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  • I’m Planning To Buy A PS5 Pro And I’m Excited

    I’m Planning To Buy A PS5 Pro And I’m Excited

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    I’m excited to get a more powerful PlayStation 5 later this year. I’ve set aside the money for it and I’m ready to buy it when pre-orders go live later this month. And weirdly, admitting this online will likely lead to people yelling at me.

    This Cool New Retro Console Is A Great Gift For Atari Fans

    Before Sony revealed its long-rumored PS5 Pro earlier this week, I didn’t expect it to make much of a splash. I figured some people would be happy to buy a more powerful console, others would dismiss it, and most would just not even have an opinion. Boy, was I wrong! It turns out that the $700 PS5 Pro is the latest online warzone where people are taking sides, sharing spicy takes, harassing people they disagree with, and generally just going feral over every part of it. It’s wild to watch.

    Yet despite all this, I’m still happily going to buy a PS5 Pro later this year. Why? Well, to be blunt about it: I want a more powerful PlayStation and I’m willing to spend $700 on it.

    I know that sounds ludicrous to some people. And that’s fine. In reality, every video game console is a wild luxury that a lot of people in this world can’t afford, and some are just more luxurious and expensive than others. I acknowledge that $700 is a lot of money to ask for a game console, but what Sony is offering for that price seems like a fair trade to me, a person who owns a big dumb fancy 4K TV in his basement.

    I want to be sure that when a new game comes out in 2025, I’ll have the most powerful console option available to play it. (Assuming said game arrives on PS5.) I want higher resolutions and framerates. I want cleaner images that are less fuzzy. I want raytraced lighting and shadows. I want increased draw distances. I want Grand Theft Auto 6 to look as sharp and run as perfectly as possible. I care about that stuff. Even if you can’t tell the difference or don’t care, which is fair, I notice these things. And I’m willing to spend $700 to get all these improvements.

    I already have a gaming PC, too!

    “But why not just buy a high-end PC?!” I hear some folks scream. Well, I have one already. And I play a lot of games on it. It’s great. But I also spend every day of the week working in my home office on my PC. The last thing I want to do once I’m done working is continue to sitting at that desk in order to play a game. For me, playing games on a console offers a more comfy, laid back experience that doesn’t feel like I’m at work.

    And yes, I can run an HDMI cable from my PC to my TV and play games on the couch. I know. I’ve done that before. But sometimes I’m tired and I want to crawl onto my comfy loveseat and play a video game on my big dumb TV. I don’t want to mess with drivers, or cables, or multiple launchers. I just want to hit play on Astro Bot and feel good for two hours or so. With a PS5 Pro, I’ll be able to do that and the games will look and play better in ways I appreciate and care about. Seems good to me?

    As someone who grew up not being able to buy new consoles due to money being tight, I love buying the latest PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo device because it feels good. It’s a little treat for myself, a way to say, “Hey, good job saving your money and being responsible. Enjoy this dumb new tech thing.”

    I understand that not everyone can afford a PS5 Pro. I don’t have kids. I live in Kansas. My cost of living is low. So I have savings and “fun money.” Not everyone does and if you can’t afford a PS5 Pro I’m not shaming you or saying you can’t be sad about it. I’m just explaining that I can afford this. It won’t screw me over or hold me back from paying other bills. I’m a responsible (more or less) adult who has decided that I want a more powerful console and I’m going to buy it and enjoy it. You can yell at me on Twitter, but I’ll probably just block you.

    .

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  • How I Eliminated (Almost) All Grading Problems In My Classroom

    How I Eliminated (Almost) All Grading Problems In My Classroom

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    How I Eliminated (Almost) All Grading Problems In My ClassroomHow I Eliminated (Almost) All Grading Problems In My Classroom

    by Terry Heick

    Grading problems are one of the most urgent bugaboos of good teaching.

    Grading can take an extraordinary amount of time. It can also demoralize students, get them in trouble at home, or keep them from getting into a certain college.

    It can demoralize teachers, too. If half the class is failing, any teacher worth their salt will take a long, hard look at themselves and their craft.

    So over the years as a teacher, I cobbled together a kind of system that was, most crucially, student-centered. It was student-centered in the sense that it was designed for them to promote understanding, grow confidence, take ownership, and protect themselves from themselves when they needed it.

    Some of this approach was covered in Why Did That Student Fail? A Diagnostic Approach To Teaching. See below for the system–really, just a few rules I created that, while not perfect, went a long way towards eliminating the grading problems in my classroom.

    Which meant students weren’t paralyzed with fear when I asked them to complete increasingly complex tasks they were worried were beyond their reach. It also meant that parents weren’t breathing down my neck ‘about that C-‘ they saw on Infinite Campus, and if both students and parents are happy, the teacher can be happy, too.

    How I Eliminated (Almost) All Grading Problems In My Classroom

    1. I chose what to grade carefully.

    When I first started teaching, I thought in terms of ‘assignments’ and ‘tests.’ Quizzes were also a thing.

    But eventually I started thinking instead in terms of ‘practice’ and ‘measurement.’ All assessment should be formative, and the idea of ‘summative assessment’ makes as much sense as ‘one last teeth cleaning.’

    The big idea is what I often call a ‘climate of assessment,’ where snapshots of  student understanding and progress are taken in organic, seamless, and non-threatening ways. Assessment is ubiquitous and always-on.

    A ‘measurement’ is only one kind of assessment, and even the word implies ‘checking in on your growth’ in the same way you measure a child’s vertical growth (height) by marking the threshold in the kitchen. This type of assessment provides both the student and teacher a marker–data, if you insist–of where the student ‘is’ at that moment with the clear understanding that another such measurement will be taken soon, and dozens and dozens of opportunities to practice in-between.

    Be very careful with what you grade, because it takes time and mental energy–both finite resources crucial to the success of any teacher. If you don’t have a plan for the data before you give the assessment, don’t give it, and certainly don’t call it a quiz or a test.

    2. I designed work to be ‘published’

    I tried to make student products–writing, graphic organizers, podcasts, videos, projects, and more–at the very least visible to the parents of students. Ideally, this work would also be published to peers for feedback and collaboration, and then to the public at large to provide some authentic function in a community the student cares about.

    By making student work public (insofar as it promoted student learning while protecting any privacy concerns), the assessment is done in large part by the people the work is intended for. It’s authentic, which makes the feedback loop quicker and more diverse than one teacher could ever hope to make it.

    What this system loses in expert feedback that teacher might be able to give (though nothing says it can’t both be made public and benefit from teacher feedback), it makes up for in giving students substantive reasons to do their best work, correct themselves, and create higher stands for quality than your rubric outlined.

    3. I made a rule: No Fs and no zeroes. A, B, C, or ‘Incomplete’

    First, I created a kind of no-zero policy. Easier said than done depending on who you are and what you teach and what the school ‘policy’ is and so on. The idea here, though, is to keep zeroes from mathematically ruining a student’s ‘final grade.’

    I try to explain to students that a grade should reflect understanding, not their ability to successfully navigate the rules and bits of gamification stuffed into most courses and classrooms. If a student receives a D letter grade, it should be because they have demonstrated an almost universal inability to master any content, not because they got As and Bs on most work they cared about but Cs or lower on the work they didn’t, and with a handful of zeroes thrown in for work they didn’t complete ended up with a D or an F.

    Another factor at work here is marking work with an A, B, C, or ‘Incomplete.’ Put another way, if the student didn’t at least achieve the average mark of C, which should reflect average understanding of a given standard or topic, I would mark it ‘Incomplete,’ give them clear feedback on how it could be improved, and then require them to do so.

    4. I went over missing assignments frequently.

    Simple enough. I had a twitter feed of all ‘measurements’ (work they knew that counted towards their grade), so they didn’t have to ask ‘what they were missing’ (though they did anyway). I also wrote it on the board (I had a huge whiteboard that stretched across the front of the classroom).

    5. I created alternative assessments.

    Early on in teaching, I noticed students saying, in different ways, that they ‘got it but don’t all the way get it.’ Or that they believed that they did, in fact, ‘get it’ but not the way the assessment required (reminder: English Lit/ELA is a highly conceptual content area aside of the skills of literacy itself).

    So I’d create an alternative assessment to check and see. Was the assessment getting in the way–obscuring more than it revealed? Why beat my head against the wall explaining the logistics of an assignment or intricacies of a question when they assignment and the question weren’t at all the points? These were just ‘things’ I used the way a carpenter uses tools.

    Sometimes it’s easier to just grab a different tool.

    I’d also ask students to create their own assessments at times. Show me you understand. It didn’t always work the way you’d expect, but I got some of the most insightful and creative expression I’ve ever seen from students using this approach. As with most things, it just depended on the student.

