Rain Pics My Village in the Rain Although I selected a waterproof camera with the primary goal of hurling myself into the pond to take pics of passing dragon boats while swimming in the pond, I found another use for it. I’ve developed a whole new way to make …
Sleeping Dragons For most people in China, their favorite holiday is Chinese New Year. Not me. Mine is Dragon Boat Festival. The dragons only come out to play once per year. What many don’t know is where the sleeping dragons spend the rest of the year. Dragon Boat Day …
iPhoada – If you like your iPad and iPhone, you’ll love this! Be the first to upgrade your life with an iPhoada Are you an iFanatic? If so, you’ve already got an iPad and an iPhone. You probably own at least one iPod (maybe more, just so you can …
China Cultural Notes New vs. Old and Saving Historic Buildings I’ve always loved the historic buildings in the village, but they are disappearing. China’s modernization has led to many people to adopt an “old=bad, new=good” mindset. New things can be great, but to demolish so many of the fascinating older …
This Saturday (now Sunday) (now this coming Saturday), (now postponed again ) Hot Flaming Death Awaits! Someone is going to die, and it could be me. Twice, I have met the enemy. Once, I emerged victorious and accepted my opponent’s surrender. Once, primarily due to insufficient preparation on my …
A New Dining Hall Needs a Cantonese Feast My sector of the village (North Gate) recently finished constructing a new dining hall. How to celebrate? How about a huge Cantonese feast? Sector HQ is on the second floor in the projecting box above the columns. The dining …
Two Bank Cards, Two Passports, One Headache Banking in China can be an Interesting Experience A few months back, I spent a little time in a hospital in Hong Kong. My health insurance is through a Hong Kong company, but it required me to pay everything up front …
Lunatic Finance How to Save Money Like a Lunatic Do you want your retirement to be at the mercy of some bureaucratic social security plan and maybe a small 401k or IRA? Even if all of those hold together, most people in most countries find themselves in for a …
Unplanned Male Pregnancy Another Crisis of Modern Times As if the world didn’t already have enough problems, the recently reported problem of unplanned male pregnancy has gone global. Now it’s reached all the way to China. Normally, male pregnancy is something that only happens to seahorses. Seahorses are used …
Glowing Fibrous Tentacles Have Invaded My Village! And one of those tentacles just reached into my house! Oh wait. Sorry if I caused any alarm. It’s just a fiber optic cable for my internet connection. When I first came to China in 2006, I got this odd wave of “goodbye” …