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Welcome back to the Ultimate Guide to Partnering® Podcast. AI agents are your next customers. Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ https://youtu.be/vEdq8rpBM3I In this data-rich keynote, Jay McBain deconstructs the tectonic shifts reshaping the $5.3 trillion global technology industry, arguing that we are entering a new 20-year cycle where traditional direct sales models are obsolete. McBain explains why 96% of the industry is now surrounded by partners and how successful companies must pivot from “flywheels and theory” to a granular strategy focused on the seven specific partners present in every deal. From the explosion of agentic AI and the $163 billion marketplace revolution to the specific mechanics of multiplier economics, this discussion provides a roadmap for navigating the “decade of the ecosystem” where influence, trust, and integration—not just product—determine winners and losers. Key Takeaways Half of today's Fortune 500 companies will likely vanish in the next 20 years due to the shift toward AI and ecosystem-led models. Every B2B deal now involves an average of seven trusted partners who influence the decision before a vendor even knows a deal exists. Microsoft has outpaced AWS growth for 26 consecutive quarters largely because of a superior partner-led geographic strategy. Marketplaces are projected to grow to $163 billion by 2030, with nearly 60% of deals involving partner funding or private offers. The “Multiplier Effect” is the new ROI, where partners can make up to $8.45 for every dollar of vendor product sold. Future dominance relies on five key pillars: Platform, Service Partnerships, Channel Partnerships, Alliances, and Go-to-Market orchestration. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Keywords: Jay McBain, Canalys, partner ecosystem, channel chief, agentic AI, marketplace growth, multiplier economics, B2B sales trends, tech industry forecast, service partnerships, strategic alliances, Microsoft vs AWS, distribution transformation, managed services growth, SaaS platforms, customer journey mapping, 28 moments of truth, future of reselling, technology spending 2025, ecosystem orchestration, partner multipliers. T Transcript: Jay McBain WORKFILE FOR TRANSCRIPT [00:00:00] Vince Menzione: Just up from, did you Puerto Rico last night? Puerto Rico, yes. Puerto Rico. He dodged the hurricane. Um, you all know him. Uh, let him introduce himself for those of you who don’t, but just thrilled to have on the stage, again, somebody who knows more about what’s going on in, in the, and has the pulse on this industry probably than just about anybody I know personally. [00:00:21] Vince Menzione: J Jay McBain. Jay, great to see you my friend. Alright, thank you. We have to come all the way. We live, we live uh, about 20 minutes from each other. We have to come all the way to Reston, Virginia to see each other, right? That’s right. Very good. Well, uh, that’s all over to you, sir. Thank you. [00:00:35] Jay McBain: Alright, well thank you so much. [00:00:36] Jay McBain: I went from 85 degrees yesterday to 45 today, but I was able to dodge that, uh, that hurricane, uh, that we kind of had to fly through the northern edge of, uh, wanna talk today about our industry, about the ultimate partner. I’m gonna try to frame up the ultimate partner as I walk through the data and the latest research that, uh, that we’ve been doing in the market. [00:00:56] Jay McBain: But I wanted to start here ’cause our industry moves in 20 year cycles, and if you look at the Fortune 500 and dial back 20 years from today, 52% of them no longer exist. As we step into the next 20 year AI era, half of the companies that we know and love today are not gonna exist. So we look at this, and by the way, if you’re not in the Fortune 500 and you don’t have deep pockets to buy your way outta problems, 71% of tech companies fail over the course of 10 years. [00:01:30] Jay McBain: Those are statistics from the US government. So I start to look at our industry and you know, you may look at the, you know, mainframe era from the sixties and seventies, mini computers, August the 12th, 1981, that first IBM, PC with Microsoft dos, version one, you know, triggered. A new 20 year era of client server. [00:01:51] Jay McBain: It was the time and I worked at IBM for 17 years, but there was a time where Bill Gates flew into Boca Raton, Florida and met with the IBM team and did that, you know, fancy licensing agreement. But after, you know, 20 years of being the most valuable company in the world and 13 years of antitrust and getting broken up, almost like at and TIBM almost didn’t make payroll. [00:02:14] Jay McBain: 13 years after meeting Bill Gates. Yeah, that’s how quickly things change in these eras. In 1999, a small company outta San Francisco called salesforce.com got its start. About 10 years later, Jeff Bezos asked a question in a boardroom, could we rent out our excess capacity and would other companies buy it? [00:02:35] Jay McBain: Which, you know, most people in the room laughed at ’em at the time. But it created a 20 year cloud era when our friends, our neighbors, our family. Saw Chachi PT for the first time in March of 2023. They saw the deep fakes, they saw the poetry, they saw the music. They came to us as tech people and said, did we just light up Skynet? [00:02:58] Jay McBain: And that consumer trend has triggered this next 20 years. I could walk through the richest people in the world through those trends. I could walk through the most valuable companies. It all aligns. ’cause by the way, Apple’s no longer at the top. Nvidia is at the top, Microsoft. Second, things change really quickly. [00:03:17] Jay McBain: So in that course of time, you start to look at our industry and as people are talking about a six and a half or $7 trillion build out of ai, that’s open AI and Microsoft numbers, that is bigger than our industry that’s taken over 50 years to build. This year, we’re gonna finish the year at $5.3 trillion. [00:03:36] Jay McBain: That’s from the smallest flower shop to the biggest bank. Biggest governments that Caresoft would, uh, serve biggest customer in the world is actually the federal government of the us. But you look at this pie chart and you look at the changes that we’re gonna go through over the next 20 years, there’s about a trillion dollars in hardware. [00:03:54] Jay McBain: There’s about a trillion dollars in software. If you look forward through all of the merging trends, quantum computing, humanoid robots, all the things that are coming that dollar to dollar software to hardware will continue to exist all the way through. We see services making up almost two thirds of this pie. [00:04:13] Jay McBain: Yesterday I was in a telco conference with at and t and Verizon and T-Mobile and some of the biggest wireless players and IT services, which happen to be growing faster than products. At the moment, there is more work to be done wrapping around the deal than the actual products that the customer is buying. [00:04:32] Jay McBain: So in an industry that’s growing at 7%. On top of the world economy that’s grown at 2.2. This is the fastest growing industry, and it will be at least for the next 10 years, if not 2070 0.1% of this entire $5 trillion gets transacted through partners. While what we’re talking to today about the ultimate partner, 96% of this industry is surrounded by partners in one way or another. [00:05:01] Jay McBain: They’re there before the deal. They’re there at the deal. They’re there after the deal. Two thirds of our industry is now subscription consumption based. So every 30 days forever, and a customer for life becomes everything. So if every deal in medium, mid-market, and higher has seven partners, according to McKinsey, who are those seven people trying to get into the deal? [00:05:25] Jay McBain: While there’s millions of companies that have come into tech over the last 10 to 20 years. Digital agencies, accountants, legal firms, everybody’s come in. The 250,000 SaaS companies, a million emerging tech companies, there’s a big fight to be one of those seven trusted people at the table. So millions of companies and tens of millions of people our competing for these slots. [00:05:49] Jay McBain: So one of the pieces of research I’m most proud of, uh, in my analyst career is this. And this took over two years to build. It’s a lot of logos. Not this PowerPoint slide, but the actual data. Thousands of people hours. Because guess what? When you look at partners from the top down, the top 1000 partners, by capability and capacity, not by resale. [00:06:15] Jay McBain: It’s not a ranking of CDW and insight and resale numbers. It is the surrounding. Consulting, design, architecture, implementations, integrations, managed services, all the pieces that’s gonna make the next 20 years run. So when you start to look at this, 98% of these companies are private, so very difficult to get to those numbers and, uh, a ton of research and help from AI and other things to get this. [00:06:41] Jay McBain: But this is it. And if you look at this list, there’s a thousand logos out of the million companies. There’s a thousand logos that drive two thirds of all tech services in the world. $1.07 trillion gets delivered by a thousand companies, but here’s where it gets fun. Those companies in the middle, in blue, the 30 of them deliver more tech services than the next 970. [00:07:08] Jay McBain: Combined the 970 combined in white deliver more tech services. Then the next million combined. So if you think we live in an 80 20 rule or maybe a 99, a 95 5 rule, or a 99 1 rule, we actually live in a 99.9 0.1 parallel principle. These companies spread around the world evenly split across the uh, different regions. [00:07:35] Jay McBain: South Africa, Latin America, they’re all over. They split. They split among types. All of the Venn diagram I just showed from GSIs to VARs to MSPs, to agencies and other types of companies. But this is a really rich list and it’s public. So every company in the world now, if you’re looking at Transactable data, if you’re looking at quantifiable data that you can go put your revenue numbers against, it represents 70 to 80% of every company in this room’s Tam. [00:08:08] Jay McBain: In one piece of research. So what do you do below that? How do you cover a million companies that you can’t afford to put a channel account manager? You can’t afford to write programs directly for well after the top down analysis and all the wallet share and you know exactly where the lowest hanging fruit is for most of your tam. [00:08:28] Jay McBain: The available markets. The obtainable markets. You gotta start from the community level grassroots up. So you need to ask the question for the million companies and the maybe a hundred thousand companies out there, partner companies that are surrounding your customer. These are the seven partners that surround your customer. [00:08:48] Jay McBain: What do they read, where do they go, and who do they follow? Interestingly enough, our industry globally equates to only a thousand watering holes, a thousand companies at the top, a thousand places at the bottom. 35% of this audience we’re talking. Millions of people here love events and there’s 352 of them like this one that they love to go to. [00:09:13] Jay McBain: They love the hallway chats, they love the hotel lobby bar, you know, in a time reminded by the pandemic. They love to be in person. It’s the number one way they’re influenced. So if you don’t have a solid event strategy and you don’t have a community team out giving out socks every week, your competitors might beat you. [00:09:31] Jay McBain: 12% of this audience loves podcasts. It’s the Joe Rogan effect of our industry. And while you know, you may not think the 121 podcasts out there are important, well, you’re missing 12% of your audience. It’s over a million people. If you’re not on a weekly podcast in one of these podcasts in the world, there’s still people that read one of the 106 magazines in the world. [00:09:55] Jay McBain: There are people that love peer groups, associations, they wanna be part of this. There’s 15 different ways people are influenced. And a solid grassroots strategy is how you make this happen. In the last 10 years, we’ve created a number of billionaires. Bottom up. They never had to go talk to la large enterprise. [00:10:15] Jay McBain: They never had to go build out a mid-market strategy. They just went and give away socks and new community marketing. And this has created, I could rip through a bunch of names that became unicorns just in the last couple of years, bottoms up. You go back to your board walking into next year, top down, bottom up. [00:10:34] Jay McBain: You’ve covered a hundred percent of your tam, and now you’ve covered it with names, faces, and places. You haven’t covered it with a flywheel or a theory. And for 44 years, we have gone to our board every fourth quarter with flywheels and theory. Trust me, partners are important. The channel is key to us. [00:10:57] Jay McBain: Well, let’s talk at the point of this granularity, and now we’re getting supported by technology 261 entrepreneurs. Many of them in the room actually here that are driving this ability to succeed with seven partners in every deal to exchange data to be able to exchange telemetry of these prospects to be able to see twice or three times in terms of pipeline of your target addressable market. [00:11:26] Jay McBain: All these ai, um, technologies, agentic technologies are coming into this. It’s all about data. It’s all about quantifiable names, faces, and places. Now none of us should be walking around with flywheels, so let’s flip the flywheels. No. Uh, so we also look at, and I sold PCs for 17 years and that was in the high times of 40% margins for partners. [00:11:55] Jay McBain: But one interesting thing when you study the p and l for broad base of partners around the world, it’s changed pretty significantly in this last 20 year era. What the cloud era did is dropped hardware from what used to be 84% plus the break fix and things that wrap around it of the p and l to now 16% of every partner in the world. [00:12:16] Jay McBain: 84% of their p and l is now software and services. And if you look at profitability, it’s worse. It’s actually 87% is profitability wise. They’ve completely shifted in terms of where they go. Now we look at other parts of our market. I could go through every part of the pie of the slide, but we’re watching each of the companies, and if you can see here, this is what we want to talk about in terms of ultimate partner. [00:12:43] Jay McBain: Microsoft has outgrown AWS for 26 straight quarters. They don’t have a better product. They don’t have a better price, they don’t have better promotion. It’s all place. And I’ll explain why you guess here in the light green line. Exactly. The day that Google went a hundred percent all in partner, every deal, even if a deal didn’t have a partner, one of the 4% of deals that didn’t have a partner, they injected a partner. [00:13:09] Jay McBain: You can see on the left side exactly where they did it. They got to the point of a hundred percent partner driven. Rebuilt their programs, rebuilt their marketplace. Their marketplace is actually larger than Microsoft’s, and they grew faster than Microsoft. A couple of those quarters. It is a partner driven future, and now I have Oracle, which I just walked by as I walked from the hotel. [00:13:31] Jay McBain: Oracle with their RPOs will start to join. Maybe the list of three hyperscalers becomes the list of four in future slides, but that’s a growth slide. Market share is different. AWS early and commanding lead. And it plays out, uh, plays out this way. But we’re at an interesting moment and I stood up six years ago talking about the decade of the ecosystem after we went through a decade of sales starting in 1999 when we all thought we were born to be salespeople. [00:14:02] Jay McBain: We managed territories with our gut. The sales tech stack would have it different, that sales was a science, and we ended the decade 2009, looking at sales very differently in 2009. I remember being at cocktail parties where CMOs would be joking around that 50% of their marketing dollars were wasted. They just didn’t know which 50%. [00:14:23] Jay McBain: And I’ll tell you, that was really funny. In 2009 till every 58-year-old CMO got replaced by a 38-year-old growth hacker who walked in with 15,348 SaaS companies in their MarTech and ad tech stack to solve the problem, every nickel of marketing by 2019 was tracked. Marketo, Eloqua, Pardot, HubSpot, driving this industry. [00:14:50] Jay McBain: Now, we stood up and said the 28 moments that come before a sale are pretty much all partner driven. In the best case scenario, a vendor might see four of the moments. They might come to your website, maybe they read an ebook, maybe they have a salesperson or a demo that comes in. That’s four outta 28 moments. [00:15:10] Jay McBain: The other 24 are done by partners. Yeah, in the worst case scenario and the majority scenario, you don’t see any of the moments. All 28 happen and you lose a deal without knowing there ever was a deal. So this is it. We need to partner in these moments and we need to inject partners into sales and marketing, like no time before, and this was the time to do it. [00:15:33] Jay McBain: And we got some feedback in the Salesforce state of sales report, which doesn’t involve any partnerships or, or. Channel Chiefs or anything else. This is 5,500 of the biggest CROs in the world that obviously use Salesforce. 89% of salespeople today use partners every day. For the 11% who don’t, 58% plan two within a year. [00:15:57] Jay McBain: If you add those two numbers together, that’s magically the 96% number. They recognize that every deal has partners in it. In 2024, last year, half of the salespeople in the world, every industry, every country. Miss their numbers. For the minority who made their numbers, 84 point percent pointed to partners as the reason why they made their numbers. [00:16:21] Jay McBain: It was the cheat code for sales, so that modern salesperson that knows how to orchestrate a deal, orchestrate the 28 moments with the seven partners and get to that final spot is the winning formula. HubSpot’s number in separate research was 84% in marketing. So we’re starting to see partners in here. We don’t have to shout from the mountaintops. [00:16:44] Jay McBain: These communities like ultimate Partner are working and we’re getting this to the highest levels in the board. And I’ll say that, you know, when 20 years from now half of the companies we know and love fail after we’re done writing the book and blaming the CEO for inventing the thing that ended up killing them, blaming the board for fiduciary responsibility and letting it happen. [00:17:06] Jay McBain: What are the other chapters of the book? And I think it’s all in one slide. We are in this platform economy and the. [00:17:31] Jay McBain: So your battery’s fine. Check, check, check, check. Alright, I’ll, I’ll just hold this in case, but the companies that execute on all five of these areas, well. Not only today become the trillion dollar valued companies, but they become the companies of tomorrow. These will be the fastest growing companies at every level. [00:17:50] Jay McBain: Not only running a platform business, but participating in other platforms. So this is how it breaks out, and there are people at very senior levels, at very big companies that have this now posted in the office of the CEO winning on integrations is everything. We just went through a demographic shift this year where 51% of our buyers are born after 1982. [00:18:15] Jay McBain: Millennials are the number one buyer of the $5 trillion. Their number one buying criteria is not service. Support your price, your brand reputation, it’s integrations. The buy a product, 80% is good as the next one if it works better in their environment. 79% of us won’t buy a car unless it has CarPlay or Android Auto. [00:18:34] Jay McBain: This is an integration world. The company with the most integrations win. Second, there are seven partners that surround the customer. Highly trusted partners. We’re talking, coaching the customer’s, kids soccer team, having a cottage together up at the lake. You know, best men, bate of honors at weddings type of relationships. [00:18:57] Jay McBain: You can’t maybe have all seven, but how does Microsoft beat AWS? They might have had two, three, or four of them saying nice things about them instead of the competition. Winning in service partnerships and channel partnerships changes by category. If you’re selling MarTech, only 10% of it today is resold, so you build more on service partnerships. [00:19:18] Jay McBain: If you’re in cybersecurity today, 91.6% of it is resold. Transacted through partners. So you build a lot of channel partnerships, plus the service partnerships, whatever the mix is in your category, you have to have two or three of those seven people. Saying nice things about you at every stage of the customer journey. [00:19:38] Jay McBain: Now move over to alliances. We have already built the platforms at the hyperscale level. We’ve built the platforms within SaaS, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday, Marketo, NetSuite, HubSpot. Every buyer has a set of platforms that they buy. We’ve now built them in cybersecurity this year out of 6,500 as high as cyber companies, the top five are starting to separate. [00:20:02] Jay McBain: We built it in distribution, which I’ll show in a minute. We’re building it in Telco. This is a platform economy and alliances win and you have alliances with your competitors ’cause you compete in the morning, but you’re best friends by the afternoon. Winning in other platforms is just as important as driving your own. [00:20:20] Jay McBain: And probably the most important part of this is go to market. That sales, that marketing, the 28 moments, the every 30 days forever become all a partner strategy. So there’s still CEOs out there that believe platform is a UI or UX on a bunch of disparate products and things you’ve acquired. There’s still CFOs out there that Think platform is a pricing model, a bundle model of just getting everything under one, you know, subscription price or consumption price. [00:20:51] Jay McBain: And it’s not, platforms are synonymous with partnerships. This is the way forward and there’s no conversation around ai. That doesn’t involve Nvidia over there, an open AI over here and a hyperscaler over there and a SaaS company over here. The seven layer stack wins every single time, and the companies that get this will be the ones that survive this cycle. [00:21:16] Jay McBain: Now, flipping over to marketplaces. So we had written research that, um, about five years ago that marketplaces were going to grow at 82% compounded. Yeah, probably one of the most accurate predictions we ever made, because it happened, we, we predicted that, uh, we were gonna get up to about $85 billion. Well, now we’ve extended that to 2030, so we’re gonna get up to $163 billion, and the thing that we’re watching is in green. [00:21:46] Jay McBain: If 96% of these deals are partner assisted in some way, how is the economics of partnering going to work? We predicted that 50% of deals by 2027. Would be partner funded in some way. Private offers multi-partner offers distributor sellers of record, and now that extends to 59% by 2030, the most senior leader of the biggest marketplace AWS, just said to us they’re gonna probably make these numbers on their own. [00:22:14] Jay McBain: And he asked what their two competitors are doing. So he’s telling us that we under called this. Now when you look at each of the press releases, and this is the AWS Billion Dollar Club. Every one of the companies on the left have issued a press release that they’re in the billion dollar club. Some of them are in the multi-billions, but I want you to double click on this press release. [00:22:35] Jay McBain: I’m quoted in here somewhere, but as CrowdStrike is building the marketplace at 91% compounded, they’re almost doubling their revenue every single year. They’re growing the partner funding, in this case, distributor funding by 3548%. Almost triple digit growth in marketplace is translating into almost quadruple digit growth in funding. [00:23:01] Jay McBain: And you see that over and over again as, as Splunk hit three, uh, billion dollars. The same. Salesforce hit $2 billion on AWS in Ulti, 18 months. They joined in October 20, 23, and 18 months later, they’re already at $2 billion. But now you’re seeing at Salesforce, which by the way. Grew up to $40 billion in revenue direct, almost not a nickel in resell. [00:23:28] Jay McBain: Made it really difficult for VARs and managed service providers to work with Salesforce because they couldn’t understand how to add services to something they didn’t book the revenue for. While $40 billion companies now seeing 70% of their deals come through partners. So this is just the world that we’re in. [00:23:44] Jay McBain: It doesn’t matter who you are and what industry you’re in, this takes place. But now we’re starting to see for the first time. Partners join the billion dollar club. So you wonder about partnering and all this funding and everything that’s working through Now you’re seeing press releases and companies that are redoing their LinkedIn branding about joining this illustrious club without a product to sell and all the services that wrap around it. [00:24:10] Jay McBain: So the opening session on Microsoft was interesting because there’s been a number of changes that Microsoft has done just in the last 30 days. One is they cut distribution by two thirds going from 180 distributors to 62. They cut out any small partner lower than a thousand dollars, and that doesn’t sound like a lot, but that’s over a hundred thousand partners that get deed tightening the long tail. [00:24:38] Jay McBain: They we’re the first to really put a global point system in place three years ago. They went to the new commerce experience. If you remember, all kinds of changes being led by. The biggest company for the channel. And so when we’re studying marketplaces, we’re not just studying the three hyperscalers, we’re studying what TD Cynic is doing with Stream One Ingram’s doing with Advant Advantage Aerosphere. [00:25:01] Jay McBain: Also, we’re watching what PAX eight, who by the way, is the 365 bestseller for Microsoft in the world. They are the cybersecurity leader for Microsoft in the world and the copilot. Leader in the world for Microsoft and Partner of the Year for Microsoft. So we’re watching what the cloud platforms are doing, watching what the Telco are doing, which is 25 cents out of every dollar, if you remember that pie chart, watching what the biggest resellers are converting themselves into. [00:25:30] Jay McBain: Vince just mentioned, you know, SHI in the changes there watching the managed services market and the leaders there, what they’re doing in terms of how this industry’s moving forward. By the way, managed services at $608 billion this year. Is one and a half times larger than the SaaS industry overall. [00:25:48] Jay McBain: It’s also one and a half times larger than all the hyperscalers combined. Oracle, Alibaba, IBM, all the way down. This is a massive market and it makes up 15 to 20 cents of every dollar the customer spend. We’re watching that industry hit a trillion dollars by the end of the decade, and we’re watching 150 different marketplace development platforms, the distribution of our industry, which today is 70.1% indirect. [00:26:13] Jay McBain: We’re starting to see that number, uh, solidify in terms of marketplaces as well. Watching distributors go from that linear warehouse in a bank to this orchestration model, watching some of the biggest players as the world comes around, platforms, it tightens around the place. So Caresoft, uh, from from here is the sixth biggest distributor in the world. [00:26:40] Jay McBain: Just shows you how big the. You know, biggest client in the world is that they serve. But understand that we’re publishing the distributor 500 list, but it’ll be the same thing. That little group in blue in the middle today, you know, drives almost two thirds of the market. So what happens in all this next stage in terms of where the dollars change hands. [00:27:07] Jay McBain: And the economics of partnering themselves are going through the most radical shift that we’ve seen ever. So back to the nineties, and, and for those of you that have been channel chiefs and running programs, we went to work every day. You know, everything’s on fire. We’re trying to check hundred boxes, trying to make our program 10% better than our competitors. [00:27:30] Jay McBain: Hey, we gotta fix our deal registration program today, and our incentives are outta whack or training programs or. You know, not where they need to be. Our certification, you know, this was the life of, uh, of a channel chief. Everybody thought we were just out drinking in the Caribbean with our best partners, but we were under the weight of this. [00:27:49] Jay McBain: But something interesting has happened is that we turned around and put the customer at the middle of our programs to say that those 28 moments in green before the sale are really, really important. And the seven partners who participate are really important. Understanding. The customer’s gonna buy a seven layer stack. [00:28:09] Jay McBain: They’re gonna buy it With these seven partners, the procurement stage is much different. The growth of marketplaces, the growth of direct in some of these areas, and then long term every 30 days forever in a managed service, implementations, integrations, how you upsell, cross-sell, enrich a deal changes. So how would you build a program that’s wrapped around the customer instead of the vendor? [00:28:35] Jay McBain: And we’re starting to hear our partners shout back to us. These are global surveys, big numbers, but over half of our partners, regardless of type, are selling consulting to their customer. Over half are designing architecting deals. A third of them are trying to be system integrators showing up at those implementation integration moments. [00:28:55] Jay McBain: Two thirds of them are doing managed services, but the shocking one here is 44% of our partners, regardless of type, are coding. They’re building agents and they’re out helping their customer at that level. So this is the modern partner that says, don’t typecast me. You may have thought of me in your program. [00:29:14] Jay McBain: You might have me slotted as a var. Well, I do 3.2 things, and if I don’t get access to those resources, if you don’t walk me to that room, I’m not gonna do them with you. You may have me as a managed service provider that’s only in the morning. By the afternoon I’m coding, and by the next morning I’m implementing and consulting. [00:29:33] Jay McBain: So again, a partner’s not a partner. That Venn diagram is a very loose one now, as every partner on there is doing 3.2 different business models. And again, they’re telling us for 43 years, they said, I want more leads this year it changed. For the first time, I want to be recognized and incentivized as more than just a cash register for you. [00:29:57] Jay McBain: I want you to recognize when I’m consulting, when I’m designing, when you’re winning deals, because of my wonderful services, by the way, we asked the follow up question, well, where should we spend our money with you? And they overwhelmingly say, in the consulting stage, you win and lose deals. Not at moment 28. [00:30:18] Jay McBain: We’re not buying a pack of gum at the gas station. This is a considered purchase. You win deals from moment 12 through 16 and I’m gonna show you a picture of that later, and they say, you better be spending your money there, or you’re not gonna win your fair share or more than your fair share of deals. [00:30:36] Jay McBain: The shocking thing about this is that Microsoft, when they went to the point system, lifted two thirds of all the money, tens of billions of dollars, and put it post-sale, and we were all scratching our heads going. Well, if the partners are asking for it there, and it seems like to beat your biggest competitors, you want to win there. [00:30:54] Jay McBain: Why would you spend the money on renewal? Well, they went to Wall Street and Goldman Sachs and the people who lift trillions of dollars of pension funds and said, if we renew deals at 108%, we become a cash machine for you. And we think that’s more valuable than a company coming out with a new cell phone in September and selling a lot of them by Christmas every year. [00:31:18] Jay McBain: The industry. And by the way, wall Street responded, Microsoft has been more valuable than Apple since. So we talk in this now multiplier language, and these are reports that we write, uh, at AMIA at canals. But talking about the partner opportunity in that customer cycle, the $6 and 40 cents you can make for every dollar of consumption, or the $7 and 5 cents you can make the $8 and 45 cents you can make. [00:31:46] Jay McBain: There’s over 24 companies speaking at this level now, and guess what? It’s not just cloud or software companies. Hardware companies are starting to speak in this language, and on January 25th, Cisco, you know, probably second to Microsoft in terms of trust built with the channel globally is moving to a full point system. [00:32:09] Jay McBain: So these are the changes that happen fast. But your QBR with your partners now less about drinking beers at the hotel lobby bar and talking dollar by dollar where these opportunities are. So if you’re doing 3.2 of these things, let’s build out a, uh, a play where you can make $3 for every dollar that we make. [00:32:28] Jay McBain: And you make that profitably. You make it in sticky, highly retained business, and that’s the model. ’cause if you make $3 for every dollar. We make, you’re gonna win Partner of the year, and if you win partner of the year, that piece of glass that you win on stage, by the time you get back to your table, you’re gonna have three offers to buy your business. [00:32:51] Jay McBain: CDW just bought a w. S’s Partner of the Year. Insight bought Google’s eight time partner of the year. Presidio bought ServiceNow’s, partner of the year over and over and over again. So I’m at Octane, I’m at CrowdStrike, I’m at all these events in Vegas every week. I’m watching these partners of the year. [00:33:05] Jay McBain: And I’m watching as the big resellers. I’m watching as the GSIs and the m and a folks are surrounding their table after, and they’re selling their businesses for SaaS level valuations. Not the one-to-one service valuation. They’re getting multiples because this is the new future of our industry. This is platform economics. [00:33:25] Jay McBain: This is winning and platforms for partners. Now, like Vince, I spent 20 minutes without talking about ai, but we have to talk about ai. So the next 20 years as it plays out is gonna play out in phases. And the first thing you know to get it out of the way. The first two years since that March of 23, has been underwhelming, to say the least. [00:33:47] Jay McBain: It’s been disappointing. All the companies that should have won the biggest in AI have been the most disappointing. It’s underperformed the s and p by a considerable amount in terms of where we are. And it goes back to this. We always overestimate the first two years, but we underestimate the first 10. [00:34:07] Jay McBain: If you wanna be the point in time person and go look at that 1983 PC or the 1995 internet or that 2007 iPhone or that whatever point in time you wanna look at, or if you want to talk about hallucinations or where chat chip ET version five is version, as opposed to where it’s going to be as it improves every six months here on in. [00:34:30] Jay McBain: But the fact of the matter is, it’s been a consumer trend. Nvidia got to be the most valuable company in the world. OpenAI was the first company to 2 billion users, uh, in that amount of speed. It’s the fastest growing product ever in history, and it’s been a consumer win this trillions of dollars to get it thrown around in the press releases. [00:34:49] Jay McBain: They’re going out every day, you know, open ai, signing up somebody new or Nvidia, investing in somebody new almost every single day in hundreds of billions of dollars. It is all happening really on the consumer side. So we got a little bit worried and said, is that 96% of surround gonna work in ag agentic ai? [00:35:10] Jay McBain: So we went and asked, and the good news is 88% of end customers are using partners to work through their ag agentic strategy. Even though they’re moving slow, they’re actually using partners. But what’s interesting from a partner perspective, and this is new research that out till 2030. This is the number one services opportunity in the entire tech or telco industry. [00:35:34] Jay McBain: 35.3% compounded growth ending at $267 billion in services. Companies are rebuilding themselves, building out practices, and getting on this train and figuring out which vendors they should hook their caboose to as those trains leave the station. But it kind of plays out like this. So in the next three to five years, we’re in this generative, moving into agentic phase. [00:36:01] Jay McBain: Every partner thinks internally first, the sales and marketing. They’re thinking about their invoicing and billing. They’re thinking about their service tickets. They’re thinking about creating a business that’s 10% better than their competitors, taking that knowledge into their customers and drive in business. [00:36:17] Jay McBain: But we understand that ag agentic AI, as it’s going to play out is not a product. A couple of years ago, we thought maybe a copilot or an agent force or something was going to be the product that everybody needed to buy, and it’s not a product, it’s gonna show up as a feature. So you go back in the history of feature ads and it’s gonna show up in software. [00:36:38] Jay McBain: So if you’re calling in SMB, maybe you’re calling on a restaurant. The restaurant isn’t gonna call OpenAI or call Microsoft or call Nvidia directly. They’re running their restaurant. And they may have chosen a platform like Toast Square, Clover, whatever iPads people are running around with, runs on a platform that does everything in their business, does staffing, does food ordering, works with Uber Eats, does everything end to end? [00:37:08] Jay McBain: They’re gonna wait to one of those platforms, dries out agent AI for them, and can run the restaurant more effectively, less human capital and more consistently, but they wait for the SaaS platform as you get larger. A hundred, 150 people. You have vice presidents. Each of those vice presidents already have a SaaS stack. [00:37:28] Jay McBain: I talked about Salesforce, ServiceNow, Workday, et cetera. They’ve already built that seven layer model and in some cases it’s 70 layers. But the fact is, is they’re gonna wait for those SaaS layers to deliver ag agentic to them. So this is how it’s gonna play out for the next three and a half, three to five years. [00:37:45] Jay McBain: And partners are realizing that many of them were slow to pick up SaaS ’cause they didn’t resell it. Well now to win in this next three to half, three to five years, you’re gonna have to play in this environment. When you start looking out from here, the next generation, you know, kind of five through 15 years gets interesting in more of a physical sense. [00:38:06] Jay McBain: Where I was yesterday talking about every IOT device that now is internet access, starts to get access to large language models. Every little sensor, every camera, everything that’s out there starts to get smart. But there’s a point. The first trillionaire, I believe, will be created here. Elon’s already halfway there. [00:38:24] Jay McBain: Um, but when Bill Gates thought there was gonna be a PC in every home, and IBM thought they were gonna sell 10,000 to hobbyists, that created the richest person in the world for 20 years, there will be a humanoid in every home. There’s gonna be a point in time that you’re out having drinks with your friends, and somebody’s gonna say, the early adopter of your friends is gonna say. [00:38:46] Jay McBain: I haven’t done the dishes in six weeks. I haven’t done the laundry. I haven’t made my bed. I haven’t mowed the lawn. When they say that, you’re gonna say, well, how? And they’re gonna say, well, this year I didn’t buy a new car, but I went to the car dealership and I bought this. So we’re very close to the dexterity needed. [00:39:05] Jay McBain: We’ve got the large language models. Now. The chat, GPT version 10 by then is going to make an insane, and every house is gonna have one of the. [00:39:17] Jay McBain: This is the promise of ai. It’s not humanoid robots, it’s not agents. It’s this. 99% of the world’s business data has not been trained or tuned into models yet. Again, this is the slow moving business. If you want to think about the 99% of business data, every flight we’ve all taken in this room sits on a saber system that was put in place in 1964. [00:39:43] Jay McBain: Every banking transaction, we’ve all made, every withdrawal, every deposit sits on an IBM mainframe put in place in the sixties or seventies. 83% of this data sits in cold storage at the edge. It’s not ready to be moved. It’s not cleansed, it’s not, um, indexed. It’s not in any format or sitting on any infrastructure that a large language model will be able to gobble up the data. [00:40:10] Jay McBain: None of the workflows, none of the programming on top of that data is yet ready. So this is your 10 to 20 year arc of this era that chat bot today when they cancel your flight is cute. It’s empathetic, it feels bad for you, or at least it seems to, but it can’t do anything. It can’t book you the Marriott and get you an Uber and then a 5:00 AM flight the next morning. [00:40:34] Jay McBain: It can’t do any of that. But more importantly, it doesn’t know who you are. I’ve got 53 years of flights under my belt and they, I’m the person that get me within six hours of my kids and get me a one-way Hertz rental. You know, if there’s bad weather in Miami, get me to Tampa, get me a Hertz, I’m driving home, I’m gonna make it home. [00:40:56] Jay McBain: I’m not the 5:00 AM get me a hotel person. They would know that if they picked up the flights that I’ve taken in the past. Each of us are different. When you get access to the business data and you become ag agentic, everything changes. Every industry changes because of this around the customers. When you ask about this 35% growth, working on that data, working in traditional consulting and design and implementation, working in the $7 trillion of infrastructure, storage, compute, networking, that’s gonna be around, this is a massive opportunity. [00:41:30] Jay McBain: Services are gonna continue to outgrow products. Probably for the next five to 10 years because of this, and I’m gonna finish here. So we talked a lot about quantifying names, faces, places, and I think where we failed the most as ultimate partners is underneath the tam, which every one of our CEOs knows to the decimal point underneath the TAM that our board thinks they’re chasing. [00:41:59] Jay McBain: We’ve done a very poor job. Of talking about the available markets and obtainable markets underneath it, we, we’ve shown them theory. We’ve shown them a bunch of, you know, really smart stuff, and PowerPoint slides up the wazoo, but we’ve never quantified it for them. If they wanna win, if they want to get access, if they want to double their pipeline, triple their pipeline, if they wanna start winning more deals, if they wanna win deals that are three times larger, they close two times faster. [00:42:31] Jay McBain: And they renew 15% larger. They have to get into the available and obtainable markets. So just in the last couple weeks I spoke at Cribble, I spoke at Octane, I spoke at CrowdStrike Falcon. All three of those companies at the CEO level, main stage use those exact three numbers, three x, two x, 15%. That’s the language of platforms, and they’re investing millions and millions and millions of dollars on teams. [00:42:59] Jay McBain: To go build out the Sam Andal in name spaces and places. So you’ve heard me talk about these 28 moments a lot. They’re the ones that you spend when you buy a car. Some people spend one moment and they drive to the Cadillac dealership. ’cause Larry’s been, you know, taking care of the family for 50 years. [00:43:18] Jay McBain: Some people spend 50 moments like I do, watching every YouTube video and every, you know, thing on the internet. I clear the internet cover to cover. But the fact is, is every deal averages around these 28 moments. Your customer, there’s 13 members of the buying committee today. There’s seven partners and they’re buying seven things. [00:43:37] Jay McBain: There’s 27 things orchestrating inside these 28 moments. And where and how they all take place is a story of partnering. So a couple of years ago, canals. Latin for channel was acquired by amia, which is a part of Informa Tech Target, which is majority owned by Informa. All that being said, there’s hundreds of magazines that we have. [00:44:00] Jay McBain: There’s hundreds of events that we run. If somebody’s buying cybersecurity, they probably went to Black Hat or they probably went to GI Tech. One of these events we run, or one of the magazines. So we pick up these signals, these buyer intent signals as a company. Why did they wanna, um, buy a, uh, a Canals, which was a, you know, a small analyst firm around channels? [00:44:22] Jay McBain: They understood this as well. The 28 moments look a lot like this when marketers and salespeople are busy filling in the spots of every deal. And by the way, this is a real deal. AstraZeneca came in to spend millions of dollars on ASAP transformation, and you can start to see as the customer got smart. [00:44:45] Jay McBain: The eBooks, they read the podcasts, they listened to the events they went to. You start to see how this played out over the long term. But the thing we’ve never had in our industry is the light blue boxes. This deal was won and lost in December. In this particular case, NTT software won and Yash came in and sold the customer five projects. [00:45:07] Jay McBain: The millions of dollars that were going to be spent were solved here. The design and architecture work was all done here. A couple of ISVs You see in light blue came in right at the end, deal was closed in April. You see the six month cycle. But what if you could fill in every one of the 28 boxes in every single customer prospect that your sales and marketing team have? [00:45:30] Jay McBain: But here’s the brilliance of this. Those light blue boxes didn’t win the deals there. They won the deals months before that. So when NTT and Software one walked into this deal. They probably won the deal back in October and they had to go through the redlining. They had to go through the contracting, they had to go through all the stuff and the Gantt chart to get started. [00:45:54] Jay McBain: But while your CMO is getting all excited about somebody reading an ebook and triggering an MQL that the sales team doesn’t want, ’cause it’s not qualified, it’s not sales qualified, you walk in and say, no, no. This is a multimillion deal, dollar deal. It’s AstraZeneca. I know the five partners that are coming in in December to solidify the seven layers, and you’re walking in at the same time as the CMOs bragging about an ebook. [00:46:21] Jay McBain: This changes everything. If we could get to this level of data about every dollar of our tam, we not only outgrow our competitors, we become the platforms of the next generation. Partnering and ultimate partnering is all here. And this is what we’re doing in this room. This is what we’re doing over these couple of days, and this is what, uh, the mission that Vince is leading. [00:46:43] Jay McBain: Thank you so much. [00:46:47] Vince Menzione: Woo. Day in the house. Good to see you my friend. Good to see you. Oh, we’re gonna spend a couple minutes. Um, I’m put you in the second seat. We’re gonna put, we’re gonna make it sit fireside for a minute. Uh, that was intense. It was pretty incredible actually, Jay. And so I’m, I think I wanna open it up ’cause we only have a few minutes just to, any questions? [00:47:06] Vince Menzione: I’m sure people are just digesting. We already have one up here. See, [00:47:09] Question: Jay knows I’m [00:47:10] Vince Menzione: a question. I love it. We, I don’t think we have any I can grab a mic, a roving mic. I could be a roving mic person. Hold on. We can do this. This is not on. [00:47:25] Vince Menzione: Test, test. Yes it is. Yeah. [00:47:26] Question: Theresa Carriol dared me to ask a question and I say, you don’t have to dare me. You know, I’m going to Anyway. Um, so Jay, of the point of view that with all of the new AI players that strategic alliances is again having a moment, and I was curious your point of view on what you’re seeing around this emergence and trend of strategic alliances and strategic alliance management. [00:47:52] Question: As compared to channel management. And what are you seeing in terms of large vendors like AWS investing in that strategic alliance role versus that channel role training, enablement, measurement, all that good stuff? [00:48:06] Jay McBain: Yeah, it’s, it’s a great question. So when I told the story about toast at the restaurant or Square or Clover, they’re not call, they’re not gonna call open AI or Nvidia themselves either. [00:48:17] Jay McBain: When you look out at the 250,000 ISVs. That make up this AI stack, there is the layers that happen there. So the Alliance with AWS, the alliance they have with Microsoft or Google is going to be how they generate agent AI in their platforms. So when I talk about a seven layer stack, the average deal being seven layers, AI is gonna drive this to nine, and then 11, then probably 13. [00:48:44] Jay McBain: So in terms of how alliances work, I had it up there as one of the five core strategies, and I think it’s pretty even. You can have the best alliances in the world, but if the seven partners trusted by the customer don’t know what that alliance is and the benefits to the customer and never mention it, it’s all for Naugh. [00:49:00] Jay McBain: If you’re go-to market, you’re co-selling, your co-marketing strategies are not built around that alliance. It’s all for naught. If the integration and the co-innovation, the co-development, the all the co-creation work that’s done inside these alliances isn’t translated to customer outcomes, it’s all for naugh. [00:49:17] Jay McBain: These are all five parallel swim lanes. All five are absolutely critically needed. And I think they’re all five pretty equally weighted in terms of needing each other. Yes. To be successful in the era of platforms. Yeah. [00:49:32] Vince Menzione: And the problem is they’re all stove pipe today. If, if at all. Yeah. Maintained, right. [00:49:36] Vince Menzione: Alliances is an example. Channels and other example. They don’t talk to one another. Judge any, we’ve got a mic up here if anybody else has. Yep. We have some questions here, Jacqueline. [00:49:51] Question: So when we’re developing our channel programs, any advice on, you know, what’s the shift that we should make six months from now, a year from now? The historical has been bronze, silver, gold, right? And you’ve got your deal registration, but what’s the future look like? [00:50:05] Jay McBain: Yeah, so I mean, the programs are, are changing to, to the point where the customer should be in the middle and realizing the seven partners you need to win the deal. [00:50:15] Jay McBain: And depending on what category of product you’re in, security, how much you rely on resell, 91.6%. You know, the channel partners are gonna be critical where the customer spends the money. And if you’re adding friction to that process, you’re adding friction in terms of your growth. So you know, if you’re in cybersecurity, you have to have a pretty wide open reseller model. [00:50:39] Jay McBain: You have to have a wide open distribution model, and you have to make sure you’re there at that point of sale. While at the same time, considering the other six partners at moment 12 who are in either saying nice things about you or not, the customer might even be starting with you. ’cause there is actually one thing that I didn’t mention when I showed the 28 moments filled in. [00:51:00] Jay McBain: You’ll notice that the customer went to AWS twice direct. AWS lost the deal. Microsoft won the deal software. One is Microsoft’s biggest reseller in the world. They just acquired crayon. NTT who, who loves both had their Microsoft team go in. [00:51:18] Question: Mm. [00:51:19] Jay McBain: So I think that they went to AWS thinking it was A-W-S-S-A-P, you know, kind of starting this seven layer stack. [00:51:25] Jay McBain: I think they finished those, you know, critical moments in the middle looking at it. And then they went back to AWS kind of going probably WWTF. Yeah. What we thought was happening isn’t actually the outcome that was painted by our most trusted people. So, you know, to answer your question, listen to your partners. [00:51:43] Jay McBain: They want to be recognized for the other things they’re doing. You can’t be spending a hundred percent of the dollars at the point of sale. You gotta have a point of system that recognizes the point of sale, maybe even gold, silver, bronze, but recognizing that you’re paying for these other moments as well. [00:51:57] Jay McBain: Paying for alliances, paying for integrations and everything else, uh, in the cyber stack. And, um, you know, recognizing also the top 1000. So if I took your tam. And I overlaid those thousand logos. I would be walking into 2026 the best I could of showing my company logo by logo, where 80% of our TAM sits as wallet share, not by revenue. [00:52:25] Jay McBain: Remember, a million dollar partner is not a million dollar partner. One of them sells 1.2 million in our category. We should buy them a baseball cap and have ’em sit in the front row of our event. One of them sells $10 million and only sells our stuff if the customer asks. So my company should be looking at that $9 million opportunity and making sure my programs are writing the checks and my coverage. [00:52:48] Jay McBain: My capacity and capability planning is getting obsessed over that $9 million. My farmers can go over there, my hunters can go over here, and I should be submitting a list of a thousand sorted in descending order of opportunity. Of where my company can write program dollars into. [00:53:07] Vince Menzione: Great answer. All right. I, I do wanna be cognizant of time and the, all the other sessions we have. [00:53:14] Vince Menzione: So we’ll just take one other question if there are any here and if not, we’ll let I know. Jay, you’re gonna be mingling around for a little while before your flight. I’m [00:53:21] Jay McBain: here the whole day. [00:53:22] Vince Menzione: You, you’re the whole day. I see that Jay’s here the whole day. So if you have any other questions and, and, uh, sharing the deck is that. [00:53:29] Vince Menzione: Yep. Alright. We have permission to share the deck with the each of you as well. [00:53:34] Jay McBain: Alright, well thank you very much everyone. Jay. Great to have you.
For Christmas Day, we've got a special guest on the Morning Pitt: Peters Township standout and incoming Pitt freshman defensive end Reston Lehman. We're talking to Reston about his career at Peters, an epic WPIAL championship game, why he picked Pitt and a lot more.
Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureThe Tren De Aragua gang tried to insert malwar into the ATM system to steal millions. Was this the first stage of the [CB] trying to hurt the economy? Trump’s economy is accelerating, the job numbers don’t reflect it because of the manipulation calculation and the jobs that he is removing from Gov. Trump is winning against the [CB]. The [DS] agenda is failing. The D party is on the wrong side of history and everyday that passes the people are waking up to this fact. The only way out is a war and this is why the [DS] is continually pushing back on Trump’s peace plan. Putin has agreed to it, [DS] is fighting it. Trump’s message is clear, we are taking back the country and in the end the D’s and the [DS] will cease to exist. Economy (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); Tren De Aragua Members and Leaders Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar ATM Jackpotting Scheme December 18, 2025 – United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that a federal grand jury in the District of Nebraska has returned two indictments charging 54 individuals for their roles in a large conspiracy to deploy malware and steal millions of dollars from ATMs in the United States, a crime commonly referred to as “ATM jackpotting.” An indictment returned on December 9, 2025, charges 22 defendants with offenses corresponding to their role in the conspiracy, including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank burglary and fraud and related activity in connection with computers, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment also alleges that Tren de Aragua (“TdA”) has used jackpotting to steal millions of dollars in the United States and then transferred the proceeds among its members and associates to conceal the illegally obtained cash. Source: .justice.gov https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/2001781948465746206?s=20 https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2001993417291960468?s=20 Political/Rights Soros DA Ignores ICE Detainer, Releases El Salvadorian Illegal Who Allegedly Commits Murder the Next Day Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, an illegal from El Salvador, was released from custody after the Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, led by Soros-backed Attorney Steve Descano, dropped a case against him for charges of allegedly brandishing a gun and assaulting and injuring someone. Fox News' Bill Melugin notes he was released back onto the streets after an ICE detainer was ignored. The next day, it is alleged he is responsible for the murder of a man found dead in a home in Reston, Va., according to the Fairfax County Police Department. Before the latest incident, Morales-Ortez already had a lengthy criminal record. WJLA News reports, “court records indicate that since 2020, Morales-Ortez had been charged with at least seven crimes in Fairfax County.” Per WJLA: Source: thegatewaypundit.com BREAKING: Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan Found GUILTY of Obstruction For Helping Illegal Alien Evade ICE Agents – Faces 5 Years in Prison Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan on evening was found guilty of obstruction for helping an illegal alien evade ICE agents. Dugan was acquitted of count 1 – the misdemeanor but she was found guilty on count 2 – the felony obstruction. She is facing five years in prison. AP reported: Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2001976516876681590?s=20 https://twitter.com/Brooketaylortv/status/2001867929940574469?s=20 help crack this case since there was no clear image of the shooter entering the building. The suspected shooter was found dead six days after he opened fire at Brown University and killed two students and critically wounded nine. The shooter has been identified as 48-year-old Claudio Neves-Valente. He was a Brown University student and a Portuguese national. https://twitter.com/JohnDePetroshow/status/2002000197124075699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2002000197124075699%7Ctwgr%5E4fa4b47b64971deb3c6bff71f8f137f50b1c8efc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Frevealed-here-is-how-homeless-man-blew-brown%2F https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2001937671115923906?s=20 TARGETED https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2001808961906016366?s=20 https://twitter.com/AutismCapital/status/2001865134214647920?s=20 the apartment building in Brookline, Massachusetts, where MIT professor Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro lived and was fatally shot has security cameras. Surveillance footage from the building was used in the investigation, including video showing the suspect entering the premises authorities have not publicly released the security camera footage from the Brookline apartment building where MIT professor Nuno F. Gomes Loureiro was shot. https://twitter.com/ColonelTowner/status/2001995157093200088?s=20 his actual storage unit never gets unlocked, and he's found dead in the one next door. I noticed last night that the DOJ AAG was very careful to say he was found dead. Then the following news reports all said he committed suicide. Those are not the same thing. Someone needs to ask about the possibility of him being murdered after his mission was completed. Keep your eyes and ears open No Leads, No Leads, No Leads finally a lead from a homeless man and reddit So the shooter lived in Miami, flew to Providence, waited for Ella, knew her schedule, then drove to Massachusetts, to shoot the professor that he knew in Portugal, then drove back to his storage unit that was in New Hampshire . He had a foreign phone that couldn’t be pinged and tracked. So what was the motive https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2001878709385728416?s=20 including the NYC ISIS truck ramming terrorist. Our ENTIRE immigration system needs to be SCRAPPED and REBUILT at this point. ENOUGH! https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2001724267906691531?s=20 Texas and Arizona. Total spending on border construction: $8 billion so far. The full plan: 1,418 miles of “Primary Smart Wall,” 536 miles of waterborne barriers, and 708 miles of secondary barriers. Funded through Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed in July – $46.5 billion allocated specifically for border wall completion through 2029. The “Smart Wall” isn’t just rebranded concrete. It’s steel bollards combined with patrol roads, cameras, lighting, advanced detection sensors, and in some locations waterborne or secondary barriers. CBP calls it an integrated border security system – not just a physical barrier but surveillance infrastructure covering gaps where terrain makes construction impractical. Here’s the funding story: Biden canceled wall contracts when he took office in 2021. The appropriated money – FY2021 funds – never expired. Trump returned in January 2025 and immediately restarted construction using those leftover billions. Then Congress passed his budget package allocating $46.5 billion more for multi-year construction. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued nine waivers since October to fast-track construction by bypassing environmental review requirements. The contracts are moving – $4.5 billion awarded in September, $3.3 billion now, with more queued through 2029. The system includes 536 miles where physical barriers won’t be built due to terrain – those sections get detection technology instead. Another 549 miles will add tech to barriers Biden left incomplete. Trump built 455 miles in his first term, mostly replacing existing fencing. This time the scale is bigger and the tech integration is real. Whether it achieves the enforcement outcomes CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott is promising remains to be seen, but the construction is happening and the funding is locked in. https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2001837612487840164?s=20 Import IsIamists. Disarm Australians. What could possibly go wrong? https://twitter.com/Patri0tContr0l/status/2001745373052936625?s=20 https://twitter.com/ShadowofEzra/status/2001719516422676556?s=20 DOGE Geopolitical Tren De Aragua Members and Leaders Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar ATM Jackpotting Scheme December 18, 2025 – United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that a federal grand jury in the District of Nebraska has returned two indictments charging 54 individuals for their roles in a large conspiracy to deploy malware and steal millions of dollars from ATMs in the United States, a crime commonly referred to as “ATM jackpotting.” An indictment returned on December 9, 2025, charges 22 defendants with offenses corresponding to their role in the conspiracy, including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank burglary and fraud and related activity in connection with computers, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment also alleges that Tren de Aragua (“TdA”) has used jackpotting to steal millions of dollars in the United States and then transferred the proceeds among its members and associates to conceal the illegally obtained cash. One of the individuals named in the Indictment is Jimena Romina Araya Navarro, an alleged Tren De Aragua leader and Venezuelan entertainer who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC's press release alleged that Araya Navarro reportedly helped the notorious head of TdA, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores (a.k.a. “Niño Guerrero”) escape from the Tocorón prison in Venezuela in 2012, and others in this network have laundered money for TdA leaders. Jimena Romina Araya Navarro was indicted by the grand jury for the District of Nebraska for material support to Tren De Aragua for factual allegations stemming from TdA's nationwide ATM jackpotting scheme that included burglaries of many ATMs located in Nebraska. Jimena Romina Araya Navarro has been publicly photographed at parties and social events with the alleged head of TdA Nino Guerrero. Source: .justice.gov https://twitter.com/BasilTheGreat/status/2001917147963101255?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2002018167611408489?s=20 Foreign Office has been hacked – ministers ‘fairly confident’ individual data not at risk Foreign Office data has been compromised by hackers, a minister has confirmed to Sky News, but he said the government is “fairly confident” that no individual data has been accessed. Trade minister Sir Chris Bryant told Sky’s Mornings with Jones and Melbourne that the government first became aware of the hack in October, and was now “on top of it”. Sky News understands that the data stolen was on systems operated on the Home Office’s behalf by the Foreign Office, which detected the breach. The Sun reported last night that a Chinese groups of hackers known as Storm 1949 targeted Foreign Office servers and had accessed information relating to visa details, with “thousands” of confidential documents and data stolen. But the minister told Sky News that it is “not entirely clear” who is responsible for the hack, and he could share “remarkably little detail”. Source: skynews.com Denmark blames Russia for destructive cyberattack on water utility Danish intelligence officials blamed Russia for orchestrating cyberattacks against Denmark’s critical infrastructure, as part of Moscow’s hybrid attacks against Western nations. In a Thursday statement, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service (DDIS) identified two groups operating on behalf of the Russian state: Z-Pentest, linked to the destructive water-utility attack, and NoName057(16), flagged as responsible for the DDoS assaults ahead of November’s local elections in Denmark before the 2025 elections. Source: bleepingnews.com War/Peace https://twitter.com/WallStreetMav/status/2001727675950383572?s=20 https://twitter.com/MyLordBebo/status/2001987088586354804?s=20 https://twitter.com/MyLordBebo/status/2001987615856476213?s=20 https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2001804678045274293?s=20 holding Russia financially accountable for the destruction. Zelensky: “Basically, as of today, now Ukraine must close this problem and have the money, that’s number one. About the prospects, the most right form is reparation loan, so that we all understand, so that Russia understands that it’s guilty and that it will have to pay reparations.” This push ties into the crunch EU summit over a $105B package funded partly by profits from frozen Russian assets, even as legal concerns and U.S. warnings hover. Zelensky says it's moral, fair, and the pressure tool needed to make Putin back down. https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/2001953679491109013?s=20 https://twitter.com/aleksbrz11/status/2001656372220301547?s=20 https://twitter.com/philippilk/status/2001918505957134742?s=20 https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2001973600405049683?s=20 ” some offers and they invited us to certain compromises.’ And with that in Anchorage, back in Anchorage, I said that this would be difficult decisions for us. But we agree to the compromises that are being proposed to us. So it’s incorrect to say that we are refusing something.””So that’s completely incorrect. So the ball is totally on the side of our Western opponents, of the head of the Kiev regime and its European sponsors. https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2001773196727713853?s=20 other EU countries rattling their sabers and demanding that their native populations gear up to fight Russia in a war that would rival WWI in terms of exterminating a generation of young European men, is it possible that this is part of a New World Order scheme to eliminate native Europeans in favor of their migrant replacements? After all, that would be the ultimate expression of the guilt-ridden, cultural suicide Western Europe has been hellbent on achieving for the past thirty years. Conspiracy theory? YES. Reflective of current sentiments? YES. Take it for what it is worth. Medical/False Flags https://twitter.com/Rasmussen_Poll/status/2001457867614798265?s=20 [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2001766583757394263?s=20 https://twitter.com/JoeLang51440671/status/2001871246141567421?s=20 Trump HUD Hunts Down Fraud in Colorado: 221 Dead People Were Getting Housing That’s right. 221 dead people, out of almost 3,000 people in Colorado who were improperly receiving benefits from HUD. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is investigating whether Colorado providers helped nearly 3,000 people swindle taxpayer money from Uncle Sam, The Post has learned. The investigation comes after an internal HUD audit found that benefits were granted to 221 dead people, while another 87 were otherwise ineligible. The department also said that another 2,519 beneficiaries will need to undergo additional verification. Here’s the question: Were these just mistakes, the results of bad record-keeping, or deliberate fraud? Not that either is exactly a comfortable finding; when the answer is either criminality or gross incompetence, the taxpayers take a bath either way. And HUD is calling this apparent fraud. Source: redstate.com https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2002067526977720452?s=20 https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2002054582202200131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2002054582202200131%7Ctwgr%5E9511fa92be723c1b11f9bd872529227569dc1dd9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F12%2Fsecretary-state-rubio-confirms-ending-ngo-foreign-aid%2F President Trump's Plan https://twitter.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2001794199046287594?s=20 the American people. These will be changes that you may not have read about in the media over this last year – but they're just as important for the new FBI. December 18: The FBI reporting structure. When Deputy Bongino and I arrived, FBI leadership was constructed to have all 50+ field offices report to one office in Washington D.C. This created inefficiencies and bureaucracy through no fault of the agents working hard in the field. When we got here, we sent personnel out to the field and then broke down the reporting structure giving a team of Operations Directors regional authority over each office. This allowed us to much more effectively manage each field office and get them the resources they need to do the job and protect the American people. The results speak for themselves: 100% increase in violent crime arrests, 35% increase in espionage arrests, 31% increase in fentanyl seizures, 500% increase in NVE arrests, and more. Making FBI leadership more responsive to the field allowed for the field to be more responsive to the American people – who we work for. https://twitter.com/KanekoaTheGreat/status/2001754813034533328?s=20 https://twitter.com/Rasmussen_Poll/status/2001699622553592254?s=20 https://twitter.com/Peoples_Pundit/status/2001817750952440044?s=20 https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2001837345113542864?s=20 https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/2001723271771726246?s=20 the center is not officially renamed solely based on the board’s vote. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was established and named by an act of Congress (Public Law 88-260 in 1964, codified in 20 U.S.C. § 76h et seq.), making its official name part of federal statute. While the Board of Trustees can vote to recommend or propose a name change—as they did unanimously on December 18, 2025, to add “Trump” to the name—the actual renaming requires legislative action to amend the law.The Process: Board Proposal: The Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees (which includes presidential appointees, congressional ex officio members, and others) can discuss and vote on a proposed name change. In this case, the Trump-appointed board voted to rename it the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” citing Trump’s contributions to renovations and fundraising. Congressional Legislation: To make the change official, Congress must pass a bill amending the relevant statutes. For example: Legislation has already been introduced in the House by Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.) to codify the rename. The bill would need to pass both the House and Senate, then be signed into law by the President (or overridden if vetoed). Potential Challenges and Approval: Ex officio board members (e.g., congressional Democrats like Rep. Joyce Beatty, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Leader Hakeem Jeffries) have stated that federal law prohibits name changes without congressional action, calling the board’s move unauthorized or illegal. reuters.com They dispute the “unanimous” vote claim, noting some were muted or unable to oppose. Kennedy family members, such as grandnephew Joe Kennedy, have opposed it, arguing the board lacks authority. reuters.com If passed, the change could face legal challenges, but congressional approval would make it binding. Until Congress acts, the center retains its current name, though the White House has begun referring to it as the “Trump-Kennedy Center” in announcements. https://twitter.com/OpenSourceZone/status/2001373638654841181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2001373638654841181%7Ctwgr%5E686532e3ba9f23547c3b85b453c29e8ca105954e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fbobhoge%2F2025%2F12%2F18%2Fschizophrenia-dem-approval-rating-falls-off-a-cliff-but-voters-still-want-them-to-retake-the-house-n2197259 Trump announces ‘Patriot Games,' with 2 high school athletes from each state President Trump announced plans for a “Patriot Games” next year that will pit top high school athletes from across the country against one another as part of a series of events to mark 250 years since the nation's founding. Trump announced the launch of Freedom 250, an organization that will lead the administration's efforts to celebrate the country's 250th birthday in 2026. One of the events that will be featured as part of the festivities will be what Trump called the “first-ever Patriot Games, an unprecedented four-day athletic event featuring the greatest high school athletes — one young man and one young woman from each state and territory.” The event is slated for next fall. Source: thehill.com https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/2001758550067155179?s=20 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");
Wed, Dec 17 4:49 PM → 7:46 PM Marvin Fernando Morales Ortez suspect. Officers are on scene of a fatal shooting inside of a residence in the 12300 block of Fan Shell Ct in Reston. The victim an adult male was declared deceased on scene. httpsx.comTheDMVLivestatus2001385473667678718 - httpsx.comFairfaxCountyPDstatus2001350890226360528s20 Radio Systems: - Fairfax County Project 25
Airbus A320 fuselage panel problems, Thunderbird F-16C crash, ATC prime integrator, hand flying, Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, Southwest Airlines meltdown fine, solar flares and A320 groundings, airline pay-for-delay compensation, and charging air travelers without REAL ID. Aviation News Airbus prepares A320 inspections as fuselage flaw hits deliveries Airbus engineers are inspecting 628 A320 family exterior fuselage panels for thickness defects. The skin panels have thickness deviations beyond Airbus's design tolerances. The panels were manufactured by a Spanish supplier Sofitec Aero and do not represent a flight‑safety risk at this time. Panels on the upper forward fuselage are the main concern, with deviations having also been found in some rear‑fuselage sections. The affected panels are not serialized, so Airbus must inspect the entire batch of potentially impacted airframes rather than trace specific parts. A320 Family final assembly line in Toulouse. Courtesy Airbus. Sofitec Aero is an aerostructures company that designs, manufactures, and assembles metallic and composite aircraft structures for major OEMs, including Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, Bombardier, and several Tier‑1 suppliers such as Spirit AeroSystems and Stelia. It is a privately held firm, founded in 1999. Thunderbirds F-16C Fighting Falcon Crashes in California The 57th Wing Public Affairs Office issued a statement saying, “On December 3, 2025, at approximately 10:45 a.m., a Thunderbird pilot safely ejected from a F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft during a training mission over controlled airspace in California. The pilot is in stable condition and receiving follow-on care.” The F‑16C went down during a routine training mission in controlled airspace over the Mojave Desert. The crash site is located in a remote desert area near the town of Trona, approximately two miles south of Trona Airport and about 27 miles from Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. Hydrazine: A Significant Hazard Each Time An F-16 Crashes (Or Fires Up The Emergency Power Unit) F‑16s use hydrazine in their emergency power units, so environmental and hazmat teams from Edwards Air Force Base were deployed to the site to evaluate and mitigate any hazardous materials concerns. The F-16's Emergency Power Unit (EPU) is a backup power system that utilizes H-70 (approximately 70% hydrazine and 30% water) to drive a small turbine, supplying emergency hydraulic and electrical power in the event of main engine or generator failure. Hydrazine is used because it is a monopropellant that can rapidly generate mechanical power without external oxygen, but it is also highly toxic, corrosive, and flammable, so its use is tightly controlled and largely limited to legacy or niche applications. US government selects contractor Peraton to lead air traffic control modernisation In Episode 865, we reported that two bids had been received to become the prime integrator for the FAA's project to overhaul the air traffic control system, called the Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS). They were Peraton and Parsons Corporation. Congress had approved $12.5 billion for the project, and the Agency has indicated that an additional $19 billion might be requested. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) selected Peraton as the prime integrator. The national security company is owned by Veritas Capital and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Flight Global says Peraton is a “provider of technologies for large, complex organisations, offering services including cyber security, systems engineering and modernisation, cloud computing and data management.” According to Veritas, the company specializes in buying and growing companies that sell technology and services to U.S. government agencies in defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. Examples include acquisitions or control of federal IT and mission‑support businesses such as Northrop Grumman's federal IT arm (combined into Peraton) and health IT and analytics providers serving Medicaid and Defense Health Agency programs. See also, What to know about the air traffic control overhaul and the company FAA hired to manage it. Union Urges ‘Back-to-Basics' Approach to Pilot Skills Captain Wendy Morse is a Boeing 787 captain and serves as first vice president and national safety coordinator at the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). In a recent interview at the Skift Aviation Forum in Fort Worth, she said the union is advocating for pilots to “go back to our roots” and maintain strong manual-flying proficiency throughout their careers. Morse said, “So the biggest thing is [getting] back to basics…We have to maintain a basic level of flying, a basic level of flying skills, and we have to continue to maintain those basics. This business about positive rate, gear up, [and] put on the autopilot is not a good idea. We have to keep flying the airplane so that we're good at it.” Boeing closes Spirit AeroSystems purchase in major supply chain realignment Boeing has completed its takeover of Spirit AeroSystems. Under the $4.7 billion deal, Boeing re-acquires most of Spirit AeroSystems. Airbus picks up parts of Spirit in its supply chain. Operations in Subang, Malaysia, went to Composites Technology Research Malaysia, and the subsidiary Fiber Materials was sold earlier this year to Tex-Tech Industries. Portions of the Belfast, Northern Ireland, operations will continue as an independent subsidiary branded as Short Brothers. Trump administration lets Southwest Airlines off the hook with a multimillion dollar waiver for 2022 holiday travel meltdown In 2023, the Biden administration fined Southwest Airlines $140 million for the 2022 holiday travel meltdown. The US Department of Transportation has now waived the final $11 million installment of that fine. The DOT says Southwest has made worthwhile investments in its operations control center and “the Department is of the view that it is more beneficial for the flying public to give Southwest credit for significantly improving its on-time performance and completion factor.” The 10-day schedule meltdown resulted in 17,000 canceled flights, roughly half of Southwest's holiday season flight schedule. Southwest paid out $600 million in refunds and reimbursements to passengers who were affected. Add in additional labor costs and lost revenue, and the airline reported a $914 million after-tax loss. Aviation News Follow-Up A320 Groundings – There Was No Solar Flare In Visual Approach, Airplane Geeks co-founder Courtney Miller argues that the data does not support the case that the October 30, 2025, uncommanded altitude decrease of a JetBlue A320 was caused by solar radiation. Looking at proton flux data, Courtney says, “We are talking about high-energy protons traveling from the sun to Earth, penetrating the Earth's protective magnetic field, and also penetrating the aircraft's hardware shielding to deliver what's called a Single-Event Upset (SEU). Another term you may have heard for it is a “bit flip”. The proton flux usually arrives associated with a solar flare, but not always. NOAA tracks and reports these events. In the days leading up to the “intense solar radiation” that Airbus referenced as the potential issue in the JetBlue upset, there was no intense solar radiation. The Visual Approach Advisory brings novel, data-driven, and contrarian answers to aviation clients around the world. Our bespoke consulting team is built with a focus on deep industry expertise, contrarian thought leadership, trusted independence, and opinionated results. We compete with the largest consulting firms by focusing on quality results and contrarian ideas. Pay-On-Delay Would Send Airfares Soaring, Says Transport Minister The Australian Federal Transport Minister, Catherine King, told ABC Radio in Sydney that an EU-style “pay-on-delay” compensation scheme would drive up airfares in Australia. The federal government has proposed airline customer protections, and the Minister's comments come after a consultation period ended. EU 261 requires that airlines pay passengers compensation for delays and cancellations within their control. King feels the Australian market is too small to sustain such a measure. “It is costly to administer compensation schemes. Those costs are generally passed on to passengers,” she said. Fliers without a compliant ID will have to pay TSA $45 next year The TSA says that starting in February 1, 2026, air travelers in the U.S. without a REAL ID will be charged a $45 fee. The initially planned $18 fee was raised after officials realized this identification program would cost more than anticipated. The fee applies to travelers 18 and older who are flying domestically without a REAL ID or other accepted form of ID. The non-refundable fee will be required to verify identity through the TSA Confirm.ID system. Confirm.ID replaces TSA's older manual “forgot my ID” procedures. It's a more automated, technology‑assisted process that uses a traveler's biographic and possibly biometric information to verify identity and screen against watchlists. Confirm.ID is meant as a last‑resort option for people who arrive at the checkpoint without a compliant ID, not as a routine substitute for REAL ID or a passport. The fee can be paid online before arriving at the airport. Travelers can also pay online at the airport before entering the security line, but officials said the process may take up to 30 minutes. Mentioned From the FAA: PackSafe – Portable Electronic Devices Containing Batteries Lithium Batteries in Baggage Hosts this Episode Max Flight, Rob Mark, and our Main(e) Man Micah.
In this panel session from the 2025 Data Center Frontier Trends Summit (Aug. 26-28) in Reston, Va., JLL's Sean Farney moderates a high-energy panel on how the industry is fast-tracking AI capacity in a world of power constraints, grid delays, and record-low vacancy. Under the banner “Scaling AI: The Role of Adaptive Reuse and Power-Rich Sites in GPU Deployment,” the discussion dives into why U.S. colocation vacancy is hovering near 2%, how power has become the ultimate limiter on AI revenue, and what it really takes to stand up GPU-heavy infrastructure at speed. Schneider Electric's Lovisa Tedestedt, Aligned Data Centers' Phill Lawson-Shanks, and Sapphire Gas Solutions' Scott Johns unpack the real-world strategies they're deploying today—from adaptive reuse of industrial sites and factory-built modular systems, to behind-the-fence natural gas, microgrids, and emerging hydrogen and RNG pathways. Along the way, they explore the coming “AI inference edge,” the rebirth of the enterprise data center, and how AI is already being used to optimize data center design and operations. During this talk, you'll learn: * Why record-low vacancy and long interconnection queues are reshaping AI deployment strategy. * How adaptive reuse of legacy industrial and commercial real estate can unlock gigawatt-scale capacity and community benefits. * The growing role of liquid cooling, modular skids, and grid-to-chip efficiency in getting more power to GPUs. * How behind-the-meter gas, virtual pipelines, and microgrids are bridging multi-year grid delays. * Why many experts expect a renaissance of enterprise data centers for AI inference at the edge. Moderator: Sean Farney, VP, Data Centers, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Panelists: Tony Grayson, General Manager, Northstar Lovisa Tedestedt, Strategic Account Executive – Cloud & Service Providers, Schneider Electric Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer, Aligned Data Centers Scott Johns, Chief Commercial Officer, Sapphire Gas Solutions
Recorded live at the 2025 Data Center Frontier Trends Summit in Reston, VA, this panel brings together leading voices from the utility, IPP, and data center worlds to tackle one of the defining issues of the AI era: power. Moderated by Buddy Rizer, Executive Director of Economic Development for Loudoun County, the session features: Jeff Barber, VP Global Data Centers, Bloom Energy Bob Kinscherf, VP National Accounts, Constellation Stan Blackwell, Director, Data Center Practice, Dominion Energy Joel Jansen, SVP Regulated Commercial Operations, American Electric Power David McCall, VP of Innovation, QTS Data Centers Together they explore how hyperscale and AI workloads are stressing today's grid, why transmission has become the critical bottleneck, and how on-site and behind-the-meter solutions are evolving from “bridge power” into strategic infrastructure. The panel dives into the role of gas-fired generation and fuel cells, emerging options like SMRs and geothermal, the realities of demand response and curtailment, and what it will take to recruit the next generation of engineers into this rapidly changing ecosystem. If you want a grounded, candid look at how energy providers and data center operators are working together to unlock new capacity for AI campuses, this conversation is a must-listen.
Live from the Data Center Frontier Trends Summit 2025 – Reston, VA In this episode, we bring you a featured panel from the Data Center Frontier Trends Summit 2025 (Aug. 26-28), sponsored by Schneider Electric. DCF Editor in Chief Matt Vincent moderates a fast-paced, highly practical conversation on what “AI for good” really looks like inside the modern data center—both in how we build for AI workloads and how we use AI to run facilities more intelligently. Expert panelists included: Steve Carlini, VP, Innovation and Data Center Energy Management Business, Schneider Electric Sudhir Kalra, Chief Data Center Operations Officer, Compass Datacenters Andrew Whitmore, VP of Sales, Motivair Together they unpack: How AI is driving unprecedented scale—from megawatt data halls to gigawatt AI “factories” and 100–600 kW rack roadmaps What Schneider and NVIDIA are learning from real-world testing of Blackwell and NVL72-class reference designs Why liquid cooling is no longer optional for high-density AI, and how to retrofit thousands of brownfield, air-cooled sites How Compass is using AI, predictive analytics, and condition-based maintenance to cut manual interventions and OPEX The shift from “constructing” to assembling data centers via modular, prefab approaches The role of AI in grid-aware operations, energy storage, and more sustainable build and operations practices Where power architectures, 800V DC, and industry standards will take us over the next five years If you want a grounded, operator-level view into how AI is reshaping data center design, cooling, power, and operations—beyond the hype—this DCF Trends Summit session is a must-listen.
Graphic Title: 1 in 5 UTIs? Graphic Note: Need Neal and Chuck on here with some raw chicken and turkey. Show Title: 95% Reduce Medications: Dr. Brad Moore on the Power Reversing Diseases Show Description: Discover how lifestyle medicine can reverse chronic disease in this powerful conversation between Chuck Carroll and Dr. Brad Moore, Director of the Lifestyle Medicine Program at George Washington Medical Faculty Associates. Dr. Moore explains why the root cause of conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and heart disease is often lifestyle—not genetics. He shares how simple changes in food, movement, sleep, and stress can dramatically improve health, reduce medications, and transform long-term outcomes. You'll learn what separates patients who succeed with lifestyle change from those who struggle, why focusing only on weight can backfire, and how sleep and stress alter hunger, cravings, and metabolism. Dr. Moore also breaks down the science behind insulin resistance, saturated fat, and rapid improvements seen when patients adopt a whole-food, plant-forward diet. This special bonus episode was recorded live at GreenFare Organic Cafe in Reston, VA. The menu is entirely free of salt, oil, and sugar and 100 percent organic. What You'll Learn: – How lifestyle medicine reverses chronic disease – Why genetics matter less than most people think – The truth about insulin resistance and saturated fat – Why focusing on weight alone slows progress – How sleep and stress affect appetite and metabolism – The difference between "cannonball" and "baby-step" approaches – Why 95% of lifestyle medicine patients reduce medications – How the military is incorporating lifestyle medicine – How to work with Dr. Brad Moore at GW
Welcome to this Thursday's edition of the Farmer Rapid Fire brought to you by Pioneer Seeds Canada! Today on the show, your host for the day, Lyndsey Smith, talks with: Mark Burnham of Cobourg, Ont.; Fred Grieg of Reston, Man.; Jason James of Drumheller, Alta; Rob Stone of Davidson, Sask.; and, Agronomist with Pioneer Seeds... Read More
Welcome to this Thursday's edition of the Farmer Rapid Fire brought to you by Pioneer Seeds Canada! Today on the show, your host for the day, Lyndsey Smith, talks with: Mark Burnham of Cobourg, Ont.; Fred Grieg of Reston, Man.; Jason James of Drumheller, Alta; Rob Stone of Davidson, Sask.; and, Agronomist with Pioneer Seeds... Read More
Have you ever thought about what else you might be able to do for a patient at your clinic that you are really stuck with? In today's episode, we'll talk about the new homeopathic treatment approach known as the Banerji protocols, which was developed and popularized by the late Dr. Pareshnath Banerji. Nimisha will assist in delving into and broadening our minds even more about specialized homeopathic treatments for diseases based on symptoms in addition to the typical practice in classical homeopathy. Nimisha Parekh graduated from the College of Practical Homeopathy in the UK in 2003. She specializes in the Narayani Remedies and Banerji Protocols and runs courses on these as well as other topics in homeopathy. She has written three books – one on the Narayani Remedies and two on the Banerji Protocols – Additional Banerji Protocols from the Clinic and Materia Medica - Remedies of the Banerji Protocols. The latter was launched at the JAHC 2022 in Reston, Virginia. This Materia Medica attempts to explain the use of the carefully-chosen remedies in the protocols, and the information is limited to the symptoms and spheres of action of these remedies in the Banerji Protocols. Check out these episode highlights: 04:57 - First introduction to the Banerji protocols 15:21 - How does the Banerji protocols came about 21:03 - How can Banerji protocols be used by practitioners and home users 23:32 - What materia medica really means 29:58 - The additional protocols from the clinic book 32:17 - The importance of understanding the protocols and why they are used 34:27 - How do you know if you're using the right remedies Link for Banerji Books by Nimisha Parekh: www.narayaniremedies.com https://buythebanerjiprotocols.com/ E-courses: www.transforminghomeopathy.simplero.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/transforminghomeopathy The complete index and sample page can be seen on the website – www.narayaniremedies.com. Please click on "books" and scroll down. To purchase the book, you need to register on the website. MY AIM IN PUTTING THIS BOOK TOGETHER: This book came about from my quest for learning and understanding the Banerji Protocols rather than just using them blindly. The Banerji doctors were such experienced homeopaths that it was intimidating to ask them why a certain remedy was in a protocol. When asked, they would simply reply that it was from their years of experience. I remember asking Dr Prasanta a question when we were together at a conference in Germany - he kindly laughed and said, "Do you want me to teach you homeopathy?" This inspired me to start digging through my collection of homeopathic books, nothing comparable to the large library at the Banerji home. It has been an interesting journey and brought about the realization of how little I know! I have limited the symptoms and spheres of action in most cases to the use of the remedy in the Banerji Protocol so as not to create yet another voluminous Materia Medica. Where possible, I have included some tips and interesting information. Over 200 remedies and combination remedies have been discussed. I am everlastingly thankful to both Dr Prasanta Banerji and Dr Pratip Banerji for their generosity and kindness during my visits to the Banerji Clinic in Kolkata. If you would like to support the Homeopathy Hangout Podcast, please consider making a donation by visiting www.EugenieKruger.com and click the DONATE button at the top of the site. Every donation about $10 will receive a shout-out on a future episode. Join my Homeopathy Hangout Podcast Facebook community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HelloHomies Here is the link to my free 30-minute Homeopathy@Home online course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqBUpxO4pZQ&t=438s Upon completion of the course - and if you live in Australia - you can join my Facebook group for free acute advice (you'll need to answer a couple of questions about the course upon request to join): www.facebook.com/groups/eughom
KIDD's paranoia about his smoke detector. The recent iPhone update has a cool new feature that screens your calls. Miley Cyrus recently shared that people always assume she smokes b/c of her raspy voice. What's an assumption people make about you based on a physical attribute? CFD REPLAY...Jenn in Reston went on a date with a guy who wanted her to become a sister-wife. CALLS about physical assumptions. Marcus from Bethesda and Alyssa from Manassas.
Two companies bid to become the Brand New Air Traffic Control System prime integrator, FAA issues carry-on SAFO, 737 MAX production limits eased, P&W and GE adaptive cycle engines, Sikorsky contract for CH-53K helicopters, and Sergei Sikorsky passes away at age 100. Aviation News Two bidders vie to be project manager of massive FAA US air traffic overhaul Two bids to become the prime integrator in the FAA's project to overhaul the air traffic control system have been received. Congress has approved $12.5 billion for the Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS), and the Agency has indicated that an additional $19 billion might be requested. The bids come from two DC Beltway companies: Peraton is a national security company owned by Veritas Capital and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. See the press release: Peraton Offers the FAA a Brand New Approach for Its Revolutionary ATC Modernization Initiative. Parsons Corporation is a technology provider in national security and global infrastructure markets. Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, Parsons confirmed it has bid with IBM. The FAA says it will make a selection by the end of October. FAA urges airlines to discourage passengers from taking bags during evacuations The FAA issued Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO 25003, PDF) titled “Addressing Risk Associated with Passenger Non-Compliance and Retention of Carry-On Baggage and Personal Items During Emergency Evacuations.” The SAFO “Serves to emphasize the operational and safety-critical importance of strict passenger compliance with crewmember instructions during emergency evacuations. Specifically, it addresses the adverse effects of passengers attempting to evacuate with carry-on items, which can significantly impede evacuation procedures and increase the potential for injury or fatality.” FAA Signals Easing of Oversight on Boeing Jets The FAA is expecting to restore Boeing's ability to conduct safety sign-offs on new 737 MAX jets. Final airworthiness certificates will continue to be issued by the regulator The FAA is also considering increasing Boeing's 737 MAX production cap from 38 to 42 planes per month. Engines for America's F-47 Sixth Gen Combat Aircraft Coming Together Faster Than Expected The F-47 is being developed as part of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Family of Systems. It's a stealthy air superiority aircraft that can directly engage adversaries on the ground and in the air. It will be able to fly itself as well as collaborate with and control wingman drones. The propulsion system being developed under the Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion (NGAP) program is a concept that offers two modes of operation, which can be dynamically adjusted in flight: high thrust and high speed, and lower thrust with reduced fuel burn. Adaptive cycle engines can modulate the bypass ratio and fan pressure using a third air stream and advanced variable geometry components. Both Pratt & Whitney and General Electric are developing NGAP engines. Airbus, Air France reject blame over AF447 crash, 16 years on Air France 447 crashed in the Atlantic in 2009. In a 2023 trial, the judge found acts of negligence by Airbus and Air France, but determined that, under French criminal law, these acts were insufficient to establish a definitive link to the loss of the A330. Both Airbus and Air France were cleared of corporate manslaughter. In an appeals hearing, the two companies pleaded not guilty. Air France and Airbus chief executives recognized the suffering of the families, but denied any criminal responsibility for the crash. Appeal hearings are expected to run until late November 2025. Sikorsky to Build 99 CH-53K King Stallions for the U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky announced the award of a $10.8 billion contract from the U.S. Navy to build up to 99 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters for the U.S. Marine Corps over the next five years.
Fishing buddies part two. Rob recounts stories about those he has fished alongside throughout the years. From Lenny in Florida to Dan at Mossy Creek, this episode is lengthy, yet it doesn't cover all of his fishing partners and their remarkable narratives. Regrettably, there simply isn't enough time to share every tale. Since childhood, Rob has taken friends on exciting adventures across Reston and Frederiksberg, Virginia, to the Florida Keys, and even to Crested Butte, Colorado. His friends have encountered snakes, poison ivy, jellyfish, caterpillars, feisty sea lions, and pinching crabs. They have braved temperatures from freezing to scorching hot. Greasy burgers and Slurpees have been part of their journey. Rob wishes to convey his appreciation to all his friends who have accompanied him in his endeavor to challenge boundaries in pursuit of fish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Wed, Sep 17 3:57 PM → 4:10 PM Reston VA - Fairfax County Fire Rescue - Garden style apartment fire with food on the stove. Radio Systems: - Fairfax County Project 25
We Can Find Common Ground Even in Washington, D.C. Good Faith's series of Campfire Stories invites listeners to hear how ordinary people are living out extraordinary faith in complex times. In this episode, Daniel, a pastor in Reston, Virginia, reflects on 23 years of ministry near Washington D.C., where politics and faith are in constant conversation. Inspired to bring the community – inside and outside of his church – together through civic discourse, he championed an initiative to create spaces for meal sharing and meaningful dialogue, creating curiosity and seeking unity across political lines. Daniel's story shows how one pastor can change the way we do church to cultivate reconciliation, hope, and community in the most polarized of towns. Send your Campfire Stories to: info@redeemingbabel.org
Reformed Brotherhood | Sound Doctrine, Systematic Theology, and Brotherly Love
In this episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony Arsenal and Jesse Schwamb dive deep into the intersection of pop culture, entertainment, and the Christian life. They explore how Christians can engage with leisure and media in a way that glorifies God, applying biblical principles like those found in 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Ecclesiastes 3. The hosts emphasize the importance of balancing Christian liberty and holiness, while also recognizing the practical role of rest and recreation in human flourishing. Through personal anecdotes and theological insights, they provide listeners with a framework for discerning entertainment choices, encouraging believers to enjoy God's good gifts without compromising their faith. Key Takeaways: Entertainment is a Gift from God: Leisure and entertainment, when approached rightly, are part of God's common grace meant to refresh and restore us. Biblical Principles for Consumption: 1 Corinthians 10:31 reminds Christians that all activities, including entertainment, should glorify God. If an activity cannot do so, it may be unlawful. Christian Liberty and Prudence: Decisions about pop culture often fall under the domain of Christian liberty, constrained by wisdom and prudence rather than legalistic rules. The Importance of Rest: Rest is not just about recharging for productivity; it is a God-given means of worship and human flourishing in its own right. Guarding Against Sinful Influences: Christians should be cautious of consuming media that promotes sin, as it can subtly shape their worldview and lead them astray. Personal Convictions and Context Matter: What is permissible for one believer may not be wise or beneficial for another, depending on individual struggles and contexts. Recreation Should Point Back to God: Whether through beauty, creativity, or storytelling, entertainment can lead Christians to worship God when consumed with discernment. Entertainment as a Gift from God Tony and Jesse emphasize that entertainment, when properly enjoyed, is a part of God's common grace. This means that activities like watching a movie, playing a video game, or reading a novel are not inherently sinful but can serve as vehicles for rest and refreshment. Drawing from Ecclesiastes 3, they highlight that God has ordained seasons for both work and rest. True rest, they argue, is not about escaping responsibilities but about enjoying God's gifts in ways that glorify Him and restore our energy to serve others. When approached with discernment, even "secular" forms of entertainment can reflect God's creativity and goodness. Applying Biblical Principles to Entertainment The hosts discuss how 1 Corinthians 10:31 provides a litmus test for media consumption: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." This principle challenges believers to ask whether their entertainment choices align with God's glory. For example, content that promotes or glamorizes sin—whether through violence, sexual immorality, or blasphemy—should give Christians pause. However, they also note that some depictions of sin in fiction can serve a redemptive purpose, such as illustrating the consequences of sin or the beauty of redemption. The key is to thoughtfully evaluate whether the media being consumed inclines the heart toward holiness or pulls it away from God. Christian Liberty and Prudence Tony and Jesse stress the importance of Christian liberty in deciding on entertainment choices, while cautioning against legalism. They explain that Christian liberty does not mean a license to sin but rather the freedom to make God-honoring decisions in areas where Scripture does not provide explicit commands. Prudence and wisdom must guide these decisions. For instance, a particular TV show or game may be permissible for one believer but harmful for another, depending on their personal struggles or circumstances. This underscores the need for self-awareness and reliance on the Holy Spirit to discern what is spiritually beneficial. Quotes: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. If we cannot glorify God in an activity, it's likely unlawful for us as Christians." – Jesse Schwamb "Recreation is not just about recharging for productivity; it has its own value in glorifying God and enjoying His good gifts." – Tony Arsenal "Every story worth telling reflects, in some way, the greatest story ever told: redemption through Christ." – Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript: [00:00:30] Introduction and Episode Overview [00:00:30] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 457 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse. [00:00:37] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast where sound doctrine meets brotherly love. Hey brother. [00:00:44] Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother. So we're in a whole series of little one-off conversations, all kinds of things that just pop into our head, or we've had on a list somewhere that we thought, you know what? [00:00:55] Jesse Schwamb: Someday we should talk about that. And I think we've got another great. Conversation coming up on this episode, we're gonna get into a little bit about how Christians should interact with and consume pop culture maybe, and especially things like entertainment. And I know that there are gonna be people out there thinking, wow, these guys are gonna do what reform people always do. [00:01:15] Jesse Schwamb: They're just gonna come out into their lawn, they're gonna shake their fists angrily at the sky, they're gonna yell at the birds. It might not be that way, loved ones, but you're gonna have to wait. We're gonna talk about it. It's gonna be good. We're gonna get after it. We all do it. Everybody loves a bit of a to consume pop culture. [00:01:31] Jesse Schwamb: Is it possible it might be somewhat of a gift that God has given us? Who knows? Maybe it is, maybe it's not, but we'll get to that. But first, let's affirm with or denying against something in the world. So what have you got for us on this episode, Tony? [00:01:45] Tony's Frustrating Customer Service Experience [00:01:45] Tony Arsenal: I'm gonna keep mine super short. It was a frustrating customer service experience, uh, that I had today. [00:01:52] Tony Arsenal: In general, I, I have, uh, Comcast or Xfinity Internet in general. I'm actually very pleased. Their service. Um, I, I actually find them to be responsive. Um, I've managed to get a decent price. I don't have Comcast television, so that's probably part of it. Um, but I, my cable modem. Slash router, which I've had, I don't know, probably for like eight years. [00:02:13] Tony Arsenal: Um, it finally died, so I bit the bullet and bought a brand new one. And those man, those things have gotten expensive and um, you know, it's supposed to be a super easy installation. You plug it in, you do the little thing on the app and it didn't work. So I had to connect with customer service through the app, and. [00:02:30] Tony Arsenal: It seemed like everything was going fine. And then all of a sudden I get a link in my text message and the lady who's chatting with me on the thing says, well just, just scroll down and click on where it says accept and then hit okay. And I was like, that seems sketchy. So I read it and she was, she had sent me a link to change my internet service. [00:02:51] Tony Arsenal: Uh, she was giving me a 90, an $80 promotional price for the first year. Uh, but then it went up to $140 after the first year. Wow. So I went back to the chat app and I said, I'm sorry, I, I must have miscommunicated something. I don't need to change my service. I just need to activate my modem. She said, oh, no, no, you're not changing your service. [00:03:11] Tony Arsenal: And I said, no, I, I definitely am. She goes, let me explain this to you. And she went through and tried, like, she went through and she's like, your speed is this and you're paying this. And I said, and I said, with all due respect, I'm not stupid. I can see that you're trying to change my service and I'm just not interested. [00:03:27] Tony Arsenal: And I had to fight with her for like 10 minutes before I finally said, just activate my modem, please. I'm not interested. Full stop. So I, I guess I'm just denying. I get, I get it. Like, you gotta try to upsell. I used to be in sales. I don't have any problem with you trying to upsell. I, I don't even necessarily have a problem with you trying to be clever and like, you know, intentional about how you upsell. [00:03:48] Tony Arsenal: Like there are ways that you can do that without being deceptive. This was just deceptive. So I'm not denying Comcast. I'm pleased with my service. I'm denying this particular person and this really just underhanded tactic. It was really, really upsetting. I mean, [00:04:02] Jesse Schwamb: there is nothing like good customer service, right? [00:04:04] Jesse Schwamb: I mean, the converse of that is what a blessing it is, and it's kind of a lesson to all of us and how we treat one another. That is whether we're providing the service or we ourselves are consuming it. It is just such a blessing. It's like so easy and so light when you get somebody who really wants to help you. [00:04:21] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And. You know, I would not have changed my service, but I can imagine that somebody who was looking and was interested, if she had just said straightforwardly, like your internet that you have is far slower than the modem that you're, you're installing, right? Um, we can get you a faster internet speed and give you a, a large discount for the first year. [00:04:42] Tony Arsenal: Are you interested in that? I think a good portion of people would just say yes. Even if they didn't think it through, they would just say, oh yeah, sure. Faster speed, less money. They, they wouldn't think it through. That's not deceptive. If you present an option, honestly, to a consumer and they take it and they didn't understand the terms, that's not deception. [00:04:58] Tony Arsenal: That's on them as the consumer for not thinking through what they're purchasing. This was just straight out, like, don't read it, just click on it, it's fine. Totally underhanded, deceptive. Um, and, and you know, I work in. Sort of a kind of customer service and I just can't imagine ever doing something that shady and calling it customer service. [00:05:15] Tony Arsenal: I was, I was very disappointed. [00:05:17] Jesse Schwamb: But I mean, everybody has customers, right? Yeah. Everybody has somebody they're responsible to, and everybody has people to whom they should be responsible in the kind of care. Whatever you provide to somebody, whether it's your family, it's in your church, it's in your job, so, right. [00:05:30] Jesse Schwamb: I like that. It's a good reminder because again, there's nothing like walking away from experience and being like, wow, that was so easy, or that person was so good to help me. Yeah. Or like they really got me to the end that I was looking for and they did it and I felt better afterwards than I did before I called. [00:05:43] Jesse Schwamb: That should be like our goal, like what does great look like in every interaction that we can have with somebody. [00:05:48] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse, what are you affirming or denying tonight? [00:05:52] Jesse's Affirmation: The Plana App for Plant Care [00:05:52] Jesse Schwamb: I'm going back to the app. Well, and by that was a really weird saying of just, I'm gonna affirm with another app. So I really love a good house plant, but I'm no good at the house plants. [00:06:02] Jesse Schwamb: I really like the way they look. It's a lot of pressure with house plans. Maybe people feel this way. Maybe you've not purchased a house plant or been like, I can't be that person. So here's something that I can confirm with for you. Loved one, it's a app called Plana. It's a Swedish plant care app, and it's designed to help both like novice people like me and I guess really experienced plant owners keep their house and garden plants healthy, which I know sounds super boring, but hear me out on this. [00:06:27] Jesse Schwamb: This is what's cool about this. It offers smart, personalized care reminders for things like watering, fertilizing, misting, repotting, and it has all these things where if you, there's paid subscription for this as well, which I do not have, but I looked at all the options. There's some super cool things like you can use your phone to sense where your plan is sitting, how much light it's getting to really tell you, is this the right spot for my plant? [00:06:49] Jesse Schwamb: Because you know, like some plants are like, we need partial sunlight and partial shade and afternoon sun and direct sun, and you need to water me, but not too much and not so often, but just the right amount. It's a lot of pressure. So it's got all these fun features in it, including like an AI doctor. So you can take a look or a picture of your plant rather, and not only will it describe what plants you have, of course, but it will help you say like, Hey, this thing is not healthy. [00:07:08] Jesse Schwamb: Here's what you should do. So the plant app is, might be your foray into feeling more confident about having some greenery in your house. [00:07:16] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, I, um, I could kill a plastic plant. I could kill like a fake plant, uh, without trying, uh, but I might check this out. You, you've seen my, my home. You've been here? [00:07:26] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Um, my, my house is, it's a, a mobile home and so it's, it's just one long line and it's situated like almost directly east, west. So I get direct sunlight over the top of the house pretty much the entire day. And we have really beautiful, um. Violet cone plants and some other like lilies on one end of the house, um, that the previous owner planted. [00:07:46] Tony Arsenal: They're very beautiful, but um, they just get baked in the sun and there's gotta be something that can be done to sort of help them through this. Maybe it's more water or something like that. So maybe I'll check this out and see if that can help. 'cause they're not, they're not doing great. Um, they, they didn't bloom very well this year. [00:08:00] Tony Arsenal: Mm-hmm. And I'm, I'm wondering if it might be, I dunno, it's been kind of dry, um, this part of the year, more than usual, so I'll check that out. That sounds like a good recommendation. There's a couple of different apps. This one sounds good. [00:08:10] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, it's, there's certainly a lot of stuff that you can get free in it. [00:08:14] Jesse Schwamb: Of course, they want to upsell you like you just talked about. They're, no, no, they're no Comcast, but they definitely would like you to purchase all their other features, and I bet for the right person, it's totally worth it. But I feel so much more confident now. Mainly just the watering. If you surprised how like much pressure. [00:08:30] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, like aloe plants and also I'm learning the names of my plants finally, which makes me feel more connected. This, this is, listen, this is like the app to help you take dominion in your house over house plants, which sounds like the lowest form of taking dominion, but honestly still shows how complex and complicated life can be and how God has made everything in this really wonderful way. [00:08:52] Jesse Schwamb: So I'm feeling more empowered to love my plants and to hopefully keep them growing. I was gonna say for generations, but I doubt that I'll be passing on links, plants for generations, but hopefully getting just lots more greenery into our living spaces, which is always super fun. [00:09:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I, I, um, I would like to have more plants, but I just, with between toddlers and dogs and my ability to kill anything green that is in my home, uh, I don't think it would be good. [00:09:19] Tony Arsenal: That's your, your sister who is My wife does a good job with plants, but even the, yeah, she does, even, even that the plants die just because they're around me. I'm not sure what it is. I have like a, I hear it, listen, an aura of some sort that just kills plants. [00:09:32] Discussing Christians and Pop Culture [00:09:32] Jesse Schwamb: It's, it's difficult sometimes to grow in soil, which is, I, one of the things I presume Christians often feel like when they're in the culture and when, mm-hmm. [00:09:41] Jesse Schwamb: Do. Do you like that segue? We're so good with this. I do. And when you are consuming, let me say pop culture, or you find yourself in a place where you want entertainment and you want to rest, and I think if you're a Christian for any length of time, you start to ask yourself, okay, so what's my place in all of this? [00:09:59] Jesse Schwamb: And what's interesting when I thought about this topic, which you graciously put forward for us, was that I think several times we've mentioned kind of cultural things often in the affirmation and denial section. Yeah. Where we've. Maybe come hard alongside something and said, this seems good. And other times we've definitely said, this seems very, very bad. [00:10:17] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. But we've never really had just a pretty honest conversation about, okay, so how does the Christian discern, what is the Christian's role in making that discernment? And how can we, like our house plants grow and flourish in that kind of environment to such a degree that we are actually bearing fruit by the power of the Holy Spirit. [00:10:36] Jesse Schwamb: And yet, of course, separate. From that culture in which we still find ourselves. [00:10:41] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And I, you know, I think it bears saying, um, much of popular culture, media, whatever it might be, a lot of it is going to be a matter of Christian prudence and liberty. And I think it's important to say that because I think, you know, we'll talk about, we'll probably talk about like principles we use to try to determine whether we, you know, individually or, or whatever. [00:11:04] Tony Arsenal: We're going to watch something or listen to something, but. The, the Bible doesn't say like thou shalt, and I'm gonna say this example, and it's a little bit ironic because this is actually a show that I think is pretty black and white. But it, it's not like the Bible says, thou shalt not watch Game of Thrones. [00:11:20] Tony Arsenal: Right. Um. Right. Like thou shalt not. Listen to, I don't know who the kids are listening to. Britney Spears like tells you when The last time I listened to popular music was, is Britney Spears is the name on my mind. But like thou shalt not listen to, I dunno, Paramore, I don't know name. Name your pop culture band. [00:11:37] Tony Arsenal: The Bible doesn't give us explicit instructions about specific bands. Movies, shows, insert, pop, you know, novels, whatever it might be. It does give us some wisdom principles. And then of course, there's God's moral law, uh, but even God's moral law does not. Necessarily apply directly to every pop culture choice we might make. [00:12:04] Tony Arsenal: So I'm sure Jesse and I don't have identical opinions. I'm gonna guess that our thoughts are probably pretty close just because, you know, we're influenced by the same people and we, we are running in the same broader theological circles, but they're probably not identical. There are probably things that Jesse would watch that I'd go, oh, I don't know if that's such a great thing for me. [00:12:22] Tony Arsenal: And there's probably things I would feel comfortable with that Jesse might say, eh, I'm not so sure about that. This is usually a matter of Christian liberty constrained by Christian prudence and wisdom. So before we get into any of the nitty gritty or any specific talk of anything particular, I wanna get that out there because yes, we have to be wise, we have to. [00:12:44] Tony Arsenal: Apply God's law, but we are not able to bind other people's conscience and you are not able to bind other people's conscience based on your own particular opinion about something or your own interpretation of how the Bible is to be applied to a particular decision. Um. You know, again, you can speak into a situation. [00:13:03] Tony Arsenal: You, especially if you have a relationship with someone, you can say, Hey, I don't think this is healthy. I don't think this is in conformity with God's law, but at the end of the day, that is between that Christian and God as to whether or not they are applying God's law appropriately and, and in to an extent, and to a great extent between them and their elders. [00:13:21] Tony Arsenal: Right? The elders have a, a different role of authority in a, in a Christian's life than other Christians do. And [00:13:27] Jesse Schwamb: it might be worth saying as we begin that we're kind of talking about this, I think in part because we all feel that pull to consume pop culture, and what I kind of teased at the beginning is this idea, is it possible that, I think we're really speaking about consuming that in a kind of a way of entertainment of like rest and relaxation. [00:13:45] Jesse Schwamb: Principally there. There are other reasons I think as well, and that might be to edify, to educate, but I think principally when we feel this compulsion to say, well, I like you, just give great examples. Listen to music, watch a sporting event, watch tv, read something fiction or nonfiction. I think what we're after there is this idea that we want to rest and that understanding that entertainment is a part of the rest that God intends for us to enjoy from our labors is by itself, full stop, a legitimate thing. [00:14:13] Jesse Schwamb: So the question is. A little bit more nuanced. Where is that line? You already gave, I think a pretty good example of something that you and I would agree on would say that that's a bridge to fight across. Don't watch that thing, right? Yeah, do something else. But the question is how did we get to that place in making that judgment? [00:14:28] Jesse Schwamb: And is there a place in there where we would say, well, the Bible is an explicit about, let's say certain medium or even like specific things within that medium that it is outspoken enough that we ought to say. No, we will not do that. So I think this is what we're after in part, is this proper use of entertainment involving, of course, analyzing worldviews, appreciating elements of beauty and creativity, acknowledging reflections of truth. [00:14:53] Jesse Schwamb: But that also that in some way, all of this is God's gift to us. That while the Bible does not give us a great deal of explicit statements about how believers are to view entertainment, there is much we can draw out to scripture by way of good and necessary consequence to borrow language from somewhere else. [00:15:10] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:15:11] Applying Biblical Principles to Entertainment Choices [00:15:11] Tony Arsenal: And I also think too, like this is a question that often is presented as very simple and very like cut and dry, but it can be a lot more complicated than you think. And here's an example, and we don't have to get into this particular example, but let's do it. You know, I think a lot of times people, um, will take the example of blasphemy. [00:15:32] Tony Arsenal: Right, and a show that is, or a, a video game, whatever it is, content that is intentionally blaspheming, God is something that at a bare minimum, Christians should be very wary of participating in and consuming just because it, it's something that openly dishonors God is probably not something Christians should be eager to participate in or to consume, but. [00:15:56] Tony Arsenal: Um, there, there are instances where a, a show or a, a video game or a book contains a fictionalized blast swimming of God that actually may serve the greater purpose of glorifying God. So if you think of like, um. Think of a, a book or a a movie where there is a character who is a non-Christian, and over the course of the book, they are shown to be blaspheming God, and then they experience a conversion. [00:16:24] Tony Arsenal: And the purpose of the, the purpose of the book is to glorify God through this conversion redemption story. That it character in that fictionalized universe is blasphemy God within that universe, right? Or within that fictionalized story. But the purpose of that blasphemy is actually to serve the greater purpose of glorifying God. [00:16:46] Tony Arsenal: So that's not to say that automatically anything like that gets a pass, right? That can be done well, that can be done poorly. That can be done in a way that actually glorifies God. It can be done in a way that doesn't actually hit the mark. But it's not as simple as to say, this character in this show. [00:17:00] Tony Arsenal: Engaged in blasphemy. Therefore, we should never consume that show. We have to do some actual thinking and some actual analysis of what's going on in order to. Understand whether or not it actually is violating God's law. Now there are probably some things, um, you know, like graphic sex scenes. There's really no reason, um, for Christians to feel drawn to shows that contain that. [00:17:25] Tony Arsenal: Again, this is, this is, um, I, I, at this point in my life and I, in earlier periods in my life, I might have been more black and white on this. I am not here to tell you what you can and can't watch. That's not my role. I'm not the Holy Spirit. I'm not your pastor. I'm not any of the persons or people who have an obligation to tell you what is or isn't, right? [00:17:46] Tony Arsenal: Like I'm not that person. But I cannot think of personally a reason why a Christian would, would need to, or should ever participate in like enjoying a show that contains graphic sex scenes. Um. The people making those have to sin in order to make those scenes right. So there are, there are things we should consider. [00:18:12] Tony Arsenal: Are kind of always off board, right? It's always off board to do physical harm to somebody in the service of making a movie, right? So if you have a movie where people are, are actively trying to hurt each other in order to produce the film, I'm not sure that we should participate in that. I wouldn't feel comfortable if I knew that was going on in a film. [00:18:28] Tony Arsenal: I don't, I don't, you know, again, other Christians might, and we can have a conversation about that, but we have to think about those things. Do the actors. Do the people who are creating the content, do they have to sin in order to create it? If that, if the answer is yes, we as Christians, I think should be extremely, extremely wary of, of even watching or consuming those things. [00:18:49] Tony Arsenal: So those are the kinds of questions and situations that I think need to be list like thought about as we approach pop culture. But I also think, Jesse, you know, you made the point to that. Popular culture, entertainment broadly is a gift from God for us to enjoy. Right? And it's okay to enjoy it. It's okay for us to participate in that. [00:19:09] Tony Arsenal: You know, we're not, we're not the people who are gonna say to you like, well, you know, every minute you spend, uh, reading, I don't know, uh, reading will of the many, every minute you spend reading Will of the many you could spend witnessing to people, right? So therefore, you should never read Will of the many or The Hobbit or whatever it might be. [00:19:27] Tony Arsenal: Um, but we should think carefully about what we consume, how much of it we consume, when we consume it, all those are questions that the Christian needs to ask themselves. [00:19:35] Jesse Schwamb: I agree. I think the broad test here is actually not that difficult to comprehend. It's probably more that we sometimes hesitate to apply it because we're afraid of what it might mean for the stuff that we're consuming. [00:19:46] Jesse Schwamb: So again, like ceasing from our work in order to rest holds us together like that, that is something that God gives us as a pattern relaxation that we should take joy in. It must be the right amounts of lawful entertainment or consumption of all of this stuff in pop culture, but it is there. I think like even God gives it our own cultures as a means for us to find that kind of rest and to find some comradery and solidarity even with those in whom we interact and live with. [00:20:13] Jesse Schwamb: I think all of that's fine. Like you've said, it gets a little tricky when we start thinking about, well, where is that appropriate line? What is our conviction? But I think part of the problem with that is that we might not be seeking out conviction for ourselves. We not be asking because we hate to find that there is conviction in things that we're watching because there's gonna be a lot of things'. [00:20:31] Jesse Schwamb: That society's gonna be preoccupied with for entertainment for its own sake. And again, it's an indicator that everybody, men and women, even children, are seeking rest from the burden of their work and that rest is okay. Even that itself, like you're saying, Tony, it's interesting. I think so much we're gonna come back to is this idea of it. [00:20:47] Jesse Schwamb: Is, are we redeeming what we're doing in this process? Are we being not just thoughtful about discerning, adjudicating, or interrogating what we're watching and listening and reading, but as we do it, are we thoughtful people? Are we seeing the themes even in those joyous things that we find as entertainment that draw us back to the goodness of God that explains something about the world he's created or his own character finding? [00:21:10] Jesse Schwamb: Of course, that in every story is just a reflection of the greatest story ever told. Like, yeah, all of those themes, all the things we are drawn to that we gravitate towards. That move us. All of those things still come from God. And so therefore, even our entertainment can serve this purpose of not just alleviating our minds and bodies from the burden of ongoing labor in a fallen world, but can also draw, draw us back to God's common grace and his particular grace for his people who are always sinners. [00:21:34] Jesse Schwamb: So here's the the first test. I think it's the most simple one. And everybody's gonna throw their listening devices at the wall because it's the one that's the most straightforward. It's the one you might've been thinking you're gonna get to eventually, and let's just get it out of the way. I don't say that because it's not worthwhile. [00:21:49] Jesse Schwamb: I say it because it's exactly the kind of worthwhile test that we should apply, and it applies perfectly in every situation. And that's the Apostle Paul setting out in one Corinthians 10 31. Here it is. This is like. You know, top 20 reform verses whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. [00:22:07] Jesse Schwamb: So the beauty of this is I think just first pass, first blush, top of the house. If we cannot engage in an entertaining activity in such a way as to glorify God, then it's just unlawful. And by way of contrast, if you can, then we're justified in viewing it as a gift of God's common grace. I, I just throw it out there to start with. [00:22:26] Jesse Schwamb: I, I think that it's not that we found that this particular test has been tried and left wanting, but rather we haven't tried it very well. Oftentimes. Yeah. At least for my own sake. And instead we say, well, the Bible just isn't clear. But if you're, watch your point, Tony. If you're watching something that is gratuitous in any way, and you stop and say. [00:22:44] Jesse Schwamb: Am I glorifying God in the consumption of this? I think it's really difficult to make a strong argument that in some way you are actively, not just passively and saying like, well, it's okay and there's gonna be a redeeming story plot in here somewhere, I hope. But are we actively, whenever, whenever we're doing or we're consuming these things, are we actually glorifying God? [00:23:02] Jesse Schwamb: Is God glorified in. What's happening with my mind, my thoughts, my body, my eyes, my conversations, how this shapes me, how this changes my worldview. If we have to answer that God is not glorified there, then to my view, it's unlawful. And I think also in the eyes of the Apostle Paul. [00:23:19] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:23:20] Personal Convictions and Christian Liberty [00:23:20] Tony Arsenal: And you know, I think something that is important to, um. [00:23:24] Tony Arsenal: Comment on and think about when we sort of apply that test, that test really has more to do with what's going on in our heart. Yes. When we are consuming any particular part, you know, any particular media than it necessarily has to do with the media itself. I think there are some things, um, that. Just cannot be consumed to the glory of God. [00:23:46] Tony Arsenal: Right? You can't watch pornography to the glory of God, like you just can't do it. Um, you can't, you can't watch people murder each other for, you know, to the glory of God. But the vast majority of things that are out there, um, the, the, the question you're asking is not primarily grounded in the content itself. [00:24:07] Tony Arsenal: It's, it's grounded in. What the content does to us and in us and how we process it. And I think that's why I, you know, I always wanna say for most things, this goes back to Christian Liberty and. Christian Liberty is not a license to sin. It's, it's a freedom to, um, to obey, right? It's a freedom and it's a range of possibilities to obey God in different ways, in different situations, rather than some tightly constrained, tightly restricted behavioral code, right? [00:24:39] Tony Arsenal: There is a law. God gives us a law. We talked about this at length when we did the 10 commandment series. He gives us a law, but this law is a set of 10 principles for godly living. Not a, an exhaustive list of do this, don't do that. Right? So the seventh commandment, you know, for media. Is this inclining my mind towards chastity and purity of thought, right? [00:25:02] Tony Arsenal: For those of us who are married, is this likely to, um, create a barrier in my relationship with my wife, or is this likely to enhance the relationship I have with my wife? Is this. Particular thing I'm doing, this video game that I play, is this likely to draw my attention away from my children when they need me? [00:25:19] Tony Arsenal: Or is it something that I have that is likely to increase my ability to pay attention to my children? Or am I able to properly balance the demands that my children have and the needs my children have while I still play this video game, just as an example. So we can still use those 10 principles to help guide us, but the way that those. [00:25:38] Tony Arsenal: The way that the law is applied to these questions and how it is, is gonna be unique, I think almost, almost across the board for things. It's gonna be unique to each individual, right? One person may be able to, yeah, like my big thing and I like, okay, I'm just gonna put this out there. I'm just gonna lay myself bare here. [00:25:55] Tony Arsenal: If I could say that I have one actual real addiction in life, it's probably World of Warcraft, and I know that sounds probably really silly, but even me saying and saying the phrase World of Warcraft, in my mind I'm like, could I figure out a way that I could go back in and play that game? Like they call it World of Warcraft for a reason. [00:26:14] Tony Arsenal: It is super addictive and it's very easy to fall back into it. I'm sure there are people out there who can perfectly just fine, could manage their life of having children and a wife and a job and, you know, service to the church and still play World of Warcraft for a couple hours a week or, or an hour every night and still be just fine. [00:26:33] Tony Arsenal: I cannot do that. If I subscribe to World of Warcraft, it will imbalance my life such that something that God is calling me to, that I know God is calling me to, is going to be pushed out of the way for that. So for me. I cannot fulfill my obligations and participate in that particular element of pop culture. [00:26:52] Tony Arsenal: And I think there's probably something like that for most of us. Again, someone else may be able to do that just fine. There are probably many people who can do that just fine. That's a problem in my own heart. And the way I address that is by saying, this is just not healthy for me, so I'm not gonna do it. [00:27:05] Tony Arsenal: And whether that's a TV show or a a book series. I know people who won't read certain books because they get so immersed in it and it sort of like shapes their worldview in really unhealthy ways. They just won't pick up a particular set of novels or a particular book series. Um, you know, I've told this story that I, I don't remember where I was flying. [00:27:24] Tony Arsenal: Um, it wasn't. I must have been flying to Minnesota. That's the only place I've traveled by air for quite a long time. Um, I stopped in the, the bookstore, the, you know, the, the souvenir store, whatever. And I forgot a, I forgot a book at home of all the people to forget a book. And I was like, you know, there's this big hub lu about Game of Thrones and you know, maybe the book is better than the show. [00:27:43] Tony Arsenal: And like, you know, I can control what I'm imagining and it's easier for me to skip over parts and nobody is having to make graphic sex scenes. Even if they're sort of portrayed in the book. I can maybe do this. I got like. A chapter and a half into the book and was like, I can't, this is not healthy for me. [00:27:57] Tony Arsenal: It's not helpful. It doesn't glorify God. It's not true. It's not noble, it's not honorable, it's not worthy of praise. Right. I'm just gonna, and I just threw the book away. I spent like $15 on a book and then I just threw it in the garbage. Um, and I don't say that to like prop myself up as some bastion of self control. [00:28:10] Tony Arsenal: That's just in that moment I made the right decision. But there are things like that, that you are gonna have to look at your own self to say, I cannot participate in this, even if someone else might be able to. I personally cannot. And I think that's really the more the question we need to ask then. Are there universal principles that say, I can't do A, B, or C? [00:28:30] Tony Arsenal: It's really about my heart in the moment and how my heart is affected by a given thing. [00:28:36] Jesse Schwamb: Much like the 10 Commandments. This whole conversation in the scriptural, I think admonishment here is very much about freeing us up to enjoy freedom, to have joy in these things. It's not about just saying, well, here's a list of things that you can't do. [00:28:51] Jesse Schwamb: Isn't that unfortunate? Everybody else can do them, but you can't enjoy them. Instead, Scott saying like you're talking about Tony, no put to death all these evil, selfish things that are in your life that actually destruct. And instead, enjoy entertainment and pop culture in such a way that not only glorifies him, but does truly refresh you so that you're not drawn back into patterns of selfish behavior or sinful thinking, or all kinds of, you know, sexual frivolity that's going to lead your mind and your body and your heart astray or into places that you'll end up getting hurt. [00:29:25] Jesse Schwamb: I think. The beauty of this is it just provides us with a way to think and discern about the stuff that we're consuming so that we're ensured. Then it's fulfilling the right purpose that God has for in our lives, and that's freeing. When you get to a place where the scripture says like, here's the way walking it, then you know that you can walk confidently and you can enjoy that very thing. [00:29:46] Jesse Schwamb: One great example, I think that sit on both sides, we can talk about in some ways how there's like a, a lack of, or like kinda a, a moral perspective with certain types of medium of expression. One of those I think famously is, is music. Luther famously said, musical performance is principle among the entertainment that God has graciously given us to enjoy in life. [00:30:06] Jesse Schwamb: And yet who hasn't been part of either music that has been absolutely refreshing, absolutely life-giving, absolutely calming and beautiful in the same way that like David played before King Saul when he was distressed. And maybe you've had this experience where there's some kind of soothing melody that was just a bomb to your soul and your condition in that state. [00:30:25] Jesse Schwamb: And then also. On the other side, who hasn't listened even to some really catchy music that's been filled with like sexual perversion, misogyny, violence themes that at the end of it, you may have enjoyed the beat, but it's, it's just left you kind of feeling gross. And disgusted. Yeah. Even with yourself for enjoying it. [00:30:45] Jesse Schwamb: I, I think that's what we're after here is like to be freed up to enjoy this kind of entertainment in a way that it is truly the gift that God has given rather than something that enslaves us. And I'm gonna argue that it often does. Not because it's just addictive, though. [00:30:59] The Influence of Entertainment on Our Lives [00:30:59] Jesse Schwamb: It can be, but because it does actually influence us deeply and, and I think one thing is clear is that all the things we're talking about here that's present in entertainment, and I'm talking all the way back to things like athletic performance, all of this beauty and creativity, art expressed both in film literature and in music, that all of those things God has given us for our good and for his glory. [00:31:22] Jesse Schwamb: So he wants us to enjoy them. But sin is of course gonna take all those things and pervert them and twist them in such a way that they no longer become life-giving or become life taking. The problem is they take life incrementally and on the margin. Yeah. And so that you rarely feel that that's going on. [00:31:37] Jesse Schwamb: You rarely sense the divide of the chasm that's creating in your thought patterns, in the way that you interact with people, even the way that you interact with God until, not that it's too late, but that's, you wake up and you think, my goodness, how far have I gone from what I think this is really intended to be in my life? [00:31:52] Jesse Schwamb: Then maybe addiction does crop up in such a place that you're like this. This has gone too far. But I think, again, like many things in life, when God says no, what he's saying is, do not hurt yourself. I know better. I want you to enjoy these things. So I see this as like our opportunity to like empower to come with the scriptures, bearing full weights on what we consume, not because we need more laundry lists of things to avoid, but because we need direction on what is best to sink our entertainment time and resources into. [00:32:20] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And I, I think that's a good, um, that's a good, maybe a next test right? [00:32:25] Balancing Time and Entertainment Choices [00:32:25] Tony Arsenal: Is we only have a finite amount of time. We, we, and, and I'm not even just talking about like in general, we have a, I'm, I'm talking about like we have a finite amount of discretionary time. We all have commitments, we have jobs, we have families, we have church commitments, we have friends that we wanna maintain relationships with. [00:32:43] Tony Arsenal: The amount of time we have to just like sit down and consume pop culture is limited no matter, no matter who you are. Some people have more, some people have less. Um, we can consume. Ev, every time we say yes to one thing, we're saying no to another thing, right? There is, um, there is popular culture or content out there that absolutely is encouraging, right? [00:33:05] Tony Arsenal: And absolutely is going to enhance your life, and it's going to enhance your piety and your devotion to God, right? And I'm not just talking about like Christian content. There's decent Christian content out there. There's decent Christian films, there's decent Christian music, there's decent Christian fiction writing. [00:33:22] Tony Arsenal: Um, there's probably even decent Christian video games, although I haven't run into them, I'm sure they're out there. Um. But that's not even what I'm talking about. [00:33:30] Finding Value in Non-Christian Content [00:33:30] Tony Arsenal: There there are, there are non quote, non-Christian, um, right there. There's General grace. Common grace works out there that will, they'll, they'll make you smarter. [00:33:41] Tony Arsenal: It will make you healthier. It'll help you enhance your life. It'll help you enjoy your world more. It'll help you enjoy and see the beauty in God's creation. More I've, I've commented, um. At length, and this isn't necessarily pop culture, although it kind of bridges the gap a little bit. I've commented at length on how beneficial in my life, Ryan holiday's, writings have been. [00:33:58] Tony Arsenal: Right? Right. That's what he doesn't get everything right. There are some things he gets very wrong, um, but. I, I read, um, Ryan Holiday's, stoic. Stoic Works, and I wouldn't say he's a scholar of stoicism. He's more like a modern day stoic philosopher. I read his works and I benefit from him. It makes my life better. [00:34:17] Tony Arsenal: It makes my devotion to God better. It makes my piety better. It makes me a better husband and a better father, and a better employee just in general. It makes me a better person. Not because Ryan Holiday is some special thing, but because he seems to have tapped into common grace principles that other writers haven't, I have a choice. [00:34:33] Tony Arsenal: You know? Do I wanna read that or do I wanna read some? Um, and don't get me wrong, I enjoy manga, but like, do I wanna read some. Meaningless, pointless manga that is just the same story over and over again with different animation. You know, some people might find that the reading the manga is the right thing for them and that enhances their life. [00:34:51] Tony Arsenal: Right? But for me, I've had to make that calculation. I only have so much time. I only have so much time to read. Um, and, and this is might be a shock to people. There are times where I'll have the decision between reading a theology book and. Being caught up on my reading in Daily Stoic, I most often will take time to read the Daily Stoic instead of reading something. [00:35:10] Tony Arsenal: For example, I'm way behind on Daily Devotion or Daily Doctrine by Kevin De Young Way Behind, but I'm not behind on, on Daily Dad or daily Stoic from Ryan Holiday. That's not because one, one thing is better than the other necessarily, but what I need in my life and what God is calling me to. The writings by di by Ryan Holiday right now are more effective in a, in accomplishing those tasks and into shaping me into who I believe God wants me to be. [00:35:37] Tony Arsenal: So that's the other question we have to ask is what? [00:35:40] The Importance of Rest and Leisure [00:35:40] Tony Arsenal: What is the most beneficial thing for us at the moment? It could be some sort of mindless cotton, candy entertainment. There's nothing wrong with that. This isn't, this isn't me saying like find, this isn't like hustle culture for pop culture. Like sometimes you just need to veg out and do something that doesn't require any brain power, and that's what God is, is giving you as a gift for your rest and your re recuperation. [00:36:04] Tony Arsenal: Sometimes it's a hard hitting. Heavy theology. Sometimes you need to sit down and read some Bob Ink again, not that that's pop culture, but I think the broader principle applies. Maybe you need to sit down and read some Turin, or maybe you need to like scroll Instagram for a little while and watch funny cat videos, right? [00:36:19] Tony Arsenal: All of those things are good things. They're all gifts from God in the proper proportions and at the proper time, and that's why this can be such a complicated question is because we have to have a good, robust. Honest reflection of who we are and what we need in order to make these, these decisions. Um, and it really is about what do we need in the moment? [00:36:37] Tony Arsenal: What is God calling us to? What is the wise thing to do right now, the wise thing to consume right now? Um, and, and I think that's a good test. Is this the most effective thing and accomplishing in my life what needs to be accomplished, right? That could be all sorts of goals, but is this the most effective thing to accomplish that at my life right now? [00:36:57] Tony Arsenal: If so, and it's not sinful, and then have at it enjoy. You know, I think those are the kinds of questions we need to ask, and I don't think we often ask that. I think we are often passive. And neutral in decisions about what we're gonna watch for pop culture. We're driven by what is the most popular thing on Netflix? [00:37:15] Tony Arsenal: What does the algorithm recommend for us? Or what is being talked about at work? Or what do I have on hand? What do I have easy access to? Um, I think we need to be more active and intentional in our decisions on this towards those ends. [00:37:29] Jesse Schwamb: Right on. And there's no accounting for taste, right? I mean, part, part of time we get caught up in that, so we'll just say, well, maybe what I'm experiencing, because I'm a Christian, I'm trying to process this, has to do more about like particular medium or the taste or the type of genre or something. [00:37:44] Jesse Schwamb: I'd encourage us to not get too caught up in that. I think what you're saying is really, really helpful. The idea here I think is more about embracing the fact that we don't have to be productive all the time. And that we don't have to be, and I use this with great love like puritanical in the sense that, you know, well, if Jonathan Edwards didn't laugh and the Lord sakes that was inappropriate, then I shouldn't either. [00:38:05] Jesse Schwamb: And by virtue of that fact, then I should really have this incredible puritanical work ethic where even when I'm at home or every second that I have, I should be reading something. And if I'm gonna read something, it should be productive. Or if I'm watch tv, it should be something kinda documentary. I need to learn and fill my mind and make use and redeem every second of that time. [00:38:18] Jesse Schwamb: What if part of that redemption. Is enjoying entertainment for the way that God intended it to be, and that when he makes beauty and creativity and artistic expression, and again, we're presuming that this is the right amount of a lawful entertainment, that all of those things are for their own enjoyment because they point back to the creator. [00:38:40] Jesse Schwamb: Just by themselves. Like there doesn't have to be an ulterior motive. You don't have to justify it. You don't even have to feel guilty about it. That in fact, because we're contingent beings and therefore we have limited energy supply and unlimited amount of time and space, that all those things com continue to propel us towards some kind of desire for a lawful entertainment that leads us into rest. [00:39:02] Jesse Schwamb: Even as you're saying Tony, if that's rest for 10 or 15 minutes before, it's the next thing to feel this compulsion instead. To have to again quote unquote redeem. That time by being super productive is I think a fool's errand because we are as much made to work as we are made to rest. And in that rest, I think sometimes we actually find for some of us an easier time identifying and worshiping God in that risk. [00:39:26] Jesse Schwamb: Because in our work, we are busy in our work and we often get caught up in our work thinking all of our work is all of us. And so we rest and we find enjoyment in something. We take a walk, we listen to a beautiful piece of music. We spend some times just conversing about nothing with friends. We sit outside and enjoy beverages together that something happens sometimes in that space. [00:39:46] Jesse Schwamb: We're in the pause of that in the fact that there is beauty that seemingly is without productive purpose, even though I'd argue there is one. It's just hidden behind it and we fail to see it. We are drawn to the fact drawn to say, God, are you not good? For all of your gifts. And of course he's good in our gifts of work. [00:40:02] Jesse Schwamb: He's also good in our, our gifts of rest. But he's given us this gift as a form of entertainment in our own pop culture for us really to enjoy. But you're right, if we get it twisted such that we consume too much of it, or if we misapply that, I think we're just gonna live a less abundant life. So again, like the task here is not, don't do any entertainment. [00:40:23] Jesse Schwamb: Get all, get away from all the entertainments. Like what? Like your point, Tony, I, and I've heard Christian say this, I think there can be a brow beating here where it's like, well, couldn't you have used that time more productive? Like they had a couple more minutes, like maybe you really should have prayed harder or. [00:40:38] Jesse Schwamb: Maybe you should have read that other chapter in the Bible. Maybe you should gone back through your genealogies again and read those because you know that you don't read those particularly well. Or maybe you should have studied this thing or that thing. And instead is there a kind of worship that truly gives itself over to resting in God in the form of appreciating entertainment as he's created it for us to give us that kind of rest? [00:40:59] Jesse Schwamb: I would say yes. It's just that we often don't talk about it and sometimes we do talk about it. It's hard to bring it up 'cause you're gonna. You're gonna feel guilty. Like, can you imagine somebody saying to you, you know what? I'm just finding so much rest these days in this, uh, little game on my phone that I get to play. [00:41:15] Jesse Schwamb: You would be like, you, you might, if you're, if you're like, you know that person, well, you might be like, that's weird. I guarantee though, if that happened to me, I'd walk away and then when I was with my wife later, I'd be like, let me tell you what this weird thing this person said. You know what I mean? [00:41:27] Jesse Schwamb: But what, what, yeah. We need to think more like that. Not as a liberty to forsake or abdicate responsibility, but instead to actually be well rested for the responsibility in the task, the good works that God has created for us. [00:41:42] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. [00:41:42] Personal Experiences with Entertainment [00:41:42] Tony Arsenal: And maybe here's like a concrete example is, um. You know, I, um, I work at a local hospital and my job is relatively intense. [00:41:53] Tony Arsenal: Um, in terms of emotional investment, I'm a patient relations supervisor, so I, I'm in charge of the department that hears all of the complaints from patients, which means we often hear some really frustrating stories about people's healthcare, and it can be very emotionally draining. And so I also, um, I also ride the bus home now. [00:42:15] Tony Arsenal: My, my vehicle is broken right now. Hopefully we're gonna get fixed soon, but I ride the bus home and for the first couple, I don't know, for the first week that I was riding the bus, I was like, I gotta use this time. I gotta read something. I gotta make sure I'm doing that right. And what I've learned actually is if I just take the 45 minutes that I'm on the bus and waiting for the bus and I just sort of zone out and play Pokemon Go. [00:42:39] Tony Arsenal: By the time I get home, I'm ready to engage with my kids better. I'm ready to engage with my wife better. I'm less likely to feel, uh, just drained and tired because I'm actually letting my brain sort of reset and I'm building that buffer. So something as simple as like. Playing a relatively mindless game on my phone for a half hour, 45 minutes while I ride the bus and wait for the bus, um, helps me to fulfill my obligations as a father and a husband in a more present way. [00:43:09] Tony Arsenal: Again, like if you wanna ride the bus and you wanna read a fiction, or you wanna do theology, like that's on you, that's your decision to make. But. I know people who would say to me, um, you really should be using that time for something more productive than playing Pokemon Go. And, and yeah, maybe like, maybe there are times that I should be more productive and maybe there are times that other people should be less productive. [00:43:32] Tony Arsenal: Like I think that's kind of what we're getting at here is. Productivity or spiritual growth or pi, like those categories are, each of those are good categories. Like productivity is not a bad thing. Um, personal devotion is certainly not a bad thing. [00:43:47] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. [00:43:47] Tony Arsenal: But it's not the only thing. And we also, I think we act as though our lives can be this sort of like perfect integrated balance when really like we have to be able to sort of recognize that. [00:44:02] Tony Arsenal: Sometimes doing nothing has its own utility. Like that feels like a weird thing to say, but I I, I'm with you here and, and maybe this is kind of how we bring the episode down to an end is I do think. There is this, obviously the Sabbath principle, the rest principle. Um, but God also gives us rest in these other small ways. [00:44:25] Tony Arsenal: Sometimes not so small, but small ways in the rest of our life. And I don't think that we should bear any shame or guilt or feel like we're less Christian because we take advantage of or make use of those. Those sort of like smaller opportunities to rest and you know, recreation is recreation. Like that's, that's that etymology is not a false etymology. [00:44:49] Tony Arsenal: That's where the word comes from. And it's because we often need to do these sort of leisurely things in order to be able to then go back and put forward the effort that we need. And the other thing just, I feel like we're tying. Leisure to the ability to produce in a way that may actually also be unhealthy. [00:45:09] Tony Arsenal: Leisure is not necessarily the ends, the means to being able to be productive. Right? Leisure serves its own purpose. It has its own use, its own way to glorify God. Yes, it does enable us often to be able to come back and put our nose to the grindstone, but we shouldn't just think about it as like, well, this is just, this is just my recharge period. [00:45:30] Tony Arsenal: We don't think about sleep that way. I don't think we think about sleep in, in a fashion of saying like, well, I've gotta sleep so that I can just get up and go to work the next day. And productive. I think we recognize that our bodies need to rest and there's a blessing and a joy in being able to close our eyes and sort of drift off and have dreams and rest, and that our body recuperates itself, I think we should think of leisure in a similar sense, and recreation and pop culture all kind of play into that. [00:45:53] Jesse Schwamb: I think that's right on. I mean, it's one of those things where we're certainly not saying that there isn't rest in prayer and in daily worship and consuming and studying the scriptures, there's certainly a rest in all those activities too. In some ways, I think we're presuming that we are trying to incorporate a balance into our lives, and that part of that balance is just rest for its own sake. [00:46:12] Jesse Schwamb: The enjoyment of that and when you're truly, I think, enjoying that rest, whatever it is, one we do not long feel guilty because we have processed. And pass everything to the sve of the scriptures and say, this is glorifying to God is for my goodness, for his glory. So therefore there's no, as it were like condemnation for me in this because I have a clear conscience about it. [00:46:31] Jesse Schwamb: And then in addition to that, it does provide us with perhaps, again, that lovely contrast between working hard and then having. Some period of which we are abstaining from that work and from that labor. And in so doing we find different ways to please and to worship God. We find that we see his character reflected in different ways. [00:46:49] Jesse Schwamb: And so in that way too, it reminds us that we are, like I said before, like completely contingent, we get tired, we get exhausted. Like there's only so much the mind can do and so much it can handle. And so by. Willingly accepting and leaning into that, not again, in a way that takes us away. We use as liberty to say, well, I, you know, I really should spend some time before the Lord in prayer. [00:47:10] Jesse Schwamb: I really should spend some time in, in daily particular worship, but you know what? I really need to rest instead. Like of, of course, that itself, we should be convicted about, uh, because then we're using entertainment such a way to distract us. Suppose this. Way from God rather than toward him. But the Bible is so clear, like you're saying, Tony, that there's all these seasons in life and the more I think about those seasons, the more I wonder if we tend to treat them too discreetly. [00:47:34] Jesse Schwamb: And in these two, like, kind of like prolonged periods, what if a season is for an hour? What if a season is for a day? What if a season is for five minutes? So famously, of course, when we have the teacher writing. Ecclesiastes chapter three, some of these famous words, I think we just fail to take them to heart. [00:47:51] Jesse Schwamb: Listen to this beautiful contrast, and I think it really fits in with what we're saying here about the, the ability to rightly consume entertainment and pop culture in such a way that it is glorifying to God and our understanding of it in our application of how it gives us true rest. So it writes things like this. [00:48:09] Jesse Schwamb: There's a time to kill and the time to heal. A time to break down, a time to build up, a time to weep, and a time to laugh, A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing a time to seek and a time to lose. [00:48:26] Jesse Schwamb: A time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to tear. A time to sow, a time to keep silence and a time to speak, a time to love, and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. So it's very clear that God has given us, I think all of these wonderful things to enjoy as part of his character, as demonstrations of the fact that he is a God who is loving and love always leads to giving. [00:48:51] Jesse Schwamb: And so he gives us beauty in arts. In music, in literature, in screen, and of course then we should recognize because those are things from God and we ought to that. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Heavenly Father who is above that. It is the prerogative of the devil to twist and bend those things in such a way that we feel to see them as God's gifts and said, see them as our rightful consumption. [00:49:12] Jesse Schwamb: Such a way that enslaves. Changes our mindset, pulls us farther away from God. So I think part of it's just going into everything with the pun intended, with eyes wide open. So hopefully some of these tests have been helpful. I think people probably have, because like you said, Tony, there's a lot of Christian liberty here and maybe some point. [00:49:29] Jesse Schwamb: Well, I was gonna ask you like what's I, I'm not gonna ask you this because I know you're gonna ask it back to me, but like what would be maybe something you consume that others might be able. Ooh. Um, but I don't want you to ask that back to me. We could do that. We could do that if you want to. [00:49:42] Tony Arsenal: Um, yeah, let's, let's do that in a future episode. [00:49:43] Tony Arsenal: I think that'd be fun. Well, we'll [00:49:44] Jesse Schwamb: save that for another time. So everybody keeps listening. [00:49:46] Encouraging Community Engagement [00:49:46] Jesse Schwamb: But I think one of the things that we should be encouraging our listeners to do, the people who are part of the reform brotherhoodhood, is come hang out online. In this place called Telegram, which is just a chat messaging app and we have a little corner, a protected corner of the world. [00:50:00] Jesse Schwamb: There is a group of people who are like-minded listening to our conversations and participating in their own. And the way they participate with us is you can message in the app, they've got a bunch of channels of different topics, so you can get there by going to t.me/reform brotherhood. I bring this up now, not just to advertise as usual. [00:50:17] Jesse Schwamb: Because we want you to come be a part of this, but I would love to hear from others because we have a channel in there that's just about the conversations we're having on the podcast. Come share some of the practical things that you use, the tests that you have, the conversations that you bring forward to help you discern what kind of pop culture you're consuming. [00:50:37] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. Don't just take our word for it. Let's hear what the Holy Spirit. How he is leadi
WMAL GUEST: MARK LEVIN (Author & Talk Radio Show Host) HIS NEW BOOK: On Power RSVP: Saturday, August 9 in Reston, Virginia Where to find more about WMAL's morning show: Follow Podcasts on Apple, Audible and Spotify Follow WMAL's "O'Connor and Company" on X: @WMALDC, @LarryOConnor, @JGunlock, @PatricePinkfile, and @HeatherHunterDC Facebook: WMALDC and Larry O'Connor Instagram: WMALDC Website: WMAL.com/OConnor-Company Episode: Friday, August 8, 2025 / 7 AM HourSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Insights from the Emerging Tech Demo Day at the Carahsoft Conference and Collaboration Center in Reston, Virginia. Joined by Warren Miller, Corporate Chief Architect at Next Phase Solutions, and Lisa Wolff, the President and CEO, the episode delves into the innovative technologies showcased and their applications in government and commercial sectors. Key topics include data fragmentation solutions with Foresight 360 and the impact of artificial intelligence on future tech landscapes. Hear about their experiences at Demo Day, their leadership journeys, and the challenges they tackle to provide holistic IT and cyber solutions. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to never miss an episode! For more from ACT-IAC, follow us on LinkedIn or visit http://www.actiac.org.Learn more about membership at https://www.actiac.org/join.Donate to ACT-IAC at https://actiac.org/donate. Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria TellsCourtesy of Epidemic Sound(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young CommunityCourtesy of Epidemic Sound)
From 07/07 Hour 3: Drab, Valdez, and Maher recap their night out in Reston, Virginia.
Some real weak ass shhh this week!Episode notes:Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias autographed Dia de los muertos Funko PopDisney drops bid to stop allergy death lawsuit over Disney+ termsFairfax Police release body-worn camera footage from Reston officer-involved shooting
Emily in Reston thought she met a sweet guy from her church's childcare center. Harmless, right? Nope. One dinner in, and he storms out—offended that a single mom doesn't meet his “purity standards.”
Thanks for tuning in to RealAg Radio for the Farmer Rapid Fire, brought to you by Corteva Crop Protection! In this episode, host Shaun Haney is joined by: Luke Barron of Schomberg, Ont.; Mark Burnham of Cobourg, Ont.; Fred Greig of Reston, Man.; Daryl Tuck of Vegreville, Alta. Also, hear from the Corteva Agriscience crop... Read More
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This is the rhythm of a voice that knows how to tell a story. Anndi Jinelle Liggett didn't set out to become a filmmaker overnight. She started in the fitting rooms of Banana Republic, sharpened her instincts in the fast-paced world of network television, and ended up at Al Roker's side—not as a spectator, but as a quiet observer of how media moves. Born in Reston, Virginia, and now rooted in Brooklyn, Anndi's journey winds through French lectures at Florida State and serendipitous subway rides in New York City. She didn't knock on Hollywood's door. She cracked it open with heart, hustle, and a sharp eye for what makes us human.In this episode of Visual Intonation, we dive into how Anndi's early storytelling, yes, including a Cat-girl with superpowers, evolved into work that's both personal and piercing. She shares how characters, not just plot, drive her creative compass, and why the best stories aren't necessarily the loudest, but the most honest. Her short 'Clementine' flips the rom-com script on its head, while 'Tender Thoughts', backed by Lena Waithe, is already drawing attention from Tribeca to Urbanworld. When Anndi writes, she's writing with—and for—people who have something to say but maybe haven't yet said it out loud.We talk about France. About solitude. About filmmaking and betting on yourself. But more than that, we talk about voice—finding it, using it, and trusting that it matters. Anndi admits that's still a work in progress. But whether she's on set or scrolling Chani Nicholas for horoscope wisdom, she's learning to take up space, ask the question, raise the idea. Not because she knows it all, but because she knows herself.So pull up a chair. Whether you're a creator, a dreamer, or just someone who once tried to relax in New York and ended up on a whole new life path, this one's for you. Anndi Jinelle Liggett reminds us that storytelling isn't about fame—it's about feeling. And when it's done right, it's unforgettable.Anndi Jinelle Liggett's Website: https://www.anndijl.com/Anndi Jinelle Liggett's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seranndipity/Anndi Jinelle Liggett's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anndijliggettSupport the showVisual Intonation Website: https://www.visualintonations.com/Visual Intonation Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visualintonation/Vante Gregory's Website: vantegregory.comVante Gregory's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/directedbyvante/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): patreon.com/visualintonations Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@visualintonation Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@directedbyvante
Bio Moiz Doriwala is a seasoned professional with a diverse background spanning real estate finance, investment, and entrepreneurship .... Growing up in Naperville, Illinois, his interest in real estate was sparked by his father's career as a general contractor and developer. He pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Chicago and an MBA in Finance and Management and Strategy from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. His early career began in the finance sector with a unique rotational program at Bank One (later JP Morgan Chase), where he gained experience in asset-backed securities trading, commercial loan workouts, leveraged leasing, and even worked in a strategic group under Jamie Dimon. He further honed his investment banking skills in the Financial Sponsor Group of J.P. Morgan Securities in New York, focusing on M&A transactions and various financing activities. In 2005, Mr. Doriwala transitioned to the real estate industry, joining S&R Land Development, LLC in Reston, VA, where he was involved in the development of residential and commercial land. Leveraging his financial acumen and real estate exposure, he later became Vice President of Perseus Realty Capital, LLC, specializing in joint venture equity, preferred equity, and mezzanine financings. In 2008, Mr. Doriwala formed his own umbrella company, Stirling Realty Advisors, LLC, a boutique real estate investment bank that provides financial advisory services, primarily focusing on raising debt and equity capital for real estate developers and operators nationwide. While initially focused on capital raising, Stirling has evolved into a vehicle for his various investment activities. Under the Stirling umbrella, Mr. Doriwala manages and invests in several businesses, including: Bookhill Park: An entity that manages a series of small funds and operates as a finance company, providing opportunistic lending across various industries and geographies Investments in mental health and behavioral health businesses Investments in one off LPs in apartment projects His role as President of Superior Living Foundation Inc., a 501c3 non-profit focused on owning businesses in the healthcare region, such as senior housing and behavioral health facilities1 .... Mr. Doriwala also has experience in the senior housing sector, having served as Treasurer for Meridian Senior Living .... Additionally, he was involved in the mobile home park business for a number of years through BHP, building and eventually exiting a portfolio of parks. Throughout his career, Mr. Doriwala has demonstrated an opportunistic and entrepreneurial approach, building strong relationships and a reputation for his ability to navigate complex transactions and provide creative financial solutions. He values strong partnerships, thorough due diligence, and trusting his instincts in his investment decisions. Show Notes [6:30] Introduction to Moiz Doriwala and his diverse business background. He manages or participates in managing at least three businesses. [7:00] Overview of Sterling Realty Advisors. Formed in 2008 as an umbrella company for advising real estate operators and developers on capital raising (joint venture equity, mezz, preferred equity, debt financing). Now primarily a vehicle for personal and business investment activities. [7:50] Discussion of Sterling as an investor. Investing in individual real estate projects and companies, often as a passive investor or advisor. [8:20] Introduction to Bookhill Park. An entity managed by Moiz, functioning as a finance company providing loans across various industries and geographies, focusing on the borrower and path to repayment. [9:10] Overview of investments in mental health and behavioral health businesses. [9:20] Moiz's role as President of Superior Living Foundation Inc. A 501c3 non-profit focused on owning businesses in the healthcare region (senior housing, behavioral health, substance abuse). [9:55] Moiz shares his origins and early life in Naperville, Illinois. Noteworthy growth of the suburb outside Chicago. [10:40] Influence of his father's career as a general contractor and developer on his early real estate exposure. [11:05] Initial aspirations to be a lawyer but a shift to finance and banking during college at the University of Chicago (Economics). [11:30] First job at Bank One and the unique two-and-a-half-year rotational program with simultaneous part-time MBA at Northwestern Kellogg. [12:15] Rotations at Bank One: Asset-backed securities trading desk, managed assets (commercial loan workout group, including the Safety Clean bankruptcy), leveraged leasing group, and "skunk works" group working directly for Jamie Dimon. [14:30] Rotation in the banks' merger and acquisition (M&A) group. [14:45] Unique aspect of the Bank One program: Obtaining an MBA (paid for by the bank) through evening classes while working full-time. [16:15] Jamie Dimon's arrival at Bank One as CEO during Moiz's time there. [16:30] Merger of Bank One with JP Morgan Chase and Moiz's move to New York to work in the investment bank's financial sponsors group. [16:45] Fond memories of working in JP Morgan's financial sponsor group. Considered a top group on the street with a strong balance sheet and access to private equity firms. [18:40] Decision to leave JP Morgan in 2005 due to his wife's desire to return to the DC area and the demanding hours of investment banking. [19:30] Intense work hours in investment banking: Regularly working 12+ hour days, seven days a week, sometimes sleeping at the office. [20:15] Wife's background in the real estate industry and understanding of the demanding work schedule. [20:20] Opportunity to join his wife's family's business in land development in the growing DC area, prompted by his father-in-law coming out of retirement to help a large home builder. [20:50] Reasons for leaving high finance for land development: Opportunity to learn real estate on someone else's dollar, educational and financial rewards, and the desire to move to DC. [21:30] Eye-opening experience transitioning from Wall Street to land development. Different work hours and the need for patience when dealing with the public sector. [23:15] Realization that residential land development was not the right fit. [23:30] The financial crisis impacting the land development industry. Fortunate timing of selling their last project before the major downturn. [24:25] Pivoting after the financial crisis to Perseus Realty Capital. A brokerage firm focused on financing real estate transactions (joint venture equity, mezzanine, preferred equity). [25:15] Reasons for choosing Perseus over larger national players: Desire for a smaller, newer firm with more control over destiny, having experienced both very large and very small companies. [26:25] Perseus's evolution to PRP real estate and shift from intermediary to asset management. [26:45] Learning curve at Perseus regarding traditional real estate financing. Understanding mortgage financing, mezzanine debt in real estate, and the role of institutional investors and private equity funds. [27:45] Focus on networking and finding new sources of capital for clients at Perseus. [28:50] Most challenging deal at Perseus: A high-rise residential building in Denver during the financial crisis where the senior loan fell through after construction began. [29:30] Securing mezzanine financing for the Denver project with another intermediary bringing in Corus Bank as the senior lender. [30:10] Challenges with Corus after Starwood took over, transitioning from dealing with a bank to an opportunity fund. [31:10] Comparison of the lending environment today (more cautious with lower loan-to-cost, higher rates, stronger covenants) compared to before COVID. [32:30] Overview of Bookhill Park's lending activities. Opportunistic lending beyond just real estate, including first and second mortgages, mezzanine, unsecured and secured loans, asset-based loans, inventory financing, payroll loans to government contractors, and factoring. [33:20] Origin of Bookhill Park's lending business: Helping a government contractor with payroll financing due to challenges with traditional bank lending for new contractors. [34:20] Higher return expectations in Bookhill Park's early lending days (17%+) compared to today (12-15%) due to increased private credit competition. [36:00] Impact of higher generic interest rates versus the decrease in Bookhill Park's targeted returns due to market competition. [36:50] Bookhill Park's patient capital base (personal capital, friends, family, investors) allows for selectivity in deals. [38:10] Evolution of Stirling Realty Advisors post-Perseus, focusing on national JV equity and mezzanine raising with a business partner. [38:50] Strategies for finding clients and investors: Networking at conferences (ULI), cold calling developers, and building relationships. [39:55] Business partner's departure and Moiz continuing as a sole entrepreneur with Stirling, leading to involvement in other businesses through new partnerships. [40:30] Evolution of the senior living business involvement. Initial capital raising for healthcare deals leading to a role at Meridian Senior Living. [41:20] Role as Treasurer at Meridian Senior Living. Initially part-time but became more significant, involving corporate infrastructure and learning the operations-focused nature of the healthcare business. [42:50] Financing structure of Meridian Senior Living: Real estate financed by traditional sources (opportunity funds, REITs) through leases, while operations were primarily financed by the three partners. [43:20] Involvement in raising capital for Meridian. [43:30] Managing banking relationships at Meridian. The partners had existing relationships, but Moiz also brought new ones. [44:20] Growth and evolution of Meridian: Hiring a full-time treasurer and assistant treasurer, and starting ancillary businesses (pharmacies, therapy business). [45:20] Parallel development of Bookhill Park and how relationships from the senior housing business led to healthcare lending deals. [46:00] Bookhill Park's unique lending advantage in the senior housing space: Ability to potentially take over management due to the operating company connection. [46:30] Bookhill Park's partnership with regional banks to do larger "A/B" structure loans, effectively syndicating the "A" piece. [48:30] Mobile home park business (BHP): Parallel investment with a different group of partners, attracted by limited supply and affordable housing characteristics. [50:15] Portfolio size of mobile home parks at its peak. [50:20] Opportunistic investment strategy leading to eventual exits from mobile home park projects. [50:45] Sale of a well-located mobile home park in Maryland after a short ownership period due to a strong offer. [51:30] Institutionalization of the mobile home park space over the last 15 years, leading to increased competition and higher acquisition costs, making current returns less attractive. [52:00] Challenges in the current mobile home park market: Increased broker presence and sellers having unrealistic price expectations. [52:50] Differences between mobile home park and traditional multifamily operations. [53:10] Section 8 in mobile home parks. [53:30] Potential future re-entry into the mobile home park market when institutional capital exits. [54:10] Formation of Superior Living Foundation Inc. (501c3) in 2017 by the principals at Meridian Senior Living to grow their presence in senior housing and healthcare through tax-exempt opportunities. [56:00] Avoiding conflicts of interest between the non-profit and for-profit entities. Independent board for the non-profit making decisions at market rates with multiple operator options. [57:15] Interesting financing assignments: Maritime claim settlement through Bookhill Park, involving learning about maritime law and insurance claims. [59:30] Recent closing of a 14-property skilled nursing portfolio acquisition by Superior Living Foundation. A tax-exempt bond deal with institutional buyers, aimed at growing the foundation's ability to provide healthcare services. [1:01:30] Reflection on John's early prediction of Moiz's success and their collaborative transactions over the years. [1:01:45] Moiz's experience in the ULI mentorship program with John as his mentor. [1:02:30] Value of their ongoing relationship and how it has led to successful introductions and investment opportunities, including a senior housing deal in Florida and multiple investments in a former mentee's multifamily projects. [1:04:40] Advice for young listeners on investment criteria and sponsor selection. Prioritizing the sponsor, location, and the sponsor's financial resources and "skin in the game." [1:07:00] Views on signing recourse loans. Moiz's partner's perspective on the development game. [1:08:00] Not personally willing to act as a co-GP solely for providing a guarantee. [1:08:30] Ability to bring both equity and a guarantor to a deal. [1:08:45] The unique aspect of Moiz's ability to raise capital and bring a group of investors to deals. [1:09:50] Investment philosophy and what sets Moiz apart: Creativity without a fixed "box," focusing on the story and exit, and a commitment to doing what they say they will. [1:12:00] Clarification on partnership structure: While Stirling is his sole business, almost all other ventures involve partnerships. [1:12:30] Importance of having partners to bounce ideas off of. [1:13:00] Time management strategies: Making lists, prioritizing, managing multiple transactions, relying on mental organization, and detailed calendar use. [1:14:20] Financial management: Working with an accountant and using QuickBooks for many entities. [1:15:15] Lean administrative structure. [1:16:00] Personal management of investor payouts for Bookhill Park. [1:16:30] Utilizing technology for tracking investments (example of Colin's investor portal) and the recommendation to invest in such technology. [1:17:00] Limited personal exploration of AI but an interest in future use. [1:17:30] Use of a wealth management firm with strong technology to track personal and investment financials. [1:17:45] Effectively having a "family office" through their wealth management firm's tracking capabilities. [1:18:30] Ensuring his wife knows the location of important financial information. [1:19:00] Challenging trends and unique opportunities in investments and capital markets today: Uncertainty due to government changes, tariffs, and financial market fluctuations. Lending still tough, potential impact of rising unemployment on real estate. Possible positive impact on office sector. [1:20:30] Trends in the senior housing business: Demographic upside ("silver tsunami") but challenges with increasing labor, food, and supply costs not yet matched by rent increases. Impact of stock market and interest rates on affordability. Financing and construction costs remain high. [1:22:00] Dynamics in the skilled nursing space: Reliance on Medicaid with capped payments and potential cuts creating nervousness. [1:23:15] Growth potential in healthcare in general and the role of AI. [1:23:45] Growth potential in the energy business, including passive energy. [1:24:00] Concerns and questions surrounding the office sector: Return to office trends, occupancy rates, and the efficiency of operating buildings with hybrid work models. Impact on retail demand. [1:24:45] Approach to future investments: Remaining opportunistic and open-minded across various sectors, continuing high-quality lending and partnerships, and focusing on good real estate in prime locations. [1:26:00] The unique value of Moiz's diverse experience across institutional finance, small entrepreneurial groups, agency, and principal roles. [1:26:15] Accepting that not all ventures will succeed and the importance of learning from both successes and failures. [1:26:45] Most surprising lessons learned: No guarantees in business or life, and the critical importance of personally verifying key information rather than solely relying on team members or partners. [1:28:30] Advice to his 25-year-old self: Be curious, be patient, be a hustler, slow down (balance opportunism with thorough execution), and be passionate. [1:29:55] Priorities of family, work, and giving back: Family is paramount with a focus on spending time with his children. Strong emphasis on giving back in the education space, both domestically and internationally. [1:30:30] Supporting various educational organizations. [1:31:30] Final question: What would a billboard on the Capitol Beltway say? "Trust your gut." [1:32:00] Reflection on times when trusting his gut paid off and, more significantly, times when ignoring his gut led to negative outcomes. [1:32:20] Accepting missed opportunities without regret. [1:33:20] Thank you and closing remarks. Similar Episodes Brad Olsen Shekar Narasimhan Ken Bacon Willy Walker
Chuck and Roxy are back from Reston and open the show with all things Littlepalooza! They also have a few announcements including their NCAA Bracket Winners! Westminster SAL Squadron 31 3rd AnnualBryan Douglas Griffith Memorial Golf Tournament https://www.stonealley.com/program/WestLegion/group/GolfTournamentNext it's time to "Meet the Littles" as our hosts welcome Lance Polcyn to the podcast! (23:00) WEBSITE: www.lancepolcynphoto.com INSTAGRAM: @lancepolcyn.photography FACEBOOK: Lance Polcyn.Then our hosts close out the show with a bowling segment, a quick movie review, and your email/notes. (41:30)SONG: "Sadboi" by PRIMME www.primmemusic.com Twitter: @primmemusic JINGLE: "One Aldridge Moment" A parody of a song by David Barrett (also Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross, and Ne-Yo).A Collaboration by ElliotO in Commack, NY, joeythejammer in Ellicott City, MD & Swingmonalisa in Bel Air, MDRecorded: 03/20/2018 Released: 03/21/2018 First aired: unairedPodcast Website - www.loyallittlespod.com Patreon: www.patreon.com/c/loyallittlespod/membershipPodcast Email - WTFCPODNET@GMAIL.COMTwitter:@loyallittlespod Instagram: @theloyallittlespodcastPODCAST LOGO DESIGN by Eric Londergan www.redbubble.com Search: ericlondergan or copy and paste this link! https://www.redbubble.com/people/ericlondergan/shop
Sales Game Changers | Tip-Filled Conversations with Sales Leaders About Their Successful Careers
Thia is episode 737. Read the complete transcription on the Sales Game Changers Podcast website. Read more about the Institute for Excellence in Sales Premier Women in Sales Employer (PWISE) designation and program here. Purchase Fred Diamond's best-sellers Love, Hope, Lyme: What Family Members, Partners, and Friends Who Love a Chronic Lyme Survivor Need to Know and Insights for Sales Game Changers now! Today's show featured an interview with Kristina Bouweiri, President & CEO at Reston Limousine Service. She's the Institute for Excellence in Sales Entrepreneurial Sales Leader of the Year. Find out more about the 15th Annual Sales Excellence Awards here. KRISTINA'S TIP: “Our motto has always been never say no. Say yes to whatever the customers want. Everyone's a customer. That has been our motto for 35 years and it has served us very well.”
Episode 191Sydney Wilson was a 33-year old woman who was killed by a police officer during a requested mental health wellness check after she attacked the officer with a knife. In this episode of the Removing Barriers podcast, we discuss the tragic incident involving Sydney's death, the actions taken by Officer Peter Liu, whether police-involved mental health checks are conducted in such a way that promotes help for the afflicted and safety for the responders, whether Officer Liu had any other options, and whether this was a case of police brutality, insensitivity, or incompetence. No matter where you may fall on the issue, Sydney Wilson is still a soul for whom Christ died. Join us as we navigate through this sensitive topic, seeking to understand the complexities involved while promoting a clear view of the cross.Listen to the Removing Barriers Podcast here:Spotify:https://cutt.ly/Ega8YeIApple Podcast:https://cutt.ly/Vga2SVdEdifi: https://cutt.ly/Meec7nsvYouTube:https://cutt.ly/mga8A77Podnews:https://podnews.net/podcast/i4jxoSee all our platforms:https://removingbarriers.netContact us:Leave us a voice message:https://anchor.fm/removingbarriers/messageEmail us:https://removingbarriers.net/contactFinancially support the show:https://removingbarriers.net/donateAffiliates:Book Shop:https://bookshop.org/shop/removingbarriersAnswers in Genesis Bookstore:https://shrsl.com/2tu8iComp and Save:https://shrsl.com/2tu8iBulbHead:https://shrsl.com/4ft37Share a Sale:https://shrsl.com/2jz4fSee all our affiliates:https://removingbarriers.net/affiliatesNotes:Fairfax Police release video of Reston woman:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JggL4jJeFfg
Sales Game Changers | Tip-Filled Conversations with Sales Leaders About Their Successful Careers
This is episode 727. Read the complete transcription on the Sales Game Changers Podcast website. Read more about the Institute for Excellence in Sales Premier Women in Sales Employer (PWISE) designation and program here. Purchase Fred Diamond's best-sellers Love, Hope, Lyme: What Family Members, Partners, and Friends Who Love a Chronic Lyme Survivor Need to Know and Insights for Sales Game Changers now! Today's show featured an interview with Natalie Lambert, Founder & Managing Partner at GenEdge Consulting. Natalie and Juliana Slye will be presenting “AI & The GovBuyer's Journey: A One-Day Workshop in Practical AI and Buyer Engagement for Public Sector Marketers. on January 28 in Reston, VA. Register here. NATALIE'S TIP: “It comes down to changing a habit. Whether it is making your home screen Perplexity and not Google to try, what is it like to search with an answers engine versus Google? As you do that, you're going to see, “If it can do this, it can do this,” and it will start growing on itself. Put that into your daily workflows and see what you get.”
This episode was recorded on October 10th, 2024. Ester Munt-Brooks is a renowned speaker who offers insightful discussions across various platforms including parishes, schools, colleges, and Catholic organizations. Her expertise lies in guiding Catholics on practical ways to implement their faith into daily routines, using theological principles grounded in Scripture and Church teachings. Ester is presently furthering her knowledge through a Master's degree in Theology at the Augustine Institute. Born in Barcelona, Spain and now residing in Reston, VA with her husband Arthur Brooks, Ester balances her professional pursuits with family life as a mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother. Find more from Ester: fevaloryalegria.org Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammy.m.peterson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TammyPetersonPodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tammypetersonpodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tammy1Peterson Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TammyPetersonPodcast
Industrial Talk is onsite at OMG, Q1 Meeting and talking to Paul Oberly and Tangi Meyer with Dassault Systemes about "Virtual Twin and digitization of processes!" Scott MacKenzie hosts the Industrial Talk podcast, featuring Tangi Mayer and Paul Oberly from Dassault Systems. Tangi, a senior strategic planner, and Paul, the lead for Delmia augmented experience in North America, discuss the integration of advanced technologies like computer vision and AI to create a "virtual twin" of real-world manufacturing processes. This digital representation allows for efficient, error-free production by connecting the virtual and real worlds, enhancing safety, and optimizing workflows. They emphasize the importance of data in driving business operations and the potential for AR to revolutionize manufacturing and inspection processes, making them more intuitive and efficient. Action Items [ ] Connect with Tangi Meyer [ ] Connect with Paul Oberly Outline Introduction and Welcome Scott MacKenzie introduces the Industrial Talk podcast, emphasizing its focus on industrial professionals and their innovations. Scott welcomes listeners and highlights the importance of industrial professionals in solving global problems. The podcast is broadcasting from the OMG q1 meeting in Reston, Virginia, showcasing a collection of problem solvers. Scott sets the stage for the conversation, mentioning the presence of two guests, Tangi Mayer and Paul Oberly. Guest Introductions Tangi Mayer introduces himself as French, working for Dassault Systemes, specifically Demi are, the manufacturing brand. Tangi describes his role as a senior strategic planner, focusing on anticipating trends and supporting future product and market developments. Paul Oberly introduces himself as the lead for Delmia augmented experience in North America, covering Canada, the US, and Mexico. Paul mentions the positive outcomes of their meetings at the OMG q1 meeting, including exceeding objectives and having productive discussions. Overview of Dassault Systemes' Work Tangi explains that Dassault Systemes uses advanced technologies like computer vision and AI to connect the virtual world with the real world through augmented reality. Paul emphasizes the importance of this connection, especially in the context of automation and Industry 4.0, bringing the digital twin to the production floor. Scott inquires about the bottom-line value and efficiencies gained from this approach. Paul highlights the benefits of getting things done right the first time and digitizing tribal knowledge to ensure quality and cohesive execution. Tangi's Background and Dassault Systemes' Acquisition Tangi shares his background, mentioning his previous work with Dita, a startup supporting the industry with augmented reality solutions. Dita was acquired by Dassault Systemes in July 2022, marking Tangi's official joining of the company. Scott asks Tangi about the process of creating a digital twin for a manufacturer. Paul explains that the product is the foundation for the business, and data is the driving force behind it. The Role of Data and Virtual Twin Paul discusses the importance of data in driving the business and connecting various systems like CAD, IoT, and Enterprise. The virtual twin serves as the foundation for the business,...
Industrial Talk is onsite at OMG, Q1 Meeting and talking to Steve MacLaird, Sr. VP, Government and Industry Strategy with OMG about "Delivering industry standard to help businesses succeed!" Scott MacKenzie interviews Steve MacLaird, Senior Vice President of Government and Industry Strategy at OMG, about the organization's role in developing and maintaining standards for various industries. OMG, which has been around for over 35 years, has created standards like CORBA, used in 5 billion devices worldwide. They focus on adaptable standards, such as the Software Communication Architecture (SCA) and Systems Modeling Language (SysML), which have been adopted and modified by NASA and the Department of Defense. MacLaird emphasizes the importance of collaboration with government, industry, and academia to identify and address evolving needs. OMG's standards are free and accessible, encouraging broad participation and influence in their development. Action Items [ ] Finalize the release of the RFP for the Statistics Metadata Interface Interoperability standard. [ ] Promote the upcoming release of the Standard Business Report Model standard. [ ] Continue engaging with government, industry, and academia to identify their needs for new standards. Outline OMG Q1 Meeting Introduction and Purpose Scott MacKenzie introduces the Industrial Talk Podcast, emphasizing its focus on industry innovations and the people behind them. Scott thanks the audience for their support and highlights the importance of problem-solving and collaboration in the industry. The podcast is broadcasting from the OMG Q1 meeting in Reston, Virginia, and Scott encourages listeners to visit omg.org for more information. Scott introduces Steve, the senior vice president of government and industry strategy at OMG, and sets the stage for a discussion on government and industry strategy. Steve's Background and OMG's History Steve provides a brief introduction, mentioning his role at OMG and his responsibilities in government, industry, and university engagement. OMG has been around for over 35 years and has developed standards like the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), which is widely used in various technologies. CORBA is used in numerous devices, including cell phones, laptops, submarines, and satellites, with over 5 billion instantiations worldwide. Scott asks Steve about the process of engaging with government, industry, and universities, and Steve explains the hands-on approach of meeting people and understanding their needs. Government and Industry Collaboration Steve shares his experience in developing software-defined radios and small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the military. He describes how these technologies were used in Afghanistan, allowing special operations personnel to see what was on the other side of a mountain using a laptop and a drone. OMG's standards, such as the Data Distribution Service (DDS), have been adopted by NASA for launching rockets and by the Department of Defense for communication architecture. Steve emphasizes the importance of collaboration with various government agencies, including the Department of Defense, NASA, and the Office of Federal Financial Research. Adapting Standards to Changing Needs Scott inquires about how OMG keeps its standards up-to-date with rapidly changing government needs....
Industrial Talk is onsite at OMG, Q1 Meeting and talking to Chuck Byers, CTO with Industry IoT Consortium about "Developing AI standards to insure market trustworthiness!" Chuck Byers, a seasoned industry professional, discussed the integration of AI and IoT technologies in the context of the Object Management Group (OMG) and the Digital Twin Consortium. Byers highlighted the importance of AI in real-time systems, emphasizing the need for prompt engineering and meta AI to ensure trustworthiness. He detailed the computational requirements of training large language models, noting that retraining the ChatGPT 3 model would require 195 NVIDIA DGX servers, costing $80 million and consuming 2.5 million watts. Byers also stressed the importance of sustainable energy sources and efficient cooling solutions for future data centers. Action Items [ ] Explore ways to detect when AI results are not as trustworthy as they need to be, and develop methods to validate AI outputs [ ] Investigate the use of small modular nuclear reactors to power data centers for AI model training [ ] Promote the work of OMG and the Digital Twin Consortium in addressing the challenges of AI and the Internet of Things Outline Introduction and Welcome Scott MacKenzie introduces the podcast and its focus on industry innovations and trends. Scott welcomes listeners and mentions the broadcasting location at the OMG SQ1 meeting in Reston, Virginia. Scott introduces Chuck Byers, highlighting his extensive background in electrical engineering and his contributions to Bell Labs and Cisco. Chuck Byers joins the conversation, expressing his pleasure in being invited and his admiration for Scott's hosting style. Chuck Byers' Background and Contributions Chuck Byers shares his educational background, including a Master's degree in electrical engineering and teaching at the University of Wisconsin. He discusses his work at Bell Labs and his invention of a US patent for a device that alerts users to approaching badness. Chuck talks about his tenure at Cisco, where he worked on computer control, IoT, edge computing, and drone technology. He mentions his current role as Chief Technical Officer of the Industry IoT Consortium and its recent integration into the Digital Twin Consortium. Digital Twin Consortium and Industry IoT Consortium Chuck explains the Digital Twin Consortium's focus on pairing simulation models with real-time physical systems. He describes the Industry IoT Consortium's focus on sensors, actuators, and the computation necessary for IoT systems. Chuck highlights the synergy between the two consortiums, emphasizing their combined potential to sense, network, and actuate the physical world into the digital world. He provides an example of using simulation models to optimize oil refinery processes without physical experimentation. Challenges and Opportunities in AI Scott MacKenzie and Chuck Byers discuss the challenges of AI, particularly the lack of standards and trustworthiness. Chuck explains the different types of AI, including machine vision and generative AI, and the unique challenges of generative AI. He describes the use of large language models in generative AI and their applications in tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft 365. Chuck emphasizes the importance of prompt engineering and fact-checking to ensure
Thanks for tuning in to this Thursday edition of RealAg Radio's Farmer Rapid Fire, brought to you by Pioneer Seeds Canada! Host Shaun Haney checks in with: Franck Groeneweg of Three Forks, MT.; Mark Maclean of Port Albert, Ont.; Fred Grieg of Reston, Man,; and, Keith Fournier of Lone Rock, Sask. Also hear from eastern… Read More
Industrial Talk is onsite at OMG, Q1 Meeting and talking to Carlos Toro and Claudio Soarzo Cataldo with NTT Data about "Data and Analytics solutions that drive insights and operational success." Scott MacKenzie hosts an industrial podcast featuring Claudio and Carlos from NTT DATA, discussing their work on digital twins and micro factories. Claudio, head of digital technology in Entity Data Chile, and Carlos, head of data and analytics, explain how digital twins enhance efficiency and safety in industries like mining. They highlight the importance of data management and the development of a composable digital twin methodology. Carlos introduces the concept of micro factories as training and showcasing tools, which can be used for remote monitoring and supply chain optimization. The conversation emphasizes the role of data analytics in driving industrial innovation and efficiency. Action Items [ ] Explore the possibility of bringing the micro factory to the OMG event in Las Vegas. [ ] Investigate the feasibility of remotely monitoring the micro factory located in Chile from other locations. [ ] Create a dynamic, web-based application for the OMG Capabilities Periodic Table, building on the micro factory project. [ ] Investigate the capability to optimize operations across multiple micro factory locations. Outline Introduction and Welcome Scott MacKenzie introduces the Industrial Talk podcast, emphasizing its focus on industry professionals and innovations. Scott welcomes listeners and highlights the importance of industry professionals in solving global problems. The podcast is broadcasting live from the OMG Q1 meeting in Reston, Virginia, with potential background noise from the event. Scott sets the stage for the conversation with Claudio and Carlos from NTT, hinting at their significant contributions to the industry. Background of Claudio and Carlos Claudio introduces himself as the head of the digital technology unit in NTT Data Chile, overseeing four foundations: data and analytics, digital architecture, cybersecurity, and digital experience. Claudio mentions the importance of digital twins and the role of Carlos in enhancing their maturity level over the past year. Carlos provides his background, detailing his role in heading the data and analytics unit and supporting Latin region operations in various countries. Both Claudio and Carlos emphasize the importance of digital twins as a new value offer for the company, bringing faster and better solutions to customers. Overview of NTT DATA and Digital Twins Claudio explains that NTT DATA is part of the Japanese entity group, originally a telecommunications company that expanded into consultancy. The company helps clients define, implement, and transform digital transformation processes end-to-end. Carlos discusses the importance of user needs in driving digital twin projects and the need for a composable approach to build digital twins quickly and effectively. The conversation touches on the challenges of developing digital twins in different industries and the importance of data management and machine learning. Challenges and Benefits of Digital Twins Claudio shares the Chilean experience with digital twins, highlighting the benefits for mining processes, such as reducing friction, work accidents, and improving efficiency. Scott acknowledges the...
Hosts Jo Firestone & Manolo Moreno play listener-created games with callers!Games played: Costume Magnate submitted by Patrick Kieffer from New York City, New York, Ah-woo, Monsters of City! submitted by Ky McKenna from Nova Scotia, Canada, and Good At Poems, Bad At Apologies submitted by Tice Rust from Reston, VirginiaCallers: Dennis from Berlin, Germany; Nate from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania; Julia & Lilla from Chicago, Illinois; Amber from New Town, North Dakota; Lewis from Buffalo, New YorkOutro theme by Josh Connolly from Wellington, New ZealandManolo's comic book, Supportive #1, is available at moslo.xyz
Industrial Talk is onsite at OMG, Q1 Meeting and talking to Justin Wilson and Erik Hendriks about "Data Distribution Service (DDS) the middleware that enables the free flow of data". Scott MacKenzie hosts a podcast celebrating industrial professionals and their innovations. At the OMG SQ1 meeting in Reston, Virginia, he interviews Erik Hendriks and Justin Wilson about DDS (Data Distribution System). Erik, a senior architect at ZetaScale, has been involved with DDS for 20 years. Justin, a principal software engineer at Unity Foundation, explains the open-source implementation of DDS. DDS enables efficient data transfer without the need for applications to know the transport details. It supports a publish-subscribe model, ensuring data reliability and scalability. The conversation highlights DDS's role in modern data-intensive applications and its future focus on scalability, big data, and security. Action Items [ ] Explore the open DDS foundation website (open-dds.org) to learn more about the technology. [ ] Connect with Erik Hendriks on LinkedIn to discuss DDS and ZetaScale's other products. Outline Introduction and Purpose of the Podcast Scott MacKenzie thanks listeners for their support and celebrates industrial professionals for their bold and innovative work. The podcast is broadcasting from the OMG Q1 meeting in Reston, Virginia, focusing on solving today's challenges. Scott MacKenzie introduces Erik Hendriks and Justin Wilson, who will discuss DDS (Data Distribution System). Background of Eric and Justin Erik Hendriks has been involved with DDS for 20 years and joined OMG during the standardization of DDS. Justin Wilson is attending his first OMG meeting and has a background in IoT applications involving DDS. Erik Hendricks is a senior architect at ZetaScale, fully involved in DDS for the last 20 years. Justin Wilson is a principal software engineer at Unity Foundation and Open DDS Foundation, previously involved with Object Computing. Explanation of DDS (Data Distribution System) DDS stands for Data Distribution System, which helps get data from its source to its destination efficiently. DDS decouples applications to such an extent that they don't need to know about each other's existence. DDS is unique compared to other middlewares due to its ability to efficiently and reliably distribute data. Justin Wilson explains the open-source implementation of DDS and its benefits, including efficiency and productivity. How DDS Works and Its Benefits DDS uses a data-centric approach, allowing applications to specify what data they need without knowing the source. DDS middleware handles the discovery and delivery of data, making applications simpler and more efficient. DDS can handle both unicast and multicast data delivery, optimizing data transmission based on the number of subscribers. DDS contracts specify the quality and reliability of data, ensuring consistent and efficient data flow. Real-World Applications and Implementation DDS is used in various industries, including manufacturing, where it simplifies data collection and distribution. DDS can be integrated into existing systems, reducing the need for custom solutions and ongoing maintenance. DDS offers flexibility in data collection, allowing for easy integration of new data sources and...
ALUMINUM ANNIVERSARY SHOW! Hosts Jo Firestone & Manolo Moreno have been playing listener-created games with callers for 10 years now!Games pitched: What Ahhhh-re You Drinking?, On the Tip of my Dr. Tongue, Not My First Radio, Two Facts and a Lie, Band Cancel, ASM-Are You Ready?, Cake or Chicken?, Fly the Loafy Skies, Dr. Email Inbox, Manolo, Oh God No, Oh No, Past Profitable, What's Your Favorite Broadway Play?, Boba Barber, Haunted Dock-tor Gameshow, Sandwich LOL, Time Loop, Time Loop, DuoLingo but for Horror, Dr. Porcupine Lies, Thoughts Like a Chicken, Two Peas in a Podcast, and more.Callers: Tice from Reston, Virginia; Roxanne from Los Angeles, California; Jay from Oregon; Love from Media, Pennsylvania; Noah & Michael from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Luke from Monterey, CaliforniaThis episode sponsored by: EveryPlate - Go to everyplate.com/gameshow299 to join EveryPlate and pay only $2.99 per meal PLUS get 50% off your first box, for all box sizes!
Sydney Wilson, 33, was fatally shot by Fairfax County officer Peter Liu in the hall of her apartment building in Reston, just outside Washington D.C., on Sept. 16 after cops were called to carry out a welfare check on her, police said. Bath & Body Works apologizes for candles that look like a KKK meeting. Plus, Matt will gives a movie review on the most hated movie of the year, JOKER 2. Guests: Matt McClowry and Derek Richards Go to lumen.me/NORMAL to get 15% off your Lumen. For a limited time, use my code NORMAL to get a free gift with your Journey Pack! Head to tryfum.com now! @DaveLandauComedian - Tour Dates: https://davelandau.com QBG's Channel: Live Streaming @QTRBlackGarrett Video Content @NegaGarrett Angela's Channel: @AngelaDoesHorror Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hosts Jo Firestone & Manolo Moreno play listener-created games with callers!Games played: How Funky Is Your Chicken, How Loose Is Your Goose? submitted by Amber Gomez from Rancho Cucamonga, California, Good At Poems, Bad At Apologies submitted by Tice Rust from Reston, Virginia, and Oops! All (Blank)s submitted by Tak Kelty from Lake Havasu City, ArizonaCallers: Adam from Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Joe from Broad Brook, Connecticut; Satyaki from Chicago, Illinois; Robert from Celbridge, Ireland; CJ from Stockton, California; Noelle from Milwaukee, WisconsinOutro theme by Brady Brown from Stillwater, OklahomaManolo's comic book, Supportive #1, is available at moslo.xyz
Government IT contractor Carahsoft had its Reston, Va., headquarters searched by the FBI Tuesday morning, three sources familiar with the matter told FedScoop. In response to an inquiry about the raid, the FBI confirmed via email that it had “conducted court-authorized law enforcement activity” but declined to comment further. Meanwhile, the Department of Veterans Affairs is once again facing criticism from its inspector general related to its modernized electronic health record program in a pair of new reports published this week. According to one of those, the VA has neglected to put in place the proper controls for its Oracle Cerner electronic health record system to adequately prevent and respond to major incidents. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.
Industrial Talk is onsite at OMG, Q1 Meeting and talking to Sarah Causey, CEO of Implexus Lab about "Digital Twin - Real efficiency, real savings to optimizing your building assets". Scott MacKenzie hosts an industrial podcast from the OMG Q1 meeting in Reston, Virginia, celebrating industry professionals. Sarah Causey from Implexus Labs discusses her transition from architecture to digital twins, emphasizing the importance of integrating live data from IoT for more efficient building management. She highlights the misconception that energy consumption decreased during the pandemic and explains how digital twins can optimize energy use by creating dynamic systems responsive to occupancy. Causey also mentions the financial benefits of digital twins and the role of the consortium in standardizing processes and enhancing trustworthiness in the industry. Action Items [ ] Reach out to Sarah Causey at Sarah.Causey@implexislab.com for more information about Implexus Labs and digital twins. Outline Introduction and Welcome to the Podcast Scott MacKenzie introduces the podcast, emphasizing its focus on industry professionals and their innovations. The podcast is broadcasting from the OMG Q1 meeting in Reston, Virginia, highlighting the attendees as problem solvers. Scott MacKenzie introduces Sarah Causey from Implexus Labs, who will discuss digital twins and her involvement in the consortium. Sarah Causey humorously mentions feeling comfortable being the "dumbest fish in the pond" and shares her background. Sarah Causey's Background and Career Journey Sarah Causey shares her background, including her upbringing in the South, living in Houston, Texas, and now residing in Raleigh, North Carolina. She discusses her transition from the architecture and design industry to working as a design technology expert, focusing on BIM, VR, AR, and animations. Sarah mentions her drone pilot license and her natural transition into digital twins, given her experience in various design fields. She explains the evolution of design from pen and paper to 3D models and the integration of live data from IoT. Joining the Digital Twin Consortium Scott MacKenzie appreciates Sarah's involvement in the digital twin consortium and acknowledges the rapid pace of market changes. Sarah explains that Implexus Labs, founded in 2023, is a startup with a team of experienced professionals in visualization, gaming, and virtual design. The consortium offers a platform for young professionals to contribute to the future of the industry without dominating it. Sarah emphasizes the passion and belief within the team about the potential of digital twins. Passion for Digital Twins and Energy Efficiency Scott MacKenzie questions the necessity of digital twins and their potential to create problems or solve them. Sarah shares her passion for digital twins, citing the misconception that energy consumption decreased during the pandemic due to remote work. She explains that buildings still operated on mechanical schedules, leading to increased energy consumption. Sarah believes digital twins can help facilities operate more efficiently and effectively through AI and real-time data collection. Financial ROI and Practical Implementation Scott MacKenzie and Sarah discuss the financial return on investment (ROI) of digital twins,...
Hosts Jo Firestone & Manolo Moreno play listener-created games with callers!Games played: Whose Poop Is It Anyway? submitted by Margaret Fiorio from Chicago, Illinois, Lap, Map, Nap submitted by DanBob Laman from Louisville (pronounced Lewisville), Colorado, and Lovin' Spoonfuls submitted by Tice Rust from Reston, VirginiaCallers: Margaret & Joe from Chicago, Illinois; Rob from Stow, Ohio; DB & Emily from Louisville, Colorado; Jonathan from Marmora, Ontario. Canada; Mike & Aubrey from Bison, KansasManolo's comic book, Supportive #1, is available at moslo.xyz
Industrial Talk is onsite at OMG, Q1 Meeting and talking to Jorge Maia and Rebeca Sousa with Crazy Tech Labs about "Merging AI with Digital Twin, IoT, IIoT to solve real problems". The potential of digital twins in the IoT ecosystem was discussed, along with the importance of data quality and the need for collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches. Key arguments included the transformative impact of digital twins, the challenges of device authentication and security, and the significance of contextualization in IoT data quality. The speakers emphasized the importance of aligning AI and IoT innovations in industry, while also highlighting the challenges of leveraging AI in IoT and digital twin. The potential of merging AI and digital twins to solve real-world problems in industry was also discussed, with a focus on the importance of collaboration, education, and having the right people with the right skills to innovate and create resilience in business. Action Items [ ] Look into security practices for IoT devices on customer sites. [ ] Share contact details (LinkedIn, Instagram) with the host. [ ] Promote Crazy Tech Labs services and technology solutions on the Industrial Talk Podcast. Outline IoT, digital twins, AI, and problem-solving in industry. Scott MacKenzie welcomes Jorge to the podcast and praises his problem-solving skills. Jorge shares his experience at the OMG q1 meeting in Reston, Virginia, where he learned about AI, IoT, and digital twins. Rebecca, a computer scientist and PhD candidate, discusses IoT, digital twins, and AI projects in Brazil and the US. Jorge, a mechatronic engineer, shares his experience working with IoT and digital twins at Crazy Tech Labs, and how he met Dan in a conference in San Francisco. AI, IoT, and digital twin technology, with a focus on practical applications and the importance of understanding AI. Jorge emphasizes the importance of researching the market and listening to others before solving a problem. Jorge and Scott MacKenzie discuss the potential of edge computing and AI inference in solving real-world problems. Jorge: Solving problems without putting costs ahead, looking into clients' needs, and using technology that's already available. Rebeca: Importance of standardizations in AI to avoid dangerous situations where people say whatever they want. Rebeca emphasizes the practical applications of AI, such as saving time and providing insights, while Speaker 2 highlights the importance of understanding the problem and using the right tools. AI and IoT, data quality, and digital twins. Scott and Speaker 2 discuss AI's impact on IoT and digital twin, with Speaker 2 viewing it as a tool for composing solutions. Jorge emphasizes the importance of context in AI and IoT, citing the need for accurate data to create a digital twin. Rebeca discusses various approaches to ensuring data accuracy in IoT, including using AI to identify patterns and detect deviations in time series data. AI, digital twins, and IoT solutions for industrial efficiency. Digital twins provide contextualization to identify security issues in IoT devices. Rebeca discussed the importance of AI in detecting inconsistencies in data and improving confidence in results. Jorge highlighted the challenges of choosing the right IoT solutions in a rapidly evolving market. Scott...
Hosts Jo Firestone & Manolo Moreno play listener-created games with callers!Games played: Verbal Worble submitted by Maeve Story from St. Louis, Missouri, Lovin' Spoonfuls submitted by Tice Rust from Reston, Virginia, and The Sports Doctor submitted by Braden Cahill from Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaCallers: Sairah from Los Angeles, California; Sean from Edina, Minnesota; Vicky from Wellesley, Massachusetts; Samantha from San Jose, California; Andrea & Michael from Newark, New Jersey; Christopher from Colorado Springs, ColoradoManolo's comic book, Supportive #1, is available at moslo.xyz
Eat your way to hydration and quench your thirst. Dr. Neal Barnard reveals some of the most hydrating foods you can eat when he joins "The Weight Loss Champion" Chuck Carroll on The Exam Room Podcast. Topics Discussed - What foods have the highest water content? - How many ounces of water should you drink each day? - How much water can come from food? - What are the most hydrating fruits? - What are the most hydrating vegetables? - What are the best foods to eat after a workout? - Does soda actually quench thirst? - How much do coffee and caffeinated drinks dehydrate you? - And more Have a question for Dr. Barnard? Post it in the comments or chat! This episode is sponsored by The Gregory J. Reiter Memorial Fund, which supports organizations like the Physicians Committee that carry on Greg's passion and love for animals through rescue efforts, veganism, and wildlife conservation. — — THE POWER FOODS DIET — — Order the book: https://amzn.to/3GmCxUj Book tour schedule: https://www.pcrm.org/events/power-foods-lectures — — SHOW LINKS — — Hydration Mortality Health Study https://bit.ly/HydroHealthStudy — — — Gregory J. Reiter Memorial Fund https://gregoryreiterfund.org — — EVENTS — — International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine Where: Washington, DC — Grand Hyatt Date: August 15-17 Who: Drs. Neal Barnard, Dean Ornish, Alan Desmond, Gemma Newman, Jim Loomis, Thomas Campbell, Kristi Funk, and more! Tickets: https://www.pcrm.org/icnm — — — Exam Room Live Where: GreenFare Restaurant in Reston, VA When: July 25, 2024 Info: https://bit.ly/ERLiveGF725 — — BECOME AN EXAM ROOM VIP — — VIP sign up: https://www.pcrm.org/examroomvip — — THIS IS US — — The Exam Room Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theexamroompodcast — — — Dr. Neal Barnard Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drnealbarnard Facebook: http://bit.ly/DrBarnardFB X: https://www.twitter.com/drnealbarnard — — — Chuck Carroll Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ChuckCarrollWLC Facebook: http://wghtloss.cc/ChuckFacebook X: https://www.twitter.com/ChuckCarrollWLC — — — Physicians Committee Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/physicianscommittee Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PCRM.org X: https://www.twitter.com/pcrm YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PCRM — — SUBSCRIBE & SHARE — — 5-Star Success: Share Your Story Apple: https://apple.co/2JXBkpy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2pMLoY3 Please subscribe and give the show a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or many other podcast providers. Don't forget to share it with a friend for inspiration!