#furniture imports from China

[eximpedia1]

A Complete Guide on How to Import Furniture from China to India

Learn how to import furniture from China to India profitably with this complete guide. Discover key steps, strategies, export data, and tips for successful exports.

[redtsundere-writes]

Part 5: Hunting Season

King!SukunaRyomen x Servant!FemReader

Summary: You used to be just another servant among the army of humans operating under the command of the terrible king, Sukuna Ryomen. An ordinary human who only knows how to wash, clean and cook. Until one day, he notices something in you that you hadn't seen before.

Tags: MDNI. +18. Murder. Blood. Cannibalism. Sukuna Ryomen Is The Warning Itself. Nudity. Sexual Display. Vaginal. Fingering.Sometimes fluff, sometimes angst.

Word Count: 3914 words.

Beginning. | ← Previous | Next →

Winter was dangerously approaching, and you could feel it in your body. In the darkest part of the castle, all the servants slept in giant bunks that stretched from the stone floor to the cobwebby ceiling in the freezing dungeon. The worries of survival and the stress of slavery were on pause so you could dream of a life outside the dark castle. You covered yourself as best you could with the thin cotton blanket that all the servants had. You tossed and turned to find the most comfortable position to sleep on the straw-filled mattress. Over the months you had perfected your technique to not freeze to death in winter in your sleep. You would wrap your arms around your legs and tuck your head between your knees to keep yourself warm. It was times like these when you missed the people who used to be your family.  

You were about to complete one year of serving his majesty. You still couldn't believe that you had outlived him for so long, but you were glad. The fact that you didn't have any scratches from the king meant you were doing a good job. You hoped it would be that way for the rest of your stay there, meaning the rest of your life. There was also the possibility that you would become as important to him as Uraume, but that was asking for too much. 

Loud metallic sounds woke you from your uncomfortable sleep. You slowly opened your eyes to get used to the sharp light coming from the open door. Uraume was standing at the entrance to the dungeon, banging on one of the kitchen pots with a metal spoon. All the servants were slowly waking up amid grunts of reluctance at the commotion. You pulled your hair back in confusion at the white ribbon that matched your uniform. This was the first time they had been woken up like this. 

“Today is hunting day. After breakfast, head for the parade ground,” Uraume announced in their characteristic monotone voice before retreating. 

When he closed the door behind him, all the servants wailed in unison. You didn't understand what was going on. All you knew was that this would be a day unlike any other. You quickly put on your white apron to join the others in their collective grief towards the dining room. Unlike the king's dining room, this one was larger and sadder. Instead of elegant ebony wood furniture and gold utensils, there were long wooden benches damaged from all the years of use and uneven china. 

Upon entering the dining room, they were met with a completely different picture than usual. A table full of delicious dishes on marble tableware shined in the center of the cold room. Exotic fruit cut into different shapes, different cuts of meat paraded on beautiful gold trays and unknown foods were displayed around the elegant table. They looked like works of art. It was a buffet at the height of a royal feast. Although it was a magnificent surprise, the other servants did not look happy. They reluctantly served themselves, took advantage of the jugs of wine, and some sobbed as they ate bread. 

“What's wrong with everyone?” You asked the servant in front of you in the serving line. 

“It's hunting day,” the servant replied dryly. 

If there was one thing that set you apart from Sukuna servants, it was that they were all over 40 years old. They were old curmudgeons, judgmental ladies or people who were just waiting for Sukuna to kill them after making some superficial mistake. So most of them envied your youth, but they also felt sorry for you because you had ended up in the same hell as them at such a young age. Luckily, there were a few exceptions. 

“I know that. It's the first day of April, the best month to hunt quail, wild boar and deer.” You answered excitedly. 

“I forget that this is your first year here.” Said the woman before turning around between limps to look you in the eye. “We won't be hunters, we'll be the prey.” She corrected you in a whisper, about to burst into tears. 

She lifted her skirt to show you that she had a horrible cut above her leg. The reason for her limp. One after another, the veteran servants around you showed you their survival wounds. Across the chest, some were armless and others were one-eyed. You hugged the porcelain plate of shock. That's when you realized why the shock. They were being served what would potentially be their last meal. With that disheartening feeling, you helped yourself to a few crêpes with jelly and strawberries. With your eyes, you looked around for the one servant you considered your friend, Mrs. Inoue.  

“Today looks like it's going to be an interesting day, doesn't it?” You greeted her as you sat down next to her. 

“How can you be so positive in such an environment?” she asked you with a faint smile. 

Mrs. Inoue was a 50-year-old woman you had met on your first day at the castle. Her ashen hair, raisin skin and trembling fingers made her look older than she really was, the result of a life of tireless hard work. Although she had a face of few friends and kept to herself, she was always good to you. 

“I'd rather be happy on my last day of life,” you replied before biting into a juicy strawberry. 

With her arms entwined, you helped Mrs. Inoue out of the castle at her slow but sure pace. The cloudy sky, cool wind and green grass welcomed you to the expansive parade ground. They lined up with the other servants to wait for instructions. At the perimeter of the castle, several curses in shining armor watched them like vultures. If any of the servants tried to escape, they would be snacked on by the first one to sink his teeth into them. They watched them from above, sneering with possessive eyes. You tried to ignore them, but it was difficult when you could hear their whispers. 

Two curses opened the gigantic main doors of the castle to usher in the great king Sukuna and Uraume. They reached for the trumpets under their armpits to sound an imperial march to introduce the highest authority of the nation as an inauguration to the great event that was to take place. They stepped onto the platform to the rhythm of the music to get a better look at all the inferior beings who were about to give their lives to entertain the tyrant they served. 

Uraume called the roll of all the servants, making sure they were all present. Sukuna did not take his eyes off you, his gaze constantly analyzing you as always. You tightened your dress to calm your nerves. Sometimes you wish you knew what he was thinking when his cursed eyes fell on you amidst the sea of heads. 

“The rules are the same as every year, but I will repeat them for the new servants,” Uraume began their speech. 

If Sukuna has something in common with the other kings, it is that he loves hunting day. The royals usually carry out this activity with animals that are eaten at the end of the day in a great feast. A refined event to test the discipline of the upper class, but for Sukuna it is an opportunity to satisfy his sadistic needs. His version of the hunting day consists of throwing all his servants into a dangerous forest on the outskirts of the kingdom. They will all try to hide or run away like white rabbits so he can catch them. To mark those he has found, he cuts them down with his cursed technique. Some die in the process, but most survive, only having to deal with the injury for life. 

“The last one to be caught will not be cut and will get a week off from housework as a reward. This is with the intention that you take this activity seriously,” Uraume finished their speech. 

“Wow, that doesn't sound bad,” you commented, surprised that the tyrant would give such a generous prize. “What will you do if you win?” you asked Mrs. Inoue.

“Yeah, right, like if I could win,” the lady laughed at herself. 

“Oh, come on. Don't give up just like that,” you encouraged her as you hugged her arm affectionately. 

In line, all the servants were escorted by Uraume and the other curse knights into the forest while the king rode in a luxurious carriage behind them all. The leaves crunched under their feet, the rich smell of earth dampened by the morning breeze reached your nose and the gigantic trees welcomed them to the battlefield. You would let those behind you know if there was a branch they needed to dodge or loose dirt they could slip on. You noticed how one of the servants began to sob louder and louder with each step he took. The old man was looking around paranoid in search of an escape route and scratching the back of his neck anxious. You wouldn't be surprised to see the poor man pee himself. The servant behind him was trying to calm him down, but nothing seemed to work. That was not a good sign. 

“I can't do it anymore!” The man screamed in horror before breaking formation and fleeing in panic in an attempt to get lost in the shady trees. 

