find out what you think. So, Tommy, what do you think? We should do this problem, or what are your experiences? Where should we be looking? What resources do you recommend? So, I spend my energy asking questions of other members of the group to give their perspectives. We tend, we hear what we ask for, and we reject or filter what we don't ask for. And so what do other members of the group do to me? If I've asked them questions, they say, Mike, what do you think? And so great teams are composed of individuals who spend their energy asking questions of other people. And that's a team. If you would stop worrying or wondering, did I recommend this? Or am I, do I have the power? You come up with something that no one, it's a team. And so great teams spend their time asking questions rather than making statements. Bob Tiede: I don't know what I could add to that. That is that is so well stated. They're not adding to it but one of the things I talk about the teams can do is question storming. We hear about brainstorming, but there's question-storming. And in one way to do question storming that's unique is you state here's the opportunity. Here's the problem. And I need everyone on the team to write down five questions that we should answer in order to know what to do about this. And the reason you have everybody write it down is generally on a team, you have your verbal processors who are the first to jump in, and then you sometimes have your more quiet people. Okay. It's already been said. I don't think I'll add to it. And you don't get input from them, but by having everybody write down their five questions, you get everybody involved. And then maybe you tell them ahead of time, as soon as everybody has their five, we're going to post them up here. And now the team gets up, looks at all the questions and you can. Put five check marks, five votes by the questions you think are most important to answer. And then once you've identified those, the leader says, okay, here's the first one. Who here will take responsibility to go find the answer to this? And the second one, the third one, but it's a way of creating a questioning culture that the way to find the best way forward is to ask questions. And then question storming is an activity, but having everybody write it to begin with is a way to involve some of your staff that might be quieter, who hesitate to give input after the verbal processors have jumped in and shared their thoughts. 29:17 Tommy Thomas: Good work. So, I want to close out with a little lightning round. I've tried to glean some questions from some of my favorite podcasters. And I listened to Alan Alda's podcast Clear and Vivid a lot. And one of his questions is if you're sitting beside a total stranger at a dinner party. How would you start a meaningful conversation? Michael Marquardt: As I indicated earlier, a great question to ask anyone is what are you most proud of? What is some great success you've had in life? To give people an opportunity, because that question will reveal many things about the stranger or the partner, because it shows what their values are, what they're proud of. It makes them feel good to talk about that. It may take a little while to reflect, but that's usually a great question does take some reflection. You don't, it's a great question. Don't respond right away. It's probably not a great question. It's almost a closed question. So, I have found that if I have the courage to do that and great questioners have courage, and that's why a lot of us don't ask questions. We no longer have, we don't have confidence in ourselves, or we're afraid of asking a tough question or a great question, so that's. That's one I might use. Bob, you might have a few others. Bob Tiede: Oh that's a brilliant one. I call these kind of questions platinum questions. And we all ask a lot of questions because we don't know the answer and there's nothing wrong with that. Which way to Walmart here? They know, and I need to know. And nothing wrong with that question, but a platinum question is a question that as they answer, they enjoy answering. It's not a gotcha question. [00:31:00] And they say, I've never thought about this before. And they enjoy answering. And one of my platinum questions I love to ask is, what would you say are the three to four events that have most shaped who you are today? And then, listening. And I'm sure there's more that in that category and another one, I'd love to hear just your story. And again, listening uh, it's important when you ask these kinds of questions. To follow with what I call the gift of silence. This isn't, when you ask this question they're not likely to begin talking at three seconds. And research shows the average person only waits three seconds after they ask a question for an answer. And if the other person doesn't answer, they just move on. But when you ask one of these questions, like Mike's question, keep comfortable eyesight, but give them time to think because it's likely going to take them 10, maybe [00:32:00] even 15 seconds before they start speaking, but then you're going to be the beneficiary of a great story. Tommy Thomas: If you could meet any historical figure and ask them one question, who would it be and what would you ask? Michael Marquardt: I'll answer that one first. I thought Bob would say Jesus. If you could have the opportunity of asking Jesus a question, that would be wonderful. I think any of the great religious leaders would be wonderful to ask questions and certainly some political leaders, some scientific leaders. Someone like Elon Musk. I wouldn't mind asking him a couple of questions right now. He's done some amazing things over the last few years so it would depend upon the person, and the type of question I'd ask, because I obviously would ask Jesus a very different question than I would ask Elon Musk or, President Macron from France, or whatever the case may be. But depending on where they're from, that's, because I try to say this person has some unique perspective or background, and I don't want to ask him a question that someone else could answer as well or better even what's unique about this person. If I ask that question, I'll get information I could get from nobody else. Bob Tiede: Yeah, that's not thinking that deeply. One of the questions I love to ask any leader that I meet is what are your favorite questions to ask and, learn from them in that way. Michael Marquardt: The question I often have is, have you ever been asked a great question? And if so, what was it and why was it a great question? And that again, we all have been asked great questions in our life and it changed their life. Those are great questions, but we don't recall those questions immediately, or sometimes you have to wait an hour a day. And that was like, I should have answered Tommy that way, but I didn't think of that. And I remember when my father asked me or my second-grade teacher or, someone along the line, but all of us have been asked great questions in our life. We don't maybe remember the question that was asked at the time, but it changed our career or changed our values, what we do, but what changed our lives was a question, not some person saying your dad or something, do this or that. Generally, all of us changed our lives significantly when we were asked a great question. Oftentimes when I