ChingShih's recent activity
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Comment on What are your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? in ~humanities.history
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Comment on What are your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? in ~humanities.history
ChingShih LinkJ.P. Morgan was feared and seemingly unapproachable, but his son “Jack” Morgan was both business savvy and personable: Source: The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of...J.P. Morgan was feared and seemingly unapproachable, but his son “Jack” Morgan was both business savvy and personable:
He had a marvelous sense of humor which surprised many people who imagined that Morgan bankers must be dour and self-important. He once said of an enemy that if he had ordered a trainload of sons-of-bitches and received only that man, he would consider that order amply filled.
Source:
The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance, (2001) ISBN 0-8021-3829-2 by Ron Chernow.
Notes:
I have a couple other anecdotes (and of a more quirky historical flair) from this book if anyone is interested in some excerpts about the Morgan family or tycoons, generally.
Further Reading:
John Pierpont Morgan – Interesting if you’re into reading about tycoons and “industrial consolidation” in the US, such as the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric, or the rise of America as a financier of European powers.
J.P. “Jack” Morgan, Jr. – A vastly more interesting person who expanded the Morgan financial empire during two world wars and beyond.
The Progressive Era – Social activism and political reform from the 1890s to the 1920s.
The Sherman Antitrust Act – Trust-busting!
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Comment on What are your favourite historic anecdotes or stories? in ~humanities.history
ChingShih LinkI used to post some things to /r/HistoryAnecdotes back in the early days of the subreddit. I'll post a couple of my favorites here. Suriname, 1986-1991 - As told by Alan 'Bowen' Source: Someone...I used to post some things to /r/HistoryAnecdotes back in the early days of the subreddit. I'll post a couple of my favorites here.
Suriname, 1986-1991
Before leaving [on the mission to assassinate the Tacujana leader], the mercenaries were provided with a local guide: he was contemptuously dismissed.
[...] They were all corporals in the [French Foreign Legion's Parachute Regiment], and they thought, “We’ll just walk down this trail here, and turn off at this branch here, and that’ll take us to the village,” – about 200 kilometers away! I said to them, “You can’t go like that. The trails shown on the map might not exist anymore – the jungle grows so quickly – so take compasses and maps.” These guys told me they didn’t need maps and compasses. I repeated, “You’ve got to use them or you won’t get there. You’ll get lost and die in the jungle.” Then one of them admitted, “We can’t read the map,” which absolutely amazed me, because they were corporals in the Legion.
Mick put it like this: “We’re fucking Paras. We’re airborne. When we need to go somewhere, we parachute in, and then we get taken out after we’ve done the business. We don’t have to learn how to map-read.”
So, obviously, they got lost.
- As told by Alan 'Bowen'
Source:
Someone Else’s War: Mercenaries from 1960 to the Present, by Anthony Rogers
Notes:
The Surinamese Interior War (Dutch: Binnenlandse Oorlog) was a civil war waged in the remote interior region of Suriname between 1986 and 1992. The war was fought between the Jungle Commando led by Ronnie Brunswijk, whose members originated from the Maroon ethnic group, and the national army led by then-army chief and de facto head of state Dési Bouterse. - Wikipedia
Further Reading:
History of Suriname - Also known as "Dutch Guiana" and "Surinam." (Wikipedia)
Légion Étrangère (French Foreign Legion) (Wikipedia)
E. A. Pan: The French Foreign Legion - An American in the FFL. (Warning, Geocities-level website with a green background. Great perspective on the modern FFL and with more links to FFL stuff.)
Rhodesian Light Infantry - One of Rhodesia's primary counter-insurgency (COIN) units during the Rhodesian Bush War (1964-1979) and composed of some foreign nationals, including Australian and American veterans of the Vietnam War as well as Canadians, British, and South Africans.
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Comment on Hooters | Bankrupt in ~food
ChingShih Link ParentI agree with the other responses you got to your post. On this particular subject, the answer is yes, some of them do feel that way and are just speed running making money from tips as best they...I wonder if they acted that unnatural because they felt as if they had a gun to the back of their heads.
I agree with the other responses you got to your post. On this particular subject, the answer is yes, some of them do feel that way and are just speed running making money from tips as best they feel they can. It may not be just for general economic/financial reasons, but they may have a specific need for a good amount of money fairly quickly and they feel that working at one of those establishments is preferable to working at a strip club or getting a high interest rate loan. For every story of an American getting into the porn industry to pay for college, there are a thousand Americans who worked at that kind of establishment as waitstaff to do the same thing, or pay for their sibling's braces, or make a downpayment on a car. There are less honorable reasons, too, I'm sure, but either way a lot of them are gritting their teeth and doing what they can to make the tips.
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Comment on How to practically liquidate lots of little things of moderate value in ~finance
ChingShih Link Parent(@DeaconBlue) Going into more detail in a separate comment because this will take more time for me to write. But I've done a variety of these things over the past few years so I can offer some...(@DeaconBlue) Going into more detail in a separate comment because this will take more time for me to write. But I've done a variety of these things over the past few years so I can offer some answers:
Is there some version of a business that takes Stuff and sells it on ebay, pocketing some percentage of the sale? Is there a different kind of business that I should be looking for?
Yes, there are "pickers" who buy bulk from individuals/estates. They are a dying breed due to a variety of factors. I could write a whole post about how Mercari, eBay, and antique middle-men/scalpers are killing that industry. But the short answer is to find flea markets or "antique malls" (not just small stores) and get business cards for everyone even remotely adjacent and to your theme and give them a call or email/FB DM.
Conversely, people bidding on storage units seems to have grown a lot due to pop-culture. Those people don't frequent estate sales typically, but there should be some crossover. You should be able to make inquires via Craigslist and maybe have someone reach out to you, but I wouldn't do this first. I'd do an estate sale first and try to get the most you can, then incrementally lower expectations. If there are things that are really high dollar value ($300 comic book alt art, a mildly valuable signed poster, etc.) then I would list those individually.
For comic books, DnD, and Warhammer, I would go to your local indie comic book stores and inquire with them. If they have a "no soliciting sign" obviously don't ask them directly, but you could walk around the store for a few minutes and then go up to the owner-manager and ask if they know of anyone who would buy comics by the box. If they seem interested themselves, you could casually drop a "well ... I do have a box in my car ..." :) Otherwise, they might have some leads of local collectors who appreciate volume or specialty items (like alt covers, framed stuff, etc.). Plus, you know it's going to a good home and maybe they'll come pick it up from you rather than the other way around.
Stuff that is worth selling, but not huge collections that I can get an auction house involved with.
There are estate sales companies and they have different styles (and styles probably vary by economic region). My experience is different from chocobean's because my family went with a different "style," but their experience is very relevant. Here's what ours was like (and this was in a nice area):
They will run a "yard sale" inside your home. Some will run auctions right there in your home at a specific time and make it very formal, then the rest of the time is basic yard sale activity. Items for sale are laid out, people can bring them up to the estate sales associate and bargain with them a little, and the sales associate is responsible for sticking to your wishes (whether you're willing to come down in price a certain percentage, drop the price up to 50%, take any offer, whatever). So they do a day's worth of yard sale work and you don't have to stress.
These companies do all the advertising and stuff themselves, saving you time and money in some ways -- and probably reaching better audiences in the process. Most of these entities will be looking for estates of grandma's old furniture and jewelry, not 30s-male-collectibles, but you might find an estate sale company that is willing to give it a shot.
They'll come to get a sort of appraisal of what's being sold, how much time they should dedicate to the process, who to send (you wouldn't want their silverware expert...), and whether they will charge you or take a commission of sales. If you don't have at least a certain value to sell, they probably won't work solely on commission. But if you have some really valuable stuff, or enough of it that would be parted out rather than be sold as a set, then an estate sales company would know how to manage this and they'll also help you price things for sale.
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Comment on How to practically liquidate lots of little things of moderate value in ~finance
ChingShih LinkJust want to confirm that putting out a (free?) listing on Craigslist titled "Estate sale with <collectible franchise> and <collectible media format>" still works in metropolitan areas and...Just want to confirm that putting out a (free?) listing on Craigslist titled "Estate sale with <collectible franchise> and <collectible media format>" still works in metropolitan areas and actually brings in the right clientele. Even a whiff of vinyl, comic books, even cassettes (sold by the box of course), will turn up the sort of value-collectors who understand that you're looking for good money but that they can still get a deal.
My father put up a listing of my grandparent's vinyls and specified a few to give a flavor of the eras covered, along with how many boxes there were. We had three or four enthusiast type people show up, reasonably presentable, personable, and they paid cash to buy whole boxes with minimal fuss. There wasn't any "let me camp in front of this box for two hours and pick out the several I actually want" or "can I just buy five for $2???" kinds of things that leave you with boxes of stuff and a wasted morning. They are experienced and knowledgeable and usually have some kind of quirk that makes collecting bulk that way more economical, yet they have the money to make real offers.
So don't be afraid to give that a try first because that'll be much better than ebay (unless you live super rural).
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Comment on Regarding travel agency exoticca.com in ~travel
ChingShih Link ParentI heard "doumo" a lot when I was being welcomed into a restaurant or certain places, but can't remember hearing it elsewhere under any contexts. Is this a thankfulness kind of thing more than...I heard "doumo" a lot when I was being welcomed into a restaurant or certain places, but can't remember hearing it elsewhere under any contexts. Is this a thankfulness kind of thing more than "thanks" is in English, whereas English-speakers might be expressing gratefulness by saying "thanks for visiting, please come in"?
If I bought something I always got an arigatou gozaimasu(uuu~). Is that the experience for white people as well or not? The Asians out there definitely did not think I was light skinned, haha. But it was always very cute when old ladies at a bakery or someone would say it, sounded like something out of an anime. I also got the biggest grin out of housekeeping when I would say good morning to them and they would reply that way too.
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Comment on Doppi, the nicest player for your music files in ~tech
ChingShih Link ParentI've used PowerAmp for something like 13 years (and love it). I just discovered that it has equalizer presets that can be chosen when it detects specific headphones. It looks like it imports a...I've used PowerAmp for something like 13 years (and love it). I just discovered that it has equalizer presets that can be chosen when it detects specific headphones. It looks like it imports a library of EQ settings from Rtings by default, but there are also manual import and export settings. There's so much to fiddle with in the app, I'm shocked by how feature-rich it is and a little disappointed I never really looked underneath the hood before.
On desktop environments I use WinAmp.
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Comment on Visualizing a volcano - Mexico's Popocatépetl in ~science
ChingShih LinkThis is not too long a read and has some nice graphics. It discusses the (as yet unpublished) research that has gone into understanding and mapping an active volcano and its underground magma...This is not too long a read and has some nice graphics. It discusses the (as yet unpublished) research that has gone into understanding and mapping an active volcano and its underground magma pools.
The article is formatted well for reading on desktop or mobile devices and is also available in Spanish.
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Visualizing a volcano - Mexico's Popocatépetl
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Comment on Nvidia-backed Starcloud trains first AI model in space in ~space
ChingShih Link ParentFor the demonstration unit, possibly, but I don't know how big that unit is. The article is saying the theoretical datacenter-replacement satellite they want to build would sit out from Earth far...For the demonstration unit, possibly, but I don't know how big that unit is. The article is saying the theoretical datacenter-replacement satellite they want to build would sit out from Earth far enough that there won't be much if any of a shadow cast on its solar panels -- so probably either at a distant polar orbit or reeeeally far out.
Starlink, Iridium, and other "communications" satellites sit at very, very low orbits. Like low enough that fighter aircraft can shoot them down with reasonably conventional rockets (i.e. not a special platform with a custom-built rocket). In fact, Starfighter Space, Inc. just had their IPO -- their plan is to use Vietnam-era fighter jets as the launch platform to put small satellites into space with under-wing rockets. Anyhow, most of these low Earth orbit satellites sit at 300-550 km (up to around 333 mi) or a little higher. Hubble Space Telescope and the ISS only orbit at the upper end of that because we need to be able to reach them routinely via human-manned spacecraft at minimal cost, but in a practical sense 550 km from the surface of the Earth is walking distance compared to, say, reaching the Moon (hiking distance) or the Kuiper Belt (you'll want to make reservations in advance). There is a really cool illustration of man-made satellite orbits on Wikipedia. The ISS is hardly even in "space" as us laypeople think of it (and Katy Perry is still not an astronaut no matter how politicians change the definition).
Putting up the multi-ton satellite that Nvidia and their partners are imagining as a final product (something capable of pulling in 5-gigawatts via solar panel arrays) is going to be the size of a bus, at least, and once the solar array is spread will be absolutely massive. Deorbiting a monstrosity like this, full of heavy heatsinks (because even in "space" they need to dissipate that heat effectively), will mean pulling it down into the ocean in a safe way, the way they typically deorbit large satellites. But maybe by the time we're training models in space (this sentence would've looked weird in the 90s!) we'll actually employ the more environmentally-friendly methods of deorbiting and getting rid of space debris that people have already thought of.
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Comment on Nvidia-backed Starcloud trains first AI model in space in ~space
ChingShih Link ParentI wonder if they will take a page out of military hardware sales and allow out-dated assets to be sold to allies and partners who otherwise can't buy or built the technology themselves. 4th...And it's not like you have long to recoup your costs before your data center needs upgraded hardware ...
I wonder if they will take a page out of military hardware sales and allow out-dated assets to be sold to allies and partners who otherwise can't buy or built the technology themselves. 4th generation aircraft can be sold to pretty much anyone, depending on the avionics, while 5th generation (and 4.5-gen) is reserved for partner countries with a special status so that the manufacturing countries are in control of the other country's capabilities.
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Comment on Nvidia-backed Starcloud trains first AI model in space in ~space
ChingShih Link ParentFollow-up question: I understand many of the benefits of running computationally intensive (and heat-intensive) tasks in space (and demo'ing the tech now). But what kind of bandwidth is the final...Follow-up question:
I understand many of the benefits of running computationally intensive (and heat-intensive) tasks in space (and demo'ing the tech now). But what kind of bandwidth is the final product going to need and do we currently have the price-performance to make that amount of bandwidth even happen in the next couple of years? I know that satellite bandwidth has gotten a lot cheaper and even cellular phone carriers are offering services (along with things like Garmin's inReach satellite texting communication that's been in consumers' hands foe 10+ years), but how much cheaper? Datacenters have staggeringly huge pipes these days so I'm wondering how much bandwidth the data from an AI question-response session would take and how much of it they plan to have completed in orbit.
The article says they're planning not to have a geostationary orbit for the 5-gigawatt satellite so that it can gather solar energy without day/night restrictions, but they would have to get other satellites up just to carry the communication signals to whatever side(s) of the planet the data is being sent. So bandwidth really becomes a huge factor as more hops are added to the transmission. Are there companies looking at developing this tech with geosynchronous orbits with a dedicated ground receiving station? And how expensive is that real estate about to get? Would those companies be looking at more equatorial regions for the ground stations (or perhaps just Texas and Florida)?
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Comment on USGS V1cam livestream of erupting Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii (west Halemaʻumaʻu crater) in ~enviro
ChingShih LinkAha! Madame Pele is back as of about 90 minutes ago! The original link should still work, but here is another one: [V3cam] Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii (south Halemaʻumaʻu crater) From the US National...Aha! Madame Pele is back as of about 90 minutes ago!
The original link should still work, but here is another one:
[V3cam] Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii (south Halemaʻumaʻu crater)From the US National Park Service:
Volcanic Activity Summary:
Episode 39 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began at 8:10 p.m. HST on 23 December. Sustained lava fountains approximately 100 feet (30 meters) in height are currently erupting from both north and south vents. Fountain heights are currently increasing.
Past episodes have produced incandescent lava fountains over 1000 feet (300 meters) high that produce eruptive plumes up to 20,000 feet (6000 meters) above ground level. According to the National Weather Service, winds are blowing from the northeast direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the southwest.
- All eruptive activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park; commercial airports in Hawaii County (KOA and ITO) will not be affected by this activity.
- Three Kīlauea summit livestream videos that show eruptive lava fountains are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@usgs/streams
- KPcam and MKcam provide views of the plume height for aviation purposes
Episode 39 was preceded by overflows of degassed lava that began at approximately 6:41 p.m. from the south vent and continued to increase in intensity until 8:10 p.m., when sustained fountaining began.
Inflationary tilt reached just over 32 microradians since the end of the last episode. Seismic tremor began increasing and tilt at UWD switched from inflationary to deflationary at about 8:10 p.m. HST, about the same time lava flows began erupting onto the crater floor.
Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since December 23, 2024, have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days.
- Timeline of eruptive episodes since December 23, 2024: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/eruption-information
No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.
Kīlauea Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remain at WATCH/ORANGE. All current and recent activity is within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
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Comment on The Odyssey | Official trailer in ~movies
ChingShih LinkInteresting series of vignettes to make the trailer out of. I'll forgive the production style of the trailer since they apparently didn't want to spoil major things, but I think it's reassuring to...Interesting series of vignettes to make the trailer out of. I'll forgive the production style of the trailer since they apparently didn't want to spoil major things, but I think it's reassuring to identify all the parts of the epic that the film will touch on -- too much and the film will feel convoluted, too little and it's just setup to what might be an overly-long series.
Here's what the trailer touched on (which I think we can prove is not chronological to the movie):
- The trailer's opening scene is during the battle of Troy or after the raid on Ismarus? Cuts to Menaleus/Batman (or Agamemnon?) and Odysseus.
- Sailing home, his wife Penelope in Ithaca, the shores of Aeetes?
- Men (Trojans?) pulling a carved horse from the sea (perhaps the Trojan horse, but this seems a fantastical take on carving abilities); other men hiding inside a vessel
- The cyclops
- The dragon's teeth are sown and the five Spartoi rise? Not sure what's going on in the background. Maybe it isn't the Spartoi.
- Various shots at sea, I would guess at least one set is from earlier in the film and one is later.
- Ending with the beginning: Penelope asking Odysseus for a promise.
Things they didn't show, but naturally follow:
1. Cameo appearances of Helen, maybe Paris? 2. Big O meeting Circe. Introducing Circe to little O. Men are such pigs. 3. All is not happy on the homefront. Penelope knitting her brow and unknitting her scarf. 4. Whirlpools fuckin' everywhere. 5. Giving the sirens a hard pass and leaving them for Jason and the Argonauts. 6. Sequel setup or rounding out the story in a way that respects the source material. -
Comment on These travel influencers don’t want freebies. They’re AI. in ~travel
ChingShih Link ParentThis is a prescient example you've presented. If you look at Amazon much of the Chinese brand clothing is modeled by a white person. Whether male or female, they look almost like stock imagery but...If they want shots of the influencer wearing their clothes, eating their food, driving their cars, whatever — to do that right is going to require lots of tailor-made LoRAs. Demand for that could conceivably lead to a whole new cottage industry.
This is a prescient example you've presented. If you look at Amazon much of the Chinese brand clothing is modeled by a white person. Whether male or female, they look almost like stock imagery but more realistic than a quick photoshop of the brand's clothing on top of a (potentially stolen) photo of a model. Vistaprint and other print-on-demand use similar technologies to virtually impose your uploaded image onto a stock model and it happens within the time between page loads.
If industry is already doing this, and China is able to cheaply do it as well, then we're already only a couple steps away from using AI to do the same thing at higher and more impressive qualities to directly target not just the demographics, but the ethnographics that they want to market their brand(s) towards.
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Comment on Books: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~books
ChingShih Link ParentI've been enjoying reading the Murderbot books as well! Incidentally, they're available on Humble Bundle for those interested in the set and some other Martha Wells books:...I've been enjoying reading the Murderbot books as well!
Incidentally, they're available on Humble Bundle for those interested in the set and some other Martha Wells books: https://www.humblebundle.com/books/martha-wells-murderbot-and-more-tor-books-encore
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Comment on Books: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~books
ChingShih LinkI read several novels this year (and admittedly a bunch of graphic novels ... been one of those years). Here are a few things worth mentioning. Books I liked: The Martian - Coming off of listening...I read several novels this year (and admittedly a bunch of graphic novels ... been one of those years). Here are a few things worth mentioning.
Books I liked:
The Martian - Coming off of listening to the audiobook of Project Hail Mary towards the end of 2024, I decided to start 2025's audiobook playlist with this one. I'm glad I did.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky - Based on the true story of an adolescent coming of age in Fascist Italy. His choices, and his family's choices, take him to the unlikely crossroads of being the chauffeur to Germany's highest-ranking officer assigned to Italy. The audiobook does not have my favorite narration, but it's read authentically to the writing (I started with a freemium version of the audiobook and finished by reading the paperback, which I already owned).
Books I disliked:
West with Giraffes - Historical fiction based around a true story, but I just couldn't get behind it. The prose didn't stand out; the characters were, well, characterized but flat; and fiction like this is difficult to see how much effort the author put into research to make things feel period-correct and authentic.
Miscellaneous Mentions:
I'm about 250 pages into Shantaram and love it. Been a long time since I've loved a book as much as this and I read from a pretty broad selection of genres. I'm glad it has been made into a TV show, but I doubt the show will do the book justice. I'll have to find out after I finish reading.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare isn't going to be finished by the end of the year, but not for any fault of its own I just don't have the time (and I enjoy WW2 history). I started it a few months after finishing Rogue Heroes by Ben MacIntyre, a competitor of sorts in that genre. I prefer the writing of the former over the latter.
I read a Japanese mystery/thriller called Strange Pictures. It's an interesting take on the genre, though it's style may not appeal to everyone (it's not written for western audiences). I can see why it has become something of a modern cult classic in Japan, but I do wish there were a bit more depth across the board. I'll give the next book by this author a try at some point, but for casual reading I'll stick with my "mysteries" written by Rex Stout.
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Comment on You’re probably using the wrong dictionary in ~books
ChingShih Link ParentStepping boldly into the realm of "books of words that are more fun than practical in daily life," There's a Word for It! A Grandiloquent Guide to Life inspired some of the verbiage in one of my...Stepping boldly into the realm of "books of words that are more fun than practical in daily life," There's a Word for It! A Grandiloquent Guide to Life inspired some of the verbiage in one of my favorite shortish fantasy book series, so maybe it's worth a look. It has real words such as "guttersnipe" in it, though it is apparently written in a slightly over-the-top style and meant to be enjoyed by ... word enthusiasts, much like the article. I haven't brought myself around to buying it yet.
Hoping for something along similar lines, I recently picked up a copy of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. Yes, it does sound like splendiferous winter reading! Thanks for asking! :) It feels fictional, but has some interesting (and perhaps uncomfortable) terms/words -- or perhaps more accurately "words-to-be" that haven't yet entered even the lexicon of enlightened hipsters -- with fuller and more descriptive definitions than what one might find on Dictionary.com or WordHippo. It leaves something to be desired and while I appreciate the words and their florid descriptions, does leave me wondering if using one of these words would come across like trying to use Elvish in casual conversation. However, it does offer some meaningful prose to reflect on.
One such example from Obscure Sorrows:
Falesia (noun): The disquieting awareness that someone's importance to you and your importance to them might not necessarily match ... (continued in the book)
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Comment on Winter boot recommendations for women in ~life.style
ChingShih Link ParentI highly recommend Belleville Boot for all genders -- they were/are the boot made for the US Marines and other services (Air Force ABUs, etc.), but have a variety of styles and sizes -- although...I highly recommend Belleville Boot for all genders -- they were/are the boot made for the US Marines and other services (Air Force ABUs, etc.), but have a variety of styles and sizes -- although currently it looks like they might be moving to a unisex shoe sizing (i.e. they're simply defaulting to men's sizes). They carry almost every shoe size imaginable as well as N/R/W/XW widths and have boots that are made in USA, insulated (200g, 400g, 400/800g hybrid), steel-toe, composite-toe, or other configurations. That said, they don't look like fashion accessories, they're utilitarian like Danner tends to be. Here is Belleville's insulated boot listing, but I'd recommend buying through an online retailer for best pricing and warranty support unless there is a specific sale they have that can't be passed up.
I have thousands of miles on-road and off-trail on my several pairs of boots and with one exception they've held up extremely well (and I think could be resoled). The warranty has been ... accessible if not always a complete replacement like I think it ought to be (I had a cheaper pair wear out on me and I believe it was a defect, rather than from strenuous use, but both could be true). I used to buy the composite toe boots so I could go through airports easier ... sometimes they let me sometimes they don't, has nothing to do with the material composition as it turns out (or at least it's not about it being "metal" or not, they're looking at density). I also have some 200g insulated boots I bought for shoveling snow and they're honestly too warm in that kind of activity. Maybe if I was standing still chopping wood or slowly walking the dog. Anyway, I'm not in a super cold climate, so maybe the 400g or 400/800g hybrids are more fit for task for other people. It's nice to have choices and Belleville has a lot of choices.
When lexicographer James Murray crowd-sources the citations of the Oxford English dictionary he receives help from an unexpected source:
Source:
The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words also called The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary in North America (GoodReads). By Simon Winchester.
The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words (Wikipedia)
Further Reading:
Dr. W. C. Minor (Wikipedia) -
An AmericanA surgeon who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. (Later edit: Apparently he was born in the English colony of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and had become increasingly unwell after the war. He murdered a man, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and was incarcerated at the Broadmoor asylum in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire. Living off his pension from the Army, he was afforded reasonable accommodations and allowed to purchase books which lead to his ability to assist in providing citations for the dictionary.Sir James Murray (Wikipedia) - Teacher, lexicographer, philologist, and finally head editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, Sir Murray was a really interesting man and likely a savant. It's worth reading the Wikipedia page about him if nothing else.
Broadmoor Hospital (formerly Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum) 1863-present (Wikipedia)
Berkshire, England (Wikipedia)