I am Tahir Shah, NY Times Bestselling author, National Geographic filmmaker, and hobby apiarist. I've written about travel, electronic publishing, human eyes, and cannibalism. I've buried 4 golden heads around the globe for anyone to find. AMA

Where are the heads located? Send me a private message!

Under your bed.

How much are these heads worth? I've been considering a career change.

:-) It's hard to say... a few thousand dollars each. But then again, value is whatever one understands it to be.

Tahir, I just want to say that I am a big fan of your book Timbuctoo and Trail of Feathers. Your stories seem very rich in description and detail and is a great read for me. I have some questions that I am curious about though !

1)I know you and your crew were arrested in Peshawar and held in solitary confinement. What was the worst thing that happened to you while being imprisoned in Pakistan? Were you surprised that you guys were held without charge?

2)What was your favorite book you written and why?

3)Out of all your travels, what was your favorite, and what did you take away from that experience?

Thanks ahead of time for answering all these questions!

The whole Pakistani torture prison for 16 days and horrible nights experience has shaped every day I have lived since. The worst moment was being taken out for a mock execution. It was the fear. the raw fear. I wrote about it once, and said that my sweat smelled like cat pee. It was the adrenalin... and that kind of fear isn't something I have experiecned before.

Holy shit... Mock Execution? How did they manage to do that?

They took me out, blindfolded and chained, in the middle of the night. It was very calm. A gun was put to my head... well, it was pretty much like the movies. Except I didn't wriggle. I just kept still, hoping that it it was the end, that it would be fast. It was like a rabbit caught in headlights.

I loved writing IN ARABIAN NIGHTS most, I think, because it allowed me to think about my childhood, and my father.

I have been so incredibly lucky to travel to wild and amazing places... but I think it's the simple travels that are sometimes the most rewarding, the travels around home. My journeys around my home city of Casablanca are amazing to me. Always new wonders to find.

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Such a great question... The Classics are the core that fuels media online, as they have fuelled all new media for centuries. Cyberspace is new, yes, but printed books, newspapers etc were all new once as well. I think the net is amazing because it expands the horizons of storytelling... we have to celebrate that fact.

How was the experience of writing a work of fiction like Eye Spy different than writing your non-fiction books? Did it require a significant adjustment in terms of your writing habits and mindset?

It was easier than non-fiction. I loved getting in the head of Amadeus Kaine, and wondering what he would have thought or done, or how he would have reacted to something. Writing is writing... and it's about observation and portraying something in a certain way, building up a story.

Have you ever been to California?

LOve California. Was there last summer at the start of driving across the US, with Rachana and the kids. I once worked as a bus bow in a French restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe (near san Diego). My job description was 'to pour coffee and to kill rats'. I did the first but never managed the second. I'm a huge animal lover.

Can you comment more about the golden heads. What is that all about?

OK, it was a bit of a gimmick... I hid golden treasures, golden heads, around the world, and the clues to find them are concealed in my book TIMBUCTOO. Crack the code and the treasure could be yours.

Do you ever allow visitors to your home, The Caliph's House? Are you ever interested in holding an event there for your readers? btw I totally love your books!

I do sometimes, and we have had lots of bookclubs etc. I'm sooo incredibly thrilled that the house is well known. It's a fragment of paradise. But, at the same time, i'm writing like craaaaazy at the moment, and I find it very hard to snap back into writing if i break. So recently I had to turn down some requests from people to visit. It's kind of a hard compromise.

What's the best food you have ever eaten while traveling?

As I said (above) pilao in Afghanistan scored high. I'm a sucker for green curry in Thailand, and am going there in 2 weeks from now to feast on it.

Not sure this is relevant.......Are you open to Did You Know ‘questions’ on secondary matters concerning In Search of King Solomon’s Mines or Trail of Feathers?.......... Like Did You Know the Queen of Sheba has been equated with Pharaoh Hatshepsut? Or, did you know feathers have been found in many very ancient Peruvian sites, including the floor of a temple chamber in the Andes (according to Peruvian Featherworks, 2012)? (I’ve posted subreddits on these, under keywords: Queen of Sheba Solomon Hatshepsut, and: Peruvian Featherworks.)

Thanks... that's such interesting information. many many thanks, TS

If there was one thing that you would like people to know that they are ignorant of, what would it be?

That travel -- raw, on-the-cheap travel, can be an education like nothing else, and that it change change the way they see the world. My favourite saying is this Moroccan one: MUCH TRAVEL IS NEEDED BEFORE THE RAW MAN IS RIPENED.

Do you have any advice for dealing with negative criticism as an author?

Don't listen to it.

My father once rebuked me for getting upset about a review someone had written of one of my books... my first book. He said reviews were meaningless to an author.

I never forget that.

As a journalist, what has been your most frightening experience?

Pakistani torture jail. I was doing recon for a documentary. It was truly terrifying.

Yes, I have to agree with you there. My background is Pakistani, particularly Islamabad, and I have heard some horrific stories about what goes on there. Many people who are said to have "disappeared" actually wind up in one of these torture cells.

You're right... and a night doesn't go by without me wondering who is in 'my' cell right now. Because I can bet you that some poor guy -- innocent or guilty -- is in there. I can close my eyes and see every square inch of that cell. it's haunting to me.

You've mentioned you were in Japan for a while, living under extremely difficult conditions. What is the story behind that experience?

I was OBSESSED withe the Ainu people of Hokkaido from a young age. And so I went to Tokyo in the early 90s to live there and to study the Ainu culture. Tokyo was the wrong place to be, but I fell in love with Japan.

There were two unexplained deaths in 'Timbuctoo'. Both deaths were suspicious, and both young women had pear shaped blotches on their chests.

I know... I have a thing about pear-shaped blotches. Ooops, i don't think I explained that. I'll have to do a sequel to explain it!

How do you mannage to get the amazing shot in your videos/photos that everyone just simply is speechless and says just one word, WOW! I am an amature photographer and am starting to get great sports photos. But I was wondering what makes NatGeo photos so amazing

My father used to tell me, 'Take every picture as though it's the last picture on your roll of film'. OK, we don't use film now, but you can image it's the last picture on your memory card. I'm not a great photographer, but I like to take pictures without people knowing that I am capturing them.

How much gold is in each head?

The heads are bronze, from West Africa, with gold leaf covering them.

How much does the limited edition of your book "Timbucktoo" cost? Is it worth it for me to buy it mainly for the treasure hunt?

You can find the treasure with the clues hidden on the web site:

www.timbuctoo-book.com

But it is easier to find them using the book. The book is on amazon... it's a very limited edition and quite amazing in its design. Weighs 3.5 lbs.

Do any cultures that you've encountered practice cannibalism?

West Africa... especially Sierra Leone. remember, that what you see on the internet isn't more than a fragment of the true picture. i wish people would realise that.

What's the tastiest food you've ever had on your travels? (A spoonful of MSG is an acceptable answer.)

YES! MSG is a MUST! I swear by it. Wow, I don't know what else. It surely was not 'Masato' which is a strange upper Amazon drink made from cassava fermented in human saliva. Probably the best of the best was pilao in Afghanistan. Incredible, and here's always sooo much of it.

Is there a place you have been to that isn't well known but you really liked it?

Sooooo many. Iquitos in the upper Amazon stole my heart. Drop everything, and go there now!

What was so special about Iquitos?

Ahhhhhh.... So many things, and I'm not thinking that there are 6 women to every man...

It's just so absolutely slap bang in the jungle, and so evocative of Fitzcarraldo... Believe me, drop everything and check it out!

And re iquitos, I loved the fact that it was the rubber boom in Europe that created this city in very deep jungle. Like Manaus, in Brazil, iquitos is one of those places which has to been seen to be believed. So incredibly atmospheric.

How did you come up with the idea for Eye Spy?

I saw a photo of a box of glass prosthetic eyes... and I was hooked. I couldn't stop thinking about that picture, or about glass eyes. My wife thought I was mad, or rather madder than usual... so she suggested I write a novel about them. So I did. it was a kind of therapy.

Eye Spy is available freeeeee on Amazon Kindle today only. I know I shouldn't plug it, but as it's free (and only today as I say) I think I'm allowed to plug that. :-)

Has any one come close to finding those buried golden heads? Is that not a fair question?

I'm not sure. It's been quite irritating that people can't find the heads. Grrrr. I guess i should put out some more clues.

Are they worth finding? I mean, would the gold pay for the trip to collect them?

Forget material wealth and open your heart to the adventure that the journey would provide, and how it would change you... deep down change.

What would you say is the coolest thing you've ever done?

Oh, not sure. Ummmm.... probably to fly in a tiny Cessna 172 in the canyon of the Angel Falls when I was 21. I felt like I was a dragonfly in a space to great that I was less than nothing at all.

What's the most convincing evidence of magic you've seen?

Good question. I studied 'stage' magic in Calcutta a million years ago with a teacher and magician called Hakim Feroze. He promised me that he was only a stage magician and insisted that real magic was just illusion performed very well. But he used to do things -- weird things -- that I was certain were real magic. So he is the answer to your question.

What is the scariest place you've ever been?

Again, Pakistani torture jail. It was on the outskirts of peshawar. But I also had some very scary times in Afghanistan under fire.

Wow, that is extremely terrifying. Because I'm young and have no life experiences like that (yet), the scariest place I've ever been to is the mutter museum. Lots of shrunken heads (which you like), siamese twins, and really scary stuff.

I am soooo jealous you've been to the Mutter Museum. I'd give my front teeth to be there right now. Ooooooh, that has to be the wildest place ever. Only the Hunterian Museum in London comes close.

It's awesome! It scared the shit out of me though. I would've taken pictures, but they don't allow them.

Oh, and my favorite thing there is Chang and Eng's liver. I mean the actual liver. The gift shop is really cool too. There's also some terrifying siamese twin fetuses. And deformed babies.

And a tip for if you ever go there: do the cellphone tour!! It increases the grossness by about 50%

And wow- the Hunterian Museum looks really cool!

You saw the real 'Simanese Twins' liver? Wow, I had no idea it was there. Soooo weird. I heard that there's a US army museum with mummified bodies of dead soldiers. I must remember to look into that again.

Dear sa'id, After reading your June 5th blog post-- Q&A on Storytelling and Tradition… and the Tale of the Sands I was trying to "imagine" how to be absorbed in the wind, since that seems like one of the best ways to attempt to perceive/receive your script. I spent the day feeling depressed at my failures and like there was a talon or claw lodged in my sternum. Last night I read from “the child’s story” When I Grow Up @ http://www.aschiana.com/childrenstories/childrenstories.htm which is part of the http://www.aschiana-foundation.org/. The story completely eviscerated me. Do you have a dream/Rx for "Orphic Adepts" to help heal themselves & the orphans of Afghanistan?

I don't know if this is an answer: But I dream -- every night -- that I am stepping aboard a magic flying carpet, and am soaring out above the shantytown into the realm of 1001 Nights. It's so incredibly powerful to me... as if it's connecting me with another time.

What was the single most important piece of advice your father ever gave you about writing?

Suuuuch a good question, thank you. He told me to write, write, write, write, write. Because he knew -- like I now know -- that writing is a muscle, and if you exercise the muscle it gets stronger.

Is the house still haunted with jinn?

Alas, I don't think so. We had 24 exorcists and they said the next exorcism wouldn't be due for 10 more years.

Is there anything fans of your work could do that would help you out as a writer? (Aside from buying your books and telling others about them? :))

You know, what is a huuuuuge help to me, is when people post positive reviews (even very very short ones) on AMAZON and on GOOD READS. I am so incredibly indebted to anyone who does this, you have no idea.

Hi Tahir! I've loved your work since I luckily picked up Sorcerer's Apprentice at a bookstore when it came out (mainly because it had such a crazy cover!) Thanks for all the inspiration, insight, and incredible adventures over the years!

If you could help to solve one ancient mystery, what would that be and why?

I love that picture on the first edition of SORCERER'S APPRENTICE, too. It was taken in 1966 by Roland Michaud, in India. It's so evocative.

That's such a fine question. Wow, I think it would be how Stonehenge was built. I have heard a lot of theories but I'm still wondering.

Why would you bury 4heads around the world? What is the reason behind it?

For fun.

And to give other people the chance of embarking on a grand adventure.

Do you think cannibalism can be a DNA trait? Will you give clues where the heads are located?

Cannibalism: I think it's very deep in our make up... almost all animals will eat their own kind and we are animals... I think it's probably in all our DNA.

Treasure: Will post a clue next week.

At the end of you quest for Paititi, you pointed out that it doesn't matter whether or not you find ruins; you will return as a different person. Well, did you?

Yes, I certainly returned a different person. And did I find the ruins? No... so they're still out there. Waiting... for you.

Pack your bags.

Leave for the jungle...

...today.

two questions: are there "new stories", if so (you have seen many different cultures) where are (the best genuine) "new stories" being born

Some people will tell you that there are no new stories, only old ones. I kind of like this idea, that stories are never born and they never die. They just are.

Have you ever heard about the adventurer Percy Fawcett and his search for a lost city in Brasil? In 2005, The New Yorker staff writer David Grann ("The Lost City of Z") visited the Kalapalo tribe and reports that a civilisation called Kuhikugu may have actually existed in Brazil, near where C. Percy Fawcett was looking, as discovered recently by archaeologist Michael Heckenberger. It's an interesting story.

I'm a Fawcett fan and have heard that there may be a Hollywood version of his story with Brad Pitt... It's pretty sad as stories go. His son disappeared looking for his father, as I remember.

You’ve written that the daily hazards of life in the Casablanca shantytown have required that you be extremely alert continuously. Does it ever tire you? Can you comment on some of the benefits of being so alert (in addition to the obvious one of not getting injured)? (I haven't read In Arabian Nights yet; you may address this there.)

I prefer to use the word, need to 'observe', the need to be 'alert'... But you're right, I've had to tune my thinking and be ready for whatever is thrown at me.

But I believe strongly that a life without steep learning curves is no life at all!

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Nicest: Kenya.

Weirdest: Guinea

Meanest: Hmmmm, not an easy one to answer... Hmmmm... errrr.... ummmm.... possibly Ivory Coast.

I'm an experienced traveler, but have mainly stayed "on the beaten path". Can you recommend a travel suggestion that would really blow my hair back? Is there anywhere you've sworn never to return?

Two years ago I went to Angkor Wat in Cambodia... and I am going there next month with my kids... it's a real 'Indiana Jones' destination. I loved the Madre de Dios jungle in Peru as well for the magnificence of nature.

A place never to return? Hmmm... good question. can't really think of one. Really thinking here about that... No... I can't think of anywhere, although there are places in Europe that I wish let their hair down... as opposed to blow your hair back.

Thanks for doing this AMA. I've seen a ton of books with .99, 1.99, 2.99 sales price in the Kindle store. Do you think that low priced digital editions of books lower the perceived quality of the book/author?

Good question. I don't know about this... because it's such uncharted territory. i can just do what I think is right, and what I think is right is for authors and publishers not to be greedy. i makes me WILD with rage when I see publishers pricing en eBook at the same -- or a higher -- price than the paperback. Why, why, why? I just don't understand that. For me, as a writer, the most important thing is for people to read my work. Yes, I want to make money, but that is secondary. So I have priced my eBooks as low as I can.

Have you ever eaten human flesh?

Ah, great, a cannibalism question. No, I haven't. But I really don't see what's so shocking about the thought of eating human flesh. Almost al people in almost all societies have eaten flesh at some point. I'd rather eat a bit of plump human buttock to a scorpion, for instance. Wouldn't you?

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Ten seconds ago i had to swoosh one of the guardians out of here, because he had come to tell me of a new problem in the garden... I told him I was in an important meeting. He looked at the computer screen and shook his head. 'On the computer?' he asked. I nodded. 'I don't like that world,' he replied. But Dar Khalifa is as magical as ever.

Hello Tahir! I love your travel books! They're as engaging, unusual, and as thrilling as the best fantasy fiction. I'm so glad I caught this IAMA.

Have you seen any interesting changes in your travels and the culture of Casablanca because of the widespread use of the internet and cell phone technology?

Have these changes in technology affected your writing and the way you travel personally?

Cell phones have leapfrogged technology. We live in the middle of a shantytown as you may know. When we first moved here ten years ago no one had cell phones, or landlines. But now everyone has them, and that's SUCH a great thing... it's made new businesses possible, and allows families to keep in touch.

Wow, yes, the net has changed lives at a basic level, but nothing like he cell phones have.

Dear Tahir, how many languages can you speak/comunicate? I'm interesting in meanings and stories of names - what does it mean your name Tahir? What's its story?

I speak a little of a lot of languages. But what I find is so important to communicate is to relax, calm yourself, and retune your mind... sometimes it's less about language and more about picking up the frequency of the people you are with. it sounds weird, but it's how I think communication should be done.

Where have you posted the clues?

They are hidden in the hardback printed copy of TIMBUCTOO and on the web site... www.timbuctoo-book.com...

One of my favorite authors/adventurers is Robert Twigger. How did you meet? Can you share any crazy stories you two have had?

Twigger is one of my very dearest friends. The first time I met him was in Japan, in 1990. HE took me in and let me live on his floor. I was homeless and hungry. Every day I would steal ceremonial cabbages from Ueno Park, and would take them back to Twigger's tiny flat... more of a broom cupboard than a flat... and we would cook cabbage soup.

The strangest time I have had with Twigger, though, was in Cairo. I was obsessed with the great cemetery there and Twigger was obsessed with dwarf-dealers. So we looked for a dwarf dealer, one that Bruce Chatwin had mentioned in passing. We found him. He was a bastard, an utter bastard... and had a giant as a kind of pimp slave. So we sub-hired the giant while in the cemetery.

Good times.

Great memories.

What did you sub-hire the giant for?

As a body guard. he also opened the car door very well... the only downside was that he was so tall (7 foot) that we had to feed him enormous trays of baclava all the time.

If there was a zombie outbreak, what would be your zombie plan?

I'd run for it into the deepest darkest jungle, and wait it out. What about you?

Did you attend University for writing? Did you grow up wanting to be a writer?

I studied African Dictatorships at University. Studying writing is almost a waste of time. there are 2 ways to learn to write (a) to read good work (b) to write... masses.

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I spent 7 days and nights in Jama al Fna. It was the most extraordinary and entertaining time imaginable. I really recommend the main square in Marrakech as a place to lose yourself and to find the world.

I loved Timbuctoo (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13633596-timbuctoo) - I bought the hardback edition and want to start the treasure hunt to find your buried treasure. So... can you save me some time... where's the head buried? Just PM me ;).

You've got me laughing out loud! I want to tell you this: we all focus on finding buried treasure, but spare a thought for the poor bastard (in this case, me) who has to hide a treasure. It's not that easy!

Would it be a good idea If I asked you to ask a question that has not been asked and which you think could have been helpfully asked and which of course i would like you to answer. And in any case thank you for all these answers.

OK, how about:

Question: If you could change the future of someone who felt they were trapped in their life, how would you do it -- what would you say to them?

Answer: I would tell them, 'Make a decision to go on a journey, from two random points in a great continent, and to solve the problems encountered as they go. Never question whether such a journey was worthwhile until a year after it has ended, and never plan more than six hours ahead.'

I fear that many that are trapped in their life may feel (right or wrongly) that they couldn't possibly, as much as they'd like to, undertake such a journey. Due to financial or family obligations or whatever other excuse they'd come up with, many would no doubt put obstacles in front of allowing themselves to entertain such a notion.

What would you say to those who need help in overcoming those obstacles to consider such a journey.

The best thing is not to think too much. Far too many lives have been ruined by the heart when they could have been saved by the heart.

Don't think... Just do.

Thank you so much for your books, blog posts, youtube videos, and this Reddit IAMA!.........One thing I like about your travel books is that you don’t present yourself as an expert on everywhere you visit, but as an explorer, learner, traveler. Even (especially?) about Morocco. Perhaps this attitude helps you succeed where some other explorers don’t even try (eg. you thought trying to befriend the Machiguenga people and use their local expertise might help you find the lost city in House of the Tiger King). Could you comment on self-importance as a barrier to learning, and how to keep it in check?

This is something that I'm very very sensitive to... there's very little that gets me so worked up as self-styles experts who like to travel (usually with a film crew in toe), and like to pretend that they're supa dupa special. They're not... they usually total lame and egocentric, and would do well to remember that what's important are the places they travel through, and the people they encounter... and not themselves.

I have lived in Morocco almost a decade and am the first to tell you that I'm no expert on the Kingdom, just an admirer of it.

Do you know whether people in Ethiopia are reconnecting yet with their past in constructive ways?

I don't think people in Ethiopia ever lost contact with their past. That's the incredible thing about that country -- the way that people are tethered to ancestral knowledge and methods. I adore Ethiopia, and am daunted by it none the less in ways that I find difficult to describe. i have traveled in a great many African lands, but Ethiopia is one that stands apart from the others. The reason is partly in history and culture, and partly derived from the national identity. It's an identity which is unshakeable.

Have you ever read the book Contingency Cannibalism?

No... but it sounds great!

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I read Battuta's Travels, of course, and I spent a lot of time in Tangier (where he was from) talking to people... and in libraries doing research. But it was so important to me just to talk to people, the kind of people who understand who Battuta was, and what his travels meant.

Tahir. I am deeply moved by your writing. Your children, your insights, the house. And the mystery and magic! I see the world differently when I read your books. Yes, I really like you. I just looked on Amazon and there is not a lot available in hardcover. I hope that changes. The books I love, I like to have in hardcover. You entertain and amaze me. Thank you for your work.

Thanks soooo much for your email. You've brightened up my day! I suggest in limited edition hardback TIMBUCTOO and SCORPION SOUp. Both are very very special, and printed in tiny numbers. Again, thanks, Tahir

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Amazon is the most powerful name in town... and yes the biggest. I am a fan of Kindle because it has got people reading. I, for one, loooove printed books -- fine printed books -- but I do think these new forms are good. Yes, people like me prefer paper, but I watch my kids and they are just as happy to read an eBook as they are a paper one.

Re. DRM: I see that people who want to pirate books will pirate books. It's inevitable. That's one of the reasons it's important to keep eBooks cheap, cheap, cheap. I don't use DRM... I just think that authors have to be sensible to the fact that these are hard times and people need work to be affordable.

Do you have any good advice for haggling with people in open air markets. I always feel like I'm on the losing side of the deal. What's the craziest thing you've bought at a market?

I wrote about this. Take a big (cheap) flour sieve. It sounds crazy, but in morocco, at least, it will get you a reduced price on anything from a pot of oil to a new car. Why? Because, as our wise maid told me, 'No tourist would be seen carrying a sieve'.

Craziest thing I've bought? Hmmm... a sieve. And, recently, i bought some dried chameleons in a the souk in Fes, for use in a spell.

What was/is your father's (Idries Shah) influence on your writing?

It was a huge influence. As a child there is one thing that sticks in my memory... not a sight but a sound. I heard it from dawn to dusk every day-- the sound of an electric typewriting typing. That was what seeped into my blood and my bones, the sound of someone totally engaged with his work. For my father, his writing was almost a mania. He knew that it was a huge responsibility, something he had to get down. He would tell us -- 'Never judge yourselves against other people, because most people don't set their sights high enough. So, judge yourself against the achievements of the greatest men and women in history.'

Could you comment on influences on Eye Spy – perhaps from Silence of the Lambs or other movies/books?.......In Eye Spy you make some criticisms of factory farming. Could you comment on the quality of the food available in Casablanca?

What I love about Morocco is that food is available when in season, and it's not been mass produced. This is a very big thing to me... and I wrote EYE SPY having just seen a documentary called FOOD INC., about American industrialised farming. It made a big big big effect on me... because it's quite the opposite of how things are here.

I adore Silence of the Lambs, both the book and the movie. The writing in the book is so graceful and delicate. I have it on the shelf here in my office. What genius.

---I found Scorpion Soup a wonderful read, thank you. I liked the ‘high-tech’ features of the Princess Leila’s prison and of the time travel machine in ‘The Clockmaker’s Bride.’ In ‘The Hermit’ in Scorpion Soup you write about the difference between the container and the content. Can you comment on what can help in distinguishing the content from the container? (I want to write, Should one eat the beautiful cover and pages of the hardcover edition of Scorpion Soup in order to absorb the contents? – perhaps in a bisque?)

Thanks for your message!Content and Container -- I was brought up with this theme. It's buried deep inside me. my father went on and on about it, and would say that in the Occidental, 'Western' world, people missed the difference. He would show us as children beautiful objects with nothing but the most vacuous of uses, and he would warn us to beware.

I hope that the hardback of Scorpion Soup is fine container for fine content, but yes yes yes the truth is that the book is nothing more than a vessel, one which holds something of real value.

Are there any questions you particularly want to be asked in this IAMA?

I've sooo enjoyed reading the questions and doing my best to answer some. There's nothing like solid questions to make one think, and I really appreciate getting the opportunity to think -- so a huge thank you to everyone who asked questions.