Podcasts about Raptor

From combat missions in the F-22 Raptor to more than five months aboard the International Space Station, Lt. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers '11 has seen it all. SUMMARY In this episode of Long Blue Leadership, Col. Ayers reflects on mentorship, teamwork and building the next generation of warriors and astronauts.   SHARE THIS EPISODE LINKEDIN  |  FACEBOOK     TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS 1. Leadership is fluid: sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow. On Dragon and the ISS, command shifted between Anne McClain and Takuya Onishi. Everyone alternated between being commander and flight engineer, showing that strong teams normalize moving between leading and supporting roles. 2. Team care starts with self‑care. Vapor repeatedly links sleep, rest, hydration, and health to leadership performance. You can't be present for others if you're exhausted or burned out; taking care of yourself is a leadership duty, not a luxury. 3. People first, mission second (to enable mission success). Whether on deployment with 300 personnel or in space with 7, she focuses on taking care of the human—family issues, logistics, burnout, and emotions—trusting that performance and mission execution follow from that. 4. Trust is built long before the crisis. ISS emergency training with all seven crew, plus years of joint training in multiple countries, builds shared understanding and trust. When emergencies happen, the crew isn't figuring each other out for the first time. 5. Quiet, thoughtful leadership can be incredibly powerful. Takuya Onishi's style—observant, calm, speaks only when it matters, and brings thoughtful items for others—shows that you don't need to be loud to command respect. When he spoke, everyone listened. 6. Leadership means being fully present, especially on others' hard days. In both combat and space, you can't “hide” when someone's struggling. Being reachable, attentive, and emotionally available is a core leadership behavior, not a soft add‑on. 7. Normalize mistakes and share lessons learned. From F‑22 sorties to NASA operations, it's expected that you openly admit errors and pass on lessons so others don't repeat them. A culture where “experience is what you get right after you need it” only works if people share that experience. 8. Plan for “seasons” of intensity, not permanent balance. She frames life as seasons: some are sprints (deployments, intense training, big trips); others are for recovery. Wise leaders anticipate these cycles, push hard when needed, then deliberately create room to reset afterward. 9. Model the behavior you want your team to adopt. If the commander is always first in, last out, everyone else feels pressure to match that. By visibly protecting her own rest and home life, she gives permission for others to do the same and avoid burnout. 10. Lean on—and be—a support system. Her twin sister, long‑term friends, and professional peers form a lifelong support network she turns to when she fails, doubts herself, or hits something “insurmountable.” Great leaders both rely on and serve as those trusted people for others.     CHAPTERS 0:00:00 – Introduction & Vapor's Journey (Academy, F‑22, NASA) 0:00:38 – Launch Scrub, Second Attempt & What a Rocket Launch Feels Like 0:03:33 – First Moments in Space, Floating & Seeing Earth (Overview Effect) 0:06:11 – Leadership & Teamwork in Space: Roles, Trust, and Small-Crew Dynamics 0:10:19 – Multinational Crews & Leadership Lessons from Other Cultures 0:14:47 – No‑Notice F‑22 Deployment & Leading a Squadron in Combat 0:18:14 – Managing Burnout: Scheduling, Human Factors & “Crew‑10 Can Do Hard Things” 0:19:46 – Self‑Care as Team Care: Seasons of Life, Rest, and Being Present 0:26:02 – Family, Being an Aunt, and Balancing a Demanding Career 0:28:14 – Life After Space: Mentoring New Astronauts & Evolving as a Leader     ABOUT NICHOLE BIO U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Nichole "Vapor" Ayers is a trailblazing pilot, leader and astronaut whose journey began at the United States Air Force Academy, where she graduated in 2011 with a degree in mathematics. An accomplished F-22 Raptor pilot, Ayers is one of the few women ever to fly the world's most advanced stealth fighter — and she's one of even fewer to command them in formation for combat training missions. Col. Ayers earned her wings through years of training and operational excellence, logging over 200 flight hours in combat and playing a critical role in advancing tactical aviation. Her exceptional performance led to her selection in 2021 by NASA as a member of Astronaut Group 23, an elite class of 10 chosen from among 12,000 applicants. As a NASA astronaut candidate, Col. Ayers completed intensive training at Johnson Space Center, which included spacewalk preparation, robotics, survival training, systems operations and Russian language. Now qualified for spaceflight, she stands on the threshold of a new chapter that led her to the International Space Station. Throughout her career, Col. Ayers has exemplified the Academy's core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self and Excellence in All We Do. Her journey from cadet to combat aviator to astronaut is a testament to resilience, determination and a passion for pushing boundaries.   LEARN MORE ABOUT NICHOLE NASA Astronaut Nichole Ayers   CONNECT WITH THE LONG BLUE LINE PODCAST NETWORK TEAM Ted Robertson | Producer and Editor:  Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org Send your feedback or nominate a guest: socialmedia@usafa.org   Ryan Hall | Director:  Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org  Bryan Grossman | Copy Editor:  Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org Wyatt Hornsby | Executive Producer:  Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org     ALL PAST LBL EPISODES  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS     FULL TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Host: Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99 Guest: Lt. Col. Nichole "Vapor" Ayers '11   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 0:00 Vapor, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. We are so thrilled you're here. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 0:11 Thank you. Thanks for having me. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 0:12 Absolutely. So the cadets get to spend some time with you at NCLS. Here the Long Blue Line is going to get to hear from you. And you know, we can actually go through the list. You know, F-22 pilot, USAFA 2011 graduate, you've been in combat, you're a NASA pilot. The list is probably shorter what you haven't done. But, frankly, I'm just excited that you're here on Earth with us, because the last time we spoke, you called me from outer space. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 0:35 Yeah, that was a lot of fun. That was a lot of chat with you then too. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 0:38 So let's just jump right in. So if we can just kind of catapult you, and let's do it in the way that they that NASA does, into space, maybe starting with the countdown, and then the Gs you take, what is that experience like? And maybe, what are some things you were thinking about in those moments? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 0:53 Oh, yeah. So, you know, we launched on March 14. First attempt was March 12, and we actually scrubbed the first launch. So we got all the way down to T minus 42 minutes right before we armed the launch escape system. So that's kind of a big milestone on the countdown. We were having issues with some hydraulics in the clamp that actually holds on to the rocket wall and then let's go. We weren't quite sure whether it was gonna let go, so they scrubbed the launch then, and it was a fascinating — you don't feel like you've got a ton of adrenaline going, but, you know, you feel kind of like you're in a sim. We do some really phenomenal training. And so when you're sitting on top of the rocket, it feels like you're in a simulator, except it's breathing and living, and the valves are moving, and you can hear the propellant being loaded and all of that. And so there's a very real portion to launch date. But then, coming down off of that adrenaline, we got a day off, thankfully. We could just kind of rest and relax and then go again. So everything went smoother the second try. Of course, you know, everybody's nerves are a little less, and everything was — it just felt calmer the whole way out. But, yeah, when that countdown hits zero, I like to say you're being slingshotted off the Earth. That's how it felt. You know, in that moment, you're going. There's over a million pounds of thrust, and it's going. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 2:10 I mean, that sounds like a lot. I can't really fathom in my mind what that feels like. Can you describe it? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 2:17 You know, so I talked about in an F-22 and an afterburner takeoff, which is the most thrust that we have basically in any airplane on Earth. You know, you get set back in your seat really far. And, if you think of an airliner takeoff, you kind of get set back in your seat a little bit. Multiply that by, like, 10 or 20, and then that happened for nine minutes straight on a rocket. You're just being forcefully set back in your seat for nine minutes straight and just thrown off of the Earth, and in nine minutes, you're in orbit. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 2:49 So when you had your practice, did you experience that level for that long as well? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 2:54 For the simulators? So they can't that. We can't necessarily simulate the Gs in the sim. So that's like the one part that, you know, we go through the whole launch, but you're sitting at one G the whole time, and throughout the launch, you know, the Gs build, then we back off the thrust and the Gs build again, and then you have an engine cut off. And I like to explain, like, if you could visualize, like an old cartoon, and everybody's in the car driving, and Dad slams on the brakes, and everybody hits the windshield. And then he slams on the gas again, and everybody goes back to their seats. Like, that's what it felt like when the engine cut off and, you know, main engine cuts off, and then within a few seconds, the second engine lights, and you're set back in your seat again. So I like to give that visual. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 3:33 That's really helpful, actually. Wow. OK, so you're there, you're in space. And I guess my first question would be, what's something that, in that moment, you're either thinking or you're just, are you still just orienting yourself? What is that like? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 3:45 Oh, man, you know, we're still in the seats for the first few moments in space, and we have to open the nose cone. There's some other things that are happening on the spacecraft, and getting ready for a burn, for a phasing burn, to get up to and catch up with the International Space Station. But, you know, then eventually you get to unbuckle and get out of your seat and floating for the first time. I got out of my seat and I'm floating there. It felt like, you know, Captain Marvel when she's, like, hanging out. Yeah, that's, that's how I felt. And, you know, I like to give the visual, because it's like, it's just nothing you've ever experienced in your life, you know. And then you look out the window and the view is something, it's indescribable. You know, I don't think we have the right words in the English language to describe what it feels like to look back at Earth from space. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 4:35 Was there a moment when you're looking out at Earth — did you kind of play back just different things in your life? Did you think about, you know, significance of things, or, like, scope of things, or even just the vantage point? Did it kind of just change things or were you just in awe at the moment? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 4:49 No, I think, you know, we talked about the overview effect, when astronauts specifically look back at Earth, and it hits everybody kind of differently. And for me, I think the biggest thing you know, when you look at a map of the states or a map of the world, you know, every country is a different color, or every state's a different color, and there are lines that describe the borders, right? And those don't exist in in space. Those don't exist like when you can't see different colored states, right? But you can see the Grand Canyon, and you can see the mountains, and you can see the Amazon, and you can see the desert in Africa. And you get to, you know, you get to learn the world geography by colors and terrain. And it's just a really good reminder that, you know, we're all humans, and we're all on this little fragile marble, just trying to take care of each other and trying to take care of Earth. And so I think that's what hit me the most, was just there are no borders, and we're all the same. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 5:44 Gosh, well, it's a unique and probably highly impressive team that you're with. I mean, we know the road to get to becoming a NASA astronaut is certainly one that is very difficult. Starts from many, many, in the 1000s, down to 10. And so, you know, when we think about leadership, and I've heard you share this before with others, you talk about teamwork and leadership, maybe explain a little bit what that's like in space when you're all so highly effective leaders. You know, what does that look like? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 6:12 That's a great question. You know, I think for us, it is a very fluid movement, right? You lead one day; you follow the next. And you know, I'll give you an example. So Anne McClain was the commander of SpaceX Crew-10 for NASA. So she was in charge of Crew-10 is our ride up to the space station, and our ride home, right? It's the capsule, the rocket and the capsule. And then we were on Expedition 73 aboard the International Space Station, where Takuya, who it was, Takuya Onishi, who was our mission specialist on Dragon, soon as we crossed into the hatch and he took command. He is now the commander of the Space Station, and Anne and I are flight engineers, and so it's a pretty fluid movement in terms of leading and following. But ultimately, you know, it's just about being a good team and taking care of each other. And I think that being a good leader is taking care of other people. And, you know, we talk about team care — self-care, and team care are like the huge parts that we actually train and learn about at NASA as we go through our training, because you're on this really small space in the vacuum of space for five-plus months at a time, and it's — there are only seven people up there and everybody's going to have a bad day. We're all humans, and you can't, there's no hiding.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 7:30 What's a bad day like in space?   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 7:32 People make mistakes, right? We're all human. You might make a mistake on something, you might mess up a procedure. You hope that it's not something that causes a safety incident, right? The main goal for me, at least, was, I know I'm going to make mistakes. As long as I'm not unsafe, I'll be happy. And I think that a lot of us have that conscious decision-making process. But I think that we're also humans and have Earth lives, and your Earth life doesn't stop when you go to space. And so bad days could be something going on at home. Bad days could be something going on in space. Could be an interaction that you had with somebody on the ground that, you know, there's a lot of communication that happens between us on the ground. There are thousands of humans on the Earth that keep the Space Station running. So that day could be anything but it's tough to hide up there. Here, you can kind of like, duck and cover and maybe you just spend the day in an office. But it doesn't happen up there. We have to continue to work and continue to function. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 8:32 So you mentioned that there are seven of you in this tight space. Now, when you go up there, your crew, is it the same seven?   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 8:38 For the majority of the time. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 8:42 OK, excellent. So one of the things we think about whenever we're leading or we're working with teams is trust, and obviously you have a great amount of trust with the crew that you're going up there with. But then you mentioned you went on to the ISS and you're working with others. What does that look like when it's someone maybe you haven't worked as closely with in a really important mission? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 9:03 So for the seven expedition members, we actually do train together for a little bit of it, not nearly as closely as, you know, the four of us training for Dragon mission. But because the most dynamic parts are launch and landing, we do a lot of training together, just as the four of us, but we train all over the world. So we go to Japan and Germany and Canada, and we go to, you know, Hawthorne, California, and we go to Russia, and we train with them, and we learn about the Russian segment, and we train with our fellow cosmonauts there. And we do emergency training specifically all together, because it takes all seven of us in an emergency doing the right thing and knowing everybody's roles. And so we train that together as well. And then anytime you're in the same country or same city together, then you get to spend the time outside of the training to get to know each other. And so you actually know your crew fairly well. But obviously, everybody's from a different nation. And we had Americans, we had a Japanese astronaut, we had Russians, so you learn everybody's culture, and it's actually, you know, to your point on being in that small — and not necessarily knowing everybody. There's also a cultural aspect; we get to know each other. We get to learn about other people's cultures and figure out how to communicate and live and work, even across the whole world. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 10:19 What was something that you learned from another culture of astronaut, maybe in the leadership realm, or just something that you took away, that's really something that surprised me, or like to emulate? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 10:30 I love Taku's leadership style. So Takuya Onishi — he's one of those more quiet humans, and he's super kind, but he is the most intelligent human I've ever met, and he is super-efficient with everything he does, and he pays attention to all of the little things. And so he only speaks up when he thinks something needs to be changed, or when he thinks that, like, we need to go in a different direction, otherwise, he's pretty happy to let you go, like, let you go as far as you want to go on something. And then when he thinks you're gonna run off a cliff, he pulls you back. So when he speaks, everybody listens. And I love that. I think some of that is cultural, obviously, him being from Japan, but I think it's also just his personal leadership style, but I learned a ton from him in terms of how to interact with people, how to let people be themselves, but also how to run a ship, and everybody knew exactly who was running the ship. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 11:22 Wow. And it shows that respect lens that you're just kind of talking about when he spoke. Everybody listens. Is that something that you feel you already had that kind of leadership style or is that something that you've kind of evolved in yourself? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 11:37 I like to think that that's the way that I lead. That's kind of how I try to be a leader. But we're not perfect, right? Nobody's perfect. And watching him, you know, taking notes from how he interacted with everybody, the things that he thought of, the things that he brought with him for us on station, you know, we get a very limited amount of stuff, personal things that we get to bring with us. And he brought things for the crew that were like, huge milestones for professional careers. You know, just the attention to detail on the human beings around him was pretty phenomenal. So it's one of the things I'm working on to be better at, because I like to think I'm good at it. But I saw the master work. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 12:18 I love that. And something you said about him, he always has attention to detail, and he saw the little things. He paid attention to the little things. I remember a past conversation we had. You had a little nugget from Col. Nick Hague, also USAFA — '98 I believe. And I think he said to you, something about, you know, “Nicole, don't forget that you're squishy,” or something like that. And so have you had more of those moments in there where they're like little nuggets or little moments that actually give you a big return or big lessons in your life? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 12:46 Oh, definitely, yeah, that one's a funny one, because the space station is metal. Everything is metal, and it's hard and so we still have weight, well, mass. We still have mass. We don't have weight, right, because we're in microgravity. But if you're cooking around a corner and you run into a handrail, it's gonna hurt, you know, if you imagine going 10 or 15 mph into something metal, it's gonna hurt — you're squishy. So that was a great lesson in slowing down and making sure you're watching your surroundings. But one of the things that Anne McClain says that cracks me up, but every time it happens, like, “Yep, this is definitely—," she says, “Experience is that thing you learn right after you need it.” And so we had a lot of those moments where you learn a lesson and you're like, “Ah, I wish I knew that five minutes ago.” And so that's something that applies everywhere. Experience is that thing you always needed right before that happened. But we also like to say Crew-10 can do hard things. That's another thing that was just kind of our motto, whether it's training — some of the training can be really physically demanding. It's really mentally demanding. And it's a lot of travel. When you get assigned to a mission, it's probably a year and a half to two years of training, and then you're gone for six months. So out of that two to two and a half years, you're not home for over a year. So you're all over the world, traveling to train and work. And like I said, we're all humans. We have Earth lives, we have homes, you get situations back home. And so navigating personal lives, navigating professional lives, navigating tough training. Crew-10 can do hard things. We like to say that. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 14:22 I like that. It also talks a bit about your grit. Crew-10 grit. So, talking about hard things, I'd like to take us to the time when you've been piloting the F-22 and you've seen combat. I heard you speaking a little bit before about a no-notice deployment. Let's visit that time in your life. What were you doing? What was your role, and what was something you experienced? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 14:47 Sure. So I was actually flying the day that we got notified. And, you know, just a standard training sortie — had landed, and some of the maintainers were like, “Hey, have you heard what's happening?” And I was like, “No, what's happening?” And then we had a big squadron meeting, and that's when we got notified, like, “Hey, we're deploying.” We were on the GRF, is what it was called at the time, Global Response Force, and I think some of that structure has changed since I left that squadron, but we knew that once we were on the GRF, there was a chance that we would get activated and get moved somewhere. Didn't necessarily expect it to be quite that quick. I think it was like the next week we got this deployment. So we got notified on a Thursday, I think, and then on Monday, I was taking off.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 15:31 Oh, really no notice.   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 15:33 Yeah, so, four days later, we were taking off, and then seven days later, we were flying missions from — we were stationed at Al Udeid Air Base, so we're flying out of Al Udeid within a week. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 15:45 How many with you?   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 15:47 So when we deploy, we actually deploy with our maintenance squadrons, 300 people. Twenty to 30 of them are the pilots, and then the rest are the maintainers. And so it's the entire squadron. We morph into an expeditionary squadron. And so there are 300 people that head out. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 16:03 So I imagine, you know, on top of the fact that it was such a rapid movement, there's probably things that people had to obviously work through family. This needs to happen. But what were some things that you experienced in that deployment, or even in just that transition? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 16:21 Again, I go back to taking care of people. I was a flight commander at the time. We had two flight commanders, so I'm in charge of basically half the squadron, and we had a really wonderful commander who gave us the authority and the autonomy to leave the squadron. So, you know, it's about saying, like, “How are you guys doing at home?” Half our squadron didn't even have tan flight suits. You know, we're trying, we're working with logistics. We're trying to get everything ready. Like, does everybody have a go bag? Does everybody even know what a go bag is? Do you have the things you need? So working all of that. And then do you have the childcare figured out? Do you have the — how is all your family doing? Are you ready for this? And then we had to do a bunch of last-minute training before we left. And so it's a really busy time, but it was one of the first times where I felt like I had an influence on the people that were under me, that I had supervised. And so it was a really great experience to solve those problems, figure it out and help people get off the ground in four days successfully, and leaving something, some semblance of structure at home. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 17:24 So you said it was the first time where you kind of really felt that you had that impact. What would you say kind of maybe crystallized within yourself in learning that? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 17:36 I think it really solidified. I think I said, “I try to lead by taking care of people,” right? I truly believe if you take care of the human, they're going to do a really great job. You don't have to ask much of people at work and in their professional life, if their personal and the human side of them is taken care of and so that's kind of what I mean when I say that solidified it for me, like, make sure that the humans are good to go, and they'll go do anything you want to do. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 18:04 Wow. So while on that deployment, you're leading half of that squadron. What were some of the challenges maybe that you experienced, and how did you grow as a leader during that timeframe? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 18:14 Scheduling is definitely a tough one. So we flew daytime and nighttime. We basically had an F-22 airborne for almost 24 hours a day for the entire six months, six and a half months. We left and we were told it might be two- or three-month deployment, and then it turned into six months. And then we got delayed up coming home. And so then we stayed through Christmas. And those are the things that really are tough for people. But we have a limited number of jets that we took. We have a limited number of pilots; we have a limited number of maintainers and parts. And so I think for us, managing a schedule between me and the other flight commander, managing a schedule, managing quality of life for everybody, and make sure that we're not burning people out, or that they're not —we're flying eight-, nine-, 10-hour sorties, right? And that's exhausting. It's just you and that airplane with your wingman and a different airplane. And so you have to manage, again, that human factor. The human capital is probably the toughest thing to manage. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 19:15 Wow, and you talked about how the deployment kind of got extended. What were some things, because many of our listeners and our viewers are leaders, and at different levels of leadership and different times in their lives where they're doing that. When you were leading, and you had some of those subordinates, or those that were working with you that really experienced some troubles, through emotions, through some of that. How did you help navigate them through that when you were all in that as well? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 19:46 Right. You know, I think at NASA especially, we talk about self-care being a huge part of team care. And so making sure I do this in my regular life too, but, you know, making sure that you're getting enough rest, making sure that you're taking care of yourself and your personal life, so that you can truly be present for the other people that need you. And I think being present for others is one of the biggest things that you can do. You know, they may not need a ton of help, or they may not need the solution, but being there, being available and being present for people is really important. But you can't do that unless you're good to go yourself. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 20:18 Did you see that from someone? Did you learn that from someone you saw doing that? Or just, how did, I mean NASA's — you said, NASA, but did you see that at the Academy? Or where did you kind of gather that? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 20:28 You know, I think one of the things that hit me hard about showing up and being present was actually more professional. I kind of skated through the Academy on minimal sleep, and I was able to manage everything. But I wasn't flying a $143 million airplane. And so, in pilot training, we started to talk about crew rest and pilot rest. That's the first time that I had heard this concept of, “You need to go home and get rest so that you can be on your game.” Because flying airplanes, your decisions have real consequences, right? And you have to be present and available, and you have to be on your game to fly airplanes and do well in airplanes. And then the faster and the higher and the better the airplane gets, the more on your game you have to be. So I think it's something that has just kind of evolved in me. And then, as a leader, I realized, if you don't have any gas in the tank, you cannot help somebody else. And so for me, it's just kind of been, over the last decade and a half, of, wow, I need my sleep. I need to make sure I'm good to go. I need to make sure my human is good, so that way I can help other humans. And yeah, when your decisions have real consequences, it's important that you're present and you're ready to go. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 21:43 Have you seen some of the fact that you prioritize that for yourself, for you as your own human? Have you seen others kind of like see that, view that, and actually take that on as well themselves. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 21:53 Yeah, I think they do. And I think, as a leader, it's really important to set that example. The commander cannot be the first one in last one out. Like, you just can't do that, because everybody's going to stay until you leave. So setting the example, setting the example of having a good home-life balance as well. Like, home and work have to be balanced. Sleep has to be balanced. Again, self-care is the biggest part of team care, I think. And if you model that, people start to realize it's important. You know, the younger people that might burn themselves out trying to get somewhere, trying to get to the next step, or trying to impress somebody, or whatever the case may be, if they see you taking a step back and they see your success, maybe then they can start worrying about themselves too. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 22:34 I think that's a great lesson, leading by example. For sure. There are probably moments that you experience both at the Academy, while flying the F-22 or as an astronaut, where you don't have the luxury of balance. How do you navigate that and how do you help others get to that space maybe quicker? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 22:53 I think of everything as a season in life. It might just be a busy season, and you might just have to put some time in but making sure that you are planning ahead and know that you're gonna be able to take some time and reset. And that could be anything, right? That could be personal life, professional life. That could be the four-week training trip that we've got is going to be rough, and its multiple time zones, and it's a ton of training, it's a ton of information. You just have to get through it. But then, that week, when we got home, I made sure my schedule was a little lighter. Whatever the balance is, I think of things in seasons. Crew-10 can do hard things, right? And that came from — you can get through this next training session, right? But we're gonna do a mask-to-suit transition, which is like in a fire, you've got a mask on. You have to get from that mask into your spacesuit. It's a significant physical event. And there's limited oxygen; there's limited ability to breathe in the suit when in that specific environment. And so how do you slow down, take the breaths you need to get in there to not then get to a point where you're panicking, right? Or that you're too exhausted or too hot or overdid, or whatever it is, right? So I think even just that, that is a season. We're going to do two hours of this. That's my season, and then we'll get out of the simulator, we'll take a break, right? And if it happened on orbit, it would be like, “We're going to get through this. We're going to solve the problem. We're going to manage the emergency, and then once things are set, we'll have a moment to breathe.” So that's kind of how I think of it. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 24:21 Did seasons come something, a term that you kind of realized maybe at the Academy, you were a volleyball athlete at the Academy, and so volleyball has a season. But my question is, like, how did you come to that realization? Like, “Oh, I can get through this, and I put it in a bucket of time.” Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 24:35 You learn a lot of time management at the Academy, and when you're in the fall, you're really busy, spring season is less busy, and so you kind of learn early how to manage. Like, “OK, I've got to run. I gotta sprint,” right? “And then I can jog later, or I can walk later.” So, I think you learn that growing up in school, and you know, if you play sports or you do extracurricular activities or other things like that, or even just seasons in life at home, life ebbs and flows. I don't even know when I started saying it, but my sister and I started saying “seasons of life” to each other a long time ago. You know, she's got three kiddos, so she's been in all sorts of seasons. But, yeah, it's just, you know, I think I started to time block things, or block things off and just, and that's the only way you're going to get through life, is if you focus on what you need to do right now, be good at it, and then move to the next thing. You can have an idea of what's coming next, but you have to be present and do what you're doing there. Yes, so, yeah, seasons, time, blocks, whatever you want to call it. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 25:39 I like that. Well, you brought up your sister, and so you're an auntie of three. Let's talk about your personal life and leadership, some experiences you've had navigating your schedule. You're on the road so much. How do you prioritize? I guess the things that are important to you when you have such a heavy schedule, yeah, being on the road and the people that are important to you, right? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 26:03 Man, I think that for me, my family has been a huge support system my whole life. My twin sister — built in best friend.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 26:13 And who is older? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 26:14 She is. She's got me by a minute. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 26:18 OK. Does she hold that over you?   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 26:20 Yes, of course she does. We've just always supported each other 100% and everything. She's been my biggest cheerleader through all of my life, and I've been her biggest cheerleader through all of her life. And you know, my main goal in life is to be the coolest auntie, like the best auntie, and I would die happy. And they're a huge priority to me. I see them every couple two to three months — since my oldest has was born. So for the last 14 years, just made it a priority, even if it's like, leave late on a Friday night and then get home late Sunday night, I make the effort to go see them and to interact with them. And you know, to help foster them. You know they're growing up. And I love watching kids grow up and experience the world and see what can be done. Their dad's a Marine, their mom's this really successful real estate agent, their auntie' a pilot-slash-astronaut. You know, they've got, like, all these no family that's really not doing very much. Yeah, you know, they've got all these really great role models. And my goal is to just show them that it doesn't matter who you are, like they only ever know me as auntie. Like they know I'm an astronaut, and they love that. Their friends know that I'm an astronaut. Anti vapor, no, no, yeah. But, you know, like, they're always gonna get a big hug from auntie, like, that's, that's what's important to me. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 27:36 Well, you mentioned, going into space, being an auntie. So, would you describe your time and space is, it's probably out of this world. I mean, that's, wow, that's terrible. That's terrible I said it that way. But I think you've mentioned it is kind of the best time in your life. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 27:52 Yeah. Best five months my life. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 27:56 Best five months of your life, and it's passed. Now, when we think about our evolution, whether personally, professionally, as leaders, etc., we have these ideas in our mind, like, this is the pinnacle. How do you navigate what's next after you've experienced that pinnacle? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 28:14 Yeah, that's a great question, and I think it's something that a lot of us struggle with when we come home. What's next? We get six months, some time to think and kind of get reintegrated. And you don't necessarily have to go back to work right away. I was able to spend a ton of time with my sister and her kiddos. Yeah, what's next. And I think for me, like the drive out to the launch pad, I was like, “Man, I've made it.” You know, the first time I looked out the window from Dragon, “I've made it.” First time we crossed the hatch, and I went and looked out the glass like, “Wow. The hard work paid off.” And I still feel like that to this day. I would have spent four more months in space if they had asked me to, and I would have turned around and launched right back then the day that we landed, and it was because of the crewmates that I spent it with and the fulfillment that I got from the mission. But I think you can find fulfillment in a lot of ways. And you know, my job, now that I've been back, I'm going to be working with the new class of astronauts and their training for spacewalk. So in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, our big pool, like, my job is to be their mentor as they go through the spacewalk training. And you know, like, I cannot wait. I'm so excited. I cannot wait to have an impact and try to help teach this next generation of spacewalkers, this next generation of astronauts, to be better than us. I find a lot of fulfillment in making the next generation better. So I think, however the fulfillment shows up for people, I think as long as you can find something, there you'll be happy. Going to space was great, but teaching and instructing and mentoring is also really fulfilling for me. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 29:54 And that will be 10 of them? How many will that be? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 29:55 Ten.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 29:56 Ten. So then you'll have 13. You'll be auntie to 13. Oh, that's wonderful. What have you learned about yourself since then? You know, you've evolved as a leader through different situations, high threat, high risk. Safety is paramount. All of those different experiences. And now you're back on Earth and you're about to, you know, mentor. How have you evolved your leadership, and where would you say you're trying to go? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 30:23 Where am I trying to go? I think, for me, leadership is also about being vulnerable and being open and honest with people about failures or hardships and so, you know, like in the flying community, if you make a mistake, you're immediately like, “Hey, I messed this up. Here's how we fix it.” And that's something that we do at NASA as well, especially on a grand scale, right? Thousands of employees and everybody like, that's the only way that we get to space is by admitting when we've made mistakes, talking to each other about how we fix it and sharing those lessons learned. And so I think that especially when you get into the higher roles of leadership, it's important to go, “Hey, I messed up,” or, “Hey, I don't know the answer.” And being transparent with the people that you're working with. And if you don't know it, but you know where to go find it, like, “I'll get that answer for you,” instead of making up an answer, trying to figure out how to look like you're in charge, right? It's really important to me to also show that we don't know everything. We're human. We make mistakes, and it's OK to make mistakes, as long as you share it, and you share the lessons learned, and you make the next person better. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 31:32 Did you experience that personally? Did you have a moment in which you had to say, “Hey, I made a mistake,” and that's helped you realize that being vulnerable is really important or is that just something you've seen done really well? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 31:40 Oh, I've admitted a lot of mistakes. You know, I made a couple pretty big mistakes in the Raptor. Everybody's gonna make a big mistake at some point in their life. And, you know, I think that that was something that was modeled really well in the flying community early on. And it's something that's not tolerated if you're not willing to share your lessons learned. It's not tolerated in that community. That's a really good thing. I learned that in pilot training, right? If your buddy in your class makes the same mistake the next day that you made, you get in trouble because you didn't tell them how to how to prepare. And so it's fostered early on, especially in the flying community. I can't speak to any other community because I grew up there, but it's fostered early on, and so it's just something that comes naturally. I think eventually, because you just, you've seen it done so many times, and if you want other people to succeed, you're going to do it. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 32:29 All right. Well, we have two questions left. The first one is, what's something you do every day to be a better leader? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 32:37 That's a good one. This is gonna sound silly, but I sleep. Like, I'll go back to the self-care thing, right? Like, I put a lot of attention into being healthy, being hydrated, sleeping well. Like, if you take care of your body, your mind is going to do way more for you. And so I think you can show up as a better leader if you show up, rested, hydrated, fed, worked out whatever you need to do to be the best human you can be. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 33:09 That's what I try to do. OK. I like that a lot, and I think that's a good indication for me that six hours is probably not enough. Naviere needs a little bit more. And it's truth, because you told me, though I'm gonna do that. The second one is, if you could go back in time, maybe what's something you would have told yourself — your younger self — or maybe, as our cadets are listening, that you've learned and what they can be doing now to be a better leader down the road. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 33:34 If you run into a hardship or you fail at something, or something feels insurmountable, or you don't feel like you're ready, good enough, or whatever the case may be, doubt starts to seep in, right? I would say, rely on the support system that you have. Rely on the people around you. Talk about it. Figure out, you know, “Hey, I failed this GR, like, man, this kind of sucks.” And you know, maybe you just need to hear me say it out loud, and maybe I just need to get it off my chest, or maybe I need help trying to figure out the solution for whatever the case may be. So, you know, I had a built-in team on the volleyball team. I had a built-in friends and teammates that I could lean on. Maybe that's your squadronmates or your classmates, or whoever it is, right? And I think finding the friends that you can rely on for the rest of your life. Professionally, I've got a friend here that I met in the F-22 community. We've been friends for almost a decade now, and he's still one of the first people that I call when something happens, like, “Oh, I messed this up today. Help.” So, you know, finding a support system. My sister's the other person that I call first off. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 34:38 She probably knows you're gonna call when you call. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 34:39 Yeah, we talk way too much. But, you know, having that support system around you and finding people that really bolster you and get you across that line and help you find the courage to take the next step, I think that's really important. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 34:54 I know I said there was only two, but as I've listened to you, I just think you're just you're just remarkable, and maybe what's something that you're proud about yourself as a leader. I would really love to hear that in your, you know— Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 35:05 I think the thing that makes me the most proud as a leader is when somebody succeeds and it's something that I helped them do. I've had somebody come back and say, “Thanks for saying that.” That pushed me out the edge, you know, like, I'm really into building the next generation and make them better than us. And so if I see somebody succeeding, that's good. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 35:27 Well, this has been incredible. Is there anything that we didn't cover that you would love to share with the Long Blue Line in our community? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 35:33 Oh, man, the community is great. I think I would just say thank you to the community. I've gotten so much love and support from Coloradans, but also the Long Blue Line and the Air Force in general. You know, I love the community that we have. It goes right back to what I just said, right, finding a community that supports you and pushes you to do better and be better. And this is that community. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 35:55 Well, Vapor, I promise I'm gonna get more sleep, and I just want to thank you for being such an incredible leader and guest here on Long Blue Leadership. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 36:03 Thanks for having me back. Absolutely.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 36:05 Thanks. You know, this conversation was really incredible with Vapor. I think some of the things that really stood out to me is just how incredible as a human she is. She brings humanity into leadership. She puts people first. She thinks about the team. She works hard. Don't forget to prioritize sleep. But I think really, some of the lessons that we can all take away can hit us all personally, because if you think about people first and taking care of them, and the fact that you have to take care of yourself too, you can go really far in leadership. So I really appreciate her today on Long Blue Leadership. And I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99. Until next time.   KEYWORDS Joel Neeb, Long Blue Leadership, Air Force Academy leadership, USAFA leadership, military leadership podcast, leadership development, leadership lessons, character-based leadership, leadership under pressure, leading with integrity, decision making in leadership, mentorship and leadership, values-based leadership, service before self, leadership mindset, leadership podcast interview, military leadership stories, leadership for professionals, leadership for entrepreneurs, how to be a better leader, leadership growth.       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation        

SEASON 4 EPISODE 69: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN A-Block (2:30) SPECIAL COMMENT: Trump is not qualified to continue as commander in chief. Not for another five minutes. He has to resign at least that role, immediately. Trump is personally LOSING THE WAR IN IRAN. Trump is personally TURNING IRAN into INSTANT PROCESSED VIETNAM. Never mind the politics, never mind his assault on democracy, never mind his instability, never mind his corruption, never mind the details: Just MILITARILY. Just MAKING DECISIONS THAT WILL KILL AMERICAN TROOPS - Trump is NOT qualified to continue as commander in chief and he needs to resign AT LEAST his command TODAY. A week ago Trump mocked England for trying to join the war after he 'won it.' Now Trump is BEGGING England and half a dozen other countries to send ships to save him from this disaster at the Strait of Hormuz. A week ago Trump insisted Iran would NEVER CLOSE the Strait of Hormuz. Now it turns out the Iranians directly WARNED HIM they would close the Strait of Hormuz - warned him in 2019. Because it’s not just a ten dollar gallon of gas that’s coming, it’s a ten dollar STRAWBERRY. Because a third of the world’s fertilizer goes through the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping is down ooh just 97-point-4 percent. Trump is the Commander-in-Creep. Trump is the Commander-in-Cheap. Trump is the Commander-A-Sleep. He needs to turn military command over to somebody else. Because Iran could never in a million years harm this country as much as Trump is harming it right now. THE GOOD NEWS: Dick Durbin has inadvertently produced the succinct message for all Democrats and everybody else opposing Trump and the Republicans' attempt to disembowel our elections, the bill they call with bitter irony 'The Save Act.' As he explains in less than a minute, it will disenfranchise roughly 10 percent of all American voters - and generally speaking the poorer ones. This is the line we must take, and sell. Just when you thought Democratic Senators weren't worth the proverbial price of the oil required to burn them in hell. Thank you, Senator Durbin. B-Block (30:00) SPORTSBALLCENTER: How could a team retire the uniform number of a former player they had to fire as manager because of his personal moral failings ON THE FIELD OF PLAY? And yet the New York Mets are doing exactly that. (35:00) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Cornelius Rudd warns you of the upcoming 'Raptor.' The CBS tire fire produces hilariously bad stories about David Ellison (and Epstein), Tony Dokoupil (and a new job somewhere else), Joe Rogan, and Jeff Shell (about to get fired from yet another network presidency). And then we have one of the greatest name mistakes of all time when Brian Kilmeade gets Markwayne Mullin's stupid first name completely wrong, Pilgrim. C-Block (46:00) EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY: I'm making a special request for your help finding a home for two bonded senior Malteses, apparent survivors of a puppy mill, named Mai Tai and Soraya. (49:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: And at the opposite end of the moral spectrum, there's the upcoming 25th anniversary of the day Rupert Murdoch fired me from Fox for following the exact instructions his office gave me. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeep 12-for-12 special edition #5, Toyota Maverick fighter, new Presidential Cadillac Beast, GM and Allison badging update, Tesla kills off two models, '27 GM light duty truck launch timing, Ford teases hybrid V-8 Raptor, proposed semi weight increase, and return of the Ram ProMaster City. The Truck Show Podcast is brought to you in partnership with AMSOIL, Kershaw Knives, and OVR Mag. Don't forget to check out truckshowpodcast.com for special offers from our friends and sponsors.

World Eight fills in for Tito as we talk about the pre release brawl, the frankenmeta, and of course, the upcoming launch of Cataclysm!!

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denaary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Chris Cochrane dives into Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo – the cheapest Mac laptop ever made – and whether it spells trouble for Chromebook makers. He also covers Samsung’s CEO blaming AI for rising phone prices, Framework raising RAM prices for the third time in three months, Meta unveiling four custom AI chips, NVIDIA’s GTC 2026 conference preview, a billion-dollar bet against large language models, Microsoft’s game-changing Project Helix Xbox with native Steam support, Windows 11’s new Xbox Mode, and SpaceX gearing up for a critical Starship Flight 12 test. – Want to start a podcast? Its easy to get started! Sign-up at Blubrry – Thinking of buying a Starlink? Use my link to support the show. Subscribe to the Newsletter. Email Chris if you want to get in touch! Like and Follow Geek News Central’s Facebook Page. Support my Show Sponsor: Best Godaddy Promo Codes Get 1Password Apple MacBook Neo The lead story covers Apple’s MacBook Neo. It launched at $599 and marks the cheapest Mac laptop ever made. The device runs on the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 Pro. Cochrane notes a solid market for students, casual users, and anyone who needs a reliable home laptop. However, he advises photographers and videographers to invest in a MacBook Air or Pro instead. The real question remains whether this kills Chromebook sales in education. Samsung CEO Blames AI for Price Hikes Cochrane tackles Samsung’s Galaxy S26 price increases. CEO TM Roh blamed AI infrastructure demand for the hikes. Meanwhile, DDR4 DRAM prices surged sevenfold in a single year. Cochrane points out the irony. Samsung manufactures memory chips, shifted production toward AI data centers, and now cites that same shortage to justify higher consumer prices. He calls the situation “a little shady” but appreciates the transparency. Framework RAM Prices Up Again The RAM crisis extends beyond phones. Framework raised RAM prices for the third consecutive time in three months. Cochrane reinforces advice from a recent episode. He urges listeners to buy now before prices climb further. Analysts project peak prices by mid-2026. The shortage could last through late 2027. Sponsor: GoDaddy Economy hosting $6.99/month, WordPress hosting $12.99/month, domains $11.99. Website builder trial available. Use codes at geeknewscentral.com/godaddy to support the show. Meta Unveils Four Custom AI Chips Cochrane reports on Meta’s four new MTIA chip generations. The company aims to reduce its dependence on NVIDIA by building custom silicon. The MTIA 300 is already in production. New generations will ship every six months through 2027. The chips are built on open-source RISC-V architecture and manufactured by TSMC. NVIDIA GTC 2026 Preview NVIDIA’s GTC conference starts Monday in San Jose. Jensen Huang promises “chips the world has never seen.” Rumored architectures include Rubin Ultra and Feynman. The keynote streams free at nvidia.com on Monday at 11am Pacific. Cochrane notes that while companies like Meta are building chips to escape NVIDIA, competition will eventually catch up. Yann LeCun’s AMI Labs Raises $1.03 Billion Former Meta AI chief Yann LeCun raised $1.03 billion for AMI Labs at a $3.5 billion valuation. It marks the largest European seed round in history for a company just four months old. LeCun is building “world models” that learn from physical reality rather than text. Backers include Jeff Bezos, NVIDIA, and Samsung. Cochrane notes both approaches to AI can coexist. Microsoft Project Helix Microsoft revealed Project Helix at GDC 2026. For the first time, an Xbox will natively support Steam and GOG. Cochrane sees it as both desperate and inevitable. The only reason to buy from the Xbox store would be exclusives. He notes this is a breath of fresh air after months of talk that the Xbox era was ending. Dev kits ship in 2027 with a consumer launch likely late 2027 or 2028. Windows 11 Xbox Mode Microsoft is rolling out Xbox Mode to all Windows 11 PCs in April. The full-screen controller-optimized interface works with Steam, Epic, and Battle.net. Cochrane sees it as the first half of Microsoft’s two-phase gaming strategy. Xbox Mode trains users now. Project Helix delivers dedicated hardware later. He asks whether Sony and Nintendo will follow in Xbox’s footsteps. SpaceX Starship Flight 12 SpaceX announced stacking complete for the next Super Heavy booster at Starbase. Flight 12 targets April and debuts V3 hardware with Raptor 3 engines. Orbital refueling remains the critical unknown for NASA’s Artemis III moon landing. SpaceX has a track record of delivering eventually, just never on Elon’s original timeline. The post Is the MacBook Neo a Chromebook Killer? #1860 appeared first on Geek News Central.

In this episode of BirdNoir, the Private Eye gets a call from his friend Frank, his eyes and ears in the neighborhood. He's hearing a Red-shouldered Hawk call, but there's no hawk in sight. Going through the lineup of usual suspects found in backyards, they examine the surprising talent for mimicry found among common birds and finally put the finger on the trickster. More info and transcript at BirdNote.org. Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks.  BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denaary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Send a textAfter nearly three decades in the alternative investment space and $7 billion in deals closed, Chip Perkins of Perkins Fund Marketing reveals the hard-earned insights that most fund managers never hear.In this eye-opening session, you'll learn:The 10 uncommon strategies that have driven over $7B in capital raisedWhat LPs really care about when vetting fundsWhy fund due diligence should include checking if your admin is in a strip mallHow he helped launch now multi-billion-dollar funds (Raptor, Artis, Dodd)A breakdown of a no-fee, 60-day liquidity fund offering 7.5% with treasury collateralThe biggest red flags that get $25M checks pulled at the last minuteReal talk on fee structuring, fund launch pricing, and reputation risksWhether you're raising your first fund or scaling your investor network, Chip's battle-tested experience will sharpen your game fast.https://familyoffices.com/

What does it take to command the F-22 Raptor at the edge of the envelope — and then pull the power to idle in a vertical tailslide over 100,000 people? — and then reinvent yourself beyond the cockpit?Josh “Cabo” Gunderson joins Cinco to unpack elite performance, humility under pressure, the dominance of the Raptor at Red Flag, and the deeper question every operator must face: who are you when the afterburners go quiet? From Cuban immigrant roots to leading the F-22 Demonstration Team before millions, Cabo shares hard-earned lessons on discipline, decision-making, mission command, and finding purpose beyond the uniform.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations

Gli speaker di questo episodio Paolo Amoroso, Veronica Remondini, Riccardo Rossi News Rivoluzione nel programma Artemis [Link] Ship 39 è in test al Massey Rubriche Le storie di Nonno Apollo: Il 20° anniversario di Venus Express Link della settimana MAVEN ha rilevato un fulmine su Marte [Link] Il menu di Artemis II [Link] Space Jellyfish Predictor by John Kraus [Link] AstronauticAgenda Versione a griglia, Google Calendar e Timeline La puntata su YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilmOpyrG_Hs Sigle e musiche di accompagnamento Sigla iniziale: DHDMusic - We Are One Team Sigla finale: Sound Creator - New Electric Waves

The last city, Bastion, is home to R.A.D. (Radical Athletic Division) Academy, where students train for a chance to participate in the Galactic Olympics. One small group of friends also fight to protect Bastion from evil superheroes. The big dance is coming up and a mysterious villain has plans to stop it! Can the young heroes find the villain and save the day? Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Imagining Games and their Kickstarter for Teenage Ninja Fighting School, a new zine RPG that emulates shonen anime. Back it today! Caleb as Tank Tom as Ace Elle as Queen Daddy Aaron as Raptor

It's EV News Briefly for Sunday 01 March 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyVOLKSWAGEN HITS 2 MILLION EV DELIVERIESVolkswagen delivered its 2 millionth battery electric vehicle — an ID.3 handed to customer Kirsten Vormbrock at the Transparent Factory in Dresden — capping a journey that began with the e-up! in 2013. The ID.4 leads the tally with roughly 901,000 units sold globally, while the brand now looks ahead to four new affordable EVs including the ID. Polo, arriving in 2026.ŠKODA GIVES SUPERB HATCH A 200 KW PHEVŠkoda has unveiled a 200 kW plug-in hybrid for the Superb Hatch, pairing a 1.5 TSI petrol engine with an 85 kW electric motor and a 25.7 kWh battery — making it the most powerful combustion-engine model in Škoda's current lineup. The launch reflects growing demand: one in four Superb models now sells with a PHEV powertrain, and more than 68,000 Superb iV models have been delivered since 2019.CANADA OPENS CHINA-BUILT EV QUOTA AT 6.1% TARIFFCanada began accepting import permit applications from 1 March 2026, allowing up to 49,000 China-built EVs per year to enter at a 6.1% tariff — a sharp cut from the 106.1% rate imposed in 2024 — on a first-come, first-served basis. Tesla, Polestar, and Volvo are considered frontrunners to use the allocation, which Ottawa plans to scale to 70,000 vehicles annually by 2030, with 50% of that expanded quota reserved for EVs below a set price threshold.CUPRA SETS 5 MARCH BORN FACELIFT REVEALCupra will unveil the Born facelift on 5 March, bringing harder-edged front and rear styling that aligns the model visually with the newer Terramar and Tavascan, plus expected interior upgrades including more premium materials and a revised infotainment layout. The refresh matters commercially: the Born has sold nearly 30,000 units in the UK alone since its 2022 launch, and Cupra will also soon introduce the smaller Raval electric hatchback from approximately £23,000.RANGE ROVER VELAR EV SPOTTED ON WINTER TESTA Range Rover Velar EV prototype has been caught in European winter testing, revealing a dramatically reshaped body with a cab-forward stance, angular haunches, and a fastback-leaning roofline that breaks sharply from traditional boxy SUV design. Crucially, it will be the first Jaguar Land Rover model built on the new 800-volt Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) platform, which is engineered to deliver over 300 miles of range and faster charging capability.RIVIAN LAUNCHES RAD PERFORMANCE SUB-BRANDRivian has launched the Rivian Adventure Department (RAD), a dedicated performance sub-brand targeting harder and faster off-road driving that puts it in direct competition with Land Rover's Octa and Ford's Raptor line. RAD formalises the engineering team already responsible for the R1S and R1T Quad Motor variants, giving Rivian's performance ambitions an official identity and a public-facing platform.TESLA TELLS MODEL Y OWNERS TO CHARGE GENTLYTesla has updated the Model Y Owner's Manual to advise owners to rely on home Level 1 or Level 2 charging for daily use — keeping limits at 80% — and to reserve Superchargers for road trips, warning that frequent DC fast charging accelerates long-term battery degradation. For long-term storage, Tesla recommends parking at approximately 50% state of charge and flagging that features like Sentry Mode and Dog Mode can silently drain the battery at roughly 1% per day while the car sits idle.VOLVO PLOTS FASTER ZERO-EMISSION TRUCK PUSHVolvo Group is accelerating its battery-electric heavy truck strategy from a position of strength, holding a 19% share of the European heavy-truck market for the second consecutive year. Its flagship FH Aero Electric packs 780 kWh of batteries for up to 600 km of range and supports megawatt charging that takes the pack from 20% to 80% in just 45 minutes — aligning recharge stops with mandatory driver rest breaks.LYTEN TAKES OVER NORTHVOLT'S SWEDISH BATTERY ASSETSLyten has completed its acquisition of Northvolt's Swedish operations — covering Northvolt Ett, Ett Expansion, and Northvolt Labs — in a deal encompassing nearly $5 billion in book value, 16 GWh of manufacturing capacity, and Europe's largest battery R&D centre. The company plans to restart lithium-ion NMC cell production at the Skellefteå site in the second half of 2026, and will use Northvolt Labs in Västerås to advance its proprietary lithium-sulfur battery technology.BRIM EXPLORER ORDERS TWO ELECTRIC TRIMARANSOslo-based Brim Explorer has signed contracts for two fully electric trimarans — each 24 metres long, carrying 180 passengers — which the firm claims will be the world's most efficient battery-powered vessels upon their spring 2027 delivery. The boats will operate silent, emission-free sightseeing cruises along Norway's coast with a battery-only range of 100 nautical miles at speeds up to 20 knots, expanding Brim's existing five-vessel fleet.

