Azrak
Newbie
- Feb 28, 2022
- 32
- 15
It's been a while since I last posted here on BHW. However it is as good time as any to describe my ups and downs. Also I need to vent for a bit so please bear with me.
Let us begin at the start when I found an interesting idea. It wasn't anything too groundbreaking, but it was a rediscovery of an old piece of technology that was all but forgotten. Few have looked at it, most have deemed it useless. However I liked it. The obscurity of it was intriguing so I started digging. Finally I had myself a little shiny gem. So I went on and started testing.
Enters:
Initial budget of around $500.
Bhw knowledge: next to none.
Gem: slightly polished.
Playground: roiling seas.
The idea worked. However to make it viable I lacked infrastructure. So I started testing my options. Some tests were succesfull, other were more like burning cash in a bonfire. I started getting used to various shades of red warning screens, suppresing the panic every time these appeared. At the same time I was thrilled as I was discovering new grounds, claiming a little piece of internet for myself.
Overall things were looking hopeful. Around this time I also met a collaborator and we hit it off. I was a sailor and he was a lighthouse keeper. Hence I started to use his lighthouses to navigate while giving him a cut of my cargo. We had a blast for a while. All was good.
Status:
Budget - down around $100 because of various investments.
Bhw knowledge: Few reliable vendors to work with. Burned few times.
Gem: somewhat polished
Playground: high seas
All good times must come to an end and this was our case too. We happened to run into a fleet of ships hoisting the blackest of flags and things went south. We spent many a day trying various methods to fend of their attacks however we were pulling on the shorter end of the rope. My fleet went from profitable to borderline profitable. Then I went red. All the while I was still looking for ways to buy more barges. I even offered my companion a way to get his own ships however he deemed it too risky. I left the deal on the table and we went on. I have to admit that he spent a lot of timepolishing his ligthouses to ease my navigation.
For some time we kept it up even as my barges were returning mostly empty, battered and bruised. Then, to make things worse, the sea froze.
Status:
Budget:
- some $200 down.
- $120 maybe recoverable but temporarily unavailable.
- some real world investments of additional ~$150.
- remaining funds $200.
- all in all some $350 in red. Possibly $500
Bhw knowledge:
- @goodnerda is a great VCC vendor. Fast and reliable.
- @shiv durga is a great VCC vencor. Fast and reliable. Unfortunately his cards are not usable for the most of my purposes. Might be error on my side though.
- @Cardoshi is a decent VCC provider. The range of usable services with their VCCs is unfortunately too limited for my purpose. However at least I was able to recover the money by paying for proxies with the card.
- @Ezzocard didn't work for me. At least they have a decent refund policy so I consider them reliable.
- @IDENTORY works like a charm as far as I could tell. Convenient. Not completely sure about their anti-ban measures but it might've been an issue with the proxy instead.
- @unr3al - anonymousproxies: works good. Only few proxies for my country though which was a bit unfortunate. Still more than I could find elsewhere though.
Gem: polished, but a bit bruised.
Playground: Frozen sea with pirate crews running rampant.
In the end I was too tired. I was dealing with quite a lot of stuff in the real world and the seas were too hostile. I bid my companion farewell and agreed to keep my barges on the sea for one last month for which he would cover the price since he wanted the cargo as he was still a true believer.
Budget:
- some $200 down.
- some $120 tied up in a loan. some $140 tied up as a cost for a last month of a fleet.
- remaining funds: some $50 after I paid all my dues and fees to the harbor master.
Bhw knowledge: unchanged.
Playground: Unchanged.
This is where the story could end. However not so long ago a letter came from the harbor master. Apparently I forgot small lantern aboard one of the ships and he wanted me to pay the fee for the burned out candle. Thus I once again ventured to the harbor and yo and behold. See, although still frozen, was slowly thawing. The pirates were nowhere to be seen - at least for now and few pathways opened in the ice. I became curious. Also I found out that the lighthouses of my companion were still lit up and he was keeping the light on. He welcomed me and wanted me to set sail once more. I was not yet convinced but I offered him to proceed with the deal we made before the sea froze. He happily agreed and thus I showed him the little polished stone. He nodded with curiosity as I explained its use.
Then suddenly, the wind picked up and a large fleet appeared from behind his lighthouses. "What about my cut?" I asked, almost timidly.
"Just sail your own fleet. I've helped you enough. Well, I can share with you some polishing techniques if you wish. Also I can help you set up a lighthouse if you pay for the land." was his answer.
I stood there, flabbergasted. We only knew each other on the seas but we hit if off. I enjoyed our collaboration but now the light of his beacons but now it seemed cold and distant. My blood slowly started to boil. Then it went cold.
I picked up my gem and once again visited the harbor master. Then I hoisted a flag on my ship and set sail to a familiar route lit by a well known beacon. As I was on my way I marvelled at the massive fleet the lighthouse keeper who I once considered a companion fielded. We discuss stuff once in a while, mostly of the technical nature. But for me it feels ... hollow.
Now there I am, once again sailing my ship while considering my options.
I could just recoup what I can and leave everything behind. Make my peace and go on. My life is decent enough as is. But that would mean putting aside my little gem. My precious.
I could decide to take the loss and keep collaborating with the lighthouse keeper. If not as a companion then as a professional who I have to keep an eye on. There is still some profit to be made after all. I could maybe rationalize that he helped me and that his steps were somewhat justified. However I likely can't do that. I'm not that magnanimous of a person.
I could dig deeper and use every bit of my knowledge of the harbor to make my fleet bigger. Larger. Then massive. To fire up the competition for cargo so high that I will price out the lighouse keeper. This would also possibly give me more profit. But it would force me to go to a paths not yet trodden where there be dragons. Also it would mean going from a shrewd merchant to someone hoisting the blackest of flags. A step I'm not sure I want to take.
Or I could shatter the gem and present its remains to the harbor master and hope he will be lenient. After all, my fleet is small. Small part of me, the one full of grandiosity wants to do that so that I can take the credit for creating the small gemstone. And to get some payback.
Or maybe there is another way that I don't see while being embroiled in all this turmoil. Maybe you can suggest something, dear reader.
That is the end of my story. At least for now. I lost some money and gained some experience. I gained and lost a companion and for a few months I had a blast. Not a total waste of time I guess. Is there a moral to this story? Who knows. I hope you enjoyed reading it though.
Let us begin at the start when I found an interesting idea. It wasn't anything too groundbreaking, but it was a rediscovery of an old piece of technology that was all but forgotten. Few have looked at it, most have deemed it useless. However I liked it. The obscurity of it was intriguing so I started digging. Finally I had myself a little shiny gem. So I went on and started testing.
Enters:
Initial budget of around $500.
Bhw knowledge: next to none.
Gem: slightly polished.
Playground: roiling seas.
The idea worked. However to make it viable I lacked infrastructure. So I started testing my options. Some tests were succesfull, other were more like burning cash in a bonfire. I started getting used to various shades of red warning screens, suppresing the panic every time these appeared. At the same time I was thrilled as I was discovering new grounds, claiming a little piece of internet for myself.
Overall things were looking hopeful. Around this time I also met a collaborator and we hit it off. I was a sailor and he was a lighthouse keeper. Hence I started to use his lighthouses to navigate while giving him a cut of my cargo. We had a blast for a while. All was good.
Status:
Budget - down around $100 because of various investments.
Bhw knowledge: Few reliable vendors to work with. Burned few times.
Gem: somewhat polished
Playground: high seas
All good times must come to an end and this was our case too. We happened to run into a fleet of ships hoisting the blackest of flags and things went south. We spent many a day trying various methods to fend of their attacks however we were pulling on the shorter end of the rope. My fleet went from profitable to borderline profitable. Then I went red. All the while I was still looking for ways to buy more barges. I even offered my companion a way to get his own ships however he deemed it too risky. I left the deal on the table and we went on. I have to admit that he spent a lot of timepolishing his ligthouses to ease my navigation.
For some time we kept it up even as my barges were returning mostly empty, battered and bruised. Then, to make things worse, the sea froze.
Status:
Budget:
- some $200 down.
- $120 maybe recoverable but temporarily unavailable.
- some real world investments of additional ~$150.
- remaining funds $200.
- all in all some $350 in red. Possibly $500
Bhw knowledge:
- @goodnerda is a great VCC vendor. Fast and reliable.
- @shiv durga is a great VCC vencor. Fast and reliable. Unfortunately his cards are not usable for the most of my purposes. Might be error on my side though.
- @Cardoshi is a decent VCC provider. The range of usable services with their VCCs is unfortunately too limited for my purpose. However at least I was able to recover the money by paying for proxies with the card.
- @Ezzocard didn't work for me. At least they have a decent refund policy so I consider them reliable.
- @IDENTORY works like a charm as far as I could tell. Convenient. Not completely sure about their anti-ban measures but it might've been an issue with the proxy instead.
- @unr3al - anonymousproxies: works good. Only few proxies for my country though which was a bit unfortunate. Still more than I could find elsewhere though.
Gem: polished, but a bit bruised.
Playground: Frozen sea with pirate crews running rampant.
In the end I was too tired. I was dealing with quite a lot of stuff in the real world and the seas were too hostile. I bid my companion farewell and agreed to keep my barges on the sea for one last month for which he would cover the price since he wanted the cargo as he was still a true believer.
Budget:
- some $200 down.
- some $120 tied up in a loan. some $140 tied up as a cost for a last month of a fleet.
- remaining funds: some $50 after I paid all my dues and fees to the harbor master.
Bhw knowledge: unchanged.
Playground: Unchanged.
This is where the story could end. However not so long ago a letter came from the harbor master. Apparently I forgot small lantern aboard one of the ships and he wanted me to pay the fee for the burned out candle. Thus I once again ventured to the harbor and yo and behold. See, although still frozen, was slowly thawing. The pirates were nowhere to be seen - at least for now and few pathways opened in the ice. I became curious. Also I found out that the lighthouses of my companion were still lit up and he was keeping the light on. He welcomed me and wanted me to set sail once more. I was not yet convinced but I offered him to proceed with the deal we made before the sea froze. He happily agreed and thus I showed him the little polished stone. He nodded with curiosity as I explained its use.
Then suddenly, the wind picked up and a large fleet appeared from behind his lighthouses. "What about my cut?" I asked, almost timidly.
"Just sail your own fleet. I've helped you enough. Well, I can share with you some polishing techniques if you wish. Also I can help you set up a lighthouse if you pay for the land." was his answer.
I stood there, flabbergasted. We only knew each other on the seas but we hit if off. I enjoyed our collaboration but now the light of his beacons but now it seemed cold and distant. My blood slowly started to boil. Then it went cold.
I picked up my gem and once again visited the harbor master. Then I hoisted a flag on my ship and set sail to a familiar route lit by a well known beacon. As I was on my way I marvelled at the massive fleet the lighthouse keeper who I once considered a companion fielded. We discuss stuff once in a while, mostly of the technical nature. But for me it feels ... hollow.
Now there I am, once again sailing my ship while considering my options.
I could just recoup what I can and leave everything behind. Make my peace and go on. My life is decent enough as is. But that would mean putting aside my little gem. My precious.
I could decide to take the loss and keep collaborating with the lighthouse keeper. If not as a companion then as a professional who I have to keep an eye on. There is still some profit to be made after all. I could maybe rationalize that he helped me and that his steps were somewhat justified. However I likely can't do that. I'm not that magnanimous of a person.
I could dig deeper and use every bit of my knowledge of the harbor to make my fleet bigger. Larger. Then massive. To fire up the competition for cargo so high that I will price out the lighouse keeper. This would also possibly give me more profit. But it would force me to go to a paths not yet trodden where there be dragons. Also it would mean going from a shrewd merchant to someone hoisting the blackest of flags. A step I'm not sure I want to take.
Or I could shatter the gem and present its remains to the harbor master and hope he will be lenient. After all, my fleet is small. Small part of me, the one full of grandiosity wants to do that so that I can take the credit for creating the small gemstone. And to get some payback.
Or maybe there is another way that I don't see while being embroiled in all this turmoil. Maybe you can suggest something, dear reader.
That is the end of my story. At least for now. I lost some money and gained some experience. I gained and lost a companion and for a few months I had a blast. Not a total waste of time I guess. Is there a moral to this story? Who knows. I hope you enjoyed reading it though.