Hello and welcome to NewsClick today in Talking Science and Tech. We are joined by Prabhupi Prakash. So Prabhupi, we see that in the last few days, for the past couple of weeks, China has made varied tech advancements. We saw that the Chinese moon lander just came back and it returned with the first moon samples in 44 years. Then Chinese scientists also fired up their artificial sun nuclear fusion reactor successfully for the first time. But what we want to talk about today is the Chinese quantum computer which has achieved quantum supremacy becoming only the second computer ever to do so. But before we get into how it was done, can you explain to our viewers what quantum supremacy is? Why is this so significant? Without getting into what is a quantum computer and we'll do that just a little, what it is, the quantum supremacy means that a computer based on quantum principles can do calculations which are classical computer, the computer that we all know which is what we used in our lives that cannot do. So this is the quantum supremacy issue that it can calculate in a finite time something which will take a classical computer much longer. Then the what is a quantum computer? Of course, becomes the second issue therefore that unlike classical computers which have only two states, zero or one, it's either a bit is on or off and that's the basis of our computing. As you know, it's a series of zeros and ones we use and they can be converted into the numbers that we want at the end of it. But the computer really has every bit of it has two states so that's a bistable state so to say. So that's why we have binary arithmetic inside the computer while what we write programs can use our numbers but it converts for the computer everything into a binary system. Quantum computer works on the basis of what are called qubits, quantum bits which means that in the same bit can have multiple states. It can have a combination of zero one as it were and this is difficult for us to understand. What do I mean by a bit being in two states or a combination of two states? So this is something that comes from quantum mechanics and we're not going to try and understand it today. All we need to know is that it the same bit can exist in multiple states simultaneously and therefore the quantum computer as you pile up qubits is capable of computing much larger numbers and much larger combinations than what a classical computer can do. Therefore certain kind of maths it can do which a classical computer cannot do and therefore it would solve a certain class of problems that classical computers would take eons to solve. That's the basis of this whole exercise and it really comes from the fundamentals of quantum physics that there are multiple states in which a certain bit can be if it is using quantum principles and therefore the combinatorial power and this really works out if there are combinatorial problems then the combinatorial power of such bits means it can crack much larger problems and much lesser times than what a classical computer do. Therefore a whole bunch of computational problems may be open to quantum computers. Did Google do something which made a did it solve a problem which can't be solved otherwise? Well again this led to a big debate and IBM said they had actually said that the IBM supercomputer will do this in x number of years while we are able to do it in 200 seconds. IBM said you know that's not that much of a difference. We can also do it pretty fast. We have to pre-compute a whole bunch of stuff put it on a hard disk a gigantic hard disk and then we can calculate quite fast. Now the issue here is not whether Google achieved a overwhelming defeat of the IBM supercomputer. It is that the specifically how you solve a problem can be accelerated also by a classical computer but the point is that the fact that IBM had to do all these contortions to prove that the Google computer wasn't really that superior means that obviously it had an edge over straightforward calculations we do today. When we come to the Chinese example the why they should repeat something which Google had already shown namely quantum supremacy but by itself have not been that important. But I think the importance of this is not that it has demonstrated a second time because don't forget IBM still contests Google's argument that they have achieved quantum supremacy but I think the important part is apart from quantum supremacy it also shows that you can use photons as qubits and that's a huge new ballgame opening up for the world. So I think the important part of this is two four one that you can use photons in qubits and you can that has been done earlier with small number of photons but you can do it with a large number of photons in this particular case it's 50 to 100 photons were used again there is a range because there is a photon escape and so on so I'm not I don't understand it well neither am I going to go into those details but I think the important part of it suddenly it has been shown that one approach is using certain kinds of materials and also near zero temperatures which is what Google's quantum computer was based on and the other possibility is use mirrors and use light to create photonic quantum computers and that provides a new basis of calculation and it can be scaled up to the extent of 50 to 100 photons as the Chinese paper in science talks about and therefore a class of calculation which cannot be done by classical computers becomes open to it of course there is one difference between the Google psychomore computer and the Chinese example that has been presented to us which is the psychomore is a more programmable quantum computer this computer has been created essentially for the problem the boson sampling problem so in that sense it's one of a kind competition is doing and unless there are some more technological advances which could happen because it's shown theoretically they could happen it cannot become a universal quantum computer but let's face it even the Google quantum computer hasn't really been used as a general purpose quantum computer because there are hard problems we still need to solve which is what is called error correction and so on so these are all proof of concept and I think the Chinese example using for photons is a proof of concept that protons can be used as qubits and if more advances take place they can also then be used as programmable quantum computers but let's face it whether it is Google whether it is the Chinese case that we are talking about or other quantum computers which are in the offing all of them are at the moment maybe 10 15 20 years away from actual implementation of a universal computer using quantum principles so I think that this is there but it is exciting times because we have shown that something which was proposed by Feynman as a could be used as computers within about 30 years 35 years is now actually being developed people are spending huge amounts of money on it and it seems to be able to solve the class of problems which classical computers may not be able to solve. So then what can we do with these problems that quantum computers can solve what does this mean for us in the regular life what applications do we get from this you know because as you said the Chinese computer was only able to solve one it was made to solve a particular kind of problem and we're far from universal general computer so what sort of problems do we want these computers to solve. So if we are able to do programmable quantum computers which I think now that gave another 5 10 years we should be able to do both because of advance in materials that will take place the kind of technologies we are dealing with that will take place all of this is a function of the amount of money we are able to put on it and if it has functions obviously people will put in the money so it really depends on what is the expectation from this. So there are two sorts of applications one I will call the more benevolent the humanitarian kind advancing science advancing everyday technology that is regarding a set of calculations which today our computers cannot do for instance the simple thing which is called protein folding. Now protein folding is very important if you want to do biotechnology you want to develop new materials you want to see its properties it could also be in drug development so all of this is something that we cannot do with classical computers protein folding nature does in a couple of seconds phones the protein even shorter but a classical computer would take you know a thousand years 500 years 200 years to solve such a problem of course Google has made some advances using heuristics using past information and they are able to do using artificial intelligence as it is called they have been able to predict protein folding much better than what we thought was possible a few years back but nevertheless it's something which is not easy to do in a classical computer. So these are one class of problems which have immediate implications then of course the other sets of issues which are there is the fact that you can break code and if you break code therefore all the encryption algorithms that we use would then be obsolete so that of course is something which the militaries of the world are very interested in because you could do that they could crack enemies code on the even the friends code because you're always trying to steal other stuff from them as well. So in this world of gray and black white world of spying and surveillance this would be a huge boom so of course that is that can be weaponized too so that is of course the second attraction and the converse of that you could do quantum information exchange you could use the principles of this kind also to communicate with each other with yourselves I mean your different entities different places which could also provide unbreakable codes so there is a military application to it but the civilian administration is really because we are now getting into the area of biotechnology in a very big way and I think the future of the technology lies today in biotechnology and competitions therefore quantum computers can provide really in the future huge advances in this direction because that's something that we cannot obviously do with classical computers and therefore we do most of this stuff empirically. So finally Praveen the Chinese computer which we were just discussing it's called Zhuzan can you tell us what this means why has it been named so? You know that's a very interesting history that we are talking about this is an ancient Chinese text I think it was found or it has been dated what copies we have found is second century AD and it may go back much further in terms of unwritten copies which may not be available today now that is basically mathematics in nine chapters that's really what the title is the interesting part is it has a different approach to mathematics and what comes in the Greek geometrical approach which was really problem solving state axioms and then you try to solve and the restrictions you solve it only with straight edge and a compass so the various various kinds of restrictions put on that it tried to make mathematics as a branch of logic almost while when you come to most other places in the world the approach has been problem solving how do you solve problems and Zhuzan not only provides a set of solutions how to solve problems in a general way but it was considered in advance of a lot of the mathematics that we saw in rest of the world not all but some of it was in advance so some of the principles they talked about are discovered relatively much later but the interesting part of it it also has proved for instance the Pythagoras theorem has also a proof in this particular example in China it's I think called the Gogu theorem so that is also there and even the proof is described so it's not that they were not aware that you know mathematics can be done through proof it can be done through logic and proof but their approach was how to solve problems and this therefore summarizes generalized principles of solving problems that means also recognizing what are the class of problems that we have now this is something which is not unique to the Chinese the other civilizations which also did that also we have the the recently the Bhakshali manuscripts which were not mathematical manuscripts there were more manuscripts which are used by essentially business trade trading people who went on trade had to calculate various things so there were alternative approaches to mathematics and it's another matter that the Greek one has been sort of elevated to a much higher pedestal because the Europeans would like to believe that they were superior and the superiority comes because the Greeks did something so interestingly the Greeks they're talking about half of them were actually the Anatolian plateau which is really then Asia modern day Turkey but the point is civilizational terms that's what they would like to believe that that's where the west has come from therefore the focus on the western sources Du Zhang in that sense is also a way of talking that it is not just the west that has done all this that China and other civilizations in this case China because that's why they have named their computer Du Zhang and I think the is what they're trying to say hey you know others have also done mathematics you know it's not only the west not only the Greeks and I think that's why they have also named this after this famous mathematical text thank you for talking to us today on this issue that's all the time we have keep watching this


Good evening everyone this. Hey, I was just going to tell you, I don't know if you can see, but we do have quite a bit of people in attendance for the meeting. So, this is going to be a really well attended meeting. And yeah, I think we're all ready to go. So thanks for calling in Fanta. Sure, thank you. Good evening everyone, this is our community meeting for the traffic signal and pedestrian improvements going in at the bastard boulevard and old town of say. Child intersection and before I want to get started, this. This intersection is located in council district 2. So, if there's any representative from council district 2, if you want to introduce yourself and give any word before we get started. Hello, my name is my, I'm district director to the office of council member for is he is aware of the meeting. He wants to send his apologies for not being able to attend. He's in flight right now from Austin. And any questions you want to relay attendees as well to council members floors. We're more than happy to assist as well after the meeting. Thank you. So then next, we'll go over the agenda. We will talk about the project background will give a project update. We'll discuss the project schedule and then we'll discuss project contact information as well. So, we'll talk about the project background. So the objectives include improving traffic throughout their intersection during peak hours. Reducing delays and improving overall safety for all users. We're, we're hoping to improve pedestrian safety at the intersection by installing pedestrian actuated signals with push buttons and to improve pedestrian access elements, such as compliant ramps further for a project background. So. In June of 2019, we got the initial citizen request for a traffic signal and since then we've received more than six requests. In February, 2020, a signal one study was conducted and this intersection, my three warrants for a signalization and then March, 2020 received funding. So next, we'll go over the project location. So this intersection is just less of I 35 and then to the east of this intersection. We have a QT gas station and we have a car wash. And then to the south, we have the son of a enclave community and then so this next slide. We can see the preliminary design. So we're planning on signalizing all four approaches at this intersection and then the proposed lane assignment. So we'll have the left turns for east and west and then. North and south as well, and then we'll also have the. ADA ramps and pedestrian signals going off or ways as well. So next, we'll talk about the signal warrant. So the, that's what delivered is currently a heavily traveled corridor with over 24,000 vehicles per day and then. With the new warehouse development to the north of the intersection that that's increased the volumes as well. The intersection meets traffic signal warrants 1, 2, and 3, and the warrants are based on the Texas manual of uniform traffic control devices. Next, we'll go over the project schedule. So the project is currently in the design phase. There is no right of way acquisition anticipated and we're currently in communications with on corn to address possible conflicts. We're planning for the contract execution for construction as well as construction to start this summer of 2023 with an estimated duration of 8 months. And then next, we'll go over project contact information. So the design engineer is LGA and their project manager is Scott Booth and then let the city of Fort Worth on the project manager. Santa Cava and then both of our information is on the slide and then next, I want to talk about to risk request. So, this, this meeting is solely for the intersection of Bathwood Boulevard and old time of a troll. However, we're always open to feedback and any other requests. We have multiple ways to put in those and so 1 of those is my footwork for Apple. There's the my forward that for Google and then you can also text hello to 817835 my forward or 6, 939 or you can also call the city cost center at 8173, 9, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, and then thank you again once again for joining this. Community meeting and now the floor is open for any questions or comments or concerns. Are you guys aware that just right along that intersection or slightly ahead of it? I don't know if inadequate drainage was designed to there or what, but when it rains and I don't know what that's going to do your intersection there. It is totally clogged up with deep, deep water.  If you don't want to drown your engine out and I wondered if anybody's taking that into account with that intersection. Yeah, that needs to be prepared immediately. So, you guys are aware of that then. Chat, do you want to answer to that? The scope of our project does not go that far, but we'll definitely take a look at that. I'll try to figure it out. If this is something that was built by the developer and if it's already been beyond the 2 years, then the city is going to have to coordinate with our drainage folks to see what will be the best way to address that and then we can provide a feedback back to you guys. We're still designing the intersection and this is outside of the intersection, but we certainly will take that into account as well. Yeah, so, if there was any local drainage issues right there in the intersections where maybe a curb inlet was needed or something like that, we might add that as part of this, these improvements. I don't think we're doing anything right like that right now. If this drainage issue is it farther to the west or to the east? It is down just about where that intersection is. It might be slightly east of that intersection, but it's real close. In fact, I'm thinking anytime there is a significant rain, like a couple of inches, when we have 1 of those, I'm thinking your intersections going to be impacted. If you look at the drainage, I was looking at that today as I drove by it is like the smallest little 11. The section, the section of road in question is eastbound Basswood between old Santa Fe and the 7.11. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that needs to be repaired immediately. That's been an issue for a while. Well, certainly we'll look into that immediately. We'll get with our get our engineer and our drainage folks involved and so, and we have rains recently to see what is the best way to handle that. Because we don't want to generate a bigger issue. We don't want our pedestrians to be sitting in water. Back next time that happens, I'll be sure and get a good shot of what it looks like some video and try to email you guys. Okay, thank you, but it would help a lot. Yeah. There's some questions in the chat box can fantasy those or can chart. Can you go through those? Yes, benefit. Yeah, I can read the questions in the chat. The 1st, 1 is about the drainage improvements. Yes, they agree that there's terrible water out there during rainstorms. Holly has a question concerned about the traffic backup to the roundabout at Basswood and horsemen. She's just concerned about about that. Yeah, is there when was the traffic study done? Did you say? The traffic study for this project in 2020, 2020, like in the spring of 2020. Yeah, you need to do a new one because there's been a lot of things that have changed since then that that traffic is. Crazy it backs all the way up over half a mile. There at the 35 access road, it's a big, it's going to be a big impact to that. But I'm not saying, no, you do realize that it was done in 2020 and it's gotten worse. Yes. So, it's not doing a new study is not going to do any good. I mean, it's already going that needs to be done exactly. So 1, I'm just wondering if the signal lights even a feasible option at this point. Well, we have an obligation. So once we have received a request and we have conducted a study. Based on the Texas mine of traffic control devices, and it indicates that the warrants are met. In addition to evaluating the number of crushes, I believe we discover about 4 crushes in the last 2 and a half years. We have an obligation to do something to install the device. So it's been on the least waiting for funding for 2 and a half years. So. And why was there around study? We're doing the traffic study is going to indicate that there's more traffic, which is going to make it even mean more warrants. So that's not really going to it's not going to change the outcome. But the traffic circle was was not part of the study. No, because the traffic circle is is a total, you know, different section and it's beyond 500 feet away from this 1. So I'm talking about why is a traffic circle not being put at that intersection. Oh, well, because the request was for a traffic signal and that's what we studied. You know, we wouldn't