The Bravo Blog: Blog

I Hate Email

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:49:45 GMT

First off, what is email. I know, I know, its electronic text messages sent via http or smtp or any of the popular email protocols via the internet. It was one of the first technologies implemented via the internet and today is responsible for a vast majority of the traffic over the internet, trumping the world wide web and associated traffic. Besides this, what exactly is email? It is not as formal as a memo, though many use it to convey memos throughout an organization. Neither is it as informal or dismissive as text messages. We still have faxes and signed legal documents so email holds little official communication weight. Like any technology, it can be spoofed, corrupted, or faked to prove anyone’s point, with proper access. Today’s companies and governments run on it, society runs on it, life before email is only a faded memory and we can not fathom life without it or before it.

The problem with email, besides the whole gray area of where it fits into our practical world, is we have become chained to it. We spend hours each work day checking, reading, replying, and filing emails. Some of my coworkers get hundreds of emails a day, making contacting them virtually impossible. If I need a vital sign-off for this or that I have to either A) leave voice mail due to my time zone, incurring International Long Distance charges B) send instant messages to the person in hopes they are hiding with an “appear offline” status or something and will be awake to reply or C) send an email to their manager or coworker to see if they can pass along the message the next time they see them! I kid you not people, some of my coworkers have unread email from 2 to 3 months ago, and it is not their fault! The more important your role in a company the more email you receive. CEO’s have to employee people just to filter their emails! I work for a fortune 500 company, our executives can easily get 1,000 emails a day ranging from personal emails, business operational needs emails, departmental cost review emails, share holder emails, special projects review emails, proposed and planning emails, policy and publication review emails, professional organization emails, leisure activity emails, financial bulletins, and the list keeps going. This makes getting any help from them, in large projects this is key, nearly impossible.

The more important you are, the more emails you get and the harder you have to work to keep on top of them all. My largest dread from returning from vacation is clearing out my inbox, take a week off and when you return your first day or two is devoted to reviewing past emails. Email programs are great in they can have rules created and custom folder structures Most of us use an email program to manage our inboxes. Inboxes take up server space, resources, bandwidth, etc. so they are limited on size which requires our constant attention to keep from filling up and causing problems demanding immediate attention. Important people, or those who receive excessive amounts, have to keep on top of their emails just to keep their accounts from being shut down due to sheer volume. Email server managers always complaign about bandwidth utilization and space. Want to see a company panic, let their email server crash or loose connectivity. Too much of anything is a killer.

Email programs allow us to create filters, sending this email to that folder or that email to another folder as soon as they come in. This helps but is by no means a perfect way to segregate or prioritize the emails. Email programs have limited filtering capabilities, so they are not perfect when your filter or rule space is exceeded. Add this to program limitations, like Outlook’s .PST filter limitations (any .PST file getting over 3GB will cause issues and make Outlook begin to run wacky) a .PST file is the file holding all your folders, rules, profile, etc. The problem with email programs still boils down to the initial problem, you still have to read all this email and then decide what to do with it. Of course we find a solution so the next thing we do is... yes, you got it, push harder. Email programs allow us to make folders to put emails in, now we have 50 folders and rules to put important emails in them and BAM! Now we have to check 50 folders constantly! We write more complex rules and filters, we exceed the engineering until they re-engineer it, then we exceed it again.

Add things like people tagging emails with delivery and read receipt requests, flagged emails with timers, and people who mark everything ‘high priority’ or urgent (which usually means it isn’t) and you get email burnout. My business email has turned me so off to email, I hate to email my friends. Email has made us all act like we have ADD, read mail notifications cause us to stop what it is we are doing and open the latest communication. Blackberries and smart phones now bring our work email home, constantly intruding into our personal lives. We now live in an email blizzard with millions of email snow flakes screaming for notice out of hundreds. So here, put me on record. “I hate email”. Has it make my life easier, better, more productive? No. I am spending so much time reading email that I have to take work home, causing me to read more email. While I can communicate quicker, I find my emails sit in other people’s boxes for a couple of day (and sometimes require more emails to get replies), and like wise, I almost have to keep an old fashioned pen and paper list of emails to ensure I answer all the urgent ones the same day! This has not made life better. Productivity, sheesh, throw that out the window. My work is now in stop and start mode as I have to pause for emails, while working, in meetings, writhing reports, nearly everything. No my live has yet to improve because of email, the negatives have overwhelmed the few positives I could think of.

Besides complaining what can I do? Nothing! It is like trying to stop the tides or the sun from rising or setting. Email is an integral part of everything. Need service on your gizmo, email tech services from their website. Need directions to your friend’s new apartment, send an email. Boss needs a new report, get email status requests twice daily till the deadline. Got a question about that travel reservation or weekend class, email the company and they will get back, with some canned email template that really explains nothing and clarifies less. Nope, the world now runs on email. In the ‘70’s it was carbon paper, everything was in triplicate. Now email has risen from academic experiment to toppling governments as evidence of shenanigans. Yep, it’s an email world and I just have to deal with it. I might not like taxes, bleeding heart liberals, liver and onions, long lines, pollution, or cold weather but like email, I have to deal with it. So if you have found email to be a burden, a false promise or hope, please let me know. Email, like anything else, is best when used in moderation but in our lives it seems like we can only use it in excess, too much excess to be valuable.

Blog day - 3 years of blogging and counting

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:40:14 GMT

Today is the 3rd anniversary of my Blog's re-invention (originally it was launched around by birthday in 2004 but I accidentally deleted all the old stuff and started over with a new focus and format). Since June 2005 I have posted many things, news, opinions, and photographs. Starting out as social commentary and then sharing my adventures in life as I moved to China. I have been fortunate to meet and maintain some good friendships over these years. I hopefully have opened some peoples eyes to points of view outside of the popular ones and inspired debates or people to seek better understanding for the things I discuss or rant about. I also hope I have helped my friends and family keep up with my times here in China. I have fell off my monthly newsletter so this is the only venue they have for updates now.

Time is the enemy of all, for me it is work. My hours dedicated to work have sky rocketed and unfortunately there is no real end in sight. I do hope to get back to a normal work load in August, one that will afford my evening back so I can write, watch a TV series with my wife, spend quality time with my daughter after we get her back (not until Chinese New Year now ) work on photo editing, etc. As the project I am working on draws to an end the meetings and work load increase. Time is always the one thing there never seems to be enough of, and if there were, well I believe it would be waised on the things we really don't want to spend time on anyway.

Thank you to all the people who have ever stopped by, left comments, hints, suggestions, and arguments. I have enjoyed reading them all and hope I can maintain the standards of this blog in the future. While this is an outlet for my voice and thoughts in this world, it is by no means just a one way communication channel.

