Podcasts about Soa

In this episode of Get Plugged In – AI Insights, Dale Hall (Managing Director, Society of Actuaries Research Institute) sits down with Ronald Poon Affat, Independent Board Director & Cross-Continental Actuary, joining live from São Paulo, Brazil, to explore how NIST is shaping the standards that will define trustworthy AI—and why that matters for actuaries. They discuss what the NIST AI Consortium is, why the SOA is actively contributing through its AI Safety Working Group, and what it's like collaborating with leading voices across technology, academia, and public policy. The conversation also dives into the next major focus area: TEVV (Testing, Evaluation, Verification, and Validation)—a practical "quality assurance" approach to ensure AI models are fair, explainable, reliable, and ready for regulatory scrutiny. Listen in for a clear, actuarial lens on where AI governance is headed in insurance—and how actuaries can lead by asking the right risk questions.

Le tissage, l'impression, la broderie, la dentelle : il est difficile de compter les métiers et les artisans derrière les podiums des défilés de haute couture. Ce sont des savoir-faire ancestraux qui sont à l'œuvre, des techniques exigeantes, minutieuses, qui demandent une patience infinie. Le Palais Galliera à Paris leur rend justice avec  l'exposition « Tisser, Broder, Sublimer » qui explore ces savoir-faire à travers un motif universel. Marie-Laure Gutton, commissaire de l'exposition « Tisser, Broder, Sublimer », Laetitia Baqué et Victor Molinié, fondateurs de Baqué-Molinié étaient les invités de Nathalie Amar sur RFI. L'exposition « Tisser, Broder, Sublimer » est à retrouver au Palais Galliera.   ► Chronique : Les Pionnières de la culture Marjorie Bertin nous parle d'Esther Williams, une nageuse qui a inventé un nouveau genre de cinéma : les « aqua musical », c'est-à-dire les comédies musicales aquatiques.    ► Reportage Solène Gardré est allée au spectacle Diaspora POP présenté au Carreau du Temple, conçu par une célèbre Drag Queen parisienne, Soa de Muse, dont certaines tenues ont un propos politique !    ► Playlist du jour - Izzy Bizu - Flower Power - Gorillaz ft. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, Anoushka Shankar - Orange Country - Myra feat. Ichon - Pièce manquante.

Le tissage, l'impression, la broderie, la dentelle : il est difficile de compter les métiers et les artisans derrière les podiums des défilés de haute couture. Ce sont des savoir-faire ancestraux qui sont à l'œuvre, des techniques exigeantes, minutieuses, qui demandent une patience infinie. Le Palais Galliera à Paris leur rend justice avec  l'exposition « Tisser, Broder, Sublimer » qui explore ces savoir-faire à travers un motif universel. Marie-Laure Gutton, commissaire de l'exposition « Tisser, Broder, Sublimer », Laetitia Baqué et Victor Molinié, fondateurs de Baqué-Molinié étaient les invités de Nathalie Amar sur RFI. L'exposition « Tisser, Broder, Sublimer » est à retrouver au Palais Galliera.   ► Chronique : Les Pionnières de la culture Marjorie Bertin nous parle d'Esther Williams, une nageuse qui a inventé un nouveau genre de cinéma : les « aqua musical », c'est-à-dire les comédies musicales aquatiques.    ► Reportage Solène Gardré est allée au spectacle Diaspora POP présenté au Carreau du Temple, conçu par une célèbre Drag Queen parisienne, Soa de Muse, dont certaines tenues ont un propos politique !    ► Playlist du jour - Izzy Bizu - Flower Power - Gorillaz ft. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson, Anoushka Shankar - Orange Country - Myra feat. Ichon - Pièce manquante.

David & Sperwell déroulent la playlist de la vie de Soa de Muse. Son enfance, sa quête d'identité, le cabaret, ses trois saisons de Drag Race et beaucoup de digressions... tout y passe !

Esta semana suenan: PSICONAUTAS & Hnos. Auserón + Anni B Sweet – El extraterrestre EL GAVIRA – Alguien (quien sea) USTED – Canción del buen fan CERVATANA – Cap. III Metis FILIPENDULAE – HLU CELESTIAL BUMS – A dream (guide me from the stars) JUSTDIEGO – Cómo no voy a querer NAT SIMONS – Especie en extinción ANNAPURNA – Las palabras EL CAPITÁN ELEFANTE – El chispazo LOS PRIMOS CHICOS – Radical CARLOTA MELERO – Perdida BALONCESTO – La gira tardía TG&SOA – Momento mágico CORA YAKO – Firmar la paz DAPHNE – Hada FALSONUEVE – Síndrome de París ARENE 6 & SUA – Biharra izan ---------- Cara B "Entre lo alternativo y lo emergente, en eso andamos". Programa emitido en Mozoilo Irratia, la radio de Galdakao, online en mozoiloirratia.eus Escúchanos en directo cada miércoles de 20h a 21h.

In this episode of Research Insights, we revisit a conversation originally featured in the Young Professional Advisory Council (YPAC) Podcast Series. Host Tasso Buntivas, Vice Chair of YPAC, speaks with Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute. Dale provides an in-depth look into the SOA's research initiatives—from experience studies and practice research to emerging topics such as artificial intelligence, climate risk, and longevity modeling. He also explains how the SOA's research informs public policy, shapes industry practices, and delivers societal value. This engaging discussion offers valuable insight for both early-career and experienced actuaries interested in contributing to or better understanding the impact of actuarial research. Dale shares the many ways actuaries can get involved, regardless of background or experience level. Whether you're curious about how research priorities are set or seeking ways to contribute, this episode offers a compelling look at the people, process, and purpose behind SOA research.

HỒI THỨ HAI MƯƠI HAI Bát Giới đại chiến sông Lưu Sa, Mộc Soa vâng lệnh bắt Ngộ Tĩnh.Thông tin:* Tây Du Ký (tác giả Ngô Thừa Ân)- Nguyên tác tiếng Trung Quốc của Nhân Dân Văn Học Xuất Bản Xã Trung Quốc ấn hành năm 1972. Người dịch: Như Sơn; Mai Xuân Hải; Phương Oanh.* Nguồn nội dung: NXB Văn học, Việt Nam Thư Quán(http://vietnamthuquan.eu/truyen/truyen.aspx?tid=2qtqv3m3237nnn0nmn2nnn31n343tq83a3q3m3237nvn)* Âm nhạc:   VPRODMUSIC_Asia_BGM - Pixabay Music (Pixabay.com)* Support the Channel:1. VÍ MOMO (0903927130)2. “Buy me A Coffee” (https://buymeacoffee.com/mcdongquan)

De retour à cinq dans l'épisode, les cast codeurs démarrent cette année avec un gros épisode pleins de news et d'articles de fond. IA bien sûr, son impact sur les pratiques, Mockito qui tourne un page, du CSS (et oui), sur le (non) mapping d'APIs REST en MCP et d'une palanquée d'outils pour vous. Enregistré le 9 janvier 2026 Téléchargement de l'épisode LesCastCodeurs-Episode-335.mp3 ou en vidéo sur YouTube. News Langages 2026 sera-t'elle l'année de Java dans le terminal ? (j'ai ouïe dire que ça se pourrait bien…) https://xam.dk/blog/lets-make-2026-the-year-of-java-in-the-terminal/ 2026: Année de Java dans le terminal, pour rattraper son retard sur Python, Rust, Go et Node.js. Java est sous-estimé pour les applications CLI et les TUIs (interfaces utilisateur terminales) malgré ses capacités. Les anciennes excuses (démarrage lent, outillage lourd, verbosité, distribution complexe) sont obsolètes grâce aux avancées récentes : GraalVM Native Image pour un démarrage en millisecondes. JBang pour l'exécution simplifiée de scripts Java (fichiers uniques, dépendances) et de JARs. JReleaser pour l'automatisation de la distribution multi-plateforme (Homebrew, SDKMAN, Docker, images natives). Project Loom pour la concurrence facile avec les threads virtuels. PicoCLI pour la gestion des arguments. Le potentiel va au-delà des scripts : création de TUIs complètes et esthétiques (ex: dashboards, gestionnaires de fichiers, assistants IA). Excuses caduques : démarrage rapide (GraalVM), légèreté (JBang), distribution simple (JReleaser), concurrence (Loom). Potentiel : créer des applications TUI riches et esthétiques. Sortie de Ruby 4.0.0 https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2025/12/25/ruby-4-0-0-released/ Ruby Box (expérimental) : Une nouvelle fonctionnalité permettant d'isoler les définitions (classes, modules, monkey patches) dans des boîtes séparées pour éviter les conflits globaux. ZJIT : Un nouveau compilateur JIT de nouvelle génération développé en Rust, visant à surpasser YJIT à terme (actuellement en phase expérimentale). Améliorations de Ractor : Introduction de Ractor::Port pour une meilleure communication entre Ractors et optimisation des structures internes pour réduire les contentions de verrou global. Changements syntaxiques : Les opérateurs logiques (||, &&, and, or) en début de ligne permettent désormais de continuer la ligne précédente, facilitant le style "fluent". Classes Core : Set et Pathname deviennent des classes intégrées (Core) au lieu d'être dans la bibliothèque standard. Diagnostics améliorés : Les erreurs d'arguments (ArgumentError) affichent désormais des extraits de code pour l'appelant ET la définition de la méthode. Performances : Optimisation de Class#new, accès plus rapide aux variables d'instance et améliorations significatives du ramasse-miettes (GC). Nettoyage : Suppression de comportements obsolètes (comme la création de processus via IO.open avec |) et mise à jour vers Unicode 17.0. Librairies Introduction pour créer une appli multi-tenant avec Quarkus et http://nip.io|nip.io https://www.the-main-thread.com/p/quarkus-multi-tenant-api-nipio-tutorial Construction d'une API REST multi-tenant en Quarkus avec isolation par sous-domaine Utilisation de http://nip.io|nip.io pour la résolution DNS automatique sans configuration locale Extraction du tenant depuis l'en-tête HTTP Host via un filtre JAX-RS Contexte tenant géré avec CDI en scope Request pour l'isolation des données Service applicatif gérant des données spécifiques par tenant avec Map concurrent Interface web HTML/JS pour visualiser et ajouter des données par tenant Configuration CORS nécessaire pour le développement local Pattern acme.127-0-0-1.nip.io résolu automatiquement vers localhost Code complet disponible sur GitHub avec exemples curl et tests navigateur Base idéale pour prototypage SaaS, tests multi-tenants Hibernate 7.2 avec quelques améliorations intéressantes https://docs.hibernate.org/orm/7.2/whats-new/%7Bhtml-meta-canonical-link%7D read only replica (experimental), crée deux session factories et swap au niveau jdbc si le driver le supporte et custom sinon. On ouvre une session en read only child statelesssession (partage le contexte transactionnel) hibernate vector module ajouter binary, float16 and sparse vectors Le SchemaManager peut resynchroniser les séquences par rapport aux données des tables Regexp dans HQL avec like Nouvelle version de Hibernate with Panache pour Quarkus https://quarkus.io/blog/hibernate-panache-next/ Nouvelle extension expérimentale qui unifie Hibernate ORM with Panache et Hibernate Reactive with Panache Les entités peuvent désormais fonctionner en mode bloquant ou réactif sans changer de type de base Support des sessions sans état (StatelessSession) en plus des entités gérées traditionnelles Intégration de Jakarta Data pour des requêtes type-safe vérifiées à la compilation Les opérations sont définies dans des repositories imbriqués plutôt que des méthodes statiques Possibilité de définir plusieurs repositories pour différents modes d'opération sur une même entité Accès aux différents modes (bloquant/réactif, géré/sans état) via des méthodes de supertype Support des annotations @Find et @HQL pour générer des requêtes type-safe Accès au repository via injection ou via le métamodèle généré Extension disponible dans la branche main, feedback demandé sur Zulip ou GitHub Spring Shell 4.0.0 GA publié - https://spring.io/blog/2025/12/30/spring-shell-4-0-0-ga-released Sortie de la version finale de Spring Shell 4.0.0 disponible sur Maven Central Compatible avec les dernières versions de Spring Framework et Spring Boot Modèle de commandes revu pour simplifier la création d'applications CLI interactives Intégration de jSpecify pour améliorer la sécurité contre les NullPointerException Architecture plus modulaire permettant meilleure personnalisation et extension Documentation et exemples entièrement mis à jour pour faciliter la prise en main Guide de migration vers la v4 disponible sur le wiki du projet Corrections de bugs pour améliorer la stabilité et la fiabilité Permet de créer des applications Java autonomes exécutables avec java -jar ou GraalVM native Approche opinionnée du développement CLI tout en restant flexible pour les besoins spécifiques Une nouvelle version de la librairie qui implémenter des gatherers supplémentaires à ceux du JDK https://github.com/tginsberg/gatherers4j/releases/tag/v0.13.0 gatherers4j v0.13.0. Nouveaux gatherers : uniquelyOccurringBy(), moving/runningMedian(), moving/runningMax/Min(). Changement : les gatherers "moving" incluent désormais par défaut les valeurs partielles (utiliser excludePartialValues() pour désactiver). LangChain4j 1.10.0 https://github.com/langchain4j/langchain4j/releases/tag/1.10.0 Introduction d'un catalogue de modèles pour Anthropic, Gemini, OpenAI et Mistral. Ajout de capacités d'observabilité et de monitoring pour les agents. Support des sorties structurées, des outils avancés et de l'analyse de PDF via URL pour Anthropic. Support des services de transcription pour OpenAI. Possibilité de passer des paramètres de configuration de chat en argument des méthodes. Nouveau garde-fou de modération pour les messages entrants. Support du contenu de raisonnement pour les modèles. Introduction de la recherche hybride. Améliorations du client MCP. Départ du lead de mockito après 10 ans https://github.com/mockito/mockito/issues/3777 Tim van der Lippe, mainteneur majeur de Mockito, annonce son départ pour mars 2026, marquant une décennie de contribution au projet. L'une des raisons principales est l'épuisement lié aux changements récents dans la JVM (JVM 22+) concernant les agents, imposant des contraintes techniques lourdes sans alternative simple proposée par les mainteneurs du JDK. Il pointe du doigt le manque de soutien et la pression exercée sur les bénévoles de l'open source lors de ces transitions technologiques majeures. La complexité croissante pour supporter Kotlin, qui utilise la JVM de manière spécifique, rend la base de code de Mockito plus difficile à maintenir et moins agréable à faire évoluer selon lui. Il exprime une perte de plaisir et préfère désormais consacrer son temps libre à d'autres projets comme Servo, un moteur web écrit en Rust. Une période de transition est prévue jusqu'en mars pour assurer la passation de la maintenance à de nouveaux contributeurs. Infrastructure Le premier intérêt de Kubernetes n'est pas le scaling - https://mcorbin.fr/posts/2025-12-29-kubernetes-scale/ Avant Kubernetes, gérer des applications en production nécessitait de multiples outils complexes (Ansible, Puppet, Chef) avec beaucoup de configuration manuelle Le load balancing se faisait avec HAProxy et Keepalived en actif/passif, nécessitant des mises à jour manuelles de configuration à chaque changement d'instance Le service discovery et les rollouts étaient orchestrés manuellement, instance par instance, sans automatisation de la réconciliation Chaque stack (Java, Python, Ruby) avait sa propre méthode de déploiement, sans standardisation (rpm, deb, tar.gz, jar) La gestion des ressources était manuelle avec souvent une application par machine, créant du gaspillage et complexifiant la maintenance Kubernetes standardise tout en quelques ressources YAML (Deployment, Service, Ingress, ConfigMap, Secret) avec un format déclaratif simple Toutes les fonctionnalités critiques sont intégrées : service discovery, load balancing, scaling, stockage, firewalling, logging, tolérance aux pannes La complexité des centaines de scripts shell et playbooks Ansible maintenus avant était supérieure à celle de Kubernetes Kubernetes devient pertinent dès qu'on commence à reconstruire manuellement ces fonctionnalités, ce qui arrive très rapidement La technologie est flexible et peut gérer aussi bien des applications modernes que des monolithes legacy avec des contraintes spécifiques Mole https://github.com/tw93/Mole Un outil en ligne de commande (CLI) tout-en-un pour nettoyer et optimiser macOS. Combine les fonctionnalités de logiciels populaires comme CleanMyMac, AppCleaner, DaisyDisk et iStat Menus. Analyse et supprime en profondeur les caches, les fichiers logs et les résidus de navigateurs. Désinstallateur intelligent qui retire proprement les applications et leurs fichiers cachés (Launch Agents, préférences). Analyseur d'espace disque interactif pour visualiser l'occupation des fichiers et gérer les documents volumineux. Tableau de bord temps réel (mo status) pour surveiller le CPU, le GPU, la mémoire et le réseau. Fonction de purge spécifique pour les développeurs permettant de supprimer les artefacts de build (node_modules, target, etc.). Intégration possible avec Raycast ou Alfred pour un lancement rapide des commandes. Installation simple via Homebrew ou un script curl. Des images Docker sécurisées pour chaque développeur https://www.docker.com/blog/docker-hardened-images-for-every-developer/ Docker rend ses "Hardened Images" (DHI) gratuites et open source (licence Apache 2.0) pour tous les développeurs. Ces images sont conçues pour être minimales, prêtes pour la production et sécurisées dès le départ afin de lutter contre l'explosion des attaques sur la chaîne logistique logicielle. Elles s'appuient sur des bases familières comme Alpine et Debian, garantissant une compatibilité élevée et une migration facile. Chaque image inclut un SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) complet et vérifiable, ainsi qu'une provenance SLSA de niveau 3 pour une transparence totale. L'utilisation de ces images permet de réduire considérablement le nombre de vulnérabilités (CVE) et la taille des images (jusqu'à 95 % plus petites). Docker étend cette approche sécurisée aux graphiques Helm et aux serveurs MCP (Mongo, Grafana, GitHub, etc.). Des offres commerciales (DHI Enterprise) restent disponibles pour des besoins spécifiques : correctifs critiques sous 7 jours, support FIPS/FedRAMP ou support à cycle de vie étendu (ELS). Un assistant IA expérimental de Docker peut analyser les conteneurs existants pour recommander l'adoption des versions sécurisées correspondantes. L'initiative est soutenue par des partenaires majeurs tels que Google, MongoDB, Snyk et la CNCF. Web La maçonnerie ("masonry") arrive dans la spécification des CSS et commence à être implémentée par les navigateurs https://webkit.org/blog/17660/introducing-css-grid-lanes/ Permet de mettre en colonne des éléments HTML les uns à la suite des autres. D'abord sur la première ligne, et quand la première ligne est remplie, le prochain élément se trouvera dans la colonne où il pourra être le plus haut possible, et ainsi de suite. après la plomberie du middleware, la maçonnerie du front :laughing: Data et Intelligence Artificielle On ne devrait pas faire un mapping 1:1 entre API REST et MCP https://nordicapis.com/why-mcp-shouldnt-wrap-an-api-one-to-one/ Problématique : Envelopper une API telle quelle dans le protocole MCP (Model Context Protocol) est un anti-pattern. Objectif du MCP : Conçu pour les agents d'IA, il doit servir d'interface d'intention, non de miroir d'API. Les agents comprennent les tâches, pas la logique complexe des API (authentification, pagination, orchestration). Conséquences du mappage un-à-un : Confusion des agents, erreurs, hallucinations. Difficulté à gérer les orchestrations complexes (plusieurs appels pour une seule action). Exposition des faiblesses de l'API (schéma lourd, endpoints obsolètes). Maintenance accrue lors des changements d'API. Meilleure approche : Construire des outils MCP comme des SDK pour agents, encapsulant la logique nécessaire pour accomplir une tâche spécifique. Pratiques recommandées : Concevoir autour des intentions/actions utilisateur (ex. : "créer un projet", "résumer un document"). Regrouper les appels en workflows ou actions uniques. Utiliser un langage naturel pour les définitions et les noms. Limiter la surface d'exposition de l'API pour la sécurité et la clarté. Appliquer des schémas d'entrée/sortie stricts pour guider l'agent et réduire l'ambiguïté. Des agents en production avec AWS - https://blog.ippon.fr/2025/12/22/des-agents-en-production-avec-aws/ AWS re:Invent 2025 a massivement mis en avant l'IA générative et les agents IA Un agent IA combine un LLM, une boucle d'appel et des outils invocables Strands Agents SDK facilite le prototypage avec boucles ReAct intégrées et gestion de la mémoire Managed MLflow permet de tracer les expérimentations et définir des métriques de performance Nova Forge optimise les modèles par réentraînement sur données spécifiques pour réduire coûts et latence Bedrock Agent Core industrialise le déploiement avec runtime serverless et auto-scaling Agent Core propose neuf piliers dont observabilité, authentification, code interpreter et browser managé Le protocole MCP d'Anthropic standardise la fourniture d'outils aux agents SageMaker AI et Bedrock centralisent l'accès aux modèles closed source et open source via API unique AWS mise sur l'évolution des chatbots vers des systèmes agentiques optimisés avec modèles plus frugaux Debezium 3.4 amène plusieurs améliorations intéressantes https://debezium.io/blog/2025/12/16/debezium-3-4-final-released/ Correction du problème de calcul du low watermark Oracle qui causait des pertes de performance Correction de l'émission des événements heartbeat dans le connecteur Oracle avec les requêtes CTE Amélioration des logs pour comprendre les transactions actives dans le connecteur Oracle Memory guards pour protéger contre les schémas de base de données de grande taille Support de la transformation des coordonnées géométriques pour une meilleure gestion des données spatiales Extension Quarkus DevServices permettant de démarrer automatiquement une base de données et Debezium en dev Intégration OpenLineage pour tracer la lignée des données et suivre leur flux à travers les pipelines Compatibilité testée avec Kafka Connect 4.1 et Kafka brokers 4.1 Infinispan 16.0.4 et .5 https://infinispan.org/blog/2025/12/17/infinispan-16-0-4 Spring Boot 4 et Spring 7 supportés Evolution dans les metriques Deux bugs de serialisation Construire un agent de recherche en Java avec l'API Interactions https://glaforge.dev/posts/2026/01/03/building-a-research-assistant-with-the-interactions-api-in-java/ Assistant de recherche IA Java (API Interactions Gemini), test du SDK implémenté par Guillaume. Workflow en 4 phases : Planification : Gemini Flash + Google Search. Recherche : Modèle "Deep Research" (tâche de fond). Synthèse : Gemini Pro (rapport exécutif). Infographie : Nano Banana Pro (à partir de la synthèse). API Interactions : gestion d'état serveur, tâches en arrière-plan, réponses multimodales (images). Appréciation : gestion d'état de l'API (vs LLM sans état). Validation : efficacité du SDK Java pour cas complexes. Stephan Janssen (le papa de Devoxx) a créé un serveur MCP (Model Context Protocol) basé sur LSP (Language Server Protocol) pour que les assistants de code analysent le code en le comprenant vraiment plutôt qu'en faisant des grep https://github.com/stephanj/LSP4J-MCP Le problème identifié : Les assistants IA utilisent souvent la recherche textuelle (type grep) pour naviguer dans le code, ce qui manque de contexte sémantique, génère du bruit (faux positifs) et consomme énormément de tokens inutilement. La solution LSP4J-MCP : Une approche "standalone" (autonome) qui encapsule le serveur de langage Eclipse (JDTLS) via le protocole MCP (Model Context Protocol). Avantage principal : Offre une compréhension sémantique profonde du code Java (types, hiérarchies, références) sans nécessiter l'ouverture d'un IDE lourd comme IntelliJ. Comparaison des méthodes : AST : Trop léger (pas de compréhension inter-fichiers). IntelliJ MCP : Puissant mais exige que l'IDE soit ouvert (gourmand en ressources). LSP4J-MCP : Le meilleur des deux mondes pour les workflows en terminal, à distance (SSH) ou CI/CD. Fonctionnalités clés : Expose 5 outils pour l'IA (find_symbols, find_references, find_definition, document_symbols, find_interfaces_with_method). Résultats : Une réduction de 100x des tokens utilisés pour la navigation et une précision accrue (distinction des surcharges, des scopes, etc.). Disponibilité : Le projet est open source et disponible sur GitHub pour intégration immédiate (ex: avec Claude Code, Gemini CLI, etc). A noter l'ajout dans claude code 2.0.74 d'un tool pour supporter LSP ( https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#2074 ) Awesome (GitHub) Copilot https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot Une collection communautaire d'instructions, de prompts et de configurations pour optimiser l'utilisation de GitHub Copilot. Propose des "Agents" spécialisés qui s'intègrent aux serveurs MCP pour améliorer les flux de travail spécifiques. Inclut des prompts ciblés pour la génération de code, la documentation et la résolution de problèmes complexes. Fournit des instructions détaillées sur les standards de codage et les meilleures pratiques applicables à divers frameworks. Propose des "Skills" (compétences) sous forme de dossiers contenant des ressources pour des tâches techniques spécialisées. (les skills sont dispo dans copilot depuis un mois : https://github.blog/changelog/2025-12-18-github-copilot-now-supports-agent-skills/ ) Permet une installation facile via un serveur MCP dédié, compatible avec VS Code et Visual Studio. Encourage la contribution communautaire pour enrichir les bibliothèques de prompts et d'agents. Aide à augmenter la productivité en offrant des solutions pré-configurées pour de nombreux langages et domaines. Garanti par une licence MIT et maintenu activement par des contributeurs du monde entier. IA et productivité : bilan de l'année 2025 (Laura Tacho - DX)) https://newsletter.getdx.com/p/ai-and-productivity-year-in-review?aid=recNfypKAanQrKszT En 2025, l'ingénierie assistée par l'IA est devenue la norme : environ 90 % des développeurs utilisent des outils d'IA mensuellement, et plus de 40 % quotidiennement. Les chercheurs (Microsoft, Google, GitHub) soulignent que le nombre de lignes de code (LOC) reste un mauvais indicateur d'impact, car l'IA génère beaucoup de code sans forcément garantir une valeur métier supérieure. Si l'IA améliore l'efficacité individuelle, elle pourrait nuire à la collaboration à long terme, car les développeurs passent plus de temps à "parler" à l'IA qu'à leurs collègues. L'identité du développeur évolue : il passe de "producteur de code" à un rôle de "metteur en scène" qui délègue, valide et exerce son jugement stratégique. L'IA pourrait accélérer la montée en compétences des développeurs juniors en les forçant à gérer des projets et à déléguer plus tôt, agissant comme un "accélérateur" plutôt que de les rendre obsolètes. L'accent est mis sur la créativité plutôt que sur la simple automatisation, afin de réimaginer la manière de travailler et d'obtenir des résultats plus impactants. Le succès en 2026 dépendra de la capacité des entreprises à cibler les goulots d'étranglement réels (dette technique, documentation, conformité) plutôt que de tester simplement chaque nouveau modèle d'IA. La newsletter avertit que les titres de presse simplifient souvent à l'excès les recherches sur l'IA, masquant parfois les nuances cruciales des études réelles. Un développeur décrit dans un article sur Twitter son utilisation avancée de Claude Code pour le développement, avec des sous-agents, des slash-commands, comment optimiser le contexte, etc. https://x.com/AureaLibe/status/2008958120878330329?s=20 Outillage IntelliJ IDEA, thread dumps et project Loom (virtual threads) - https://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/2025/12/thread-dumps-and-project-loom-virtual-threads/ Les virtual threads Java améliorent l'utilisation du matériel pour les opérations I/O parallèles avec peu de changements de code Un serveur peut maintenant gérer des millions de threads au lieu de quelques centaines Les outils existants peinent à afficher et analyser des millions de threads simultanément Le débogage asynchrone est complexe car le scheduler et le worker s'exécutent dans des threads différents Les thread dumps restent essentiels pour diagnostiquer deadlocks, UI bloquées et fuites de threads Netflix a découvert un deadlock lié aux virtual threads en analysant un heap dump, bug corrigé dans Java 25. Mais c'était de la haute voltige IntelliJ IDEA supporte nativement les virtual threads dès leur sortie avec affichage des locks acquis IntelliJ IDEA peut ouvrir des thread dumps générés par d'autres outils comme jcmd Le support s'étend aussi aux coroutines Kotlin en plus des virtual threads Quelques infos sur IntelliJ IDEA 2025.3 https://blog.jetbrains.com/idea/2025/12/intellij-idea-2025-3/ Distribution unifiée regroupant davantage de fonctionnalités gratuites Amélioration de la complétion des commandes dans l'IDE Nouvelles fonctionnalités pour le débogueur Spring Thème Islands devient le thème par défaut Support complet de Spring Boot 4 et Spring Framework 7 Compatibilité avec Java 25 Prise en charge de Spring Data JDBC et Vitest 4 Support natif de Junie et Claude Agent pour l'IA Quota d'IA transparent et option Bring Your Own Key à venir Corrections de stabilité, performance et expérience utilisateur Plein de petits outils en ligne pour le développeur https://blgardner.github.io/prism.tools/ génération de mot de passe, de gradient CSS, de QR code encodage décodage de Base64, JWT formattage de JSON, etc. resumectl - Votre CV en tant que code https://juhnny5.github.io/resumectl/ Un outil en ligne de commande (CLI) écrit en Go pour générer un CV à partir d'un fichier YAML. Permet l'exportation vers plusieurs formats : PDF, HTML, ou un affichage direct dans le terminal. Propose 5 thèmes intégrés (Modern, Classic, Minimal, Elegant, Tech) personnalisables avec des couleurs spécifiques. Fonctionnalité d'initialisation (resumectl init) permettant d'importer automatiquement des données depuis LinkedIn et GitHub (projets les plus étoilés). Supporte l'ajout de photos avec des options de filtre noir et blanc ou de forme (rond/carré). Inclut un mode "serveur" (resumectl serve) pour prévisualiser les modifications en temps réel via un navigateur local. Fonctionne comme un binaire unique sans dépendances externes complexes pour les modèles. mactop - Un moniteur "top" pour Apple Silicon https://github.com/metaspartan/mactop Un outil de surveillance en ligne de commande (TUI) conçu spécifiquement pour les puces Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5). Permet de suivre en temps réel l'utilisation du CPU (E-cores et P-cores), du GPU et de l'ANE (Neural Engine). Affiche la consommation électrique (wattage) du système, du CPU, du GPU et de la DRAM. Fournit des données sur les températures du SoC, les fréquences du GPU et l'état thermique global. Surveille l'utilisation de la mémoire vive, de la swap, ainsi que l'activité réseau et disque (E/S). Propose 10 mises en page (layouts) différentes et plusieurs thèmes de couleurs personnalisables. Ne nécessite pas l'utilisation de sudo car il s'appuie sur les API natives d'Apple (SMC, IOReport, IOKit). Inclut une liste de processus détaillée (similaire à htop) avec la possibilité de tuer des processus directement depuis l'interface. Offre un mode "headless" pour exporter les métriques au format JSON et un serveur optionnel pour Prometheus. Développé en Go avec des composants en CGO et Objective-C. Adieu direnv, Bonjour misehttps://codeka.io/2025/12/19/adieu-direnv-bonjour-mise/ L'auteur remplace ses outils habituels (direnv, asdf, task, just) par un seul outil polyvalent écrit en Rust : mise. mise propose trois fonctions principales : gestionnaire de paquets (langages et outils), gestionnaire de variables d'environnement et exécuteur de tâches. Contrairement à direnv, il permet de gérer des alias et utilise un fichier de configuration structuré (mise.toml) plutôt que du scripting shell. La configuration est hiérarchique, permettant de surcharger les paramètres selon les répertoires, avec un système de "trust" pour la sécurité. Une "killer-feature" soulignée est la gestion des secrets : mise s'intègre avec age pour chiffrer des secrets (via clés SSH) directement dans le fichier de configuration. L'outil supporte une vaste liste de langages et d'outils via un registre interne et des plugins (compatibilité avec l'écosystème asdf). Il simplifie le workflow de développement en regroupant l'installation des outils et l'automatisation des tâches au sein d'un même fichier. L'auteur conclut sur la puissance, la flexibilité et les excellentes performances de l'outil après quelques heures de test. Claude Code v2.1.0 https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#210 Rechargement à chaud des "skills" : Les modifications apportées aux compétences dans ~/.claude/skills sont désormais appliquées instantanément sans redémarrer la session. Sous-agents et forks : Support de l'exécution de compétences et de commandes slash dans un contexte de sous-agent forké via context: fork. Réglages linguistiques : Ajout d'un paramètre language pour configurer la langue de réponse par défaut (ex: language: "french"). Améliorations du terminal : Shift+Enter fonctionne désormais nativement dans plusieurs terminaux (iTerm2, WezTerm, Ghostty, Kitty) sans configuration manuelle. Sécurité et correction de bugs : Correction d'une faille où des données sensibles (clés API, tokens OAuth) pouvaient apparaître dans les logs de débogage. Nouvelles commandes slash : Ajout de /teleport et /remote-env pour les abonnés claude.ai afin de gérer des sessions distantes. Mode Plan : Le raccourci /plan permet d'activer le mode plan directement depuis le prompt, et la demande de permission à l'entrée de ce mode a été supprimée. Vim et navigation : Ajout de nombreux mouvements Vim (text objects, répétitions de mouvements f/F/t/T, indentations, etc.). Performance : Optimisation du temps de démarrage et du rendu terminal pour les caractères Unicode/Emoji. Gestion du gitignore : Support du réglage respectGitignore dans settings.json pour contrôler le comportement du sélecteur de fichiers @-mention. Méthodologies 200 déploiements en production par jour, même le vendredi : retours d'expérience https://mcorbin.fr/posts/2025-03-21-deploy-200/ Le déploiement fréquent, y compris le vendredi, est un indicateur de maturité technique et augmente la productivité globale. L'excellence technique est un atout stratégique indispensable pour livrer rapidement des produits de qualité. Une architecture pragmatique orientée services (SOA) facilite les déploiements indépendants et réduit la charge cognitive. L'isolation des services est cruciale : un développeur doit pouvoir tester son service localement sans dépendre de toute l'infrastructure. L'automatisation via Kubernetes et l'approche GitOps avec ArgoCD permettent des déploiements continus et sécurisés. Les feature flags et un système de permissions solide permettent de découpler le déploiement technique de l'activation fonctionnelle pour les utilisateurs. L'autonomie des développeurs est renforcée par des outils en self-service (CLI maison) pour gérer l'infrastructure et diagnostiquer les incidents sans goulot d'étranglement. Une culture d'observabilité intégrée dès la conception permet de détecter et de réagir rapidement aux anomalies en production. Accepter l'échec comme inévitable permet de concevoir des systèmes plus résilients capables de se rétablir automatiquement. "Vibe Coding" vs "Prompt Engineering" : l'IA et le futur du développement logiciel https://www.romenrg.com/blog/2025/12/25/vibe-coding-vs-prompt-engineering-ai-and-the-future-of-software-development/ L'IA est passée du statut d'expérimentation à celui d'infrastructure essentielle pour le développement de logiciels en 2025. L'IA ne remplace pas les ingénieurs, mais agit comme un amplificateur de leurs compétences, de leur jugement et de la qualité de leur réflexion. Distinction entre le "Vibe Coding" (rapide, intuitif, idéal pour les prototypes) et le "Prompt Engineering" (délibéré, contraint, nécessaire pour les systèmes maintenables). L'importance cruciale du contexte ("Context Engineering") : l'IA devient réellement puissante lorsqu'elle est connectée aux systèmes réels (GitHub, Jira, etc.) via des protocoles comme le MCP. Utilisation d'agents spécialisés (écriture de RFC, revue de code, architecture) plutôt que de modèles génériques pour obtenir de meilleurs résultats. Émergence de l'ingénieur "Technical Product Manager" capable d'abattre seul le travail d'une petite équipe grâce à l'IA, à condition de maîtriser les fondamentaux techniques. Le risque majeur : l'IA permet d'aller très vite dans la mauvaise direction si le jugement humain et l'expérience font défaut. Le niveau d'exigence global augmente : les bases techniques solides deviennent plus importantes que jamais pour éviter l'accumulation de dette technique rapide. Une revue de code en solo (Kent Beck) ! https://tidyfirst.substack.com/p/party-of-one-for-code-review?r=64ov3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true La revue de code traditionnelle, héritée des inspections formelles d'IBM, s'essouffle car elle est devenue trop lente et asynchrone par rapport au rythme du développement moderne. Avec l'arrivée de l'IA ("le génie"), la vitesse de production du code dépasse la capacité de relecture humaine, créant un goulot d'étranglement majeur. La revue de code doit évoluer vers deux nouveaux objectifs prioritaires : un "sanity check" pour vérifier que l'IA a bien fait ce qu'on lui demandait, et le contrôle de la dérive structurelle de la base de code. Maintenir une structure saine est crucial non seulement pour les futurs développeurs humains, mais aussi pour que l'IA puisse continuer à comprendre et modifier le code efficacement sans perdre le contexte. Kent Beck expérimente des outils automatisés (comme CodeRabbit) pour obtenir des résumés et des schémas d'architecture afin de garder une conscience globale des changements rapides. Même si les outils automatisés sont utiles, le "Pair Programming" reste irremplaçable pour la richesse des échanges et la pression sociale bénéfique qu'il impose à la réflexion. La revue de code solo n'est pas une fin en soi, mais une adaptation nécessaire lorsque l'on travaille seul avec des outils de génération de code augmentés. Loi, société et organisation Lego lance les Lego Smart Play, avec des Brique, des Smart Tags et des Smart Figurines pour faire de nouvelles constructions interactives avec des Legos https://www.lego.com/fr-fr/smart-play LEGO SMART Play : technologie réactive au jeu des enfants. Trois éléments clés : SMART Brique : Brique LEGO 2x4 "cerveau". Accéléromètre, lumières réactives, détecteur de couleurs, synthétiseur sonore. Réagit aux mouvements (tenir, tourner, taper). SMART Tags : Petites pièces intelligentes. Indiquent à la SMART Brique son rôle (ex: hélicoptère, voiture) et les sons à produire. Activent sons, mini-jeux, missions secrètes. SMART Minifigurines : Activées près d'une SMART Brique. Révèlent des personnalités uniques (sons, humeurs, réactions) via la SMART Brique. Encouragent l'imagination. Fonctionnement : SMART Brique détecte SMART Tags et SMART Minifigurines. Réagit aux mouvements avec lumières et sons dynamiques. Compatibilité : S'assemble avec les briques LEGO classiques. Objectif : Créer des expériences de jeu interactives, uniques et illimitées. Conférences La liste des conférences provenant de Developers Conferences Agenda/List par Aurélie Vache et contributeurs : 14-17 janvier 2026 : SnowCamp 2026 - Grenoble (France) 22 janvier 2026 : DevCon #26 : sécurité / post-quantique / hacking - Paris (France) 28 janvier 2026 : Software Heritage Symposium - Paris (France) 29-31 janvier 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Paris - Paris (France) 2-5 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Moulins - Moulins (France) 3 février 2026 : Cloud Native Days France 2026 - Paris (France) 3-4 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Lille - Lille (France) 3-4 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Mulhouse - Mulhouse (France) 3-4 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Nancy - Nancy (France) 3-4 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Nantes - Nantes (France) 3-4 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Marseille - Marseille (France) 3-4 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Rennes - Rennes (France) 3-4 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Montpellier - Montpellier (France) 3-4 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Strasbourg - Strasbourg (France) 3-4 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Toulouse - Toulouse (France) 4-5 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Bordeaux - Bordeaux (France) 4-5 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Lyon - Lyon (France) 4-6 février 2026 : Epitech Summit 2026 - Nice - Nice (France) 5 février 2026 : Web Days Convention - Aix-en-Provence (France) 12 février 2026 : Strasbourg Craft #1 - Strasbourg (France) 12-13 février 2026 : Touraine Tech #26 - Tours (France) 19 février 2026 : ObservabilityCON on the Road - Paris (France) 6 mars 2026 : WordCamp Nice 2026 - Nice (France) 18-19 mars 2026 : Agile Niort 2026 - Niort (France) 20 mars 2026 : Atlantique Day 2026 - Nantes (France) 26 mars 2026 : Data Days Lille - Lille (France) 26-27 mars 2026 : SymfonyLive Paris 2026 - Paris (France) 26-27 mars 2026 : REACT PARIS - Paris (France) 27-29 mars 2026 : Shift - Nantes (France) 31 mars 2026 : ParisTestConf - Paris (France) 1 avril 2026 : AWS Summit Paris - Paris (France) 2 avril 2026 : Pragma Cannes 2026 - Cannes (France) 9-10 avril 2026 : AndroidMakers by droidcon - Paris (France) 16-17 avril 2026 : MiXiT 2026 - Lyon (France) 22-24 avril 2026 : Devoxx France 2026 - Paris (France) 23-25 avril 2026 : Devoxx Greece - Athens (Greece) 24-25 avril 2026 : Faiseuses du Web 5 - Dinan (France) 6-7 mai 2026 : Devoxx UK 2026 - London (UK) 22 mai 2026 : AFUP Day 2026 Lille - Lille (France) 22 mai 2026 : AFUP Day 2026 Paris - Paris (France) 22 mai 2026 : AFUP Day 2026 Bordeaux - Bordeaux (France) 22 mai 2026 : AFUP Day 2026 Lyon - Lyon (France) 29 mai 2026 : NG Baguette Conf 2026 - Paris (France) 5 juin 2026 : TechReady - Nantes (France) 5 juin 2026 : Fork it! - Rouen - Rouen (France) 6 juin 2026 : Polycloud - Montpellier (France) 11-12 juin 2026 : DevQuest Niort - Niort (France) 11-12 juin 2026 : DevLille 2026 - Lille (France) 12 juin 2026 : Tech F'Est 2026 - Nancy (France) 17-19 juin 2026 : Devoxx Poland - Krakow (Poland) 17-20 juin 2026 : VivaTech - Paris (France) 2 juillet 2026 : Azur Tech Summer 2026 - Valbonne (France) 2-3 juillet 2026 : Sunny Tech - Montpellier (France) 3 juillet 2026 : Agile Lyon 2026 - Lyon (France) 2 août 2026 : 4th Tech Summit on Artificial Intelligence & Robotics - Paris (France) 4 septembre 2026 : JUG Summer Camp 2026 - La Rochelle (France) 17-18 septembre 2026 : API Platform Conference 2026 - Lille (France) 24 septembre 2026 : PlatformCon Live Day Paris 2026 - Paris (France) 1 octobre 2026 : WAX 2026 - Marseille (France) 1-2 octobre 2026 : Volcamp - Clermont-Ferrand (France) 5-9 octobre 2026 : Devoxx Belgium - Antwerp (Belgium) Nous contacter Pour réagir à cet épisode, venez discuter sur le groupe Google https://groups.google.com/group/lescastcodeurs Contactez-nous via X/twitter https://twitter.com/lescastcodeurs ou Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/lescastcodeurs.com Faire un crowdcast ou une crowdquestion Soutenez Les Cast Codeurs sur Patreon https://www.patreon.com/LesCastCodeurs Tous les épisodes et toutes les infos sur https://lescastcodeurs.com/

Availability, Affordability, and Adequacy of Insurance in Areas Impacted by Climate-related Risks In this episode of the Society of Actuaries Research Insights Podcast, Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the SOA Research Institute, speaks with Peter J. Sousounis, PhD—author of the October 2024 SOA report—and Ian Genno, FSA, FCIA, CERA, Chair of the Catastrophe and Climate Research Selection Committee. Together, they explore the challenges and potential solutions surrounding insurance availability, affordability, and adequacy in regions affected by climate-related risks. The conversation draws from insights gathered during an expert panel session that informed the report. Key themes include rising premiums, underinsurance, regulatory limitations, and the growing role of predictive modeling and AI in assessing and managing catastrophe risk. They also discuss innovative insurance models such as parametric insurance, the importance of public-private partnerships, and the future outlook for the insurance industry as climate events increase in frequency and severity. To explore the full report and additional catastrophe and climate research, visit:  https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2024/ins-availability-climate-risk-areas/

Tem gente que se orgulha desse adjetivo. Soa como uma qualidade, mas não se engane. Viver como perfeccionista é ruim pra vida e não agrada a Deus.Perfeccionistas se orgulham de acertar em tudo. Mas se eles não erram, não precisam pedir perdão e nem precisa da misericórdia de ninguém.Veja o que diz o Salmo 36 no verso 5: "A tua misericórdia, Senhor, chega até os céus, a tua fidelidade vai até as nuvens.Como é preciosa, ó Deus, a tua misericórdia! Por isso, os filhos dos homens se acolhem à sombra das tuas asas."Veja que palavras lindas o salmista usou para falar da misericórdia. Isso é sinal de que ele errou, mas foi perdoado e por isso experimentou a misericórdia de Deus em sua própria vida.Você deve lutar contra seus erros, mas isso não tem nada a ver com perfeccionismo. Ser perfeccionista é algo que você deve abandonar. Faz mal pra você e para as pessoas que estão ao seu redor. Além disso, não permite que você saiba o que é a misericórdia de Deus.Se vai confiar em alguém, que não seja em você mesmo, mas em Jesus, porque só Ele é perfeito.

Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading. In this episode… Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea!    Thom and Alan discuss Christmas from opposite ends of the planet, where Alan gets ‘proper' Christmas in Scotland with snow and everything. At the opposite end, Thom insists on using his new BBQ, despite a rainstorm turning the air to liquid. The exhibit that Thom was curating, Breathe | Mauri Ora at Te Papa, is an examination of the intersection of science and art by Marshmallow Lazer Feast. It is open now if you find yourself in Wellington, New Zealand.   This month, we are talking giant testate protists, the coolest things you have probably never heard of. Giant cells on the deep seabed that can reach 20 cm or more. They build elaborate shells, and despite having known about them for hundreds of years, there are still loads we don't understand about them. In the news, get ready for updates on: Squids hiding under the sea floor, pretending to be plants A rare seven-armed octopus sighting Deep-sea art that highlights the effects of coral dredging Missing zombie worms and expanding oxygen minimum zones New Whale Tags helping with deep-sea data recovery A massive white skate nursery and Canada's first hydrothermal site   Discord update The Deep-Sea Pets Channel continues to give back with excellent photos of our fav friends Our Holiday party was a total success, with many episodes of Octonauts watched and ‘enjoyed' by all We assessed some of the ‘animal saving' videos, as discussed by Tyler on the Mythbusting AI episode.  Excellent Dragon-based book recommendations.  We all wished we could visit Thom's New show opening at Te Papa. Thom shared a beautiful video about Antarctica from his Falkor Too trip last year.  Planning a Time Machine to scuba dive ancient seas, study the squid therein, and then hop on a boat trip with Darwin.  TBOS and KBOS brushes of science versus various squid photos.  Compared holiday baking recipes  Photos and observations shared from SOA divestream viewing And, as always, vicarious travel to aquariums around the world! Support the show The podcast is self-sustaining (just) thanks to our lovely listeners. Thom and Alan take no money for the show. All money is put back into running it. Here's a link to our page on how to support us, from the free options to becoming a patron of the show. We want to say a huge thank you to those patrons who have already pledged to support us.   Check out our podcast merch here!   Feel free to get in touch with us with questions or your own tales from the high seas on: podcast@deepseapod.com We'd love to actually play your voice, so feel free to record a short audio note on our brand new answerphone! https://www.speakpipe.com/deepseapodvoicemail Thanks again for tuning in; we'll deep-see you next time!   Find out more Social media BlueSky: @deepseapod.com https://bsky.app/profile/deepseapod.com   Twitter: @DeepSeaPod https://twitter.com/DeepSeaPod   Instagram: @deepsea_podcast https://www.instagram.com/deepsea_podcast/   Keep up with the team on social media Twitter:  Alan - @Hadalbloke Thom - @ThomLinley  Instagram:  Thom - @thom.linley  Inkfish - @inkfishexpeditions BlueSky: Thom @thomaslinley.com  Alan @hadalbloke Reference list News  Deep Sea Valentines | Support Skype a Scientist with the Squid Facts shop!   Deep-Sea News Unknown species of squid spotted burying itself upside down, pretending to be a plant Rarely-Seen Seven-Arm 'Blob' Octopus Filmed by Underwater Camera | PetaPixel Former submarine pilot's art highlights the deep sea | Hawai'i Public Radio Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) | Kerby Illustrations Zombie worms are missing and scientists are alarmed | ScienceDaily Whale tag will help decode communication in the deep ocean - Earth.com Scientists Uncover Massive Deep-Sea Eggs Inside on Active Volcano Thought to Be Extinct for Centuries   Discord Updates Inside Breathe: Mauri Ora at Te Papa | RNZ Crossing the Divide | Climate Connections at the Ice-Sea Interface Interview Links Paleodictyon - Wikipedia   Paleodictyon nodosum: A living fossil on the deep-sea floor   Massive occurrence of a new soft-walled monothalamous foraminifer, Bathyallogromia brandtae n.sp., in the hadal Aleutian trench   An Integrative Taxonomic Survey of Benthic Foraminiferal Species (Protista, Rhizaria) from the Eastern Clarion-Clipperton Zone Credits Song of the month: It is that deep, bro by Matt Storer Logo image: NOAA public domain Theme: Hadal Zone Express by Märvel  

 Leitura Bíblica Do Dia: MATEUS 2:9-13 Plano De Leitura Anual: GÊNESIS 16–17; MATEUS 5:27-48   Já fez seu devocional hoje? Aproveite e marque um amigo para fazer junto com você! Confira:  Hoje é o dia da Epifania do Senhor e o celebramos com a canção “Três reis magos do Oriente a sós” (HL 564), lembrando a sua visita ao menino Jesus. No entanto, eles não eram reis e nem do Extremo Oriente (antes, só Oriente). Também é improvável que fossem apenas três. No entanto, sabemos que foram três presentes, e a música cita cada um deles. Quando os magos chegaram a Belém, “abriram seus tesouros e o presentearam com ouro, incenso e mirra” (MATEUS 2:11). Os presentes simbolizam a missão de Jesus. O ouro representa Seu papel como Rei. O incenso, misturado ao incenso queimado no santuário, fala da Sua divindade. A mirra, usada para embalsamar cadáveres, faz-nos refletir. Os versos da canção demonstram que “a mirra de agreste odor pertence a Jesus; o brilho da estrela nos conduz. Tristeza, suspiros, sangue e morte estão selados na fria pedra do túmulo” (tradução livre). Nós não escreveríamos tal cena na história, mas Deus a escreveu. A morte de Jesus foi fundamental para nossa salvação. Até mesmo Herodes tentou matar Jesus quando Ele ainda era criança (v.13). O penúltimo verso da canção une os três temas: “Rei glorioso, bendito Deus / Sacrifício aos pecados meus”. Tais palavras completam a história do Natal, inspirando a nossa resposta: “Aleluia, aleluia! / Soa na terra e céus”.  Por: TIM GUSTAFSON 

In the Mix for 2026: Research Goals and Personal Milestones from the Research Institute Kick off the new year with Part 2 of the Society of Actuaries Research Institute's Holiday Season podcast series, hosted by Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research. In this special episode, Dale is joined by a full panel of SOA researchers and team members—including Achilles Natsis, Joe Alaimo, Kara Clark, Lisa Schilling, Nicole Anagnos, Patrick Nolan, Philip Adams, Rob Montgomery, and Steve Siegel—as they look ahead to 2026. Each guest shares professional ambitions across key areas like health care, mortality, annuities, AI, climate, and retirement—along with a few fun personal resolutions for the year ahead. From expanding research on GLP-1s and longevity to launching new studies in mortality and long-term care, this episode is filled with energy, insights, and optimism for the actuarial profession in 2026.

The podcast features Jon Forster interviewing Hasham Piperdy about the similarities and differences between Takaful and mutual insurance. Both models emphasize collective risk sharing and returning surplus to participants, but differ in ownership structure, capital provision, and investment restrictions. Takaful adds a layer of Shari'ah compliance, requiring investments to be Islamic and oversight by a Shari'ah board. The discussion highlights that while the models share cooperative principles, Takaful introduces faith-based ethics and governance.  Contributors: Hasham Piperdy, FIA; Lisa Schilling, FSA, EA, FCA, MAAA; Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe! Want to keep up with the latest SOA news? Follow us on our social channels: Instagram: @soactuaries Facebook: Society of Actuaries LinkedIn: Society of Actuaries Twitter: @SOActuaries About Us: With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world's largest actuarial professional organization with more than 32,000 actuaries as members. Serving as the SOA's research arm, the SOA Research Institute provides objective, data-driven research bringing together tried and true practices and future-focused approaches to address societal challenges and your business needs. It provides trusted knowledge, extensive experience and new technologies to help effectively identify, predict and manage risks. ● Learn more about Takaful and other engaging topics relevant for actuaries on the Professional Development Edge Subscription product.    https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/pd-edge/  

In this episode of the Society of Actuaries Research Insights Podcast, Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the SOA Research Institute, welcomes Geralyn Trujillo, Senior Director of Public Policy at the American Academy of Actuaries. Together, they provide an insightful recap of the 2025 NAIC Fall Meeting held in Hollywood, Florida, December 8-11, 2025. The discussion covers key takeaways from the meeting, including updates from the SOA on climate-related research such as climate-induced migration, sea level rise, and wildfires, as well as important developments in long-term care experience studies and global mortality experience studies from Canada and China. Tune in for a deep dive into the issues shaping regulatory, policy, and actuarial landscapes in the U.S. and globally.

Aprovechamos nuestra visita a Santiago para conocer a María Soa y Sara Faro, o mejor dicho las Fillas de Cassandra, que están tirando abajo todos los prejuicios de la música tradicional gallega con una mezcla de folclore, electrónica, feminismo y mucha personalidad. 

This week on SOA, we dig into the results of our Patreon "Drop/Best" survey, in which we polled the Patrons to find out which song they would drop from each Crowes album and which song best represents each Crowes album! The full crew weighs in with their own picks in a music nerd fest of epic proportions. You don't want to miss this one!

The podcast features a conversation with Willis Towers Watson CEO Carl Hess, who discusses his progression from actuary to CEO, emphasizing the importance of analytical skills, communication, and people management in leadership. Carl highlights how technology and AI are transforming the actuarial profession, noting that automation and AI projects at WTW are helping staff focus on more productive work and better utilize unstructured data. He shares personal anecdotes about using music to maintain focus during actuarial exam studies and explains how he stays connected with WTW's employees through informal interactions and modern communication tools. Carl reflects on key career moments and lessons leaned along the way.   Carl is joined by Chris Lombardi, Karen Grote, and Jon Froster for this thoughtful conversation.   Contributors: Carl Hess, FSA, CERA; Chris Lombardi, FSA, MAAA; Karen Grote, FSA, MAAA; Jon Forster, ASA, MAAA Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe! Want to keep up with the latest SOA news? Follow us on our social channels: Instagram: @soactuaries Facebook: Society of Actuaries LinkedIn: Society of Actuaries Twitter: @SOActuaries About Us: With roots dating back to 1889, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) is the world's largest actuarial professional organization with more than 32,000 actuaries as members. Serving as the SOA's research arm, the SOA Research Institute provides objective, data-driven research bringing together tried and true practices and future-focused approaches to address societal challenges and your business needs. It provides trusted knowledge, extensive experience and new technologies to help effectively identify, predict and manage risks. ● Learn more about Influence in the Actuarial Profession and other engaging topics relevant for actuaries on the Professional Development Edge Subscription product.    https://www.soa.org/prof-dev/pd-edge/  

Classic Replay: Medicaid Managed Care – Considerations in Calculating Margin In recognition of National Family Caregivers Month, we're re-releasing this classic episode from June 26, 2017. Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the Society of Actuaries, is joined by Steve Siegel, SOA Research Actuary, and Sarah Tepema of Health Care Service Corporation. The conversation explores the SOA's report "Medicaid Managed Care Organizations: Considerations in Calculating Margin in Rate Setting." Listeners will gain insight into how states structure capitation rates for MCOs, how margins are defined and used beyond just profit, and the real-world impacts these margins have on Medicaid programs—especially important for populations relying heavily on caregivers. For more information on this report visit:  https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2017/medicaid-margins/

This week on SOA, Ian and Producer Jason bring you The Ultimate Beacon 95 Set! Originally an installment of our Patreon-exclusive Patreon Radio Live series, the guys take all the setlists from the infamous 5-night NYC stand and craft their ultimate one set "best of!" Tune in to find out how they did! (If you enjoy listening to this glimpse into the Patreon Radio Live series, considering joining the SOA Patreon at: www.patreon.com/stateofamorica)

In this episode of the Get Plugged In podcast originally published in September 2025, host Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the Society of Actuaries, is joined by Joe Alaimo, CEO of ProComp Consulting Inc. and Community Advisory Team Member of the Emerging Topics Community. Together, they delve into the findings of a recent roundtable discussion focused on the role of generative AI in the actuarial profession. Joe shares highlights from the panel of actuaries and industry professionals who discussed real-world use cases, ethical concerns, and how actuaries are uniquely positioned to navigate the evolving landscape of AI. From code generation and digital coaches to actuarial modeling support, this conversation covers the growing impact of AI in insurance and risk management. Want to explore more? Access the full report and other valuable resources on our Artificial Intelligence landing page at SOA.org  Send us your feedback at AI-Insights@soa.org

In this episode of the Society of Actuaries Research Insights Podcast, Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the Society of Actuaries, explores the 2019 Individual Life Insurance Mortality Experience Report with two expert guests: Jim Toole, FSA, CERA, MAAA, Chief Luminary at Aurora Actuarial, and Philip Adams, FSA, CERA, MAAA, Senior Experience Studies Actuary at the SOA Research Institute. They discuss the significant shifts in mortality trends from 2012 through 2019, including the dominance of level premium term insurance, the introduction of expanded preferred underwriting classes, and the increase in older age issue ages. The conversation also highlights the transition of data collection from MIB to the NAIC, and how predictive analytics like boosted decision trees and vine copulas were leveraged for data validation and insights. Actuaries will find insights into how these findings can support pricing, reserving, and risk management efforts, along with resources such as Tableau dashboards and downloadable text files that make data analysis more accessible. With post-2019 data expected soon, this episode offers timely reflections on the evolving landscape of individual life insurance mortality. Access the report and related materials by visiting the SOA website at:  https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2024/ilec-mort-2012-19/

It's an exciting week on SOA as we sit down and discuss "The Marie Laveau Sessions" from the deluxe edition "Amorica" box set, arriving November 14th! You won't want to miss a single second of this one, Amoricans!

In this episode of Get Plugged In – AI Insights, Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, is joined by Frances M. Green, Corporate Defense Attorney and AI Governance Professional at Epstein Becker Green. Together, they unpack the implications of the White House's July 2025 AI Action Plan, Winning the Race – America's AI Action Plan, and what it means for actuaries, insurers, and the broader financial sector. From regulatory rollback to state-level resistance, this conversation explores the critical intersections of AI innovation, data governance, and risk management.  Frances shares expert insights on the shift in federal policy, potential legal challenges, and how actuaries should prepare for emerging state regulations, such as those in Colorado and California.

A CMO Confidential Interview with Andy Sack and Adam Brotman, Co-Founders and Co-CEO's of Forum 3, authors of the book AI First, previously at Microsoft and Starbucks. Adam and Andy discuss the exponential growth of LLM's in the 3 years since the Chat GPT launch, the rapid pace of consumer adoption and "why there's never been a bigger prize in capitalism." Key topics include: why the circular tie-ups between the models and chip providers may make sense, their belief that only 5% of companies are well underway; why you should use AI at least 10 times a day; and how the "current way of doing business" is the biggest blocker to progress. Tune in to hear 2026 predictions, why you should have a "family password," and how an AI Zoom scam resulted in a $20 million loss for the company. AI: The Year That Changed Marketing | Andy Sack & Adam Brotman on CMO ConfidentialFormer Starbucks Chief Digital Officer Adam Brotman and investor/operator Andy Sack return to break down AI's wild 2025—and what's next for marketers and the C-suite in 2026. We cover the rise of reasoning models and agents, chip-and-model tie-ups, who's winning (and who's falling behind), why only ~5% of companies are truly “underway,” and how consumer behavior is racing ahead of most enterprises. Adam and Andy deliver pragmatic guidance for boards, CEOs, and CMOs: where to lean in, how to organize, and what to build now.What you'll learn:• The real story on model advances, agents, and the chip/energy bottlenecks• Why supply-lock deals aren't “circular nonsense” and how they'll shape winners/losers• Enterprise reality check: 5% vs. 95%, and why CEO/board sponsorship determines lift-off• Consumer adoption, zero-click search, and how discovery is shifting under your feet• Marketing beyond efficiency: ideation, synthetic testing, and creative at production speed• 2026 predictions: Apple's big AI move, the year of consumer agents, and new AI devices• Risk & resilience: deepfake fraud, the “family password,” and change management that sticksActionable takeaways:• Use AI 10×/day; turn on voice and select a “thinking/reasoning” model for complex work• Treat AI as a company-wide transformation, not an IT pilot; pick a few high-value use cases and own them from the top• Experiment with agentic workflows and AI video to compress cycle time from storyboard to launchSponsored by @typefaceai Typeface helps the world's biggest brands go from brief to fully personalized, on-brand campaigns in hours—not months. Their agentic AI marketing platform automates workflows across ads, email, and video, integrates with your MarTech stack, and includes enterprise-grade security. Adweek named Typeface “AI Company of the Year,” TIME listed it among the Best Inventions, and Fast Company called it the next big thing in tech. See how brands like @ASICSGlobal and @Microsoft are transforming marketing with Typeface: typeface.ai/cmoAbout CMO ConfidentialHosted by five-time CMO Mike Linton, CMO Confidential goes inside the decisions, politics, and trade-offs of one of the most scrutinized jobs in the C-suite. New episodes every Tuesday on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.00:00 Intro & Sponsor: Typeface02:00 Topic & Guests — Adam Brotman and Andy Sack03:00 Three-year AI surge: usage, video, geopolitics06:00 Reasoning models, long-duration agents, chip/energy demand10:00 Midroll: Typeface12:00 Capital tie-ups: supply lock vs. “circular money”15:00 Winners & losers: the AGI race and consolidation16:00 Enterprise adoption: board/CEO-led change vs. IT pilots18:50 Reality check: 5% “well underway,” 95% early22:00 Consumer adoption: everyday use, underutilization25:00 Can companies keep up? Why most are lagging27:00 Search is shifting: AI overviews, assistants everywhere29:00 Marketing beyond efficiency: ideation, automation, CX31:00 AI video examples to study (Kalshi ad, IAm8)33:30 Agencies & consultancies adapting (Accenture, BCG, McKinsey)34:30 2026 predictions: Apple's big move, year of agents, new devices36:00 2026 tensions: labor disruption, backlash, “bumpy” progress38:00 Practical tips: use AI 10×/day, voice mode, “thinking” models41:00 Tools & safety: @lovable family/business passwords42:00 Deepfake/Zoom heist cautionary tale44:00 Wrap-up: subscribe & episode library44:30 Closing Sponsor: Typeface —CMO Confidential,Mike Linton,Adam Brotman,Andy Sack,Typeface,agentic AI,AI marketing,marketing strategy,chief marketing officer,CMO,CEO,board strategy,enterprise AI,reasoning models,AI agents,AGI,LLMs,generative AI,Claude,Gemini,ChatGPT,NVIDIA,semiconductors,MarTech,creative automation,personalization,zero click search,search disruption,media buying,advertising,brand vs performance,organizational design,change management,digital transformation,customer experience,synthetic personas,AI video,SOA,Sora,Replit Agent,Apple AI,Perplexity,security,deepfakes,family password,go to market,content at scale,ASICSSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

  In this episode of Hashtag Trending, host Jim Love discusses Google's misleading Android signal strength settings, Microsoft's new solar energy deals in Japan, and Amazon's cease and desist order to Perplexity AI over their AI shopping bots. Additionally, the episode covers the controversy surrounding OpenAI's video generation tool Soa 2 and its use of Japanese copyrighted material, and the often complex process of claiming money from class action settlements. The show is supported by Meter, which provides integrated networking solutions. 00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message 00:22 Android Signal Bars: The Deception 02:58 Microsoft's Clean Energy Move in Japan 04:35 Amazon vs. Perplexity AI: The Shopping Bot Battle 06:52 OpenAI's Video Tool Faces Japanese Backlash 08:11 Class Action Settlements: Who Really Benefits? 09:53 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

We're joined by Nancy Barile, award-winning author of "I'm Not Holding Your Coat", an insightful chronicle of her life as an OG Philadelphia/Boston punk who lived through the golden age of hardcore music as it evolved in real time before her eyes. The Ramones, Bad Brains, Misfits, Minor Threat, Black Flag... You name it, she saw it. We talk about the legendary brawl in Kensington, booking the infamous "Gathering of the Tribes" show, cold calling CBGBs to get bands booked, and bumping elbows with just about every legendary figure in hardcore punk, and much more. Her husband, the late great Al Barile of SSD, was a pioneer of the straight edge movement and a name brought up often on HardLore throughout the years. He sadly passed away in April of 2025, and we talk all about their chance meeting, his impact on us, and share stories of Al through the years and look back at his perception of how straight edge and hardcore music have grown since his early days in SSD. An incredibly informative and cathartic conversation and an episode we've wanted to make happen for a long time. Thank you Nancy for joining us and all of you for watching/listening. RIP Al Barile. ________________ Edited by Steven Grise (@iamoneonenineseven) • Title sequence by Nicholas Marzluf (@marzluf) HardLore: A Knotfest Series Join the HARDLORE PATREON to watch every single weekly episode early and ad-free, alongside exclusive monthly episodes: https://patreon.com/hardlorepod Join the HARDLORE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/jA9rppggef Cool links: HardLore Official Website/HardLore Records store: https://hardlorepod.com Try AG1 and AGZ at DrinkAG1.com/HARDLORE to receive a free frother. Get 15% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code HARDLORE at MANSCAPED.com! #ad #manscapedpod FOLLOW NANCY: INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/nancybarile/ FOLLOW HARDLORE: INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/hardlorepod/ TWITTER | https://twitter.com/hardlorepod SPOTIFY | https://spoti.fi/3J1GIrp APPLE | https://apple.co/3IKBss2 FOLLOW COLIN: INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/colinyovng/ FOLLOW BO: INSTAGRAM | https://www.instagram.com/bosxe/ TWITTER | https://www.twitter.com/bosxe #HARDLORE #HARDCORE_______________________00:00:00 - Start 00:00:57 - Hello Welcome 00:03:48 - Discovering Punk in It's Infancy 00:15:56 - Catholic School, The Who, McDonald's 00:18:22 - Connecting with Students Through Punk 00:26:53 - Ramones at University of PA 00:31:02 - The Misfits in 1981 00:34:35 - Managing the Sadistic Exploits 00:43:14 - Meeting Al Barile 00:56:15 - Pardon This Interruption 00:58:54 - Kenmore Square 01:05:01 - The Bad Brains & Homophobia 01:09:41 - Black Flag, SOA, And Kensington Brawl 01:23:43 - Exiting Hardcore Before the Late 80's Boom 01:33:31 - Straight Edge's Evolution 01:43:10 - Remembering Al Barile & Celebrating His Legacy Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Research isn't just for academics! This episode reveals how broad the impact of SOA research is – balancing the retrospective with the prospective – and why it's essential for actuaries and the broader public. YPAC Vice-Chair Tasso Bountouvas and guest R. Dale Hall discuss misconceptions, real-world applications, and how you can contribute – no PhD required. Tune in for practical advice, inspiration, and a glimpse into the future of actuarial science.

SOA is back with an all new episode! This week, David, Ian and Producer Jason sit down and share some of their favorite live performances featuring a guest sit-in by Chris Robinson! This episode was recorded live before an audience of Patreon members and features for the first time the complete songs involved in the discussion. Check it out!

Hội Thân Hữu Cao Niên tại NSW sẽ tổ chức cuộc bầu cử Hội Đồng Quản Trị của Hội, trong đó có Ban Chấp Hành, Ban Cố Vấn và Ban Kiểm Soát. Ngày giờ bầu cử và điều kiện ứng cử ra sao, ông Dương Văn Chung Hội Trưởng Hội Thân Hữu Cao Niên NSW cho biết trong một cuộc trò chuyện với Ban Việt Ngữ SBS.

Strengthen your security posture by moving groups and users from Active Directory to Microsoft Entra. This gives you seamless access for your teams, stronger authentication with MFA and passwordless options, and centralized visibility into risks across your environment. Simplify hybrid identity management by reducing dual overhead, prioritizing key groups, migrating users without disruption, and automating policies with Graph or PowerShell. Jeremy Chapman, Microsoft 365 Director, shows how to start minimizing your local directory and make Microsoft Entra your source of authority to protect access everywhere. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Minimize Active Directory with Microsoft Entra 00:34 - Build a Strong Identity Foundation 01:28 - Reduce Dual Management Overhead 02:06 - Begin with Groups 03:04 - Automate with Graph & Policy Controls 03:50 - Access packages 06:00 - Move user objects to be cloud-managed 07:03 - Automate using scripts or code 09:17 - Wrap up ► Link References Get started at https://aka.ms/CloudManagedIdentity Use SOA scenarios at https://aka.ms/usersoadocs Group SOA scenarios at https://aka.ms/groupsoadocs Guidance for IT Architects on benefits of SOA at https://aka.ms/SOAITArchitectsGuidance ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics

What in the name of Tubi Original's is this? Just when you thought Flight Risk was the biggest stinker of the year, Trust says “Hold my beer!” Sophie Tuner's latest movie about disgusting men grooming children in the film industry to lure them into sexual relationships is getting the thumbs down from almost all critics. Why? Well, because no one sees that part in the movie and are too busy focussed on all the silly aspects of it like the logistics of how doors work and rats carrying hammers. I wish that was a joke. If you're not doing so already, please like and follow Classic American Movies on Instagram and Facebook. I do free movie giveaways, mini movie reviews and more!Also, I decided to dabble in making my own slasher film called “Bishop's Day”. Check out the Instagram page for updates.

Welcome back to an all-new episode of SOA! Today marks six years since the world lost the wonderful Neal Casal, a man whose musical talents paired with his gentle soul to make a truly unique human being. For this episode, we sit down with Gary Waldman, Neal's former manager and current archivist for the Neal Casal Music Foundation. We discuss the latest archival release, a collection of rare demo recordings entitled "No One Above You" as Gary shares many fond memories of his cherished time with Neal. It's a great conversation you won't want to miss...

On Wednesday, K'Lee, Azura & Charlie were lucky enough to be joined by Flava friend of the show Soa & his students from Aorere College. They talked about the importance of Tongan language week and performed an original Tongan song. For more, follow our social: Instagram Facebook TikTokSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ON TODAYS SHOW: We learnt out to sleep and busted some myths with a sleep expert - Dr Sumit. Charlie character impressions are put to the test. Plus, a beautiful waiata for from our Flava friend Soa with a couple of his students from Aorere college for Tongan language week. For more, follow our socials: Instagram Facebook TikTokSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to an all-new episode of SOA! After the first "Album To EP" installment with Amorica, David and Ian now attempt to do the same with Three Snakes and One Charm!

Becoming credentialed is one of the major goals for an actuary, but what does life look like after? Join Carly Mauro, FSA, MAAA and Chris Lombardi, FSA, MAAA as they discuss “the void” and how to approach personal growth, investing time in the community and the SOA, and professional development after exams. 

SOA is proud to present the audio version of the winning entry in the 2024-25 Speculative Fiction Contest, Faulty Medication by Brian Tajlili, FSA, MAAA. Here is what the contest's literary judge, Dr. Bob Mielke, had to say, “Nothing but positives here. A plausible and timely scenario, excellent world-building, vivid incidents, lively and detailed, polished and very well-written. …This story has a real shot at publication even beyond the realm of actuaries.” Find the written version at https://www.soa.org/sections/2024-25-speculative-fiction-art/    

This week on SOA, the guys are proud to welcome back to the program for a second appearance, current Crowes lead guitarist Nico Bereciartua! It's a great chat about Nico's journey to the Crowes and his experiences thus far. Check it out! Be sure to follow Nico on Instagram! @nicobereciartua

In honor of National Safety Month, the Society of Actuaries is re-releasing its very first Research Insights podcast — a foundational conversation that still resonates today. Dale Hall, FSA, CERA, MAAA, Managing Director of Research, introduces the episode, which highlights the findings from the 2017 SOA report, "Analysis of Opioid Overdose Death Trends in the United States." This conversation explores key mortality trends, risk factors, and how actuarial analysis can support public health efforts, especially in tackling the opioid crisis. It's a timely reflection during a month dedicated to reducing preventable harm. Explore the original report here: https://www.soa.org/resources/research-reports/2017/2017-opioid-overdose-deaths-us/ Send us your feedback at ResearchInsights@soa.org

Last time we spoke about the North Borneo Offensive. General Buckner's 10th Army captured strategic locations, including Shuri Castle, marking a turning point. Simultaneously, General Eichelberger's forces liberated Mindanao, overcoming tough Japanese defenses in the mountainous terrain. As they approached Malaybalay, fierce resistance resulted in heavy casualties, but the Americans persisted, inflicting significant losses on their foes. By June 9, the Americans pressed further into the enemy's defensive lines, leading to intense combat. The Marines landed on the Oroku Peninsula, where fierce fighting revealed the tenacity of the Japanese defenders. General Ushijima prepared for a final stand, as American forces began to encircle and dismantle Japanese positions. As the campaign unfolded, Australians under Brigadier Whitehead launched the North Borneo Offensive, landing on Tarakan and swiftly pushing the Japanese into the rugged interior.  This episode is Victory at Okinawa Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Okinawa was more than just a battlefield; it became a symbol of sacrifice, the last heroic stand of a fading empire. By this point in the war, Japan was facing inevitable defeat, yet their resolve remained unbroken. They clung to the samurai spirit, determined to fight to the bitter end out of honor and duty. The stakes were high. Japan needed precious time to fortify its home islands, to stretch the conflict as long as possible. To achieve this, over 100,000 brave souls were sent into the fray, sacrificing their lives to slow the American advance and inflict as many casualties as they could. As we've explored in previous episodes, this fierce determination fueled their resistance. And now, we stand at a pivotal moment, the final days of the Battle of Okinawa, the last major confrontation of the Pacific War. As we last left the battlefield, it was June 16, General Buckner's 10th Army had made significant strides, capturing most of southern Okinawa and finally breaking through the last major enemy defenses at the Yaeju Dake-Yuza Dake Escarpment. The remnants of General Ushijima's 32nd Army were now locked in a desperate fight to hold onto the Kiyamu Peninsula, slowly being pushed back toward the sea and their ultimate demise. The following day, June 17, the assault continued with renewed determination. General Geiger's 3rd Amphibious Corps pressed on through Kunishi Ridge, while General Hodge's 24th Corps worked to consolidate its hard-won gains in the escarpment. On the west coast, General Shepherd's 6th Marine Division took action as Colonel Roberts' 22nd Marines stepped in to relieve the weary 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at the northern slope of Mezado Ridge. With a fierce spirit, they began to push southward, successfully securing most of the ridge. To the east, General Del Valle's 1st Marine Division forged ahead. Colonel Snedeker's fresh 3rd Battalion took over from the exhausted 1st Battalion and advanced 1,400 yards to seize the high ground just east of Mezado. Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines fought hard to capture the remaining positions of Kunishi Ridge, achieving only a gradual extension to the east. Colonel Griebel's 3rd Battalion moved in behind them to reinforce the isolated Marines, bravely fending off a fierce counterattack under the cover of night. Further east, Colonel Dill's 382nd Regiment systematically eliminated the last enemy positions in the Yuza-Ozato-Yuza Dake area, while Colonel Halloran's 381st Regiment held firm and maintained their lines. In a key maneuver, Colonel Pachler's 17th Regiment launched a successful assault, capturing Hill 153 before Colonel Green's 184th Regiment took over during the night. Lastly, Colonel Finn's 32nd Regiment secured the reverse slopes of Hill 115, preparing to launch an attack on Mabuni and Hill 89. By nightfall, Hodge's 24th Corps had firmly secured all the commanding heights of the Yaeju Dake-Yuza Dake Escarpment. Most of Mezado Ridge and Kunishi Ridge were now in American hands, and Colonel Wallace's 8th Marines had landed in the rear to bolster the western push. For the first time, American forces across the line looked down upon nearly eight square miles of enemy-held territory, a staggering view of what lay ahead. Realizing they were forced from their last defensive positions and that their destruction was imminent, the 32nd Army began to unravel, collapsing into chaos. On June 18, Hodge's troops seized the opportunity to strike decisively. The 32nd Regiment advanced down the coast toward Mabuni, facing increasing resistance. The 184th Regiment moved down the reverse slopes of Hill 153, closing in on Medeera, while the 381st Regiment speedily crossed the plateau, tackling scattered enemy fire to seize the high ground just 400 yards north of Medeera. Simultaneously, Dill's 3rd Battalion crashed through a rugged maze of caves and pillboxes, making a daring 600-yard advance to the base of the rocky ridge north of Aragachi. To the west, Griebel's 1st Battalion circled the eastern end of Kunishi Ridge, battling heavy resistance to gain the lower slopes of Hill 79. Further west, Roberts' 2nd Battalion pushed through the 3rd and aimed for Kuwanga Ridge, successfully seizing an 1,800-yard stretch by late afternoon. As they advanced, the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines moved forward to occupy the eastern end of the ridge. Meanwhile, the remainder of the 22nd Marines began to mop up the remnants of resistance on Mezado Ridge. Tragedy struck when Colonel Roberts was tragically killed by a sniper near his observation post during this operation. Lieutenant-Colonel August Larson would succeed him in command. Sadly, Roberts would not be the only American commander to fall that day. In the heart of the Marine line, the 8th Marines were finally called into action in the morning to relieve the weary 7th Marines. After a rigorous artillery bombardment to soften up the enemy defenses, Wallace's 2nd Battalion began its advance south toward the Kuwanga-Makabe Road, successfully capturing the high ground just north of the road by late afternoon. Meanwhile, General Buckner decided to visit Wallace's command post on Mezado Ridge around midday. He observed the 8th Marines' steady progress in the valley, taking stock of their relentless push forward. Tragically, as he was leaving the observation post, disaster struck. Five artillery shells rained down, one striking a coral outcrop near him. The jagged shards of coral filled the air, and Buckner was mortally wounded in the chest. He died within minutes, just days shy of achieving his goal: the complete capture of Okinawa. With Buckner's passing, General Geiger, as the senior troop commander, took over temporary command of the 10th Army for the remainder of the battle. Buckner became the highest-ranking American military officer killed in World War II and would hold that somber distinction throughout the entire 20th century. On June 18, the final written order from General Ushijima of the 32nd Army outlined a daring escape plan. He designated an officer to lead the "Blood and Iron Youth Organization," tasked with conducting guerrilla warfare once organized combat had ceased. Simultaneously, he ordered his remaining troops to make their way to the northern mountains of Okinawa, where a small band of guerrillas was rumored to be operating.  In his message he congratulated them on fulfilling their "assigned mission in a manner which leaves nothing to regret." He urged them to "fight to the last and die for the eternal cause of loyalty to the Emperor." This movement was not to happen in haste. Soldiers were instructed to travel in small groups of two to five over the course of several days. They were urged to don civilian clothes and avoid confrontation whenever possible. In a clever stratagem, most of the army staff officers were directed to leave the command post disguised as native Okinawans, aiming to infiltrate American lines and find safety in northern Okinawa. Some individuals, like Colonel Yahara, were entrusted with the mission of reaching Japan to report to the Imperial General Headquarters. Others were tasked with organizing guerrilla operations, focusing on harassing the rear areas of the 10th Army and Island Command, determined to continue the fight against the American forces in any way they could. Again I have read Yahara's book on the battle of Okinawa and despite being full of apologetic stuff and attempts to make himself look better, its one of the most insightful books on the Japanese perspective. You get a lot of information on how bad it was for the Okinawan civilians in caves, harrowing stuff. I highly recommend it. The American attack pressed on into June 19, though it faced delays due to the influx of civilian and military prisoners. Not all of the 32nd Army survivors were imbued with a will "to die for the eternal cause of loyalty to the Emperor." Loudspeakers mounted on tanks in the 7th Division's front lines and on LCI's that cruised up and down the coast line were successful in convincing over 3,000 civilians to surrender. Far more significant, however, were the 106 Japanese soldiers and 238 Boeitai who voluntarily gave up during the division's advance on 19 June. The relentless attack of American troops, coupled with intensive efforts by psychological warfare teams, brought in increasing numbers of battle-weary Japanese and Okinawans who had decided that the war was lost and their cause was hopeless. It is not inconceivable that every enemy soldier who surrendered meant one less American casualty as the wind-up drive of Tenth Army continued. Despite these challenges, the 32nd Regiment advanced to within just 200 yards of the outskirts of Mabuni. Meanwhile, the 184th and 381st Regiments coordinated their efforts, closing in on Medeera from the south and east. The 382nd Regiment pressed forward, overcoming fierce resistance as they reached the ridges overlooking Aragachi. Tragically, General Easley became the third major high-ranking casualty in just two days. The 5th Marines launched multiple assaults on Hills 79 and 81, but their efforts were met with fierce opposition and ended in failure. Wallace's 3rd Battalion, facing only light resistance, captured Ibaru Ridge, the last high ground before the sea, before pushing onward to the coastal cliffs. On the eastern front, Griebel's 3rd Battalion successfully seized Makabe and then joined forces with the 8th Marines to secure the coastal zone. Colonel Shapley's 4th Marines advanced alongside the 8th Marines throughout most of the day but were unable to reach the coast, halted by a formidable enemy position along the Kiyamu-Gusuku hill mass. Further south, Colonel Whaling's 29th Marines passed through the 22nd Marines and moved rapidly, also facing light resistance, reaching the base of the Kiyamu-Gusuku hill mass to link up with the 4th Marines before nightfall. As darkness enveloped the battlefield, Shepherd launched an attack on the hill mass. The 4th Marines successfully seized Hill 80, but they could only establish strong positions on the left flank of Hill 72. The 29th Marines encountered minimal opposition as they swept forward toward the southern coast. Meanwhile, the 5th Marines continued their relentless assaults on Hills 79 and 81, managing to capture most of Hill 79 before losing the crest at the last moment. Their tank-infantry assaults against Hill 81, however, once again ended in defeat. Looking east toward Hodge's front on June 21, the 382nd Regiment cleared out the last remnants in Aragachi, while the 381st Regiment seized the northern outskirts of Medeera. In the dark hours of June 20, the last courier contact was made between the Medeera pocket and the Hill 89 pocket. General Amamiya, commander of the 24th Division, issued a desperate order directing all his units "to fight to the last man in their present positions." At the time he gave this ultimatum, he had very few infantrymen left to defend the Medeera position. The relentless advance of the Marines had nearly annihilated the 22nd and 32nd Regiments, while the 96th Division had decimated the 89th Regiment at Yuza Dake and Aragachi. With their ranks severely depleted, the remaining defenders were a ragtag collection of artillerymen, drivers, corpsmen, engineers, Boeitai, and headquarters personnel drawn from nearly every unit of the L-Day island garrison. Those who managed to avoid surrender or sought to evade capture fought with the fierce determination of fanatics, resolutely defending their positions against overwhelming odds. Meanwhile, Colonel Coolidge's 305th Regiment, engaged in a vigorous mopping-up operation behind the lines of the 96th Division, prepared for an assault on Makabe Ridge. The 184th Regiment managed to secure the hills overlooking Udo, and despite facing fierce resistance from hidden enemy forces in coral outcroppings and caves along the coastal cliffs, the 32nd Regiment fought its way to the eastern slope of Hill 89. Throughout June 21, a series of small local attacks and mopping-up actions occupied most units of the 24th Corps, often interrupted to allow large numbers of civilians and soldiers to surrender. In spite of the bitter and costly resistance, the 32nd Regiment successfully secured Mabuni and advanced up to the tableland atop Hill 89. Coolidge's 1st Battalion launched an assault on the hill south of Medeera behind a heavy mortar barrage, successfully capturing its crest. The 5th Marines completed the capture of Hill 79 and undertook a heavy, costly assault that ultimately led to the capture of Hill 81. The 7th and 8th Marines began the crucial task of flushing out remaining Japanese holdouts, while also dealing with the increasing wave of soldiers and civilians choosing to surrender. The 4th Marines executed a successful double envelopment of Hill 72 that secured the strategic Kiyamu-Gusuku ridge, and the 29th Marines met only very light resistance during their sweep of Ara Saki, the southernmost point of the island. This swift progress and the obvious collapse of major enemy opposition prompted General Geiger to declare that the island of Okinawa was secure and that organized enemy resistance had come to an end. That night, in a tragic turn of events, Generals Ushijima and Cho committed Seppuku in the cave housing their command post.  On the night of June 21, Lieutenant General Ushijima Mitsuru and Lieutenant General Cho Isamu, the commander and chief of staff of the 32nd Army, fulfilled their final obligation to the Emperor in a deeply traditional manner. In accordance with the warrior code of their homeland, they atoned for their inability to halt the American advance by committing Seppuku. On the evening of their planned departure, Ushijima hosted a banquet in the cave that served as their command post, featuring a large meal prepared by his cook, Tetsuo Nakamutam. The banquet was generously complemented with sake and the remaining stock of captured Black & White Scotch whisky provided by Cho. At 03:00 on June 22, both generals, adorned in their full field uniforms decorated with medals, led a small party of aides and staff officers out onto a narrow ledge at the cave entrance, which overlooked the ocean. American soldiers of the 32nd Regiment were stationed less than 100 feet away, completely unaware of the solemn preparations taking place for the suicide ceremony. First, Ushijima bared his abdomen to the ceremonial knife and thrust inward, followed by Cho, who then fell to the ground. As Ushijima made his final act, a simultaneous slash from the headquarters adjutant's saber struck his bowed neck. The two generals were secretly buried immediately after their deaths, their bodies going undiscovered until June 25, when patrols from the 32nd Regiment found them at the foot of the seaward cliff-face of Hill 89. General Cho had penned his own simple epitaph, stating, “22nd day, 6th month, 20th year of the Showa Era. I depart without regret, fear, shame, or obligations. Army Chief of Staff; Army Lieutenant General Cho, Isamu, age of departure 51 years. At this time and place, I hereby certify the foregoing.” Their deaths were witnessed by Colonel Yahara, who was the most senior officer captured by American forces. Yahara had requested Ushijima's permission to commit suicide as well, but the general had refused, saying, "If you die, there will be no one left who knows the truth about the battle of Okinawa. Bear the temporary shame but endure it. This is an order from your army commander." While many die-hard groups continued to fight until annihilation, an unprecedented number of Japanese soldiers, both officers and enlisted men, began to surrender. On that fateful day, Operation Ten-Go's final breaths were marked by the launch of the two-day tenth Kiksui mass attack, which saw only 45 kamikaze aircraft take to the skies. While this desperate attempt succeeded in sinking LSM-59 and damaging the destroyer escort Halloran, as well as the seaplane tenders Curtiss and Kenneth Whiting, the next day would bring even less impact, with only two landing ships sustaining damage during the final attack of the campaign. As communications from the 32nd Army fell silent, a deeply regretful Admiral Ugaki was forced to conclude the grim reality of their situation. He felt “greatly responsible for the calamity” but recognized that there was seemingly no alternative course that might have led to success. Throughout the defense of Okinawa, approximately 6,000 sorties were flown, including at least 1,900 kamikaze missions. However, the losses were staggering, with over 4,000 aircraft lost during these attacks. In contrast, Allied forces suffered the loss of 763 planes in the Okinawa campaign, with 305 of those being operational losses. Since the operation commenced, naval losses for Iceberg totaled an alarming 4,992 sailors dead, with 36 ships sunk and 374 damaged, accounting for 17% of all American naval losses in the Pacific War. Meanwhile, extensive and coordinated mop-up operations in southern Okinawa were essential before the area could be deemed secure for the planned construction of supply depots, airfields, training areas, and port facilities. In response, Colonel Mason's 1st Marines and Colonel Hamilton's 307th Regiment established blocking positions in the hills above the Naha-Yonabaru valley to thwart any Japanese attempts to infiltrate north. On June 22, the four assault divisions that had previously shattered the Kiyamu Peninsula defenses received orders to prepare for a sweeping advance to the north. Their mission was clear: destroy any remaining resistance, blow and seal all caves, bury the dead, and salvage any equipment, both friendly and enemy, left on the battlefield. The following day, General Joseph Stilwell arrived to take command of the 10th Army during the mop-up phase of the campaign. Meanwhile, units from the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions were engaged on the Komesu and Kiyamu-Gusuku Ridges, while the 7th Division probed Hill 89 and Mabuni. In the Medeera pocket, Coolidge's 3rd Battalion successfully seized Hill 85 on June 22. The 96th Division intensified its focus in the Medeera-Aragachi area, with elements of the 381st Regiment mopping up the last holdouts in the ruins of Medeera by June 23. Two days later, after a thorough search of the area south of the Yaeju Dake-Yuza Dake Escarpment, the 10th Army finally initiated its drive northward, with both corps taking responsibility for the ground they had captured in the previous month. On the morning of June 26, the reinforced Fleet Marine Force Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion landed unopposed on Kumejima, marking it as the last and largest of the Okinawa Islands selected for radar and fighter director sites. By the end of June, the mop-up operations in southern Okinawa had resulted in an estimated 8,975 Japanese killed and 3,808 prisoners of war added to the 10th Army's total. Overall, the Americans counted a staggering total of 10,755 prisoners of war and 107,539 Japanese dead, along with an estimated 23,764 believed to be sealed in caves or buried by their comrades. This cumulative casualty figure of 142,058 was "far above a reasonable estimate of military strength on the island," prompting 10th Army intelligence officers to conclude that at least 42,000 civilians had tragically fallen victim to artillery, naval, and air attacks due to their unfortunate proximity to Japanese combat forces and installations. American losses were also substantial, with 7,374 men recorded dead, 31,807 wounded, and 239 missing, in addition to 26,221 non-battle casualties. But now, it's time to leave Okinawa and return to Borneo to continue covering the North Borneo Offensive. As we last observed, by mid-June, General Wootten's 9th Australian Division had successfully executed two major amphibious landings on Brunei Bay. Brigadier Porter's 24th Brigade occupied most of Labuan Island, with the exception of the Pocket, while Brigadier Windeyer's 20th Brigade secured the Brunei area. By June 16, Wootten decided that since the enemy was withdrawing and showing no signs of mounting an attack, he would take control of the high ground stretching from Mempakul and Menumbok to Cape Nosong. This strategic move aimed to prevent the enemy from utilizing the track from Kota Klias to Karukan and to secure beaches for supply points during the planned advance northward. Accordingly, Porter ordered the 2/28th Battalion to reduce the Pocket. The recently landed 2/12th Commando Squadron was tasked with mopping up the outlying areas of the island. Meanwhile, the 2/32nd Battalion began preparing for an amphibious movement to Weston on the mainland east of Labuan, with plans to reconnoiter across country and by river towards Beaufort. The 2/43rd Battalion and the 2/11th Commando Squadron were also set to prepare for an amphibious reconnaissance in the Mempakul area. On June 14, the 2/28th Battalion launched its initial attack against the Pocket, following an artillery barrage. However, they were forced to withdraw in the face of intense machine-gun and mortar fire. In response, the 2/12th Field Regiment took over, bombarding the Pocket for the next six days and nights, hurling a staggering total of 140 tons of shells into it. On June 16, the 2/28th Battalion launched another assault, this time supported by tanks from the north, successfully capturing Lyon Ridge, despite sustaining heavy losses. After several more days of relentless artillery, naval, and air bombardment, the 2/28th launched a final assault on June 21, just as the Japanese attempted to send two raiding parties to infiltrate through the Australian lines and attack Labuan town and its airstrip. Although these raiders managed to catch the confused defenders off guard and inflicted several casualties, they were ultimately dealt with swiftly and without causing significant damage. Meanwhile, with the combined support of tanks and artillery, the 2/28th Battalion attacked the reduced garrison at the Pocket, breaking through Lushington Ridge and Eastman Spur to eliminate the remaining Japanese positions and completely clear the area. By the end of the Battle of Labuan, the Australians had achieved a decisive victory, with 389 Japanese soldiers killed and 11 taken prisoner, while suffering 34 Australian fatalities and 93 wounded. In parallel, following a successful reconnaissance on June 16, the 2/32nd Battalion landed unopposed at Weston on June 17. They quickly secured the area and established a patrol base at Lingkungan. Over the next few days, Australian patrols began probing north towards Bukau, occasionally clashing with Japanese parties. A company from the 2/32nd Battalion also established a patrol base at Gadong up the Padas River, finding no Japanese presence in the surrounding regions. From this position, the Australians were able to patrol along the Padas River in small craft, discovering they could reach Beaufort rapidly using this route, catching the enemy off guard. Meanwhile, on June 19, the 2/43rd Battalion and the 2/11th Independent Company landed unopposed at Mempakul, further solidifying the Australian presence in the area. Two days later, while the commandos worked to clear the Klias Peninsula, the 2/43rd Battalion launched an amphibious expedition up the Klias River. This mission successfully navigated through Singkorap and reached Kota Klias, confirming that Japanese forces were not present in significant strength along the river. As a result, the 2/43rd Battalion set out on June 22 to occupy Kota Klias without encountering any resistance. Given this positive momentum, Brigadier Porter ordered the 2/28th Battalion to take over operations from the 2/32nd Battalion in and around Weston. At the same time, the 2/43rd Battalion was tasked with marching through Kandu to attack Beaufort from the north. Additionally, the 2/32nd Battalion was directed to probe north along the Padas River and along the railway, drawing enemy attention away from the main Australian advance. Looking south, while the 2/17th Battalion remained around Brunei and the 2/15th Battalion probed along the river toward Limbang, Windeyer had ordered the 2/13th Battalion to prepare for an amphibious movement to the Miri-Lutong area. Brunei town had been severely battered by Allied bombers and Japanese demolitions. The troops were critical of the air force's practice of bombing conspicuous buildings even when they were unlikely to contain anything of military importance. In Brunei, for example, the bazaar and the cinema were destroyed, but neither was likely to have contained any Japanese men or material and their destruction and the destruction of similar buildings added to the distress of the civilians. The infantryman on the ground saw the effects of bombing at the receiving end. “The impression was gained, says the report of the 20th Brigade, that, in the oil producing and refining centres-Seria, Kuala Belait, Lutong, Miri much of the destruction served no military purpose. The destruction of the native bazaar and shop area in Kuala Belait, Brunei, Tutong and Miri seemed wanton.“ On June 16, the 2/17th finally moved out and occupied Tutong, successfully crossing the river at its mouth. From there, the battalion began its movement along the coast toward Seria. However, despite the strategic importance of the town's oil wells, there was only one encounter with the enemy at the Bira River on June 20 before the town was occupied the following day, only to find the oil wells ablaze.  At Seria, the oil wells were ablaze. From the broken pipes that topped each well, burning oil gushed forth like fire from immense, hissing Bunsen burners. The pressure was so intense that the oil, as clear as petrol, only ignited several inches away from the pipe. Once ignited, it transformed into a tumbling cloud of flame, accompanied by billowing blue-black smoke. At approximately 1,000 feet, the plumes from more than 30 fires merged into a single canopy of smoke. This horrifying spectacle of waste persisted day and night. The men around Seria fell asleep to the hissing and rumbling of an entire oilfield engulfed in flames and awoke to the same din. The Japanese had set fire to 37 wells, destroyed buildings and bridges, and attempted to incapacitate vehicles, pumps, and other equipment by removing essential components and either discarding them in rivers or burying them. Consequently, the Australian engineers faced the daunting task of extinguishing the fires with only their own equipment, along with abandoned gear they could repair or make functional. They relied on assistance from local natives who had observed the Japanese hiding parts and employed methods of improvisation and selective cannibalization to tackle the crisis. Meanwhile, by June 19, raiding elements of the 2/15th Battalion had successfully secured Limbang. From this location, they began sending patrols up the Limbang River toward Ukong, along the Pandaruan River to Anggun, and east toward Trusan. The following day, after a naval bombardment by three American destroyers, the 2/13th Battalion landed unopposed at Lutong and quickly secured the area. On June 21, the Australians crossed the river and advanced into Miri without facing any resistance, successfully occupying the town and its oilfield by June 23. Turning their attention back north, on June 24, the 2/43rd Battalion began its advance toward Beaufort, swiftly moving through Kandu and reaching a position just north of the Padas River the next day. In response to their progress, Brigadier Porter ordered the 2/32nd Battalion to seize the railway terminus and the spur leading down to the river just south of Beaufort, while the 2/43rd focused on capturing the high ground dominating Beaufort from the north and east. This coordinated attack was launched on June 26. By the end of the day, the leading company of the 2/32nd had reached the Padas River, approximately 2,000 yards west of the railway terminus, while the leading company of the 2/43rd secured the railway north of the Padas, similarly positioned about 2,000 yards from Beaufort. On June 27, the 2/43rd continued their offensive, rapidly capturing the high ground overlooking Beaufort. During the afternoon, one company ascended Mount Lawley and pursued the retreating Japanese, cutting off their escape route at a track junction, while another company moved into the town, taking possession early that night. In the following hours and throughout June 28, the Australians faced a series of heavy counterattacks as they worked to consolidate their positions. Meanwhile, the 2/32nd Battalion successfully captured the railway terminus, encountering only slight opposition, with one company executing a wide flanking maneuver to the Padas just upstream from Beaufort. Under heavy bombardment from artillery and mortars, the bulk of the 368th Independent Battalion began to retreat along the Australian-held track in the early hours of June 29. While many were killed during this withdrawal, most managed to escape. At intervals groups of two or three walked into the company area in the darkness and were killed. Fire was strictly controlled, and one platoon was credited with having killed 21 Japanese with 21 single shots fired at ranges of from five to 15 yards. One Japanese walked on to the track 50 yards from the foremost Australian Bren gun position and demanded the surrender of the Australians who were blocking the Japanese line of retreat. According to one observer his words were: "Surrender pliz, Ossie. You come. No?" He was promptly shot. One company counted 81 Japanese killed with "company weapons only" round the junction and estimated that at least 35 others had been killed; six Australians were slightly wounded.  By morning, the fighting was virtually over, and the mop-up of the disorganized enemy force commenced. The attack on Beaufort cost the 24th Brigade 7 men killed and 38 wounded, while the Australians counted 93 Japanese dead and took two prisoners. Meanwhile, the 2/28th Battalion secured Lumadan village, where it made contact with the 2/32nd. Porter then ordered this battalion to pursue the retreating Japanese eastward, successfully securing the Montenior Besar railway bridge by July 4. The 2/32nd Battalion proceeded to attack toward Papar, encountering little opposition as they captured Membakut on July 5, followed by Kimanis on July 10, and finally Papar on July 12. Turning back south, the 2/17th Battalion occupied Kuala Belait on June 24, where they discovered evidence of a massacre of Indian prisoners of war.  Indian prisoners of war began reaching the lines of the 2/17th Battalion at Seria on June 22. By the end of the month, a total of 41 had arrived, reporting a horrific event: on June 14, the Japanese had slaughtered a portion of a group of more than 100 Indian prisoners at Kuala Belait. The Australians discovered 24 charred bodies at the site, along with evidence indicating that others had also been killed. A report by the 2/17th noted, "The motive for the massacre is not clear, and whether a partial loss of rations, the waving of flags, or simply Japanese brutality was responsible cannot be determined." The surviving Indians were found to be starving, with many suffering from illness. Colonel Broadbent remarked, "The loyalty and fortitude of these Indians has been amazing and is a lesson to us all. Even now, their standard of discipline is high." Two days later, patrols made contact with the 2/13th Battalion at the Baram River. Pushing south along Riam Road, the patrols of the 2/13th clashed with the Japanese at South Knoll, which they captured by the end of the month. Throughout July, the 2/13th continued patrolling down Riam Road against some opposition, eventually pushing the Japanese beyond Bakam by August. At the same time, the 2/17th conducted deep patrols southward from Kuala Belait, particularly along the Baram River toward Bakung, Marudi, and Labi. Overall, Australian losses during the North Borneo Offensive totaled 114 killed and 221 wounded, while they captured 130 prisoners and accounted for at least 1,234 Japanese killed. Following the conclusion of conventional military operations, Wootten's troops began to support the efforts of Australian-sponsored native guerrillas operating in Sarawak under Operation Semut and in British North Borneo as part of Operation Agas.  Between March and July 1945, five Special Operations Australia “SOA” parties were inserted into North Borneo. The Agas 1 and 2 parties established networks of agents and guerrillas in northwestern Borneo, while the Agas 4 and 5 parties, landed on the east coast, achieved little in their missions. The Agas 3 party investigated the Ranau area at the request of the 1st Corps. The results of Operation Agas were mixed; although its parties established control over their respective areas of operation and provided intelligence of variable quality, they were responsible for killing fewer than 100 Japanese soldiers. In parallel, as part of Operation Semut, over 100 Allied personnel, mainly Australians, were inserted by air into Sarawak from March 1945, organized into four parties. These parties were tasked with collecting intelligence and establishing guerrilla forces. The indigenous Dayaks of Sarawak's interior enthusiastically joined these guerrilla groups, essentially allowing SOA personnel to lead small private armies. No. 200 Flight RAAF and the Royal Australian Navy's Snake-class junks played crucial roles in this campaign, facilitating the insertion of SOA personnel and supplies. The guerrilla forces launched attacks to gain control of the interior of Sarawak, while the 9th Division focused on coastal areas, oilfields, plantations, and ports in North Borneo. The guerrillas operated from patrol bases around Balai, Ridan, and Marudi, as well as in the mountains and along key waterways, including the Pandaruan and Limbang Rivers, and along the railway connecting Beaufort and Tenom. Their objective was to disrupt Japanese troop movements and interdict forces as they withdrew from the main combat zone. The RAAF conducted air strikes to support these lightly armed guerrillas, who at times had to evade better-armed Japanese units. These guerrilla forces successfully raided several key towns and facilities, significantly disrupting enemy movements and efforts. It is estimated that over 1,800 Japanese soldiers were killed in North Borneo through guerrilla actions, particularly by the fearsome Dayak people, whose fierce tactics and local knowledge played a crucial role in these operations. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. In the final throes of the Pacific War, the Battle of Okinawa became a fierce battleground of sacrifice and honor. As American forces, led by General Buckner, advanced, they shattered Japanese defenses, pushing them into a desperate retreat. On June 21, General Ushijima and Lieutenant General Cho, recognizing their imminent defeat, committed seppuku, adhering to the samurai code. The chaotic battle led to staggering casualties, with many Japanese soldiers surrendering, realizing their cause was lost. By June's end, Okinawa was secured, symbolizing not only a victory but also the tragic cost of war, with countless lives lost on both sides.

For this episode of SOA, Ian, Producer Jason and Ambassador Shawn welcome three members of the Official SOA Patreon page (Cody Johnson, Justin Frey and Dan Campbell) to take on a Jeopardy-style trivia challenge to see who knows their Crowes the best and will go home with the 6LP "Live at the Greek" reissue box set!

La protection des mers, c'est l'enjeu de la troisième Conférence de l'ONU sur l'Océan, qui s'ouvre lundi 9 juin à Nice, dans le sud de la France. L'un des sujets majeurs de ce sommet, c'est la pollution des mers par les plastiques. Comme dit Foga Agbetossou, les microplastiques n'ont pas besoin de visas pour arriver sur les côtes africaines. Foga Agbetossou est le responsable pour le Togo de l'ONG SOA, pour Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Alliance pour un océan durable, en français. En ligne de Lomé, il répond aux questions de Christophe Boisbouvier. RFI : Foga Agbetossou, vu d'Afrique, qu'est-ce que vous attendez de cette troisième Conférence des Nations unies sur l'océan ? Foga Agbetossou : Il faut dire que l'Afrique s'attend à beaucoup de choses, surtout en matière de conservation. Donc, nous attendons à ce que les jeunes Africains puissent avoir plus de poids en matière de discussion sur les questions liées aux océans.Est-ce qu'avec le réchauffement climatique, vous craignez une élévation du niveau de la mer sur les côtes africaines ?Bien sûr, cette élévation du niveau de la mer sur les côtes africaines n'est pas à craindre puisque c'est quelque chose qui se passe déjà. Les côtes les plus vulnérables sur le continent africain sont les côtes qui sont principalement constituées de plages sableuses. Puisque, vous le savez, les plages sableuses ne sont pas très résistantes face à l'avancée de la mer, face au phénomène d'érosion côtière. Donc, dès que les vagues déferlent sur les côtes, ces plages sableuses ne résistent pas aux vagues qui les érodent.Et du côté des mangroves ?Et les mangroves aussi. Comme les mangroves sont partie intégrante des systèmes côtiers, elles sont également menacées et, du coup, elles perdent leurs potentiels de résistance face aux inondations et aux phénomènes d'érosion côtière.Et qu'en est-il pour les îles au large du continent africain, notamment du côté de l'océan Indien ? Oui, ces îles sont également très menacées face au réchauffement climatique, puisque ces îles sont des zones de prédilection de ce que nous appelons les récifs coralliens. Et ces récifs coralliens, figurez-vous, ce sont des organismes qui créent des écosystèmes où d'autres poissons viennent se reproduire et où il y a beaucoup en termes de biodiversité marine. Donc, avec le réchauffement climatique, avec ses corollaires d'élévation du niveau de la mer, d'élévation du taux de CO2 dans la mer, ces récifs coralliens perdent en fait leur efficacité, perdent certaines de leurs activités biologiques et expulsent des organismes qui sont responsables de leur croissance. Donc, une fois qu'ils expulsent ces organismes-là, ils subissent ce qu'on appelle le blanchissement et ils perdent leurs fonctions biologiques. Et du coup, cela constitue un très grand problème, surtout pour ces îles comme Zanzibar, les Seychelles, les Comores et autres, qui sont dans l'océan Indien. Et figurez-vous que même une partie de leur économie en matière de pêche repose sur ces écosystèmes de récifs coralliens.Alors, toujours au chapitre du réchauffement climatique, l'un des sujets de cette conférence de Nice, ce sont les émissions de CO2 provoquées par le transport maritime. Ce secteur est à l'origine de 3 % des émissions mondiales de CO2, soit presque autant que l'avion et presque autant que l'ensemble du continent africain. Qu'attendez-vous d'une telle conférence au sujet du trafic maritime, justement ?Oui. Quand vous parlez des 3 %, on peut peut-être penser que c'est un chiffre infime. Mais les 3 % représentent en fait 1056 millions de tonnes de CO2 qui sont émis par le domaine maritime, les bateaux et tout le reste.Est ce qu'il faut que les bateaux arrêtent d'utiliser du fioul ? Et à ce moment-là, par quoi faut-il le remplacer ? Bien entendu, il faudrait qu'on se tourne vers les nouvelles technologies et remplacer ces carburants par d'autres carburants alternatifs comme l'hydrogène. Les recherches sont en cours et, à Lomé même récemment, il y a un institut, un centre Wascal.org qui est un centre de recherche sur les questions climatiques, qui, avec d'autres partenaires, a mis sur pied un institut de recherche sur l'hydrogène dont des avancées se font déjà sur le continent, principalement au Togo. Mais je crois qu'il faut qu'on se tourne beaucoup plus vers ces carburants alternatifs. Comme je le disais, il y a l'hydrogène. Il y a également des biocarburants marins. Des recherches sont en cours pour voir si on pourrait utiliser les algues et les déchets marins pour fabriquer du carburant pour ces bateaux. Il y a également un domaine qui est en pleine recherche actuellement, qui est l'électrification des ports. Il faut doter les ports des équipements d'énergies renouvelables pour réduire l'empreinte carbone.Donc il faudrait, sur le port de Lomé, des bornesélectriques où les bateaux viendraient recharger leurs batteries ?Exactement.Mais est ce que ce n'est pas quelque chose qui va prendre des années et des années ? Bien sûr que ça prendra des années. Mais tout rêve commence par un pas. Donc si nous ne faisons pas ce pas aujourd'hui, on risque de répéter les mêmes choses après 40 ou 50 ans.Lors de cette conférence, la France va proposer que les armateurs et les transporteurs maritimes payent une taxe carbone pour financer la transition énergétique. Mais beaucoup de pays sont contre. Qu'est-ce que vous en pensez ?Oui, la pollution plastique est bel et bien une réalité en Afrique puisque l'Afrique, pour information, produit plus de 17 millions de tonnes de déchets plastiques par an. Mais moins de 10 % de ces plastiques sont recyclés sur le continent et le reste finit, comme vous le savez, dans les rivières, les fleuves et dans les deux océans, l'océan Atlantique et l'océan Indien.L'un des fléaux des mers aujourd'hui, c'est le plastique. Alors vu d'Afrique, est-ce que la pollution plastique est une réalité ou pas ?Oui, la pollution plastique est bel et bien une réalité en Afrique puisque l'Afrique, pour information, a produit plus de 17 millions de tonnes de déchets plastiques par an. Mais moins de 10 % de ces plastiques sont recyclés sur le continent et le reste finit, comme vous le savez, dans les rivières, les fleuves et dans les deux océans, l'océan Atlantique et l'océan Indien.Et le problème, c'est que ces plastiques ne sont pas biodégradables. C'est ça ? Oui, la majeure partie de ces plastiques ne sont pas biodégradable. Une fois qu'ils entrent dans l'environnement marin, ils prennent des décennies, quelquefois même des centaines d'années, à se désintégrer par suite des processus physiques qui se déroulent dans la mer. Et donc, année après année, les plastiques augmentent en pleine mer. Et cela constitue un danger notoire pour les organismes qui vivent dans la mer. Et lorsque ces plastiques arrivent à se désintégrer aussi, ils se désintègrent et deviennent des microplastiques qui sont quelquefois confondus par certaines espèces marines avec des aliments. Ces espèces les ingurgitent. Et tout cela finit sur nos tables lorsque nous consommons de ces espèces.Donc il y a des poissons qu'il ne faut plus manger, c'est ça ? Je ne dirai pas qu'il ne faut plus manger, mais on ne sait pas quel poisson a ingurgité ces microplastiques et lequel n'en a pas pris. Donc, nous nous attendons à ce que des avancées notoires soient faites sur la question de la pollution plastique, puisque c'est une question qui touche non seulement l'Afrique, mais aussi les autres continents. Et le problème également, c'est que les plastiques qui sont rejetés sur d'autres continents n'ont pas besoin de visas avant de venir sur nos côtes. Et donc je crois qu'il faut vraiment développer une solution qui serait globale pour la question du plastique. Et je crois qu'une prochaine session se tiendra à Genève, en Suisse, et je crois qu'ils vont développer un traité mondial sur le plastique, un traité mondial que les États vont ratifier pour que tous ensemble, nous puissions trouver une solution globale pour ce problème global.Oui, mais vous savez bien que cet accord international que tout le monde appelle de ses vœux, les pays producteurs de pétrole n'en veulent pas puisque le plastique est fait à partir du pétrole.Oui, oui. Mais ce n'est pas parce que certains États ont refusé de ratifier le traité que nous allons nous empêcher de faire ce qui est bien. Il faut quand même aller dans la bonne direction et, un de ces jours, nous sommes positifs. Nous croyons que ces États vont céder.Et de ce point de vue, qu'est-ce que fait votre ONG, SOA, Sustainable Ocean Alliance, l'Alliance pour un Océan Durable, contre ce fléau des plastiques ?À SOA Togo, nous nous sommes rendu compte qu'en fait, en Afrique et spécialement au Togo, beaucoup de personnes ne sont pas informées sur les questions relatives aux océans. Et c'est d'ailleurs ce qui a motivé la création de cette organisation au Togo. Et ce que nous faisons, c'est que d'abord nous essayons de rapprocher l'océan des populations. Nous essayons de parler aux populations, nous faisons des tournées dans des écoles pour parler aux jeunes apprenants, pour familiariser les gens sur les questions relatives aux océans. Et pendant ces campagnes de sensibilisation, l'un des sujets principaux que nous débattons, c'est la question du plastique et nous montrons justement aux apprenants les bonnes pratiques à faire pour pouvoir réduire la pollution plastique, sinon l'éviter carrément.Donc votre message, c'est que la mer, ce n'est pas une poubelle.Oui, bien entendu, la mer n'est pas une poubelle, tout comme nos maisons respectives ne sont pas des poubelles. La mer, les fleuves, les rivières, ce sont des écosystèmes, des habitats d'autres organismes. Donc, il faut que nous travaillions à ne pas en faire des poubelles.La préoccupation majeure des professionnels de la mer en Afrique, c'est la surpêche, notamment la pêche industrielle. Que peut faire cette conférence de l'ONU à Nice, en France, pour réguler cette pêche sur les côtes africaines ?Oui, je pense à la convention d'Abidjan et je crois qu'il y a certains éléments qui manquent à la Convention et sur lesquels la Conférence peut également travailler pour régler la question de la surpêche sur le continent. En fait, ce qui se passe sur le terrain, c'est qu'il y a des bateaux, des industriels provenant d'autres pays qui viennent effectuer ces surpêches au large du continent africain et qui violent certains règlements qui sont en cours. Donc, je crois que la Conférence peut travailler à maximiser les efforts pour renforcer les mesures protectives contre cette surpêche.Et vous trouvez que la Convention d'Abidjan n'est pas assez contraignante ? Il y a certains des éléments qu'on pourrait ajouter à cette Convention, tels que la question de la pêche artisanale. Cette question n'a pas été bien traitée dans cette Convention, puisque lorsque ces bateaux industriels font cette surpêche, ils entrent en fait en compétition avec la pêche artisanale et ils menacent la sécurité alimentaire dans nos pays.Un accord a été rédigé qui vise à contrecarrer et éliminer la pêche illégale : 64 % des États côtiers du monde ont signé cet accord, ce qui veut dire qu'il reste 36 % des pays qui ne l'ont pas signé. Ce qui signifie qu'il y a de la résistance, non ? Bien sûr, cette résistance provient principalement de ces pays qui trouvent un intérêt dans la surpêche. Quand je pense à la Chine, vous savez que même la Chine intervient au large de plusieurs pays africains. Au Ghana même, la question est très cruciale. Je ne sais pas si vous avez déjà entendu parler du Saiko Fishing. Donc, ce sont des Chinois qui viennent au large des côtes ghanéennes et qui font leurs activités de façon illicite et qui font même des transbordements. Ils vendent des espèces juvéniles. Ils vont jusqu'aux espèces juvéniles, les vendent aux pêcheurs traditionnels qui reviennent les vendre sur le continent. Donc je crois que, au point où nous sommes arrivés, l'océan constitue beaucoup de potentialités que nous pourrons exploiter pour notre développement. Mais pendant que nous exploitons les ressources de l'océan, il faut penser à les exploiter de façon durable, parce que l'océan entretient la vie sur la terre. L'océan produit près de la moitié de l'oxygène que nous respirons et l'océan a encore beaucoup d'éléments à nous offrir. Et si nous nous précipitons à détruire ces ressources, nous risquons de ne pas avoir accès aux autres ressources que l'océan réserve pour nous. Donc, j'exhorte la population mondiale, j'exhorte les États à prendre des décisions qui iront à l'avantage de l'océan.À lire aussiTogo: la ville d'Aného lutte pour faire face à l'érosion et garder ses plagesÀ lire aussiAvant la conférence onusienne sur l'Océan, des scientifiques publient 10 recommandations pour le préserver

On an all-new episode of SOA, David, Ian and Producer Jason sit down, Deprogrammed Podcast style, to create their ten track version of the ultimate Chris Robinson Brotherhood album. It's a fight to the finish that you won't want to miss!

This week on SOA, Ian sits down with Producer Jason and Ambassador Shawn to discuss the infamous acoustic shows performed at The Garage in London, England in February of 1997. It's got the music nerd stamp of approval for sure!

Hello and welcome!   We have a great episode for you today. Our guest is Geralyn Trujillo, Senior Director of Public Policy at the American Academy of Actuaries. She and our host, Dale Hall, Managing Director of Research at the Society of Actuaries Research Institute, will be walking us through key takeaways from the recent NAIC 2025 Spring Meeting, held in Indianapolis from March 23 to March 26. If you're looking for a clear and thoughtful recap, you're in the right place. Let's get started! SOA e-Newsletter:  NAIC Spring 2025 Meeting Recap Send us your feedback at ResearchInsights@soa.org 

Welcome back to SOA! This week, our first official guest from the Black Crowes universe, Mr. Matt Slocum, returns to the show to break down the classic track from Amorica, "Descending!" It's a great conversation you won't want to miss!

This week on SOA, we welcome master of Hill Country blues guitar and beyond, Mr. Luther Dickinson! Luther sits down for a great chat about his storied career, including his time in The Black Crowes, working with Phil Lesh and the thread that runs through it all, North Mississippi All-Stars! It's a great conversation you definitely don't want to miss!

Today we are doing some listener Q&A submissions! 1 - Does Jacob have buck fever? And what is the best way to cure it? 2 - How do you know if a buck you have on camera is going to food or going to bedding? We then talk about Jacob's recent SOA hunt and a crazy buck encounter he had! Got a question for the show? Submit a listener Q&A form - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1uMXP Grab some Southern Outdoorsmen merch here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aK Join Woodsman Wire - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1u4aR Use the promo code “southern” for a discount on your OnX Hunt membership here - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1tyfm Save 10% on your next Vortex Optics order at eurooptic.com using the Promo Code “SGN10” - https://2ly.link/1wyYO Use code SOUTHERN20 for a discount on all vortex apparel, including eyewear Check out Moultrie's trail cams here - https://2ly.link/1zJWv Check out Latitude Outdoors for your mobile hunting gear - https://2ly.link/1zVDI Check out our favorite First Lite gear - https://bit.ly/4fqYulk Have you tagged a deer using something you heard on the show? Submit your listener success story here - Share Your Story Here Come chat with us on our Thursday Hunter Hangouts! Join our patreon - https://l.linklyhq.com/l/1uMXU OUR PODCASTING GEAR -  Main camera - https://amzn.to/3L0renh Secondary cameras - https://amzn.to/3xBUOMy Main light - https://amzn.to/3XKaxUu Secondary lights - https://amzn.to/3XJ9c0m Podcast recorder - https://amzn.to/3RLeLHK Headsets - https://amzn.to/3VZeK5y NOTE: Not all advertisements run on this show are endorsed by The Southern Outdoorsmen Podcast unless an ad is read by one of the hosts. OLD SCHOOL CAMO HATS - https://2ly.link/1yiup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices