All right, so we got a rooftop unit here that we did the PM on recently and while I was here it was low on refrigerant so Came back today to do a leak search to find out where it's leaking at. I was down about 13 pounds So it's a pretty good size leak. Basically. I kind of did an ultrasonic. I Heard a bunch of noise, but that ended up being the refrigerant equalizing So started just scanning around and then eventually I ended up seeing this oil here on the piping So the oil is pretty much from top to bottom Definitely something right here on that black mark that I put I wanted to scan all the other areas to see If it was you know because the fan will catch it and it'll pull it all over the place And then I always kind of scan on the backside of the coil here because it has a tendency to Vibration and stuff it seems they tend to leak in that area a lot of times from what I can see it looks to me like Basically, the oil has just gotten thrown all over the place from the fan motor Look at that little burger It's right in the very back there That is a tiny flipping leak Spray it again see if you can get it. I hopefully I'm getting this in the viewfinder I'm gonna go ahead and soak down these other ones here and we'll scan around some more But you can see it found a tiny leak. I mean that thing is small. It's barely Barely showing up at all We're gonna go ahead and scan around a little more Like I said, this is a fairly decent size unit 17 tons 17 and a half I should say colds a little bit of refrigerant. This is a three stage unit Yeah, we hold 35 pounds. It's gonna take a little bit of time to recover this thing. It's got a VFD on it It's got two TXVs This is a VAV system, so and it's got a controller all on it and then basically So it's kind of a difficult situation when you want to run it because you got to get all the systems open But what I ended up doing on this one here was actually opening up the fan section here and Let the air just blow out because they have safety switches on it So if the static pressure gets too high it shuts system down Otherwise you blow the ductwork part. Basically, we're gonna recover this with the three eighths hoses. See how fast we can get this done We're gonna use today As some of the valve core depressor tools Basically what it does is it pushes down on the center there It's supposed to give me a little better flow on these high flow valves You're gonna see what kind of difference it makes we're gonna do a three eighths hose off of the Discharge line which technically is gonna pull it right off the condenser hoping to get Pure liquid like that. So it's got that purged out since this is an empty cylinder We're gonna go ahead and dump as much as we can get out of there because I seen it was just running right directly into the tank and It's already making a difference is 410a unfortunately, so I do got my water hose up here on the roof To help cool my tank down. They don't have any ice and I don't feel like running a lot of hose Believe it or not. I actually use my little Milwaukee fan there And it helped quite a bit the joys of picking a refrigerant that runs high pressure So we got 15 pounds. So we're halfway there. I got to cool it down. That's a subco tool Normally if you can get the hose up there You can just put that on the tank and it'll it'll keep her cool enough You won't have no issues. We are doing it through the vapor port just because it's got wide open Valving straight on down through where you got a dip tube on the liquid. So it's a little more restrictive another trick. I've tried Cramming more air through the machine And it actually doesn't do too bad of a job. I've tried it both ways Like I said, I'm pulling straight off of the circuit there. I'm just monitoring it with the gauges Just to see where I'm at. We're maintaining about 425 area So she's tripping about five five and a quarter. So this actually is working better Then pulling the tank. If I had two of these fans, it'd probably be better But thought I'd throw a little hen out there. Today's about 80 80 82 degrees something like that. So we're right at 30 pounds So we might be a pound or two off from the leaking let this go a little bit longer We'll get her done and we'll just reheat that and then recharge it. We're gonna probably pump this right back into the System right from the recovery tank through the recovery machine That's one of the fastest transfer methods that I found when you're dealing with bigger equipment There's certain tricks and things that you end up learning when you start getting into bigger things that You wouldn't normally do with tiny little five ton units and stuff like that, which this one's not real big It's only 17 and a half like I was saying, but when you get into several hundred ton units and things like that you've got to speed things up a little bit and Especially when it's super cold out when you're doing it in the middle of winter What we're gonna do on this is we'll take it down to where it's just a positive pressure We'll braze that and then we'll Just basically recharge it. We're not gonna pull it into a negative or anything like that we should be able to make the repair and We should be good to go that way We don't have to change filter dryer and all that like I said, it was 30% 40% down so we weren't pulling in a negative. We didn't suck any moisture in Anything like that to where you know, we really need to justify it This could be considered half by some if you're a stickler on by the book but one of the things you'll learn is There's always corners that you can roll around As long as we keep her in the positive and we just got a slight positive there, we'll be fine We'll be able to braze it won't have no issues Okay, we're gonna warm this up a little bit burn all that oil off Get all that oil cuz I don't want to those contaminants in there We're gonna do both of these joints right here just because they're both so close to one another just like factory Let it cool for a moment Come in here on this one Try and pull that heat into the larger pipe that way it sucks into it Kind of hard to get to it, but we will There we go Get that let it cool for a moment Then I'm gonna pull that little goober there. I got right here.  So Both of those have been redone So if there should not be any leaking on there if there is then I screwed up, but right now We've got it there. We've got about two pounds three pounds of pressure in it. It's basically evaporating out We recovered everything. So basically what we're at right now is the minimus release If you used to look through the hose or the trees over there see that that's just a little bit of vapor right there There's no oxygen getting in there and that's very very miniscule so I have done this multiple times over the years and If you like it great if you don't like it it works for me But You know like I've said a million times I'm doing this to help some people out. Is it the hundred percent correct way? Now you should pull it out change a filter dryer pull a vacuum and Spend another three to four hours and for as concerned as everyone is on here about how we supposedly do things too correctly To the point where it costs the customer money. I wouldn't think that they'd have anything to complain about so like I said This has been repaired.   I'd never done this prior to being here where we got you know Like I said bigger things to work on there's a Fish when you're dealing with the expensive r22 and you're talking 200 300 pounds of refrigerant and as long as your tanks clean and your machines clean There's nothing wrong with doing it this way So as you can see we've already got nine pounds already in there And as long as it's taking us to talk if this was just a little split system, obviously it now would be charged It just would not be worth it. That's pretty confident in my braze joint, but let's go ahead and do a spray here of it. I Do not see anything at all there And as you can see it looks Not too bad better to there No burgers no funky monkeys. Let me detector warm up We'll scan it with that while we're doing our thing. We're already at 19 pounds So we're able to get this thing back up really quick. We're pumping it all into the condenser So no problems of liquids wagon back to the compressor or anything like that I kind of explain what I'm doing and I'm kind of wondering are you guys like it when they just watch what they do and don't Really explain it. I'm kind of curious of that because their channels have grown quicker than mine so I Just tend to explain why and what I'm doing So what do you guys think leave a comment down below? All right good. We were about five pounds low yet That's it So she's charged spec Yeah, we were here on the first so it's been 30 days Since we've been here They've lost five pounds in 30 days Notice our pressures are nice and smooth. Nothing's going up and down like we've got non-condensibles or something stupid in it So put that on the shelf Well, we know we got it weighed in our pressures are not abnormal We're pretty normal there so Can't beat the factory weigh-in method run a 55 degree evaporator which like I said This is a variable air volume system.  It's hard to say exactly what's going on So I just want to make sure we weren't going skyrocketing head pressure or dipping low into the suction pressure Which neither one of those are happening. So that's going to wrap this one up I've still got to go check out the other unit yet All right, so like I said, this is a VAV system. So I can't force it to run at full capacity without bringing some outside air in and also, and this is all controlled by a Building automation system But this thing's 25 tons So we're blowing a lot of the air out here. I mean it's Otherwise we would have blown the dockwork all the heck So This chart system here is quite amazing. They want to know what your discharge temperature is Which we got 105 So you go 105 5 10 15 20 so top line here go over and they look at your Discharge which is 338 338 somewhere about there. Let's just say 350 and if we was to hit the 105 or above it says add if above the charge I don't know why they wouldn't just use sub cooling why they think that you're not smart enough to do that I'm not sure But I would think they got you working on this that you know how to do it I just me this the lazy man's way of doing it, but Whatever so in reality, yeah, it's a little bit low sub cooling though comes out to being 14 degrees. I Haven't even put my suction probe on there yet but I'm gonna let it run for a little bit 410s 410 and it all takes forever so You can see there's oil What exactly There's case scenario we get a charge correctly and if it starts to rain which it looks like it might Then we'll have to come back and finish it up. This one here holds 43 pounds So we still aren't quite to our target yet at this point we're just gonna look for a leak and right down here on that solder joint Every time and surprisingly There's not leaking any on the on the seal here Nothing here at all Microscopic micro bubbles There they are Go ahead and dial that down again Yep, there she is Plain as day We'll need to come back We're gonna order a new roto lock for that and then new seals for both of them and That way we can chop it out and just put a new one in there We'll pull the refrigerant out and we'll weigh in the factory charge That's gonna be the best thing and I scanned the rest of the system over did not find any other leaks anywhere Check the evaporator really good scanned all up inside of the Distributor tubes here and everything was good to go on that If you guys like the video and you want to see more like it by all means give it a thumbs up Don't forget to like share and subscribe and we will catch you guys on the next one