be doing a study for around about less. That was the request. So, at this point, we requested that from the city in that time frame that they look at a traffic circle. We did not receive we did not receive that request. We received the information that we received from our transportation management group that. They documented 6 different requests, you know, for the traffic signal. And in addition to that, installing a traffic circle that close to 35 would be counterproductive as well. So, at this point, the traffic signal is the option and it will be for this intersection. It'll be time with the 35 signal. We certainly can look at that. The I 35 traffic signal is it's controlled by text start, but we definitely can reach out to them and have a discussion with them because of the construction of the 3 c section, which is the section, you know, just north of Western center all the way up to Gainesville. There's quite a bit of changes that are happening to all those intersections all up and down the 35 corridor. I just don't want the signal like there. I don't want to make the issue that's already a terrible issue. So, somebody has to come out and figure out how all of this is going to work before we start construction. I just want to, this is the traffic signals. I just wanted to add that the, the, the, the new intersection of basketball and old Santa Fe will be timed with 35 traffic lights. It will be timed for, for, you know, but you got to fix the 35 traffic light problem. And it's on and when you're going east, it's, it's the access west of 35 and access road east of 35, it backs up at both places and it's a terrible problem that needs to be resolved. I want to make sure that gets resolved before we put the signal light into, because I don't want it to become worse. This is all the signal light. This is one of those people, your average or maybe it's going to start to live on. So, let's say I got cut off for a minute. Should I continue going through the questions in the chat? Correct. I got dropped off also, and then it wouldn't work. So, I have to join through the browser. So it might be WebEx. WebEx might be acting up. So, yes, continue, please. Oh, gosh, I'm having a problem now. I only see 1. They want me to read. Yes, please only see 1 question in the chat now. So, the next one was mostly a comment from Jennifer. She is looks like she's happy with us installing a traffic signal because her kids have issue taking terms on. Um, password after exiting all kind of a trail. So, thank you, Jennifer. And the next question is, will the Westbound turn lanes still not allow you turns? So, we are currently still looking into it. Fanda, do you want to elaborate on that in conversations with our engineer? And then we're going to discuss that. And we will have that update for you. If you want to put your information in the chat, and then also, we'll have a pre construction community meeting as well. And then we'll be further in the design. And then we can show you the final line. So, if you allow you turns there, it's going to make it impossible for the. Residents entering into Santa Fe enclave to be able to get into their neighborhood, because it's going to back up. So far with people trying to turn left, going Westbound on that's would. Yes, so I just go ahead chat. Sorry, I was just going to make sure I right now, I believe there's a U turn is prohibited in both directions. But is there 1 specifically that you're concerned about is, is it the folks traveling West to want to make a U turn and go back to the highway? Or is it the other turn? Yeah, it's the ones that are going West on basswood trying to U turn because they're trying to get over to the. The gas station there and it's it's bad right now. A lot of people do U turns there. It's very dangerous. Right, it's going in both directions causes so much danger on that on that intersection in both directions. Yeah, so we don't want to allow the U turns period. I mean, if you're going to allow them after you put in the signal light, the traffic's going to back up there to where it's you're not going to be able to go left. When you're going Westbound. So you need to we need to start enforcing that nobody looks at the signs. Yeah, we understand that there was some I don't know if I would call them complaints, but folks reached out to the city and said, this is really a big issue out there. And those signs were installed prohibiting U turns, but we understand that it might still be a problem, even though those signs are out there. They do it every day, no matter what he said. It might be she said she's the one that's going to get the light. Somebody said it would have been better if they would have put a light instead of a ram about down at West Bend, and it would have. That would have traffic there. They're not hearing us, aren't they? Yes, we're here with you. We're just waiting for you guys to finish. We don't want to interrupt and we're trying to, you know, we can work with our, with our police officers, try to find out who's the MPO. The name of patrol officer for that area and asking to, you know, increase, you know, patrolling of that area, you know, for the U turns, I don't think that we will remove the existing signs just because we're going to signal as a intersection.  Unless they get a cop there watching them. But we definitely will coordinate that, you know, with our PD folks, and we make sure that if that, we restrict U turns at other sections, you know, when we have a safety issue. But just trying to be realistic and understanding that, you know, some of those businesses on that other side on the north side of password that they don't, they, they're like, writing right out and their customers are going to want to go back to 35, they're going to make a U turn somewhere. Was not access 35 if they go out on the. The East side of QT. There's an exit on the, so they have an exit, right? Yeah, they have an exit to 35 off each side of QT. So they don't have to go that way. Yeah, okay. So, in that case, they will have an alternate access point. The police officers also might want to be reminded to not use that no U turn sign as well. I have, I have camera pictures of this happening on more than 1 occasion for non, not emergency needs. So. Also, is there a way that the U turn sign, you know, it's further down way down from where they're doing the U turn. Could we have a 2nd U turn sign up at the strip on the East side of the intersection. Yes, we can actually, you know, taking that into account and make sure that, you know, we find the best place, you know, to, to put an advanced warning sign. And an additional not in U turn time to try to enforce that. But the best thing to do is, you know, this happens with all traffic signs, right? It's like an honor system, like your speed limit signs and your no parking signs and every kind of traffic sign that you have out there in the transportation network.  So it's like an honor system. You know, you expect people to follow the rules and to follow the traffic laws. So. Sometimes adding more science doesn't help, but, you know, we can certainly look at that. That's not a, that's not a big significant change. We can actually look at that, but we need to be realistic. You know, we can't control folks behavior, right? So. Let's, let's, there's one other issue and that's with 18 wheelers coming out of that north side of that intersection. They're not allowed on by. But people 18 wheelers from what I understand are not allowed on. There's a, no, there's a, no 18 wheeler sign and they come down and enter that intersection and it gets stuck out there in the middle and block the traffic is very, very dangerous. Yeah, so we certainly talk to make sure that they understand and make sure and start putting some fines out there. So people get the, the just. Yes, the importance is key for that to allow any 18 wheelers and you need to put it there at the north coming out of that north entrance on the basswood. You need to put signs there too. Part of the wheelers on basswood, there's also an exit for them on, on the 35 from on the east side. Let me ask you something. So, do we have like the, the no truck sign with the, with the cross buck or we have something that says no trucks or something. It's just the picture is the picture. Yeah, so, you know, we could actually like add a supplementary play that says no, no trucks. We need to decide that property too before they get into the intersection.  Can I please say something just before this is over? I know there's a lot of folks on this that are in opposition to this traffic law, numerous reasons. But I just want to say 1 thing, you know, in the morning is when it's most safety is most paramount when we leave our neighborhood here at Santa Fe enclave. I mean, we have people come up that road at high rates of speed before that traffic starts to back up. And once it backs up, this is a different day and age back in the day. I could roll down my one day and ask somebody to let me in nowadays. People just ignore you. So not only do you have difficulties getting out from safety aspect. You also have difficulties getting out just because of individuals in a different mindset. So, so I think everybody on this, this phone call would, would be in that mindset that they would let you in. But the other thousands of people that come up that basswood road, the ones that just either, you know, they're, they're trying to make that traffic light before it turns red or trying to get on 35 before they're late to work. There is just, there's, there's just no more kindness and, you know, and, and most in the majority around us these days, and it's going to make it once again, more wrecks without that stoplight or just difficulties. Just getting out and then you've got teenagers that are trying to exit and you've got people from our neighborhood, you know, different walks of life and they're starting to get a little bit itchy because the teenagers not going quick enough. And so we're starting to back up in our neighborhood. And so it's just, it's, it's a whole lot of reasons. And that exit is, or that side, there's not an entrance on 35 for Santa Fe service road. It's an exit only.  And so it's not as easy as it sounds. I wish it was, but, you know, just once again, I realize opposition is out there, but it's not just the backing up of the traffic. It's a lot of safety, especially in the mornings when we try to leave during the week. Thank you. And I agree with Paul and, you know, we've, I see people saying, oh, just go out the exit gate and go on western center. We should not have to go all around western center and come back. We should not be locked into our neighborhood. We, we lived here before all this was built. So now we've been shut into our neighborhood and can't get out. So that we shouldn't be punished for that. And we shouldn't be concerned for our safety for that.  