Okay, very good morning guys. It's Wednesday 22nd of April. Hope you are doing well before I begin just wanted to Address a few questions that I had yesterday Just given the kind of historic movement. We've been seeing in WTI crude futures I've had lots of questions about you know timing wise and what type of equities From an energy sector point of view could be good to look at and so on and so forth So what I did yesterday was this is our YouTube channel So if you are new to this channel and these briefings, please do subscribe to the channel for daily updates But one thing I did yesterday as I spoke to Eddie the chap you can see there And we've just released this new video last night Entitled US oil price crashed the winners and losers and he really gets into some detail And explains because he is much more focused on say a micro level than me on a macro level And he's kind of combined the two and identified a couple of potential Companies to just keep an eye on both from those who could be at risk from a further Potential tidal wave of bankruptcy to those who could be potential winners in this type of situation So yeah, check that out. It's on the YouTube channel Just go down to the second kind of playlist and you'll be able to see it there Otherwise the other thing that we've had Well a few things we also had our first fully online Interactive group that started on Monday and what a time to start learning about financial markets So for those interested to check out our website amplified trading.com We have basically an on-demand e-learning portal, which you can kind of pick up and go any time But the guys that started on Monday are doing an intensive online Training because obviously everyone's in lockdown at the moment So you can get more information on the website for those for those interested And then yeah, excuse the the shirt I wouldn't normally sit here wearing a freshly ironed shirt sat in Home, but I'm going to be with some of the grads at City Group and again We're going to be doing that fully virtually So joining their team and delivering a little bit of an update so I'm quite looking forward to that as well Given everything that's been going on But let's talk markets Let's get straight into things. This was the the clothes that we had on Wall Street last night And again and quite a negative day once again and most Asian equities overnight following suit on relatively low Volumes following the the general risk of finished to proceedings in North America Underperformance you can see a little bit It's only slight but the tech sector so some of the big big guns Microsoft down over for Google similar similar amount Amazon and Apple down about 3% margin remember yesterday there was That news in regard to the Trump Trump immigration ban And just generally the dependence of that sector has on that particular demographic to support its workforce And you know if you remember back to when 2016 when Trump actually won the election. There was some quite immediate Kind of sector movement on the back of that and tech was one that got hit but quickly recovered We did see a little bit of that kind of knee jerk reaction yesterday other things that that have come out Our White House and congressional leaders have basically passed 484 billion dollars of an interim economic stimulus package Again, this is more kind of aimed at small businesses really striking at the heart of what potentially could be The main issue from an employment situation And obviously looking to assist hospitals going through this challenging time that they are at the moment Trump also His administration said to be working on plans to make money available to the oil industry to prevent any further potential layoffs And you've got to think that those laughs are forthcoming just particularly now Almost accelerated by what we've seen in the last 24 48 hours But was already an issue given the massive demand shock we've had from the the lockdowns of course Being stringent and that kind of demand shock Or demand destruction that we're seeing at the moment is going to put some companies unfortunately out of business and lead to job layoffs Overnight as well if you're looking in the FX markets the Aussie had a little bit of a blip Overnight and it's starting to rise again Just as European traders have started come to their desks better than expected retail sales data Just triggering a bit of unwind of some short positioning and just helping us squeeze up to the R1 in Aussie futures this morning But overall quick quick glance at the charts not going to spend too much time on this One thing I did want to quickly mention because we were talking about this with some of those New traders that are with us just for the week worth of training and it was looking at this The way of which the S&P has been performing. So obviously we've been honest Pretty decent bounce in the US equity market. I think if we just put it back here We got up to that area that you can see from the October low The bounce and sharp bounce that we had at the end of February Before then we came kind of crashing down and a continuation of that fall from all-time highs now Where we're at at the moment You can see that 50 day moving average is the blue line, but then more so that area of Previous support now kind of turn resistance. It's really in fact failed to really get substantially above that point We've had quite a decent pullback back obviously through 2,800 and that 50% fib of that entire all-time highs March low that we that we saw now What we'll be looking at more short term then as the markets been coming back down is just generally its behavior And here you've had this kind of movement where you can see I put some ellipses here Really two points and that's this kind of price level around the 2800 handle and then a bit lower down around 2750 And just the way the market has been behaving in terms of support support then I've put a rectangle here the breach Comes back up to the tick of the same around point. That's been a reference for The previous week and a half or so before then you get more of a directional move as we come back down and then timings wise I Mean a little bit different in terms of the actual execution. This being an overnight Asian session This being more so around the midst of the US session But it's the technical setup and the way the market has responded Push and then we come back up and then we eventually grind it down lower We test we and you can see the the kind of The rationale behind the price reacting to around these levels at 2750 Then we push back down get close back to the lows of the 13th before then coming back up to that point To then push back down again, and then we're right back to that kind of level at the moment around pivot So there has been some opportunities definitely and you know rather than try to catch a bit of a falling knife with with tackling oil Which is insanely volatile at the moment, you know, I think it's more astute sometimes or prudent to be looking for other potential plays that could be less Associated risk of just seeing these big massive moves in in price The other thing has been gold and you know It's more of a word of warning that I was issuing yesterday than it is of anything else And that was we had this this kind of immediate blip kind of late European morning Where the price just dropped about 20 bucks pretty quickly With no rhyme or reason really I mean you could say perhaps a break of the Asian lows and so on but it was it was pretty rapid and Actually, I think one thing to be aware of here is you know remember when equity markets were getting hit during the period of March And that was leading to these massive shakeouts in the gold market where you know the kind of Necessity to free up some available cash to meet margin calls was the real thing, you know Don't forget there is going to be some definite casualties from this oil price route that we've had and so For sure you could be susceptible in gold although it would be counter-insuitive because you think generally risk off should support the price I think you're just going to be mindful of that type of price move from yesterday It was quite classic of what we saw in March and the more that oil price becomes a complication The more that I think a couple of funds might run into a few issues And therefore you could see some of that similar type price moving in gold So I guess from a practical point of view just going to be a little bit more Savvy about the duration if you're trading intraday of holding those open positions of risk if you're looking at the gold market Perhaps we want to be a little bit more short a time frame to not have over exposure To kind of headline risk in in that sense But look, let's get let's get stuck into a couple of headlines. There's a few things I want to go over for sure This is what the headlines in Bloomberg are saying so Brent futures for June delivery Lost 15% To trade near $16 a barrel while WTI fell 5%. This is looking at the overnight Movements. This is a course comes after the June contract WTI lost about half its value On Tuesday and again, we talked about this pretty much at length So I'm going to go into too much detail again, but we were talking about the idea of Why June was going to be no different really to what we've had in the last couple of days for the May contract And the only thing that happened is everyone came to that same conclusion We did yesterday and they were kind of front running it liquidating those due positions to try and just Offset what is going to happen in a few weeks time? So Again, the global demand being being hit severely by coronavirus the overwhelming kind of lack of storage facilities in Oklahoma in in cushing crude infertories. We had the API for trees last night. They were up for the 13th straight week We had a number of thirteen point two two six million. The cushing number was about five million the OPEC plus coalition did hold an Unscheduled call yesterday. However, the outcome of that basically through their discussions about this current price situation They signaled they didn't Have any new policy measures at this point and you know, that's something we talked about as well is the idea that there's nothing much really They can do the kind of rural pay off from the agreement that they made back on What the 9th of April? Isn't really going to start, you know kicking in until well into May So at the moment if they deepen that promise I don't really think it's going to have much in a way that immediate effect that they they would want And so therefore this isn't so much an OPEC thing is more of a storage issue Which is calling that specific WTI issue in the futures market So yeah, I mean that's that's the current current situation, but let's look at a couple of different things I mean this was you know, just a couple of graphics to to really summarize of what I've just been saying So here you can see Brent has been trailing WTI But it is kind of being dragged down in the noise with the move if you like albeit Obviously the the selling pressure definitely more evident in the WTI Oil product US total oil storage you can see here And this will be something which I'm going to talk about a couple of options potentially the US can deploy To help this situation. So this might be quite useful this graphic on the left But as you can see here in terms of the the US total It's about 57 percent at the moment But if you look at cushing which is obviously so critical that's about 70 percent full at the moment And on current rates would be due to hit maximum capacity in only a couple of weeks time The huge time spread on WTI so this is looking at the 12 months forward spread So again, we're looking at this this idea about these extreme contangos where You know normally the curve over time would be like this, but we're seeing this quite unusual period at the moment So this is something I know peers was trading this time spread yesterday So if there was any questions, you know, just drop a comment in the chat and I'm sure he can He can help but yeah that coupled with the the infantry build situation is just making matters somewhat worse But it does need to question then well, how can this guy help out in this current situation? This obviously president trump and he was somewhat the dealmaker to get the the OPEC deal over the line At the beginning of the month and there's a couple of things here, which I thought were quite interesting that Nothing particularly new But I think just to summarize all the points in one place the FT did a pretty good job this morning So the options that trump basically has because you know think about his overall objective Which is basically to save the industry Which in the end is about saving jobs so that the economic fallout is not so devastating as to impact them the probability of him securing a second term That's basically the uh, the the the summary of what his goals are now trump Will be pushing on the likes of Saudi Arabia to be cutting again. And don't forget the way that kind of Um geographical relationship works between the us and Saudi Arabia is that it's almost a You know dependency on one another in some respect but particularly Saudi needing the us from an arms point of view from a military protection in the gulf region point of view and so um You know at the end of the day what trump wants trump tends to push Uh put the pressure on and it would be interesting to see whether or not he can do so to get Saudi to do a little more. I'd say at this point Probably not and for the reasons as well. I don't think Saudi had really respond given the The fact that what they would do now really is not going to have too much of an impact because as I said It's not so much on the supply side. It's more The demand and then when the supply side kicks in in a few weeks The other part here is the federal government They've already talked about this a little bit Which is they could buy oil to store in their strategic petroleum reserves of the SPR In theory the SPR has capacity for almost 800 million but could go up to a billion According to some analysts if needed A third point would be government to buy oil that producers leave in the ground until prices recover Now at that point Producers extract and sell the oil for a higher price than the government paid them and they repaid the government and so that could be another um kind of Another way of dealing with this issue and then supported by the api and other u.s Super majors so exon chevron and so on one thing they've talked about is basically just letting market forces take their toll That's going to then basically lead to a whole Slua bankruptcies of these smaller firms in the energy space Um and therefore naturally production is going to come immediately offline now the last one I think it's probably the the last option that trump would ever want to entertain because obviously that leads to massive job losses You can understand why the likes of exon chevron want a piece of that action Because then they can be like the vultures picking at the carcass of all these other firms um kind of like the financial crisis you know one of the One of the negatives that actually came out of that in in the long run was that a lot of these smaller regional type u.s banks Went bankrupt and what that meant was that these really big banks your jp morgans and so on started gobbling up Consolidating the banking sector which then inevitably leads to the issue of now if they were too big to fail before Well, they're definitely too big to fail now Because ultimately they've just accumulated all the assets of these other banks and what was a big bank is even bigger Even more systemically important So kind of a little bit Same but different in in ways to think about the energy sector Would be obviously, you know from a competition point of view as well You don't want certain companies having too much power and monopoly on markets than Particularly in one specific Country, but that's probably the last thing on the list But yeah, I thought I'd summarize a couple of things and I think one thing from a trading point of view I want to stress is that um when this first happened 48 hours ago I think everyone was scratching their heads a little bit in generally if you're in the retail market probably more so Thinking, you know, how can you have negative oil prices? What is going on? What's the problem? The price is tanking You know, you're seeing headlines like oils drop 300 percent. You're thinking this is insane um You know this for us that amplifies bread and butter because you know, we have guys who trade this type of um product Spread, you know, and and for them, we you know, we'll manage to put out an excellent video at the time it was happening so One thing I would say though from a practical point of view is that Markets generally Will become probably more Desensitized to this problem as time goes on and that could be pretty quick over the next day I would anticipate that you know equities, which were coming under some pressure yesterday Is this june contract was getting somewhat liquidated? I think look if june goes to zero today, which could happen um, is that going to be that kind of Massive signal to just start shorting equities. I think that that gets less and less over time Because now it's you know, people have rationalized the situation more. There's less panic And I think if it does happen, it's not a massive surprise anymore like it was Two days ago. So with that being said now equities have stabilized If that june contract does see and it has done already today, it's shifted It's gone from 14 overnight to 10 at the moment. So these are still massive moves But if it goes to zero, I don't think that's necessarily right. I want short equity straight away Obviously, it depends how severe these moves are but you did see a little bit of risk off yesterday emanating from the oil price movement But I think that now Markets will start to get over that a little bit And I think you're seeing that this morning the dollar is coming off a little bit that flight to quite a quality bid to the reserve Currencies dissipating both major pairs in urine cable and moving up a touch Gold's not really doing a great deal. Just sitting around the 1700 and t-notes of flat So it's a little bit different setup this morning, even from the sentiment point of view And if anything equities are ticking back higher and the one thing I would say is that from an equity perspective, I'm actually You know the size of to sell off in the s&p I think it's been relatively small all things considered when we talked a lot in recent weeks about Could oil be if it got down to these lower prices? You know the kind of straw that breaks the camels back in the equity rally that we've had but it hasn't and so I think that's quite interesting actually because we've gone through the early phase of earning season. It hasn't really Shook the market too much albeit some of the numbers have not been pleasant by any means But the market even with this oil route hasn't sold off a great deal in my mind So on that point one thing I'm not I'm not saying that they're absolutely right with this But it's an interesting point nonetheless Bank of America they've been out with a research note overnight They said the s&p 500 is to hit fresh loads of volatility pattern holds I'm going to show you two charts that they're using. This is one They basically said and I know it's a bit small here But basically they're looking at the vix and they're looking at the different paths of their market rallies in 1987 2008 2002 and the current past Current path being this one here and they said the last three major equity market sell-offs saw bear market rallies of 15 to 25 percent over one and a half to four months Since the peak vol The s&p has been tracking the 2008 rally since the 16th march of vix peak Which suggests upside up to 29 60 about 5 up from where we are at the moment before a potentially lower bottom So again this idea that we are then they're suggesting. Yes, we can go up a little bit more We can in fact get above the highs we were training just a few days ago But ultimately this is still a bear market rally if these historic price patterns were to repeat themselves Now what they're looking at here and I have tweeted these my handles here If you want to look at them in more detail But this is looking at the story of volatility spikes and the subsequent mean reversion Visualizing historical primary and secondary vix spikes and exponential Decays over the last three decades. So the point being here is that you know You get these big ramp-ups like you had in obviously in the global financial crisis when lemur went bust And then you get this big spike and then this fade back to just generally Where the vix tends to sit which is more kind of just up the 20 level and we've had this big pop According to a similar type level and now it's fading in that respect. So, yeah, a couple of interesting points. Obviously Bank of America suggesting we're still currently in a bear market rally does fly in contrast to the likes of jp Morene and Goldman Sachs who've basically said, you know, we bottomed out now and this is it We're kind of going to move higher or stabilize at these levels Um, so yeah always think about what everyone's saying Not what one bank is saying is my advice in this respect But quite an interesting observation here from from bank of america this morning Um, one of the earnings I just want to talk about just very briefly last night was netflix Not done netflix. Well, I usually say not that netflix is a big company I think it's market caps probably near a 200 billion probably over that now given the earnings report last night because their shares Shot up about 12 percent after market last night. I actually added About 16 I think it's 15.8 million Subscribers that was against a street estimate of 8.47 million a company estimate of 7 million again. The number was it's almost 16 so Phenomenal numbers and obviously this all coming amid the the lockdown and People being at home and so on and obviously this guy making a big difference Then being able to tap into the reality show kind of market more successfully Joe exotic getting it done for for netflix Um, but what is there to come as far as earnings are concerned today? This is kind of the list divided into two divisions pre and post market The highlights pre market. You've got the lights of at and t biogen After market No one huge for a market cap point of view csx and sphagus sands. These were all kind of around 30 40 million billion market cap From a from a calendar point of view, we've already had the inflation metrics come out of the uk These are Well, haven't really yielded it anyway of the surprise I think just given some of the movement that we've seen in the energy markets more more broadly the year on year core figure was in line at 1.6 percent the actual year on year A month a month cpi in the uk was zero that was in line the year on year 1.5 Which was in line. So nothing really surprising at all when that data and as we go through the rest of the us session It is pretty quiet. I mean, you've got the all inventory numbers. We're looking out for another Pretty sizeable build for oil, which is just another headwind for price on the intraday Just given the already fragility we're seeing And volatility in that market. So expectations are for 16.1, but obviously last night Um, we came in at what 13 on the crude infantry. So I think it was Yeah, 13.226 million cushing was just shy out of five gasoline 3.4 to still at 3.7.4 The top end of the range here though Is a is a 21 build Just to to make that apparent So yeah, that that's pretty much it. So not going to talk for any longer Again, any questions? Just let me know On the the comment section on the video And then hopefully you'll Subscribe to the channel check out some of the other videos the one from eddie. I think is particularly relevant for the current market conditions, particularly if you're an equity trader So do check that out as well because he also talks about the potential Not-com ramifications for some specific us banks who obviously are loaning this debt to the shell industry And if some of these companies start going bankrupt, that's going to be problematic for them as well So definitely worth seeing his explanation that he goes through. All right guys, that is it I wish you a good day and I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks very much


But I tell you, the all-South Carolinian is just about all right. This is Willie Cribb, my president, and you. Good to see you.  It's so good to see you. It's nice to see you. And my sister Dixie, who works for you. Hello, Mr. President. Nice to see you. Nice to see you. My sister is called Lynn Cribb, Hello. And little Lee. And that's Ken. Hello, Mr. President. How are you? How are you? My brother William Billy. Nice to see you. Nice to see you. And bad friend Champette Monta. My friend. Right. Good to see you. Evelyn Richie, my sister. Nice to see you. Nice to see you. And her husband Jim Richie. Nice to see you. And her husband Jim Richie. Nice to see you. And Caroline Richie. Hello. Hello. Hello. Nice to see you. My brother in law. I'm kind of an adopted member. Nice to see you. Thank you. I think we ought to assemble in a group picture here. Oh, great. Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Right? Yeah. Let's see. We should probably get in in a little bit. I can't see you. I'm sorry. Make sure you get something your style. I don't see that. Come on in, and if you could slightly beside risks toward the center, please. Okay. Hold on. Ready? Come on. Look, we're gonna have our picture taken. Can you get the picture? Can you get the picture there? Ahhh. Awesome! Okay. Give me the picture. And Lee Greenwood was there, and he had just sung at the Republican National Convention, and I told him he certainly chose the right one. And I told him I was coming to Washington, and he said to please, to shake your hand, and to give you his best. And I think he says really what you have helped make all Americans feel that we are proud to be Americans. Well, please, thank you very much. As he said, get the crowd. As a guest here, I'm happy to say that we have a terrific crowd of people here to commemorate, not to celebrate, but to commemorate the stewardship of Ken Crip. And obviously the most appropriate person to talk about that is the person for whom we all work, whether in the White House, in the various departments, or some of us which Ken will enter a civilian life. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. This experience as a radio sports announcer, in which I say we interrupt this program for a brief news item announcement. The Geekus death penalty amendment calling upon drug czars and so forth who take a human life in the pursuit of their nefarious business, the amendment that applies the death penalty to them, just passed in the House of Representatives 299 to 100. I could say that's the good news, the bad news is Ken Crip is leaving. I know this is a party and I won't interrupt it for just more than a moment, but just want you to know how tinged with regret it is, of course, that you're leaving, but understanding completely that that has to be and who am I to talk? I'm leaving pretty soon myself. We have parties like this and each time it's to say goodbye to someone to whom we're deeply indebted, someone who has served nobly and above and beyond the call of duty and that is Ken Crip. And we know that where you're going you're going to continue to be of service to the public and to the things that we believe in so we're happy about that. But I think now it's eat, drink and be merry and all of us have to say goodbye. Thank you Mr. President. The President earlier today that in my view what distinguishes him from the generality of mankind and from every politician I know is that he always asks first the question that other politicians never ask at all and that is what is the proper role of government? And his answer to that question has led to less intrusiveness of government at home and that's brought with it prosperity and it's led to strength abroad and that's brought with it peace and the debate Mr. President is just starting, just starting about what the meaning all of this has for the future and as a Monday I hope to be contributing to that debate. But whatever happens the proudest thing in my life is the eight years I've been at your side. We've been proud to have you. So I'm going to have to leave the party because I wouldn't be able to do them in fact. I've been proud to participate even a little while here and this did well deserve farewell. Thank you sir. All right.


A useful property of the real numbers is known as the zero product property. If a and b are real numbers with a times b equal to zero, then we know with absolute certainty that either a is zero or b is zero. This helps us with solving equations in the following way. Suppose I want to solve an equation like x minus 5 times 3x plus 2 equals zero. Since this is a product equal to zero, we know that either x minus 5 is zero or 3x plus 2 is equal to zero. But we can solve those separately. So solving x minus 5 equals zero gives us the solution x equals 5. Solving 3x plus 2 equals zero gives us the solution x equals minus 2 thirds. So either x is equal to 5 or x is equal to minus 2 thirds. Now it's important to remember that theorems in mathematics are power tools, and like any power tool, if you don't use it correctly, the result could be catastrophic. Well, safety instructions are for wimps, so we'll set each factor equal to zero and solve, so x minus 2 is zero or x minus 3 is zero, and so x equals 2 or x equals 3. But since the product is not equal to zero, these answers are completely wrong. And the problem is this is not a product equal to zero, so we can't use the zero product property. And since this is not a product equal to zero, we should do a little algebra to try and rewrite this as a product equal to zero. So we can expand. We'd like it equal to zero, so let's subtract 2 for both sides. We want a product equal to zero, so that requires us to factor, and now we have a product equal to zero, so one of the factors must be zero, either x minus 4 is zero or x minus 1 is zero. So we'll solve and get our two solutions. Or how about something like this? A useful thing to remember is you can always use algebra to eliminate fractions. So here I have this fraction one-third. If I multiply everything by 3, I'll get rid of the fraction. So let's do that. And we could factor, but since this is not a product equal to zero, it's a waste of time. And remember, factoring is the hardest easy problem in mathematics. You're going to end up spending a lot of time factoring when you need to factor. You really don't want to waste a lot of time factoring when it doesn't do you any good. So remember, don't waste time factoring unless you know why you're factoring. We want to get product equal to zero. We have to have something equal to zero to begin with. So we'll rewrite our equation. And now if we factor, we'll get product equal to zero, which will help us solve the problem. So now we can try to factor. And so now we have a product equal to zero. So one of the factors must be zero. Either x minus 3 is zero or x plus 9 is zero. So solving these two equations gives us our solutions, x equals 3 or x equals minus 9. Or this horrifying expression. Well, we know we want it equal to zero, so we'll subtract 84 from both sides. Then factor. And remember, it's always helpful to remove common factors. So we might begin by removing a common factor if we can find it. Since we have a product equal to zero, one of the factors must be zero. Either 12 is equal to zero or x squared minus 6x minus 7 is equal to zero. Now despite what this guy says, and even if his friends say it, 12 is not equal to zero. And that means we have to solve this equation x squared minus 6x minus 7 is equal to zero. So let's try to factor that. And again, we have a product equal to zero. So one of the factors must be zero. So either x minus 7 is zero or x plus 1 is equal to zero. So solving gives us our two solutions, x equals 7 or x equals negative 1.


Can everybody understand my accent? Good. If I'm speaking too quick, let me know. So I'm Peter Jackson and for the last two years I've been building a sombrero. Not full-time. I've had other time off doing other things, but I'm just going to briefly tell you about how I built a sombrero and how I would do things better in the future and things like that. So a lot of the people ask me, why did you build a sombrero? So I should explain. I've got two hats. This is my everyday practical hat. You can walk around supermarkets and things and not have a droop on things. This is actually the sombrero. I thought it was just light. The first screen was not cool. Right. So this is the original sombrero. So why did I do it? Well, I was with the Denver Hat Club and we were on a night out and this hat fell out a window. There was a party going on. So we tried to throw it back up into the flat, but it didn't work. So we got a sombrero. So what do you do for sombrero that you wake up next to? You put LEDs in it. So along the way, I did my first pretty circuit board design. So you can have a little bit of a look afterwards. There's, for each of these pixels, there is a separate little circuit board. There's also surface mount soldering on it. So I've never done surface mount soldering before. It seemed very scary. It's not at all.  I highly recommend surface mount soldering. And who wouldn't want to walk down a dark alley with the sombrero? Unfortunately, it's still light at the moment, but later on if you see a swirling sombrero walking around coming to speak to me and I'm sure you can have a go. So a little bit of tech geekiness. The sombrero has 27 LEDs on it. Each of them RGB. I meant to do 28, but the spacing was a little bit off and I didn't want to move them all around, so the 27 it is. Each individual module has the hardware is based on something called BlinkM, which are little pixels, about 10 pounds each. I didn't put these in the hat. I'm not that rich. But the hardware design is very simple and there's also a third party firmware called CYZ RGB, so there's a slight fork of that. So I put that onto the hat. So each of them has got a little 80 tiny microcontroller and inside the hat there is an Arduino clone for Michael, really small board. Originally when I built this, this is like version 2, version 3. It had a full size Arduino with a shield.  It was not comfortable. This is still a bit perched on your head. It has an integrated TV be gone. So there's two infrared transmitters here. I promise that was not why those plasmas aren't working. And to control it, you can probably see it is spinning around a bit. As I say, it's a bit bright. To control it, there's a remote control. So you know these quite commodity Chinese lamps and things? You get the remote control for that. So it has different colors on it. So I put an infrared receiver on it and you can change the colors. I used last camp's badge, EMF 2012 badge to decode this. It's an Arduino library. I didn't do any groundbreaking electronics or software. I just like mashed up everything and put it together. It runs on four AA batteries that are sort of in a nice battery box there out of harm's way. Rough power consumption when all LEDs on, about one and a half watts. Battery life about five hours, like one evening basically. And yeah, if you take it in the rain, it's not going to go too well. It's not going to do anything harmful. It just might corrode a little bit. So I'm glad it's not raining. So yes, the Ingress rating is IPX0.  So some slightly less geeky statistics. As I said at the beginning, I've been working on this for about two years. Hardware cost is about £70. I got the LEDs out of a junk box that was in our hack lab. I've lost track of how many hours I spent on it. How many times I've woken up and finished working on the hat and it's white and I have to go back. Only one person has bought me a drink. That was at a maker fair in Edinburgh. So I'm quite partial for cider, Matty. Yeah, walking around for the last couple of days, I was on volunteer security shift with the practical hat. So this was built in about two days because I knew what I was doing. The other thing is straw hats. You'd never guess they're not very heat resistant. So I got a little bit fed up and was using a hot air gun. So you can see later it melts a bit. Well, there's a unique smell of burning straw. And yes, next steps. I keep saying I'm going to do an instructor on how to build a hat. Might do, might not. And in the week, in the last week, I was putting a beat detection module so it would react to sound. So that's almost finished. And I've got a few minutes to show a bit of a video of it in slightly more dark. No, I don't think I've got the video. So I've got probably a couple of minutes for questions. If not, just grab me afterwards to ask me questions. Thank you. Any more questions? So the question is how do you control the TV we got? Well, at the moment, there's a slight bug in that when you switch the hat on, so there's a switch on the battery pack, the TV we got does its cycle. So you've got to be slightly careful where you are. Of course, what you should have is you have a mate with a hat that doesn't have my oldies on it with a TV we got and this one. But yeah, who's going to get the blame? So what I've got is this control has flash, strobe, fade, and smooth. So I've just programmed one of those buttons. So that goes to the infrared there. And then the Arduino just sends a signal to the TV we got. It actually just does a reset because that's how the TV gone work. And then it does its two minutes of things. The infrared LEDs draw quite a lot of current. So at some points, the other lights sort of move more or something like that. Any other questions? Anything else? Thanks, Peter.


Now, as gunshots echo across the windswept snow-covered reaches of the wild northwest, Quakerpuff wheat and Quakerpuff rice, the breakfast cereal shot from guns, present the challenge of the Yukon. It's Yukon King, swiftest and strongest lead dog of the northwest, placing the trail for Sergeant Preston of the northwest mounted police in his relentless pursuit of lawbreakers. On King, on your skies! Gold, gold discovered in the Yukon, a stampede to the Klondike in the wild race for riches. Back to the days of the gold rush, with Quakerpuff wheat and Quakerpuff rice bringing you the adventures of Sergeant Preston and his wonder dog Yukon King as they meet the challenge of the Yukon. You better hurry! You said it, Bugs Bunny. Today's the last, the very last day. It's your last chance on this program to hear how to get five. Yes, I said five, pocket-sized Bugs Bunny comic books. All new, never before published, and all yours if you hurry for only 15 cents and one box top from Quakerpuff rice or Quakerpuff wheat. Stand by. Don't fail to hear the details later on. Sergeant Preston was returning from a long trip into the Arctic. As he entered the town of Craig's Junction, he headed for the cabin of Dr. Drake whom we had known for many years. The doctor's cabin was a combined office and living quarters and he served the trappers and prospectors for many miles around the town. As the mountain entered the cabin, the doctor's face lighted up with welcome. Well, Sergeant Preston, how are you? It's good to see you, Doc. And here's King. Come here, old fellow. He wouldn't stay outside. You're one of the few people King insists on seeing whatever we're nearby. He knows how much you like it, don't you, fellow? I think he remembers the time you fixed his paw when he cut it so badly. He's an intelligent animal.  I'd like to, thanks. Also, I want you to have a look at my hand. I've got a touch of frostbite up north. I think a little infection's set in.  It's certainly a pleasure to have you around again. We've missed you. I'll be back on my usual patrol for a time now. Good, good. Sit down, Preston. Anything new happen since I've been away? Well, not much. Guy Bingay dropped a log in his foot and smashed a couple of tools. And Bill largely had another heart attack. It's a good thing for Bill. He has you near him. He'd have been dead long ago if he hadn't. If I had as much money as Bill, I'd get out of the Yukon and go to a better climate. He told me he'd never trust another doctor. Very fond of you, Doc. Well, Bill's one of my best friends, as well as being a patient.   Well, I've tried to persuade him to change that will. Not that I couldn't use the money, but... I'm afraid his nephew Jack holds it against me. Jack doesn't deserve his uncle's entire fortune. No matter what he inherits, it'll be gone inside a year. Probably what Jack holds against you is the fact that you're the one that keeps his uncle alive. Jack and I don't get along very well. I've been quite stern with him lately. Half his uncle's trouble is caused by that boy. Well, let's have a look at your hand, Bristol. That's this one. Let's see. Yes, you're right. It is infected. Hold it closer to the lap. Sure. It's a good thing you came here tonight. That hand needs treatment. I think you'd better plan to stay with me for a day or so until it's better. I can do that. I have a hat on my schedule. Come in. Jack, you come quick. Mr. Oursley, him got heart attack. Him not got medicine. Well, I'll be right over, Dorak. Is Jack with him? No, him gone to Dawson. You come now. Just as soon as I get my bag. Let me go. I'll have to hurry. Can't imagine why he ran out of medicine so quickly. Left him a full button just a week ago. It'll be back as soon as I can, Pristin.  All right. I hope Bill's heart attack isn't too serious. Yes, should why. I'll do what I can for him. Sergeant Preston was asleep by the time Dr. Blake returned to his cabin. And it wasn't until the next morning that he learned the outcome of Bill Oursley's heart attack. The doctor told about it while he treated Preston's hand. Bill will be all right for a while again. The attack last night wasn't as bad as usual. If he had had his medicine, it wouldn't have been necessary to call me at all. What happened to his medicine? Jack knocked it off the shelf accidentally in the bottle brook. Jack with him now? He's due back from Dawson sometime this morning. You going over to see Bill? I have some other calls first, but I'll drop in to see him later in the day. He'll be all right. When I left him last night, he was sleeping like a baby. Dorak will be with him this morning. Dorak?  He works for Bill. He comes every morning. Well, maybe I'll run over and see Bill myself this morning. No. You'd better not be too active until your hand is better. Well, the walk won't hurt me. King will want some exercise anyway. Later that morning, Sergeant Preston and King went to Bill Oursley's cabin. The door was opened by Dorak. The Indians usually expressionless face was a mask of bright. Hello, Dorak. You? Police? I just came to say hello to Mr. Oursley. How is he this morning? Me. Me, me come just now. Find him dead. Dead? Let me in here, Dorak. Me stay last night till Mr. Oursley sleep. Me get here late this morning. He's dead all right. Must have taken a dose of his medicine this morning and corks out of the bottle. Did you give it to him? No. No, no. Me come just now. This medicine has a strange smell. That medicine same bottle Doc bring last night. Take a smell of it. You look frightened, Dorak. You smell the same thing I do. Poison. The poison trappers use. Me not know. Me not know. Me go home last night and I touch bottle. Whoever did tamper with it did a very clumsy job. A doctor would know by looking at Bill Oursley that he died of poisoning and not a heart attack. Doc give him bottle. Me see him. Jack come. Has he been away all night? Him not here last night. Hello Jack. Your uncle is dead. What? Bill dead? No. I suppose this is quite a shock to you. He shouldn't have left him. He seemed to be all right. Let me see him. Not a very pleasant sight, I'm afraid. Well, looks awful. As if... As if he'd been poisoned. Is that what you meant? Yes. Are you sure it was a heart attack that killed him? I'm sure a heart attack didn't kill him. This is what killed him, the poison in this bottle. Who gave him that bottle? Dr. Blake? Dr. Blake was with him last night. So that's it. I shouldn't have left Uncle Bill. I knew this would happen sometime. What do you mean, Jack? I've never trusted Blake. Uncle Bill is leaving him half his money. He waited until I was away then poisoned him. Then he could say Uncle Bill died of a heart attack and nobody would know the difference. I wouldn't be too quick to accuse Dr. Blake if I were you. He was a good friend of your uncle. He pretended to be a good friend, but all he wanted was Uncle Bill's money. If he's a good doctor, what's he doing way up here in the Yukon? Why didn't he stay where he could make money at his profession in a civilized place? I've never asked him that.  Looks as if I'm going to have to do that. He had a motive and he was the last one to see my uncle. He gave him the poison. He knew I wasn't here, and he didn't know you'd happen to be passing through here today. Whoever killed your uncle certainly didn't know that. If you'll put him under arrest immediately, won't you, Sergeant? I'll keep him in custody until I've investigated the case further. I don't see why investigation is necessary. It's all pretty obvious, isn't it? Would you take him to Dawson? No. I'll put him in jail here at Craig's Junction temporarily. I'll keep this bottle and come along, King. We'll go find Dr. Blake. Dr. Blake's face was white and tense as he listened to Sergeant Preston. So I'll have to put you under arrest until I investigate further, Don. But it's ridiculous, Preston. I wouldn't murder a man. I'm sure you're not guilty. But under the circumstances, I must arrest you. Doc's accusing you directly, and you were the last one to see Bill. If I stand trial, I'll hang. No jury in the world will think I'm innocent. They'll say I did it because you were here, thinking I wouldn't be suspected with a multi-right in my own home. Clever man might do just that. Then you don't really think I'm innocent, do you? I know you're innocent, Doc, and I'm going to prove it. I want a couple of days to find out a few things. But what if you don't find anything? I'll be brought to trial and found guilty. Doc, you have the finest reputation in the Yukon. Everyone who knows you is your friend. I'm sure I can clean this up and find the man who did it. You'll be confined in the local jail for a day or two, that's all. You can play cards with old Jake. He's a good friend of yours, and Jake will let you have your patients come see you there if necessary. What are you going to do in the meantime? I'm going to make a quick trip to Dawson and do some checking on Jack's visit there. You suspect him too? So you had the same idea. He was very quick to accuse you. I'm surprised you didn't speak up about him. I wouldn't accuse anyone of anything without proof.  That's one reason I know you could never do anything bad. Now come on, get your things. You shouldn't drive your team to Dawson and back with your hand in that condition-pressing. It's likely to become serious, unless you're careful. It's not half as serious as what might happen to you if I don't start investigating immediately. Your neck's much more important than my hand. Come on, Doc. There's no time to lose. Sergeant Preston reached Dawson that night, and after reporting the murder at headquarters, started checking every bar and cafe in town, questioning everyone about the activities of Jack Hardsley. The following morning, his hand was swollen and painful, but he said nothing about it when he reported to Inspector Grayson. I have the proof I was after, sir. Jack Hardsley left Dawson the afternoon of the day his uncle was murdered. I found two men who met him on the trail. He was in Craig's Junction the night his uncle died. You'll have to have more proof than that, you know, Sergeant. He could have stopped somewhere on the way, but he said he spent the night in Dawson. He'll have a hard time proving that. You may be able to sweat the truth out of him. I hope you can. But I've rather shocking news for you, Sergeant. What do you mean, sir? I'm afraid you made a mistake not bringing Dr. Blake back to Dawson with you. Inspector, I'm sure he's innocent. We checked on him yesterday as soon as you reported the case. Dr. Blake left Ottawa after being tried for murder. What? He was acquitted, but the publicity ruined his reputation and his practice. That's why he came up to the Yukon, where no one knew him. Well, that means he wouldn't have a chance if he had to stand trial on this charge. I'm afraid he wouldn't. Especially since the first case was also poisoning. Poisoning, sir? Here's the report if you want to read it. It's pretty obvious he wouldn't try the same thing again, sir. The man's too intelligent. Well, you'd have a hard time convincing a jury of that, Sergeant. I'm sure he's innocent, Inspector. I'd stake my life on it. The whole thing's just a coincidence. Your judgment is usually very sound, Preston, but we can all be wrong. I'll start back to Craig's junction at once, sir. Good luck, Sergeant. I hope you and King are right about Dr. Blake. I'm sure we are, Inspector. Goodbye, sir. In spite of the increasing pain in his hand, Sergeant Preston drove his dog team at a swift pace toward Craig's junction. He stopped at each cabin along the trail to inquire whether Jack had spent the night, but was given the same answer everywhere. No one had seen him.  Okay. Sergeant Preston. What's the matter, Jake? I'm ashamed to tell you that my prisoner broke jail. Dr. Blake. Yep. I guess I wasn't careful enough. According to the way you two talked, I thought he was just here till you got back. What happened? Well, we were playing cards, and somehow or other, Doc grabbed my handcuffs and clamped them on me before it could move. Then he gagged me and tied me to the bed with a torn-up blanket. I was there three hours before they found me. Doc, leave Tom. He sure did. He got his dog team and took every bit of food out of his cabin and skedaddled. He went north. I knew I couldn't catch him, so I decided to wait for you. I'm sorry, Sergeant. I never thought he'd do a thing like that.  I can't believe he is, but it certainly looks like it. We'll continue our story in just a moment. Attention, fellas and girls. Don't be left out. What's up, Doc? Today's the day. The very last day of the sensational radio offer made only by Quaker Puffed Wheat and Quaker Puffed Rice. The delicious crisp nourishing breakfast cereals shot from gun. It's absolutely your last chance, fellas and girls, to hear how to get five. Not one, but five Bugs Bunny comic books. All yours if you hurry for only 15 cents and one box top from a package of Quaker Puffed Wheat or Rice. Remember, you can't get these handy pocket-sized Bugs Bunny comic books anywhere else. They're all brand new. You've never seen or read them before. They're all different. All complete. Just think. Five wonderful stories. 32 full-color pages in each book.  Wow, Doc. What an offer. For instance, just listen to the exciting books you get in set C. Bugs Bunny's secret agent. Bugs Bunny lost in the frozen north. Bugs Bunny fights the man from Mars. Bugs Bunny and the haunted cave. Bugs Bunny captured by cannibal. Yes, we'll send you a set of five books. And we'll let you know how easy it is to get ten more Bugs Bunny comic books. But you must hurry. Go to your grocer on the double quake by a package of Quaker-puffed wheat or Quaker-puffed rice. Then don't wait. Cut off the top of the package right away. Write your name and address on it and send it immediately along with 15 cents, just one thin dime and a nickel, to Bugs Bunny, Chicago 77, Illinois. Look, Doc, you better hurry. Bugs is right. Hurry, hurry, hurry. Send only 15 cents, your name and address, and one box top from a package of Quaker-puffed rice or Quaker-puffed wheat. Then mail pronto to Bugs Bunny, Chicago 77, Illinois. Here's that address again. It's Bugs Bunny, Chicago 77, Illinois. Now to continue our story. When Sergeant Preston returned to Craig's Junction, he learned that Dr. Blake had escaped from jail and left town. The sergeant's hand was so painful that he decided to follow the trail accompanied by Dorak, the Indian. You think King find trail? Of course, King knows Dr. Blake, and I'm a doubly sure by letting him smell the sweater that belonged to the doctor. There, King's got the scent. All right, boy, we're coming. On King, on your feet. Dr. Blake's team was a strong and powerful one, and the trail led due north into the mountains. Sergeant Preston's hand throbbed painfully under its heavy mitten, but he plotted on as fast as he could. King's strong muscles bulged under the harness as he led the dog team up the mountain. The following day, the trail grew narrow and treacherous as they ascended, and a steep precipice boarded one side of it. Dorak guided the sled carefully, and Sergeant Preston plotted wearily behind him, his teeth clenched to keep back the moan of pain that welled up inside him. His hand fell as if it were on fire, and it took all of his self-control to keep him falling. Suddenly, the sled gave a sickening lurch. Dorak, clean to the handlebars, was almost thrown off balance, but he held on. What happened, Dorak? What's wrong? Strap break. Sled almost go over side of cliff. If I could only use my hand. You think you can fix it? Me fix. Dorak edged along the trail on the outside of the sled cautiously, but suddenly his foot slipped on a loose rock. With a cry of terror, he grabbed for the sled, but missed and went rolling over the edge. Dorak, Dorak! Grasping the handlebars at the sled with his good hand, the mountain leaned over the edge of the trail. Sergeant! He saw the figure of the Indian on a ledge about 10 feet below. Dorak, you hurt? I'll throw a rope down to you. Here it is. There it is, Dorak. Can you hang on to it? What's wrong? Can't you move? You have to move, Dorak. Can't you tie the rope around your waist? I'll try and fix the harness and the team can pull you up. I can't get down to you. I'll lower a blanket. Try to cover yourself. Lying on his stomach, Sergeant Preston lowered a fur robe over the edge of the trail. He looked on the figure of Dorak who lay very still. Then the Mountie stepped carefully along the inside of the trail toward King, who stood in harness at the head of the team.  Hope I can get you out of that harness with one hand. There, you're free. Hold on, fella. It's going to take me a while to write a note with my left hand. The Mountie slowly printed a message.   The Pyrrhon's up to you. I hope you're not wrong about Dr. Blake. Take it to Dr. Blake, King. Find Blake. Find him. On, King! The Great Dog seemed to know that once again his master's life depended on his speed and strength. Free of the burden of the heavy sled, he sped rapidly up the mountain trail. Darkness found him still running, but now the trail was on the downward slope, and the scent of Dr. Blake was strong in his nostrils, as he raced toward a campfire built on the shoulder of some rocks. Dr. Blake leaped to his feet his gun in his hand as the dog ran toward him, but he let the weapon fall back in its holster as he recognized King in the light of the fire. King, where did you come from, Blake? Preston must be coming. Frantically, the big dog barked and whined, pawing the man, trying to tell Dr. Blake to come with him. Is something wrong, King? Is Preston in trouble? Just a minute. Is that a note on your collar? No, it's still King. Wait a minute, Father. This fire isn't too bright. There, now I can see. So your master is in trouble. He's asking me to come back to him, but if I do, I'll hang. When Sergeant Preston opened his eyes, he found himself in a small, dimly-lighted cavern. He lay for a moment trying to remember where he was, and then the figure of Dr. Blake bent over him at the events of the night before flooded into his memory. You awake, Preston? Yes. How'd you do it, Doc? You mean what we went through last night? No. Getting Doric up the side of the cliff was something I'll never forget. It was a good thing we had a moon to work by. You passed out with exhaustion. And you didn't leave again. You're still here. I was asleep by. Worked over him all night. How was your hand? Painful. You're lucky I didn't have to amputate.  And so was Doric. You're both fortunate to be alive. We wouldn't be if it hadn't been for you. I knew you'd come back.  Even though I know it's useless. You'll never believe I didn't kill Bill largely. I'll hang for it. No jury will convict you when they hear how you saved Doric and me. Juries are funny. You're referring to the jury in Ottawa. You know about that? Yes. You were acquitted, Doc. Yes. But there was plenty of circumstantial evidence against me. It was just a case of whether the jury believed me or the evidence. But if I'm pleased to entrial for another murder, I won't have a chance. I'll hang. I know it. No. You know I hang, Doc. Doric, you're awake. Are you all right? Yeah, me all right.  You saved both our lives, Doric, when he could have saved his own. Doc not dying. Him not kill largely. What do you mean, Doric? Me no, Doc, not put poison in bottle. Jack largely him do it. Like it, me get poison for him. Doric, I must warn you anything you say may be used against you. But if you can give me proof. Me see Jack come home last night. Him put poison in bottle. Go away again. Why didn't you tell this sooner, Doric? Before Pestin arrested me. Me phrase. Me phrase. Jack say him give me money if me not tell. Him say if me tell. Him tell Lord Doric help him. Let me hang too. But me not let Doc die. When him come back and save me. And Dorie will believe you, Doric. Me tell everything. Thank you, Doric. It's the only thing that will save me. You not worry, Doc. Sergeant Preston. If me tell law about Jack Ardsley. Then me hang. I can't make any promises, Doric. If not matter. Me not want Doc to hang. We'll get back to Craig's Junction as soon as possible. And I'll pick up Jack Ardsley. You won't be able to use your hand for a while, Preston. I won't need this hand to arrest a murderer. Doc, how'd you know about this cabin? One of my patients lived here. I know these mountains like the palm of my hand. How soon shall we start for Craig's Junction? As soon as we can safely move Doric. Three days later, Sergeant Preston went to Jack Ardsley's cabin with King at his side. Well, Sergeant, did you catch Blake? Yes, Dr. Blake came back with me. To King Traylon? King found him, all right. Find if I step in? Oh, no, of course not. Wait here, King. What's the matter with your arm, Sergeant Preston? You can't get in the sling. Nothing much. I can't use it for a while. Jack, I have bad news for you. Bad news? What do you mean? I'm arresting you in the name of the Queen for the murder of your uncle. You're out of your mind. You have no proof. Blake did it. He broke jail, didn't he? I have all the proof I need. I found out that you came back here the night your uncle was murdered instead of staying in Dawson. Doric told everything. Doric? Well, that's not true. He's lying. A jury will decide that. Doric told us how he gave you the poison and how you bribed him not to tell. You wanted Blake convicted, so you'd got all of your uncle's money. You're smart, Preston. You've got it all worked out. Bandal admit you're right. I got rid of my uncle. And I can get rid of you. You've got only one hand. What? That does it. You'd better put down that gun. I'll put it down when I'm through with you. Do you think I'd let you take me in and hang me, not in your life? You can't get away with murder. Oh, yes, I can.  You've overlooked one thing. King's right outside the door and the door's not latched. He'll be in here like a flash. All he needs is a split second and I can give it to him. Sergeant Preston's quick attack caught Jack off balance. The shot went wild. Come on, King! King heard the Mounties cry. The great dog leaped through the air throwing all his weight against the killer. King's jaws gripped Jack Arsley's gun arm and Sergeant Preston leaping forward grabbed the gun. Take him off! Take him off! Take his dog away! All right, King, don't, boy. You're covered, Jack. I have your gun. Yes, you forgot about him, didn't you? I'll come along and remember King will be watching you. Yes, old fella. You more than make up for a injured hand. Thanks to you, this case is closed. In just a moment, Sergeant Preston will give you a preview of Monday's adventure. Look, Doc, you better hurry! And Bugs Bunny does mean hurry. This is the last call, the very last time for all time that we can tell you on this program how to get your five Bugs Bunny comic books. Actually, five different pocket-sized Bugs Bunny comic books for only 15 cents and one box top from Quakerpuff Wheat or Quakerpuff Rice. You can't get them anywhere else. You've never seen or read them before. They're all brand new. Don't miss the excitement, mystery, laughs and thrills in such stories as Bugs Bunny lion tamer, Bugs Bunny outwits the smugglers, Bugs Bunny captured by cannibals. If you hurry, we'll not only send you five different books, we'll also send you full information for getting 10 more. Send today without fail. This is the last, absolutely the last day of this radio offer. Send 15 cents in coin, not stamps, just 15 cents and one box top from a package of Quakerpuff Wheat or Quakerpuff Rice. Address your letter to Bugs Bunny, Chicago 77, Illinois. Now repeat that, write it down right away. Send to Bugs Bunny, Chicago 77, Illinois. Listen Monday, when Sergeant Preston and Yukon King meet the challenge of the Yukon in the case trapped. When King and I went to Whitehorse for a short stay, we got there just in time to take over a case that involved a young fellow we knew and liked. I thought it would be a routine matter catching up with the murderer and making the arrest. But I came face to face with a danger that was almost sure death. Be sure to hear this exciting adventure Monday. These radio dramas, a feature of the challenge of the Yukon Incorporated, are created and produced by George W. Trenble, directed by Fred Flower Day and edited by Fran Stryker. The part of Sergeant Preston is played by Paul Sutton. They are brought to you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the same time by Quakerpuff Wheat and Quakerpuff Rice. The breakfast cereal shot from gun. This is J. Michael, wishing you good bye, good luck and good health from Quakerpuff Wheat and Quakerpuff Rice.


Hello. Welcome to Kwok Talk. I'm Crystal here in Think Tech. Now, always trying to push boundaries in terms of topics and when it comes to racism, well, we have a lot to push, don't we? Now, basing our concept of racism in the U.S., everything of this problematic history is based on the foundation of anti-blackness, right? You know, we created this concept of race as construct in order to maintain white power, to put it in a broad nutshell, if you will. But how do we extend this conversation on a global level? So, for example, in Asia, where there is still, I think, quite a prominent anti-black racism going on in Asian countries, how do we look at that? And so today, we're going to be extending the conversation beyond the U.S. into places like Hong Kong specifically, because I lived there for many years and I found this lovely, lovely guest who has been in Hong Kong for a long time, who can talk to us about anti-blackness in Asia. So, and without further ado, let me welcome my wonderful guest, Thelma. Thelma Patmore, who is a U.K. Jamaican, previously an architect who is now, interestingly enough, a life and business strategy coach, a certified hand and fingerprint analyst, a meditation teacher, an overall just wonderful human being trying to help people recognizing their full potential. So, Thelma, welcome to ThinkTech. Hi. Thank you. Thank you for having me. And thank you. I appreciate it, because I know it's early for you in Hong Kong, and we're here in the U.S., and we're speaking like we're next to each other, which is a wonderful thing about technology. So, let's have that bridge these gaps. And let's talk a little bit, because, you know, when I met you through this program at the Africa Center in Hong Kong, it was a space to allow for these kind of critical conversations around anti-blackness, particularly in Hong Kong and Chinese cultures. So, can we just start with maybe how you were brought up? And you went to Hong Kong from the U.K. in the early 90s, but just give us a little context of how you were brought up, how did you feel about being a black woman specifically in where you grew up, and then how that felt when you first moved to Asia back then? Well, I moved to Hong Kong because at the time in the U.K., it was a recession. And so, as an architect, I mean, it was either I made sandwiches or I went on the dole, which was called, which is, you know, benefits, which I didn't, you know, I wasn't brought up like that. My father always said, find something to do, do it well, that people will pay you, coming from the immigrant mentality. And so I realized that Hong Kong was still part of the British Empire as it was, you know, the colony. And so somebody said, why don't you try Hong Kurs? He actually said, why don't you try the filth? Filled in London, try Hong Kurs. That was what it was called. Wow. Which is, so, I mean, so I had a friend who I'd been meditating with for many years. We started meditating early 80s together, and he was Australian and said, why don't you try Hong Kong? We, there's lots of work here. And so I, I came. And there was, right? Early 90s was a boring time. In fact, I was so shocked because there, I had three job interviews in the first week. It was just, and it wasn't like interviews. It was like, Oh, when can you start? Whereas in the UK, it was more, you go for the interview, a second interview, and maybe you'd start maybe in three weeks. But in the UK, interestingly, if I spoke to somebody on the phone, I would get the job. But then when I got there, they would say, sorry, the job is gone, which, you know, a sort of normal, you know, you get used to that. I mean, it's hurtful, but you get used to it. So when you say you get used to it, is it because you were brought up like your parents would just tell you, like, this is just the way life is? Yeah.  And at the time, I mean, obviously, my siblings joined later. But when I, I mean, I felt I had to sort of do well. I did well in sports, which was my mum didn't like that, that they were pushing me to do sports because she felt, actually, they were training me for the Olympics, but she didn't feel that she wanted me to do that because she felt that if I got injured, and I didn't have an education, then what would I do? So, you know, it's interesting, that's kind of like the immigrant mentality as well. I mean, I'm coming from the Chinese side saying, okay, well, what family doesn't tell their kids to like all it's all about schooling, it's all about succeeding in all the protections. Absolutely. And I was actually told by one of my, the careers, well, she was like this deputy headmistress.  I'd say, or I would wear black tights. And she'd say, you're not wearing the right color. And I said, well, what color do you call me? And she said, well, you're black. And I said the right tights are black. And she said, no, you have to wear tan colored tights, which is you can imagine was just, it was just wrong. Anyway, so that particular woman eventually when I went when I became an architect, I went back to her, back to the store. And she just couldn't believe it, because she was encouraging me to be a manager in Woolworths, which was around at the time. And this kind of thing, because there was also this this underlying, you know, blacks don't do well, right. But actually, in retrospect, it actually helps me because it made me push. Yeah, through the swim was wrong. Right. But that's kind of depends on your personality. Some people use that to resist that somebody trying to bring you down. But some people kind of get sucked into that type of insecurity and manifest in different ways through violence or through overcompensation, you know, there's a lot of that stuff too.  And again, you know, just to paint the picture for people in the early 90s, as I was there as well. It was a vibrant, beautiful time. Right. Golden era. Everything was just amazing. Oh my right. Yeah, yeah, lots of things about that. But so but did that impact, you know, was it welcoming because it was such a thriving economy? Why was why were you so well received there?  Well, I, it was interesting, people then people used to stare a lot then, not so much now. People used to stare a lot. I had a friend who asked me to come into his office just to see him.  And so I had it with me. And I went in to see him and he said, oh, my boss would like to talk to you. And I said, okay. And then his boss, his boss, because I was just arrived, you know, I was sort of going around interviewing every now and again, you know, and then so his boss sat me down and started having a chat and I was looking around the office and looking around his space. And I started to more or less interview him really, sort of, you know, these projects, how long have you been on them? Did you finish on time? Was it coming in on budget? And, and then after, I don't know about maybe 20, 25 minutes, he asked me if I wanted a job. And I was like, Oh, why? How can you just ask me that? And you haven't looked at my, my, your work, right? He said, no, no, because I've heard enough. And so basically he said, then he offered me a salary. Okay. And I wasn't quite sure whether that was good or bad. Anyway, I took it. Okay. Okay. And he said, Well, you know, it's best if we hire you because I don't think anybody else would, many companies here would hire a person of like you basically. And then he mentioned a particular firm. I won't say which one it was. Okay. But eventually I ended up working with that firm and it was through that firm that I ended up moving to Shanghai.  And it was actually to work with the Hong Kong Football Club and the, and the Jockey Club, the new Jockey Club in Happy Valley. Okay. They were extending two tracks, you know, two extra tracks for the horses. Okay. So, but basically what I realized was that he was, because he himself was a, an Englishman who had been there. Oh, okay. All right. So that made a difference. That's interesting. So it made a difference, but he, but that racism which I got from the UK was facing me right there because he is a white man or a Caucasian, I should say, was saying, Oh, you know, you probably wouldn't do very well here. But wow. Anyway, but it was fine. I took it on the chin and worked there. And apparently he went back and told the team that I was the back to join. Oh my gosh, I've just been interviewed for the first time in 27 years. Meaning, you know, so basically what he was saying is that we'd love to have you. But his way of trying to make sure I didn't go anywhere else was to say, well, you know, nobody else will hire you, which was not true.  And not because you were especially qualified for the job, but because he was doing you a favor. So you know, there's a lot of that type of, I don't know what it's called, but you know, whether you're, you can twist things around to make it seem like it is to your service. And yet it's actually, you know, underpinning your, your qualifications or whatever. So that's why racism is a very insidious thing. You don't see it sometimes. They can look at you and they can make it sound like it's all for you, but it can be turned around the other way. But if you're going back to Asian culture, like Chinese specifically, I feel like historically, there's been a rich commerce relationship between China and Africa, for example, you know, the trades centuries ago. And there was not that sense of racism that you see in the last century. And I'm wondering what your thoughts are on how that kind of came to be your experience. I know you maybe you can share that experience of just having some people just don't have that, you know, that wider mindset or maybe just an odd curiosity, but from a very limited perspective to assume the negative things that they hear from their family or whatever, you know, where does it come from? Well, I don't know where it comes from. I think actually, over the years, I've spoken to some people, Chinese people, I have a wide variety of friends here. And actually, I could say like the best friends are Chinese girlfriends, you know, have really, really good Chinese girlfriends. I remember one time being on going on the MTR, the, you know, the subway, the office, yeah.   And you understood this, because it was he speaking in Chinese?   And I said to the little boy, it's not true.  And then they got off at the next stop. But the thing is, I was like, wow. Everybody else in the carriage was saying, oh no, that's not true, we don't think that, you know, they came out. But I knew I had to nip it in the bud for that boy, because he's about five years of age. That's exactly what it is. You know, I used to use things when I was younger about how Chinese people chopped people, right? Really? So you're fit and kind of nips as well from another side? Because I understand where it's coming from, it's coming from our elders. I mean, this is where we get our most of our actually prejudices as well.  And I'd say, well, if I was, why would it matter? And then I would get the whole, so I know it's everywhere. That's true. Exactly. Every community has that kind of, that inner gossipy attitudes against each other. And you can't say anything right now. But you know, it is, it does stem from very deeply rooted places. But let me ask you something more personal, then, have you ever dated a Chinese guy and did that, not to pry to your private life? Well, Chinese guys have approached me, but they will say things like, I don't know how serious we can be, because my family would accept you. Right. Okay, well, that's being a little... This was in the early days. I mean, I haven't, this hasn't really happened. It's not on the top of your list right now to go out and take this down an Asian boy. But you know, I remember this one lady, I forget which country she's from in Africa, but she said that she has a hard time dating in Hong Kong because the African men are going to go for the African women who were there that maybe they end up with. But when it comes to Asian men, she knows that the Chinese are going to be like, well, no, I don't date unless I'm just going to have you as a girlfriend or a mistress. That's right. That's it. There you go. There you go. The exotic other. I'll tell you what's very interesting, which, well, it's not interesting. I think it's a bit cheeky. But I found while I was in Shanghai, a lot of the taxi drivers used to tell me, because I speak Mandarin. Okay. Tell me how much they, how exotic they thought I was and I, would I be their girlfriend? And I'd say, wow, the funny thing is I was always kind of a little bit, they were always a little bit annoying. So I get into a taxi and I wouldn't have my, my nice face on it would be, no, because they're always trying to take the wrong way. And by the time, and this happened many times, by the time I got to my destination, they'd say, would you be my girlfriend? Wow. But not in a good way. You're saying that it's out of like a curiosity way. Like they want to try each other, like this little exotic. I think so. Yes. And I would say, from the moment I got into this capital now, what made you think that I liked you? No, yeah. You know, because it was, I don't know, I think it was curiosity. And it happened when some friends of mine came from Hong Kong and we were in a cab and we were dropping everybody off and he kept saying, I'll drop you off last. And my friend was laughing and saying, oh my God. Yes. Well, okay, let's go there. I think, you know, like in the States, you talk about the hyper sexuality of people of color and Asians, right? You know, you have all that, that's built upon these narratives again, that are trying to control things. But I think that's the same thing we can apply to China in your cases.  It wasn't that in a sense. They wanted to see you thinking that whatever they thought in the back of their head. Because I don't know. They got this idea that it was, and then taxi drivers in Hong Kong are always, and I'm not joking, they would always tell me about the extramarital affairs. Oh, I have so many, I have a, I said, do you have, you're married, yes? Oh, I have a wife in Shenzhen, Orange, and I'd say, I think I like it. But why do you tell me? Yeah, they don't tell me that.  Like he can still, yeah. Oh, wow. See, so that's what, it's not just being black in Asia, it's being a black woman in Asia that you are revealing to us right now. That it complicates your position and your power, or lack thereof, or, I don't know, it's a really interesting thing that you have to work with. And exactly, right.  Oh, you've been harassed on the tram? Oh my goodness. So this is in the early days, I looked, you know, sort of longer hair and, you know, the whatever.  Well, I don't know what it was. But it's, yeah, it happens a lot. And on the MTR, you know, on the busy times, I never get the MTR on a busy time. Because, you know, if you have shopping in your hands, it happens to me where somebody's arms come under and then cups my, my, my breasts. And so what I did, I waited until, and I screamed at him. I put my bags down on the thing, went back in, and I screamed at him, and everybody, people pretended they couldn't see it, but he knew, he didn't say anything, he knew.  And then I just, just pushed him, pushed him and said, and just, you know, like this. And so I never travel. Yeah, it happens a lot. And I hear it, I'm a lot of local girls tell me that too, that it happens to them too. So this is where kind of like, reinforced with their harsh reality of the sexualization of women and how we could never really get away from that, you know, we can't blame a certain place. I mean, it's everywhere, right?  Everywhere. But I just, I tried to, because I know if I was to try and, you know, report, I mean, it's, you know, it's time, but I just nip it in the bird and let them know. Yeah, you know, you've done this, but I'm letting you know it's bad. I mean, obviously they do all the time. And get away with it. And get away with it. Exactly. Get away with it. Do you think it's gotten worse in a sense that, I mean, so the normative of seeing people of different backgrounds is probably more accepting in that sense, but at the same time, I feel like because of social media and whatever altered twisted news wherever we're getting it from, you can reinforce certain types of perspectives that. Yes, absolutely. Right. So do you blame it on social media? Do you feel like things are going the wrong way? I think it's social media, definitely social media. People just have an assumption. Obviously, when I was in China, I felt that it was out of curiosity. I remember obviously people touching your hair and all this kind of stuff. Yeah. And then you'd get many people would just come straight up and ask, are you from Africa?  Yeah, yeah.  And I would say, no, I'd say, Yameja, Jamaica, which is Yameja.  This is where, you know, the famous. And then they go, oh, yeah. And then they do the sign, you know, but it's. I mean, it doesn't bother you because, you know, on one hand, it's kind of like an innocent curiosity to some level, but then. I felt it was more of an innocent curiosity because seriously, as a, you know, I used to walk around on site as an architect. And of course, I used to stop work and I used to say, well, come on, stop looking at me. Don't look at me. Carry on working, you know, because it's dangerous. So I used to say to the woman, just warn them when I'm coming, just, but just to carry on working. It is curiosity. Let me ask you this. Do you think it's inevitable for any homogenous society to have racism? Absolutely. Absolutely. It's, it's, it's, it's everywhere. It's endemic. And I really don't, you know, I'd like to be part of a conversation where we could find out how we could alleviate it. It's never really going to go. It's not in my, not in my lifetime anyway, until, you know, until everybody is, is, is mixed. But there's always this thing of keeping it pure. One of my, my cousins was like, oh, no, no, no, you can eat. I'm so sure you can date them, but don't, don't marry them. We have to keep it pure. I said, what are you talking about? We have mixed race aunts and uncles. What are you talking about? Exactly. Everyone's mixed. Yeah.  It's about tolerance and acceptance. You know, I really feel it's tolerance. And why am I here?  It was always not, it was like normal. You just lived with it. But here, where to me, it's kind of obvious. It's up to me. I feel that my reaction to it, it's how it informs my life.   I said, well, look, it's not about black people. It's about people. There is bad in every race, every culture. It's good and bad. So it's not, it's just about, you know, I have to try to be an example. I feel that should be an example. So you feel there's kind of a responsibility almost? Responsibility, yeah. A burden of, yeah. Yes. An integrity. And also treating others how I would like to be treated. I kind of mother my friends anyway. But it's treating people how I would like to be treated. And then if people are like that, you just back away. If the person is, because they say hurt people hurt people. So somebody may have had a really bad experience with it. So I don't really feel that it could be done. You can only do a small piece. Yes, we can talk about it. Let's, you know, talk about black lives matter, all lives matter. And it shouldn't, this thing shouldn't be going on, you know, and right, it should be happening within the communities that also to educate the young people as well. Yes. Well, I mean, that's why going back to the Africa Senate, it's great because then you get like local students who go in and they have communicating and seeing it as a normative and really embracing the culture and not just seeing it as a kind of a, you know, through some fancy cultural activity day where you get to like, you know, the plumes and old costumes, which is stupid because that's what we do culture. Right. So, but what, you know, in a couple of minutes, short time left, I just wanted to end, you know, it bothered me and I'm grateful that you shared it, but the sexualization aspect that we don't talk enough about, because it's, you know, we want to get rid of racism, but the sexual thing on top of it is really, really problematic. So what would you have to say, leave our audience thinking about to push the boundaries of seeing that these complex weavings of race and body and sex and culture are also intertwined that, you know, give us, give us something to think about before we leave? Well, I personally never dress in a way because of that, that would encourage it. And it's not because I'm not a prude or anything by any way, but it's having self-respect. So I feel that if I portray myself in a way, which is, you know, as with decent whatever, then because it's made me think, oh my gosh, maybe I need to dress in a particular way or make sure I cover up or whatever. You see what I mean? But it's, it's, I feel really that it's a lot of social media and the perception of who Black people are and what they do and what they're about. And I try to, when I see people, I speak to people to educate them and sort of say, well, no, there are young people who have been led astray by drugs, whatever it is, or feeling insecure or actually abuse. I mean, let's not even, let's not pretend that this doesn't happen. I spoke to, I speak to a lot of young people when I had this incident who told me about their own young Chinese girls and say, it happens to us all the time. I said, what do you mean? Yes, we'd always, it happens all, but we can't say anything.  Yeah. So I think that, yeah. I feel that if it happens to you, speak to somebody about it, not necessarily friends, but really speak to help because it can cloud your judgment. And don't blame yourself for anything. Exactly. And feeling guilty. Yeah. And feeling guilty.  That's a whole other thing, and that makes me feel like I need to like do another episode with you to talk about that part of sexual abuse. Yeah, the shame, the shame and. Yeah. Delma, unfortunately we're running out of time, but it's interesting that we started off and my intention was to break out and talk about anti-blackness in Asia, but then it spun into like the whole problematic area of the sexualized female body, which goes to show that it's so connected and so entangled. And so we really need to kind of embrace these problematic topics together. So I really appreciate you sharing your experience and to just open up that conversation to remember York's what happened to you and how people can apply that to their lives and to respect each other as people, as human beings. So thank you so much for sharing today. And I hope that we can continue to break these divides by talking more about this. So thank you, Delma. Thank you. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please click the like and subscribe button on YouTube. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Check out our website, thinktechawaii.com. Mahalo.