#how to get into the maritime industry

[crystals-cave]

PAC: How will you be remembered? ☁️

Hi Everyone🖤

Welcome to another PAC reading!

Today’s PAC will be about how you’ll be remembered by the people around you. This could be your friends/family/colleagues/peers or even acquaintances.

Pick a pile that sparks a memory in you - it could be a person/place/music/ object etc. If more than 1 pile sparks a memory in you, pick the pile that evokes the strongest emotions in you. However, if you feel strongly for both, you may go ahead and read more than 1 pile.

As this is a general reading, do take what resonates for you and take the rest with a pinch of salt.

⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️

Just a reminder that this is how people will remember you, it’s not a representation of who you truly are. This is for those who are curious of the impact they have on others and what others think of them.

The reading may be harsh and there will be no sugarcoating at all.

Do not proceed if this is not what you wish to know.

⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️

Note: all pictures used in this reading are taken by me

Pile 1 | Pile 2

Pile 3 | Pile 4

Pile 1

The Magician (rx)

The Tower

3 of Wands

2 of Wands (rx)

Queen of Wands

Hello Pile 1👑

Some people will remember you as someone quiet and does not know how to approach you without intruding your space. They think that you’re someone who values your space and may tend to get distracted easily.

People who have worked with you will likely remember you as someone unpredictable — you may tend to surprise them with your words and sometimes even the decisions that you make. For example, people maybe think you are someone quiet and calm but you may surprise them by suddenly swearing explicitives in front of them. Or if you’re a manager and your employee expected you to side with a difficult client but you end up standing up for them and giving the client a piece of your mind. Generally, people will remember you as someone who has shocked them.

People will also remember you as someone skilled in their trade. You may not necessarily be the cream of the top, but you definitely know what you’re doing. I feel that some of you may be in the logistics or even maritime industry. Some of you could also be in trade business or in the supply chain department.

You’ll also be remembered as someone who has many troubles to solve at work. Your colleagues/ex-colleagues will also remember you as someone with great problem-solving skills.

Besides being great at your work, people also remember you as someone full of life and passion. And there may also be a portion of people who remember you as someone who loves money.

Summary of how they remember you: quiet and hard to approach, tend to shock others with your words/actions, excel in your choice of career, have great problem-solving skills, you’re full of life and passion, some thinks you love money

Pile 2

The Emperor (rx)

7 of Wands

Knight of Cups (rx)

Judgement (rx)

Queen if Wands (rx)

Hi Pile 2 🌪️

People may remember you as someone confusing, someone contradictory. They remember you as one who has everything they need in life but yet seem so unstable and unsatisfied with life.

Some people whom you work/worked with may remember you as someone as aggressive/controlling. If you’re a leader at work, your employees may think that you may have a more controlling leadership style with a tendency to micro-manage. Others may feel oppressed as they feel that their opinions are constantly being dismissed.

Others you’ve met may remember you having a victim mindset — which can be difficult to deal with. Hence, they find it hard to understand why you are always unsatisfied with life. Though it may be unintentional on your side, some of them think of it as a form of manipulation — maybe you should try to be more aware and observe how you behave around them.

Some people around you may also remember you as someone naive. They think that you’re a bad judge of character as you have a tendency to misjudge people. Your naive outlook may be detrimental as it can escalate small issues into huge ones. It may also be why this group of people think that your lack of good judgement is a lack of common sense as well. This may even snowball to people thinking that you do not have passion and zest for life.

Summary of how they remember you: some think you’re contradicting, unsatisfied with life, tends to be controlling, someone with a victim mindset, manipulative, one with bad judgement, naïve, no passion for life

Pile 3

King of Wands

The Empress (rx)

The Lovers

The Hermit (rx)

6 of Wands (rx)

Hey Pile 3🔥

Your acquaintances will remember you as someone assertive and charismatic. Some may also remember you for how your dress — bold, and with a dramatic flair. Some may also think of you as a leader of some sort, regardless whether you are/were one. Some of them may have viewed you as a potential lover. Those you have dated may have even thought of you as their soulmate at some point in time.

However, some people may remember you as a someone who lacks teamwork — they think that you’re more individualistic and not much of a team player. This makes them feel that it’s difficult to work with you as you’re not empathetic towards your teammates and thus find you manipulative if they are guilt-tripped to meet deadlines. Due to such incidents, they may remember you as someone who does not self-reflect as you also have your own flaws. Deep down, they think you should get your work done on time instead of getting it done perfectly.

*trigger warning*

Some people may have remembered you as a source of trauma. They may have seeked therapy after their interactions with you — regardless if you’re aware or not. They feel that you’re projecting your insecurities onto others which makes them feel inferior. They think that you can get some help seeking therapy too.

Summary of how they remember you: assertive and charismatic, bold dressing, leader-figure, potential soulmate/lover, have bad teamwork, lacks empathy, manipulative, thinks you need therapy, make them feel inferior to you

Pile 4

Queen of Pentacles

Knight of Wands (rx)

Judgement

7 of Wands (rx)

The Moon

The Emperor

Hi Pile 4🌿

People remember you as someone wealthy, nurturing, and stable. They remember you as someone generous and appreciative of the finer things in life. They also remember that you won’t let others take advantage of you despite your generous and nurturing nature.

However, people tend to remember things differently. The first group remember you as someone vain and narcissistic — they feel that they need to walk on eggshells around you due to your short temper and rigidness. The second group instead remembers you as someone who helped them transform into a better version of themselves. After they realize that you’re not being harsh for the sake of it, they reflected and bettered themselves. For that, they remember you advice and is thankful towards you.

There is also a group that remembers you as someone who tends to be anxious and makes them feel protective over you. Some remember you as an insomniac who gives hope and inspires them to be better. People also remember you as someone they go to for advice — you make them feel that everything is under control. They also tend to feel safe and secure around you.

Summary of how they remember you: wealthy, nurturing, stable, vain, narcissistic, you transformed their lives, thinks you’re anxious, insomniac, great adviser

[pannaginip]

For eight more months until [Mario's] contract ended in September 2023, he worked with the right side of his body going numb. He wouldn’t even notice he was cutting his fingers.

He has always felt he was being treated unfairly, but this was something else. “We had a Dutch chief engineer, he suffered a heart attack as I suffered a stroke, he was immediately airlifted. A helicopter took him to the shore in Florida to get immediate medical attention. Because he’s Dutch.”

Beyond Mario’s medical experience, the uneven treatment in terms of wage is institutional. For years, Dutch ships have been paying Filipinos and Indonesians less than their European counterparts. This unequal wage system is state-sanctioned because companies were awarded legal opinion that says this was necessary to preserve the viability of the maritime sector.

It is ironic because in 1997, the Institute’s predecessor, the Equal Treatment Commission, sanctioned this discriminatory clause. The commission believed then that paying Filipinos and Indonesians less falls within the exemption of the Dutch Equality Act. The law effectively allows “indirect discrimination which is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and where the means to achieve that aim are appropriate and necessary.”

“We want to reverse this [1997 judgment],” said [Michael de Castro, Mario’s Philippine lawyer], “because there’s really a global movement away from it. In the words of one seafarer, this has been a race to the bottom for Filipinos. As long as they earned in dollars, they’d do it, no matter how unequal the wages are.”

As of 2021, Filipinos are the top nationality of seafarers in the world, with Indonesians ranking fifth.

But Filipinos are also often victims of sea abandonment. According to the International Transport Workers’ Federation, Filipinos are the fifth “most abandoned nationality,” [...]

In terms of pay gaps, the Netherlands ranks 13th in the world with the highest migrant pay gap across industries, according to the 2020 report of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The report shows that on average, migrant workers employed in the Netherlands earn 19.9% less than their Dutch counterparts. [...]

2024 Oct. 31

[blueiscoool]

Medieval Grave Slabs Recovered From Historic Shipwreck

Maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University have recovered two medieval graves slabs which have been lying at the bottom of Studland Bay for nearly 800 years.

The slabs, carved from Purbeck marble, were amongst the cargo of England’s oldest historic shipwreck, which sank off the Dorset coast during the reign of Henry III in the thirteenth century.

The site has been named the “Mortar Wreck” because other items in its cargo included a large number of grinding mortars, also made from Purbeck stone. Details of the discovery will shortly be published in the journal Antiquity.

Divers and archaeologists led by BU brought the slabs to the surface on 4 June in a two hour operation from a depth of around seven metres where the stones lay.

One immaculately preserved slab measures one and a half metres and weighs an estimated 70 kilogrammes. The other, much larger slab is in two pieces, with a combined length of two metres and a weight of around 200 kilogrammes.

Both have carvings of Christian crosses which were popular in the thirteenth century and the research team believe they were intended to be coffin lids or crypt monuments for high status individuals in the clergy.

“The wreck went down in the height of the Purbeck stone industry and the grave slabs we have here were a very popular monument for bishops and archbishops across all the cathedrals and monasteries in England at the time,” explained Tom Cousins, a Maritime Archaeologist at Bournemouth University who led the recovery. “Examples have been found in Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral, he added.”

The slabs will now be desalinated and conserved by the Bournemouth team until they can be put on public display along with the other recovered artefacts in the new Shipwreck Gallery when Poole Museum reopens next year.

The site of the Mortar Wreck was first discovered as an ‘obstruction’ in 1982 but was assumed to be a pile of rubble on the seabed. Its significance was not realised until 2019 when Tom and a team from the University dived the site on the suggestion of local charter skipper Trevor Small and uncovered the secrets lying under the sand.

The continued recovery of the artefacts, such as the mortars and grave slabs, will allow the Bournemouth team to learn more about thirteenth century life and the ancient craft of stonemasonry.

“Although Purbeck marble was quarried near Corfe Castle there has always been a debate about how much work was done here and how much was done in London. Now we know they were definitely carving them here, but they hadn’t been polished into the usual shiny finish at the time they sank so there is still more we can learn,” Tom said.

The team will continue to explore and protect the wreck over the coming years which they hope will include an operation to record the timber frames of the ships hull which are still well preserved in the sand. Tom is also planning to use this as a training opportunity for his students at the university.

“The future aim of the project is to train the next generation so that they get the same opportunities I had. We’ve already started teaching our second-year students to dive and as they get into the third year we’re going to take them out to sea and teach them their first steps to becoming maritime archaeologists,” he said.

[selkies-world]

Sign the petition to demand the creation of a new international law requiring fast-fashion garments to come with a statement of the human cost and environmental harm caused by their creation.

We all know fast fashion is bad for the planet - slave labor, environmental waste, air and water pollution, and unsustainable practices are just a few of the ways they impact our planet, our health and our lives. To date, the fast fashion industry is the 2nd largest consumer of water and is single-handedly responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions (that's more than all international flights and maritime shipping across a year combined). Even the simple act of washing these clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year - that's equal to 50,000 plastic bottles. Fast-fashion is the 3rd leading cause of the climate crises we face, yet is rarely addressed.

Knowing these stats is one thing, and understanding them is important. Being aware of them is somewhat informative. But as long as we keep turning a blind eye to the issue, the stats are only going to get worse, and nothing will change for the better. Ignoring the issue or brushing it under the rug won't help anything. So what if we could see the real-world damage done by each of the garments we buy?

In the same way that cigarette packets have shown the harm their products do to our bodies ("SMOKING KILLS", lung cancer visualizations, etc.), what if fast fashion manufacturers & retailers had to show the harm their products do to our planet?

[Image ID: A type-writer font has been used on a brown craft paper background. The text reads: "32 animals lost their habitat to the field where my crops were planted - 2 of those animals are already endangered species. 2,700 litres of water were used in my production. I was made in a sweatshop enslaving men and women aged 16 - 45, and children aged 6 - 14. I contain 0.22kg of carbon dioxide dye." End ID.]

This is a mock-up of a label / statement for a single T-shirt, with researched statistics and educated estimates for the information I couldn't find a calculated answer for.

Now imagine labels / statements like this for every single piece of clothing: how many toxic chemicals are in those new jeans? How many litres of water did that shirt take to make? How many animals were skinned to make those cute fur-trimmed boots? How many children made that jumper? How many people were forcibly removed from their homes, so production companies could plant crops to grow the materials used in clothes manufacturing? How many families were evicted for no reason other than corporate greed? How many trees were cut down? How many animals were displaced or killed?

Would you really want to buy those items of clothing if the answers to those questions were staring you in the face?

If this information was stated in clear, accessible ways on both the website and the ticket on the actual garment, this would dramatically reduce the number of people buying fast fashion items. It would also reduce the profits being made by fast fashion companies, and could lead to many of them being forced to choose between changing and becoming sustainable, eco-froendly and ethical brands, or shutting down due to being boycotted.

Who would really want to knowingly buy things that are made by slaves, or which cost a family their home, or which contributed to deforestation? Who would continue to buy fast fashion items knowing this is the damage caused by them, when sustainable alternatives are an option?

Whether it's second-hand fashion at affordable prices, or investing more money in sustainable products which were made with high ethical standards and which cost more money due to the fact their price accounts for the time it took a person to make that item... we can say for certain that sustainable shopping is going to become much more popular if people know how important that change is. Sustainable items last much longer than fast-fashion items, which by design are created to self-destruct, as they are made to be worn a few times and then discarded in order to be replaced by the next trend's items - and as trends speed up, these items become weaker and weaker. This then leads to people spending more money in order to keep up with the newest trends, and to keep replacing clothes they throw out after a few washes.

In contrast, buying sustainable items which are designed to last years means people won't have to spend money on new clothes every few weeks, which means they'll ultimately save money in the long term and actually be able to afford those pricier items which will last much, much longer.

Now, despite the amount of harm the fast-fashion industry causes to people and the environment, the last thing we should be doing is getting angry at those who continue to buy them. Being the target of anger doesn't make large populations change their behaviour - even a cursory look through history books will tell us that much. Neither does being the target of resentment or blame.

But guilt? Shame? Those are two of the most powerful emotions to magnify when you want change to happen in waves.

And frankly, if people feel ashamed of buying something, or if buying something makes them feel guilty... they're going to stop buying it.

Those aren't the only emotions that should be felt, though. Because only feeling guilt and shame leads to feeling hopeless, scared, anxious and depressed. And we don't want that. No matter how bad things get... we don't want that.

The only other emotions to provoke are hope and pride.

If there's no hope for the future, how can anyone be expected to imagine a better one?

You wouldn't think it, what with all the climate crises and disasters we experience around the world and the total lack of commitment made by billionaires, multimillion-dollar companies and corporations and politicians.

But it's true. Scientists in Scotland have discovered bacteria which eat plastic and speed up the decomposition of it. ‘Ecocide’ is now punishable by law. Some countries within the EU are already close to meeting their 2030 goals years ahead of schedule! Thanks to scientists and small, individual changes made on a massive scale by ordinary people who are making small adjustments to our everyday choices, we can and are healing most of the ozone layer before 2050. That is something we should all feel incredibly proud of.

So imagine how much we could speed that process up if more people made those changes. Imagine how much sooner we could heal our planet if billions of people made those changes, rather than millions. Imagine how much sooner we could be seeing the effects of a healthier planet if fast fashion companies were forced to choose between going green and transparent, or closing altogether due to a lack of interest from consumers. Imagine the changes we could create if corporations made massive changes in a short amount of time, in order to save their own profits.

Imagine more labels like this, sitting alongside each other on every single piece of fast fashion clothing. A statement like this beneath every item of clothing on fast fashion websites, which transparently states the harm done.

If every single fast-fashion company and store had to display this on their clothing, on their racks, on their websites, and if there were legal punishments for those who tried to evade or lie... fashion would turn a lot greener very quickly. We'd start seeing more and more labels with "I'm made from 6 plastic bottles! I used to be a newspaper! I had 0 pesticides used on me in my production! I only contain natural dye made from berries, beans and sustainably grown flowers. I was made from apple skins and corn! The people who made me get to go home to their families every night, have days off and the adults made £150.35 each in 1 week! The animal who made the wool for me is free-range and well-cared for! I came from a small family farm, and was created with a closed-loop water system!”

That'd be a much better civilisation to shop in, don't you agree?

That is hope for the future.

That is motivation, which can fuel ordinary people to do extraordinary things and create changes they thought were impossible.

If you want to be a part of creating this change, sign the Change.org petition which demands the the creation and implementation of an international law which will require all fast-fashion products to be displayed with a statement which states the harm done to people and the planet by that garment being made & shipped.

[cognitivejustice]

Solapunk experiments towards zero-emission shipping

The Apollonia is the first sail-powered vessel in decades to run cargo along the US coast, and while the ship and its technology are old, its goal is new and ambitious: to demonstrate effective ways to decarbonize the maritime transport industry by 2050. 

The sailboat is part of an international movement that’s been gathering steam and now includes a half-dozen ships from North America and Europe with more on the way. “We have relied on wind propulsion for thousands of years,” Christiaan De Beukelaer, a professor of cultural policy at the University of Melbourne, said. De Beukelaer spent five months aboard a cargo schooner in 2020. “The wind is there, so we can use it.”

“Sometimes you just have to do it so people can see it's possible,” Vogel said. “Then things begin to fill in and form up behind that reality.”

As international resolve to combat the climate crisis has grown, particular attention has focused on the shipping industry, which generates 3% of global carbon emissions. Unlike trucking and rail, which have always relied on fossil fuels, shipping for most of its history has been carbon-neutral, with goods carried across the sea by wind and muscle power since the Bronze Age. The globe-spanning mercantile empires of the colonial era were built on sail power. But the know-how they perfected has largely vanished, with the last of the great sailing ships broken up during the Depression. Since then, the majority of the world’s merchant fleet has run on bunker fuel, a foul sludge that emerges as the dregs of petroleum refining.

 Over the next five months, until the sailing season ends in October, the Apollonia will sail back and forth between the city and its home base, in Hudson, carrying artisanal foods and raw materials for customers who care deeply about product authenticity and their role in the health of the environment. Some of its cargo will be transferred to a Grain de Sail ship and sent across the Atlantic.

Even within the small crew of the Apollonia, there’s disagreement on purely economic grounds whether their ambitions are realistic. “I’m a sailor, not a businessman,” Merrett said. “We don’t make a profit.” The goal, he said, is to make people think about climate change and what they can do to fight it. “We’re very mission-driven.”

Brad Vogel, Apollonia’s supercargo — an old industry term for the person in charge of a ship’s cargo — is more financially optimistic. “It’s a mission-driven business, but it is absolutely a business,” he said. “The whole point here is to try to get to profitability so that we can show that this is something that's viable, so that others will then seek to get into it as well.” (He declined to provide revenue or profit figures to Sherwood News.)

What both agree on is that just by showing the feasibility of net-zero shipping, they’re paving the way toward the world they want to live in.

[rosethornewrites]

Mom and I were talking about the missing submersible last night, and she said “I’m sure there’s maritime laws associated with it.”

And I laughed. Because laws and regulations that involve safety only get made when people are injured or die.

Fact is, the technology for deep sea exploration is incredibly new, as in when I was in elementary school they had just found the Titanic in 1985 (within my lifetime) and Dr Robert Ballard visited my elementary school with a full-size mock-up of Alvin (3-seater submersible used to explore Titanic) and gave a lecture on it.

To this day I have no idea how my school scored a visit like that, but for a long time I wanted to do something associated with ocean exploration because of it.

Alvin was in existence since the 1960s. This is extremely new tech that was developed alongside space exploration technology at NASA. I say it’s extremely new because if something goes wrong it’s almost inevitably got a body count involved.

As we can recall, there have been many tragedies involving space missions, and the space shuttles are retired, in no small part because they were degrading to the point of being unsafe regardless of maintenance. Rules existed, but we don’t know if private companies are following those rules.

And they didn’t build the Titan—they just helped a private company do so, and private companies tend to cut corners to save money when there aren’t regulations to stop them.

For the Titan, which is a baby in comparison, a whistleblower was fired in 2018 for writing a quality control report stating it was unsafe. Other sources state it’s hull rating was downgraded and it was no longer safe to reach the depth of the Titanic, where water has about the density of lead due to the insane pressure.

With the space and deep sea tourist industries in their infancy, it’s unlikely there are currently many safety regulations in place, and so this was inevitable. There’s a reason many people assumed Shatner and Musk would die in their space tourism experience.

And so now we’re going to see how this disaster impacts these industries, particularly after five big names are likely dead, and multiple countries scramble on taxpayer funds (not OceanGate’s) to try to save them when, if the hull failed, they likely died before it could register there was a problem.

Even before we know exactly what happened, this needs to mark an era of change, particularly as these companies continue to exist and put people at risk.

[sephirthoughts]

writer asks: 19 please!

thank you for the ask!!!

19. the most interesting topic you've researched for a fic:

Hoo boy. So, the most interesting topic I have researched for a work of fiction was the Soviet-Afghan War, which was a part of the whole Cold War tangle of thorns, and was far more complex and horrifying and insane than it seems on the surface. And it already seems totally insane on the surface. Political situation aside, I learned a shitload about the Middle-East, and the Pashtun people in particular, and their culture. Pashto is an awesome language btw. Anyway that was all researched for an original fiction piece about Cold War super soldiers and the main character was a female radical from Croatia. It's...a long story.

The most interesting thing i've researched for a fandom work…it's a toss-up. One was the entire deep-sea salvage industry, for a recent fic about a wreck-diver and his sea-dragon boyfriend. I had to learn all about industrial dredging and underwater excavation and all the different kinds of ships and boats and what they all do. Then I had to learn all about SCUBA diving and skin diving and controlled apnea (holding your breath for a long time) and also exactly how shark skin works (it's bonkers). Then I had to get superficially familiar with maritime law, because there's all this ridiculousness with international waters and conflicting rights to wrecks etc. The most interesting part? I had no idea archaeologists and salvagers had so much drama. It's basically mean girls on the open sea.

The other was traditional Chinese cooking. Not the kind people are used to in the US most of that was invented here anyway. Like, traditional Chinese beliefs regarding foods, and what goes with what and in what season you serve which thing, etc. It was a fandom fic modern AU about a guy who meets a chef, who is from Hong Kong and is developing a traditional-modern fusion menu for his father's Chinese restaurants (the guy is Hong Konger and speaks Cantonese but his father's restaurants are mandarin so it's about half mainland cuisine and half Cantonese cuisine). Basically he cooks for him and the guy falls head over heels because how could you not? Not as exciting as deep-sea salvage or the Cold War, but I had more fun with that one than anything. 😂

thanks again for the ask, i haven't thought about those stories in a while!

[focsle]

hello! i have a question: what draws you to whaling and that specific era of time in history? how long has it been an interest of yours?

Oh a much too big question for me to answer adequately in one ask. I’ve written tens of thousands of words on this history and the specific points of it that draw me. I’m pouring years of my life into a 400+ page comic about it. Catch me at 3am talking about reincarnation and how much I feel this all caught up in my soul-stuff. This will not be an answer that fully does my feelings justice. But I’ll link to some of my writings in this response that maybe do that better.

I’ve been deeply researching this history for over a decade, but I’ve always had a nautical bent to my childhood that probably sparked it. My grandfather was a Navy man. His house was covered in weird pirate sculptures and little creatures and art pieces he made out of shells and I think I inherited my sense of aesthetics from him. My mum was drawn to sea stories and things of that nature that was probably passed on to me in some way. Like most kids that sea bent manifested in an early interest in pirates, (tho the brief moby dick section of The Pagemaster was formative…it’s funny, I didn’t read Moby Dick until several years into my deeper dive into this history and then I was like ‘ohhhh….melville gets it). Learning about the Globe mutiny many years ago was a big spark to diving more specifically into said history. I first read a book about it where the writer’s (what I now consider, wobbly) thesis was that it was something about the industry itself that generated something within the perpetrator to choose a whaleship for premeditated slaughter, and the story was so rattling to me that I wanted to know what it was about that world that drove someone to something like that.

But instead I found a world that had so much humanity in it. It was one with a unique and isolated society that was unlike any other social sphere. Years on a ship that was a floating home, a floating factory, that had a relationship to the sea in a way that even other maritime trades did not. Fishing had/has some similarities, but not for the same isolating length or uniquely horrific and gruesome labor that whaling voyages held. The merchant trade had briefer voyages on more expected and well-trod routes. Even piracy followed the shipping lines of humanity more than anything else. With whaling your only destination was the sea, in a longer reach as the whaling grounds depleted and the industry stretched on to bring people to further and lonelier places. Where men would briefly touch land maybe every six months, and have liberty in port maybe even fewer times than that. That they were to go out there, and they weren’t to come back until they got enough oil to make the voyage worth it. It was an industry that drew men of so many different backgrounds and motivations, but the common thread tended to be that they were all very young, and that many of them were trying to find something in themselves or for themselves. An industry full of contradictions that I feel is most poetically expressed in scrimshaw, and one of the few places to see a preserved piece of art from an ordinary man. To see a small window into his emotional world and where his heart was in those long stretches of boredom. It was a space of brutal work, demoralizing work, and repulsive work, one where death was a constant shadow for both men and whales in a way that their lives were always inseparably on the same uncertain coin. But within that world, maybe despite that world, there was also a great deal of humanity, be it their music and sense of play, their whaler-specific social functions, their vulnerability. 

That whaling history luxuriously is a field where the words of hundreds of ordinary working class men have been preserved in diaries and logbooks means I get to know so many of them beyond statistics or names in a database. I get to learn about them on a personal level. I know what they worry about, what their favorite foods are, who they care about, when they have fun, when they’re miserable, sometimes what they find sexy, what makes them cry, and what makes them laugh, and what sort of man they hoped to be. In some of them I was reminded so much of myself, but in all of them I saw their unique and individual humanity, for better or for worse. So many of them carried a societal self consciousness within them that made me understand and feel for them. They often weren’t sure where they fit in a world that wasn’t a whaleship, even if that whaleship was a point of great hardship for them. So many of them wanted to be remembered in ways that they necessarily weren’t—few of them became historically important men, many of them died young or didn’t live to see home again, many of them may not have felt like they had anyone who cared about them, but they all had an existence they still clung to, that I feel compelled to try to honor and remember because I feel so much of them within me through that common thread of humanity.

This is a long answer, but as I said I still can’t express this in any way that isn’t shallow in this small space I have. It’s an interest that is both a personal, academic, and daresay spiritual one. I think to fully understand what draws me to it, you just gotta continually lurk in my awhalin tag and that ongoing comic of mine @goingtoweather. But hopefully this is a satisfying enough summary.

[kyupals]

A Day in the Life of a Maritime Student at Aklan Polytechnic College

Being a maritime student isn’t just about going to class—it’s about preparing for a career full of adventure, hard work, and responsibility. As a group of five students at Aklan Polytechnic College, we’re all working towards becoming future seafarers, and no two days are exactly the same. Here’s what a typical day looks like for us.

Mornings: A Slow Start, Preparing for the Day Ahead

We’re not in a huge rush in the mornings. We usually get up around 7:00 AM, which gives us plenty of time to relax and prepare before our classes start at 1:00 PM. It’s the perfect time to review notes, get through any last-minute assignments, or just take a breather and get mentally ready for the day. By noon, we’re dressed, prepared, and on our way to campus.

Classes: Learning the Skills to Sail the Seas

Our first class of the day is English 100, which helps us sharpen our English skills. Clear communication is crucial on a ship, especially when you’re working with an international crew, so we take this class seriously (most of the time!). After English, it’s time for NGEC 9—math. Let’s be honest, math can be tough, but it’s a must-have skill in the maritime industry. Whether we’re calculating fuel or plotting a course, numbers are going to be a huge part of our lives at sea.

After that, it’s NGEC 10, which dives into science—specifically biology, sex, and gender. It’s a different kind of class compared to the others, but understanding these topics is crucial in today’s diverse working environment, especially when we’ll be part of multicultural crews.

Next up is one of our favorite subjects, DE-ETMI, which stands for Emerging Technology in the Maritime Industry. This is where things get exciting—we talk about the future of shipping, automation, and how tech is changing the maritime world. It's crazy to think about what kind of ships we’ll be working on in a few years!

Then, there’s NAV-1—our Navigation class. This is where the real hands-on stuff happens, and we love it. Learning how to navigate using charts and compasses is tricky but rewarding. Plus, this is the heart of what we’ll be doing when we finally get to sea, so it’s both challenging and exciting.

We end the day with NGEC 5, another English course focused on communication. Whether it’s sending reports or just making sure instructions are clear on deck, these skills will be a huge part of our day-to-day work in the future.

After Classes: Straight Home to Study

Once classes are over, we don’t stick around too long. We usually head straight home to hit the books. Studying together helps us reinforce what we’ve learned during the day, and it makes sure we’re all keeping up with the challenges that each subject brings.

[widowshill]

Also, top 3: Dark Shadows costumes, Disney Parks attractions, and uhhhh Beatles songs sure why not

Sleepover asks.

Top 3 Dark Shadows costumes:

1. Vicki's green velvet housecoat (136/589) While I do adore her frothy chiffon nightgowns, I really like this costume piece as something emblematic of Vicki, particularly Vicki as she gets a little more grown up and assimilated into the Collins family. she's definitely taking her cues of elegance from Liz, here, and it's evocative of past centuries, which is really fitting for Vicki who's more in love with the past than being particularly mod. and while she arrives at Collinwood in really simple cotton and flannel pj sets, here she's boasting a string of pearls, lace, and velvet — symbolically if not literally one of the Collinses. which is relevant in 136, where she's facing the prospect of losing her job as a governess after Laura's return, and Roger assures her that they'll keep her around anyway; by 589, she's as much a member of the family as anyone, and Roger shows as much concern for her as he would Liz or Carolyn.

2. Carolyn's riding outfit (463) It's a shame she only wore this once because she looks wonderful in this. The purpose of this outfit is pretty straightforward, to make Carolyn look like a spoiled rich girl relative to Tony — and it works! but I also love it for giving us a sense of the outside world, and it's a rare glimpse of Carolyn's own hobbies and how she interacts with her wealth, who she is when she's not at home and she's a Collins of Collinsport. Roger gets a Mustang to flash his status, Carolyn gets to go riding in a cute little outfit. did I mention she looks extremely hot. she has a riding crop. it's also one of the very few times we see women in any kind of pants on Dark Shadows, let alone riding breeches, which deserves attention in itself.

3. Roger's Aran sweater (12) This one is an all-time classic, from one of my favorite scenes in the entire show, where Roger is espousing the legends of Widows' Hill to their new governess. Roger rarely deviates from his classic business suit and tie for daywear, so appearances with sweaters and cardigans are remarkable. He usually only wears them at home (he changes into a suit after this scene to head into town/then forced to confront Burke), so they have a tie to the Collinwood grounds / grounding him in this particular place, and he's a little more casual, less buttoned-up, and more open. Thematically, first and foremost, it's a really well-chosen garment for delivering a speech about his family history. Aran sweaters/jumpers are also known as fisherman sweaters for their popularity among fishermen and other mariners, and have a longstanding connection with maritime communities in Ireland, which of course coincides nicely as he delivers this speech at the edge of the sea, speaking about his family's wealth that was extracted from it. So this is a costume that communicates Roger's to Collinwood, the sea, and fishing wealth. Secondly, these sweaters were massively popular in the 60's: they were seen on celebrities and music acts, and influenced French couture. Hand-knit Aran wool was in very high demand, so Roger's not just a New England seaside Rochester, he's a very chic one who has a very firm place in the mid 20th century.

Top 3 Disney Parks attractions:

Pirates of the Caribbean (1967) honestly I think Pirates will always be home for me, it's an era-defining and industry-defining work of art, and it does what it sets out to do very well. which is not just the artistic and technological innovations (though extremely notable! still impressive almost 60 years later), but I think what's remarkable about Pirates (and broadly true of Disney parks as an artistic project, certainly the most famous and successful attractions) is that it cultivates a warm sense of nostalgia for a place I've never been, a time I never lived, and really never existed. it's not about giving you an authentic view of the 18th century to make you believe they're telling the truth, even though it's grounded in historical elements: they invite you into a story, with the smell of the water, the Blue Bayou New Orleans fare, gunpowder, rum — coming to link in your consciousness with this view on pirates — rollicking, adventurous, colorful, fun. you aren't a visitor to the Golden Age West Indies so much as you are a visitor to a child's mind hearing pirate stories for the first time, and imagining freedom and adventure and swashbuckling, which — at least for me — is true no matter how many times it's experienced.

Tower of Terror (1994) completely different ride system, here, and probably the one and only drop ride you'll ever hear me gush over, but, like the Pirates' boats putting you on rocking, lapping water (or the Big Thunder trains, or the 2k Leagues subs, the Indy rovers, etc) the ride system and the physics of your experience are essential to the storytelling — which to me is what differentiates theming as decoration from theming as storytelling. The big thing is the that you fall faster than gravity, which defies the ordinary rules of physics your body anticipates, and signals that you're not just covering 3 dimensions of space, but crossing into the 5th — and having a random drop sequence keeps you on that edge of unfamiliarity for repeated rides. They make a big deal out of the elevator moving sideways and crossing into the other shaft, and I think that's .. neat? I like that sequence of the ride, but I wouldn't call it essential to disturbing your expectations, because the interior doesn't really resemble any elevator you'll have been in. The other thing I love about Tower, endlessly, endlessly, is the careful worldbuilding. You get in-universe ads for the new hotel of the stars before you reach the end of Sunset Boulevard. The overgrown signs pointing you to the hotel tennis courts in the queue, the dried out and cracked fountains, the grime on the windows, before you ever reach the lobby which is in itself an art installation. This is probably the best example of a Disney attraction I can think of which relies really heavily on authenticity for one single, specific moment in time (October 31, 1939) and the set design never ever ceases to blow me away. It's not so much that every object has to be from 39 or earlier (though it's truer than you'd expect), but that they only have a few seconds to give you this establishing shot of an abandoned glamorous Golden Age lobby, and it's done wonderfully.

Rise of the Resistance (2019) I hesitated with this one, because my other top 3 "must ride" is the Haunted Mansion, but I think in overall terms of being the best? Rise has to be on there. And I was skeptical for a long time, as someone who's not particularly attached to SW, but I rode it for the first time this summer in Disneyland and I unfortunately have to concede that everyone was right, this is absolutely the new standard of excellence for theme park attractions and, honestly, is probably the equivalent of Pirates in terms of changing what's possible for an audience to expect and what the industry is capable of. I can't give as good an analysis of Rise as I can a lot of other attractions because I've only been able to get on once, but my key takeaways for what wowed me are 1. the trackless ride system, which not only leaves Tower's in the dust, but contributes meaningfully to the story and the SW environment, 2. the breaking up of the attraction into parts and returning the audience to an outside area of the park during the experience, incorporating the attraction with the land that houses it, 3. the absolutely massive sense of scale, far, far beyond what I'd expect, and 4. incorporating Cast Members in key places, which elevates the thematic CM's of attractions like Mansion and Tower to another level. and it's long! because of the multiple stages you really get breathing room to buy into the story before the high-thrill or "main" experience — like the Mansion stretching room, or Tower library + boileroom, but taken up a few notches.

Top 3 Beatles songs:

"Drive My Car"

"I Saw Her Standing There"

"Act Naturally"

I don't really have much to say about these.. ? other than I'm generally someone who prefers the early albums: these are Rubber Soul ('65), Please Please Me ('63), and Help! ('65). I'm not as much in love with Sgt. Pepper's / Yellow Submarine / Abbey Road, etc, just as a matter of personal taste. I'm not really a serious Beatles scholar, I know the first two are McCartney/Lennon, but "Act Naturally" is actually a cover of an American country song, so .. ! maybe I like them more American rock and roll sounding? I don't know.

[fareydonch501]

Let's review the law for Indonesia's major plan to build its local gaming industry (Perpres No. 19/2024)! & my thoughts

For those of you who aren't in the news, the Indonesian government has issued a presidential regulation (peraturan presiden, or perpres for short) earlier this year where they will invest and nurture its local gaming industry. The law, called Presidential Regulation No. 19 2024 on Accelerating the Development of the National Gaming Industry - or Perpres No. 19/2024 for short - was issued on February 12th this year and went into effect that same day, is the Indonesian government's first major attempt to nurture and support its local gaming industry. Among which, the government states that it will fund game projects as minimum as US$40 million, hopes to make 100 prototypes annually, with the achieved goal of having Indonesian-made games taking up 70% of the domestic gaming market, and 10% of the global gaming market.

But you might be wondering, what would the law itself specifically states? Well, I have the copy of the actual law on my hand, so we can take a look at it together! Because idk why I'm bored and I got nothing else better to do.

So, the first thing to note here is that in order to achieve their video gaming industry nirvana, the Indonesian government has set up a team to assist the execution of the law itself. It will be headed by Coordinating Ministry for Maritime & Investment Affairs and conducted in conjunction between the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and of course, our behated bastard child, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, or known popularly as Kominfo. Yup, the guys who banned Steam and PayPal due to MR5 and blocked all of your porn? That's them.

Funding for this program will be carried out from Indonesian state budget (APBN), local government budgets (APBD), and any other legal funding necessary to help the project. Whether or not game developers will receive the full amount of funding from the Indonesian government as it makes its way from the top to bottom is yet to be seen.

And that is it so far, where the formalities end. The attachment part that comes up next is the most interesting part, as that is where they put a long 14-page essay justifying the need for this regulation, and the steps they're undertaking to achieve the Indonesian government's ideal goal and vision for its local game industry. And it boils down to the largest big talking point mentioned below here:

This passage outlines the goals, in which that the Indonesian-games will get at least 70 whole percents of the local gaming market and 10 percent of the international gaming market. This is a number that is too optimistic in general, especially for the Indonesian government. There's also the aspect of "seeding the values of the Pancasila and national cultural values," which I'll address later on. But without knowing what kind of games the general market domestically and internationally wants, getting that number from scratch is outright unrealistic. Besides, how many games are they going to make to meet that 70%-10% goal?

Which leads us to the next point: they will do this by making 100 video game prototypes annually, promote 100 of them nationally, and promote 30 of them globally.

I feel like this is more of a quantity over quality kind of scenario. Expecting all 100 video games to be prototyped, and then rolled out to public release nationally and internationally under what I assume is a tight bureaucratic government scheme annually, in a country known where red taping is as common as everyday life is going to be very difficult. I wouldn't be surprised if the end goal turns out to be something like 20 games nationally, where 5 of them are promoted internationally. After all, it took A Space for the Unbound seven years from first concept in 2015 to public release, and then another to be nominated at last year's The Game Awards. If the Indonesian government expects to have ASFTU-level kind of game multiplied by 100 to be done within a year, then it needs to heavily readjust its expectations.

But at least there is one thing for sure, the Indonesian Education Ministry (Kemdikbud) will be working together with the Indonesian Games Association (AGI) to develop a national curriculum intended in bringing game dev course studies for vocational school and university students. It's at least nice to see that a standardized video game designing and development will reach a wider academic outreach domestically. Wouldn't be surprised if Indonesian game dev schools start playing Sakurai Masahiro's YouTube videos during class.

Now here comes to the financing and platforming stuff of the law: it states that the Indonesian government will construct an investment scheme through the Indonesia Game Fund through matching funds and venture capitals, in which they are expecting to raise around Rp600 billion or US$40 million annually to fund their game program.

As mentioned earlier, not only these games will be funded through annual state budgets and local government budgets, but third-party ways of funding are also allowed as long as it fits within their legal project. I would assume Indonesian state-owned enterprises would start doing some outreach to big capital investment banks and triple A game companies to fund the project. The extent of how realistic they will reach that 40-million-dollar goal is yet to be seen.

But here's another big, major smoking gun. The Indonesian government is also expecting to formulate a regulation that forces platforms to accept any third-party payments a game would prefer to use. This is a big deal, and it came at a time where Jakarta followed the EU's footsteps and sued Google for monopolistic practices on their payment system in 2022, with preliminary hearings beginning June this year. It was Indonesia's first major attempt to crack down on big tech.

Not only this will have ramifications for the Indonesian video gaming industry, but also the local tech industry at large. Such regulations may potentially cause even Apple to have the Indonesian government knocking on their doors for the same monopolistic behavior over their payment system. Although, I would imagine they would also have to play realpolitik on a case-by-case basis, considering Indonesia has also been wooing Apple for more investments, as well as trying to get them to build a manufacturing plant to make iPhones in the country.

Not to mention, the Indonesian government has been super lenient on local manufacturing schemes for Apple by letting iPhones for sale in the Indonesian market despite the phones themselves aren't manufactured locally, while companies like Samsung, BBK and Xiaomi manufactures are forced to manufacture their phones locally to meet such high standards. And starting an antitrust lawsuit with Apple is a good way to kill off any ambitions Jakarta has to make iPhones within its territory.

Another aspect that got me questioning hard however, is their intellectual property scheme. According to this law, around 25% of the IP rights to the games will be owned by the Indonesian government through a ministry or its state-owned enterprises, or a private company for marketing campaigns. Sure, IP rights and creative transfers like work-for-hire is a very common sight in the game industry, but I can't help but wonder why the Indonesian government would own 25% of your fancy fantasy JRPG game idea specifically, even if it's for marketing? It seems kinda suspicious.

Considering the AGI was involved in formulating the curriculum for game dev studies, and thus, being involved in formulating this regulation as a whole, part of me makes me wonder that 25% is the lowest amount the AGI and the Indonesian government agreed on. Even then, for marketing campaigns alone, giving off a quarter of the IP as a whole to the government seems a bit too much.

The Indonesian government is also planning to formulate a law (undang-undang) to require all foreign video game companies to open a local subsidiary within their borders. Otherwise, the Kominfo will be banning every access to their game services, and even prohibiting sales in Indonesia. I have covered about this issue before in my Nintendo in Southeast Asia history post, and the Indonesian gaming industry, including the AGI themselves have objected strongly against this notion. I assume the AGI couldn't get the Indonesian government to think twice about the ramifications of doing such move, as many local game developers are concerned about possible conflict of interest where big foreign gaming companies would absorb all Indonesian game dev human resources that could've been funneled into local game studios instead.

This also ties in with the future of the Indonesian Game Rating System (IGRS), with a directive to revise the Kominfo Ministerial Regulation No. 11/2016. Which they already did in the form of Kominfo Ministerial Regulation No.2/2024 and is the main reason why the IGRS website is currently down for the time being as they're reformulating how game rating is conducted.

I took a little glimpse over Kominfo's MR2/2024, and most of the articles and clauses remain pretty similar to the previous MR11/2016 regulation, except adding parts regarding game developers and publishers as "electronic system providers" and adding clauses that makes it sound it is mandatory for foreign game companies to open local subsidiaries in Indonesia and have their games properly rated by the IGRS or face repercussions.

And here comes the last interesting part of the law, tighter local domestic content manufacturing (TKDN) schemes on video games. This includes preloading local-made games bundled with gaming system hardwares that are also manufactured locally, under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, or Kemenperin.

TKDN or local content manufacturing requirements has always been a controversial move conducted by Kemenperin. Despite its intentions to strengthen local tech production, Kemenperin is also known for giving free passes for companies like Apple to sell iPhones, despite not having a manufacturing facility within the country, pretty much undermining their protectionist scheme.

Opening a Foxconn manufacturing plant somewhere in Cikarang to manufacture Nintendo and Sony consoles is unlikely, so it's hard to see how this part of the plan will be executed. Tech companies in general sees Vietnam to be a more promising spot for manufacturing than Indonesia. The Vietnamese government ever since its Doi Moi economic revival program has been giving huge tax breaks, fast-tracked land permits to build factories, and many more to companies who are willing to invest in manufacturing within the country, something Indonesia is lacking heavily. Plus, Vietnam's advantage on sharing its proximity by land to China means the logistics and supply chains for the components needed for manufacturing and assembly would be considerably cheaper and cost-effective compared to shipping it across the South China Sea into Java, not to mention the huge tariffs Indonesian customs will charge on manufacturers.

This is the main reason why Apple chose Vietnam as it seeks to drop its reliance on Chinese manufacturing, while saying "we'll consider it" (which is another way of saying no) on manufacturing in Indonesia during Tim Cook's visit back in April. And since iPhones are made in Foxconn's factory, no Apple factories in Indonesia means no Foxconn factory that is also designed to make Nintendo Switches and PS5s made in Indonesia.

I don't think any companies, including hardware gaming companies, would want to manufacture their consoles in a country where the cost of doing business is way higher and takes longer and more expensive to import stuff for manufacturing.

I do hope that any local content manufacturing mandate they are planning doesn't end up being a huge burden to the customers and end up making video game consoles more expensive, or even outright not being sold due to said local content reasons.

MY THOUGHTS

And that's pretty much it. It is nice to see that the Indonesian government is putting their attention in its local video game industry. Investment and funding into local game studios and letting small indie game developers thrive is always a good thing. But I can't feel but help that the plans and policies taken really feels like Jakarta wants the gaming industry on a more protectionist, us vs. them approach.

The local content manufacturing requirements, the overtly optimistic 70 percent market share goals, the 25% IP transfers for the Indonesian government, the Pancasila and culutral values upholding requirements, everything about it seems like they want game developers to make games what the Indonesian government wants rather than what the consumers and game studios want to make.

The Pancasila and cultural value-upholding requirements in particular seems like a very open-ended excuse to heavily vet Indonesian-made games that doesn't meet the government's narrative, and I am quite concerned that they could have a huge editorial control over what games and concepts developers should make to please the big fat government overlords, such as banning progressive and sensitive topics and ideas in games, LGBTQ+ representation, and anything they deem to be "extremely violent" and "violating the common cultural norms." Which would be very something coming from bureaucrats where the only gaming thing they'd know is playing Zuma on work hours paid by its taxpayers. I hope they can understand and thoroughly examine on what Indonesian gamers, and to an extent, what the global audience want.

But not all of its policies are outright daydreaming or questionable. I welcome their attempts to crack down on big tech by making it mandatory for platforms to accept third-party payment systems, meaning Indonesian gamers could use local payment systems accepting rupiah via QR payment methods, which has been all the rage in the country. It is also nice to see that game dev courses are being planned for vocational school and university students, giving them curriculum-level of attention, it's a humble way to get people interested into game development 101.

Overall, the main points I would like to offer here are:

I wish the Indonesian government lets people make games what they want and what the audience wants, free from total editorial interference and suppression.

Fund game projects realistically and reduce any possible red taping as the funding moves from top to bottom. (Very doubtful, but it would suck to find out that a good game studio got unrightfully dragged into embezzlement/corruption scandals because of what happened on the top during the funding process.)

Make access to dev kits needed to make games easier, with customs and tax fees reduced or dropped entirely.

Setting targets more realistically and put quality over quantity.

Clarify more in-depth about the 25% intellectual property right transfer clause to government institutions.

Protectionist policies like local content manufacturing (TKDN) should not hamper gamers' choices on what gaming platforms and systems, as well as what kind of games they want due to it being inaccessible with higher tariffs imposed on a product. (It would suck if a game console became 50% more expensive due to more Kemenperin/Bea Cukai "economic safeguarding" shenanigans.)

The efforts that Jakarta is giving for its local game developers is very much welcomed. But just like any other political efforts Jakarta is bringing to the table; I think we all should be very cautious on following its development.

[artsy-hobbitses]

How would beastmen be treated in Ireland?

Aquatic beastmen in particular

Very good! I’d say the same treatment ‘Tiger’ men get in Malaysia and ‘Wolf’ men in Turkiye.

Merrow usually work closely with local fishermen to ensure the industry remains sustainable and so that no other animals ie. dolphins and whales are harmed in the process.

They also guard the whale population (which are even more critically low than they are irl due to the Quintesson Wars) and are known as Sea Shepherds.

They’re believed to have insight to the ocean no mere land-man would have, so the maritime sector there has them in many lead positions.

Relationships between them and standard humans (where possible) are also legal and while still uncommon, are generally accepted in society.

[newstfionline]

Friday, October 4, 2024

The hidden toll taken by tropical storms (The Verge) Tropical storms take many more lives than officially recorded, according to a sobering study published today in the journal Nature. It comes as people across the Southeastern US scramble to find loved ones in the wreckage of Hurricane Helene. The average tropical storm or hurricane leads to the early deaths of between 7,170 and 11,430 people, the researchers estimate. That’s astronomically higher than the average of 24 direct deaths per storm documented in government records spanning more than half a century. Beyond the dangers of floodwaters and hurricane-force winds, people likely face many more insidious health risks in the aftermath of a storm. There’s the heightened physical and mental stress caused by the crisis. There can also be a cascade of added environmental hazards, like chemical releases from damaged industrial facilities. On top of that, storms hit people’s pocketbooks. They might have a harder time paying for healthcare as a result. Disasters tighten government budgets, which also could lead to less funds to spend on public health initiatives. And lastly, big storms can fray social support systems when people are displaced. In other words, these are indirect ways that a storm can lead to higher mortality rates.

With No Phones or Wi-Fi, North Carolina Revives the Town Meeting (NYT) How do community leaders provide vital updates when the power is down and cellphone service is out? One North Carolina town devastated by Hurricane Helene has brought back a decidedly low-tech solution: the town meeting. Residents in Black Mountain, N.C., about 12 miles east of Asheville, have pitched in to make signs alerting their neighbors to the daily gatherings, using posters, markers, wooden boards, spray paint and anything else they can get their hands on. It’s working: About 1,000 people are turning out for daily updates in the town square. The disrupted lines of communication have made it hard for relief workers to know where people are and what they need. Being cut off from the modern world has also left many residents feeling frustrated and alone. So they’ve turned to methods that have been out of date for a century or more. The town square in Burnsville, N.C., became an ad hoc communications center for residents. People have scrawled messages in marker on whiteboards to let their neighbors know how they’re doing or what they need. “We are alive, house gone,” read one. “I am safe,” read another.

Dockworkers' union to suspend strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract (AP) The union representing 45,000 striking U.S. dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports has reached a deal to suspend a three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, is to resume working immediately. The temporary end to the strike came after the union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, reached a tentative agreement on wages, the union and ports said in a joint statement Thursday night. A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about 50% over six years to 62%. The person didn’t want to be identified because the agreement is tentative.

Mexico’s Sheinbaum keeps doing morning briefings (AP) Mexico’s new President Claudia Sheinbaum started her day Wednesday much like her political mentor, ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, began most of his: with an early morning news briefing from the National Palace. López Obrador’s news briefings, known as the “mañaneras,” were marathon affairs, featuring folksy dialogue, verbal jousting with the press, and, frequently, long history lessons. His oratorical skills turned his 2 1/2-hour-long daily mañaneras into a powerful political weapon. Sheinbaum kept her morning briefing shorter, less combative and more concise, in keeping with her character as a scientist and academic. She said she would keep some of her predecessor’s fixtures, like a weekly segment attacking what she called media “lies” about the government. The new president also continued a diplomatic dispute with Spain—which has refused to apologize for abuses during the 1500s conquest of Mexico.

Email Oops (Foreign Policy) It’s every reporter’s nightmare. The BBC had to cancel a prime-time interview with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday after presenter Laura Kuenssberg accidentally sent her briefing notes to the British politician instead of to her team.

Kyiv’s drones (Foreign Policy) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky championed Kyiv’s ability to produce 4 million drones annually on Tuesday, while also announcing plans to boost production of other weapons. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal reiterated this sentiment, saying Ukraine tripled its overall domestic weapons production in 2023 and doubled that volume again in the first eight months of 2024. Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, drone manufacturing in Ukraine was largely nonexistent. Now, Kyiv spends about half of its state budget—or around $40 billion—on defense. That does not include military and financial aid from other countries. Yet Kyiv’s forces are still struggling on the battlefield.

Ukraine’s military will pull out of Vuhledar in the east after 2 years of intense fighting (AP) Ukrainian forces are withdrawing from the front-line town of Vuhledar, perched atop a tactically significant hill in eastern Ukraine, after more than two years of grinding battle, military officials said Wednesday. Vuhledar, a town Ukrainian forces fought tooth and nail to keep, is the latest urban settlement to fall to the Russians as the war stretches deep into its third year and the Ukrainian army is gradually being pushed backward in the eastern Donetsk province. It follows a vicious summer campaign along the eastern front that saw Kyiv cede several thousand square kilometers (square miles) of territory as the Russian army hacks its way westward, obliterating towns and villages with missiles, glide bombs, artillery and drones.

In Japan’s Countryside, Century-Old Firms Learn to Embrace Foreign Workers (NYT) Four years ago, Hizatsuki Confectionery hired its first foreign workers. The company, in a mountainous region north of Tokyo, has been baking and frying glutinous dough into rice crackers since 1923. Then it was known as Teikoku Senbei, or Imperial Rice Crackers. Today, the company’s third-generation president, Takeo Hizatsuki, has encountered an existential challenge that his father and grandfather never did. Hizatsuki Confectionery can’t find enough Japanese employees. A shrinking and rapidly aging population has forced Japan, which for centuries was mostly closed off to immigrants, to allow foreign workers to enter the country and potentially stay for good. Most come from other parts of Asia, including China, Vietnam and the Philippines. That transition to employing more foreign workers has proceeded gradually at big companies in major cities over the past decade. But in parts of the countryside, where labor shortages are particularly acute, some of Japan’s storied businesses like Hizatsuki Confectionery are just now figuring out how to accommodate foreign workers for the first time. Whether companies can persuade foreigners to stay may dictate their survival.

Escalating contest over South China Sea disrupts international cable system (Washington Post) Undersea cables below the South China Sea have long provided vital connectivity to countries in Southeast Asia as demand for internet service has surged. To maintain the extensive network of cables and develop new ones, private cable companies have for decades relied on being able to move freely through this waterway, despite conflicting claims over the sea by China and a half dozen other governments. But now, competition for control of the South China Sea is disrupting the repair and badly needed construction of subsea cables, raising costs and at times straining telecommunications. As China presses its claim over most of the strategic waterway, companies have found it harder to get approval from Beijing to operate there and riskier to do so without Chinese permission. Some cable repairs have been delayed months because of lags in Chinese permitting. At least two new cable projects are years overdue. China’s determination to consolidate control over the South China Sea has made the waterway a “wild card” for cable companies, said Kelvan Firman, chief executive of Indonesian company Super Sistem. “The problem is nobody knows how far they’ll go,” he said, referring to Chinese maritime forces. “Who wants to take that risk?”

Typhoon Krathon makes landfall in Taiwan, packing fierce winds and torrential rain (AP) Typhoon Krathon made landfall Thursday in Taiwan’s major port city of Kaohsiung, bringing torrential rains and fierce winds to the island’s south. Trees were brought down by high winds and roads flooded, prompting the closure of schools and businesses. The typhoon is forecast to move slowly north and weaken into a tropical depression by Friday before it reaches the capital, Taipei. It appears to be heading across the Taiwan Strait toward the Chinese coast. The slow-moving typhoon, which has been inching toward Taiwan at a speed of about 4 kph (2.5 mph), doused eastern and southern parts of the island over the past five days, forcing thousands to evacuate from mountainous or low-lying areas.

Israel attack lays bare deep divisions in Iran (BBC) Not everyone in Iran expressed support for Tuesday night's large-scale ballistic missile attack on Israel. The contrasting reactions indicated the disunity in the country, where there is widespread discontent at the clerical establishment and frustration over the economic troubles caused by sanctions. ran’s state television broadcast pictures of groups of people cheering on the streets, waving flags and chanting “Death to Israel”. But the mood was different online. Some shared footage of tense scenes and engaged in heated debates about a possible war between the arch-foes. For many supporters of the Iranian government, the attack represented a proud moment of defiance. Such sentiment frustrated other Iranians. “Please distinguish between the people and the Revolutionary Guards; we are under immense pressure,” pleaded a middle-aged man in a video shared on social media. Some Iranians felt the strike was an unnecessary provocation that would only result in making their lives worse.

In Beirut’s Once-Bustling Suburbs, Smoking Rubble and Eerie Quiet (NYT) There is little life left in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Roads, typically crammed with bumper-to-bumper traffic and the deafening screech of car horns, are eerily empty. Once-bustling sidewalks where people talked politics over coffee and tea are desolate too. In lieu of plastic bistro chairs, there are shards of glass and jagged chunks of concrete splayed across the pavements. Nearly every shop is closed, the apartments above them vacant. The vast majority of residents of the Dahiya—the collection of neighborhoods on the southern outskirts of Beirut where the militant group and political party Hezbollah is the dominant power—have fled in recent days amid a barrage of Israeli airstrikes targeting the neighborhood. The near-daily strikes in the predominantly Shia area have sent plumes of dark gray smoke billowing into the sky and concrete blocks of buildings crashing onto the ground, rattling people across Beirut who worry a war could soon consume the entire city. Dozens of civilians have also been killed, according to Lebanese health officials. Thousands more have fled.

‘Wave of Displacement’ (Foreign Policy) Israel ordered residents of more than 20 towns in southern Lebanon on Thursday to immediately evacuate, bringing the total number of towns in the area under such instructions to 70, including the provincial capital of Nabatieh. The Israeli military said its ground incursion, which began on Tuesday, aims to allow tens of thousands of people previously living in northern Israel who have been displaced by Hezbollah attacks to return safely to their homes. Yet the fight to return displaced persons in one country has sparked mass displacement in another. According to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, more than 1.2 million people have been displaced in his country by Israeli attacks. This has been the “largest wave of displacement in [Lebanon’s] history,” Mikati said. Around 100,000 people have crossed the Lebanese border into Syria—some of whom had initially fled to Lebanon to escape Syria’s devastating civil war.

[rabbitcruiser]

World Maritime Day

Connecting markets across the world — from container ships to tankers, this vital industry keeps goods flowing and economies growing.

Don that sailor’s cap and put on those deck shoes because it’s time to learn about and celebrate World Maritime Day!

History of World Maritime Day

Many people do not realize that more than 80% of the world’s global trade is transported through international shipping. That means that most of the consumer goods that enter business and homes all over the world were shipped to get there. As the most affordable and efficient form of transportation for goods, maritime activity continues to be a vital part of the world’s trade industry.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) began its development in 1948 as a specialized agency of the United Nations. Taking some time to get established, the organization then entered into force on March 17, 1958. At its beginning, the IMO had only 21 member states who took part, which is a large contrast to the present day when it now boasts more than 160 members.

The International Maritime Organization focuses on environmental issues, legal issues, safety, maritime efficiency and technical cooperation. They work together to prevent marine pollution from ships, create safety measures to avoid accidents and damage, build more efficiency in shipping,

With the IMO slogan, “Safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans”, members commit to taking care of the natural resources as well as working in cooperation for the safety of everyone. This includes encouraging each member to promote legislation against piracy and other dangerous activity on the sea.

Twenty years after it moved into action, the anniversary of the IMO was celebrated as the first World Maritime Day in March of 1978. Celebrated annually after that, eventually the day was moved to the end of September, usually celebrated on the last Thursday.

Established by the United Nations in 1978, World Maritime Day is meant to raise awareness about the importance of the shipping industry and the vital contribution it makes to places all over the globe.

Each year World Maritime Day has its own theme that is meant to encourage and motivate those within the shipping industry as well as offering opportunities to tell others about it. Past themes have included:

Seafarers: at the core of shipping’s future

Sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet

Empowering Women in the maritime community

Our Heritage: better shipping for a better future

Now it’s time to join in on the celebrations and take part in appreciating those in the shipping industry for World Maritime Day!

How to Celebrate World Maritime Day

Wondering how to celebrate World Maritime Day? Try out some of these ideas for enjoying and paying heed to this important day:

Learn More About the Shipping Industry

Those who know a seafarer or sailor should certainly ask them to share various stories about their adventures and escapades on the sea. If there’s no one nearby to meet with in person, head to the library or hop onto the internet to do some research to understand maritime industries a bit better.

Visit a Port or Maritime Museum

Living by the water can be delightful for a number of reasons and the accessibility to ships and maritime museums is an important one. Many port cities offer views of old ships that have been rescued and put on display for visitors to see. Others might offer guided tours with interesting information to learn about ships and boats first hand.

Maritime museums can be found in various port cities all over the world, including Bath, England; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Busan, South Korea; and Reykjavik, Iceland.

Watch a Film About Seafarers

One interesting way to celebrate World Maritime Day might be to watch an action or adventure film around the theme of sailors and seafarers. Check out some of these interesting tales of the sea:

The Bounty (1984). Starring Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson, this movie tells the story of a crew that gets tired of their captain’s harshness and a mutiny arises on the HMS Bounty. It’s based on the true story of a British sea vessel from 1789.

Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World (2003). Russell Crowe offers a stunning performance in this epic film about the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Crowe’s character, Captain Jack Aubrey, and his crew are sent to hunt down a French vessel that is near the South American coast.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972). This classic film tells the story of a passenger ship that is on her way to being retired when it is hit by a tidal wave, turning everything upside down. The hero of the film is Reverend Scott, played by Gene Hackman, who leads the passengers to try to find safety. This film has an all-star, ensemble cast with five different Oscar winners.

Captain Phillips (2009). Telling the true tale of a merchant mariner who was taken hostage by Somali pirates, this film stars Tom Hanks as the title character who makes a brave effort to save his crew.

Give a Little Nod to the Sea

Whether it’s visiting an aquarium, watching an old movie about seafarers or enjoying a lunch of fish and chips, World Maritime Day is all about raising awareness. Teachers can have a lesson about the sea at school, assign a reading of Moby Dick, or have students write an essay about the importance of sea travel and trade.

Perhaps it would be fun to don a sailor’s cap for work and then explain about World Maritime Day when people inquire about it, raising awareness for the day. Whatever the activity, take time to honor the work that takes place on the international seas!

Take a Boat Ride

Enjoy a little taste of life at sea by taking a ride on a boat in honor of World Maritime Day. Although it’s more likely for a person to be able to secure passage on a cruise ship or a local tour boat rather than a shipping vessel, it would still be a fun way to enjoy being on the water.

Source

[whale-osha-violations]

Chapter 13: Wheelbarrow 

Number of regulations violated: 5

Unfortunately, the recent safe streak has ended almost the moment out protagonist stepped onto a boat. While the now expected description of whaling as a dangerous business brings concerns to mind, this pales in comparison to the fact that the boom of the ship begins swinging wildly, knocking a passenger overboard and putting employees at risk. While my closest personal experience is riding a small sailboat, and so I struggle to determine how exactly this risk could be effectively and entirely prevented, I have identified a number of regulations that appear inconsistent with conditions described. 

That's all for now, and

Stay safe sailors!

OSH Act of 1970 Sec. 5. Duties

The workplace and employment should be free of hazards that are known to cause serious physical harm or death

Whaling is described as ‘perilous’. That is not a workplace free of hazards. 

1910.22 Walking-working surfaces

All walking-working surfaces must be maintained free of hazards, and any hazard must be immediately corrected, or else employees should be prevented from using this surface. 

The boom of the ship is swinging uncontrollably and dangerously, despite this being a surface used by many employees. 

1917.95 Other protective measures

Anyone who has a reasonable chance of being knocked into the water while working should be given a PFD and instructed to wear it, and life rings should also be present, depending on the size of the boat. The PFD must also be approved by the US Coast Guard and maintained in good condition

The small boat is rocking dramatically, and later someone is easily knocked overboard by the boom of the ship. As the only description we get of anyone’s outfit is Queequeg being shirtless, it is reasonable to assume that no one has a PFD and there are no life rings to be used, despite someone being knocked overboard. I am considering this regulation to account for personal protective equipment as it is more specific than the regulation for general industry.

1917.112 Guarding of edges

If there is a risk of falling more than 4 feet, there must be a guardrail or safety net in good condition

Again, someone has fallen overboard and there is no railing or other measure in place to prevent this. While a similar regulation for fall protection also exists under general industry guidelines, the regulation in the maritime section is somewhat more relevant, and including both would be redundant

1917.151 Machine guarding

Rotating parts that are 7 feet or less above working surfaces must be guarded to prevent them from hitting an employee. This can include railings, covers or by preventing employees from walking in the path of the hazard

While I have no idea if and how this could be practically achieved, there is a large swinging and rotating piece of the boat that is moving around many employees out of control, and measures must be taken to prevent it from coming into contact with an employee. 

[cidnangarlond]

the most recent development in the case of the missing Titan submersible is that the U.S. Navy has now officially been brought in to assist on the search. earlier it was reported that they were looked at being brought in but are now involved. while the U.S. Coast Guard was focusing mainly on the surface of the water in the search for the sub, the search is now taking place underwater as well. from CNN:

The US Navy is sending subject matter experts and a “Flyaway Deep Ocean Salvage System (FADOSS)” to assist in the search and rescue of a tour sub that has been missing since Sunday, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

The FADOSS is a “motion compensated lift system designed to provide reliable deep ocean lifting capacity for the recovery of large, bulky, and heavy undersea objects such as aircraft or small vessels,” the spokesperson said.

A Navy information page on the FADOSS says it can lift up to 60,000 pounds. 

The equipment and personnel are expected to arrive at St. John’s by Tuesday night and will be in support of the US Coast Guard.

the other piece of news: there is only about 40 hours of breathable air left. also per CNN:

The Coast Guard said Tuesday that the search has not yielded anything so far, but it is continuing to look both on the surface and underwater for the missing submersible. Officials estimated that the crew onboard has "about 40 hours of breathable air left."

for those curious as to how something like this could even be ok'ed, know that others had doubts about what OceanGate was doing, too.

as reported by The New York Times, in 2018 Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, by the Marine Technology Society's Manned Underwater Vehicles committee. the group itself is a 60-year old trade group that, according to their website, "promotes awareness, understanding, and the advancement and application of marine technology."

the letter itself was signed by more than three dozen people, which comprised of "oceanographers, submersible company executives and deep-sea explorers", had stated their "unanimous concern" in regards to the Titan submersible. today, Tuesday, chairman of the committee Wil Kohnen said the letter was written because of fears that presumably he and the others had about what could happen if a company is not held to industry standards. quote from Kohnen in the Times:

“The submersible industry had significant concerns over the strategy of building a deep sea expedition submersible without following existing classification safety guidelines,” Mr. Kohnen said.

according to the letter, they said that OceanGate's marketing of the Titan sub as claiming it would "meet or exceed the safety standards" of the DNV - by their website they are "the world’s leading classification society and a recognized advisor for the maritime industry"; they are to maritime vessels, vehicles, and offshore units what the DMV is to cars, trucks, etc., more or less - as "misleading." indeed, OceanGate had no plans to have the Titan assessed by the DNV.

Stockton Rush called Kohnen after receiving and reading the letter, and stated that "industry regulations were stifling innovation." they would later reiterate this stance in a 2019 blog post about why the Titan wasn't classed (which can be found here, for now).

OceanGate said in the post that because its Titan craft was so innovative, it could take years to get it certified by leading assessment agencies. “Bringing an outside entity up to speed on every innovation before it is put into real-world testing is anathema to rapid innovation,” the company wrote.

the company was aware, however, that the Titan had issues. once again, per the NYT:

More recently, OceanGate referenced some technical issues with the Titan in a court filing.

“On the first dive to the Titanic, the submersible encountered a battery issue and had to be manually attached to its lifting platform,” the company’s legal and operational adviser, David Concannon, wrote in 2022 in a filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which oversees matters having to do with the Titanic. The submersible sustained modest damage to its exterior, he wrote, leading OceanGate to cancel the mission so it could make repairs.

Still, Mr. Concannon wrote in the filing, 28 individuals had been able to visit the Titanic wreckage on the craft in 2022.

despite these issues with the Titan being brought up and essentially brushed away by OceanGate, issues having been brought up for years now, in retrospect it seems something like this happening was simply inevitable.