And now I'm pleased to open the floor to questions. Yes, here. Good on. Really interesting stuff. And I guess one of the themes of the conference so far has been that the technological changes of the last decades have tended to concentrate income rather than expand opportunities. And I guess I have a question along those lines for pretty much all of the panelists. Starting with you gave a very optimistic view of the gig economy. But a less optimistic view would be that it has allowed employers to break cartels, including labor unions, and capture most of the technological rents associated with these new technologies. The idea being that you've replaced organized labor on one hand with monopsynistic employers and employees who can't organize themselves. Clearly that could be redressed by public policy, but it hasn't been. And I'm a cynic. And in my view, whenever you have concentrated corporate interests on one side and consumers in labor on the other, it's always the corporate interests that win. I guess it reminds the point that Natasha was making about IoT and recycling raised similar questions. Because yes, it could be used to encourage or make recycling easier. It could also be used simply to improve inventory control by firms, which is not a bad thing, but also to evade regulation, to engage in firms now engage in transfer pricing. They could use this to engage in actual transfer to evade regulation, taxation, things like that. So I guess my question, which I suppose is also relevant to the regulator, is how can we think of either inherent characteristics of the technologies or public policies that could make sure that these technological innovations benefit society more broadly rather than simply providing more profits, more rents to the corporations that are the principal users of the technologies? Matilda? Thank you very much for your question. And actually, I'm very glad you asked it. And I will still be optimistic because, well, I didn't give a specific example. But so for sure, it's complicated for self-employed contractors to actually be together to have a union and then talk to the platform. But then I came up to know about, so let's say, we have digital problem, but we also have digital solutions. And so Amazon Mechanical Turk workers, they actually developed a forum, an online forum, where they will gather their thoughts about how to improve their working conditions or how to, well, how they see their jobs and gathering all these thoughts, voting which ideas are worth spreading. And I think at some point, they are going to send something to Jeff Bezos. So I mean, it's one solution. But still, for me, there's already some potentials which are also digital in that case. So I still remain optimistic. OK. Yeah, please. Bonjour, Tatsumasa from Japan. I have a question to probably Mathilde again. Hearing all these wonderful presentations, this is very awaking. Thank you for this. One thing coming to my mind is technology divide. We used to call it the digital divide, but coming all these digital things deep rooted into technology, there could be a technology divide. For example, if you see sub-Saharan Africa, quite a few people still don't have accuracy at home. So they have no access whatsoever to anything digital or data. So those people could be easily left behind all these advancements in the 20th century. And another thing is people who cannot understand all these things about technology, they are also left behind. So there could be risk of widening gap between on the side of technology who are left behind or even no access. So how do you reconstitute all these risk of divide coming from all these development? Thank you. Natasha, you want to take this one? This goes back to the previous question I think was interesting. And I think we often ask, how is the current construct going to survive with technology? That's sort of the premise of how is policy going to regulate technology? And I think the question almost has to be changed is how is policy and how is the system framework going to change in light of technology? Because I actually think big data will reinvent capitalism. And we have new technologies that are like blockchain that are destabilizing the current construct of bank and finance and the peer-to-peer market. So I think there's more shift actually that technology will impact policy and how to kind of create that change in tandem rather than just the policy framework surviving with technology. And then I think your other question around where does this leave people behind? I think that's absolutely true. And I think that's a scary thing. And I think that's where a lot of policy work does need to collaborate to figure out how we can make technology more open and accessible. When you were in the 40s, everybody sort of had this one vision of what the youth would be in the future. And they knew where their job would be. And today I think a lot of the terms, people just either of this generation or younger generations in different parts of the world don't necessarily feel that they have access to positions in blockchain or positions in IoT. And I think that's definitely an education reframing and a skill set that maybe can go along with some of the work in the gig economy that will need to happen. But I think that's somewhere where policy work does need to step in to support making this an open ecosystem and how to bring more people into this conversation. Thank you. Yeah, please. Good morning, James. Can we follow up on that question for the panel? So if we are actually talking about changing the way that we approach policy, what is the suggestion that you might have for governments around the world to take the first step in doing that? Because as we know, governments are risk averse. We must move slowly and carefully and protect our data, as was mentioned, and have valid regulations. But how is it then that to keep up with technology in industries like yourselves, how would governments take that first step to actually rethink or interact with you to be able to reframe a policy framework going forward? It's for governments, it's the same thing like it has been for the bigger corporations who try to get connection with young entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts, startups by creating accelerator programs or initiatives where they work can work together. Just to get the communication right and to get the conversation starting. I think this is the most crucial part, to start talking together and finding the mutual benefits that you can get. I mean, you have something to add. Yeah, thank you, James, for your question. I think we, as I mentioned, of course, governments need to invest in this digital transformation and make sure they have all the right resources, like human resources, financial resources, training. I think training is very important because if you just go digital and no one knows how to use the tools, it's not going to be more efficient in the end. So I think training will be a very important part of what we are trying to do at the Nuclear Safety Authority. And my other thought about what you said is maybe the government should also listen a little bit more to what the public is expecting. And maybe the way we open the data should correlate with what people need, what their questions are. So we're trying to do some public meetings or debates around the nuclear question. But in the end, it's always easier when you are actually answering to the public's questions rather than just giving a big speech about how cool you are and what your projects are. So I think, yeah, focusing on what the public is expecting is an important part of the question. I think to add one thing to that, too, it's often just technology versus government. And actually, I think the government needs technology more than anybody. The best man for the job is the one with the best resources, the most efficiency to get it done. And if the government doesn't adapt to have resources to do those things, then they won't be the best institution for the job. And that is part of what's going to reshape. So I think government needs to think of technology as an asset instead of this other. Thank you. Another question? Yes, in the back. I find this discussion we're having very interesting around almost the opposition between government and technology. What I do find a bit odd in that, and what I'd love to hear your thoughts on, is governance in a global point of view from that. Because effectively, governments are not globally governing how technology spreads, how it's regulated, how it protects citizens. A lot of the actors are global. So there's a huge asymmetry there. I'm thinking data leaks. I'm thinking abuse of information, et cetera. How do we actually address that from a point of view that governments can still protect their citizens as well? Because they have a responsibility beyond the technological to protect their citizens. And currently, they don't manage. Thank you. You're welcome. Yes, thank you for the question. I'm not sure if there's one right answer to it, but I think that both sides should have a sense of urgency. Because if you look at it from a tech perspective, we see business models popping up and scaling up global within years and impacting our lives super fast. But now, they're also really running into trouble because we didn't talk to the government. They kept it close by them and didn't give a lot of insights. And now, regulators step in and make hard rules. For example, if we look at the shared economy, we had Airbnb spreading across the globe quite fast. And now, regulators are stepping in and saying, hey, Airbnb is going to be regulated in the city. And it has a really negative and bad impact on the technology company. Because suddenly, they're not allowed to do what they wanted to do. So I think for the technology companies, there should be a sense of urgency to, early in the development of the technology, start the conversation. And I think sometimes the technology companies, like us, we feel that we are experts on the technology and that we, because we are experts, kind of think, OK, all others can't follow, so let's leave it. But I think it's important that the technology companies try to explain what they are doing. And really, in an early phase, we already talked to the governments about how this could work out. Because in the end, I think that will also benefit the technology companies. So just to add, because this question came already a few times, I will give you one example on this where we really have to work together. It's not to be in the space of cybersecurity. It is a real issue because for the corporate world, we are caught in a kind of asymmetric warfare. Because one of the most advanced processes threats come from government. And corporations are used either as target or channels to get to the target. And probably some of you might be aware. Brad Smith, the general counsel of Microsoft, has launched an initiative called the Tech Accord with the objective to create a kind of Geneva Convention around cybersecurity. Because we need to, this is the Wild West currently. This cost a fortune to the economy. This place is mistrust in technology, rightly so, because things happen that should not happen. And we have joined this initiative called Tech Accord. And we will support that. That's really a place where the industry, the technology industry, with other corporations that are highly digital, and the government have to come together and set up a certain number of rules. So we heard about the climate. And I think in cybersecurity in particular, this is an area where we have to work together and develop policy at global level. Because we will not be able to manage it otherwise. And it is completely undermining the development that you have seen. Now, there are other domains where it's less obvious to develop consensus. I give one example. I think behind on a debate in ethics, notably when it comes to artificial intelligence, I will give one example is when you develop an algorithm, an engine, that will crunch a lot of data, you do it with bias. You cannot avoid, we all have personal bias. We all have cultural bias. So the way you will address a problem with technology in different parts of the world will not be the same. How do you take this into account, and notably from a government perspective, while you develop your technology? It's very difficult to engage this conversation right now, probably because it is somewhat abstract. While on cybersecurity, we are very active because people feel it on a day-to-day basis. So I think, yes, it's something that a forum like the World Policy Conference also should help develop and say what would be the agenda, what would be the topics. So I said that the obvious is cybersecurity. There are other ones where we don't have yet the understanding about how critical it is while these developments are taking place. So just to complement from the panel of our young leaders. Another question, if not, I thank you very much. I hope we could show you the different perspective. And I can tell you we have a large organization. Vast majority are young people in our organization. They are quite determined. They move extremely fast. They are extremely focused. And they are focused on problem solving. So what you just heard will just happen, like it or not, because they know they have to face it. So thank you very much.


