text:
I have just finished reading a piece of fiction about a man who insists on finding out how deep the bedrock is wherever he happens to be standing.
I would like to know the name of the woman who wrote the fiction. She has light-brown hair and interesting eyes, but her skin is rather weatherbeaten and her forehead is oddly wrinkled. I can never judge a person’s age. This woman might be thirty-five or forty-five.
The woman’s fiction is all in the first person, and the narrator identifies himself as a man. The author—the woman with the creased forehead—claims that the man in the story is based on her own brother, who suffers from what she calls an illness of the mind.
I will explain where I am and why I have to write this.
I am sitting at a battered garden-table on the back veranda of a ten-room stone house on a hilltop thirty-four kilometres north-east of the centre of Melbourne. A forest of rather skinny eucalypts grows all around the house and all down the steep gullies for as far as I can see. About once an hour I hear a motor-car on the gravel road deep down among the trees. Mostly I hear the cheeps and tweets and ting-tangs of birds and the swishings of leaves and twigs in the wind. If I walk along the veranda I can just hear, through the thick stones of the wall, the tapping of a typewriter. At two other places along the stone wall I can hear the same faint sound. Far inside the house, and quite inaudible to me, two people are using electronic keyboards and screens. A writers’ workshop is in progress.
The stone house belongs to a painter (a painter of quite ordinary views of desert and savannah, to judge from what can be seen on the insides of these walls). At this moment the painter is somewhere on the road to Hattah Lakes. But these details are not important . . . the artist’s house is ours for the present.
We are six writers—three men and three women—who have undertaken to write and to show our writing to one another for seven days and six nights up here among the sounds of birds and the wind in the treetops. Five of us, so I believe, have had fiction published in magazines or anthologies. Myself, I am a poet (sparingly published) who is trying to break into prose. Our workshop is not meant to produce immediately a body of publishable writing. Our meeting here on this hill is meant to put us in touch with the deep sources of fiction.
Last night—Friday night—each of us had to write our first apiece and then hand it to the person in charge of the session. This morning at breakfast each of us was given a copy of each of the five pieces written by our fellow writers.
In most writers’ workshops the members sit around discussing their work; they talk about themes and symbols and meaning and such matters. The six of us do none of this. Ours is a Waldo workshop. The rules were devised by Frances Da Pavia and Patrick McLear, a husband-and-wife team of writers in the USA. In 1949 these two began a series of workshops at their summer house in Waldo County, Maine. Francis Da Pavia and Patrick McLear have both since died but they bequeathed their estates, including the house in Maine, to the Waldo Fiction Foundation, which continues to arrange annual workshops and to keep alive the Waldo theory of fiction in the USA and in other countries.
The rules for the Waldo workshops have hardly been changed since the first summer when the co-founders and four disciples shut themselves away for a week on a rocky peninsula looking across the water to Islesboro Island. As far as possible the writers have to be strangers to one another. (The co-founders were far from being husband and wife in the days of their first workshops, and after their marriage they were never again together as writers in the stone house.) Everyone is compelled to take a pen-name at the first session and to change that pen-name each day. But the most important rule is the absolute ban on speech.
In this matter a Waldo workshop is more strict than a Trappist monastery. Trappist monks are at least allowed to use sign language, but writers at a Waldo workshop are not allowed to communicate by any means other than the writing of prose fiction. Waldo writers may exchange any number of messages during their week together, but every message must be encoded in prose fiction. No other’ sort of message is permitted. Writers may not even allow such a message to reach them inadvertently: if one writer happens to intercept another’s glance, the two must go at once to their separate writing-tables and write for each other a piece of fiction many times more elaborate and subtle than whatever lay behind either glance or was read from it.
Waldo writers are not even permitted to make the sorts of comment that writers in conventional workshops make about each other’s work. Each morning in this house each one of us will pore over the latest batch of fiction, looking for scattered traces of our own stories in the manifold pattern of Waldo.
To preserve the ideal of unbroken silence, the Waldo manual recommends a certain gait for strolUng around house and grounds and a certain posture for sitting at the dining-table or on the veranda. The eyes are kept lowered; each stride is somewhat hesitant; arms and hands are guarded in their movements for fear a hand might brush a foreign sleeve or, worse still, a naked wrist or finger. House and grounds, naturally, are required to be remote and secluded. The co-founders’ house, in the one photograph that I happen to have seen, seems to belong in an Andrew Wyeth painting.
The theory behind the vow of silence is that talk—even serious, thoughtful talk or talk about writing itself—drains away the writer’s most precious resource, which is the belief that he or she is the solitary witness to an inexhaustible profusion of images from which might be read all the wisdom of the world. At the beginning of each workshop, every writer has to copy in handwriting and to display above his or her writing-table the famous passage from the diaries of Franz Kafka:
I hate everything that does not relate to literature, conversations bore me (even when they relate to literature), to visit people bores me, the joys and sorrows of my relatives bore me to my soul. Conversation takes the importance, the seriousness, the truth, out of everything I think.
Every breach of the vow of silence must be reported to the writer-in-charge. Even so seemingly slight a thing as sighing within earshot of another person is a reportable offence, and the writer who catches a hint of meaning in the sound of someone’s breath escaping is therefore expected not only to write before long about a fictional sigher and sigh but to draft a brief informer’s report. Likewise, the sight of a mouth being drawn deliberately down at the corners or even a distant view of a head shaking slowly from side to side or of a pair of hands being pressed against a face—any of these can oblige a writer to amend the work-in-progress so that it includes a version of the latest offence against Waldo and of the report of the offence and any other documents to do with it.
A first offender against the Great Silence is punished by being sent to his or her room to transcribe passages from writers whose way of life was more or less solitary: Kafka, Emily Dickinson, Giacomo Leopardi, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Michel de Ghelderode, A.E. Housman, Thomas Merton, Gerald Basil Edwards, C.W. Killeaton . . . The Waldo Fiction Foundation keeps a register of all those who for at least five years of their lives wrote or took notes but talked to no friend or lover.
A second offence brings immediate expulsion from the workshop. The expulsion is never announced to the group, but suddenly among the buzzings and clickings of insects and the chirrups of birds on a drowsy afternoon a motor-car engine starts up, and perhaps you notice an hour later that a certain pair of creaking shoes are no longer heard in the corridors; or perhaps, standing at a certain point on the veranda, you see the same trail of ants flowing up and down the yellowish stone and the same tiny spider unmoving in its cave of crumbled mortar but you no longer hear the faint rattling of a typewriter through the wall; or later at the dinner table a bread roll lies unbroken by a pair of hands that you formerly watched from under your eyebrows.
Does anyone reading this want to ask why the workshop should expel a person whose presence had made the fiction of at least one writer daily more bulky and more complex? Anyone who could ask this question has not even begun to understand what I have written so far. But Waldo can answer for me. What might have seemed to the objector a grave objection earns a sentence in the manual. Just the one room becoming empty will make the echo of the fiction of the house more lingering still.
No one questions the rules concerning silence, but newcomers to Waldo sometimes wonder why no rule forbids a writer in a workshop from sending urgent letters or manifestoes or apologias after someone who has just been expelled. How can the purpose of the workshop be served, the questioner asks, if the bereft writer, instead of working at fiction, drafts long addresses to someone who has seemed to undermine the basic principles of Waldo?
A little thought usually reassures the doubter. The writer in a work-shop has to deliver each day to the writer-in-charge not only the finished drafts of fiction but any earlier drafts or page of notes or scribble and certainly any letter or draft of a letter written that day. No one may send out from a Waldo workshop any letter or note or any other communication without first submitting it to the writer-in-charge. In short, the writer sending messages after an expelled fellow-writer may be writing to no one. Even if Waldo, in the person of the writer-in-charge, actually forwards the letters, there is no obligation to reveal to the person who wrote them the true name, let alone the address, of the person they were sent to. And the ritual bonfire at the end of every workshop is not just for all the writing done during the week but for all of Waldo’s records—every scrap of evidence that might otherwise be adduced some day to prove that this or-that writer once, under half a dozen pseudonyms, learned the secret of true fiction from an eccentric American sect.
So, the writer who spends the last days of a workshop trying to reach someone who once or twice glanced or stared in a certain way before being expelled—that writer will usually understand in time that no letters may have been forwarded or that the letters were forwarded but with the sender identified only by a false name and the address ‘Waldo’. The writer who reaches this understanding will then be grateful to the body of theory and traditions personified as Waldo. For if the writer had had his or her way at first, much precious writing time would have been lost and perhaps the workshop itself abandoned while the two strangers made themselves known to each other in conventional ways. But, thanks to Waldo, the-writer stayed on at the workshop and began the first notes or drafts of what would later become a substantial body of fiction.
Those novels or novellas or short stories or prose poems would be widely read, but only their author would know what they really were and who they were addressed to. As for that person, the one whose motor-car had started up suddenly among the dry sounds of grasshoppers on a hot afternoon, that person would almost certainly never read any of the published fiction. That person would have been won over years earlier by the doctrines of Waldo, and in all the years since the founding of our group not a single apostasy has been recorded. The expelled writer is still one of us, and like every other follower of Waldo he or she would read no fiction by any living author. He or she might buy the latest books and display them all around the house, but no author would be read until that author was dead.
No living author would be read because the reader of a living author might be tempted one day to search out the author and to ask some question about the text or about the weather on the day when this or that page was first composed or about a certain year of the author’s life before the first sentence of the text came into being. And to ask such questions would be not just to violate the most sacred tradition of Waldo; it would be as if to say that the old stone house by Penobscot Bay has never existed, that Frances Da Pavia and Patrick McLear are no more substantial than characters in a work of fiction, and that the Waldo theory of fiction—far from having produced some of the finest writers of our day—is itself the invention of a writer: a bit of whimsy dreamed up by a man at a writers’ workshop and handed to the writer-in-charge so that a woman with light-brown hair and a frowning face would learn why the man had not yet told her how impressed he had been by her story of a man who worried about bedrock.
In an earlier draft of this paragraph—a draft that you will never read—I began with the words: ‘You may be wondering about that ritual bonfire mentioned a little distance back . . .’ But if you had read those words you would have wondered not just how the words could have reached you if all the pages written during the workshop are ritually burned on the last evening; you would have wondered also who the word ‘you’ referred to. If these pages are being written on the veranda of a stone house during a writers’ workshop, you might say to your-self, why are they seemingly addressed to me: to someone who reads them in very different surroundings? For the pages are much too explanatory to have been written for the other workshop members—why would five followers of Waldo have to be told in the opening para-graphs of a piece of workshop fiction all the rules and traditions so well known to them?
But you have almost answered your own objection. You have spoken of this writing as fiction. This is the truth. These words are part of a work of fiction. Even these last few sentences, which can be read as an exchange between the writer and a reader, are fiction. Any thoughtful reader would recognise them for what they are. And the writers at a Waldo workshop are the most thoughtful of readers. When these pages are put in front of them, my fellow writers will not demand to know why they have to read an account of things already familiar to them. They will read with even more than their usual alertness. They will try to learn why I have written in the form of a piece of fiction addressed to strangers far away from this hilltop a piece of fiction that only they can read.
And yet, you still want certain puzzles explained. (Or, to put this more clearly, if you existed you would still want those puzzles explained.) If the ritual bonfire consumes all evidence of the workshop, why should I write as though these pages are going to be preserved?
My first impulse is to answer, ‘Why not?’ One of the most cherished anecdotes among the followers of Waldo is of the writer who begged for a last few minutes while the other members of the workshop were already around the fire and making scrolls of their pages, tying bundle after bundle with the obligatory silk ribbons in the Waldo colours of pale-grey and sea-green, and tossing their bundles into the flames. During those last few minutes the writer crouched in the glow from the flames and scribbled over and over the same sentence for which the right order of words and the right balance among the subordinate clauses had still not been found.
With Waldo it is the spirit that matters rather than the form. No writer is stripped and searched before leaving a workshop. No luggage is forcibly opened on the front veranda on the morning of departure. If you still believe that I am writing these words to be read by someone outside the workshop, then you only have to imagine my slipping this typescript under the heap of my soiled underclothes on the last night . . .
Now the danger may be that I am making Waldo seem a mere set, of conventions to be varied if occasion demands. I assure you that Waldo weighs heavily indeed on me. Every page that I write here on this veranda will be tied, five nights from tonight, in the colours of ocean and fog and burned in the view of five writers whose good opinions I value, even if I may never learn their true names.
And I follow the way of Waldo even more strictly for having read sometimes, on the last day of a workshop, the implication that we are not meant to take Waldo seriously after all: that these monastic retreats with their fussy rituals, the manual with all its rules, the house in Maine, although they are, of course, part of a solid world, are only meant to work on the imagination of writers and to suggest how seriously one might take the writing of fiction in an ideal world.
At this point someone who had never heard of Waldo before reading these pages might need to be reminded that the isolation of Waldo writers is not relieved during hours of darkness.
The co-founders in their wisdom decreed that the writers in each work-shop had to be strangers and that the numbers of men and women must be equal. Some people have concluded from this that we provide a literary introduction service. Perhaps one of my readers, even after the careful account I have so far given, supposes even now that only half the bedrooms will be occupied each night during this workshop.
Even if my suspicious reader, like all my readers, is only someone I called into being this morning on this veranda, still I consider myself bound to answer truthfully. In any case, what do I have to gain by writing anything but the truth in these circumstances?
I spent last night alone in my room. I cannot imagine why I would not spend tonight and every other night of the workshop alone in my room—unless the whole of the history of the Waldo movement has been an elaborate practical joke of which I am the sole victim, and unless I am the only writer in this house who believes that if I were to try a certain door-knob tonight it should only be for the purpose of thrusting a little way into the darkness the thick bundle of all the pages I have written, with not even my true name on them, before I creep back to my room.
I cannot answer for any other writer, of course, but I hereby declare my faith in the doctrine that persuaded me to give up poetry and to come to this stony hill to learn how to write truly. I believe as a Waldo writer that my existence is only justified by the writing of prose fiction. And for inspiration I look to Campobello Man.
You Waldo writers reading this know very well who I mean. But my imaginary reader far from this hill could not have heard even the title of the book that explains everything.
Isles Fogbound: the Writer on the Wrong Side of America—have any of us read this book as it deserves to be read, and changed our lives accordingly? I am no better than any of you. I can expound the thesis of many a chapter, yet I have still not felt in my heart the joy that is promised in the last pages; I have still not seen the changed world that I ought to see all around me if only I could give myself wholly over to Waldo.
How can I think of everything I see as no more and no less than a detail in a work of fiction? I walked a little way down this hill before breakfast. From every outcrop of stones and gravel a small vine of hardenbergia grew: the same mauve that I look for in every garden I walk past in the suburbs of Melbourne. Yet I stared at the mauve against the golden-brown and could think of no place for it in any piece of prose fiction I might write. Perhaps the mauve and the brown belong in the fiction of another writer, and perhaps this is the sense of those ambiguous passages in the last pages of the inspired volume of Waldo. When I knelt and touched the soil a surprising image came to me. The flaky stones had the look and the feel of a thick layer of face-powder plastered oddly on her face by a woman not quite right in the head. A different sort of writer might follow this image wherever it leads. Of all I have read in Frances Da Pavia and Patrick McLear I remember mostly the smaller details and the quirky propositions. From the accounts of the first workshops I remember the custom of making the newly arrived writers walk all around the rooms and corridors counting windows. They could consider themselves for the time being dwellers in the House of Fiction, but they ought to acknowledge that the house had considerably fewer windows than Henry James had asserted. As for the windows, even though I have never set foot on the North American continent I can see the dark-blue sky, the green of Penobscot Bay, and above all, the pearly-grey of the fogs—even the painted fogs on the double panes of the rooms for those who wanted to live Waldo doctrine to the fullest.
I am familiar too with all the contrivances that were fitted to the house for those who wanted to spy on their fellow writers by day or night. (In these temporary quarters we have no opportunity for the intensive spying that Waldo has always permitted without directly encouraging. A Waldo writer is urged not so much to spy as to feel always under close surveillance, and the spy-holes and carelessly hidden cameras all around the house in Maine are to promote this feeling. How many writers make use of these things Waldo officially does not trouble itself to learn. No one on this hilltop would have drilled through the artist’s walls, but anyone would have been free to bring their own equipment with them, and one of you five readers of the first draft of this may be reading it not for the first time.)
I have only sometimes glimpsed the world through Waldo’s eyes, but I have meditated often on the map of North America as Da Pavia and McLear taught me to see it. The people of the continent are mostly going in the wrong direction.
The people are all being carried blindly westward. They are all hoping to reach a place of bright sunlight where they will see enacted deeds befitting the end of a long journey. But the people are all going the wrong way.
The coast of Maine is almost the farthest place where a group of American writers can stand and declare that they have gone, literally as well as spiritually, against the prevailing currents of their nation. But even in the stone house in Waldo County, the writers wanted to say more than this; and so began the game of the islands.
The people of America are being carried blindly along in the path of the sun, but not the writers of Waldo. They huddle on their clifftop and set their faces towards Penobscot Bay. America, these writers say, is a book. They themselves may be situated within the pages of America, but they stand where they stand to signify that the subject of their own fiction lies behind the readers and even the writers of America.
The man who wrote under the name of Stendahl is supposed to have said in 1830 that he wrote his fiction for the readers of 1880. Frances Da Pavia and Patrick McLear announced in 1950 that their fiction of that year was being written for the reader of 1900. (To make their arithmetic quite clear: they were writing in 1960 for the readers of 1890; and if the co-founders were alive today in 1985 they would have in mind the readers of 1865.) Towards the end of their lives Da Pavia and McLear thought of themselves as privileged to be drawing still nearer to the putative age when no word of fiction had yet been written. And just before their sudden deaths, our founders were preoccupied with the question what mode of fictional address the lucky writer would choose for that generation for whom a sentence such as Call me Waldo . . . and all that it could possibly mean were solid items of a factual world. This is what first drew me to Waldo of all the schools of fiction I might have joined: this earnest undertaking by Waldo writers to shape their sentences not according to habits of thinking in their own day but as though each writer is writing from a separate island just short of the notional beginning of the mainland.
In the early years of the game the writers chose from actual islands. Before beginning a workshop each writer would consult large-scale maps of the coast. Then, on the first morning in the stone house and while the fog outside was still unmoving, table and chair would be carefully aligned so that the seated writer faced the blank double-page of America and a word would be whispered in the monkish room. For the remaining six days of the workshop, Monhegan, Matinicus, or Great Wass would mark the place where the true story of America was being written; where a writer that the writer in the room could only dream of found the words to write; where the invisible was on the point of becoming visible.
Although every page of fiction purporting to have been written at these places was burned in due course, still rumours and gossip hung around the stone house, and each new group of writers seemed to know which islands had been claimed in earlier years and which dwindling few had never been written from. In the last year before the game changed its direction, members of the workshop had to choose from mere rocks and nameless shoals. Then someone who claimed afterwards not to have noticed the dots and dashes of the international border swerving strangely south-west across the inked ocean wrote that he dreamed of someone writing dreamlike prose on Campobello.
What happened during the following week enriched the theory and traditions of Waldo, it was said, immeasurably beyond the hopes of the co-founders. (I prefer to believe that Da Pavia and McLear foresaw confidently the scope, if not the details, of the Campobello Migration and wrote about it in some of the best of their lost typescripts.) In a word, the writers for that week were divided quite by accident into two groups. The first had consulted in the Waldo Library (can any of us in this house almost bare of books imagine what a treasury of recondite lore is the library in the original stone house?) an atlas in which coloured inks were used only for the nation or the state which happened to be the designated subject-matter for that page, surrounding areas being colourless, ghostly, almost bare of printed names. The second group consulted an atlas in which the colours reached to the very margins of every page, no matter what political or geographical borders crossed the page itself. So for one group Campobello—the island, the man supposed to be writing there, and the host of invisible possibilities behind the word itself—gave pleasure because it was perversely located in a place that a writer might actually visit if he or she was literal-minded enough to want to travel through the fog and even further along the schematic edge of America. (This group was further divided into those who recognised that Campobello Island is part of the Province of New Brunswick and those who believed it to be the utmost outpost of the State of Maine.) The second group, having seen a pale blob on their map and having deliberately refused to turn to the pages presenting a coloured Canada—not even to learn the name of the blob, supposed Campobello and everything arising from it to be the result of an ingenious invented cataclysm.
They supposed that at some time during the filling-in of the blank double-page of the continent and while the ink of America, so to speak, was still not dry, someone of far-reaching imaginative power had taken each page by its outermost edge, lifted the two pages upwards and inwards, and pressed them firmly together, even rubbing certain patches at random fiercely up against one another for simple delight.
How can the result of this be best described? America as a mirror of itself? America turned inside out and around about? America as a page in a dream-atlas? With this map in mind a writer could see in the forests of New England the colours of New Mexican deserts; could see, as I myself once saw (admittedly in an atlas published in England), the word Maine clearly printed near Flagstaff, Arizona, and the word Maineville near Loveland, Ohio. But of all the thousands of embellishments and verbal puzzles and aimless or fragmented roads and trails now added to America, what most appealed to the writers in the stone house was the simple notion of a Beautiful Plain as the primordial setting for fiction and the Handsome Plainsman as the original of all fictional characters, if not of all writers of fiction.
I could write an entire short novel on this subject, but I am only a minor poet taking his first stumbling steps as a writer of fiction; and in any case my first task is to finish this account of the most wonderful week in the history of Waldo.
After the bonfire of that week the writers meditated on the two versions of Campobello: the writer as finder of blank spaces on actual maps, and the writer as finder of quite new double-pages of maps. And what those writers never forgot was that the fiction from each of their two groups had been indistinguishable. The so-called Campobello Migration that followed meant simply that all Waldo writers were free from then onwards to locate the ideal source of their fiction in places even further east than New Brunswick or in places whose names or parts of whose names might have appeared on a map of Maine if certain pages of atlases were rubbed together, figuratively speaking, before their colours had finally dried.
• • •
The shadows of the nearest trees have now reached the yellow flagstones under my writing-table. The time is late in the afternoon. And just a moment ago I heard the sudden starting-up of a motor-car.
The artist who owns this house left a badly written note explaining how to operate the pumps that bring water up the hill from the under-ground storage tanks, and for some reason he scrawled at the bottom: Late in day find spot on back veranda with terrific view of Melb skyline so long no smog.
As I write these words, a motor-car is following the winding road downwards between these hard hills where off-blue hardenbergia sprouts wild between outcrops of dull-gold talc. In the motor-car is a writer who believes wholeheartedly, as I believe, in the claims of Waldo fiction. That writer has submitted to being expelled from this house as the penalty for sending a message to a fellow writer by means other than the inserting of an allusion into a passage of fiction. If I am the person who was meant to receive the message, I can write truthfully that I have never received it.
I do not know the name of the person in the motor-car. I will probably never know that name. If I could give all my time to reading all the fiction published in this country, I might read someday a passage recalling a piece of fiction I once read about a man who thought continually about the bedrock far under his feet, who studied the surfaces of all the stones he saw, who wanted to live only in stone houses, who would not have complained if he had been made to read fiction day after day, or even poetry . . .
The rules of Waldo allow me only until sunset to finish what I am writing. If this were only a piece of fiction devised to amuse a few writers with tastes and interests like my own—if not only Waldo and the man who wondered about bedrock but even the woman with the light-brown hair was invented for the benefit of a group of writers who have not yet been mentioned in these pages, surely now would be the time for me to explain myself.
• • •
Until I was nearly twenty years old I thought I was meant to be a poet. Then, in December 1958, I saw in the window of Alice Bird’s second-hand bookshop in Bourke Street, Melbourne, a copy of Ulysses, by James Joyce. After reading that book I wanted to be a writer of prose fiction.
In those days I knew only two people who might have been interested in my change of heart. I told the two people what I had decided while the three of us happened to be standing under an enormous oak tree in the grounds of the mansion known as Stonnington, in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern. Stonnington at that time was used by the Education Department of Victoria as part of a teachers’ college. I was a student of the teachers’ college, working to qualify at the end of 1959 for the Trained Primary Teacher’s Certificate, after which I would teach in schools of the Education Department by day and write prose fiction during evenings and at weekends.
After I had announced my decision to write prose fiction I wanted to do more. I searched in libraries for information about Joyce. Some-where I found a sentence that I still remember today: He dressed quietly, even conservatively, beringed fingers being his only exoticism.
I went to one of the pawnbrokers in Russell Street, Melbourne, and bought two cheap rings. Each was low-carat gold with a slab of black onyx. I wore the rings on my fingers but I did not otherwise change my threadbare style of dressing.
The first picture I found of Joyce was a reproduction of a photograph that I have rarely seen since. I believed the man I considered the greatest of prose writers had had a forehead sharply scored by lines of the same pattern—three parallel horizontals intersected by a single diagonal—as the lines I had drawn in my fourth year of secondary school in my general science notebook to represent a layer of bedrock.
I hid my rings from my father. In my father’s eyes, rings and tiepins and cufflinks were of the style he called Cockney Jew. I hid Ulysses also. My father could not bear to hear such words as ‘shit’ or ‘fuck’ uttered in any context, and I assumed he would not want to read them either.
My father has been dead now for twenty-five years. He left behind him no prose fiction and no poetry, and not even a written message for any of his family. But on the wall of a sandstone quarry on the hill called Quarry Hill near the mouth of Buckley’s Creek in the district of Mepunga East on the south-west coast of Victoria, my father’s surname and his two initials are still deeply inscribed above the date 1924. When my father carved his name he was as old as I was when I made my announcement under the oak tree in the grounds of the building called Stonnington.
In 1924 James Joyce was forty-two and Ulysses had been published for two years. The young man carving his name in the stone-quarry had thirty-six years still to live; the man writing Finnegans Wake in Paris had a little less than half that time ahead of him. The man in the quarry knew nothing then of Joyce or his writing and still nothing of them when he died.
I have enclosed with my last will and testament five sheets of paper inscribed with what I consider useful information for my sons. One sheet tells them how to find the inscription made by their grandfather who died ten years before the eldest of them was born. One or more of my sons may care to inspect my father’s writing twenty-five years after my own death, and then to note how much or how little of my own writing can still be read.
Out of the quarry on Quarry Hill came the blocks of sandstone that went into the building of a house known as The Cove about one kilometre from the quarry and within earshot of the Southern Ocean. My father’s father built the house and lived in it until he died in 1949. The house stands solidly today, but it is owned and lived in by people whose name I do not know. I have not seen the house for nearly ten years. I hardly ever think of it. I did not even think of it while I was writing about the stone house of Waldo by Penobscot Bay. This is not a story about a house but about the space where a house could have been. I only mention my grandfather’s house in this story because the digging of the stone for that house gave my father a page for his writing that has lasted for sixty years.
• • •
All my life I have looked around me for outcrops of rocks or pebbles or for any jagged place where the true colour of the earth is exposed. Even the crumbs around an ants’ nest will make me stop and look. I watch the cuttings beside railway-lines, the bare patches at the bases of roadside trees, and the dirt thrown up from trenches; I like to be able to think clearly about the colours underneath me as I walk.
The man I read about today is not interested in the colours of soil. He wants to be sure the bedrock is deep and true for as far downwards as he can imagine it. He believes in a world of countless layers, most of them invisible, and he believes that a fault in any one of the layers has an influence on every other layer. He believes that what some people call his mental illness is a fault in one of the subtle, invisible layers of the world at about the level of his own head. He believes that the ultimate cause of this fault is a terrible creasing of the bedrock far below.
The man I am writing about is a character in a piece of fiction, but the woman who wrote the piece of fiction is a living woman whose forehead creases when she writes or reads. Until a short while ago that woman was with me in this house, but now she has gone and I do not expect to see her again.
The woman with the furrows in her forehead has left the house because she has already read what I am writing. The woman came up to my table this morning while I was crouched on the hillside staring at the mauve hardenbergia and fingering the brownish, powdery rocks. The woman read my pages and understood more clearly than I understand why I am writing them. Then she left a message for me—a clear, unambiguous message not encoded in prose fiction and therefore in serious breach of the rules of Waldo. And then the woman handed all her papers and drafts to the writer-in-charge and left this house.
• • •
To finish this piece of fiction I would only have to write that after the woman had gone I went in search of her message and found it in the most obvious place—in the nearest thing to a library in this house. I would only have to write that one volume on the artist’s miserable shelf of books was oddly stacked, as though drawing attention to itself . . .
The book is: Berenice Abbott: Sixty Years of Photography, by Hank O’Neal with an introduction by John Canaday, published by Thames and Hudson in 1982. On the front of the dust-jacket is a brilliantly clear picture of James Joyce at the age of forty-six. Two rings are clearly visible on his fingers. Inside the cover of the book the name Nora Lee has been written in ballpoint. My mother’s mother had exactly that name but she owned no books. Towards the end of the book I found a photograph of a place called Stonington, which is on an island off the coast of Maine.
• • •
Or I might finish this piece of fiction by mentioning that I have always been drawn to writers who have felt their minds threatened. When I read Richard Ellmann’s biography of Joyce in 1960 I studied carefully the account of his daughter’s madness. I wondered whether Joyce could follow, as he claimed he could, the swift leaps in her thought.
One night in October 1960 I was drinking in the house of a man who boasted that he was welcome in the houses of famous artists in the hills north-east of Melbourne. Late in the evening, when the man and I were both very drunk, he drove me in his station wagon (it was the company car that he drove as a sales representative) first to Eltham and then along hilly back roads to the strangest building I had ever seen. I learned afterwards that the place was Montsalvat, but on that dark night in 1960 the man who took me there would only tell me it was an artists’ colony. I learned afterwards too that the man I met in the stone castle was Justus Jorgensen, but I was introduced to him only as the Artist.
The Artist would have been justified in sending us away from his front door, but he let us in and dealt with us most politely. We must have talked for an hour, but all I remember is my learning that the Artist had been in Paris in the 1920s; my asking had he ever seen James Joyce; his telling me that he had; my asking had he ever seen Joyce’s daughter Lucia and had she seemed in any way strange; his telling me that Lucia Joyce had been a beautiful young woman with no imperfection that he had noticed.
• • •
I might have ended this piece of fiction in either of the two ways outlined above, but of course I did not. I have thrown in my lot with Waldo. If I am any sort of writer I am a Waldo writer. If what I write rests on any coherent theory it rests on those doctrines devised by starers into fogs and mutterers of names of islands on the wrong side of their country.
And so, trusting utterly in the wisdom of Waldo, and noting that the sun is at the point of sinking below the faint purple-brown blur which is the northern suburbs of Melbourne as seen from an artist’s stone house far to the east of my own home, I end, or I prepare to end, this piece of fiction.
• • •
All the fiction I have written in the stone house has been an encoded message for a certain woman. In order to send this message I have had to imagine a world in which the woman does not exist and neither do I. I have had to imagine a world in which the pronoun T stands for the sort of man who could imagine a world in which he does not exist and only a man steeped in the theories of Waldo could imagine him.


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Researchers studying members of an extant animal species with a link to the distant past, specifically a chordate subphylum consisting of organisms with a complex nervous system but lacking spinal bones, may have uncovered a new clue to the early development of the subluxation and solved one of the greatest mysteries in chiropractic science.
“One of the toughest challenges we face in the field of chiropractic developmental neurobiology is the origin of the subluxation from an evolutionary perspective,” Chet Masterson, a chiropractic evolutionary biologist and Chief of Veterinary Neurobiology in the Cleveland Clinic’s Integrative Animal Wellness department, explained. “Are we alone in the universe? What is consciousness? How does a thermos keep hot things hot and cold things cold? When and how the subluxation evolved is right up there with these questions.”
The most widely accepted hypothesis, which started with Daniel David Palmer in 1895, is that the development of the chiropractic subluxation was fully dependent on the evolution of a bony vertebral column and its accompanying musculature. In other words, if the subluxation is the egg, and the spine is the chicken, the man who discovered chiropractic believed that the chicken came first. And the vast majority of the men and women who have followed in his footsteps would agree.
But like Galileo, Semmelweis, and Boyardee, some chiropractors believe that the accepted consensus on the origin of the subluxation is wrong. Some practitioners, like Invertebrate Chiropractors Association (ICA) President Frank Grimes, believe that the subluxation existed as a standalone entity prior to the evolution of the spine in vertebrate species. “I don’t care if it’s a ventral nerve cord or a nerve net, if there is a series of interconnected neurons transferring information from one end of an organism to the other, then that organism is at risk of developing a subluxation.”
Invertebrate chiropractors like Grimes claim that the stiff segmented column and mobile intersegmental joints observed in many vertebrates, a classification of animals which experts now believe includes thousands of distinct species, such as the South American maned wolf and the flying dugong, evolved as a protective mechanism. The development of this internal biological armor, one made of bone and tough connective tissue, improved survival and increased procreative success by reducing the incidence of subluxations in the vulnerable dorsal nerve cord. This allowed vertebrates, in particular humans and to a lesser extent the river dolphin, to achieve dominion over all the Earth.
Subluxations, according to over a century of direct observation and a few years’ worth of case reports in the medical literature, have been pragmatically linked to the entire spectrum of human pathology as well as decreased energy in Shetland ponies. But Grimes, who has a diverse practice that includes nematodes and arthropods, as well as a variety of traditional vertebrate species such as humans and blue whales, believes that subluxations can also lead to health problems in invertebrates. “Just last week I treated a jellyfish with a severe tentacle length discrepancy that just kept swimming in circles.”
Grimes and other invertebrate chiropractors believe that the subluxation existed prior to the spine, that the egg came before the chicken. In order to put this hypothesis to the test, researchers near the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego attempted to locate subluxations in hagfish. Hagfish, also known as slippery devils, are members of a subdivision of the chordate phylum that are the only vertebrates to have a brain, skull, and spinal cord without a vertebral column.
Modern hagfish are believed to have changed little over the past 300 million years and likely represent an evolutionary stage just prior to the development of spinal bones. Discovery of subluxations in the hagfish spinal cord would be solid evidence that subluxations predated the spine. But extraordinary claims require some pretty good evidence.
“Our goal was to determine if subluxations were truly present in the hagfish using techniques that reduced the risk of false positive findings,” lead researcher Amanda Giggelman, who rents a house just a few miles from Scripps and had room for tanks in her basement, revealed. “We couldn’t just palpate the hagfish to detect subluxations because they don’t have a spine. So we developed a new diagnostic modality based on ancient wisdom and existing NASA technology that is both simple and cutting edge.”
Once a method of accurately locating subluxations in the hagfish spinal cord was implemented, the research team began to see results. What started as a slow trickle of subluxations soon became a maelstrom, and the study actually had to be ended early when it became clear that randomizing additional subjects into the control group would no longer be ethical. The evidence was compelling and, spine or no spine, the animal kingdom in its entirety deserved to know the truth.
The vast majority of animal species on this planet, with some estimates as high as 97%, are invertebrates. We now have strong evidence that they not only share a common ancestor with humans and other vertebrates, but that they share a similar weakness. So the next time you look at a mosquito or a roundworm, a lobster or a sea squirt, instead of focusing on all the things that make us different, focus on our shared evolutionary history. And while you’re at it, recommend a good chiropractor.

domain: biology


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Let us explore the entire process of getting a quick payday loan in Hawthorne, CA, to see you solve your financial problems if it may http://cartitleloansextra.com/payday-loans-ca help.
What’s an online payday loan?
Pay day loans enable you to get reasonably lower amounts of cash excessively quickly from a dependable lender. Both You and the lending company interact to look for the mortgage payment and amount schedule. The largest perk is you don’t need to wait days until the next paycheck hits and certainly will instantly protect critical bills.
Exactly What Do I Personally Use My Cash Advance On?
Payday advances would not have any limits on which you should use them for. Some traditional uses consist of unforeseen costs such as a bill that is medical vehicle repair that cannot hold back until the next payday.
Which are the demands for pay day loans in Hawthorne, CA?
Certain requirements for acquiring an online payday loan can vary somewhat from lender to lender, but generally speaking, you need to be in a position to supply the following:
- Government-issued ID
- Active bank checking account
- Proof earnings
- Evidence of target
Exactly what are the Rules for Payday Loans in Hawthorne, CA?
Each state imposes its very own rules payday that is regarding to guard the buyer. Listed here are a few guidelines being particular to Ca:
- The utmost loan term limitation is 31 times
- The utmost finance charge is 15% per $100 of this loan
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Do Pay Day Loan Lenders Need Credit Checks in Hawthorne, CA?
Yes. Pay day loans are favored by individuals whoever credit is lower than stellar as they do not need the exact same checks that other loans do.
Soft-credit checks are executed on all loan that is payday. That is not the same as a hard credit be sure banking institutions utilize when operating your credit for a mortgage. It merely reports your credit rating and does not adversely influence your credit. Irrespective, many loan providers avoid using your credit rating which will make a choice on the application.
The lender may also want to see additional documentation to make decisions on applications with bad credit history. This could easily add pay stubs, bank statements, or proof that the last loan cleared your account.
Just Just Just How Money that is much can Get?
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Obtaining your cash advance online could make the method faster than applying in-person.
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There are two main main avenues for trying to get a loan that is payday Hawthorne, CA. You may either work with a matching service or use straight to a lender that is specific.
At GreenStarCash, we shall make use of our system of trustworthy loan providers that will help you discover the match that is perfect less than one minute. Everything you need to do is fill out of the kind on our web site to get going.
In the event that you would rather would rather submit an application for your payday loan in individual in Hawthorne, CA, please browse the list below to locate a suitable loan provider. You are able to take a good look at the map to locate loan providers in your area.

domain: finance


Choose the Right Alkaline Battery for Your Flashlight and Illuminate Your Way
When it comes to choosing a reliable power source for your flashlight, alkaline batteries are the way to go. These marvels of modern technology not only provide long-lasting power but also offer exceptional performance. In this article, we will delve into the world of alkaline batteries for flashlights and explore how to choose the right one to meet your specific needs.
1. The Power of Alkaline Batteries:
Alkaline batteries have become the go-to power source for flashlights due to their superior performance and reliability. They are designed to deliver consistent power output throughout their lifespan, ensuring a bright and steady beam of light. With alkaline batteries, you no longer have to worry about dim or flickering flashlights when you need them most.
2. Extended Shelf Life:
One of the standout features of alkaline batteries is their extended shelf life. Unlike other types of batteries, alkaline batteries can be safely stored for extended periods, retaining their power until you need them. This makes them incredibly convenient for emergency situations or when you need a reliable flashlight without having to constantly purchase fresh batteries.
3. Higher Energy Density:
Alkaline batteries boast a higher energy density compared to other battery types, making them ideal for powering high-performance flashlights. With a higher energy density, these batteries can provide a longer runtime, allowing you to illuminate your surroundings for extended periods. Whether you’re camping, exploring the outdoors, or working in low-light conditions, alkaline batteries will keep the light shining bright.
4. Environmental Responsibility:
In today’s world, being environmentally responsible is of utmost importance. Alkaline batteries stand out in this regard as they are both safe and eco-friendly. They contain no harmful substances such as mercury or cadmium, making them safe to use and dispose of. Additionally, many alkaline batteries are now manufactured using recycled materials, further reducing their environmental impact.
5. Compatibility and Availability:
Alkaline batteries are widely available and compatible with a vast range of flashlights. No matter the brand or model of your flashlight, you can rest assured that an alkaline battery will power it effectively. The convenience of finding alkaline batteries in most stores ensures that you will never be without a power source for your flashlight whenever you need one.
When it comes to choosing a reliable and long-lasting power source for your flashlight, alkaline batteries are the clear winners. Their exceptional performance, extended shelf life, higher energy density, and environmental responsibility make them the perfect choice for all your lighting needs. Don’t compromise on the quality of your flashlight’s power source – choose alkaline batteries and illuminate your way with confidence.
You Maybe Like More ” alkaline batteries“ Related Articles
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- How Alkaline Batteries Power Your Devices
- The Importance of Amp-Hour Ratings in Alkaline Batteries
- Can Alkaline Batteries Leak? How to Prevent and Handle Leakage
- Exploring the History of Alkaline Batteries: From Invention to Modern Use
- The Applications of Alkaline Batteries in the Medical Field
- The Pros and Cons of Alkaline Batteries: Is it Worth it?


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Justin Bieber has been supporting the documentary feature ‘Bully’ for weeks now, urging his fans to go and see the film. The film was involved in a controversy when the censor board rated it R which led to many protests from the celebrity fraternity. Finally The Weinstein Company, which is behind the film has announced that a new TV spot is soon going to be aired of the PG-13 film. It will be a 30-second ad which made its debut at Fandango and soon will be aired nationally.
Justin Bieber has agreed to lend his inspirational song ‘Born to Be Somebody’ for this new promo. In a statement Bieber was thankful to his fans asying “one of the things I’m most proud of as an entertainer.” Regarding the documentary he encouraged his fans reiterating, “I hope they see Bully with their friends and help start the conversation so we can end bullying.”Watch the trailer of ‘Bully’ here.
Along with Justin Bieber, Glee actors Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera have also been supporting the Bully campaign. They partnered with GLAAD and TWC in a couple of Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) that was exclusively premiered on EW.com.
Justin Bieber’s song ‘Born To Be Somebody’ would perfectly fit the theme of the film which shows the life of the kids who go through bullying and ragging in their school days and how they cope up with it. The movie will release in theatres worldwide on April 13th.
Were you ever bullied in your life? Share your experiences.
Justin Bieber – Born To Be Somebody

domain: celebrity


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By Seth LaRue (special to Big Country Preps)
WEATHERFORD — Few playoff teams are allowed to enjoy happy endings and the Albany volleyball team wasn’t one of the exceptions in 2020.
Facing reigning Class 2A state champion Crawford in a state semifinal matchup, the Lady Lions fell in straight sets 14-25, 11-25, and 14-25.
“It was a great season, (The Lady Lions) haven’t been this far since 2008. We were going to feel sad whatever round we lost at and we are thankful that we made it to the state semifinals.” Albany coach MJ Reneau said at the conclusion of their game at Weatherford High School.
The Lions were forced into an early hole in the first set by an aggressive Crawford team led by Junior Katie Warden. Down 6-12, the Pirates went on a 13-8 run to secure their advantage and eventually, the set.

domain: news


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Welcome Back Assembly With the Detroit Lions
We hope you had a wonderful Christmas Break/Holiday Vacation! Now it’s time to get back to the GRIND!
Carleton Elementary School kicked off our “back to school” day with a wonderful surprise. We had the pleasure of welcoming the Detroit Lion’s Mascot Roary and Kicker Matt Prater! Student’s and Staff enjoyed the Healthy Foods presentation sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Roary’s hysterical theatrics. Several student’s were also able to compete with Roary in games! A big CONGRATULATIONS to our student Mitchell McGee and Anastasia Scott for beating the Lion’s Mascot in a push-up contest! We hope students, staff and parents learned some new healthy eating habits this year and carry them for a lifetime!


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Get our latest app for startup stories, news, ideas, research and analysis. Install Now »
Mumbai based food delivery startup ZuperMeal has apparently closed down its operations eight months after it raised seed funding. The ZuperMeal app, when downloaded, is showing an error message. The website of the firm is also not working.
ZuperMeal, a platform that enabled home cooks to become home “chefs” and market their signature dishes to the customers, received investment from Ravi Saxena and celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor along with two foreign partners who will collectively invest $2 million.
The development is yet another reminder of the grim situation that the food-tech sector finds itself in with investors not inclined to fund startups with high cash burn rate.
Earlier this month, Mumbai-based food ordering app TinyOwl had temporarily withdrawn its services in all cities except Mumbai, which was driven by struggling to restructure its business for several months.
Mobile app Zeppery which allowed users to pre-order food at restaurants and other food outlets also closed down operations in May.
This month, Gurgaon-based startup, MealHopper had stopped taking orders on its website and app as it faced financial constraints and operational difficulties.
In March, Bangalore-based online meal service provider iTiffin.in has stopped taking orders and advised employees to look for jobs, in yet another reminder of distress in the food-tech sector despite new ventures continuing to raise funds.
This week, Zomato in a latest bid by the company to cut costs, amidst rising losses, has rolled back its operations from 9 countries out of 23 overseas market, reducing its operating costs to $1.7 Million, a 81% drop from earlier $9 Million.
The Mumbai-based startup connected home chefs to consumers via its app. It had claimed to have 150 homemakers on its platform to cook 60 to 70 meals a day, at a net margin of 15%.
There have been other startups which managed to raise funding.
Bangalore-based Swiggy, has raised an additional $7 Million (INR 47 Cr) from its existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, DST Global and Accel Partners. Swiggy’s valuation has increased as the company raised this funding round at a valuation of $130 million.
Petoo, a Bengaluru-based startup in the online restaurant space, raised $10 million in Series A funding to scale up its business.


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The New York City Board of Health passed Mayor Bloomberg's controversial proposal to ban the sale of large sweetened beverages in restaurants, street carts, and movie theaters. The ban, which is the first of its kind in the nation, limits the size of sweetened beverages to 16 ounces. The regulation will go into effect in six months, if it's not stopped by a judge.
Mayor Bloomberg proudly called the measure the "single biggest step any city...has taken to curb obesity".
There has been a lot of debate surrounding this issue since Bloomberg proposed the ban in June. Many critics are blaming Bloomberg for over-reaching and creating a "nanny state" by regulating consumption so narrowly. The organization New Yorkers for Beverage Choice, which is funded by the soft drink industry, asks, on their rather dramatic website: "If this now, what's next?" They worry that this ban could be the first step down a slippery slope leading to more intrusive regulations and behavior limitations.
Bloomberg defends his proposal by citing rising obesity rates in the city—over half of the city's population is overweight (34%) or obese (22%). Proponents of the ban argue that this is more of an educational tactic than a real behavioral restriction. Consumers can still get refills of 16-ounce drinks, buy multiple 16-ounce drinks, or purchase beverages from outlets that are not regulated by the city's Board of Health (7-11 is one example of this type of retailer). By making it harder to consume large sugary beverages, Bloomberg hopes consumers will think harder about the dietary choices they're making.
What do you think? Is the ban a positive step in public health policy? Or is it restricting New Yorkers' freedom to choose what foods they consume?
About the Author: A student in Providence, Rhode Island, Leah Douglas loves learning about, talking about, reading about, and consuming food. Her work has also been featured in Rhode Island Monthly Magazine.

domain: sociology


text:
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Conference papers and proceedings
|Additional Physical Format:||Print version:
Innovative Research in Hot Stamping Technology.
Zurich : Trans Tech Publishers, ©2014
|Material Type:||Conference publication, Document, Internet resource|
|Document Type:||Internet Resource, Computer File|
|All Authors / Contributors:||
Mingtu Ma; Yisheng Zhang
|Notes:||Investigation of Mechanical Property and Springback Behavior with Hot Stamping RCP Process.|
|Description:||1 online resource (381 pages) : illustrations (some color).|
|Contents:||Innovative Research in Hot Stamping Technology; Preface, Organization and Committee; Table of Contents; Chapter 1: Material Technologies and Testing; Simulation Study on the Austenisation and Cooling Behaviors of the Medium-Mn Steel; Development of Niobium Alloyed Press Hardening Steel with Improved Properties for Crash Performance; The Development and Application Research of Light Weight Heat Treated C-Grade Bullet Proof Steel; The Effect of Heating Process on Strength and the Original Austenite Grain Size of Hot Forming Parts; Solutions for Hydrogen-Induced Delayed Fracture in Hot Stamping. Martensitic Stainless Steel as Alternative for Hot Stamping Steel with High Product of Strength and Ductility; Microstructure Development and Mechanical Properties of a Hot Stamped Low-Carbon Advanced High Strength Steel Treated by a Novel Dynamic Carbon Partitioning Process; Microstructure Evolution Behavior of 22MnB5 Pickling Plate during Double Cold Reduction and Rapid Heating Process; Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 22MnB5 Steel with Different Heat Treatment; A Study on High Speed Tension Property of C-Grade Bullet Proof Steel Plate. Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 22MnB5 Hot Stamping Part; Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of 0.15C-1.5Mn-0.3Si Steel Treated by Quenching and Partitioning Process; Research on Elements Distribution in Hot Dip Aluminum Silicon Coating of Hot Stamping Steel; A Study on the Relationship between Hardness and Magnetic Properties of Ultra-High Strength Steel; Hot Formed Steel and its Properties Test; Effects of Austenitizing Temperature on Microstructure and Properties of Hot-Formed Steel. The Comparative Study on Dynamic Flow Behaviors of Bullet-Proof Steel Using Various Constitutive Models; Effects of Initial Material Conditions on the High Temperature Surface Oxidation of Press-Hardening Steels; Thermal and Mechanical Characteristics of a HSLA Steel as Joint Partner for Hot Stamping Tailor Welded Boron Steel; Effect of Pre-Heating Temperature on Microstructure and Properties of 22MnB5 Steel Hot Stamping; Research on Resistance Spot Welding Process of Hot-Stamped Steel BTR165; Research on Resistance Spot Welding Property of Hot-Stamping Quenched Steel Sheets. Hot Deformation of Al --
4.5 Mass % Mg Alloy Sheet; Martensitic Automotive Steel Sheet --
Fundamentals and Metallurgical Optimization Strategies; Investigation on Properties and Microstructure in Hot Stamping Operation of Rear Axle Beams; Chapter 2: Forming and Stamping Technologies and Investigations; Research and Progress of Hot Stamping in China; Research Status of Advanced Hot Forming Technology; Robustness of the Tailored Hot Stamping Process; Hot Stamping High Strength Steel Spot Welding Technology and Quality Evaluation of Welding Joint.
|Series Title:||Advanced materials research, v. 1063.|
|Responsibility:||edited by Mingtu Ma and Yisheng Zhang.|

domain: library


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Squeeeeee I am so excited! A whole new year of hugging. Yup, I am doing it! A brand new year of hugs. With a twist. I am beyond thrilled to offer up a year of hug stories. Some will be mine, but most will be YOURS! Every day I will share a new hug story with you. If you have one to share, please email it to me at firstname.lastname@example.org.
My first story comes from Erin T. It takes place recently, just one month ago. She recalls laying in bed with her husband where he just held her for 10 minutes. I could hear the tears welling up in her eyes talking about what this moment meant to her. It made her realize that since becoming a mom 3 years ago no one has held her or hugged her for more than a quick second. It’s all she can afford before the kids realize their mom is giving attention to someone else and they break the intimacy.
It affected both her and her husband so much they have since talked more about it. They realize that they never do it anymore even though up until their first daughter was born they held each other every night. The busyness and tiredness of having kids just took over. They were both reminded of the importance of hugging and being held.
Listening to her story got me quite choked up. I can relate only too well. There is a significant difference between kid love and adult love. It’s the difference between being the caregiver and being cared for. Hoping you are all being cared for today.
Please accept this blog as my virtual hug to you.

domain: literature


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I feel I should point out the following 10 things before you come to the conclusion of this post:-
1. I do not have to navigate my way through my house through artificial corridors of newspapers;
2. I don’t think I smell of anything other than (a) nothing, (b) shower gel, (c) sometimes chlorine and (d) occasionally Paloma Picasso perfume;
3. If there are any animal accident type happenings they are cleaned up as soon as discovered, which is usually fairly quickly;
4. I do still occassionally receive visitors who don’t leave (as far as I am aware) totally horrified and planning an intervention;
5. I don’t live on a diet of cat food, no matter how meaty and good the expensive bags may smell. Nor do I supplement my diet with cat food. I have never, in fact, tasted or consumed any brand of animal food;
6. All my animals receive the appropriate level of veterinary care as and when required;
7. I know how many animals I have;
8. All dogs have their own bed and bedding and are required to use said canine beds – only the cats are allowed on the furniture;
9. The rug gets shampooed on a regular basis (sometimes more regular than others depending on George’s levels of disgruntlement);
10. I still choose to socialise with humans. Even though my animals’ company is preferable to many of the humans with whom I have contact.
OK. Enough said.
Meet Zac. The newest addition to the household.
Zac is a 10 year old male ridgie who has been with us for a couple of months now.
I am not a hoarder. Honestly. Please don’t put in a call to the RSPCA. There really is no need. 😉

domain: pet


Even as the world is doing its bit to promote breastfeeding, with celebrity moms publicly posting pictures of the same on their social media accounts, city-based Dr Santosh Kumar and Dr B. Srinivas Goud of Dhaatri Mother’s Milk Bank have taken it upon themselves to be a part of the global phenomenon.
As India’s biggest mother’s milk bank at Niloufer Hospital completes two years, it is not just growing stronger but there is also an urgent need to expand it. In the last two years, the only human milk bank under the government in the Telugu-speaking states has saved many infants’ lives.
Elaborating on their journey since inception, Dr Santosh Kumar, founder and director of Dhaatri Mother’s Milk Bank and an MBA in health care says, “The bank was started in October 2017. From then till June 2019, 18,060 mothers have visited it. I quit my regular job and have been working full-time to make the bank the largest amongst all the 18 full-fledged human milk banks working around the country.”
He adds, “When we first started out, we never thought that we would get such an overwhelming response from mothers, but we are blessed. Even religious differences didn’t lower the count, much like blood donations. Social media groups of mothers also helped to spread the word about the importance of breastfeeding and mother’s milk.”
The facility is also a Comprehensive Lactation Management Center (CLMC) and gives mothers a chance to donate their excess milk to help babies in need apart from counseling new mothers about proper latching techniques, and treatments and massages for sore, cracked, inverted nipples and engorged breasts.
However, even as the bank continues to flourish, they admit that it is a struggle to maintain it owing to limited finances. “Though there are day-to-day running costs which we are maintaining via donations, it is the maintenance of equipment, storing breast milk, analysing donor mothers’ blood samples, collecting and donating milk free of cost — that takes a toll on us financially,” shares Dr B. Srinivas Goud, co-founder and associate director and an MD in hospital and health care administration. With such an outstanding initiative, it was only time that the Hyderabad-based human milk bank inspired many other states to follow suit. “Officials from several states, like Madhya Pradesh have been visiting the bank to study it and has in fact, set up two mother’s milk banks recently. We are also planning to set up two more banks in Vizag and Kakinada with the government’s help,” says Dr Santosh. But creating one or two banks for such a huge population is not enough. “Brazil has more than 250 and the US has more than 100 banks. India has one of the largest numbers of low birth weight babies in the world, with significant mortality and morbidity rates, and we need more help from the government to allocate funds to change the current situation,” concludes Dr Srinivas.


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A new initiative to help reduce food waste has been spearheaded by a campaign to get people to join specialised WhatsApp groups in Harrow and beyond as we head into the new year.
In 2022 we had no choice but to realize that we need to take care of our rare resources.
Good news: there are easy solutions that can help us consume responsibly while enjoying it! This is where ‘Food Next Door’ comes in.
Harrow Online had the opportunity to meet Camille Desprez, founder of Food Next Door, who’s helping neighbours reduce food waste by providing them with a dedicated space for food sharing.
She had the idea almost a year ago when one evening, she was making her special mojitos. For these, she needed a handful of mint leaves. Before going to the shop, she happened to check her partner’s fridge and saw that his flatmate had some (already opened) in the perfect quantity needed. She rescued it from waste as his flatmate didn’t want it anymore.
The idea emerged: “I can save food from waste if I get it from someone I know and trust. How easy would it be if I knew my neighbours well and if we could benefit from each other’s surplus in order to stop food waste together.”
This idea was validated after she saw that half of the world’s food waste was coming from households. It was obvious: we can easily reduce food waste if we have a dedicated space to share our extra food amongst our community of neighbours, on which we can count on and trust.
So she created a Food Next Door WhatsApp group for her building. She knocked at her neighbours and added them to the group. 99% of neighbours have joined the group and since then, food is being saved almost every week.
After seeing the success of this group, in April, she decided to go broader and wanted to help more neighbourhoods reduce food waste as well.
Since then, 27 neighbourhoods in London and Paris are part of their own Food Next Door community. That’s about 300 members that have saved 550+ food items and hundreds of home furniture.
Not only it helps neighbours easily stop food waste, but it also helps them build greater relationships based on trust.
Camille has been able to build those communities with the help of Ambassadors who are basically the Food Next Door Rep of their own neighbourhood. They help by adding their neighbours to their group – allowing everyone to start sharing right away.
The project promises to be huge and later this year she will release an App, to move from WhatsApp groups to a dedicated application that neighbours will love.
She’s looking to get more ambassadors in Harrow so they can create their own Food Next Door community, and be 0-waste as well.
She promises that you’ll enjoy the ride.


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Marathon shopping sprees, hours of standing in the kitchen preparing baked goodies and savory feasts, long-distance road trips and air flights: What do all of these holiday activities have in common? They are brutal on your veins, especially varicose veins! To keep your legs comfy this season, here are a few expert tips from our very own vein expert, board-certified vein surgeon Dr. Surya Challa:
1. Wear stockings!
When you know you’re going to be out and about for long periods, such as shopping trips, get proactive about your vein health by wearing compression stockings. Be sure to check with your doctor first, but compression stockings can help to ease the uncomfortable symptoms of leg fatigue, such as swelling and throbbing.
2. Take breaks
Your shopping list may be a mile long, but that doesn’t mean you have to run the whole course at once! Your varicose veins need time to rest and recuperate. Make it a part of your shopping routine to rest periodically between the stores you visit. Your veins will thank you, and you’ll probably end up having a jollier time because you will be relaxing and reducing your stress in the process!
3. Stay hydrated!
Did you know that drinking water helps your blood stay thinner, enabling it to flow more easily through your veins? Blood can thicken due to dehydration, which can lead to blood clots. Be sure to keep a bottle of water handy on shopping excursions or long periods of travel. Staying hydrated also helps to keep your skin supple and cleanse your body, so you’ll reap a bevy of health benefits with this simple tip!
4. Wear comfy clothing
We know looking cute and fashionable is important, but we recommend reserving your high heels and skinny jeans for short stints, like a few hours at a holiday party — not a long road trip or shopping spree. While tight fitting clothing and high heels do not cause varicose veins, they can exacerbate your varicose vein symptoms, causing you discomfort.
5. Now is a great time to seek treatment!
The holidays are hectic, but that’s okay for vein treatments! For starters, you’ll be surprised how quick and easy most vein treatments are! Plus, after your vein treatments, you’ll need to stay up and moving to encourage proper blood flow and speed the healing process (within reason, of course; no marathon running is advised). Dr. Challa offers years of experience as Hampton Roads’ leading vein surgeon, and provides state-of-the-art imaging technology and the most advanced treatments to improve your vein concerns with minimal downtime.

domain: medical


In my country's science and technology industry, high-frequency melting furnaces have brought convenience to our lives. Among them, the most familiar one in our lives is the manufacture of gold, but for those who don't know it, it will still be very difficult. It's unfamiliar, but it doesn't matter. Next, Kehua will explain it to you. Kehua Kehua Technology Co., Ltd. aims to 'produce energy-saving and environmentally friendly induction heating equipment to save money for usersThe equipment includes: intermediate frequency melting furnace, high frequency melting furnace, super audio frequency heating machine, ultra high frequency heating equipment and supporting medium frequency diathermy forging furnace, CNC quenching machine tool, chiller and related supporting equipment, which are widely used in metal processing industry, such as Metal preheating, high frequency welding (brazing), diathermy forming, quenching, annealing, thermal fusion and other processes, all products can be customized according to customer's process requirements. High-frequency melting furnace High-frequency Induction melting furnace
High-frequency induction Induction melting furnace High-frequency electric furnace, also known as high-frequency heating machine, high-frequency induction heating equipment, high-frequency induction heating device, high-frequency heating power supply, high-frequency power supply, high-frequency electric furnace. High-frequency welding machine, high-frequency induction heating machine, high-frequency induction heater (welder), etc., in addition to medium frequency induction heating equipment, ultra-high frequency induction heating equipment, etc. The application range is very wide. High-frequency Induction melting furnace Principle: High-frequency high-frequency current flows to the heating coil (usually made of copper tube) that is wound into a ring or other shape. As a result, a strong magnetic beam with an instantaneous change in polarity is generated in the coil. When a heated object such as a metal is placed in the coil, the magnetic beam will penetrate the entire heated object, and in the opposite direction of the heating current inside the heated object, it will generate Correspondingly large eddy currents. Due to the existence of resistance in the heated object, a lot of Joule heat will be generated, and the temperature of the object itself will rise rapidly. To achieve the purpose of heating all metal materials. The high-frequency melting furnace is good. The above are some related articles introduced by Xiaobian about what is a high-frequency melting furnace and what is its working principle. Its melting speed is fast, and the temperature can reach 1600 degrees. It can be quickly melted. Of course, in addition to making the gold that we are most familiar with, it can also smelt silver, copper and other alloys very well, which is a major technology in my country's industrial science and technology.
induction heating system are among the best and the long known , which plays an essential part in automatic manufacturing.
Shandong Kehua Intelligent Equipment Co.,Ltd. is an expert manufacturer that offers top-notch high frequency induction heating machine induction heating system products in high frequency induction heating machine. The company has a a lot of experience to offer quality ensured that cater to various customer demands. Simply visit Shandong Kehua Intelligent Equipment Co.,Ltd. website to learn more.
With a few simple , and a little bit of high frequency induction heating machine, you to can handle high frequency induction heating machine on your own.
Shandong Kehua Intelligent Equipment Co.,Ltd. affords you a suitable low price for proving our ethical considerations.
The proprietor has many years experience in providing promotion services and is a sought after expert in induction heating system.


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It is claimed that the TOWIE star's ex, Pete Wicks was spotted flirting and "getting cosy" with Made In Chelsea star Stephanie Pratt at a recent event.
The pair were even said to have left the Liverpool party "within minutes" of each other.
A source said: "Pete was getting very friendly with Stephanie and they were having a real laugh.
"They were giggling and chatting and taking lots of photos together.
The insider continued telling The Sun: "At the end of the night they left within about a minute of each other and both went in a similar direction."
Stephanie was recently linked to rugby hunk Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
The pair made their first public appearance together at an event in March.
It is not certain whether the pair are still dating.
Pete and Megan dated for a year before calling things off.
Megan insisted she could never quite get over Pete sexting other girls while they were together.
The pair have been trying to keep things civil since the split.
Eek, we hope this doesn't throw a spanner in the works.


text: ENERGY TECHNOLOGY: U.K. researchers aim for nuclear fusion record Published: Thursday, April 24, 2014 A British research facility is gunning for a world record in nuclear fusion. Please subscribe to Greenwire to read the full story. Username: Password: Forgot your access codes? Recover them. Not a subscriber? Sign up for a trial. Ready to subscribe? Click here.


Besides our standard products in stock for a plenitude of industrial applications our strength is the customized development of exclusive sensors und system solutions.
If required we can provide system solutions as a test bench construction, data acquisition via data logger including online-visualization or on-site sensor installation and start of operation.
Inductive sensor, SL-series with a measuring range up to 300 mm, connection cable with special length and pluggable cable electronics KAB.
Inductive sensor for hydraulic systems (400 bar) with a measuring range up to 500 mm, special flange with a small outside diameter. The sensor is pressure-resistant up to 30 bar at the connector end.
Inductive sensor, SM-series, pressure-resistant up to 150 bar, flange with a radial o-ring sealing and screw flange.
Inductive sensor, pressure-resistant up to 150 bar. Extremely compact design with 4 mm measuring range, flange with thread M18, connector Lemo, sensor working temperature up to 200 °C.
Inductive sensor, SM-series, spring loaded, measuring range 25 mm, integrated sealing ring and ceramic push rod (zirconium oxide), sensor working temperature up to 200 °C, protection class IP68.
Application: measurement of coating thickness in a cathodic dip coating bath with subsequent drying in an oven.
Special feature: Combination of temperature resistance and protection class IP68. Parts of the spring loaded sensor mechanics must not be coated in the cathodic dip bath.
Inductive sensor, pressure-resistant up to 150 bar, measuring range from 4 mm up to max. 16 mm depending on sensor version. Spring loaded and push rod versions available, extremely compact design, flange with thread M14, different cable and connector versions available, sensor working temperature up to 200 °C.
Pressure-resistant housing made of titanium up to 1000 bar, with a sensor working temperature up to 230°C.
Inductive sensor for hydraulic systems (150 bar) with a measuring range from 10...16 mm, housing shortened, different types available (push rod, push guided, spring loaded), axial /radial caple and connector output.


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Ideas & Inspiration
Wedding Stationery in Dorset
I specialise in creating eco-conscious stationery as unique as you are. With over 14 years of experience I create save the dates, invitations and on the day stationery to suit any theme or style.
I Do Event Stationery
Beautiful handcrafted wedding & special event stationery that will make your perfect day truly unique.
Emma Farwell Designs
Bespoke & Beautiful Handmade Wedding Stationery, Emma Farwell is a professional wedding stationery designer, based in Bournemouth, creating stationery for clients across Dorset, Hampshire and beyond.
Whether it is a wedding, christening, special birthday or another occasion, we understand that your big day is special and we believe that your stationery should be too.
Manta Makes Limited
Rustic Save the Dates, Invitations, Décor and Guestbooks
Benny and The Bird
A fresh new style of wedding stationery based in Dorset and Hampshire. With an illustration background I offer template or bespoke wedding stationery sets.
Gemma Milly Wedding Stationery
Gemma Milly specialises in beautiful hand-painted watercolour and calligraphy wedding stationery. All of our stationery is sustainably produced and printed in the UK.
Print In The Bag
www.printinthebag.co.uk We print wedding stationery often for people that come into the shop - and can deliver anywhere in the UK - we have a range of Italian textured fine papers in stock.
We can cater for most print jobs, whether litho or digital, large or small quantities and are renowned for the high quality of our work combined with a fast turn around.
Just Click Promotions and Printing
We print wedding stationery and more. Contact us for personal service - we have a large range of papers options and offer bespoke design services.

domain: artistic


Paul: Barbour saw Obama’s strength
Ron Paul says Haley Barbour’s decision to bow out of the Republican presidential field may be a sign that President Barack Obama is stronger than some believe.
Asked by Eliot Spitzer during CNN’s “In the Arena” Tuesday night why more GOPers aren’t jumping at the chance to challenge Obama, Paul suggested the president’s sound footing may be scaring them off. “They may be thinking they have to be cautious,” Paul said. “They maybe believe the president is stronger than some of the polls show.” Obama, Paul added, “is liked a lot.”
“You know in politics being liked is very important,” said Paul, who formally announced his own presidential exploratory committee Tuesday in Iowa. “So maybe they don’t think [Obama’s] as vulnerable as the polls indicate he might be.”


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Browse these counselors with great ratings from Thumbtack customers in Roseville.
Simply amazing. Janice is warm and supportive and creates a safe environment which allows for healing. I'm simply amazed at what we were able to accomplish in only one session - especially as traditional counseling has never helped. I'll definitely be back.
I have used many different counselors over the years, but none as professional or effective as Steve Gregor. I went to him for grief counseling, but his effectiveness has extended to all of my life. He is empathetic, compassionate, and very knowledgeable. I would highly recommend Steve to anyone.
JoEllen was wonderful to work with. We had her officiate our wedding ceremony, and it was perfect! She is very knowledgeable and so sweet! At the last minute we decided to add in prayers and blessings, and she was more then happy to accommodate. Even after the fact, there have been some hiccups with our marriage license and JoEllen has been there to help us along the way. We are so glad we got to have her be apart of such a big day in our lives.
We are still in the process but Holly has been attentive and caring during our process. We would recommend her to anyone that needs some assistance during a hard time.
Tony is very experienced, and he really cares. He listens very well, and he really pays attention. You can tell that he does this because he really loves helping people. One thing I am impressed with Tony is that he seems to work really hard, he is always there, and he's always responsive, and he knows many effective tools which are really helpful for improving relationship, for being happier, and for gaining more self-confidence in life. If you are looking for a professional, looking for a counselor, to help you with your relationship, look no further. Tony is the man for the job.
I think Rod is a fantastic trainer! He never pushes you too hard, all he does is encourage you to push yourself more and more. I would recommend Rod to anyone. He will work with your schedule and plan time to work with you one on one. He also does very well with past injuries and works slowly to help heal and strengthen the injury.
Nancy helped me in processing letting go and loving well when my 18 year old daughter moved out with no notice. What impressed me the most was how she had the ability to draw out of me what I was looking for which was validation for my emotions and encouragement for my boundaries I chose to set do to the way my daughter left home. Nancy is without a doubt one of the best counselors I have ever met.
I have been working with Molly for over six months. I think the best testimonial I can give is how I've referred her to friends of mine. I describe her as very intelligent, funny, compassionate, patient, understanding, knowing and inspired. The book I am working on is quite challenging for me to write. I would usually rather do anything but sit down and work on it. It is a memoir and based on a lot of loss and pain. Molly is fully aware of this and does not push me along but gently guides me to negotiate the project in digestible pieces. She listens to me and where I am coming from vs. her own agenda. Frankly, I don't think she has an agenda for me at all besides to help me do what it is I am driven to do. From my experience this is a rare find in a coach or counselor. She also has lived a life full of love, loss and has experienced trauma deeply which gives her a wisdom that isn't something one can learn from books, they must have walked through the fire. This wisdom allows Molly to seriously know what you are saying when possibly your words are not quite as descriptive as someone without that knowing would understand. All and all I find her to be a jewel of a coach/human to assist me with my writing adventure.
He was wonderful! He is very professional and seeks to help the couple all along the planning process through to your wedding day. What's stands out is how much he truly cares about you. You can tell he does this with the intention of helping couples. He also did premarital counseling for us and we truly made a friend in him. He is a real friend who is there whenever you need him most. When a mistake was made on our marriage license (not his mistake), he was there to help work it out for us without hesitation. Overall, he was knowledgeable, helpful, and truly cares about the people he works with. We were lucky to have him as our counselor and wedding officiant. We highly suggest him!
I came to Gemma grieving and in pain over a tragic loss I experienced years ago. No matter what I did I just couldn't seem to move forward in my life. Gemma even helped me see other patterns that were holding me that I didn't recognize. In any case, she helped reconnect with the spirit of my loved one and helped me to heal. I'm grateful and so glad I trusted my gut to go for it.
I am a Christian counselor specializing in couples, individuals and families. The family is worth saving and counseling is what I do to help couples better understand the dynamics within their family structure.
Amy Ellis is a professional counselor, who helps couples on issues regarding infidelity, divorce, intimacy and more. She also provides counseling services to families and individuals.
Jasmine Moreno is a psychic spiritual consultant. She specializes in grief counseling to help you overcome your obstacles in life. Check his profile for more details.
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Improve relationships, manage anxiety and learn to stand up for yourself through this counselor's services. He offers counseling and therapy that help you manage life's challenges.
ABOUT I am a licensed marriage and family counselor in California who has years of experience. I truly know how to listen, support and understand - and I have a sense of humor, too! I know that it's a tough decision to make a therapy appointment with someone you've never met, so give me a call, and we'll talk.
This life counselor works with issues of anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, premarital counseling and more. She uses proven techniques including EMDR in helping people achieve their personal goals.
David Dunning is a personal counselor who also practices hypnosis. He provides counseling services for those who are dealing with anxiety, pornography addiction, co-parenting, divorce, stress and more.
I provide spiritual counseling, oracle card readings, tarot, birth charts, guidance, advice and will help you chose what path to take. I'd absolutely love to help you in whatever you need. If you're not satisfied after the first 30 minutes I guarantee a full refund. Enlighten Up.
I'm a substance abuse counselor. Which meabs im an excellent life coach. I have tech skills as well. I can do a very wide variety of customer care, home care and life coach.
I provide intuitive counseling, spiritual healing, and energetic coaching. I work with you to create your life in validation and wellness, so you can bring your dreams and goals into your daily existence. I employ subtle body energy readings, healings, and teachings using a variety of techniques. I specialize in addiction and recovery, self-image, and enthusiasm. All of my services can easily be done long distance. I also have free daily "universal card" readings on Twitter.
Through my work is shown my honesty of care in seeing restoration results, however, my honesty in clients knowing the truth is also important too.
I have 30 years of work with families and individuals, regarding relationships between spouses, other relatives. Many successful outcomes.
I specialize in trauma, depression, grief and other challenging life issues, for individuals, couples and groups.

domain: psychology


text:
Export Risks stimulus Use of TT, Credit Insurance
The growing number of cancellations and nonpayment situations is leading many China suppliers to protect themselves from possible losses.
The financial squeeze in global markets is pushing an increasing number of China exporters to require risk-free payment methods or apply for credit insurance. The latter is gaining ground particularly for suppliers of high-value products.
Many small and midsize operations now specify TT as their preferred mode of payment. Compared with an L/C, TT is the fastest and most obtain option for exporters. With this method, manufacturers ship out goods only after the money has been credited to their bank accounts.
Small household appliance maker Foshan Shunde Qifei Electric Co. Ltd and freezer producer Foshan Shunde Weili Kitchen Equipment Co. Ltd accept only TT as a form of payment.
Admittedly, TT is only completely risk-free for manufacturers. On the buyers’ side, it requires trust that their suppliers will deliver on time and follow specifications. This is not a chance most customers are willing to take and businesses that refuse to accept other forms of payment inadvertently limit their export opportunities. Some companies, however, allow for mixed modes, receiving 50 percent or less of total buy price via TT.
Larger manufacturers usually accept various types of payment methods, including via an L/C or an O/A. In such situations, many also buy export credit insurance to offset risk, including nonpayment. Similar to international credit rating companies such as Moody’s, China has a number of watchdog organizations that analyze the risk of doing business with different countries. Among them are Dagong and China Export & Credit Insurance Corp. (Sinosure). It is these credit reports that big companies look at to determine whether to insure an order or not.
Home appliance maker Guangdong Galanz Enterprise Group Co. Ltd buys short-term export credit insurance for all orders to be paid via an O/A and for some L/C transactions. This proved to be a valuable investment because the company was able to receive compensation from Sinosure against two nonpayment situations from an EU customer. The complete course of action took no more than three months.
Breathalyzers manufacturer Henan Hanwei Electronics Co. Ltd, however, evaluates a client’s credit history and payment capability before insuring an order. Among the factors it looks at is the credit rating of the country where the buyer is based and if the customer tends to request payment deadline extensions. Although the company has purchased credit insurance for a few orders, so far none of its clients has defaulted on their payments.
Carpets and rugs exporter Shenzhen Dotcom Houseware Products Co. Ltd tries to gauge from e-mail communications and business meetings whether credit insurance is needed for a particular buyer’s order or not. The company has not however insured any order.
But the growing number of nonpayment situations, which came first as a consequence of the global economic downturn and now due to the current debt crisis in the EU, is encouraging more suppliers to apply for export credit insurance. This is particularly true for those offering high-value products.
Sun Fenix Intl Trading Co. Ltd was burned once. Its customer from South America drafted an L/C, but the issuing bank then closed down so Sun Fenix was unable to receive the payment. The company was able to sell the order of electric home appliances to other clients.
Shenzhen Hali-strength Industrial Co. Ltd, a maker of battery packs for digital products, plans to buy credit insurance for orders exceeding $100,000. Transactions below that amount have to be settled via TT.
Export credit insurance
How much a supplier will pay to insure an order depends on a number of factors, including the destination country’s credit rating, payment terms, total buy price, duration and buyer’s credit position. There is no hard and fast rule, but most makers will include a portion of insurance fees in the transaction value if the cost is too high.
Once the exporter’s sales team finds out that a client cannot pay for an insured order, the insurance company is informed so that it can carry out its own investigation before claims can be settled.
For the first half of 2010, total short-term export credit insurance purchases increased 180 percent year on year to reach $67.62 billion. Premiums for high-value products in the same period totaled $14.84 billion.
To extend its reach, Sinosure recently launched new policies that can provide comprehensive insurance coverage already for small and midsize operations. The company mainly offers domestic trade, and short-, medium- and long-term export credit insurance.

domain: economics