I don't like my kids pulling out on the 35. Like Paul said, people are not kind and they're not going to let you out. So for the ones opposing it, this is a safety issue. And if it was your family that you have your kids in the car, you wouldn't want to take a chance of that being your car. T bone by somebody with your kids in the car. And I want everyone to understand that this is a data driven supported traffic signal. The traffic signal study takes into account gaps. Accidents side distance, you know, the number of gaps, you know, per per 15 minutes, the number, you know, now we have businesses that gas stations on the north that, you know, people from. The south may want to walk, you know, to the gas station to get something to drink, et cetera. And there's not a safe way to get pedestrians across. So this, this is been, this is supported by data. Okay. This is something that, you know, it meets the ones for traffic signal. We need to move forward. And so we're going to do everything that we can to try to address, you know, your concerns. We're going to look at the drainage issue. We can certainly add additional, no, you turn signs. That's not a big deal. We can actually communicate with our tech start partners and and try to figure out if there's a way that we can, you know, improve the timing. We do have a project to add an additional left turn lane on Basswood, you know, out there further down, but we've been having some other reasons. So we have a minute. So, you know, we appreciate everyone's feedback.   But, you know, we have a responsibility to, you know, to move forward because if we, if we decided not to install the traffic signal after we have a study that justifies us and then there's some major fatality out there. The city is liable. The city is exposed now to liability and we don't want to lose 1 single person's life. So, you know, with that, if you guys have any other, you know, questions or concerns, you can always email a Fanta with any other additional comments and we will be, we'll get back with you. Let's say there's a few more comments. Good. Yeah, there's there. No, I was going to say that folks have taken the time to put comments in the chat. And yeah, we should go through all those. So, Shweta, could you pick up where you left off? And let's just a lot of these are sort of comments about what have been said, which is fine. And then I see some questions in there and some requests also. Yes, so I looked at 1 of the comment and that's that it would be adding delay for someone trying to get on to 35, but I wouldn't say it would be a delay. It would be, I think, maximum a minute or a 2 for you to get across that intersection and considering safety of all the residents coming out of all Santa Fe. I think that should be not a bad decision and then we have another question. I have a question. I have a question because I've checked. I've touched in my concerns. I'm all about safety. I'm all about having a stoplight at that location. It is busy and it is dangerous. But what when you live in that neighborhood, Santa Fe, you're not thinking about the impact it's going to have all the way down basswood to blue mound. Then this is going to create another problem. Then it's going to be another safety problem. You're going to have people and then the city is going to get in trouble because. Here we are expressing a concern for safety. And if somebody dies in the traffic circle that we have, it's it continues to go down. I am all about having a light there. But I think they need to look at getting rid of the roundabouts on basswood and putting light and that will help traffic tremendously on basswood. And it would be beneficial by doing that to help those residents at the Santa Fe. Okay, so 2. Because we have school buses, and then you got to think about emergency response on a road.  Thank you. This body being made of what is causing all the traffic back up because every morning I take that traffic. And another traffic light doesn't seem to be resolved will resolve this issue. I understand that Santa Fe cannot get out. But it's backed up all the way down the main reason for the backup is when you're going north on 35 access road on the East side. That's where the traffic backs up. So, there was mention that if we put 2 left turning lanes there, that would resolve the issue. Guys, it's also a right turning lane, the widening that right turning lane. Because when there's a new sidewalk there, when the sidewalk didn't exist, that lane was a little bit farther down and it wasn't backed up as bad as it is right now. Turning lanes the right towards excuse me, turning to the right to towards the 711 and if you go across to turn to the left, those 2 turning lanes are what is backing up all the traffic. Maybe the stuff like for Santa Fe is not about traffic flow. It's about safety. But guys, it's it's really, but it's going to cost more traffic. I'll help solve y'all's problem real quick. It's it's about we should have gone to city council meetings. It's about infrastructure. These roads should have been wider. If they're going to allow so many housing developments to go up. The city should have made the vastwood wider from blue mound all the way to 35. So this is partly. Our fault for not attending those city meetings when they're releasing all this property to developers and they don't widen the road. They maintain it a 2 lane road both directions. So. You know, I know we're all trying to point fingers at each other, but it's really the city. It's the city that they should have made that road wider. Well, it's planned to be wider. It's already in the works to be wider. They just have a lot of these issues. They just haven't done it yet. I gotta get out of here. Then we'll make that wider. So. Yeah, it's planned to be water. Look it up. Thank you. We have another comment here that says, can we install the signs instead of the traffic signal? But it looks like there were comments below that said that the drivers are not following the U turn signs that are already there. So additional sign. That's part of the problem. Yeah, it's all anything and then Holly, I think you requested current traffic study for horsemen and Santa Fe. I will go back and check if we have any study for horsemen. And we'll be quite you the traffic study that we have for buswood at all Santa Fe. And, and I wanted to remind you guys of that previous slide. And I understand that, that you have all these other concerns about these other locations, et cetera. But the best way for you to communicate is, first of all, communicate with your council member. The council director is in this meeting about all the issues and concerns that you have, you know, along buswood. And the other thing is the previous slide that shows how to submit a request for the city to perform a study. So, you know, my forethought for Apple, Google, these different alternatives for you also to submit, you know, any kind of request for, you know, studies or concerns or whatever. And these ones are all looked into and responded by staff. So the, the, the buswood at horsemen roundabout was built quite a bit ago. It was done by a developer. And I think that the other roundabout for the now also was part of a development project. So, you know, development developers, they just put the infrastructure in there. We get a two year warranty. Once up to your warranties is fired, you know, they're out of, they're gone. So, but, but if you would like the city to do some sort of study, then you need to submit a request. You know, through some of these avenues or contacting your council members office. So then they came forward with the request down to the appropriate staff. If you don't want to do this one. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. No, that's okay. So, are there more, I think there's more in the chat, right? We're having a really good response in the chat window tonight. I think. Yes, I think this is the highest I have ever seen. So. I think most of them were the similar comments going down. There was 1 concern regarding beach at Basswood, but I don't know for some reason, I think I've heard of that intersection. Is that 1 of our projects without 2020 to 1 for some reason, I remember it being. If not, I think that was 1 of our mobility intersection projects, right? Listen, yeah, I think that we just finished expanding capacity there. Yeah, yeah, it's been completed. We have another project another intersection project somewhere on beach. I just can recall the location. I think that's not talent and beach. I guess. I think that is mostly it to add that were mostly comments instead of and I don't think we have many questions after that. There is is ready people from our neighborhood on. Okay, I see a question about, you know, adding a 2nd, turn lane on the 35 North. And getting rid of all the roundabouts on Basswood, I think we've we've talked about about that 1. I never know we can't hear you looking you hear me now. Can you hear me? Yes. Yes. Okay, yes, I wanted to answer the question about the left turn lane, the eastbound line from 35 to 135. No, thank you very much. Can you tell, can you tell the folks who you are real fast? Yeah, so we agree that the eastbound left turn lane needs to do a left turn lane. It's a single left turn lane right now. So, we have put in that request to text start being a tech start facility. We have put in a request to text start to, to make it a dual left and, you know, I believe they're working on it. So, we'll coordinate with them again to check on the status of that request. You know, after this meeting, but the city has put a few months ago, so he has put in a request to to to convert it into a dual left turn lane. What was your name? My name is soccer spelled s a g a r. So, are we talking about, are you talking about a left turn of folks? Traveling north trying to go west on basswood or or something else? No, no, going east on east on basswood at 35 to go north to go north. Okay, a dual left there. Okay. Right, right. Yeah, that'll help a lot. Yeah. Sega is 1 of our senior traffic engineers with transportation management in case you guys were wondering. Thank you. That's all I have to say. Thanks, that was helpful. And the time frame is. Sir, I don't know about the time frame will be checking will be checking the text dot and getting that from them.  Do you have a question was that to Holly? I see one hand. Okay. Yeah, looks like not. We also have 1 more question on the chat. Do the tractor trailers exit the warehouse on to password on to the 35. Access road, I am not sure about that. I think they should be exiting on to the access road, but. If someone knows, I let them answer that. I said to the tractor trailers exit the warehouse area on to them. On to password or on to the I 35 W access road. And she's like, I'm not really sure about that. How many wrote they are not supposed to. But have seen them do it. You're not on mute. Hello. There's another question. Everyone needs to mute please. There's another question on the chart. How much impact to the traffic is expected by construction. I'm more open to the light after seeing the backlog of people desperate to get out of Santa Fe this morning. Nobody let them out. So how much so the question mainly is on how much impact we will have on traffic during construction. So, you want to take that or you want me to answer that go ahead or Scott's here. I'm not sure if you've thought much about that, but we're. We're adding we're we're making construction in towards the inside of the median right go ahead. Yeah, I'll I'll I'll be happy to answer that question. So. Generally, with a traffic signal installation. Because everything is occurring along the outside edges of the road. There's usually minimal impact to the overall traffic. Oftentimes, if they do need to make closures or other elements. It'll be during the non peak times of the day. So that the contractor can bring in equipment or manage things. But during the outside of those those off peak hours. Generally speaking, there's minimal disruption to the traffic. We're making some some changes to the median noses and some of the other elements. So there will be some some elements in the middle of the road. That will have barricades barrels. To to protect the drivers, but we should be able to maintain. Most of the time, the 2 lanes of traffic through the 2 lanes in each direction. So the full 4 lanes. During the time that it's being constructed. Thanks Scott, there's another question on the chat box. I think it has to do with schedule. Yeah, so the question was that they didn't expect it to take 8 months for us to construct the traffic signal. So, listen, do you want to answer that about the material? Yes, absolutely. So, we're trying to get very creative because because of supply chain issues, anything that involves still it's it's it's in, you know, it's in experiencing some register delays. It's taking 6 months plus to procure the materials, the signal, the traffic signal poles, the mast arms. The cabinets, et cetera. So we are going to we're going to issue a partial authorization for the contractor to order materials now. But we currently have experiences 5, 6 months plus in procuring those materials. So we're going to do that now to get the contractor to order the supplies. And in the meantime, you know, we're, we're, we're hope to mobilize the contractor, you know, around July or August because by then we should be close to be getting the materials. And that way they will be able to start doing the underground work, all the conduit and, you know, putting foundations, et cetera. Then at that point, we cannot do any work until we can erect the signal poles. So hopefully, we'll be able to, you know, finish before the 8 months. But we're just trying to be conservative because of what we currently are experiencing in some other projects. And this is affecting every single, you know, government organization text that is experiencing the same thing on their projects. So it's a supply chain issue. Right now, that is a result of COVID. The COVID shutdowns impact the manufacturing industry tremendously, including, you know, steel. So everybody is fighting for the same materials and, you know, the materials are not, they're not being manufactured as fast as in the past. So it's taking a long time to get those in. So we're going to get the materials order now. We're hope that they're going to be in maybe around September. And so we're going to try to minimize, you know, try to speed up the schedule, but we're just, you know, we're just using that a month to try to be conservative and make sure that, you know, we allocate for this, this procurement of materials. Thank you. We've got another question in the chat and let's say it wasn't this project approved an year ago. I assume that is for us to order the traffic signal poles. And so that's correct. The project was approved. Actually, the project was approved. Almost three years ago, the funding was given to us last May and March, April timeframe. And then we have to go through a process to secure a designer, bring the designer on board, and we already are beyond 60% design. So we've been, we've been working on getting the project designed so we can go ahead and get to construction.  So that that's usually a 12 month process. So, you know, we're, we're getting close to getting to that 90% milestone where we've been looking at, you know, construction documents, et cetera. Thank you, Lisa. I think that was the last of our comments. Does anyone else have any questions. I have one. So while we're waiting for supplies to be ordered and construction to begin on the lights, you mentioned that we could get additional signage out on the road for ensuring that you terms aren't taking place and ensuring that the semi trucks are driving down basswood. How long does it take for that signage to get put in place. We will forward those those requests to our group of folks that handles the science and markings and I will make sure that if you put your contact information on the chat. Your email address or a phone number that we can call you back or whoever wants, you know, a follow up. We can get back with you and let you know, you know, what is the timeframe that they're estimating because that's, that's another group of folks. That we have to coordinate with. If it was, if it was to be added to our plans, then we could add it to our plans, but then it wouldn't happen until we go to construction, right. But if we want them sooner, we have to coordinate with our science and markings group and get a schedule for installation from them. Thank you so much, Dana. Could you get that short and make sure that you get that email address or anyone that wants to follow up for any questions or concerns. Just please input your contact information in the chat box so we can then follow up with you. So we had another question from Russ, and that's about the funding and I was waiting to order the supplies. So, so our standard process or a standard method to build these projects is that we hire a designer. You know, we, it takes about eight to 12 months to get your designer on board get everything designed. Then you're going to put this out for bid for a public competitive bid process, you know, and that takes four or five months to go through that process and then you get a contractor and then the contractor then order materials. We, you know, when we, we got to a point, it was around December of last year where we decided that's going to take too long. We can't go that route. We're going to have to figure another way to do this. So, we went ahead and got new contracts new on call construction contracts in place. So we decided we can do the traditional design bit bill because that's going to just take forever. We have to do something else. So we went ahead and advertise and got new on call construction contracts that just got executed. Like a couple of weeks ago. So now that I have the contracts in place, then I can order materials. So, I know it seems like it's a long time, but you know, there's a process right and there's all these processes that we have to follow to get things done right. So the original intent, which is what how we build these projects because you get a better price when you do the typical design bit built was that, you know, we were going to put the project out for bed, get bits in. That process takes four to five months for you to even begin construction, and then the contractor wouldn't order materials until they have an executed contract on hand. Well, that's just gonna take too long. So last fall around November time, we decided that we were not going to go that route. But we need a new contracts new on call contract construction, you know, in place. So we put this out for bed. And, you know, again, it takes three or four months. So I finally got those contracts executed and ready to go. So we also verify with legal that that that we could do that that we could actually pay a contractor for materials on hand because we typically don't. We typically have line items in the contract for furnish and install. And until that is in the ground, we don't pay the contractor so we have to conform with legal that we can actually do that. And they did they said, yeah, it's covering your conditions, you can do that, but you have to have proof that the materials are order and get pictures and all that kind of stuff. So that's why we're ordering the materials at this point. So, and we did this to be able to get the project done, you know, as quick as we can. And also to add on that to us, we have to wait until we are at certain point on the design just to confirm on the lens of the master that we need for the signal pole. And we usually don't get it until we are at 60% where we finalize our location. Just to make sure if our master is like 40 feet long or 45 feet or 50 feet. We don't want to go ahead and order the material for a wrong size and then had to redo the work. So that's another reason that we have to wait until this point get everyone's comment. And finalize everything before we order our materials. I hope that answers your question. Do we have any more questions. Just one quick follow up. You said you were going to send in service request for the U turns the signs for the U turns 18 wheelers and then also for the drainage correct. No, we're going to we're going to handle the drainage with our design right so that will be for us to that will be an action items for us to make sure that we take care of the drainage with with our project right. But the science that's going to be a request that we're going to submit to our transportation management folks the science and markings team. So they can go ahead and provide us a, you know, a schedule to try to take care of this, you know, quickly. Instead of waiting for us to, you know, get out there and start construction and to add those signs so the drainage we're going to try to incorporate into our plans so we're going to be looking at that meeting with our drainage folks. And then, you know, where is the law point? Where is my water sitting? I mean, do I need to add an in later or dropping later? What do I need to do to make sure that I capture that water? And that's going to be added to the construction plans and that's going to be part of our project. But the science, because for the additional signage, we're going to we're going to process that as soon as possible. We're going to get with our science and markings team. And make sure that they understand it's a high priority and try to get you a schedule for that when they can have the science out there. Thank you. Thank you. Chat. Do you want to close the meeting with the closing remarks? I don't know if I have any closing remarks, but I really appreciate everyone attending tonight and providing all this great feedback. I've tried to take screenshots of everything in the chat. I'm not sure if anybody else was trying to do that, but we appreciate all the questions. And, and, and the comments and yeah, we have some stuff to follow up on and. You know, thank you. Thank you everyone for attending. Thank you. Oh, you guys have a great evening and we will be following up on these items and, you know, keep in touch with you guys to make sure that we can keep you informed of our progress or lack of progress. If we run into some other major significant thing because of what's happening with the market right now. But we appreciate you guys and please don't hesitate to reach out to us or to your council member. And we will make sure that someone gets back with you and that we will give you an answer. You guys have a good night. Thank you. Thank you.


Well, we're back at Fly Fest again. It's October. The nights are drawn in and the big fish are in the rivers But we're here at Reg Ed. Bigger show than even I expected this year. We've more people through the door 35 plus trade stands some of the tying demos are Beautiful, we're live streaming our tying demos this year. So even if people can't make it, they're miles away They can still get involved. Paul Proctor, we had a really busy show Earlier today, but all of a sudden it was like somebody set off a fire alarm Paul Proctor's lecture went off Everybody went in there. We lost everyone. So things are really attracting attention. We had that live streaming on the internet We've also filmed that so Paul will be on our website. He'll be using that So it's great. We've got 60 70 flight hires I've got a room here that I don't think any show has ever seen a flight tying room like it We've got the partage of reddish wall over a wall of windows looking out over the lake district So flight tying with a backdrop. It's absolutely stunning. We've got some great casting demos taking place downstairs The big screen cinema we had Jim Venmark and Ali Hutchins film Passion breaks borders fly fishing in Norway absolutely gorgeous. The guys are doing flight tying demos as we speak That's been hugely popular. So we've got more big screen movies this year Premiers like that made for fly fest have never been seen outside of the show and lots of new stuff as well We've got some new traders some new rod brands and some new flight tying brands full of every Every individual flight tying product you could imagine if you can't find it here. You don't need it But for the winter season ahead time flies. We've got everything. We've got a dozen or more stands purely selling flight tying products So fly fest it is what it says on the ten. It's all about flies. It's all about flight tying and You know get yourselves along because we've got everything that you could ever imagine


Income Tax 2022-2023, American Opportunity Credit Introduction. Let's do some wealth preservation with some tax preparation. Most of this information comes from Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education Tax Year 2022. You can find it on the IRS website, irs.gov, irs.gov. Looking at the income tax formula, we're down at the bottom where the credits are located. Remembering, the first half of the income tax formula is in essence an income statement, although a strange one ending at taxable income similar to net income, the bottom line of an income statement. Then we calculate the tax on the taxable income, not with one rate, not with a flat tax, but with a progressive tax system to get to the tax before credits and other taxes. Then we get to the credits and other taxes like self-employment tax and whatnot, and then we have the payments in the form of withholdings or estimated tax payments to get to the bottom line, tax refund or tax due. Credits are similar to deductions in that we like them both, but if we could get $1 of credit versus $1 deduction, we typically want the $1 credit because we get the full dollars worth generally as opposed to a deduction, simply decreasing taxable income, the benefit then being dependent upon the tax rate. Also remember when we think about these credits, we have to think about two major categories. Support a counting instruction by clicking the link below, giving you a free month membership to all of the content on our website broken out by category, further broken out by course, each course then organized in a logical, reasonable fashion, making it much more easy to find what you need than can be done on a YouTube page. We also include added resources such as Excel practice problems, PDF files and more, like QuickBooks backup files when applicable. So once again, click the link below for a free month membership to our website and all the content on it. Those being non-refundable and refundable, non-refundable credits do not take the tax liability below zero, so refundable credits do and when they do, that means that it's using the tax code more as a benefit or welfare program rather than a tax system at that point. All right, so we're looking at the education credits and we think about the two credits together. In some cases or in general, the American opportunity credit, the lifetime learning credit were focused now in specifically on the American opportunity credit, which is typically more difficult to qualify for but more beneficial. Therefore, we usually aim for that one first. If we can't get that one, then by default, we move to the lifetime learning credit. Okay, reminders, form 1098T requirement. So to be eligible to claim the American opportunity credit, the law requires a taxpayer or a dependent to have received form 1098T tuition statement from an eligible educational institution, whether domestic or foreign. So remember, my interpretation of this 1098T is not that you need the exact numbers to tie out to the 1098T, although that might often be the case because that's going to be the amount of the tuition. But remember that the government is also receiving that form 1098T and if you're taking some kind of credit related to expenses for higher education, they want to at least confirm that you were enrolled in an institution of higher education. So that is what the 1098T, you want to make sure that you have that, even if for whatever reason the amount that you're reporting as possible, a deductible amount or an amount that could be applied towards the credit is different for whatever reason that is on the form 1098T. However, you may claim the credit if the student doesn't receive a form 1098T because the student's educational institution is required to furnish a form 1098T to the student under existing rules. So normally you're going to get a 1098T. If you don't get a 1098T, then you probably want to contact the institution and if there's some weird reason that the institution doesn't need to issue you a 1098T, you might have an exception in that case. We talked about that in a prior presentation, so I won't go into it in too much more detail here. So you may also claim a credit if the student attended an eligible educational institution required to furnish form 1098T but the student doesn't receive form 1098T before you file your return. For example, if the institution is otherwise required to furnish the form 1098T and doesn't furnish it or refuses to do so and you take the following required steps. So if they just don't issue the 1098T, then you should be doing your due diligence trying to go to the financial institution and get them to issue the 1098T providing the information necessary to do that, which will typically be some contact information like your address and whatnot that they need to populate it. So introduction form for 2022. There are two tax credits available to help you offset the cost of higher education by reducing the amount of your income. They are the American Opportunity Credit, this chapter, and the Lifetime Learning Credit, which is going to be a future chapter in our publication. This chapter explains who can claim the American Opportunity Credit. So we think about these kind of together. So once again, we're going to talk about the American Opportunity Credit first because that's the one you'll typically go for if you can get it and then the Lifetime Learning Credit second. Okay, what expenses qualify for the credit? Who is an eligible student who can claim a dependent's expenses and how to figure the credit, how to claim the credit, and when the credit must be repaid. So what is the tax benefit of the American Opportunity Credit for 2022? You may be able to claim a credit up to $2,500 for adjusted qualified education expenses paid for each student who qualifies for the American Opportunity Credit. So a tax credit reduces the amount of income tax you may have to pay. So it's not a deduction, it's a credit. If you get $2,500 of credit, it's not just reducing your taxable income but you might get that full benefit of the $2,500 possibly. There could be AGI limitations and all that kind of stuff and is it refundable and we'll get into that shortly but the credits are typically better than the deductions. Unlike a deduction, which reduces the amount of income subject to tax, a credit directly reduces the tax itself. 40% of the American Opportunity Credit may be refundable. So that's the portion that possibly could go below zero resulting in a refund or tax benefit even though you have no tax, meaning it's the welfare or benefit portion of the tax even if you don't own any, even if you go and pass the tax liability below zero. This means that if the refundable portion of your credit is more than your tax, the exits will be refunded to you. Your allowable American Opportunity Credit may be limited by the amount of your income. Also, the non-refundable part of the credit may be limited by the amount of your tax. In other words, the American Opportunity Credit has a phase out. So if your income gets quite high, it could start to phase out because your income is high and if your income is low, then you may not owe any taxes and therefore it'll be limited because the non-refundable portion may go away, but the refundable portion you might still get benefit from. Alright, can you claim more than one education credit this year? For each student, you can elect for any year only one of the credits. For example, if you elect to claim the American Opportunity Credit for a dependent on your 2022 tax return, you can't use the same dependent's Qualified Education Expenses to figure the Lifetime Learning Credit. So you've got one student, let's imagine, that's going to school. You can't do both the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit for that student. You have to pick one or the other for that student tied to their Social Security Number in essence. If you pay Qualified Education Expenses for more than one student in the same year, you can choose to claim American Opportunity Credit on a per student basis, per year basis, which would kind of make sense, right? Because a second student, if they're still a dependent on your tax return, has different circumstances as to whether they would qualify for the American Opportunity Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit. So you would think then the requirements would not be tied so much per return, although there could be a limit credit per return you could file, but you would think it would be tied to in essence the students' requirements per Social Security Number in essence of qualifying student. So if you pay Qualified Education Expenses for a student or students for whom you don't claim the American Opportunity Credit, you can use the adjusted Qualified Education Expenses of that student or those students in figuring your Lifetime Learning Credit. So this means that, for example, you can claim the American Opportunity Credit for one student and the Lifetime Learning Credit for another student in the same year. So this would be, you would think contradictory if you only had one student. You can't claim both the American Opportunity Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit, but if you had two qualifying students that are separate, then you could end up in a situation where you're claiming both the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit, one for each of the different students. So differences between the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits, there are several differences between these two credits. For example, you can claim the American Opportunity Credit based on the same student's expenses for no more than four tax years. So it's more restrictive in terms of how many years you can claim the American Opportunity Credit, the bigger credit, American Opportunity Credit. However, there is no limit on the number of years for which you can claim the Lifetime Learning Credit based on the same student's expenses. You can kind of hear that in the name back when they used to name credits or bills and whatnot that used to have something to do with what is in them. You could say, oh, the Lifetime Learning Credit, you can take it, basically keep on going for life. It doesn't have that same kind of limitation. So the differences between these credits are shown in the appendix near the end of this publication. So we took a look at a side by side in a prior presentation tip. If you claim the American Opportunity Credit for any student, you can choose between using that student's adjusted, qualified education expenses for the American Opportunity Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit. If you have the choice, the American Opportunity Credit will always be greater than the Lifetime Learning Credit. All right, so we've got Form 8862 may be required if your American Opportunity Credit was denied or reduced for any reason other than a math or cleric or error for any tax year beginning after 2015, you must attach a completed Form 8862. So hopefully that's an unusual type of situation, but these kind of credits are areas where people will try to abuse the tax code and the IRS will then put, you know, further restrictions and requirements in that case in place. Caution, don't claim the American Opportunity Credit for two years after there was a final determination that your claim was due to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules or 10 years after there was a final determination that your claim was due to fraud. All right, so here's our table once again, overview of the American Opportunity Credit. This time we're just focused on the American Opportunity Credit and not doing that side-by-side table with the Lifetime Learning. So a quick recap, we'll go into some of these items then in more detail. The maximum credit, up to 2,500 credit per eligible student. The limit on modified adjusted gross income, $180,000 if married, finally jointly, $90,000 if single, head of household or qualifying surviving spouse. Number of years of post-secondary education, available only if the student had not completed the first four years of post-secondary education before 2022. Generally the freshmen through senior years determined by the eligible educational institution, not including academic credit awarded solely because of the student's performance on proficiency examinations. Number of tax years credit available, available only for four tax years per eligible student. Type of program required, student must be pursuing a program leading to a degree or other recognized educational credential. Number of courses, student must be enrolled in at least half time, so there's a significant requirement for at least one academic period that begins during 2022 or the first three months of 2023 if the qualifying expenses were paid in 2023. So we have that cut off kind of issue. Felony drug convictions. So they just kind of threw this one in there. As of the end of 2022, the student had not been convicted of a felony for possessing or distributing a controlled substance. Qualified expenses. They've got tuition required enrollment fees and course materials that the student needs for a course to study whether or not the materials are bought at the educational institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance. So a bit more broad there in the definition than you might otherwise think. Payments for academic periods, payments made in 2022 for academic periods beginning in 2022 or beginning in three months of 2023. So we're usually on a cash-based system with taxes. So if we paid the tax, paid it in 2022, you would think we would get the deduction even though it doesn't happen. The courses don't start until 2023, although you can try to take advantage of that and the government's going to try to limit taking advantage of a cash-based system, for example, by trying to pay a lot more upfront to maximize the deduction in the current year, for example. TIN needed by filing due date, filers and students must have been issued a TIN by the due date of their 2022 return, including extension, educational institutions, EIN. You must provide the educational institutions employer identification number, the EIN, on form 8863.


You know, I think we've made great strides forward in the conversation we've been having about our health more broadly and in particular mental health as men, but we still have such a long way to go. There's still significant stigma and negativity associated with us talking about the challenges we face. We know that men are still overrepresented in suicide rates and the negative impact of mental health, yet we're still reluctant to have that conversation. We all want to be our best every day, but we're human and we won't be. Often we're reluctant to even recognise the indicators in our behaviour and how we're feeling about the impacts on our mental health, but as brothers, as colleagues, as friends, we can surely see it in others. I appeal to all men to recognise that we have a role to support each other through the impacts on our mental health. Before those things can manifest themselves in serious consequences that don't need to happen, whether that's on our health, whether that's through suicide, whether that's involvement in criminal behaviour such as domestic violence or substance abuse. We can only do this together and we can't leave our male friends, colleagues and family alone to face the impacts that we do today.


Narcissism, Religion and Spirituality Hello, I am going to be discussing Narcissism from a religious and spiritual aspect. My knowledge is limited on this topic but what I do know and believe I would like to share with you. Anyone who has more knowledge than me on this please share with us in the comment section. First I would like to read an extract of the Seven Deadly Sins from AllAboutGod.com. While I am reading this extract of the Seven Deadly Sins think about how this applies to Narcissism, lust to have an intense desire or need. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 528 Gluttony, excess in eating and drinking, for drunkards and gluttons become poor and drowsiness close them in rags. Proverbs 2321 Greed, excessive or reprehensible acquisitiveness, having lost all sensitivity they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity with a continual lust for more. Ephesians 419 Laziness, disinclined to activity or exertion, not energetic or vigorous. The way of the slugard is blocked with thorns but the path of the upright is a highway.  Proverbs 1521 Envy, painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another, joined with a desire to possess the same advantage. Therefore rid yourselves of all malice and old deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind, like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. 1 Peter 212 Pride, quality or state of being proud, inordinate self-esteem. Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 1618 Doesn't this all sound very familiar? I personally believe that there is a spiritual and religious aspect to this disorder. It's like they are puppets of Satan. They use exactly the same abusive and manipulative tactics that Satan is known to use as referenced by any religion. From my research and experiences, the narcissist is self-aware. Sometimes we can go into denial and tell ourselves that they don't really understand what they are doing. This is because we cannot comprehend how another human being could be so sadistic and evil. I used to think in the same way. I used to think that there is no way they could fully understand what they are doing. With all of the knowledge and awareness we have about abuse now, that will make them the most evil people who have ever lived in the history of mankind. But they really do know what they are doing. Some of them are not religious and believe that the evil acts will not change anything in this life or the next. Others are religious but believe they are the exception. They believe that they are the only exception to God's rules and laws. They believe that they do not apply to them. I used my own thought process to try and understand theirs, to try and understand them from a logical perspective. But you cannot fully understand the narcissist or their behaviors by studying them from a logical perspective. They have disordered personalities and you are trying to understand them from a perspective of order. There is almost no order to the narcissist. They enjoy drama and chaos. This is what they were used to when they were children and they never matured emotionally. Even after everything I've been through with an ox, I don't think there's many people that deserve to go to hell. But it doesn't matter what I think or what anyone else thinks. The ultimate judge is God and nobody can escape that. Every action and every intention we have is recorded and will determine our fate. I think deep down they know this but they are too far gone to fix themselves now. This is why they continue to rack up a severely large record of sins which will include some of the worst such as abuse and manipulation. But regardless of whether they think it's going to be overlooked by God or not, deep down I think we all know the truth. Even the bad intentions and actions that I've had in the past, I know there could be a price to pay for my mistakes after this life. But I wonder if because of the lifetime of abuse I have experienced so persistently by the narcissist. Maybe the suffering on earth has already cleansed all of my sins. Maybe all of the suffering I've experienced on this earth is simply added to my reward after this life. I know this is what many people believe in all religions. No one is perfect. I've made mistakes. I've done things wrong just like anyone else but at least I took control of it. I didn't let my sins get out of hand. These knocks however I cannot imagine or even comprehend what they will have to go through. There is a price to pay for every negative action, every bad intention. God does not accept excuses. I used to think that there are no bad people but when you think about it we all have either good or bad intentions. The problem with the narcissist is that the majority of their intentions are bad. So how could they ever be good people? We are impasse because we are children of God. Not literally of course but he created us. Some say that the narcissist are possessed by the Jezebel spirit. Some of them act religious but use God as their weapon. But how could a person with narcissistic tendencies ever be a child of God? They are fooling themselves worshipping the devil without realizing. God has made it clear that hate, anger and envy are sinful emotions. Every emotion they have is a sign of Satan. Every action and every intention they have is a sign of Satan.  There really is nothing you can tell them. They believe that they will forever evade any karma or punishment whether in this world or the next. But if you know any older narcissists you will already know that they're always comes back to them in the end. They never achieve genuine happiness, fulfillment, real love or a deep emotional connection. These positive traits are reserved for those of us who do not abuse or manipulate people.  This is no coincidence. Notice how narcissists are already very miserable and fulfilled people. They have low self-worth, low self-esteem and no respect for boundaries. This is a result of their abusive and manipulative acts.  Don't make any excuse for these knocks. Let them lay in the filth that they have created. All of the things they said you were they're only projecting their own insecurities onto you. It's hard to accept that there are really bad people in this world but that's exactly what the knocks are. We know that a person who does bad things a small number of times is not a bad person. Their good behaviors probably outweigh the bad but with the narcissist their bad actions and intentions add up to a very large number over their lifetime and greatly outweigh any good they might do in their lives. We all slip up from time to time and do things that we are not proud of or might regret but the difference is the narcissist is very consistent and persistent with their negative behaviors. A normal person will do something bad, stop and reflect on that bad decision. The narcissist will do something bad, take pride in it and see it as an achievement and then continue doing the more of the same things. You cannot get them to see the error of their ways because the fly monkeys are always around to reinforce their beliefs. Some narcissists may act like they are religious even though they live in a way that conflicts with everything their religion stands for. Others use religion to disguise their true abusive and manipulative personality. Remember the town that crucified Jesus, the man who was intentionally created to be perfect. That was a narcissistic community and Jesus was an empath. It's a cycle that just continues on and on because narcissists will always blame you instead of looking at themselves. They will always blame you instead of looking at their own sinful actions and intentions. I can understand if a person makes a few mistakes. You could say that it is their actions that are evil and not them as people but when you make the same mistakes 10, 20, 100 times and feel no empathy or consideration for your victim. How can anyone argue that the person is not evil? No good person would abuse and manipulate their victim so persistently and consistently. If someone hurt you you might get them back once as revenge that is not always the right thing to do but still doesn't make a person evil.  I believe that when we keep trying to make a work with a narcissist and it never goes right this is a sign from from God that this person is not right for us. It's like how they constantly try to destroy us and yet we always recover because we are not meant to be destroyed by anyone. So remember the religious books, remember how Satan used manipulation, gaslighting and temptation to lure in his victims. This is why I like to call them Satan puppets. Be careful, be thankful that you are not like them. It is certainly shameful and embarrassing that these people still exist in what is meant to be a civilized society.


All right, so I guess this is more of a reminder than anything else, but you're asleep for a third of your life. Right, so that is hundreds and hundreds of hours that you're going to be spending asleep. Now, if you don't lose a dream and if you don't utilize those hours, they're just going to go to waste. Obviously, you'll be sleeping and rejuvenating yourself, you know, physically, but you'll be missing out on all of these adventures and sort of experiences that you could be having if you just thought, okay, I'm going to use these hours to learn how to lose a dream and control what you experience instead of just sleeping. Because, you know, everyone sleeps, right? I've spoken in other videos about how you can use lucid dreaming to practice skills in a lucid dream and then get an edge over your competitors, you know, by getting these extra hours in, you can practice things that you, you know, your peers or whoever else won't be able to do because they don't lose a dream. Say if you're a martial artist and you're competing in a competition, you, by practicing the skills in a lucid dream, you'll get an edge over your competitors who are only practicing in the gym. Now, obviously, you've got to practice in both scenarios, right? You've got to practice in the gym and in lucid dream in order to get the benefits. But that doesn't mean to say that you shouldn't practice in a lucid dream because you can gain a lot of hours over the, over your competitors and over the people who aren't doing that. So the way you get started with this and the way you sort of start utilizing the time that most people would just waste is you just set yourself a really, really small goal. I found that with goal setting and with, you know, if you want to achieve something, the best thing to do is just to set yourself a tiny, tiny, tiny goal and then commit to doing that every single day, whether it's, you know, doing two minutes of meditating or, you know, go to the gym and do one set of exercises because the chances are that once you're at the gym, you'll do more because you've spent the effort to get there. The hardest part is actually going there and, you know, getting started as with anything, the hardest part is the first step.   And once you've done that for a month or so, you know, once you've done that every single day for a month, you will have built the habit and then you'll be able to build on it.  So it really just starts with those really tiny things, those tiny things that you do every day. So make a commitment to do one small thing every day, whether it's meditating or writing your dreams down and make sure you do it for about a month or two. Once you've done it for about that long, it will become a habit. You know, they say a habit is formed within 20 days. I would say it's more like 60 days, but it depends on you as a person. Obviously, some people take less time. Some people take more time. But going back to my original point, you're going to be asleep for a third of your life, right? That's a lot of time. That's hundreds of hours. Wouldn't you rather be doing something really exciting in those hours instead of just sleeping and doing nothing? Because let's be honest, you're going to sleep anyway.  So wouldn't you rather, instead of just having a normal dream, have hundreds and hundreds of dreams, maybe even thousands, where you can control what you dream about and you can decide how you feel. Not only that, but you can also get real benefits by doing this stuff. Now, this isn't meant to be like an advert for lucid dreaming, although it could be.  So the sooner you start learning how to lucid dream properly, the better and the more benefit you're going to get, because you'll be able to spend that time in a productive way. Okay, so I know that I literally just said that I wouldn't be advertising lucid dreaming as if this was like a commercial or infomercial or something like that. That being said, I have to say just a few words about how beneficial it would be if you did lucid dream, because a lot of people ask me, especially when they hear that I'm into lucid dreaming and that I teach, you know, that I've got YouTube channel and everything, they say, why would I want to learn how to lucid dream? What makes it worth your time and energy? And to be honest, there are a number of ways that I could go about addressing this. I guess the most obvious one is that you're going to have the dreams anyway. So either way, you're going to be sleeping for that time.  So my question is why if there is the potential to explore your dreams and decide how you dream and what you dream about, then it's sort of a no-brainer. Why wouldn't you want that, especially when it's free? You can learn this stuff for free and practice it and be able to do it very quickly. So in a world where that's an option, why wouldn't you want to do that? Simply because firstly, it's possible. And secondly, you're going to do it anyway. Like if I said to you that you're going to, for the rest of your life, you're going to have to do an hour commute on a train every day for 40 years.  Or during that hour commute, you have the option of, you know, watching a film or playing a game or learning something or practicing a skill or earning money online. Like it's such a no-brainer because you're going to have to do it anyway. So if the two choices are you either sleep for not 40 years, but you either sleep for a third of your life and that's it.  You decide what experiences to have. Like you could fly around a skyscraper. You could talk with an alien. You could literally become any form or shape or concept that you want to imagine. You could literally do anything. And not only that, but it will have real benefits in your life. I'm sure you already know this if you're watching this channel. Like this is about lucid dreaming. So you probably already know this stuff. But this is just for those people who are aware of lucid dreaming, but they don't know maybe why they would want to start or why they should care. Because a lot of people just don't seem to be bothered. Like they've heard about the concept, but they don't really seem to care or, you know, care enough to devote five minutes a day to learning how to do it. And that's really all it comes down to is at the end of the day, if you practice this for five minutes a day and you know, obviously you can work up to longer periods of time. But if you just devote a few minutes a day to being more aware of yourself, to writing your dreams down, that is all it takes in most cases to be able to lucid dream over your life, you know. And so it blows my mind when people don't take this opportunity and don't do it. It's sort of like a low hanging fruit in life. It's a really easy opportunity to get more out of the time you're already going to be spending sleeping. This video has gone on long enough. So if you do want to learn how to lucid dream really quickly, I have actually created a really simple system called the lucid dreaming boot camp. I'm sure you've heard me mention it before. And the reason I mention it so often is because I'm really proud of it and it does actually work. But in a nutshell, it's basically for 30 days, it's a series of exercises and things you can do like an obstacle course almost like a lucid dreaming obstacle course that you can do every single day in just five minutes, you know, five to eight minutes a day. And if you do these things, if you if you do these exercises and they're not hard, you know, they're just they're just different. If you do them every day for the 30 days, you are guaranteed to have a lucid dream within 20 days. If you don't, obviously you can get your money back and keep the boot camp because I really do believe in this and I've had almost no refunds on this on this whole thing. So it really does work. You can read people's testimonials at the bottom of the page I will link you to. You can either click the link in the description or you can go to howtolucid.com forward slash boot camp. You can read reviews of this stuff online.  Long story short, it's a really effective program that I've put together based on what actually works not just based on what would sound good in a marketing ebook or what might sound good on on a sales page. It's based on what works and what I've proven to work and what works for a lot of people. So it really is worth your time. If you are interested in lucid dreaming, you should definitely go and check it out. If not, obviously it doesn't matter. Just subscribe to the channel, keep watching the free videos and you'll lucid dream. This is just sort of a way of the boot camp is a way of fast tracking or, you know, fast forwarding your your results and making it happen faster, not now and certainly not maybe tonight, although it's possible, but it's more just fast forwarding it and putting it on, putting some sense of urgency and priority on it so that you have it faster. And you'll also learn a lot more than I could ever explain in these videos as well. So if you are interested in that, then go and check it out. Alternatively, if you're more of a visual learner, I have actually created a really high quality video course on Udemy, which is also in the description. You can get a massive, I think 70% discount on that as well. So if you check the link in the in the description right now, you can go and check that out and read reviews of that as well. Bear in mind it's fairly new, so there won't be a huge amount of reviews because I've just launched it, but that's why there's a discount. So go ahead and check those out. And in terms of like updates for the channel, I want to make this a slightly more personal experience. I've tried to reply to a few more comments, but if you're one of the people who are subscribed to my channel and you leave a comment as soon as I post a video, I'd like to say firstly thank you so much for keeping the engagement there and actually replying to the stuff I post because it lets me know what you want and it lets me know what's going to be interesting to you and what's not going to be interesting to you. And obviously I'm grateful that you guys expressed that so clearly in the comments. On the other hand, if you're one of those people who like I sometimes am, you're sort of a subscriber, but you don't really comment or engage with the video, you don't like it or share it, whatever. That's absolutely fine, but just the more you comment and the more that you sort of let me know your opinions on my videos, the better I can make them. And obviously if I see really popular comments that have been upvoted loads of times where people are saying like make a video on this particular topic. If I see that, then obviously I can do it and I can make a video and I can help you guys. So if you are one of those lurkers who doesn't like to comment too often, try and consider just leaving the old comment even if it's just upvoting somebody else's comment. Everything like that helps because it lets me know what you guys want to see. So I think that's enough talking for today's video. It's gone on a bit longer, so sorry about that. And I'll see you next time. Done.