Today I'm going to show you a specific way to make ceviche. I promise you you've probably never seen it made this way, so check it out and take notes. The first step of ceviche is to cook your shrimp. You cook the shrimp using the citrus juices. So what I do is a little bit different. I'm going to ensure that our shrimp gets cooked because I don't trust it all the way. So we're going to juice five limes, two lemons, and an orange. All right, set our juice to the side. Now let's prep our shrimp. Now we got them detailed, not detailed, like a car. I just kind of like pulled the tails off. Do this. Now we got all our shrimp chopped up. Let's set it to the side. And now I'm going to show you that trick to make sure it all gets cooked. Now get you a little pot, and we're simply going to bring our juice to a boil. Once your juice comes to a boil, add your shrimp in. We're going to let this cook and just come back to a boil, then cut it off. Throw it into our bowl. Get you one can of climato from the refrigerator. Add that in. Add a couple big pinches of black pepper, a couple big pinches of kosher salt, and now you need the spicy danos. That's the red top. We're going to add a bunch of that. Give this a mix. Then we're going to throw it into our freezer and let it cool off while we dice up everything else. Radishes. Cucumber. Two romas. One jalapeno, or two if you like. Half of a red onion. Half of a red bell pepper. Little bit of garlic. Mango for a little bit of sweet. Hack time. Cilantro. But don't forget to do this.  That took about 20 minutes, so it should be perfect timing.  Just like that. Add a little bit more climato.  Give that one last good mix. Throw it in the fridge for another 30 minutes, then we eat. All right, it's time. So I already know what you're thinking. You're going to tell me that I didn't have to cook the shrimp. Well, guess what? My shrimp is definitely not raw, and that's going to be some of the best ceviche you ever have in your life. I 100%. Promise you. Give it a try. Yum, yum, get you some. We'll see you next time.


Yeah, it's 6.15 here on July 9th, and before we start, does anybody have any additions to the agenda that's been posted? Start then at the minutes from the last meeting of June 25th. And I found those to be pretty representative of what happened. I'd need to accept those minutes. Okay. Seconded. All in favor?  Is there anything on your mind? I always sit up front, and I have a guess. Yeah. And I would like to make a couple of comments. Right. Okay. Since seeing the invitation that's in the paper, the invitation to give input as to how the roadside should be mowed, Jeff has put the information on I, Mark, and Harvey. Yeah. And then I lived on a dirt road my whole life. And I probably will live for the rest of my life. So anyway, roadside mowing was the invitation. Yeah. That's what really dropped me out. Yes. And most all roadside need to have a path of four or five feet over the railroad. Some of these roads need a second path to reach across the ditch. In some cases, the more it needs to be in a vertical position, four to six feet high, to cut back limbs that are reaching out to the road. This vertical method has not been done for many years. And I'm glad that Terry Severy is here. That did it one year. He did us roads when the town rented. And over the road, and over the railroad side more. And that was a very efficient way to mow the roadside. Maybe the rentals aren't so available anymore. And if there's any questions about the vertical, please ask, because what that means is cutting back limbs that are reaching out far across the ditch into almost the travel portion of the road. We all know another harvest is by the same token, we know the limbs are reaching for the light and so forth. And they need to be cut back. And I'm not saying to reach up to the top of a tandem up truck, but something high so that they don't continue growing out. Now, I will also add, it was counterproductive by not mowing the roadside last year. And because now there's a lot more growth, and probably it will take anybody longer than it would have to be mowed last year. OK, that's all I've got. But I would like to go on to the roads themselves. As I said, I've always lived on one. And most roads are poor condition for the lack of grading. They have only been scuffed over for many years and not graded. If I need to explain graded, it means getting to the bottom of the potholes and not just filling them in with loose gravel, either by hand or with a grader. The grass side on the edge of the road and the side of the ditch has been allowed to grow and prevent the stormwater, which is another one of my issues, from getting to the ditch, which is now full of debris that needs to be removed. This can be done with a grader, in most cases, without the need of an excavator, if it is done on a regular basis. We have the best equipment that is not being utilized, utilized to the fullest. Please use the rock rate. It's a very important tool that wasn't always available back in my younger years. Then I have to add that we should not continue stockpiling cross gravel for resurfacing our road. An emergency pile of 200 or 300 yards is great. The trucks that deliver the gravel can be used to spread it on the road that are getting resurfaced. And rather than stockpiling, using a loader, reloading, and so forth, is really counterproductive. And that is comments I've got about the gravel road and the control of stormwater and brush. And that's really, as soon as that, stormwater and brush. All right, thank you. Thank you. To put there, Mar, there's a lot of it that we'll definitely take into account. There's some, like, we can't ditch with the grader anymore because we're not allowed to create a sharp edge in the bottom of a ditch. And you can use a grader to, you know, address the edge, I'm sure, but in terms of ditching, we can't ditch with the grader, really, and satisfy the requirements. So we're looking into the possibilities of getting some equipment that we could actually ditch with. The grader will do it all if it is used on a regular basis. And he keeps us on from growing. We all know the backside of the ditch is gonna be affected. Right. I mean, it's a greater channel. Maybe there's a rounded edge you can put on a grader. They can do that. All right. There are both on, both on rounded edges. Yeah. I've seen some challenges. I mean, I've seen, with an excavator and clamshell, we're ending up with ditches that are so deep and so steep that if you get into them, you can't get out of them. Yeah. If it's done consistently, like Marvin says, with a grader, I don't see why you can't do it with a grader. You can't angle that way. I've seen it done on my road. It's been done in the past. You know, and I just, you're saying that it leaves too sharp of a... Well, it's all about the control of the water and the erosion. And we're just, I'm not making up these rules. Yeah, I get that, but I just want to get this clear is like you're talking about my drop off into it. They want a curved base. Like a swale. Like a swale. Yeah. Well, I don't see why you can't do that with a grader. Well, maybe if you can bolt on a rounded end, but with a square edge, it's going to leave a 90 degree angle in the base of the cut, which is not where you're going to have to move away from that. It increases the water speed going down. The trench, it's going to bother erosion. It's all fine. But there's no question. It's been re-constant reformed and reforming road crews. So the whole strategy of taking care of the roads will evolve and I anticipate a good direction. So a lot of these suggestions and comments will be listened to with fresh ears. I want to say one day into it, I've already seen that. Just one day into it. Excuse me, June. Am I correct? It's just what you were talking about was that there are changes in what the state is asking towns to do about it. You've got to be much more specific about how they want to get it as created and shaped. And in terms of trying to slow down the movement of storm runoff and other road. Right, it's part of Act 64, the Clean Water Act. Just to quickly say the name, can't you agree? I will just, they call it to the swell, you know, something. There are standards for the profile and the depth of all that kind of thing. Right, but are you doing this specifically? No, I mean, I mean, but it's, it's specifically addressed to a square edge of a grater not being appropriate for, for, and there's also cases where there's a lot of material that needs to be moved out and pitches that have been filled in over years and that it's, you know, they need to be integrated into your approach to driveways and things of that nature and culverts that almost dug out the rate of fuel. I'm big enough that you could put a commercial back on a road drive.  