He could only take three steps before a curse caught him in its jaws, eating him alive in front of everyone without remorse. The poor man was writhing and screaming for help, but no one dared to help him, fearing of suffering the same fate. He was already more dead than alive in that situation. Everyone sobbed at the bloody scene. His own panic had just consumed a colleague. The curse ripped off his head and threw it towards you to scare you even more. The head fell in front of your feet, its eyes wide open and staring at you. There was not a trace of life behind them. It was just a pair of eyes that used to belong to someone. Sukuna arrived on the scene, surprising everyone. He inserted his claws into the man's black hair to lift it off the ground, while his equal continued to eat like a messy child. His gaze traveled between the faces of his terrified servants until it reached your face drab with shock. 

It was just like that time he killed your rude colleagues in front of you. You didn't scream, cry or vomit like you used to. You just processed the situation in your mind to make sure you were fully awake. You were completely shocked to see the insides of that man who once gave you advice or helped you do an assignment. That man no longer existed, he was now food for the curse and the rest would serve as compost.

“What are you waiting for? You have 5 minutes to get out of my sight,” Sukuna said before taking a bite of the head as if it were a juicy red apple, filling his lips with blood and dead skin, starting the event. 

Everyone ran terrified into the forest while screaming for their lives, including Mrs. Inoue. You blinked a couple of times, taking in the situation. This was really happening, and you had to act fast. You bowed to your majesty before escaping his dangerous sight, running to the opposite side of where the servants had headed. Sukuna smiled as he watched you run through the trees, your dress, and hair swinging back and forth in the wind. You were fast, you were in good shape.

“I still don't understand why you think so highly of her,” Uraume said as she approached him while he was losing sight of you.

“You'll see,” He answered before wiping his lips of blood. 

Sukuna threw the head to the side and followed the direction where most of the servants had run. Uraume just followed him. They could question him all she wanted, but he always had the last word. 

You were running between trees, bushes, and plants that could possibly kill you. Your feet were starting to get tired, you could barely breathe from exhaustion and your hands were pulling on your long skirt so you wouldn't trip. The wind whipped your face as you followed the steady rhythm of your panicked steps. You didn't know where you were running to nor did you have a plan in mind. You just ran in the opposite direction of your colleagues because it was logical that a hunter would prefer to go after several prey rather than just one. 

You really didn't want him to hurt you. You had done so many things together that you doubted he was capable of doing such a thing. He always tried to touch you gently as if you were the most fragile rose in his garden. You had slept together, he had fed you the best food he could offer, defended you, given you a shower and had played together. You wanted to be by his side, but here you were, running away from him. 

You didn't see a thick tree root sticking out of the fertile soil. Your foot got stuck in the hole, causing you to stumble. You fell onto your stomach, knocking the air out of your chest. You tried to recover quickly, but fell back to the ground from the lack of oxygen in your system. Your head began to spin, so you gave up. You stretched your limbs out like a starfish on land. Your gaze began to cloud over with tears emerging from your eyes. The plowed leaves that heralded the end of autumn danced over you in an attempt to lift your spirits. Sukuna will hurt you soon. You wiped your tears with the back of your hand. You felt so foolish for thinking Sukuna considered you someone special. You had no powers, you weren't the most beautiful girl in the kingdom, much less had royal blood. You were just another servant he would mark or, worse, kill. Your heart was beating a thousand beats an hour from the adrenaline coursing through your veins. An agonizing scream from one of your companions cut through the sky, causing a couple of little birds to fly away in fright. 

You got up little by little to avoid falling again. You dusted yourself off and took a deep breath. It was confirmed. This was not a nightmare. If you wanted to survive, you had to keep running. You set off again towards the opposite side from where the scream had come from. You would do your best to be the last to be found, but nothing assured you that this would be the case. If a cut was the price for having been caressed by him, then you would pay it. 

You kept running until you reached a cave in the foothills of a gigantic mountain. You debated whether to enter, it was so dark inside that you couldn't risk going in without knowing what was inside first. In an attempt to see beyond the darkness, you took a step inside. As soon as your foot touched the stone surface, a roar emerged from the incognito. Slowly, a three-headed bear came into view. A gasp of surprise escaped your throat. Its six red eyes were staring at you hungrily and the white foam coming from its snouts was not a promising sight. You were now facing a beast lesser than Sukuna, but one that would eat you alive no matter what. You backed up little by little, but he kept advancing at your pace. 

“Shit…” You whispered before running for your life. 

Your feet were moving as fast as they could, even faster due to the adrenaline rush that was running like crazy through your body. One false step and you were dead. The bear had its eyes fixed on you and was not about to give up until it consumed your flesh. In the distance you saw a tree that you knew you could easily climb. You ran to the tree and jumped onto its branches as if they were a makeshift ladder. You would be safe there. Grizzly bears don't know how to climb… or so you thought. Your hand-eye coordination was being put to the test as you searched for the next branch to continue climbing quickly. Your labored breathing barely let you think, but you had to focus. 

The path between the branches ended when there were only thin branches that couldn't possibly support your weight. You held on tightly to turn and look at the bear. Your eyes widened as you realized you weren't dealing with just any bear. Besides having three heads, it was climbing the tree perfectly. It was the end of you. You backed up as far as you could, but if you chose wrong you could fall out of the tree. You looked down to see if you could survive the fall. A small branch broke under your feet, it fell for 2 seconds. If your math didn't fail you, it was a fall of at least 30 meters. If you survived, you would break a bone and be easy prey for the rabid bear. You watched as the dangerous beast continued to climb the tree little by little, you had no options left… Well, you had one left. 

The poor servant broke out in a cold sweat, his limbs trembled, and his throat closed as he watched Sukuna slowly approach him. Without hesitation, he cut the air. A deep wound appeared on the man's abdomen. He writhed on the ground and shrieked his mother's name from the excruciating pain. Some servants, who had already been marked, dragged him back to the castle to heal him like the others. 

“This is number 53. Only one is missing,” Uraume informed their majesty. 

“She's still out there, isn't she?” Sukuna asked, subtly proud. 

“That's right. She's the winner in her first year, how lucky,” they replied, playing it down. 

“It's not luck,” Sukuna corrected him. “She walked away from her herd when she ran. She knew perfectly well what she was doing,” he turned around to look for you. 

“Is that why you are interested in her? Because she is smart?” Uraume questioned him as he followed. 

“It's one of her qualities, but she has something else. Something that no other woman has,” his main servant arched their eyebrow at that answer. His majesty used to be someone direct and focused, why was he hiding the reason for his choice?

“So, what is it?”

“My king!” Your voice echoed through the trees like an echo that lost power with distance. Sukuna arched his eyebrow when he heard you. I could recognize your voice anywhere in the world. Had you given up so quickly? “Help me, please, my king!” 

Uraume was about to say something to him, but he disappeared with the speed of a snap. They were speechless at how quickly he had reacted to your call for help. Did he care that much about you? They ran at full speed to catch up with him. They couldn't help but smile to herself. At last… her king had a clear weakness. 

Sukuna ran through the trees until he reached your location. Quickly, he realized the situation you were in. You had given up because you were about to be eaten by a bear more terrifying than he was. You were at the top of the tree, with no clear escape. He could see your face scared and about to burst into tears because you were facing your end face to face. You had given up and decided to call him in the face of the situation. You, a human who knew you could be hurt by him, decided to call him anyway. He knew you were special, but you surprised him more and more every day. Uraume didn't take long to arrive, a few seconds late and with their heart in their throat from the effort, but they arrived.

“My king, this way!” You cried as soon as you saw that he had come to your call for help while you waved your arm from side to side so he could see your whereabouts. 

“Jump,” Sukuna ordered you with a mischievous smile as he crossed his arms. 

