Beekeeping

http://www.nwibeekeepers.com/about.aspx

Humanity's relationship with the bee, and more importantly its products, has been underway since well before we started writing anything down.  Just like many other animals (bears, birds, honey badgers, and other primates), humans have long exploited the bees' honey production for cheap and tasty calories.  We also seem to have found a use or two for bees' wax along the way.  Honey bees can be found throughout the world (for the most part) and have been actively harvested by humans for quite some time.
    The first methods of honey collection, naturally, involved ransacking wild hives.  Hunter-gatherers depicted these interactions in some of their artwork.  However, the world over, we have been trying to find a better way to get along for quite some time.  Domestication has been ongoing since at least the Ancient Egyptians (ca 2422 BCE).
    We eventually figured out that through the application of smoke, calming the bees by initiating the feeding response (a resource preserving reaction to the hive potentially being destroyed by fire), bees would not sting the shit out of you.  Of course the stinging is a natural reaction for the bees, since harvesting basically entails the destruction of its home, young, food stores, and potentially the queen.
    It seems that fixed comb hives were used exclusively until the 19th Century.  This construct is almost exactly what it sounds like (except that the hives could be moved).  The hopeful beekeeper would construct a chamber amenable to occupation and lure a swarm from a natural hive (or other artificial hives) nearby.  The trouble remained that in harvesting the honey or the comb, the beekeeper would destroy the hive (it wasn't until the development of the movable frame hive that this problem was eliminated).  Hive design varied from region to region, dependent largely upon the materials at hand.

https://beeglue.wordpress.com/about-beekeeping/history-of-beekeeping/

    While harvesting required the destruction of a given hive, honey and wax production were desirable enough and low time/material investment enough to make it economically viable.  Farmers only have to invest a few hours a week to ensure production (as a bonus, bees are important pollinators).  Fixed comb hives might be constructed out of wood, clay, or plant fibers (really, anything with a cavity and an entrance).  For general production, many hives would be built close together, so that the bees would colonize multiple new hives before the original would be harvested.  Heavier clay hives would be built side by side, while wooden ones might be stacked vertically.  Plant fiber hives, or skeps, are generally light enough to be placed on shelves (outside, come on people) and have the added benefit of being easier to shape in a more natural design (relative to wooden boxes), for higher honey yields.
    A variety of commercial products are made from harvested bee colonies, including: honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly, and propolis.  Honey is obviously a food product by itself, but can also be used to make mead and has many medicinal applications (effective and not so much, depending on the use).  Beeswax is turned into candles, but is also an ingredient in polishes and beauty products (yeah, mustache wax).  Pollen, while perhaps the least desirable extract, can also be consumed.  Royal jelly has a grand mythology surrounding its benefits (dubious though the truth may be), enhanced by it's limited production (only really worth harvesting from the queen's cell) and shelf-life.  Propolis is what the bees use for a sealant and is the primarily employed in traditional medicines (it's also been used to bring out the wood grain in stringed instruments and for various other industrial uses).  

https://nbba.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/medieval_beekeeper_1.jpg

   
Extras
Some forms of wasp produce honey, as well, in hexagonal combs.  However, the combs are not made from wax, but from a composite of saliva and plant materials.
While ants do not make combs, some species do store honey within the bodies of some of the young workers, known as 'repletes' (who may also store water).  These repletes (with distended abdomens) hang immobile from the roof of their underground nests.  Other worker ants literally tap on these workers to have them regurgitate the stored honey.

Resources
wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping
Japanese - http://warre.biobees.com/japan.htm
Swiss/German - http://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/traditional-beekeeping-bee-hotels-switzerland-and-germany
Africa - http://teca.fao.org/technology/beekeeping-africa-traditional-and-modern-beehives-and-beekeeping-equipment-0
Malta - https://naturalbeekeeper.wordpress.com/history-of-beekeeping/beekeeping-in-malta-in-the-past/
India - http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/13867
Beekeeping History (book) - https://books.google.com/books?id=WVh3AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA251&lpg=PA251&dq=traditional+beekeeping+in+england&source=bl&ots=-IyKYlh9jW&sig=b2Cz3FBhkp9wC7ZvJUaDha09XVM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sBXHVPr0NNT_yQSQqIGoDg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Creature Culture VII (trade)

Yup, I'm still working on my world (not sure when that will ever stop) and trying to figure out how these Fantasy races live with themselves.  Hmmm maybe I should clarify.  One of the things I'm trying to sus out is how to demonstrate priorities.  These other beings ain't human.  They have different drives and desires.  They may have similar failings but they manifest in different ways.
    Everyone may experience avarice, but what you desire and what I desire may be two very different things.  Some folks love fast cars, some dig the newest gadgets, others love shiny jewels.  The prices on all of these things are based upon the value that we place on them.  While I might pay $20k for a Ferrari, I'm not going to pony up full price no matter how much I could get laid driving it (plus I have a great lady, so tpbttt).  Diamonds are pretty, but really, people?  The same could very well be true between sentient species.
    Understandably, not all cultures may have developed the inclination to trade.  Humans may consider this a "higher" level of cultural development, but we're snobs that way.  Cultures may be very sophisticated, but insular.  If they are self sustaining, then why bother?  However, humans are very interested in the practice and are more than willing to introduce it to our neighbors (naturally, for our own benefit).  The trick is in figuring out what your new trading partner wants.  You can run the scenarios from there.
     The funny thing is that, while you might feel that humans are taking advantage of their "slow" neighbors, it doesn't have to be the case.  First of all, traders take all of the risk.  They transport the goods to the market, potentially over long distance, chancing misfortune along the way.  They pay in the currency the seller prefers (be it coins or cabbages).  The trader then needs to compete with other traders (via price, relationship, etc) on that market.  The producers could potentially get better prices for their goods were they market-savvy, but it ain't easy today, much less in a medieval setting (where I'm writing).
    Always remember that "The coin of the realm" may not be accepted in other realms.  I may be more interested in military alliances.  Food may be hard to come by in my land.  You might control the flow of water to my fields.  There are innumerable goods that might be more important to me than "precious" metals.  In those cases, the savvy trader might just exchange favors or friendships for goods.  Information is a product that is hard to put a price on.  Accurate maps may be highly sought after commodities.  Think about your creatures' lifestyles and basic needs.  Nomads can't portage blocks of marble everywhere.  Hammers are useless to creatures without opposable thumbs.  Oh, and my culture's interest in a specific commodity will drive up prices for everyone.
    It is an easy trap to fall into, ascribing human drives and practices to other cultures, but we don't all function the same way.  Just like we may misunderstand someone of a different culture in a social setting, we may do similar in an economic one.  The true beauty is that the traders may be thinking that each is taking advantage of the other and the truth of that belief may depend entirely upon which side you personally reside.

Tipping

Ah, a post close to the heart of every individual in a service industry.  There are many schools of thought on this practice which vary dependent on class and culture, as well as evolving over time.  I seem to remember the average dinner time gratuity rising from 10% all the way to the current 20% (then again, I remember when gas was 89cents/gallon), with a brief stopover at 18.  As a fantasy writer, should I include a tip if my characters stay at a roadside inn?
    In my "Currency" post, I discuss the use of cold hard cash in a fantasy novel.  First and foremost, if you want to have a tipping culture, it must be in a trade-rich region.  If you're leaving a tip, you must be exchanging cash for services.  Service industry workers tend to be salaried (i.e. not the owner of the business), unless they are exceptionally poor (or an apprentice).  if you're earning cash, there must be some way to pay for food and shelter near their place of work.  Not much point in having money if there is nowhere to spend it.  You can't eat it. You goddamn city slicker.  
    I just finished reading the second Scott Lynch book and the lead character leaves a rather exhorbinant tip (early on, geez I'm not spoiling anything).  It is explained to be worth half of the man's annual salary (to which is added a dozen more coins of equal value).  When figuring out what a salary should be, you might want to keep in mind that there need to be certain minimum prices for things.  While there are plenty of cultures that have cut their coins into smaller pieces to pay for little things, this is generally discouraged.  If you can pay for a meal with the smallest of coins, what would the individual elements of that meal cost at the market?  A little bit of math at the beginning can save a load of headaches later on (also remember that different countries may use different coins of different intrinsic values based upon materials).
    As I stated in the opening, waiters in the US are generally tipped 20% these days, but that is a modern convention.  The US government has helped to formalize this practice by setting a lower minimum wage for waiters and waitresses (in PA at least, if you don't equal standard minimum wage with you hourly plus tips, the restaurant makes up the difference).  People also tip hair stylists, hotel maids, and doormen (at least once a year), along with various other workers (like parking attendants, legitimate or otherwise).  In Europe, the tip is often just the change you get from the bill, even if it is just a few low denomination coins (waiters tend to make a living wage over there).  Apparently there are places where it is offensive to leave a tip, as though you think they need additional encouragement to do their job well, or their employer does not pay them enough.  For a writer, tipping traditions can be a nice point of conflict for a character traveling in a foreign land.
    It's funny, all these words spend on how to tip, and how to apply the currency properly, but very little on the "why" of it all.  Most people today are guilted into tipping.  You do it because everyone would think you were an ass if you didn't.  I like the line from "My Blue Heaven," when Vinnie says, "I don't believe in tipping.  I believe in over-tipping."  He tips to make people remember him, so that the next time he comes around they wait on him with pleasure and alacrity.  It seems a bit mercenary, but that is the point.  Tipping someone to say, "good job," is a little demeaning (in a non-tipping culture).  You tip because when you go back, you can rely on being treated better than the new faces.  It's a bribe.  Check out the origins of "gratuity."  It's always been one.  Happy tipping.

Any thoughts?  How do people tip where you are from?  Are you an over-tipper?



As an aside.  (US mainly) The next time you go out for drinks or dinner with friends and someone drops cash, be alert.  If someone puts down cash with the cards, the waiter often gets under-appreciated.  It works like this: $100 check.  $50 cash on the table.  $50 goes on a card.  The cardholder often leaves 20% of their part ($10).  Whose fault is this?  I dunno, but the server can't tell if you didn't like service, or if the table is just bad at math.  Be good to people who take care of you.



Wiki - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratuity

Begin at the beginning

It's bothered me for quite some time.  I seem to remember feeling this way the first time I watched "Ghandi" too, so it's not just novels.  If memory serves, that film begins with the funeral of the protagonist, then flashes back to tell the story.  For some reason it bugged me.  I know, his life and death are a matter of record.  It wasn't a "spoiler" for the rest of the story.  Why then, you may ask, did it gnaw at me so?
    I think I've finally come up with an answer (which may be painfully obvious to everyone reading this, especially if they happen to be a writer).  It's a cheat.  Putting an action beat, or a (generally only superficial) plot twist, or your protagnist's death (especially when it's only feigned) at the opening is an easy way to get the audience invested in the story right off the bat.  They want to get your blood up, or tug on your heart strings, but they haven't earned it yet.
    There is nothing inherently wrong in starting off with a bang.  In fact, it's highly recommended.  Te tv show "Castle" starts off with a gristly new corpse in an interesting location almost every week.  I'm talking about starting off with a bang and then going back a few months, or years, to find out how we got there.  It strikes me as lazy writing (though I'll never claim to be above it.  If you ever see it in a novel with my name attached, you'll know that the editor told me what was required to sell my book, or maybe I just changed my mind about this whole thing, so there).  It's a card trick, a little sleight-of-hand to keep you distracted while the writer puts in the real work.
    Flashbacks are fine, often essential tools, to give important pieces of background.  Using the past tense to tell a story already puts in the readers mind that these events are being retold.  My objection is in plucking a moment from the middle, or the end, of the story being told and used as an opening.  Who am I to talk like this?  I'm a reader.  As a writer I have taken up the oldest mantel, stated so clearly as "be the change you want to see in the world."  In life, I've found it almost as important to spot the negative examples as the positive.  By avoiding pitfalls, I might just stumble upon the right path.


What do you think?  Does this bug you when you encounter it?  Is it just a great teaser for the meat of the story?

Politicians (where do they come from?)

When you build characters, giving them a bit of background, or history, makes it much easier to flesh out their realities and motivations.  You see so many representations of politicians as simple power-hungry type-a personalities that we gloss over (what may be their) true motivations.  Who is it that gets involved in politics?
    Looking through my FB feed this morning, I find that another old friend has been elected to the old home town's school board.  She's a smart and capable woman. I'd have voted for her.  From what I remember: she was in sales, works from home, and has a couple of kids.  School board isn't a full-time job, but it does have some responsibilities.  Moreover, for someone already tied into the community, it is a strengthening of those bonds and a way to give back by hopefully leading it in a positive direction.
    It's a longstanding tradition to have well known and respected individuals from within a community take a role in how that community is run.  These may not be the brightest or most creative individuals from a society (though they could be), since those people are often self-centered (why shouldn't they be?).  These leaders are selected because of the relationships they have cultivated in the community.  For elected officials, this requires honesty, character, and empathy.  The previous two paragraphs may sound hopelessly naive, but in local politics, that's often what you depend on (not my naïveté, but that people of some skill, who you trust, will do a good job).
    The trouble with representational government (well, one of em), is that the larger you get in scale, the harder it is to know you representative.  Growing up, I was a little surprised to get to know my mayor a little (I swam with his kids). It has never seemed a real possibility for me to know anyone in the higher levels of authority in this country (as much as their commercials tell me that they are just like me).  However, democracy being a relatively new invention, it's mostly outside the scope of Fantasy worlds, especially in larger scales, so I'll cut off that line of thinking there.
    Politicians who are appointed may be another matter altogether.  They still depend upon relationships, but not necessarily with the community as a whole.  You don't often get young appointees.  These are generally people who have already earned a reputation in their chosen field, whether it be tax-collector or engineer.  Here is where corruption tends to creep in.  Few people have friends appropriate for every appointed position and those seeking to be appointed always have agendas (for good or ill).
    Local politicians aren't generally well paid, so either they are already well established in business prior to their term, or they are a prime target for corruption (assuming they weren't previously corrupted).  It can be a small step between installing people you trust in certain positions, and nepotism.  A contractor you know and trust may not be the cheapest bid on a project, but you know they'll do a good job.  Others might call that favoritism.  I'm sure that, in some cases, one leads to another.  It must be tempting to help friends, even if they aren't giving you a kickback.
    I feel kind of bad for having used an old friend's success to discuss motivations behind political misdeeds, but she's smart enough to know that I don't believe she'll misbehave in that manner.  It does make me wonder though, how these friends who have gotten into government will grow with these new roles, as their opportunities continue to expand.  Will they remain bright shining souls, or will they slowly be twisted by the maze of favors and compromises?  For a writer, it might just depend upon how you look at it, with the old idea of the villain being the hero of their own story.  Maybe they will be doing what they think is best for their family, or constituency, or town.  I guess I'll have to keep working on my politicians' motivations.


Wow, what was that all about?  I dunno.  Did it spawn any thoughts in you?  Do you know anyone in politics?  Did they always want to do it?  How did they get started?