That's all in that ongoing conversation. And David has mentioned in the last meeting about a possible attempt to slur the road or that we've got to do. I just, I just read something about some of the roads that I've known in the area or something. It's specifically known when the trailer wasn't blown so that we would see. Yeah, we talked about that. Yeah, yeah. So that should be something right there. Yeah, if we had our own road. Right, right. Exactly, if you do it when it's needed. There's a lot of bar-sharvel in this right along the road. Well, I know, but not doing anything. This isn't getting anywhere that's going backwards. From Joan, who couldn't make it tonight. So there's another meeting that she needed to be at. Stagecoach is expanding their Route 100 service starting this fall. And he was looking for an update on the use of our parking ride as a location for the bus stop. And Stagecoach may be able to provide some assistance in getting a little shelter installed at the parking ride for bus stops. So that's still moving forward. I see that's getting more and more used at the parking area there. It's turned out to be worthwhile. Looking into a hydroceder, which basically is a way of instead of spreading a seed in mulch where you want grass to grow and actually sprays a mulch seed fertilizer mix that will actually stick to steeper banks and not get blown away in the wind. Seen that, saw that used quite a bit after Irene, especially on 107. That's that green stuff, yeah. So, it sprays? It sprays a mixture of... A slurry. A slurry, yeah, seed and fertilizer. As opposed to dry hay and seed. That could be a useful tool in dealing with the control of erosion. Like when we do some fresh ditching, it gets stuff going in there quicker. We've already been talking about, again, we should the town look into an excavator. Jones been looking that there are some grants to purchase equipment for water quality related road projects. Again, it's all driven by the water quality, so. Right now, they're only available for towns in the Lake Champlain and Mimofagod watersheds. Say that again? Memphomegod. Memphomegod, okay, Memphomegod. Looking for possible purchases of, looking for grants for purchasing an excavator, a piece of equipment that we could deal with previous conversation, ditching and such. I-25th is the next wastewater job site meeting, which will take place at the site tree trailer at 11 a.m. on the 25th, which is basically monitoring the progress of the project down there. Terry, you have anything to add on that? I'm in work capacity. They called in now the guys to cut the concrete around there, I know. Yeah. They know how to work with the head on a sub-sub-sum. I'm too busy, which I wish I'd known it because they sprayed a ton of water and mud down in that hole and a short pump that I've done in there. Forced the joy of working on the pumps to get the wiring straightened out, so we had till they were grown. Oh, it's a mess down there.  So this was the second contract? Yeah. Nobody's there today because they need to clean it out. They're still having troubles with some of the wire knocks and they got, I don't know, they're done cutting because they got tarps up everywhere's in there. But they haven't chilled up, so I don't think they're coming this week. Maybe the end of the week, they're finishing up another project, which, in fact, the school's a good thing because of so much going on in school. Probably not a bad thing because they're gonna be starting a lot of trucking in now that school year when they do come back. But I wish they'd finish this up because had a lot of trouble with the pumps down there and most of it's because it's waiting to be rewired. That's part of the contract is rewire everything and floats and it's just, you know, they haven't got that part yet. They are here to talk about the library today. They need to talk about a worker's policy for what is the state is now requiring if contractors don't have their own policy. Even if they sign a waiver, we're still being charged for that insurance and the worker's compensation insurance on that. So we're ready to lead to the contract that that amount of that insurance will be subtracted from the total or what, I guess we're gonna meet with the LCT and get some specifics about what legally we can't give you a number on that. But enough that it's worth paying attention to the project to figure that now and something like when he worked down there they've got that. Yeah, well, you can definitely have liability policy with problems and some small companies, they can opt out of having their workers come. Yeah. But I mean, we've had, we've been dealing with the workers counseling for a couple of years and if someone we hire doesn't have or you don't accept them, you don't accept a contract if they're going to hire someone else to work for them and do the work. I think is how it's worked here.  You legally don't have to have one. Right. On yourself. On yourself. You and your employees, right? You're not legally, however. Right, but here's the issue is, yes, they are not required by the state to have it but insurance companies, they want you to have it. Like the LC2. Exactly. So, Right, because they feel if there is an incident, the town could still be sued, even though all of the paperwork is in line, requests to sue the town because they were technically working on for the town. The law doesn't say you have to have it in that situation, but the insurance companies and the lawyers want you to have it.  I'm going through it with cleanings. We had to, I had to let our clean the service go because they simply couldn't afford this company.  They used to afford it. So I had to let them go. So who does the cleaning? The employees do. Okay, so cover it. This is a point that is in discussion with the legislature. Didn't get anywhere this year, but they're definitely, the legislature needs to step up to the plate and do some clarification on this because there's a lot of pushing and shoving between insurance companies and how the workers' comp is being written right now. So hopefully it moves up on the agenda next year for the legislature. One of the things the state is attempting to do is level the plaintiff. I mean, whether you believe that or not, that's what they're trying to do. So people who don't have work this time, they automatically have financial advantage if they don't have work this time, do have work this time. So, you know, that's part of it. And it's just trying to level that out as much as they can. But it's really, it's difficult for the small operators. If you have it already on the books and it has to be, it has to be a pin and it has to be truth out there that via the opening and work the time insurance. That's on the books. But the state allows someone to operate without it. Yes. You get an exemption from the state. See, what's happening is it's just recently, the last couple of years, being enforced. It has been on, this has been a rule for a long time. It's just that it hasn't been enforced until recently. Even in my own company. Now they are, they're coming down hard now. Right, it's a way for the insurance companies that provide workers compensation to get more money. Or the insurance companies have seen more lawsuits which have overstepped the state bounds. So there's two things probably going on. But insurance companies are the ones that are including some contractors. This would back a long ways. You know, we shouldn't even have to talk about it today. It is the law. And it is the rule on the book to protect the country. And at this point going forward, that's the way it's going to be. Right. There's an ABC rule that applies, that definitely needs clarification. So when somebody puts a bid in, they should have to provide, you know, proof of all that being covered before you accept a bid. Or you don't accept a bid. It goes back to your sole proprietor again. Right. But in the past, they've had to provide proof of that for the declaration, how to get an declaration made for their employees. But legally, they don't have to have it themselves. It's not the state that's requiring it, you're saying. It's the insurance companies that are requiring it. So they have to have all legal requirements to cover them. And I said, well, they are meeting the legal requirements. They are. They are. It is. It's a catch-22 kind of. So what can the town do to make this better? We're going to write into our contracts, like Dune had mentioned. If we do accept a sole proprietor without workman's comp, there's going to have to be an adjustment made to compensate for the cost of insurance. That's one possibility, or the other possibility is that no one works for the town unless they have workman's comp. It's a hard stand to make. Just sign the contract. It's going to automatically disqualify a lot of people. We just signed a contract last meeting for gardening at the library. Right. I'm pretty suspicious that that would not take place if we go into these new rules. We'll have to hire some fancy company from Rotland to come in and do the gardening. And then if they sub it out to someone who doesn't have it, then it's the same thing. The same thing. This is going to trickle down to our gardeners, our lawnmowers. We're not just talking about major contracts. We're talking about a lot of different subs that the town hires. It makes community and business involvement very different. Primarily driven by insurance companies. And they can deny your insurance. They won't renew your insurance. You don't want to buy it by these rules. And we actually that actually happened then in advance to the 90s. We have an audit where they looked at every service provider we have over the years. Everybody came in to work for us. And they came