#it's also like 4k to buy new so LOL NOPE

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

WIP Wednesday

So okay I don't know if this is like...a cool thing to do or not, but there's a fic I claimed from the 2022 kink meme list (I couldn't resist, in large part because Tales From Jianghu Shopping Center was listed by the prompter as one of their inspirations for the prompt) that I'm not sure when I'll actually finish writing but I have started it and I'd like to at least acknowledge that I'm doing it even if the prompter won't see this. But the prompt is something along the lines of anything highly specific and niche (like my strip mall AU lol), and I actually happen to have a growing little stockpile of very very niche knowledge about my chosen professional field, which is ceramics! I specialize in wheel-throwing (though I'm also a...passable hand at plaster mold-making/slip casting and handbuilding, I just don't enjoy them nearly as much) so I've started a little something from Lan Wangji's point of view that's a love letter to throwing ♥

--//--

As is tradition, Lan Wangji works in porcelain.

The Lan family have been respected masters of porcelain for centuries, generations stretching back, back, back nearly to the beginning of the imperial kiln production in Jingdezhen. They once produced the enormous pots that adorned emperors’ palaces – there are (very distant) cousins of his in Jingdezhen who still do so for wealthy patrons.

It’s easy to forget such a background when he enters his personal studio on the other side of the world and flicks on the lights to begin the day’s routines. It’s precisely what he wants – a quiet life like this, simple and unassuming, is much more suited to his desire than the weight of tradition that could otherwise press him and his work down into something he would never want to be.

Not that he deviates very far from tradition anyway, but it’s the principle of the thing. Lan Wangji takes quiet pleasure in simplicity, in function that is beautiful in its hard-won mastery. There are very few non-traditional ways to accomplish this that he’s interested in, but he likes having the option should he want to take it. 

Lan Wangji had learned to throw at his uncle’s knee as soon as it was possible to do so. He has continued to do so since childhood with a single-mindedness that once surprised even his uncle. All he’d ever wanted to do was to sit at the wheel for hours and hours on end, only pausing to warm the water in his bowl with a fresh influx from the kettle and to transfer full wareboards (once he was strong enough) to the drying racks in the corner of his uncle’s studio.

Lan Wangji has always struggled to find the words to convey how integral the motion of the wheel and the smooth slip of clay through his finger and against his palms is to feeling like he fits into his skin properly, but his family seems to understand just the same.

Yesterday, as the sun was westering, Lan Wangji had weighed up a few bags of fresh porcelain. The lumps are waiting for him now, tumbled together under their protective sheets of plastic, ready to be molded and shaped by hands and hypnotic motion. There’s enough of a chill in the studio this time of year that there isn’t any condensation on the plastic when he lifts it, so he folds it away neatly and settles into the easy rhythm of wedging his clay to prepare it for the wheel.

There is, in the middle of the studio, a sturdy butcher’s block workbench. He built it himself right there in the studio, the first piece of furniture that had filled the space even before he’d purchased his Shimpo wheel. It’s very likely too heavy to lift – it’s certainly too big to ever get through the door – but he has no intention of ever leaving this studio to begin another, so it suits his purposes just fine.

Wedging the clay on this sturdy, hip-height table is nearly as meditative a process as all the rest of it. A bit more of a workout than sitting at the wheel, but it’s a good way to warm up in the morning, his muscles well accustomed to the push-turn-push-turn-push-turn of spiral wedging that it’s gone beyond second nature, it simply is. His mind wanders pleasantly as he watches the misshapen lumps of pure porcelain become smooth and rounded beneath his palms. Perhaps he’ll spend the day on bowls. They’re quick and simple, suited to his mood today, and he’ll have plenty of them done by lunch when he already knows his typical solitary routine will be interrupted (and can therefore plan for it so far in advance). 

The sun is up properly by the time Lan Wangji finishes his wedging, and once he’s transferred the first batch of prepared clay to the wheel he pauses to stand in the open doorway and look out over the garden that sits between his studio and his home. The grass and the flowers are glittering fresh and dewy in the sunlight as he rolls his shoulders, stretches out his back in preparation to be seated for long hours.

When he returns, the wheel welcomes him, familiar and comforting. He fills an old bird seed bucket with warm water from the tap and arranges the small mirror at the back of the wheel’s tray to the perfect angle to watch his own hands before he settles in and takes a deep breath, sleeves rolled up and apron cinched comfortably tight around his waist as an unnecessary reminder to keep his back as straight as he can while he works.

The first ball of porcelain hits the perfect bullseye of the wheelhead and Lan Wangji leans in to begin centering, the porcelain buttery soft where it runs under his hands. Porcelain, he knows, is notorious for being difficult to work with, particularly for beginners. This far into his career, it’s simply polite and responsive to each confident press of his palms. He cones it first, hands curled around it to coax it in and up; presses it down again with the flat of his hand, every movement focused on the centerpoint of the wheel gliding silently through magnet-powered rotations. 

Up. 

Down again. 

Up.

Down.

Push.

Press.

Lan Wangji loves every part of the throwing process for what it is, but if he were to have to choose only one, this would be his favorite: the moment he can feel the clay running smoothly, perfectly centered the whole way through and ready to become whatever he will tell it to be, the possibilities – for this moment – endless.

#the untamed fanfic #WIP Wednesday #Lan Wangji #If I'm not mistaken the name of the prompt in the list is 'Bring Your Yiling Laozu To Work Day' or something to that effect #and I do plan on WWX showing up later in a way that's inspired by some of my friends in the studio #who work MUCH more chaotically than I do #(ie one of them currently goes mudlarking and digging for wild clay then brings it all in to chuck it in the kiln just to see what happens) #the other one can't remember anything that they do because they take no notes and treat highly precise chemical processes like they're #still a chef adding a dash of this and a dash of that to whatever's in their mixing bowl #and then there's me with my extensive notes and thoroughly researched glazes and all being like #'.....sometimes I don't mind if my glaze ingredients are a gram or two off' #anyway for anyone who didn't know I'm a ceramicist and it's one of my special interests lol #my profile picture and header images across both my blogs are photos of my current work #oh and the Shimpo wheel?????? IT'S A FUCKIN DREAM #the museum I sometimes teach workshops at borrowed one from a different college than mine in town and it was just #so fuckin NICE. It's DEAD SILENT and smooth as silk #and the pedal stays where you put it so if you're doing something large scale you can stand up to get your arm down in it #without having to balance on one foot or sacrifice speed or anything #it was like heaven #it's also like 4k to buy new so LOL NOPE

[crowcryptid]

how do you know which gpus are better? it's okay if you don't want to answer

So when it comes to gpus, ignore the number at the start. Think of it like the generation of card, not related to the performance. For example: 3080 vs a 4060. You would expect the 4060 to be better, it’s not. The number at the end is what matters. A 4060 is the lowest end card in the 40 series. A 3080 is the mid-high range in the 30 series. The same applies to AMDs cards. The 6800 xt > 7700 xt despite the 7700 being brand new. The 6800 is a gen older, but it is a higher tier card as 800>700.

For both brands, having ti, xt, and xtx just means that’s a more upgraded version of the card. Ex: 4070 ti > 4070. This is kind of oversimplifying cause nvidia pulled some bullshit with the 4070 ti, but I’m not gonna get into that it’s not important lol. If you buy nvidia ur getting ripped off no matter what, it’s just how it is. I’ll get into that later. (Despite my harshness toward nvidia, I have no bias toward either. I’ve owned both. I have an nvidia card right now. Both have issues. Both also do what you want them to do.)

The best way to decide what you want would be to watch benchmark vids. Just ignore marketing bs and look at real performance. They typically will compare multiple cards at 1080, 2k, 4k running different games. This gives you a decent idea of what to expect.

Once you decide on a card, I also recommend you watch a vid that compares every model of that card. Never buy the founders edition cards unless you are getting it dirt cheap or somethin. Wait for the third party versions. Some will have better thermals, some will be quieter, some will be larger, etc. Also, if it matters to you, the aesthetic differences.

Pick whichever card fits your budget and matches the games you play. Also consider if you want to keep the same card for a long time or if you don’t mind selling your card and upgrading every 2-3 years.

If you want to keep it a while, get the better card, just don’t expect to run things at the highest settings 5 years from now. If you don’t care about running things on ultra settings and you just want a consistent experience on mid-high settings, get whichever card matches your monitor and sell it when the performance isn’t to your standard anymore.

Now: if you are torn between AMD and Nvidia, here’s how to decide.

Are you just going to game and don’t have an insane monitor? AKA you don’t NEED to have over 60 fps with raytracing or over 60 fps in 4K or 244 hz whatever. You’re not an esports player, who the hell needs anything over 144? Then AMD will save you money. You should probably go AMD. UNLESS you play one specific game and AMD cards are known to not handle that one specific game well. The only example I can think of here is minecraft shaders. The performance on AMD isn’t as good. You may have heard horror stories about AMD drivers, I never experienced that*. Ultimately it’s up to you to decide if you want to risk buying a card and then needing to return it later cause you had issues. (*beside my mistaken assumption that a driver update killed my card a few months back. Nope the card just died. It just happened to die a day after updating it. Not sarcasm btw I did roll back to old ass drivers to check and the card was 100% dead. Even in when placed in a new system. Just bad timing)

Oh and incase it’s not obvious, new AMD cards do have raytracing they’re just nowhere near as good at is as Nvidia.

Do you want to game and say, do some 3D rendering, want the best of the best, are an esports player who wants 300 fps, want to stream, create content, or value raytracing? Then go Nvidia. AMD is not trying to be the best of the best, Nvidia is, and they succeeded. And because they know they’re stronger and have better performance for things like rendering, they charge insane amounts. Nvidia has the rep of being the safe option, but overpriced, like Apple lol.

Though to be fair, both sides have gotten greedy and the prices have become bad for both. Nvidia is just the worse of the two.

TLDR:

The number at the beginning of a gpu name is just the generation of card. The number at the end is the “tier” of the card. Ex: 3080 = 30 series, mid-high tier. 4060 = 40 series, lowest tier. For Nvidia The tiers are 60, 70, 80, 90. Low, mid, mid-high, highest. Anything with a “ti” at the end just means it’s an upgrade over the plain numbered version.

AMD follows a similar scheme but it’s a single number for the generation. Ex: 6800 xt = 6000 series, mid-high tier, xt stands for extreme. xtx is a step above xt (same concept at nvidia’s ti) AMD’s tiers are 600, 700, 800, 900, 950. Lowest, mid, mid-high, high, highest.

For the general gamer, AMD is going to be better 99% of the time unless, as I said, you want something specific like raytracing. Saves you a couple hundred bucks as well.

Nvidia is the jack of all trades card that can do anything and do it better than AMD can. If you do more than just game, like make videos, do 3D modeling, etc, then go with Nvidia. It’ll cost ya though.

You didn’t ask about CPUS but the story is the same for AMD vs Intel. AMD is the general cpu that will work for most people. Intel is better for work related things and typically costs more. Though this point in time is a rare moment where going Intel would be cheaper if you go with an older motherboard. I am not going to keep talking that’s not what you asked about I’ll shut up now lol

#this was longer than intended. I hope it makes sense #excuse any typos I’m on mobile #the real moral of the story is that we will probably never get cheap gpus again and it’s all Crypto Bros fault

[tomasleexyz]

No Online/Offline Boundary

If you're in retail business or often read the retail business news, you must notice about a term called "O2O," especially in China, refers to either "Offline-to-Online" or "Online-to-Offline" business model. There has been a debate heating up about online business wl gradually conquer the entire retail market.

In US, the eCommerce business is about 10% of $4.78 Trillions total retail market, increased fr 7% in last year; Amazon (AMZN), as everyone's expected, dominates the entire online channel segment. And on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean, $1.56 Trillions China's online retail sales grew to a third of its total retail market in 2015. Bc of the rapid significant growth in %, everyone in conventional retail is panicking. Many media and analysts predicted Brick-n-Mortar and Malls wl die. In fact, the 'Big Boy' retailers, like Sears, Macy's, JC Penny, Targets, Best Buy, Walmart & more, are all facing struggles (Read their latest earning statements & you'll figure out why they're all profoundly worrying); Some are even hanging at the edge of bankruptcy. But where's their problem? Some conventional retailers have been the core of US economy in the 30's & 40's until the late 90's when internet booms. Is it really a technology invasion caused a shift of consumer shopping behavior? Or something else? I believe it's the latter, and here's why.

First of all, the total retail market's growing, so we have to look into why the consumers shop less physically, but more online consequently.

Is it bc of limited selection and availability? Nope, this restraint only applies in certain type of goods, and doesnt valid if your products are scarce and exclusive. Besides the well-known term “Showrooming,” there is actually a reverse behavior called “Webrooming.” For example, big screen TV sold much, much more volume in Costco and BBY than the entire online channel (AMZN tried to crack into this problem). Consumers wl go studying all product specifications and comparing price online, then make purchase offline bc of worrying about freight damage and ease of RMA. They would rarely buy online even if today’s Samsung 55” 4K UHD costs $100 less online with ‘Free Door-to-Door Shipping’ offer. It’s just the consumer’s dilemma/confidence matter (Many online merchants and media tried to reverse that, but wasnt much succeeded).

Is it bc of price incentive? Nope, just explained. Plus, shopping online is not necessary cheaper, depending on the economy of scale the retailers we compare in here. Moreover, freight logistic cost (Labor, cost of maintenance & fuel) is progressively increasing thru time trajectory; AMZN is trying to 'w00t' everyone signs up their “Prime”, not only bc of increasing customer loyalty, # of purchase frequency, total revenue per customer & so forth, but to also fundamentally offload the baseline cost of logistic (Not gonna explain the detail math, maybe another time; Pls simply acknowledge the 2-days shipping costs AMZN less than a single package ground-shipped by consumer). Also, guess what? AMZN doesnt offer the best price in town according to many retail researches.

Is it then due to convenience and time saving? Yes, but not 100% relevant to the Cost of Productivity/Opportunity Cost/Product Lifetime Value. Each customer segment apparently has its own distinguishable psychological profile. Let's just say the Soccer Moms (Not saying their time is not important), would they rather go for shopping enjoyment or stay home waiting just for a 'brown-carton-box' delivery, under the circumstance all associated costs (Price, gas & mileage) in shopping online & offline are equivalent? Most would choose the former. In contrast, most married men wl likely make an inverse decision (Shopping is not in men's nature; Also, the reason why @MiserableMen got so popular on IG). Hope that answered you.

Of course, we can continue going on-n'-on to evaluate, review and debate in many more different aspects. But while wandering our answer, shall we first ask why the Homo Sapiens is shopping at the first place? In consumer psychology prospective, "The motivation for almost everything we buy has something to do with connecting with other human beings." You may argue online retailers do provide social marketing activities to form community bonding stronger ‘relationship’ with customers, dont they? Yes, but different from physical engagement. As a social species, we like to observe, talk, smell, touch and feel objects, and importantly gain recognition from another. Why is Apparel being such a big category? Bc we wanna be more appeal to others (Identity Crisis); otherwise, we can all wear a simple, plain white t-shirt at all time (In a fact, that's my signature dress style for a couple years in the past. Friends & collegues would come and ask if I washed my clothes. Haha… And look what FB’s Mark Zuckerberg wears on everyday now); therefore, technology delivers immersive experience, like VR, could be a real threat to all offline businesses. Alrighty, let’s get back to my topic “No Online/Offline Boundary.”  

Now, the question is whether today’s ‘Brick n' Mortar’ provide any incremental value to consumers? Yes, but not thoroughly. Like the famous A&F stores (Set aside its controversy), once every youngster loved, every merchandise, every interaction and every touch inside the retail store’s set systematically - very ‘robotic’. In each time walked by their stores’ window, you see the exact same set of seasonal clothing displayed; You’re then welcomed by their 'cloned' associates trained with a big sunny smile; You’ll always find the women session’s on the left, men’s on the right, and the sales session’s at the bottom-end of their stores (This precise 'uniform' floor plan was hyper-sensitively designed, not the work of laziness); You can ‘conveniently’ locate the exact style of clothing with different size and color at the same area in every store; Last but not least, you’ll be lining up in front of the POS counter before checkout. What an exhilarating shopping experience, isn't it?!

In contrary, let’s look at the “Think Different” Apple Store, whom turns 15yrs old & already earns $5,546/ sq. ft on the top of all retailers (Unfortunate AAPL decided not to disclose its stores performance from 2016 on), similar storefront can be found, but never identical. Every store may have familiar placement, but does keep its distinctive window displays and interior design. Not only your loved products can be checkout and pickup right away from any associate with POS machine, and your receipt/activity record wl be emailed and detail-documented in your Apple ID account (No paper waste). In additional, every online order you place can be picked up in any store at your convenience time during their hours. If needed a repair or product problem, you can either schedule online for an appointment or simply walk-in and drop-by the bar. An estimated repairing time’s given, and an txt message or email wl notify you when ready, so no valuable time's wasted. Beside that, new Apple application skills can be learnt for FREE or any in-store event can be participated by easily signing up on Apple.com. Moreover, their 'non-cookie cutting' associates (Their appearance never looks alike, even though wearing the same Apple t-shirt uniform) are very sociable, and they wont feel annoying if you have endless questions. Presently, they take one step further in their latest SF Union Square and NY WTC stores; Both stores turned into recreation park. Haha… Very spacey and lots of trees inside. There are even stools available for utilizing the way you like (I see people stack them up as table) or resting in front of their crystal-clear, gigantic display to watch their demos or just people-watching all day long. Furthermore, to enchant your visit, there’s a beautiful garden for you to enjoy the wonderful sunshine (I dont think you can do picnic yet). You'll also find the design language of their ‘Store’ pulled in sync with their web site. It’s a successful role model for every retailer to follow.

How about AMZN? Do you feel engaged with their brand? I know I dont (Wasnt bc I worked at their rival, EGG, in before. LOL). They’re literally a cold-hearted marketplace for trading products only. Once you find what the product you need, you leave. Dislike a product, write a nasty review and the seller wl compensate you or contact AMZN for a refund, and pretty much about it (Very soon 'Alexa' wl call you for satisfaction survey). Shoppers have no sense of emotion attachment with this brand. And that’s why AMZN, the ‘800lbs Gorilla’, once single-handedly wiped out the entire bookstore industry (Still remember the Borders and Barnes & Noble stories, anyone?), starts building the “Bookstore” again. First experimented the campus stores at the Purdue University and UC Davis, now in Seattle, San Diego and Portland, and more to come soon. In stores, they thoughtfully use the AI algorithms to place selective best selling books in the limited retail space, and display their latest electronic gadgets like the Kindle, Fire Series, and Echo withal. Most importantly, the stores provide the “Order online, Pick up here” service (AMZN Locker) to connect the dots between its online and offline business. But why, if the ‘Retail Stores is Going to Die”? Online business would never survive without offline presence, so does the other way around (Read the KPCB Internet Trends Report 2016 below to understand more).

You see where I’ve been guiding you to? If still not following, how about a last example in shopping 3D technology products online? Please try visualizing the three-dimensional effect of video content (Or now VR) on the flat 2D monitor screen you’re staring at now. It’s just not possible, and that’s why the 3D TV category failed online miserably. Consumers just cant relate to the stunting visual experience and see the value of that technology. (3D TV failure in mass adoption's mainly caused by its immature technology). As you may see, online retailers, as well, have its own limitation and boundary. On the other hand, the arisen of VR technology wl write a new chapter in retail history if intelligently submerged into shopping experience (Again, another topic yet another time). Then, the landscape of online vs offline business may change.

In a conclusion, why today’s offline retailers failed is the lack of presence customer experience, but not by the influence of online business. Brick-n-Mortar can competently fix this problem and captivate better shopping experience by integrating the concurrent technologies, such as Beacon, Chatbot, AI and Machine Learning. The problem I see yonder in those offline-retail corporate giants is the poor resource allocation planning, deficient technology-integrated infrastructure and bureaucracy.

Highly satisfied Customer Experience (CX) is the key to open the door of success to all businesses.

Hope this post gives you a different viewpoint about retail business. I would also like to hear your opinions below. Thanks for reading.

Ref. 

1.The Case for the American Mall

2. http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/here-comes-the-modern-chinese-consumer

3. http://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/2016-internet-trends-report

#retailbusiness #amazon #ecommerce #Online2Offline CustomerExperience Technology ThinkDifferent VirtualReality #Management ConsumerPsychology