    6. I taught through micro-assignments.

    Exit slips were one of the the greatest things that ever happened to my teaching. I rarely used them as ‘exit tickets’ to be able to leave the classroom, but I did use them almost daily. Why?

    They gave me a constant stream of data for said ‘climate of assessment,’ and it was daily and fresh and disarming to students because they knew it was quick and if they failed, another one would be coming soon.

    It was a ‘student-centered’ practice because it protected them. They had so many opportunities and, math-wise, so many scores that unless they failed everything every day, they wouldn’t ‘fail’ at all. And if they were,

    I could approach a single standard or topic from a variety of angles and complexities and Bloom’s levels and so on, which often showed that the student that ‘didn’t get it’ last week more likely just ‘didn’t get’ my question.

    In other words, they hadn’t failed my assessment; my assessment had failed them because it had failed to uncover what they, in fact, knew.

    7. I used diagnostic teaching 

    You can read more about diagnostic teaching but the general idea is that I had a clear sequence I used that I communicated very clearly to the students and their families. It usually took the first month or two for everyone to become comfortable with it all, but once I did, grading problems were *almost* completely eliminated. Problems still surfaced but with a system in place, it was much easier to identify exactly what went wrong and why and communicate it all to the stakeholders involved in helping support children.

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  • How to Temper Chocolate | The Recipe Critic

    How to Temper Chocolate | The Recipe Critic

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    This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.

    Learn how to temper chocolate for all your chocolate dipping and candy-making needs! Tempering chocolate can be intimidating but my how-to guide will help you every step of the way.

    Use tempered chocolate to make decadent treats! It’s perfect for dipping these peanut butter eggs, my easy Oreo balls, or making chocolate-covered pretzels. Your chocolate lovers will thank you!

    Top view of tempered chocolate in a glass bowl with a spatula.

    Reasons to Temper Chocolate

    • Use For Desserts: Tempered chocolate is used when making chocolate molds and bars, dipped candy, or edible chocolate decorations.
    • Perfect Coating Texture: Get smooth, shiny, and “snappy” chocolate for all your dipping needs! Tempering is necessary for that perfect chocolate texture.

    What Does it Mean to Temper Chocolate?

    Tempering chocolate is the precise process of heating and cooling chocolate. Basically, it’s melting the chocolate and then cooling the chocolate so that it hardens to the perfect texture. This texture should be smooth, shiny, and hard enough to “snap” when broken apart. Tempered chocolate will hold its shape at room temperature and is important for dipping and making chocolate candies.

    Chocolate can be sensitive to temperature changes causing it to go out of temper. Once out of temper, the chocolate becomes dull, grainy, and soft. You have likely seen chocolate that has gray or white streaks on it. This is called “chocolate bloom” and indicates that the chocolate is out of temper. While the chocolate is perfectly edible, it’s not the same as tempered chocolate.

    Two types of chocolate labeled bloomed chocolate and tempered chocolate.Two types of chocolate labeled bloomed chocolate and tempered chocolate.

    How to Temper Chocolate

    There are three different ways to temper chocolate! Choose which method you would like to use.

    1. Double Boiler: The double boiler method is when a glass or metal bowl is placed on top of a pot of steaming (not boiling or simmering) water to melt the chocolate. Once melted, the heated bowl of chocolate is removed and set in a bowl of cold water or ice to cool the chocolate down to the second temperature. Once cooled to the right temperature, the bowl is then placed back on the double boiler. This warms the chocolate up slightly to reach the final temperature for tempered chocolate.
    2. Seeding: The seeding method is similar to the double boiler method. You will use a double boiler to melt the chopped chocolate. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the remaining ⅓ of chopped chocolate. This is called “seeding”. The chocolate is stirred until completely melted and has reached the second temperature. Place the bowl back on the double boiler for just a few moments until the chocolate has reached the final temperature and is in temper. If the chocolate is under the final temperature, continue stirring on the double boiler until it has warmed properly. If the chocolate goes over the final temperature, the tempering process will need to begin again and you will need additional chopped chocolate to seed with. 
    3. Tabling: The tabling method uses a double boiler to melt the chocolate. Pour ⅔ of the melted chocolate onto a clean marble surface. Use a plastic bench scrape to spread the chocolate out into a large rectangle before gathering it back into a pool in the center of the marble. Repeat this 3-4 times before taking the temperature of the pool of chocolate. If it has reached the second temperature, scoop it all up and add it back to the bowl. If it has not reached the second temperature, continue to spread it out and gather it into a pool 1-2 times more before temping again. After you’ve added the cooled chocolate back to the bowl, stir it in with the remaining ⅓ of chocolate and temp it. If it is still warmer than the final temperature, remove ⅔ of it from the marble to spread and cool it 2-3 times before adding it back to the bowl. If it is cooler than the final temperature, place it on the double boiler for only a few seconds while stirring to bring it up the few degrees necessary to reach the final temperature. 
    Chart to show the temperatures of chocolate for melting, warming, and cooling.Chart to show the temperatures of chocolate for melting, warming, and cooling.

    How to Make a Double Boiler

    Knowing how to make a double boiler is helpful because it’s an important part of all 3 methods. You can buy a double boiler pot, but this is an easy version using a pot and bowl you most likely already have!

    1. Pour Water Into the Pot: Use about 1 inch of water when using the double boiler method. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water in the pot! 
    2. Place the Bowl on Top of the Pot: The bowl should be large enough to cover the top of the pot and sit on top of it, but not too large that it doesn’t sit well on top of it.
    3. Add the Chocolate to the Bowl: Turn on the stove on low heat and slowly heat to melt the chocolate. Be patient and stir continuously, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to keep all of the chocolate moving.
    First photo of water adding to a pot to make a double boiler.First photo of water adding to a pot to make a double boiler.
    Second photo of a glass bowl placed on top of the pot of water.Second photo of a glass bowl placed on top of the pot of water.
    Third photo of the chocolate added to the glass bowl to melt and temper.Third photo of the chocolate added to the glass bowl to melt and temper.

    What Kind of Chocolate Can I Temper?

    Use chocolate that doesn’t have any added stabilizers and has enough cocoa butter in it since tempering is the stabilization of cocoa butter. 

    • Use High-Quality Chocolate: The best chocolate for tempering is high-quality chocolate with higher cocoa butter content. Some good brands to look for are Couverture, Callebaut, and Guittard. 
    • Avoid Chocolate Chips: Chocolate chips are made with less cocoa butter to prevent them from melting easily. If you attempt to temper chocolate using chocolate chips, you will most likely end up with streaks in it due to the lower cocoa butter content. 
    • Avoid Candy Melts, Coating Chocolate, and Almond Bark: These kinds of chocolate have added stabilizers to help them set up and look shiny, but are ineffective for tempering. Because they don’t require tempering they are a great option when you want a quick, simple way to melt chocolate for dipping or drizzling.
    Top view of chopped chocolate on a cutting board.Top view of chopped chocolate on a cutting board.

    Tips For Tempering

    Here are lots of helpful tips to make sure your tempering is a success! I go over EVERYTHING!

    • Use a Metal or Glass Bowl: Plastic and ceramic bowls will not work for tempering chocolate. Metal bowls cool the chocolate faster, which requires you to work more quickly to keep the chocolate from heating or cooling too fast. Glass bowls will retain the heat longer and extend the cooling process. The chocolate will also stay in temper for longer.
    • Bowl Size: The bowl should be large enough to cover the top of the pot and sit on top of it, but not too large that it doesn’t sit well on top of it.
    • Water Tip: Use about 1 inch of water when using the double boiler method. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water in the pot! 
    • Low Heat: Heat the water over very, very low heat. You want it steaming, but not simmering. The lower the heat, the more control you have over how quickly your chocolate will rise in temperature. 
    • Keep it Moving: Keep the chocolate moving! Agitating the bowl and constant stirring will help keep the chocolate more even in temperature.
    • Patience: Patience is key when tempering chocolate. It can take several tries before it’s correctly tempered. Each step can take time to go through all the temperature changes, especially the cooling process. Babysit your chocolate closely, stir it frequently, and be patient.
    • Seeding Tips: If you are using the seeding method, it’s important to note that the chocolate used to seed must be already in temper! You should use commercially bought chocolate that is still in temper, or if you are confident in your tempering skills you may use chocolate you have previously tempered and let fully cool and harden. 
    • Microwave Tips: If you use the microwave to melt your chocolate, set the microwave to 50% power and heat in 20-30 second increments, stirring thoroughly and temping between each increment so you don’t scorch the chocolate. 

    What to AVOID When Tempering Chocolate?

    There are things to avoid when working with chocolate! Remember these and you’re on your way to successful tempering.

    1. HIGH HEAT: Heat is important for melting chocolate, but it has to be controlled by keeping it very low. Chocolate is prone to scorching easily. Monitor the chocolate’s temperature closely to make sure it doesn’t overheat and burn. Use a thermometer to check the temperature! See my chart below for the correct temperatures.
    2. WATER: Water and chocolate do NOT mix well. Even one drop of water can make an entire bowl seize up. Use a kitchen towel or paper towel to wipe the bottom of the bowl dry each time it comes off the double boiler. This will help eliminate the possibility of water getting into the chocolate. 
    Top close view of melted chocolate in a bowl with chopped chocolate added on top for seeding.Top close view of melted chocolate in a bowl with chopped chocolate added on top for seeding.

    How Do I Know If I Tempered My Chocolate Correctly?

    Here are some simple ways to know if you tempered your chocolate correctly.

    1. Parchment Paper: Use a spoon to drop a small dollop of chocolate or a smear of it onto a piece of parchment paper and let it set up.
    2. Dip a Spoon or Knife: Dip a spoon or the tip of a knife in the chocolate and set it aside to set up. 
    3. Refrigerator: You can place these in the refrigerator for no longer than 2-3 minutes to help the chocolate set up more quickly.
    4. Smooth, Shiny, and Snaps: Tempered chocolate will set up quickly and will look very shiny and smooth. When you break it apart, it will have a clean snap. The chocolate should not look dull or be soft. 
    5. No Streaks or Spots: If the chocolate has streaks, spots, or takes longer than 5 minutes to set then it is not in temper. You will have to start over!

    Storing Tempered Chocolate

    Place tempered chocolate in an airtight container or Ziplock bag. The best place to store chocolate is in a cool, dry place like a cupboard. Avoid storing it in places with heat, moisture, and light. Remember, temperature changes affect the chocolate and will cause the chocolate to “bloom!”

    Close view of a thermometer testing the temperature of a bowl of melted chocolate.Close view of a thermometer testing the temperature of a bowl of melted chocolate.

    Chocolate Dipping Recipes to Love!



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  • Katherine Thrailkill’s Mentor Led Her to MAHG

    Katherine Thrailkill’s Mentor Led Her to MAHG

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    Katherine Thrailkill considered careers in drama, law, and hi-tech sales before realizing all her interests and experiences pointed her toward teaching social studies. She would help students gain political efficacy—the knowledge and confidence they need to make their voices count in our political system. Once she found her calling, colleagues helped her make her way. A key mentor was Nancie Lindblom, who showed Thrailkill how to model civil discussion. Lindblom is the 2013 Arizona Teacher of the Year and a 2014 Graduate of the MAHG program.

    Thrailkill works to build students' political efficacy
    Katherine Thrailkill at Summer 2024 MAHG.

    Thrailkill was a third-year teacher happily settled at Skyline High School in Mesa, AZ, when Lindblom phoned to ask her to apply for an opening at nearby Mountain View High. The request surprised and flattered Thrailkill. Not only was Mountain View the high school from which she’d graduated; Lindblom was a teacher she admired. While earning her Masters in secondary school education at Arizona State University, she’d observed Lindblom’s class. “That’s the teacher I want to be,” she’d thought. 

    Lindblom’s “Defining America” Course

    Thrailkill watched Lindblom teach a sophomore course she herself designed: “Defining America: The Fulfillment of the Promise of the Declaration of Independence.” Lindblom based it on a summer seminar she attended in the early 2000s: the Presidential Academy, a forerunner of Teaching American History’s current programs. The three-week program took teachers from across the country on a study tour of Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Washington, DC, discussing with leading scholars three eras in history—the Founding, the Civil War, and the mid-twentieth century Civil Rights movement—all of which tested Americans’ commitment to their principles of liberty and equality. This inspired Lindblom to design an elective sophomore course on the same three periods, using many of the primary documents she’d studied in the TAH seminar. The course would prepare students for her fast-paced junior-level AP American History class. It would give them time to think about American principles while learning to read primary documents.

    Katherine Thrailkill's mentor Nancie Lindblom
    Nancie Lindblom, 2011 James Madison Memorial Foundation Fellow and MAHG graduate.

    As Lindblom posed questions that pushed students to think through the readings, Thrailkill was reminded of her favorite undergraduate courses. A political science and philosophy double major at Arizona State University, Thrailkill learned about the American political system in large lecture halls. But small seminars on ethics and political philosophy stimulated her imagination and taught her to think critically. Lindblom’s teaching approach “was everything I wanted to do.”

    How Lindblom Modeled Civil Discussion

    She took the job at Mountain View. The next year she taught across the hall from Lindblom. Thrailkill watched Lindblom model civil discussion, disarming students’ fears of disagreeing with others. Increasingly reliant on cell-phone communication, today’s students often feel “anxious” when asked to debate historical or political questions, Thrailkill said. Teachers must model civil discussion. “Before challenging another person’s argument, you have to understand it. You must listen to what they say, then tell them what you heard, to verify that you understood.” This not only shows respect for the other person; it pushes you to carefully think through your own position. She found students learned this process best in small groups; afterwards, they more comfortably discussed issues with the whole class.

    Lindblom, a 2011 James Madison Memorial Foundation Fellow, recommended that Thrailkill apply for the same grant, to fund a Masters emphasizing constitutional studies. She also recommended the Master of Arts in American History and Government (MAHG) at Ashland University as the ideal MA program for a working teacher interested in encouraging civil discussion of the perennial issues in American civic life. Thrailkill applied twice, and when she learned in May that she’d been awarded the grant for 2024, she felt Lindblom’s recommendation had made the difference. Looking through the Masters study options the Madison Foundation recommended, Thrailkill quickly concluded that Lindblom’s choice was the best.

    Thrailkill’s First Impressions of MAHG

    She registered for two courses in this year’s summer residential MAHG program. A study of Cherokee Indian removal during the 1830s would inform her on a part of history she knew little about. A second-week course on the American Founding would help her review what she’d learned as an undergraduate about the framing of the Constitution.

    Teachers in the course on Cherokee history participated in a “Reacting to the Past” game, testing whether the discovery of gold on Cherokee lands make their forced displacement into the Arkansas territory inevitable. Each player acted the part of an actual historical figure or a composite of several, basing their actions on primary documents they’d read and discussed. Some played Cherokee nationalists, vowing to hold the land guaranteed them by federal treaties; some, white political leaders determined to force them off their land. Others played Cherokee leaders who thought the tribe’s survival depended on accepting removal. A fourth group represented Cherokee who were undecided. 
    Most players made one or more speeches in character. Professor Jace Weaver assigned roles only after asking the teachers how comfortable they were with public speaking. Having begun college as a drama major, Thrailkill told Weaver, “I’m fine with any role you give me.” She got the role of Andrew Jackson, the historical character she most loves to hate. Presiding over a fictional meeting between representatives of the Cherokee and the white officials advocating their removal, she delivered a gracious speech of welcome that conceded none of the Cherokee claims.

    The game illuminated the primary documents Thrailkill read to prepare for it. It helped her understand why Cherokee removal occurred, despite its evident injustice and the Supreme Court ruling in Worchester v. Georgia. Thrailkill now plans to use more role-playing exercises in her teaching. They make classroom debate “less risky. No one will judge you for taking Andrew Jackson’s side against the rights of Native Americans. You’re acting! Yet the exercise requires you to think about Jackson’s perspective.”

    The course on the founding, taught by Professors David Alvis and Beth L’Arrivee, revealed the tense conversations that led to our constitutional framework. Delegates compromised without necessarily resolving their underlying differences. Thrailkill confided she’d “been feeling a little low lately about political efficacy.” Citizens seemed doubtful that they could make their voices heard in our polarized political climate. Given all that the founders achieved in the summer of 1787, Thrailkill “expected to come out of this course feeling a little more cynical” about current politics. “But now, I see that today’s debates reflect older ones.” The Antifederalists foresaw the elastic potential of the commerce and the “necessary and proper” clauses; our current debates over taxation and federal regulation reflect their worries. Yet the founders thought through their reasons for incorporating these and other more controversial provisions into the Constitution.

    Building Students’ Political Efficacy

    Henry Adeoye, MAHG student and US History Teacher in Texas.