signed my, signed our book, I say, may your life be filled with great questions. Because that's the greatest gift anyone could give to someone else is to ask that person a great question. So if your life has been filled with great questions, you have had a great life, no doubt about it. Bob Tiede: Mike's, what he just shared there reminds me of something. One of my books, I did an author, it says compiled by Bob, is 339 Questions Jesus Asked. I was sure that it was Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John who wrote those, I just compiled them. The thought was, Jesus wanted to see lives changed. But he knew, of course, he knew, he was God. But he knew that it would be far more powerful instead of saying, Tommy, let me tell you. Tommy, let me ask you. That then causes you to think. And you answered, he knew that your answer to his question had a greater chance of changing you than if him saying, let me tell you. And as I was hearing Mike there, just, share, it's yeah, asking, it's questions we've been asked that change us. Because as we were asked those questions, we focused on something that perhaps we, no other way would have focused or thought about, but then we answered, and we then thought it was our idea. And in some ways it was, but it was prompted by that question. Tommy Thomas: Last question. What do you understand about your life today that you didn't understand a year ago? Bob Tiede: Tommy, you do ask great questions. Michael Marquardt: I'm trying to think how my life has changed over the past year. And I'm retired. So, it doesn't change as much as others. But, my wife and I had a great trip to Norway a few months ago, and so I think the beauty of Norway and so it's raised a question. So I'm much more aware of and ask questions about nature and beauty and it happened to be a knitting cruise under the midnight sun was that and so I think that's maybe been one area that I have more questions about and am more appreciative of, and I spend being retired, I spend a couple hours every afternoon on our lake by our house and just enjoy the geese and the river and the water and so forth. Bob Tiede:   As I'm reflecting on it again, through Mike's gift to me, inviting me to be the co-author of the third edition, it was released in April. And it has, again, multiplied my opportunities to speak. It's a credential that has been a complete gift. Wiley Publishing publishes premier business books. I think if I knocked on the door all by myself, I might not have gotten in or even been considered, but because Mike had the relationship and they had already said yes, they would love the third edition. I rode along in the back of the car and got to this destination. But that's probably been just a used change to have another credential that is so well known in the business community and the privilege because of Mike of being a co-author of a Wiley-published book. Michael Marquardt: May I just share one more thing. I know we're ending it. A lot of people say I'm not able to ask good questions. I don't know how to ask great questions. I always say that we're all blessed at birth to ask great questions, all children from the moment they're born. They subconsciously ask great questions that enable them to walk and talk within a couple of years because great questions cause change. And then they, [00:39:00] when they start articulating, start asking questions, the adults around them, discourage them from asking questions. I'm too busy Johnny, or that's a stupid question or whatever. Michael Marquardt: From age three to some people for the rest of their lives until they die, they never get comfortable and confident asking questions because of what their parents and teachers have done to discourage questions because it's the joy of every child, every three-year-old child. They love to ask questions. They all ask great questions. And then, and so what we try to do and Bob and I are both grandfathers and we consider our most important job in life is to undo the damage that our children do to our grandchildren, because our children do the same thing we did, to encourage questions. So when we see our grandchildren, we say Grandpa loves questions. You can ask Grandpa any question you want. Because the most important thing I can do for my grandchildren [00:40:00] is to keep that spirit, that love of asking questions alive. When they go into four and five and go into the elementary school. Bob Tiede: As Mike has shared that thought, it reminds me of one of my granddaughters, Claire, when she was two, I discovered a  new way to connect with her. I would say, Claire, can I ask you a tough question? And that would draw her and she'd come sit on my lap and again, they were not tough questions, but they were fun questions. And then I'd say, now, Claire, it's your turn to ask Grandpa a tough question. And she would ask me questions and they were like, copycats sitting on a fence. If there are five copycats and one jumped off, how many are still there? And she would use that one over and over, but we would laugh. She is now a sophomore in high school. She is known by her teachers as the one who asks tough questions. They see her hand, okay. And she's not trying to get you a question, but they realized, wow, that is a powerful question. And she hopes now to become an attorney, but just something where, again, as Mike said, from little, we encouraged Claire to ask tough questions and affirmed her for asking questions. And I'm proud of all my grandkids for asking tough questions. Mike said, encouraging them to do some research showed that the average five-year-old asks almost 300 questions a day. The average college graduate only asks about 20. And it's a sad thing about our educational system that teachers will say to that five-year-old, Johnny, it's my job to ask the question. It's your job to answer. And so, they begin to realize school is about answering questions, not about asking. And where we could develop a skill that would change their lives forever by empowering them to ask questions.  Tommy Thomas: You guys must've been looking at my notes because I had one of the questions that I did not ask was if it's true, if it's true that leaders are better when they lead with questions, why is it that so few do so I think y'all have I think y'all have given a full a full response to that question. Thanks so much for being a guest today and I will include links to your books in the show notes and encourage people. Mike's book changed Bob's life. Take a look at these books and if you're alone, in the leadership journey I think you'll be greatly blessed. So, thanks to everyone for listening today. Thanks, Bob and Mike for being my guests.   Links & Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas The Perfect Search – What every board needs to know about hiring their next CEO Michael Marquardt Leading with Questions: How Leaders Discover Powerful Answers by Knowing What and How to Ask by Michael J Marquardt & Bob Tiede Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the Right Solutions by Knowing What to Ask by Michael J. Marquardt Now That's a Great Question by Bob Tiede   Connect tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Follow Tommy on LinkedIn Follow Bob Tiede on LinkedIn Follow Bob Tiede on Facebook   Listen to Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts    