in because no matter who it was, they wanted a declaration page of Workman's Comp and liability insurance every single month. Period. At one point, we actually lost our insurance carrier because of one Workman's Comp incident. We had to hustle around and go find another AI. I mean, it's... No, but I'm just relieving my own experience that it's a real issue that we have to be cognizant of whether we like it or not. Most of us don't like it. Right, and Joe Mann had correspondents in the past week that pointed the town in the same direction that Tom's already been down and I've been down. He's right on top of it. So we had to get Worker's Comp as tax payers and we pay our taxes to the town because we're working to be out of this. I feel like I add that to our tax books. No. So does the town insurance carrier offer any value for the town at a certain cost to cover all these things with private insurance? Not a rider. I'm just trying to understand how the town would be able to... Yeah. Doesn't that make control of all the dollars on New York Street? And we have this very careful route. And you wouldn't know how to divvy that up with single proprietorships because you don't know how many different people or if you're going to be trying to recover that on. I mean, to give you an example, our house electrician and AI didn't have Worker's Comp for a while, he does now, but that cost him three to $4,000 a year just for itself. So, you know, it increases rates to cover that. You know, we understand that because we pay it. We have to. A lot of small operators. That's a huge up-thung expense. So, you just fall it away. Like a person wants to pay in your house. Yeah, right. We'd love to.  There should be, but someone could get hurt the first time when they were working for you. Work up to $1,000. Yeah, fall off the ladder, make sure it's not the cost. That's later done. At AI, I couldn't even have a guy come to pick up junk. I'm not talking about our rubbish service. It has all the bright conventionals, okay? I'm just talking about a mom and pop guy to come up and pick up stuff that they won't take with their truck. Not even allowed on the property until they flashed that declaration page of Worker's Comp. That's how bad it is. You have to make calls about me and get their work on those departments. They're all town to Palmyra. And Rochester is too. And you should not be hard. Even a volunteer, you could cover a volunteer on the town policy. But a volunteer is a different thing than a... Volunteer is different if they're not being paid. They're not being compensated. However, you're still gonna be protected. They're still gonna get hurt. They're still gonna get hurt. I think the rules are just a little different. I'm not totally clear on volunteers, but we're on this. Yeah, we're on this. You're not gonna be learning. Yeah. Right. I don't pretend to have all the answers. I just know, I've experienced the issues. I'm the first hand. I hope the largest nature makes the better for patients. Yeah, I should, yes. And try to talk to them. But we will definitely stay on top of this. So we've got a driveway construction permit at 1338 Austin Hill Road. I was looking at the map know about this. I do. Okay, yeah. You know, I'm just trying to... It is just access to a piece of property that they can't get to. They want to do some work. So it shows an existing driveway. Yeah. And where is it? About 150 feet below it. So that little mark there? Yeah, a little mark there. Yeah. So it's just a... Yeah. So it's gonna be a permanent? Well, we talked about taking it out, but it's gonna be cheaper for them to leave it in. And so I'd say I'd put an 18-inch covert in and I'd put gravel over it. It'll get used once in a while. This summer, it'll get used quite a little because we're gonna be doing some work in there. But they go in there so often that I'd have to put it in again for a few months. Does the Hawke Association make it these... No, it shouldn't be. It's all pound road. So it has nothing to do with them. They've already given us permission for the trees. And that's how we're gonna get the trees out. They shouldn't need the roads. I don't anticipate that it's gonna be found in the winter? No, no. It'll be grassed over, in fact. Yeah. All right, so I think we could do that. This is 2015, 2016, and 2017. And government, I don't think we'd lose anything by signing on to there if we run a chance of some more money out of the dollars. Yeah, then sign on to it. Not just in Vermont. And just notice, because we're a unit of local government, believe it be a member of this class and have been underpaid from these years, in the county of Utah versus the United States. So it's a class action roster that's a broad-ranging deal. So will we see anything out of it? We don't know, but I don't suppose it's gonna hurt us any and it doesn't hurt to stand up and say, hey, we won our rights. And so, Joanne, you got that in a minute, so you go ahead and sign on to that. I would think I would all win. It does? Okay. It does only have official papers. I've always said power, but I don't think so. Yeah, I think no all wins. We also just finally got from the state the finalized tax rate. So that means we can send our tax bills just in time to have them be due.  Okay, come on, come on, come on. Don't do that. So the non-residential tax rate is 1.3829. Homestead tax rate is 1.4071. So it's interesting that the, again. Again, the homestead rate is higher than if it's a non-residential tax rate. 1.4071, disregard that. That's just part of the country. So, I mean, even though this is basically set by the state, I guess we still have to move to adopt these rates to run our tax bills. So I would move, so I'm excited. I'm excited. And then someone asked about the pile of cans out in the parking lot. There was, no one was there to pick them up and recycling the Joanne is going to deal with that. Is there supposed to be somebody in there? There usually is. All right, like for the people who are used to giving the cans to those people to make money for their organizations. Oh, it was the same. They're used to giving their cans returnable cans to those organizations. So they just started putting them there, but they didn't come that time. So, Joanne's gonna, I'm surprised they're still there every day. There was a time this month. Yeah, I remember. Yeah, yeah. So that'll get cleaned up. $100 a day. Yeah, at least it's not a top cost. I think that there's a list of every first recycling in the month with someone assigned to it. Looks like they missed out on a lot of money. Yeah. Maybe we should save it. Put it down your taxes. Call the cops, please. The phone says that is. That's great. I have a short second session afterwards to talk about the last week of the back parlor. Yeah. And you know, the invoice is from down in Florida. I saw this week, it was in the pile. That's what we got. So we're still at just $20,000 figure. Yeah. That's for, I'm assuming by the date, that covers your questions. Is this lawyer? Questions, is there work? And yeah, there's all, all that. That's, that's, I see his question. Discussion with the attorneys. No, we haven't. We're very. We've got a key that's down there, I think, for diesel. We've been buying a skip mark because we don't have a key for the firehouse. And the skip mark is gone. They don't have diesel there anymore. If you're gonna replace tank, but it could be six to eight weeks, we're good. Oh, they don't know that. They don't know? And also there should be, if we don't have a key, there should be a key here. Someone is, if you're gonna keep the alarm because we have a call there for the joy. And if they don't have to be this there, you could have replaced the door. Yeah. That's right up to the hill there. Right, but middle of the night, I don't usually wait.  Every where else that has alarm systems, we have keys. I guess my saying is, I guess the town is no better, no special than it. Anybody else we ask for the knockbox out there and give us a key. We tried it, but he didn't give me his number. He said he'd come down and fill a month with that. Not only paying half the end more than we should. Yeah, no, I didn't. There's a lot of chains walk down there. We weren't allowed. There are trucks. There's somebody in there. Why should we give up days worth of work when it fills the trucks up? We don't get paid to be out until two in the morning. That's the time they need to get filled up. When they come back, call at three in the morning and the truck's on a quarter tank. We're gonna run out of fuel before we fight much of a fire. We need more support.  I'll be glad to come. Everyone. Because I've been taking the heat on this for a little bit. That is a new payment. It's very much appreciated. However, on a hill, like I would use to turn those up and say, oh, Lord, I believe. Now, where it is eroding, right on the edges of pavement, it will eventually go under the pavement and the end will break off. That needs to be stopped at the top of the hill. Yeah, it needs to be filled in. That needs to be filled in and compacted. Yeah. With the wheel. It doesn't have to be a compact. Very, right now, it's started. One rain. It's good paper. Let's save it. I'm filling up the procedures to come up. Yeah. Talk to you about. Thank you. Help me out.


Hey, what's up guys? I hope you're doing super well. Welcome to February. Man, we made it through the first month of 2022. Comment below and let me know if your 2022 is as incredible as you imagined it would be. Okay. For me, it is, right? Even though I've only closed two deals and, you know, I had Corona already and stuff like that. I'm still incredibly optimistic here and excited about the rest of the year. I'm excited about what happened in January. I definitely turn the corner and flip to the next chapter on many, many things. All the businesses that are kind of brewing underneath, right? Underneath the surface that you guys don't know about are doing incredibly well and I'm just overly excited about the future and what's to come. Not only for me, okay, but for the industry as a whole, I see nothing but incredible optimism and incredible opportunity for each and every real estate agent out there. Okay. I think you guys just need to find the holes in the markets. Okay. I think that, you know, you can't sit around and say, sellers don't want to sell because they don't have anything to buy. That's the wrong hole. I think you should be looking at, okay, let's do some handwritten letters and find some sellers who need to sell for whatever reason. Let's go after absentee owners who don't have to replace that property with something else and can take some profits off the table. Let's go after some investors who may be looking to liquidate in this really high market before things turn around and things will turn around at some point. Things are never going to go the same direction forever. The market is a cycle and we have to take advantage of every single step, every single stage of that cycle. There's plenty of holes in the market at all times. Okay. If you're not doing well where you are, move to a different strategy quickly. Okay. Find something that works for you and go all in with it and fully commit. Okay. That's what you got to do. If you want to really break through in this market, now I'm really excited about zero to diamond.com. We made it a social media platform. There's already over 5,000 members on the platform right now and people are collaborating there. Right. It's incredible to see the collaboration going on in the platform and the people that are taking the 60 day challenge. So it's February 1st. We all should be halfway through the 60 day challenge and I'm hearing nothing but incredible feedback. We're also coaching one-on-one coaching, completely free 110 agents right now where we call them once a week for 30 minutes to check in with them and help them through the 60 days. We're going to start another round of that April 1st. So if you would like to apply for that, that's at zero to diamond.com as well. So really excited about all that. Next Tuesday, we're going to do a fireside chat in the zero to diamond discord with Shane Novelin. This guy has closed 100 deals in his first 20 months in the business. So I'm excited to sit down with him on discord live. That's Tuesday, 4 p.m. central.  And you guys like the two agents, the two agents during one session. So I'm going to try that again. And I'm going to have a raffle there in the discord that you can apply for your chance to win a spot during those live calls. So a lot of stuff going on there and super excited about it. I wanted to share with you guys an article here from Inman. And it's actually not an article. It's just like an email newsletter if you will. It's called the rap. If you guys get the rap from Inman. And listen, let me go on record and say that I love Inman. I get a lot of my information from Inman. They do an incredible job keeping us up to date with the market and what brokerages have got going on. And I mean, it's incredible what they do. So I want to, I want to give kudos to them for the job that they do on the flip side to get articles like this every once in a while. And it really kind of makes me scratch my head and wonder what exactly are they trying to do here? You know, I know they don't have bad intentions for real estate agents, but they really strike some fear.  If I, if I'm an agent reading this article, so about a week and a half ago I get this, the subject line is record number of realtors plus low inventory equals uh-oh. What is the uh-oh? You know, right there, they're just setting the tone that this is bad. Okay. Record number of realtors, low inventory. This is a bad thing. You know, I don't know if that, if I like uh, you know, how they're crafting this so far. Okay. So basically in a nutshell, um, what they're saying is, is that from about a year and a half ago to now we're up 200,000 agents in the US. Well, that's part of the national association of realtors. We're at 1.6 million. Okay. Last July, we were at 1.4 million. So we're up 200,000 agents. That's crazy, right? Since the pandemic started. So naturally, if we have an influx of hundreds of thousands of agents in the country, okay, naturally that's going to cause transactions per agent to go down a little, right? That's average transactions per agent. Okay. And so basically they're coming in here and painting this really doom and gloom picture around this data. And I really didn't understand why. I mean, the data is great. Give me the data. Tell me there's 200,000 more agents. Tell me that transactions per agent went down, but don't craft the email that makes, that scares people, right? I understand that part of it. But I take everything with a grain of salt and I take these articles and I extract the data that, that I need out of these, these articles and use them, right? But, um, and here's, here's an example, right? Uh, they released on Thursday that, that NAR had, NAR was up 6.9% from the same day a year ago. Also on Thursday, Zilla released the new data showing that active home inventory drop below a million in December. Okay. So less than a million homes for sale in December. Okay. And they say that's a nearly 41% drop than inventory levels two years earlier. Okay. Why are they going back two years? Why not give me last year? Well, because last year was probably really close to the same. We've been dealing with this low inventory situation for quite a while and 41 sounds a lot scarier of a number. So let's go back two years. If one year ago doesn't sound too scary, let's go back two years and let's throw that in there. Didn't really understand why they're doing this. Okay. Um, and then it, and then it goes on to say that the more worryingly logical next step as the, as demand continues to swirl, even as the pandemic enter enters its third year. So they're, they're using the words like worryingly and the pandemic enters its third year. Um, so you keep going in here. All right. And it says it doesn't take a real estate agent to put two and two together. Okay. A rising realtor count plus frighteningly low housing supply equals trouble. Come on. Why are we, why are we painting this picture like this in men? I don't get it. Um, I'd love to come in and write some articles for in men, honestly. Um, you know, if they wanted to reach out to me and say, Ricky, you know, show us what you got. I would love to sit down and write some articles for, for in men. Um, so there's a guy, Pat, Vealing, he's the owner of real data strategies and you know, his business is analytics and he went on to point out the data here, which is that the average, uh, agent did, um, 8.4 transactions. Right. Um, you know, I guess a year ago and now it's at 7.9. So it dropped from 8.4 transactions per agent to 7.9. Okay. As the NAR membership rose, 200,000 agents. Okay. Volume fell a little bit from 3 million to 2.8. You know, transaction price went up 1.5%. So they're trying to paint this picture that even though prices went up, transactions per agent went down and income per agent went from 54,000 to only 51,000. Um, so listen, I just want you to know that if you're reading this stuff and you're seeing these articles and everything that there's nothing to be afraid of here, these numbers are going to fluctuate. And with the large influx of agents, of course the number of transactions per agent average wise is going to go down. We all know that 80, 90% of agents don't make it. So when you have 200,000 agents rushing to the market, you're going to have 80, 90% of them rush right out of the market. And what these numbers aren't showing us is between the year and a half that we had 1.4 to 1.6 million active agents. How many agents dropped out during that time? Okay. Cause it wasn't just 200 that joined. There was probably, I don't know, two, three, 400. I don't know that number that actually joined because there were another 200, 300, 400. I don't know the number who dropped out. And so those numbers would be very interesting to see the churn, the churn rate of agents. Okay. We got 1.4 to 1.6. Okay. We added 200,000 active, but how many total joined and how many quit during that time? That would be interesting to see. But guys, the point of the video today is to please don't look at these situations and think fear. Okay. Like I said from the beginning of the video, think opportunity. Where's the hole in the market? That's what I need to focus on. How can I find the people that quite possibly could be interested in doing something soon? How can I get to them, talk to them, help them through whatever the transaction may be? And in a real classic move here, the article ends with this. It's been a long two years and the pandemic doesn't seem to be going anywhere soon. Let's hope that in 2022, agents old and new figure out how to survive and thrive without resorting to out and brawls. Out and out brawls. And out and out brawls is linked to the article of the triple play, a fight that broke out between the lenders, which people got hurt in. This is literally the last sentence of the article. In 2022, let's hope agents old and new figure out how to survive and thrive without resorting to out and out brawls. I don't know if that was meant to be comical. There's nothing funny that didn't lead in with a joke. There's nothing, you know, comical about what they say here is like their seriousness can be. It has to be a joke. Maybe they have a dry sense of humor or something like that. But I just, I don't, the way this article was crafted out, man, it was a really kind of blew me away. But the reason I wanted to highlight this and talk about it was to number one, you heard all the data that I just said. So if you didn't under, didn't know that data, it's good to know. And number two, to understand my opinion on it is that these numbers are going to fluctuate. We got to keep doing what we do best, which is continuing to push forward to help more and more people buy and sell real estate. Period. End of story. Build our databases. Do everything that I teach you in the zero to diamond program that's helped thousands of agents double, triple, quadruple. We've had people five and six X their cells volume. So anyway, I hope you guys are having an incredible day. I hope you have an incredible beginning of February. I hope you're hitting the ground running and I'm doing the same. So keep crushing it out there. We love you. And we want to see you do well and stay healthy. We'll talk to you guys soon.