it. It's a fun, quick read, fun, quick horror. I had no desire to pick it up. Hello everyone! So in this vlog I'm so excited. I'm actually quite nervous for this though. Basically a couple years ago, years and years and years and years and years ago, right back at the start of my channel I did reading the highest rated books on my TBR. And I've always meant to do reading the lowest rated books on my TBR but I've always put it off.   I think just out of fear and just out of, you know, procrastinating. I just put the video off but we're gonna do it. We're gonna read the lowest rated books on my own TBR this video. I'm excited. I actually got more excited after I did a whole video reacting, this was like probably a year ago now, reacting to the lowest rated books that I've read. And there were quite a few on that list that I'd really loved. Like Catherine House for example is one that springs to mind was at the time in like the 10 lowest rated books that I'd ever read. And I love Catherine House. That's a five star. It was a top 10 book for me the year that I read it. So I feel like we could find a top 10 book here because I do sometimes go against the mold. It's so different. Just so different. What's gonna be fun, we're gonna read the book and then something I thought would be fun is that we'll maybe read a few of the reviews afterwards to see what other people were thinking. I don't usually do that with the books I read but because these are low rated I would love to see why they're low rated. And then regardless of whether I like the book or not, we'll come up with probably three reasons as to why I can understand it's low rating, even if I liked it. I mean that'll be easy to come up with if I didn't like it. But if I did, we'll kind of come up with some ideas as to why it's low rated. So I've got my good reads open in front of me, my own TBR shelf, 226 books on here. I ain't got a problem or anything. Stop it. Get some help. I remember when I hit like 80 books on my TBR, like 100. I was like, this is a good number to stick at. Or like when I hit 100 I was just shamed. I was like, 100? Nice. And then I'm like, yeah, 226. Everyone live with it. Okay, what I'm gonna try and do is I'm gonna click average rating and then I'm gonna zoom in and we're gonna see what it is. Pride and Pride. Okay, I've been having a problem with my edition of Pride and Pride. I wonder if this is what happened. Where like however I saw my list, where it's like by number of ratings, because sometimes I like to see that kind of stuff or they add it to my TBR, like when I manually myself saw it, Pride and Pride just comes up first. Is it me? Am I the drama? I don't think I'm the drama. Maybe I am. But I haven't average rating a full point, do I? So it's not gonna be that. Oh, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. The Perishing by Natasha Dion, I think is how I say her name. 2.84. That could be the lowest rated book I've ever read. Hang on. I don't think I've ever seen it before. Let me go to my books and my red. Okay, I've read something with a 2.80. I read this for journalism, but it has five ratings, so that's not really legit. But cracking out, Rebel City of Indra by Kendall and Kylie Jenner has a 2.96. So this is a 2.84. Okay, we're reading that. I don't know too much about it other than it's, I think, a set in the 1920s, New York, and following this Black Time Traveler. I think we go in the future as well. I'm gonna be intrigued to read that. Interesting. Okay, next one. Oh, okay, The Woods Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins with a 3.09. Interesting.  And I know that Stephanie Perkins' horror, I'm not particularly surprised she's on here because I know that her horror has been very mixed, mixed bag.  I don't think either of them have been particularly popular. That's got a 3.42, so it's got a higher rating than The Woods Always Watching. But compared to like her, you know, Anna and French Kiss back in the day with a 3.99, her horror isn't doing it, rather girly. So I'm excited to see what I think about this because I have been wanting to read these. I feel like this is the kind of thing I could enjoy more than the general population because I like kind of crazy, ridiculous, over-the-top plot. Bus, club, another club, another club, plane, next place. Whereas I think some people are looking for more realism in their books, I don't mind if it's a bit ridiculous and I feel like that's what I've kind of heard on The Great Blind. And then what is our third one?  Witches, steeped in gold, yeah. I could have probably predicted this would be on here too. This was one of my most anticipated releases. When I was like, when it was coming out, before it was coming out, I was so excited, I like, flooded the author on Twitter, I was like, swiped. And then it hasn't had the best reviews. I just noticed this African inspired fantasy with witches. Now I have, I will say, I've been loving a lot of witch books lately. I loved The Once and Future Witches last year. I really enjoyed the Raven series. I've really been enjoying witchy vibes, me and the witches, you know? I feel like I could enter my witch eras. But I have been very scared to read this because I was so excited for it and then it hasn't had good reviews. So anyway, those are the three books I'm going to be reading. I wonder what else there was. Like A Sister, I didn't know that had a low review. Switch by A.S. King. I would have loved to read that. I know A.S. King's a polarizing figure. A.S. King's interesting. We're not obviously going to be reading this. A Star Daughter. I could have been one of those murderers. Anyway, sorry, I'm getting interested. A.S. King I have an interesting relationship with. Great. I either give her books Five Stars and they're some of my favorite book I've read that year up there, top 10. Or I give them like a two star. Yeah, please ignore real dates. I gave Five Stars. Also, Passengers I think was a 2.5, Rarity Boy was a 2.5 and Dick was a 5. So we have a very mixed relationship. So I don't know which of those Switch would fall under. I would have loved if Switch had been a bit lower rated and we could have ended up reading that because I'm a bit scared of which student got. I'd rather read Switch, but we're going to read Witch of Seed and Gold. So I don't know which of these I'm going to start with, but I will see you when I start the first book. Book one. I chose The Woods Always Watching because it's a quick read. And also it's the book that had already been on TBR Cluedo. So I was kind of like, I'd already mentally prepared myself to read it. Sometimes I have to like really work myself up to being like, okay, I'm going to read this book next. Do you know what I mean? Like I have to get myself, I have to like fill the fantasy. When it's like a surprise video, I have to, yeah, mentally prepare myself for reading that book. And I'm halfway through and I'm actually really enjoying this. Don't be shocked. You're shocked. You're shocked. It's not a Five Star barely means, but this is like a four star for me at the moment. I'm actually enjoying it and it's got, I mean I was going to say it's got bad reviews, but I mean that's every book in this video. That's our point. So basically we've got best friends Nina and Josie who are going away to university, but before they do so, they are going on this hike together. You're like gal gal. They're like woefully unprepared. They don't really understand how hiking camping works. And the whole first half has been the tension building of us obviously knowing something terrible is going to happen. And also them kind of negotiating the issues that they're feeling that the hurt that they're feeling about this kind of university, them being apart, you know, that happening, their relationship kind of suffering in the first half. And then something literally just happened like 10 pages ago. My jaw dropped. I was like that. I hate it. I forgot I'm not great with like gruesome horror. I kind of like wanted to look away and I was like hang on I can't look away and read the book. I'm really enjoying it. I feel like the writing's fine, you know, it's not like it's not like a work of art, you know what I mean? But I feel like the tension has been built very well. The pacing's worked well. It's a nice short book. I don't think it needs to be much longer. The first half has definitely been the calm before the storm and you know that throughout the first half. But I'm ready for the second half to go bonkers. Now if it doesn't go bonkers, will I be a bit disappointed? Yeah, basically in the first half, the girls were together, but in the second half, it seems like they're going to be separated pretty much the second half. And I just feel very tense. I feel very into the book. I feel very like caught up in it all. So I'm enjoying it. Like I don't have much to say about it. It's not a particularly, you know, insightful book. But I like the discussions around their relationship. I think having been on the easy hike that was Pulpit Rock a couple weeks ago, I like can kind of picture the stakes a lot better in this situation.   It was a real possibility. It was really, it was really, really a possibility. I'm really excited to see where this goes. The synopsis doesn't say what has happened at the halfway point. So I'm going to try and like keep it slim. But I'm enjoying it. It's a fun, quick read, fun, quick horror. And I feel like I'm participating in Summer Ween, which is all I wanted. I wanted to do Summer Ween properly. But having been ill last week, I was like, I'm just not up for it. And so this is my Summer Ween participation and watching all the vlogs. So yeah, I'm home alone this evening, which I don't know how much reading of this I'll actually get done, but I'm going to order some food in, which I never do. Obviously, when we were at uni a lot, Tom and I would get takeaway a lot. And we live where we live now back at home, specifically my house. His house, not so much, but my house like, girl, there's not a lot of like food you can order. I can't order McDonald's. I can't order what else would we use to order a lot, like Pizza Hut. Like I can't order a lot of what I used to would have ordered once upon a time. So I think I'm going to get some starters from Prezzo, which I know sounds bougie if you're in the UK, Prezzo's like a restaurant. But there's only fast food I can get as KFC and I don't like KFCs. I think I'm going to order that and some sweet stuff because I'm home alone. I could not be bothered to cook. And we'll see if I read it tonight. I don't know if I will, but if not, I will speak to you soon. I'm very intrigued to see where it's going to go. Okay, so for dinner, I got some of the bruschetta from Prezzo and crispy mozzarella. I'm obsessed with their bruschetta. It's literally so good. And then I'm not going to have both of these now, obviously, but I got a biscuit cookie cone and a cornflake brownie, which I've already had the corner of and it's really good.  