Perusing the Proverbs - Pro. 15:28 by BBC Potch

Perusing the Proverbs-Pro. 29:18 by BBC Potch

One of the best experiences I had in a restaurant was when I sat at a table in Marylebone (London), decorated with floral cloths and comfy pillows. Nestling into my seat I was struck by beautiful spicy notes, warming ginger that mirrored the welcome from the maître d'. Perusing the menu, almost everything was a blend of cultures, cuisines and flavours. Dishes that are so unfamiliar, yet deserve to have a home. This restaurant and cooking style, which is proudly inauthentic, feels deeply authentic and full of love, and you can understand why when you learn about the experience of its founder, Ravinder Bhogal.Ravinder is a journalist, chef and restaurateur, who was born in Kenya to Indian parents. She's a monthly food columnist for the FT Weekend magazine and The Guardian's Feast magazine, a contributing editor at Harper's Bazaar, and regularly writes for The Observer Magazine and Vogue online. Basically one of the most influential women in food.Jikoni is one of my favourite restaurants and now ‘Comfort and Joy' (Ravinders 3rd book) is one of my new favourites too! It's one of those cookbooks to read, but also one that deserves to have its pages stained and spattered. Ravinder's commitment to lavish vegetables with the same joy and creativity you'd bring to a steak or a chop has resulted in a globally-inspired collection of recipes.There are fragrant and fortifying curries and stews including a mango and golden coin curry; hefty salads packed with fistfuls of good things such as heritage tomato salad with lime leaf dressing, ginger and chilli. Basically this is the kind of food I want to eat all the time. I ask Ravinder about how she conjures recipes and why cooking is the ultimate expression of love. I think you'll love this chat.

Perusing the Proverbs-Pro. 18:2 by BBC Potch

The brothers are back to ramble on about the football weekend. Do NFL players not see people under 6 foot? Are the Arizona Cardinals just new Cleveland? Should you not have in depth baseball knowledge until late in life? What level of staff do you need to be to get a ring in the MLB championship team. Why do people leave their snow gear unattended? Is the MMA world just a reskinned WWF Attitude Era? Does the MMA need to have managers for the fighters? What demographic is sport jerseys for? We bring a new segment ‘perusing inquiries' and answer the randomness encountered. Email us stuff at punandgame@gmail.com Merch:https://teespring.com/stores/punandgamePromo Code: WGAF for free shippingYouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUpI3McVZBegI28on8uwOATwitter:@PunandGameInstagram:@WadeTaylor_WGAF@PunandGame

Perusing The Proverbs Series-Proverbs 12:12 by BBC Potch

Perusing the Proverbs - Introduction by BBC Potch

ET contactee, lightworker and Venusian messenger Robert Potter  @victorytothelight beams in to reveal the truth about life on Venus, ancient Earth civilizations and the future of humanity on episode 138 of the Far Out with Faust podcast.Robert is a world-renowned expert on the Venusian civilization and has experienced many episodes of direct physical contact with Venusian and Pleiadian extraterrestrials from a young age. Hear his personal story, and listen in as he enlightens Faust about this lesser-known aspect of galactic knowledge.-How Robert made contact with famous Venusians like Valiant Thor-Who was Dr. Fred Bell and what did he teach Robert about the metaphysical world?-What Robert has learned about UFOs, abductions, and alien life forms-How many worlds and solar systems are in our Galactic Federation?-What do the Venusians look like and how is their civilization organized?-Which political figures are robots or clones? Is Donald Trump real?-Has NASA been lying about what Venus is really like?-Will Earth have floating cities in the future?-Where is Shambala?-Do we have Inner Earth civilizations living now?-Why has the government sent so many satellites to Venus and what happened?-Do the Venusians own the moon?-How the solar flares are affecting space temperature-What does the sun have to do with climate change?Explore Robert's upcoming conferencehttps://thepromiserevealed.net/summer-conference/Connect with Robert PotterWebsite: https://thepromiserevealed.net/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PromiseRevealed/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@victorytothelightInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepromiserevealed/0:00 Robert Potter Podcast0:46 - Introducing Robert Potter5:38 - How Robert connected and encountered with the Venusians throughout his life23:33 - Robert's evolution as a “contactee”, and recognizing his life mission 41:44 - Discussing galactic “hierarchy” (aka: dimensionality frequency) + its universal/infinite existence, and getting into multidimensional capabilities 53:43 - Floating cities, and the inevitable higher dimensional architecture and way of life59:44 - Perusing through Robert's website, recommendations, and online resources … (incl: more photos of Venusians, and the Venusian Queen1:01:40 - Venusian response to help on Earth … the works “behind the scenes”1:10:23 - Robert's message / Venusian download to the world#Podcast #Extraterrestrial #Pleiadians

Subscribe to the podcast Freaking out about the definition of dollar cost averaging. Learn about Bitcoin at a trickleBitcoinTrickle.com SponsorLiberty Mugs Keep in touch with us everywhere you areJoin our Telegram groupLike us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter: @libertymugs (Rollo), @Slappy_Jones_2Check us out on Patreon Learn everything you need to know about Bitcoin in just 10 hours10HoursofBitcoin.comPodcast version

On this edition of the Happy Hour, Patrick Murphy previews Saturday's game at Purdue, goes over the good and bad for the Buckeyes through five games and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And we're not just talking about books here, all text based communication is up for analysis.In Episode #414 of 'Musings', Juan & I discuss: Juan's challenge to control his compulsive behaviour, why I don't try and predict the end of a story, the freedom of zero expectations, our purpose for reading and whether technology will change the medium of consumption for books. Massive thanks to Dave Jones, McIntosh and Amy The Great for the support! Always awesome to see a new supporter jumping in.Timeline:(0:00) - Intro(0:39) - Books should be enjoyable(4:11) - Finishing every book you start(10:06) - Coming in with a blank slate(18:09) - No expectations(21:57) - Bookstagram behaviour & speed reading hate(27:05) - Boostagram Lounge(37:07) - Why we read books(41:42) - Note taking(52:27) - Physical vs digital text(59:40) - What is text?(1:06:08) - Summary(1:10:55) - V4V: Support via PodfansValue 4 Value Support:Boostagram: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/supportPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcastConnect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcast.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcastSupport the show

Dave Talks Comics 184 Perusing the programming schedule for Baltimore Comic Con 2023 recorded Sep 2, 2023  

The Academic Adventures find themselves confronted with a vending construct and an odd request. Johanna Howes - Meredith, Kate O'Sullivan - Potentia, Ross Balch - Harold, Ben Keirnan - DM/NPCs

Friday Hour 2, Segment 3The Mike Taylor show airs weekdays on Ticket 760 (KTKR) from 2PM to 5PM.Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeTaylorShowFollow Puma on Twitter: @biggestpuma

Today we're inviting you into our shower again for another Metaphysical Shower Thoughts.This Sunday we're going on a good tangent. Almost 2 hours of neurodivergent fueled metaphysical observations we've made as psychic mediums, twin flames, and best friends.Perusing spiritual thoughts such as "raising your vibration", understanding your spiritual gifts, communicating with your Spirit Guides, and even reading each other for your entertainment! If you're in the mood for a slumber party style conversation on all things metaphysical, grab your favorite snack and cozy blanket and get comfortable. FOR MORE CHECK OUT OF YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@MetaPsycKicksOR READ THE BLOG: https://www.metapsyckicks.com/journalOR JOIN OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/metapsyckicks——-BOOK A PSYCHIC MEDIUM READING:Olivia the Medium: https://www.metapsyckicks.com/our-servicesBOOK A TAROT READING:Emily the Intuitive: https://www.metapsyckicks.com/our-services-----RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS:Our YouTube Setup ►► https://kit.co/metapsyckicks/meta-psyckicks-youtube-setupOur Podcast Setup ►► https://kit.co/metapsyckicks/meta-psyckicks-podcasting-setupEm's Tarot Collection ►► https://kit.co/metapsyckicks/em-s-tarot-card-collectionOther Divination Tools: ►► https://kit.co/metapsyckicks/other-divination-toolsDISCLAIMER: This description might contain affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!-----ARE YOU A PSYCHIC QUIZ: https://www.metapsyckicks.com/extrasTELL US YOUR PARANORMAL STORIES HERE: https://www.metapsyckicks.com/extrasCHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AND BLOG:www.metapsyckicks.comEMAIL US: metapsyckicks@gmail.com——-SAY HI ON SOCIAL:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Np1K0QH8e-EDHhIxX-FaAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/metapsyckicksTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@metapsyckicks?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/Meta-PsycKicks-107812201171308Em's Pet Channel - Chin Villain: https://www.youtube.com/chinvillainOlivia The Medium:Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/oliviathemedium/Twitter - https://twitter.com/OliviaTheMediumSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/meta-psyckicks/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Paul Rosolie (@PaulRosolie) is a conservationist, a filmmaker, the director of JungleKeepers and Tamandua Expeditions, and the author of Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon. What We Discuss with Paul Rosolie: How Paul Rosolie and his JungleKeepers team showcase sustainable and profitable alternatives to illegal logging and mining for locals — and their descendants — to prosper. Why many uncontacted tribes in the Amazon react to intrusion by outsiders with extreme violence — even when the outsiders demonstrate the best of intentions. How invasive and inefficient gold mining by armed, organized criminals from places as far away as Russia is turning once lush rainforests into mercury-poisoned wastelands. Efforts being made to harness medicinal compounds unique to the Amazon — and the knowledge to use them — and prevent them from disappearing for good. Even if you need to slim down for beach season, Paul doesn't recommend getting lost in the unforgiving Amazon — where he shed a pound a day simply trying to survive before finding his way back to civilization. And much more... Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/827 This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: jordanharbinger.com/deals Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course! Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

