GZ Expat, Part II

Slammin' Sammy takes a hike

Never thought I'd have to blog about this...but, all good things, I guess.  Unfortunately, I was out here in Chiner at the tail end of the baseball season and really didn't pay much attention to what was happening with the Cubbies at that time.  I was too busy trying to figure out the new job!  But, from what it sounds like, it wasn't pretty in the friendly confines.

You want to know why Sosa is no longer a Cub? Because he forgot how to take the temperature of a city that can stomach losing but despises frauds.

Read the whole thing here.

So, I am wondering...prior to the approval of this trade, and they do the physical exam...you think they will test for steroids?

Before Cubs... ...and, after Cubs...

Damn shame I'd even have to ask such a thing, but, that's baseball in the 21st century.

Let Freedom Ring...

Instapundit has a fantastic wrap-up of blogs and news accounts of the Iraq elections.  I particularly recommend this slide-show that Adam Keiper has put together which Instapundit links to.  It is a 3.1 meg file...big, but worth it if you have a high-speed connection (or are willing to wait).  It's a good civics lesson to those who have forgotten the value of the ballot box.

Iraqi's have 'given the finger' to terrorists and terrorism.  Watching the BBC and CNN here, one could sense the incredible amount of disappointment in the talking heads voices.  Initially, just as the polls opened, there was much anticipation of bombings and killings.  Mortar fire was heard in the city, and that seemed to sense the 'war' was on.  One reporter-ette on BBC kept reporting 'nobody' is voting in Falluja.  Nobody???  That's a rather bold statement.

As the day wore on and the facts became more and more clear (Iraqi's were voting in very large numbers), the talking heads began to shift their focus away from the attacks that weren't happening and more to the fact that many of these people were voting and were celebratory.  It was an interesting shift in the coverage...but, still laced with negative aspects of the process. 

The focus should be on the millions of men and women who wagged their blue-stained fingers in the face of danger to proclaim, 'WE'RE no. 1!!'

Don't Forget To Vote

It's a reminder to all of us the gift we have to be able to vote for our leaders and determine the fate of our nation.  Watching the Iraqi's risk their lives to cast their ballots gives me goose-bumps.  Go to the Command Post for all the latest on the Iraq elections

Censorship abounds

For the previous two weeks, I have received my copy of the South China Morning Post without the front section.  The Saturday paper consists of the classifieds and the Education section...that's it.  Ugh.  Hopefully this will all change, as the government have finally said something about the reasons why I haven't been getting my paper...guess we can chalk it up to 'serious mistake's' in the system.

No Sign of Life at eBloggy

Major problems with eBloggy in the past week.  Servers crashing…no customer service…transferring files.  Bottom line...I waited long enough for them to get things straight.  Every message I got was, 'we'll have it back up today or tomorrow.'  Well, that was over two weeks ago.  I want something a little more reliable...so I am trying Typepad for a trial and then I am plunking down some cash to hang on to it.  So far...I like what I am getting...but, bear with me as I try and get things back to where I want it to be...it will take some time.

In the meantime, here are some things I have been saving over the course of the past week... 

• Of course the guy wouldn’t tell you about it…but blogger Armor Gedden was decorated for bravery recently.

• High school was dotted with nights watching Carson.  There was just something about that show that made it REAL television.  One of the highlites of a trip to LA with my Dad when I was a pre-teen…we toured the set of the Tonight Show. 

• What are these guys thinking??

• Seems as though the media has one completely off on Dubya’s inauguration speech.   I dunno…at least it wasn’t a rambling hour long diatribe that puts people to sleep.  I thought it was big picture and forward thinking.  The same sort of thing you’d expect from a CEO of a company who doesn’t get themselves bogged down in details to interrupt the mission to the big picture.

• Knowing that the media is only showing the insurgent killings and kidnappings…here is a reminder that the drive to vote and have a voice in their futures is alive and well in Iraq.

• I really liked this take on Zarqawi’s recent denouncement of the democratic process and marking all voting citizens as ‘infidels.’

• An excellent essay on the US/Euro/China relationships in terms of how it all came together during the earthquake and tsunami aid missions.

• Another reason for the Second Amendment to remain as is.

• Gawd she’s hot! "[Rice's] record, I am afraid, is one of intimate involvement in a number of administration foreign policies which I strongly oppose. These policies have fostered enormous opposition — both at home and abroad — to the White House's view of America's place in the world,"  Robert Byrd, I think, is too old to realize what an asset she is to our country.  Condi in ’08!  It’s the freckles that get to me…that’s it.
• This really breaks my heart.

• Nothing worse than a self absorbed would be suicide bomber…and he survived.

Quick update on goings-on around here. 

Last week was parent teacher conferences.  Due to work, I was only able to attend expat-son’s conferences.  Funny kid…he was a different kid inside his classroom.  Usually we have to tell him over and over to sit down and calm down…he knew where he was supposed to be and what he was supposed to do.  Either, he really likes his teacher or he’s scared to death of him.  He seems to be doing pretty good overall.  Tai-tai went to expat-daughter’s meetings…same story.  She is tracking well on the IB thing…it’s a ton of work and she is flowing into it quite nicely.  I really see this as a pre-cursor to college work.  I NEVER had to do this much work in high school…and I am amazed at the quality of work that I see from time to time.  Bottom line…school is good and the kids seem to have settled in nicely for the first half of the year.

I got a new laptop at work!  Of course, my company buys hardware and software that is on the clearance rack.  We are currently still using Windows 2000 with Office 2000…and its 2005, right??  Right.  Anyway, I receive my new slab of technology…and IBM T42 Think Pad.  Nice machine…but we all know how IBM’s PC division is going these days.  So well, they decided to get out of the business and sell to Lenovo.  So, great, the machine seems to be OK right now.  I started going over the hardware list to see what sort of features it has.  I found it had a wireless card!  Cool…I’ve hooked my house with a router and I am Wi-Fi…and when I travel, I’ll be able to hook up and check emails in business lounges around the world. 

Further investigation shows the card as ‘disabled.’  Hmmm…wonder why?  I ask my ‘friendly’ IT professional for advice. The answer-man comes back with, ‘Oh, we don’t have any way of checking that, so I disconnected.’  Uh…not the answer I wanted to hear.  Oh…how about hooking up to our network via my broadband cable connection in my home?  ‘Oh, we don’t have the cable internet in the office, we don’t know how to do that…we can’t help.’  This is how China works, if anyone was wondering.  This is why throughout China, there are expat managers running the show…and nationals doing the tasks.  It is very hard to get people to think ‘outside the box’, as they like to say. 

Well, dammit, I’ve got a brand new laptop…I’ve got wireless connection at home…I’m going to find a way to make this work.  I hop on to the internet and start looking things up.  Finally hook up with the FAQ page for the laptop and there is an entire section on ‘why won’t my wireless connection work.’  Perfect.  I scan that section…copy off a couple paragraphs that I think may be an issue…print the pages and head home. 

Upon getting home, I check the first setting item I had copied.  I looked up the SSID on my router…then looked up the setting on the laptop.  Different.  ‘Connection will occur when these settings match.’  OK…change the laptop….BLINK…connected.  That was it…done.  Am I telling the IT guys??  Huh…right.  I’m high tech…I’m wireless.  I can take a crap on the commode while checking emails…howz that?! 

We are getting ready to take off this coming weekend for two weeks in Langkawi.  Cannot wait for it to arrive.  I've re-confirmed all of my reservations this morning...and we are good to go.  Tickets in hand...just need to get some money to bring along! 

Please drop in your comments below as to what you think of this newest website...is it faster, is it easier to read...let me know.