Podcasts about quoting

This show has been flagged as Clean by the host. In his early days as a writer, Heinlein wrote his stories in the context of a shared universe that he called the Future History. These were mostly short stories at first, with hte occasional novella. But they inclode some great stories. The Future History, Part 1 One thing Heinlein became well known for was his Future History. This placed many of his stories in a common framework of a future environment, and allowed events from one story to influence events in other stories. Here is what he had to say about it, in a post I found on the Heinlein Society Facebook site: “I never “created” or “invented” a “Future History.” On April Fool's Day 1939 I started to write commercially; by the middle of August I had written 8 shorts & a serial. As 5 of these items were more or less to the same fictional background, I found that I was continually having to check back to keep from tripping over my own feet. So I took an old navigation chart, about 3×4 feet, turned it over, made the time scale vertical, then set up 5 columns: stories, characters, technical data, sociological, remarks. Then I checked those first 5 stories, filled data into proper columns at the proper height for the fictional date—and continued to do this with other stories later. The chart was on the righthand wall near my elbow and was unusually messy as I never took the chart down to add to it—just reached over and scrawled on it.” Source: https://www.facebook.com/HeinleinSociety/posts/i-never-created-or-invented-a-future-history-on-april-fools-day-1939-i-started-t/1092968002874634/ One thing that became clear as his Future History developed is that he was not looking at our future exactly. He was very clear in his mind that he was writing fiction, and not issuing prophecies. If you are reading it today, it is best to think of this as a kind of alternate timeline, and this is something that holds true through a lot of his work. Even in his later novels, which were never formally part of his Future History, he would mention events from that past group of works, which may implicitly incorporate them. But this is an area where scholars are in disagreement as to which if the later novels, if any, should be incorporated. And there were unwritten stories that appeared on the chart that would have given further background to the stories that were written. They were stories Heinlein seems to have intended to write at some point, but never got around to writing. You can get more information about this in his book Revolt in 2100. The Future History stories were initially collected primarily in three books: The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950), The Green Hills of Earth (1951), and Revolt in 2100 (1953). Each of them fleshes out this hypothetical world in different ways. The first one, The Man Who Sold The Moon, introduces us to a businessman named D.D. Harriman, who is obsessed with going to the moon. But he thinks it should be done by private enterprise rather than by government. So he concocts a scheme to do this. He promotes a legal theory that the rights to the moon belong to the countries that it directly flies over, sort of like air rights taken to infinity. Then he uses the chaos of competing interests to throw this into the United Nations, and then gets the U.N. to give him the rights. He finally gets to launch a mission to set up a Moon base, but cannot join the expedition because the corporation considers him too valuable to risk. In a sequel story, Requiem, he does get to the moon just in time to die there. Heinlein was never above writing a tear-jerker. Of course, the book has other stories not linked to D.D. Harriman. Heinlein's fist story, Life-Line, is also collected here. And his second story, Let There Be Light, anticipates the development of solar power panels, but similarly to Life-Line, this earns the enmity of corporate interest, in the form of the Power Syndicate. The Roads Must Roll postulates moving roadways in the future, but the story really is about the sociology of technology in the future. And Blowups Happen, originally from 1940, anticipates nuclear fission as a power source, but it proves to be dangerous. They claim that the craters on the moon were really caused by a series of explosions to reactors that wiped out an earlier civilization. So they move the reactor into space for safety. And this feeds back into The Man Who Sold The Moon when this reactor in space blows up. In these early stories we can already see that Heinlein has a complex view of society. In Life-Line and Let There Be Light corporate power is the villain of the story, and some of this also shows up in Blowups Happen. But in The Man Who Sold The Moon we see that private enterprise is preferred to government action. I think the way this can be reconciled is to see that Heinlein is always concerned with individual personal freedom and opposed to anything that might endanger that, whether from too much government or too powerful corporate interests. The Green Hills of Earth contains the story of the same name, which concerns a former space engineer, Rhysling, now blinded by radiation and unemployable, who is also a poet. And one of his poems has that title. The crew of Apollo 15 named a crater on the moon “Rhysling”, and they planned to read a bit of it at the crater, but those trips could get very busy. Still, as they were getting ready to leave the moon there was this exchange. Note that Allen is the Capcom, and Scott and Jones are the astronauts : “Allen: As the space poet Rhysling (the blind poet in Robert Heinlein's The Green Hills of Earth) would say, we're ready for you to “come back again to the homes of men on the cool green hills of Earth.” [Scott – “That's from the Green Hills of Earth. That's one we talked about before the flight. Have you read that one?”] [Jones – “Oh, yeah! That was a favorite when I was a kid. Had you read it?”] [Scott – “Sure. (Quoting from memory): We pray for one last landingon the globe that gave us birthTo rest our eyes on fleecy skiesand the cool green hills of Earth.” Although two of the stories in this collection were older, from 1941, most of them are from 1948 and 1949. And there is a reason for that. On December 7, 1941, the United States found itself at war with Imperial Japan, and few days later Nazi Germany. Coming from a family that had fought in every American war you would expect Heinlein to get involved somehow. He could not enlist due to his medical retirement from the Navy, but since he had an engineering background so he became a civilian employee at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where he was joined by fellow science fiction writers Isaac Asimov and L. Sprague de Camp. A nice retelling of this can be found at Kirkus Reviews, and Asimov also discusses this in his biography. The upshot is that there is a gap of about 5 years when Heinlein did not publish anything. It is also notable that Heinlein by this point had escaped from the pulp science fiction magazines and gotten published in what were called the “slicks', so-called because the paper they were printed on was slick and higher quality than the pulps. His stories began to be published in places like The Saturday Evening Post, Argosy Magazine, and Town & Country. And these outlets paid higher rates than the pulps, a significant matter for any writer. Heinlein always maintained that the only reason anyone would write was to make money. And the stories were getting to be quite good as well. Delilah and the Space Rigger (1949) tells the story of a woman who joins a construction crew on a space station and faces discrimination, but wins out in the end, which was pretty progressive for the time, but not atypical for Heinlein. Space Jockey is a fairly pedestrian story about a rocket pilot dealing with his every day life. But The Long Watch is an important story to Heinlein's view of the important things in life. A young officer is assigned to duty on the lunar base, where there are nuclear weapons stored. His superiors want to stage a coup, using those weapons, which can threaten the Earth while being beyond the reach of retaliation. The young officer sacrifices himself to prevent their plot from succeeding, and becomes recognized in a death as a great hero. And this becomes part of the background to a later juvenile novel Space Cadet, as well as being referenced occasionally in other stories, so you can see that he regarded it as an important statement. Gentlemen, Be Seated is a cute little story about a man who saves people when a leak happens in a tunnel on the Moon by plugging the leak with his rear end. The Black Pits of Luna is little thing about a boy scout who is able to rescue his little brother, but it foreshadows the Juvenile novels he later wrote. It's Great To Be Back! is about a couple who have moved to the Moon, but continually find fault with the living arrangements. They finally decide to go back to Earth, but discover that it was not really the place they had remembered, and they then return to the Moon, which they now realize is home. -We Also Walk Dogs is a gem of a story concerning a company called General Services that basically does things for their clients. Their advertising slogan is “Want somebody murdered? Then DON'T call General Services. But for anything else, call…. It Pays!” They deal a few different problems in this story, but the main one is the development of anti-gravity, and it features a Chinese porcelain bowl. Ordeal in Space is about a spaceman who has an accident that gives him a fear of heights and washed him out of space. But he has to face his fear when he needs to rescue a kitten from the 35th floor. One thing about Heinlein is that he was a firm and devoted cat fancier, so it no accident that a kitten is the one that has to be rescued. And the final story, Logic of Empire, he discusses the development of slavery in the Venus colony as a natural consequence of machinery being expensive and humans being cheap. And in this story there is a background reference to Nehemiah Scudder, who will soon be important in the Future History. One of the things that is worthy of a brief discussion at this point is exemplified by the story Logic of Empire, and that is the reference to the Venus colony. We now know that Venus can best be described as hellish, with crushing air pressure and temperatures high enough to melt metals. The best designed landers can last no more than minutes before being destroyed. But this was not known when Heinlein was writing these early stories. The prevailing view at that time was that Venus was shrouded in clouds because it was very wet and swampy, so that is what Heinlein went with. Similarly his Mars had canals and was inhabited. You just have to go with it in these stories, as you have to do with so much of Golden Age science Fiction, let alone pre-Golden Age. Links: https://www.facebook.com/HeinleinSociety/posts/i-never-created-or-invented-a-future-history-on-april-fools-day-1939-i-started-t/1092968002874634/ https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Sold-Moon/dp/0671578634 https://www.amazon.com/Green-Hills-Earth-Robert-Heinlein/dp/0671578537 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011GBTKM/ https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/asimov-de-camp-and-heinlein-naval-aviation-experim/ https://www.palain.com/science-fiction/the-golden-age/robert-a-heinlein/the-future-history-part-1/ Provide feedback on this episode.

When Fullerton Tool started down the e-commerce path, they weren't trying to build a custom platform. They were trying to solve customer problems. In this episode, Beth Bauer and Tim Roenicke share how a website that initially focused on inventory visibility and product search gradually evolved into a business-critical tool for quoting, ordering, customer service and distributor support. One of the most interesting parts of the conversation is how often customer behavior shaped the direction of development. Search functionality led to quoting. Quoting led to new workflows. Distributor feedback led to new features. Internal teams began using the same tools customers were using. Over time, the platform became less about e-commerce and more about removing friction from the buying process. We discuss: The lessons learned from an early failed attempt at e-commerceWhy product search became the foundation for everything elseHow instant quoting helped speed up sales conversations The importance of customer feedback loopsWhy some distributors embraced the platform while others resisted itThe realities of supporting a custom system in-houseWhat manufacturers should consider before deciding to build or buy This is a conversation about e-commerce, but it's really a conversation about understanding customers and designing digital experiences around the way they actually work. ABOUT IMC LIVE IMC Live is the interactive webinar series from the Industrial Marketing Collective — created for marketers at manufacturing companies. Each session is designed to help you connect with peers, sharpen your skills and drive measurable results in your work.

By Doug Green “EnvisionDX helps you from the entire lifecycle — from adding a new site and getting a quote going, all the way through service delivery, monitoring and management.” In this Technology Reseller News Podcast, I spoke with Laura Lehman, Director of Digital Experience Product Management at GTT, about GTT EnvisionDX and how the platform is changing the way enterprises and partners quote, order and manage complex networking and security services. For enterprise IT teams and channel partners, one of the persistent challenges in global networking has been fragmentation. Quoting new services, validating site addresses, checking availability, managing installs and monitoring service performance have often required multiple systems, manual processes and repeated follow-up. Lehman explained that EnvisionDX was built to bring those workflows into a single digital experience. The platform provides visibility across the full lifecycle of a customer's network services, from initial quote through delivery and ongoing management. A key part of the discussion focused on real-time information. EnvisionDX allows users to see site-level details, service status, utilization and other operational data in one place. That matters because enterprise networks are increasingly distributed, with customers managing multiple locations, providers, security requirements and service types. Lehman also discussed one of the most common pain points in telecom quoting: address validation. EnvisionDX uses multiple address-validation tools, map-based views and latitude/longitude data to help users confirm exactly where a service is needed. The system allows a user to adjust a location pin on a map, helping improve quoting accuracy and reduce the risk of rework later in the process. The platform also highlights GTT's use of AI-powered tools to streamline partner and customer workflows. EnvisionDX supports more automated quoting and ordering processes, while giving users clearer visibility into the location, service and operational details that often determine whether a deployment goes smoothly. For partners, the result is a faster, more transparent quoting process. For enterprises, the benefit is greater confidence that services are being quoted, ordered and delivered based on accurate location and site-level information. The broader message is that enterprise networking is moving away from fragmented service portals and manual workflows toward unified digital platforms. EnvisionDX is GTT's effort to simplify that experience, giving customers and partners a clearer view of what they have, what they need and what is happening across their network. Learn more at: https://www.gtt.net/

Drawing from the sobering account of the famine in Samaria found in 2 Kings 6:24-29, Elder Dustin Parks delivers a searching message titled “Starving for the Word.” While the biblical famine brought people to unimaginable desperation for physical food, this sermon warns of a far greater crisis affecting many churches and believers today: a famine of hearing and obeying the Word of God. Elder Parks contrasts the horrifying conditions in Samaria, where people paid outrageous prices for scraps of food and even resorted to unthinkable acts to survive, with the spiritual condition of modern society. Unlike Samaria, many people today are surrounded by comfort, convenience, and abundance, yet remain spiritually starving. The danger is not an empty refrigerator but an empty desire for God, His Word, His house, and His presence. Using the prophecy of Amos 8, the message warns that we are dangerously close to a generation that no longer hungers for truth. Churches are struggling, attendance is declining, and many who once stood firmly in Christ are drifting away. The problem did not happen overnight. Spiritual famine often begins when believers slowly take God’s blessings for granted and allow other priorities to replace their love for Him. Throughout the sermon, Elder Parks challenges listeners to examine their own hearts. Have we become comfortable with the world? Have we traded worship for entertainment, conviction for compromise, and spiritual devotion for worldly pursuits? The enemy works gradually, drawing people away one step at a time until they find themselves distant from God and lacking spiritual hunger. The message emphasizes the importance of assembling with God’s people, enduring sound doctrine, and remaining faithful to biblical truth. Christians are called to be separate from the world, refusing to embrace the sinful values and influences that continually seek to pull them away from God. What one generation tolerates, the next generation often accepts as normal. Elder Parks speaks candidly about the deceptive nature of sin and the danger of following feelings rather than God’s Word. The world often presents sin as attractive while hiding its destructive consequences. Only the guidance of the Holy Spirit and obedience to Scripture can keep believers from falling into spiritual famine. At the heart of the message is a call to repentance. Whether for the lost soul needing salvation, the backslider who has drifted away, or the believer who has lost their desire to serve God, the invitation remains the same: return to the Lord while there is still time. God stands ready to forgive, restore, and heal those who humble themselves and seek His face. Quoting 2 Chronicles 7:14, Elder Parks reminds listeners that God is not the problem. God remains faithful. The need is for His people to repent, pray, and turn from their wicked ways. Revival begins when individuals allow God to search their hearts and reveal anything that stands between them and Him. This message is both a warning and a plea. Don’t wait until spiritual famine has consumed your life. Hunger for the Word of God. Desire His presence. Stay faithful to His house. And if God is speaking to your heart, respond today while His Spirit is still calling.