Uraume was surprised to hear that. He had run halfway through the forest at such a speed to ask you to jump instead of saving you? They thought he cared enough about you, but it seems they had thought wrong. No servant would be crazy enough to jump that high for a tyrant like Sukuna.

You looked at the bear and then at your king. Both could kill you easily, but you had to do your lord's bidding before anything else. If he asked you to do so, it was for a reason, wasn't it? Without hesitating twice, you jumped from the tree while letting out a war cry. You closed your eyes waiting for the painful impact that would cause you to break a bone or two. The first second step, the second would come soon. Just as you thought you were about to hit the ground, you were suspended in midair. You slowly opened your eyes to see the ground in front of your nose. 

“Huh?”

Sukuna had caught you just in time by the knot of your apron as if you were a human yo-yo. He tossed you as if you weighed nothing so that you fell right into his strong arms. The king cradled you as if you were his tender baby. Your brain could not comprehend what was happening. His four eyes looked at you tenderly as he smiled proudly that you had obeyed him. You no longer knew if your heart was pounding from adrenaline or from joy that he had saved you. 

“Good girl,” He said before ruffling your hair with one of his four hands. 

Uraume understood at that moment what Sukuna meant when he said “you had potential”. You were not the most beautiful, nor the most intelligent, nor, much less, powerful. But you were extremely obedient and loyal to such an extent that you could risk your own body for him. You didn't question or challenge him, you just did what he asked without hesitation for a second. 

Sukuna cut the bear into thousands of pieces with a slash while looking you in the eye. Your eyes wanted to see how the bear had finished, but his black claws directed your jaw back to him so you wouldn't lose sight of him, taking care not to scratch your face. You had already seen too much.

“Thank you for saving me, my king,” you said between stutters, still in shock. 

“It's the least I can do for this year's winner,” he said before walking back to the castle. Two of his arms tightened around your body, while another one went around your back, his hand holding your ass. Your cheeks flushed as you realized he was touching you shamelessly. “Do you know what you'll be doing on your week off?” he asked. You couldn't help but smile at that.

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Open fanfic commissions!

Masterlist.

[carylmeanslove]

CAN'T FORGET THE FORGET ME NOTS.

Universe speaking to us about Lukola? or Lukola deliberately choosing the hotel due to their China pattern sending us a message? You be the judge.

The flowers in this China patten look to be Forget Me Nots.

As you can see from my graphic above the China pattern on the Ritz's website looks to be a bit of a different pattern & design. The flowers are more spaced out on the China on their website compared to the room service pictured dinnerware. The rims of the plates are different too. On the website it's a light scalloped edge & there being no scalloped edge on the room service picture. Idk if it's because one being a saucer & the other is a dinner plate.

In saying all that I still wanted to give you guys the tea. 😆 See what I did there. Those of you who know me, know I had to do my floral knowledge thing.

Forget Me Nots

Our lovely pair Luke & Nicola love & respect each other so much. But do you see what else they symbolize?

Remembrance = They remember each other. These two who bring each other up unprompted, in interviews that are about themselves & their careers.

ETA: Luke remembers so much about when he met Nicola. Even things others wouldn't. That shows how important that moment was to him.

Luke remembers Nicola's birthday & has been known to be the first to wish her a happy birthday. No one should count this year because anyone who has any common sense knows that social media means little in real life relationships. When you see each other in person it's not needed in a REAL relationship to interact on social media. Any two people who do it's fake as all get out. The fakest of fake. As fake & performative as NDA Obligation like one particular liking every single post situation we know.

Eternal Love = We know they love each other. They have said this. Eternal love is the kind of love that is never-ending, it's supernatural even. Just like every in our face 'out there' level stuff we see about Lukola. The matching outfits months apart/in different countries, the body mirroring, finishing each other's sentences, the reading each other's minds (Yes, they've said things about reading each other's minds. You don't believe me go re-watch the WT interviews & videos)

Respect = They have shown so much respect for each other. Being a team, backing each other up, standing up for each other even when some in the fandom are hating on the other like after papgate debacle. Correcting people with just plain horrible assumptions like the cake Fondant picture.

Fidelity & Faithfulness = That even though he is having to take A out due to NDA obligations he still looks miserable. Anytime he was or is around A his look screams he rather be away from her, that he wants to be home with Nicola. He still does what he has to do because he remembers why he is in this situation. He fell on the sword to protect the woman he loves. Everything he & Nicola share (IYKYN) is the most important thing to him so he does what he must.

So, all the above along with all the other clues in that room service picture that screams Nicola. Not to mention that the whole photo dump was very Nicola coded. I think this could be added to that list.

For the unaware or unsure about the other items in the picture.

The iPad playing Love Island? Didn't Nicola mention watching stuff on an iPad recently? Nicola loves Reality TV & has mentioned Love Island Kisses when talking about Polin's kisses.

The Pasta? Pasta to which Nicola in the past has asked Luke to bring home for her.

What looks like could be Curry sauce for the French fries. Nicola has mentioned Curry Sauce. Also, French fries are made of potatoes & we know how happy potatoes make her. The excellent spuds they are.

The color of the flowers being blue could allude to Bridgerton & so can the vintage style furniture of this room. Basically, it's a period piece room.

And finally, the one for my nephew who I have talked his ear off about this couple, I must add his personal find. He sees an N traced in pasta sauce on the edge of the plate closest to the camera. N for Nicola.

Also, the pasta plate on the left of the picture @furbs905 on Tumblr, noticed the fork is on the left side of the plate as a left-handed person would lay a fork. I tip my hat to you for the observation, furbs. It makes this whole photo even more Lukola coded due to we know Nicola has had to send Luke photos from her phone to his phone to post in the past due to him not having any. If her camera is the one who took the room service photo, she would have sent it to his phone for him to post it to his account.

So anyway, I am going to wrap this up because it's getting long.

[mariacallous]

This might be a dumb question, and it might be one you’ve answered already, but what are the products that you think are most likely to become significantly more expensive come January 20th?

[paganimagevault]

Tomb of An Bei 589 CE. Sogdian tomb.

I couldn't find the translation for the epitaph for this one.

"Differently from the other tombs quoted in this paper, Anbei’s tomb was not excavated by archaeologists, but found and looted by the robbers, therefore the archaeological context of this tomb, even the date of this accidental finding are lost. Until now, all we know is that this tomb robbery happened someday between 2006 and 2007. Several stone figurines, a funerary couch and Anbei’s epitaph stone were found in the tomb. Two stone figurines, parts of the base of the couch and the epitaph are now exhibited in the Tang West Market Museum in Xi’an (Fig.20), four panels belonging to the private owners, including two processing and two banqueting scenes, were published, too (Fig.21).

Although owning the typical Sogdian name An, which means his ancestors migrated into China from Bukhara, his homeland was described in a completely different name, the state of Anjuyeni, which was never recorded by any source before. An’s family moved to China during the Northern Wei dynasty, some of his family members once served in the Bureau of Tributaries. For the court, it’s also an usual way to adopt expatriate immigrants to work in the diplomatic system. Anbei’s father, An Zhishi, served as a middle-rank commanding officer among the honour guards of the court.

As a, likely, third generation immigrant, Anbei’s life depicted in the epitaph was very brief, too. Except for the usual eulogies commonly written in every epitaph, two main parts of his experience were emphasized: his mercantile ability and simple bureaucratic career. The one who wrote the text made a metaphor, assimilating Anbei with two famous ancient Chinese merchants, Baigui and Xiangao during the Eastern Zhou Period (approximately between 8th c. - 3rd c. BC); After that, Anbei’s only short official career as a very lower status clerk of the military headquarters of vassal leader Xuchang was recorded, probably happened in 575 AD when he was 20 years old. Soonafter the Northern Qi was replaced by Northern Zhou dynasty in 577 AD, Anbei returned home in Luoyang, the place where he died and was buried in 589 AD at the age of 34.

The motivation for me to list this robbed tomb here, together with the other tombs which have detailed background obtained through scientific archaeological excavation is, however, mainly not for its elaborate funerary couch, but because of his distinctive identity depicted in the epitaph. Prior to the discovery of Anbei’s tomb, the deceased of all five tombs which constituted the most important foundation of the studies of the foreign immigrants in early medieval China, namely the tombs of Lidan, Kangye, Anjia, Shijun and Yuhong, owned high-ranked official positions such as head of a prefecture or Sabao, which may result in a misconception that only aristocrats of the foreign immigrants could be buried with such elaborate funerary furniture. However, Anbei’s tomb provided an additional possibility about the status of the tomb occupant who used the stone funerary furniture. What is expressly shown in the epitaph, during his 34-year-long life, Anbei was just a very ordinary person, without any notable ancestry from homeland, neither held any high-ranked post, nor received anyone as a posthumous reward.

Except for the basic information above, there is also a remarkable narration during the introduction in the beginning of Anbei’s epitaph, which may reflect the collective mindset among most of the foreign immigrants in China and their efforts in social integration, ‘Although he is a foreigner, after a long life in China, there is no difference between him and the Chinese’.

-Yusheng Li, Study of tombs of Hu people in late 6th century northern China

[lunapwrites]

Ok one more political post and then I'm done today promise.

...or at least until the next horror occurs.

Anyway, point is, in a few hours I get to hop on a zoom call with my boss and co-workers. As recently as last week, these men were all trying to pooh-pooh the idea of more tariffs on China, saying that it was all posturing, and that tariffs on Canada would be a good thing, actually, because it would make our product more competitive domestically.

I have mentioned before that I work in international logistics, and I do. In the lumber industry. I've been telling them since before the election that if Trump got reelected, they should absolutely brace for more tariffs, because he was going to put them in place in the stupidest way possible. I even nailed the increase on China (I've been giving them +10% in addition to current.)

Now, my point in saying all of this is that you all have no idea how unstable the lumber market is right now. Demand is currently sitting somewhere in hell - no one can afford to buy material at the prices they are before the tariffs kick in. As much as His Majesty likes to claim we have all the wood we need, we don't. The bulk of our supply is imported. And that's not even taking into account that different wood is used for different purposes.

The wood that we tend to have the most of on the east coast is Southern Yellow Pine - this is what's usually used for treated lumber. We also have some hardwoods like Locust, Poplar, Maple, and Oak, but these forests are over harvested and so are in limited quantity. They are usually mixed together for building needs. Spruce, Hemlock (and the rare Cedar), likewise, are present but not to the degree we'd need to supply an entire industry - we get most of our Spruce from Canada. And again, this is all for building-grade, which allows for some defects. Furniture-grade does not.

On the west coast we have Western Red Cedar, which is the gold standard for high quality building material and largely what my company deals in. But most of the companies that we order from are based in Canada, where the bulk of the supply is. American domestic supply is almost entirely controlled by a single company. This company also owns most of the mills used to process the lumber and many of the largest wholesalers and installers. I'm also like 90% sure they've got a lock on the big box retailers like Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, etc. Point is, there's an effective monopoly on domestic Western Red, and they've been setting the market price for a few years now. When the rest of the holdouts can no longer compete by going to Canada, this effective monopoly will likely become a monopoly in full - if they aren't owned by this company, they're supplied by them.

The only other option that we really have is something that I've been hearing some murmuring about for a few months now: Redwood. It has a lot of similar properties to Western Red Cedar, and has historically only been something you'd find in California, so the forestry practices were... about as sustainable as I think you could manage. But if this becomes the defacto replacement fiber that we need to lean on... I don't think that's going to bode well for California in the long term.

And none of this is taking into account pressure on the domestic shipping industry, which was already on the verge of collapse. Prices are absolutely going to skyrocket. I can also see them getting rid of the rule where truckers can only legally drive for so many hours a day to combat this - this will be popular among the truckers, and may reduce some pricing initially, but the reason that law exists is because the truckers would just drive themselves into exhaustion for a few extra jobs, and then wind up making poor driving decisions, causing accidents, etc. The law was written in blood.

Anyway all of this to say shit's fucked worse than you know and I'm waiting to see how long my small family owned company manages to survive.

**I specifically work in the fencing/decking industry, so if you work in another building products area or if you just know a fuck ton about North American arborvitae and your experience on this differs, happy to be corrected or added to!

[hurricane105]

Favorite books of 2024!

Ok fair warning: most of the traditionally published stuff I read is nonfiction. Lots of science and prehistory stuff in here.

I Contain Microbes by Ed Yong: This was a reread. I had forgotten how beneficial most kinds of bacteria are - and that disinfecting every single thing in our houses isn't always the best move (spoiler: it's linked to rises in autoimmune disorders).

Eager by Ben Goldfarb: This one is all about beavers (be prepared to get some weird looks when people ask what you're reading). Beavers are a rodent, and there's a tendency to treat them as vermin. But they're an important part of the ecosystem, creating wetlands much more efficiently than humans can.

This got long so I'm putting the other recs under a cut

Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death, and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes: Story time! I was raised in a religion that didn't think any humans other than homo sapiens had ever existed - they made fun of people who believed in evolution and thought it was all a bunch of baloney based off of like, two teeth and a fingerbone. Spoiler! There's dozens of Neanderthal skeletons (and that's not even counting other species of humans, like Denisovians and heidelbergensis; the rant about hiding evidence to be misleading can wait for another day). What I didn't realize before reading Kindred was that Neanderthals weren't the stumbling, grunting hairy humans I had always subconsciously assumed. This book is top tier for me, solely because it has so much new information.

Never Home Alone: from Microbes to Millipedes, Camel Crickets, and Honeybees, the Natural History of Where We Live by Rob Dunn: This was also a reread. You might think you're the only one living in your house - but there's zillions of other animals in there with you.

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake: Also a reread. Along with a lot of other people, I had always overlooked fungi as being rather uninteresting. However, I was wrong! There's so much packed into this book (the author's experience taking a fermentation bath, how mycelium can be used to make furniture, and how cordyceps take over ants) - it completely rearranged how I see fungi.

Brilliant Green by Stefano Mancuso: I wound up reading this one twice, back to back, to look for things for BOTW Zelda to ramble about in Link Goes Undercover. It's short but has a lot of examples of how plants live just as vibrantly as we do - they move, sleep, and signal to one another, in ways science is only just starting to understand.

An Immense World by Ed Yong: This book is about how animals perceive the world differently than we do. Not just in terms of different colors of vision and scent sensitivity, but also in things like how whales and birds migrate using the earth's geomagnetic field (which is why there are more whale strandings when there's a solar storm - their internal GPSes are messed up). Top tier for this year for sure!

Underland by Robert Macfarlane: An in-depth (lol) look at what's going on under the earth's surface. For example, what potash mining looks like, what scientists study when they pull ice cores out of the Arctic, and did you know that there's a cave in China that creates its own weather system - clouds, rain, the whole nine yards?

Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee - also a reread. Several years ago I went on a 'what exactly does comfortable home design look like' reading kick, and this was one of the books I found the most helpful. For example, circles tend to feel bouncier and brighter than other shapes - think of things like bubbles and those round windows on staircases in Victorian houses.

What If? and What If? 2 by Randall Munroe: these are together because they're very similar content - if you liked one you'll probably like the other. These are just fun applications of physics.

Breath by James Nestor: Okay I'll admit it, I was extremely skeptical about this one. The author claims that everything from waking up at night for the bathroom to fuzzy thinking can be solved by breathing through your nose. So I tried it, sure it wouldn't work but figuring I had nothing to lose. And shockingly, it does help everything he said it would AND MORE. I've never had much stamina for things like running - I'd get out of breath before my muscles gave up. But breathing through my nose solves that and all the other problems he discusses. So it's definitely worth a shot, even if you're also sure it won't work for you.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Andrew Dorn at NewsNation:

(NewsNation) — President-elect Donald Trump plans to impose sweeping tariffs in his second term, but following through on that promise could come at a high cost for everyday Americans. “If we were to see the full panoply of tariffs that candidate Trump proposed, you would see a substantial increase in the price of almost everything we buy every day,” said Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics and trade at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute. Trump hasn’t been shy about his love for tariffs — which are a tax on goods imported from other countries — calling them “the greatest thing ever invented” on the campaign trail. But economists warn those taxes, which are almost always paid by the importer, largely get passed onto consumers. As a candidate, Trump proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China as well as a 10% to 20% “universal” tariff on all imports, arguing his plan would reduce the trade deficit and protect American jobs.

The president-elect has also threatened a 25% tariff on Mexico, the United States’ top trading partner, if the country doesn’t do more to stop what he described as an “onslaught of criminals and drugs” coming into the U.S. If that happens, shoppers can expect to pay more at the grocery store, particularly for items like fresh produce, much of which gets imported from abroad, Lincicome pointed out.

[...]

How much could Trump’s tariffs push prices up?

An analysis by the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics estimates Trump’s proposed tariffs would cost a typical U.S. household more than $2,600 a year. “High tariffs also imply a massive shifting of the tax burden from richer taxpayers toward lower-income Americans,” the report said. A separate estimate from the Budget Lab at Yale estimates Trump’s tariffs could raise consumer prices by 1.4% to 5.1%. That’s the equivalent of $1,900 to $7,600 per household.

The uptick in prices would likely show up at the grocery store. That’s because much of the food consumed in the United States — about 60% of fresh fruit and 38% of vegetables — is imported, according to Department of Agriculture data. Consumer products like apparel, toys, furniture and footwear, are also expected to get more expensive with new tariffs, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said earlier this month. The NRF warned the proposed tariffs would have a “significant” and “detrimental” impact on a wide range of items and reduce Americans’ spending power by $46 billion to $78 billion each year they’re in place. A $90 pair of athletic shoes is expected to jump to $106-$116, the NRF estimated. Meanwhile, an $80 pair of men’s jeans would cost $90 to $96. It’s also worth mentioning: Trump’s first-term tariffs didn’t send prices skyrocketing across the board, but they did come at a cost. After accounting for direct costs and efficiency losses, economists estimate the tariffs increased costs for average American households by about $830 per year. For example, Trump imposed a tariff on imports of washing machines in 2018. Researchers estimate the price of washing machines increased by around 12%, about $86 per unit.

Do tariffs protect jobs?

One of Trump’s main arguments in favor of tariffs is that they prevent American businesses from offshoring jobs, but it’s not that simple. Workers who produce the specific goods covered by tariffs often benefit, but tariffs can also hurt workers in other industries that rely on those imports. “You can protect the steel industry with tariffs, but higher steel prices are going to harm manufacturers that need steel in the United States and are going to harm all those workers,” Lincicome said. In other words, a government tariff may be trading jobs in one industry at the expense of jobs in another.

Donald Trump’s proposed broad-scale tariffs could come at a massive cost to Americans.

From the 11.11.2024 edition of NewsNation's NewsNation Now:

[covid-safer-hotties]

COVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions - Published Aug 2023 (PDF)

© The Royal Society The text of this work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.

The license is available at: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Executive summary

Introduction

The purpose of this report from the Royal Society is to assess what has been learnt about the effectiveness of the application of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 – 2023 by assembling and examining evidence from researchers around the world. These NPIs were a set of measures (described in Box 1) aimed at reducing the person-to-person transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that caused the pandemic. Six groups of researchers were commissioned to assemble evidence reviews for this report, examining the effectiveness of a range of NPIs that were applied with the aim of reducing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Researchers were tasked with documenting what has been learnt, identifying gaps in knowledge and considering how these might be filled in the future. This report summarises these evidence reviews and interprets them alongside national case studies. It pays particular attention to the context and the constraints on the types of research that could be and were performed during the pandemic. The report is non-judgemental on the timing and manner in which NPIs were applied in different regions and countries around the world. It focuses on understanding the impact of NPIs on SARS-CoV-2 transmission and makes no assessment of the economic or other societal impacts of the different NPIs. Assessing these other impacts are important tasks for the many different COVID-19 inquiries that are underway around the world.

From the start of the pandemic, rapidly growing scientific information was deployed continuously to help to control its spread. The genome of the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2, was sequenced from some of the very earliest samples available from infected humans in China. This sequence information enabled the development of precise molecular diagnostic tests that could be used for diagnosis and mass testing of populations, the development of vaccines and continuous monitoring of the evolution of the virus. The development of tests led to the widespread implementation of ‘test, trace and isolate’ interventions early in the pandemic. COVID-19 was the first pandemic in which it was feasible to conduct prophylactic and therapeutic drug trials and to create novel vaccines during the course of the pandemic, saving lives and modifying the outcomes. However, despite extraordinary scientific capabilities, for most of the first year of the pandemic the only measures available to slow the transmission of the novel virus were NPIs. For those that were infected and seriously ill, there were no specific treatments or preventative measures in the form of drugs or vaccines. The supportive measures of modern medicine, such as oxygen supplementation, pulmonary ventilation and other forms of advanced life support, saved many lives, but did nothing to slow transmission.

What are NPIs? The principles behind NPIs are firmly grounded in prior knowledge about the epidemiology and biology of infectious diseases. In essence, the transmission of an infection from one human to another can be prevented if the transmission pathway can be blocked effectively. For an airborne virus such as SARSCoV-2, effective measures reduce exposure to virus that has been exhaled by infected people (by breathing, talking, coughing or sneezing). Measures that can assist, in theory, include the wearing of face masks, enhanced ventilation and social distancing. Where infectious virus survives on surfaces (furniture, clothes or hands), cleaning regimes including enhanced handwashing can help. Personal protection equipment (PPE), common in healthcare environments (including gloves, visors, gowns and masks) potentially offers protection against exposure.

Early clinical studies of COVID-19 strongly suggested that the primary routes for acquiring infection were likely to be by direct inhalation or exposure of the mucosal surfaces of the nose and mouth to virus suspended in airborne droplets or, as was realised some months into the pandemic, in aerosols. Early evidence of fomites (contaminated surfaces), extensively contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 viral nucleic acid shed from infected people, pointed to the possibility that hand-to-face contact might also transmit the infection. This view was informed by prior knowledge of the transmission mechanisms of other respiratory viruses, such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the coronavirus (now named SARS-CoV-1) that caused the SARS outbreak in several countries around the world in 2003.

Use of NPIs for infectious disease control Considering the incomplete knowledge about this new viral infection and prior knowledge, many governments around the world implemented measures similar to those used just over a century earlier during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Some countries in Asia implemented measures based on their more recent experience of outbreaks of SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). NPIs included the wearing of masks and enhanced personal hygiene measures, including enhanced surface cleaning and handwashing. Social distancing was introduced and enforced to variable extents. Social distancing measures included closures of schools and workplaces, as well as entertainment, leisure and sporting venues. These closures were often augmented by stayat-home orders for all but essential workers.

Border controls and closures were put in place in many countries with the aim of reducing the movement of cases across national borders. The precise measures, and the ways they were implemented, varied between countries according to their social and political-economic contexts and prior experiences. In most of the world, NPIs remained the dominant mechanism for control of the pandemic until well into its second year. The UK was the first country to approve the use of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, approving three vaccines during December 2020 and January 2021. By July 2021, approximately half of the UK’s population had received two doses of vaccine. However, it took until January 2022 for half of the global population to have had two doses – and a year later in January 2023 the global figure had risen to approximately 63%.

The challenge for governments around the world facing a pandemic is how to minimise the harms to their populations. The harms of a pandemic are the morbidity and mortality from the viral infection, coupled with the social disruption and harms that follow from the direct and indirect consequences of that morbidity and mortality. The latter can be exceptionally severe if the extent of illness and social response to the illness disrupts the healthcare systems, infrastructure, goods and services on which the health, wellbeing, resilience and security of the population depend.

What are non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs)? NPIs include any measure that is implemented during an infectious disease outbreak to attempt to reduce transmission that is not a vaccine or drug. NPIs can be behavioural, social, physical, or regulatory in nature. Their uptake and use can be encouraged through a variety of approaches, escalating from advice and guidance through to regulation. NPIs are therefore the first line of defence in the effort to contain outbreaks and to limit the impacts on affected populations before biological interventions become available. They have also been used alongside vaccines and drugs, especially where these interventions fail to prevent transmission. The precise ways in which NPIs were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic varied between different countries and contexts.

The programme of work described in this report covered six broad categories of NPIs and the evidence available concerning= their effectiveness at reducing transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The six categories are as follows:

Masks and face coverings Masks act as barriers to virus particles in air being inhaled and/or exhaled through the nose or mouth. Virus-carrying droplets (larger, heavier particles) or aerosols (smaller, lighter articles) captured on the inside or outside of the mask can no longer spread via the air. The materials and features of masks affect the size of the particles that are filtered out, and their resulting effectiveness. How well the mask fits the face of the wearer is also key. N95 masks (also known as respirators), when worn correctly, are highly effective barriers.

Social distancing and ‘lockdowns’ Respiratory diseases are transmitted by infectious material carried by exhalations (eg. breathing, talking, coughing or sneezing) from one individual to another. Increasing physical distance between individuals can reduce the amount of infectious material being carried to others in droplets and aerosols, although aerosols typically transmit over longer distances than droplets. A commonly recommended minimum distance of separation between individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic was two metres. Interventions on populations and communities included closures of schools, workplaces, places of worship and entertainment venues, as well as ‘stay-at-home’ orders (‘lockdowns’) that prevented most people from coming into contact with anyone outside their own homes.

Test, trace and isolate SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted when infected individuals are in close proximity to others. A strategy employed to break the chain of transmission is to identify infectious people (‘test’), determine with whom they have come into physical contact (‘trace’) and encourage or enforce both infected individuals and their contacts to stay at home and avoid physical contact with others until the risk of being infectious has subsided (‘isolate’).

Travel restrictions and controls across international borders During a pandemic, where an infectious disease is spreading across international borders, restricting the ability of people to move between countries can be used to try to prevent the global movement of the pathogen. Border controls applied during the pandemic varied in stringency and took the form of complete or partial bans targeted at international travellers from particular regions perceived as being at higher risk. Often border controls were accompanied by requirements for international travellers to test and/or quarantine at the border of departure and/or arrival to enable some travel.

Environmental controls Particles carrying infectious material vary in size from droplets that settle on surfaces close to the point of exhalation through to very fine aerosols which can linger in the air and travel further. Certain elements of building design and management can be implemented with the intention of restricting the spread of respiratory pathogens. These include enhancing ventilation systems to replace air carrying infectious aerosols with outside air, and filtering or treating air inside buildings to reduce infectious virus. Screens made of a variety of materials and reduced occupancy limits for rooms or buildings can also be used. Environmental controls also include cleaning of surfaces to remove droplets carrying infectious material and enhanced handwashing.

Communications Effective communication about any of thephysical, social or behavioural interventions is essential if people are to understand and be convinced of the reason for their use, as well as being willing to adopt and maintain the practices, and to do so correctly, so as to maximise effectiveness.

[hybridmindthoughtsreloaded]

U.S. retailers that depend on foreign suppliers have announced they will pass along the cost of Trump's proposed import tariffs to consumers, leading to higher prices for a range of products. Americans are expected to lose between $46 billion and $78 billion in spending power each year on products including apparel, toys, furniture, household appliances, footwear and travel goods.

Trump plans to impose a 60% tax on goods from China and a 10% to 20% levy on all of the $3 trillion in foreign goods the U.S. imports annually. Such sweeping tariffs would reignite inflation, as they would mostly be paid by U.S. consumers.

"A tariff is a tax paid by the U.S. importer, not a foreign country or the exporter. This tax ultimately comes out of consumers' pockets through higher prices."

[asadbobo]

Rosso Corsa is Ferrari Red

When making color choices Its usually highly dependent on the context and purpose of the item. For example when it comes to clothing I usually go for neutral colors because they're easier to wear together, whereas you'd have a hard time making an outfit from many bright colors. Bright colors draw attention and stand out, this is another thing I consider when making color choices. A bright piece of furniture or accessory like a hat could be a nice accent piece if the surrounding is calm in comparison.

I think usually it's important to balance busyness and complexity with brightness and variety of colors. Having both can easily become overwhelming for the eyes like a page from "where's Waldo?".

Some color associations :

Purple was associated with royalty and power in ancient Rome and Japan

Red is considered lucky in China, according to the legend, a mythical beast called "Nian" was afraid of the color red, so it's used as decoration during new year celebrations, to bring good luck and prosperity for the upcoming year.

Rosso Corsa, is the iconic red color used on many Ferraris. Today the color serves as a strong symbol of the company. Originally it was the historic racing color of Italy, used by the racing teams of many companies.

I believe most feeling about colors are learned, because nowadays, children learn most things from the people around them and not through experiences. For example a child growing up in nature without other human contact would associate colors with only where they've been seen before. The feelings towards those colors would mirror the feelings towards the objects of those colors. For example if they got stung by a yellow bee, they would likely be scared of yellow bugs or even inanimate yellow objects, just because of the color.

If we isolate that child even more and put them in a single room and remove the possibility of experiences then someone who was never exposed to feelings or ideas about color would still think differently of each color based on how bright they are, but usually the feelings associated with brightness or dullness are learned. Making any independent judgement of colors based on brightness to be indirectly a learned behavior, because the bias of feelings towards the brightness of colors is learned.

My feelings towards colors, like most other people, are adopted from media, society, and culture. With that being said, yellows induce a cautious feel, it makes me think that something is at risk and attention is required. I associate red with anger, this probably originated because blood is red, and aside from blood shed from violence, when people get angry their face gets red because of the increased blood flow. I think light blue is a calming color because it reminds me of a calm sky on a nice day.

I wrote more than I was expecting for this post but it was fun to think this deeply about colors and if you read this far I hope it was just as fun to read about it.

[digibizz]

Feng Shui vs. Vastu Shastra: Harmonizing Your Living Space with Ancient Wisdom

In the quest for creating harmonious living spaces, Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra stand out as two ancient practices rooted in distinct cultural traditions. Feng Shui, originating from China, and Vastu Shastra, from India, both seek to enhance well-being and prosperity but differ in their methodologies and cultural contexts. Understanding their similarities and differences can help you create a more balanced and positive living environment.

Origins and Historical Context

Vastu Shastra: Ancient Indian Wisdom

Vastu Shastra, meaning "science of architecture," is an ancient Indian practice detailed in texts like the Vedas, dating back over 5,000 years. This system integrates architectural principles, spatial geometry, and natural elements to design spaces that enhance positive energy, known as "Prana." Vastu Shastra emphasizes aligning buildings with natural forces to attract beneficial energies and mitigate negative influences.

Feng Shui: Ancient Chinese Practice

Feng Shui, translating to "wind and water," has its roots in China and dates back around 3,000 years. This practice focuses on arranging space to optimize the flow of "Qi" (or "Chi"), the vital force believed to inhabit all things. Feng Shui practitioners aim to create balanced environments through strategic placement of elements, considering factors such as orientation, color, and materials to promote health and prosperity.

Core Principles and Practices

Similarities: Shared Goals and Concepts

Both Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui aim to foster positive energy and well-being in living spaces. Key similarities include:

Energy Flow: Both systems emphasize the importance of energy flow within a space. Vastu uses "Prana," while Feng Shui focuses on "Qi." The arrangement of space is crucial to ensure these energies circulate freely and harmoniously.

Natural Elements: The elemental foundations of Vastu Shastra include earth, fire, water, air, and space, aimed at aligning structures with natural forces. Feng Shui employs a different combination—metal, wood, fire, earth, and water—to enhance the flow of energy within a space. Each tradition values these elements for their impact on creating a balanced and harmonious environment.

Directional Significance: Both systems assign importance to cardinal directions. For example, Vastu Shastra views the north as auspicious due to its association with magnetic energy, while Feng Shui often highlights the south for its sunlight benefits.

Differences: Methodologies and Cultural Context

Despite their common goals, Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui diverge in their approaches:

Architectural Focus vs. Elemental Arrangement: Vastu Shastra often requires structural changes, such as door and window placements, to align with its principles. Feng Shui, however, typically involves non-structural adjustments, like furniture arrangement and decorative elements, to improve energy flow.

Cultural Context: Vastu Shastra is deeply embedded in Indian culture, incorporating Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. In contrast, Feng Shui is rooted in Chinese cosmology and philosophy, which includes various metaphysical concepts and practices.

Remedial Practices: The remedies suggested by each system vary. Vastu might recommend specific plants (like Tulsi) or religious symbols (such as Ganesh idols), while Feng Shui may suggest items like wind chimes or the Laughing Buddha to enhance positive energy.

Application in Modern Architecture

Vastu Shastra in Home Design

In modern architecture, Vastu Shastra is used to design homes that align with natural energies. To align with Vastu Shastra, placing the kitchen in the southeast corner of the house is recommended, as it corresponds with the fire element, enhancing the kitchen’s functionality and energy. The northeast corner, on the other hand, is considered optimal for a prayer room, promoting spiritual growth and a peaceful atmosphere.

These principles are applied to optimize the flow of energy and create a harmonious living environment.

Feng Shui in Interior Design                    

Feng Shui principles are increasingly integrated into contemporary interior design to enhance Qi flow. Practitioners focus on arranging furniture and decor strategically—using mirrors to reflect light, selecting colors that correspond to specific elements, and placing plants to infuse vitality into the space. The aim is to create a balanced environment that supports health and happiness.

Conclusion

The relationship between Feng Shui and Vastu Shastra highlights a universal quest for balance and harmony in our living spaces. Although these ancient practices originate from different cultural backgrounds and use distinct methodologies, they both offer valuable insights into creating environments that promote well-being and prosperity. By understanding and applying the core tenets of both Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui, you can design homes that not only reflect your personal style but also align with natural forces, ultimately leading to a more harmonious and fulfilling life.

Integrating these principles into modern architecture and design provides a unique opportunity to cultivate spaces that resonate with positive energy and enhance the quality of life. Whether you lean towards Vastu Shastra’s architectural precision or Feng Shui’s strategic arrangement, both offer paths to creating spaces that foster a sense of peace and balance.

[mariacallous]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden-Harris administration announced plans Tuesday to provide up to $750 million in direct funding to Wolfspeed, with the money supporting its new silicon carbide factory in North Carolina that makes the wafers used in advanced computer chips and its factory in Marcy, New York.

Wolfspeed’s use of silicon carbide enables the computer chips used in electric vehicles and other advanced technologies to be more efficient. The North Carolina-based company’s two projects are estimated to create 2,000 manufacturing jobs as part of a more than $6 billion expansion plan.

“Artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and clean energy are all technologies that will define the 21st century, and thanks to proposed investments in companies like Wolfspeed, the Biden-Harris administration is taking a meaningful step towards reigniting U.S. manufacturing of the chips that underpin these important technologies,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

The new Wolfspeed facility in Siler City could be a critical symbol in this year’s election, as it opened earlier this year in a swing state county that is undergoing rapid economic expansion in large part due to incentives provided by the Biden-Harris administration.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, is making the case to voters that the administration’s mix of incentives are increasing factory work, while former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, says the threat of broad tariffs will cause overseas factories to relocate in the United States.

In 2023, President Joe Biden spoke at Wolfspeed to promote his economic agenda, saying it would help the United States outcompete China. Trump narrowly won North Carolina during the 2020 presidential election and has talked about bringing back the state’s furniture manufacturing sector.

The Biden-Harris administration’s argument is that the government support encourages additional private investments, a case that appears to apply to Wolfspeed.

In addition to the government grant, a group of investment funds led by Apollo, The Baupost Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company and Capital Group plan to provide an additional $750 million to Wolfspeed, the company said. Wolfspeed also expects to receive $1 billion from an advanced manufacturing tax credit, meaning the company in total will have access of up to $2.5 billion.

Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe told The Associated Press that the United States currently produces 70% of the world’s silicon carbide — and that the investments will help the country preserve its lead as China ramps up efforts in the sector.

Lowe said “we’re very happy with this grant” and that the Commerce Department staff awarding funds from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act was “terrific.”

[internationaltransportcompany]

INNOVATIVE WAYS INTERNATIONAL MOVING COMPANY MOVE FRAGILE GOODS

Moving to some other country involves huge planning and care while sending all your stuff to the destination, much more so with breakables. International moving company have devised various methods of efficiently transferring all your fragile items over long distances. This article talks about some advanced techniques and practices used by international movers to help avoid damage to fragile items during transit.

1. Custom Crating Solutions

The most outstanding innovations in the movement of fragile goods are custom crating solutions. Moving companies design and build custom crates for the dimensions and requirements of each type of fragile item. Crates of this nature are developed with robust materials, such as wood or heavy-duty cardboard, and lined by foams or other cushioning materials in order to absorb shocks and restrict movements. Custom crates are very useful in moving large, highly valued, or oddly shaped items like artwork, antiques, and sculptures.

2. Advanced Packing Materials

The quality and grade of the packing materials used constitute another highly critical aspect for safeguarding fragile items. Various specialized materials that international movers use to protect fragile belongings include:

Bubble Wrap: Very good at cushioning and absorbing shocks, suitable for glassware, ceramics, and electronics.

Packing Paper: This is used to wrap each item individually. This will avoid scratches or minor impacts.

Foam Sheets and Peanuts: These fill up empty spaces in the boxes and avoid the shifting of objects within them. They provide extra padding, too.

Edge Protectors: Reinforce corners and edges of items; they are easily susceptible to damage.

These materials withstand the rigors of international transportation, ensuring your fragile items remain intact.

3. Double Boxing Technique

Probably the best measure to protect fragile goods in international moving is going to be the double boxing technique. The process consists of placing the fragile entity in a well-padded smaller box and subsequently in a larger box with more padding material. This double layering for protection of the items will help in absorbing the shocks or vibrations that may occur during transit, thereby providing extra protection from damage. This method applies very well to extremely fragile items, like fine china, sensitive electronics, and small antiques.

4. Climate-Controlled Shipping

These include items that are sensitive to temperature and humidity changes, such as fine arts, musical instruments, and antique furniture. International moving companies provide climate-controlled shipping for these kinds of items to help guard against environmental fluctuations. The use of climate-controlled containers or trucks helps to avoid damage by extreme temperatures, moisture, or dryness; hence, it is very important for the integrity and value maintenance of sensitive fragile items over a long-distance move.

5. Real-Time Tracking and Monitoring

The traditional way of handling fragile items by international moving companies has undergone a sea change with the introduction of technology. Real-time tracking and monitoring systems enable movers and clients to trace, at all times during the journey, the location and condition of their shipment. The progress of the shipment continues to be updated through GPS tracking devices, while temperature, humidity, and even vibration can be constantly monitored by sensors inside the containers. This level of control is very important in ensuring that any problem is addressed on the spot, thereby giving clients peace of mind and greater safety for items of a fragile nature.

6. Expert Handling and Training

The human factor is at work just as much in the safe transport of fragile items. A professional international moving company is serious about investing in the training and expertise of its employees so that fragile items are treated with the care that they need. Moving people have received special training in careful packing, appropriate lifting techniques, and how to handle delicate things best. Such expertise minimizes the risk of accidents and ensures that packing, loading, and unloading of fragile items are done safely.

7. Comprehensive Insurance Coverage

After all the precautions, there can be an accident. Reputable international moving companies provide comprehensive insurance coverage on your fragile items. This could provide clients with financial protection against damage or loss while in transit. Many insurance options will ensure that the values and fragile goods of clients are well protected.

Conclusion Innovative techniques and sophisticated technologies have dramatically changed the way in which international moving companies handle fragile items. This will ensure that treasured possessions are moved safely and securely through advances in custom crating, advanced packing materials, climate-controlled shipping, and real-time monitoring. Such methods, allied with investment in expert handling, help international movers provide clients peace of mind regarding the safety of their fragile items. Knowing the following new techniques can ensure that your fragile goods reach their destination safely when you have another international move lined up.

[corallapis]

I don't know whether you're still fascinated by Prince George, the Duke of Kent anymore, but you cannot imagine how relieved I was to find your blog and discover that I wasn't the only person who had P.G. on my mind. Bit of a mess as a person, but very interesting

i'd like to direct you to the diary entry chips channon wrote on the 6th september 1942:

A lovely sunny morning. I woke refreshed, replenished with energy. I have been thinking about the poor Duke of Kent: his death is a loss to me and to the country. Nobody knew him better than I of recent years — particularly the past six or seven . . . Fundamentally frivolous, he was fitful, fretful, both moody and unreliable in small matters. Yet his painstaking kindness was immense and equalled, even surpassed, by his surface treachery. For he could be very treacherous: no man was ever more disloyal in conversation, and no man was a better friend in action, or at heart (this curious and often disturbing contradiction in his complex character was the reverse of the habits of the Prince of Wales who always ferociously resented conventional condemnation, or even gossip, about his friends yet was never known to do anything for anyone except the reigning favourite, whether it was Freda Dudley Ward, Audrey Field, Fruity Metcalfe, or Wallis Simpson). But it was this puzzling trait to the Duke of Kent's Franco-Semitic make-up which first stopped people from loving him wholeheartedly, for as one began to be fond of him, he would do, or say, or commit some small little act that chilled one, and again, just as one began to mistrust or be indifferent to him, he would be so thoughtful, affectionate and disarming that one would genuinely like him more . . . unstable, sensitive, volatile he had beauty, wit and worldly wisdom as well as considerable culture. He read, collected and was a musician, but only people were of real importance to him. He was good and gracious with people, and avidly interested in their morals, incomes, food and vices. (He happened to sit next to old Mr Bland, the Guinnesses' trustee, at a banquet in Swansea and spent an hour trying to find out my exact income.)

Fair, with the extravagantly youthful figure and looks common to the male members of the royal family, he always looked and seemed ten years younger than he was. The Duchess and he must have been the most beautiful and dazzling couple in the world! It was only recently that deep lines began to show under his prominent turquoise eyes. And his tics nerveaux had grown: his exquisite hands knitted incessantly as he talked quickly and irritably. He was plagued by boredoms. His walk was an impressive shuffle. Being an ardent sun-worshipper, his small and trim figure was always bronzed and bleached. Naked he was magnificently gold and copper. And his head — his fair, untidy hair in the rain! — was aristocratic, even fin-de-race . . . He liked jewels, bibelots, snuffboxes, expensive china, Georgian furniture, pictures and les élégances. But more than the actual objets de vertu he collected, he liked buying, selling and exchanging them. His life was a long tussle with antiquaries; for he was a dealer at heart. He was a gourmet, even a connoisseur of food, and always personally supervised every domestic detail of his establishments. Alone of the royal family he had social sense and a flair for society and entertaining. His parties were always enjoyable and usually brilliant . . . In his off-time he would garden relentlessly, or he curled up for hours in the sun! Extremely soigné he was nonetheless unsuccessfully dressed.

Of course he had a secret of which he rarely talked and was ashamed. I was long aware of it. Later his conscience, too, tormented him about his eldest brother, whom he treated very shabbily, indeed. To lull his conscience he ended by hating the Duke of Windsor who was au fond the only person he cared for deeply. (He was even jealous of my spasmodic intimacy with Edward VIII who occasionally telephoned to me.) In his cups the Duke talked of little else, and it was a mixture of abuse and love and Schadenfreude. Latterly he was also extremely unhappy and haunted by the tragic position of Prince Paul, his brother-in-law. Except for Queen Mary, who admired him, and to whom he was devoted, the Duke had no feelings for his other relatives. From her he inherited his love of collecting, his artistic bent and his methodical habits of correspondence. He liked writing letters, which he always answered punctually, in his beautiful handwriting. He actively disliked the King, and more particularly the Queen. He said that they were little more than civic functionaries now and was sarcastic about her to anyone who would listen, calling her 'grinning Liz'. Although since the abdication crisis they were rather more intimate, he secretly resented her non-royal origin. Once he said to me, 'Do you know what Bertie does with his money? Why, he invests it!', and his high voice trembled with scorn. The Gloucesters, he thought, hopeless bores, and his sister, the Princess Royal, a somewhat pathetic turn. The more remote relatives were a constant target for his gibes and eighteenth-century malice . . . . He was flirtatious in manner and in his conversation which was always good and stimulating. He could never hide his deep and infinite desire to please and to carp. Probably he felt frustrated and cramped in his position. He hated Alec Hardinge, whom he accused of trying to poison the King against him. He said that he was not given sufficient scope for his latent and many gifts . . . He proposed himself recently to lunch with old and dying Mrs Greville (I was present). Next day he attacked her soundly in my hearing, and did not add that he had sent her a pair of white satin cushions on that very morning, which I knew to be a fact. He had many weaknesses and peculiarities: he drank to excess during the long pre-dinner interval, usually gin and fruit mixtures; at dinner and afterwards he drank nothing at all. He gave a somewhat effeminate impression by his furious knitting, his too many bracelets and rings. He was wildly extravagant in his purchases, lavish with his presents, but shrewd with finance generally. Often he exchanged or sold or passed on presents that had been given to him. Sometimes he would select his Xmas presents and send me the bill afterwards: it was the safest course.

Devoted to his attractive children, particularly to little Alexandra, to his dogs, he was often embarrassingly querulous — less so, of late — with the Duchess who idolised him. His brain was quicker, better-informed and more instinctive than hers. Somewhat out of focus for this prosaic age, he was nevertheless extremely popular and had a Perrault quality for the people at large which is lacking in other members of his family. The Duke's sad and dramatic death is the end of an epoch: London and life will be more colourless and less gay without him, that elaborate, eager, excited elf. And I shall miss his gossip, his maniacal laugh, his rich presents, his haunting personality, coral and lapis.