While stuck in traffic this morning, I happened along a sight that I don't see nearly as much as we would 10 years ago; the sidewalk bicycle repairman.
Back in the day with all the bikes on the road, and the horrible materials they were made out of (rusty steel and very poor inner-tubes for the tires), there was literally one of these guys on every corner. Either just there to pump up your tires, or give you a complete overhall, while you waited.
This old guy had an impressive set of tools spread out along with a multitude of replacement parts...mostly rusty used parts from older bikes.
Here, he was working on the front wheel bearings...
Media reports estimate that as many as 20,000 people have either volunteered or been ordered to participate in the operation, while 1,000 boats are scooping algae out of the Yellow Sea.
“We're Americans!” I said in a cheery voice. “We rented the car in Belgrade, but we're Americans.” “Aha!” he said and laughed, as if that explained everything.
...Grove Parc Plaza, in a dense neighborhood that Barack Obama represented for eight years as a state senator, hold 504 apartments subsidized by the federal government for people who can't afford to live anywhere else. But it's not safe to live here.
he gave the student — who wrote an expletive starting with f, followed by the word "off" — two points out of a possible 27 for the English paper. Buckroyd said the student would have received a higher mark if the phrase had been punctuated.
The incident comes at a sensitive time for China's Communist Party rulers as they seek to showcase the nation as harmonious and stable ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August. (GZE2 - even the AFP uses that word...harmonious. Ughghh)
In total, the algae has affected 13,000 square kilometers (8,080 square miles) of sea, the report said. Algae blooms are common in heavily polluted China, particularly in freshwater lakes. (GZE2 - Enjoy the windsurfing, boyz).
And, it took TWO bureaus to come up with these beauties.
The garden is worthy of a trip if you are passing through GZ. It's just a short walk from the China Hotel, and its an amazing oasis in the middle of the hurried city. It's...nice.
With expat son's birthday falling in the middle of July, he doesn't get to celebrate his birthdays with his buddies, they way most kids do around here. So, Tai-Tai arranged a bit of a get together with his pals to celebrate his birthday a little early.
One of the keys to any party, though, you have to earn it. The kids headed to Danny's and got to make their own pizza's with Danny and his staff helping them out with the finer techniques of rolling and building.
I took some photos and the videos with the phone...I apologize for the quality. I was still struggling with the settings (and still am) as the phone didn't come with an English language manual.
The next day, the kids were at it again at his schoolsummer BBQ. This is a great event the school puts on to get parents together and give the kids a chance to blow off some steam with their teachers, without the
uniforms on. Of course, my son was usually spotted at the sponge throwing...chucking soaked sponges as hard as he could at his teacher. And, being a fully Asian affair, the food also matches the international crowd; Indian curries, hot dogs, burgers, beer and sodas.
Finally...graduation day. Yeah, its a bit different than the BIG graduation...but it was special, nonetheless. He had a terrific year. He started the year hating maths...hating reading...and hating school. This year was an injection of enthusiasm that was truly amazing. His scores were better...but it was his attitude that really got the marks. We are both very proud of the hard work he put in all year long.
Now, schools done and he's all set for the summer holiday. Although, I am not sure Tai-Tai is ready for it. Summer holiday usually means he's the only kid in the neighborhood (as most kids head to their home country with their Mom's during the summer) and he bores the crap out of himself and his mother. Our summer holiday is just around the corner, though.
When Rice dropped into one classroom, pupil Zhou Yifan, one of 7,000 people in the camp, spoke to her in English saying, "My pleasure to take a photo with you. I often see you on TV, you are a superstar." (GZE2 - Wish she would come and visit me...woof!)
The uncle had protested against the conclusion of the police investigation that had determined the 15-year-old girl committed suicide. He had been badly beaten as he sought justice after the death of his niece, locals said.
"We believe the situation has deteriorated to a very grave level, but the sham election there is likely to bring only more misery," Rice told a press conference.
"The transition to a new campaign was not well thought out, planned for, and prepared for before it began. Additionally, the assumptions about the nature of post-Saddam Iraq on which the transition was planned proved to be largely incorrect,"
The cat was let out of the bag in early 1966. Publicity campaigns started letting the world know of Mercury’s plans and the name of the car before the first model was available for sale.
Barr, who served four terms in Congress as a Republican, switched parties after becoming disenchanted with what he called the high-spending ways and increasingly Big Brother policies of the Bush administration.
We've had our fair share of typhoon's here in our years in southern China. The storms batter the coastline, but usually spare us, as we are so far inland. Usually, the storms turn north at the coastline and wreak havoc on neighboring Fujian province with winds and floods.The worst we get is a load of rain and some isolated flooding.
We were in Hong Kong in 1999 when Typhoon Sam struck, leaving us stranded over night as ferry and even train service was shut down in the wake of the storm. While the storm was powerful and shut down most of the city, a bare amount of services were still available; bars, restaurants and the subway. I can remember running from the hotel door to the subway entrance and standing on an empty platform for 5 minutes, awaiting the train. Once inside the train, it was creepily empty of people. We arrived at Pacific Place mall and found the only business open in the mall was Dan Ryans. When we returned to the hotel, the storms had quieted somewhat, but the grainy pictures on our TV showed us a plane had overturned on the runway at the airport. What on earth were they doing landing during a typhoon?
Despite all the excitement we had in Hong Kong, back in GZ, it was merely wet. No winds...to tidal worries...just a load of rain. People back in GZ were wondering why we had to stay an extra night in HK...what was all the fuss?
So, that is how it is in GZ during a typhoon. Just far enough inland that the winds don't effect us as much...but we do get the rain.
Last week, typhoon Fengshen made landfall directly over Hong Kong, it pushed through Guangdong province towards GZ. With a sudden gush of air, the rains started...and they came and came. Of course, I am busy at work during all of this. Rarely is there a warning that would send us home during a typhoon in GZ.
My plans were to head north to a factory for some meetings. I jumped in the car and we headed out...less than 5 minutes into the journey, the driver stops the car and checks the right front tire; it's going flat fast. So, there I was...new, fancy phone in hand, in a repair shop in the middle of GZ having a flat repaired during a typhoon.
These storms have a way of instilling memories upon you.
Epilogue: What was merely a storm to us, was a devastating full force typhoon to the people of the Philippines and their loss was high. A sad part of why the storm wasn't more potent to southern China is that it crossed the Philippines at its peak and lost considerable strength as it passed over the island nation.
Many of my colleagues ask me about Western restaurants in GZ...'what are your favorite?' Well, in the grand
scheme of things, there are only a handful of decent western style restaurants that Tai-Tai and I like going to. With most restaurants in GZ, they are originally opened and operated by a partnership of Chinese and expat. The expat puts forth the recipes, ideas and sweat into opening and building the business. Eventually the local partner will see all the money flowing in from their venture and either buy or kick out the expat partner...resulting in a restaurant that looks western, but serves chinese food. The list of restaurants that have survived and thrived is very short...and we generally repeat visits to them.
If there is one 'foreign' food that GZ has an abundance of good restaurants, its Japanese food. There are a selection of very good Japanese style restaurants that offer just about anything you can get in Japan...there are also a selection that are serving generally Chinese flavored Japanese food. Fair enough...after all, there is nothing quite like American Chinese food!
Tai-Tai and I have found a spot that we like to go over and over again. It is a chain, with 4 locations, but the one location we go to all the time is a familiar place. The cooks, waitresses all know us. We have our own bottle of sake on the wall! And, we are always surrounded by loads of Japanese expats enjoying their meals as well.
We will either sit at a table and have sukiyaki, noodles, or sushi on some days or nights. But, if we want to have a nice long big meal, we'll sit at the grills and enjoy a big tepanyaki meal. Sipping sake, a nice cold beer and course after course of perfectly cooked seafood and beef.
The US military in Iraq says a militant killed on Tuesday has been positively identified as the leader of al-Qaeda in the city of Mosul. It said the man - identified by a pseudonym, Abu Khalaf -- had co-ordinated and ordered many attacks.
Obama would bring tax policy back to the 1970's... Despite being partially offset by Bush 41 and Bill Clintons rate hikes, the Reagan rate cuts and their remnants propelled the economy forward almost nonstop for nearly 18 years until the 2000 bubble burst
Pyongyang "will submit its nuclear declaration to the chair of the six-party talks and the United States will implement its obligations to remove the designation of (North Korea) as a state sponsor of terrorism..."
On June 16, Chinese troops came more than a kilometer into Sikkim's northernmost point - a 2.1-km sliver of land called Finger Point. Only a month ago, Chinese soldiers had threatened to demolish stone structures in the area.
The faithful hold religious services clandestinely, often with look-outs posted outside to warn of intruders. "We attend Mass every Sunday we can, sometimes in people's homes, sometimes elsewhere."
"The sky above Tibet will never change. The red five-star flag will always fly above this land," said Zhang, referring to the Chinese flag, adding, "We can definitely smash the separatist plot of the Dalai Lama clique completely."