This show has been flagged as Explicit by the host. New hosts There were no new hosts this month. Last Month's Shows Id Day Date Title Host 4630 Fri 2026-05-01 Playing Civilization V, Part 11 Ahuka 4631 Mon 2026-05-04 HPR Community News for April 2026 HPR Volunteers 4632 Tue 2026-05-05 Hackerpublic Radio New Years Eve Show 2026 Episode 6 Honkeymagoo 4633 Wed 2026-05-06 Ham Radio Licence Lee 4634 Thu 2026-05-07 Upgrade Failsause operat0r 4635 Fri 2026-05-08 What did I do at work today? Part 3 Section 1 Lee 4636 Mon 2026-05-11 7 seconds memory Antoine 4637 Tue 2026-05-12 UNIX Curio #6 - at and batch Vance 4638 Wed 2026-05-13 Simple Podcasting - Episode 3 - Analyzing and Filtering Whiskeyjack 4639 Thu 2026-05-14 NLUUG Spring Conference 2026 Ken Fallon 4640 Fri 2026-05-15 Robert A. Heinlein Ahuka 4641 Mon 2026-05-18 Technical Dutch Open Source Event (T-DOSE) Ken Fallon 4642 Tue 2026-05-19 Hackerpublic Radio New Years Eve Show 2026 Episode 7 Honkeymagoo 4643 Wed 2026-05-20 HPR Beer Garden 13 - Triple IPA Kevie 4644 Thu 2026-05-21 Response to comments on HPR4424: Newsboat... Archer72 4645 Fri 2026-05-22 ZERO HOUR: FRIDAY AFTERNOON APK HACKING operat0r 4646 Mon 2026-05-25 Mobile Gaming Elsbeth 4647 Tue 2026-05-26 UNIX Curio #7 - Compression Vance 4648 Wed 2026-05-27 Simple Podcasting - Episode 4 - Audio Analysis Fun Whiskeyjack 4649 Thu 2026-05-28 What did I do at work today? Part 3 Section 2 Lee 4650 Fri 2026-05-29 Playing Civilization V, Part 12 Ahuka Comments this month Past shows hpr4424 (2025-07-17) "How I use Newsboat for Podcasts and Reddit" by Archer72. أحمد المحمودي said: "How did I find HPR" (2026-05-12 17:16:07) candycanearter07 said: "Re: How did I find HPR" (2026-05-12 19:36:04) hpr4502 (2025-11-04) "Cheap Yellow Display Project Part 3: Reverse beacon network " by Trey. Archer72 said: "Morse code" (2026-05-19 15:00:39) hpr4567 (2026-02-03) "Movie Recommendations for Hackers" by Deltaray. Antoine said: "Some watched!" (2026-05-27 03:33:12) hpr4587 (2026-03-03) "UNIX Curio #1 - Shell Archives" by Vance. Dave Morriss said: "Great reminder! I had forgotten shar" (2026-05-07 18:18:05) Vance said: "Color printing" (2026-05-08 22:02:23) hpr4607 (2026-03-31) "UNIX Curio #3 - basename and dirname" by Vance. Vance said: "Correction" (2026-05-12 01:03:12) hpr4618 (2026-04-15) "Simple Podcasting - Episode 2 - Basic Filtering" by Whiskeyjack. Henrik Hemrin said: "Generating sine wave" (2026-05-14 19:59:46) Whiskeyjack said: "Reply to Henrik Hemrin on Sine Waves in HPR4618" (2026-05-15 15:22:16) hpr4627 (2026-04-28) "UNIX Curio #5 - Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" by Vance. Steve Barnes said: "Thanks for the context!" (2026-05-21 05:28:05) hpr4628 (2026-04-29) "Nuclear Power Technology Follow Up" by Whiskeyjack. Antoine said: "o/" (2026-05-17 00:24:23) Whiskeyjack said: "Reply to Antoine on HPR4628" (2026-05-17 18:08:18) This month's shows hpr4631 (2026-05-04) "HPR Community News for April 2026" by HPR Volunteers. Whiskeyjack said: "Response to Ken Fallon in HPR4631 Community News" (2026-05-04 05:13:02) candycanearter07 said: "new episodes" (2026-05-04 18:47:39) Ken Fallon said: "new candycanearter07 episodes" (2026-05-05 09:00:00) أحمد المحمودي said: "Thanks for the encouragement" (2026-05-12 17:18:20) hpr4634 (2026-05-07) "Upgrade Failsause" by operat0r. YourName said: "Why is the audio so bad OMG sorry" (2026-05-06 20:05:43) Ken Fallon said: "Already reported and fixed" (2026-05-06 20:35:49) hpr4637 (2026-05-12) "UNIX Curio #6 - at and batch" by Vance. candycanearter07 said: "still useful!" (2026-05-13 03:43:37) norrist said: "at for scheduled reboots" (2026-05-16 19:41:04) Vance said: "Good points" (2026-05-17 03:03:47) Whiskeyjack said: "At and batch in HPR4637" (2026-05-17 18:35:11) hpr4640 (2026-05-15) "Robert A. Heinlein" by Ahuka. Antoine said: "Nice tips" (2026-05-17 00:22:01) Kevin O'Brien said: "I enjoyed doing it" (2026-05-17 19:14:19) hpr4646 (2026-05-25) "Mobile Gaming" by Elsbeth. candycanearter07 said: "my opinion of mobile gaming" (2026-05-27 00:24:58) hpr4647 (2026-05-26) "UNIX Curio #7 - Compression" by Vance. xmanmonk said: "Great Series" (2026-05-27 00:29:32) candycanearter07 said: "thoughts" (2026-05-27 13:20:13) Mailing List discussions Policy decisions surrounding HPR are taken by the community as a whole. This discussion takes place on the Mailing List which is open to all HPR listeners and contributors. The discussions are open and available on the HPR server under Mailman. The threaded discussions this month can be found here: https://lists.hackerpublicradio.com/pipermail/hpr/2026-May/thread.html Events Calendar With the kind permission of LWN.net we are linking to The LWN.net Community Calendar. Quoting the site: This is the LWN.net community event calendar, where we track events of interest to people using and developing Linux and free software. Clicking on individual events will take you to the appropriate web page. Provide feedback on this episode.

Darrell Castle talks about the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard from her position as Director of National Intelligence, and why she made the decision to resign. Was it because of her husband’s illness or something else. Transcription / Notes TULSI'S GONE Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today's Castle Report. This is Friday the 29th day of May in the year of our Lord 2026. I will be talking about the resignation of Tulsi Gabbard from her position as Director of National Intelligence, and about why Tulsi made the decision to resign. Was her decision because of her husband's illness or was it something else. Tulsi never seemed to fit into Washington like a typical Washington politician. She never seemed willing to lie and cheat her way to the top as is typical of Washington. From the beginning of her prominence, she seemed a little too honest and too forthright for Washington politics. Nevertheless, she was a politician having served as a Democrat in congress from the state of Hawaii. She left congress and ran for president as a Democrat but lost in the primary to Joe Biden. She became disenchanted with the Democrat Party and decided to back President Trump in his run for that office. President Trump appointed her Director of National Intelligence, in theory the most important national security position in the country. The U.S. now has 18 intelligence agencies or departments if you count their various components and they all report to the Director of National Intelligence, but once in the office I imagine that the DNI found out who holds the real power in the intelligence world. When I learned a few weeks ago that the CIA had apparently broken into, raided, or whatever you want to call the CIA's visit to their boss's office, I knew Tulsi would soon be gone. Whistleblower James Erdman blew his whistle in congress and testified that the CIA had “seized” documents from their secure area in the office of the DNI. Some of the files they seized related to the assassination, or perhaps their assassination, of JFK. They apparently also took the files related to MKULTRA which was and probably is the CIA's experimental program designed to alter and control human behavior through the use of mind-altering drugs and torture. They sought to and apparently did learn the art of mind control including control of whole populations through these experiments. There are people who exist now who are suing the CIA in an effort to get some answers to the questions of what happened to their minds and the minds of their parents because of MKULTRA. That's not all they got because apparently they got the files on “Havana Syndrome” in which U.S. diplomats and others stationed in Havana and other places were apparently subjected to some kind of mind-altering rays. In response to the CIA raid, Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and James Comer (R-KY) chairman of the house Oversight Committee, sent a preservation letter to the CIA demanding that all evidence related to the taken or stolen material be preserved. I imagine the CIA got a good laugh over that letter as they endeavored to show naive members of Congress who actually runs this country. Apparently someone spoke to someone and explained the facts of life as it exists in Washington because when that letter of preservation became public people started to backtrack their statements. Even Erdman, the whistleblower said no I didn't say it was a raid instead I just said CIA refused to comply with “lawful oversight and documented everts to circumvent oversight.” He testified to Congress that not only did CIA refuse to comply with the directives of the ODNI Director's Initiatives Group (DIG) investigations into the origins of COVID-19 and other “phenomena” but retaliated against those who did not support their own conclusions. Quoting long-term CIA agent Erdman, “The CIA illegally monitored the computer and phone usage of DIG personnel, their investigations, and contact with whistleblowers, which significantly impacted Director Gabbard's implementation of several Eo's issued during this administration and tasked to the DIG.” In addition, “when the DIG ceased operations, the CIA also took back 40 boxes of JFK files and MKULTRA files being processed for declassification by DNI Gabbard.” The CIA's spying was referenced as tracking every keystroke of DIG personnel as they processed files directed by presidential EO to be released or unclassified. These files included files concerning JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, the origins of COVID-19, Crossfire Hurricane, The Biden Administration's domestic surveillance, Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI) and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. So, just speculating here folks, but trying to do it with logic I think it went something like this. The President appoints this intelligent and experienced, but most importantly honest woman to head the nation's intelligence organizations. He then says that as he campaigned on a pledge to be transparent and release long classified files he issues an Executive Order (EO) to that effect. Tulsi, his DNI, who most likely took the job based on a promise to be forthcoming, sets out to obey the President's EO. She appoints a working group from among those in the office of the DNI which she calls DIG to sort through the files to determine if there was anything that should not be released. The CIA completely ignored that  report to DNI which was Tulsi and in fact they ignore or refuse to abide by the direct written orders of the President of the United States. They break into, or raid, if that is better, her office, take the files and even congress can't get them back. My conclusion, then, is that this case reveals as clearly as anything has who or what runs this country. I knew when I heard the story of what happened and looked into it that Tulsi would not be able to remain in the administration. Who would want to be director of the office that controls American intelligence agencies, all 18 of them, if one of those agencies was completely exempt from you, their boss's orders, and apparently didn't even follow the orders of the President. So, is that why she resigned because she didn't say that it was. In fact, she didn't complain about the President's inability or unwillingness to control the CIA but instead she thanked him and the American people for the opportunity to serve. In her letter she cited her husband Abraham and his diagnosis of a “extremely rare form of bone cancer” as the reason. She said he had stood by her every step of the way including when her Army guard unit was deployed to East Africa and through her political campaigns so she wanted to be with him full-time during such a difficult time. In 18 months as DNI she restructured the office, cutting its size and saving the American people more than $700 million per year. She launched many investigations and sought the release of previously classified material related to the programs previously listed. She has declassified more than 500,000 pages thus far. Her National Counterterrorism Center stopped thousands of narco-terrorists from entering the country until finally its head, Joe Kent, publicly resigned citing the Iran war as the reason. I saw her interviewed on the Shawn Ryan Podcast the other day and she was very forthright as she normally is. She said that the people who opposed her in her efforts were very intolerant of anyone who believes in God because in their minds they are God. They are the ultimate deciders of right and wrong and their choices are never wrong because they determine what right is. If a person opposes them, even if their boss opposes them, that person is on the way out. She said that before she goes at the end of June she will release many files related to the programs in question. Likely, these files will be released in weekly installments over the weeks of June. Her deputy director, Aaron Lukas, will serve as acting director until a permanent director is appointed. I predict without knowing one way or the other that the new director will have a CIA or perhaps military, meaning ex-General background. Politicians seem to be sweating over the prospect of files related to Crossfire Hurricane or the Russia gate hoax and other weaponization of law programs. I'm just speculating because I admit I don't know but I will wager that Tulsi grew very weary of constantly trying to follow presidential directives and being stymied at every turn while doing so. That type of constant stress is very difficult to bear long term.  Why would the CIA take her JFK files along with the other assassination files. That's a good question isn't it but the answer is very obvious but unsayable in public. Yes I know the assassinations were all done by lone nuts who were killed or prosecuted without any real investigation but nothing to see here folks just move along. Finally, folks, Tulsi seems to be an intelligent, honest woman who loves her country and its people and who puts them before any political party. There aren't many left like her and I for one will miss her. I wish her well. At least that's the way I see it, Until next time folks, This is Darrell Castle, Thanks for listening.

The Rebbe emphasizes the importance of quoting stories and teachings exactly as received, especially when writing or translating. He explains that personal interpretation can alter the original meaning, and encourages presenting both the original wording and any explanation for clarity. https://www.torahrecordings.com/rebbe/igroskodesh/011/009/3520

Welcome to the 1st episode of the newly rebranded podcast: PERMISSION SALES In this episode, host Charles Specht talks all about "permission" and how you can obtain that permission from your prospects. Without permission the best you can hope for is 2nd Place. Permission is about giving the prospect what they want so that they'll give you what you want.  You want exclusive access, to become the incumbent agent, and for the prospect to choose you. And nothing says you have my permission like a signed Broker of Record Letter. Without permission it's extremely difficult to win in sales. That's why it's so important to define permission, know what it is, and know how to get it. Be sure to subscribe now to the Permission Sales Podcast. Key Topics: The rebrand from Millionaire Insurance Producer Podcast to the Permission Sales Podcast Seth Godin's "Tribes" and the philosophy of finding your people Defining permission: giving prospects what they want to get what you need A signed Broker of Record Letter as the clearest expression of permission Quoting without permission and why agents lose even when priced lower The Find Your 50 framework for targeting the right client count Working commission math backward to reach a $500K or million-dollar book Three to three-and-a-half years as the timeline to a full book Permission at every level, prospects, carriers, and underwriters all require it Thinking like your prospect, not a producer, to start gathering commission Reach out to  Charles Specht Visit us at: Permission Network Permission Sales Podcast on LinkedIn Permission University Courses & Curriculum Permission Producer School Chief Sales Officer Produced by PodSquad.fm

France explains how we need God with us all the time.Quoting from Exodus 33v15, "If your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here" and from Romans 8v14, Galations 5v19-23, 1Sam 15v22-23, and from Exo 24v12, 2Pet 3v9, Heb 4v14-16, 1John 2v1-2.

Eitan Bendesky runs Statera Design & Build in San Diego, California. He reached a breaking point running 45 concurrent projects and generating 2.5 million dollars in sales, but keeping zero net profit. Waking up at three in the morning to fight site fires failed to fix his broken foundation. He was bleeding cash to cheap subbies and quoting high-end builds using broken spreadsheets. In this episode, Eitan explains how he stepped back from the brink of quitting. He fired underperforming staff who refused to say no to bad jobs and replaced unreliable trades to protect his margins. He details his shift from burnt-out founder to true CEO by tracking real financial data in QuickBooks and enforcing strict site rules. Eitan also breaks down the boundaries required when hiring his wife as the Director of Operations. By finally turning down bad projects, he aims to drop his total volume and secure 500 grand in pure profit. Links & Resources Mentioned: Statera Design & Build: Visit Eitan's website at https://www.staterasd.com/ The PSR Method: The "Problem, Solution, Recommendation" management framework Eitan uses to force his team to solve their own site issues.

“Version one is better than version none.” James Brown means it in the most practical way possible for builders. A rough first system in your building business is better than no system at all. Not the perfect process. Not the spreadsheet you will build “when things slow down”. Just something written down that gets the ball rolling, so you can test it, hand it to someone else, and improve it over time.If you have ever felt like the business owns you, this conversation will feel familiar. Quoting at night, solving problems all day, trying to remember what you promised clients and trades, and living in your inbox. James runs Builders Escape and helps builders step out of that reactive loop by putting simple business systems and processes in place that make a construction business easier to run.We take a look at what systemisation actually looks like on the ground for the building industry. The goal is to make the invisible visible. Get the key steps out of your head, document them, and make them easy for your team to follow. Not a corporate manual. Just clear, repeatable processes that reduce mistakes, improve communication, and help you build a more reliable operation.James also walks through starting with your client journey from enquiry to handover, because that is where the cracks usually show up. Missed steps, repeated conversations, and tasks that rely on one person remembering everything. We also talk about AI in construction business and why it only works when your processes are clear. If you are a builder who wants better margins, fewer fires, and more time and headspace, this episode is your reminder to start with version one and iterate from there.

Discover 40 everyday phrases you've likely used your whole life—without realizing they come straight from the King James version of the Holy Bible. In this fully illustrated episode of the Bible Made Easy Podcast, Brother George shares 40 powerful Bible sayings that have become part of everyday speech—from “You reap what you sow” to “The blind leading the blind” and many more. This engaging visual journey reveals the Biblical origins behind common idioms, metaphors, and expressions we use daily. Each phrase is brought to life with clear illustrations and KJV scripture, helping you understand both the meaning and context of these timeless sayings. #Kingjamesbible #Biblesayings #biblicalphrases #christianteaching #biblestudy #idiomsinenglish #kjvbible scriptures, #bibleexplained   Bible Made Easy Podcast: Bible based lessons through the lens of God's eternal love for humanity and His desire to reconcile all things to Himself. 

Denis Dyli has spent 13 years building Shopify stores for the businesses nobody wants to talk about: industrial suppliers, janitorial distributors, pipe manufacturers. The unsexy stuff. He's now a Shopify Platinum Partner, and he's turning all that pain into an AI-powered deal room that converts messy email RFQs into structured quotes in minutes, not weeks. We get into why B2B and wholesale are fundamentally different buying experiences, how mid-market manufacturers ($20M-$100M) are the most underserved segment in ecommerce, and why your B2B quoting process probably still feels like 1997. SPONSORS Swym - Wishlists, Back in Stock alerts, & more getswym.com/kurt Cleverific - Smart order editing for Shopify cleverific.com Zipify - Build high-converting sales funnels zipify.com/KURT LINKS Uncap: https://uncap.com Denis Dyli on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/denisdyli WORK WITH KURT Apply for Shopify Help ethercycle.com/apply See Our Results ethercycle.com/work Free Newsletter kurtelster.com The Unofficial Shopify Podcast is hosted by Kurt Elster and explores the stories behind successful Shopify stores. Get actionable insights, practical strategies, and proven tactics from entrepreneurs who've built thriving ecommerce businesses.

This show has been flagged as Explicit by the host. New hosts There were no new hosts this month. Last Month's Shows Id Day Date Title Host 4608 Wed 2026-04-01 Simple Podcasting - Episode 1 - Preparation and Recording Whiskeyjack 4609 Thu 2026-04-02 Proper Date Format Ahuka 4610 Fri 2026-04-03 Playing Civilization V, Part 10 Ahuka 4611 Mon 2026-04-06 HPR Community News for March 2026 HPR Volunteers 4612 Tue 2026-04-07 Hackerpublic Radio New Years Eve Show 2026 Episode 4 Honkeymagoo 4613 Wed 2026-04-08 Adding functionality to an Odoo installation Jeroen Baten 4614 Thu 2026-04-09 Dauug|18: Faster Than a '286, but Inspectable Like a Soroban Marc W. Abel 4615 Fri 2026-04-10 Clicking through an audit Lee 4616 Mon 2026-04-13 Thoughts about age control and further suggestions Trollercoaster 4617 Tue 2026-04-14 UNIX Curio #4 - Archiving Files Vance 4618 Wed 2026-04-15 Simple Podcasting - Episode 2 - Basic Filtering Whiskeyjack 4619 Thu 2026-04-16 HPR Beer Garden 12 - Baltic Porter Kevie 4620 Fri 2026-04-17 The Second Doctor, Part 1 Ahuka 4621 Mon 2026-04-20 Android volume control help operat0r 4622 Tue 2026-04-21 Hackerpublic Radio New Years Eve Show 2026 Episode 5 Honkeymagoo 4623 Wed 2026-04-22 A brief infodump on the Broadcast Address and Routing Jon The Nice Guy 4624 Thu 2026-04-23 Cheap Yellow Display Project Part 7: GUI Trying a Simple Hello World Trey 4625 Fri 2026-04-24 Site Specific Browsers Lee 4626 Mon 2026-04-27 Cable Management / PC Speakers operat0r 4627 Tue 2026-04-28 UNIX Curio #5 - Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Vance 4628 Wed 2026-04-29 Nuclear Power Technology Follow Up Whiskeyjack 4629 Thu 2026-04-30 What did I do at work today? Part 2 Lee Comments this month Past shows hpr4424 (2025-07-17) "How I use Newsboat for Podcasts and Reddit" by Archer72. Ken Fallon said: "Summary of findings" (2026-04-05 14:09:24) Archer72 said: "Not fixed from أحمد المحمودي" (2026-04-25 11:02:26) hpr4569 (2026-02-05) "Kiosk with guest mode on Linux" by Klaatu. 0xf10e said: "Preconfiguring browsers profiles? and re-replies ;)" (2026-04-17 09:56:49) hpr4585 (2026-02-27) "mpv util scripts" by candycanearter. candycanearter07 said: "perpetually updated script(s)" (2026-04-14 20:41:28) hpr4596 (2026-03-16) "Adding voice-over audio track created using text to speech on the movie subtitles" by Ken Fallon. Windigo said: "Great usability win" (2026-04-24 19:33:03) hpr4600 (2026-03-20) "The First Doctor, Part 5" by Ahuka. Kevin O'Brien said: "Maybe I will" (2026-04-12 16:16:00) hpr4603 (2026-03-25) "On the Erosion of Freedom in Open Source Software" by HopperMCS. Trollercoaster said: "Hopper did time traveling!" (2026-04-09 05:46:52) hpr4605 (2026-03-27) "Lee locks down his wifey poo" by Elsbeth. Lee said: "Quotation" (2026-04-05 15:59:54) Paulj said: "Thanks!" (2026-04-06 16:44:28) hpr4606 (2026-03-30) "My Nerdy Childhood: From Floppy Disks to Dial-Up Dreams" by Trollercoaster. Trollercoaster said: "Damn you Nerdy Nostaliga!" (2026-04-06 15:28:34) This month's shows hpr4608 (2026-04-01) "Simple Podcasting - Episode 1 - Preparation and Recording" by Whiskeyjack. Archer72 said: "Listening ahead" (2026-04-01 10:06:46) Whiskeyjack said: "Reply to Archer72 on HPR4608" (2026-04-01 12:27:46) Reto said: "It reminds me about Solocast" (2026-04-03 07:49:58) Whiskeyjack said: "Response to Reto comment on HPR4608" (2026-04-04 18:19:25) Whiskeyjack said: "Further response to Reto comment on HPR4608" (2026-04-04 22:21:38) hpr4609 (2026-04-02) "Proper Date Format" by Ahuka. Jim DeVore said: "It is the only proper date format" (2026-04-04 14:19:15) candycanearter07 said: "sensical date format" (2026-04-06 09:37:47) hpr4611 (2026-04-06) "HPR Community News for March 2026" by HPR Volunteers. candycanearter07 said: "misattributed comment" (2026-04-06 03:24:30) Ken Fallon said: "Fixed" (2026-04-06 13:50:17) hpr4614 (2026-04-09) "Dauug|18: Faster Than a '286, but Inspectable Like a Soroban" by Marc W. Abel. Jim DeVore said: "Is this the best approach for privacy?" (2026-04-12 03:15:44) candycanearter07 said: "interesting!" (2026-04-13 16:43:22) hpr4616 (2026-04-13) "Thoughts about age control and further suggestions" by Trollercoaster. Antoine said: "'Jus'do the age verification'" (2026-04-20 01:37:33) candycanearter07 said: "good strategy" (2026-04-22 13:24:48) Trollercoaster said: "Looking forward at next steps" (2026-04-25 15:37:22) Antoine said: "Our State. The Invitation." (2026-04-26 23:55:45) hpr4618 (2026-04-15) "Simple Podcasting - Episode 2 - Basic Filtering" by Whiskeyjack. Antoine said: "Applying filters - exp. with declicking - Compression?" (2026-04-20 12:50:09) Whiskeyjack said: "Response to Antoine on de-essing in HPR 4618" (2026-04-22 15:59:57) Vance said: "Click removal" (2026-04-25 14:31:40) Whiskeyjack said: "Reply to Vance in HPR4618 - Click Removal" (2026-04-27 00:48:11) Vance said: "To Whiskeyjack - Click Removal" (2026-04-28 00:43:11) Whiskeyjack said: "Reply to Vance on Click Removal in HPR4618" (2026-04-28 17:16:54) hpr4619 (2026-04-16) "HPR Beer Garden 12 - Baltic Porter" by Kevie. Gan Ainm said: "Störtebeker - again" (2026-04-17 16:37:29) hpr4621 (2026-04-20) "Android volume control help" by operat0r. candycanearter07 said: "intended double entendre?" (2026-04-21 18:58:54) hpr4624 (2026-04-23) "Cheap Yellow Display Project Part 7: GUI Trying a Simple Hello World " by Trey. Ken Fallon said: "Great to hear your success" (2026-04-23 08:36:28) hpr4625 (2026-04-24) "Site Specific Browsers" by Lee. candycanearter07 said: "electron charged opinion" (2026-04-24 03:38:13) hpr4627 (2026-04-28) "UNIX Curio #5 - Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" by Vance. Antoine said: "kill and killall" (2026-04-29 11:57:27) candycanearter07 said: "killer episode" (2026-04-29 15:14:31) Vance said: "Glad you enjoyed it" (2026-04-29 20:58:44) candycanearter07 said: "Re: Glad you enjoyed it" (2026-04-30 18:58:50) Mailing List discussions Policy decisions surrounding HPR are taken by the community as a whole. This discussion takes place on the Mailing List which is open to all HPR listeners and contributors. The discussions are open and available on the HPR server under Mailman. The threaded discussions this month can be found here: https://lists.hackerpublicradio.com/pipermail/hpr/2026-April/thread.html Events Calendar With the kind permission of LWN.net we are linking to The LWN.net Community Calendar. Quoting the site: This is the LWN.net community event calendar, where we track events of interest to people using and developing Linux and free software. Clicking on individual events will take you to the appropriate web page. Provide feedback on this episode.

Get free access to The Fire Time Magazine every month by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ —— Order the latest issue of the printed Fire Time Journal: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://itsfiretime.com/journal⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support The Fire Time Podcast financially: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://itsfiretime.com/join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become an Advertising Partner: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/advertising⁠

A man tried to assassinate the President—and used the words of Jesus to justify it. Quoting “turn the other cheek” and “render unto Caesar,” he argued that violence was necessary. But that's not what Jesus taught.In this video, we break down these passages in context and show how Scripture is being dangerously twisted.

Owning a machine shop sounds great… until you're chasing work, quoting jobs at midnight, dealing with problem customers, and trying to stay profitable while keeping the lights on.Recorded live as a panel session during a Kennametal open house event, Brad from Marvel Machining, Ian from Lakewood Machine & Tool, and Luke from Progressive Turnings / Crusader Machining sit down for a real conversation about the ups and downs of running a shop.They talk about finding work, quoting jobs, when to say no, staying busy vs actually making money, keeping good employees, buying equipment, and the jobs that almost broke them.Whether you're a one-man shop, running a full team, or thinking about starting your own business, there's something in here you'll relate to.Just honest shop talk from people living it every day.

Are you wasting hours quoting deals for customers who were never ready to buy in the first place?If you've ever felt stuck chasing “maybe” deals that go nowhere, you're not alone.Many business owners and sales teams spend huge amounts of time quoting prospects who are simply exploring options—not actually ready to move forward—leaving pipelines clogged and conversions low.In this episode you'll discover:How to instantly identify whether a prospect is ready to buy or just browsing so you can stop wasting time on dead-end deals.How to shift your sales approach to guide undecided prospects toward clarity and build stronger relationships.How to improve your close rate by focusing your time and energy only on high-intent opportunities.Hit play now to learn the one simple question that can transform your sales pipeline and help you close more deals with less effort.New episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.Take our Free Quote Quiz now to Kickstart Your Sales Growthhttps://quiz.typeform.com/to/ByHoaj2bTo see how we've helped business grow their sales:Read Client ResultsWatch TestimonialsOr email Ben if you would like to get in touch: hello@strongersalesteams.comThis podcast helps the entrepreneur, founder, CEO, and business owner in the trade, construction and industry segments, regain focus, build confidence, and achieve measurable results through powerful sales training, effective sales strategy, and expert sales coaching—guiding every sales leader, sales manager, and sales team in mastering the sales process, optimizing the sales pipeline, and driving business growth while fostering leadership, balance, and freedom amidst overwhelm, stress, and potential burnout, creating lasting peace of mind and smarter decision making for every California business and Australia business ready to scale up with excellence in sales management , through refined sales processes, proven trade sales techniques, and strategic sales leadership that strengthens sales process execution, accelerates sales team development, builds stronger sales teams, improves time management for sales, drives resilience and results, increases team results across the construction industry and wider industry sales sectors, and supports sustainable trading growth that continues to drive results through an effective management process in modern trade sales.

What should hair extension stylists say when a potential client asks how much are your extensions in a DM or text? Never answer the pricing question directly. Every inquiry, no matter how it arrives, should go through one place: your inquiry form. That single rule protects your time, filters serious clients, and converts questions into consultations. Ashley Diana, founder of Rich Stylist Academy and Destination Hair Extensions, has coached hundreds of hair extension professionals to six-figure incomes in 2026. She breaks down the one-place funnel rule and the exact response script stylists should send when a prospect asks about pricing. Inside this episode: - Why answering the how much question directly in a DM kills your conversion rate before the conversation even starts - The one-place funnel rule: every pricing inquiry goes through the same link, no exceptions - The exact word-for-word script to send when someone asks about pricing in a DM or text - Why the inquiry form is not a barrier but a filter that attracts serious clients and repels tire-kickers - How to stop being on call for every pricing question and start running a real booking system What should a hair extension stylist say when someone asks how much in a DM? Send them to your inquiry form. Never quote prices in a DM. A short, friendly response that directs them to complete the inquiry form filters serious clients, sets a professional tone, and moves the conversation into a system you control. Why should hair extension stylists not answer pricing questions in DMs? Hair extensions are custom services. The correct answer to how much always depends on the client's hair, her goals, and the method. Quoting a number in a DM without that information sets the wrong expectations and attracts clients who are shopping price rather than looking for an expert. How do I stop wasting time on DMs that never turn into bookings? Build a one-place funnel. Every inquiry, whether it comes through Instagram, text, or phone, goes to the same inquiry form link. Clients who are serious will complete it. Clients who just want the cheapest price will not. That filter protects your calendar for the people worth your time. Ashley Diana coaches hair extension professionals to build inquiry systems that convert at a higher rate and attract better clients. DM @missashleyhair on Instagram or visit richstylist.com. Message me on Instagram @missashleyhair Resources and Links: Become the Highest Paid Hair Extension Pro in Your City: https://richstylist.com Low-Investment, High Impact 90-Day Coaching Program: https://richstylist.com/level-up Bond Bootcamp 2026 (Live Training Event): https://richstylist.com/bond-bootcamp More Clients, Less Posting $27 Mini Course: https://richstylist.com/more-clients Launch Your Own Brand of Hair Extensions: https://richstylist.com/brand-launch The #1 Salon Software for Hair Pros: https://hairproappointments.com Daily Content Ideas and Trends for Hair Pros: https://contentcalendarforhairpros.com Boost Your SEO and Showcase Your Education: https://www.certifiedhairpro.com/ Shop Destination Hair Extensions (Luxury Hair): https://destinationhairextensions.com Offer Financing to Your Clients (Cherry): https://withcherry.com/partnerships/alex-king

The absurdity of random evolution Welcome back to Gnostic Insights and to the Gnostic Reformation on Substack. I’ve been sharing these Gnostic Insights for a few years now, and I’ve discovered that the one topic that flares people up, the most controversial aspect of Gnosticism, doesn’t really have anything to do with the nature of God, or the Archons, or where we go after we die. Believe it or not, Darwinian evolution is the thing that really gets under people’s skins when I say, I don’t believe it, I believe in intelligent design–that we are second order powers sent from the Fullness of God, fully loaded with everything we need to know, because we carry within us the consciousness of the Father. So let me step through this notion once again—try to explain it in a way that will make sense—and if you find yourself just going livid with reaction against what I’m saying, well, that’s what I’m talking about. This is the hot button topic. I remember when I was taught evolutionary theory, and they said it took thousands of generations of minute changes to populate a beneficial mutation to the stage where you could say it had evolved. For instance, in 2012, Michigan State University researchers were very happy to demonstrate the evolution of citrate-eating E. coli bacteria after only 56,000 generations. 56,000 generations! I remember the day in elementary school when I first learned about evolution. There was an illustration in the textbook mocking the concept of Lamarckian evolution. Lamarck had promoted the idea that giraffes who stretched their necks to reach the leaves on higher branches gave birth to calves with longer necks. No, no, Darwinians said, natural selection is the way it happens, as only long-necked giraffes survived the lean years to give birth to more long-necked calves like themselves. And that logic was supposed to have settled the argument concerning Darwinian evolution. Mama giraffe and baby giraffe The reason Darwinian evolutionary theory won out over Lamarck’s theory of epigenetic trait inheritance was that Lamarck’s type of evolution requires learning and volitional repetition, whereas Darwin’s creatures were either born lucky to have long necks or were doomed to be short-necked losers. Even as a child of ten or so, I recall wondering, if long necks were so valuable as to have evolved into our familiar high-nibbling giraffes, then why don’t all large grazing animals have long necks? Then I came up with my own Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything and developed a theory of evolution in keeping with the Simple Explanation. My theory of evolution reinserts learning and choice into the equation and removes the element of dumb luck. Seriously, who would ever look around themselves at the varieties of natural adaptation and believe that dumb luck at the material level accidentally brought it all about? It just doesn’t even make sense. It defies the basic rule of 52 pickup. You’ve heard of that, right? 52 pickup is, if you throw a deck of cards in the air, it never comes down stacked and in order. It never does. In other words, randomness cannot lead to an organism such as we humans that can contemplate and comprehend the universe. It is completely illogical to think that randomness can account for intelligence. Did you ever hear that old expression that given enough time a thousand monkeys sitting at a thousand typewriters could draft a copy of Shakespeare or the Bible? That’s preposterous. It would never happen. Now consider how much more complex our biosphere is at all scales. The interior of a cell is extremely complex in its interconnected functions and parts. Then scale that up to the functions and parts of an organism and scale it up again to the interconnected ecology of forests and again to the interconnected biosphere of the planet. It is simply impossible to achieve without the guidance of an intelligent design. Stop and consider. Please use logic. So here is my Simple Explanation of evolution. First, we accept that the basic matrix of our universe is consciousness. The Simple Explanation's model of evolution is information driven rather than happenstance driven as the conventional model would have it. What I mean is that the Darwinian model we’ve all been taught relies upon the brute force of superior survival mechanisms that allow the superior creature to procreate and thereby pass on their superior genes. And after a tremendous number of such superior generations, the inferior fade into extinction and the superior organism becomes the new normal. In the Simple Explanation, there is an ontological pull upward toward more complex aggregations of consciousness. Darwin’s model is, on the other hand, a case of the blind simply bumbling by happenstance, by lucky accident, by dumb luck to be a superior adaptation from the norm. Where I find it unlikely is that there would be countless such bumblings in the same direction that by dumb luck keeps heading in the upward and onward direction. The Simple Explanation would say the patterns of superiority are few and they are fractal. So the wheel does not need to be reinvented over and over. The golden rule and the hierarchical distribution of increasing complexity and responsibility cover much of it. And due to the transpersonal nature of universal knowledge, basic mechanisms like hands and eyes only need to be invented once and then deployed or copied as needed. There are no such mechanisms in Darwinian evolution. There is no way for one creature to transmit the importance of the development of an eyeball to a different creature in a different part of the world. They don’t believe in transpersonal consciousness. They don’t believe in fractal knowledge or the golden rule. Consciousness is not a byproduct of the human brain or even of a complex system of any sort. Consciousness is the ground state of reality. Think of consciousness as the medium upon which is written the formulae of our universe. The Simple Explanation refers to this ground state as the metaverse. And by the way, the Gnostic gospel (jumping ahead) refers to this consciousness as the Father. You might think of it as God. And it contains every law of the universe as potential expression that manifests when and where appropriate. Smaller derivative units of consciousness are fractals of the originating units of consciousness that express themselves in every single material expression of our universe. consciousness flows in an unending stream from the God Above All Gods In the Gnostic gospel, we call those the second order of powers of which we and all living creatures are a part. The most ambitious units of consciousness, or we would say second order powers, continue to find themselves occupying larger and more complex physical forms. Some of the units of consciousness that started in Earth’s primordial soup have remained in the soup, never attaching themselves to anything more complex than a single-celled organism. The most ambitious little life forms found themselves returning to slightly more sophisticated organisms with each incarnation. Lessons learned are carried forward, always incarnating more and complex structures and occasionally jumping to a more complex hierarchical level, driving the evolution of planetary life via memes accrued through karma. Was my self-unit of consciousness ever a single-celled organism? Probably so, beginning about four and a half billion years ago on this planet. Was my unit of consciousness ever a jellyfish? Good chance it was, since the toroidal-shaped jellyfish is the oldest multi-organ animal on Earth, swimming our seas for the last 700 million years and surviving countless planetary die-offs that killed other organisms. Was my unit of consciousness ever a dinosaur? Well, maybe, but maybe not. I’d imagine the dinosaur memes and karma informed the development of reptiles and birds, not my mammalian lineage. The first mammals are thought to have descended from a different lizard called therapsids. Was my governing unit of consciousness ever a lemur or a chimpanzee or a bonobo or perhaps an australopithecus or a neanderthal? Probably was, since their proto-human memes and karma would have informed human development and the self-unit of consciousness is attracted to familiar patterns. In the Simple Explanations evolutionary model, no war is needed between natural selection and creationism, between science and religion. My Simple Explanation proposes that everything in the cosmos is created through metaversal principles embodied in all units of consciousness and that each governing unit of consciousness evolves according to personal inclination and ability through established patterns of meme acquisition and adaptation and the utterly fair and impartial mechanism of karma. In the Simple Explanation evolutionary schema, I am currently a human and probably have been for a long time. Does that make me more evolved than my dogs? No, not really. The family dogs are at the same level of hierarchical sophistication as the humans. The dog’s aggregate units of consciousness and their Self units of consciousness have all made decisions every step along the way that steered them into this life as these dogs. Every governing unit of consciousness is an integral part of one aggregate or another, hierarchically upline and downline. Every slot needs to be filled. The most you could say of my state of evolution is that ambitious meme collectors evolve into ever more complex instantiations. And my unit of consciousness and those of my aggregate units of consciousness that make up my body are attached to some highly ambitious collections of memes. But whether or not this is anything to brag about is debatable. Now all of that theory that I’ve been sharing with you comes from my book, A Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything, which was published many years ago. And you can still pick that up on Amazon or through the Gnostic Insights website. It’s entirely consistent with the Gnostic view of evolution, as I came to discover many years later. So let’s look now at the Gnostic view of evolution in particular. We are what are called second order of powers. The first order of powers are the Aeons in the Fullness of God. We are the fruit of the Aeons. We are the second order of powers. We’re also known as those of the remembrance. And I suggest that what was sown in the second order of powers that lifted them above the imitation was the remembrance. And for life forms, that remembrance is contained in our double helix DNA. We also have a pure remembrance of the Fullness of God, our aeonic progenitors, contained in our Self with the capital S. But at our cellular level, the DNA is carrying the remembrance forward. As it turned out, the second order of powers became infected with the same lust for dominion that had infected those of the imitation due to the law of mutual combat. And the two orders began a never-ending war over resources in the limited ecology of our early earth. The second order of powers are also known as the likenesses, because we are alike the Aeons. We resemble the original Aeons of the Fullness, but we lost ourselves in the confusion of earth. The Demiurge and its archons are the other entities of the fall that we haven’t talked about yet, since we have only been talking about the physical universe, and archons are immaterial. They are not physical. They are influences. So when we talk about the never-ending war with the living forms, it’s the archons doing battle with the living forms. And those influences of the archons on our material bodies are death, aging, illness. Quoting from the Tripartite Tractate, verses 84 and 85, The powers of the remembrance were adorned with the names of the pre-existence whose likenesses they were. [And that’s the Aeons of the Fullness.] The order of this kind was in harmony with itself and with each other. It fought, however, the order of those of the imitation. And the order of the imitation is the forces of the archons, which include entropy and death. Quoting again, It fought, however, the order of those of the imitation because that order waged war against the likenesses as they were producing various kinds of matter and all sorts of powers mixed with one another and in great number. Now the whole establishment and organization of the images, likenesses, and imitations has come into being for the sake of those who need nourishment, instruction, and form so that their smallness may gradually grow as through the instruction provided by the image of a mirror. That, in fact, is why he created the human last after having prepared and provided for him the things that he created for his sake. So do you hear how that verse from the Tripartite Tractate of the Nag Hammadi says that second order powers develop from the smallest to the largest and that the humans were the last to develop? It goes along with this notion of evolutionary development because we humans couldn’t have just been plopped right into the middle of the primordial soup from the get-go. Look around you. We needed the smaller creatures to come before us to create this environment, this ecology in which we could thrive. And I’m not simply saying it’s all for us humans because every creature that comes along is providing through the Simple Golden Rule all of the needs of all of the other creatures. Let’s talk about the Simple Golden Rule before we end this discussion of evolution. Our job is to reach out to others with love, aid, and information for the betterment of all. The Simple Golden Rule That’s, again, another theory from my Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything. So if you’ve never read that book you might like to go back and read it. This goes for all units of consciousness, all second order powers from the cells and organs up to the organisms and to the ecosystems beyond. Every physical manifestation links up with others of its kind in this universe. Cells link together to make organs. Organs link together to make organisms. Organisms link together to create societies and so on. And these are the building blocks of the next level of hierarchical aggregation. This is re-instantiating the hierarchy of the Fullness in this bounded material universe. And this is what is called the new ecology. It was a way to put the consciousness of the Fullness—the Aeons—into a physical form and manifest them on this earth. And then this will go forward and become the next ecology. The first ecology was the hierarchy of the Fullness. The second ecology is this material universe of ours. And then once this universe is fully redeemed by the Christ it will become the next hierarchical organization—the third ecology. And the way this happens is to reach out to others with love, assistance, and information for the betterment of all. I hope you’ve enjoyed this review of my Simple Explanation Theory of Evolution and how it is logically superior to Darwinian evolution and how it all fits into Gnosticism and the Gnostic Evolutionary Theory, as presented by the Tripartite Tractate. Until next week, God bless us all and Onward and Upward! Please pick up your copy of A Simple Explanation of the Gnostic Gospel and leave a review!

 The Pentagon moved to defend Secretary of War Pete Hegseth after he recited a prayer at a Pentagon worship service that closely resembled a fictional monologue from Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction, a passage that has never appeared in the Bible. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell addressed the controversy in a statement on X, writing, "Secretary Hegseth on Wednesday shared a custom prayer, referenced as the CSAR prayer, used by the brave warfighters of Sandy-1 who led the daylight rescue mission of Dude 44 Alpha out of Iran, which was obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction. Secretary Hegseth on Wednesday shared a custom prayer, referenced as the CSAR prayer, used by the brave warfighters of Sandy-1 who led the daylight rescue mission of Dude 44 Alpha out of Iran, which was obviously inspired by dialogue in Pulp Fiction. During the worship service at the Pentagon, Hegseth said the prayer, known as "CSAR 25:17," had been used by "Sandy-1" combat search-and-rescue crews before missions, including a recent operation involving two U.S. Air Force personnel, who were shot down over Iran.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of poet, actor, and rapper Tupac Shakur. Quoting from his official website: “Tupac Shakur is one of the greatest and most controversial artists of all time. More than a quarter of a century after his tragic death in 1996 at the age of just twenty-five, he [...]

In this episode, we discuss the life and legacy of poet, actor, and rapper Tupac Shakur. Quoting from his official website: “Tupac Shakur is one of the greatest and most controversial artists of all time. More than a quarter of a century after his tragic death in 1996 at the age of just twenty-five, he [...]

This show has been flagged as Explicit by the host. New hosts There were no new hosts this month. Last Month's Shows Id Day Date Title Host 4586 Mon 2026-03-02 HPR Community News for February 2026 HPR Volunteers 4587 Tue 2026-03-03 UNIX Curio #1 - Shell Archives Vance 4588 Wed 2026-03-04 HPR Beer Garden 11 - Belgian Scotch Ale Kevie 4589 Thu 2026-03-05 YouTube Subscriptions 2025 #15 Ahuka 4590 Fri 2026-03-06 Playing Civilization V, Part 9 Ahuka 4591 Mon 2026-03-09 A Bit of Git Lee 4592 Tue 2026-03-10 Happy by shower # 2 Antoine 4593 Wed 2026-03-11 Nuclear Reactor Technology - Ep 8 Generation Four Reactors Whiskeyjack 4594 Thu 2026-03-12 Hackerpublic Radio New Years Eve Show 2026 Episode 2 Honkeymagoo 4595 Fri 2026-03-13 WATER WATER EVERYWHERE! operat0r 4596 Mon 2026-03-16 Adding voice-over audio track created using text to speech on the movie subtitles Ken Fallon 4597 Tue 2026-03-17 UNIX Curio #2 - fgrep Vance 4598 Wed 2026-03-18 Recording good audio using open source tools Shane - StrandedOutput 4599 Thu 2026-03-19 Women in digital and games event Dave Hingley 4600 Fri 2026-03-20 The First Doctor, Part 5 Ahuka 4601 Mon 2026-03-23 How to be a better writer enistello 4602 Tue 2026-03-24 Hackerpublic Radio New Years Eve Show 2026 Episode 3 Honkeymagoo 4603 Wed 2026-03-25 On the Erosion of Freedom in Open Source Software HopperMCS 4604 Thu 2026-03-26 Quick Tips for January 20 26 operat0r 4605 Fri 2026-03-27 Lee locks down his wifey poo Elsbeth 4606 Mon 2026-03-30 My Nerdy Childhood: From Floppy Disks to Dial-Up Dreams Trollercoaster 4607 Tue 2026-03-31 UNIX Curio #3 - basename and dirname Vance Comments this month Past shows hpr3711 (2022-10-24) "Cars" by Zen_Floater2. m0dese7en said: "Additional details on cars" (2026-03-13 16:44:12) hpr4333 (2025-03-12) "A Radically Transparent Computer Without Complex VLSI" by Marc W. Abel. Marc said: "New online home for Dauug|36 and Dauug|18" (2026-03-25 15:18:15) hpr4424 (2025-07-17) "How I use Newsboat for Podcasts and Reddit" by Archer72. أحمد المحمودي said: "Not fixed" (2026-03-31 00:54:19) hpr4509 (2025-11-13) "HPR Beer Garden 5 - Heferweisen" by Kevie. Gan Ainm said: "Hefeweizen" (2026-03-04 06:47:39) Kevie said: "Thanks Gan" (2026-03-13 15:28:45) hpr4553 (2026-01-14) "Nuclear Reactor Technology - Ep 4 Less Common Reactor Types" by Whiskeyjack. Antoine said: "Were/are the designs patented?" (2026-03-18 12:41:35) Whiskeyjack said: "Reply to Antoine" (2026-03-19 03:31:50) Antoine said: "I will" (2026-03-21 02:30:29) hpr4565 (2026-01-30) "HPR Beer Garden 9 - Barley Wine" by Kevie. Aleman said: "Beer Garden" (2026-03-06 19:25:26) hpr4571 (2026-02-09) "Data processing retrospective" by Lee. Archer72 said: "previous generation" (2026-03-03 15:44:12) hpr4573 (2026-02-11) "Nuclear Reactor Technology - Ep 6 Thorium Reactors" by Whiskeyjack. Archer72 said: "Interesting series" (2026-02-28 16:59:15) Whiskeyjack said: "Reply to Archer72" (2026-02-28 23:06:46) Clinton said: "Modern situation." (2026-03-07 11:30:14) Whiskeyjack said: "Reply to Clinton" (2026-03-07 18:42:23) hpr4574 (2026-02-12) "UNIX Curio #0 - Introduction" by Vance. murph said: "Great show, looking forward to more." (2026-03-01 19:21:46) hpr4575 (2026-02-13) "Making First Contact" by Ken Fallon. Archer72 said: "Good to hear 73's" (2026-02-28 15:51:52) hpr4576 (2026-02-16) "Responce to Lee/Elsbeth eps" by operat0r. candycanearter07 said: "relatable episode" (2026-03-10 01:39:18) hpr4577 (2026-02-17) "HPR Beer Garden 10 - Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy" by Kevie. Kevie said: "Upcoming beers" (2026-02-26 18:14:16) hpr4583 (2026-02-25) "Nuclear Reactor Technology - Ep 7 Small Modular Reactors" by Whiskeyjack. brian-in-ohio said: "good shows" (2026-03-02 21:10:12) Whiskeyjack said: "Response to brian-in-ohio for HPR4583 Small Modular Reactors" (2026-03-03 23:38:55) hpr4584 (2026-02-26) "Recording a show, and crappy audio" by Archer72. Dave Lee (thelovebug) said: "Audio quality" (2026-02-27 08:33:24) Kevin O'Brien said: "The Zoom was perfect" (2026-02-27 17:29:43) Archer72 said: "Bad mic" (2026-03-03 15:08:13) jezra said: "false advertising! " (2026-04-03 17:28:05) hpr4585 (2026-02-27) "mpv util scripts" by candycanearter. Windigo said: "mpv fanclub" (2026-02-28 01:55:28) Windigo said: "Re: mpv fanclub" (2026-03-01 05:07:24) Archer72 said: "Second in mpv fanclub" (2026-03-01 08:52:41) candycanearter07 said: "updated script" (2026-03-01 22:35:38) This month's shows hpr4586 (2026-03-02) "HPR Community News for February 2026" by HPR Volunteers. candycanearter07 said: "41:40" (2026-03-01 23:39:18) Whiskeyjack said: "HPR Commnity News discussion on audio" (2026-03-03 23:11:25) hpr4587 (2026-03-03) "UNIX Curio #1 - Shell Archives" by Vance. Archer72 said: "Continuing series" (2026-03-03 15:15:19) xmanmonk said: "uuencode/uudecode on Solaris" (2026-03-05 01:47:53) Vance said: "Thanks, and Solaris" (2026-03-07 20:10:08) Jim DeVore said: "Thanks for the trip down memory lane!" (2026-03-17 01:19:46) hpr4591 (2026-03-09) "A Bit of Git" by Lee. candycanearter07 said: "anecdotal teaching is the best kind" (2026-03-09 04:58:24) hpr4592 (2026-03-10) "Happy by shower # 2" by Antoine. candycanearter07 said: "interesting!" (2026-03-10 04:20:16) Antoine said: "Sharing (response to candycanearter07)" (2026-03-21 02:27:17) hpr4593 (2026-03-11) "Nuclear Reactor Technology - Ep 8 Generation Four Reactors" by Whiskeyjack. Jim DeVore said: "Great series!" (2026-03-17 01:13:51) Whiskeyjack said: "Response to Jim DeVore" (2026-03-17 13:46:31) hpr4596 (2026-03-16) "Adding voice-over audio track created using text to speech on the movie subtitles" by Ken Fallon. folky said: "Interesting solution, but annoying " (2026-02-05 11:54:36) Carsten said: "Amazing project" (2026-02-25 00:29:08) candycanearter07 said: "interesting!!" (2026-03-16 13:38:03) hpr4597 (2026-03-17) "UNIX Curio #2 - fgrep" by Vance. Ken Fallon said: "Time to active use" (2026-03-05 05:58:31) L'andrew said: "Nice job explaining *grep features." (2026-03-18 03:34:11) candycanearter07 said: "informative" (2026-03-18 03:52:52) Vance said: "Expressions" (2026-03-20 18:16:09) hpr4598 (2026-03-18) "Recording good audio using open source tools" by Shane - StrandedOutput. Archer72 said: "Great tips!" (2026-03-19 10:39:24) Ole Aamot said: "GarageJam 6.0.1" (2026-03-24 01:50:51) hpr4600 (2026-03-20) "The First Doctor, Part 5" by Ahuka. Kevie said: "Great series" (2026-03-21 15:22:59) Kevin O'Brien said: "I think I will" (2026-03-21 21:23:38) Archer72 said: "Great series and 2nd continuation " (2026-03-21 22:35:05) hpr4605 (2026-03-27) "Lee locks down his wifey poo" by Elsbeth. Ken Fallon said: "Congratulations" (2026-03-18 11:09:45) Elsbeth said: "Thank you!" (2026-03-27 11:10:10) Trollercoaster said: "Congrats - and now we want all the fun puns!" (2026-03-27 12:58:38) Antoine said: "=)" (2026-03-29 22:39:06) ClaudioM said: "Congratulations to You Both!" (2026-03-30 13:22:43) Paulj said: "Congratulations" (2026-04-04 19:52:01) hpr4606 (2026-03-30) "My Nerdy Childhood: From Floppy Disks to Dial-Up Dreams" by Trollercoaster. Trey said: "Trip down memory lane..." (2026-03-30 14:24:54) xmanmonk said: "Great Episode!" (2026-03-30 16:23:43) Trollercoaster said: "Back to you..." (2026-03-31 08:24:58) Trollercoaster said: "Not to janitors" (2026-03-31 08:26:06) ClaudioM said: "Nerdy Nostalgia!" (2026-03-31 17:20:34) hpr4607 (2026-03-31) "UNIX Curio #3 - basename and dirname" by Vance. xmanmonk said: "Great episode!" (2026-03-31 14:19:12) Mailing List discussions Policy decisions surrounding HPR are taken by the community as a whole. This discussion takes place on the Mailing List which is open to all HPR listeners and contributors. The discussions are open and available on the HPR server under Mailman. The threaded discussions this month can be found here: https://lists.hackerpublicradio.com/pipermail/hpr/2026-March/thread.html Events Calendar With the kind permission of LWN.net we are linking to The LWN.net Community Calendar. Quoting the site: This is the LWN.net community event calendar, where we track events of interest to people using and developing Linux and free software. Clicking on individual events will take you to the appropriate web page. Provide feedback on this episode.

You got off the call feeling great. The conversation flowed, they seemed interested, and you said — "I'll send over a proposal." And then you spent the next two hours writing it, the next two days waiting for a response, and the next two weeks following up. Sound familiar? If you are a coach, consultant, brand designer, VA, marketing agency owner, or any kind of service provider who is sending proposals to get business, this episode is your wake-up call. Proposals are not the professional, polished move you think they are. For most service providers, they are quietly killing your close rate, draining your time, and handing control of your sale over to a document that can't answer questions, handle objections, or guide anyone to a decision. In this episode, Jamila breaks down exactly why proposals are working against you and makes the case for package pricing, the shift that speeds up your sales cycle, puts you back in the driver's seat of every sales conversation, and helps you close clients in one call instead of one month. Key Topics Discussed The hidden cost of proposals that most service providers never stop to calculate Why your sales process might be the reason deals are stalling — not your pricing The simple pricing shift that helps entrepreneurs close clients in one conversation A real client story that will make you rethink how you're currently selling The quick audit that tells you exactly where your sales process is breaking down Key Takeaways Proposals hand control of your sale to a document. When you send a proposal and get off the phone, you remove yourself from the most important part of the process — the moment your client is deciding. You can't answer questions, address hesitation, or guide them. The proposal has to do all of that alone. And it can't. Package pricing closes clients faster. When your offers are defined in advance and you walk clients through them on the call, the decision happens in real time. No waiting. No follow-up. No guessing. Two packages is a great place to start. Package A and Package B. Define your deliverables clearly, know the differentiators between each tier, and put it somewhere you can pull up on a sales call. That's it. Your business is not too custom for packages. Your expertise doesn't change client to client — only the context does. Packages exist to give clients a range to find where they fit within what you offer. That's not less personal. That's smart design. Confidence in your offers is part of the sale. Arriving at a sales conversation with clear, defined packages sends a message: I know what I do, I know what it's worth, and here's what it looks like to work with me. That energy closes clients. Resources & Links Mentioned Connect with Jamila on Instagram: @JamilaPayneMBA Learn more about working with Jamila: Schedule a call Join my newsletter, The Productivity Edit  Enjoyed This Episode? If this episode resonated with you, please take 60 seconds to leave a 5-star rating and a written review — it helps Productive & Paid reach more entrepreneurs who need to hear this. Share it with a business owner friend who you know is out here sending proposals and waiting by the inbox. And DM Jamila on Instagram @JamilaPayneMBA with your biggest takeaway. This is the Productive & Paid podcast — real conversations about entrepreneurship and money. Until next week, stay productive and get paid.  

https://programs.the-christ.net/courses/the-way-of-the-mystic In this Saturday Movie Session of the 8th Way of the Mystic Weekend, themed "As If There Is No World," David Hoffmeister uses a rare demonstration of deep devotion to remind us that salvation is not a matter of time, but of prayer and desire. By examining a role model of spiritual commitment, we learn that the world inherently resists the Christ, yet we are called to forgive and move toward God until only pure Love remains. Specialness dissolves when we love everyone equally with the Love of God, which requires forgiving the blocks that use the body for pride, pleasure, or attack.Quoting the movie's protagonist, David explains that we reach "Paradise through toil and chastity"—metaphorical terms for disciplined mind training and purity of thought. Ultimately, the world's purpose is to strengthen our faith, and every single situation, without exception, can serve as an opportunity to deepen the trust that would settle all problems now. By maintaining our connection with God regardless of external forms, we keep our hearts open to Guidance until we reach the lived experience of the Truth that sets us free.These gatherings take place every weekend in February and March 2026 and include teachings, films, music, panel discussions, and live Q&A sessions with David Hoffmeister.Register for the Way of the Mystic for free here:https://programs.the-christ.net/courses/the-way-of-the-mystic  If you want to learn more about David Hoffmeister and Living Miracles events, visit https://circle.livingmiraclescenter.org/events   Recording Date: Online, Saturday, March 28, 2026Follow us on:YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/DavidHoffmeister https://www.youtube.com/@LivingMiraclesFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/ACIM.ACourseInMiracles Learn more about David & Living Miracles:https://circle.livingmiraclescenter.org/eventsLearn more about A Course in Miracles:https://ACIM.bizDavid's Spanish YouTube Channel is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP9Gw00CldPUmiu43y7fdWwDavid's Portuguese YouTube Channel is:https://www.youtube.com/@davidhoffmeisterucem

Ever underquoted a job… and instantly regretted it? That sinking feeling isn't just about money—it's your nervous system hijacking your decisions. In this episode, Keith Kalfas breaks down the hidden psychology behind underpricing, why it keeps you stuck, and how to shift from emotional decision-making to data-driven strategy. This isn't about "charging more just because." It's about becoming the kind of operator who knows their numbers—and acts accordingly.   "Math is the path. Strategy beats emotion every time." – Keith Kalfas   What You'll Learn in This Episode: Why underquoting feels like a permanent setback (but isn't) How to separate emotion from business decisions and treat everything as data The shift from "worker mindset" to scientist mindset A simple split-testing strategy to raise your prices without panic How fear-based decisions quietly destroy your income Why habits—not motivation—are the real growth engine   Key Takeaways: Detach from emotion—treat everything as data. Underquoting feels personal, but it's just feedback. When you stop reacting emotionally and start analyzing outcomes like a scientist, you make smarter decisions and improve faster. Fear and neediness are killing your pricing. Operating from survival mode makes you undercharge and repel better opportunities. Confidence comes from numbers and strategy—not desperation. "Math is the path" → raise prices strategically. Know your real numbers, then test higher pricing (especially with new clients). Use systems, packages, and small adjustments to steadily increase income without guessing.   Connect with Keith Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithkalfas/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelandscapingemployeetrap Website: https://www.keithkalfas.com/resources Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@keith-kalfas   Resources and Websites:  Build Your Site: https://www.keithkalfas.com/ReBolt Call Tracking Software: https://www.keithkalfas.com/CallRail Start Getting Leads Now https://www.footbridgemedia.com/keith The Untrapped Alliance: https://www.keithkalfas.com/alliance Resources You Need To Build A Successful Business https://www.keithkalfas.com/resources

This week on the pod it's just Rachel and Lynne as we answer a listener question about how to nail client calls. We compare warm leads (often via referrals and niche networks) with cold leads (often from Google), and share tactics and tips on how we handle professional calls, including researching the client (website, socials, ABN and reviews); being punctual and prepared; using interviewing and soft sales skills along with reflective listening. We also discuss how to handle the question of budgets by stating indicative pricing, adjusting scope, offering tiered options, and focusing on value, plus being prompt with quotes, setting validity windows, and clarifying terms such as deposits, SEO non-negotiables, and limits on revisions. We also cover longer discovery calls for web copy projects, using transcripts/AI notes, and the value of meeting clients in person to build trust. Here are links to some of the article we discuss: Why to offer tiered pricing (blog) https://rachelslist.com.au/why-you-should-offer-tiered-pricing-as-a-freelancer/ Client brief template (shop) https://rachelslist.com.au/portfolio/client-brief-template/ Quoting freelance projects with Lynne Testoni (shop) https://rachelslist.com.au/portfolio/21062/ Gold members of Rachel's List can listen to the lunch club with Treasa Edmond on nailing discovery calls, which includes her downloadable checklist. https://rachelslist.com.au/freelance-writing-jobs-australia/lunch-club-library/ Find Lynne www.lynnetestoni.com Find Rachel www.rachelsmith.com.au Rachel's List www.rachelslist.com.au Thanks (as always) to our sponsors Rounded (www.rounded.com.au), an easy invoicing and accounting solution that helps freelancers run their businesses with confidence. Looking to take advantage of the discount for Rachel's List Gold Members? Email us at: hello@rachelslist.com.au for the details. Episode edited by Marker Creative Co www.markercreative.co  

Welcome back to Gnostic Insights and to the Gnostic Reformation on Substack. Last week, I had a good conversation on the telephone with my brother that I thought I’d share that with you today. It’s another aspect of what I call Gnostic Psychology that my brother Bill, Dr. Bill Puett, and I have been developing. He wanted to share with me an article about psychopathy and his Gnostic insight about the article. These conversations started when I was probably about four years old, and Bill was a young teenager at that point. He was already a philosopher, and he and I would have these conversations together. So I grew up with these sorts of interactions with my older brother concerning the nature of reality, God, physics, astronomy, psychology. We’ve been talking about these things now for well over 60 years. from left: Billy, Cyd, and brother David. Recently returned from a sojourn in Japan, 1958. When I became a PhD, I imagined that I would be able to have these sorts of conversations with other people, especially with other professors at the universities I taught at. I expected that this is the nature of conversation, to have this give and take, this interaction, this sharing of information, interrupting each other, getting excited, moving on. But I haven’t found that with anyone else except my brother. I think that when we pass out of this particular material life and return to the abode above, I expect this sort of conversation to be happening up there. Well, certainly in the philosophers’ cafes, if there are such things up there. You know, my vision of the afterlife is very much like what we have here on Earth, because this is, after all, a deficient copy, a deficient imitation by the Demiurge of the land above. And so I expect that we will have these sorts of communities and churches and experiences, but without any of the death, destruction, disappointment, the negative memes, the vices, that will not be there. It’s all going to be good. It’s all going to be on the up and up. And so what I’m hoping for, what I’m expecting, is that there will be gatherings with people like Socrates and Plato and Aristotle, and of course, Christ. Jesus is going to be there, no doubt. And we’ll be having these interesting conversations about things. School of Athens, a fresco by Rafael, painted in 1509 to 1511 So let me bring you up to speed with a thumbnail sketch of what Gnostic psychology is. What I have gleaned from the Tripartite Tractate and other Gnostic books is that we are all fractals. We all carry the Spirit of God within us. We are made in the image of God, it says in the Old and New Testaments. And that image of God, as I see it, is the pleroma of the Fullness of the Hierarchy of God, which itself is a breaking out into all of the variables contained within the Father and the Son, but broken out into their individualities. So if you can imagine that the Father or the Son knew all of music and all of mathematics and all of everything, right? Well, the breakout personalities of those knowing everything would be the philosophers, the mathematicians, the musicians of various types, and everything else. All other personalities are represented in the Fullness of God. And not only the personalities are in the Fullness of God, and by the way, we probably refer to those as angels. Angels are not in the Tripartite Tractate—we use the word Aeons. Those are the inhabitants of the Fullness of God, and they are each one a particularity of the Son, and they have come to self-awareness. But the Fullness of God is not only those personalities, those angels, as we think of them, but it’s concepts like mathematics, like music, like dynamics—up and down, in and out—chemistry, physics. Every concept that can be broken out into a particularity is also part of the hierarchy of the Fullness of God. The Aeons of the Fullness dream as one of Paradise. Okay, so back to the psychological aspect. Each of us second-order powers, and I’ll talk about us humans since we are humans sitting here, we have a fractal copy of that Fullness of God– the image of God as they put it in the Bible. So we have that pure, idyllic self that is a perfect fractal of the Fullness of God. So it’s all good, it’s all loving, it’s the consciousness of the Father and the Son, it’s the purity of talent. So for example, when someone is in the zone, if someone’s a great basketball player, and they’re in the zone in the game, and they’re sinking those baskets like nobody’s business, that’s an aeonic trait of the great basketball player in the sky, you could say. It’s like that, but for every particular skill, for everything that humans are, we each represent constellations of those personalities that are represented in the Fullness of God. We’re each unique in the distribution of those talents. We have the Fullness within us, but certain parts of ourselves are highlighted, and those are our personalities. And so that’s what I call the capital S self. In a lot of spiritual writing, they call that your spirit or your soul. We also have an ego, and the ego is not a negative thing. Even the Aeons above have egos, and the ego is simply your designation. It’s your particular place, position, power; it’s your talent, it’s your duty in the hierarchy. And so when we are born into this material world, we bring that identification of our particular ego with us. Now here’s where the Gnostic Psychology comes in, once we’re in this material world and we are attached to the molecules that make up our body, which are not from above—they come from the Fall. In Gnosticism, this materiality of the cosmos, this materiality of our physical space, is a demiurgic construction based on the Demiurge’s blueprint memory of the Fullness of God, except that the Demiurge doesn’t realize that. The Demiurge thinks he cooks it all up. The Demiurge believes itself to be the only pre-existent consciousness. The Demiurge thinks consciousness began with it when it woke up, and that it is now God. And look all the things it can do. It can create the heavens and the earth. It can create all of the minerals and elements. It can build rocks and crystals and mountains. But it thinks it came up with it. It doesn’t remember it fell from the Fullness of God. It doesn’t remember it is the ego of the fallen Aeon. And here at Gnostic Insights, we identify that fallen Aeon as the Aeon known as Logos. And Logos was the last Aeon to be created in the Fullness of God. And it carried within itself the entirety of the Fullness in a fractal form. When we are sent into this world as a conscious birthing choice by the Aeons above and by our pre-existent spirit, we are melded onto that material, that mud of the Demiurge. Because the Demiurge can build stuff, but he can’t bring it to life. The Demiurge doesn’t contain the life, the light, the love, the memory of the Father and the Son and the Fullness. We bring that into this world when we are born here. So our physical part of our human body, the purely physical part underneath the cells, the molecules, the amino acids, the chemicals, even the processes, these are demiurgic. And we, our Fullness spirit and our ego, that is what is melded into the physical molecules. And then we grow up with those molecules and build up through the stages of gestation and become born as a fully-fledged second-order power. So we’re one third material. We’re also about one third ego identification. Who we are—those are our proclivities, those are our talents and our personality, our recognizableness. We are also perfect Self with a big S. Our Self, which is a fractal of the Fullness of God. So all three of those parts walk around with us. We 2nd Order Powers are melded to the demiurgic material below us and are infused with life from above Now, the Gnostic Psychology part is how it is that our ego and our Self share the consciousness of this body. And it’s not just our ego now, because once we’re in the world, especially once we’re in the culture of the world, we start picking up memes. A meme is a unit of information. So we pick up these memes, and the ones we love, the ones we like a lot, get stuck to our egoic structure, like strings wrapped around our egoic structure. We start acquiring memes throughout our lifetime from the culture around us, from our parents, from the books we read, and our education. We not only collect the memes we like, such as, I like dogs. That’s a meme. Obey your parents, that’s a meme. Vote, that’s a meme. I’m an American, that’s a meme. You see, every thought we have, every discrete unit of information is a meme, and we wrap those around our bundle of the ego. But not only the ones we like, we also pick up the memes we don’t like, the things we are completely repelled by and hate. We carry that hatred wrapped around us as well. So things that stir you up, your triggers, your baggage, those are memes that are wrapped around your ego. And then this idea of vices and virtues. Virtuous memes are the memes that come from the Fullness of God, the virtues that we think of, such as love, belonging, helpfulness, caring, honesty, all that sort of thing. All the good, good things. Those are virtues. They all have inverses down here. They all have opposites, because in Gnostic philosophy, down here is the shadow of above. So what was a virtue originally is a vice down here, and it’s the opposite. So we have hatred, and lying, and dishonesty, and lack of trustworthiness—these sorts of things. Those are the vices that are shadows of the virtues. So that is the entirety of our psychological makeup: The perfect Self that is at the core of our being, and the ego, which is who we were born as, who we were meant to be in the personality sense. Your innate talents. The Self at the center of our souls is a fractal of the Fullness of God Who are you innately? Are you really good at something? That’s part of your ego that you were born with. And then we have this meme bundle that’s wrapped around our ego. And the things that cause us discomfort, the things we’d like to get rid of, the things that weigh us down, and dishearten us, and make us cry. Those are negative memes that have stuck onto our ego. And we can drop them by deciding to. I’m not going to do it. I’m quitting smoking this time. I’m never going to pick up a cigarette again. That is a decision, for example, to drop that I love cigarettes meme. And so if you can drop these negative memes on your own, and everyone can, if you realize it, decide it. Because we have a very strong willpower. We have free will. Free will is a characteristic of the Father, the Son, and the Aeons. We were born in that line of inheritance whereby we have free will. We just forget about it down here because of the confusion in the world. But if you enable your free will, you can drop your negative memes. If you can’t do it on your own, you can do it through prayer by appealing directly to Christ to help me. Please, Lord Jesus, take this burden from me. Heal me of this alcoholism, or whatever the thing is, right? You can do it through prayer. It can happen in a miraculous second. Or you can do it through therapy, if it’s good therapy. The idea in good therapy is to peel off those memes one at a time. Get rid of those negative memes through therapy, not through pharmaceuticals. You can’t peel off memes from pharmaceuticals, either self-administered pharmaceuticals or psychiatric drugs. That doesn’t peel the memes off of you. It just throws a wet blanket on them, but you’re still carrying them around. The best type of therapy is where you realize the negative meme and you decide with the therapist’s help to drop it. That could be something like rational emotive therapy. It can be hypnotherapy. Before I go any further, let me share with you this article my brother was citing. It’s from the blog known as Aeon. The article is called, There Are No Psychopaths: Virtually everything you know about psychopathy has been thoroughly debunked. Why does this zombie idea live on? Quoting the article, Psychopathic personality disorder, or psychopathy as it is commonly called, is one of the oldest and most researched mental health diagnoses. In modern science, psychopaths are typically described with reference to concrete symptoms, like a lack of empathy, remorse, and conscience, or more explicit behavioral signs, like predatory violence, pathological lying, and impaired impulse control. The psychopath has also become a well-known figure of fascination in popular culture, frequently portrayed in best-selling novels and cinematic thrillers, [such as the movies No Country for Old Men and Natural Born Killers]. However, there’s a problem with this idea of psychopathy. While it has been researched across hundreds of empirical studies, especially since the explosion of research in the late 1990s, there is still remarkably little evidence that corroborates popularized claims about the diagnosis. Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in Natural Born Killers Despite enthusiasm among researchers in the 1990s and 2000s, the past two decades have been sobering. Today, virtually every claim about psychopathy has been either thoroughly refuted or failed to find empirical support in experimental settings. Psychopathy may not exist at all. I’m jumping all around in this article. The article is much longer. The link is included in the transcript to this episode, if you want to go look it up. In the vast majority of tests, [89% of all tests], no clear distinction can be made between psychopaths and control groups. That is extremely strong. So there you go. Hence the title of the article, Psychopathy Does Not Exist. This author produced a study of all the other studies of psychopathy, and this is his conclusion. An alternative answer to this question, that has so far received little attention, is the possibility that psychopathy may be an instance of what scientists colloquially refer to as a zombie idea. Ideas that have the quality of being intuitively appealing, but the idea itself is essentially a fallacious misconception of reality. Just like zombies, when these ideas have been falsified, known to be dead ideas, they somehow still manage to stubbornly stick around in the halls of prestigious universities, only to once again infect another generation of young scientists. He says, The aggregation of scientific evidence does not corroborate the idea of psychopathy. If anything, it throws the whole notion into doubt. And by the way, psychopathy is included as a personality disorder. I couldn’t think of that word when I was talking to him on the phone, but the word I was searching for is personality disorder, and those are pretty much agreed to be impossible to treat. A person is a certain way, and that’s the way they are. My brother and I both agree that so-called psychopathy is a collection of memes that have stuck onto a person’s personality, because they were not born that way. It’s not part of their eternal aeonic personality. It’s a bundle of negative memes. And like any other memes, they can be pulled off if you understand the psychology in this manner. At this point in the episode, I had planned to share about 10 minutes of the phone conversation my brother and I had on this topic but we decided to pull that segment. We felt it was possibly too lighthearted for such a serious topic and that our joshing around might be misunderstood. So we'll leave it at this. I hope you have enjoyed this look at psychopathy and a review of Gnostic psychology. So until next week, God bless us all, and Onward and Upward!

It's Friday, March 27th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Finnish lawmaker convicted over speaking truth about homosexuality In a narrow 3–2 decision, the Finnish Supreme Court has found parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen guilty of so-called “hate speech” for simply affirming a Biblical understanding of marriage and sexual ethics in a 20-year-old church pamphlet, reports LifeSiteNews.com. Räsänen has been criminally convicted for publishing the 2004 pamphlet for her church, alongside Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola. The conviction is for “making and keeping available to the public a text that insults a group.” She said, “I am shocked and profoundly disappointed that the court has failed to recognize my basic human right to freedom of expression. I stand by the teachings of my Christian faith, and will continue to defend my [right] and every person's right to share their convictions in the public square.” The Finish Supreme Court has imposed criminal fines of several thousand Euros and ruled that the impugned statements must be “removed from public access and destroyed.”   Päivi Räsänen has served as a member of the Finnish Parliament since 1995, and was Minister of the Interior from 2011-2015. She is a medical doctor, mother of five children, and has twelve grandchildren. In a related development, the Finish Supreme Court unanimously acquitted Räsänen for her 2019 Bible verse tweet. Canada's House criminalizes quoting Bible Religious expression is under attack in Canada as well. The majority of Canadian Members of Parliament voted to pass a leftist bill that will criminalize the quotation of Bible verses on homosexual behavior and gender, reports LifeSiteNews.com. Early Wednesday evening, in a 186–137 vote, they passed Bill C-9, which is misnamed the “Combatting Hate Act.” Members of Parliament from the Conservative Party, New Democratic Party, and the Green Party voted against the bill in a rare form of unity among the usually opposing parties. The bill now heads to Canada's rubber-stamp Senate for review. David Cooke with the Campaign Life Coalition said, “With the passage of Bill C-9 in the [Canadian] House, Christians and pro-life advocates will almost certainly face an entirely new level of hostility, as the door swings open to actual persecution under a cloak of supposed legality.” The 186 foolish Members of the Canadian Parliament who voted to criminalize citing Bible verses about sexual perversion would no doubt object to my citation of Leviticus 18:22. It says, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” Trump postpones strikes on Iranian energy plants until April 6 On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the United States will extend the pause on strikes on Iranian energy plants by an additional 10 days, at the request of the Iranian government, reports CBS News.   On Monday, the president announced a five-day pause on strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure in order to negotiate with Iran. The president said he's extending that pause to the evening of April 7 local time in Tehran.  Trump to sign order to pay TSA agents President Donald Trump plans to sign an order that will pay Transportation Security Administration agents, who have not received a check since the Department of Homeland Security entered a partial shutdown in mid-February, reports The Epoch Times. In a March 26th Truth Social post, he wrote, “I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports.” More than 3,120 TSA agents, who have not been paid in weeks, called in sick on Wednesday, which prompted long lines to continue at airports across the country. Pennsylvania Democrats have egg on their faces And finally, Pennsylvania House Democrats withdrew consideration of a resolution honoring March as "National Women's Month" after a Republican lawmaker filed an amendment to include the physiological definition of "woman" in the text, report Fox News. What was expected to be a quick, symbolic vote turned into a brief but telling floor moment.  Listen how the Republicans forced the question into the open and Democrats opted to shelve the resolution rather than define what a "woman" is in legislation — leading to an eruption of laughter on the House floor. Democratic House Speaker Joanna McClinton was bringing a rapid-fire succession of bills up for consideration late in Tuesday's session when she asked the clerk to introduce House Resolution 390. McCLINTON: “The Chair recognizes the Majority Leader who calls up House Resolution on page eight of today's House calendar. The clerk will read a summary of the resolution.” CLERK: “A resolution recognizing the month of March 2026, as Women's History Month in Pennsylvania, introduced by Representative Carol Hill-Evans.” McCLINTON: “[Republican] Representative [Aaron] Bernstine offers A02716. Will the House agree to the amendment? On that question, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Lawrence, maker of the amendment. Representative Bernstein.” BERNSTINE: “Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, this amendment is very straightforward and clear. It defines what a woman actually is, because we do know what that is. Thank you.” What happened next was stunning!  During 30 seconds of silence, Democrats quietly considered the fact that they had been painted into a corner. If they defined what a woman was in order for the proposed Women's History Month to be considered, they would alienate their leftist base which has swallowed the woke transgender agenda -- hook, line and sinker. Put bluntly, Democrats believe that a man, pretending to be a woman, is a woman! There was movement at the dais. So, this is what House Majority Leader Joanna McClinton declared. McCLINTON: “The resolution is temporarily over.” (Republicans laugh out loud on the Pennsylvania House floor) You can hear the Republicans laughing out loud at the utter foolishness of the hypocritical Democrats who want to look like they are championing women but oddly cannot even agree with the biological definition of what a woman is. McClinton immediately turned to the clerk to read the next piece of legislation. In an interview Wednesday, GOP Rep. Bernstine defended his amendment as a common sense measure, saying that defining a woman as having XX chromosomes should not be controversial. The Republican said, "They pulled [the Women's History Month] because they were scared to define what a woman actually is." Jason Gottesman, spokesman for the House Republican Caucus, further told Fox News that "if Democrats want to celebrate what they refuse to define, it is clear they do not take this issue seriously." In Matthew 19:4, Jesus asked, “Haven't you read, that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female?'” Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, March 27th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Welcome to Season 16 of The Fire Time Podcast—and for the first time ever, we're on video. To kick things off, Tim steps in for Gideon Honeycutt at the 2026 HPBExpo to teach a session on breaking free from the quote trap—the costly cycle where salespeople fail to show customers why a product uniquely solves their problem and get reduced to handing out numbers. What follows is a masterclass in three deceptively simple steps that can fundamentally transform how your team sells. In this episode, Tim covers: Why most salespeople accidentally turn their products into commodities—and how a customer intake form flips the script by uncovering the real problem before you ever show a product. How adopting a documented company sales process turns your team from clerks flying by the seat of their pants into consultants who guide customers toward a decision with confidence. Why establishing a next step with every single quote is the difference between "let me know" and actually closing the sale—and how appropriate pressure is a gift to your customers, not a burden. Don't miss this no-nonsense kickoff to Season 16 that proves the basics aren't basic at all—because the companies that master these three steps don't just close more sales, they give their customers an experience worth coming back for. —— Watch this podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-oBrCc-NWHaFtu_b51D-jpNXu8jJDX2v To hear more audio articles from our magazine, subscribe to the Fire Time Magazine Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/magazine⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to The Fire Time Magazine: ⁠⁠⁠https://itsfiretime.com⁠⁠⁠/subscribe Support The Fire Time Podcast financially: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.itsfiretime.com/join WhyFire Fireplace AI Visualizer: https://whyfire.com

Tonight there are new strikes on the U.S. embassy in Iraq, and the U.S. military dropped 5,000-pound, GPS-guided bombs to blow up Iranian missile sites threatening ships in the Gulf. Back home, top national security official Joe Kent became the first senior administration member to quit over the war. Quoting now from his resignation letter to the president: "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rabbi Steve Berkson takes us on a deep dive into scripture, into the spiritual underworld, led by an entity known in scripture as HaSatan. Understanding the enemy of our belief is crucial to successfully living a Torah-observant life.• Reset / Review• Hebrews 2:14 – Does Satan have the power of death?• Hebrews 2:1 – Let's go to chapter 1• Hebrews 1:1 – What's the point of the book of Hebrews?• Hebrews 1:5 – Righteousness brings gladness• Hebrews 1:10 – A Deliverer is coming• Hebrews 2:1 – Lest we drift away• Hebrews 2:2 – You're going to serve someone • Hebrews 2:3 – Neglecting the deliverance • Hebrews 2:4 – Quoting from Psalm 8• Psalm 8:4 • Hebrews 2:9 – That we would be one with Elohim• Hebrews 2:12 – Messiah destroys the power of the devil• Hebrews 2:14 – Enslaved by fear• Hebrews 2:16 – Making the case for Yeshua the High Priest • He's got you• Hebrews 3:1 – Shifting from Moses to Yeshua• Hebrews 3:10 – They have not known my ways• Psalm 95 – They shall not enter my rest• Exodus 17 – What happened at Meribah?• Blaming the wrong person?• But you don't trust • Hebrews 3:12 – Falling away because of unbelief?• Hebrews 3:13 – What was the rebellion?• Unable to enter because of unbelief• WisdomListen to the Afterburn tomorrowSubscribe to be notified of new content each week.Learn more about MTOI:https://mtoi.orgThe MTOI App https://mtoi.org/download-the-mtoi-appFollow MTOI:https://www.facebook.com/mtoiworldwide https://www.instagram.com/mtoi_worldwidehttps://www.tiktok.com/@mtoi_worldwide Contact MTOI: 

In this episode of Risk Intelligence, host Karen Adamsbaum explains what really happens behind the scenes when someone requests an insurance quote. While many expect quick results, quoting often requires gathering key business details and going through underwriting, especially for more complex operations. Karen also shares why early quote requests before renewals don't always move faster and how the typical 60–90 day underwriting window works. Tune in to better understand the quoting process and set the right expectations when working with insurance agents and brokers.