    “I absolutely love MAHG,” Thrailkill said, impressed with the quality of the seminar conversations. The program will equip her for her life’s work of building students’ political efficacy. With the help of veteran teachers like Lindblom, Thrailkill is well positioned for the task. She advises Mountain View’s Model UN team; students on the team take her AP Comparative Government class. They study the governing systems in six nations: Mexico, whose system is modeled on that of the US; the United Kingdom, with a parliamentary system, and Nigeria, which is considering returning to such a system; the authoritarian systems in Russia and China; and the theocratic system in Iran. The team debates other teams in district, state, and sometimes national conventions. Thrailkill is constantly building the knowledge she needs for the course. She shared a shuttle ride from the airport to the Ashland campus with Henry Adeoye, a Houston-based, Nigerian-American teacher and Madison Fellow. Born to the Yoruba tribe, Adeoye engaged the Nigerian driver—an Igbo—in conversation about the differences between the Nigerian and American political systems. Thrailkill planned to tell her students about their conversation.  

    During the 2022-2023 school year, Lindblom designed a new sophomore course — “Changemakers” — to teach civil discussion and build students’ political efficacy. Then she was offered the position of social studies curriculum advisor for the large Mesa Public School district. Lindblom asked Thrailkill to take on the class. Working with a veteran English Language Arts specialist (who also has become a mentor), Thrailkill implemented the double-unit course last year. It challenges students to think about how political and social reforms occur; teaches critical reading and media literacy skills; informs them on Constitutional protections for free speech; and teaches civil discussion through “structured academic controversies”—debates that require participants to restate their opponents’ arguments, conceding the strongest points, before responding. Students also select problems to research, investigating policy solutions and presenting their findings in a forum at year’s end.  “Nancie attended the forum and said we did well. A few days later I learned about the Madison fellowship,” Thrailkill said. “I’ve been blessed with brilliant and generous mentors. I feel like I won the teacher lottery!”



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  • Chicken Carbonara (With Spaghetti Squash)

    Chicken Carbonara (With Spaghetti Squash)

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    I’ve been on an Italian chicken kick lately and have been making lots of Italian inspired chicken dishes. First, it was the chicken piccata, then I made a healthy variation of chicken cacciatore, chicken Florentine, chicken Marsala, and now chicken carbonara.

    While these pasta recipes have many of the same flavors, I like putting a healthy twist on them. I’ll often use veggies instead of pasta for a tasty version lower in carbs.

    Classic Chicken Carbonara

    Creamy chicken carbonara is often made with an alfredo sauce or creamy sauce and served over fettuccine, bucatini, or linguine pasta. More Americanized versions will even use penne pasta. Traditionally this pasta dish is made with an egg mixture sauce instead of alfredo. Italians whisk together pasta water, egg yolks, and hard cheese (like pecorino Romano) to make the creamy sauce.

    An Updated Chicken Pasta

    I substituted spaghetti squash for the pasta to make a grain-free version. I also made a healthier (and optional) carbonara sauce and added some wilted spinach and asparagus for flavor and extra nutrition. Instead of pancetta, which can be hard to find, this recipe uses crispy bacon.

    This is an all in one dish with protein, healthy fats, and plenty of veggies. And since it’s cooked in one pan, there aren’t many dishes to clean. I use a skillet, but you could also use a large pot if your skillet isn’t big enough.

    My kids liked this one and ate it without complaint!

    Chicken_Carbonara

    Chicken Carbonara Over Spaghetti Squash

    Delicious and healthy chicken carbonara served over nutrient-packed spaghetti squash. 

    • Preheat the oven to 400°F.

    • Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scrape out the seeds with a spoon.

    • Place them face down on a baking sheet or in a large baking dish with ¼ inch of water. Cook for 30 minutes or until tender when poked with a fork.

    • While the squash is cooking, butterfly the chicken by cutting it in half lengthwise.

    • Pound it with a meat hammer or the bottom of a cast iron pan until it’s ¼ to ½ inch thick.

    • In a large skillet over medium-high heat, place the asparagus in about ¼ inch of water. Cook over high heat until the asparagus is bright green and starting to soften. Once the water has evaporated add 1 Tablespoon butter and sprinkle with some sea salt.

    • Remove the asparagus from the pan and set aside.

    • In the same pan, cook bacon until crispy.

    • Remove the bacon and cook the skinless chicken breast in the bacon grease, sprinkling each side with some of the sea salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

    • Remove the cooked chicken and set it aside.

    • Saute the onion in the remaining bacon grease until soft.

    • Add the spinach and extra butter or olive oil if needed and cook until the spinach is barely wilted.

    • Add the cream if using and about ¼ teaspoon of the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

    • At this point, the spaghetti squash should be soft so remove it from the oven and drain off the water. Scrape out the insides with a fork. It should be a little al dente, not mushy.

    • To serve, put some spaghetti squash on a plate, top with some wilted spinach, then a piece of chicken, some crumbled bacon, and the asparagus.

    • Garnish with Parmesan if using.

    Nutrition Facts

    Chicken Carbonara Over Spaghetti Squash

    Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

    Calories 356
    Calories from Fat 198

    % Daily Value*

    Fat 22g34%

    Saturated Fat 10g63%

    Trans Fat 0.3g

    Polyunsaturated Fat 3g

    Monounsaturated Fat 7g

    Cholesterol 78mg26%

    Sodium 1016mg44%

    Potassium 865mg25%

    Carbohydrates 22g7%

    Fiber 6g25%

    Sugar 8g9%

    Protein 21g42%

    Vitamin A 4898IU98%

    Vitamin C 21mg25%

    Calcium 203mg20%

    Iron 3mg17%

    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    If you don’t have Parmesan cheese then Romano will also work. 

    Would you try this version of chicken carbonara? What’s your favorite chicken dish? Share below!

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  • VNTM continues Open Source Project, issues ‘Principle’ : Dancing Astronaut

    VNTM continues Open Source Project, issues ‘Principle’ : Dancing Astronaut

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    VNTM continues Open Source Project, issues ‘Principle’VNTM

    by: Alex Lambeau


    Sep 10, 2024

    Amsterdam-based artist VNTM is carving a niche in electronic music with his innovative Open Source Project. With the release of “Principle” marking the project’s tenth phase, VNTM continues to draw attention for his blends of modern techno with progressive dance melodies. The Open Source Project invites other artists to reinterpret VNTM’s tracks by providing full access to stems, fostering collaborative creativity in the community, all while highlighting the versatility and depth behind VNTM’s eclectic music production.

    VNTM’s latest release, “Principle”, showcases the edgier side of his musical journey. The track is a powerful and contemporary weapon, characterized by rough textures and signature melodies. Driven by relentless percussive elements, “Principle” immerses listeners in a dark yet shiny soundscape that blurs the line between tangible reality and a dreamlike state. Fresh off a standout performance on the Afterlife stage at Tomorrowland, VNTM continues to solidify his position as a forward-thinking force in the electronic music space. To create your own spin on VNTM’s tracks, purchase the stems here.

    Stream “Principle” below.

    Featured image: VNTM/Instagram

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  • Police Officer Surpasses $10K/Month FI Goal w/Out-of-State Sober Living Investments

    Police Officer Surpasses $10K/Month FI Goal w/Out-of-State Sober Living Investments

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    Achieving your FI number in just four years? If you want to do it too, you must try something different. This couple found a niche within a niche, allowing them to hit the coveted “1% rule” in real estate, skyrocketing their cash flow and passive income and allowing them to make more than almost any other landlord in their area. So, how did they do it, and what was the investment that got them there?

    David and Morgan Stanhope weren’t real estate investors five years ago. They didn’t come from investor families and had zero real estate investing experience. One day, at his job as a New York State Police Investigator, David met a mentor who would change how he thought about money, financial freedom, and passive income. This was perfect because David and Morgan were already in a great place to invest—Upstate New York. But David chose NOT to invest in his home market, and for good reason.

    They went south to a state known for higher home prices and crushingly high insurance costs. There, they found a creative rental property investing strategy, allowing them to make much more cash flow than regular rentals. Four years later, they’ve surpassed their $10,000/month FI goal. Now, they’re on track to hit an even bigger achievement: $70,000 per MONTH. Today, we’re talking to them about exactly how they’re getting there with investment properties you’ve probably never heard (or thought) about.

    Mindy:
    Have you thought to yourself, it’s just too hard to invest in this market, or it’s too late. I’ve missed all the good deals. On today’s episode, we are going to hear a story that will make you believe that investing in real estate and reaching financial independence is still possible even in 2024. Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the BiggerPockets Money podcast. My name is Mindy Jensen, and with me as always is my real estate believer, co-host Scott Treach.

    Scott:
    Thanks, Mindy. I really appreciate all of these wonderful creative intros that you come up with. Every week, BiggerPockets has a goal of creating 1 million millionaires. You’re in the right place if you want to get your financial house in order because we truly believe financial freedom is attainable for everyone, no matter when or where you’re starting or whether you live in a great investment market. But choose voluntarily to forego it and invest in another state hundreds of miles away. Today we’re going to discuss how David and Morgan started their real estate investing journey in 2020 and scaled their portfolio to 10 properties in just under four years. We’re going to talk about how they plan to continue to scale their portfolio to reach their fine number of $70,000 a month from real estate investing and how they’re making it work in this market cycle, including their most recently purchased deal here in 2024 that produces a great cash on cash return with an 8% mortgage. David and Morgan, thanks so much for hopping on today. Thank you for having

    David:
    Us. We’re excited to be here.

    Morgan:
    Hey Guys.

    Mindy:
    So I’m looking for a snapshot of your money story. Morgan, I’m going to go with you first. Where does your journey with money begin?

    Morgan:
    So my journey with money began when I was a young child. I grew up in a divorced household and both my parents raised me on and off their time. But the cool thing is they got us a savings account when we were really young, early nineties. So every week I would take my pass book to the bank and I would get in real time how much money was in my account. But that was really it. My parents would deposit money for things like household chores, and then when I became old enough to start working at 14, I would then deposit my own money. But that was really how my childhood looked. My parents never ever talked about what a 401k was, what an IRA was anything to do with their jobs. So they really just said, save your money for a rainy day and spend your money on things, which is weird to me. So every year my mom would take her income tax and bring us on vacation. So I grew up with doing certain things like going on trips instead of buying tangible items, if that makes sense to you.

    Mindy:
    Yeah. Experiences over possessions.

    Morgan:
    Yeah, over possessions.

    Mindy:
    David, how about you? What did your upbringing look like?

    David:
    Yeah, similar. So I grew up, well actually I guess to even back it up, I was adopted when I was three months old from Calcutta, India and grew up in Rhode Island. We grew up in a middle class family. My dad was a computer programmer and my mother was a social worker, and money was never a big topic for us. We knew to save money, we knew to invest your money with CDs at banks and real estate and 4 0 1 Ks were never a discussion in our household. David Morgan, could you tell us what you do for work?

    Morgan:
    So I was actually a special education teacher for years until we had our son in 2017, and that’s when we discussed am I going to continue working or am I going to stay home? So with the cost of childcare, it was just a no-brainer for me to leave my career to raise our son, and we knew in the future that we wanted to have more kids. So I became a stay-at-Home parent.

    David:
    So for me, I’m a New York State police investigator. I work with the Counter-Terrorism Unit, and we work with the FBI. So to give you an overview of what I do, my role is to essentially make sure another nine 11 never happens in New York State. Again, we make sure that there’s no domestic terrorism in New York, and that’s the focus of what I do for work.

    Scott:
    Awesome. Thank you very much for doing that and keeping us all safe here. It’s wonderful. And remind me what in the general sense of the state do you guys live in New York?

    David:
    So we’re up toward the Adirondacks, right near Lake George and Saratoga Springs.

    Scott:
    Awesome. And this is notable, I believe, because I attended, well obviously I was at BP Con 2023 and I had this thesis in my mind that upstate New York is the best place to invest because of the changes from Covid. Everyone’s moving out to these areas. It’s beautiful in the summer, you got all these fancy things, that cash flow is great. And I am talking about this thesis and David comes in and we’re at that bar and he goes, you are crazy here. I live there and I would never invest here and I invest out of state. So with that prompting, can you tell us, and let’s tease that up for later, I’d love to hear about the thesis here, but how did you get into real estate investing? How did that start, get set up? Give me a little bit of background about your wealth building journey leading up maybe to 2017 and the changes that came about when you guys had your son.

    David:
    So we moved back to New York from Arizona wise in the Air Force, and so I joined state police in 2014. I was a trooper on the road and I was promoted to the position as an investigator in 2019. So with state police, we have a pension, we have a 401k, and those are the foundation that we had going into real estate.

    Scott:
    Awesome. And you guys are, I imagine also accumulating wealth at a pretty good clip in the years from 2014 to 2019 that you just previewed here. Could you give us your mindset on how you spend budget and otherwise think about accumulating wealth?

    David:
    Absolutely. So I think we’re very much similar to everyone else in terms of when we moved back, we built a custom home. We both have vehicles. We’re doing everything everyone else is doing. We’re doing everything. Everyone that’s middle class is doing, we’re saving money, but not to the degree that we are now. And I think going along that path, and then once Covid happened and then Morgan’s at home with their children, that was the catalyst that started us on their real estate journey.

    Scott:
    So to be fair to say that leading up to 2020, you guys are living a very normal kind of middle class lifestyle from a financial perspective here in a relatively lower cost of living area. It’s not the lowest, but it’s not Manhattan either. And you’re accumulating a little bit of cash over years in addition to 401k contributions and I dunno what the word is, vesting, maybe pension plan, moving towards vesting, the pension plan.

    David:
    Yep. We put in X amount every month towards a pension. And I think my mindset changed when I was a trooper up in the Adirondacks. I met a mentor when I was stationed up there and Greg really gave me the foundation and kind of the thought process of real estate investor, and you’re never going to change your life unless you try. And that mentality that he gave us and that idea has really led us to where we are now.

    Morgan:
    And a little background on Greg really quick. He is a guy from LA and he vacations in the Adirondacks every year. And Dave just happened to meet him when he was a trooper on the road. So Greg is a real estate investor, so every time he would see Dave, he would say, what are you and Morgan doing? And have you ever thought of this? And he started to talk to Dave about all of his investments. Then Dave would come home and report to me everything that Greg was doing. So that’s what got the ball rolling on what made us really start to think about, okay, I think this is possible. I think we have the income to do it. We’re looking at all the 401k information and money that he’s put in to his deferred comp. And we had our son and I said, let’s just do it.

    Scott:
    What year is this that this transition and thought process happens?

    Morgan:
    This? You were still up in Tupper? This was in 2019 between 2018 and 2019 because we had just had our second child, our daughter, and then I think you and Greg talked over the, it must’ve been a few years.

    David:
    Absolutely. And we still

    Morgan:
    Stay in touch. They talked about it, and then it wasn’t until 20 when we purchased our first property.

    Scott:
    Stay tuned for more on how David closed on his first investment property after this quick break.

    Mindy:
    Welcome back to the BiggerPockets Money podcast. Let’s jump in.

    Scott:
    So in 2019, you’re having this bug to buy real estate and you purchased that, or 20, it’s building up in 2019 is actually when you buy the first property mechanically. Where did the resources to purchase this property come from? Did you have a cash position? Did you have to find another creative way to access this, and how did you get prepared financially to buy it?

    David:
    So that first purchase was in October, 2020. That was in Cape Coral, Florida. So in terms of the money and where we pulled that from, it was from our 401k. So to give you a snapshot of that, we pulled a percentage of money from our 401k. There was 30,000 and we used that 30,000 towards the purchase. But then since this was during covid, we also used the CARES Act. And since my son wasn’t able to go to preschool at the time, under the CARES Act, you were able to pull out further funds. So we pulled out an additional 25,000. So now we’re working with 55,000 towards the down payment of that first property. And from there, also using our savings, we’re able to close on that first home.

    Scott:
    Awesome. Okay. So we have a combination of savings and 401k. Did we borrow from the 401k or was this a straight up withdrawal for the first part? The second part sounds like was a withdrawal

    David:
    Both. Yes. So the first part was a loan, and then the second part of the CARES Act was just pulling those funds.

    Scott:
    Awesome. Okay. Now, why did you decide not to invest in the great upstate New York land that I have built up in my head to be this wonderful land of magical investing returns and instead decide to go to Florida with the hurricane?

    David:
    That is a good loaded question. So Florida, there’s a couple things. So this is during the middle of Covid, just demographically. If you look at migration patterns, everyone from California and New York are moving. So there’s a couple reasons for that. One, Florida, obviously great weather and then two taxes and

    Morgan:
    Everyone was still working. Florida didn’t shut down.

    David:
    Yep. Landlord tenant laws in Florida are better. I mean, they have high insurance rates now, but we do things to mitigate those costs.

    Mindy:
    Okay. I want to know what you do to mitigate those costs because Florida Insurance, homeowner’s insurance is, let’s be polite and say unaffordable.

    David:
    Yes, I agree with you. So when we went to go purchase our first property in Florida, I was actually originally looking at condos and another trooper, he bought a condo down there and he said, I’m making $200 a month and off of that condo is passive income. I thought that sounded excellent. And then I started listening to BiggerPockets and BiggerPockets said, you should go for that 1% rule.

    Scott:
    Those were the days.

    David:
    Yes. So it still works. So without having any other ideas of real estate, I just said to the realtor, I said, I want to make 1% off of the total purchase price. She told me it wasn’t possible and you can’t do it in this market. And so I told her anything’s possible, and we found the realtor. And after we found the other realtor, she introduced us to a program. The program is a sobriety program. It places individuals going through alcohol or narcotics recovery in single family homes. And that organization is how we’re able to one, bring in that 1% rule, and then also it allows us to make a substantial amount and to hit that 1% every single purchase. So with the high insurance rates, we’re able to far exceed what apartment complexes, Airbnbs, a whole slew of other real estate investments, what they’re able to bring in.

    Mindy:
    So with the sobriety program, who is paying the rent on the property?

    David:
    So that’s a good question. So the tenants are paying rent to us. Now, to give you an example, they have, we’ll say we have own a home in Tampa, there might be 10 other sobriety homes affiliated with that program in Tampa. So we receive the rent from the tenants, but if for whatever reason they can’t pay, if there’s a hurricane that comes through, those other 10 homes will chip in rent and then they will give us our monthly rent check. Now, for whatever reason, those 10 homes can’t pay us. It goes out to a chapter, chapter covers a region in Florida, and that regional chapter will kick in money to us. If for whatever reason that can’t happen and there’s a large, large hurricane, the state of Florida will end up sending us a rent check, which actually happened a couple months ago. And then there’s another safety program as well on the federal level.

    Scott:
    Now the economics of this at the fundamental level are these are typically multi bedroom homes and we’re really packing in a large number of individuals per property. And people are actually splitting rooms in many cases. Or is that a different type of program that’s not the same as what you’re doing?

    David:
    There might be a couple of rooms that are split in half, but for the most part it’s six to eight people per house. But I mean, we’re looking at homes that are 2,500 square feet, five or six bedrooms, two to three baths. They’re large homes. And

    Morgan:
    If for whatever reason we need to, we’ve actually added multiple houses we’ve added on. So we’ve added two, three more bedrooms in some of these properties before the tenants move in to give everybody an adequate amount of space.

    Scott:
    Awesome. And then mechanically, are you guys finding candidates clients for the program here, or how does that work?

    David:
    So we are very, very, very hands off with regards to the sobriety program. We only take care of major fixes within the homes, whether that’s an HVAC system, but otherwise the program, they place individuals into the home. They have more or less a house manager and they will contact us if there’s any issues with the house or any repairs to be done. But we don’t find the people. They find the people, if there’s ever any major repairs, we’ll cover them, but there’s minor repairs. They will actually cover the cost of those minor repairs in the home.

    Scott:
    Now, do you ever get, one of the things, I’ve contemplated this for some properties here in Denver and have ultimately opted not to do the same. How do you position these properties? I imagine that neighbors, for example, in certain neighborhoods would’ve a problem with eight to 10 recovering drug addicts or alcoholics in a building nearby them. How do you find these properties and you factor that at all into your consideration for these purchases?

    David:
    Absolutely. So the thing about the people that are in these homes, and this was one thing that was really big for me just because I was, at the time, I was a New York State trooper and I am making arrests of people that have narcotics on them that are drinking and driving. And once the program was explained to me that these are just normal, normal, normal people, they are in our Tampa home. We had a local DJ that was in the home. We have people that are normal blue collar workers and they’re just as normal as anyone else. They’re not the normal people that I would deal with in terms of making arrests. And in terms of when we purchase these homes, we make sure that the home one is not overfilled. It’s a normal five to eight people in the home and they’re in nice areas. We’ve rarely had any complaints from neighbors, but we also make sure the houses are kept up, that there’s landscaping that’s done, that there driveway is a big driveway to accommodate all the vehicles and that there’s not vehicles parked on the road. When we went to purchase our first property, I always told Morgan I wanted it to be a property that

    Morgan:
    We would live in,

    David:
    That we would live in and that I would be proud to live in. And that’s kind of been our mentality going forward.

    Scott:
    Okay. So can you give us the numbers on this first purchase? We don’t need to go through every purchase in the portfolio, but I’d love to hear about this first purchase and what the portfolio is swelled to today.

    David:
    So this first purchase in Cape Coral, it was in October, 2020. It was 269,000, and the cash we invested in that property was $58,000. That house right now spins off 1,360 in a month of cashflow. And just in terms of quick numbers that produces an ROI for us of 22.65%, we were able to get 1% off of that purchase price. And then right now we’re renewing the lease and then we’re also going to get a higher passive income and higher ROI from that. Awesome. And

    Scott:
    You’re providing affordable living conditions and helping people on their recovery journeys with this as well. So that’s fantastic. How many of these do you have today?

    David:
    So today we have 10 homes. They’re spread throughout Florida and we strategically buy them in high retirement areas or areas that everyone would like to move to that will appreciate. So whether that’s Jacksonville or Cape Coral or Bradenton, you name it, those are areas that we pinpoint in terms of very certain data points. And so far it’s worked out pretty well. Awesome. And then

    Scott:
    Let’s zoom in on the most recent purchase. What’s the most recent property that you acquired and what are the numbers look like on that? From an acquisition standpoint here in 2024,

    David:
    So the most recent purchase was in Orange Park, which is in Jacksonville. That purchase was 329,000. So to give you an idea of that current mortgage, we’re looking, so we’re faced up against right now an eight interest rate. So obviously everyone else is going through the same boat that we are with high interest rates for that rent, we’re able to negotiate a $3,300 rent every month, and that gives us a cash on cash of $977. So for the ROI for that property, that is giving us a 24% ROI off of that property, a 24%

    Scott:
    Cash on cash. ROI? Correct. Awesome. Okay. And when you use the word negotiated $3,300 in rent, this is a negotiation with a program that fills the house with sober living clients. Am I using the right terminology or am I reasonably close with this? Absolutely.

    Morgan:
    Perfect.

    Scott:
    Awesome. So what would the property rent for as a long-term rental?

    David:
    A lot less. I don’t know ’em specifically, but a lot less. So the other thing is that I always prepare is that if this program did fall through that I need to make sure that I can rent very close to what our current rental rate is to make money. So that’s why we purchased in these appreciating areas. In terms of what they would make, it would definitely be a few hundred dollars less, but every couple of years they will increase rent more and more just so they can have that stability.

    Scott:
    Is there another piece to your overall portfolio? How do you think about building wealth today and what’s the end game?

    David:
    So that’s a good question. So I think for us, I know that there’s the fire movement and that I think there’s a lot of value for me as a state police member, obviously to keep my job, but to have that aspect of a W2 and it allows me to have reserves, it allows me to plan for if there’s ever air conditioning that goes, for me, at least as a W2 worker, it works. Right now I have six and a half years left with state lease. After that, then I will go on to retirement and continue growing our portfolio.

    Scott:
    And can you walk me through the six and a half years thing? What is the six and a half years item there?

    David:
    Yeah, just six and a half years until I retire. So with my military time, I’m able to buy back a couple of years, and then after that for me it’ll be year 17 with state police, I’m able to retire.

    Scott:
    Retire. And by that you mean you’ll have the pension and benefits that kick in?

    David:
    Yeah, so we’ll have a pension, I’ll have a 401k and then we’ll have our real estate.

    Morgan:
    Yeah, because state police, it’s a 20 year commitment for state police. Yeah,

    David:
    So I mean, I think our goal, obviously my original goal was to have, when we started this, my original goal was to have 10 homes and
    In 10 years, in 10 years, and I wanted to have one home a year. And then that didn’t happen. And then we just far exceeded that expectation. And then I originally wanted to have $10,000 passively and we’ve exceeded that. So my new goal, one thing I do is that I created a roadmap. The roadmap shows literally every single year since we started homes I want to, or how many homes we should accumulate that year, how many homes do we have and how much we make passively every single month. So allows me to stay on track. And as of right now, we’re hitting all the metrics and all the numbers that we need to in terms of our goals. So I want to have 50 homes when I separate from state police and passively make over 70,000 a month.

    Scott:
    That’s awesome. And what will you do with the thousand a month passively? Can you tell us about the world travels or the excitement that will come? At that point,

    David:
    I’d always joked around and just said, I’d like to retire and just didn’t have any big plans. But to be honest, I want to continue working as long as I can. I enjoy everything that we do within real estate. I’d like to be the Warren Buffett and just live till as long as I can and continue doing exactly what we’re doing. I enjoy every aspect of it. I enjoy the research. I enjoy finding the homes in certain areas. I wouldn’t be against moving on to apartment complexes and other endeavors. But I think one reason we are successful with what we’re doing is because we’re doing one thing. We’re not flipping homes, we’re not doing Airbnbs, we’re doing one thing and we’re doing it well. And I honestly just want to continue doing what we’re doing and obviously make our kids a big part of that and hopefully it’d be something that they’d be interested in moving forward.

    Mindy:
    We have to take this one final break, but more from David and his financial journey right after this.

    Scott:
    Alright, welcome back to the show.

    Mindy:
    So you mentioned that the Sober Living Program is renting or signing leases two and three years at a time. Is there at the, how long has this program been going on? Is there any I would love for them to go out of business because nobody needs it anymore, but I live in reality. But I’m wondering, because you get so much more rent from renting through this program versus just renting to one family, have you taken anything into account that this program might end?

    David:
    No. So this program’s been around since the 1970s. They were actually founded by a stockbroker in New York City. Unfortunately that stockbroker, he needed this program. He was in an Alcoholic Anonymous program and there was no follow-up after that program was done. And that’s why it was created. Now on that point, there’s hundreds of sober living programs throughout the country, probably thousands. But one of my bets was that unfortunately, like you said, I love that this program went out of business and it was never needed in the country. But I think in terms of reality, it’s not going to happen. I think for what I anticipate happening, it’s always going to be needed and it’s always going to be something that’s helpful for everyone. And that’s kind of something that we’re banking on,

    Mindy:
    And I wish I could say that you’re wrong, but you’re not. It’s going to be needed. Have they been around since the seventies in Florida in this location? I’m trying to poke holes in this. You’re not leaving me any room to poke any holes in your plan? No.

    David:
    So they’re in every state in the country. They were allowed in Florida. Florida legislature allowed them in a couple of years ago, beginning of 2020, they allowed them to start purchasing properties in Florida. And obviously they use an investor to purchase those properties. But no, they’re in Canada, they’re in the United States, they’re actually even in Australia. But they have such a high success rate, an 85% success rate, and that’s why there’s a lot of value. And states recognize them as well as other sober living programs because of the way they’re structured in terms of having a president of the house, a treasurer, a secretary, it gives everyone a job and it gives the house a meaning so they’re able to be successful because of those jobs.

    Morgan:
    There is a little story if you guys want to hear it, with the law enforcement that called us.

    David:
    Yes.

    Morgan:
    I don’t know if you guys want to hear a quick story.

    David:
    Yeah, let’s do it.

    Morgan:
    Okay.

    David:
    So in our property in Fort Walton Beach, it’s up towards Pensacola, Panama City. I got a phone call while I was at work that one of our tenants was going around the neighborhood and checking, I don’t want to say checking, but trying people’s car door handles. And I don’t think it was as a nice thing Anyway, so he got a call from the police department and told them what I did, which was very well received by their police department down there. So that individual was removed, obviously, from that house and that sober living program took care of that person being removed. Nothing that I had to do since what I do. And that program was so well received by the police department. They ended up going over to our house two weeks later and throwing them a barbecue,

    Morgan:
    The whole Fort Walton Police Department.

    David:
    And they also did. So they took these guys that are in the thirties, forties on police ride-alongs, and it was a very, very good, it was a good story just for them to understand what we’re doing, that a lot of people have preconceived notions of what it is. And they were able to see that that is not, they’re all just normal people working nine to five jobs.

    Morgan:
    And this was a little bit of a more affluent neighborhood where we purchased this property. So a lot of the neighbors were thrilled. And I know we mentioned that earlier. So they were constantly calling the local law enforcement. And of course this situation was warranted, but the Fort Walton police sided with our house, which was really awesome, and we never heard anything again. So I thought that was great for the community to know that these houses exist and for the world to know that these houses exist and these people are just trying to live normal lives and in a safe, clean home. So I just thought that was really cool that they all came together and

    David:
    Was positive. Positive. Yeah, they said that that was the first time that they’ve ever, ever had law enforcement come over and

    Morgan:
    Cook for our guys. Yeah,

    David:
    That was the first.

    Scott:
    That’s fantastic, guys. What a wonderful tie in to what you do and the research and the very thoughtful business that you’ve constructed here over several years. I have a couple of quick last minute questions here before we wrap up. One is all of this real estate owned personally by you guys or in a business that you a hundred percent own? Or do you have outside investors or partners in any part of the business?

    David:
    So all of the homes are owned by me. They’re all deeded to us. However, a couple years ago, I’ve always had interest from coworkers to get into real estate with us. I’ve never been comfortable doing it until Morgan said, what’s the worst that could happen? And I said, well, I could lose everyone’s money. And then so when Morgan was, she’s awesome with this. So she is a very, very, very supportive person and she gave me the confidence to move forward with using funds from my coworkers. So that looks like we received $50,000 from a coworker, and then I will produce returns from them. So I essentially make nothing off of, we’ll say

    Morgan:
    The last three properties, the

    David:
    Last three properties,

    Morgan:
    The first seven properties was just our money.

    David:
    And I will give them the passive or the cashflow that I’m receiving off that property. Now after year five, it’s a five year note that we do with them, but after year five, we will receive that cashflow. And the benefit to them is that it takes place with our 401k and I can give them better returns than our 401k can or our deferred comp. So there’s a huge, huge value for them just because of what we do is very stable.

    Scott:
    Okay. And so coworker lends you $50,000 or whatever it is for the down payment on a property. You use those funds as the equity in the down payment and then borrow using a conventional loan in your name for the remaining of the property, pay them back principal and interest over five years and then own the property outright. And you’ve done that in the last three, including perhaps the deal we just discussed, the most recent one at 8% interest mortgage.

    David:
    I mean, it’s a huge benefit to them. Everyone’s happy. And then in five years then we’ll have that property moving forward. We’ll have that cash flow moving forward.

    Scott:
    Got it. Okay. Awesome guys. And then last question here, are you still contributing to your 4 0 1 Ks or anything? Are you applying every dollar available back into real estate?

    David:
    I was initially, but I don’t put into my 401k anymore. I’m not against it. The 4 0 1, 4 0 1 Ks great. But what I can produce off of our real estate far exceeds anything that the 401k can push out and yeah, and we don’t put anything into our 401k anymore.

    Scott:
    Awesome. So this is the bulk of your portfolio now is this plus a vesting pension plan.

    Mindy:
    Okay. I have a last question. How much time per week or per month are you spending running the properties you already have? Not looking for new ones, but just managing the 10 houses you have.

    David:
    That’s a good question. So not much, just because of the way they’re structured and they have that house manager, we don’t get that many emails or phone calls whatsoever. I’ll get a couple a week if that, and that’s it. I use my commute going down to work in terms of being on the phone or listening to podcasts or whatever. And in terms of managing them, there’s not much managing in terms of my side, it’s just major fixes or major repairs that might need to be done,

    Morgan:
    Which we’ve had quite a few in the last couple of years. We’ve had some big fixes. But I think it’s interesting where we find our people to do that. We’ve pretty much established a team in Florida and not people that work for us, but we used an app that most people I think are familiar with, if I can say it. We use, Dave loves Yelp, and we have found HVAC technicians, we have found plumbers, landscapers, and these are people that we’ve now over the course of four years, have established a relationship with. Our landscaper has driven hundreds of miles for us to put in sprinkler systems. And our plumbing guys have worked on multiple properties. We’ve had to do HVAC in some of our properties, and we’ve used the same people because obviously we’re not there. So it’s hard to trust, if that’s the right word, that people are doing the job and doing it correctly. So everything that we’ve researched has been free information and Dave looks at reviews.

    David:
    I think on that point, everyone is extremely honest whether they like a company or not on Yelp or Google. And so we rely very heavily for repairs on Yelp and Google. And we have not had one bad experience with a company just because if someone likes ’em, they’ll say they like ’em and it’s easy as that.

    Mindy:
    Knock on wood right now, knock on wood. Yes,

    Morgan:
    I know.

    Mindy:
    But that’s awesome. That’s a great tip. And I haven’t heard that one before to go to Yelp and Google reviews. But yeah, I mean, you’re absolutely right. If somebody doesn’t like you, somebody doesn’t like the service you’ve provided, they don’t hold back.

    Scott:
    That’s

    Morgan:
    It.

    David:
    Well

    Scott:
    Guys, where can people find out more

    David:
    About you? So we just created a website. So website is Stanhope Capital and that will have all of our social media handles, our email and everything else about us,

    Scott:
    Stan hope capital.com. We’ll link to that in the sermon notes here. Well, thank you for all you guys do for sharing this wonderful story and for teaching me a lesson about upstate New York and how it’s maybe a nice place to live, not so nice place to invest from your standpoint here. So really enjoyed the conversation today and hope it inspires a lot of people. Thank you guys. Thank you very much.

    Morgan:
    Thanks guys. Nice to see you again, Scott. Thanks, Mindy.

    David:
    Thank you.

    Mindy:
    Thank you guys. And for everybody who does invest in upstate New York, you can [email protected] to tell him how great the market is. All right. That wraps up this episode of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast. He is the Scott Trench and I am Mindy Jensen saying, Tooles noodles. BiggerPockets money was created by Mindy Jensen and Scott Trench. This episode was produced by Eric Knutson, copywriting by Calico Content, post-production by Exodus Media and Chris McKen. Thanks for listening.

     

     

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    Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.

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  • Global Church Network and Assemblies of God Theological Seminary partner to address growing shortfall of pastors

    Global Church Network and Assemblies of God Theological Seminary partner to address growing shortfall of pastors

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    Formal relationship makes accredited online courses available to thousands of emerging ministry leaders around the world

    ORLANDO, Fla. — The Global Church Divinity School (GCDS), an online pastor training resource launched in 2001 by the Global Church Network (GCN), is excited to announce a formal partnership with Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, to provide GCDS students accredited graduate credit hours toward a Master’s degree from AGTS.

    “The greatest need in the Global Church today is not more models, money or methods, but God-called, Christ-centered, Kingdom-minded, Spirit-empowered, Bible-based preachers, who can communicate to the Now Generation and lead the Church toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission,” said Dr. James O. Davis, founder of GCN and GCDS, and himself an AGTS graduate. “We are honored to synergize together with the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary to address the shortfall of trained ministers and make accredited, world-class training more accessible to busy professionals and those living far from traditional seminaries.”

    Part of the Global Church Network, the largest pastors’ network in the world, GCDS comprises more than 260 courses in 8 languages, with more than 1000 lecture hours and over 200 faculty. GCDS currently interfaces with GCN’s Global Hubs of Christianity, providing the finest training possible even in the hardest places in the world. Now, with this new partnership, GCDS students can earn AGTS Specialized Certificates in Preaching, Teaching, Pastoral Life, Bible, Christ Formation, Arts & Imagination, and Contextual Semiotics. 

    AGTS Vice President Dr. Wade Mumm, who also serves as Lead Pastor of Greeneway Church in Orlando, was raised by missionary parents in Thailand and so uniquely understands the challenges of educating and equipping ministry leaders in remote locations. “I look forward to creatively, strategically and synergistically developing incredible educational onramps onto the highway of ministry with the Global Church Divinity School,” he said.

    The Global Church Network launched GCDS 22 years ago, anticipating fewer leaders entering ministry careers in the future – something that has become a challenge here in the U.S. as well as around the world. According to Dr. Davis, himself an Assemblies of God ordained minister, “Whether the Church is growing at supersonic speed or experiencing slower growth, there are not enough pastors to fill the existing pulpits, much less the starting of new churches.”

    Dr. David Sobrepena, Global Church Network Cochair for East Asia and Founder of Word of Hope Church in Manila, shared that he is “thrilled with the academic relationship between the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and the Global Church Divinity School. “We must forge new dynamic paths and faster means to equipping and educating future pastors and ministers,” he said.

    As an early pioneer in online divinity studies and ministry preparation, GCDS has equipped tens of thousands of ministers from every nation across the globe over the last 22 years.

    The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary was founded in 1973 under the leadership of the late Dr. Thomas F. Zimmerman, Assemblies of God General Superintendent. Over the years, thousands of students from around the world have graduated from AGTS, carrying with them its vision statement, “Truth on Fire.” 

    “The Global Church Divinity School partnership with the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary is the next step to raising up high quality leaders to finish the Great Commission,” added Rev. Brian Ashworth, Senior Pastor of Kingdom Harvest Church in Belfast. “We have witnessed firsthand as we have taught in the Global Church Network Hubs, both in Moldova and Egypt, hundreds of pastors and leaders have been equipped with the finest training possible to help them plant churches and preach the Gospel.”

    Rev. Terry Bailey, Superintendent of the Tennessee Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God, agrees. “We began making the online training of the Global Church Divinity School available to our pastors and ministers about ten years ago,” he said. “We could not be more pleased with the academic relationship formed between the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and GCDS.”

    ###

    About Global Church Network
    Established in 2001, Global Church Network is a growing coalition of more than 2,750 Christian ministries and 700,000 churches synergizing their efforts together to build the premier community of pastors worldwide and has helped plant five million new churches for a billion-soul harvest. To learn more, visit https://gcnw.tv. The Global Church Divinity School currently interfaces with  GCN’s Global Hubs of Christianity, providing the finest training possible even in the hardest places in the world, and has helped train tens of thousands of Christian leaders since 2002. For more information, visit gcnw.tv.

    Contact:
    Melany Ethridge
    A. Larry Ross Communications
    2149128934
    [email protected]

    Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.

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  • The one cosmic secret that demands a new particle collider | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Sep, 2024

    The one cosmic secret that demands a new particle collider | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Sep, 2024

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    This illustration shows a hypothetical ring around the Earth, which could represent a particle accelerator even larger than the Earth’s circumference. With approximately ~1500 times the radius of the Large Hadron Collider, such an accelerator, even with only slightly more advanced magnet technology, would be thousands of times more powerful. A particle accelerator that were merely a factor of ~10 more powerful than the LHC could shed tremendous light on the matter-antimatter asymmetry puzzle. (Credit: Adrian Mann/aerospace illustration/bisbos)

    The observation that everything we know is made out of matter and not antimatter is one of nature’s greatest puzzles. Will we ever solve it?

    Here in our Universe, there are some cosmic puzzles that loom very large, casting a grand veil of uncertainty over our attempts to understand all of reality. Some of the biggest ones include:

    • Why does the Universe obey the rules that it does, as opposed to any other rules?
    • Why do the fundamental constants have the values that they do, rather than any other values that they could have taken on?
    • Why do the particles of the Standard Model have the masses that they’re observed to have, and why are neutrinos massive at all?
    • Why do we have dark matter and dark energy, and what, exactly, are these mysterious forms of energy that have eluded direct detection so far?

    Yet there’s one enormous question, of importance on cosmic scales as well as to those who study nature at an elementary level, that often gets overlooked: why is our Universe, and everything in it, predominantly composed of normal matter, and not of antimatter? We’ve learned a whole slew of lessons about the Universe — what makes it…

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  • 12 Days of ChapStick Advent Calendar Only $13.59 Shipped on Amazon

    12 Days of ChapStick Advent Calendar Only $13.59 Shipped on Amazon

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    Save on this Chapstick Advent Calendar on Amazon!

    12 Days of ChapStick Holiday Advent Calendar box

    Head over to Amazon where you can snag this 12 Days of ChapStick Holiday Advent Calendar for only $13.59 shipped or less (regularly $16.99) when you clip the digital coupon and opt to Subscribe & Save!

    Grab this sweet deal…

    12 Days of ChapStick Holiday Advent Calendar $16.99
    Clip the 15% off digital coupon
    Opt to Subscribe & Save (5-15% off + free shipping for Prime members)
    Final cost $13.59 shipped (5% off) or $11.89 shipped (15% off) – as low as 99¢ per Chapstick!

    Chapstick Advent Calendar

    This advent calendar comes with 12 Christmas-themed ChapStick flavors: Candy Cane, Vanilla Icing, Cake Batter, Sugar Cookie, Classic Strawberry, Vanilla Mint, Graham Cracker, Clover Honey, Milk Chocolate, Cotton Candy, Green Apple, and Classic Original!

    This would make a fun gift for any Chapstick lover and is a great deal for a 12-pack of Chapstick for yourself!

    This advent calendar gets awesome reviews…

    I’m obsessed with lip balms and am always losing them. This calendar was a great deal, even though I literally just ripped it open and took all the Chapsticks out to put in my lip balm drawer, lol. This would make a cute gift for the holidays, but I just got this for myself!

    Such a great variety of lip balms here. There are 12 different scents/flavors, as shown in the picture. They are all full-sized and of wonderful quality as I would expect from ChapStick. The Vanilla Mint, Candy Cane, and Milk Chocolate are my favorites in here. This is perfect for anyone who likes lip balms and would make a cute gift for Christmas!

    This ChapStick gift set has a ton of “flavors” I’ve never seen sold individually, and their smells are vibrant and delicious. Now, I don’t know anyone who could actually go through 12 whole tubes of ChapStick, but as a sampler, it’s fun to try out all the different types. The box itself is well-made and its doors are easy to open.

    We’ve got more Advent Calendar deals here!

    About the writer:


    Misty has been writing professionally and creating engaging, helpful content online in a variety of niches for over 15 years. When she’s not writing up the latest and greatest deals for Hip2Save, you’ll find her doing DIY projects around the house, rewatching a favorite comedy series for the 20th time, or traveling & exploring new places.

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