Okay, this is a near impossible book to discuss. I actually can't even speak to you about it. There's a lot to tackle here. First things first, this is a book of two halves like I was kind of predicting. The first half is kind of chill, ominous. You don't really know which direction the book is going to go. Is it going to be like supernatural horror? Is it going to be like slashery? Don't really know the direction it's going to go in. Halfway, it flips on you. It flips on you and it goes crazy. The book is crazy. I couldn't read section of this. I felt so sick. Like it's some of the most graphic depictions of gore that I've read in a long time, especially a YA book. I am in two minds about this book because I actually enjoyed the reading experience of it. I enjoyed reading it, but it's taken me a week to read a 200 page book. I'm not one of those people that forgive and forget.  I had no desire to pick it up. Do you know what I mean? When I wasn't reading it, I didn't want, like I didn't feel the need to read it. I wasn't pushed to read it. I wasn't excited to read it. But I read the last 80ish pages this morning in one go and I enjoyed it. So like, how do I read that? I feel like I'm going to give it a four star in terms of enjoyment, but demote it to a 3.5 because I didn't want to pick it up. But I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed the friendship that the girls had. The writing was solid. The writing is solid writing. It's good. Like the pacing is good. The characters are good. The gore is a lot. I would have to put it down for a couple seconds or a minute and then pick it back up. And it takes a lot for a book to do that to me.   Like especially the ending, the last twist, girl. I actually laughed out loud. It was that.  Like, I mean, like it's reinvented into fantasy territory here. Like this is not happening. Usually it's a side of a bad book when I laugh out loud and it's sheer stupidity, but I actually kind of bought into it in that kind of slashariness, like ridiculousness. I liked that. So I don't think this deserves to be one of the lowest rated books on my TBR. I'm going to say it. I've read far worse books than this. And I think this had like a 3.06 average rating. And I've read so many worse books than this that should be lower in my opinion. But I can understand why people don't like it. So let's quickly read a few of the reviews. Let's read some of the lower rated reviews. So it's pretty much a lot of three stars. Oh, it's got a 3.09 average rating. A lot of three stars is what has given it this rating. Main issue is that it took a while to get into it and nothing happens for the first 100 pages or so. That is true. But I think it builds the suspense quite well. The two main characters were good at times but they got on my nerves. I think they should have been more developed. Certain aspects of the plot especially and what unrealistic. I mean, it's beyond unrealistic. One star, geez Louise. You've been very, very harsh. Nice to meet you, Kelly. I don't think it deserves a one star. I don't think it's that bad. Nothing happens in the book. When something does happen it's so unbelievable. No motivational backstory is ever given for the villains. Ah, I suppose that's true. But like, I think that can go both ways. I think you can be like bitch, why are you giving me a backstory? Because without spoiling anything. For like the villain character aura part of the story. Some backstories tend to be given but I think when you give a given, giving a backstory to the malevolent thought in your story, whatever form that takes, it can be seen as why you're doing that. Does the author want us to sympathize with this evil, evil thing, you know? And then other breeders are going to be like, no, I want to understand their motivations more, like why they're doing what they do. So it's a difficult line to tread. I think I don't need it all the time. Like things can just be shitty. People can be shitty. People can be bad people. I don't think you need necessarily a backstory, but I'm not gonna be like, if I get one, I'm not gonna critique it either. I didn't feel like that. So I guess my three reasons as to why I think that this book is understandably rated low even though I enjoyed it. This is fun. Number one, I think given that Stephanie Perkins before this wrote romance and that might be where some of her audience are coming from and they're kind of pivoting and the fact that it's also YA, I think it could be too gory for some people. Understandably there were times for me where I was like, holy shit, like this is a lot. A version adult description for me of what was happening. Number two, I think that split book where it's like slow and then ridiculous. I can understand why that wouldn't be for some people. I think I actually quite enjoyed it, but you know, all of these critiques could be part of the reason why I didn't really feel incentivized to pick it up. Once I did pick it up, I enjoyed it, but I didn't feel incentivized. And what else? We need a third one. The more I think about how unrealistic a lot of this was. It's not realistic. It's just not realistic. Unrealistic in terms of like human incapability of doing certain things of like living past something or like being able to do stuff when other stuff has happened to you. Like it was just unrealistic. It's just not gonna happen. I don't know. It's a slasher guys. It's a slasher.  But I guess yeah, it's unrealistic. At the ending did get me. The ending did make me laugh. I don't think it was supposed to. So we'll go with that as our three. But yeah, I don't think this deserves to be one of the lowest rated books on my TBR. I've read far worse and I actually think I might try there's someone inside your house. I actually might. I think I like this kind of slasher-iness. But if I do pick that one up and it takes me a while to get through it, then like get rid because they're 200 pages long. Like it should be a book I read in a day and I read it in a week. So that is a drawback of it. Anyway, let's get into our second book. All right, book two everyone. The lowest rated book I've ever read. Like this is it.  So this is really the lowest rated book I've ever read. And I don't think it deserves to be, but I don't know how much I'm enjoying it. So I think I've pitched this before as like a time traveler, but it's not really. It's about an immortal person who wakes up in New York, not New York. I said New York for the first time, LA, wakes up in LA. In the 1930s, doesn't remember who they are and we're kind of hearing from them. And then them I think in, are we going to say in the future 2102 or 2102? We're going to say 21, because we say 2000 now, 2022. We're going to say 2102 or 2102. Anyways, I'm here to investigate. We're hearing from them as well. I think like aged up in the future.  She's a weird girl, but like not weird in a fun way. It's kind of literary fiction. It's kind of fabulous. It's kind of historical fiction. It's kind of a lot. I don't know what it's trying to do. The writing I think is good. It reminds me of some like weird literary fiction I've read before. It's in that kind of vein. I think the writing is written well. The first 60 pages of this, I would say I was really enjoying it. I really liked the character. I feel like we're very like moments of the book. I think it might even be that she speaks to us directly, or at least it feels that way, kind of addressing us as the audience. So you feel very close to her, like we're kind of bestie mates. And the book feels a lot like a love letter to the history of our lay to me and the eras. And I feel like we're just going to get that even more kind of like following the past character through history and major events that happen. But I'm kind of, there's moments where I'm a bit confused. I'm a little bit confused and I don't really understand what's going on. And it just breaks the flow of reading it, right? There's moments that kind of get a bit philosophical or like meaning of life and like, or she'll be somewhere and then she'll believe that she's somewhere else and it's kind of like made up scenario. And that scenario is very like dreamlike and difficult to follow. And it just breaks the flow of me enjoying the book. You ruined it. You know, I'm halfway through by the way. Don't think I said that. I'm 150 pages in. It is a slow read. You have to really pay attention to what's being said. It's not a quick easy breezy beautiful cover girl read. I don't think it's the worst book I've ever read though. There's many worse books.   I think it's trying to do a lot. I think it's a very ambitious book. I think it's like wanting to really achieve a literary feat. And I don't know if I know what that literary feat is. I want to try and finish it tonight though. I want to try and read the next 150 pages this evening. It's a very difficult book to discuss and I really don't know how I feel about it. I can perhaps see what it has got the low rating, but I don't think it deserves to be the lowest rated book I've ever read. This book is near impossible to talk about. I don't know what I think of it. I still don't. There's some aspects of it that are like one star. There's some aspects of it that are five star. Not many that are five star. Quite a bit that are four star. Yeah, I found it very difficult to focus at points in this book. It's very confusing, but I really liked it. Oh my god. By the way, I haven't worn my retainer for many years properly and I've been wearing it again lately and my teeth are being uprooted and I'm in so much pain to get the hunt here. Talking hurts. This is the worst. This is the worst. This is the worst. Yeah. But the writing, I think, is really good writing. I think this is really clever, clever writing. It's not really a magical and fabulismy book. It's more a historical fiction about black communities and how important they are, but the historical erasure and dismantling of them. It's about ingrained trauma within black communities, the kind of legacy of trauma that many people suffer from. It's got a lot of really interesting points that it tries to make and I think it was written very well in terms of the quality of the writing. I think it's a very clever book. I think the problem with why this is rated so low is it was a book of the month pick, right? That's how I got it. I think it's been exposed to audiences that is not its target audience. I think this is quite a niche book looking for quite a niche audience, particularly quite, you know, a literary fiction, you know, kind of high brown audience is what it's looking for. And I think, you know, that audience does exist for them book of the month, but a lot of book of the month readers are like thriller readers, romance readers. You know, it kind of is more like mainstream. For a wider general audience is the books they usually pick. So I feel like by being a book of the month pick and a lot of people probably discovered it through that, it perhaps isn't reaching the correct audience. And that is number one reason. Let's get the reasons up quickly. Number one reason why I think the rating is so low. Number two, because it is confusing at times. Number three, I guess there really isn't any plot. There's not really an in-depth plot that happens. This is a mild spoiler if anyone cares, but like you get told literally at the start a black immortal in 1930s, essentially seeks to recover the memory of her past. That's kind of the reveal at the end. You know she's an immortal throughout the whole book. Like you know that, like you know that from page 10. Do you know what I mean? But then that is also kind of the reveal at the end. So there's not, in terms of plot, nothing crazy happens, nothing unforeseen happens. So I can understand it's low rating. I'm going to give it a three star. It wasn't great, wasn't bad. You know, I don't think it deserves to be the lowest rated book I've ever read when Kendall and Kylie Jenner's book is right there. I think it has a lot of interesting stuff to say. I think people, A, I don't think it's being pitched right. I think people are expecting something a bit more magical or it's really historical fiction. And I don't think it's reaching or has reached the correct audiences. But it was a very interesting read and kind of a book that made me stop and think for the first time in a while where I was like, huh, like this is very different than what I usually read. And whilst I'm struggling with aspects of it, I do appreciate it in the moment. I don't think it's going to stick with me, however. I don't think it's given me any long lasting revelations, but it was still an interesting, insightful, okay book. It was fine, you know? So we're doing okay. I hate myself. I hate myself. I don't want to say anything too soon. But we've had a four star and a three star while reading the lowest rated books that I own. So that's not terrible. So yeah, let's go ahead and read our last book. I actually can't do the last time I was happy. I literally can't tell you. I have 100 pages into which is steeped in gold, my lovely fair elite edition. And guys, I don't have a clue what's going on. I don't, I don't understand what's happening. I have zilch zero zero reading comprehension of this book. I don't understand it. I don't, I don't understand and I feel really bad and I'm very sad. You know, this was last year one of my most anticipated releases. And I just, I just have zero reading comprehension of what's going on. So we've got these two perspectives. One has spent her life in prison is kind of the belief she's the rightful heir to the throne. And the other is the princess equivalent, I guess I can't remember what her official term is. But she's kind of working with the resistance who kind of want to unalive her mum, basically. And I just, I really don't understand what is happening. You know, it's the case of there's so much world building. It is, it's too much. Like, we're constantly getting information and facts and information about the world and the politics and the way this works and like history. And it's just like, I can't take it all in. My biggest issue and I have this YA fantasy when I don't like how it's written is I can't picture it. And that leads to me not taking anything of the book in, you know, some people when they read books don't picture it in their head at all. But if I can't picture a scene, if I can't think I constantly this book, I can't figure out where we are, what we're doing, you know, the setting that we're in, if I can't pitch that, I lose it. And I'm really struggling. I've barely been able to picture much of what's been happening. We kind of switch locations very quickly with and I'm like, oh my God, and obviously it alternates perspective. So sometimes I'm forgetting what's been happening. I've read this all today, by the way, it's not like it's taken me a long time. I have barely taken any of this book in. I might have to DNF it. I never DNF. You guys know I never DNF, but I feel like with this video with me reading the lowest rate and I've done well so far and I've been able to see the positives. But I don't know if I can do this. Like what's the point of me reading this book if I literally don't understand what's going on? You guys, I don't understand anything. I don't understand anything. And I feel terrible. I'm gonna read another 100 pages. We'll give it to page 200. If I get into it after that, I get into it.  I don't want to DNF it. Look at her. I love bookmark ribbons. So sad. But what is the point of me reading it if I have no clue what's going on, you know? Now, I will say, I think there needs to be a discussion around and there has been discussions around previously about like white reviewers saying, oh, I can't understand this book when it's, you know, written by an author of color. This in particular has a lot of its roots in Jamaican culture, Jamaican mythology, but I've read a lot of reviews actually and what I've heard before and I've read reviews actually since. And I was supposed to read them at the end, but I went and looked on Goodreads and a lot of people are saying some of the stuff will go and look together once I finish the book. A lot of people agree with me that they can't get into the book, it's difficult to understand what's going on, the world building's a lot, and it's review with some all different backgrounds. So I think perhaps it is a valid criticism of the book, but I want to put that asterisk in there. And I want to, you know, I always try to be careful and not be like, oh, I just don't understand it because I can't relate to it. That's never something I really look for in books, being able to relate to something. But the world building is just, it's the way it's written, it's so overwhelming. The world building information is not paced well, we're just constantly getting information and I can't take any of it in. So we're going to give it another 100 pages and if I don't like it, I'm going to DNF. Which kills, I mean I've only DNFed one other book this year maybe and I just, I just, if I've got zero reading comprehension, what's the point in me reading it? But I feel bad and I hate DNFing in vlogs because I want to give you my full opinions on the book, but I guess that in itself is an opinion. I've given it like another 90 pages, I think I've gotten to page like 191 and I'm DNFing it. I'm so sorry, I just, I can't, I can't do it anymore. Don't understand anything still. There was one chapter I really enjoyed actually. There was one chapter that was like, oh, I'm into it, we're getting into it. And without spoiling anything it's where one of the girls, one of the perspectives was, she's not a queen, I keep calling her the queen. Doyen, the Doyen. Yeah, she kind of like confronted her, was having like a meeting with her. That was the one part I liked. But the rest, we were set up to fail. We were set up to fail because I don't really like dual perspective stories. I find, especially in YA, they're usually an excuse for neither of the perspectives being strong enough to hold a story. Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. That's something I've really discovered this year, I would say in my reading taste. I just don't like it.  You know what I mean? There's so many characters on each of the separate perspective site. I don't know who any of them are. There's only like factions of power within the society and groups of people don't know who any of them are. I zero reading comprehension. So there's just like no point me reading this anymore because I just, I don't understand anything. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. In order to carry on, I would have to go back and reread the first 200 pages. Do you know what I mean? Which I don't really want to do. So yeah, I think if I were to finish this, it would be a one star. But I'm not feeling like finishing it. I've already done one of the bookstool policy and I did rate that. I like rated it as if I'd read it on good reason. I gave it one star. I'm not going to do that with this because I don't want to lower the rating of this book even more, even though I didn't enjoy it. I think something needs to be said about the fact that out of the five lowest rated books on my TBR, my physical TBR, three are by women of colour. So I think that needs to be addressed. And you know, there's definitely like a bias there. And I don't want to contribute to that even though I didn't like this book. So I just don't feel right rating it low and bringing the rating down even more. But I reckon if I had finished it, it probably would have been a one star, which I'm very sad about. Because like I said, this was one of my most anticipated releases at the start of last year. It wasn't for me, unfortunately. And I've discovered this year that I do need to be more careful with the YA fantasy that I'm picking up because I haven't had a ton of success with it lately. But let's quickly, let's take a gander and have a look at some of the good reader views and see what people are saying, whether they're saying some of the things to me. Let's look at what my friends have been saying. That's usually where I like to look. My friends is basically my friends on Booktube and you guys. This is my friends on Goodreads. So Elle giving up about 150 pages into it.  Listen, me too. Slow, so desperate behind unfollowing the world building. Yeah. DNF at 26%, I assume. So we're all kind of DNFing around the same point. I think I got about 35% into this, which I feel like is like a reasonable amount to give it a go, you know? I didn't just DNF 100 pages. Like I really, I tried. It wasn't a bad book, but it didn't work for me. Agreed. The magic system, although a bit confusing, is unique and interesting. Yeah, I could tell that it was interesting, but I just couldn't grasp what was happening in times of the magic system. I did like, that is a good point. I liked how the structure of government has women ruling it. That is a good point. I liked that. The team main POVs were too similar. Agreed. The pacing was off. So I feel like it's got a lot of similar reviews. Joel loved it though, which was great. Jessica gave it four stars. So it's not like everyone doesn't like it. So I'd still recommend giving it a go if you're interested in it. But yeah, it wasn't for me. But in terms of the three lowest rated books that we read in this video, we're always watching probably like a 3.5. The perishing a 3 may be on reflection like a 2.75, but let's just call it a 3 because I don't think it deserves to be the lowest rated book I've ever read and a DNF. But I'm pretty happy with that. I'm glad to have read these books. I found it really interesting reading these books and thinking, you know, do they deserve to be the lowest rated books on my TBR? And I think I've read worse books than most of these books, so I don't think they do. But it was very interesting and, you know, I can see reasons. Oh, I didn't give reasons to this one, but I feel like I haven't. I'm not justified. But yeah, it was interesting thinking of reasons why people would dislike all of these, even though there were elements that I enjoyed, at least in these two, perhaps not in this one. But I found it a very interesting reading experience. So I would love to do this again one day, maybe in years and years to come. Hopefully I'm still around because I found it a very interesting exercise. So yeah, let me know. I'd love to know what some of the lowest rated books you've ever read are or the lowest rated books on your TBR. If you do know, go a little look on whatever reading tracking system you use. I would love to know. I think that's super interesting. I mean, Katherine House is still one of the lowest rated books I've ever read, but I think it's one of the most special books I've ever read. So it shows you that the rating doesn't mean everything, although sometimes the rating can give you a clue. So thank you guys so much for watching this video. If you got into the end of it, comment, comment the cloud with like the thunderstorms emoji. I really love that emoji. Comment that down below if you got to the end. Thank you guys so much for watching and I'll see you very soon with another video. Bye!


How does nuclear science promote sustainable development? These scientists can measure precious water resources. These doctors can provide better cancer care. These workers are using clean production techniques. And these farmers are using effective climate-smart practices thanks to nuclear science and technology. These people are just a few of the millions around the world who have benefited from the IAEA's technical cooperation program. This program helps countries get the best out of nuclear science and technology while strengthening radiation safety for the protection of people and the environment. It provides the knowledge, equipment and networks that countries need to make progress towards the UN's sustainable development goals. By building national capacity, the technical cooperation program helps ensure countries are empowered to address their most pressing development challenges. Increasing access to cancer care, fighting infectious diseases, improving nutrition, growing stronger crops, increasing farming efficiency, managing insect pests, examining animal health, providing clean power, planning energy security, supporting nuclear newcomers, advancing small modular reactors, tracking limited supplies of water, providing data to protect oceans. Alongside all this work to bring the benefits of nuclear science to the world, are strong cross-cutting commitments to address climate change, improve radiation safety and empower more women to work in this fascinating field. The technical cooperation program also has the flexibility to respond to critical situations quickly from global pandemics to earthquakes and other disasters. At any given moment, there are over 1600 technical cooperation projects in around 150 countries in the areas of health, food, energy, water and much more. Thanks to the IEA's technical cooperation program, our member states can enjoy the many benefits of the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology. This program makes a concrete difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year. The IAEA responds to the world's evolving needs.


President of the United States. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. And good afternoon and welcome to the White House, or as someone said that already. Well, first, let me thank Red Cavani for the outstanding work that he's doing as chairman of the Deficit Reduction Coalition. And I want to thank all of you here today. With your help, we're making tremendous progress, and now we have before us, I think, an historic opportunity. The chance to finally get control of the budget behemoth and make government once again the servant of the people, rather than the other way around. And I think Bob Dole deserves special thanks and appreciation for his leadership role on this issue. We couldn't have come this far without him. It used to be that talk of deficits was all doom and gloom. As a matter of fact, I did some of that talking out in the mashed potato circuit years ago. Without the political will in Congress to reform its big spending impulses, our economy was thrust into a position of peril, caught between the devil of higher taxes and the bottomless sea of growing deficits. Now we can see that even our greatest problems are, as Henry Kaiser once said, simply opportunities in work clothes. Together with the Senate Republican leadership, we've fashioned a compromise budget plan that will virtually eliminate the deficit by the end of the decade. And just as important, we'll begin the long overdue work of reforming federal spending. Passage of this bill would be a decisive break with our spendthrift past and achievement of comparable importance to the historic tax cuts of 1981. Instead of a budget for the special interests, we've proposed a budget for the public interest. It'll be introduced as an amendment to Senate Concurrent Resolution 32, but I just like to call it the Taxpayers Protection Plan. There are, of course, some up on the hill who aren't happy with budget reform. They're the ones who still secretly are hoping to raise taxes. Their last hope is to sabotage budget reform, so endangering the economy that Congress will be panicked into taking desperate measures, which they hope would be a tax increase. The tax increases are like those soldiers after World War II out on some of those Pacific islands who didn't know the war had ended. They've lost the fight and are now reduced to hit-and-run attacks on budget reform. I have this to say to those tax increases huddled away up on the hill. While we're talking to them, I would say you're fighting a lost cause.  Get on the Taxpayers Protection Plan and join us in celebrating the return to fiscal sanity in a strong, healthy economy. Let me also say that the budget freeze that some are suggesting is the wrong medicine at the wrong time. Why should we continue to fund wasteful unnecessary programs at their present high levels while limiting those programs that are truly worthy? We also know that if we leave the pork barrels intact, the same political pressure groups will be back next year trying to fill them with pork. Every time an Amtrak, well, no, I'm getting ahead of myself there. Our proposal is for a leaner, healthier, and firmer budget that cuts what should be cut and keeps what should be kept. Special provisions have been made to protect the poor, elderly, and disabled. Full inflation adjustments will be given to those receiving supplemental security income, increasing benefits from between $10, $15 monthly, and food stamps, AFDC, WIC, other safety net programs will stay fully funded. But some programs whose costs far outweigh their benefits have been eliminated entirely. And now I'll say it, Amtrak, for instance. It's a perfect example of how government spending gets out of hand. Originally authorized for only a two-year trial, Amtrak's proponents assured the American people that the railroad would soon be making a profit. Well, instead, Amtrak has cost taxpayers billions of dollars. That shouldn't have surprised us because in World War I, we had an experience with the government running the railroads, and it was a disaster. Every time an Amtrak train leaves the station, it costs the taxpayers $35 for each passenger. In some cases, it would be cheaper, actually, just to hand those passengers a free plane ticket to their destination. Or let's take the job court. It's estimated that each job created through that program cost the taxpayers $15,200. That's almost equal to sending a student to Harvard for one year. Maybe the results are the same, too. I won't look at Don Reagan. As a graduate of good old Eureka College, I couldn't resist. The youth employment opportunity wage would cost the government nothing and we believe would create countless jobs, new jobs for young people. The Small Business Administration is another example of government making its nose into areas where it has no business, if you will excuse the pun. Since the tax cuts took hold, this country has become the undisputed world leader for business creation. Over 600,000 businesses were incorporated in 1983, an all-time record, and it looks like 1984 will turn out to be another, have been another record year. Just two tenths of 1% of all U.S. businesses in fiscal year 1984 received subsidized credit from that program, and most of those loans went to restaurants, bars, and car dealerships where ample private credit is available. Other major programs in the Taxpayers Protection Plan have been reformed on the theory that it isn't fair to have people with low incomes subsidize special programs for the well-to-do. College student aid, for instance, will still be provided to low and middle income families, and this aid will cover the full cost of attending public colleges, but aid to the well-to-do will be scaled back. As the law stands now, low-income taxpayers who may not be able to afford college for their own children are helping subsidize the education of children whose families make as much as $100,000 a year. Unlike the current law, our bill would guarantee at least a 2% increase in Social Security benefits, more if inflation picks up, while the low-income elderly and disabled will receive full, as I said before, cost of living adjustments. Throughout the budget process, defense spending has been the favorite scapegoat of those unwilling to make necessary reforms. The compromise defense appropriations of the Taxpayers Protection Plan allows us to keep the vital work of building our defenses on track. We can feel secure with these spending levels, but I think it's clear that any further cuts could derail our defense program, cause expensive delays and inefficiencies, and very likely undermine our national security. After almost two decades in which it seemed that Congress had lost control of spending, the Taxpayers Protection Plan is the first step to regaining that control and earning the respect of the American people. It's a model of what the democratic process can achieve. The result of intensive negotiation and compromise, it addresses a serious problem fairly and protects our national security, and makes special allowance for the poor and needy. Most important, it breaks apart the Congressional spending machine, and when combined with tax reform and substantial tax rate reductions, it will open the door to a growing prosperous economy through the end of the decade and beyond. We couldn't have gotten this far without your help. And as I've said before, if we can't make Congress see the light, we make them feel the heat. I want to, I have another issue, but before I take that one up, I just want to tell you that yesterday two young congressmen came into my office, one of them a freshman congressman, and he gave me a letter. It contained 146 signatures and a promise. Exactly the number of signatures were on that letter which promised to uphold a veto of any tax increase that I might make. They did make my day. Well, I'd like to take a minute and ask your support on another issue today, an issue that I believe touches on the very heart and soul of what it means to be an American. In a few days, Congress will vote on whether or not to support our proposal to help put Nicaragua on a path toward peace and democracy. Recently, I proposed a plan for peace and democracy in Nicaragua, an immediate ceasefire to be followed by church mediated negotiations leading to free and honest elections. And Congress supporting this peace initiative of humanitarian aid. Few votes will ever be so important. Either way it's decided, Congress will send a signal. A yes vote would signal new hope for peace and a return to the original democratic promise of the Nicaraguan Revolution. But if Congress votes no, if they in essence wash their hands of our responsibility to support peaceful development and democracy in this hemisphere, they will be sending a message of desertion, a clear statement that the greatest democracy on earth doesn't care if communism snuffs out the freedom of our neighbors and endangers our own security. Democracies and freedom-loving people throughout the world must be amazed, and I would think deeply concerned. The Soviet bloc and terrorist nations flood Nicaragua with arms and personnel sparing no expense in support of the totalitarian Sandinista regime while the U.S. Congress remains paralyzed over a mere $14 million in humanitarian aid. Less than the cost of the deadly hind helicopters the Soviets have given the communists to use against the resistance, the freedom fighters. Meanwhile, the Sandinistas and some misguided sympathizers in this country are waging a sophisticated disinformation campaign designed to sway public opinion. A short while ago, front pages across the country blazed the reports the news of a new report alleging human rights abuses by the freedom fighters. Now, Time Magazine has learned that the report was bought and paid for by the Sandinistas. It seems that the Sandinistas think they have more to gain by lobbying Congress than negotiating with the Democratic opposition. As a recent article in the New York Times reported, the Sandinistas are, quote, pinning their hopes on the U.S. Congress. Well, please let Congress know that there's another side. That Americans don't want the creation of another Cuba, a warehouse of subversion on the American mainland. That they don't want Libyans, the PLO, and the followers of Khomeini bunkered down just two hours from our southern border. Let's not let the Sandinistas be the only ones lobbying our Congress. Tell them not to sabotage our efforts for democracy in Nicaragua and peace in our hemisphere. So we have two major votes coming up in Congress. One will directly determine our economic security throughout the end of the decade and the other could influence our national security throughout the end of the century. So I feel free to ask of this because America needs your help on both of these. Thank you and God bless you all.


Spikery, we need to pay tribute to our legends while they are still alive. Musician Spikery has been in the game for years and is saddened when those he looked up to in industry or aspired to be like are disrespected and forgotten. 2018 has seen the industry lose several veterans and speaking to Schwisse Live, Spikery said it was painful to see so many artists only get the honor they deserved when had died. It is really sad that we don't make time for our legends. There is always a big deal when a new artist comes through or when someone is doing something great but not enough attention on those who have been in the game for a long time. They are forgotten. They don't get as much gigs. Not many people want to make music with them or labels don't want to release their music. It is sad. We need to pay tribute to our legends while they are still alive. He said that his years in the industry had taught him to appreciate every moment but he was still concerned at how short some people's careers were. You can be the most talented person but have a short career. I have seen a lot of artists who are very talented but they don't get shows or deals. I don't know what it is. I don't know what is at play but something needs to change because it is killing us, artists. The star earlier this year took part in a project to honor the late Sinyaka and he said that he hoped more artists could band together to do shows together, rather than wait until someone died to collaborate. We have the platforms and fans to do incredible things if we just come together but maybe we are competing and we think we can't. But it is better that we share and we all eat than none of us eat because we are fighting.


The twins are good. Twins are great. They're what? Twins are great. They're five now. But I am so proud to see so many faces. Beauty that exists here in media Pennsylvania. For growing fame, it's easy to understand why comedian Wanda Sykes wouldn't want to share exact details about where she calls home with her wife and two children. However, it was reported in 2013 that Sykes lifts a bi-coastal lifestyle and splits her time between Los Angeles and Delaware County. In 2018, the Philadelphia Enquirer reported that Sykes has previously voted in the small town of media Pennsylvania, which is about an hour outside of Philadelphia. And the property that's tied to her via real estate records is most certainly in media. More recently, Wanda gave fans a look inside her kitchen on Instagram as she danced with her wife of nearly 15 years, Alex Sykes. And her cooking space looks like a chef's dream. We'll dive into Wanda Sykes' successful comedy career, her family life, as well as what we know about the places she calls home. Wanda Sykes was born in 1964 in Portsmouth, Virginia, and she's renowned for achievements in comedy, acting and writing. Wanda discovered her love for making people laugh during her early years, showcasing a sense of humor that would later become her trademark. After earning a bachelor's degree in marketing from Hampton University, she worked for the National Security Agency for five years. However, her passion for comedy eventually led her to pursue a career in entertainment. Sykes' break came in the late 1980s when she entered a stand-up comedy competition in Washington DC and emerged as the winner. This marked the beginning of her journey into the world of comedy clubs and stand-up performances. Wanda quickly gained recognition for her sharp wit and fearless humor. And then in the late 90s, she caught the attention of Chris Rock. He became her mentor. Her breakout moment came as a writer and performer on the Chris Rock show, where her talent for social commentary and observational humor shone through. This paved the way for her own stand-up specials such as Wanda Sykes, Sick and Tired, and Emma Bee Me. Beyond stand-up Sykes ventured into acting with notable roles in sitcoms like The New Adventures of Walt Christine and Curb Your Entheasm and even became a prominent voice in animation. Well as fascinating as this has been, I have places to be. Lending her talents to characters in films like Over the Hedge and Ice Age Continental Drift, her impact extended to the world of TV with her own late night talk show, The Wanda Sykes Show and frequent guest appearances on shows such as Real Time with Bill Maher and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. When it comes to her personal life, Wanda has also had some significant milestones.  She's been an advocate for LGBTQ plus rights and has used her platform to address issues of equality and representation. Today, Wanda Sykes continues to maintain a thriving career in her comedy and acting, while her home life is marked by a commitment to her family. Wanda and her wife, Alex Sykes, have twins they raised together, Lucas and Olivia. As Wanda continues to rise in fame with an expanding fanbase, it's no surprise that details about her home life with her wife and two kids remain private. While the comedian hasn't shared her exact locations of where she lives with the media, she openly discusses her family life, the humor and parenting and other amusing aspects. According to the Philadelphia Enquirer, they reported in 2013 that Sykes lives a bi-coastal lifestyle and splits her time between Los Angeles and Delaware County. Then in 2018, the newspaper outlet further reported that Sykes has previously voted in the small town of Media, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour outside of Philly. Property that's tied to her real estate records is most certainly in media, so it makes sense. It's actually not too surprising that Sykes appears to have a fawnness for simple life in the East Coast. The comedian was born in the relatively small city of Portsmouth, Virginia and was then raised in Maryland. Whether she's in the East Coast or the West Coast, Wanda lives with her wife Alex, whose French and their two children, son Lucas and daughter Olivia, who are fraternal twins. And their home life, wherever that may be, sounds both lovely and hilarious. Wanda often talks about parenting her twins. For instance, Sykes has spoken with Ellen DeGeneres in the past about the unique way she disciplines her kids, who, as well as her wife, are white, a fact she often discusses in her comedy. Sykes' parenting style reflects a balance between her own upbringing and the realities of raising children in a different context.  In her own words, Sykes embraces the opportunity to reveal her imperfections as a parent, showing that like anyone else, she doesn't always have everything together. While Wanda likes to keep her home details under wraps, Ariel views suggest she lives on a leafy, suburban streets in her Pennsylvania town. If addresses are correct, old listing materials show this home in the location of where Wanda's is assumed to be. If this is the correct location of her Pennsylvania property, it appears this was more of a tear-down project and the couple would have renovated or rebuilt the home immensely after moving in, because it looks different. The property was described as an expanded Cape Cod style and also boasted an additional rear lot for more space. So it's entirely possible that they purchased the residence and expanded and transformed it into their dream home. The large property also reportedly had an additional living space above the garage with a multi-purpose room. More recently, however, Wanda shared some peeks in her Pennsylvania home via social media. During the pandemic a few years back, Wanda wrote her Netflix series The Uptros from the very basement of this home. Wanda also gave fans a rare look inside her kitchen as she danced with her wife, Alex. The actress posted a fun clip of herself dancing and clicking her fingers as she sang along to the song playing and her kitchen looks like a chef street. In the background, you can see a huge stainless steel range hood that hung above a matching large stove with multi-burner top. The ceilings are painted in a crisp white hue and there are also white cupboards, counters and a sprawling island. When it comes to Wanda's home in LA, records show that it's in the area of Sherman Oaks, but aside from an aerial view photo, there are little to no details available online and certainly no other pictures.  It's clear that Wanda Sykes remains a sought-after talent in the entertainment industry, balancing her time between stand-up performances, acting roles, family life and more. Her wit and comedic brilliance continue to click with audiences and she remains a trailblazer for women and LGBTQ plus individuals in comedy. When she's not busy entertaining, Wanda enjoys focusing on the home and family life she's built with her wife Alex and their two children, whether it's at their east coast abode or in Los Angeles. For today, that's gonna wrap up our video. Before we go, answer this question for me. Is there a small town that means something to you where you might choose to live with your family? Let me know in the comments below. Don't forget to hit subscribe and turn on your notifications so you never miss a video. Follow me on Instagram to chats and I will see you all in the next one. Bye!


All right. Can everybody see it? Looks like it. Yes.  There you go. Perfect. Yep. All right. Hello, everybody. I am Hunter Owens, one of our two co-presenters today. I currently work for the city of Los Angeles. This is a programmer analyst for, which is a very bureaucratic way of saying of, I help and the technical lead for the city-wide data science and predictive analytics team. Hi, everyone. I'm the other part of this double act. My name is Rebecca Williams. I currently work for the White House Office of Management and Budget in the Office of the Chief Information Officer as a policy analyst. So this talk, the good, the bad, the extremely obtuse, a survey of government open data regulations and how to successfully build accountability programs in government. So we're going to start with a little bit of a double act here where we're going to go through some of these open data policies and acts that we have been involved in the implementation with or intimately familiar with, and give you the theory and the practice. Rebecca, do you want to pitch the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act? Hunter, I would love to. The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act is basically three laws and one that solve all of our federal data problems. The first title goes over using evidence and evaluation practices at scale in government. The second title codifies the open data policy of 2013, and the third title adds a little bit more teeth to the SIPC program allowing- What's the SIPC program? Confidential Information and Statistical Efficiency Act, which was originally introduced in the E-Government Act of 2002, but let's not get into that. But it adds more to it, including a presumption of accessibility. In theory, statistical units can start accessing other government data in silos more efficiently and easily and very securely, extremely confidentially and secure for the best statistical insights. It also adds Chief Data Officers and a Chief Data Officer Council. It adds evaluation officers, statistical officials. It adds a whole suite of folks to do the work and a lot of science and evidence-based, open access-based. All right. This sounds great, but you're evaluating things in an inherently political environment. What's good, what's bad, depends on who's the political actors, obviously. Also, didn't you promise me the last time you passed the bill that all the data would be open? Isn't it supposed to be open now? You have all these Chief Data Officers, but are they funded? Do they have power? Do they have authority to go into their different agencies and get various datasets? I'm a little concerned, Rebecca. Tell me what you have. Let me pitch a local government example where we're doing real innovation work. Executive Directive 3 tells every city department to do three things. Open all the data in a machine-readable format, and appoint a open data coordinator to push data out to a centralized data repository in the city. Rebecca, I lost my double act. Did we lose your audio, Rebecca? Oh, man, yeah, we lost our audio. Maybe if she turns up her video, we can get back in. Just sent her a message. All right, this is always fun. This is going to be much better in person, as you can see. Yeah. I was just getting into it. You two are on a roll. Yeah. I really shouldn't say anything about it. I'm going to pause here momentarily, but Rebecca is trying to get back, but going into Executive Directive 3, where it stands, it's very similar. Most cities have an Executive Directive or an open data policy that they've passed like this, that basically says open up the city's data, put it on a data portal, and make it machine-readable. But they're pretty sparse. We have the presentation in the community, and I will post the link to it in the chat so you can actually read it. But it's actually only about a page deep. And in practice, we have somehow ended up with three open data portals with differing amounts of data quality, and there's really nothing about how to update the data, how to keep it at the standardized, and what data qualifies as open or not and how it intercepts with the California Public Records Act, which is our local FOIA type law. All right, so that's Executive Directive 3 in practice. We're gonna get Rebecca back at some point, I hope so. Yeah, I just re-invited her onto the screen, so she should be joining me back shortly.  I'm ready, so sorry. No problem. Different Wi-Fi. All right, I went full Jekyll and Hyde on my own open data policy and got to tell everybody about how we have three open data portals for one city. Sure, so data act, data act in theory. Data act was the first open data law ever passed in the United States. It is going to revolutionize how we follow the money for federal spending. You can start seeing exactly how tax dollars are spent, where it goes, and what the consequences of that spending. Okay, so wait, what's the unit of spending? Like every dollar has to get to counting forward. Do you have like the entire economy in this thing? Don't you have all these like crazy subcontracts in the federal government? And like, you're only capturing one step of where spending is going. I really like the focus on one particular program, but, and like data set, but like, it seems like you're only really scratching the surface of federal spending. All right, let me take you this. So we did open data at a local level, a bunch of different jurisdictions part of publishing data, but we really, we need to think about it as a statewide enterprise, like an enterprise assets catalog. So SB 272 passed about four sessions ago at the state legislative level by Bob Hertzberg. Mandates that as part of the California Public Records Act, every jurisdiction in California, from the state of California on down to the molten Miguel water district has to maintain the enterprise asset systems catalog of every single thing that collects data on our residents, all your enterprise systems, who the vendor is for it, and publish it and make it available through the CPRA process. So let me tell you, this catalog is gonna solve all of our data problems. Did the ACLU and a bunch of NGOs get together to try to find all the missing inventories because no one, there were all these missing jurisdictions that never did the inventory activity. And what are, does anyone use these inventories for anything, the ones that were done? I mean, we can't just publish them, but I guess they're supposed to be part of enterprise governance, but okay. All right. Okay. Okay, here's another specific one, Geospatial Data Act. Think of all of the waste that is going on when we are recreating maps in the federal government. There's all these GIS coordinates, different agencies are collecting them, they're making the same map in different ways. The Geospatial Data Act is going to reduce all that duplication and it's gonna standardize geospatial data across the federal governments. You'll save money, we'll have more accurate and standardized map information, it's perfect. All right, all right. Like, what's so special about Spatial Data? Like, did you even include a national address database in there and who's responsible for it in the governing agency and how everybody's supposed to use it? Did we even specify specific data sets that might be crucial to this, like flood zones? Seems overly broad still. All right, let me tell you about how we're solving problems for our constituents. California Consumer Privacy Act tells you three simple things. One, consumers own the data that they create. Two, they can see what data is collected by them by requesting it of any company of a certain size. And three, we have opt-in prohibitions against the sale of data. That sounds good. Why are we amending it already and how can people are having a hard time bringing suit under it? Like the first class action just happened, like how is this actually improving people's everyday privacy in California? All right, so that was our survey. And we kind of wanted to frame this around the question of how do you successfully build accountability programs in government? Like there's been this promise that open data will bring accountability. And hopefully through the survey, you can see that the answer to that question is a big maybe. So I think I say a lot and I think Rebecca says a lot is a good open data policy is not about data. By simply opening up the data, you will not achieve better outcomes. So if four sort of things in a checklist on how to finish up an open data policy. So the first thing you need to start with is values. What are your principles? What are your leadership? What is your buying? What is the culture? And what is the political driver of the situation? Like do not start, open data is not inherently neutral. Policy is a paper and these values need to figure out what operations and funding can be allocated. What is the accountability problem? And what constituency is this policy's values going to serve? As they always as to pull a quick tweet from Forrest Gregg, it's curious that easily accessible government data never quite has the information that you want. So without a set of values and a theory of change, your policy will inherently fail. Yeah, so not only do you need the values built in to have people that actually want to do it, but you need to be able to operationalize it. So this fundamentally becomes a problem with where legislators don't connect with folks on the ground doing the work. And also a problem due to legislative technical and expertise, but essentially a lot of these six, all the data laws are incredibly hard to operationalize in reality. So one of the ways that we've seen things, the easier to operationalize is if the scope is reduced. Hunter, can you do the next slide? Yes, this is the open data aesthetic. This is, if you actually want something to work, these are two examples. The left hand side is from Data Act implementation and the right hand side is from a USAID agency specific open data policy where they built it into their procurement and data management items. But basically saying do everything to all data sounds nice, but if it's not built in to how you actually manage things, it's incredibly difficult to do. And if you scope something at all spatial information, it's incredibly difficult to do. All right, then you need an actual use case. You need to find a constituency, constituents or efficiencies and levers of power in which you will achieve the outcomes that you want. And remember, your policy should always be tied to outcomes rather than specific data sets. A good example of this from California is the Open and Transparent Water Act, AB 1755. California, as you may know, suffering from a drought for many years, although last year we finally left drought, but this bill dates back. It turns out we had no idea where the water was going in California. So AB 1755 sets up a council of stakeholders to make sure that every ounce of water is tracked at the water aggregator level and they had to agree upon a data standard for all of them to report their data into. This is similar to the USA Spending Data Act. And then they set up a series of challenges to identify individuals and team-based to figure out where all of our water is going and identify what solutions might be possible. Part of the publication of this data led to significant changes in the state's water policy and localities. It turns out Sacramento was using way more water than almost any other city in the state unsurprisingly. That was because a lot of residents in Sacramento did not have to have a water meter. They paid a flat fee. So when we standardized the data and were able to compare how much water was being used as part of this water data challenge, which is truly another piece of government innovation aesthetics, you saw actually changes at the water agency level, Sacramento County Water Agency, reflected by this state law. So it had a really clean story of this data will be opened up, standardized, and then analyzed to change how the state uses a very specific and precious resource for us, which is water. And a thing I want to, for those of you who are ever entered government from a private sector context, efficiency is not an inherent value of government. In any private sector organization, being more efficient means you make more money. That does not necessarily act as a lever for change in government like the way you'd expect it to. All right, the last thing you need to make sure that any of these policies work. You have values, you have operations, you have use cases. The last thing is checks and balances. So various oversight mechanisms, monitoring the gains or return on investment if you want to be economic about it, and also having adjudication processes. If there's some conflict where it could go where the other, you need to have a next step on that. So next slide, Hunter. Thanks. So in terms of various oversight mechanisms, the more the better and the more flavors the better. So some examples would be you can have NGOs like the Sunlight Foundation, who used to follow up on the open data policy for the federal government. You can have government oversight mechanisms like GAO or inspectors general. You can have adjudication processes like the CCPA has or like Privacy Act and FOIA where you follow up and a judge actually says, yes, you can have that or you cannot have that. And on top of sort of these folks measuring from the outside, making sure that government itself is showing dashboards, government loves dashboards, showing progress, making sure that someone is following up. Something that I've seen in the federal space a lot is a law will get passed and then that member of Congress will no longer be in Congress and no one follows up on it. So even if constituents cared about it, if that Congress member is no longer there, it just sort of falls by the wayside and then becomes not a priority for the executive branch to do either. So those are things you need. Go, yeah, go on Hunter. This is how to build a successful accountability program in government. Both Rebecca and I kind of deeply about the subject. I think we are about out of time, but I think we will, oh, okay. I think we can probably take one question. So I'm taking the top. How do you balance the question on values and partisanship? How do you start the values conversation while staying away from partisanship? You want to start, Rebecca? There's like a couple of ways to play it. One, I think some of these values are, they're more deeply embedded cultural norms than they are partisan issues a lot of the time. But another way to handle partisan issues is at least for a lot of the open access issues, which is what I've primarily worked on in DC, both parties are into it for different reasons. So you just sort of figure out what those reasons are. But yeah, I think a lot of the values are more deeply embedded in sort of the government workforce or the way folks think about risk and they have less to do with party. Yeah, I think that's true, but I also think one of the points I want to make is you can't and you have to figure out how to compromise and how to build a coalition and how to actually get these things passed in a way. Again, just passing the bill, as Rebecca said, the person leaves Congress or obviously we have tons of legislator and council member turnover and there's a lot of ways a lot of these things become paper tigers. If you want to build something lasting, I think you do actually have to build good electoral coalitions about this. Again, 1755 is a good example, which is the Open Transparent Water Data Act. You may think that you're gonna pit environmentalist types versus central valley farmers, but it turns out having detailed information about water costs is something that is very appealing to both environmentalists and sort of ranchers who typically line up on other sides of the issue. So I think you need to frame, if you're trying to think, how do I thread the needle here? You need to think about what will make your policy appealing to many constituencies and compromise with that rather than sort of saying, this is value positive. You actually need to sell it. Yeah, thank you very much for the presentation and I actually want to also thank you for trying to do something so interactive and fun and debate format virtually. It's like very ambitious, so. We tried, we should have practiced a couple of times. No, I think it was great. It is such a crazy maze of legislation and so maybe the technical problems are part of also the illustrative of the craziness of the whole process as well. So yeah, one comment that did come in was about posting your slides. So I just remind you and other speakers that we want to make sure that all the slides are posted to Zinodo and people were looking for the links that were on your slides. So I think there's a lot of follow up people can do on the way you're exploring the different legislation maze. So thank you very much. We really appreciate it and we're going to move on. So thank you.


You've come to the right place, here are five habits that can change you forever. Number one, learn a musical instrument and set aside time for your passions. Do you have a creative outlet? If you have a creative passion that you've been neglecting for a while, now's the time to bring it back. Many find their passion in playing a musical instrument. Have you considered learning the violin or the piano or the oboe? One 2016 study found that musicians have a greater working memory than those who don't play a musical instrument. Improving our memory is a great way to boost our intelligence, so it's not a bad idea to make a habit out of practicing that guitar. Setting time aside for your passions gives them the chance to flourish into a cultivated skill or hobby.  Lessening your daily social media time. How often do you use social media? Every day? Hour? Ten minutes? If you overuse social media, it could have a negative effect on you. Do you use Facebook? TikTok? Instagram? A 2013 study from the University of Michigan, published in the journal PLOS One, found a correlation between Facebook use and dissatisfaction. For two weeks, researchers text-messaged subjects to see how individuals felt each moment and how satisfied they were with their lives. As the research published states, results indicate that Facebook use predicts negative shifts on both of these variables over time. The more people used Facebook at one time point, the worse they felt the next time we text-messaged them. The more they used Facebook over two weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time. That habit of checking your social media notifications every half hour? It's best if you make it a habit to keep your phone away from you at the end of the day, when you're home, so you can get an evening break from a not-so-healthy habit. While limiting social media time can help you, finding ways to increase your happiness, joy, and well-being is just as important. Discover yourself by exploring Yale University's online course, The Science of Well-Being, which will teach you what actually makes us happy. And recommend tips and exercises for increasing happiness. One of the many takeaways we got was savoring our everyday experiences and appreciating them while they happen. It gave us a sense of humility, joy, and perspective. Make 2023 about building good habits and elevating yourself. The course is completely online, self-paced, and the best part yet? You can earn a certificate from Yale upon completion. Over 4 million people have registered, so make sure you check the description box below and check it out. 3. Implement the changes you want in yourself. Accepting who we are can be healthy, unless you're ignoring the negative habits that you can change. As much as we may think, we aren't always set in stone. We can change our opinions, beliefs, habits, and actions for the better. We just need to stay committed to forging those healthy habits that can change us for the better. So, it's best to let go of the belief that you can't change anything. There are some things where change is possible. Researchers suggest that seemingly permanent parts of your personality can indeed be changed in their 2017 review article published in the journal Psychological Bulletin. Researchers reviewed 207 studies that had tracked changes in measures of personality traits during interventions, including true experiments and pre-post change designs. They found therapy could cause a change in an individual's personality in as quick as four to eight weeks. As the review states, emotional stability was the primary trait domain showing changes as a result of therapy, followed by extraversion. So when you think all hope is lost, or if you've been discouraged with some of your behavior, know that positive change can happen. You simply need to start implementing some great habits and positive choices little by little every day to become the best version of yourself. 4. Spend more time with happy people. How would you describe your friends? Do they make you feel happy? What about your roommates or classmates? If you would describe them as happy, you're in for good things. A 2008 study from researchers and professors James H. Fowler and Nicholas A. Christakis found that if you simply live within a mile of another happy person, your happiness could increase by 25%. The researchers wanted to discover if happiness can spread from each individual, and whether niches of happiness form within social networks. According to the study, people who are surrounded by many happy people and those who are central in the network are more likely to become happy in the future. Longitudinal statistical models suggest that clusters of happiness results from the spread of happiness and not just a tendency for people to associate with similar individuals. A friend who lives within a mile, which is about 1.6 kilometers and who becomes happy, increases the probability that a person is happy by 25%. Although these effects weren't seen in co-workers, the authors also mentioned that similar results were seen with happy spouses and neighbors who are within a mile. So if you have a chance to choose who you'll socialize with next, make it a habit to spend a good amount of time with someone who's generally happy. And when you have a friend who could use some happiness, you can be their happy friend. 5. Journal your feelings. Do you journal? Keep a diary? It has long been believed that journaling can have a positive effect on one's mental health. Writing down your feelings each day is a great habit to adopt. According to University of Wisconsin-Madison, health psychologist Sheila Margaine, PhD. Therapeutic journaling has proven effective in the treatment of those experiencing post-traumatic stress and trauma survivors. The benefits also extend to those living with chronic health conditions such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, and even those who are chronically poor sleepers. She also explains that there is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates the beneficial effects of writing. Just 20 minutes at a time over four consecutive days was associated with a decrease in health problems such as enhancing the immune system functioning. This activity is a favorite among many people, making it a habit to journal each evening before bed or right before breakfast if you're a morning person. Enjoy the tranquility of writing down your feelings and memories of each day. In a way, you're recording a summary of each day of your life. Who wouldn't want to look back on one's emotions and life experiences through a flip of a few pages? You can even record how you started implementing these new healthy habits and realize that maybe your life has changed for the better because of them. So which habit will you add to your routine? Let us know in the comments section down below. A huge shout out to Coursera for sponsoring this video and offering a Yale University course to our viewers. We hope you enjoyed this video and if you did, don't forget to click the like button and share it with a friend. Subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell icon for more content like this and as always, thanks for watching.


Next up on our checklist is cameras. And this is checklists for going live for a live stream or a recording. And the first one is, again, pretty obvious, is it switched on or are your cameras switched on? It may be obvious for the main camera, but if you've got top-down cameras and things like that or different camera angles, make sure that they are switched on and plugged in and receiving a signal correctly. Next is camera positions. Once again, main camera may be obvious, but do check on positions of those extra angles and things like that to make sure that they are all pointing in the right direction. Next, batteries. Are they charged? If you do have to rely on batteries, do make sure that they're charged and can last through the duration of your stream or your video. Next one up is virtual cameras. Have you got those set up? So if you're using any virtual cameras on your Mac, for example, if you're using Ecam Live, make sure they're all set up and working. And finally, if you're gonna use your mobile with an application like NDI HX Capture, something like that, is that set up and all ready to go. So that was cameras. And next up we'll be looking at screen sharing.


And outside Africa, President Emmanuel Macron of France and First Lady Bridget Macron have received Nigeria's president, Mohamedu Buhari, at the LC Palace in France. Several other African leaders landed in Paris on Monday for the African Finance Summit set for Tuesday and Wednesday. Heads of states present include President Kagami of Rwanda, Buhari of Nigeria, Dennis Sasungusso of the Republic of Congo, to Shakili of DRC from Mifosa of South Africa, among other leaders. The meeting is aimed at creating a new deal for African economies and strengthening Africa's economic perseverance in the light of the coronavirus pandemic. NEWS OPDATES