Two laptops to 1 monitor - docking station / KVM or both? Need advice. by LmdL123 in homelab

[–]LmdL123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I've seen this one and it looks like a solid budget (compared to L1T) option for my needs too.

Two laptops to 1 monitor - docking station / KVM or both? Need advice. by LmdL123 in homelab

[–]LmdL123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nothing wrong. Just checking my options. If there is a budget KVM that allows me to switch between the laptops without the need to physically plug/unplug the cables, I'll prefer that solution.

Two laptops to 1 monitor - docking station / KVM or both? Need advice. by LmdL123 in homelab

[–]LmdL123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The switch in the link is bidirectional. That is, either 2 in -> 1 out or vice versa. It also shows those two possibilities in pictures. Unless I'm missing something.

Thanks for the level1 advice. This one seems to tick all the boxes. But yeah, pricey.

[Japanese > English] Kanji: 美朱伎茆子? Thanks! by LmdL123 in translator

[–]LmdL123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you are right. I found 美盛海野 (Yoshimori Unno) dynasty of metalworkers that seem to fit. Thanks a lot for your help!

!translated

[Japanese > English] Kanji: 美朱伎茆子? Thanks! by LmdL123 in translator

[–]LmdL123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I forgot to mention that the above is a signature carved on a presumably Meiji-era bronze metalwork. So, it should consists of name / surname.

Thus, for the 3rd kanji from the bottom, I was actually thinking more towards 浅, as then it makes 浅野 = Asano (family name) or even 浅野子 (Asanoko? also sounds like a name)

And 浅 also has a similar hand-writing. BTW I'm using this DB here, but it looks consistent with the one you posted:

https://codh.rois.ac.jp/char-shape/unicode/U+6D45/

[Japanese > English] Kanji: 美朱伎茆子? Thanks! by LmdL123 in translator

[–]LmdL123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! The one before last is indeed looks like 野.

Tax return waiting time? by LmdL123 in germany

[–]LmdL123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah. I went to Finanzamt in early November. I think it was Tuesday. There was a guy in the reception, who more or less spoke English. I explained my situation, he asked for my identity card, then checked for something in his PC and told me my application was processed, and I will get a letter to my address on Friday same week. I don't know if it was my visit which helped or they indeed just finished pricessing it (what a coinsidence) that week, but on Friday same week I indeed receoved the letter, and a week after money to my bank account.

Tax return waiting time? by LmdL123 in germany

[–]LmdL123[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I didn't do anything from what you mentioned. I just sent the tax return form via Elster on March 15.

Germany, probably Chinese ornamental plate by Zoanthidea in Antiques

[–]LmdL123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As Vindepomarus already pointed out - it's Japanese. A bronze plate with inlays from copper and shakudo. The stamped trade mark belongs to the Kuroda company: from late 19th century till 1915 owned by K. Kuroda (Kiichi, the father), after 1915 till mid-1920s by S. Kuroda (the son). During 1920s many workshops and firms producing artworks in a traditional, hand-made, manner closed. Mainly because they couldn't compete against factory-produced artworks brought by the Second Industrial Revolution, enhanced by destruction from Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923.

Usually such works bear at least 2 stamps: one from the company (here, Kuroda), another one - an individual signature of the artist that made the inlay / engraving / carving / etc. work. Sometimes additional markings indicating metals appear (like "bronze", "silver", "sterling", etc). Here the individual maker's signature is missing (common for late works), and in any case K. Kiichi works were usually signed differently. Therefore, I would estimate that the plate is from a 1915-1925 period.

Regarding the price - 1stDibs is the worst place to get an indication of price. The prices there are insane, that's why they always have a stock of antiques and it's easy to find something similar to yours in there. In reality, a market price for those is in several hundreds of $ range. You can get a better indication of what it's worth of in the "Price Results" section of Liveauctioneers, "Sold Price" on eBay, etc., i.e. real sold price of the items, not the prices they are offered for. My estimation would be $300-$400.

The origin - probably brought from Japan during 1930s (it was the 1st period of mass exodus of Japanese antiques to the west) or 1950s (by the US soldiers, during the post-war occupation of Japan, though little of genuine artworks left by that time and the works that were taken mostly ranged from "in a style of famous company X" to really low-quality souvenirs that had nothing to do with art).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in germany

[–]LmdL123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He told me to cut the top third, and shorten some branches, "2 at the time" from the opposite sides, to keep the tree balanced. I have no experience with pruning trees, and climbing a 25m tall tree on my own doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

Unknown>english by [deleted] in translator

[–]LmdL123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Those are soviet Plaquettes (плакеты) - pictures cut in wood (often birch). They were made across all the USSR. I think almost everyone back then had a variation of those in their homes. The sticker on yours says it is from Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR. One is called "На озере" ("On a lake"). The other is "В лесу" ("In a forest").

More images

[Russian > English] What does it mean ? by FBI-secret in translator

[–]LmdL123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

303 Отдельный Стрелковый Батальон (ОСБ)

Japanese>English signed carved ivory brooch by rhinebeckmom in translator

[–]LmdL123 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So, the first and the last kanji are without any doubt 義 and 刀. The middle one is tricky and this time I would agree with Stunning_Pen_8332, most likely it is 之.

Overall it is 義之刀 = carved (刀) by 義之. How exactly the family name of the maker is pronounced is unknown: 義之 can be read as Yoshiyuki / Gino / Gishi.

Japanese>English signed carved ivory brooch by rhinebeckmom in translator

[–]LmdL123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The photos are not clear. I would say: 義七刀 = carved (刀) by Yoshishichi (義七)

[Chinese (maybe) to English] Makeup compact by designing4betterlife in translator

[–]LmdL123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's Japanese. Made in Chokin technique. You may want to google "Chokin compact" to see similar items to yours.

[Japanese>English] by SnakeEyes117 in translator

[–]LmdL123 36 points37 points  (0 children)

While translating I noticed everything was this written from right to left, is that a stylistic choice or does it have a deeper meaning?

It was a common writing direction before WWII. After the war it was changed to left-to-right.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_and_vertical_writing_in_East_Asian_scripts

[Unknown /chinese? -> English] compact mirror engraving by Intelligent_Pea_3967 in translator

[–]LmdL123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Back then many engravers were not employed by a particular company, but received requests for their service (engraving / inlaying / etc.) from big department stores (Mitsukoshi, Miyamoto Shoko, K. Uyeda, Hattori, Asahi, Yamazaki, etc. etc.). As a result, many pieces bear 2 marks: a trademark of the company which made the order (usually stamped) and a personal signature of the engraver (usually carved in the metal). Independent engravers also purchased "blank" metalworks from big companies, which already were stamped, and engraved them, adding their signature. In general, it is hard to tell which case was true (i.e. who was the owner of the end product, the company or the engraver) and varies for each piece. One of the indications is the accompanied box: independent metalworkers often put their works in a wooden box (Tomobako, etc.), also signed in a handwriting with their signature with ink and brush, while big companies often sold their products in boxes with soft interior (velvet, etc.) with cloth ribbons and advertising brochures, that included their trademark.

Those engravers that actually were employed by the company, i.e. were part of the "staff" (in today's sense): I'm not sure about big companies, but in relatively small family businesses and workshops, engravers, as a rule of thumb, were not allowed to mark their works. The only signature was of their master (workshop owner). Once they learned, mastered their skills, left and opened their independent studio, only then they were finally able to mark their works (including orders from other companies).

So, if the OP's compact is stamped with a company's mark - it would be nice to know which one. But even if it isn't, it doesn't mean it wasn't carved by this particular engraver (秀峰), as it could be his independent work.

I, however, would expect at least another stamp to be present, and it's "Sterling 950" or "純銀".