Hoodwinked or Conspiracy Cover-Up - Gloucester Mass Pregnancy Pact disputed

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:43:40 GMT

Well I feel like an all day sucker! After an 'independent investigation' the mayor of Gloucester Massachusetts has denied the rumors, shown the school’s principal as having memory irregularities, and told TIME magazine in no particular terms, "liar, liar pants on fire"! Well, of course she did. The city can not bury their heads in the sand and hope this goes away. Their community has become the butt of many jokes over the course of the story breaking and they want to maintain some city dignity and pride. Under scrutiny the TIME article seems to be losing water, and losing it fast. Of course, there are means, motive, and opportunity here for Gloucester to bury their shattered city image, if you tend to believe in such things.

The Associated Press and the loathed NY Times have articles citing real reporting, you know... people going out and interviewing more then two or three people for collaboration and asking people on both sides of this issue what was going on. Still, we do not know who is involved and to what extent. There seems to be an ounce of truth to the tale, albeit two girls and not the 7 to 8 as originally thought. This is beginning to remind me more of the kids game ‘telephone’ then anything else. Now again, there is incentive for the city to get this story to go away, quickly and quietly, which was not going to happen if it stayed in the public spot light. So, now we have to question our rash rushes to judgment and phantom belief the press are full of professionals who will never do something to fabricate a story, you listening NY Times???

If the pact story turns out to be a rumor based off of two best friends silly promise and a reporters desperate attempt of gaining recognition and fame, well then it goes to show how far our reporting industry has continued to fall in the wave of false reported story they keep racking up year after year (eroding public trust and confidence, and people wonder why bloggers are gaining in credibility over ‘professional’ reporters). If the story turns out to be true, something that can only happen if the people involved come forward them selves to validate, then we have a better story of a city’s attempts to cover-up a public relations nightmare of its citizen’s behaviors and morals. Most likely the real truth will never be knows as our short attention spans jump on the next fascinating tid-bit to surface.

Still I stand by my original views of sex-ed being the parents' responsibility and not the school's. I don't think having day care on a high school campus is a good idea as it sends an inconsistent message to the kids and is no better then having a licquor story in the lunch room that sells booze, smokes, and porn next to the condoms, birth control pills, and RU-486 style morning after pills. Parents should tell their kids about sex, its responsibilities and consequences, and leave sex-ed to discuss STD prevention and situational awarness and not letting yourself get into a bad situation in the first place. Schools are for learning, not an auxliary for a family planning helath clinic.

As a person who jumped on this story, I am guilty of proliferating the story and for that I deeply apologize as I do try not to have this happen. I do usually wait a few days or weeks to talk about something out of respect, the truth to emerge, and better coverage to inform my opinions. I jumped the gun, got burned, and deepened my cynicism of the general press and media in our great nation. With this being said, the Gloucester story was only an event that I was using to advance my agenda of pointing out our declining family values and need to strengthen our family relationships, commitments, and responsibilities. For this I can not, should not, and never will apologize as I know I am right.

Family is the core of any society. Its values are a society’s and show their virtue and strength. Ours has been in free fall since the 1950’s and I hope others see this as clearly as I do, and do something about it. Each of us has different levels of beliefs and values, but the core begins with the family and these need addressing, strengthening, and re-enforcing now more then ever, and now before the above story becomes real and a new national fad (once the genie is out of the bottle it is hard to get them back in and this would not be the first time a national story influenced a teen trend repeated for generations, school shooting jump to the front of my mind).

I wanted to use this story to highlight the need to discuss values, morals, personal and social responsibilities. I am still going to do this, and hopefully my foolish rush to judgment will not lessen the impression of importance and vital need for bringing these topics to the forefront of peoples minds, forums, and thoughts with themselves, families, and friends. I feel this is THE most important issue facing us, as a society and nation, today. You can not build a house on a weak foundation and expect it to stand, weather a storm, or endure the test of time. If our foundation is solid, strong, and enduring then we can survive anything that comes our way, even if we have to rebuild a part of or even the whole damn house if necessary.

A parting thought I want to share with my readers and friends, please take 10 to 15 minutes to think about values, morals, and beliefs. Write them down, search for them on Google, dictionary, or library. Identify the core ones, the personal ones, and the overall social ones. I will discuss them over the course of July and as the kids are home for summer break and we have long and warm days ahead we can take the time to reflect and think about what makes us what we are, why we are, and what is most important to us and then discuss with our families and close friends. Dedication, vigilance, and tenacity are what is needed to correct and protect what we have. You can only stray off the path so far before you become lost, once lost it is easy to become causality, and history is full of them.

Writing on the Wall, now in neon, Gloucester High Pregnancy Pact

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:42:06 GMT

In scanning the news this morning, between meetings, I ran across this TIME article and all the flaming comments around it. In the Time Magazine Web Article by Kathleen Kingsbury, the magazine is scooping probably the most troubling story of kids run amuck since the Georgia boys accused of rape, all parties involved being under 12. The article misses a few very important points to take pop shots at the entertainment industry (ok, I can get behind that argument and applaud it) and the left's loathing of President Bush's "head in the sand" approach to sex education (yes that was biased and on purpose). Politics aside these are real lives, 17 pregnant teens barely old enough to drive and at least half of which vowed to do this together.

The principles of reporting are simple, so simple 5th graders can follow them. Who, what, where, when, and why are the 5 basic principles reports are supposed to outline in order to inform us. This information is supposed to be fair, balanced, and opinions or judgments are to be either withheld or expressly identified as such. The TIME article does none of this. It is informative, it provides the 5 principles, but its conclusions and assumptions are illogical and based in typical public ignorance and dogma of the entire teen culture and reality. In high school my civics teacher made us all read TIME, Newsweek, and US News and World Report each week to learn about current affairs, debating, and opinion forming. It seems the quality of reporting, writing, and presentation of their headline articles has slipped. Yes I know this is the web and not the full magazine, but still branding is branding and they put this out there for the whole world to digest.

The worst article based off the TIME one is the New York Times Article that drums up on all the anti-right innuendo laid down by the original. The worst part is its continuation of tie in between Hollywood and the issue at hand. While the article states the adults of the community are busy pointing their fingers at what appears to be the whole world, they are guilty too, as they go after Zoe 101 star, Jamie Lynn Spears, for being an inspiration (Something Ms Kingsbury did not do). The NYTimes article is fairly bad, but worse are the comments by the readers! Not only did they completely miss the point, they are so crystallized in their opinions and agendas they have no real solutions other then blame the opposite side of their personal agendas. While it does foster discussion, it does not outline how that discussion should go, what a good article should do... outline the for and against arguments, possible solutions and impacts of those, as any Op Ed article should do.

Lastly we have a balanced article by Reuters, the Reuters News Article goes to the heart of some of the arguments the NYTimes article omitted and Time only touched on, the fathers of all these kids. This article skirts biased opinions and offers the best glimpse into the controversy I have seen. This is along the lines of what TIME should have done in the first place. TIME is a magazine, pushing an agenda, and they also want to show human interest stories, but the way Kathleen wrote it only caused a line in the sand and shouting to start, not the real dialogue and spin the story disserves. Reuters gave good facts and insight, TIME only gave shock and sentiment.

Why, when I have been so busy, too busy to do anything, am I now commenting on this? One, which I hinted to early on, is because of the bad reporting and miss management of the story, but also the seemingly blind rage the NYTimes readers dove into when expressing themselves about the story. Therefore, here is what we should be talking about and not talking about with what is going on in Gloucester Mass:

Discuss: Teen pregnancy, teen behaviors, bad parenting, eroding social values, socioeconomic impact, social responsibilities of all parties, and how to resolve

NOT discuss: Sex education in schools, abortion and adoption, family planning, government run clinics or programs, welfare mothers, and governmental responsibilities

First off, due to length, the Not discuss issues. This is a social problem, not a governmental problem. Parents who think schools are supposed to teach their children about sex and parenting should have their kids taken away in my opinion. Schools can teach health, but sex ed is up to a family and/or church to discuss because it is personal, embarrassing, awkward, and just part of being a parent. These girls SIGNED A PACT to get pregnant, no sex ed, access to condoms, pills, patches, etc. could prevent it, they made up their minds and peer pressure was in full effect. The girls who belong to broken homes or poor homes will be part of the welfare system, so crying about it now will not change anything, it is just being part of the problem. Parents have ultimate responsibility over their kids; legally, ethically, and morally. Parents decide where to send their kids to school, what school to enroll them into, what church they go to, what activities they attend after school, and to a larger extent then people admit who their friends are. Parents provide a roof, food, and discipline to their kids, so if the kids are acting out they have enough tools to get them into line if they mess up. We can not, should not, and better not try to legislate this issue, it is social and social issues have absolutely no ability to be controlled by government policy in the United States (how many negatives can I get into 1 sentence?). Come to China and you can legislate social issues, 1 child, religion, entertainment, etc. We have to ask ourselves, which path are we going to follow, freedom or George Orwell’s 1984?

Teen pregnancy, yes it’s true it has been around since the dawn of time. That is why women mature faster then men, which is why they can have children younger and seem more attractive to men, its biological, we can't fix that. This being said, we have the ability to change our behaviors by understanding them, teaching about them, and controlling them through will power and dedication, also through social mechanisms like taboo, shame, and condemnation. Kids are smarter then their parents give them credit. I remember being a teen and amazed at how naive and stupid grown-ups were. Now that I am older I realize I was very naive but also right on some levels. Anyone who does not believe their kid is not thinking about sex by age 13 is in full blown denial. Parents need to talk about sex before their kids reach teen years and begin to rebel and not listen.

Teens feel pressure, isolation, and alienation so they will cling to anything that eases these burdens. For some its sex, drugs, music, sports, video games, any thing really, for others, well its really bad stuff like this. These girls are all missing something really important in their lives. They are smart enough not to fill the void with drugs or bad behavior, but dumb enough not to think through the full consequences of their actions. What about 5, 10, 15, 20 years form now? At 36, when their peers should really be coming into their own in careers, family, and life they will be attending graduations, marriages, births, and divorces of their children! Unless you have the money the Spear family does there is little to no hope of going to college, even community college. Raising a kid before you know anything about life really highlights the fact that a teacher can never pass on more then 75% of their knowledge, leaving their kids in really bad shape for values, morals, life experiences, wisdom, antidotes, and lessons learned from observing others making mistakes.

We live in a reality of dual income parenting, or do we? Since when was $30k a year not enough for a family of 3 just starting out? Since when was $80k a year not enough for a family of 4 to live comfortably? I will tell you when, when we started selling our futures for material objects and Madison Ave ideals of life style and happiness. Parenting takes one thing above all others, time. Children need to be raised, raised with values, morels, and judgments that only parents can pass along. If parents are not doing this who is? Daycare workers making minimum wage and without college educations, optimistic outlooks, or solid social understandings, I don't think so. After school programs that just fill time between 3 PM and 6PM, nope their main concern is funding and attendance so they can stay in business. No, the issues are lack of quality time. Parenting is a 24/7 position, on you can not quite from, resign, or get fired from. You created life you have to take care of, until it can take care of itself, fully. Providing more money at home means nothing if you are never there. Chasing money for family gain leads to kids wasting this money on shoes, drugs, alcahol, and getting each other pregnant because, no one is ever home or cares about me.

Our society has shifted priorities to obtaining materialism and marketing ideals and not retaining and maintaining the very ideals that made the nation what it is today. Families need 2 parents, full time. Families teach, instruct, discipline, nurture, protect, and maintain itself at a level worthy of success and continuing on to the next generation. Single parent families can not provide all of this. Even with help from their parents, single parents are passing along a legacy of dependency to their children through their actions, their kids see what is going on and learn from it. This is why the concept of a vicious cycle exists in psychology and sociology. Yes, teens are rebellious and going to do what they want, but parents still have control of them until they move out... unless they give up that control. Parents need to be parents, not friends, buddies, or the like, but people who shape and mold the kids into a grown up despite all the kids’ resistance and struggle against them. When we stop doing this we get, well, girls making pacts to get pregnant so they can have a 'special love' in their lives.

So the damage is done, now what? These girls will soon be changing diapers, wiping runny noses, and working swing shifts at dead end jobs or passing along the kids to the parents so they can finish school or training that will land them a better job. Unfortunately better jobs require more time, time that is not flexible or 'kid friendly'. Factory jobs that have on-site day care are rare, and even then they are hard to get because so many people want to work there. So the kids end up on food stamps, working dead end jobs, can not save enough to send them selves or their kids to college, or retirement they begin to draw more and more from society as a whole. Having a large low income population leads to more crime, proved. This situation also leads to less opportunity for a community because business is attracted to higher educated and better trained workforces. As the labor pool becomes less attractive to industry, it leaves which causes more and more of the same. This impact leads to dependency on government aid, WIC, food stamps, welfare, housing assistance, et al. We have seen this for generations yet why is this social impact of the story not reported? In our global world competition for lower rung jobs intensifies, opportunities will go where the market is, that is life. These girls’ actions, while not overtly selfish, show a shallowness and lack of consideration not only to them selves and their families, but to their community, state, and country. Acting responsibly is a lesson parents have to teach, and teach by example, how can these girls pass this along to their kids?

Only the Reuters article really went after the second half of the story, them men involved. Now what good will it do to imprison a high school student for getting a more then willing girl pregnant? If did not she would find someone else who would, even a 24 year old homeless man. Now if the men were over 18 then yes, they were responsible and need to pay, but for those not, well, just force them into work and garnish their wages OR help them with city or county jobs if they get married and for as long as they are married? As I stated earlier, the damage is done, but there is responsibility to go around. The girl's parents will have to turn their lives upside down to take care of 2 generations instead of just 1, which is their responsibility for being bad parents. The fathers of these kids need to do one of two things, step up and pay child support for 18 to 21 years, or get married if the situation is really really really really right. The women will be living with their responsibility for the rest of their lives, it takes two, so the other needs to share in it as well. It’s preferable to have the fathers in their kid’s life, to show them they love them, care for them, and most importantly RAISE THEM. Its time to bite the bullet and become a grown up, to everyone involved. The school, well encouraging and enabling this behavior is just wrong. Why don't they have convenience stores on campus serving beer, cigarettes, drugs, and porn to the kids, its enabling a behavior the kids should not be practicing and telling them its socially acceptable just as much as having day care and strollers in the halls of the high school. The school needs to SUPLEMENT the parent’s sex ed lessons by lecturing about the negative of ALL teen behaviors. Kids need to hear about teen pregnancy horror stories just as much as seeing the burned our wreck of a 'teen drinking cars' that tours campuses nationally every year. It's parent’s responsibility first, and schools to reinforce and supplement, constantly. Our government is there to protect and serve our needs, not wants. People who are poor because of legitimate reasons need this help, people who are injured, handicapped, deficient in capacity, etc need assistance to have a quality life and deserve it as well. This is the limit of our government, not to shore up the selfish and conceded desires of a group of girls who planned, chose to do this, actually went through with it, and relish in the attention it is giving them. Our government should protect their children's interest if their families can not, but it should not do so to the degree that it becomes profitable and enabling for their selfish lifestyles and others who aspire to follow in their foot steps.

What to do? What to do? What to do? We can't throw the baby out with the bath water, pun intended. We can only fix this in the right and correct way, socially. As I have stated again and again, this is a social problem, it requires a social solution. We have become way too complacent and accepting of blatant and wanton eroding social behaviors for far too long. Am I calling for more church? No, that is not for everyone, it’s personal if people want to choose this route. Our society is the most diverse on the planet, yet without some common threads it can not sustain much longer. We, Americans, need to investigate, evaluate, uphold, teach, and hold accountable our core values as a nation. Parenting needs to become the number 1 priority as many of our social ills fall squarely at the feet of the family or lack of family present in our youth's lives. We need to change our motivating factors, measurements of success, ideals, and values. By doing this all else will begin to fall into place. Hollywood is only a warped reflection of our society, an entertainment way of expressing the extremes of our society. If our values shift and change, then Hollywood will follow, it has to because it is made of people in our society. We need to focus more on the family and less on money. We need to work harder on raising our kids and teaching them well then on that next promotion or bonus. The writing on the wall is there for us to see, has been for over 20 years now, and now it’s in bright neon. School shootings and violence, teen pregnancy, drug culture, lack or respect to authority, jaded indifference to our neighbors, callowness, it’s all right in our face. From numerous people incapable of stopping a may stomp his toddler to death to road rage and disillusioned young adults, its all there in all its ugly glory. How much more do we have to see before we wake up and change?

This story reminds me of Nero, fiddling away while Rome burned. We are the current Rome, the height of civilization of our era yet unable to prevent our own downfall. Doomed like an ignorant deaf, dumb, and blind person to stumble over the cliff, not by a cruel act of nature but because we are listen to iPods, playing PSP, and planning our next weekend while we walk towards the cliff. The signs are there, are we so arrogant to believe we can not fall as the Romans did? Are we so better then them that we are immune to their fate? We can change course, but we have to so now, and it will be hard, long and hard, but the alternative and outcome is much less desirable. We need our families back. We need fathers teaching their sons to play ball, their daughter how to fish, and being there to pat them on the back with then succeed and on the butt when they get out of line. We need mothers to comfort their sons and daughters, pass along wisdom and nag them incessantly about nutrition, health, and life. We need this more then McMancions, Europeans family vacations, new cars for graduation, TVs computers, stereo systems, and game systems in the kids bedrooms. We need family dinners at a table with discussion, pizza night, game night, and monthly outing for team building and lesson learning. Without family there is no society. Without society there is no nation.

Its easy to say I am making a mountain out of a mole hill and how 17 pregnant girls in Massachusetts are just some kids run away with bad ideas and misguided friendship, but I say this acceptance and complacency to the issue itself is the root cause of the situation in the first place. No one is accountable anymore, it’s always someone else’s fault, even if these girls did plan these pregnancies for many months before any of them even had sex. No the problem is we allow this to happen with only token opposition and outrage. We are complacent in our own demise just as these girls are in their own futures. I do not blame them, fully, I do wish them luck and success, but I know the odds are overwhelmingly against them and their kids. I just wish our nation had people who would stand up and change these declining values we have. It’s been nearly 50 years in the making and we continue to let it slide, further and further. Eroding family is the cause of our social ills, not a symptom, no the 17 girls are the symptom, just as are all the other signs on the wall, how much brighter do we need them to get before we see them?

Still here

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:44:48 GMT

I just posted some photos from a 3 day weekend my co-workers and I went on over Dragon Boat festival, a couple of weekends ago. We traveled across the longest bridge in China and out to the countryside and mountain region home to many waterfalls and villages. We visited 3 areas, XiangShan, NingBo, and XiKou. Most of the time it rained, its the rainy season here in China and over the past 14 days there has been only 1/2 a sunny day and rain at least every 24 hour period. We saw many beautiful sites and I did get some great photos, but being the only English speaker on a tour presents its own issues, so I did miss one photo op, but that is ok... I did learn quite a bit because I left the camera on the bus. Now if only I had time to retouch all my digital photos with the editing software I have...

I really have to say I am very satisfied with my Nikon D40x. Because of the rain it got soaked many times. I would try to keep it dry but it never fogged inside and worked flawlessly the whole time. I did break it down to clean/dry it and the lenses 3 to 4 times a day but it held in there and is still working perfectly. While we become more and more dependent on technology there are times its durability fail us, I am glad to see items today are more rugged and durable then 10 years ago. I hope they keep this up. My laptop is 3.5 years old now and only has issues with really new games, the keyboard is worn but it still does what I want and despite some software glitches its like new (screen has no scratches and besides some light spots is still beautiful to watch) and has only had issues twice, both over heating. Cell phone was doing good, but the camera lens got scratched on the beach, my fault. So far I have been quite lucky in my tech purchases. I hope I can keep that up.

I really want to jump into some topics but time is very limited. My job is becoming much more demanding, I am logging about 60 hours a week now, and my wife's new job is requiring her to travel once a month - minimum, so I have all the regular things to do on my own as well. I am working on some recaps and hope to get them out before their relevancy fades; like Obama's fatherhood speech, price insanity from food to gas, the unraveling of our social fabric continuing, as well as observations of thing here in China and of things in the news back in the US and Europe (good job Ireland!). The world keeps spinning and unfortunately all the things that need to be done keep growing but the day stays the same length.

Stanley returns to Detroit!!!

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:11:47 GMT

After a little drama age trumpted youthful enthusiasm. Detroit skated off the ice with their 2nd Stanley this century, and for all time they rank third only behind two Canadian teams, all of which make up 1/2 of the original 6 NHL teams. 5 of Detroits vets have been on the Stanley teams going back to the '97 season. For the first time the captian of the Stanley winning team was an European, as well as the MVP. Most astonishing was the lack of fires in downtown, most likely because of the rain and not a strong police presence (for those who grew up or know Detroit you know what I am talking about).

Congrats to the Red Wings for bringing some sprots pride back to a needy Mo-town. The Lions will not be good until the Fords sell the team and Millen is um, fired is the only politically correct way to put it. The Pistons made a good showing, beating Boston on their home court but their inconsistant and streaky play came back and burried them along with the hopes of getting past the final four after onto the winning side of things in the finals after so many showings lately. I don't know if Sanders deserved to be let go, but lack of motivation and hustle falls on the coach's shoulders. The Tigers, well, they need more consistent play and help in the bull pen to pull past the pack and back to the showing they had when they held the most wins in the MLB for most of the season, not last year and not this year. Detroit has a long history with the Stanley Cup and it is about to write another chapter there. The Red Wings have been a dominationg force in Hockey for a long time, the legacy will be to transfer this knowledge, skill, dedication, and insight into the young team mates. The Penguins are a young team, a good team, and one to watch out for in 2-3 seasons if they can keep their line up and coaches. Detroit needs more young blood that can learn from the old guard and quick. In the mean time, it's time to crack open a brew and celebrate and watch out for those candid Stanley pics as the trophy makes its rounds.

Memorial Day - What, Why, and How to Observe

Mon, 26 May 2008 07:22:28 GMT

Today is Memorial Day. For many Americans it is the unofficial start of summer, a 3 day weekend, huge sales at department stores and retail outlets for those not working, and for a select lucky few a day marked by parades and events. Unfortunately none of these events comes close to the true meaning, purpose, or symbolism of this day. As an American veteran and a stout political and current events blogger I feel it is my responsibility and duty to help Americans learn about the day’s significance and purpose and to help my international friends to learn about our nation’s holidays and history as it is supposed to be, not how it is currently observed.

The origins of the day are lost to history and controversy, just Google “Memorial Day origins” and you will find many different sources, some creditable and some not, offering fuzzy historical opinions about the day. The day has history and significance in both the Northern and Southern areas of the United States. While uncertain of who did it first, the practices and reasons behind them were the same. Due to the devastation the war caused to all Americans there were real steps taken to preserve their memory and sacrifices. At the same time every year Southerners laid flowers on graves and ensured the plots were well maintained as well as saying prayers. In 1865 a group of freed slaves reinterred a Confederate mass grave of Union soldiers in the Charleston South Carolina race track giving them each an individual plot within a fence and gate marking the site and returning the next year to place flowers on the graves. Despite who did it first, the day of remembrance was universal. Here are the facts:

Memorial Day began as a way for Americans to honor the ultimate sacrifice many Union soldiers made during the War Between the States, 1861 to 1865. Southerners had their own days set aside
Many communities across the nation, including the reconstructing South, made some form of observation to honor those fallen soldiers by placing flowers, clearing grave sites, singing hymns, etc (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi held observation on April 26th, when flowers were fresh)
In 1868 the day was called Decoration Day by Major General John Logan, the founder of the Grand Army of the Republic (a Union veterans society), on May 5th designating May 30th as the day for the gravesite maintenance and flower placements to be done, President Ulysses S. Grant held observations at Arlington
In 1873 New York was the first state to officially recognize the day, by 1890 all Northern states followed suit, Southern states continued their own observances of different days
In 1882 the name of Memorial Day emerged
After World War I, 1914 to 1918, Memorial Day was shifted to commemorate all fallen American soldiers, this was the first time the South fallowed the Union’s observance of this day
In 1954 Congress officially changed the name to Memorial Day
In 1966 President Linden B. Johnson declared the official origins of Memorial Day were in Waterloo, New York acknowledging Henry Welles’, John Murray’s, and John Logan’s efforts
In 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Holiday Bill shifting 3 holidays to Mondays, to take effect in 1971
In 2000 the National Moment of Remembrance resolution passed setting 3 PM local time as a time to pause and reflect on the sacrifices made by American service members to defending and protecting the nation

Now we are aware of the day and how it came to be a holiday. The reason for its being, the honoring of American soldiers sacrificing ones life for the country, has been lost of the years as parades and patriotic observations have fallen to travel, sales, barbeques, picnics, and times with friends and family. There are many who are trying to get the holiday back to its original day of May 30th as well as properly educating the public that the day is to honor those who laid down their lives for our great country. While veterans do have their own day to honor their time, efforts, and sacrifices, those who made the ultimate sacrifice deserve their own special day and we all are obligated to these sacrifices for the lives we have today. Thanking a veteran for their personal sacrifices is something we need to do each time we get a chance, they do so much and ask for nothing in return to preserve, protect, and defend our way of life. Traditional and necessary observations of this holiday include: Visiting the graves of fallen soldiers and decorating them with flags, flowers, and wreaths as well and ensuring they are well maintained and remembering the sacrifice this person made in ensuring our freedoms and rights:

Flying flags at ½ mast from 8 AM to Noon
The running of the Indianapolis 500 car race, since 1911
Attending parades and public gatherings to remember the armed services and patriotic recitals
Observing a moment of silence at 3 PM to remember the selfless acts of our soldiers and thanks them for our freedom and blessings they helped secure and maintain

Please be aware of this day, its history, significance, and symbolism. It is not ‘just another 3 day weekend’ or the beginning of summer or day to hang out and relax. No, today is a day to reflect on all that we Americans take for granted and those who laid their lives down so we could have it. Every freedom we have today was earned by the spilt blood of soldiers across the globe. Our patriotism, pride, and identity have fallen off since the 1990’s and we need to regain it now more then ever. According to the Depart of Defense war archives and others, from the Revolutionary War to the Bosnia we have lost 1,310,514 US soldiers in combat (not including the 482 Afghanistan or 3,975 Iraqi combat deaths currently as these are not over yet). source: American War Deaths Throughout History. Each and every one of these people deserves our deepest gratitude for their sacrifice. Of this total nearly half, 623,026 Americans lost their lives in the War Between the States, still our bloodiest and most costly war and one that touches nearly all of our ancestors in one way or another. It is this reason we need to take a break for our day off of work, for those who have a day off, and remember these people, honor their memory, and teach our children and their friends why this is a special day. The day off work is not to give us rest, but for us to honor our fallen heroes and show them the respect and admiration they earned with their lives. Visit a war memorial, fly a flag, read a famous passage about our brave soldiers sacrifices, and give a moments pause at 3 to remember and thank them because freedom is never free.

Only by connecting with our past can we understand why we are on the course we are on. Only by refreshing our patriotism and staying vigilant can we keep our country on this course. Only by understanding what we have, why we have it, why so many sacrificed their lives for it, and what responsibilities come with it can we ensure we will serve them, ourselves, and our children well. We have one of the longest operating national governments on the planet and this is no mistake or by any accident. For the past 232 years, since our Declaration of Independence, people have been willing to die for a free, just, and fair country. This day, Memorial Day, is their day. Remember them, honor them, thank them, and most importantly… pass this on to future generations so these lessons will never be lost or forgotten.

Toddler refuses eatting followup

Tue, 20 May 2008 07:40:13 GMT

After researching the effects of milk/formula consumption we had our daughter cut back on it both volume wise and frequency. The first day we did not see much of a change, but by the second her appetite was there and her interest in food was beyond the scope of just something to play with. One thing I found, Sophia likes to immitate grownups and is more apt to try something if she can do it herself, like brushing teeth, drinking from a glass, and even eatting.

By the fourth day of cutting back her formula intake she was acutally sitting down and eatting different things. At a restaurant she seemed to love the bean sprouts and tofu, if only she could do that in 4 years time! She is actually able to get good from a bowl using chopsticks, but not the way she is susposed to. The concept of a spoon and fork are still not quite there, but as long as the in-laws don't give her too much milk, she is living with them again now, then she will continue to eat.

One note, kids have smaller everything, except eyes. our stomachs are about the size of our two fists put together. My wife and her mother always try to make Sophia eat a grown ups bowl worth of food, its what all mothers do. While kids do need more energy and calories, they have higher matabolisms, their stomachs can only hold so much. According to the experts on the web kids should eat 4 times a day with 2 to 3 snacks between meals, raisns, apples, carrot sticks, etc. Their meals should be kid sized and energy rich. The first year a child will use 90% of the food energy they get to develop their brains, after that their bodies need to catch up. Milk and formula have lots of calories, fat, and protien so if they are full of it, they have no need for other sources of food.

It seems kids should be weaned from the bottle at 2. This is shocking as I can remember seeing kids in America drinking from a bottle as old as 4. It does not mean their milk consumption should stop, just stop from the bottle. Getting a kid interested and moving onto solids and eatting from a bowl and plate is vital in meeting this goal. Cutting back or thinning it out with water if they demand a bottle will help. I think letting them try to feed themselves and treating them as able to do some things on their own will help out as well, did for our daughter. Trying to force her to eat was a pain and took 2 to 3 hours, now she will eat a little on her own and not complaign so much when we feed her the rest.

If you think your toddler is not eatting enough, check how much milk/formula they are consumming, when they are consumming it, and how long after this you are trying to feed them. Understanding their physology and needs is very helpful in understanding the way to get them to do what is needed and in their best interests. Remember people are like water and electricity, we all like to take the paths of least resistance. We can only push so much, making it easier will help out and lower everyone's stress levels. After one week our daughter had an appetite and enjoyed eatting. I would say for a majority of the cases lack of eatting is milk related, but it the child is cranky, does not like to go to potty, or cries when eatting (really cries) then consulting the doctor about stomach or intestine issues may be a wise course.

The 5 stages of loss and China's 5/12 earthquake

Tue, 20 May 2008 07:15:23 GMT

People familiar with psychology or sociology will know there are 5 stages to loss. Last week the events of the earthquake here in China have moved the entire nation and the stress tragedy is being felt far beyond the affected areas. Yesterday at 2:28 and for 3 minutes the air was eerie as the sound of car horns, train horns, and sirens filled the air as people bowed their heads and thought about the victims, both departed and left behind to cope. Today and tomorrow the same are observed, but not as much as it was yesterday.

The 5 stages of grief or loss are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. One week later and we are fully into bargaining. The first stage was impossible to absorb, nearly all of China and most of Asia felt it, the full scale TV coverage followed by news and internet coverage made denying the disaster impossible, much like the surreal images of 9-11 for Americans, train platform images for Italy and England after their bombings. Unlike those man made disasters this one is caused by Earth’s ever changing geology. This makes the second stage, anger, hard to resolve as well. Who can you get angry at? People have blamed the government for not warning them, for officials dismissing the dropping lake levels and exodus of frogs from rivers and lakes as ‘normal, construction companies for shoddy workmanship as schools collapsed while other buildings next to them did not, and finally the fates for causing such misery and destruction to innocent people.

Bargaining is the phase when you try to regain what was lost, people, objects, positions, what ever was taken away. It can be as subtle as trying to trade time off or replacing furniture. When people, communities, a cities generation is lost this is much harder. Charity and donations mark the bargaining phase we are in at this moment. Depression is soaking in on those directly affected, followed by those who witnessed the events on TV and computer screens, reading the papers every day, listening to the radio coverage. While it hits people differently there is something we all need to remember, again a lesson we all learn through such events. Time is fleeting, it is precious, and we can not get the moment back once it is gone. The best way to handle the earthquake of last week is to stop taking the precious things we have in our daily lives for granted. Nearly every creature comfort we enjoy today is now gone for those in the effected areas. Running water, food, shelter from the weather, a job, family, friends, material items, diversions and entertainment. All this is something we need to thank God, which every god you like, for blessing you with. Be generous and share but do not lose sight of those things in your life that can not be replaced.

Acceptance is the final stage, the time we move on, look forward, and build things anew. Many lessons will be learned from the events that took place of the past week. Many people will live with these events replaying in their minds constantly. In a few years time and distance will erase the events form the minds of those who where not there, until some reminder brings them temporarily back to that moment. There is no timeline for moving, each depends on the person and their comfort level but in China the country as a whole is healing as those in the region hit deal in their own ways. There is a stark contrast between the two groups, but both are united in their sense of greif which is touching to see and witness.

Every generation has its defining moment, the time that is burned into everyone’s mind who lived through that event. Nixon’s resignation, Kennedy’s assignation, Columbia’s and Challenger’s explosions, the Berlin wall coming down, the LA riots after the Rodney King verdict, September 11th, hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, these are but just a few of the defining moments for Americans over the past 40 years. Not all these moments need to be bad and tragic events to be defining. What about the good times in one’s life? Leaning to ride a bicycle, swim, drive a car, first love, marriage, children’s births, special anniversaries, work promotions, children’s graduations and marriages.

Living in Asia allowed me to further explore the concepts of balance, here you can not live happily if you are out of balance. Times like these just are a reminder that for all the good times, we will have to endure bad as well. We are truly lucky if our good times exceed our bad. Everything will balance itself out eventually, for all that is bad and terrible there will be good and terrific to cancel it out, its just a matter of time. Live every day as if your life depends on it, tell your loved ones how much they mean to you, place the things in life that matter most as the highest priority as the events of last week teach us, it can all end with little to no warning and then it is hard to deal with plans that can no longer be achieved as the reasons have been lost along the way. We are unique in that we can learn from others without experiencing it directly, let us live up to this by taking the things in life that are precious to us and thanking our creator for them and blessing us with our time with them as we can clearly see what can happen in the blink of an eye. The 5 stages of loss/grief are important, necessary, and allow us to move on. China is well on its way, in two and a half months it has to be, its largest party in modern history is waiting for them.

Earthquake!

Mon, 12 May 2008 07:28:01 GMT

Yes, that's right, there was an Earthquake today and the building my office is in was swaying pretty bad. We evacuated and after 40 min or so we came back in. I am a little nercous and have vittago now but all seems well. I am really glad we sign papers on the new apartment tomorrow. The new place is a 5 story building and we will be on the 5th floor instead of the 32nd where we live now. I will get the low down on the quake, strength, epicenter, et all as I am sure it will be widely reported here, all the buildings in our area were evacuated. It did strike around 2:40PM local time, maybe a little earlier. Our office was not swaying side to side but felt like it was going around in circules. This was the second movement I have noticed in the building moving but this time it was really really really really bad.

When a toddler refuses to eat

Tue, 06 May 2008 02:04:50 GMT

Earlier tonight my wife and I were in distress because our daughter refuses to eat. My wife called her mom who started telling her we were not trying the right things to get her to eat and did not know any better; I turned to the internet, namely WebMD and Google. At first it seemed Sophia may have an intestinal issue, but keeping true to troubleshooting protocols you always try the more simple things first. After an hour of research I asked Coco how much milk she had given Sophia today, 3 bottles roughly the same amount of 36 ounces plus water and some juice. Our daughter is 15 months old this week, very tall, loves to play, and seldom complains or shows any symptoms of a stomach ache but she is under weight. The research is pointing to too much milk. Sophia has little interest in food, other then playing with it. She is starting to want to feed herself, which is understandable. I did not know that at 2 kids are supposed to be off the bottle, so it seems we need to cut back on her milk/formula then alter the times we give her a bottle allowing her to have an empty stomach and be more receptive to eating.

We will have to see how well the advice on the many parenting bulletin boards I read was. It makes sense to me, children have much smaller stomachs, higher metabolisms, and find bottle feeding much easier and less effort on their part. It has been hard to be away from her for so long and many of the things parents experience we have not so it ups the stress levels when things don't go according to our expectations. I am hopeful the old troubleshooting axiom of 'problems most often require the simplest solution' holds true and we just are not up to her feeding needs for her age. The next challenges will pale in comparison to this, getting her to understand English, listen when we tell her 'no' in what ever language we say it, and to enjoy taking naps or going to sleep. Less calorie fluids until she eats, then some milk for nap time and bed time, and smaller but more frequent meals/snacks over the day and hopefully she will start to eat more, drink less milk/formula, and her appetite should develop and feeding her will not take 2 to 3 hours and chasing her all over the house and fighting with her just to eat half a bowl of rice soup or noodles.

Thailand Photos done

Mon, 05 May 2008 08:16:52 GMT

I have finished all 3, yes 3, photo albums from our Thailand trip this spring. I have not forgotten about the recap of our take in the adventure, or the mishaps along the way. The past week was Labor Day holiday in China, 3 days including Saturday, and I took an additional day off as Coco brought our daughter up for a few weeks visit. There are things I would like to discuss, but the reason I have not is the same one why the postings have been scant, time. My project management role at work has expanded 3 fold. My MPLS implementation role has went from Asia Pacific to now include Europe and Americas too, a new total of 44 orders to track (up from 9) and monitor on a daily basis. My Benefits tracking role was extended by a minimum of 1 month, with them trying to fund me until the end of the summer, and guess what... I am now tracking the Americas in addition to Asia Pacific (yes Canada to Argentina). Add this to cleaning the home and toddler proofing the home, getting ready for a mid-month move to a new location in Shanghai, and you can see why time has been scant.

I think I have some photo quota left so I will get pictures of the much taller Sophia out, last weekend was rainy, and we wanted her to settle in and relax for a few days. There are ideas brewing on topics ranging from gas prices, to housing markets, to food inventories, to Detroit's sports teams (the two best being in playoffs right now, go Wings and Pistons!) and my thoughts on raising bi-lingual children (right now Sophia understands Mandarin but only speaks Cantonese and has no clue what I am saying if I speak English) and the state of world health care that Mr. Moore did not mention in his movie Sicko, and no, I did not see it.

The secret is out, N. Korea - Syria link in Nuclear Facility

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:14:49 GMT

That loud bang in the Middle East last September, and barely mentioned outside of the news feeds, was indeed a Syrian nuclear facility under construction with the material and technological help of the North Koreans being leveled by Israeli war planes. Israel found out, as well as the US, and took the action of bombing it last Sept 6th with no talk or retaliation, condemnation, or even a peep form anyone, and the media completely ignored it. I remember seeing it and thinking it was odd and in the days following thought the rumors of the mysterious building blow up had to be the purported nuclear facility. I thought I blogged about it, but I can’t find it in my search tool or by investigating the logs. I forgot about it as no one mentioned it again, until now.

The Wall Street Journal is questioning the timing and accusing the Bush administration of saying one thing about North Korea, a terrorist supporting state, while doing another, preparing to suggest lifting of sanctions due to North Korea’s nuclear technology proliferation being exposed (without them declaring it that was part of the original agreement). Routers is being less conspiracy lead in its reporting but it still asks the questions of why go public and now (the answer is the lifting of scansions). While the US media is focusing on the scansions and the timing the BBC is correctly reporting on the connection between the Syrian facility and the North Korean one at Yongbyon. While Syria denies ever having a nuclear facility or working with with the North Koreans on such a facility, the soon to be released video tape showing North Koreans working on the facility will tell a different story. This explains the lack of outrage on a violation of air space, international boundaries, and a bombing run against a sovereign nation not at war with Israel. Syria to this day denies any such cooperation or deal ever existed, despite the bombing run and destruction of the facility as a consequence. If the proof is irrefutable then Syria will join the long line of habitual liars about their military aims and aspirations in the region.

Why is this significant? The same reason anything about the Middle East is. The region is home of the most hostile, hatred soaked, fundamentalists, uneducated, and hopeless groups in the world with oil reserves and material resources to wage war in every country of the world, and doing it. This is much more then just about oil. Three of the world’s major religions have their origins in the region, civilization has its origins in the region, despite the smart people migrating out of the region over 3,000 years ago it still holds the most significance to us all culturally, politically, and economically. How is this? Culturally the region holds the old ruins and artifacts from the time before the Egyptians rose to power to the end of the Crusades. Politically because a stable Middle East has never been known in any of our times. Sure the French and British had large major colonies in the region but they ultimately failed showing the instability under that system. The area is still a major trade route, by land, sea, and air. The area is one of the least technologically advanced and poorest and therefore needs stability and security to give their peoples hope and futures. The area holds numerous resources, natural and human. We have not paid more attention to the Middle East since WWII and we are reaping the harvest of those policies, just like in Africa.

Despite all this the facts will point to the two following conclusions; North Korea was proliferating nuclear technology despite the agreements stating it would not do so and Syria was actively and covertly trying to obtain nuclear technology without acknowledging it after surveillance confirmed it and military action halted it. Now we have to deal with the fall-out of these two facts. North Korea and Syria governments have proven to be liars and underhanded in their admissions and plans with the international community. Rewarding North Korea with lifting of sanctions and a free pass on their violation of non-proliferation agreement is the wrong message to be sending to Iran. Rewarding Syria by doing and saying nothing sends a stronger and clearer message to countries who are not under international scrutiny for nuclear weapons or material processing. If Bush and his administration could keep their word and stick to a hard line they would have more credibility then waffling on requirements and going back on their public rhetoric in a public forum like they are now. It seems Bush is more concerned with his winning friends and deals then with keeping vigilant and resolute against proliferators of nuclear programs by rogue governments built on secrecy and hidden agendas.

Happy Earth Day

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:38:29 GMT

It's Earth Day again, all I can remember from the mid '70's was a huge book my Mom bought with a picture of the earth from space on its cover and back. While growing up the Earth Day thing faded away along with bell bottom jeans, pizza collars, and rayon button down shirts and afros. In the '90's there was a brief come back, thanks to the Clintons and Gore but the tech boom erased it until the media picked up on the sky is falling mantra they have been screaming for the past 8 years. With that said and out of the way it is important to take a step back from our over-consumption fixations and look at what we can do to lessen our impact on the planet.

I grew up in the Boy Scouts of America, earned Eagle and later on Order of the Arrow. One of our fundamentals was low impact camping. You bring it in, you take it out. Spread your ashes, leave the site better off then it was when you arrived. A good philosophy we should be teaching our kids by example of each day. We are more aware today of where our trash goes, its effects on the landfills, water tables, and ground soil, this is good. It is only a bandaid though for the real problem. In America we are still the largest group of consumers in the world, well, for at least a few more years... thanks to the Chinese. It's high time we started to live low-impact life styles as much as possible.

What do I do? Great you asked. For one, I no longer own a car. I take the subway or light rail as much as I can. Our home is full with florescent light bulbs. We turn on the minimal lights and don't have the TV on for background noise, reading replaces that activity. I only use rechargeable batteries, some of which are 6 years old now! We flush our toilet only 2 times per day, after our shower at night and when we leave for work in the morning. At work I use the electric hand dryer, put my PC to sleep, turn off the monitor, and don't use paper cups. Recycling in China is fairly new, you see old people collecting plastic bottles from the trash, people taking used news papers, styrofoam and such to centers for money, but it is still not realistic to separate trash here, they just heap it all together in the collection truck each day. Every little bit helps, it all adds up. It's not some hippie living or sacrifice to make our lives uncomfortable and it works.

Plan trips, car pool, chose packages made from recycled paper, replace light bulbs, use rechargeable batteries, get a hy-brid, separate your trash and help educate your kids. Our planet is warming, that is true. Our polar caps are melting, this again is true. To be so conceded to believe we are capable of destroying the planet in 100 years is a farce. Our planet is not traveling around the sun in a perfect circular orbit. The earth is not a perfect sphere. Our daily rotation is not perfect and neither is our axis tilt. This means the earth goes through hot spells, cold spells, and moderate spells. Science can not find the crater of the impact that killed the dinosaurs, they can theorize about it but can not 100% prove it. We had 12 ice ages each lasting about 1,000 years back to back, that science can prove. In the age of the dinosaurs the climate was hot, very hot... again science can prove this. So it is safe to say we are in a temperate age between 2 extremes. The earth will get warmer, the ice will melt the sea will rise and planet will go on as it did for 4 to 5 billion years. Compare this with out scant 20,000 year probable existence. The Grand Canyon was once under water, during a hot climate. Off the coast of Australia they found evidence of dry land plants, over 100 meters below sea level, when most of our water was locked up in ice and glaciers. They have found cave paintings in the African desert showing sea animals and swimming. Our planet is constantly changing, we just need to adapt. We can't prevent the planet from warming up, but we need to treat it better if we want to survive with a lifestyle that is sustainable for the next 20,000 years.

There are more people walking the planet today then have ever been born, this is a fact. We need to rationally think about our effects on the planet to ensure the eco system we rely on does not collapse. Life will continue without us, but we can't if the current balance is shifted much more then it is now. The sky is not falling, just changing.

Monthly photo quota reached again

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:08:13 GMT

As you can tell from my 2 Thailand photo albums, I have exceeded my photo quota for the month, 500 pictures uploaded. We visited 3 areas of Thailand, Chiang Mai, in the north, Phuket in the south, and finally Bangkok in the middle. I will have to wait for next month to finish my photo albums as I did take too many pictiures yet again. I will try to blog about the trip as many interesting things happened in each locatin. Enjoy the photos I have posted and know I am not finished just yet. Also I have pictures from Shanghai's Forest Park, the only natural wooded park in the city, well just outside the city but a nice park to go to none the less.

Back to the old rat race

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:05:46 GMT

It is always a shame when your vacation time comes to an end, this time was especially so. We are back in Shanghai, tanner, healthier, and more relaxed but going through sun, sand, surf, clear air, amazing sunsets, and friendly people withdrawals, not to mention currency shock. After 9 days, 3 cities, over 2,000 photos, and many mini adventures I hope to find the time to share these along with insights into Thailand from both an American and Chinese perspective (care of my wife's observations).

We were in Chiang Mai, a northern city close to the border with Myanmar (Burma) and not too far from Laos, for 3 days enjoying the jungle tours, seeing the old temples, or wat in Thai language, and enjoying the relaxed and laid back atmosphere of the north. Next we spent 4 days on Phuket Island, the largest island in Thailand, located on the southwestern side of the country, and sandwiched between the Andaman Sea to the west and the Gulf of Phuket on the north and the Phang-nga Bay on the east. Due to the location this is a prime tourist spot with all the charm and trappings of such.

We rounded up our adventure with a full day and night in Bangkok, the capital, and took in what we could in just less than 20 hours, minus 6 hours for sleep of course. The capital offers a much different view of Thailand as the city is a major Asia Pacific hub for finance, commerce, and trade and this is reflected in its views, attitudes, and atmosphere. We did the tourists thing, seeing the Royal Palace and shopping in one of Thailand's larger shopping malls, can't remember which one right now, and was able to get all the VAT (variable allowance tax) back from the mall shopping we did. We did hit the Patong Bar scene and after an hour and a half were pretty much board and did get out of being ripped off, well only ripped off slightly, before returning to our hotel only to be kept up most of the night by unruly Koreans screaming at each other most of the night and morning.

Back in Shanghai we were shocked by the cool, damp, and smoggy conditions, hence the withdrawals, but we did get a day and a half to decompress, unpack, and watch something besides Star Movies or BBC. I will be getting the photos converted and uploaded over the week as well as highlights of the trip. Thailand was a great place to visit and one I am wanting to visit again, and if the US dollar can improve, as well as the Chinese RMB, will definitely go back to again and soon.

Thailand

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:48:47 GMT

We arrived at the Bangkok airport this morning and are waiting on our connecting flight to the north part of the country, then the sounth. It is hot here, 90F and no idea in C. Looking forward to a few days downtime, only got 1.5 hours of sleep last night due to last minute work items and bankning issues. Will be posting pictures and stories upon my return to Shangahi around the 4th. Did not register with the US Embassy, don't know if I will for such a short trip. Any way, enjoying the airport lounge and duty free shopping which you can do AFTER you land, not just before you leave!