Aji & Mina introduce themselves and discuss what this show is even going to be about. We're reading through the Ruby on Rails Guides page by page, and discussing our takeaways here.thoughtbot, your expert design and development partnerThe Ruby on Rails Guides - What we're calling the "table of contents" and where we'll be drawing our episodes from.Perusing the Rails Source Code: Alex Kitchens' presentation from Railsconf 2017 that had a big impact on Mina.Bike Shed episode 203: A Blessed Monkeypatch Chris Toomey's conversation with Eileen Uchitelle, which we obliquely reference in the ep.

We're getting excited for Brooke Ligertwood's shows in Jacksonville and Tampa this week. But we also recognize that Brooke has chosen make a lot of sacrifices for her family to be on tour and share the word with fans at her concerts. She recently shared an Instagram post where she got a reminder from her husband to remember why (they) do this!  Soon there will be 64 teams to choose from for the NCAA March Madness Tournament. And there are a lot of options to peruse when it comes to filling...

Join us as we review the first (of many) Halloween Horror Nights 32 speculation map. Then Corie reports back from her quick trip to Super Nintendo Land at Universal Studios Hollywood. And Epcot's Flower & Garden Festival food menus have been released. Plus much more!                   

Keith Lee recently stitched both @vegasstarfish and @thelasvegasfoodie's posts recently and crazyness ensued capping things off with an epic post by @vegasstarfish followed by one by Keith last week. We recap the events with Jennifer and Lindsay! 

Pop Art Painter Jamie Roxx (www.JamieRoxx.us) welcomes Matthew Bauer co-writer, director (The Other Fellow, Movie | Documentary, Biography, Thriller) to the Show!    (Click to go there) ● WEB: theotherfellow.com ● IG: @TheOtherFellow ● FB: @TheOtherFellow ● TW: @TheOtherFellow ● YT: @theotherfellow   ● IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt2587214   IN THEATERS AND ON DEMAND FEB 17, 2023 from Gravitas Ventures. An energetic exploration of male identity via the lives, personalities, and adventures of a diverse band of men, real men across the globe all sharing the same name - James Bond. When British author Ian Fleming creates the character of 007, he needs to christen him with a “really flat, quiet name”. Perusing one of his favourite books BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES Fleming steals the name of a Philadelphia ornithologist by the name of James Bond… 2022. Seventy years later. #theotherfellow #bondsjamesbonds ● Media Inquiries: October Coast PR www.octobercoastpr.com

Last year I planted quite a few sunflowers in support of Ukraine. The bonus was how many bees and birds enjoyed them! Perusing my Burpee catalog I came across a new sunflower 'Creme Brulee' and a beautiful new coneflower 'Pretty Parasols'. I share them on today's Garden Bite along with photos from last year's fun with sunflowers!

New York Rangers mailbag! Perusing the YouTube comment section to get all of your hot takes on Gerard Gallant, Chris Drury, Filip Chytil, Vitali Kravtsov, K'Andre Miller, Patrick Kane, the trade deadline and much more! Episode 763. Intro song is "Leave the Lights On" by Passafire.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order.Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NHLNETWORKFanDuelMake Every Moment More.Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…

New York Rangers mailbag! Perusing the YouTube comment section to get all of your hot takes on Gerard Gallant, Chris Drury, Filip Chytil, Vitali Kravtsov, K'Andre Miller, Patrick Kane, the trade deadline and much more! Episode 763. Intro song is "Leave the Lights On" by Passafire. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order. Athletic Greens To make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NHLNETWORK FanDuel Make Every Moment More.Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get started FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…

Perusing the new file dump for some interesting docs!

