-Ni Howdy-

Pest Control

2012-01-26T07:25:00.003+08:00

Astros to Change Name?

2012-01-25T09:04:00.000+08:00

Bread, you must be apoplectic.

They're not gonna go with Asstros are they? 'cause that's my idea - I wrote them about that years ago.

I think I saw the sidewalk light up

2012-01-24T19:16:00.000+08:00

I know nobody comes here anymore but

I wish I could love my job like this guy loves his.

Straight outta Manila.

Married?

2011-12-21T10:46:00.002+08:00

Once upon a time...

2011-12-10T07:29:00.003+08:00

Once upon a time, a Prince asked a beautiful princess,

Will you marry me? The Princess said, NO!

And the Prince lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles and fucked skinny

big titted broads and hunted and fished and raced cars and went to nudie

bars and dated women half his age and drank whiskey, beer and Captain

Morgan and never heard bitching and never paid child support or alimony

and ate pussies and fucked cheerleaders in the ass and kept his house and guns and

never got cheated on while he was at work and all his friends and family

thought he was fuckin cool as hell and had tons of money in the bank and

left the toilet seat up The end

Pretty Cool

2011-11-27T11:51:00.001+08:00

Jetman

Chinese Inflation...

2011-11-16T14:09:00.004+08:00

Some famous finance guy in China gave a closed door speech on how China is in deep trouble and possibly bankrupt. He told everyone not to record his speech or put it on the internet...so naturally its on youtube now.

Take this all with a grain of salt or two, but here's the link.

Key points is that a lot of Chinese growth the past few years is just stimulus money and loans spent on real estate, and that as these loans go bad, the shit will hit the fan.

He claims inflation is really running at 16%...which might be good news for my RMB appreciation-wise if China was trying to really stop it. But its scary when a bank account only pays 5% for a 3 year CD.

Plus, if China has an economic collapse, the value of the RMB probably won't be going up...should have cashed out last visit. Thought about it but was lazy.

Oh, well, everything seems to be falling apart this year, so why not one more thing...get it over with fast.

This is what I'm talking aboot! (click to link)

2011-11-16T03:58:00.002+08:00

I can screw the pooch for much, much less.

Overheard at Pops

2011-11-13T18:54:00.002+08:00

"There's Sodom, there's Gomorrah, then there's Bangkok. "

Sadly True

2011-10-27T10:40:00.001+08:00

I would love to say it isn't so...but the list about things people do in Montana is spot on. Oh, and she is also correct that Montana is adding jobs...

Yahoo Headlines

2011-10-09T04:39:00.002+08:00

Economy adds 103,000 jobs, but it's not enough

WTF? and I don't mean Win the Future.

What kind of headline reporting a statistic can say 'but its not enough?"

Its a statistic being reported for gawd sakes.

I mean, sure have an analysis section to your story or have 'but analysts say it not enough'

OK rant off.

FUN WITH FORMOSA

2011-10-09T04:30:00.002+08:00

This old map has a lot of place names in Taiwanese...I enjoyed testing out my Taiwanese speaking relatives to see if they could guess what the hell I was saying...

Also, I will be in Taiwan this November if anyone is up for hitting the bars in the Chung.

The Last Post?

2011-08-20T22:18:00.008+08:00

As the posts become fewer and fewer, I am wondering if this won't be the last post on our beloved experiment?

Anyhow, greetings from Montana. It has been a crazy summer, so crazy in fact that this is my first weekend in Helena since early June. Many tales to be spun, hopefully in person with some of you at hand.

Back over July 4th weekend, Jim was kind enough to host a reunion of sorts. Rye, PIMP, Dean-O and myself were able to attend (apparently the price of gas for the six hour drive from Lubbock to Denver was too unbearable for the J-Hole). A concert was attended in Steamboat, a baseball game in Denver, a fireworks display from Jim's roof, and lots of cigarettes and even more bullshitting went down over three days.

Stoney and I made the drive from Montana (once his plane landed a mere ten hours late). Yellowstone, Teton and the nothingness of southern Wyoming proved just the trick for two old friends catching up. We did get stonewalled by some snow high in the Wyoming mountains near Jackson, but that just added to the fun. Next year, