Salvatore (Sal) Mercogliano (Sal), has a Ph.D. in Military and Naval History from the University of Alabama. He served in the Merchant Marine, has been an Adjunct Professor of History/Engineering at the US Merchant Marine Academy for over 17 years, and Chairs the Department of History, Criminal Justice, and Political Science for Campbell University for over 14 years.

So when something happens with ships, shipping, the US Navy or other major maritime news around the world, I go to Sal to find out what’s really going on.

Welcome to the first in a series of YouTube Show reviews that I hope can shed more light on some of the amazing information sources that operate as independents. These experts bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, a network of trusted colleagues, information on the open source data and applications, with knowledge on how to best use them to draw out the relevant information around a specific incident. 

When you want to get beyond the sound bite, and have a knowledgeable expert walk you through the details, known and unknown, answers and questions, you get a much better picture of what’s happening in the world around us. Watch a few, with different sources, and one can begin to triangulate consistencies and patterns.

So we kick off the series with Sal Mercogliano, maritime historian, former merchant mariner, and the expert behind the YouTube channel ‘What’s Going on With Shipping’

Sal’s channel ‘blew up’ with his coverage of the Motor Vessel EVER GIVEN gumming up the Suez Canal, and temporarily halting all global shipping through this most important passage. You’ll be amazed at the number of new things happening in and around the oceans impacting us almost every day. 

Salvatore (Sal) Mercogliano: What's Going on With Shipping, YouTube Show Review | Turn the Lens with Jeff Frick Ep41

#Commerce #GlobalCommerce #Maritime #Oceans #PanamaCanal #BlackSea #TradeWar #MotorVessel #EverGiven #Ships #Tariffs #Panama #WhatsGoingOnWithShipping #Trade #GlobalTrade #USSTruman #Logistics #Maritime #OpenSource #Shipping #Review #SalMercogliano #SupplyChain #SuezCanal #Trade #TurnTheLens #YouTube

YouTube - Click Here 

Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here 

Trump 2.0 starts tomorrow. 2025 started 19 days ago. Remember Project 2025?

Might be a good time to study up on the subject, at least the basics. 

Not ready to read the full 920 pages? Google NotebookLM can help. I encourage you to upload the PDF yourself, and start asking questions. Sharing mine to help get you started. 

This is the Podcast Google NotbookLM created from the source material. 

Project 2025: Briefing doc, FAQ, Study guide, Podcast | Turn the Lens podcast with Jeff Frick 

Try it yourself 

Google NotebookLM https://notebooklm.google.com/

Project 2025 - 920 page pdf  https://static.heritage.org/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf 

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISWpI3YH4NE 

Transcript and Show Notes - 

Ray Kurzweil recently released his new book, *The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with AI*, a follow-up to his 2006 blockbuster, *The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology*. I had the chance to see him speak at our local bookstore as part of the launch event.

A central theme of Ray’s talks is the exponential growth of computing power—how we’re constantly achieving more computations per second at a constant cost. While exponential curves are easy to discuss and graph, understanding these transformations on a visceral level is challenging. How can we fully grasp the scale of change that exponential growth reflects?

This episode tackles that question, showing the exponential advances in computing power at a fraction of the cost, using examples and everyday objects that everyone can relate to, regardless of technical background.

We’ve all heard that the smartphones in our pockets are far more powerful than the supercomputers of the past. But what does that really mean? How can we quantify, visualize, and bring this leap in technology to life in terms that feel real and relatable? We delve into comparisons—RAM, storage, and power usage—to illustrate the mind-blowing scale of progress and explore what these advances mean for the future of computing.

More importantly, we examine the impact of this rapid growth as we move forward along an ever-steepening exponential curve. Join me as I use everyday items to help us better grasp this extraordinary rate of change, connect with our technological past, and imagine the future as exponential progress continues to shape our lives in profound ways.

Exponential Curves: Supercomputer to Smartphone to Singularity | Turn the Lens podcast with Jeff Frick

#AI #GenAI #ExponentialGrowth #ComputingPower  #Future #RayKurzweil #TheSingularity #MooresLaw #AIandFuture  #SupercomputerToSmartphone #Change #RateOfChange #FutureOfTech #Rice #Chessboard #Curves #Understand #Visualize #TechEvolution  #Exponential #5G #T1 #FLOPS #Bandwidth #Storage #RAM #Visualization #TechForEveryone  #SuperComputer #SmartPhone #Singularity #ExponentialCurves #SmartphoneVsSupercomputer  #Podcast #TurnTheLens

YouTube

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meqrxgy435g&list=PLZURvMqWbYjk4hbmcR46tNDdXQlrVZgEn

Transcript and Show Notes

https://www.turnthelenspodcast.com/episode/exponential-curves-supercomputer-to-smartphone-to-singularity-turn-the-lens-ep39

2,500 pages. How can you quickly and easily digest 2,500 pages of material? More than just a summary or table of contents, what if you could dive into the core issues, pull up a timeline, or even create a study guide?

That’s exactly what you can do with Google NotebookLM, a powerful new free AI tool that requires no training, coding, or even RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) expertise to put the power to work on any assets you please. Simply upload your documents, videos, and other digital assets, start asking questions, and let it do the heavy lifting. And if you prefer a podcast format, NotebookLM can even output a podcast style audio file for you to listen to, making content incredibly consumable. Your favorite podcast hosts explaining it all to you during your daily walk, run, or commute. 

Recently, a friend introduced me to NotebookLM. At the same time, Jack Smith dropped another 1,600 pages of evidence in four appendices related to the January 6th trial, full of dense assorted text material, tweets, book excerpts, interview transcripts, and pages of redactions to interrupt any sort of consumption flow. Add to that 165 pages in Document #252 and the 845-page January 6th commission report, and I had over 2,500 pages of information to put the NotebookLM to the test. So I uploaded all of it into NotebookLM and started asking questions.

But what I’ve never seen before, and couldn’t  wait to try, was the ‘’generate a podcast.’ feature. As a longtime media producer, podcast host, and guest, I was intrigued. How would it turn thousands of pages into a conversational podcast between a host and an educated guest?

I hit "create podcast," and in less than 10 minutes, I had a 15-minute podcast ready to go. I added some simple talking head animation, to give a face to the voice, and hit ‘play. 

(the male host sounds a bit like Leo Laporte, legendary long time tech podcast host).

The result is simply amazing. The podcast is a very digestible way to consume the key points from the all those PDF files.  It is an early version, and there are places where the sentence gets divided between the voices a bit more then necessary, but I think you’ll be amazed. 

Jump to 03:54 to get to the start of the podcast, within a podcast.

AI and GenAI are accelerating its impact on our lives faster than we realize. These tools are not novelties, they're reshaping the way we work, consume, and generate media, often making information more accessible. We must understand and familiarize ourselves (or master if you can) with them before they get even further ahead. Don’t wait. Start integrating tools like this into your workflow today. Experiment. See what AI can do for you.

We are getting supercomputers in the palm of our hands, that we can talk to, no coding required. 

Google NotebookLM: AI, Ingest, Create a Podcast | Turn the Lens with Jeff Frick Ep38 

#AI #GenAI #NotebookLM #January6th #Podcasting #DataAnalysis #GoogleAI #AIInnovation #JackSmith #Vote #Automation #Supercomputing #TrialAnalysis #Jan6 #DigitalTransformation #TechTools #ContentCreation #Interview #Podcast #TurnTheLens 

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi03_cHeuNQ&list=PLZURvMqWbYjk4hbmcR46tNDdXQlrVZgEn

Transcript and Show Notes

https://www.turnthelenspodcast.com/episode/google-notebooklm-ai-ingest-create-a-podcast-turn-the-lens-ep38 

Dan Ariely, the renowned behavioral economist, prolific author, frequent TED speaker, and endowed professor at Duke University, has spent decades studying why people behave the way they do. And let’s just say that logic and reasoning do not top the list. 

I had the pleasure of seeing Dan speak in person in 2016, and almost a decade later, I was thrilled to host him for this conversation, where we could dive deeper into the drivers of decision making and human behavior. Dan’s latest book, *“Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things,”* served as our catalyst—a topic of historical significance as conspiracy theories seem to be on the rise, in conjunction with declining levels of trust, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. And that was just the tip of the topics iceberg.

Please join me in welcoming Dan Ariely to *Turn the Lens*. 

Why do we do what we do? How does the framing of a question influence our answers? How does stress impact decision-making? How well do we know our own preferences, and do we apply them effectively in our choices? What role does resilience play in avoiding the funnel of misbelief? And how is it that two people can experience the same event and yet perceive ’what happened’ entirely differently?

From B.F. Skinner’s groundbreaking research on reinforcement schedules, principles the gambling industry has leveraged into unprecedented revenue heights, to what organizations are missing in "return to office" efforts, from visual illusions to after-the-fact-stories that ‘explain’ actions, to the power of a terminal illness diagnosis in resetting long-held assumptions and life priorities.

Whether you're intrigued by psychology, decision science, or simply want to understand the nuances of human behavior, I promise this episode will provide thought-provoking perspectives and actionable insights. Join us as we unpack the fascinating complexities of human nature and discover how to navigate life’s choices more effectively with Dan Ariely.

Dan Ariely: Decisions, Behavior, Stress, Resilience | Turn the Lens podcast with Jeff Frick, Ep37

#DanAriely #Decisions #Behavior #Stress #Resilience #Bias #Trust #Choices #BehavioralEconomics #Misbelief #HumanBehavior #DecisionMaking #CognitiveBias #ConspiracyTheories #Psychology #BFSkinner #Rationality #Duke #MentalHealth #Economics #ReturnToOffice #BeliefSystems #LifeChoices #Mindset #SocialPerception #Interview #Podcast #TurnTheLens

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQn7QwlXSks&list=PLZURvMqWbYjk4hbmcR46tNDdXQlrVZgEn

Transcript and Show Notes   https://www.turnthelenspodcast.com/episode/dan-ariely-decisions-behavior-stress-resilience-turn-the-lens-ep37 

Jason Sacks joined the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) 18 years ago, around the same time I began my youth sports journey with my oldest child as he entered kindergarten and joined AYSO, the American Youth Soccer Organization.  

When done right, youth sports provide countless character-building opportunities in each practice, game, and activity. To quote NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, these character traits include teamwork, overcoming challenges, working toward a bigger goal, resilience, risk-taking, success, failure, self-confidence, mental toughness, self-control, respect for others, and more.

Unfortunately, when done wrong, youth sports not only miss the opportunity to help kids grow but can also be negative and detrimental, with long-term harmful impacts.

The Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is dedicated to getting it "done right" by improving the youth sports experience for kids, families, and organizations across the U.S. With a wealth of resources, actionable lessons, and tools, PCA equips coaches, parents, leagues, and schools with strategies they can immediately use to help deliver a better experience for kids.

Please join me in welcoming Jason Sacks to ‘Turn the Lens’.

Jason Sacks: Youth Sports, Culture, Character | Turn the Lens podcast with Jeff Frick, Episode 36  

Transcript and Show Notes - Click Here  https://www.turnthelenspodcast.com/episode/jason-sacks-youth-sports-culture-character-turn-the-lens-ep36

YouTube - Click Here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzvyybqfUvs&list=PLZURvMqWbYjk4hbmcR46tNDdXQlrVZgEn

#Kids #Youth #Sports #Coaching #Development #Character #Culture #PositiveCoaching #YouthSports  #SportsDevelopment #CharacterBuilding #ParentalExpectations #PositiveCoachingAlliance #MultiSportAthletes #CoachingTips #YouthDevelopment #Tools #Teach #Development #HealthyCompetition #Sportsmanship  #InclusiveSports  #SportsLeadership #HonorTheGame  #YouthMentorship #ParticipationTrophies  #SportsPsychology #CommunityBuilding   #GrowthMindset #SportsCulture  #PCA #Interview  #Podcast #TurnTheLens 

George H.W. Bush signed the  Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law 34 years ago today, July 26, 1990. It literally changed our world, from cub cuts, and wide doors, to ramps and more. What is less reported is the secondary and ‘law of unintended positive consequences’ that come with inclusive design. More accessible for one is more accessible for all.

Meryl Evans has been championing the benefits of closed captions, and closed caption best practices for decades. Born ‘hearing free’ her experience with captioning is very personal, starting with the special home unit hooked up to the TV.

Doing captions well will increase the consumability of your content by orders of magnitude, for an audience far larger than the deaf or hard of hearing. Adding layers options ensures each viewer get’s the asset that matches their learning style, be that text, audio, video, or graphics. 

Please join me in welcoming Meryl Evans to Turn the Lens in this World Premier Event 

Meryl Evans: Captions, Clean, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious | Turn the Lens podcast with Jeff Frick, Episode 35   

#Captions #Clean #Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious #Accessibility #ADA #Leadership #Education #BestPractices #Learn #Caption #AmericansWithDisabilitiesAct #Simple #Boring #EasyToRead #Information #Scan #Interview #Podcast #TurnTheLens

Debate.

There has been lots of talk lately about debates, winners, and losers. I didn’t have any debate team friends in high school or college, and have not been to a real debate. If there are winners and losers, that would imply that there are rules, as victory in most competitions, from basketball to chess to Family Feud, is based on performance within the constraints, the rules, of the competition.

If basketball players carry the ball, or travel, or employ moving screens, then it’s no longer basketball (at least according the National Junior Basketball Association rules my kids played under).

So I went to Anita Iverson, my OpenAI ChatGPT to find out more about the rules, procedures, and what determines winners and losers in competitive debate.

 Here’s what I learned about debates from Anita.

OpenAI ChatGPT 4 v4: Debate, Criteria, Responsibilities, Integrity | Turn the Lens with Jeff Frick Ep34

YouTube - Click Here 

Transcript - Click Here 

#Debate #Rules #Procedures #CodeOfConduct #Criteria #Responsibilities #Integrity #NSDA #WUDC #DebateRules #LincolnDouglas #Argumentation #Ethics #Evidence #EvidenceIntegrity #Rules #Regulation #Moderators #ModeratorsResponsibilities #CNN #Scoring #ScoringCriteria #Competition #PublicSpeaking #Cross #CrossExamination #EthicalDebating #ModeratorRoles #Judge #JudgingFairness #DebateFormats #CriticalThinking

Waymo has been working on autonomous vehicles since it began as the Google Self Driving Car project at Google X in 2009. Spun out from it’s parent, and renamed Waymo in 2016, the iterations have developed. So today, June 2024, 15 years later, Waymo opened up it’s waitlist, and made it’s autonomous ride-hailing service up to anyone in San Francisco. It just so happens that I cleared the waitlist and took my first Waymo ride just a few days ago. And I recorded the experience. 

In this exciting episode of "Turn the Lens," take a ride with me across San Francisco, from the Dogpatch to City Hall,  On the ride, we’ll review some of the developments I’ve experienced first hand, autonomous transportation in general, and the experience of riding today’s start of the art autonomous vehicle.

The future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed. You can get a taste for yourself. Download the app, and take an autonomous ride. If for some reason, that’s not in the short term future, share this ride with me.

Waymo One: Autonomous, Future, Comfortable, Available | Turn the Lens podcast with Jeff Frick Ep33

YouTube - Click Here  Episode Page - Click Here 

#Waymo #AutonomousVehicles #SelfDrivingCars #FutureOfTransportation #GoogleAlphabet #Technology #Innovation #SafeDriving #SmartCity #AI #AutonomousTech #WaymoExperience #JeffFrick #TechPodcast #UrbanMobility #TransportationRevolution #SmartMobility #WaymoRide #TechInnovation #SanFrancisco #RayKurzweil #AIInnovation #FutureTech #TechTrends #SelfDrivingExperience #TechReview #Podcast #TurnTheLens 

Welcome back for another episode of ‘Turn the Lens’ with our ongoing conversations with ChatGPT. We've been hitting the heavy topics of ethics and explainable AI. And I think there are some real challenges there that, that we have to overcome.

But I want to do something a little bit more fun. So in this episode, we're going to do a different type of project, not so heavy and deep, but hopefully, have some fun with ChatGPT and get some answers. So here we go.

‍YouTube - Click Here 

Newslwetter with Prompts and Replies - Click Here 

Episode Page - Click Here