We start this episode off congratulating the U.S. Women's basketball team winning the FIBA tourney, saluting MLB HOFers and their final year, and a middle finger to Aaron Judge's "new record". We then discuss Antonio Brown exposing himself, Kanye at it again, why Joe Budden deletes his most recent episode, and so much more!!!! Don't forget to follow us @BaselessBanter on Twitter and @Baseless_Banter on IG. Also follow our host's Paul @LifeOfFatPablo, and Todd @toddknoes on Twitter.Subscribe, rate and review the show!!Email us: baselessbanterpodcast@gmail.com. Give us your thoughts, ideas, and questions.  Don't forget to follow us @BaselessBanter on Twitter and @Baseless_Banter on IG. Also follow our host's Paul @LifeOfFatPablo, and Todd @iamt0dd on Twitter. Subscribe, rate and review the show!! Email us: baselessbanterpodcast@gmail.com. Give us your thoughts, ideas, and questions.

The post A Practical Approach to Perusing the Atopic Dermatitis Product Portfolio for Pediatric Patients appeared first on JDDonline - Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.

Aijaz Hussain, a young innovator is working on a number of projects which can not only improve the medical equipments but also make them affordable for the common masses. Focused on health based innovations, 21 years old, Aijaz from Saderbal, Srinagar, is working on an EEG (Electroencephalogram) controlled wheelchair for paralyzed patients. While presenting the statistical data of 2021, he mentioned that among 5,00,000 disabled people, there are 1,60,000 persons suffering from physical disability and most of the people are facing difficulties in moving from one place to another. He said that a wheelchair is the most commonly used device for movement. However the existing wheelchairs either require the help of another person to move or the user's finger to operate the wheelchair through joystick or buttons. He said, “My wheelchair is for fully disabled people who can't even move their hands to operate the wheelchair. This is for the people who can only use their brain.” The EEG controlled wheelchair made by him will work by capturing the beta waves or EEG signals from his brain which will further control the wheel chair.The use of electroencephalogram (EEG wave) based control schemes can change the shape of the lives of the disabled persons, he said. He said, “Brain-computer interface can have a profound impact on the life of paralyzed or elderly person or people with locked-in syndrome as it offers control over various devices without any necessity of movement of the body parts. Such people can control with attention or by blink.” Talking about the cost, he said that he is trying to develop a low cost wheelchair by using the available cheap parts and incorporating a brain-computer interface considering the affordability of people. “If there is any wheel-chair like this, it costs almost 40 lakhs but I am reducing the costs. Using the attention level and blink, the wheelchair will cost Rs. 1,50,000 and using the EEG signals of a specific movement, it will cost Rs 4 lakh,” he said. One of the important features in the EEG controlled wheelchair is Destination Mapping. The wheelchair develops a virtual map by taking command from a smart interface based on EEG signal as the user moves around and independently reaches desired positions. Having done intensive research, he has consulted more than 50 papers on wheelchairs from reputed journals like IEEE, science direct etc. “An innovator can make an innovation if he has enough knowledge of previous things. Even if a machine requires a slight modification, you should have all the information, only then you can upgrade it,” he added. He feels that the high cost of improved medical facilities have restricted many needy and poor people to avail the benefits of such facilities. “Many upgraded medical facilities are in place but a common person can't afford those facilities. We need to make innovations in such a way that their prices are affordable to all,” he said. Talking about his other innovation, he is also thinking of making a shockproof and affordable pacemaker. Pacemaker is a small electronic device, implanted in a chest to help regulate heart function. He said that a person with a pacemaker has to undergo a lot of problems. “If a person receives electrical injuries that can hamper the functioning of pacemakers and in such instances, a person can get a heart attack and can even die. My shockproof pacemaker will reduce the problems to a larger extent and also it will be affordable. Also the higher efficiency factor of the battery will be taken into consideration,” he said. Inspired by Mostafa Chamran Save'ei, an Iranian Physicist, Aijaz was interested in electronics from childhood. “Since childhood, I was interested in devices and would often fiddle with them. I always wanted to make devices which would create a good impact on society and benefit the people in the health sector particularly,” he said. Perusing bachelors in Computer Application from A

Twitch had an ODD experience this weekend while PERUSING adult erotica. And YES, it was WEIRD! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you building your dream or are you building someone else's dream?

SHOW TOPICS Two show announcements! Storage Whores We see dead people SHOW NOTES 00:10 - Merchandise but no Anniversary Show 01:10 - James and Catherine are aliens 01:25 - New SubRant TikTok! 01:45 - Online video editing software 02:30 - Fake til proven Basquiat? 03:05 - "Chain of Custody" and "Players" Basquiat - (deceased) Artist Larry Gagosian - Art dealer Thad Mumford - (deceased) Screenwriter, 1st owner Storage Unit -Unpaid x30 years William Force - Art/antiquities dealer, 2nd owner Lee Mangan - Retired salesman, 2nd owner Pierce O'Donnell - Lawyer, purchased interest in 6/25 pieces "Mumford's Poem" - Taped on dot-matrix printer paper Lindon Leader - Brand expert, FedEx logo designer Diego Cortez - (deceased) Basquiat Estate Authentication Committee (deceased - disbanded 2012) member Jordanna Moore Saggese - Author "Reading Basquiat: Exploring Ambivalence in American Art". Aaron De Groft - Director & CEO, Orlando Museum of Art Cynthia Brumback - Board Chair, Orlando Museum of Art 06:50 - Trying hard for that "place in time" 07:30 - "One Last Heist" coming soon to a theatre near you! Or, "Ocean's Fail" 09:05 - Chasing the antiquity dragon 10:30 - Perusing the "Cardboard Collection" (video) 11:30 - Provenance (and asking questions) is "off-limits" in Orlando 12:34 - "Sometimes, you shouldn't attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence" 13:30 - Orlando, unhinged! 14:15 - Traumatically trapped in Orlando elevator! 14:52 - "Heroes and Monsters" - John Michel Basquiat 15:40 - A "stooge" for with good intentions, or just a stooge? 16:45 - James has a list of critiques 18:02 - Just say "these works may or may not be authentic" 18:21 - Having fun? Spending money? Who cares if it's real or not! 19:00 - Back to the "in-the-style-adjacent" artwork 20:30 - Achieving layering within a "visual collage" 21:00 - Deconstructing Basquiat, again! 23:03 - It's ghoulish to use dead people to authenticate your fakes 24:55 - The Mystery of the 1994 FedEx Logo 27:05 - "Handwriting analysis and poems don't authenticate artworks" 28:20 - Back to Banksy's Instagram archive and end

Join the "Bad Boys" for their newest adventure - school! Namely, infiltrating the Pandaros School of Magic! We're adapting adventures from Strixhaven for this particular adventure to fit with the homebrew world of the pod and we hope you enjoy it. We may have to take a short break from our live streams of Bad Boys for a bit, but never fear, we'll be back at it before you know it! This episode features homebrew creations from SpectreCreations - Prosthetic Rune; and SpectorCreations in collaboration with the_Griffons_Saddlebag - Spider-Newt, both of which are associated with the beloved Kynna (aka the Large Woman to Bion). You can find each of these creators on Instagram at the user names listed, as well as on Patreon and we highly recommend you check them out! Music: Hammer of the Gods Theme by DM Rick and Kay; Link Street and Alchemy Lab by Ivan Duch (https://ivanduch.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/hammpod/support

In this final episode of the Perusing the Pandemic series, we visit with Hannah's dad, Dr. Greg Whorton, to reflect on and recall the story that inspired this project in the first place: her grandmother's battle with Covid-19 back in April 2020. We also seek to answer the question, "How has our world changed since the beginning of this project?" Hannah also wants her listeners to know this episode may be emotionally triggering for some as they discuss fairly detailed medical circumstances and explore grief. She encourages listeners to pause, ponder, and take a break if you need it.

In this episode of Brand With Podcast, Ivan is joined by David Meltzer as they talk about David's journey as an entrepreneur and inspirational business coach. As a businessman, David explains how he achieved great success at a young age, met failure as he got older and greedier, and succeeded once again as a new and improved version of himself. He tells Ivan how he uses his journey to teach those how to avoid his mistakes as he fulfills his new purpose of empowering a billion people. Tune in to this episode to learn how to understand, analyze, and accept the "down" parts of your life to make the "up" parts even better. David Meltzer Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/davidmeltzer David Meltzer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmeltzer/ David Meltzer Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeltzer2 Brand With: http://brandwith.com Ivan Estrada: https://www.ivanestrada.com Brand With Instagram: http://instagram.com/therealbrandwith/ Ivan Estrada Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivanestradaproperties/