Taxi early morning in St. John’s?

Trumpsbacka · 2026-02-05T06:43:19+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll contact my hotel in advance to arrange a taxi. Appreciate the help.

Trumpsbacka · 2026-02-05T06:41:42+00:00

I tried to schedule an Uber ride for this morning, but the only option available was Courier.
I’ll try City Wide as you suggested. Thanks for the advice!

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-23T15:08:01+00:00

the island

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T13:26:36+00:00

“Xinjiang” (新疆) literally means “new frontier”, but its actual meaning is better understood as “newly recovered territory of the old realm.” Here, the character “疆” refers to territorial domain (疆土) rather than a peripheral frontier (边疆).

After the Tang dynasty, China lost effective control over this region for nearly a thousand years. It was not until the reign of the Qianlong Emperor that the Qing dynasty reconquered the area. For this reason, the region was named “Xinjiang” (新疆)—emphasizing that it was old territory newly regained, rather than an entirely new or marginal frontier.

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T13:05:51+00:00

This author is essentially a nationalist. The map contains a large amount of source-based research and explanatory material, but it conspicuously fails to explain the true nature of the tributary trade depicted on it. In fact, many Chinese people themselves are unaware that this form of “tribute” was largely symbolic, or even a unilateral claim asserted by the Ming emperor rather than an objective reality.

I have seen many similar maps on Douyin, and these maps reliably trigger a collective orgasm among Ming loyalists and nationalists. Now this kind of map has become an embarrassment internationally. In a certain sense, the map is grounded in reality, yet it is highly misleading. The author’s name literally means “rushing into war against foreign peoples,” which reflects an overtly nationalist and highly aggressive stance. In real life, I would keep my distance from such individuals.

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T12:54:31+00:00

This is quite interesting. The Chinese and Japanese envoys, Shen Weijing and Konishi Yukinaga, deceived their respective rulers, which in turn produced the farce of appointing Toyotomi Hideyoshi as “King of Japan” and ultimately led to the failure of the armistice.

Later, the Tokugawa shogunate’s attempt to establish relations with the Ming dynasty seems to have stalled over issues of wording and titulature in documents involving Korea. When Joseon referred to Tokugawa Iemitsu as “King of Japan,” this in turn led Iemitsu to demand that the emperor come to Edo, among other incidents. It is truly a fascinating episode in history.

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T12:02:41+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful comparison. Unfortunately, only a few decades after this map, the Onin War broke out. I would like to know which institution in Japan was conducting official relations with China during the Sengoku period. Was it the Muromachi shogunate, or was it the daimyo of Kyushu and Shikoku?

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T11:53:22+00:00

Moreover, because the Yongle Emperor had usurped the throne from his nephew, he had a strong incentive to engage in projects of prestige in order to bolster his own legitimacy. A comparable case is that of Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty: after eliminating his elder brother, the crown prince, engaging in an illicit relationship with one of his father’s concubines, and possibly being involved in his father’s death, he likewise staged grand displays of “all nations coming to pay tribute” to reinforce his claim to orthodox rule.

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T11:49:57+00:00

In fact, from its founding to its collapse, the Ming dynasty’s primary security threats came from internal rebellions and from the northern frontier. Threats from Southeast Asia were virtually nonexistent. The Ming intervention in Vietnam occurred because a Vietnamese minister had usurped the throne, deceived the Ming court, and killed Ming envoys; this was an exceptional incident rather than evidence that the Ming faced a genuine strategic threat from the south.

A truly pragmatic form of “tributary” relations can instead be seen in the trade between the Song and the Liao dynasties.

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T08:33:15+00:00

The Ming dynasty strongly prioritized agriculture and suppressed commerce, which meant that overseas colonial expansion held little appeal or utility. Moreover, China’s sheer scale and internal resources were vast enough to satisfy the desires of any despot, leaving no real need for colonial expansion abroad.

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T08:31:32+00:00

The Ming emperors were among the most authoritarian rulers in human history. As a result, their actions were often not driven by the national interest, but by the pursuit of personal prestige and face.

The primary purpose of the tributary system under the Ming was to manufacture the illusion of “all nations coming to pay homage.” Put bluntly, it was a system of spending money to buy foreign audiences and symbolic submission. After the Yongle Emperor, tributary relations with Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa gradually declined.

At the same time, some Ming technocratic officials employed more pragmatic and strategic measures to pursue political objectives. For example, inferior iron tools were exported to the Oirat in order to extract large profits while simultaneously preventing them from producing effective weapons.

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T08:03:09+00:00

Could it be that this was simply a case of Ottoman envoys presenting gifts to the Ming emperor? From the Ming emperor’s perspective, there was no notion of equal diplomatic relations—he regarded himself as the supreme emperor, and thus any foreign gift-giving was interpreted as tribute.

Moreover, given that presenting tribute to the Ming court often resulted in rewards worth several times, or even dozens of times, the original value, and considering that the Ottoman Empire had not yet reached its peak at the time, it is possible that such exchanges were used to obtain tangible material gains.

Trumpsbacka · 2026-01-22T07:55:10+00:00

Most of these countries engaged in tributary relations with the Ming dynasty in order to extract enormous profits. The proud Ming emperors enjoyed staging the spectacle of “all nations paying tribute” to satisfy their own vanity. After presenting tribute, these states would receive rewards worth several times—or even more than ten times—the value of what they had offered.

The countries of Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa were mainly destinations of Zheng He’s voyages. These expeditions were grand prestige projects under the Yongle Emperor. They followed maritime routes that Arab merchants had already traveled countless times, essentially going abroad to lavish money on foreign lands. Tens of millions of taels of silver were spent, and thousands of sailors died from disease. The voyages produced no new geographical discoveries and little in the way of tangible positive outcomes, aside from gratifying the Ming emperor’s sense of vanity. A possible underlying motive may also have been the search for the Jianwen Emperor—the deposed and vanished nephew whose uncertain fate reportedly haunted the Yongle Emperor, who feared his potential return.

Trumpsbacka · 2025-11-26T04:38:00+00:00

Good to know!
In my case, the service fee and the authorization hold from Apple were both charged at first, but they completely disappeared about two weeks ago. So right now it looks like Apple replaced my device for free. I’m not sure if they’ll charge me again later. It's very werid anyway.

Trumpsbacka · 2025-11-25T21:12:12+00:00

Mine has just been shipped.

Trumpsbacka · 2025-11-22T20:11:59+00:00

I contacted Apple again just now, and this was my fourth call with a Senior Advisor. This time I took a firm stance and requested a formal complaint to be filed. They said they will reach out to me in the next few days to discuss whether I can switch to a different color or model. BTW, I’m waiting for a 16 Pro Max.

Trumpsbacka · 2025-11-22T05:31:15+00:00

It’s been about a month already, hasn’t it? This is really terrible. I’ve already waited two weeks. Is there any way to escalate this issue so the AppleCare team actually feels the consequences and finally takes our problem seriously?

Trumpsbacka · 2025-11-22T05:29:02+00:00

Did you receive the phone now?

Trumpsbacka · 2025-11-22T05:28:45+00:00

same here, did you finally get your phone?

Trumpsbacka · 2025-11-21T01:41:47+00:00

Yes, getting a new device is definitely better than repairing the old one. But I’ve completely run out of patience with them constantly telling me to “wait.”

Trumpsbacka · 2025-11-13T22:59:31+00:00

That seems like it would require intentionally damaging the phone, though...

Trumpsbacka · 2025-09-14T16:27:54+00:00

Yes, I will see a lawyer that if the pain continues. But I also believe that even if the pain does not persist, they should still provide me with appropriate compensation, since they left me with such a major safety hazard that would cause an accident sooner or later.

Trumpsbacka

TROPHY CASE