Manufacturing the really physical world and I've got an example. That's perhaps the most physical client that we have It's a steel plant Well, you can't get much more physical than that. It's really raw materials turning or into into rolls of steel and I recently developed this model together with a customer of ours and I'll build it up for you and we'll see how a steel factory function. It's certainly not the full model again It's simplified otherwise it wouldn't get on my slide, but just to give you an impression of what you can do here We see a technology process for Creating steel processing raw materials and steel making its cost and then that's rolled into all rolls of steel Of course, you need facilities to do that So here we see a coke factory that the process is raw materials that we have a blast furnace that makes the steel It is then cast in the steel plants and into And that goes into the hot strip mill where they're the rolls of steel come out. Well, this is still very very simplified We're going to more detail. You'll see more on the next slide We also want to model is of course what's going across these different flows. So for example the Liquid iron is going from the blast furnace to the steel plant and the steel slabs are then going from the steel plant to the hot strip mill And at the end there's finished steel coming out of this whole process And a little more detail this this becomes now it's not getting quite realistic This is very close to the actual model and they use so here we see that for processing raw materials We have actually three factories where coach palace and centers come out We can also model the conveyor belts that are used to transport the materials or the rail transport further on If we then move to the right, we see more details of the steel plant and at the end we see That you can now also put this material inside a product in our community We used to have products that were sort of peculiar Our team it was intended initially as a language for these large information processing organizations like banks and insurance companies and government agencies and the product consisted of a set of services and the contract But not every product is just a set of services. So now you can also add data or Material to your products. So you can put more stuff inside them and you can really use it as something That's that's more similar to what let's say normal people call a product and not just argument people And of course the product is always associated with some kind of contract There's some kind of agreement between the buyer and the seller involved It's not just the finished steel that makes it into a product. It's as you sell it as a product You might also observe if you're a hardcore argument user that we've changed the notation for contract There's this line at the bottom that makes the difference between a contract and the business object There are a few of those changes in the language to help you distinguish between concepts So this is one of them to make sure that you don't confuse contract with business So that's one other example of an improvement if we then zoom in on one of these Parts of the process the hot strip mill we see that there's much more detail inside them So there's this what they call a row line where they roll the steel. That's the physical equipment But that's controlled by process control software and this is of course Very high-level overview But here you already see that you can combine the physical and the IT world into one single node that combines to and lets you model these these integrated Equipment IT and physical equipment And this is very useful for things like the industry 4.0 wave where you see that Manufacturing and IT are coming closer and closer together Another customer of ours is doing this very actively there in the aircraft manufacturing world And they are really replacing their entire Paper stream of documents that goes along the aircraft parts by a fully digital system So that it's much much easier to keep track of where the data is and where the physical objects are So that's helpful to have a concept now to model this Correspondence


I don't know when did they start adding that it's like a twang in country music. When did that start country music's always been twangy That's just as it. No, I don't think so. I mean if you Like it started twangy country music. Yeah, I think it started twangy and has gotten less twangy Perhaps what happens now is you'll hear like some good bluegrass and go. Oh the twang is there Yeah, but it's bluegrass twangy my baby don't dance to nothing Oh, I'm here for this whatever this Thompson and this is great. Oh, you know what that could be that could be like a little bit in the GDI where Tom sings the hits I got a down. That's my to peculiar Spade of mine. This is good stuff, man Cut an album Tom. We're right. Yeah, I should cutting cutting an album and cutting the rug with Tom erin and Scott How much would I have to pay Justin to drink a big old mug of mayo? it befuddles the jurors that Whenever mayo is a food politics are among the most bizarre things that ever exist But whatever I mentioned that I don't like mayo almost universally. How much does this mean to you? But what about blank? But what about what have you ate a bunch of it?  Would you is it thousand dollars enough for you? It's almost accusatory Like I'm not eating mayo for attention or something right? Tom is now eating. Oh, just you guys made me hungry talking about Merits I even I don't like the look of that really we literally in our pre-call was like Tom was like, hey look guys I got a dentist appointment obviously LA traffic.  What's there? You know, it's just they just they're very They're prey oriented. Yeah, I think we should all go to Casa Vega and celebrate that you liked once upon a time in Hollywood Next time you're going there Why is it because I don't know it's cursed But no Casa Vega the restaurant. Oh, I thought you I thought that was the name of the house Casa Vegas at one point they stopped at that the Sherman Oaks I Go there all the time It's a great place Yeah, I'm like, I'm not going I'm not sitting food in Casa.  That's scary Haunted tortilla chips. No, no, no, this was a good place


This paper reviews the current state of remote sensing research related to slum mapping. It finds that there is a lack of understanding of the contextual factors of slums, as well as a need for better physical slum characteristics to be identified. Additionally, the use of new technology has improved the ability to recognize objects in slums, but the complexity of their morphology makes it difficult to extract accurate information from these images. Finally, the paper suggests that texture-based methods are best suited for global slum mapping, while machine learning algorithms are most effective for local slum mapping. This article was authored by Monica Cuffer, Karen Pfeffer, and Richard Slyuses.


Good evening friends. This is your host to welcome you again through the creaking door into the Enos Sancton. Come in, come in. I'm enjoying some winter sports with a couple of cold blooded skates. Personally, I don't mind the low temperature anymore. That's because I wear a snow-fold storm coat. Keeps the cold spirits out. Yes, now I'm just a werewolf in his sheepskin-lined shroud. Oh, him? Now that's our photographer, Artie. Yes, he just passed out by taking a picture from overexposure. Ready now for our excursion beyond the grave. Let me warn you, we're a bit crowded. You may not be able to get a round-trip ticket. We can accommodate you on the way out, but coming back, you will have to double up with a corpse. The fog rolls in from the sea and begins to blanket the long, narrow island, which is joined to the Florida mainland by a bridge. In the lone house on the island, two men stand at the window, watching the mist develop into a thick gauze, obscuring the lights on the mainland. Vincent, the fog is getting worse. Look, look out there.  It'll lift by morning. Morning, morning. Morning, I may not be here by morning. What the devil do you mean by that? I may not be alive unless you help me. I asked you out here tonight because I was afraid to be alone. But you said before that your sister-in-law Carol and her husband, what's his name, Everett, would be here? Yes, Vincent, but you're my friend, you're my closest friend. For the past week, I had a feeling that death was coming here to the island. And then when the fog began to roll in from the sea, I knew it would be tonight. Arthur, you're not making sense. You've got nothing to worry about.  You don't understand, Vincent. Valerie's come back. Valerie? Yes, she's here on the island. For heaven's sake, Arthur, get hold of yourself. We were out there someplace, and that fog... That's impossible, and you know it. It's been six months since your wife, Valerie, drowned. They never found her body. It was never washed up on shore. The drowned body isn't always found. She never went out on that boat. Of course she did. It was all settled at the coroner's inquest. No. No, there were some things that were never settled. What do you mean by that? You know Valerie. You know how strange and moody she was. Well, a great many people are moody. No, not like Valerie was. She would prowl this island at night, but that cat of hers always followed. Everywhere she went, that cat would be with her. And on foggy nights, they'd be gone for hours. Well, that still doesn't prove that Valerie wasn't on that boat. Of course it does.  Cats hate water. I begged her many times to go out fishing with me. She'd never stepped foot in a boat. Look, this is all just your imagination working overtime.  She hated me. From the day we were married, she hated me. From the morning that she flew into a raid, she scratched me. Her hand was like a claw, like a cat's claw.  You better stop talking that kind of... The cat disappeared the night Valerie did. Well, of course it did. It drowned with her. No. The cats come back to the island. I heard it at night. What you heard was probably a stray cat that wandered onto the island across the bridge. Now, I'll get to that. Hello. Yes, who's this? It was Valerie. She spoke to me. What were you talking about? The cat was with her. She said I had six hours to live. Six hours? Here, let me have that phone. No use. She's hung up. Well, maybe we can trace the call. Hello? Hello, Operator. Operator.  You've got to help. Now, just take it easy, Oper. I'll get the police in a minute. Hello, Operator. Operator. It's along. Why doesn't she answer? I think I know why. I'm afraid the wires have been cut. Come on. I'm driving you to the mainland. That's a drive faster. To the farthest thick as it is out there, I'm going faster than I should. But you've got to get me off the island. The bridge is just ahead. We'll be on the mainland in a few minutes. Say, I just remembered something. Oh. You said that Valerie says to Carol and her husband Everett would be out here to visit you tonight. Yes, but we can't wait for them. What time do they say they'd be here? 8.30. Well, it's past that now. They should drive along this road any moment. I mean, we'll meet them in a minute. Why did you stop? We can't stay here. The bridge. If I hadn't stopped quickly enough, we'd both have been killed. This end of the bridge has been washed out. Vincent, please, let's go back into the house. She's somewhere near us in the fog here. I can feel it. I'm not going in until I find out where that phone wire was cut. I'm going to splice it together again. It's our only chance of reaching the police. It's nine o'clock. An hour has gone by already. And if I'm not out of here by two o'clock... Where is it? Look, you can see it through the fog. There's a strange yellow light down the road. Hmm? It's the headlight of a car coming this way. A car? Yeah, quick. Behind the house here and stay out of sight. It's turning into the driveway. How could a car have come under the others with that bridge washed out? Shh, be quiet. Somebody's getting out. They're coming this way. What? It's Carol and Everett. Arthur, what in the juice you're drawing out here in the back of the house? He's scared me. Everett, I'm so glad you're here. What's the matter, Arthur? You actually... I'll tell you a minute. But how did you get here? How do... Say, what's gotten into you? How did you get on the island? We drove over the bridge and up the shore road. How else can you get here? But how could you drive over the bridge? It's been washed out. Washed out? I saw it with my own eyes, and Vincent saw it, too. Didn't you, Vincent? I certainly did. Oh, Vincent, I didn't know you were here. Yes, Everett, and I'm glad I am. Well, you two must be mistaken. Carol and I drove over that bridge less than three minutes ago. Three minutes, huh? Why do you say it that way? Are you sure you haven't been on the island longer than that? What does he mean? Hang to find out. Some very strange things have been happening. Arthur's life has been threatened. What? It's true by your sister Valerie. Don't you two know that April Fool's Day is months away? Oh, God, you're one Everett, but it's true. Even the telephone wire has been cut. This is the telephone. Yeah. So the telephone wire has been cut, huh? You better answer it, Arthur. I'm almost afraid. Come on, I'll go in with you. Hurry up. All right. Hello? Waiting. I can't stand it. Why don't the police come? No, take it easy out there. They'll be here. We only phone them a few minutes ago. But something might happen before they get here. We can't just sit around waiting for them to arrive. Of course, it wouldn't be difficult to find anybody out there in that fog. But we could look around until the police got here. No. No, I'm not going out there. She's waiting for me. Arthur, please try to understand. It couldn't be Valerie. You don't know any of you. I can feel it. She's coming closer and closer every minute. Arthur, you've got nothing to worry about. I've got this gun. And believe me, I won't hesitate to use it. Vincent, I didn't know you were in the habit of carrying a gun. I gave it to him Everett before you arrived. Oh. But, Samantha, don't you trust me with a gun? I really don't trust anyone with a gun. No. What is it? What? There was something outside the window. A sort of face. No, please.  No. Just a swirling fog. No, I saw it. But now it's gone. I could make out the eyes. They were shining like the eyes of it. Look out. She's here. She's coming for me. Let's go, Everett. That came from the back of the house. No, don't leave me. Carol, you go with Vincent. I'll stay with Arthur. All right. Vincent. Arthur, I stayed with you because I want to talk about Vincent. I think it was foolish of you to give him that gun. Vincent's my friend. I trust him. You shouldn't. Why do you say that? Don't you remember how he acted at the coroner's inquest? He testified against you time again. Very subtly. To make them think you were responsible for Valerie's death. You were wrong. Vincent would have no reason to do it. He and Valerie were quite close before you came along, Arthur. Even after you came along. That isn't true. He even saw the night she disappeared. You don't know what you're saying. At the inquest, he swore he wasn't on the island that night. But he was. And I can prove it. Here. The cigarette lighter. Yes. The Vincent's the nature, Robert. You can still see them through the rust. Where did you get that lighter? Carol and I found it in the water near the boathouse. I remember the day after Valerie disappeared, Vincent made a remark about losing his lighter.  What? If what you say is true. You and Carol and I have got to stay together until the police get here. You're sure they're on the way? Yes, they told me on the phone it would take them less than 15 minutes to get here. Well, it may not be safe for you to wait for them here. We'll go down to the bridge to meet them. No, no. I'm not going out in that fog. She's there waiting for them. Look, Arthur, you've got more to fear from Vincent than anyone. But don't come on before he retains. All right. We'd better go out through the French windows. Good idea. We'll stay close to the house until we get to the garage. The fog is so thick I can't see you. I'm just on the edge of the gravel path. Wait. What's wrong? Arthur, stay where you are. Where are you? Something's out here near us. Don't move. Just brush against me. Run! Run! Kitty, kitty, kitty. Don't go away, kitty. We need you for a couple of more murders. Everett's dead, you know. That's what he gets for letting a black cat cross his throat. Say, how do you like that Valerie? She's some white, huh? Nagging her husband right to the grave. The same one she's in. Well, Valerie saw about that last phone call. She made the operator send to her... Five cents for the next five murders, please. Now let's get back to our frightened friends on that Florida island.  She mistook Everett for me. Arthur, please. How is he, Vincent? He's dead. Oh, no. Everett. It's as if his throat was torn open by a wild animal. I told you she was more animal than human. See, and that cat, they were in here. Harold, you'd better not touch the bottom. Leave me alone. You've done it up already. What's that supposed to mean? You know exactly what it means, Vincent. And when the police come, I'm going to tell them how you ran away. I didn't run away from you. I thought you were behind me when I came back to the house. You're lying! Just a moment, Kara. All right. What is it? The cigarette lighter that Everett had in his hand. It's missing. What cigarette lighter? You know the one I mean, the one that was found in the water near the boat house. Is it the faintest idea of what you're talking about? I am. Arthur, you'd better search him. Now, look here. If you're as innocent as you claim to be, Vincent, you shouldn't mind. All right, then go ahead and search. I will, after I make this call. Whom you calling? The police. Can't understand what I haven't gotten here yet. It's almost 10 o'clock. Will you please connect me with police headquarters and hurry? Do you? Harold, did you know about him and Valerie? Yes, Arthur. Why didn't you tell me? Well, I wanted to. But after all, she was my sister. We'll get away from him. Yes. Well, suppose we tell him that we're going for the police. He can't have any objection to that. But suppose he wants to come with us in the car. Who's somebody, Bobby? Would you think it's safe to leave him here? If he killed Everett, he'll have a chance to destroy any evidence. We can't help that. It's safer to leave him here than to take him with us. He still has that gun of yours. That's right. I have. Vincent, forgive me for disturbing you, too. I thought you were supposed to be outside. I was outside for a while. But I saw somebody moving around in the other room, so I came back. When I got to the other room, I found Everett's body missing. What? I'm gone. Everett's body is gone? Vincent, you were in that room before, alone. So was Carol after I left. Weren't you, Carol? Oh, I can't remember. I may have been. You were there alone, Carol. I remember. Arthur, you walked with me to the front door. When I left the house, the body was still there. After that, I don't know what happened. But perhaps Carol does. What are you driving at? What do you think I'm driving at? You mean that I did something with Everett's body? Draw your own conclusions. I've drawn mine.  I don't know what to... I'm going out of my mind. I don't know where to turn. Who to trust? You can trust me. I wish I was sure that I could. Oh, of course you can. Now, come here, Arthur.  Now, for your own sake, you mustn't give in. I don't know who's behind all this, but I do know this.  Don't you see that now? Nothing makes sense. Now, you listen to me, Arthur, and listen to me well, because there isn't a great deal of time left. We've got to get away from Carol while there's still time, while she's not here. Why?  Why? Yes.  Carol is the one who lied to you. She and Everett both. They intended to murder you, but in the darkness and the fog, Carol made a fatal mistake. She thought it was you she was killing, not Everett. No, no. That was Valerie in the room. A human animal was there. You saw the claw marks on Everett's throat. That could be accomplished with an iron claw. Valerie is dead. What makes you so sure about that? I know she's dead. They never drove across that bridge at nine tonight. They've been here on the island all evening. How do you know that? I know that because we saw that bridge with our own eyes. And I saw it again just ten minutes ago. It's still down. You're just saying that. Come on, come on with me, Arthur, and you'll see for yourself. No! No, you're trying to get me out of the house, out of that fog where Valerie is.  Take this gun. That'll make you feel any better. Take it and hold it in my back while we're outside. Now let's get away from Carol while there's still a chance. All right. Give me the gun. Yeah. Keep in front of me all the time.  You see, Everett were lying to us. The bridge is still down. Come across that bridge. Of course not. The only trouble is we can't get back over it now, either. But we've got to get off this island. Wait a minute. I sure thought of it before. Your boat. I saw the motorboat after the accident. What about a rowboat? There's still one of those down at the boat house at the other end of the island. Good. Then we can row over to the mainland. Yes, yes, of course. Come on. Wait a minute. Where are you going? Back to the house for the car.  We can't go back there now. We've got to walk. All right. Along the beach here. We've got to walk faster than that, Arthur. Vincent, I have a feeling we're being followed. Just your imagination. Who could see us in this fog? But I tell you that... We are being followed. I told you. We're being followed. Yes, I can see it now. It's a cat. And there's a woman with it. Foul! We've lost them, Arthur. They can't be far behind. It doesn't make any difference now. There's the boat house just ahead. The boat. It's not at the land. Well, it must be. You can't see it because of the fog. We can see it, isn't it? All right. Then we'll hide in the boat house till morning. You can't hide from the dead. Oh, will you please stop that nonsense? We're dealing with somebody very much alive. You've still got that gun. You can't harm the dead. We're done. Come on. We're going inside. The door's locked. I didn't lock it. This boat house has never been locked before. All right. Wait here. I'll break through the window and come around through the inside. There. Just wait for me. I'll knock the door. No! They're coming, Vincent. Hurry! Hurry! Then lock the door. Yes. Arthur. We're in luck. There's a phone here. Let's try that for coffee. Maybe it hasn't been disconnected like the other one. I'll try it. Hello. Hello, operator. Hello. It's eleven o'clock. Quarter or two, Arthur. You can't stay here another minute. And I can't run away any longer. Where would I go? Where would I hide? I think she's going to kill me. Let her come and do it. You've still got fifteen minutes. My time's run out now. Well, I wanted to help you save yourself, but you wouldn't let me. I'm not going to stay here another second. This is your last chance. Do you want to make a run for it with me? I told you it was no use. All right, then there's nothing more I can do. Goodbye. I've come for you. Valerie, please. You know why I've come. Don't you? Please. Don't come any closer. You've hated me so much. Couldn't even wait until death came to me naturally.  How much I was afraid of you. Stand where you are. I don't come another step. You despised me because I... Your bullets can't harm me. There's no way you can harm me anymore. Because I am dead. But I can harm you. Valerie, forgive me. Valerie, please forgive me. I was sorry as soon as I threw you off the boat, but it was too late. I dived into the water to find you, but I couldn't. I tried until my lungs almost burst. Please, please forgive me. Why? Why didn't you tell the police? I wanted to live. But now it doesn't make any difference. You're wrong about that, Arthur. It makes a big difference to us. What are you doing back here? I was listening outside your confession. Confession? Thank you, Miss Mason. That'll be all. Miss Mason? The fog outside in this dim light in here helped her disguise. And... And it wasn't Valerie. How could it be? Valerie's dead, isn't she? And the dead can't really return. Whatever. Who killed him? Everett? Everett's alive. What? It wasn't hard for me to pretend being dead with Vincent and Carol keeping you away from my body. And you... Well, have you worked in on this together? Yes. The police couldn't help us because Valerie's body was never found.  We just had to wait for the chance to prove it. And now you have my confession. Come on, Arthur. Wait a minute, everett. Hello? Hello, Bennett. It's all over. Yeah. You can hook up the wires again. And, Bennett, you'd better get to work on that bridge right away. We're making a trip to the mainland. It's an outrage. All those juicy chances for murder are not one drop of blood spilled. Well, I guess that's the way it is some nights. You just can't lay away a corpuscle. And that Valerie.  Didn't even have enough courage to step out of her grave. Confidentially, though, the reason is Valerie doesn't like to be seen in shrouds. Oh, no, no, there's no moral to this story.  Lincoln was heard in the United States over CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System, and has been re-broadcast for service men and women overseas. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service, a voice of information and education.


Many people who grew up with Windows XP remembered the default wallpaper on their computer screens known as Blis or Blis.jpeg. This innocuous looking image concealed a dark secret that unfolded as insuspecting users gazed upon its serene landscape. Legend had it that the Blis wallpaper was more than just a picturesque field of rolling hills and a mesmerizing blue sky. Blis was said to be a portal, a gateway to a realm beyond the digital world we know. The Blisful landscape was a mere facade, concealing a sinister force that lurked within the pixels. Users who set the Blis wallpaper as their desktop background were annoyingly inviting an ancient and malevolent entity into their lives. The rolling hills gave the scars of a forgotten era, where unspeakable rituals and dark ceremonies took place. The blue sky, once a symbol of serenity, masked a dimension where shadows whispered and nightmares roamed freely. As the wallpaper gained popularity, strange occurrences began to unfold. Users reported experiencing vivid and disturbing dreams, visions that transcended the boundaries of the virtual realm. Some claimed to have glimpsed figures in the background of the Blis wallpaper, figures that stared back with hollow eyes and malevolent grins. The more one stared at the Blis wallpaper, the deeper the connection to the otherworldly dimension became. Users found themselves drawn into the very landscape they had admired, trapped in a twisted version of paradise where joy turned to despair and beauty morphed into grotesquery. Rumors circulated that those who delved too deeply into the secrets of Blis.jpeg disappeared without a trace. Their computers, tainted by the cursed image, became gateways for the malevolent force to manifest in our world. Shadows moved independently, whispers echoed through empty rooms, and the air became thick with a natural presence. It was said that the original Blis photographer, Charles O'Rear, had stumbled upon the cursed landscape during his travels. Unbeknownst to him, the image he captured contained a dormant evil that seeped into the digital code, waiting for unsuspecting victims to set it free. The curse of Blis.jpeg spread like a digital plague, infecting computers across the globe. Users frantically searched for ways to cleanse their systems, but the entity was relentless. It thrived on fear, feeding off the despair of those who had fallen victim to its insidious charm. As the legend of Blis.jpeg grew, so did the darkness that enveloped the one-strank wheel landscape. The cursed wallpaper became a symbol of the thin veil separating our world from the malevolent forces that lurked in the shadows of the digital realm. So the next time you come across the Blis wallpaper from Windows XP, tread carefully. For behind its serene facade lies a gateway to a world where nightmares are born, and the Blisful facade crumbles to reveal the true horror that dwells within.


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It's absolutely shocking to dive on a reef that you know well and just see it turn white in the space of a week It's the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life Last year in 2016. We had an extreme coral bleaching event in the Great Barrier Reef What's really shocking is instead of the reef having a recovery time We're actually seeing the reef go straight back into another bleaching year in 2017 So our study compared what happened in 2016 to what happened in previous years when we had bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef And what we found was in previous years bleaching was more related to natural variability such as really strong flood events or El Nino Southern Oscillation episodes But what we found for 2016 was none of those factors could explain what happened And really what happened there was the reef bleaching last year was related to climate change Not these other factors Our research took a bit of a different approach to previous studies and we combined what was going on in terms of the biology of the reef And also what was going on in terms of climate change and those natural climate variations and that hadn't been done before There is hope for recovery and what we're seeing is in reefs that have clean water and where the temperature drops to normal levels again We're already seeing signs that the corals can continue to grow and be reproductive So we really need to be reducing how many greenhouse gases we're emitting into the atmosphere And that means that we need to be focusing on other sources of energy