Send a textThe Boardgame Specialists Podcast Episode 140: Top 9 Games From 2011 to 2015Be sure to follow us on discord.https://discord.gg/ssnqjsRFxV%0A Follow Carla at: IG: boardgamespecialist FB: Red Deer Board Game Fanatics Follow Mel at: IG: mels_boardgame_room FB Mel's Board Game Room YouTube: Mel's Board Game Room Bluesky: Mel's Board Game Room[2:54] Forestry[13:42] Teddies vs Monters[19:18] Codenames[23:56] Ashes Rise of the Pheonixborn[29:03] 7 Wonders Duel[33:00] Bang! the Dice Game[38:10] Caverna[43:01] The Captain is Dead[46:45] Orleans[51:23] Raptor[57:47] Targi[1:01:43] King of Tokyo[1:05:43] Concordia[1:11:32] Star Realms[1:10:23] La Granja[1:19:26] Champion of Midgard[1:24:52] Castles of Mad King Ludwig[1:30:59] Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game[1:35:10] The Gallerist[1:41:09] Blood Rage

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denaary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to Lasers & Feelings. After a tense diplomatic dispute between the Irixians and the Verdai the crew of the Raptor are shot down by an unknown assailant, their shuttle crash landing deep within the planet's verdant jungle wilderness. With time running out can the crew find a solution to the dispute as the fragile peace between the two alien races hangs in the balance! Join: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd5_xAWJ4yX6NZ5cZaccqPw/join Community Discord: https://discord.gg/z2NW53APFa Merch: https://mystery-quest-shop.fourthwall.com/en-gbp Members and Patrons get $7 off your order - that's like a free membership along with your stylish new adventuring attire! Check out the game here: https://johnharper.itch.io/lasers-feelings Podcast: https://www.pickaxe.uk/mystery-quest Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/MysteryQuest Follow the Cast: Tom: https://www.youtube.com/angorytom Joseph: @apocplayers Lydia: https://twitch.tv/squidgame Dom: @ChaoticNRB Ben:@GamesNight Editing & Sound Design: Oscar Henderson Thumbnail Art: Jack Bailey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Les journalistes et experts de RFI répondent également à vos questions sur des avions militaires américains en Israël et une future visite du pape Léon XIV sur le continent africain. Liberia : doit-on craindre l'avènement d'une nouvelle milice peule ?  Après la diffusion d'une vidéo montrant des hommes en tenue militaire, les autorités libériennes ont exprimé une vive inquiétude face à l'émergence d'une nouvelle milice peule dans le pays. Que sait-on de ce groupe ? Cette affaire pourrait-elle raviver les tensions intercommunautaires au Liberia, et notamment avec la minorité peule ? Avec Christina Okello, journaliste au service Afrique de RFI.   États-Unis/Iran : pourquoi des avions militaires américains ont atterri en Israël ?  Alors que de nouveaux pourparlers de paix ont débuté à Genève entre Washington et Téhéran, douze avions de combat américains F-22 Raptor ont atterri en Israël. Comment les autorités israéliennes se préparent-elles à une éventuelle attaque des États-Unis en Iran ? L'armée israélienne pourrait-elle intervenir également ? Avec Frédérique Misslin, correspondante permanente de RFI à Jérusalem.      Papauté : pourquoi Léon XIV se rend-il en Afrique ?  Le pape Léon XIV se rendra en Algérie le 13 avril 2026, marquant le début de sa tournée africaine. Il se rendra également au Cameroun, en Angola et en Guinée équatoriale. Quel est le but de cette visite du pape ? Pourquoi ce dernier a-t-il décidé de commencer son déplacement en Algérie, un pays où l'islam est religion d'État ? Avec Frédéric Mounier, ancien correspondant du quotidien « La Croix » à Rome. Auteur de l'ouvrage « Le pape François, une vie » (éditions Presses du Châtelet).     Et en fin d'émission, la chronique « Un œil sur les réseaux » de Jessica Taieb. Aujourd'hui, elle revient sur la manière dont les internautes gabonais se débrouillent pour avoir accès aux réseaux sociaux après leur interdiction par la Haute Autorité de la communication.

Matt Bonner, former Raptor and current co-host of The Raptors Show, joins JD Bunkis in-studio to get into dynamics of a basketball broadcast, why the Raptors keep blowing fourth quarter leads, Gradey Dick falling out of the rotation, potential re-tooling options for the front office in the summer, and Victor Wembanyama's race to the face of the league. The show ends with 'What We Missed!' The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

During Race Industry Week by EPARTRADE, Jim Ryan, Vice President of Marketing & Sales for SCORE International, breaks down one of the most significant growth periods in the history of Baja off-road racing—from record-setting global audiences to historic expansion plans for the legendary Baja 1000.Fresh off a landmark 2025 season and the 58th running of the Baja 1000, SCORE continues to establish itself as the world's premier endurance proving ground for off-road racing, technology development, and product validation.

Faire revivre ou laisser mourir des émissions cultes ? France 2 a fait son choix : L'Heure de Vérité sera de retour à l'aune des élections de 2027. Un Duhamel peut en cacher un autre. Dans le Vu & Entendu, on parle bien évidemment de ce qui a trusté les antennes la semaine dernière : les Jeux Olympiques de la neige et de la glace. De quoi rendre complètement Lartot France Télévisions. Et dans l'Actu, si FTV a l'or, M6 n'a plus l'argent et lance un plan d'IAconomies. Mais aussi le mercato des chaines infos, la carrière toute tracée de Laetitia Milot, des offres d'emploi de l'After Foot et du Gorafi version papier. Et pêle-mêle, de Slash qui s'lâche, de la France va mal +7, de LaetitIA Milot avec mIArcotte et maÏAté et de C Ddu l'air Nos sources : Puremédias - Audiences : Un pic à 52% de PDA devant le biathlon… Excellent bilan pour les Jeux olympiques d'hiver de Milan-Cortina 2026 sur France 2 et France 3 WBD Sports - WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY REPORTS BEST-EVER STREAMING OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES WITH TRIPLE-DIGIT GROWTH AS AUDIENCES IN EUROPE EMBRACE INNOVATIVE VIEWING EXPERIENCE Bsky - Le Blog TV News - Les plus gros pics d'audience de ces Jeux Olympiques, sur France Télévisions Le Parisien - Gauthier Le Bret succède à Morandini et Sonia Mabrouk en fin de matinée sur CNews avec « 100 % Frontières » Le Figaro - Sonia Mabrouk : «Pourquoi j'ai choisi de rejoindre BFMTV» Le Figaro - «Le recrutement de Sonia Mabrouk est un enrichissement très fort pour BFMTV» : Fabien Namias dévoile les coulisses du transfert de l'année Le Parisien - « L'accueil a été glacial » : Sonia Mabrouk chez BFMTV, une arrivée annoncée, et déjà chahutée La Veille - À BFMTV, la crainte d'une « bollorisation » Arrêt sur Images - Sur BFMTV, la presse de droite domine l'antenne Le Parisien - France Télévisions : venue de BFMTV, Neila Latrous remplace Jeff Wittenberg à la tête du service politique L'Informé - Chaises musicales à la rédaction de France Télévisions Libération - M6 annonce 80 millions d'euros d'économies d'ici à 2030, au motif du recul de la pub et des «progrès de l'IA» X - Anaël - La régie pub d'M6 déploie son premier spot publicitaire généré par l'IA CB News - Le groupe M6 procède à une série de nominations Instagram - Laetitia Milot RMC Sport - À la recherche de la Nouvelle voix de l'After Foot Hello Work - La Nouvelle Voix de l'After : Deviens un des Nouveaux Consultants de l'After Foot H/F Puremédias - Plaintes de salariés : “C à vous” et “C dans l'air” mis en garde par l'inspection du travail pour recours abusif à des doubles contrats La Lettre - Mediawan rappelé à l'ordre par l'inspection du travail Le Monde - « 10 000 Pas », le podcast masculiniste du « Raptor », dans le viseur de l'Arcom Le Gorafi - Le journal papier du Gorafi L'Informé - Les méthodes pas très feel good du « Média positif », le média des bonnes nouvelles Rejoignez le Discord d'Alex Arbey, suivez @jplussept sur X/Twitter et sur Instagram ou @jplus7.fr sur Bluesky Laissez-nous vos avis sur ce que vous avez vous aussi vu & entendu tout au long de la semaine sur repondeur.jplus7.fr Une émission animée par Alex Arbey, en direct sur Twitch tous les lundi à 20h35 : twitch.tv/alexarbey

Recorded at Banded Drake Ranch, Chad sits down with Rob Roberts for a quick dive into the technical side of waterfowl shooting. They get into the development of the Raptor choke and load system, how Rob partnered on the ammunition side, and what's important if you want elite pattern performance. This episode covers everything from pattern density and shot string consistency to choke tube maintenance and real-world field results. Rob explains how products are developed, how names are chosen, and what actually separates average shooters from disciplined, informed ones. It's detailed and backed by decades of experience at the highest level. If you care about becoming a better shotgunner, this episode is loaded. This episode is brought to you by Rob Roberts Custom Gunworks, Featherlite, Avery Outdoors, GATR coolers, Mickey Thompson Tires and wheels, Banded Drake Ranch, Napa Valley Olive Oil, Banded Brands, and Banded Casual Wear

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denaary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike "Dozer" Shower is a proven combat fighter pilot, having flown both the F-15C and F-22. He is an F-15C MiG killer from Operation Allied Force and one of the original eight pilots handpicked for the F-22 Raptor's initial operational test (IOT&E) at Edwards Air Force Base. In this deep-dive interview, Dozer provides a firsthand account of the transition from 4th-generation fighters to 5th-generation air dominance. We break down the YF-22 and the development of "offensive stealth," and the haunting story of the Raptor's original "Skynet" debrief system.

Welcome to Mystery Quest, where today we're playing Lasers & Feelings, a one page ruleset for space adventure! Follow the crew of the interstellar scout ship, Raptor, their mission: to explore uncharted regions of space, deal with aliens both friendly and deadly, and defend the Consortium worlds against space dangers! Join: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd5_xAWJ4yX6NZ5cZaccqPw/join Community Discord: https://discord.gg/z2NW53APFa Merch: https://mystery-quest-shop.fourthwall.com/en-gbp Members and Patrons get $7 off your order - that's like a free membership along with your stylish new adventuring attire! Check out the game here: https://johnharper.itch.io/lasers-feelings Podcast: https://www.pickaxe.uk/mystery-quest Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/MysteryQuest Follow the Cast: Tom: https://www.youtube.com/angorytom Joseph: @apocplayers Lydia: https://twitch.tv/squidgame Dom: @ChaoticNRB Ben: @GamesNight Editing & Sound Design: Oscar Henderson Thumbnail Art: Jack Bailey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk has stated that the Mars colony timeline likely will not shift; a flight to Mars is still targeted for 2031 or 2033. By developing lunar and Martian technology in parallel, the moon acts as a catalyst that makes the eventual Mars mission more likely to succeed through proven, high-cadence hardware and established deep-space life support systems.

A couple of college challenges are in the spotlight. We get an update on the New College-USF controversy and learn about the growing concern of student food insecurity.Call: 813-755-6562Message: FloridaMatters@wusf.orgWebsite: https://www.wusf.orgSign up for our daily newsletter: https://www.wusf.org/wakeupcall-newsletterFollow us on social media:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WUSFInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/wusfpublicmedia/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsN1ZItTKcJ4AGsBIni35gg

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Death by Birding, I chat with expert Raptor handler and co-host of the Trainer Talks and Tails podcast, Tess McKelliget about the charms and challenges of working with free flying birds of prey.Wikipedia says:Wedgie - A wedgie is the act of forcibly pulling a person's underpants upwards from the back, thus forcing the fabric into the intergluteal cleft uncomfortably.Wedge-tailed Eagle - The wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) also known as the eaglehawk, is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. https://www.instagram.com/tessagrace11/https://open.spotify.com/show/2Tlo8HfeoksC848FkUSQqyUse the offer code #DEATHBYBIRDING for 15% off at https://www.nocsprovisions.com.auFollow us on Instagram - https://instagram.com/death_by_birdingSupport on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/DeathbyBirdinghttps://blog.feedspot.com/bird_podcasts/Death by Birding is a bird podcast, hosted by Cesar Puechmarin and based in South East Queensland, Australia. Theme song - Romeo by Old Fashioned

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship Flight 12, the maiden flight of Block 3 vehicles. Booster 19 and Ship 39 will fly with Raptor 3 engines for the first time, generating 19 to 22 percent more thrust than Block 2. The launch window opens in late February or March 2026 from Pad 2 at Starbase. SpaceX will not attempt a booster catch on this flight. Ship 39 will attempt a controlled reentry over the Indian Ocean. The orbital refueling demonstration planned for June 2026 depends on Flight 12 succeeding, and NASA's Artemis program has no backup plan. We talk about Starship Flight 12 Technical Report, SpaceX production timeline and testing milestones, FCC communications window filing and NASA Artemis program dependencies.The Starship system is a fully reusable, two‑stage‑to‑orbit super heavy‑lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX. The system is composed of a booster stage named Super Heavy and a second stage, also called "Starship" and is being built at Starbase, Texas.

Moving Away From ComplexityLeaders Make It Better "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." – John 15:2 (ESV) What is the purpose of pruning… that less… produces more As organizations, ministries, leaders grow, so does complexity. However, complexity is not a necessity. Great leaders make things better—not by adding more, but by doing less, better. As I write this, SpaceX launched its first rocket of the year early this morning. Last year set a record for the number of launches, and this year is already on track to surpass it. SpaceX has pioneered lower-cost rockets that not only launch but return safely to Earth—a concept that was considered impossible just a few years ago. But a team of the best engineers on the planet, paired with a visionary leader willing to attempt the unthinkable, proved the doubters wrong. I recently saw Elon Musk post a picture showing the evolution of their Raptor rocket engines. These engines are ultimately designed to carry humanity to Mars. But to me, the true marvel lies in how each version has been refined. Raptor 1 looked like a tangled mess of wires, tubes, and complexity. It worked, but it was difficult to build, maintain, and reproduce. Raptor 2 was a major step forward—cleaner, more streamlined, and a genuine engineering breakthrough. Yet, the team didn't stop there. Raptor 3, the latest version, is elegant in its simplicity. It's powerful, efficient, and ruthlessly refined— the result of hundreds of intentional decisions to remove what didn't belong and simplify what remained. Elon Musk's team didn't arrive here by accident. They followed a radical but effective design philosophy. "Every requirement is dumb until proven otherwise. Delete it. Simplify. Optimize. Accelerate. Only then do you automate." This isn't just how you build rockets; it's a masterclass in leading toward simplicity. When I arrived at Grace eight years ago, we found over 50 separate ministries operating under the banner of the church. Most were siloed, competing with one another for resources and attention. We made the intentional decision to move from 50 things to four. It was a deliberate shift away from complexity. It's a timeless problem. As organizations grow, complexity inevitably creeps in. Often, it's not bad things, it's good things that no longer serve the mission. Sacred cows. Outdated processes. Organizational comfort zones. If we don't intentionally prune them, we'll never move with the power and speed the Spirit desires. Remember the words of Jesus: "Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." – John 15:2 What Space X Can Teach Leaders 1. Question Everything "Every requirement is dumb until proven otherwise." As leaders, it's our responsibility to question every process, system, and program we engage with. We should consistently ask, "Does this serve the mission?"—until we can either validate it or eliminate it. Why do we hold this meeting? How many of these programs are truly necessary? Can one person do this instead of two? Can this leader handle more responsibility? Why does it take three classes and three months to move someone toward membership? How hard is it to onboard new leaders? Why are we using more than one communication platform? Just because something worked in a past move of God doesn't mean it belongs in the next. 2. Delete, Delete, Delete You can't simplify clutter. Before you simplify, you must eliminate. Craig Groeschel challenges his leaders to keep a "stop doing list" alongside their "to-do list." It's logical—you can't add something new until you remove something old. This year, we made the decision to eliminate our Midweek Fire service to make room for the mission. We asked: Why do we need two weekly services focused on awakening—especially when Sunday is already our strongest and most effective service for that purpose? By removing the Wednesday service, we created space and opportunity for more Grace Groups to meet on campus. That shift better aligns with our vision to train and send. What weekly or monthly meeting can be eliminated or consolidated? What process or system could lose a step or two? What volunteer or leader could be repositioned or reallocated? I promise, you can do more than you think, with less than you think you need. Eliminate what no longer helps people discover life in all its fullness. 3. Clarify What Remains Once something is stripped down to its essential parts, you must then clarify it. Every program, system, activity needs a clear and identifiable win. Every leader needs a clear and simple expectation. Clarity is essential for both mission and movement. What is the win for our Sunday service? What's the expectation for Next Steps? What's the goal of your weekly connection points? What's the purpose of your one-on-one meetings? "Write the vision; make it plain… so that he may run who reads it." (Habakkuk 2:2) Clarity empowers people to run with vision. 4. Accelerate Timeframes What is your big, bold goal for this year? What if you accelerated your timeframe? Instead of going for it slowly over the year, what if you hit it hard for 90 days? Chances are you will not make it… but what if you do? Or how much further will you be along the journey because you accelerated? When you move swiftly and quickly, it might be messy, but it could also be more missional! Remember, the Acts church moved fast because they trusted the Spirit and empowered people. So can we. 5. Automate Last I love automation. This is where systems and programs operate without your constant intervention. However The temptation is to automate first. However if you automate while there is still clutter you will only create confusion. This is why automation is the last step. Today there is a wealth of tools and resources that can steam-line processes, automate tasks and communications. Before you lock them in… make sure that the process has been perfected. Leaders Make It Better This is one of Grace World's 5 Core Leadership Behaviors: Leaders Make It Better. It means we leave things better than we found them. We don't settle for "this is how we've always done it." We treat "it is what it is" like a curse word. We question everything. We eliminate what's unnecessary. We clarify constantly. We move at the speed of the Spirit. And we multiply what matters. As leaders, we take initiative to clear obstacles. We don't wait for someone else to do it. Questions 1. What is one area in your ministry you can simplify this week to make it better? 2. What is a system, step, or sacred cow that needs to be challenged? 3. Where have you settled for the status quo instead of stewarding revival? "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life… so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." – 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 Follow Up Questions What is on thing you will STOP doing in the next 30 days? What is one thing you need to SIMIPLIFY in your life immediately? What is one BIG BOLD goal you can SPEED up?

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SpaceX completed Booster 19 just weeks after Booster 18 buckled during testing, keeping Flight 12 on track for March 2026. The mission will debut Version 3 Starship vehicles with Raptor 3 engines, launch from a brand-new pad with a flame trench, and potentially attempt another tower catch.

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We love a birthday and Neon Raptor is celebrating their 9th birthday. They released a trio of beers as part of the celebration. We got our hands on two of them. Ninth BIrthday Sour is a based on the Brititsh classic Victoria Sponge. This pastry sour is filled with strawberries, raspberries, vanilla and sponge cake. It wouldn't be a birthday without an imperial stout. Ninth Birthday Impy is an imperial stout filled with chocolate, hazelnuts and caramel biscuits.  #beer #craftbeer #drinks #imperialstout #pastrystout #pastrysour

Send us a textKeywordsHorsepower Wars, SRT Brand, Dodge, Ford, TRX, Raptor, Performance Cars, EVs, Truck Market, Chevy Dakota, 2026 Automotive TrendsSummaryIn this episode, John and Adam dive into the exciting world of horsepower wars in 2026, discussing the return of the SRT brand, the latest truck battles between Dodge and Ford, and the implications of new powertrains and EVs in the automotive market. They explore the marketing strategies behind exclusivity, the future of Chevy's Dakota, and what to expect in the coming year for performance cars. The conversation is filled with enthusiasm for the evolving landscape of the automotive industry and the thrill of horsepower.TakeawaysHorsepower Wars are back in 2026.500 horsepower is still considered a lot.The SRT brand's return is significant for Dodge.Dodge is teasing the return of the Viper.Ford has announced a new 900 horsepower engine.Chevy needs to step up their game in the truck market.The Brachiosaurus is a humorous suggestion for Chevy's new truck name.2026 is shaping up to be an exciting year for automotive enthusiasts.Dodge has made their 700 horsepower trucks 50 state compliant.The hosts are eager to feature a TRX on their channel.TitlesHorsepower Wars 2026: The Return of PowerDodge vs. Ford: The Ultimate Truck BattleSound bites"Horsepower Wars are back!""The SRT brand is back!""Chevy needs to step up!"Chapters00:00 Introduction to Horsepower Wars02:55 Dodge's Return and the SRT Brand05:54 Ford's Competitive Edge and New Developments09:05 Chevy's High-End Offerings and Market Position11:45 The Future of Motorsports and EV Trends14:39 The Impact of Branding in Performance Cars21:10 The Ethics of Branding in the Automotive Industry21:57 Marketing Strategies and Consumer Perception25:04 The Evolution of Performance Cars27:01 Dodge's Compliance and Performance Innovations29:29 Future Trends in Automotive Design32:27 The Competitive Landscape of the Truck Market36:09 The Future of Chevrolet and New Truck ConceptsSupport the show

Day 5 of the Adrian Gonzales trial took a sharp turn when defense attorney Nico LaHood cross-examined surviving teacher Arnulfo Reyes — and got him to admit the unlocked classroom door was his responsibility. Reyes, who lost all eleven students in his Room 111 class during the May 24, 2022 massacre, had just finished devastating testimony about watching a "black shadow" enter his classroom, being shot twice, having his blood splashed on his face, and lying among dead children for 77 minutes. Then the defense went to work. LaHood established that multiple doors at Robb Elementary were unlocked that day — including the exterior door the shooter used to enter, and the door to Reyes' own classroom. When asked directly who was responsible for locking Room 111, Reyes answered: "That would be my responsibility." Reyes pushed back, explaining he didn't recognize the sounds as gunfire until the gun was already in his classroom, that he'd reported a malfunctioning door prior to May 24th, and that the school's Raptor safety app never alerted him. But the defense has made its strategy clear: Adrian Gonzales isn't the only one who allegedly failed these children. Earlier, Texas Rangers testified about the tactical nightmare officers faced — a "fatal funnel" hallway with no cover. The prosecution countered by getting Ranger Terry Snyder to say that when officers hear shooting, they "run to the shooting." Gonzales faces 29 counts of child endangerment. This trial could set precedent for police accountability nationwide. Reyes continues testimony Tuesday.#TrueCrimeToday #GonzalesTrial #UvaldeTexas #ArnulfoReyes #NicoLaHood #RobbElementary #PoliceAccountability #TrueCrimeNews #CourtroomShowdown #UvaldeShootingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

Here we go! We say goodbye to Raptor, may his awful gimmick be forgotten and his shriek not fill my nightmares!If you'd like to contact the guys, they'd love to hear from you!Edhatestransformers@gmail.comMorethanmeetstheseguys@gmail.com@mtmtgpod on Twitterhttps://www.facebook.com/MoreThanMeetsTheseGuys/https://discord.gg/sKr8jwaAvhIf you'd like to toss a buck or more per episode, we'd adore and say nice things about you. You don't have to, as we'll still gladly hang out with you guys and gals every week, but we appreciate any help! patreon.com/user?u=69144181

SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship Flight 12, the maiden flight of Block 3 vehicles. Booster 19 and Ship 39 will fly with Raptor 3 engines for the first time, generating 19 to 22 percent more thrust than Block 2. The launch window opens in late February or March 2026 from Pad 2 at Starbase. SpaceX will not attempt a booster catch on this flight. Ship 39 will attempt a controlled reentry over the Indian Ocean. The orbital refueling demonstration planned for June 2026 depends on Flight 12 succeeding, and NASA's Artemis program has no backup plan. We talk about Starship Flight 12 Technical Report, SpaceX production timeline and testing milestones, FCC communications window filing and NASA Artemis program dependencies.The Starship system is a fully reusable, two‑stage‑to‑orbit super heavy‑lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX. The system is composed of a booster stage named Super Heavy and a second stage, also called "Starship" and is being built at Starbase, Texas.00:00:00 - SpaceX Starship Flight 12 update00:01:48 - Raptor 3 Engine00:02:38 - Ship 39 Design00:03:20 - COPV Failure Investigation00:04:45 - Starbase Pad 200:05:36 - Flight Profile00:07:05 - Testing Timeline00:07:57 - NASA Artemis Impact00:08:33 - 2026 Roadmap00:09:15 - What's next for flight 12?

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship Flight 12, the maiden flight of Block 3 vehicles. Booster 19 and Ship 39 will fly with Raptor 3 engines for the first time, generating 19 to 22 percent more thrust than Block 2. The launch window opens in late February or March 2026 from Pad 2 at Starbase. SpaceX will not attempt a booster catch on this flight. Ship 39 will attempt a controlled reentry over the Indian Ocean. The orbital refueling demonstration planned for June 2026 depends on Flight 12 succeeding, and NASA's Artemis program has no backup plan. We talk about Starship Flight 12 Technical Report, SpaceX production timeline and testing milestones, FCC communications window filing and NASA Artemis program dependencies.The Starship system is a fully reusable, two‑stage‑to‑orbit super heavy‑lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX. The system is composed of a booster stage named Super Heavy and a second stage, also called "Starship" and is being built at Starbase, Texas.00:00:00 - SpaceX Starship Flight 12 update00:01:48 - Raptor 3 Engine00:02:38 - Ship 39 Design00:03:20 - COPV Failure Investigation00:04:45 - Starbase Pad 200:05:36 - Flight Profile00:07:05 - Testing Timeline00:07:57 - NASA Artemis Impact00:08:33 - 2026 Roadmap00:09:15 - What's next for flight 12?

The gang pushes forward in search of Almalexia, a fight ensues, the gang takes a chicken nugget intermission and things look dire.

#243: Dave Berke is a retired US Marine Corps Officer, TOPGUN Instructor, and now a leadership instructor and speaker with Echelon Front, where he serves as Chief Development Officer. As a F/A-18 pilot, he deployed twice from the USS John C Stennis in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spent three years as an Instructor Pilot at TOPGUN, where he served as the Training Officer and the senior staff pilot responsible for the conduct of the TOPGUN course.  He then served as an ANGLICO Forward Air Controller supporting the Army's 1st Armored Division during extensive urban combat operations on the ground in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006. Dave led his supporting arms liaison team on scores of combat missions into the most dangerous neighborhoods and accompanied SEAL Task Unit Bruiser on virtually every major operation in the Battle of Ramadi.He was the only Marine selected to fly the F-22 Raptor, having served as an exchange officer at the Air Force's 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron as the Division Commander. He became the first operational pilot ever to fly and be qualified in the F-35B, serving as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps' first F-35 squadron from 2012-2014.Dave holds both a Master's in International Public Policy and an MBA from The John Hopkins University.Upon his retirement from the Marine Corps, Dave joined Echelon Front providing unmatched experience and a unique perspective on combat leadership, analytical decision making, risk mitigation, and creating winning teams.He serves as Echelon Front's Chief Development Officer, as well as a leadership instructor, speaker, and strategic advisor.Book: https://www.amazon.com/Need-Lead-Instructors-Leadership-Challenge/dp/125036163X  

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Denary Novels, Book Five — Continuing saga of the 10-volume international historical mystery and suspense thriller series titled Denary Novels by Mark Vinet, which are heavily immersed in World history with connections to North America. Get FREE access to this novel’s accompanying visuals, including maps, charts, timelines, photos, illustrations, and diagrams at https://patreon.com/markvinet Watch Book Five’s official Video trailer at https://youtu.be/UGD09zkKxHo THE FROZEN RAPTOR by Mark Vinet (Denary Novel featured in this episode) is available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3xFpY2a DENARY Novels by Mark Vinet are available in Large Print at https://amzn.to/3j0dAFH ENJOY Ad-Free content, Bonus episodes, and Extra materials when joining our growing community on https://patreon.com/markvinet SUPPORT this channel by purchasing any product on Amazon using this FREE entry LINK https://amzn.to/3POlrUD (Amazon gives us credit at NO extra charge to you). Mark Vinet's TIMELINE Video channel: https://youtube.com/c/TIMELINE_MarkVinet Mark's HISTORICAL JESUS podcast at https://parthenonpodcast.com/historical-jesus Website: https://markvinet.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.vinet.9 X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MarkVinet_HNA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denarynovels Mark's books: https://amzn.to/3k8qrGM See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gyrfalcons are circumpolar, nesting in the far north of Asia, North America, and Europe, including Iceland and Greenland. They evolved as a distinct species in the Pleistocene Era, around 100,000 years ago. Their large size and warm feathering gave them an edge for nesting high in the Arctic. Gyrfalcons reuse the same nesting site year after year, and some nests have been occupied for 2,500 years!More info and transcript at BirdNote.org.Want more BirdNote? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sign up for BirdNote+ to get ad-free listening and other perks. BirdNote is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible gift makes these shows possible.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 267 Part 3 of the Mike Drop Podcast with host Mike Ritland welcomes Dave Berke—the only Marine to ever fly the F-22 Raptor and F-35 while also serving as a TOPGUN instructor and ground combat leader in Ramadi alongside Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. In this final part of an epic 3-part conversation, Dave and Mike go deep on the toughest leadership questions facing the military today: Should AI ever be allowed to pull the trigger on its own? Why fighter pilots hated autopilot landings, the real reason Dave walked away from command and promotion, and how a single phone call from Leif Babin turned retirement into the smoothest transition in military history. They also break down life at Echelon Front (how they teach Extreme Ownership to Fortune 500 companies), why leadership is hardest at home, ego vs. humility, military standards under the new administration, and readiness challenges for the next generation of warfare. Packed with never-before-heard stories, raw honesty, and laugh-out-loud moments, this is one of the most requested Mike Drop episodes ever—perfect for veterans, aviators, leaders, and anyone who loves real talk about combat, flying, and life after the uniform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Part 2 of this epic episode of the Mike Drop Podcast, host Mike Ritland continues his deep-dive conversation with Dave Berke – the only Marine to ever fly the F-22 Raptor and a legendary Topgun instructor. This episode is packed with raw, unfiltered stories from the skies and the streets of Ramadi. Dave breaks down why fifth-generation fighters (F-22 and F-35) dominate not through speed or maneuverability, but through total battlespace awareness – “If I know everything you're doing and you have no idea I'm even there, I've already won.” He shares unforgettable combat moments with Jocko Willink's Task Unit Bruiser, including riverine boat insertions with Chris Kyle, calling in a Hellfire missile through a second-story window to save SEALs under fire, and the emotional weight of losing Marines on the ground. From feeling like a “fish out of water” running with SEALs in Ramadi to the humbling transition into the F-22 cockpit, Dave reflects on luck, leadership, ego, and the real cost of the Iraq War. Whether you're a military aviation geek, a combat veteran, or just love real stories of extreme performance, this episode delivers powerful lessons on teamwork, situational awareness, and what it truly takes to dominate in chaos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices