Tricare prime providers houston tx

Here was my first post looking at the potential from a 30K foot level: https://www.reddit.com/CLOV/comments/1ct66bf/shooting_from_the_hip_here_on_clov_saas_potential/
So as I mentioned in my last post, my brain was racing last night as I really began analyzing what Toy said in his LI post yesterday. I started looking at what the potential could really look like if Clover Health became a hybrid Insurance/Healthcare + Software/Technology company and was able to monetize the tech side of it more effectively.
Valuations are significantly more robust in tech for good reason- they're predictable with much lower revenue and pricing volatility.
Brief history of software licensing- SaaS stands for Software as a Service and has revolutionized the way software has been managed since the early to mid 2000s. Prior to ~2004ish, for consumers you had what was called perpetual software licensing that was installed by the buyer and was licensed to use in perpetuity, never again seeing any fees. You also had VERY expensive (mainly for larger corporations) on-premise software, allowing companies much more control and security over their software instances, but with heavy infrastructure costs capital investments (servers, etc).
So what software vendors did was release new updates every year or so, trying to entice users that they needed the new version (think Windows 4.0 and Windows 95, 98, etc, if you really want to throw it back) and kind of similar to iPhones now a days, many people will skip 2-3 generations before buying new.
However, many consumers opted to skip multiple versions in order to save some money, until theirs became so obsolete, they had to. It was much more unpredictable to forecast for wall st. There were also massive amounts of piracy around the world (China specifically) costing many of these companies literally billions in revenue each year that was difficult to prevent or stop. Enter drastically higher Internet speeds and the infrastructure requirements needed for SaaS circa 2003-2005.
I worked for a startup company on the cutting edge of SaaS around 2007 that was acquired by Adobe specifically because we were very good at our SaaS model, and Adobe wanted to figure out how to switch their Creative products over to a SaaS model.
After the acquision, during one of the first few all hands meetings, Adobe's CEO expressed how excited he was to learn from us during their transition of their licensing model and how big of an issue licensing fraud/piracy was and how switching to SaaS would likely fixt that. When we were acquired ~2010, Adobe's stock price was something like $14 a share from what I remember following the acquisition, and hit nearly $700 roughly in 2021, roughly 8 or so years after making the transition off of perpetual licenses. I had thousands of RSUs and it was a fun run, though it's been some time since I've worked there.
The reason why SaaS is great (for a company), is because there are never any updates to buy, companies manage all of that now and push updates on a regular bases, but instead of a one-time purchase, you pay on an ongoing basis for your "seat" every month.
Some of the largest SaaS vendors are companies like Salesforce, Adobe, Autodesk, Oracle, SAP. They way they scale is by number of employees within a company logging in to their CRM or one of their many other services.
For example a small company with say, 200 employees has 25 seats (aka, 25 different people) can log in and they may be paying $100 per seat, per month. However a company with 10K employees and 1000 users may only be paying $25 per seat... these are all arbitrary figures, but show how it scales.
Adobe, on the other hand may have a single product for $50 a month, or their entire creative bundle for $100 per person. College or HS students may get it for much cheaper like $25 a month.
You also have up front implementation fees that can be in the tens of thousands or even millions of dollars depending on the size of the org.
Anyway, I've gotten much deeper into the details than I anticipated when I sat down and started typing, but I've been trying to figure out how Clover's model would work, i.e., who are they selling to?
Ultimately, it's the insurance providers that are looking to reduce their MCR rates, so they have to play a role in all of this, but you also have a ton of doctors that are on the front lines needed to make all the data work.
I'm sure Andrew knows exactly how they want to go to market, but if I had to guess, they would sell some sort of access license to the large insurers (United, Humana, etc) and then there would be a second component pricing out these "seats" or "lives under management" is probably how it would translate in the healthcare field, to the doctors. Doctors that are then rewarded with some sort of kickback if the insurers see they're using is properly, costs are decreasing or something like that.
This is where it get's a little fuzzy for me and I'd love to hear Toy's next update on how they plan to go to market.
In terms of TAM, I read that there are somewhere in the range of 30-35M Medicate Advantage potential candidates currently in the US. UnitedHealthcare, alone, accounts for 29% of all Medicare Advantage enrollment in 2023, or 8.9 million enrollees. Together, UnitedHealthcare and Humana account for nearly half (47%) of all Medicare Advantage enrollees nationwide. By comparison, CLOV has just shy of 80K enrollees mainly in NJ, some in GA and fewer in SC, TX and Philly area of PA. That's it.
So if, CLOV could tap into these markets that United and Humana (and Cigna and Centene etc) are already established, show them the proven savings benefits Clover Assistant can provide, it could get real interesting, as long as they don't fumble the GTM.
Now people are asking, well, why doesn't a United, with close to $400B in Rev per year just buy a tiny little company like Clover Health (~$500M market cap)... well, it's because I don't believe they can, because Vivek has 120M Class B shares with 10x voting power, meaning he has 1.2B votes vs. the remaining float which is roughly 375M Class A, w/ 1 vote each, if Im not mistaken. Meaning, only if Vivek wants to sell, will they ever sell. A hostile takeover cannot happen under his watch.
And if United and Humana and all the large players are struggling to keep costs under control, where they're talking about shrinking their footprints, but CLOV has an industry-leading MCR in the mid-70s. They will have to either build it themselves, acquire another company with a similar tech or will have to pay to get access to it, implement it all while CLOV will be a huge beneficiary.
This could get very interesting... I'll start working on a v3 follow up and dig into some potential numbers...

Patrick Mahomes is good, obviously.
BUT
Patrick Mahomes is the ONLY and I mean ONLY good QB in the NFL.
The rest of the QBs suck or are pretty good.
I’m going to go over a lot of the QBs here.
Patrick Mahomes: Good
Joe Burrow: Overrated, injury prone, acts cool as ice with no rings, played horrible in his Super Bowl run, and is a SYSTEM QB.
Josh Allen: Overrated and can’t win the big game. Turnover machine. Very wreckless runner. Might not age well.
Lamar Jackson: Throws the ball into TRIPLE COVERAGE and that’s why he had to run the triple option over and over. Injury prone. Carried by his play caller and system for the routes. MVP padder. Only useful in the regular season. Not useful in the playoffs.
Deshaun Watson: Values getting a massage over football. Hasn’t been good in 3 or so years. Injury prone.
CJ Stroud: He’s good and hope it stays this way. No red flags really.
Anthony Richardson: Dollar Tree Cam Newton. Injury prone. Poor accuracy.
Trevor Lawerence: Absolutely horrible leadership skills. Not inspiring to play for at all. Overrated generational prospect.
Aidan O’Connell: Didn’t complete a pass for 3 quarters straight and somehow beat the Chiefs. Very replaceable.
Justin Herbert: Very shy. Hides from cameras. Doesn’t have a desire to be him or that guy. Very smart and plays the position well but not inspirational really so teammates won’t give it their all for him.
Tua Tagovailoa: Injury prone, system QB, can’t play in the cold, and needs to get the 1 seed in order to have a chance at the Super Bowl.
Jacoby Brissett: Journey man.
Aaron Rodgers: Conference game playoff choke artist. Retirement diva. Doesn’t work middle of field particularly well. Not a likable teammate really. Only lasted 3-4 plays with the Jets.
Russell Wilson: Hasn’t been the same ever since he threw the goal line interception in the Super Bowl. Horrible at working the middle of the field. He’s slower now. Very corny, attention seeking, and fake. Teammates don’t like him.
Will Levis: Puts mayonnaise in his coffee.
Kirk Cousins: He’s liked and gets the job because he’s responsible but can’t get his teams over the hump and chokes on prime time games.
Kyler Murray: Midget. 5’8.5 at best but 5’10 if you include his Afro and shoes. Enjoys video games. Diva. Injury prone. Can’t play in cold weather well. Runs exploitable schemes that get worse as the season goes on.
Bruce Young: Somehow smaller with a very thin frame. Very injury prone.
Caleb Williams: Paints his fingernails but might be pretty good.
Dak Prescott: Probably the most overrated QB in the NFL. Plays well in the regular season. Can’t play in the playoffs.
Jared Goff: He’s solid.
Jordan Love: Pretty good but will struggle due to the division getting harder soon possibly.
Matthew Stafford: Good but past prime. No complaining really.
Sam Darnold: Sees ghosts.
Derek Carr: Injury prone and the white Dak Prescott on a worse roster.
Daniel Jones: Running white boy who trips in the open field when gifted an easy touchdown. Injury prone. Provides no energy to team.
Jalen Hurts: System QB on a stacked roster.
Brock Purdy: System QB on a stacked roster.
Geno Smith: System QB. Very good play caller who revived his career and offensive coordinator.
Baker Mayfield: Dramatic but has gotten better over time. Could be the new responsible Kirk Cousins who’s pretty good but not great.
Jayden Daniels: Will get injured on that Washington field. Small so injury prone too.
I realize this might be “negative” BUT the NFL is a “Not For Long” league and they exploit players in their weak spots of their game. Players need to get better.
Any QB can be traded if they aren’t Mahomes.
This says a lot about the other 31 teams that aren’t the Kansas City Chiefs.

Professor Woodrow Wilson once said that every man sent out from a university should be a man of his nation as well as a man of his time, and I am confident that the men and women who carry the honor of graduating from this institution will continue to give from their lives, from their talents, a high measure of public service and public support.
"There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university," wrote John Masefield in his tribute to English universities--and his words are equally true today. He did not refer to spires and towers, to campus greens and ivied walls. He admired the splendid beauty of the university, he said, because it was "a place where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see."
I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived--yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children--not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women--not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age when great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all the allied air forces in the Second World War. It makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn.
Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles--which can only destroy and never create--is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace.
I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war--and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.
Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament--and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must reexamine our own attitude--as individuals and as a Nation--for our attitude is as essential as theirs. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward--by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home.
First: Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable--that mankind is doomed--that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.
We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade--therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable--and we believe they can do it again.
I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal.
Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace-- based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions--on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned. There is no single, simple key to this peace--no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process--a way of solving problems.
With such a peace, there will still be quarrels and conflicting interests, as there are within families and nations. World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor--it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbors.
So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it.
Second: Let us reexamine our attitude toward the Soviet Union. It is discouraging to think that their leaders may actually believe what their propagandists write. It is discouraging to read a recent authoritative Soviet text on Military Strategy and find, on page after page, wholly baseless and incredible claims--such as the allegation that "American imperialist circles are preparing to unleash different types of wars . . . that there is a very real threat of a preventive war being unleashed by American imperialists against the Soviet Union . . . [and that] the political aims of the American imperialists are to enslave economically and politically the European and other capitalist countries . . . [and] to achieve world domination . . . by means of aggressive wars."
Truly, as it was written long ago: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth." Yet it is sad to read these Soviet statements--to realize the extent of the gulf between us. But it is also a warning--a warning to the American people not to fall into the same trap as the Soviets, not to see only a distorted and desperate view of the other side, not to see conflict as inevitable, accommodation as impossible, and communication as nothing more than an exchange of threats.
No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue. As Americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity. But we can still hail the Russian people for their many achievements--in science and space, in economic and industrial growth, in culture and in acts of courage.
Among the many traits the peoples of our two countries have in common, none is stronger than our mutual abhorrence of war. Almost unique among the major world powers, we have never been at war with each other. And no nation in the history of battle ever suffered more than the Soviet Union suffered in the course of the Second World War. At least 20 million lost their lives. Countless millions of homes and farms were burned or sacked. A third of the nation's territory, including nearly two thirds of its industrial base, was turned into a wasteland--a loss equivalent to the devastation of this country east of Chicago.
Today, should total war ever break out again--no matter how--our two countries would become the primary targets. It is an ironic but accurate fact that the two strongest powers are the two in the most danger of devastation. All we have built, all we have worked for, would be destroyed in the first 24 hours. And even in the cold war, which brings burdens and dangers to so many nations, including this Nation's closest allies--our two countries bear the heaviest burdens. For we are both devoting massive sums of money to weapons that could be better devoted to combating ignorance, poverty, and disease. We are both caught up in a vicious and dangerous cycle in which suspicion on one side breeds suspicion on the other, and new weapons beget counterweapons.
In short, both the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies, have a mutually deep interest in a just and genuine peace and in halting the arms race. Agreements to this end are in the interests of the Soviet Union as well as ours--and even the most hostile nations can be relied upon to accept and keep those treaty obligations, and only those treaty obligations, which are in their own interest.
So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.
Third: Let us reexamine our attitude toward the cold war, remembering that we are not engaged in a debate, seeking to pile up debating points. We are not here distributing blame or pointing the finger of judgment. We must deal with the world as it is, and not as it might have been had the history of the last 18 years been different.
We must, therefore, persevere in the search for peace in the hope that constructive changes within the Communist bloc might bring within reach solutions which now seem beyond us. We must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes in the Communists' interest to agree on a genuine peace. Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy--or of a collective death-wish for the world.
To secure these ends, America's weapons are nonprovocative, carefully controlled, designed to deter, and capable of selective use. Our military forces are committed to peace and disciplined in self- restraint. Our diplomats are instructed to avoid unnecessary irritants and purely rhetorical hostility.
For we can seek a relaxation of tension without relaxing our guard. And, for our part, we do not need to use threats to prove that we are resolute. We do not need to jam foreign broadcasts out of fear our faith will be eroded. We are unwilling to impose our system on any unwilling people--but we are willing and able to engage in peaceful competition with any people on earth.
Meanwhile, we seek to strengthen the United Nations, to help solve its financial problems, to make it a more effective instrument for peace, to develop it into a genuine world security system--a system capable of resolving disputes on the basis of law, of insuring the security of the large and the small, and of creating conditions under which arms can finally be abolished.
At the same time we seek to keep peace inside the non-Communist world, where many nations, all of them our friends, are divided over issues which weaken Western unity, which invite Communist intervention or which threaten to erupt into war. Our efforts in West New Guinea, in the Congo, in the Middle East, and in the Indian subcontinent, have been persistent and patient despite criticism from both sides. We have also tried to set an example for others--by seeking to adjust small but significant differences with our own closest neighbors in Mexico and in Canada.
Speaking of other nations, I wish to make one point clear. We are bound to many nations by alliances. Those alliances exist because our concern and theirs substantially overlap. Our commitment to defend Western Europe and West Berlin, for example, stands undiminished because of the identity of our vital interests. The United States will make no deal with the Soviet Union at the expense of other nations and other peoples, not merely because they are our partners, but also because their interests and ours converge.
Our interests converge, however, not only in defending the frontiers of freedom, but in pursuing the paths of peace. It is our hope-- and the purpose of allied policies--to convince the Soviet Union that she, too, should let each nation choose its own future, so long as that choice does not interfere with the choices of others. The Communist drive to impose their political and economic system on others is the primary cause of world tension today. For there can be no doubt that, if all nations could refrain from interfering in the self-determination of others, the peace would be much more assured.
This will require a new effort to achieve world law--a new context for world discussions. It will require increased understanding between the Soviets and ourselves. And increased understanding will require increased contact and communication. One step in this direction is the proposed arrangement for a direct line between Moscow and Washington, to avoid on each side the dangerous delays, misunderstandings, and misreadings of the other's actions which might occur at a time of crisis.
We have also been talking in Geneva about the other first-step measures of arms control designed to limit the intensity of the arms race and to reduce the risks of accidental war. Our primary long range interest in Geneva, however, is general and complete disarmament-- designed to take place by stages, permitting parallel political developments to build the new institutions of peace which would take the place of arms. The pursuit of disarmament has been an effort of this Government since the 1920's. It has been urgently sought by the past three administrations. And however dim the prospects may be today, we intend to continue this effort--to continue it in order that all countries, including our own, can better grasp what the problems and possibilities of disarmament are.
The one major area of these negotiations where the end is in sight, yet where a fresh start is badly needed, is in a treaty to outlaw nuclear tests. The conclusion of such a treaty, so near and yet so far, would check the spiraling arms race in one of its most dangerous areas. It would place the nuclear powers in a position to deal more effectively with one of the greatest hazards which man faces in 1963, the further spread of nuclear arms. It would increase our security--it would decrease the prospects of war. Surely this goal is sufficiently important to require our steady pursuit, yielding neither to the temptation to give up the whole effort nor the temptation to give up our insistence on vital and responsible safeguards.
I am taking this opportunity, therefore, to announce two important decisions in this regard.
First: Chairman Khrushchev, Prime Minister Macmillan, and I have agreed that high-level discussions will shortly begin in Moscow looking toward early agreement on a comprehensive test ban treaty. Our hopes must be tempered with the caution of history--but with our hopes go the hopes of all mankind.
Second: To make clear our good faith and solemn convictions on the matter, I now declare that the United States does not propose to conduct nuclear tests in the atmosphere so long as other states do not do so. We will not be the first to resume. Such a declaration is no substitute for a formal binding treaty, but I hope it will help us achieve one. Nor would such a treaty be a substitute for disarmament, but I hope it will help us achieve it.
Finally, my fellow Americans, let us examine our attitude toward peace and freedom here at home. The quality and spirit of our own society must justify and support our efforts abroad. We must show it in the dedication of our own lives--as many of you who are graduating today will have a unique opportunity to do, by serving without pay in the Peace Corps abroad or in the proposed National Service Corps here at home.
But wherever we are, we must all, in our daily lives, live up to the age-old faith that peace and freedom walk together. In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because the freedom is incomplete.
It is the responsibility of the executive branch at all levels of government--local, State, and National--to provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within their authority. It is the responsibility of the legislative branch at all levels, wherever that authority is not now adequate, to make it adequate. And it is the responsibility of all citizens in all sections of this country to respect the rights of all others and to respect the law of the land.
All this is not unrelated to world peace. "When a man's ways please the Lord," the Scriptures tell us, "he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights--the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation--the right to breathe air as nature provided it--the right of future generations to a healthy existence?
While we proceed to safeguard our national interests, let us also safeguard human interests. And the elimination of war and arms is clearly in the interest of both. No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can--if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers--offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race.
The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough--more than enough--of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on--not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.

Recent discussions here referred to the fact that some local Network pastors were downplaying the role of the Network, Steve Morgan, and Network Leadership Team. It would be a good idea to revisit this topic to know more about these Network leaders and their roles.
Overview of the Network
The Network by-laws provide some documentation for the Network Leadership Team (NLT) and their role. The by-laws refer to the NLT as a corporation known as the “Network”. This is interesting on two fronts. There is no evidence that the Network actually exists as an official corporation filed with a state agency and the federal Internal Revenue Service. It is believed that Network related funds and payroll are run through Joshua Church’s accounts and 501(c)(3) non profit status. According to page 10, the Network budget is overseen by the NLT and may be delegated to a local church and board.
They use the term “Network” to refer to themselves. This was their choice of words leading to the broad use of the term in public.
The first eight pages of the Network by-laws are devoted to outlining the beliefs and values of the Network culminating in the Apostles and Nicene creeds. These beliefs mirror many evangelical churches.
Purpose and Role of the Network Leadership Team
According to the by-laws, the Network Leadership Team leads the group of churches (p. 10). Local Network churches willingly affiliate with the Network as affirmed by each local board of overseers, allow the NLT to provide support and agree to their coaching, and agree to send 5% of the local tithes to the Network. But local church boards and pastors are not entitled to vote on Network decisions.
According to the by-laws, the Network exists to provide local churches with the following services:

1. Coaching
2. Training
3. Relationship
4. Support
5. Accountability
6. Assistance with planting new churches

In practice, the NLT members provide the above services to local churches through site visits, regional meetings, phone calls, emails, pastor retreats, church retreats, curriculum materials like small group leader topics, and counseling.
Network Leadership Team Members
The Network Leader, also known as the Network President, is Steve Morgan. According to the by-laws, he appoints members of the NLT who are then ratified by the other members. The Network President can only be removed by the NLT. If the NLT is not unanimous in voting for his removal, a majority vote of the local church pastors can remove him.
In 2019, the NLT consisted of Steve Morgan, Sándor Paull, Tony Ranvestal, Luke Williams, Justin Major, and Aaron Kuhnert. But according to a recorded team meeting by Sándor Paull in 2022, Justin and Aaron are no longer members and James Chidester was added. No reasons for these changes were given. Below is information about the current NLT members.
Steve Morgan - Network President. Much has been written about Network President Steve Morgan including a page devoted to Who is Steve Morgan. Given his role on the NLT and part of his salary being sourced from Network funds, there may be a conflict of interest.
Sándor Paull - Network Vice President. He met Steve Morgan at the Student Rec Center at SIUC when Sándor was an undergraduate student and Steve was an instructor. Steve asked Sándor to join the fledgling Vineyard Community Church early on after starting the church in 1995. Sándor is currently Network Vice President and Lead Pastor at Christland Church. As the Network Vice President, he is second in command behind Steve Morgan. Church plants sent by Sándor include High Rock, Cedar Heights, Valley Springs, North Pines, Rock Hills, Rock River, and Isaiah. There’s been plenty written about Sándor but this article in the Texas A&M newspaper gives an apt description of his practices. He likely serves as regional overseer for churches in the midwest regions.
Tony Ranvestal - He met Steve Morgan at Vineyard Community Church while a graduate student at SIUC. Tony was James Chidester’s small group leader at Vine Church in the early 2000s. After graduating, Tony went to the Champaign Vineyard Church and served as a pastor intern there under Vineyard Regional DirectoLead Pastor Happy Leman. He planted River Vineyard Church in West Lafayette, IN, eventually pulling his church out of the Vineyard to join Steve Morgan’s fledgling network. River Vineyard was renamed Clear River Church. Church plants sent from Tony and Clear River include Vida Springs, Oaks, South Grove and Ascent. Tony is currently Lead Pastor at Vida Springs Church. Tony is the second most senior leader behind Sandor. He likely serves as regional overseer for churches in the south and east regions.
Luke Williams - He met Steve Morgan at Bluesky Church when he was a freshman at the University of Washington. Luke came on staff at Bluesky as a maintenance worker while an undergraduate and then was hired as a staff pastor after graduating. He is currently Lead Pastor at Vista Church in San Luis Obispo, CA. Luke has not sent any church plants. He likely serves as regional overseer for the churches on the west coast.
James Chidester - James is the least known of the NLT members, is not public facing like the pastors, and deserves a bit of background information. James met Steve Morgan at Vine Church while an undergraduate student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Upon graduating and at the age of 22, James was made an Overseer at Bluesky Church in 2004 by Steve. James was Luke William’s small group leader at Bluesky. In 2017 he joined Steve Morgan in planting Joshua Church in Austin, TX. He was at one time, and still may be an Overseer at Joshua. He completed a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Seattle Pacific University. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in Washington state (WA License # PY60361570) and Texas (#37511), James currently serves as a counselor to the Network pastors and their wives. His salary and full benefits comes from the Network funds each church sends but his payroll and taxes are run out of Joshua Church so he’s technically an employee of Joshua. He also runs a private counseling service in both Texas and Washington state at three websites: http://www.providence-counseling.com/index.html, https://www.austinsportpsyc.com/, http://www.seattlesportspsychology.com/About-Dr--Chidester.html. James attends all pastor retreats and when he is gone for those meetings, the Network reimburses him for lost appointments from his private counseling business. Pastors and wives are also sent to James in Austin for counseling and he may now conduct sessions virtually. Given his role on the NLT and his salary being sourced from Network funds, there may be a conflict of interest.
These five NLT men provide leadership, oversight, and direction for all Network churches. They play an integral role in the Network as all beliefs and practices flow from this group. Any statement to the contrary is counter to both the by-laws and historical practices.

Question from someone working on getting into maritime as a deck officer (Texas A&M Maritime Academy)
I’m just curious. How do y’all get to the ship you will be working on? For example, I live in Houston, TX (and have no plans on moving elsewhere)… The ship I’ll be working on for 3 months is leaving out of Florida or California.
Does the company you work for fly you out to the port you’ll be leaving from? Do you fly yourself out there? Or do you only take jobs on ships leaving from ports near you? (In my case it would be Galveston, TX).
Something I thought of that I’m curious about. I’m just looking online at open 3rd mate jobs and see one for ConocoPhillips on a tanker running from Alaska to California. So it got me thinking of this. Thank you!

I'm 29, former school teacher thinking about going into the HVAC industry. I realized over the years that my degree is worthless. Paid off my student loan debt! I wish I knew about the trade industry before heading to college. I'm tired of the public school system (the pay, disrespectful kids, and curriculum). I also noticed that I don't like desk jobs (too slow and boring). I enjoy working with my hands and learning new things as I go. I just want to provide for my family and do something meaningful in my life.
I have a couple questions:

1. Is it worth getting into the HVAC industry?
2. If so, should I get certified at trade school or apply for an apprenticeship?
3. Any programs or YouTube channels you recommend?
4. Any advice or suggestions are welcome!

I'm 29, former school teacher thinking about going into the HVAC industry. I realized over the years that my degree is worthless. Paid off my student loan debt! I wish I knew about the trade industry before heading to college. I'm tired of the public school system (the pay, disrespectful kids, and curriculum). I also noticed that I don't like desk jobs (too slow and boring). I enjoy working with my hands and learning new things as I go. I just want to provide for my family and do something meaningful in my life.
I have a couple questions:

1. Is it worth getting into the HVAC industry?
2. If so, should I get certified at a trade school or apply for an apprenticeship?
3. Any programs or YouTube channels you recommend?
4. Any advice or suggestions are welcome!

Been meaning to post something on the topic for a while and finally decided to do so.
Long story short, what's up with Montreal's use of prime location public spaces? To provide a couple of examples:

1. The observatory on Mount Royal. Theresa beautiful old venue there which I understand is used from time to time. Put a coffee and pastry shop in it! Maybe a restaurant? Some local fast food options?
   
2. Parc Jean Drapeau. I had several people visit me, and I tell them to take the metro to the island. However, I always add a caveat to make sure to "bring water". Same story here; no coffee shops, restaurants... Its a beautiful place to be, but no instrastructure to keep people there (outside of Osheaga/picnic etc.)
   
3. Old port (the Quay's). There's cirque de soleil, science center, and even a beach! However, here again, you can't really sit down and have a bite to eat or a sip to drink at the end of the piers. To be fair, there's plenty of food options in old port, but I'm sure you understand what I mean.
   
4. Jarry Park (among many). There's only two parks that I know of that have some services, which are Square Saint-Louis and Carré Dorchester.
   

It really seems silly that we have such beautiful places yet we don't really make use of them. Coming from Europe, everyone and their aunt likes to go to town just to see people socializing. While we have plenty of open spaces and beautiful areas, it does seem like commercial activities aren't allowed to operate in those spaces.
Is this a zoning issue? Can something be done to change it? Would there be public interest to do so?
At the very least, I'm hoping to start a conversation on the topic, and at best, someone with actual pull sees the post and decides to campaign on it.
Wishing you all the best fellow redditors!
Et en français:
Cela faisait un moment que je voulais publier quelque chose sur le sujet et j'ai finalement décidé de le faire.
Pour faire court, qu'en est-il de l'utilisation par Montréal des espaces publics privilégiés (les prime locations) ? Pour donner quelques exemples :

1. L'observatoire du mont Royal. Il y a une belle vieille salle là-bas qui, je crois, est utilisée de temps en temps. Mettez-y un café et une pâtisserie ! Peut-être un restaurant ? Des options de restauration rapide locales ?
   
2. Parc Jean-Drapeau. J'ai reçu plusieurs personnes qui m'ont rendu visite et je leur ai dit de prendre le métro jusqu'à l'île. Cependant, j'ajoute toujours une mise en garde pour m'assurer "d'apporter de l'eau". Même histoire ici ; pas de cafés, de restaurants... C'est un bel endroit, mais aucune infrastructure pour garder les gens là-bas (en dehors d'Osheaga/pique-nique, etc.)
   
3. Vieux port (les Quais). Il y a le cirque de soleil, un centre des sciences et même une plage ! Cependant, là encore, on ne peut pas vraiment s'asseoir et manger un morceau ou boire qqch au bout des jetées. C'est sûr qu'il y a beaucoup d'options de restauration dans le Vieux-Port, mais je crois que vous comprenez ce que je veux dire.
   
4. Parc Jarry (parmi tant d'autres). À ma connaissance, il n'y a que deux parcs qui offrent des services de restauration/café, soit le Square Saint-Louis et le Carré Dorchester.
   

Cela semble vraiment inefficace que nous ayons de si beaux endroits et que nous ne les utilisions pas vraiment. Venant d'Europe, tout le monde, aime aller en ville juste pour voir les gens socialiser. Même si nous disposons de nombreux espaces ouverts et de belles zones ici à Montréal, il semble que les activités commerciales ne sont pas autorisées dans ces espaces.
Est-ce un problème de zonage ? Peut-on faire quelque chose pour le changer ? Y aurait-il un intérêt public à le faire ?
À tout le moins, j'espère commencer une conversation sur le sujet, et au mieux, quelqu'un qui a un peu d'influence voit le message et décide de faire campagne là-dessus.
Merci pour votre contribution!

I do feel quite hungry and my mouth is longing for the taste of water. I haven't talked to anyone all day, and I haven't gone downstairs. All I've been doing is alternating between attending classes (I'm homeschooled) and crying / coping in bed.
My situation has gotten much worse these past few weeks. This is the 6th day in a row where I've cried. Otherwise, I could probably count the amount times I've cried in the past 4 years on my two hands.
On the other hand, I started dating a really sweet girl. I've known her for a while now prior to developing romantic feelings for her, and I'm really glad to have her in life.
"Why are you starving yourself then?", you might ask. I think she deserves better. I'm short, ugly skinny, lagging behind in school, etc. I'm practicing hard to get into career with a marginal chance of me making any sort of money or obtaining any form of success. I live on the other side of the country from her, meaning I can't be there for her properly when she needs someone to comfort her or to have a shoulder to cry on. I can't keep doing this to her. She deserves someone better, who can actually provide for her and be there for her when she needs it.
Although regardless of my flaws, she still accepts me for who I am. She tries her best to console me and to help me erase the self-deprecating thoughts circling in my head, the voices telling me that I don't matter and that I should die. I feel guilty, stupid, and like a burden everytime I vent to her and I make her listen to me and expend effort to go that far for me. I love her so much for caring to that extent, and I'm forever thankful. But I think she deserves someone who's mentally stable and doesn't drift in and out of being suicidal every couple days.
When we go to college, we'll probably both leave the country and to different ones at that. She would be a young woman in her 20s. She's pretty, and a wonderful girl too. So many people would be after her. I don't want to rob her of her prime years.
I don't have access to firearms, rope, and we don't we have strong medication in the house. It's either I deprive myself of the things necessary for my body to continue functioning, or I stab myself with a knife.
It's 10pm here now. I might be going to sleep in a few hours. Supposedly, death kicks in after 3 days of no water. It's already been 1 day. Maybe I won't wake up, and that's probably for the better. I think my partner and the other people around me would be much better off when I'm gone.
I hope that when I finally croak, no burial or memorial services are held for me. Then again, hardly anyone would be willing / able to go, just for me. I just want my organs donated if anyone can make use of them, and the rest to be cremated. Then the ashes thrown away in some corner to be forgotten.
Chantal, if you're reading this, I love you. You mean the world to me.

Ciao Gang

It’s been a few weeks – IM Texas is done and dusted. As one would expect, I’m fully recovered. Not quite, but ouais yeah here goes my race recap
Swim – 1:22:05
T1 – 00:08:29
Bike – 6:51:34
T2 – 00:08:29 (exact same lol)
Run – 6:22:40
~Background Info~
Very sporty and athletic 26 year old who weighs give or take 185 lbs on any given day. Have run two 70.3’s with generally good and comfortable results. Have ran like a dozen marathons and all-around active person. Fitness is “in” right now so I keep busy ya hear
Socially… I stopped drinking two months before the race (varied 5-30 drinks a week before though…). Never changed my diet at all leading up to the race
~Prep~
This area can get a little complicated – I was scheduled to run IM Texas in 2023, but my so called best friend decided to snap my leg (compound fracture of my tibia and fibula) (very wicked) in half while playing soccer 3 months before race day. So after surgery, one month without standing really, one month using crutches, one month using a cane, endless $$$ spent at physical therapy medical bills etc. I find myself in July of 2023 more or less ready to start training again for IM 2024. I sign up (this time with early benefits so I don’t lose all my money again if I have to cancel, thanks Ironman).

I bought a training plan from MyProCoach. 24 Week Intermediate plan to be exact. Between that plan, help from reddit, Instagram influencers, and my self-proclaimed expert father – I morphed a plan that more or less would hopefully (ambitious I know) get me across the finish line in one piece.
~Training~
My new concoction of a training plan generally consisted of two swims a week (Monday and Thursday), one track workout (usually Tuesdays), one hard bike effort on the trainer (usually Wednesday), fun day Friday (no workout unless I was making up for one I missed), long bike ride (Saturdays), and one long run (Sundays) a week. I would generally build up for three weeks then take a “rest” week with 3 to 4 light workouts just to stay loose-ish. I’d up the tempos, intervals, effort, distances etc. every time I got to a new 3 week build phase.
This is more or less what I stuck to for 6 months. I coach high school lacrosse and still play a decent amount of soccer so there was some tweaking here and there to still accompany those. But this was the plan and I can safely say that I did ~80%~ of my planned workouts. The other 20% fell to the wayside as I was still trying to be a socially active fun 26 yr old guy who likes to drink with his friends (loves to drink with his friends)

~Week of the race~
I live in Houston, TX where the race is (really it’s in the woodlands but who cares), so there was no extensive travel for me or anything like that.

I got in some small runs, light bike rides, and swam twice the week of the race. Logistically, I think IM Texas is setup very well. I knew the course very well as a lifelong Houstonian so there was no prep necessary for that. Check-in was easy. Transitions are a bit different at IM Texas than my other tri’s, so that was a small learning curve. But again, nothing to be intimidated by or worry about.

~Race Day~
Managed to go to sleep by 10 pm the night before, so waking up at 4:30am wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever done. Woke up, ate a breakfast sandwich, slammed some coffee, and began hydrating. Got transition about 5:30ish, had my dad and a friend drop me off so didn’t have to walk at all. Got in there, setup bike computer, bottles, etc. I managed to get a BM (dump) out here, which was huge. Things were looking up. Grabbed my wetsuit and then got dropped off at swim start, again no walking which was awesome.
Got to swim start and started getting pretty nervous (all the leg injury shit and 18 months of training were all for this). Water temperature was 75.5 degrees, so wetsuit legal. Luckily had my family and a friend to keep my calm and get my wetsuit on. The gun goes for the pros so I hop in the queue with the other swimmers seeded around the 1:20 to 1:30 mark.

~Swim~
I hop in the water and immediately start worrying that it’s going to get toasty in this wetsuit. In this swim, the buoys are on your left side. I immediately pop out to the right some to get out of all the rough water and kicking feet. There is a park adjacent to the swim start for about 300 meters and I actually see my family walking along the edge of the water as I get out into the lake (mentally huge for me to see them and take my mind off of things while I get in the groove of it all). For about 20 minutes everything is fine, I’m feeling okay, wasn’t overheating in the wetsuit, didn’t let my heart rate get too high (it has in all my other tri swims), and I was sighting well without having to pick my head up too much. At this point the lifeguards/kayak/paddleboard people were pinching us a little too hard. I get they are there for safety and to keep people on course, but I felt like they were funneling us into a tight swim pack for no reason. I totally understand that the swim is dangerous and people can die if help doesn’t get there quick enough, but I felt it was putting a little too much stress on the swimmers. I like to swim away from the pack so maybe this was just me. At the halfway point of the swim, you get funneled through this floating arch (I think it’s for timing purposes?). Whatever the reason for it, it bottlenecked all of us. We were swimming probably 10 people wide through a 7-yard-wide arch. Had to protect your head on that for sure to keep from getting kicked. While I thought it was stupid, it did have a great little benefit. The way we were funneled through created a nice little current and I ended up riding that wave for maybe 75 meters or so. Stupid feature but nice little boost. At this point I’m feeling great. I haven’t been kicked yet, the lungs feel good, I’m not overheating and I have the space to swim in. IM Texas is unique because at 80% of the way through the swim, you start swimming through a canal that people can actually cheer for you and walk with you as you go. I had told my family I’d be on the left side of the canal and as soon as I get into it I pop my head out and see my family, friends, and smoking hot girlfriend cheering me on (again this was mentally huge). I start rocking through the canal which is maybe 25 yards wide and felt like I had a current helping me the whole way through. As I’m swimming, mu friends/family are walking right there with me. It’s such a unique way for people to cheer you on that I got out of the water in a great mood with a smile on my face. I seeded myself perfectly as I got out at 1:22:05.
~Bike~
Going into the bike, IM Texas is known for having absolutely brutal headwinds heading south towards downtown Houston. And with close to 90 miles of the course being on a closed toll road. There is nothing to protect you from a wicked 45 miles of Texas headwind.
But before you get to the toll road, there is a little bit of a “circuit” you go through. So, I hop on the bike and get going. Immediately the course feels a little congested so I try to stay off the bars and ride defensively. Sure enough 8 miles in, big crash ahead as a volunteer golf cart cut off a rider and he crashed hard (thoughts and prayers with the rider). And that right there was the story of the day. HUGE crashes and HEAVY headwinds. I witnessed 6 crashes throughout the ride. Between riders coming through the water stations too fast, cones blowing out on the course, pelotons forming to avoid the wind, inattentive riding (we’re all tired I can understand this), it was a hard day on the course. Thoughts and prayers specifically for the one crash I saw where the organizers made us dismount and walk past. Not sure the context of the crash, but the rider was in a really bad situation. I think I averaged 8 mph heading south into the wind and 28 mph with the tailwind. Haven’t checked my bike data as I still have a bit of PTSD. Between the chaos of everything (I heard rumors a tesla was in self-drive mode on the course and caused a crash…?), I managed to make it to the end about 20 minutes over my 6:30:00 goal. I got off the bike to a boisterous cheer from a phenomenal group of friends and family and walked into transition.
~Run~
Going into the run I wanted to be around 5:30:00. I knew this might be ambitious for me because I didn’t really have that many brick sessions in my training plan. But, I’ve run a few marathons straight off the couch in my day. So, if anything, I know how to suffer through a long slow marathon. Honestly, I don’t have much to say about the first ten miles. My legs felt fine coming off the bike, I was comfortable at a 11:00 min/mile pace , felt good hydrating and getting some food down. Right after mile 10, started feeling some small knots in my stomach. Mile by mile, those knots started to get worse and worse. Every time I got to an aid station, I was able to delay the inevitable by getting down a banana, then potato chips at the next one, then it was chicken broth. By the time my family and friends saw me at the end of the second lap, I was in a bad spot. Was walking three minutes and running one (something like that). The stomach eventually morphed into full body discomfort. The HR kept getting sky high after minimal effort. I knew I was in for a tough last 8 miles. That last 8 miles took maybe 3 hours? I’m not sure, it’s all a blur. The pain finally culminated at mile 25.5, where the wrath of god came down on me and I vomited for 10 maybe 15 minutes, who knows. But at this point I knew I could literally crawl to the finish. I picked my head up and saw my buddy’s girlfriend walking toward me, I figured they had sent her to come find me as the gap between my last time split was getting astronomical. I picked my ass up off the ground and full body cramp runned to the finish line. Will never forget the feeling of having so many friends and family cheering me on to help me get over that line. The only bummer at the finish is I paid all that money for someone to tell me an Ironman on a microphone and I didn’t even hear it. Anyways – life goal accomplished. I’ll see ya at the next one.
P.S. I'm an open book, shoot me any questions you have on my training, advice, hate, love, whatever you want to say

News Link: https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/209285
Del Mar, California--(Newsfile Corp. - May 16, 2024) - Defense Technologies International Corp. (OTC Pink: DTII) (the Company) and Passive Security Scan Inc. (PSSI - the Subsidiary); innovative providers of security technology and systems with broad and diverse applications, is pleased to announce that it entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T).
This CRADA will assist the DHS S&T in assessing different commercially available weapon screening systems for use in public safety around mass gatherings.
The Crada Fact Sheet: https://www.dhs.gov/publication/crada-factsheet
The Field Test is scheduled for August 19^th - August 22^nd, 2024.
For criteria that will be used to assess the weapon screening systems, visit: Walk-Through Screening for Mass Casualty Threats Homeland Security (dhs.gov).
THE COMPANY was invited to take part in a comparative operational field assessment, under DHS S&T's SAVER program, which will include our Passive Portal Walk-Through Weapons Detector.
The assessment will consider:
• Threat item detection • Innocuous item discrimination • Throughput • Standalone operability • Variable sensitivity settings • Transport case options • Admin levels • Passage width • Cybersecurity measures detection zone dimensions• Alert latency period • dimensions • Ease of training • Low ferrous metal content detection • Staffing requirements user friendliness • Object localization • Calibration requirements • Simultaneous entry • Monitoring and alerting interference • Hardware durability • Data analysis and storage • Interference resistance • Maintenance requirements • Power source • Warranty • Setup/breakdown • Self-diagnostics • Portability • Initial price and recurring costs

The assessment will be performed by law enforcement evaluators under the expertise guidance of Eric Forrest, President and Distributor of Passive Security Scan, Inc. and the DHS Technical Experts.
"I look forward to the testing and I am confident that our Passive Portal will perform flawless proving its superior Zero-Radiation Technology," says Eric Forrest, President of Passive Security Scan, Inc.
"I am delighted and look forward to the lab and field test of our Zero-Radiation Passive Portal Weapons Detector within the CRADA test program sponsored by Homeland Securities Department. I am confident that our superior technology will perform to our high expectations," says Merrill Moses, President of Defense Technologies International Corp.

"This publication is based upon work conducted under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cooperative Research and Development Agreement No. 24-ONL-XXX."
Disclaimer: "The views and/or conclusions contained in this document are those of the author(s) and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and do not constitute a DHS endorsement of the equipment tested or evaluated."
The Passive Portal™
The Passive Portal - is manufactured by Passive Security Scan Inc., a subsidiary of Defense Technologies International, Inc., at their manufacturing facility in Dallas, TX.
The Passive Portal - is the only known Walk-Through Weapons Detection Scanner with ZERO RADIATION (US Patent 7408461)
All other Walk-Through Scanners on the market today use technologies that are active sensing, meaning they use Electromagnetic Radiation (X-Ray; Microwave; Radio-Wave, Radar, etc.)

In today's digital age, where information is the currency of competitive advantage, protecting sensitive data has become paramount for businesses. One area often overlooked is the vulnerability of discussions held in meeting rooms. Without proper safeguards, confidential strategies and proprietary information discussed within these spaces are at risk of being intercepted through electronic eavesdropping techniques. To mitigate this threat, the implementation of signal blockers in meeting rooms has become not just a precautionary measure but a necessity for safeguarding sensitive company strategies.
Meeting rooms serve as the breeding ground for innovation, collaboration, and decision-making within organizations. However, they are also prime targets for espionage activities. Sophisticated surveillance devices, including hidden cameras and audio bugs, can be deployed covertly to capture conversations and compromise confidential information. Moreover, with the proliferation of wireless communication technologies, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the risk of unauthorized access to discussions has escalated, making traditional security measures inadequate.
Signal blockers, also known as signal jammers or RF (Radio Frequency) blockers, offer an effective solution to this growing threat. By emitting radio waves across relevant frequencies, signal blockers disrupt wireless transmissions within their vicinity, rendering listening devices and communication tools inoperable. This proactive approach ensures that sensitive discussions remain confined to the intended participants, shielding critical business strategies from prying ears and potential corporate espionage.
The need for signal blockers in meeting rooms extends beyond protecting against external threats. Insider threats, whether intentional or unintentional, pose a significant risk to data security. Employees or contractors with access to sensitive information may inadvertently leak confidential details during discussions, unaware of the potential consequences. Signal blockers act as a fail-safe mechanism, preventing inadvertent data leaks by blocking outgoing signals from personal devices within the meeting room, thereby reinforcing data confidentiality protocols.
Furthermore, regulatory compliance mandates, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the United States, impose strict requirements for safeguarding sensitive data. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in severe penalties and reputational damage for organizations. Implementing signal blockers demonstrates a commitment to data privacy and regulatory adherence, enhancing corporate governance and mitigating legal risks associated with data breaches.
Despite the clear benefits of signal blockers, their deployment must be accompanied by appropriate policies and procedures to ensure ethical usage and regulatory compliance. Organizations should establish clear guidelines outlining the circumstances under which signal blockers are activated, ensuring transparency and accountability in their implementation. Additionally, employee awareness and training programs are essential to educate staff about the importance of protecting sensitive information and the proper use of signal-blocking technology.
In conclusion, the necessity of using signal blockers in meeting rooms cannot be overstated in today's data-driven business environment. By safeguarding sensitive company strategies from electronic eavesdropping and inadvertent data leaks, signal blockers play a crucial role in preserving data confidentiality, regulatory compliance, and corporate reputation. As organizations strive to maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly interconnected world, investing in robust security measures, including signal-blocking technology, is imperative to secure the foundation of trust and integrity upon which business success depends. For businesses seeking effective signal-blocking solutions tailored to their specific needs, reputable providers like JammerX.com offer a range of options designed to enhance data security and protect sensitive information during critical meetings and discussions.

We’re living in uncertain times. Our society is mired with issues. There’s inflation, and unaffordable housing. There’s the disappearance of good, well-paying jobs. There’s systemic inequality, inefficiency, and indifference.
So it’s normal that there’s been an uptick in people lamenting the futility of daily living—not just in the usual places like antiwork, adulting, and depression, but also here. It’s normal if you too are feeling a background refrigerator-hum of anxiety, mixed with a bleak ‘what’s the point of even trying?’ sentiment.
At its core, this is all rooted in a suffocating lack of freedom. We feel boxed in by societal expectations and norms. We feel condemned to a 40-year grind of a career—our options limited to either extremes of sedentary office work or back-breaking physical labor. We find ourselves in a meaningless rat race… which is bad enough as it is, but it’s also being worsened by societal issues, making it a struggle to even keep our heads above water as we witness others drown by the ruthlessness of it all.
It’s scary AF, so… we ‘act out’. We exert what little freedom we have. We do what we want when we want. Pitiful as it may be, our endless Redditing, YouTubing, and TikToking are acts of rebellion.
But that, of course, has a counterproductive effect. The system wants us to be good little consumers. It wants us to be distracted and docile—when we’re not frantically cramming in our work before a deadline. Procrastination is a feature of our system, not a bug.
So, how do we break out? How do we reclaim our freedom?
Restrictions.
It’s a giant paradox, but freedom is only achieved through restrictions.
My phone, for example, can run Waze, a banking app, and a few instant messaging apps. That’s about it. Because of the restrictions I set—which are impossible to remove or disable on a whim—I am precisely not free to do what I want, when I want. But by imposing such constraints, I have rendered myself free from all manipulations from Meta, TikTok, Google, Apple, and all the other tech/media companies that feed off my attention.
The same notion applies in a greater context.
By rigorously constraining my day—by blocking my email except during certain times, by using time management systems like timeboxing and the Pom-Loop method, by fixing strict do-not-disturb-me-unless-the-building’s-on-fire office hours—I am indeed imposing limitations on my freedom. But this has liberated me from the infinite whack-a-mole demands of “Shallow Work”: I am free from the impulse of checking my email 86 times a day. I am free from the need to know what’s happening with Trump at every waking moment. I am free to enter deeper, more productive, more meaningful, and more satisfying states of flow.
Ultimately, I have learned that being free is not “I want to do this and I want to do that, and—checks wrists for shackles—sweet, I can!”
Being free is “I control what I want. I control what I do. I control who I am.”
Put differently, freedom occurs when your desires and actions are aligned with your values.
You, as a well-adjusted human being, value being productive and contributing. You value focused work. You value being engaged and creative. You value stepping out of your comfort zone. You value giving much more than taking.
In short, you have a strong “work ethic,” which is simply the belief that work has value in and of itself.
The problem is that your subconscious desires have been hijacked. They are no longer oriented towards your values but towards the petty pursuit of instant gratification. Your doom-scrolling means you are made to see more ads. You seeing more ads means 'increasing shareholder value' for tech companies. And 'increasing shareholder value' means some dipshit in Palo Alto can buy a second Tesla and send their kids to private school.
In other words, your desires have been reoriented away from your values and towards the values of a few others. That’s why you are so repulsed at yourself and your behavior. That’s why you feel so utterly trapped.
Restrictions.
The way to freedom is through restrictions:

1. Cut out your damn vices. Get rid of them or else use IRON-CLAD (uninstallable, unalterable) website blockers and screen-time limits. Seriously, I’ve written an entire book predicated on the reality that our tech-vices—which provide shortcuts to survival-affirming rewards—are screwing us over royally. It's a poison-drip: we don’t notice what’s happening until it’s far too late.
2. Get a therapist. Now that you’ve cut yourself off from your vices—off the things you’ve been using and abusing to escape from reality—you’re bound for a torrent of repressed negative emotions and sensations. Expect days or even weeks of pain and discomfort. As I’ve written here before, you need to expect to feel worse before feeling better. Step 1 is not a mere “dopamine detox.” Don’t be that Keto dieter who jumps on a bandwagon trend without bothering to understand the intricacies of what they are doing, the impending consequences, and the required support system.
3. Wait. Just be. Seriously. All of us here on this sub are constantly being told to fix this and try that. We put so much pressure and expectation on ourselves it’s unreal. Good habits are good. Self-care is essential. Positive mindsets are key… but none of that should happen through force or coercion. Let yourself be. Let your desires gradually and naturally reorient themselves towards your values. Don't force it.
4. Plan—but don't expect. When you’re feeling motivated and primed to take sustained action, plan out your time as best you can. Set barriers and boundaries. Be clear about what you should do and when—but be careful not to set expectations. Expectations, when unmet with an equal measure of motivation (aka the capacity—not the will—to be productive), leads to stress and frustration, which leads to a need for relief through vices, which leads to an undoing of all your progress.

...
Just remember, by embracing restrictions, you can reclaim your freedom. You can realign your desires and actions with your deeper values, enabling you to live a more meaningful and fulfilled life. This journey requires commitment, understanding, support, and a willingness to endure the discomfort that comes with real change. But the reward—a life lived true to oneself—is immeasurably worth it.
All the best,
Simon ㋛

Hello everyone! This will be my first of a few posts, looking for wedding advice. We will be getting married at the amazing 1910 historic Harris County courthouse, and I am trying to find a restaurant/hotel with a nice/cool private dining room that can accommodate 20-30 people for a low-key "reception".
I'm looking to see if you have had experience planning something like this or have attended any private dining that you liked.
I appreciate any help! :) Thank you!

Hello,
The tomatoes are in full force for me here in Houston. I am growing 27 varieties this year, a mix of hybrids and heirlooms, mostly new to me. I wanted to share some preliminary thoughts. I didn't start them all at the same time so I haven't gotten to taste them all yet.
I am pruning my larger slicing tomatoes to a single leader.
So far I have tried, Margold - grown before, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye - Grown Before, Black Krim - Grown Before, Supersweet 100 - grown before, Cherry Brandywine - grown before, and I think the rest are new to me. Riesentraube, Burmese Sour, Purple Boy, Margaret Curtain, Brown Sugar, Prudens Purple, Pink Boar, Sunset Torch, Red Torch, Blue Cream Berry, Edox, Black Cherry
For the ones I have grown before Margold is producing very well. These plants make all sizes of tomato, some softball size and some more like a tennis ball, they are yellow with a beautiful red blush and are juicy while also being dense and meaty, low acid, floral/fruity, and absolutely delicious. I will always grow this tomato.
Pink Berkeley Tie dye is another favorite, to me it has the flavor of a brown/purple tomato while also having the acid I like in a tomato so it is a nice mix. My two plants have also been very prolific and one also died suddenly! Ha. This is my first year experimenting with growing some tomatoes directly in the ground and I guess it is more perilous! The rest of my tomatoes are in raised beds.
Black Krim - obviously great, we know it and love it, my plant got bacterial stem rot and is somehow still growing and producing/setting fruit. I know I should remove the plant but I haven't.
So now for Margaret Curtain, Carbon, and Purple Boy. To me these and Black Krim all taste more or less the same. I've only had one or two from each plant but don't notice any big difference and think growing one of these would probably be fine.
The Margaret curtain has set the most fruit and a lot of very big tomatoes, but like the margold, some are softball size, some tennis ball size, but I am very impressed with the level of production.
Carbon, poor production, good fruit set on first cluster and then pretty much done.
Purple Boy, absymal. This is a Hybrid and I am shocked by its poor performance. Even as a seedling it was a thin, wimpy, wispy and slow growing pathetic specimen that I wasn't sure would live. Not comparable at all to other hybrids. When the plant was about 3 1/2 feet tall I did accidentally break off the central leader and that slowed the growth but even at that point it had only set one fruit. It has since rebounded in growth with several flower clusters but it has yet to set another fruit. The tomato tasted good and like the other dark ones mentioned but absolutely piss poor vigor and fruit set.
Brown Sugar - nice fruit set and clusters of medium size tomatoes, they are mostly between the size of a clementine and a tennis ball. I have only tasted one, and maybe I didn't let it ripen enough but it was nothing special, not particularly sweet or flavorful.
Burmese Sour - I chose to grow these, perhaps incorrectly, thinking that my hot and humid climate would be similar to that of Burma. But who knows. This plant was the first to look diseased with black spots on the foliage, it is not particularly vigorous and stopped growing taller around the 3 1/2 foot mark. But! It has set a lot of fruit so it is kind of winning me over. Apparently these tomatoes are meant to be used in curries where you wouldn't want a sweet tomato. I tasted one raw and I liked it. It was very bright and refreshing, like a nice tomato taste with the acidity turned up. These are also very pretty with that classic heirloom shape like costoluto genovese.
Pink Boar - maybe I am missing something here but its just like a smaller version of pink berkeley tie dye. Probably won't grow again.
Prudens Purple - This is the standout new tomato so far. Good production/fruit set of very large fruits. I had a miserable experience with Pink Brandywine last year and I think this is probably the answer to that. When I first tasted it I was just like, this is what I want a tomato to taste like. This is the tomato you want to put on a burger. Meaty, juicy, not much gel, good acid and I guess this is what people mean when they say "old fashioned" tomato flavor. I will grow this again and probably every year unless something tops it.
Now for the cherries
Riesentraube - extremely slow/late to produce and not prolific at all. I've so far harvested two tomatoes and they taste pretty good but not worth the pathetic performance unless it really gets going later in the season.
Blue Cream Berry - Not for me at all. No acid, just sweet, no tomato flavor. These reminded me of the green doctors tomatoes I grew last year and did not like either. I am learning that I really need acid in a tomato and dont like them to be so sweet. I'm not growing sungolds this year for that reason (too sweet, they do have some acid). Last year my savory dishes were borderline too sweet/more desert like because of the sweetness of the sungolds and the green doctors. Blue cream berry is in that same category like sweet and bland and not tomatoey. Also a slow grower, slow producer, generally unhealthy seeming plant, it must know that i don't like it!.
Sunset Torch/Red Torch - these are hybrids, first time growing. These are quite large for a small cluster tomato, they are kind of like romas but half the size. They are very pretty and the sunset torch taste really good. They have kind of a mild flavor but it is a tomato flavor and they remind me of the margold kind of, like floral and fruity. I guess that is the yellow tomato taste. The red torch I think I haven't had one ripe enough yet but their taste hasn't wowed me yet. Both of these plants are have great vigor, they are like 3X the size of my riesentraube and blue cream berry. They have great fruit set and will grow again just because of how prolific they are.
Edox - hybrid. Good fruit set, vigor and production. Blah taste. These are red cherries and they have to be really really really dark red and ripe to have much flavor at all and when they do its like the expensive cherries on the vine in the grocery store. Probably won't grow again, just meh.
Black cherry - slow going and not much fruit set but it seems to be getting a little better now, the fruits I had were really good and tasted like carbon/black krim/margaret curtain etc. Will grow again, maybe two plants if the production doesn't improve.
Supersweet 100 - grown before, this is probably the gold standard to me of a red cherry. Prolific, productive, good tomato flavor, sweet and acidic. Not much else to say. To me it isn't knock your socks off out of this world good but it is definitely worth growing.
Cherry Brandywine - Determinate. These are probably the best tasting cherries I have grown, Similar flavor to the prudens purple. They are prolific and I love that they are determinate and you can harvest a lot all at once. Short plants with great tasting tomatoes and they are early to produce. Last year I grew one and wish I grew more, growing two this year and maybe 3 next year!
I still have a bunch of tomatoes that I haven't gotten to try yet, mostly hybrids. Grand Marshall, Skyway, Brandy Boy, Big Beef, Granadero, can't think of them all. So far the vigor and fruit set are great but we will have to see about the taste!!
Time will tell. If anyone read all this... wow! Happy gardening :)

🌎 Please visit our new unique job portal that has 7000+ positions with USA visa sponsorship! move2usajobs .com. Free trial available!
🙏🙏🙏 PLEASE READ OUR FAQ HERE 🙏🙏🙏 lnkd .in/dSp6jC52
If you find the post useful, kindly like&share! The first website in the industry with real USA jobs for immigrants and foreigners! 👩❤️👨
⚡️NEW! H-1B (CAP and Exempt, Sponsors), J-1 (Internship, Traineeship, Work and Travel, Teaching), Studying in USA (Including Scholarships), CPT and OPT Sponsors, J-2, O-1, B-1/B-2, EB-5, EB-2, EB-3! About 3k$. If you are interested, please check lnkd .in/d65MsiuA
✈️ Try our Visa Getter, increase your chances to immigrate to the USA by 50% lnkd .in/d2vvukps
🌐 New free option - check your eligibility for different USA work visas here relocate2america .com
⚖️ Our legal adviser lnkd .in/dmZE8vgk
#hiring #usajobs #visasponsorship #jobs #jobsearch #findjob #career #applynow #ilovemyjob #usa #us #usjob #workinus #unitedstates #h1b #h2b #h2a #eb3 #greencard #international #abroad
Please delete spaces in the links to access the application pages

1. Appian/AWS Hybrid Engineering Technical Lead

Visa sponsorship
Malvern, PA
https:// goo .su/ Yo6c

1. Packing Shed Laborer

H-2 Visa sponsorship
$16.24 per hour
Parma, ID
peggyd@soobrand .com

1. Senior Tax Accountant

H1B Visa sponsorship
Austin, TX
https:// goo .su/ ua4O

1. Butchers and Meat Cutters

H-2 Visa sponsorship
$16.40-$17.00 per hour
St. Anthony, ID
mcso595@hotmail .com

1. Senior AEM Developer

Visa sponsorship
Malvern, PA
https:// goo .su/ qCUP

1. Honey Harvesteprocessor

H-2 Visa sponsorship
$17.80 per hour
Redwood, NY
infowarcolahoneyfarms@gmail .com
📺 Do you have a YouTube or TikTok channel or a blog? Mention us and earn! Our affiliate program: nkd .in/dBgbkvWW
🏤 Our telegram channel lnkd .in/gAb3HbTz
📲 Please contact us through the online chat on our website
👨💻For international developers and engineers with 3+ years of experience - developer2usa .com
🥖Get sponsored for access to the job portal (we provide one random person with yearly access when a yearly plan is purchased) lnkd .in/dtBrbTsi
When you buy a yearly plan, you sponsor one person in need for yearly access to our job portal!
🎒Our US Work Visa courses lnkd .in/dtnMz2mU
🎰 US Embassy Slots Booking lnkd .in/dFp2rRyp
Please help us grow, share this post with your auditory or simply like it!🙏 move2usajobs .com