Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which rulers of Indian states could exercise power independently from the British in the period 1750–1900.
Docs: note i didnt use doc 2 it was a pic
Doc 1:
Source: Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, ruler of the southeast Indian state of Arcot, letter to the Court of Directors of the British East India Company, 1777.
Sirs, it has been five years since the Company gave me positive orders to take the neighboring state of Tanjore and lent me its troops for that purpose. It has been almost three years since, keeping my promise, I took Tanjore and expelled its ruler.
Since then, I have been paying, out of my state coffers, all the debts that the prince of Tanjore had accumulated, much of it to Europeans of other nations. He had mortgaged parts of his territory to the Dutch; I paid them off. I also paid the troops of his army the back wages that he owed them and took care to suppress the banditry in the Tanjore country that he had allowed to fester. I have also been preventing the Marathas* from attacking this country, by buying them off with large sums of money. I have made great advances to the prosperity of the inhabitants of Tanjore by giving them bulls and rice from my domains.
Sirs, it is well known that Tanjore lies in the Carnatic lowlands and that I am, by the blessing of God, the ruler of that part of India. It is only by your favor and assistance, Gentlemen, that I got possession of my right, and I am thankful to you day and night. Nonetheless, I cannot conclude this letter without noting that, by changing your mind and now insisting that the prince of Tanjore be restored to his throne, you are opening this region to your enemies. Reinstating the prince of Tanjore is just the same as inviting the French in this country, because, when they bring their forces here and start hostilities against you, he is certain to ally with them and supply them with everything they need. Give him back the revenues of Tanjore and you might as well be giving them to the French or to the Marathas. Whereas, should they remain in my hands, I will make sure that no part of the wealth of the country falls into the hands of our common enemies.
*an alliance of states in west-central India which were, at the time, at war with the British
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Doc 3:
Source: Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore, letter to the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, 1785.
Your Majesty,
Receiving Your letter and gifts, which You sent to me by Your special emissary, has honored me boundlessly. In acknowledgment of Your letter and gifts I respectfully offer You my most humble allegiance and obedience.
As a steadfast believer, and desiring, like You, to always support the noble religion of Muhammad, I have taken it upon myself in recent years to chastise and drive away the adherents of Christianity and especially the wicked English from these parts of India. Unable to continue fighting me in that war,* the English begged me for peace in the most abject manner. This is such a well-known fact that it hardly needs to be mentioned. With the divine aid and the blessing of God, I am now again firmly committed to the total destruction of the enemies of the faith and their extirpation from India.
*the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–1784), which ended with the East India Company recognizing the independence of Mysore
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Doc 4 :
Source: John Malcolm, official of the East India Company and former governor of Bombay, response to a survey by the company’s Court of Directors on the political situation in India, 1832.
I am decidedly of the opinion that the tranquility and indeed the security of our vast Indian territories depends on our preserving and protecting those native Indian principalities that have allied with us and rely on us for their security. Not only are these states incapable, in their present condition, of forming any dangerous alliances against us, but they also absorb many elements of sedition or rebellion, which might otherwise have been directed at our rule.
The other great benefit we derive from maintaining these native states is that their continued existence mitigates to some extent the bad general impression that our sovereignty produces in the eyes of many Indians. It helps us dispel the accusation that we make alliances in India only to serve our short-term goals and discard our former allies when they have served our purposes. While this accusation is in many cases untrue or exaggerated, it is one of the most common objections to our power.
It is further to be observed that the native princes, as men of high birth, are greatly respected by their subjects. As such they afford an example to their countrymen of submission to the rule of foreigners and, by doing so, they contribute greatly to the preservation of the general peace. I am convinced that any attempt of ours to annex their territories, while it may temporarily increase our revenues, will be a hazard to the permanence of our rule in India.
Doc 5:
Source: Laxmi Bai, queen of the north Indian state of Jhansi, proclamation to the people of Jhansi and to fellow Indian rulers, announcing her support for the Sepoy Rebellion, 1858.
To God only belongs the World, and the command of it rests with Him!
Indian Princes! May you always be religious, virtuous, benevolent and brave, and the protectors of your own and of the religion of others. God has created you for the destruction of those who seek to destroy your faith.
It has now become evident to all men that the English are the enemies of all our religions. From time immemorial have they been trying to contaminate the Hindu and Muslim religions by the production and circulation of religious books through the medium of missionaries, and by destroying our own religious books that try to put forth arguments against them. The English have shown their efforts to contaminate our religion and traditions in various ways. First, by forcing Hindu widows to remarry; second, by abolishing our ancient customs; and third, by favoring and promoting those Indians who embrace the Christian faith. The English have also wrongfully held that the succession to the thrones of Indian princes is only permitted to natural sons and have insisted that rulers’ adopted sons are prohibited from succession. This is something that is contrary to Hindu scriptures, in which adopted sons are given the same privileges as natural heirs.
These are the ploys by which the English deprive us of our thrones and wealth—as seen in their recent actions in Nagpur and Oudh.* Now, in their latest outrage, they have given their [Indian] Sepoy troops a new rifle to use that requires the Sepoys to bite through bullet cartridges greased with animal fat** and have begun executing those Sepoys who refused to use the cartridges. I implore the Hindus in the name of the holy river Ganges and the God Vishnu, and I implore the Muslims in the name of Allah and the Holy Qur’an, to join us in destroying the English and in protecting our mutual welfare. Know, oh people, that you would never have another opportunity like this to drive the English away!
*former Indian states taken over by the British in 1853 and 1856, respectively
**The 1857 adoption of the Enfield rifle by the British Indian army was one of the immediate causes of the Sepoy Rebellion.
Doc 6:
Source: Ranbir Singh, ruler of the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, letter to the ruler of Afghanistan, 1879. The letter was intercepted by the British colonial authorities.
The practical difference between the British and the Russian empires, assuming one or the other is to be our master, is that, if we fall to the Russians, we would at least be spared the intrusion of having a Resident Political Officer.* It is my understanding that the Russians may put troop garrisons in their Asiatic provinces to give themselves military and political control, but, to the native princes of those provinces, Russian rule basically involves only the payment of tribute, the amount of which, if left to their own devices, the princes can always wring out of their subjects. The British, on the other hand, come upon us with all these preconceived ideas about good governance, administrative propriety, the duties of rulers towards their subjects, etc. They hold these ideas almost religiously (and, like religious ideas, they are not subject to discussion) but to us they are not only unnatural, but absolutely incomprehensible.
The presence of the British Political Officer exposes our weakness to our subjects; and the moment that happens, it is goodbye to our independence. If we do not act in precise conformity with the foreign notions of governance that the Political Officer—a junior representative of a distant European power, ignorant of the practical conditions of our Eastern life—demands of us, he immediately reports this fact to the British Imperial authorities in Calcutta, and his Empire then comes down on us with a heavy hand in the name of “humanity” or “civilization,” or some other such absurdity unheard of in our philosophy. If we were to fall under Russian rule, we shall no doubt be vassals, but vassals free at least to do as we please in our own backyard. We have no such luxury under the intolerable nuisance of the British Political Officer.
*After the mid-1840s, the British colonial government in India began appointing “Resident Political Officers” to oversee the actions of nominally independent Indian rulers.
Doc 7:
Source: Mahbub Ali Khan, ruler of the central Indian state of Hyderabad, letter to the British Resident Political Officer in Hyderabad, 1898.
Regarding the education of my eldest son, you had proposed several fine gentlemen as potential tutors, including Mr. Brian Egerton, previously tutor to the prince of Bikaner, Captain Colvin of the Political Department, tutor of the prince of Rampur, Mr. J. W. D. Johnstone of the Education Department, tutor to the prince of Gwalior and professor Theodore Morrison of Aligarh College. I have chosen to appoint Mr. Egerton, subject to the following conditions:
He shall be considered strictly as a private servant in my household, and as such shall be subject to all restrictions which ancient customs and my personal habits have imposed on that service. He shall in no way meddle with the political and administrative affairs of my state of Hyderabad. Nor should he, without my permission, visit, receive, or have any contact with any Hyderabadi official or nobleman whatsoever. Violation of these conditions will entail his immediate dismissal at my discretion.
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Essay:
British colonization of India was direct at first and then indirect and economically focused. Although the British held power over the Indian people at the start of its reign, the Sepoy Rebellion, and the Mughal Empire challenged the British and the Indian people challenged the East India Company economically which led to its gradual downfall and loss of power. During the period of Indian colonization, many countries and powers in Africa were also colonized by England and its neighboring European countries. The main reason for the colonization by England was for economical reasons. Diamonds and precious metals in Africa and tea and spices in India hence the East India Company.
British Colonization was politically dominant at first as well as economically dominant. Document 1 is written by an Indian ruler during the start of colonization. The leader is begging the British in a very respectful manner using "sirs" which shows the might of the British Empire at that time. The document was written at the time where Britain controlled Indian trade and the economical scene of India. British goods were sold in India and for a higher price while England exported resources for itself. Document 4 is written by an East India Company official who claims that the Indians rely on them for security while 20 years later, the Sepoy rebellion was announced and gained the favor of the natives which contradicts the English official and his claim that Indians relied on them for security which undermines British control to the extent that it claimed to have. The use of the surveys could have been used as intimidation and may have been exaggerated to show dominance in India. Religious reasons were also a reason for the Sepoy Rebellion. Document 5 claims that the English were enemies of God. The fact that the Mughals were involved showed how much the Mughals valued religion as a factor for war, in fact, could also be proven due to the fact that when the Mughals and Safavids had a quarrel, it was due to religion while the Safavids had a fight with the Ottomans over resources which shows that the Mughals were prepared to fight invaders with a different religion. Document 3 also uses religion as a unifying factor against the British. The document also shows the fact that England could not fight the war by the claims of Tipu Sultan because they allegedly "begged him" which could be false at the same time due to the fact that he was writing to the Mughal ruler and he could not afford to be shown as weak while in an alliance with the Mughal ruler. The extent of English domination was far less than it had expected. Indirect rule was used by Queen Victoria by the establishment of the Princely States also shows that England was not as powerful as it had been when it invaded India. During the 1500s, Portugal had attempted to control India for trading purposes, however, the extent of Its rule spanned over a few city ports and was also beaten by Indian merchants because of their knowledge of the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese expansion also was also a symbol of weakness to Portugal as they did not achieve what they wanted. British domination, however, was prominent at the start of the colonization. The East India Company controlled trade and exported spices and other goods such as tea which was very valuable during that time. The indirect rule by England in its later years was also controlled by the East India Company as it was not only economical, it was also political. Towards the end of its reign, England was outmaneuvered economically as it had drained India's resources and it had suffered financial difficulty as many Indians under Mohandas Gandhi boycotted British goods and started making their own goods such as clothes and tea which brought the downfall of Britain and the East India Company which made it fall politically as the Company had control over politics as well.
The British empire did have power at the start of its reign over India however like Portugal 400 years before, it failed to hold control over it and kept gradually declining as the recourses were drained and the Sepoy rebellion drained its military and the East India Company which led to the loss of power in India.

I love ranking things. As soon as I decided to rewatch this show, I knew I wanted to do an episodes ranking. What I didn't know is that I'd end up with a post so long that I'd have to trim it down to meet Reddit's 40,000 character limit.
I've tried to find something noteworthy in each episode that hasn't been discussed a lot, and then write something interesting about it. If you've already explored lots of Breaking Bad analysis, a lot of what I've written will probably be familiar to you. But I hope you still find some themes, symbols, visual details, etc. that you hadn't noticed before.
I do have some unpopular opinions about the show, particularly in my lower-ranked episodes. Please keep in mind that this ranking is largely based on my personal level of enjoyment with each episode, and you are more than welcome to voice your disagreements in the comments. If you tire of reading my criticisms, skip ahead to around #45, at which point I have almost nothing but positive things to say about the show.
Okay, with that out of the way, I hope you enjoy reading this!
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62: "Box Cutter" (S4:E1)
I like to think that I can handle some pretty gruesome stuff – I can even make it through Skyler singing happy birthday to Ted without fast-forwarding. But the box cutter scene is just too much for me. It feels like needlessly extreme violence, and turns Gus into a Tuco-like figure when I’d thought the point of his character was that Walt and Jessie had moved on from working with psychopathic murderers.
Nothing new is revealed about any of the other characters in this episode, and outside of the one big event, the rest of the episode is pretty boring.
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61: "Thirty-Eight Snub" (S4:E2)
One of the few episodes where the show feels like it's stalling. Jesse doesn't get much to do other than show how depressed he is. Hank's mineral obsession is probably the least interesting plot in the entire show. And we get one scene after another of Walt's pathetic attempts at hunting down Gus.
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60: "End Times" (S4:E12)
I have a couple issues with this one. First, Walt's insanely good gaslighting of Jesse regarding Brock's poisoning. It feels out of character for Walt to be that good when he's consistently shown to be a bad liar. Secondly, the anticlimactic ending, which is just Gus getting suspicious of his car and walking away. Few other episodes end with something as simple as "welp, that failed."
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59: "Rabid Dog" (S5:E12)
Skyler going full homicidal and planting the idea of Walt killing Jesse feels like a plot necessity that isn't supported by Skyler's character. Then there's some real on-the-nose dialogue: Marie bluntly asking "is this bad for Walt?", and Jesse's "Mr. White is the devil" speech, which both feel jarringly clunky in a show that usually has such elegant dialogue. Finally, another anticlimactic ending, though this one is partially saved by the final shot of Walt calling up Todd to put out the hit on Jesse.
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58: "Down" (S2:E4)
Nothing really wrong with this episode. The painful misfortunes of Jesse just doesn't measure up to the greatness of other episodes.
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57: "Ozymandias" (S5:E14)
I get why this episode is held in such high regard: it is unquestionably the most intense hour of television I've ever watched. But the question I ask is whether incredibly high stakes and incredibly shocking moments automatically equate to incredibly high quality. I personally don't they do.
I find several things in this episode (particularly the knife fight and the baby kidnapping) to be a bit excessive. These events weren't necessary to advance the plot, and seem to exist only to inflict the maximum amount of emotional devastation. The writers seem so intent on doing this that they don't pause to ask whether this is actually the right move. So what we end up with is an episode that is so utterly depressing that it feels incongruous with the rest of the series.
Again, you're more than welcome to tell me how wrong I am in the comments.
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56: "Confessions" (S5:E11)
Walt's fake confession is great, but the last 10 minutes of this episode are rough. First we're supposed to believe that Jesse suddenly figures out Walt's Brock plan just by noticing that Huell lifted weed off him – I don't buy it. Then we end the episode with Jesse preparing to set Walt's house on fire, but there's no real tension here because the last flash-forward has already revealed the White residence intact.
I know they had to unequivocally turn Jesse against Walt for the final storylines to progress the way they did, but the way they did it feels contrived.
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55: "ABQ" (S2:E13)
I've never really liked the plane crash storyline – a coincidental cause-and-effect plot feels like a cheap way to exponentially increase the amount of blood on Walt's hands.
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54: "Cornered" (S4:E6)
Opens really strong with "I am the one who knocks." The rest of the episode is largely just the crazy antics of Walt and Jesse: Walt buying a soda with Bogdan's first dollar, Jesse fooling a methhead with his shovel stunt, and Walt bribing the laundry ladies to clean the lab. It's fun stuff, but coming after the rather slow "Shotgun", I wish it pushed the plot forward a little more.
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53: "Bug" (S4:E9)
A setup episode for the big events in the final episodes of season 4. Skyler's "play the bimbo for the IRS" plan is very clever, and Gus walking straight through a field of sniper gunfire is a great character moment for him. Nothing wrong with this episode, but also nothing extraordinary.
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52: "Seven Thirty-Seven" (S2:E1)
Nothing wrong with this episode either, aside from the fact that due to the unplanned, abrupt ending to season 1, it doesn't feel a lot like a season premiere. Tuco displays more psychopathic insanity by expressing shock that the henchman he beat to death "can't take an ass-beating". Walt and Jesse decide it's time to cut ties with him and prepare the ricin plan. And Skyler decides to tell Hank all about her "spoiled, kleptomaniac, bitch sister" as he goes for the most awkward hug attempt of all-time.
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51: "I.F.T." (S3:E3)
I Fucked Ted is not one of the show's better storylines – it's just Skyler taking a cop-out solution to her issues with Walt. Maybe that was the point of it, but it still feels a little cheap.
The tense meeting between Gus and the cartel keeps this episode out of my Bottom 10.
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50: "Abiquiu" (S3:E11)
A somewhat lackluster episode compared to the amazing episodes it's surrounded by, but it still has some strong scenes – most notably the Jesse-Andrea moment when she asks him for meth. "What kind of mother are you?" asks the guy who intentionally sells to people trying to get clean. It's interesting how getting to know Andrea intimately totally changes Jesse's moral boundaries.
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49: "Shotgun" (S4:E5)
The actual "shotgun" plot isn't the most interesting – it's really just a necessary move to get Jesse back in action. What is really interesting is the dinner scene at the end of the episode, when Walt has a few too many glasses of wine and reveals that Gale was not the Heisenberg that Hank is after. It seems that Walt's indignation toward anyone who won't give him credit for his work is so enormous that it trumps his instincts to not get caught by the DEA.
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48: "Bit by a Dead Bee" (S2:E3)
Walt's speech to the psychiatrist about why he left home is a great summary of his general motivations. And Hector suddenly taking a dump on the DEA floor, followed by Gomez's "oh man...", is hilarious. Outside of those 2 scenes, there's not a whole lot here.
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47: "Breakage" (S2:E5)
An episode that's primarily setup for greater things to come. Highlights include Hank's exploding beer bottles as a metaphor for his bottled up PTSD, and Walt's breakage speech to Jessie: "You think Tuco had breakage? He broke bones!" Sounds like Walt doesn't detest the homicidal maniacs in the drug world as much as he thinks he does.
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46: "Fifty-One" (S5:E4)
Let's talk about Skyler. First of all, anyone who thinks that any of her actions are even in the same universe of awful as Walt's doesn't understand the show. Secondly, Anna Gunn does a great job playing her character.
Now with that out of the way, I can say that I find Skyler to be the least interesting main character in the series. She gets a couple great moments when she's working for Walt, but mostly she just acts as a lifestyle obstacle and rarely drives the kinds of moral conundrums that characters like Jesse and Hank do. So even her strongest episode – an episode that's all about the emotional suffering she endures as a hostage of Walt's drug empire – I can't say that it's one of the show's better episodes (which is to say that it's still pretty great. Just not as great as 45 other episodes.)
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45: "Open House" (S4:E3)
Marie's recurring kleptomania tends to get a lot of flak as a pointless subplot. While I mostly agree, I like how this episode extends it into her creating entirely fictional lives for herself. She's sort of a lesser Walt in some ways: her obsessive tendencies, poor coping mechanisms, and desire to lead a double life. It's interesting to see a character who could've easily been forgotten about get developed like this.
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44: "Mas" (S3:E5)
"Facing death, it changes a person. It has to, don't you think?" Marie asks Skyler. More specifically, it changes the men in this show. Walt and Hank are drastically different people, yet they similarly refuse to let their wives in on their internal struggles, thinking that exposing their insecurities would be unmanly.
Just when it seems Walt may have a change of heart, Gus gives him the "a man provides" speech. "He does it even when he's not appreciated, or respected, or even loved. He simply bears. He does it because he's a man." This toxic attitude about masculinity is what destroys the lives of Walt, of other men like him, and of all their families.
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43: "Caballo Sin Nombre" (S3:E2)
Walt's most pathetic episode. First he gets himself pepper sprayed by a cop, then he wastes a perfectly good pizza on roof decoration. He ends the day by getting drunk and falling asleep in a pile of popcorn, and wakes himself the next morning by slamming his head into a countertop.
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42: "Phoenix" (S2:E12)
Walt running into Jane's dad and getting a relevant moral lesson is an obvious plot contrivance that I'm not a big fan of. Other than that, I love how true-to-life this episode feels. The rising tension between Jane and her dad as she hides her relapse from him is palpable. And the explosion of mayhem when he finally catches her, but then can't bring himself to give her the punishment she needs, is one of the most powerful moments of the season.
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41: Negro y Azul (S2:E7)
"Blowfishin' this up!" has to be one of the funniest scenes in the entire series. It's such a great representation of what a bizarre yet effective teacher Walt is.
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40: "Hermanos" (S4:E8)
We finally see the human side of Gus in this episode, first with the shot of him looking terrified after his interrogation with the DEA, and then in the long flashback that ends with the murder of his partner. A horrified, enraged Gus is forced to stare into the eyes of his partner's corpse, as blood drips from his head and into the pool. It's a difficult scene to watch, but it's easily worth it for the payoff 2 episodes later.
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39: "Mandala" (S2:E11)
Jesse, not wanting Jane to risk relapsing, insists that she leaves before he smokes his meth. She's about to do so, but right when she reaches the door, she decides to turn around and join him. In their next scene, they're already shooting up heroin. This fast, hard, and unplanned relapse feels shocking, but also realistic. The fact that her (Walt-assisted) overdose death is in the very next episode further accentuates the effectively fast pacing of this storyline.
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38: "Say My Name" (S5:E7)
We feel awful for Mike when Walt kills him out of pure spitefulness. But the worst thing imaginable had already happened to him: he was forced to either surrender to the police, or escape by abandoning his granddaughter. According to Lydia, having a child think you abandoned them is even worse than having them find your dead body. But Mike nonetheless chooses the escape.
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37: "Live Free or Die" (S5:E1)
"YEAH BITCH! MAGNETS!" I know some people find this episode to be a little cheesy for a show like Breaking Bad, but I love the return to the fun misadventures of Walt and Jesse. It's a nice bit of levity after the incredibly intense Season 4.
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36: "Pilot" (S1:E1)
With so much stuff to setup, pilot episodes are difficult to write. This one does a solid job, and it already provides some fantastic Walt moments (humiliating the kid bullying Jr, using explosive chemistry to escape from Emilio and Krazy-8). But because this episode is filled to the brim with plot exposition, the tone and pacing isn't as consistent as it is in the rest of the show.
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35: "Granite State" (S5:E15)
My favorite thing about this episode is the snow. It's the polar opposite climate of the sand-filled Albuquerque desert, yet it's portrayed with the same sense of vastness, desolation, and blinding brightness. There's a palpable sense of the frigid temperatures, and of Walt's emotional disintegration as his sickly figure rests inside the tiny cabin. Totally different from the usual Breaking Bad environments, but the cinematography is just as stunning.
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34: "Gliding Over All" (S5:E8)
First the beautifully harrowing prison shanking montage. Then the equally impressive "crystal blue persuasion" montage, which opens with a perfect match cut that dons the meth-making suit on Hank's innocuous-looking brother-in-law, and closes with the pest tents popping up all over town as Walt's empire reaches its peak. The show hereby solidifies its status as a masterpiece of visual storytelling.
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33: "Better Call Saul" (S2:E8)
Hank, having just narrowly escaped death by exploding tortoise, has fearfully retreated into his bedroom. On the other hand, Walt has now accepted that he will die soon and shed the fear that shackled him in the past. That leads to him being the one to give Hank a great motivational speech.
Only 15 episodes into the show, the writers already managed to create a total switch in their characters. And when Hank does get out of bed and get back to chasing Heisenberg, it's of course Walt that foils his plan. Such good writing.
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32: "A No-Rough-Stuff-Type-Deal" (S1:E7)
Out of all the places Walt and Jesse end up cooking meth, the one I always forget about is Jesse's basement. There they are, mixing their chemicals and their toxic fumes, while oblivious house shoppers explore the rest of the property. The realtor nervously sprays a perfume to cover up the smell, and then there's an immediate cut to a similar-looking vapor pouring out of one of Walt's flasks. Similarly great "chemicals are everywhere" match cuts appear in other episodes as well.
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31: "Green Light" (S3:E4)
Kudos to Gus for knowing that making a deal with Jesse would get Walt cooking again. But little does he know that most of the psychological groundwork for this plan's success had already been laid decades ago by Walt's departure from Gray Matter. "This is my product," Walt insists when Jesse shows up with a sample of his latest batch. "This is my formula. This is MINE!" Even with a 50% cut off of Jesse's earnings, selling out his brilliant chemistry is something Walt will never do again.
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30: "Buried" (S5:E10)
Here we see Marie realizing all the lies Skyler has told her to cover for Walt. There's something uniquely heartbreaking about seeing a sibling relationship crumble like this. It's a reversal of the early tiara plot, when Skyler was scolding Marie for her minor crime and begging for her old sister to come back. Now Skyler has fallen so far that Marie doesn't seem to believe her old sister exists anymore. She leaves the scene not with a beg, but with a vicious slap to the face.
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29: "Problem Dog" (S4:E7)
Jesse confronting the therapy leader on his self-acceptance bullshit is my favorite Jesse moment. It's a perfect representation of Jesse's character, which is that somehow, the guy in therapy who's there to sell other people meth is the only one with a proper moral outlook. Moreover, it underscores what I think is the show's core philosophy: Bad deeds always have bad consequences, and the pretense of self-acceptance is only a cover for immorality.
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28: "Hazard Pay" (S5:E3)
What I love about this episode is that, even in the show's incredibly dark final season, they still make so much time for comedy. Jesse stealing a tortilla off the conveyor belt. Badger's horrific guitar accompaniment of Skinny Pete's piano solo. And the poor houseowner's reaction when he sees the giant Vamanos Pest boxes being wheeled inside: "Holy crap! How much poison are you using?" Wrong question sir – the real question is how much poison they'll be making.
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27: "Crawl Space" (S4:E11)
This is lower than where most people would rank this episode, so I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the way the ending is constructed. Walt's verbal spat with Jesse feels repetitive of the big fight they had in Bug. The final scene is jaw-dropping acting from Cranston, but I've never liked the way it's intercut with Marie's phone call – I would've saved that for the next episode.
These are of course relatively minor complaints in an otherwise great episode.
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26: "Blood Money" (S5:E9)
The look in Hank's face when he says "I don't even know who I'm talking to" says it all. It's the realization that the man who stands six inches in front of him has completely destroyed his perception of his family, his career, and really his entire worldview. The big monster he's been chasing has been his seemingly pathetic, emasculated brother-in-law. Even having spent the past week putting together all the evidence, and having just punched him in the head, he still can't quite believe it, until Walt's voice suddenly drops and utters the most terrifying words of the entire series: "tread lightly."
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25: "Buyout" (S5:E6)
We're shown very clearly in Season 1 the importance of Walt's bitterness toward Gretchen and Elliot. But it's still shocking to find out that a year later, after everything that's happened, Walt takes a moment out of every Friday to check on Gray Matter's stock price, and scold himself for taking a $5K buyout on what is now worth over $700M.
The $5M he's being offered now would be more than enough to provide for him and his family indefinitely. But to Walt, $5M is essentially the same as $5K – it's selling out his potential. Walt's not in the meth business, or the money business; he's in the empire business.
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24: "One Minute" (S3:E7)
When we were first getting to know macho, arrogant Hank in season 1, there was no anticipation that he would get as much great character development as he does. We see the culmination of that in this episode when he lets his emotions get the best of him in his beating of Jesse, ruining his career and his desire to be a cop. But just when he accepts that he's done with the world of the DEA, that world isn't done with him, and we end the episode with the most brutally intense action sequence yet.
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23: "Madrigal" (S5:E2)
The ultimate Mike episode. He's absolutely unflinching under Hank's intense interrogation. He's two steps ahead of Lydia's plan to kill off his guys, sneaking up on the one in cahoots with her using one of Kaylee's toys as a distraction. But we finally see his achilles heel when he can't bring himself to kill Lydia after seeing that she too has a wonderful daughter. That's the beginning of the end for Mike, as he instead decides to use her for methylamine and partner back up with Walt. Great downfall story.
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22: "Face Off" (S4:E13)
Gus getting half his face blown off isn't actually the end of Walt's troubles in this episode. The last step is reassuring Jesse of his innocence when the doctors discover that Brock was actually poisoned by Lily of the Valley. With this completed, Walt can finally breathe a deep sigh of relief. He and Jesse are back on the same team.
But what kind of team will it be? The answer is obviously foreshadowed in the final shot – the confirmation that the reuniting is rooted in an evil lie. But it's also foreshadowed in the previous shot, which is a close-up of the Pollos Hermanos logo in front of a mischievously smiling Walt. Walt and Jesse are the new meth hermanos, and it's going to end just as badly for them as it did for Gus and his partner.
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21: "Dead Freight" (S5:E5)
I love trains. As a kid, my dad and I used to walk to the local commuter rail tracks and hide in the bushes as the train flew by. (One time we also shot a video of me pretending to get run over.)
This episode feels like the Breaking Bad version of my fond train memories. I love how unabashedly fun it is (at least until the final scene). It's unlike any of the other crimes in Breaking Bad, but it's worked perfectly into the story and setting.
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20: "Half Measures" (S3:E12)
Mike gives Walt the "no half measures" speech and he takes it to a heart in a very unexpected way. But what really takes this episode to another level is how all its events mirror the story that Mike tells. Gus intimidatingly demands that the dealers stop using kids, just as Mike threatened the wifebeater to end his abuse, and once again the half-measure doesn't work. So Walt's "full measure" is exactly what Mike wishes his had been: a driving detour that ends in the murder of the bad guys. Perfectly written episode.
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19: "I See You" (S3:E8)
I often see this episode ranked low, and coming right after the action-packed "One Minute," it's easy to see why. But as with many of the big moments in Breaking Bad, I think the aftermath of Hank's big showdown is actually the most interesting part. Here we see Walt begin to understand the level of impact his actions have had. We see how smoothly Gus controls every facet of his operation, from his food sponsorship of the DEA, to Mike's swift killing of the legless cartel cousin, to his gleeful phone call with Juan Bolsa as he's machine-gunned down by the Mexican government.
We also see Jesse fill up his lab suit with air and dance around like an adorable lunatic. What's not to love about this episode?
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18: "To'hajiilee" (S5:E13)
Hank's final phone call with Marie perfectly mirrors his call with her before the cousins attacked him. In both instances, as soon as he's seemingly reached a point of resolution in his career as a cop, the murderous violence of the criminal world suddenly arrives. It seems as if the show is saying that there can never be resolution for a guy like Hank – the bad guys are always one step ahead. The only resolution he ever really gets comes in the next episode when he accepts his imminent death. What a fantastic character arc.
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17: "Over" (S2:E10)
"I guess... I'm done," Walt reluctantly says at the beginning of this episode. He's then reminded of all the reasons why he shouldn't be done. Skyler announcing to everyone that Gretchen and Elliot are the ones to thank for Walt's survival. Cool Uncle Hank telling Jr more tall tales, reminding Walt how little control and respect he has in his family life. Then a brief re-appearance of Heisenberg when Hank tries to stop Walt from having his son drink till he pukes. ("I don't know who that was, but it wasn't me," Walt later tells Skyler.) Finally, Walt putting his scientific knowledge to use on house maintenance, which might be the only thing less rewarding than using it to teach dead-eyed high school students the periodic table.
A run-in with an amateurish meth cook at the hardware store is all it takes. The White paint is left behind as Heisenberg emerges from the store. "Stay out of my territory!"
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16: "And the Bag's in the River" (S1:E3)
Krazy-8 is locked in the basement, ready to kill Walt and his entire family is he's freed, and Walt has to decide whether or not to kill him first. What should be a simple decision turns into a profound moral exercise for Walt. He looks for any reason he can find as to why he shouldn't do it, listing out things like "won't be able to live with yourself" and "sanctity of life". He even heads downstairs to have a personal conversation with Domingo, and finds out that they have more in common than he would've guessed. But just when he's deluded himself into thinking that this situation can be redeemed, he cleverly uncovers the truth, and proceeds to tearfully commit one of the most gruesome murders in the entire show. It's a perfectly told story that provides crucial character development for Walt and also raises deep questions about the permanence of human evil.
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15: "Cancer Man" (S1:E4)
Fantastic character work for Jesse in this episode. I made this post last year about how well his backstory is established. The gist of it is that the show takes remarkable care to develop him as a complex character by exploring his past and current relationship with his family, as well as his past relationship with schoolteacher Walt, all without resorting to flashbacks or explicit dialogue about past events.
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14: "Gray Matter" (S1:E5)
A family argument about whether Walt should get cancer treatment somehow becomes one the funniest scenes of the first season. It's also one of the most philosophical, with a frank discussion about not just cancer treatment, but also what is and isn't worth living for. Every character is written so perfectly, from Hank's ill-conceived sports analogies, to Jr's blunt accusations and Skyler's desperate desire for control. Then comes Walt's speech about his lack of life choices, how he wants to be remembered, and his purpose for existence, which is my favorite monologue of the entire show.
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13: "Bullet Points" (S4:E4)
The opening shot (a Pollos truck being bombarded with bullets) and the closing shot (Mike driving Jesse down an endless desert road) are some of my favorite shots in the entire series. But what really makes this episode worthy of such a high ranking is the perfectly written scene of Walt and Skyler planning their elaborate gambling tale. I'm not a big fan of a lot of the Walt/Skyler scenes, but this one is hilarious and provides great insights into their present mindsets. Then there's the sarcastic "you got me scene" with Hank, which is the closest Walt ever gets to spilling the beans.
Great dialogue, great suspense, and amazing cinematography – this is just an all-around excellent episode.
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12: "Fly" (S3:E10)
Not much I need to say about this one, since I'm sure everyone reading this is already aware of the great symbolism and character development here. This episode also has some of Cranston's best acting, especially toward the end as Walt really starts unraveling.
I do think the first half has a bit too much slapstick, and for that reason, this doesn't quite make my Top 10.
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11: "Full Measure" (S3:E13)
Putting aside the main story (Walt saving himself at the expense of Gale), Mike steals the show here. First, him getting Walt out of his car by saying "I assure you I could kill you from here." Then his trip to Chow's compound, where he effortlessly disposes of the bad guys with the most hilariously effective tools: Kaylee's balloons to destroy the security system, a shoe as a makeshift grenade, and the position of Chow's hands as an alignment guide for a through-the-wall headshot. It's all of this badassery that makes Walt ultimately outwitting him an even more shocking and great conclusion to the season.
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10: "Peekaboo" (S2:E6)
It was important for the show to dedicate an episode to showing the real effects of meth addiction. It did an excellent job of this with a story of Jesse confronting the junkies who robbed Skinny Pete, and ultimately saving their young son form the horrors of that household.
The other plot – Gretchen confronting Walt on lying about taking her money – is equally great. "This isn't you," she says, to which Walt chillingly replies, "What would you know about me, Gretchen?" She realizes in horror that Walt is correct: she does not recognize the angry, resentful man sits in front of her. The cute guy she dated decades ago is now filled with anger and resentment toward her about something she hadn't even though about. The entire scene is stunning character work for Walt, perfectly written and perfectly acted for both characters.
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9: "No Mas" (S3:E1)
"You either run from things, or you face them, Mr. White."
Mr. White is running as fast as he can. His speech to the student body (in what he describes in the script as a "goddamn emo-porn assembly") is not just about looking on the bright side of a tragedy – it's about rationalizing it away altogether. "We will move on... because that is what human beings do. We survive, and we overcome."
Jesse is presented with the same logic from the therapy leader, who says that healing is all about self-acceptance. But the only thing Jesse is ready to accept is that he's "the bad guy". Here we see a great contrast in Walt and Jesse, and what ultimately makes Jesse the only decent person of the two: Jesse is honest with himself about who he is and what he's done. Meanwhile, Walt, who has already committed countless crimes and will go on to commit more crimes than any other character in the show, declines Gus's offer because he's "not a criminal".
This episode is an incredibly rich, philosophical portrayal of the different ways to respond to tragedies and moral failures. It also introduces us to the cartel twins, with gorgeous and terrifying scenes of their journey toward the border. Everything here perfectly sets up the rest of Season 3 and creates one of the most well-rounded episodes of the entire show.
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8: "Kafkaesque" (S3:E9)
One of the things I love most about Breaking Bad is the immersive world that it creates. Every location, every character, and every new storyline feels connected not just to the main story, but also to the show's carefully crafted disintegration of classic Western life.
This episode is one of the best examples of this. It opens with a nostalgic montage of the once-authentic Los Pollos Hermanos transforming into a meth factory. It then goes after the healthcare system, showing how the wife of a gravely wounded hero needs to choose between staying in-network or paying bills into the six figures. Meanwhile, even the criminal drug world has become bureaucratic and unfair, leading Jesse and his gang to try to sell to recovering addicts, which corrupts the very institution that's designed to help them.
Hank's recovery is soon to be paid for by Walt's illicit "gambling" money, and he's only alive thanks to the selfish actions of a ruthless drug lord. Every institution of wholesomeness has been swallowed up by greed and corruption, and the only way out is to join in.
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7: "Sunset" (S3:E6)
Out of all the big suspenseful moments, one that I don't see discussed as often is Hank literally stepping within inches of Walt and Jesse as they're inside the RV. Everything about how they get out of this one, from the fake car accident call, to "this is my private domicile and I will not be harassed... BITCH!", is brilliant. So is what is probably my favorite scene in the laundry lab: Walt bonding with Gale over his coffee contraption and their mutual love of chemistry. And I'd be remiss to not also mention the stunning closing shot: Gus telling the cousins to go after Hank – "May his death satisfy you" – underneath a gorgeous Arizonian sunset.
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6: "The Cat's in the Bag" (S1:E2)
Season 1 doesn't get enough praise. It's not as action-packed or as instantly memorable as a lot of the later seasons, but I find that it has the most consistently great writing out of all the seasons. The plots are much simpler, and that allows the writers to absolutely nail the dialogue, humor, and character development.
The second episode is a perfect example of all of this, as the task of disposing a corpse perfectly establishes the arrogant teacher / clumsy student relationship of Walt and Jesse. Any chance of that relationship soon being successful quickly comes crashing down in the form of a disintegrated Emilio plunging through the bathroom floor.
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5: "Felina" (S5:E16)
On my first watch, I sort of agreed with the complaints that Walt got too good of an ending. It seemed that he got everything he wanted: he killed off everyone who was against him, ensured that over $10 million dollars will be sent to his son, and died peacefully inside a meth lab. Is the show really saying that this diabolical mass-murderer won? That in the end, it was all worth it?
No, definitely not. Walt doesn't even come close to winning at what he ostensibly set out to do, which was to earn the respect of his family by providing for them monetarily. When Jr turns 18 and that money comes in from Gray Matter, nobody's going to be giving Walt any credit. And with the admission of "I did it for me," even Walt no longer pretends that his family should be thankful for him.
The only thing Walt ultimately achieves is self-awareness. He accepts, as Jesse did a long time ago, that he is the bad guy. That the opportunity to deny this or ask for forgiveness is long over, and the only thing left to do is right as many wrongs as possible. And that's exactly what he does, in glorious fashion.
The little nods he and Jesse exchange as they part ways say it all. For the first time, they are both at peace with what's about to happen. Jesse will finally escape from the physical and emotional torture Walt inflicted upon him, and Walt will undergo his well-deserved death.
Walt spends his final moments inspecting the equipment Jesse cooked with, noticing that everything is spotless, that the gauges are set just right. Jesse truly applied himself, and Walt dies knowing that the one thing he did with unmitigated success was become a great chemistry teacher.
What a perfect ending.
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4: "Salud" (S4:E10)
The mass poisoning of the cartel and thrilling escape from their compound is my favorite sequence in the entire series. It's packed with so many brilliant shots: the slo-mo cigar drop, Gus's wordless stare-down with Don Eladio, Jesse suddenly going full action hero and shooting down the final bad guy. Most thrilling scene I've ever seen in a TV show.
In contrast with the craziness happening down in Mexico, Walt has the most heartfelt discussion he's ever had with his son when he talks about what he remembers of his own father. But in asking Jr not to remember him in a similar way, he misses the point of his own story: "maybe that wouldn't be so bad." It's better to remember someone for their true faults than their illusory achievements. Sure enough, by the end of the series, Jr will only remember Walt as the evil drug dealer who got Uncle Hank killed.
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3: "Crazy Handful of Nothin'" (S1:E6)
"Explosions are the result of chemical reactions happening almost instantaneously. The faster they undergo change, the more violent the explosion." Sure enough, a violent explosion occurs only seconds after Walt teaches his class about them, as his chemo-induced vomit erupts into the toilet.
Walt is now officially a sick man. But rather than try to fight this reality, he embraces it. He uses the chemo as inspiration to fully shave his head. He uses the shaved head to create a new persona named Heisenberg. And by the end of the episode, we're not seeing violent vomit explosions – we're seeing an evil drug lord on the receiving end of the violent explosion Walt taught to his students. "Fulminated mercury – a little tweak of chemistry." Cue what may be the most fun and the most stunningly choreographed action set-piece of the entire series.
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2: "Grilled" (S2:E2)
This episode doesn't have much of anything that I've praised about the show so far – deeply developed villains, strong philosophical underpinnings, complex character arcs, etc. So how could it be the second best episode? The answer is one word:
DING!
The sequence of Tuco deducing that he's being tricked, via Hector ringing his bell, is the most suspenseful scene I've ever seen in my life. It's immediately followed up by an insane action extravaganza: Jesse's big struggle with Tuco, ending in him shooting him in the stomach and satisfyingly kicking him into a hole. And just when he and Walt are about to escape, the Mexican cousins arrive, and they're forced to flee.
Except it's not the cousins; it's Hank! "Jesse Pinkman, hard man to find," he mutters, only for the bloodied Tuco to slowly reveal himself, disturbingly crack his neck, and begin an exhilarating gun battle.
This episode is pure, thrilling action done so incredibly well that I can rank it above all the more substantive episodes. Well, all of them except for one...
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1: "Four Days Out" (S2:E9)
After countless hours spent cranking a generator in the blistering desert sun, Walt and Jesse stumble back into the RV, desperate for their grueling work to be rewarded in the form of survival. Jesse sticks the key in the ignition, gives it a turn, and the engine roars to life. Seconds later, Walt begins violently coughing, and the engine follows suit as it sputters to its death.
The death of that engine quite literally represents the impending death of Walt. As he lies on his cot and comes to terms with this, we glimpse a rare moment of self-honesty. With Jesse repeating the "you did this for your family" mantra, it's Walt who says "all I ever managed to do was worry and disappoint them." Cancer and dehydration may be eating away at his body, but his mind is finally free of the delusion that this isn't his fault.
But then he does what he always does: he uses his brilliant chemistry skills to cheat death. His makeshift battery gets the RV fired back up, and as Walt again lets out that dreaded cough, the engine stays running this time. Walt may still be sick, but his meth mobile has roared back to life.
It turns out Walt isn't even as sick as he thought: his cancer is actually in remission, and his end is now nowhere in sight. Walt not only cheated death – he cheated his way out of the excuse of being a desperate, terminally ill father using his final months to provide for his family. As he stares into his seemingly innocent reflection in a paper towel dispenser, he's faced with his greatest fear: the fact that the man he's looking at is about to return to the pathetically mediocre life he had before he got cancer. That's all it takes for the punches to start flying, and a few seconds later, his mirrored image is instead of a bloody, twisted face. This is the life that the now cancer-free Walt will choose to live.
Four Days Out is one scene after another of unparalleled visual storytelling, breathtaking cinematography, perfect characterization, and unrelenting tension. For me, it's the quintessential episode of Breaking Bad.
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Thank you to anyone who's taken the time to read this entire post! Please let me know what you think in the comments.

Hey guys,
Me again with another post in regards to importing from China. I've previously posted with similar subjects here and here.
I wanted to give you a rundown on the essential requirements & regulations when importing electronics from China to the US & Europe.
I have recently been asked a few times to write about regulations for electronics and why I chose electronics. I choose electronics for myself because I’ve been in this category for nearly 17 years so I feel confident importing/exporting them.
Many “gurus’ will tell you to shy away from electronics because of the regulations, high returns and what to do with defective items. While I do agree that a beginner should stay away from electronics I do encourage you to import electronics at one point because the margins are higher than your standard household product.
Especially if you have it OEM manufactured products (your own design/software/application). However manufacturing an electronic OEM item requires profound technical knowledge (or at least a knowledgable factory and engineers) and financial pre-investment in most cases.
Most suppliers won’t offer free services to help develop the product unless you commit with a certain order quantity, have yearly agreements or previous (mostly large) business with the factory.
Why is it so difficult to find manufacturers who comply with regulations already? Most suppliers that develop a new product do not invest in the certifications in the beginning because they don’t know yet if the product actually sells so why invest in certifications that can run into thousands of dollars?
Try to work and find suppliers who mainly work with larger European and US customers or retailers that did the work for you already. Because when retailers look for electronics they will absolutely make sure that they comply with the law. You will want to buy from factories that are either compliant already or are willing to work together with you to get the product compliant.
Dismiss suppliers who aren’t interested in making the product compliant if the response is something like: “all the other buyers also don’t need it”. Ideally you can convince the supplier to invest his money into certifications and making the product compliant for different markets and regulations because it also benefits him. The more clients he can sell his products to (because they are certified) the better for him too.
Lets take a look at general regulations first.
EUROPE
Europe is generally stricter than the US and has a couple more regulations that are to be met if you wish to import legally to Europe.
CE
The CE marking is a mandatory conformity marking if you want to import into Europe. It basically confirms that your product is manufactured according to certain European standards. It covers most standards and this is the absolute minimum you need to have when importing to Europe, no matter which product actually. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking Required by law: YES
GS
GS or “Gepruefte Sicherheit” is a quality seal issued by a third party laboratory and mostly recommended if sold as a retailer or to retailers. It is voluntary and NOT required by law but it has been an established trust and quality seal commonly known by consumers, especially in Germany. The requirements to get a GS certificate is higher than the one for CE. GS is not available or doesn’t make sense on several products such as battery operated items. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gepr%C3%BCfte_Sicherheit Required by law: NO, voluntary and used as a seal of quality for consumers.
R&TTE
This directive covers any radio-transmitting device and is usually already covered within a GS or CE certification. http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/electrical-engineering/rtte-directive/index_en.htm Required by law: YES, any of the following products need to comply: WiFi, Bluetooth products and Radio-Emitting devices (Smartphones, tablets, smart devices)
LVD
The Low Voltage Directive does not supply any specific technical standards that must be met, instead relying on IEC technical standards to guide designers to produce safe products. Products that conform to the general principles of the Low Voltage Directive and the relevant particular safety standards are marked with the CE marking to indicate compliance and acceptance throughout the EU. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Voltage_Directive Required by law: YES applicable to products or electrical equipment with a voltage at input or output terminals between 50 and 1000 volts for alternating current (AC) or between 75 and 1500 volts for direct current(DC)
EMC
EMC or “Electro Magnetic Compatibility” regulates that the products may not interfere with other electronics products. Meaning that components of a product need to be manufactured according to several CE or GS standards to comply. If your product has a GS certificate EMC will usually be tested. Some CE certification and test reports include EMC testing. Make sure to check this in the report. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_compatibility Required by law: YES but different nations can require compliance with different standards. In European law, manufacturers of electronic devices are advised to run EMC tests in order to comply with compulsory CE-labeling. EU directive 2004/108/EC (previously 89/336/EEC) on EMC defines the rules for the distribution of electric devices within the European Union.
ROHS Directive
RoHS or the “Restriction of Hazardous Substances” regulates the allowed content of 6 substances within the product. These are: Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Chromium, PBB & PBDE. It is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC which sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic e-waste. Most suppliers have at least a report for the incoming raw-materials that they later use for the final product. So while they do not have a RoHS certificate for the entire product they may have the material tested which is generally accepted by authorities. Required by law: YES, however raw material report as opposed to full report is widely accepted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restriction_of_Hazardous_Substances_Directive
REACH Directive
Most suppliers have never heard of REACH altough it has been around since 2007. It is essentially the upgrade to RoHS but regulates more chemicals and substances. It has different phases that regulate the chemicals used in manufacturing and once in full force all importers need to comply (within the European Union). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Registration,_Evaluation,_Authorisation_and_Restriction_of_Chemicals Required by law: YES
WEEE Directive
The Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment Directive is mandatory to be fullfilled by the manufacturer. The marking needs to be on the sales packaging or product. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_Electrical_and_Electronic_Equipment_Directive Required by law: YES but different nations can require compliance with different standards.
Sub – Regulations & Directives
Each of the above have several sub-regulations that have to be met. But generally if you buy a certian product from a supplier and it is say for example CE or FCC certified it should have automatically been certified by the sub-regulation.
UNITED STATES
The US generally has “loose” regulations compared to the authorities in Europe. Having said that I do recommend that you comply to all regulations as you don’t want to import a product that can cause fire or other hazards. “Loose regulations” also doesn’t mean that they are actually loose because you still are required to comply but again, Europe is stricter when it comes to enforcing and checking at customs or at retailers. A FCC certification is usually obtainable for a couple hundred $ while a GS certificate can go into the thousands. Of course there are products that are highly technical and or pose a risk or hazard and are difficult to certify by FCC for example.
FCC
The FCC basically regulates anything that is electronic including WiFi, Bluetooth, Radio transmission etc. You will want any device that you import that is electrical and remitting radio waves (in any way) certified by the FCC. There are two regulations within FCC for both Intentional & Un-Intentional radiators. Intentional radiators for example are: Bluetooth speakers, WiFi devices, radios or smartphones. Unintentional radiators are: Headphones, Earphones, power packs, PCB’s etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCC_Declaration_of_Conformity Required by law: YES
UL
UL is a certification company that certifies your product according to several different standards. Say if you have a FCC certification you may still need to certify by UL, especially if you are a retailer. It’s a seal of quality that consumers appreciate on certain products https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UL_(safety_organization) Required by law: NO/Voluntary and used as a seal of quality for consumers.
RoHS
RoHS is also recognised in the US and widley available at suppliers. RoHS self declarations are generally accepted by authorities. Required by law: NO
Further information you should be aware of
Full certification
Having a full certification on a product is the best and safest way to go. What does that actually mean? Lets look at an example: You want to import a hair trimmeclipper. The hair clipper itself runs on a integrated rechargeable battery. The battery is charged via a universal external chargeadpater with a plug. In 90% of the cases the supplier will only have a FCC/GS/CE certificate for the chargeadapter. Why?
Because the adapter can be certified with GS/FCC/CE easily and can be used on hundreds of different products that need a universal charger. So it makes sense for the manufacturer to certify the charger because he can sell it with different products and only needs to certify the adapter once. He can also sell his charger to other suppliers who are in need of universal chargers only for their products. While the hair trimmer is a separate unit in itself and may not sell well. So why would the factory pay a lot of money to certify an entire product if they may not sell it.
If possible find a manufacturer who has a fully certified product. Those are likely suppliers who work with large western retailers. Having said that if say the charger has a full certification like GS/CE or FCC and the hair trimmer itself only has CE it is also acceptable to authorities. If you want to make sure that you comply or satisfy authorities you may ask the supplier to issue a Letter of Guarantee that the entire product has been manufactured according to standard or regulation “X”. But satisfying authorities should not be your eventual goal. Your eventual goal should be to import a safe and reliable product that lasts and delivers good reviews or sales.
A full certification is quite expensive and therefore not often found. Yet some markets like Germany demand full certification especially from retailers. If you are an online seller and your exposure to the authorities is minimal you could start by meeting only minimum requirements (CE, FCC for example).
Labelling & Marking
The following markings must be on the final packaging or box in which the product is sold to the customer where applicable:
WEEE, FCC, CE, GS, Made in China, Recycle symbol
I say applicable because as mentioned not every product needs to comply with above regulations. You will also want to put all labels and markings of the product on the Instruction Manual. Electronic products usually have instruction manuals so you’ll want to show in there what your product complies with.
You are actually required by law to mark all regulations met, either on the box of the product or inside the instruction manual (if there is no space on the sales packaging).
Returns and damaged products
Unfortunately returns of electrical products can be as high as 20% in some cases. That could be due to poor manufacturing, faulty components that didn’t get checked properly, the client mishandling (or misunderstanding) the product and several other reasons. It comes with the territory when selling electronics and the only thing you can do as a seller is to take care of the manufacturing side and handle returns from customers with proper manner. Don’t try to argue with customers and simply refund or exchange the product for a new one.
However you should collect all data collected from returns and defects and claim the lost profit/money from your supplier when or if you re-order. Make sure to communicate the issues to the factory and have them deduct the total amount lost from the next invoice. Send all material that you can gather from your customers to the supplier to have a strong case against the supplier. If you aren’t going to re-order (maybe because of the issues) try to get the defect/returned units replaced by him or even better a cash payment in the amount of your loss. The latter may be more difficult as suppliers will want to have you re-order before they give out any money for returns.
Self-declarations
In some cases it doesn’t make sense to certify a product because your quantities are low or the product is so cheap that the certification cost don’t justify certifying it. In that case you may ask the supplier to issue a self-declaration which is in some cases accepted by authorities. Please note that you cannot issue a self-declaration, it has to be done by the manufacturer.
You would at least need to be compliant with basic requirements like raw material being certified or tested and according to regulations. However most countries in Europe only allow CE or RohS self-declarations for several items, mainly low voltage or battery powered products. Check with your supplier what he can offer you.
Lets take a look at a few examples
Please note that the following are recommendations and there may be additional requirements for each country depending on your sales channel. I know for a fact that many importers ignore these regulations, hoping not to get caught. I am not telling you what you should or shouldn’t do but many countries have lax enforcements so importers simply ignore it. I personally like to have everything in order and proper certification to avoid any problems in the future. It’s best to check with a third-party inspection company but this should get you started when sourcing for electronics:
Bluetooth Speaker (Low Voltage product) EU: CE, REACH, ROHS, LVD, R&TTE & GS on the adpater recommended if product comes with a external charger (they usually come with USB charging cables) US: FCC, UL recommended if you are a retailer Not to forget that you need to pay BIG (Bluetooth Interest Group) a fee of 8000US$ (4000$ if you are a member) if you are planning on private labelling your product. Prior to February 2014 private labelers were able to register their private label under the manufacturers Bluetooth chip license but BIG changed that and made it not possible anymore. I know that there are many small time buyers who don’t care and risk it because its still a grey area but basically they are illegally branding Bluetooth products.
Solar powered garden lamp (Low Voltage product) This is a very simple product but highly competitive. The good news is that they are battery operated and low voltage powered. EU: CE self declaration, RoHs self-declaration US: FCC self declaration
Vacuum cleaner (High Voltage product) EU: CE, GS recommended, RoHS, REACH, EMC US: FCC, UL recommended
Wired-Headset (Non-Bluetooth, no direct Voltage) EU: CE, RoHS self declaration US: FCC self declaration
Miscellaneous
Many small importers in Europe or the US illegally import products hoping not to get caught (or not knowing there are regulations to be met). Basically playing with fire just to save a couple hundred dollars on certifications and compliant products. Also paying for a certification report doesn’t mean your supplier can comply with the regulation. Before you place an order with the factory make sure to ask him that the material and components will actually pass a FCC or CE testing for example, otherwise you waste money on a certification and the product may not even pass the requirements.
One thing that I recommend beginners with electronics is to have the certifications from the supplier verified by a third-party. If you work with a third party inspection company like Asiainspection, TUV, SGS or others they are usually open to check certificates for you. That is if you already do business with them otherwise they charge a small fee. You can simply ask your contact at the third-party inspection company to look over the documents that the supplier sent you.
Do not engage with a supplier or product that cannot comply to regulations otherwise your products might be seized by customs or even have to be withdrawn from the market if an authority finds out you do not comply with regulations.
If a supplier tells you he doesn’t have the necessary certification and “its ok his other customers also don’t need it” stay away or be prepared to invest a couple hundred US$ for a certification (FCC or CE usually goes from 400-600US$).
Yes, it is sometimes a grey area, especially in the US if you ship things by Air directly to Amazon for example that you do not get caught, but I do not recommend going this way.
If a supplier doesn’t have a certificate or is unwilling to invest in it move on to the next supplier. However if you are willing to invest yourself in the certification (make sure to ask the supplier if the product can pass first) I would recommend to do so. Furthermore if you invest into a certificate you will be the holder of the certificate and the supplier is not allowed to sell the product with certification to anyone else but you. This applies to all certifications.
Inspections
I can’t stress enough how important inspections are, especially with electronics. You will want your goods to be inspected to avoid a high rate of returns,defects or not compliant manufactured products. Pre-Shipment inspections can save you a lot of troubles and are well worth the investment. The inspectors will not only test the product but they will also make sure that all is compliant with laws and regulations.
Product Liability Insurance
I also recommend once you import electronics in larger quantities that you contact your local insurance company and have a product liability insurance on your products. This is to protect yourself from any unforseeable issues. Even you may have manufactured a product to the best of your knowledge something can go wrong or someone mishandled the product but you may not proof it. For example a few years ago I worked for this large German retailer and we had a fan heater manufactured to all possible standards and regulations.
One day a customer hired a lawyer and sent a letter to the retailer explaining his house has burnt down because of the fan heater he bought from them and he is looking for compensation and a full law suit. Since the fan heater was manufactured in China and sourced trough the buying office I worked for I was put in charge of the situation. When I heard of the problem the first step was obviously to speak to the supplier, check the certificates and look at the Inspection. All was in order, the said unit was manufactured at the highest standards and we suspected that the customer covered the fan heater with a towel and thats why the unit started burning.
However we couldn’t proof that and the client won the lawsuit. The retailer had coverage from his product liability insurance and at least the financial damage was settled. The bigger damage was obviously the public problem they had but at least the financial issue was off the table.
Summary
So what do you actually need for sure? Thats difficult to say as it depends on the product and ideally you will want the supplier to provide you all of the above. But realistically that never happens. In most cases suppliers do not even have CE certification which is actually easily obtainable. I can only recommend to have a supplier who has the minimum requirements such as FCC and CE certification.
RoHS is also easily obtainable these days and if a supplier doesn’t even have a self-declaration or certification for incoming raw materials look elsewhere. Unfortunately each product has different regulations however above general guidelines give you an idea what to look for. Also there is no website that tells you exactly what you need for which market (Business Idea??? :) ) and all is done trough research or ideally you speak with your third-party inspection company. In most cases they will charge you for giving out this information but if you work with them for a while already they might do you a favour and give you the information for free.
If you are interested in starting with electronics but not sure where to start simply message me or comment on this post and I will try to help wherever I can. The original post can be found here on my blog.
All the best and happy sourcing :)

CAN YOU DIG IT?!

Looking for a new campaign idea? Bit tired of the old skirmish and plunder in creepy foul dungeons? Why not sign your group up for some streetwise mayhem - for fun and profit! Urban violence is on the rise, and you too can get in on the action! How do you get such a great deal? Just one easy payment of reading this post! It slices, it dices, it makes perfect fries every time!
Are you ready suckers?
Street Gang. The Campaign.

Can you dig it?

BLOOD IN THE WATER

Imagine this as your campaign blurb - something you text to your friends to see how it floats
Your crew just knocked out the Old Man who runs the 9th Street Bakery, and are whooping it up as they clean out the cash box and start shoving fresh loaves and hot donuts into cloth bags. Stupid old man wouldn't pay - wouldn't show the proper respect. Ain't nobody gonna say The 19th Street Killers aren't number one on the block! The money ain't great, but it'll pay for food and ale and maybe some of that dreamshit that's been going around - heard its got a two-day hangover, but its supposed to be real!
Today was just supposed to be another day. Dodging the Watch, fucking around, giving the local weak some shit, and trying to party as much as possible. But this situation, right here? Got you thinking. Got you thinking about all these weak civilians who haven't shown respect either. Yeah. "That hag over at the Herbalists, she's definitely going to pay up. Could easily shake down the mouthy gnome down in the Beer Garden. This whole street gonna pay up!"
The 19th Street Killers just claimed its first bit of territory, and a new group was born, like so many others that form and bubble and fade away, swallowed up by the sharks in this ocean of cobblestone and torchlight. This city breeds desperation as maggots in sun-blown meat, and no one was going to give you power - you had to take it.
Today your gang is born. What stories will you paint in blood and graffiti on the crumbling streets of the City?
I hear you saying, "I feel you, water horse, but how do I do all that?"
Read on, brothers and sisters, and you shall find the path laid out before you

CAN YOU COUNT, SUCKERS?

Gangs all have the same basic attributes:

• They claim a real world location as owned property
• They exploit that location according to the location's purpose - businesses are taxed, parks are used as an outdoor venue for business or pleasure, homes are used as "safe houses", etc...
• They will defend their territory with violence or diplomacy, but never just diplomacy. Gangs are violent entities.
• They give the gang a name, and members will choose a new name (their "blood name").
• They will adopt a symbol that is used to mark the members and their claimed territory.
• New members are tested before being allowed entrance. This can take myriad forms, from being physically beaten, to performing unlawful activities, to contests of strength, or cunning, or wit - or all of the above in a D&D version of Hellweek (or Month or Year).
• The only way to leave the gang is to die. Anyone who betrays the gang is marked for death.
• The members work towards a common goal, have common interests, and feel a sense of belonging. Betrayal is the ultimate sin.

From there, however, the way Gangs operate, their methods and motivations, their hierarchies, and their means of choosing new members are as myriad as the stars. Settle in. This is gonna be a long one.

THUG LIFE

The Gang narrative is simple. Its an action film and while action films are all about high adventure and crazy individuals, you should lay down your social contract with your group before you start to discuss running a campaign like this. Its going to be hard to take up the mantle of a street gang without discussing all the horrible shit that occurs in that lifestyle. No sexual violence is mostly a no-brainer for most groups, but I've been in stories where its occurred, and its powerful stuff if used correctly and with the right people, but you should have a talk beforehand. How much is too much street ugliness? What is not going to be part of the narrative? Get everyone in the same headspace and the tone of the setting will resonate with everyone, and you can all play on the same stage with the same narrative tools and easily keep out the dissonance. Nothing kills a game faster than players who bring noise to a harmonic game.

ALL ABOUT THAT

• Money: "Get it"
• Reputation: "Protect it"
• Lifestyle: "Spend it"

Gangs all have the same primary motivation - life is all about the quick profit, the easy score, the no-brainer heist. Smash and grab is the fastest way to rob a business, and threatening a guard into leaving a door unlocked is the easiest way to heist. Gangs don't plan for the long term. They might not be alive tomorrow. Immediacy drives the street gang. If they are thwarted or diverted from their goals, they will generally keep trying until the gang, or the obstacle, breaks.
This is the reason that gang violence is as regular as the rising sun - without striving for more power, the gang's motivation (fast money, cheap thrills) sputters and dies. They are like sharks, these street gangs, they have to keep moving or they die. In the gang's case - moving up. If another gang is holding a set next to theirs and they can't push them away, they will just keep fighting until one side is wiped out.
Peace is a political tool, never a true state of affairs. Gang life is about perception. Who thinks what about you and your crew. That matters. Its the second primary motivation - reputation. Without it, the extremely vital mechanism that both drives gang violence and prevents it from consuming all the combined gang territory into a whirlwind of violence, cannot function. Reputation also serves a political goal - it makes your enemy spend precious time and resources worrying about you. The more badass people think you are, the more money, time, and manpower your rivals spend making sure they are safe from you. That's always worthwhile, and so Reputation with a capitol R, is something that drives every gang member. They will always be thinking about how their actions impact the reputation of the gang first, and themselves second, and their set (territory) last. Violent clashes over disrespect keeps the gangs churning over new members - chumming the waters for the smart members to survive and grow stronger. The OG in a street gang has been in the organization for a year, maybe 2. But that gangster is smart, tough, and cunning, and from their ranks come the true Rogues of of a city.
What does money and reputation allow you as far as lifestyle is concerned? Gangs are born from poverty and disenfranchisement, and wealth and status symbols are direct refusals of that humble truth. No one wants to be poor, but if you're going to be rich, let everyone know just how rich you are - after all, wealth and reputation go hand-in-hand. Gangs are almost obsessed with symbology. From their emblems that adorn bodies, clothing, weapons, armor, flags, banners, walls and any other place that can be tagged, to the secret symbol-languages (shadowmarks) that cover their own territory and the nearby territories of their rivals in tiny graffiti, to the complicated handslang that they use to speak internally and to throw shade at enemies or whoever they want to intimidate. Symbolism creates meaning to those who know what the symbols stand for, and that meaning is always a powerful one of belonging to the group. Almost everyone wanted to make up a secret language as a kid with a friend or two, yes for the sheer coolness of being able to speak in code, but also because you wanted to solidify your loyalty to your friends, even though you didn't know that's why you did it - wanting to belong is a primary driving force in the human psyche and that's a powerful bit of psychology to someone who has nothing, and no familial ties. Gang is family. Gang is life.
Yeah, you are saying, a lot of this is obvious shit, you semi-aquatic dickhead, when are you going to get to the bits I can actually use in my game? And I'm saying, if you open one of my posts, you gotta know the rambles are gonna be there. That's the price of admission - but they are coming next, ok? I never make you wait too long.

LIKE A G-STER AN OG-STER

The fun part for your party will be creating the Gang itself. Do this BEFORE you start the first narrative session. After all, you need to set up all the pieces around them before you begin. Here's the steps you should take, and that will be followed by the details of each list entry.

Where my crew at?

1. Pick a name. This is crucial and might take certain parties awhile to figure out. That old goblin, The Name. I've listed some generators that can help, below.
2. Pick a symbol. The crew's tag. This will be used to mark territory, bodies (in the form of tattoos, generally), clothing, and other items. There's an Emblem generator below if you want to fiddle with that, or if you have an artist in the party, that's even better. Part of the decision making about the tag is the color or colors of the gang. This will identify them through clothing and other items.
3. Choose the leadership. This is the first decision that will require your party to elect a leader. Yes. A leader. This is not something that's been seen in D&D very much, but I think the idea of it can work well in a Gang format, for a few different reasons. Firstly, there's no democracy on the street, and having someone step up and give orders is a concession that is practically a requirement. Secondly, the leadership can change, as the Gang's power and respect levels shift around. I'll talk about those later, but its a fun dynamic that I think you'll enjoy. Thirdly, and most importantly, the drama that's created by hierarchies in general is good for the tension it creates and the personal subplots that spring up because of it. I don't mean PVP, well, I do, but its a modified form. That comes later. Humiliation and loss of power is far better suited to a group activity over death, but DM's discretion as always. I'll talk about the actual hierarchies a bit later.
4. Choose the initiation test. None of the party members will have to undergo this test. They are the Original members and don't have to do that shit, unless your group wants to. The Gang Leader would oversee these activities, but they are going to have to be largely bullshit, because the characters can't fail or they aren't in the gang. So use it as a cool opening montage if its used at all. The test will be for any NPCs OR new PCs OR existing player's new character. In the case of the NPC there is always the chance of failure, but there won't be for the PCs - that's just a cut scene. By that I mean they can't fail, although the DM can certainly foster the illusion that they could lose. This is mostly for narrative flavor. I've made up a short list of possible tests, below.
5. Decide on the makeup of the Gang's initial territory. This is the starting area of the Gang, and its holdings. This will be, at the start, a single street. It will be either all households, all businesses, or a mixture of the two. The DM should allow the party to decide for themselves what the territory is going to comprise, by informing them of the differences between the two. A Household pays less per week, but is less likely to refuse to pay protection, and will resist more if the weekly rate is raised. A Business pays more per week, but is more likely to refuse to pay protection, and will resist less if the rate is raised. How this plays out with dice is explained, below.

Let's recap.

1. Name
2. Symbol/Colors
3. Leadership
4. Initiation
5. Territory

THE LIST DETAILS

NAME

Name Generators

• A GTA one. Its not terrible, but some of the choices are a bit too modern sounding. I did, however, have a good laugh at "Nutty Irresistable" and pictured a thug of the forest gnome persuasion, all stylee, maybe a big glittery hat and a spiked, bloodstained baseball bat. Just click the "Generate crew names" button and the names appear at the bottom of the page. ("Hawkish Coercion" was another good one for the right group).
  
• A Fantasy one. Not bad. Some are weird, but not really funny. Also if OrkishBlade sees this page he might just plotz. Hover over the categories at the top if you want to join him.
  
• A Shadowrun-inspired one. Probably my favorite. Got the right mix of swearing and cool sounding adjectives. "Baker Street Misery" and "Satanic Hamsterfuckers", I mean come on. Fantastic.
  

SYMBOL

This site also has a pretty cool emblem generator, but read the quick tutorial before you start, its a bit fiddly.

LEADERSHIP

Modern day street gangs are fractured, complex things, and that won't do for D&D, and we need something a bit more medieval feeling anyway. I think the best kind of hierarchies are the simplest, where everyone has a designated task or tasks, and they are welcome to speak their opinions on the actions of the others, they each stick to their respective specialties when it comes to gang-related activity. In other words, the Dope King can talk all the smack he wants on the War Chief, but at the end of the day, The War Chief decides who the Gang's enemies are, and when its time to fight.
Trying to come up with titles that don't sound corny is difficult at the best of times, so its often beneficial to get the party to make these up for themselves. I'll list the generic positions that should/could be filled along with my own shitty names, and you can amend as you see fit. I'll keep the titles masculine for simplicity. Sorry, ladies.

• The Leader: The King, The Baron, The Emperor, The Boss
• The Second in Command: The Earl, The Prince, The Second
• Security: Warchief, Sergeant-at-Arms, The Enforcer
• Treasurer: King Stacks, The Banker, The Cashman

These are optional (and listed in case your party is larger than 4)

• Wise Man: Memory, The Dreamer, Chief o' Dreams
• The Finder: The Procurer, The Provider, Chief Plenty
• Make Something Up That You Find Cool: Chief Whatever

By no means should this be the structure for every gang or even your first gang! This is just a very generic example, so please do something more creative!

INITIATIONS

These are only examples, of course, and fairly tame. Go wild with these.

1. Jumped In - Survive a physical beating from the entire gang for 60 seconds.
2. Blood for Blood - Kill a rival member
3. Trophy - Bring back a valuable item from a rival
4. Street Marks - Tag the gang symbol in rival territory (usually in a prominent place)
5. Wilding - Kill 1 or more civilians
6. Spree - Destroy or cause a lot of physical damage to a location
7. Run the Pack - Kill a guard and get away
8. Renegotiate - Force 3 new marks to pay protection (minimum DC 15)
9. Burn the Witch - Kill a mage/cleric (of rank)
10. Rat Race - Take large amounts of drugs and alcohol, and be blindfolded and dropped far from home. Return alive.

TERRITORY

TAKING TURF
A household or business must be Intimidated into paying a weekly protection tax in order for that location to be added to the Gang's territory. This location must be adjacent to existing Gang territory, or within 1 city block of it. The Intimidation can be roleplayed (best) or forced with a skill check. If a skill check is used, the DC for a household is 10 and for a business is between 12 and 17 (1d6 for a random DC), usually the higher DCs are for the more wealthy businesses. Government locations cannot be acquired, and neither can Guild Houses or Public Works. Once the payment is secured, the target will pay a weekly tax for as long as the Gang maintains its presence in the area.
Some targets will refuse to pay on certain weeks, and must be convinced to change their minds. If a target refuses to pay, then they must be Intimidated or Assaulted to force a new check. If Intimidated, the DC is between 10 and 15 (1d6 for a random DC) for a household and a DC between 12 and 21 (1d10 for a random DC) for a business. If the check succeeds, then the Chance to Raise Tax check is performed by the DM, by rolling a percentile. If the target number or less is rolled, the victim agrees to pay more weekly tax. This increase is between 1 to 5 coins per week. Each household or business can only have their tax raised once. If more money is extorted the household will be forced to move, or the business will be forced to close.
Here's a quick table.

---	Household	Business
Weekly Tax	1-5 coins	5-50 coins
Chance to Refuse	10%	25%
Chance to Raise Tax	20%	60%
Raised Tax	Additional 1-5 coins per week

MAKE MONEY TAKE MONEY MONEY

Rackets

Gangs are going to operate differently from a formal Guild, however. Was less bureaucracy, usually, and gangs generally don't involve themselves with any aspect of business from the production side of things. They also don't tend to split themselves up when there are less than 10 members. Its just too dangerous. All the work done by the gang is done by the gang as a whole. "Rollin less than 10 deep" isn't just a stupid idea, its bad business. The Gang is nothing without its reputation, and shows of force are simple-to-understand and don't cost anything. Gangs are all about that low overhead. When you live fast and die young, profit - easy and quick profit, is king.
Rackets are illegal activities that provide money for the Gang. The rackets list included in the Let's Build a Thieves Guild isn't fully appropriate for a Gang, as they are not a Guild, and will never have the resources and power as a true Guild House would. I am going to include the ones that are appropriate, modified for a Gang-centric campaign.

• Narcotics – Corner sales and low-level distribution are the primary activities. Gangs never produce, and are the main source of distribution for true Guild Houses, or in the case of smaller areas, a few lone suppliers. Gangs make anywhere from 20-200 coins per week, depending on a number of factors - your campaign's economy, the size of the distribution areas, and non-interference from rivals. Getting ripped off is a hazard of street life, and there may be weeks where the Gang brings in zero income.
  
  • Prostitution – Gangs generally never undertake any formal prostitution rackets, as a general rule, but there may be instances where new recruits are asked to provide services as part as their initiation process, or by forcing locals into the trade, or by members themselves. This is completely optional depending on your table's social contract, obviously. If this is included, the weekly income could be between 5 and 50 coins per week, with the same factors as mentioned in the Narcotics racket.
  • Protection – This is the old classic. Homeowners or shopkeepers (or both) pay a weekly or monthly fee to prevent their homes, businesses or selves from being destroyed/robbed/beaten up. This is the main source of income for a Gang, and is the only way that a Gang can gain new territory. Every protected building enlarges the Gang's influence. The price of protection varies, based on who is being strong-armed, but a good rule of thumb is 1-5 coins per week from a homeowner, and 5-50 coins per week from a business. There is a 10% chance that each week a different "protected" refuses to pay, and must be intimidated or physically threatened in order to continue the payment. If this fails, then the mark gets enraged and attacks the bagman/men. Anyone who protests and is successfully intimidated will agree to pay 1-5 coins more per week out of fear. There may be instances where they cannot pay anymore coin, and will offer some trade instead.
  • Smuggling – This involves moving illegal goods through the Gang's territory, for a price. This is always an outsider wishing to smuggle goods, not the Gang's themselves. There is a 10% chance each week that a Smuggler will approach the Gang and ask for safe passage. The smuggler's goods will be worth between 50 and 500 coins and is willing to pay 5-20 coins for protection through the Gang's area. If the smuggler is killed/assaulted for their goods, there is a 100% chance that the one who hired the smuggler will send one or more persons to find out what happened. The power level of this unknown employer is, of course, up to you, but I wouldn't make it someone too powerful. After all, the idea is that the Gang stays in this territory and isn't driven out.
  • Burglary – This is simple theft of houses or businesses. This racket is rare among Gangs, and usually only occurs when they have 100% reliable intelligence that something of immediate value to the Gang is present and can be either sold or used immediately. As such, there is no weekly income.
  • Street Crimes (Pickpocketing, Mugging) – These are the other main staple for a Gang. Harassing travelers is practically a pastime for a Gang member, and its done almost without thinking. Everyone pays coin and respect. This generally nets a small amount per week, from 5-20 coins.

Need a table? When do you not need a good table?

RACKET	WEEKLY INCOME
Narcotics	20-200 coins
Protection	1-5 coins per homeowner; 5-50 coins per business
Street Crimes	5-20 coins
Smuggling	10% chance, 5-20 coins
Prostitution	5-50 coins

HOOD LIFE

JUICE - An Optional Inclusion

This is all a new ruleset. I urge you to at least give it a read and consider my arguments. If its shit, by all means, amend or toss. I don't mind. This is a gift, not a lecture :)
This is the addition of a new Statistic for your individual PCs. We are going to create a simple points based system that will be used as votes by the PCs at the end of each gaming session. This will reflect a shifting leadership dynamic based on in-game actions. The actual points count will be kept secret from the party, but the DM will advise when things have shifted, and when Challenges can be made. Follow.
Respect is earned. Daily. Every day you gotta prove yourself. Prove your worth. Prove your loyalty.
The DM creates a new meta-value called Respect (or Juice, or Sand, or Balls, or whatever). This number value is never revealed to the players, but only the players are the ones who can change this value, the DM cannot.
At the end of every session, the DM asks the players to "Show Respect" to the other members of the gang. They then assign a number to each player, giving a score between 2 and 7. This is a public declaration. This score is based on how much the player's character acted in line with the values of the gang during the session. This is added to the running total. A Gang Leader starts with 30 Respect. The 2nd in Command (if there is one) starts with 15 Respect. Soldiers start with 5.
When a Soldier's respect is equal with a Leadership member's respect, the Soldier can challenge the member for the position in the gang. The winner claims that position. The loser becomes a Soldier with 5 Respect, and loses all other previously gained respect. This means that if you challenge, and lose, you have to gain the Respect of your crew again, but for real. Sure, your group could game the system but that's no fun for anyone, and should be strongly discouraged.
So here's how this looks at the table.
The Gang, the Stone Axe Killerz, has just successfully beaten off a rival crew who tried to invade their set. Trophies are gathered up and the bodies dumped. Everyone is celebrating and carousing. The Tale begins. Someone brings up the fight again and the encounter is rehashed, in real time, by the party, as they remember it right then. They mention the other crew members who impressed them, and throw them some props - using the number in the praise of the crew member. Does that make sense? "And when Lothar knocked that fuckin toe-head's teeth out?! Oh man, that shit was five alive! And Little Spark! Blew those Green meatheads away was so cool man, but missing their Chief, Zod, with that last bolt? Sorry but that was three strikes, man. You should have fried his Green ass!"
If that's all too corny, by all means, just have the PCs say what impressed them, simply, and then they give the number to each party member. Simple.
The DM keeps a running total. The DM never reveals this total except to announce that a challenge may be made. This announcement can be private, if you like, but secret planning and scheming is not in a Gang member's repertoire. Live fast, die rich, that's the thuglyfe. Once the challenge is announced, the actual event must occur within 7 days or the challenged loses all his respect and drops to 5. This causes a constant churning of responsibilities and chances at all the positions in the gang, including leadership, and maybe leadership more than once. By creating a gang hierarchy and assigning each rank a Respect level, you can control the administrative roles within the gang, and that gets real fun, real fast. The party has to be well-advised, in advance, that this is the kind of campaign dynamic that is going to be used. It is PVP, but its PVP with a purpose, and its never to the death, only to the first blood, or whatever criteria is set. And the near-immediate aspect of regaining the approval of the gang members who had previously lost all of their respect because the PC failed, is a powerful reinforcement that the group is worth keeping alive, and (should) cut down on vendetta-mindsets that inevitably spring up in PVP campaigns. Also, since 2 is the lowest Respect you can throw, its an advertising dodge that makes it seem more valuable. Similarly with having 7 at the top, instead of 6, reinforces the existing mythology that humanity has with 7, and lends it more weight, serving as further reinforcement that the gang is someplace where you can be someone worthy, of respect, and of belonging. Very important with us nerdy types. I digress.
There's an alternate ruleset that should be considered. Instead of violent challenges for leadership where lots of respect is lost (and earned), the challenged gang member can peacefully step aside and lose only half their current respect score. This would allow for more politically minded groups, and should be considered for an add-on to the method I mentioned above. Perhaps the gang has a mix of active and passive challenge "modes" that can be utilized to change the leadership around. Worth considering, I think.
You can set the values of each gang rank as you like, but starting with "some" is always better than 0. Play around with my numbers (30,15,5) and see what works for you. You can always change the values after the game gets rolling. Who's to know but you?
One last comment. This aspect of forcing leadership on everyone is only going to strengthen the group as a whole. If everyone fills every role, then all are more efficient as players interacting with the game, but more importantly, they will be more immersed, and more invested in the mythology and power of the gang. Imagine the first PC to get patched in as the new Prez. Or the old Prez, who took a chance and nearly won, but now is bloody and beaten and still a fuckin Soldier, still alive, but now has to look at the world from a new place. How is that ever a bad thing in a narrative?

STREET FIGHTING MEN

Conflict with other gangs is going to occur on a regular basis for your gang's members. Fighting to expand, fighting to protect, fighting just to survive, sometimes. The level of lethality in these conflicts is going to depend largely on the group's decision before play begins. Straight up brawling without weapons with characters with 5 or more levels is going to get tediously slow, so I would advise against going that low on the violence scale. But I can see not fighting to the death as a valid middle ground. To the death is common, but perhaps this area's gangs don't all play like that. Maybe its more about show and lots of bruises, with the occasional unfortunate accident. Or perhaps it's total murdercity out there. You'll have to find your own level of settling gang clashes, and what works for the narrative you all want to explore.
The fights between gangs are rightfully called Wars, because all available members are involved and all resources of the respective gangs are spent on winning. When there's a gang beef in the streets, people know it, and sometimes (often times), civilians get hurt or killed. The Law gets involved, sometimes. Or other interests, with uncertain intentions.
Gang Wars generally are trying to accomplish one or more of the following:
There are other reasons of course, some of them shrewd, others insane, but this is only a short example to give you inspiration for your own lists.

• Gain Territory - Winning the War means instant access to new income from protected locals, and oftentimes resources left by the losing gang are recovered.
• Defend Territory - Winning means survival. Losing means a loss of area, income, resources, and influence.
• Prosecute a Grudge - Beefs are as old as mankind. They build up and explode. You don't need my help of thinking of ways to get angry.
• Terrify the Locals - Gang Wars will force all protected civilians to check to see if they want to refuse paying protection. This causes havoc and distracts the invaded gang's leadership from focusing on the War. This check is done 1/week during a War.

CAMPAIGN HOOKS

You should create a chart with all the local gangs listed and their respective relationships with one another, and perhaps even the corrupted Powers That Be in the area, if they exist. A simple matrix will give you an at-a-glance look at who's cool and who's got beef. You can use a tickmark, dash, and x for positive, neutral, and negative relationship statuses, or smiley faces, or whatever symbology you like. But keep it on your shield and keep it updated. This is your Map O' Drama Fun, and should drive the whole damn over-narrative.
The hooks should write themselves from there. Decide which gangs control which resources, and start moving them around and watch what your gang does with information that you give them from the street or from their own observations.
The campaign could literally start with the gang hanging out in some alleyway, shooting dice, when that shithead, Dunka Moane, little snot nose from upstreet says he saw a rival gang's wagon over on X Street. The gang reacts. The city reacts to the gang's reaction and that's all you need. The Engine Has Begun.
Decide on how many gangs and power players/factions in the area and flesh them out. That's going to be the most work. The party will build their own gang, so don't even consider them when you are planning out the milieu, just roll 3d4 and think of as many funky ideas as you can and then pare them down to something that won't be impossible to track. I think an area number of 6 would be manageable. You could of course use more or less, depending on how good your scheduling/project management genes are in your family history.
So yeah. I'm not giving you any hooks. You only need to create 1. The Catalyst. Get that Great God a'Mighty Steamshovel moving and the world will build itself.
I don't know about you but I could use a good rumble right now. I'm buying the ales afterward! 57TH STREET JUMP - KILLERS IN PARADISE

Just sit back and light a spliff with this and don't slip

Jobs in Ancient Egypt
Source: https://www.ancient.eu/article/1073/jobs-in-ancient-egypt/
Article by Joshua J. Mark. Published on 24 May 2017.
In ancient Egypt, the people sustained the government and the government reciprocated. Egypt had no cash economy until the coming of the Persians in 525 BCE. The people worked the land, the government collected the bounty and then distributed it back to the people according to their need and merit. Although there were many more glamorous jobs than farming, farmers were the backbone of the Egyptian economy and sustained everyone else. These farmers knew how to enjoy themselves, greeting the day as another opportunity to make the earth yield food, but looked forward to relaxation time at festivals because they worked so hard, so long, every day; but, in ancient Egypt, so did everyone else.
Egypt operated on a barter system up until the Persian invasion of 525 BCE and the economy was based on agriculture. The monetary unit of ancient Egypt was the deben which, according to historian James C. Thompson, "functioned much as the dollar does in North America today to let customers know the price of things, except that there was no deben coin" (Egyptian Economy, 1). A deben was "approximately 90 grams of copper; very expensive items could also be priced in debens of silver or gold with proportionate changes in value" (ibid). Thompson continues:
"Since seventy-five litters of wheat cost one deben and a pair of sandals also cost one deben, it made perfect sense to the Egyptians that a pair of sandals could be purchased with a bag of wheat as easily as with a chunk of copper. Even if the sandal maker had more than enough wheat, she would happily accept it in payment because it could easily be exchanged for something else. The most common items used to make purchases were wheat, barley, and cooking or lamp oil, but in theory almost anything would do." (1)
Laborers were often paid in bread and beer, the staples of the Egyptian diet. If they wanted something else, they needed to be able to offer a skill or some product of value, as Thompson points out. Fortunately for the people, there were many needs which had to be met.
The Satire of the Trades
The commonplace items taken for granted today - a brush, a bowl, a cup - had to be made by hand. In order to have paper to write on, papyrus plants had to be harvested, processed, and distributed, laundry had to be washed by hand, clothing sewn, sandals made, and each of these jobs had their own rewards but also difficulties. Simply doing laundry could mean risking one's life. Laundry was washed by the banks of the Nile River which was home to crocodiles, snakes, and the occasional hippopotamus. The reed cutter, who harvested papyrus plants along the Nile, also had to face these same hazards daily.
These jobs were all held by those at the bottom of the Egyptian social hierarchy and are described in withering detail in a famous literary work from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2040-1782 BCE) known as The Satire of the Trades. This piece (also known as The Instructions of Dua-Khety) is a monologue in which a father, bringing his son to school, describes for the boy all of the difficult and nasty jobs which people have to do every day and compares these to the comfortable and rewarding life of the scribe. Although the piece is obviously satirical in its exaggerated depictions, the description of jobs and their difficulty is accurate.
The father characterizes the life of the carpenter as "miserable" and how the field hand on farms "cries out forever" while the weaver is "wretched" (Simpson, 434). The arrow maker wears himself out trying to gather raw materials and the merchant has to leave home with no guarantee of returning and finding his family intact. The washerman "launders at the riverbank in the vicinity of the crocodile" and his children want nothing to do with him because he is always covered in other people's filth. The fisherman is "more miserable than any other profession" because he must count on his good catch in a day to make a living and must also contend with the dangers in the water which often catch him unawares as "no one told him that a crocodile was standing there" and he is swiftly taken (Simpson, 435). All of these jobs are described in great detail in order to impress on the boy that he should embrace the life of the scribe, the greatest job one could have, as he tells his son:
"It is to writings that you must set your mind. See for yourself, it saves one from work. Behold, there is nothing that surpasses writings!...I do not see an office to be compared with it, to which this maxim could relate: I shall make you love books more than your mother and I shall place their excellence before you. It is indeed greater than any office. There is nothing like it on earth." (Simpson, 432-433)
The writer of the Satire, obviously a scribe himself, may have exaggerated somewhat for effect but his argument is basically sound: the occupation of scribe was among the most comfortable in ancient Egypt and certainly compared favorably with most jobs.
Upper-Class Jobs
The jobs of the upper class are fairly well known. The king ruled by delegating responsibility to his vizier who then chose the people beneath him best suited to the job. Bureaucrats, architects, engineers, and artists carried out domestic building projects and the implementation of policies, and the military leaders took care of defense. The priests served the gods, not the people, and cared for the temple and the gods' statues while doctors, dentists, astrologers, and exorcists dealt directly with clients and their needs through their particular (and usually high-priced) skills in magic.
In order to be a member of most of these professions, one had to be literate and so first had to become a scribe. This job required many years of training, apprenticeship, and hard work in memorizing hieroglyphic symbols and practicing calligraphy, but this kind of work would hardly have been thought difficult by many of the lower classes.
As with most if not all civilizations from the beginning of recorded history, the lower classes provided the means for those above them to live comfortable lives, but in Egypt, the nobility took care of those under them by providing jobs and distributing food. One needed to work if one wanted to eat, but there was no shortage of jobs at any time in Egypt's history, and all labor was considered noble and worthy of respect.
Lower-Class Jobs
The details of these jobs are known from medical reports on the treatment of injuries, letters, and documents written on various professions, literary works (such as The Satire on the Trades), tomb inscriptions, and artistic representations. This evidence presents a comprehensive view of daily work in ancient Egypt, how the jobs were done, and sometimes how people felt about the work.
In general, the Egyptians seem to have felt pride in their work no matter their occupation. Everyone had something to contribute to the community, and no skills seem to have been considered non-essential. The potter who produced cups and bowls was as important to the community as the scribe, and the amulet-maker as vital as the pharmacist and, sometimes, as the doctor.
Part of making a living, regardless of one's special skills, was taking part in the king's monumental building projects. Although it is commonly believed that the great monuments and temples of Egypt were achieved through slave labor - specifically that of Hebrew slaves - there is absolutely no evidence to support this claim. The pyramids and other monuments were built by Egyptian laborers who either donated their time as community service or were paid for their labor.
It is also a misconception that slaves in Egypt were routinely beaten and only worked as unskilled laborers. Slaves in ancient Egypt came from many different ethnicities and served their masters in many different capacities according to their skills. Unskilled slaves were used in the mines, as domestic help, and in other menial capacities but were not employed in actually building tombs and monuments like the pyramids.
The Pyramid Builders
Egyptians from every occupation could be called on to labor on the king's building projects. Stone had to first be quarried from the mines and this required slaves to split the blocks from the rock cliffs. This was done by inserting wooden wedges in the rock which would swell and cause the stone to break from the face. The often huge blocks were then pushed onto sleds and rolled to a different location where they could be cut and shaped.
The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza is comprised of 2,300,000 blocks of stone and each of these had to be quarried and shaped. This job was done by skilled stonemasons working with copper chisels and wooden mallets. As the chisels would blunt, a specialist in sharpening would take the tool, sharpen it, and bring it back. This would have been constant daily work as the masons could wear down their tools on a single block.
The blocks were then moved into position by unskilled laborers. These people were mostly farmers who could do nothing with their land during the months when the Nile River overflowed its banks. Egyptologists Bob Brier and Hoyt Hobbs explain:
"For two months annually, workmen gathered by the tens of thousands from all over the country to transport the blocks a permanent crew had quarried during the rest of the year. Overseers organized the men into teams to transport the stones on sleds, devices better suited than wheeled vehicles to moving weighty objects over shifting sand." (17)
Once the pyramid was complete, the inner chambers needed to be decorated by artists. These were scribes who painted the elaborate images known as the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and scenes from The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Interior work on tombs and temples also required sculptors who could expertly cut away the stone around certain figures or scenes to leave them in relief. While these artists were highly skilled, everyone - no matter their job the rest of the year - was expected to contribute to communal projects. This practice was in keeping with the value of ma'at (harmony and balance) which was central to Egyptian culture. One was expected to care for others as much as one's self and contributing to the common good was an expression of this.
The jobs people held throughout the year were as varied as occupations are today. When one was not being called upon by community or king to participate in a project, one worked jobs as varied as beer brewer, jewelry maker, sandal maker, basket weaver, armorer, blacksmith, baker, reed cutter, landscaper, wig maker, barber, manicurist, coffin maker, canal digger, painter, carpenter, merchant, chef, entertainer, servant, and many other occupations. The upper class relied heavily upon their servants, and one could make a good living and find advancement in domestic service.
Servants
A servant in a noble or upper-class home might be a slave but usually was a young man or woman of good character who worked diligently. Girls served female mistresses, and boys served male masters. A young person would enter service around the age of 13 and could rise to a prominent position in the household. Personal letters, as well as Letters to the Dead, make clear that a good servant was highly valued and considered vital to the maintenance of the home.
A male servant would serve as his master's messenger and personal butler but could also rise to the position of overseeing other servants in the house and holding considerable authority. Servants could sometimes find themselves working for unpleasant and demanding masters, but they were usually treated well. There is an often-repeated story of Pepi II (2278-2284 BCE) and his aversion to flies: he would smear servants with honey and set them at distances around him to attract the insects. This story is inaccurate, however, as Pepi II actually used slaves as his human insect repellents, not servants. The purposeful mistreatment of a servant would have been considered unacceptable behavior.
Female servants were directly under the supervision of the woman of the house unless she could afford to hire a household manager. This position was usually given to a woman who had proven her worth through years of devoted service. A household manager could live as comfortably as a scribe and enjoyed job security as a valuable member of the home.
The female servants of the wealthy or influential had easier lives than those who served the queen or nobility because the latter had more responsibilities. A servant to the queen had to take particular care of her mistress' wardrobe and wigs, for example, because these would receive more attention than other women's. In the Early Dynastic Period in Egypt (c. 3150 - c. 2613 BCE) the job of a servant of the queen was even more difficult because, when one's mistress died, one went to join her.
Queen Merneith's servants were all sacrificed after her death and buried with her so they could continue their service in the afterlife. This same practice was observed with other rulers, male and female. Future servants were spared this fate with the advent of the shabti doll in the Old Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2613-2181 BCE). The shabti (also known as ushabti) served as a replacement for a worker in the afterlife, and so the dolls were buried with the deceased instead of sacrificed servants.
Military Service, Entertainers, & Farmers
Women entered domestic service more often than men, who frequently chose to join the army from the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 CE) onwards. Although one could make a living as a soldier, it was difficult and dangerous work. A significant disadvantage was not only dying on the job but the possibility of being killed somewhere beyond Egypt's borders. Since Egyptians believed that their gods were tied to the land, they feared dying in another country because they would have a harder time making their way to the afterlife. Still, this did not dissuade men from enlisting and, in the New Kingdom (c. 1570 - c. 1069 BCE) Egypt had one of the most skilled professional armies in the world.
The armed forces also employed many who were not enlisted to fight. Arms manufacture was always steady work, and after the Hyksos introduced the horse and chariot to Egypt in the Second Intermediate Period (c. 1782 - c. 1570 BCE), tanners and curriers were required to make tack and skilled workers to build chariots.
Men and women could also become entertainers, primarily musicians and dancers. Female dancers were always in high demand as were singers and musicians who would often work for temples providing music at ceremonies, rituals, and festivals. Women were often singers, musicians, and dancers and could command a high price for performances, especially dancers. The dancer Isadora of Artemisia (c. 200 CE) received 36 drachmas a day for performances in Egypt during the Roman Period and for one six-day show was paid 216 drachmas (approximately $5,400). Entertainers performed for the laborers during their building projects, on street corners, in bars, in the market, and, as noted, in temples. Music and dance were highly regarded in ancient Egypt and were considered essential to daily life.
At the bottom rung of all these jobs were the people who served as the basis for the entire economy: the farmers. Farmers usually did not own the land they worked. They were given food, implements, and living quarters in return for their labor. The farmer rose before sunrise, worked the fields all day, and returned home toward sunset. Farmers' wives would often keep small gardens to supplement family meals or to trade for other goods.
Many women chose to work out of their homes, making beer, bread, baskets, sandals, jewelry, amulets, or other items for barter. They took on this work in addition to their daily chores which also began before sunrise and continued past nightfall. The Egyptian government was aware of how hard the people worked and so staged a number of festivals throughout the year to show appreciation and give them days off to relax.
As the gods had created the world and everything in it, no job was considered small or insignificant, despite the view of the author of The Satire of the Trades. There is no doubt there were many people who did not love their job every day, but each job was considered an important contribution to the harmony and balance of the land.
EDITORIAL REVIEW: This Article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication.
About the Author, Joshua J. Mark:
A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at the college level.
Bibliography
Historic Currencies: The Ancient Greek Drachma
Origins of Oriental Dance: Ancient Egypt
The Egyptian Economy by James C. Thompson
The Instruction of Dua-Khety
Brier, B. & Hobbs, H. Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life in the Land of the Nile. (Sterling Publishing, 2013).
Bunson, M. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. (Grammercy Books, 1991).
Nardo, D. Living in Ancient Egypt. (Thompson/Gale, 2004).
Shaw, I. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. (Oxford University Press, 2006).
Simpson, W. K. The Literature of Ancient Egypt. (Yale University Press, 2003).
Van De Mieroop, M. A History of Ancient Egypt. (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).

I'm working on a packaging project for a client in the pool and hot tub servicing industry. He providing clients with small containers of bromine and chlorine as part of his service and I want to know about the proper labeling requirements.
As I understand it, HHPS symbols (Hazardous Household Product Symbols) is the appropriate set of symbols to use in this case over WHMIS symbols (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) as it's intended for at home use.
WHMIS is pretty clear regarding the symbol and frame depending on the product. Example, octagon for danger, triangle for caution. But information on HHPS I could find seems to indicate a distinction between the container and contents within it. Triangle for container, octagon for contents. Looking at existing packaging of similar products varies in how they are labeled. Some with a symbol, others just a text warning.
Anyone have experience or know of any set requirements for HHPS labeling? I'm in Canada if that makes a difference. Thanks.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/home-safety/household-chemical-safety.html
picture of an existing label

• Kaeng Hin Phoeng Whitewater Rafting Festival

When: 1 June - 31 October 2016
Where: Kaeng Hin Phoeng, Prachinburi

Whitewater Rafting at Kaeng Hin Phoeng Festival is held annually around June to October. During this time, the water level is high, providing a faster flow, cleaner rapids, and generally less hazardous conditions. In the event, there is a rafting competition and an economical whitewater rafting competition at Kaeng Hin Phoeng.

• Kek River Rafting Festival

When: 1 July - 31 October 2016
Where: Phitsanulok

Excited with Kek River Rafting along distance of 8 kilometers, it takes around 2-3 hours depending on the water level. The difficulty is from level 1 to level 5. Because Kek River is quite a rough and harsh rafting course, you should pay attention to the officers' instructions and signals very well all through the activity.

• Rafting in Pai River

When: 1 July - 31 December 2016
Where: Mae Hong Son

It's the beginning of the adventure trip in Mae Hong Son. Each range has beautiful natural scenery which has the difficulty from level 3 to level 5. Along distance of 50 kilometers which visitors can experience the natural beauty and fun throughout the weekend.

• Festival of the Tenth Lunar Month

When: 25 September - 4 October 2016
Where: Nakhon Si Thammarat

Festival of the Tenth Lunar Month is a grand event of the province and of southern Thailand. This festival is held from the 1st waning-moon night to the 15th waning-moon night every September. It is held to pay respect to deceased ancestors. According to Buddhism beliefs, the dead had many sins and sent to hell to become a demon. The demons are allowed to come up to meet their relatives for 15 days in September, but must return to hell before sunrise of the 15th day. The livings try to appease the spirits by taking food to temples to make merit. Beginning on the 13th day, people will go shopping for food to be given. The 14th day is spent preparing and decorating the food tray, and the 15th day is the actual merit-making day. The tray presented nowadays has elaborate designs but still retains traditional components. Contests to find the most beautiful tray are held. A magnificent procession proceeds along Ratchadamnoen Road on the 14th day.

• San Don Ta Festival

When: 30 September - 1 October 2016
Where: Sisaket

The event will be held at Phraya Krai Phakdi Sinakorn Lamduan Park in Khu Khan District, Si Sa Ket. Established around 200 years ago, the district is home to a mix of Thai ethnic culture with language and traditions from Cambodia, Laos, Kui, Ger, and China. The traditions linked to the worship of ancestors are strongest along the Thai and Cambodian border, so visitors can experience outstanding culture and cuisine.

• Bangkok's 17th International Festival of Dance and Music

When: September - October 2016
Where: Thailand Cultural Center, Bangkok

Bangkok's International Festival of Dance and Music is indeed a star-studded surprise-filled programmed that spans a whole range of genres. It is a festival that once again reaffirms Bangkok's place as a cultural capital. The program includes classical concerts, operas, classical ballets, contemporary and folk dances, jazz and the occasional less common genres such as fado.

• Kluai Khai Fair

When: September - October 2016
Where: Kamphaeng Phet

Kluai Khai (mini banana) is a famous produce of this province, therefore The Kluai Khai Fair is held in September each year to promote the local banana. There are banana contests and competitions on the making of Krayasat (a local sweet), as well as many entertainment performances.

• Hatyai Vegetarian Festival

When: 1 - 9 October 2016
Where: Hat Yai District, Songkhla

The Hatyai Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. During this time, local residents strictly observe 10 day vegetarian for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making and also want to promote stop killing animal life and eat vegetarian foods for a healthy life. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. The highlights of this event are the procession of gods, golden dragons and from every shrine around Hat Yai. Also, there are many booths of vegetarian food offering to the visitors all day.

• Krabi Vegetarian Festival

When: 1 - 9 October 2016
Where: Krabi

The Vegetarian Festival, called Prapheni Kin Jay or Prapheni Kin Phak in Thai (The Festival for Eating Vegetables), is now one of the major annual events on the Chinese calendar and is celebrated throughout many cities in Thailand - including Krabi. It’s thought that the festival started in Phuket after a wandering Chinese opera troupe fell ill with malaria whist performing on the island. They soon came to believe that they had fallen sick because they had not worshipped or shown respect to the nine emperor gods from the Chinese Daoist belief. In order to try and make up for this, they vowed to remain pure for the first 9 days of the 9th lunar month. This is where the vegetarian aspect comes in, as they chose not to kill any living thing or eat meat as part of their penance. They also performed various rituals to two of their emperor gods.

• Pattaya Vegetarian Festival

When: 1 - 9 October 2016
Where: Sawang Boriboon Foundation, Chonburi

Pattaya’s vegetarian Festival will be on until October 24th and free vegetarian food is available at the Sawang Boriboon Foundation for all to enjoy. Many of the people practicing being vegetarian during this time dress in white, and take some time to pray to the 7 Lord Buddhas from the past and the 2 Chinese angels during this season. Vegetarian food has been becoming even tastier, with many more varieties of dishes on offer. The appetizing menus succeeded in seducing the nearly everyone to take a break from eating meat, and spare the lives of animals. Most people want to join in this charitable action, but serving bland, unseasoned dishes did not help.

• Phuket Vegetarian Festival

When: 1 - 9 October 2016
Where: Phuket

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. During this time, local people of Chinese ancestry strictly observe a 10-day vegetarian or vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making.Eating only vegetable dishes is based on the intention not to kill any animals, purify bodies and minds, and enlighten the spirits. During the ceremonies, people will be in the white clothes.

• Trang Vegetarian Festival

When: 1 - 9 October 2016
Where: Trang

It is a traditional festival of the Chinese in Trang which will be held in October every year. People become a vegetarian and dress in white for 9 days and nights. This is to bring good fortune and make merit. During the 9 days - event, the spirit in the “medium” will go out and give blessing to households where there are offerings set out in front. The procession bearing the medium must light thousands of firecrackers, creating a deafening din. The medium will also perform supernatural feats to show the spirit in him. Moreover, there are more activities such as Miss Guan-Im daughter contest and cultural performances.

• Illuminated Boat Procession

When: 9 - 17 October 2016
Where: Nakhon Phanom

The illuminated boat procession is celebrated in I-San, the northeastern region of Thailand on the 15th day of the waxing moon to the first day of the waning moon in the 11th lunar month of the Buddhist calendar, usually a month earlier than the corresponding month in the conventional calendar. This dazzling event marks the end of the Buddhist Lent or ‘Ok pansa’ and is accompanied by a colourful street procession and cultural performances which add to the highlights of the event which is held annually.

• Sakon Nakhon Wax Castle Festival

When: 11 - 16 October 2016
Where: Sakon Nakhon

Held during the 12th-15th day of waxing moon in October to mark the end of Buddhist’s Lent, the festival is an exciting showcase. On the night of 13th day, people will join hands in decorating wax castle at Ming Muang Field. The 14th day, beautiful wax castle from different temples will join the procession, roaming the municipality to Wat Phra That Cherngchum Woravihara. Isan people believe that the wax will welcome Lord Buddha who comes back from the heaven to help all creatures on earth.

• Chong Para Procession

When: 12 - 24 October 2016
Where: Mae Hong Son

The "Chong Para" in the Thai Yai dialect means a castle made of wood, covered with colorful perforated papers and decorates with fruits, flags and lamps. It is placed in the courtyard of a house or a monastery as a gesture to welcome the Lord Buddha on his return from giving sermons to his mother in heaven, according to traditional belief. The rite is held during the post-Rain Retreat season from the full moon day of the 11 the Lunar month to the waxing moon night of the same month. Another activity to celebrate the occasion is dancing in which the performers are dressed in animal costumes. This is based on the belief that during those long-gone days, both humans and the animal kingdom were equally joyful at the return of the Lord Buddha and joined together in a jubilant performance as a tribute to the Enlightened One.

• Hae Krathup Tradition

When: 13 - 16 October 2016
Where: Nong Bua Daeng District Office, Chaiyaphum

Hae Krathup Tradition is the biggest ceremony of the villagers in Nong Bua Daeng District, Chaiyaphum province. By the villagers will make lighting ‘Krathup’ (incense) offer to the Lord Buddha when he came back to the Earth after preaching to his mother in the Tavatimsa Heaven. Krathup is easily made from local materials, which consist of Om leaf, Niam leaf, mixed with coco peat and wrapped with paper into a long form of incense, then using coloured paper to decorate attractively, and binding with stars made from palm leaf and bamboo stick like a fishing rod, then stabbing to a prepared bamboo axle, around 3-5 meters in height, in a form like an umbrella before putting in a candlelight procession on the End of Buddhist Lent Day, and lighting in order to worship the Buddha images around the temple.

• Thailand-Laos Jointly Host Annual Boat Race Event in Mukdahan

When: 13 - 16 October 2016
Where: Mekong River, in front of Indochina market, Mukdahan

This boat race is held annually during end of Thai Buddhist Lent Period, at Makong River, Mukdahan province. The visitors will enjoy watching, tasting, and shopping of local performances, food, and products in Indochina Fair around Mekong River. There are traditional performances – 8 tribes of Mukdahan by Laos and Vietnamese.

• Amari Watergate & BMW Thailand Charity Midnight Run

When: 15 October 2016
Where: Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok

It is the only race in Bangkok to be held at Midnight, and offers competitors a choice of 2 distances – 6km or 12km. The city streets will be closed and protected by a police and security contingent of about 400 officers, and supported along the route by local residents, and shop owners, together with the management and staff of the Amari Watergate Hotel Bangkok. The atmosphere is tremendous, with over 5,000 runners, both local people and foreigners. The winners for the best record in 12km. of male and female championship will receive the Royal trophy of HRH Princess Sirindhorn. The proceeds from the event will be donated to some very worthy causes such as supporting the education of children whose parents have very tragically passed away due to HIV infection and supporting for a Better Life Project which supports educational opportunities for underprivileged children in poor areas of Thailand.

• Chon Buri Buffalo Races

When: 15 October 2016
Where: Chon Buri

The Chonburi buffalo races are one of the most popular Pattaya festivals, because it combines sportsmanship with entertainment and provides something for everyone, both athletes and spectators alike. There is a lot more to this special festival than just the buffalo race itself, and so there is something for everyone to explore during this season. The Chonburi buffalo races are an annual event held either in the month of October or in November. Jockeys in this race ride ornately and colourfully decorated water buffalos, which are paraded out in floral garlands and elaborate dressings prior to competing in the event.

• Phon Lak Phra Festival

When: 15 - 16 October 2016
Where: Phatthalung

"Phon" is a southern musical instrument shaped like a That drum. During the Chak Phra ceremony, temples would decorate pedestals and beat drums to let villagers know that the temple will be taking a Buddha image on a procession. As temples are located close to one another, there is a competition to find who can beat the loudest drum. The Phon Lak Phra Festival was organized officially for the first time in 1988. Later the Tourism Authority of Thailand lent its support to make the festival better known.

• Rap Bua Festival

When: 15 October 2016
Where: Bang Phli District, Samut Prakan

The annual "Lotus Receiving Festival" (rap bua) took place this morning at Bang Phli, Samut Prakan. I have been going for a number of years now and I have always been moved by the crowds of thousands who line the banks of Samrong Canal to throw lotus flowers onto a boat carrying an image of the Buddha. The event is held towards the end of the Buddhist Rain Retreat on the morning before the full moon of the 11th lunar month in the Thai calendar.

• Chak Phra Festival And Suratthani Boat Races

When: 16 October 2016
Where: Surat Thani

This festival is held in October every year. Surat Thani celebrates the official end of the annual 3-month Buddhist Rains retreat (Phansa) with the Chak Phra Festival (literally the procession of hauling the Buddha image). The tradition stems from the belief that the Buddha ascended to Heaven during Phansa to preach to his mother. The festival marks the Buddha's return to Earth, and is an occasion for religious merit-making and general celebrations. Local people organize dazzling land and waterborne processions of revered Buddha images (to symbolize the Buddha';s return to Earth) and boat races on the Tapi River where long boats, each manned by up to 50 oarsmen, are ebulliently raced. Religious devotion, spectacle and merriment combine to make Surat Thani's Chak Phra Festival a memorable annual event.

• Full Moon Marathon 2016

When: 16 October 2016
Where: Koh Pha Ngan, Surat Thani

This is the one of unique running with along beautiful beach of Koh Pha Ngan, which is famous for its Full Moon Party at Rin Beach. In this year, the marathon organized by Teelakow in concept “run under the moonlight”. After the race is finished, runners will be free to join Full Moon party, which has been considered as the legend party that everyone must visit once in their life time.

• Naga Fireballs

When: 16 October 2016
Where: Nong Khai

The Naga Fireball festival will be held on the full moon night of 11th lunar month, also the end of Buddhist Lent (October 27, 2015) in Nong Khai province. This fireball phenomenon occurs over takes 1-3 days only at this time of year. What people will witness are mysterious fireballs that erupt from the surface of Mekong River in a relatively short flight before they are extinguished. There is no sound, no smoke, and no fragments from the fireballs have ever been retrieved. Typically the fireballs are visible only after sunset and local legend is that the fire balls come from Naga, a Thai Dragon.

• Tak Bat Devo Festival

When: 16 - 17 October 2016
Where: Wat Sangkat Ratana Khiri, Uthai Thani

Uthai Thani Buddhist believers proudly organize the "Tak Bat Devo" Festival as annual tradition at Wat Sangkat Rattana Khiri at the top of Sakaekrang Mountain. Lord Buddha returned to earth and was greeted by a crowd and Buddhist believers who were waiting to offer him food. It attracts the large number of believers from all over the country to participate. Tak Bat Devo held annually at the end of the Rains Retreat (Ok Phansa Day) which falls on the first day of the waning moon of the eleventh lunar month.

• Um Phra Dam Nam

When: 16 October 2016
Where: Phetchabun

This festival is an annual tradition of Phetchabun which is unique and found no where. This religious ceremony means the bathing of a Buddha image. This event is annually held on the fifteenth day of the waning moon in the 10th lunar month or during the Sat Thai period, in September. All the city inhabitants cerebrate and enjoy this ceremony. In the past, the tradition’s name is different such as Um Phra Dam Nam, Um Phra Song Nam. Somebody calls Pra Pea Ni Sat Thai Wat Trai Phum or Pra Pea Ni Phra Put Tha Rup Song Nam. Until October 1985, the tradition arrangement committee announces an official name "Um Phra Dam Nam".

• Chiang Mai Food Festival

When: 17 - 24 October 2016
Where: Central Plaza Chiang Mai Airport, Chiang Mai

The event is being organised by the Chiang Mai Restaurant Club, which expects to make more than 20 million baht in sales, the National News Bureau of Thailand reported. This event's theme focuses on excellent food, and the great attractions of Chiang Mai. The event will include free food tastings, food booths, a tourism booth from Chiangmai Night Safari Zoo, an Aquarium, performances from famous artists and a LEO Show Talent Contest.

• Chumphon Traditional Boat Races

When: 17 - 21 October 2016
Where: Chumphon

The Chumphon traditional boat race is an annual event held at the end of the Buddhist Lent in October. Activities include the presentation of merit-making offerings, contests that draw attention to the various aspects of the hand-crafted traditional long-boats and cheerleading contests.

• Tak Bat Thewo Rohana Fair

When: 17 October 2016
Where: Wat Phutthawat, Kalasin

Tak Bat Thewo Rohana Fair, a festivity where offerings are made to monks. The festivity is held annually on the 1st day of the waning moon of the 11th month of the lunar calendar or the end of the Buddhist lent. During the festivity, 999 monks descend from Phu Sing Mountain to accept offerings from the townspeople.

• The Chula Kathin Festival

When: 17 October - 14 November 2016
Where: Mukdahan

Chula kathin, a Buddhist festival also known as kathin laen celebrates the end of Buddhist Lent and allows participants to earn merit through the offering of material for monks’ robes to the temple. Chula means “a little”, and reflects the Buddhist belief that even small amounts of sharing and caring are beneficial. During Chula Kathin, this is symbolised with small pieces of newly made fabric that are cut and then sewn together to form a monk’s five main pieces of clothing. This ancient and important religious tradition requires devout faith, not least due to it consuming a full day to complete the merit making ceremony. Whilst Chula Kathin takes place over 24-hour period, the preparation is a 6 month long, drawn-out affair. First, hand-picked cotton seeds are planted, and natured into maturity, bolls are picked, processed and eventually woven. This ceremony is founded on the legend in which the Lord Buddha performs these humble tasks – preparing robes for his monks by his own hand.

• Raptor Watching Festival

When: September - November 2016
Where: Chumphon

The Raptor Watching Festival is held in October in Chumphon. This province is the region’s land bridge, located on the migration route of hundreds of thousands of birds. They pass Chumphon to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, or even Australia. The interesting activities are, for example, raptor watching and counting, visiting the raptor exhibition, or raptor and natural preservation in Chumphon exhibition.

• Long-Tailed Boat Competition in Nakhon Sawan

When: October 2016
Where: Chao Phraya River, Nakhon Sawan

Be amazed by the greatest races of traditional long boats ranging from small, medium and large sizes from all over the country. These Boat Races for His Majesty’s Trophy are held annually at the end of the Buddhist Lent along Chao Phraya River in front of Nakhon Sawan Provincial Hall. There are also other boat races at temples along the river, for example, from Wat Ko Hong and Wat Takhian Luan. This boat racing tradition has been carried on for decades to show the harmonious collaboration among inhabitants of Nakhon Sawan and its neighbours.

• Luang Wiang Lakhon Fair

When: October 2016
Where: Wat Prathat Lampang Luang, Lampang

Held annually before Loy Krathong festival, this festival put an emphasis on showcasing history and traditions of Lampang’s residents. Another highlight is also a famous marvelously decorated parade furnished with kitchen utensils like spoons, bowls, etc. This procession will also bring along food and home essentials for alms offering to the temples.

October Festivals in Thailand