In the introduction to “The Surangama Sutra, A New Translation” by the Buddhist Text Translation Society, the section on “The Reasons for the Teaching” explains six reasons for this particular sutra, the title translating to something like, "heroic march or journey": 1) The first is the importance of balancing learning and meditation practice. The authors explain that Ananda, the interlocutor in this sutra, had “the keenest memory of all the Buddha's disciples” but thought he could rely solely on his intelligence and neglected his meditation practice, thus making himself vulnerable to the “spell” the young courtesan in the story cast upon him on the way to the meeting with Shakyamuni Buddha.They also explain “The Syllogism and the Tetralemma” as key forms of formal logical argument that the Buddha employs in trying to help Ananda navigate the intricacies of the nondual nature of Mind. Quoting one example, using the five parts of a syllogism: proposition, reason, instance, application and conclusion: 1) Proposition: it is the mind, not the eyes, that see2) Reason: our visual awareness is active even if nothing is being seen;3) Instance drawn from ordinary life: In the Buddha's words, “If you asked a blind man on the street, ‘Do you see anything?' he would no doubt answer, ‘All I see is darkness.'”4) Application of the instance: “Reflect upon what that might mean. Although the blind man sees only darkness, his visual awareness is intact.”5) Conclusion: “The eyes themselves simply reveal visible objects; it is the mind that sees, not the eyes.” A brief explanation of the Tetralemma, or Fourfold Negation, follows: In the logic of ancient India, statements could be affirmed, negated, neither affirmed nor negated, and both affirmed and negated. In this fourfold negation, sometimes called the “tetralemma,” (catuskoti), a proposition is asserted to be neither true, nor not true, nor both true and not true, nor neither true nor not true. That's a lot of neither-nors, for those of us who presume that Zen promotes a positive mental attitude. But they go on to explain that “This formula can serve as a reminder in our practice that all we perceive is empty of any attribute, and so nothing definitive can be asserted about the world and the contents of the mind.” In more recent times, namely the Thirteenth Century, Master Dogen affirms this tenet in several fascicles from his masterwork, the Shobogenzo, including “Self-Fulfilling Samadhi (J. Jijuyu Zammai): All this however does not appear within perception because it is unconstructedness in stillness — it is immediate realization. If practice and realization were two things, as it appears to the ordinary person, each could be recognized separately. But what can be met with recognition is not realization itself, because realization is not reached by a deluded mind. Implicit in this last is that, therefore, any form of recognition, of any perception, is itself delusion. It is only when perception itself undergoes deconstruction that the delusory nature of perception becomes apparent. If fundamental reality cannot be perceived, let alone recognized, described and asserted as real, we have to embrace a new definition of primary experience itself, most immediately before it is translated into perception. Nagarjuna gets a mention as the founder of the “Emptiness (Madhyamaka) school of Buddhism” who “popularized the logical negation of these four possibilities as a way of showing the emptiness of anything that might be construed as a real, permanent self or phenomenon or as an attribute of a real, permanent self or phenomenon.” Note that the imputed self is lumped in with all other phenomena as fundamentally unreal. The question of whether things are real or not, is not the question in Zen, however. The existential question in Zen is not either-or black-and-white, but HOW things exist. They exist by virtue of emptiness; that is, with determinate characteristics of impermanence, imperfection, and insubstantiality. Given these three attributes yes, things do actually exist. For now. Forever is a different story. One might argue the case that “thingness” exists forever, and that no single thing is separate from all things. But what we perceive as a thing is pulling a fast one on us. Don't be fooled. An interesting and, I think, cogent definition of enlightenment and awakening is included, and I quote: In this volume we use the English terms “enlightenment” and “awakening” as synonyms. In Buddhism, when these terms are used in a formal sense, they do not connote a temporary experience but rather a complete and irreversible transformation of one's fundamental way of being in the world. Only the enlightenment of a Buddha is perfect and complete. The text goes on to explain that others, such as those folks who function as Bodhisattvas, “have awakened but have not perfected their awakening.” There are several other definitions of some of the more ubiquitous jargon terms of Buddhism, which often go unexplained, and just as often lend to confusion, rather than alleviating it. While the idea of perfecting awakening may seem to contradict the mark of imperfection that is one key characteristic of dukkha, the unsatisfactory nature of sentient existence, it is important that we do not go off the deep end of intellectual analysis with every seeming contradiction. We must have faith that there is no real dichotomy in reality. As Matsuoka Roshi would often say, there is no dichotomy in Zen. That all such confusion will be resolved in meditation of the “right” kind, is a kind of faith in Zen Buddhism. So just where is this so-called mind? If there is such a thing, it must be somewhere, right? And what about this Original Mind versus ordinary mind? Are there two minds? We often hear the trope, “I am of two minds about this…” This is one of many confusions that arise in Zen practice, owing to the dualistic nature of the discriminating mind trying and failing to comprehend nonduality. The question or conjecture of the true mind versus the constructed mind may be considered foremost in the focus of Zen meditation. In the section on “The Request [from Ananda] for Dharma,” the dialog ensues: The Buddha said to Ānanda, “It is as you say: your mind and eyes were the reason for your admiration and delight. Someone who does not know where his mind and eyes are will not be able to overcome the stress of engagement with perceived objects… I am now asking you: precisely where are your mind and eyes?” In the interrogation that follows, Ananda responds with great sincerity and increasing stress as Buddha mercilessly rejects each response, thus mercifully reducing Ananda's reliance on intellectual analysis to the level of futility. Ironically, Buddha expresses the very engagement with perception as a form of stress. That the mind is in the body is the first and most obvious idea, dismissed immediately with a syllogism, demonstrating the impossibility of Ananda's assertion. Same for outside the body. Ditto for residing in the faculty of vision. Even that the mind is in the middle, between the sense faculty and its object. Even no specific location — no dice. One gets the impression that Ananda is like the sinner in the old spiritual, “O sinner man, where you gonna run to? All on that day.” There is no place to hide, no answer that is going to satisfy this demon in hot pursuit of him. This may represent the first koan assignment and the following distress-inducing exchange with the Rinzai master. Then Buddha performs a minor miracle, as he is wont to do — so that all present have an intense, if unexplainable, experience of the Buddha's power, involving light radiating from his countenance, infinite worlds appearing in all directions at the same time — your garden variety astonishing sign that he is about to say something significant, so listen up: People who undertake a spiritual practice but who fail to realize the ultimate enlightenment…all fail because they do not understand two fundamentals and are mistaken and confused in their practice. Ānanda, what are the two fundamentals? The first is the mind that is the basis of death and rebirth and that has continued since time without beginning. This mind is dependent on perceived objects, and it is this mind that you and all beings make use of and that each of you consider to be your own nature. The second fundamental is full awakening, which also has no beginning; it is the original and pure essence of nirvana. It is the original understanding, the real nature of consciousness. All conditioned phenomena arise from it, and yet it is among those phenomena that beings lose track of it. We are going to have to leave it there for this segment. A real cliff-hanger, with lots for you to chew on. We will continue with “The Nature of Visual Awareness,” one of my personal obsessions, next time, with a brief wrap-up of where the mind really resides. Thoroughly investigate this in your meditation, as Master Dogen would advise.

Justin, Senator Howard, and Chris discuss the Iran War, criticism of John Piper for quoting Scripture, and AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most brokers pitch self-funding as a silver bullet for cost containment, focusing on administrative fees and stop-loss premiums. But they ignore the elephant in the room: the actual claims data. If you are only trying to shave 10% off the admin fee - which represents just 15% of the total cost - you are completely missing the opportunity to find massive savings in the 85% of the pie that actually matters.My guest, Jeff Borglund, Co-Founder of IntegroIQ, joins me to explain why forensic claims auditing is the ultimate wedge strategy to win and retain self-funded clients. We break down the difference between a targeted audit and a forensic review, and why employers are choosing "ignorance" despite mounting ERISA fiduciary lawsuits. If you want to differentiate your agency and offer a cost-containment strategy that requires zero employee disruption, this is the episode for you.▶▶ Sign Up For Your Free Discovery Callcompletegameu.com/agaKEY MOMENTS(00:00:35) The Sausage Salesman: Jeff's Unconventional Path to Insurance (00:02:19) The Forbes Article That Changed Everything (00:06:34) What is Claims Payment Integrity? (And Why is it a Blind Spot?) (00:07:33) Forensic Audits: Finding the $69,000 Mammogram Mistake (00:12:22) Shifting from "Identify and Recover" to "Identify and Prevent" (00:14:02) Fiduciary Ignorance: Why Employers Put Their Heads in the Sand (00:21:04) Fraud, Waste, and Abuse: The Most Common Billing Errors (00:25:05) How Brokers Use IntegroIQ as Their Back-Office Data Team (00:30:35) Jeff's Morning Routine: Coffee, Scripture, and High-Altitude HikingCONNECT WITH ANDY NEARY

In this episode, Lisa opens with the reminder that real, sustainable change begins not in urgency, panic, or the frantic rush to “fix” your body, but in the quiet, embodied willingness to be exactly where you are. She invites listeners to step out of the urgency of weight‑loss pressure and into the felt safety that makes transformation possible—safety in your breath, in your body, and in the present moment. Lisa unpacks why panic tightens the system, why urgency blocks clarity, and why the path forward only reveals itself when you stop fighting the moment you're in. Drawing on lived experience, nervous‑system science, and a three‑level coaching framework, she guides listeners toward releasing the fear‑driven chase for change so one can finally see the exit, the path, and the next right step from a grounded, regulated place. Topics Include:Releasing PanicEmotional SafetyFramework for SuccessCommunity[1:55] Lisa shifts the conversation from theoretical groundwork to the "core conversation" of intentional weight loss, specifically focusing on the physiological components of radical acceptance and non-attachment. Lisa emphasizes moving beyond intellectual understanding. The goal is to "embody it until you habituate to it." Lisa explains that safety and acceptance must be felt physiologically to be effective.[3:50] Lisa uses the Harry Potter scene involving Devil's Snare to illustrate the body's response to discomfort.Panic: Struggling and fighting (like Ron) causes the plant to constrict tighter, meeting fear with fear causes physiological contraction and worsens symptoms.Relaxation: Relaxing and "trying on the energy of relaxation" (like Hermione and Harry) causes the plant to release, helping the body to feel safe.[8:35] Lisa applies this to her experience with IBS and chronic pain. Realizing that panic was fueling her physical contraction, she utilized the mantra: "You are uncomfortable, you are not unsafe." The urgency to lose weight is compared to being trapped in a burning room. Panicking and screaming "I have to get out" only adds fuel to the fire and blocks the exit. [25:52] Lisa outlines the three levels required for success:Emotional Sobriety: Learning to feel feelings without using food as a drug.Mind-Body Connection: Connecting with food and the body intuitively.Intentional Weight Loss: This step should only be pursued after the groundwork of levels 1 and 2 is complete. Attempting Level 3 prematurely leads to the cycle of failure.[37:25] For those who react to their reflection as if they are a "predator," Lisa recommends her Mirror Work Challenge to build the capacity to bear witness to one's own body. Lisa addresses facing fears (like wearing a swimsuit in public), one should not throw themselves into the deep end and dissociate. Instead, she urges taking fetus steps to stay in a learning zone rather than a danger zone. She encourages to imagine how one would move, breathe, and exist if they already felt safe, and to start embodying those physical behaviors now. [1:06:06] Lisa argues that individual work is not enough because humans have an "animal brain in a social context."- Quoting "grief cannot be metabolized in isolation," she emphasizes that healing requires safe relationships and the brain needs to learn there are people who can see, love, and accept you without judgment.*The views of podcast guests do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of Lisa Schlosberg or Out of the Cave, LLC.LISA IS NOW ACCEPTING: One-on-One Clients!⁠Purchase the OOTC book of 50 Journal Prompts⁠⁠Leave Questions and Feedback for Lisa via OOTC Pod Feedback Form ⁠Email Lisa: ⁠lisa@lisaschlosberg.com⁠⁠Out of the Cave Merch⁠ - For 10% off use code SCHLOS10Lisa's Socials: Instagram⁠ ⁠Facebook⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠

This show has been flagged as Explicit by the host. New hosts Welcome to our new hosts: Vance, not_toby. Last Month's Shows Id Day Date Title Host 4566 Mon 2026-02-02 HPR Community News for January 2026 HPR Volunteers 4567 Tue 2026-02-03 Movie Recommendations for Hackers Deltaray 4568 Wed 2026-02-04 Book reading The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll Henrik Hemrin 4569 Thu 2026-02-05 Kiosk with guest mode on Linux Klaatu 4570 Fri 2026-02-06 Playing Civilization V, Part 8 Ahuka 4571 Mon 2026-02-09 Data processing retrospective Lee 4572 Tue 2026-02-10 Uncommon Commands, Episode 3 - strace Deltaray 4573 Wed 2026-02-11 Nuclear Reactor Technology - Ep 6 Thorium Reactors Whiskeyjack 4574 Thu 2026-02-12 UNIX Curio #0 - Introduction Vance 4575 Fri 2026-02-13 Making First Contact Ken Fallon 4576 Mon 2026-02-16 Responce to Lee/Elsbeth eps operat0r 4577 Tue 2026-02-17 HPR Beer Garden 10 - Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy Kevie 4578 Wed 2026-02-18 Alex's journey into Amateur Radio thelovebug 4579 Thu 2026-02-19 Happy by shower Antoine 4580 Fri 2026-02-20 The First Doctor, Part 4 Ahuka 4581 Mon 2026-02-23 Sharp Intake of Breath City (A.K.A.) How I learnt to stop worrying about the fork bomb not_toby 4582 Tue 2026-02-24 Hackerpublic Radio New Years Eve Show 2026 Episode 1 Honkeymagoo 4583 Wed 2026-02-25 Nuclear Reactor Technology - Ep 7 Small Modular Reactors Whiskeyjack 4584 Thu 2026-02-26 Recording a show, and crappy audio Archer72 4585 Fri 2026-02-27 mpv util scripts candycanearter Comments this month These are comments which have been made during the past month, either to shows released during the month or to past shows. There are 37 comments in total. Past shows There are 2 comments on 2 previous shows: hpr4562 (2026-01-27) "Software development doesn't end until it's packaged" by Klaatu. Comment 1: Steve Barnes on 2026-02-03: "(Yeah!)" hpr4564 (2026-01-29) "MakeMKV error" by Archer72. Comment 1: candycanearter07 on 2026-02-05: "regression testing?" This month's shows There are 35 comments on 11 of this month's shows: hpr4566 (2026-02-02) "HPR Community News for January 2026" by HPR Volunteers. Comment 1: Whiskeyjack on 2026-02-03: "Community News for January - Scheduling of Episodes"Comment 2: Ken Fallon on 2026-02-04: "response to Whiskeyjack"Comment 3: Whiskeyjack on 2026-02-04: "response to Ken Fallon - Episode Scheduling Guidelines"Comment 4: Ken Fallon on 2026-02-04: "You're right"Comment 5: candycanearter07 on 2026-02-06: "my two cents"Comment 6: Whiskeyjack on 2026-02-06: "Response to candycanearter07 on episode scheduling"Comment 7: Ken Fallon on 2026-02-07: "re "reschedule shows which don't need to be on a specific date forwards or backwards"" hpr4567 (2026-02-03) "Movie Recommendations for Hackers" by Deltaray. Comment 1: Kinghezy on 2026-02-03: "Office space lumbergh"Comment 2: Antoine on 2026-02-04: "An attractive invitation to watch"Comment 3: Henrik Hemrin on 2026-02-04: "Inspiring recommendations"Comment 4: ClaudioM on 2026-02-05: "Awesome Episode!"Comment 5: Jim DeVore on 2026-02-06: "Great Show!"Comment 6: hobs on 2026-02-23: "Loved the show!" hpr4569 (2026-02-05) "Kiosk with guest mode on Linux" by Klaatu. Comment 1: operat0r on 2026-01-18: "weee"Comment 2: candycanearter07 on 2026-02-05: "very informative!"Comment 3: Jim DeVore on 2026-02-06: "I learned some things that I will try out"Comment 4: candycanearter07 on 2026-02-06: "RE: I learned some things that I will try out" hpr4571 (2026-02-09) "Data processing retrospective" by Lee. Comment 1: Henrik Hemrin on 2026-02-10: "Conversation"Comment 2: Beeza on 2026-02-18: "A Special Episode" hpr4572 (2026-02-10) "Uncommon Commands, Episode 3 - strace" by Deltaray. Comment 1: Ken Fallon on 2026-01-13: "My future self thanks you"Comment 2: candycanearter07 on 2026-02-10: "fantastic learning and debugging tool!"Comment 3: Some Guy on the Internet on 2026-02-11: "It's MAGIC!"Comment 4: Paulj on 2026-02-18: "Great Information" hpr4574 (2026-02-12) "UNIX Curio #0 - Introduction" by Vance. Comment 1: brian-in-ohio on 2026-02-12: "This will be a good series"Comment 2: Vance on 2026-02-14: "Thanks, brian-in-ohio!"Comment 3: Paulj on 2026-02-18: "Thanks for your first show, and upcoming series!" hpr4576 (2026-02-16) "Responce to Lee/Elsbeth eps" by operat0r. Comment 1: Elsbeth on 2026-01-16: "Thank you" hpr4577 (2026-02-17) "HPR Beer Garden 10 - Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy" by Kevie. Comment 1: Gan Ainm on 2026-02-18: ""Scotch" Ale from the Baltic Sea" hpr4578 (2026-02-18) "Alex's journey into Amateur Radio" by thelovebug. Comment 1: Archer72 on 2026-02-17: "Congrats!"Comment 2: Trey on 2026-02-18: "Congratulations! " hpr4579 (2026-02-19) "Happy by shower" by Antoine. Comment 1: candycanearter07 on 2026-02-20: "timing"Comment 2: Antoine on 2026-02-26: "Re # 1 -" hpr4581 (2026-02-23) "Sharp Intake of Breath City (A.K.A.) How I learnt to stop worrying about the fork bomb" by not_toby. Comment 1: Archer72 on 2026-02-17: "First episode"Comment 2: Trey on 2026-02-23: "Welcome!"Comment 3: Steve Barnes on 2026-02-24: "Potted Plant Emoji" Mailing List discussions Policy decisions surrounding HPR are taken by the community as a whole. This discussion takes place on the Mailing List which is open to all HPR listeners and contributors. The discussions are open and available on the HPR server under Mailman. The threaded discussions this month can be found here: https://lists.hackerpublicradio.com/pipermail/hpr/2026-February/thread.html Events Calendar With the kind permission of LWN.net we are linking to The LWN.net Community Calendar. Quoting the site: This is the LWN.net community event calendar, where we track events of interest to people using and developing Linux and free software. Clicking on individual events will take you to the appropriate web page.Provide feedback on this episode.

Is Tina a jerk for quoting her friend a high price? full 785 Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:04:30 +0000 7JBJZwdAi67MYB8qjZVpZo49uX8KJP5L society & culture Alley and DZ on demand society & culture Is Tina a jerk for quoting her friend a high price? If you missed Alley and DZ this morning on 103.7 KISS-FM – you can catch up with the show here! Every show. Every day. No commercials, no music.    2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. Society & Culture False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?fe

Are we really that bad? Aren't some people better than others? In Romans 3:9-20, the Apostle Paul pulls no punches and places every single person, religious and rebellious, under the same verdict: guilty before a holy God. Quoting from the Old Testament, he shows that sin isn't just something we do, it's a condition we live under, affecting our hearts, our words, our paths, and ultimately our reverence for God. This message confronts our tendency to compare, excuse, and justify ourselves. It reminds us that no one naturally seeks God, no one does good with pure motives, and no one stands righteous by their own effort, so that every mouth may be silenced and every heart prepared for grace. In this message you'll learn: - Why being “better than others” is not the standard - The difference between sinful actions and a sinful condition - How our words reveal what rules our hearts - Why the fear of God frees us from the fear of everything else - How the law exposes guilt so grace can truly save

HOUR 1- When Quoting the Show Goes Wrong, Rain Pussies and MORE full 1593 Tue, 17 Feb 2026 16:42:00 +0000 y0gBgPgfji3qYtBtirrsZ4YwTE2rFi4c society & culture Klein/Ally Show: The Podcast society & culture HOUR 1- When Quoting the Show Goes Wrong, Rain Pussies and MORE Klein.Ally.Show on KROQ is more than just a "dynamic, irreverent morning radio show that mixes humor, pop culture, and unpredictable conversation with a heavy dose of realness." (but thanks for that quote anyway). Hosted by Klein, Ally, and a cast of weirdos (both on the team and from their audience), the show is known for its raw, offbeat style, offering a mix of sarcastic banter, candid interviews, and an unfiltered take on everything from culture to the chaos of everyday life. With a loyal, engaged fanbase and an addiction for pushing boundaries, the show delivers the perfect blend of humor and insight, all while keeping things fun, fresh, and sometimes a little bit illegal. 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. Society & Culture False https://player.amperwavepodca

Romans 10:16-17 — How is a person saved? Is it through just hearing the gospel or is it through faith? The debate is a theological divide in the Christian church. In this sermon on Romans 10:16–17 titled “Hearing of Faith,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives firm biblical grounding in salvation that comes not just by hearing, but by faith in Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that there are two types of hearing: hearing that falls on the ears and hearing that moves a person to believe. Quoting the words of Isaiah, he reveals that this has always been the case. Not every person who hears believes. It was the same in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and today. Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that this is an example of divine inspiration in Scripture. In a relatable “church goer” example, Dr. Lloyd-Jones reviews the elements needed for a person to hear the gospel with faith. That person's heart must be opened by God and they must then trust in Christ's redeeming death on the cross. To convey this incredible truth, Dr. Lloyd-Jones draws on other examples from the New Testament that embody and proclaim this faith today. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29?v=20251111

Back in April 2021 we covered news about a record breaking 25 Chinese air force aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers that entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). At the time 25 seemed like an alarming number. It was the largest incursion by Chinese military planes into Taiwan's ADIZ to date.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/chinas-alarming-gray-zone-tactics-around-taiwan-and-its-neighboring-nations-in-asia-ep-340/   To be clear these sorts of activities had been going on long before this and long before September of 2020 which about the time that Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense started to publicly report China's incursions.   The China's People's Liberation Army has shown no signs of letting up. The PLA's gray zone tactics, have also included the use of drones and balloons. Incursions by warplanes and naval ships into the airspace and waters surrounding Taiwan are now a daily occurrence.. And they have completely shattered the record 25 aircraft in Taiwan's ADIZ many times over.   Major military exercises have included the Joint Sword-2024A. Three days after Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te's inauguration in May 20 of 2024, China's PLA conducted two days of military exercises in the air and sea space around Taiwan.   More recently, at the end of 2025 on December 29 and 30, People's Republic of China (PRC) military forces carried out a large-scale exercise in the air and ocean areas around Taiwan called "Justice Mission-2025."  This two days of PLA military exercises involved at least 200 warplanes.   Unfortunately these types of gray zone tactics by China have become commonplace and while they have been more widely reported on, even more troubling are the other gray zone tactics that the PRC has been levying on Taiwan, which include the presence of Chinese owned and operated oil rigs in Taiwan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on January 16th the New York Times reported that China quietly mobilized thousands of fishing boats twice already, most recently in the first few weeks of this new year.   Quoting from the New York Times, "By January 11, they had assembled into a rectangle stretching more than 200 miles. Maritime and military experts said the maneuvers suggested that China was strengthening its maritime militia, which is made up of civilian fishing boats trained to join in military operations."   This was not the first time, a month earlier on December 25th the Times reported that "about 2,000 Chinese fishing boats assembled in two long, parallel formations on Christmas Day in the East China Sea. Each stretched 290 miles long, about the distance from New York City to Buffalo, forming a reverse L shape"   According to the New York Times, "The unusual formations were spotted by Jason Wang, the chief operating officer of ingeniSPACE, a company that analyzes data, and were independently confirmed by The Times using ship location data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence."   In this episode of Talking Taiwan we will be speaking to Marvin Bernado, Maritime Domain Awareness Analyst at ingeniSPACE and Elva Wu, National Security Researcher / Imagery Analyst at ingeniSPACE.   About ingeniSPACE:   ingeniSPACE is a geospatial intelligence company integrating remote sensing data across multiple phenomenologies. We are an insight-as-a-service platform delivering all weather day-night multi-temporal understanding around the world. Our intelligence extends the "executive decision making time" that public sector and commercial leaders need to make well-informed decisions.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/chinas-alarming-gray-zone-tactics-around-taiwan-and-its-neighboring-nations-in-asia-ep-340/  

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training Do you feel underpaid, misunderstood, or stuck explaining why your work costs what it costs? Most agency owners don't wake up one day and decide, "You know what sounds fun? Running an agency." They stumble into it, usually because the job market fails them. That's exactly how today's featured guest got her start. In this episode, she'll unpack how slowly building her confidence as she gained more experienced changed her perspective on pricing and why most "thought leadership" content does more harm than good. Alicia Disantis is the owner and creative director of 38th & Kip Studio, a dual branding and design studio celebrating 15 years in business. She founded the agency during the 2008 recession, which is about as pressure-filled a launchpad as you can imagine. Before building a sustainable agency, Alicia wore a lot of creative hats: video game character artist for early mobile games, comic book artist for an urban vampire/werewolf series, and unpaid intern at a graphic design. These experiences heavily shaped how she thinks about value, pricing, and positioning today. In this episode, we'll discuss: Why agency pricing should feel scary. Educating clients who think your work is "easy." An approach to thought leadership that actually creates value. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources E2M Solutions: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by E2M Solutions, a web design, and development agency that has provided white-label services for the past 10 years to agencies all over the world. Check out e2msolutions.com/smartagency and get 10% off for the first three months of service. Creating a Unique Path that Lead to Agency Ownership Like many agency owners, Alicia didn't start with a master plan. She started with a student loan bill that arrived a month before graduation and over a hundred job applications that led nowhere. When the traditional path failed, she did what resourceful creatives do: she pieced together work wherever she could find it. Freelance gigs turned into repeat work. Repeat work turned into confidence. And eventually, confidence turned into a business. She went from being an unpaid intern, to game designer, to a comic book designer, and forged a unique path, going from charging just $200 for her first freelance job to earning the confidence she needed to believe she could build her own business. Most agencies are born from survival more than a carefully thought business plan. The danger is that when you start that way, you often carry survival pricing and survival thinking far longer than you should. That early context matters, because it explains why so many agency owners struggle to raise prices later. From $200 Clients to Pricing That Feels Scary (In a Good Way) Alicia's first client paid her $200. She also did a lot of free work, because at the time, that felt like the only way in. What changed over the years wasn't some magic pricing formula. It was confidence. Marketing and creative work is deeply undervalued, especially compared to STEM or "expert" services. People don't argue over a $250 legal consult but they will argue endlessly over a logo. As Alicia grew, she learned three critical skills: Educating clients on the real cost of doing work right Having the confidence to say no Quoting prices that made her a little uncomfortable It wasn't easy, but mostly it just took time. How to Educate Clients Who Think a Logo Is "Easy" Alicia managed to reframe the value of branding for skeptical clients not by arguing but by analogizing. Instead of defending design directly, she compares it to plumbing, legal work, or real estate. You wouldn't hire a $5 freelancer to represent you in civil court, so why would you do that for the thing that represents your entire business? This framing does two things: It removes emotion from the conversation It positions branding as expert work, not artistic preference Clients should also understand the hidden cost of "cheap" solutions, especially with websites. Hiring a friend or a bargain provider usually leads to cut corners, broken functionality, and stalled growth when the person inevitably disappears. The goal isn't to lead with fear. It's to calmly explain consequences and let the client decide if cheap is really cheaper. Thought Leadership That Builds Trust (Not Clickbait) Thought leadership is an area where Alicia found significant success creating valuable educational content. In her view, it's also something most agencies get wrong. The problem isn't content volume. It's content relevance. In her experience, the key to producing this content is leading with research on what people want to hear about. She's also encountered many white papers that don't even offer any takeaways or new perspectives, which ends up diluting the trust on your brand. Alicia insists that everything she produces or is a part of must have key takeaways that her audience can translate into a real technical plan. She shared a four-part framework she uses before creating educational content: Motivation – Why does the audience care right now? Pain points – What problem are they actually trying to solve? Literacy level – How well do they understand the subject? Communication style – How do they prefer to consume information? The literacy piece is where most agencies mess up. If you speak marketing jargon to an audience that doesn't have that literacy, you don't sound smart. You sound patronizing. And nobody buys when they feel dumb. Alicia is intentional about making sure everything she puts out includes tangible takeaways—things people can write down and act on. Without that, it's just noise. Playing the Long Game with Content and Personal Brand This podcast started over a decade ago not as a growth hack, but out of curiosity. The goal was to let listeners be a fly on the wall. The payoff took years, but now it's a massive moat. People join our community and say they've been listening for years before ever raising their hand. That kind of trust doesn't come from ads with rented Lambos. But it also takes time and determination. Less than 7% of podcasts make it past episode three, and only about 1% make it beyond episode 23. From Alicia's perspective, finding your unique personality and value proposition is the hardest part of business. People are afraid to be different, but different is the whole point. Discovering your own value proposition on your own is like trying to tickle yourself. You need outside perspective to see what's actually special. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

Romans 10:14-17 — In the first part of his sermon on Romans 10:14–17 titled “Called to Preach (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers an important question: what makes a preacher? As he curates a biblical list that describes an ideal pastor, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones declares the first reason for preaching. Quoting from Romans, he reads, “And how can they believe in whom they have not heard?” The primary reason for preaching is to herald the good news to those who have not heard. As Paul wrote, people cannot believe in something unless they're told of it. The second reason for preaching, he says, is because a person is called. Dr. Lloyd-Jones gives a number of New Testament examples of people being called to preach the good news. Chiefly, he cites Christ's calling of the disciples. Lastly, he reminds the listener how important it is for a preacher to be appointed by the congregation. He again quotes passages from the New Testament where the church selected and prayed over certain people to bring the message locally and abroad. A person cannot appoint himself to preach. He must be given the responsibility by the church body. Dr. Lloyd-Jones concludes by saying that these three points are essential to preaching and the great opportunity to share the promise of Christ. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29?v=20251111

If the news cusses, can we too? Paige drops HUGE news on us during the break, her brother passed away Headlines

For more coverage on the issues that matter to you, download the WMAL app, visit WMAL.com or tune in live on WMAL-FM 105.9 from 9:00am-12:00pm Monday-Friday  To join the conversation, check us out on Twitter @WMAL and @ChrisPlanteShow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices