#common export mistakes

[exportersworldb2b]

Top 8 Mistakes New Import Exporters Make & How to Avoid Them | Exporters Worlds

Introduction

Starting an import exporters business can be exciting. The idea of trading goods across borders, reaching new markets, and growing your income is attractive to many entrepreneurs. With global trade more accessible than ever, many people are jumping into this business.

But the truth is, the road to success in import-export isn't always smooth. New exporters often make simple but costly mistakes that could have been avoided with the right guidance. At Exporters Worlds, we’ve seen it all. That’s why we created this guide—to help you avoid common pitfalls and build a strong foundation from day one.

Mistake #1: Skipping Market Research

It’s easy to get carried away when starting something new. You find a product you like, and you think, “Let’s sell it!” But without proper research, you might be importing something nobody wants or something that's already oversupplied in your target market.

Why this happens: Excitement takes over.

The risk: You spend money on goods that don’t sell or miss out on better opportunities.

How to avoid it:

Look at real trade data and market trends.

Analyze what your competitors are selling.

Talk to potential customers or business contacts in the target region. Understanding the demand is step one in any successful import exporters business.

Mistake #2: Ignoring Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Every country has its own rules about what you can import or export. Ignoring them can cost you big time. From missing licenses to using the wrong HS code, small mistakes can cause major problems.

Common issues:

No import/export license (like an IEC code in India)

Wrong product classification

Violating trade bans or sanctions

How to avoid it:

Learn the legal requirements of both your country and your target market.

Work with a customs broker or legal advisor.

Keep all documents in order and double-check product classifications.

At Exporters Worlds, we always advise working with professionals, especially when you're starting out.

Mistake #3: Poor Supplier or Buyer Vetting

Not every supplier or buyer out there is reliable. Some are scammers. Others may have poor quality control. If you don’t do your homework, you could lose time, money, and your reputation.

What can go wrong:

You receive low-quality or incorrect goods

Your buyer refuses to pay

The partner disappears after a deal

How to avoid it:

Use trusted B2B platforms like Exporters Worlds

Ask for samples before placing large orders

Sign contracts that clearly lay out terms

Look up reviews, ratings, and third-party audits

Mistake #4: Inadequate Pricing and Cost Calculation

You might think you’re getting a great deal on your product, but there are a lot of hidden costs in international trade. If you don’t add everything up, your profit margins can vanish.

Costs to consider:

Shipping fees

Customs duties

Insurance

Storage and handling

Currency exchange rates

How to avoid it:

Use import-export cost calculators

Get quotes from multiple logistics providers

Factor in payment processing fees and currency risks

Mistake #5: Misunderstanding Incoterms

Inco terms define who’s responsible for what in the shipping process—things like who pays for transport, who handles insurance, and who manages customs. Get it wrong, and you’ll be left dealing with surprise bills or delays.

How to avoid it:

Learn the most common Incoterms (FOB, CIF, EXW, etc.)

Choose terms that suit your business situation

Make sure all agreements clearly mention the chosen Incoterm

This small bit of knowledge can save you a lot of confusion and conflict.

Mistake #6: Weak Logistics Planning

You need a clear plan for getting your goods from point A to B. Many new exporters don’t factor in shipping time, port delays, or customs processing. This leads to missed deadlines and unhappy buyers.

How to avoid it:

Build relationships with good freight forwarders

Understand customs clearance processes

Add buffer time into your delivery schedule

Track shipments and stay in touch with your logistics partners

Mistake #7: Poor Cash Flow and Payment Management

Import-export deals often involve big upfront payments and long wait times before you get paid. Without careful planning, this can create a cash crunch.

What to do:

Use safe payment methods like letters of credit or escrow services

Negotiate better payment terms (partial upfront, balance on delivery)

Always track your cash flow and have reserves for emergencies

At Exporters Worlds, we’ve seen businesses fail not because of bad products, but because they ran out of cash at the wrong time.

Mistake #8: Lack of Digital Presence and Branding

In today’s world, if people can’t find you online, they won’t trust you. Many new businesses skip building a website or listing on B2B platforms. That’s a mistake.

How to avoid it:

Create a simple, professional website

List your business on trusted trade platforms like Exporters Worlds

Invest time in SEO and content to get found on search engines

Use email, social media, and ads to build credibility and attract leads

Even in the import exporters business, trust starts online.

Top 20 Import-Export Business Ideas for Sellers in India

Conclusion

Starting your import exporters business doesn’t have to be hard—but it does require planning. The mistakes above are common, but they’re also avoidable. If you do your research, stay compliant, choose the right partners, and manage your money well, you’re already ahead of the curve.

At Exporters Worlds, we’re here to help you grow. We connect you with trusted suppliers and buyers, and we make the process smoother through our B2B marketplace. Whether you’re just starting or looking to expand, think of us as your dedicated partner in global trade.

[ninjaglobal]

6 Most Common Shipping Mistakes To Avoid

1. Lack of knowledge about destination country regulations.

2. Packing and labeling the shipment improperly.

3. Improper valuation of the shipment.

4 . Shipment not properly insured.

5.Not choosing the right freight forwarder.

6. Failing to consider freight forwarding costs.

Ninja Global can help Indian exporters to avoid such common and not-so-common mistakes and ensure a safe and happy service that too at a low cost.Get started with Ninja Global for secure international trading today -https://ninja-global.com/

[citrus-freight]

Incoterms in 2023: 5 Common Incoterms Mistakes - Citrus Freight

Incoterms in 2023: 5 Common Incoterms Mistakes to Avoid – Citrus Freight

It is critical to avoid certain blunders while utilising Incoterms in international trade to guarantee seamless transactions and minimise risks.

Download our Android App – Citrus Freight

A few common mistakes to avoid are as follows:

Selecting Inappropriate Incoterms:

Despite their very distinct requirements, several Incoterms® have identical initials, making them easily confused. For example, CIF and CFR The cost of the products, freight expenses, and insurance coverage arranged by the seller are all included in the CIF price. The cost of the items and freight expenses are included in the CFR, but the customer must arrange and pay for insurance separately. Recognise your own and your partner's obligations. CIF entails the seller securing insurance on the buyer's behalf. These Incoterms® are frequently misinterpreted, resulting in the goods being carried without insurance.

Places or destinations must be named specifically:

INCOTERMS® are based on a specific location, such as a terminal or port, where risk and responsibility are transferred. To ensure that all parties are clear on culpability in the case of an occurrence, these locations and/or addresses must be expressly named.

Terminal Handling Charges:

In Incoterms®, the seller is liable for paying terminal handling costs for commodities sent beyond the port of shipment. It is critical to specify who will handle charges in the contract to minimise issues, delays, and unexpected fees.

Identifying Customs Tasks and Responsibilities:

Although Incoterms indicate who is responsible for export and import procedures, it is critical to understand that proper management of these operations necessitates both the buyer and seller being legally authorised as exporter and importer. In order to ship EXW, the buyer must be familiar with export processes in the seller's nation. Similarly, in the case of DAP shipments, the seller must be able to complete import processes and pay VAT in the buyer's jurisdiction.

Ensuring Proper Alignment of Incoterms with Payment Methods:

When using a letter of credit or a documentary collection for payment in international trade, it is critical that the Incoterms rule you select fits the security standards or the regulations provided by the banks. If they don't match, it might cause issues and delays with the payment process. As a result, it is critical to correctly coordinate everything to enable seamless and successful transactions.

List of incoterms 2020 & definitions:

1.EXW (Ex Works): The vendor delivers the items to the customer's location, and the buyer is responsible for all transit and export processes.

2.FCA (Free Carrier): In FCA terminology, the seller delivers the goods to a carrier or a specified place, after which the buyer assumes obligation.

3.CPT (Carriage Paid To): The seller pays for the items' transportation to the target country or specified location but not for import fees or taxes.

4.CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To): The seller offers insurance coverage for the items during shipment, similar to CPT.

5.DAP (Delivered at Place): The seller is responsible for delivering the products to the buyer's preferred location inside the destination country but is not liable for offloading.

6.DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded): The vendor unloads the items at the buyer's preferred location within the destination country.

7.DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): The seller is fully responsible for shipping the products to the buyer's preferred location, including any import fees and taxes.

8.FAS (Free Alongside Ship): At the port of shipping, the seller delivers the items alongside the vessel, and the buyer conducts the loading.

9.FOB (Free on Board): The seller is responsible for loading the items onto the vessel at the port of shipping, after which the buyer assumes responsibility.

10.CFR (Cost and Freight): The seller bears the cost of goods and products to the destination port, but the buyer bears the cost of unloading and import charges.

11.CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight): The seller offers insurance coverage for the products during shipment, similar to CFR.

[meinkatzchen]

And some more q/a! I'll take a break for arts and requests ♥ I will answer the rest as soon as possible, forgive me (っ- ‸ - ς)

It's interesting to think about, really! But I honestly can't imagine it being something dramatic and heartbreaking, it would rather be an AU in the genre of light romance and dark humor, probably. I just don't believe that people with such intertwined destinies could just replace each other and throw each other to the side of the road, it would devalue a lot in their path. In a long-term relationship, it works a little differently. The replacement would work if she or Fox wanted to change something, they would like to get what they lack. And so, in my head, the fox and the cat live very harmoniously, they have a lot in common, in a relationship they both feel natural and express their feelings openly + the idea that Mist could cooperate with Fox, sending him new people from the Cult as slaves for auction, doesn't leave my head. You could say they even have a family crime business, lol

But since this is AU, I imagine it as their possible, most likely stupid, quarrel, where both will be wrong, after which they will proudly and stubbornly go their separate ways, not wanting to see each other. And Fox will stay at his place, and Mist will go to the forest base of his cult. And I think that each of them is so unaccustomed to loneliness that they will very quickly find a "pet" for themselves, who would be similar either in character, or habits, or appearance, a "cheap substitute" for their previous partner, and this would happen involuntarily (…and hilarious, as for me, especially imagining how Mist would constantly force poor guy to wear an anal plug with a fox tail, and Fox would sometimes force a girl to wear a white shaggy wig, this cheap for cosplay xD ) But these two would still have a connection and a contract for the export of new followers of the cult, so I think that willy-nilly, the fox-beastkin would still meet with the cat-beastkin at business meetings, fly in a helicopter to her base or she would come to him, etc. At first, these would be dry business meetings and they again would not want to see each other because of their pride and anger. Then all this would gradually develop into rare memories of some moments from their common past, and with them comes longing and nostalgia. Then casual sex. Then sex for old friendship is no longer casual (yes, they are still in a quarrel). Then Mist will go into heat and Fox will lose his mind.

BUT WE HAVE A LINE WITH "PETS" NOW, to whom I personally would shift the focus.

Therefore, while their owners are having fun and pretending that they don't care, their two slaves gradually begin to get to know each other better and begin to feel sympathy for each other, because they really found something in common in each other, found soulmates in each other. And their love will gradually become an impetus to bring the master and mistress to more frequent meetings, because the more often Fox and Mist see each other, the more often these slaves will see each other, finding solace in each other. And it would be something like Ren and MC during Strade's life, version 2.0. History is cyclical, after all.

In short…not really. I have this inner conviction about the characters that there are key crises that cannot be avoided, as if they are carved under their skin, like fate itself. And if someone is destined to die or to fill a certain empty niche in the world and in life, then it will happen, regardless of whether some of the input data is changed.

In my story, her fatal mistake was to fly to Canada for a couple of weeks during the university holidays to look after her relatives' house while they went on holiday. Sonia's father decided, purely out of good intentions, that it would be a good idea for her to see a new country, although due to her timidity, she did not want to and was still going to spend all her days at her aunt and uncle's house. If she had managed to insist on her own, to stay home, she would have simply continued studying at the University of Law, and, eventually, would have gone on a career as a lawyer, working hard and having an excellent natural instinct of her father on how to win cases. True, her rose-colored glasses would have quickly shattered right in her eyes, because she would have started to defend not only the innocent, but also different clients, from thieves to murderers and rapists, which could have hit her hard mentally.

But one day, under the pressure of emotions in the car, she would have had an accident, with a fatal outcome, after which her resurrection trigger would have worked. This would have become her crisis, from which everything would have started to change. Even Mist's personality would gradually change, she would gradually become more confident, cunning, brazen and more cynical, so that after decades she could become a rather popular lawyer in criminal circles, and her "immortality" would help her overcome the fear of persecution and assassination attempts, but it would also create many new problems for her.

Complete isolation from the outside world. Complete isolation from other people. Destruction of everything that was connected to her, every little thing, everything that could leave her contribution to history. She must not be spoken to. Her face must not be seen. Gradually, they will begin to forget that she existed, and when the last person who remembered her dies, she will simply disappear. All this can happen soon, or it can drag on for years, but, ultimately, her life will end.

Thanks a lot!! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡♡♡

[kimyoonmiauthor]

Better Novel Scrivener Template

BTW, If you liked the Settings Template, this has that plus more...

The Current Novel Template is out of date, the templates aren't really doing much for you. And the variety of icons is rather thin. I set out to fix this.

The template as a whole is PG-13 as the Character Template mentions "dangerous" things like "Kinks" and "Safe Words" OMG. I know. So terrible. So if you don't want to explain those things to anyone underage, don't download it.

As I am NB, and generally queer otherwise, I have included things like Sexual Orientation, Romantic Orientation and a whole load of things to think about when building CHARACTER, SETTING, WORLDBUILDING. I included things that people often forget by using my Uni and College knowledge.

Please, please read the "Read Me First" file if you want to avoid having to load missing icons. I give instructions.

In case you still opened it despite my warnings or it doesn't work, you'll have to load in the icons manually. In which case this is a reference:

The New Icons are: Domestic Products, Imported Goods, Exported Goods, Laws, and Social Stratification. I added extra icons for Weapons and Warfare in case you're not writing Fantasy. Laser Guns and a Historical Pistol.

I did my best to make it CULTURALLY NEUTRAL. If you want them specific, you're on your own.

I also added if you'd like to load them

All these Icons to the folder so You can finally color code your manuscripts to your heart's content. (My unending frustration with Scrivener).

I added an SVG file so if there is an exact shade I missed on the Spiral Notebook Colors or the Hardcover Books, you can add it.

The Composition Notebook file isn't included as it contains a pattern. However, I made pains to make sure it matches real life colors that exist in Composition Notebooks. You wanted the Settings Template? There are 2. One for City/Towns. One general one.

Zero Organization or Clue on Querying or Self pubbing?

I put up Organization Folders for you.

Here are the Templates you get. Everything is beefed up for you. I spent forever on these Templates and testing them. I also cued Styles to them so it's easy to change the colors. If you want to change something, as the About document says, turn on invisibles.

The Default Styles aren't useless anymore.

If you need a more Definitive Guide, I also made one in the file:

Download the Scrivener Template. It is a ZIP FILE Win Zip or other Zip app should be able to handle it.

Warning: Direct Download https://www.kimyoonmi.com/BetterNovelScrivenerTemplate.zip If you want to Skip the Template completely, but are wishing to add the Icons to your Scrivener:

https://www.kimyoonmi.com/ScrivenerIcons.zip

This template itself is not for sale or profit nor are the icons. Also don’t be the person that lies that says you made it. It’s a Creative Commons License Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivatives by Yoonmi Kim 2024. You may change it for personal use only. Any problems can be addressed directly to me at https://www.kimyoonmiauthor.com. If you would like to translate this into other languages, let me know.

Don't be the ass that tries to sell my hard work, 'cause really, it's free. And I spent a lot of pains and time to make sure it's free and easy to use with a lot of subtle UX. Edit: I added even more stuff to the newest version.

Yes, a Pets Sketch, a Fauna Species Sketch a Flora Species Sketch, there is Literature added to the list of Art (I forgot it. lol I thought the mistake was silly, but yeah.)

And I added a Medicine Section with an icon to the technology section. There are two native icons already for Medicine--syringe and pill, but I kind of felt it didn't always give the feel of fantasy, so I made a Mortar and Pestle from scratch to add, but if you're doing sci-fi or contemporary, etc you can change to the syringe or pill.

I added explainers as well for the items to the guide.

Why?

'Cause. I would love to be able to see people put more thought into their worlds/worldbuilding, even if it doesn't show up. Maybe it won't be only horses for animals as pets. Or an occasional dog. Haha. Having a gay dog like Robin Williams would be great.

[talenlee]

The Whole Sort of General Mish Mosh of AI

I’m not typing this.

January this year, I injured myself on a bike and it infringed on a couple of things I needed to do in particular working on my PhD. Because I had effectively one hand, I was temporarily disabled and it finally put it in my head to consider examining accessibility tools.

One of the accessibility tools I started using was Microsoft’s own text to speech that’s built into the operating system I used, which is Windows Not-The-Current-One-That-Everyone-Complains-About. I’m not actually sure which version I have. It wasn’t good but it was usable, and being usable meant spending a week or so thinking out what I was going to write a phrase at a time and then specifying my punctuation marks period.

I’m making this article — or the draft of it to be wholly honest — without touching my computer at all.

What I am doing right now is playing my voice into Audacity. Then I’m going to use Audacity to export what I say as an MP3, which I will then take to any one of a few dozen sites that offer free transcription of voice to text conversion. After that, I take the text output, check it for mistakes, fill in sentences I missed when coming off the top of my head, like this one, and then put it into WordPress.

A number of these sites are old enough that they can boast that they’ve been doing this for 10 years, 15 years, or served millions of customers. The one that transcribed this audio claims to have been founded in 2006, which suggests the technology in question is at least, you know, five. Seems odd then that the site claims its transcription is ‘powered by AI,’ because it certainly wasn’t back then, right? It’s not just the statements on the page, either, there’s a very deliberate aesthetic presentation that wants to look like the slickly boxless ‘website as application’ design many sites for the so-called AI folk favour.

This is one of those things that comes up whenever I want to talk about generative media and generative tools. Because a lot of stuff is right now being lumped together in a Whole Sort of General Mish Mosh of AI (WSOGMMOA). This lump, the WSOGMMOA, means that talking about any of it is used as if it’s talking about all of it in the way that the current speaker wants to be talked about even within a confrontational conversation from two different people.

For people who are advocates of AI, they will talk about how ChatGPT is an everythingamajig. It will summarize your emails and help you write your essays and it will generate you artwork that you want and it will give you the rules for games you can play and it will help you come up with strategies for succeeding at the games you’ve already got all while it generates code for you and diagnoses your medical needs and summarises images and turns photos of pages into transcriptions it will then read aloud to you, and all you have to focus on is having the best ideas. The notion is that all of these things, all of these services, are WSOGMMOA, and therefore, the same thing, and since any of that sounds good, the whole thing has to be good. It’s a conspiracy theory approach, sometimes referred to as the ‘stack of shit’ approach – you can pile up a lot of garbage very high and it can look impressive. Doesn’t stop it being garbage. But mixed in with the garbage, you have things that are useful to people who aren’t just professionally on twitter, and these services are not all the same thing.

They have some common threads amongst them. Many of them are functionally looking at math the same way. Many or even most of them are claiming to use LLMs, or large language models and I couldn’t explain the specifics of what that means, nor should you trust an explainer from me about them. This is the other end of the WSOGMMOA, where people will talk about things like image generation on midjourney and deepseek (pieces of software you can run on your computer) consumes the same power as the people building OpenAI’s data research centres (which is terrible and being done in terrible ways). This lumping can make the complaints about these tools seem unserious to people with more information and even frivolous to people with less.

Back to the transcription services though. Transcription services are an example of a thing that I think represents a good application of this math, the underlying software that these things are all relying on. For a start, transcription software doesn’t have a lot of use cases outside of exactly this kind of experience. Someone who chooses or cannot use a keyboard to write with who wants to use an alternate means, converting speech into written text, which can be for access or archival purposes. You aren’t going to be doing much with that that isn’t exactly just that and we do want this software. We want transcriptions to be really good. We want people who can’t easily write to be able to archive their thoughts as text to play with them. Text is really efficient, and being able to write without your hands makes writing more available to more people. Similarly, there are people who can’t understand spoken speech – for a host of reasons! – and making spoken media more available is also good!

You might want to complain at this point that these services are doing a bad job or aren’t as good as human transcription and that’s probably true, but would you rather decent subtitles that work in most cases vs only the people who can pay transcription a living wage having subtitles? Similarly, these things in a lot of places refuse to use no-no words or transcribe ‘bad’ things like pornography and crimes or maybe even swears, and that’s a sign that the tool is being used badly and disrespects the author, and it’s usually because the people deploying the tool don’t care about the use case, they care about being seen deploying the tool.

This is the salami slicer through which bits of the WSOGMMOA is trying to wiggle. Tools whose application represent things that we want, for good reasons, that were being worked on independently of the WSOGMMOA, and now that the WSOGMMOA is here, being lampreyed onto in the name of pulling in a vast bubble of hypothetical investment money in a desperate time of tech industry centralisation.

As an example, phones have long since been using technology to isolate faces. That technology was used for a while to force the focus on a face. Privacy became more of a concern, then many phones were being made with software that could preemptively blur the faces of non-focal humans in a shot. This has since, with generative media, stepped up a next level, where you now have tools that can remove people from the background of photographs so that you can distribute photographs of things you saw or things you did without necessarily sharing the photos of people who didn’t consent to having their photo taken. That is a really interesting tool!

Ideologically, I’m really in favor of the idea that you should be able to opt out of being included on the internet. It’s illegal in France, for example, to take a photo of someone without their permission, which means any group shot of a crowd, hypothetically, someone in that crowd who was not asked for permission, can approach the photographer and demand recompense. I don’t know how well that works, but it shows up in journalism courses at this point.

That’s probably why that software got made – regulations in governments led to the development of the tool and then it got refined to make it appealing to a consumer at the end point so it could be used as as a selling point. It wouldn’t surprise me if right now, under the hood, the tech works in some similar way to MidJourney or Dall-E or whatever, but it’s not a solution searching for a problem. I find that really interesting. Is this feature that, again, is running on your phone locally, still part of the concerns of the WSOGMMOA? What about the software being used to detect cancer in patients based on sophisticated scans I couldn’t explain and you wouldn’t understand? How about when a glamour model feeds her own images into the corpus of a Midjourney machine to create more pictures of herself to sell?

Because admit it, you kinda know the big reason as a person who dislikes ‘AI’ stuff that you want to oppose WSOGMMOA. It’s because the heart of it, the big loud centerpiece of it, is the worst people in the goddamn world, and they want to use these good uses of this whole landscape of technology as a figleaf to justify why they should be using ChatGPT to read their emails for them when that’s 80% of their job. It’s because it’s the worst people in the world’s whole personality these past two years, when it was NFTs before that, and it’s a term they can apply to everything to get investors to pay for it. Which is a problem because if you cede to the WSOGMMOA model, there are useful things with meaningful value that that guy gets to claim is the same as his desire to raise another couple of billions of dollars so he can promise you that he will make a god in a box that he definitely, definitely cannot fucking do while presenting himself as the hero opposing Harry Potter and the Protocols of Rationality.

The conversation gets flattened around the basically two poles:

All of these tools, everything that labels itself as AI is fundamentally an evil burning polar bears, and

Actually everyone who doesn’t like AI is a butt hurt loser who didn’t invest earlier and buy the dip because, again, these people were NFT dorks only a few years ago.

For all that I like using some of these tools, tools that have helped my students with disability and language barriers, the fact remains that talking about them and advocating for them usefully in public involves being seen as associating with the group of some of the worst fucking dickheads around. The tools drag along with them like a gooey wake bad actors with bad behaviours. Artists don’t want to see their work associated with generative images, and these people gloat about doing it while the artist tells them not to. An artist dies and out of ‘respect’ for the dead they feed his art into a machine to pump out glurgey thoughtless ‘tributes’ out of booru tags meant for collecting porn. Even me, I write nuanced articles about how these tools have some applications and we shouldn’t throw all the bathwater out with the babies, and then I post it on my blog that’s down because some total shitweasel is running a scraper bot that ignores the blog settings telling them to go fucking pound sand.

I should end here, after all, the transcription limit is about eight minutes.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[leafnighthybridwolfsbane]

Sandwing Headcanons

(Info below the cut)

I had fun drawing this one! I nearly forgot one of the back legs, so that was interesting. I kinda based this one on red sand and the mesa/badlands. This one is a bit more simplified than the others, but honestly it was a nice break from doing more detailed designs.

Tribe Headcanons

The black sclera and cheetah-like marking helps them see through the blazing haze the sun creates on the sand. Especially sand that is nearly white.

The tufts of fur on their ears helps keep flies and other insects away from their ears.

Sometimes a Sandwing will grow a beard and resemble a Bearded Vulture, though this is extremely rare in the tribe. Maybe 1 in every 10,000 of them get the genes to be able to grow one.

Some Sandwings are also born with retractable fangs like a venomous snake's.

The bearded plates on their necks can puff out as an intimidation tactic.

They also can cry blood as a way to scare off oncoming dragons that might try to kill them if nothing else works.

Their scales match the palette of the sands that they hatched in. This means different natural sand colors can influence the color of a Sandwing's scales. It is near impossible to have them hatch the color of dyed sand. When it does happen, they are considered defective.

Sandwings are the third largest tribe in general, beaten by a a few hairs by the Nightwings.

Their wings are made for long distance travel, making staying in the air for long periods like a walk in the park. They are only beat by Skywings when it comes to flight time between landings.

The top of their wings are colored the same as the sand they hatched in. The bottom coloration of their wings matches their lighter colored underbellies.

Sandwings have the easiest time getting freckled scales due to their length of time in the sun.

Sandwings tend to show emotion though music, dance, and their festivals. Most dragonets are even pushed to learn something to help with one of those three things instead of actually feeling out their emotions.

Sandwings are considered the best ambush predators out of all of the tribes due to their tails and lack of outward showing emotions. A lot of assassin groups either are lead of Sandwings, made up of mostly sandwings, or are purely made of sandwings.

Most tribes mistake them for being an angry tribe. They're not. They're a vengeful and ambitious tribe. If a perfectionist could be put into a single tribe, it would be the Sandwings. They hold their pride high, but not on a faulty pedestal.

Their patience is unmatched, even by a Nightwing's standards. Having them angry at another dragon is silent, but it oozes into the atmosphere is a scarily silent way.

On a lighter note, Sandwing scales are warm to the touch, like a heated rock on a mid-summer's day. They're unfazed by the chill of an icewing's scales.

On that note, fire scales were once such a common ability in Sandwings that Sandwings used to be their nickname. They used to be called Sunwings.

Their spine sail is to help them regulate their internal body heat.

Lore Headcanons

One of their greatest exports in the past was their assassination services. The Scorpions Den used to be this mystical den of assassins before it became a place for what most of the tribe would consider "Undesirables".

Festivals dedicated to the longest day of the year are full of joy and laughter. Their hard, almost completely unreadable, outward expressions melt into this calm and most of the time happy celebration.

It took several centuries for Sandwings to show the array of emotions they do now. Some say that it was because a cowardly queen had used her subjects in a manipulative way that broke the tribe of feeling anything. Others say it was almost like an animus curse. No one really knows.

Survival is their main priority due to them having this sixth sense of having a strong gut instinct about what another dragon will do. Though they are getting better with trusting other dragons under the current queen's guidance.

Current exports include tanned hides and poisons. With their aloof nature, business is done upfront. They take trades and deals seriously, so backing out with enough time or a good excuse means you aren't cut off. They tend to talk to other Sandwing traders, meaning a dragon will not be able to scam others, or waste their time. Scammers are killed on sight. There are no questions asked.

Betrayal upon one is betrayal of all. Sandwings, no matter their position in life, will back one another unless they have done something egregious. Family units are commonly not broken, but in recent years it's not unknown of.

Keeping a singular bone of one family member, be it blood or not, is considered a sacred thing to the individual Sandwing. It means that dragon was extremely important to them. It is sacrilege to take or destroy it. This is the highest form of disrespect and other Sandwings will plot the dragon's death if that Sandwing doesn't kill the dragon.

Sandwings take marriage seriously before the ceremony, but all marriages are considered another festival that has been known to last weeks. A honeymoon isn't necessary due to the weeks long festivities. This is the longest another dragon will see a Sandwing be open about their emotions.

Drawing Inspirations

Their bodies resemble an American Short Hair. These cats give the best build that would be similar to a Sandwing.

Sandwings having primarily desert reptile patterns would be the best, but other desert/savanna/badlands animals would work as well.

The behaviors resemble a more strict regimen household where showing emotions would cause the inhabitants to be severely reprimanded.

Bearded dragons/toads are great for references for the expansion of the neck plates expanding.

Wings of Fire Headcanon List

Skywings

Icewings

Mudwings

Leafwings

Hivewings

Silkwings

[astarionposting]

MY BG3 HEAD EDITING PROCESS

So I tried to record a somewhat organized "tutorial" on what I do when I edit base game heads into my presets, as well as texture swapping, common issues you might face and replacing ears (or anything, you would just follow the same process). I just began learning blender and modding, so I don't know everything and maybe still make some rookie mistakes, but I tried my best! I apologize for my scatter brain as well in some parts haha.

ADD-ONS

LSLib - to convert .dae files and .GR2 files BG3/DOS2 Collada Exporter for Blender - allows you to import and export the heads correctly in blender

RESOURCES/OTHER APPS

BG3 Modders Multitool - to extract meshes/textures as well as for packing mods BG3 Modding Wiki - Helps with figuring out asset names and file naming when you do replacers

[microtheory]

Concerning Atrocities

– James Peter Warbasse

From ‘Mother Earth: Monthly Magazine Devoted to Social Science and Literature’, July 1915, New York City, published and edited by Emma Goldman

The air is surcharged with atrocities. Incriminations and recriminations are hurled hither and thither by press, post, wire, and wireless. The Germans have been atrocious in Belgium; the Russians in East Prussia; the Austrians, in Servia; and the English — nowhere, because they have not been able to invade the enemies’ country, but in their own country they got themselves into practice upon their own innocent girlhood before they set sail for virgin foreign fields. Atrocities are the order of the day. The crowning atrocity to date seems to be the sinking of the Lusitania.

As one views this holocaust of fire, rapine, plunder, debauchery, and murder, one must be impressed with the observation that the atrocities themselves are less dreadful than their common causes. The distressing fact is that the causes of all of these atrocities existed before the Great War, and perpetrated quite as great atrocities; and, what is still more distressing, they will continue to provoke atrocities after the war is over. The world is making the grievous error of isolating the acts of this war from the rest of social conduct as though it were something unusual, unexpected, cataclysmic, unique. We hear the expressions that this war is “the failure of civilization,” or “the breakdown of Christianity,” or “the debauchery of governments.” How foolish are these expressions. How can that fail which has not succeeded? How can that break down which has not been built up? How can that become debauched which already is debauched and debauching?

There is no new principle nor unique manifestation in the Great War. The atrocities which the Germans have committed in Belgium are no greater than those unspeakable atrocities which the Belgians committed in the Congo. The atrocities which the Germans have committed against the English are incomparably trivial beside the brutalities which the English committed in the Sudan. As to the bestialities of the Russians in Eastern Prussia, Russia out-does them every day in times of peace against her own helpless people. The destruction by Germany of a hundred odd American citizens who were packed around a cargo of ammunition, is less atrocious than the atrocities which the United States perpetrates upon its own peaceful Indians.

The history of every one of these nations is a series of broken treaties and atrocities committed under the protection or by the instigation of government. Not one of these nations, which prates so glibly of the sins of the others, is taking a step to abandon its own atrociousness. They are all committing greater atrocities at home than abroad. The United States officially and by executive fiat went upon its knees with a heart full of hypocrisy, prayed for peace; and then rose from its knees and proceeded with the production of shot and shell, to be employed in killing men, women, and children — all manufactured and exported with the knowledge, co-operation and approval of that same Government which had ordered the prayers for peace. Now that same hypocrisy, which stood calmly by while men, women, and children in Colorado were murdered in the interest of a privileged property-owning class, threatens to sacrifice thousands more of American lives in a world war, as though that might atone for those already lost!

This war is something more than a ruling-class enterprise. It is an expression of the governments which are maintained in the interest of the privileged property-owning class, and which in their brutal zeal for the interests of their pet class have fallen at one another’s throats. Let us not make the mistake of holding German, English, French, Russian, or American human beings guilty. The people in all of these countries are better at heart than they act. The atrocities are more the atrocities of governments than of men and women. It has been government that has instigated and kept alive the militarism that has poisoned the minds of school children and now puts guns in their hands and sends them forth to commit atrocities.

Shooting men is not less of an atrocity than raping women, burning girls in Triangle fires, or drowning people at sea because of the inhuman quest for profits of a transatlantic transportation company. When the truth becomes known it will be discovered that the people who perished with the Lusitania could have been saved but for the ruthless disregard of means for saving lives which would have cost the company some small fraction of its profits.

Deprived of his liberty, coerced into becoming a wheel in a machine, which moves or stops at the word of command from the government above, the soldier and his doings are but the expressions of the State. In Belgium, it appears that the attacks upon non-combatants were instigated from above; they were manifestations of government. The free German, had he not been deprived of his liberties by the state, would prefer to remain at home, till his fields by day, and play with his children after supper.

There is one great atrocity in this wretched business of which we should not lose sight; that is the State. The State exists because there are privileged people, whose privileges would pass from them were they not protected by the powerful machinery of government. A privileged class means a class which enjoys advantages which others do not have; and there can be no class having advantages unless there is another class suffering disadvantages. The several governments, top-heavy with militarism, which they had built up for the protection of their privileged people, have toppled over into the vortex.

This is the historic fate of governments. It threatens to be the fate of the United States. When it becomes the interest of the privileged economic forces of the United States to have war with Mexico, we shall have it. At present our property-privileged class desires the exploitation of the markets of South America, and the natural and human resources of that virgin country. Hence the Monroe doctrine. But the Monroe doctrine is political buncombe, unless backed by a powerful navy. Still in the face of it our Government holds out to the world the hypocrisy that we are a non-belligerent nation. The day approaches when militarism will drag us into war, because the privileged interests require the State and the Monroe doctrine, and militarism is their natural offspring.

Hope lies in the abolition of the twin interests, privilege and the State, and supplanting them with a free society in which human brotherhood and mutual aid shall become the dominant forces.

Concerning Atrocities

-James Peter Warbasse, 1915

[beardedmrbean]

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s new president announced an agriculture plan Tuesday that could make the country’s food production and distribution look a lot more like it did in the 1980s, when meals in Mexico were dominated by tortillas, beans, instant coffee and cheap hot chocolate.

Four decades ago, the ingredients for those meals were often bought at government stores that stocked a few basic goods.

President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged Tuesday to revive those often shabby, limited government stores and continue efforts to achieve “food sovereignty.”

“It is about producing what we eat,” Sheinbaum said of her policy, whose main focus will be on increasing bean and corn production.

Sheinbaum appears to have a deep interest in boosting beans. On Monday, she said, “It is much better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips."

Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué said the focus would be on guaranteeing prices for farmers who grow corn used for tortillas and lowering tortilla prices by 10% after prices jumped a couple of years ago.

The government aims to boost bean production by about 30% in six years to replace imports of beans, and will set up research centers to supply higher-yielding bean seeds.

“Self-sufficiency in beans is a goal the president has set for us,” Berdegué said.

The government will also focus on supporting coffee production, but mainly for instant coffee, which it claims is used by 84% of Mexican households. The plan will also seek to support cocoa production, but mainly for powdered baking and hot chocolate, not fine chocolate bars.

The policies appear to run counter to market trends and what Mexican food sales look like today, when consumption of most of the old basics has fallen.

Most Mexicans today shop at modern grocery stores, and consumption of fresh ground coffee, not instant, has increased enormously, accompanied by a boom in specialized coffee chains and shops.

Meanwhile, bean consumption has been dropping precipitously for decades in Mexico. According to the government's “2024 Agricultural Panorama” report, Mexicans consume only about 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms) of beans annually. That's less than half of the 35.2 pounds (16 kilograms) consumed per year in 1980.

A combination of factors, including the time it takes to cook dried beans, may be behind this. Amanda Gálvez, a researcher at Mexico's National Autonomous University, wrote that “we look down at beans because it is considered ‘the food of the poor,’ and we are making a serious mistake,” because beans are a good source of protein.

However, the health benefits aren't clear: The most common bean recipe in Mexico — refried beans — often contains a considerable dose of lard.

Tortilla consumption has also fallen from nearly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) per capita annually in 2000 to about 165 pounds (75 kilograms) in 2024. Consumers have increasingly taken to buying bread and other bakery products instead of tortillas.

Apart from the challenge of trying to change consumer habits, the policy also runs counter to market trends. While some countries are trying to encourage high-value varietal and specialized chocolate strains, Mexico is focusing on the cheapest products.

While chocolate was first exported to the rest of the world from Mexico, Mexico's own production has fallen dramatically because of plant diseases and a lack of investment. It dropped from almost 50,000 tons in 2003 to about 28,000 tons in 2022.

And while most Mexican homes may have a jar of instant coffee in their cupboards, that's not where the tendency — or consumer spending — is headed. According to a Technavio industry report, instant products accounted for only about 37% of the sales value of coffee in Mexico.

Sheinbaum's focus on self-sufficiency in oil, energy and foodstuffs is a holdover from her predecessor and political mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who left office on Sept. 30.

López Obrador also appears to have passed on his nostalgia for a 1970s-style Mexico — including passenger rail service, state-owned industries, tight-knit families and small corner stores — to Sheinbaum.

The agriculture plan comes one day after Sheinbaum announced a complete “junk food” ban on salty, fried, processed snacks or sweetened beverages and soft drinks in schools, starting within six months.

But the government's track record in actually changing consumer behavior is poor, columnist Javier Tejado wrote Tuesday in the newspaper El Universal. He reminded readers that the government banned junk food advertisements aimed at children in 2014.

“The result after ten years of prohibitions?” Tejado wrote. “Things are worse than when they started in 2014; Mexicans have decided to keep consuming things they like.”

[meoproject]

Yeah. Well. Val knows Beriith is tall compared to her, but she lacked context as to how tall Beriith is compared other members of his race. And. Hm. Yeah. Beriith is tall, even compared to his own kind. Not, like, unnaturally so? but tall enough for other goets to note it as a significant feature of his.

I also never draw Val's and Beriith's actual height difference unless it's a full body picture :') she's just lunking around several Scully boxes so she can fit in the frame better.

(the map also isn't a representation of any region in the story/world, i haven't made any maps for the world so i had to whip up something map-like for this piece.)

(also Goet language isnt like. a real conlang and not even a real cipher, its just nonsense, i should redo the font too.)

BONUS!

One significant Beriith feature that I can't really convey well is that he speaks with a noticeable accent. I've thought about phonetic accents a lot (thanks to another of my projects which has a character with severe speech impediment of not having lips) and since the balance of fun and annoying is quite delicate, I don't really write them out unless I really have to, and even then I'd downplay it. Beriith's accent isn't meant to be to thick anyway.

More accent talk under cut for those interested.

If we take "middle common" (the language Val and Beriith speak with each other) to be non-diegetic "English", Beriith has, in comparison, fairly flat intonation, and he trills his Rs and has some trouble with "ng" sounds and Ws, which he generally pronounces more like Vs. He also pronounces "th" sounds leaning towards Zs, which sorta runs into the slight logic bomb of "wait, doesn't his name end in 'th', but the watsonian explanation is, of course, that transliteration of his name from Goet to middle common isn't perfect and the h just implies a sightly softened t sound :) (the doylist explanation is, of course, that I decided the name before figuring out how accents work, but if you explain it away, it's not a mistake, just worldbuilding!)

As mentioned before, Beriith's accent isn't thick or anything, definitely not Hollywood-thick, but everyone who hears him speak either knows where he's from or wants to guess where he's from (though you can know but looking at him, Goets are distinct enough, but you know what I mean.)

Val, by the way, speaks the most generic middle common imaginable, like only a step or two below news casters; that's by design (of her parents). They sent her (and her siblings) to a school that specifically taught middle-common without any strong regional accents to give her the most easily-understood accent imaginable. Her family are big into business, mostly in export/import, so her parents figured out having children with neutral, easy to understand, "trustworthy" way of speaking would be the best. Yes, this means Val's parents have a completely different accent than she does, and Val speaks their variation of Elvish with a middle common accent. It does cause some bitterness, Val is kinda... not okay with it, but since her studies are all in middle common anyway it's kinda... whatever, not good but could be worse, but her younger sister is especially upset with not really knowing Elvish that well.

Val is fluent in three languages, middle common, high common (it's occasionally used as a language of magic studies, it's kind of an older version of middle common, or rather a version that has more in common with the older version of the language and branched out a bit differently) and Elvish. Beriith is fluent in like five languages and conversational in several more and "can sort of understand" in many more.

(this wasnt the vignette i was talking about earlier but i needed to get this out of my system.)

[jor-elsemissary]

Pirate Lionel meeting Dracula

I need this now

The ballroom was crowded with attendees from Washington and Hollywood, every single one dressed to the nines with false smiles and laughter. Years ago he would have taken in parties like this with the same vigor and gusto he gave his intimate partners.

Now though?

The charity gala was as expected.

Political. Decadent. Boring.

Lionel Luthor knocked back the flute of champagne and passed off the empty glass to a passing server before making his way deeper into the crowd in search of some kind of entertainment. There had to be someone here he could converse with that wouldn't get on his nerves or bring up his incarceration and the resulting loss of LuthorCorp to his son.

He was tempted to find a woman to bed for the night, maybe even a man if he felt desperate enough.

"Vlad Alucard."

He halted at the Eastern European accent and half turned to gaze upon a well-groomed gentleman holding out a hand toward him. He was pale, as if he rarely ever spent time out in the sun, but his eyes were piercing and sharp. A deep blue-green that was almost mesmerizing the longer one stared at them.

Lionel had to blink and draw his attention away from the man's gaze and took notice of his dark hair and neatly trimmed beard. His hair was long and straight and he felt a small smile quirk at the corner of his lips. Not ever man could wear long hair and make it work for them. But this man certainly did and he had to admit that it made him look more regal.

"I'm sorry?" he finally replied and slowly took the man's hand.

"Vlad Alucard," the man repeated, his eastern accent rolling off the tongue like a fine wine. "And you are Lionel Luthor, the richest man in all of Kansas, no?"

"Was," he found himself bristling a little. "My son took that title away from me a couple years ago."

"You must be proud then." Alucard released his grip on the businessman and Lionel found himself flexing his hand to work out the ache of the man's grip. "My apologies, I forget sometimes that I have a very strong grip."

"I'll say," Lionel warily answered, rubbing his palm with the pad of his thumb. "I'm afraid I have never heard of you before. Where are you from?"

Alucard gave a closed lip smile, a slight smirk to the curve of it, "Romania. The state of Transylvania more specifically."

"Count Dracula's homeland," Lionel recognized and then frowned at the change in expression of his companion. "No?"

"If you refer to the prince Vlad Tepes the Third, then yes," the Romanian replied. He gestured with a ringed hand to dismiss what had been exchanged, as if it was a common mistake. "But if you mean Bram Stoker's monster, no. Dracula is banned in my homeland. It takes a great hero and soils his reputation and undermines his great deeds for country."

"Ah, my apologies. Romania is not a country that I have done business with in recent years or at all." It had been a long time since he had been anywhere near Eastern Europe, the last time being during the war and fighting against the Germans. He tried not to think about the espionage and smuggling operations he conducted in the Mediterranean on behalf of the Allied Powers. "What brings you to the United States?"

"I was actually hoping to do business with you," the man revealed and Lionel raised an eyebrow at him. "Romania is a swiftly growing economy with exports in raw materials, textiles and electronics. One of the interests my country is seeking is pharmaceuticals."

"And you wish to conduct business with LuthorCorp pertaining to medicines in general?"

Alucard shook his head lightly, "Something more specific. There is a... contagion in the rural parts of the country that my government has tried to eradicate with little success. I wish to spare the people who suffer the disease by finding a treatment. My research indicates that LuthorCorp has conducted various studies into hematological disorders with varying success."

He was intrigued to say the least. "In exchange for what exactly?"

"Unfettered access to Romania's meteor rock resource. The green kind." Lionel was silenced by the answer and suspicious all the same. No one should know about his company's studies into the meteor rock unless Lex had been hanging it out like a carrot on a stick to attract interested business partners. He would have to talk to his son about that research the next time he saw him.

"Alright, consider me intrigued," Lionel answered with a wolfish grin. He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a card holder. Slipping a business card from it, he held it out to Alucard. "If you are serious in your offer, my secretary will set up an appointment for us to discuss business in a more private setting."

The Romanian took the card and flipped it over, noting the LC logo in black and purple. "Thank you. I think you find that our futures are entwined, Mister Luthor, much sooner than you realize."

Lionel frowned a little, "How so?"

Alucard stepped a little closer and the immortal pirate's eyes widened a little as he met the man's gaze again, "The night is still young and there is much debauchery to be had." The businessman swallowed at the sound of the man's voice. "There are others I wish to speak to tonight, but if you are interested to continue our business in the privacy of this hotel's penthouse?"

It had been a long time since someone had made a move on him, even longer from a man. He found himself wanting to be agreeable to the idea, but something in the back of his mind was nagging at him to decline. "We'll see," Lionel replied instead, leaving himself open to the idea of spending the evening with intriguing company. His eyes continued to meet with Alucard's, finding the color of them fascinating and wondering if they changed color with his emotions.

He blinked when the Romanian pulled back with a charming smile, pearl white teeth showing. He didn't think to consider the partially concealed canine to be unusually long. He felt like he had one too many flutes of champagne when he stared at the man.

"I look forward to doing business with you later tonight, Mister Luthor," Alucard bowed his head slightly before walking away.

Lionel stared after him and felt that heavy, drugged feeling lift from him with the man's departure. "What in the hell?" he muttered and rubbed at his eyes with one hand.

What had just happened to him?

[cookiesnerd]

Audio Podcast Editing

In the rapidly growing world of digital content, podcasts have emerged as a powerful medium for storytelling, education, and entertainment. While the content itself holds significant importance, the quality of audio can make or break a podcast. This is where audio podcast editing comes into play. Editing not only refines the sound quality but also enhances the overall listener experience. This article delves into the essentials of audio podcast editing, from basic techniques to advanced tips.

The Importance of Podcast Editing

Podcast editing is more than just cutting out mistakes or awkward pauses. Here is my profile about services of AUDIO PODCAST EDITING It's about creating a polished product that engages listeners. High-quality audio can establish credibility, maintain audience attention, and improve the accessibility of content. Poor audio quality, on the other hand, can be distracting and may cause listeners to abandon an episode prematurely.

Essential Tools for Podcast Editing

Before diving into the editing process, having the right tools is crucial. Here are some popular audio editing software options:

Audacity: A free, open-source software that's perfect for beginners. It offers basic editing features like cutting, trimming, and noise reduction.

Adobe Audition: A professional-grade software with advanced features for detailed editing, mixing, and mastering.

GarageBand: Ideal for Mac users, this intuitive tool is great for recording and basic editing.

Hindenburg Journalist: Designed specifically for podcasters, it offers automatic audio leveling and easy-to-use editing features.

Descript: A modern tool that allows you to edit audio as if you’re editing text, making it incredibly user-friendly.

Basic Editing Techniques

Trimming and Cutting: Remove unnecessary parts like long pauses, filler words (um, uh, like), and off-topic tangents to keep the content concise.

Noise Reduction: Eliminate background noise, hums, and hisses to ensure clarity.

Equalization (EQ): Adjust frequencies to balance the audio, making voices sound fuller and clearer.

Compression: Manage volume levels to ensure consistent sound throughout the episode.

Fading In and Out: Smooth transitions between segments with fade effects to avoid abrupt starts or stops.

Adding Music and Sound Effects: Incorporate intro/outro music and sound effects to enhance the listening experience.

Advanced Editing Techniques

For podcasters looking to elevate their production quality, consider these advanced techniques:

Multitrack Editing: Work with multiple audio tracks simultaneously to fine-tune interviews, discussions, or panel recordings.

De-essing: Reduce harsh "s" sounds that can be jarring to listeners.

Normalization: Adjust the overall volume to meet industry standards, ensuring consistency across episodes.

Dynamic Range Compression: Enhance the clarity of voices, especially in environments with varying loudness.

Audio Restoration: Fix distorted audio, remove clicks, pops, and other imperfections using specialized plugins.

The Editing Workflow

A structured workflow can make the editing process more efficient:

Import Audio: Bring your raw recordings into the editing software.

Organize Tracks: Label and arrange tracks for easy navigation.

Initial Cleanup: Remove obvious mistakes, silences, and background noises.

Detailed Editing: Focus on fine-tuning audio levels, applying EQ, and adding effects.

Review: Listen to the episode from start to finish to catch any missed errors.

Export: Save the final version in a suitable format (usually MP3 for podcasts) with appropriate settings for bitrate and file size.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Over-editing: Removing too many natural pauses can make conversations sound robotic.

Ignoring Audio Levels: Inconsistent volume can frustrate listeners who constantly adjust their device's volume.

Skipping the Final Review: Always listen to the entire episode before publishing to catch unnoticed errors.

Using Excessive Effects: Overuse of reverb, echo, or background music can distract from the main content.

Tips for Efficient Podcast Editing

Use Keyboard Shortcuts: Learn shortcuts in your editing software to speed up the process.

Batch Process: Apply effects and adjustments to multiple files at once when possible.

Invest in Good Equipment: High-quality microphones and recording environments reduce the need for extensive editing.

Create a Template: Set up project templates with pre-configured tracks, effects, and settings to save time.

Stay Organized: Keep your files, audio clips, and project folders well-organized to avoid confusion.

Conclusion

Audio podcast editing is both an art and a science. It requires technical skills, a good ear, and attention to detail. Whether you're a beginner learning the basics or an experienced podcaster aiming for professional-quality sound, the key is continuous practice and experimentation. With the right tools, techniques, and a commitment to quality, you can create engaging, polished podcasts that captivate and grow your audience.

[nekobami]

Things I learned in Day 10 of the challenge, Rick Z-6725.

(I'll start making this posts just to be a little record of my experience)

So, the main different thing I tried on making Z-6725, was testing Rough Animator, a mobile app, and I believe for now the only one, with the feature of making different frames and layers capable of overlaying each other and remaining shown, even when other frames are changing, all in the same canvas. (You can do that on other softwares, but manually in layers and not in frames, but on Rough Animator, it can all be different layers and frames.)

You see, one thing that bothers me DEADLY on Hipaint and Medibang Paint, is that they are against my happiness and simply are awfully overwhelming to me. Specially in the moment I have to export every single part of my drawing, and there are lots of lines underneath other lines, and lines lines linesUGHHSHWDIEHDIE and it sucks. Specially when there are more than one single drawing to be divided. So I tried rough animator as an alternative to solve the problem.

Positive points:

- The lining is smooth and nice, it feels less stiff than Medibang Paint and less laggy than Hipaint.

- The layers and frames thing allow me to see what I'm doing more clearly when preparing the frames to export and does not feel as overwhelming.

- Has fewer moments of low performance and lags.

- Does not crash.

- Amazing autosave, you can just close the drawing and what you did remains there when you open it again.

- There's a feature called "draw outside", which allows you to draw everywhere but in the pixels that are already in the layer.

Negative points:

- Quality sucks, pixels are blurred when zoomed in and I simply cannot stand that.

- Layers don't have a small screen showing the layer. The only way for you to recognize the layer is naming it, what is terrible for unorganized losers like me who doesn't remember naming layers.

- Don't have the "cut" layer, that allows you to draw things only inside the pixels of other layer. (There's something close, which is called "draw inside" that can only imitate this functionality by drawing in the pixels that are already in the layer - but the eraser erases everything, what sucks if you commit lots of mistakes.)

- There is only horizontal visualization (landscape). You cannot rotate it in vertical (what sucks a little for phone users like me, but I managed to fix that.)

- All the other layers get blurred except for the layer you're currently drawing in. (Which is great for performance but can be annoying if you're drawing with thin lines.)

- Don't export transparent images/gifs.

- The export is also weird, it doesn't make common png but always create an album for the work exported. What makes sense, but it's still not that versatile.

- The personalized brushes have limited configurations.

- Not really that much of a negative point, but the interface is not really user-friendly, you gotta have one good idea of what you're doing before using it

Still. I will use it again because I didn't had HALF the stress I had when drawing in any of the other softwares, besides all it's flaws. Nothing is perfect, but everything is possible.

And YET I gotta tell you guys that I simply CANNOT UNDERSTAND what the F#CK is wrong with me and WHY do I keep using softwares for things they are NOT MEANT TO BE USED.

Do NOT be like me, don't commit the same mistake mate, If you don't know what you're doing, DON'T USE FRAME BY FRAME SOFTWARES IN BETA *TO MAKE TWEEN ANIMATION*. Don't use a cup for sweep the floor bro, don't use a broom for fishing, ARE YOU UNDERSTANDING ME?

[avionvadion]

I'm wondering. Where does Zaahira go to school? Is she a mage?

Zaahira is a very powerful mage, and has several tutors assigned specifically to her- all for general education, royal education, and magical education.

Favored by the Sultana, she doesn’t get to leave home very often, which is why she snuck out to observe the marketplace. Unfortunately, that’s what led to her being abducted in the first place and how she met Kalim and El. She’s twisted from Jasmine, though is also probably the actual Jasmine’s descendant. After managing to convince her mother to ask for Kalim’s hand (as they have quite a bit in common- family members trying to kill them and all, and his bubbly personality is quite refreshing) in marriage and securing an engagement with him, she’s allowed a little more freedom as her lack of it is what led to her being so easily abducted. She still isn’t allowed to attend an actual school, but she can travel more freely now.

Zaahira is intent on keeping up her new friendship with El, as it’s obvious (from Kalim’s comments and the pictures Eleanora showed her) that she’s the partner of Malleus Draconia, and if Zaahira can play her cards right… the land of Scalding Sands will be the first to have a proper friendship with the Valley of Thorns, and may even be able to sell exports there and receive imports from them. She a smart and ambitious lady. Zaahira, who is set to inherit the throne and be the next Sultana so long as she isn’t assassinated or makes an overwhelming irredeemable mistake, is playing the long game.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

The couple next door: A common mistake, the reality of fantasy is not as expected.

With all the efforts within its grasp to draw attention to this series, getting magazine covers, articles, interviews and previews, in the past weeks, The Couple Next Door is not an impressive series and generates a lot of hype for something unappealing and not fascinating.

The Couple Next Door: a camp export features, a stalker, corruption, weed, alcohol, crime, and couples cavorting like rabbits, but despite all, it’s not popping sexy, and of course diamonds [ was filmed in Belgium-Antwerp —the undisputed diamond capital of the world]. It's a copy of the Walter Presents Dutch thriller show Nieuwe Buren (2014) ('New Neighbours'/ ‘The Swingers’ in English) filmed in The Netherlands. There's even a Pete and Evie in that too.

It surprises you starting with a scene that tends to remind Outlander series. Evie runs barefoot in nightie through the woods, and Pete, Danny, and Becka run behind her. After this, we spend the next 6 hours reminiscing about the events that led up to this happening, and the interesting but confusing twists only come in the last 60 minutes.

But back to the beginning: Peter [Alfred Enoch] and Evie [Eleanor Tomlinson] are a cute couple indulging in a quieter suburban existence. Their new neighbours Becka [Jessica De Gouw] and Danny [Sam Heughan] just hug and kiss all the time. Becka’s a sexy yoga trainer and Danny’s a He-Man physique with a stubble chin in a tight white T-shirt on a motorcycle. And, also, he’s a policeman, albeit a bent one. He drinks and smokes weed. He gives the impression that he cavorts like a rabbit when he is not up to the task, even if they want to make him shine not everything is quality in this disturbingly surreal nightmare.

Danny (Sam Heughan) is a cop with troubles on his mind. (Image credit: Channel 4)

There Is No Such Thing as a palpable chemistry between SH/Danny and Eleanor/Evie. There’s no chemistry between them: chemistry is when the interactions with the other person just work well and feel very natural, or they allow their sexual/physical attraction to develop. Here, it is not the case: Eleanor/Evie and Alfie/Pete have more credible chemistry, than Eleanor and SH, and To almost no one's surprise, Alfred Enoch is a good actor. Becka/Jessica De Gouw surprises by playing the character of a liberal wife, but she prefers not to be fooled. If you look back at the 4 performances, SH’s performance is the weakest one. SH has a hard time not being JAMMF or himself in other roles--He is invisible in a role outside of OL.

SH plays a corrupt Yorkshire traffic cop who smokes joints and struggles with the Yorkshire accent [he can't hide his Scottish accent, he's not good with accents] and his well-known Outlander mannerisms as an experimental art style in this series. He is weird, wood, bland and seems very uncomfortable at times. Some highlighted SH's dancing on the beach, he is as tough as a Dutch clog, and he has no coordination. His permanent duty is just a pose. He takes short rides around this quiet neighbourhood on his BMW motorcycle and takes Evie [Eleanor Tomlinson] for a spin around the block, thinking he’s with her at the amusement park enjoying the rollercoaster ride.

Dries Vos was inspired by everything he saw in the past, taking this from this and that from that and mixing them imitating notable film moments. He hasn't created anything that has the feeling of David Lynch, director [distinguished by his surreal qualities] that seems dangerous throughout the show.

While the swinger is part of the drama, you don't expect to receive anything more than hot kissing hints, a hint of eyebrow movement, innuendoes all over the shop. It begins with a sad story that happens to one of the couples, then expands into a story dragged by many tentacles, a mix for the writer, who seems to be having the best time of his life, and then it's not a heavyweight drama. We follow Becka's stalker Alan who observes her with a telescope instead of a wide-angle camera evokes Alfred Hitchcock's “Rear Window”. Danny's murky corruption; Pete's puny sperm; Evie's religious parents and Evie's obsessive madness, who refuses to let the relationship end, which is similar to Glenn Close's obsession in the film “Fatal Attraction”. It is effectively a thick soap with a set of GCSE-level results.

It was not filmed in Leeds, a couple landscape opportunities, the village of Esholt famous for the popular Yorkshire television series 'Emmerdale Farm' and some scenes of Baildon Moor. The rest was filmed in Belgium [in the Flemish region] and on the great sandy beaches of the Belgian North Sea coast.

Photo channel4

The suburb was centred in the Netherlands, a nice American-style neighbourhood that is more like Los Angeles with palm trees than Leeds, so it was a good opportunity to please STARZ, who is part of the production, you never know what happens with SH’s American family, or at least we suppose it.

Thus, The Couple Next Door (Channel 4), is a cheesy drama that attempts to incorporate infertility, infidelity, morality, religion, crime and an ending set in the Belgian equivalent of Center Parcs despite pretending that it has a place in Leeds (UK). if you think is a sexy thriller, all of the events that occur take place on account of the characters' noting and believing, and to be honest, this is not their strong suit. The Plot goes no further. because it was Much Ado About Nothing. It does not appear to be all that it is.

#thecouplenextdoor #channel4

Just my thoughts 💭 after 5/6 hours, I still think the Dutch thriller Nieuwe Buren (2014) or ('New Neighbours/ ‘The Swingers 1” is a better version. You can also watch it on Channel 4.