Eric @ SinoPenn

Charities & Why we do what we do

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Sun, 25 May 2008 18:11:00 +0000

Tonight wrapped up a weekend full of benefits for the Library Project. Overall, the weekend was successful. Tom, the founder of Library Project was quite happy with the overall turnout of the weekend's events, and the money that was raised was enough to build three, possibly four more libraries out in the countryside of China. Don't quote me on this though, I'm not the LP accountant by any means.

The one thing we'd talked about though that stuck in my mind the most was why people do this sort of thing. I looked at my own case first.

I run a small website hosting & development company here in Shanghai. As always, I want people to know about it and use my services. Duh! What small-business owner doesn't. In walks Tom of the Library Project.

I've known Tom for quite sometime actually, as we'd been colleagues in a company based in Dalian, China. Good company, a bit mis-managed sometimes, but overall, enthusiastic and active in the LP. He told me of his plans that eventually became the Library Project charity.

Fast-forward one year. Personally, I'd set up one event to get books for his charity, and at that time, it wasn't exactly established. Not registered in the US, not registered in the PRC either. He simply did it in his spare time. I took my website name, JinanLIVE.com and threw it at LP. We raised about 40 books for his project.

Fast-forward another 2 years... now, in Shanghai for the last three years, and again, still in contact with Tom. But now I run TeraScape. Thus starts my own case of shameless self-promotion. Our 3-sentence closing conversation ended with a simple unanswered question, why do we, why do the people who showed up & contributed, why does anyone do what they do for charity? Why do I and others involved in this weekend's events do it? I organized a big barbeque fund-raiser for LP at Kommune Kafe, here in Shanghai. Why?

Because I can PROMOTE it. I'm a prolific poster on Shanghai Expat with close to 8000 posts on that site. Everytime I post, my sig file is on there. What's my sig file?

"
_________________

~ Website Hosting in China
C:/Dos ~ C:/Dos/Run ~ Run/Dos/Run

"

Short, not very clever, but the image links to my company. I promote LP on Shanghai Expat and with every promotion, my OWN link goes on there. Overall, it's indirectly self-promotion. I also use my company login on other sites, like City Weekend, SH Magazine, Shanghaiist (new favorite website!) That's Shanghai... you name it, all promoting Library Project, but all with some small, unsymbolic link back to me and my company.

"So what the hell is your point?" you're asking yourself now. The point is, those of us involved with charities, don't always do it because we want to help charities. It's also self-serving.

"Sounds AWFUL!" you say to yourself (or you've already stopped reading). But it isn't. I couldn't do a THIRD of what I did this weekend if it weren't for my clients. I couldn't do a FIFTH of what I did if it weren't for other charities and the lessons I learned there (Warren Jaycees, Kudos!).

The point is, support your local charities, but also support the people behind the charities. If they don't have business, then they're not going to be in any position to support or be a part of any charities. When we do stuff, it's not always because we simply can. We want to because our situation allows us to do that. We actually enjoy doing this, and if your situation doesn't allow you to be active, all you have to do is support the companies whose situation does. In the overall big picture, you're also doing something for charity.

More on Library Project at http://www.library-project.com.

Sea of JAPAN

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Thu, 22 May 2008 04:05:00 +0000

One, it's the fucking Sea of Japan, not the Sea of Korea.

Two, The map was published in China. If they see fit to call it the Sea of Japan, argue with them, not me.

Three, it's a fucking map. I don't give a rat's ass. World opinion doesn't always go with China or America either. Get used to it.

Four, when the kid's got ADHD, he can't fucking help it. I'm not punishing him for something he can't control. Trust me. I know from 3 years of Ritalin enduced experience.

Ranting over.

Sichuan Earthquake

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:32:00 +0000

By now, most people know of the news about Sichuan's Earthquake. For the sake of those back home, we were nowhere near that area, so it's all good here (I know what your China geography is like. ;) ). Shanghaiist is posting the story, with over 100 updates already. Check it out here.

Reuters also has news & pics.

Red Cross donation information is here.

Happy Int'l Workers Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:37:00 +0000

Here and in other communist/socialist states, today is May Day, also called International Workers day. According to the wikipedia:

In the United States, Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September instead of on May 1. This Labor Day was a creation of the 1880s Knights of Labor and was adopted officially in 1887 in the U.S. in an attempt to disassociate labor activism from the radical left. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed May 1 both as Loyalty Day and as Law Day. Each year, the sitting president proclaims these observances on May 1.

Because of this, I thought I'd share some photos of North Korea. A friend of mine, David Akast, from England took a trip there late last year, and took the photos shown here: http://picasaweb.google.com/davidakast/NorthKorea

As an American, I obviously can't go there, as they'd shoot me on site, though I did manage to get to the border between the DPRK & China, in the city of Dandong in the fall of 2006. Interesting seeing the North Koreans coming across the bridge between Dandong, China & Sinojiu, DPRK.

Anyways, have fun at work. The commies have today off!!!

What? Post? Oh Crap...

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:04:00 +0000

Yep, I've temporarily abandoned yet another blog, but it's all good. I'm back with a vengeance!

What's new? Let me think... the locals are protesting LV and Carrefour. Carrefour is dealing with it while LV has come out and said the protesters boycotting LV can't afford their products anyways. They're probably right. Grace has suggested reading Han Han's blog (Google Translated) for one Chinese Netizen's reactions to all the Pro-China, anti-everyone else ferver going on. The writer, Han Han quit high school and has thus spared himself from traditional Chinese education. Judging by the comments on some of his posts, his "more educated" compatriots don't exactly understand what he's talking about. Google Translate doesn't help much, but you'll get the drift, I'm sure.

More later.

New Star Trek Movie!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 01:37:00 +0000

There's a bit of information floating around now regarding the new Star Trek movie, slated for December 25th of this year. At the official movie site, the trailer, currently showing with "Cloverleaf" is now up on the site, and will soon be available for iPhone & iTunes.

Also, a bit of "Viral Marketing" happening at http://www.ncc-1701.com. Currently it shows 3 out of 4 working cameras, showing the construction of the Enterprise.

I'm not one for Star Trek fansites or message boards, but some of the reactions I've read to the viral site suggests that some die hard trekkies are already hating the movie. "They show welding. Why don't we call it, Star Trek: The Welding Frontier" or "3 out of 4 broken cameras. Terrible." Someone seems to think they're real cameras apparently. This I don't understand. They wish death upon something they don't even have a clue about. Why?

I can see a trend on the viral Star Trek site. For the next several months, on ncc-1701.com we'll see the U.S.S. Enterprise slowly being built during the next year or so, and a final completion on or around Christmas. Perhaps during summer, they'll be working on the warp nacelles or deflector dish. Perhaps launching sections into space for more assembly. After all, it's meant to be viral marketing, right? Certainly can't have welders there for the entire year.

I'll post more as I learn it. Hopefully, Paramount accepts my app as "press" and sends me more details to release to the general public!

Here's a movie poster released about a year ago.

And here's a pic uploaded from the "Cloverleaf" trailer.

Eric Vs. Century Mart, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 01:39:00 +0000

I think I broke my blog. Anyways...

I know this was stupid of me, but I had to go in there to pick up something last night. I'm thinking 9:20pm, shouldn't be too hard. 9:23 I got my item. 9:25 I was in line.

9:47 I was finally out and on my way to KFC.

There were two groups in front of me, both doing their "STOP!" thing. Except the first group had to argue with the woman about just about everything. Apparently their last order wasn't quite enough for them to use up the two 5 RMB coupons they'd already collected, so they're arguing amongst themselves.

"Lets get tissues!"
"We already HAVE Tissues!"
"Okay, how about laundry soap? It's right there."
"We already bought laundry soap!"
"But it's just right there. Let's grab it and go!" (the sensible one)
"We don't need it!" (the guy pissing me off.)

I'm mostly guessing judging by their facial expressions, my somewhat limited Chinese & where they were pointing.

It's starting to turn into an artform on who can get closest to 200 RMB to get that coupon.

The next people up in line only had 2 air purifiers, a few boxes of wine & various other things. Not that much at all, but some pricy stuff.

Price came to 250 RMB. Too late to yell "STOP!" but the guy had a plan.

"We don't want that purifier. Put this bottle of wine on there instead."

Price is down to 205 or something like that. Finally they can pay and continue.

Next batch: 270 or so RMB. Again, remove the purifier. Add a few other things... Price closer to 200.

Pay & continue. Last batch. Two cheap purifiers. DAMNIT!!! Again, just short of 200! What on earth will THEY buy? The Suspense is KILLING ME!!!

The guy turns around & sees me and my one item and says "sorry" with his Summer Teeth grinning the whole time. I said nothing.

They got what they wanted and proceeded to pay, using the 2 coupons they'd already collected. But then he pulls out a stack of cards. Gift cards, maybe, but there looked to be about 20 in all. The cashier had to scratch something off every single one of them, manually enter the cards, individually, one at a time, a single card at a single time, scratch, enter, scratch, enter... you get the idea.

Anyways, they finally buggered off, and I got there with my single item (yes, it was actually quite necessary to get this item at this time). The girl smiles, says, "Ni Hao! :D " I hand her the item, 10 rmb, get the change and get the fuck out of there, that cheeky Summer Teeth smile still etched in my mind making me even more furious. 9:47 according to my mobile. 22 fucking minutes for that.

Congratulations, Century Mart!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:44:00 +0000

You've made the lines at the checkout 5 times SLOWER than what they were before! How did you do it? By offering a 5 RMB coupon for every 200 RMB spent at the cash register!

How this works: Say you're out shopping with the missus & the little ones. Fill your cart up nice & full. Now, head over to the check out area.

Unload your cart, but keep an eye out on the total price. When it goes over 200 RMB, shout, "STOP!!!" and pay & get your coupon, and let her bag everything up. Start again. Unload more groceries, yell "STOP!!!" at 200 RMB, pay & get your coupon. Wash, Rinse, Repeat ad nauseum.

Congratu-fuckin'-lations on making an already slow line even slower!

Getting behind...and Shanghai Punk/Metal

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 08:23:00 +0000

It's been awhile, but I haven't forgot about my newest blog! What's been happening... Let's see... I redesigned TeraScape.net! Looks fantastic now! In my own humble opinion, anyways. I still have to mess with those top images a bit more on Photoshop, and despite I wanted to have a Linux logo in that big box, I'm not too happy with how it turned out. Other than that, the color scheme finally matches my black/red thing I wanted for a long while. Now... to change the blog to match! Meh.. later.

About a week & a half ago, Alex and I went to a punk show... the one mentioned below. No Name's gig at Yuyintang was great! They were spot-on, sporting a new member of the band & everything. The Mark Fairwhale Party, however, not so spot on. They didn't play. Either the promoters fucked up, or their managers fucked up. Regardless, someone somewhere fucked up & Ray Yao and the crew got dumped at the last minute as one of the acts for the party. As much as our and dozens of other peoples' chance of "No Name! No Name..." rang out across the stage & auditorium, it didn't matter. They couldn't play.

MiSanDao was good! As was Yaksa, a Korn-like band. I'm looking forward to seeing both these guys play again. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Yaksa updates their site too often.

All I want for Christmas is Shanghai Fox!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:42:00 +0000

And I'm giving it twice this week!

We're broadcasting TWICE this week! Today and Tomorrow!!! For the Christmas Season, we have a few old classics from the days of Dean Martin & Nat King Cole, as well as some Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We also have some newer stuff, such as Adam Sandler, and a few Christmas Comedy songs as well. Have a listen, and if you bookmarked the broadcast from last time, it's that time to change the bookmarks... new IP this week.

Current Links
For Winamp (and a few others)
http://124.77.227.103:8000/listen.pls

For Windows Media Player
http://124.77.227.103:8000

On Windows Media Player, you'll have to click "File" then "Open URL" and manually cut/paste the WMP link to get it to work.

For Winamp, VLC, Media Player Classic, iTunes... click the link & open in whatever player you want to try.

Leave a comment on www.chinaexcursions.com/shanghaifox if you like what you hear.
Also, check out the forums on ShanghaiExpat.com : http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/index.php?name=MDForum&file=viewtopic&t=66276&start=0
www.terascape.net/shanghaifox.htm will show you what's recently played.

No Name's back in Shanghai

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:29:00 +0000

Friday night, No Name is playing over at Yu Yin Tang. No Name is a punk band out of Xi'an that I used to see play over at the 8 1/2 bar (not to be confused with the hooker joint, 8:30 Friend-changing bar, on Dong DaJie.) Several months ago, they played in Shanghai, and I caught them again, only to be sort of chased out by this drunk Scot who was itching to either get laid, or get into a fight, and I had no intention of getting involved.

If you've ever seen my MySpace page, you'll know I don't use it. But when I do, it's usually to correspond with Y Ray, No Name's front man. Check out No Name's MySpace page for some of their music.

You're Welcome, Siyan

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 01:57:00 +0000

http://www.siyansshanghai.com/2007/12/thank-you-eric.html

Crimbo Time

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 01:02:00 +0000

Not only is it Crimbo in the Kingdom of Loathing, but also in the apartment of horrors as well! December 10th was my birthday, and my ever-surprising wife, not really believing too much in the whole birthday thing and claiming that my new computer bag from 2 weeks ago was my birthday gift, surprised me on my birthday with a Christmas tree & a couple Christmas Decorations! All I ever want for my birthday & Christmas is a surprise! This is certainly a good one! Thanks, honey!

From Shanghai Xmas 07

And my wife says nothing's wrong with the camera...

From Shanghai Xmas 07

You NO buy enough junk! You buy More!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:51:00 +0000

More riots in the land next to the rising sun. This time it seems tourists are getting fed up with having to shop till you drop on organized tours. It's an old scam, though, as back in 2000, when we went to Mexico, we were also deposited at a couple souvenir shops here & there. I can, however, understand how they might feel.

Some Chinese tour guides make extra income through commission given to them by shop keepers who make good sales out of tourists. One guide with a group of 100 or so spend-happy tourists, can rake in an extra few thousand RMB per trip. The greedier the tour guide, most likely, the more you're going to land at a few shops & stalls here & there.

In this case, the tour guide made all the wrong moves.

They were on a day trip from Hong Kong on Tuesday, but after visiting one or two local sites and a number of shops, were told they had not spent enough by their local guides. ~Richard Spencer

That's a hell of a thing to say to your group. The tourists were told they must spend at least 421 RMB, were then dropped off on a beach, and were not allowed back on the coach. According to one of the tourists (as seen on the video), they were threatened by the tour guides that if they DIDN'T spend that much, they would be abandoned there. They rioted. Police showed up, riot police showed up, and it didn't end for the next 5 hours. Anyways... see for yourself. Courtesy of Reuters.

Why Don't We Do It in the Road

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:50:00 +0000

The man behind "MyLaowai" and our missus's and I had a great (well I thought so, he wasn't so impressed) hotpot dinner last night. After a lively discussion last night about various topics concerning China & the locals here, as I mentioned in my last post, I figured he's a bit on the extreme side... which I've always known. Me, I have my "Bad China Days" but I don't take it too seriously. I have hope for people yet.

However, is this hope misplaced? From The Shanghaiist.

Click the link until Blogger allows Youtube again. (what the hell, guys?)

Unbelievable. I'm sure you can figure out what this guy is doing. And in front of a sign prompting for, "civilised behavior" before the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Chinese in the US in the 19th Century

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 02:36:00 +0000

"Kiwi" of Shanghai Expat fame posted this piece on the forums, and I thought I would share here. Written by Mark Twain, the story gives interesting insight into what Chinese life was like back then, some in Virginia, but mostly in California.

Chapter LIV

Roughing It - by Mark Twain

Of course there was a large Chinese population in Virginia--it is the case with every town and city on the Pacific coast. They are a harmless race when white men either let them alone or treat them no worse than dogs; in fact they are almost entirely harmless anyhow, for they seldom think of resenting the vilest insults or the cruelest injuries. They are quiet, peaceable, tractable, free from drunkenness, and they are as industrious as the day is long. A disorderly Chinaman is rare, and a lazy one does not exist. So long as a Chinaman has strength to use his hands he needs no support from anybody; white men often complain of want of work, but a Chinaman offers no such complaint; he always manages to find something to do. He is a great convenience to everybody--even to the worst class of white men, for he bears the most of their sins, suffering fines for their petty thefts, imprisonment for their robberies, and death for their murders. Any white man can swear a Chinaman's life away in the courts, but no Chinaman can testify against a white man. Ours is the "land of the free"--nobody denies that--nobody challenges it. [Maybe it is because we won't let other people testify.] As I write, news comes that in broad daylight in San Francisco, some boys have stoned an inoffensive Chinaman to death, and that although a large crowd witnessed the shameful deed, no one interfered.

The story continues on ReadPrint.

Judging by the treatment of the Chinese historically in the US, according to Mark Twain, one can see some of the same treatment in China given to some expats as Americans to the Chinese in the essay. During my recent "Field Trip" it was suggested that all of "us laowais" can earn so much money here, and yet disrespect the local population. While they were lining their pockets with our "fines", they made sure we would understand that the Chinese people were proud. Are all expats like that to Chinese? No. Are all Chinese like that to expats? Of course not. While my views & opinions can get somewhat extreme (I'm not as bad as my laowai friend here is), never confuse my bitterness toward the powers that be with any bitterness toward 90% of the local population. There is still that 10% though that I'd love to toss right into the Huangpu River & watch them sink in that oily, chemically enhanced cesspool.

Field Trip to the PSB office!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:05:00 +0000

I made it to the PSB office yesterday. The PSB are hunting down ALL the foreigners in the Hongquan, WuZhong Road area in an effort to catch those with either illegal passports or those not carrying passports with them (as in my case). This area houses a good number of Koreans and a good number of them were also at the PSB office with us, including local business owners we know.

Our place got fined a couple thousand RMB plus about 1000 RMB each for its 3 foreign employees. This is because the organization is Chinese-owned. Other places, schools, restaurants, bars & such, got sacked with a lot more, some ranging up to 60,000 RMB including sending a few people home packing. These were foreign-owned. Their fines included up to 10,000 RMB per person, for some, deportation (with the option of returning on a new visa) and a nice long speech from the PSB declaring how they were rich, yet should abide by the local laws. Where the rich part comes in, I've no idea. I've heard so far, roughly five Koreans, one American & one Canadian got deported, within the last few days. And this has been going on for about a month now. You do the math.

The real reason, however, is because the local jurisdiction is gearing up for the Spring Festival. For every foreigner & foreign-owned business they bring in & fine, they get a bigger, better New Years Bonus. By the looks of the PSB office we were at, they're making some decent bonuses. About 20 people were waiting, and that's only for the afternoon. I can see eventually other jurisdictions following suit & jumping in to cash in on the rich foreigners. So watch yourself.

As one of my colleagues mentioned, eventually you stop asking how someone on only 4000 RMB/month can afford a BMW.

Another Stop over at the PSB

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:31:00 +0000

A couple weeks ago, the Police raided an establishment I happen to be frequenting. That establishment, a school that caters to the Korean Expat crowd. At about 9pm, about 6 PSB officials came in & demanded to see all our passports. We didn't have them (what expat actually does carry their passport around EVERYWHERE they go?). Because of this, we had to go to the PSB office a few days later, where they basically gave us a slap on the wrist.

What went wrong:
We had to sign a piece of paper that neither they nor the school admin could tell us what it said.
They referred to a PSB Guide book written in rather vague English.

Regardless, we had to sign, or face possible deportation. My problem is that this gig is only for a little extra drinking money. I'm an IT consultant. Not a teacher. My visa says so. But they didn't say anything was wrong.

Now, however, they called said establishment again, and demanded to see our passports again. That was Monday. We got our passports back Monday evening. Yesterday, we were told that we will again go talk to the PSB. All I can think is that they somehow didn't bribe enough money to the PSB and now are looking for more.

We'll see what happens I suppose. If I get deported, I leave all my earthly possessions to my lovely wife. ;)

Meet the Beijing Olympic Mascots!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 05:25:00 +0000

Here we have the 5 mascots of the Beijing Olympics. These five beings will make your stay in Beijing during the Olympics peaceful, harmonious and ~~misinformed~~ well informed.

Beibei, in blue, is busy coordinating the Logistics of organizing the Olympics. Beibei is single-handedly cleaning up the toilets of Beijing & teaching the Beijing Taxi drivers how to correctly answer tourist questions such as, "Is that man peeing on that wall?" and "Hey, wasn't that my hotel?". Wonder if they'll remember the toilets in Qingdao?

Jingjing, armed with lotus leaves on... its head is the first-strike force against the armadas of foreign journalists who will descend upon Beijing in 2008. Should they see anything out of the "ordinary", Jingjing strikes, flying through the air, flinging lotus leaves full of mis-information and false reports, all the while transferring all below-standard toothpaste to Canada & Europe.

Huanhuan is always in touch with the PLA. Huanhuan is ready to lick any capitalist swine who dares to challenge the authority of the Beijing Olympic Mascots. That little ball on his (her?) head? Even though Huanhuan is only one-balled, it's a big ball and it's always tuned into the PLA Anti-disestablishmentary Tank & Da Shan impersonator Division. The Beijing Olympic Mascots have the biggest balls of all! Did you see protesters at the Olympics? Call on Huanhuan to "solve the problem"!

Yingying, also well known on ShanghaiExpat.com is the events coordinator. Rest assured, if you're lost in the Olympic venue, Yingying will direct you to the right place... the sales area. If you're looking for the Gymnastics venue, and you're standing right next to it, be sure that Yingying will guide you through the onslaught of cheap watches, bags & dvd's and within 2 hours, you'll arrive at your point of destination. How convenient!

Nini... well, the token Aztec. This is a secret belonging only to Nini, myself and you, my 2 SinoPenn readers. Her Quetzalcoatl Power helmet allows Nini to fly through the air, spreading the love of all Chinese to the rest of the world! Nini is also the one who rid Ireland of all snakes, hence why she's left only with feathers! After all, snakes are a foreign problem.

There you have it, folks! The Beijing Olympics Mascots! Spreading the love of all Chinese People through lead paint, defense network hacking & cardboard Baozi's to the rest of the world!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:52:00 +0000

The song, Lightning Crashes, as sung by Live, has always been known as the Bad Luck song by myself & Ben, my friend back home. Every time we heard this song randomly, something bad would happen. It didn't work if we specifically played it. But if it happened to come on the radio (in heavy rotation back then), the curse would strike.

For example: We were driving around town & the song played. We got back to our friend Gary's place, where I called my girlfriend. She promptly broke up with me.

Another time, I'd just finished work and had a couple drinks at Snuffy's. (Before you say it, no this was NOT drunk driving, as it was only 2.) The song played on the radio when I was there. As I left, I got in my car and headed down Pennsylvania Avenue. I got as far as the Draft House when I got rear-ended by a guy in a new Bonneville. His car, not a scratch. My car, totalled. Nice Oldsmobile Cutlass, of the 1986 vintage too!

Again, driving around, again, heading... somewhere, the song played. Ben's Cavalier broke down.

Again, the song played, then a phone call came in. Ben's girlfriend dumped him (though this happened a lot with that particular girlfriend).

This all came back to me today as I was listening to music and the song played. I have the mp3 it seems. Came with a collection I downloaded. Since this is technically "random", the curse struck.

My computer crashed out, bringing an hours worth of work with it, and now I'm plagued with intermittent computer problems. It seems the curse is still in effect and is no longer only associated with girls & cars.

Congrats, Al Gore, the former next President of the United States

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 06:54:00 +0000

Dear Eric,

I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change--the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis--a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years. We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.

My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.

Thank you,

Al Gore

First off, no, this isn't from Al Gore to me. This is from Al Gore to his mailing list which I happen to be on. I've been loosely following Al since watching An Inconvenient Truth and have learned a few things about him in the process.

First: Al Gore did not invent the Internet. "REALLY? Gen De Ma?" you say. Yes.

During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

~ Al Gore, interviewed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer on March 9th, 1999. From Snopes.com

Was the wording clumsy? Well, yes and no, but he never said, "I made the internet." What he did was to pass legislation that led to a better internet & more funding for new technologies.

The people who DID invent the Internet, Vint Cerf & Bob Kahn had this to say on September 9th, 2000:

As the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time. Last year the Vice President made a straightforward statement on his role. He said: "During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet." We don't think, as some people have argued, that Gore intended to claim he "invented" the Internet. Moreover, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore's initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolving Internet. The fact of the matter is that Gore was talking about and promoting the Internet long before most people were listening. We feel it is timely to offer our perspective. As far back as the 1970s Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship. Though easily forgotten, now, at the time this was an unproven and controversial concept.

From Wikipedia (link anonymoused).

Well, there you have it.

What else has Al done noteworthy? How about helping to arrange an airlift for stranded medical patients in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, quite against FEMA's wishes?

Greg Simon, President of FasterCures wrote a lengthy piece detailing an account of how he, Gore and others worked on getting planes for stranded people at Charity Hospital. Here's a part of the story:

I called Steve and told him to delay the planes. I called Al. It was 2 a.m. in Nashville. He was planning to leave for Dallas at 4 a.m. to meet the plane. I told Tipper what was going on. She said, “Greg, you can’t delay it now. It’s too late, the doctors are flying in here to fly with Al to Dallas.” Al got on the phone and said we could not delay. I tried to scare him. What if something went wrong with a patient on the plane? What if the military did not cooperate on the ground and no patients got on the plane? He refused to budge. Col. LaFon could handle the patients and Al would trust that when they landed they would break through the resistance and succeed.

I called Mimi back and said we could not delay but we would agree not to fly to Chicago. I called Steve back to re-start the planes.

Over the next three hours (from 2a.m. to 5 a.m.) I was called by an array of Majors and Lieutenant Commanders telling me to stop. (“I don’t mean to be rude, sir, but you must not do this. You must stop this now.”) Major Webb from GPMRC (don’t ask), Grant Meade from ESF. Major Lindquist from TRANSCOM (at last!) all telling me they would not cooperate and they did not know how we had gotten permission to land. I never mentioned Gore’s name because no one ever asked me who was paying for the flights or how we had come so far.

The full article is here, and I won't spoil the ending for you, but rest assured, it's a good ending.

So does he deserve the Nobel Prize? Why not? He's worked hard to raise awareness for Global Warming, new technologies and the general welfare of the world. He absolutely should be honored for this.

More Gore you say? Well... Okay.

CNN Video on the Draft Gore Movement - CNN Article on Gore's Nobel Prize win - Gore's Comments after the Nobel Win

Shanghai F1 Booze Bus!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 06:57:00 +0000

As we chanted, "Booze Bus! Booze Bus! Booze Bus!..." The bus pulled out of Sasha's Restaurant at 8:30am sharp! Luckily I got there at about 8:26 or so. An all day beer & racing session it was, and a nightmare for some the next day I'm sure!

Anyways, here are some of the pics:

New Picasa Album (screw flickr. Yahoo doesn't care.)

Just Beer Gallery

And while we're at it... here's a LINK (damn blog won't let me embed from metacafe) from earlier this year from the Shanghai A1 (not the F1) Booze Bus. That, unfortunately is it for this year. Next spring though, the 2008 A1 Booze bus will be departing ~~whenever it does.~~ on April 13th, 2008!

Oh, and Kimi won.

Expats for Olympic Torchbearers

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 06:59:00 +0000

As funny as this whole concept is, a friend of mine is running, so give Siyan your support, and throw a vote her way.

Vote for the 14% Chinese, the Rest, Swedish Chick!

If you want to see what all the hub-bub is about (and trust me, there's not that much of it really) then CLICK HERE LA.

We missed another storm

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 07:00:00 +0000

Typhoon (now Tropical Depression) Krosa came through much closer than Wipha ever did, dumping tons of rain & knocking down the 50 or so scooters parked outside our apartment's main gates. Funny how the press went wild with a no-show Wipha, but hardly said a thing about this one. Fortunately, with the exception of Lewis Hamilton losing the race in a wreck, the Shanghai F1 race went off without a hitch!

Hacked iPhone users, Get Over It!

noreply@blogger.com (Eric D) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 07:02:00 +0000

Why are hacked iPhone users upset that their iphone no longer works? You had a legitimate iPhone with legitimate software. You took your software and hacked it to run a different network. Apple updated their LEGITIMATE software so their LEGITIMATE software would work better, and your phone got "Bricked". Where is the problem here? Don't blame Apple for your fancy new paperweight. Blame the hackers that tried to make a quick buck at Apple's expense.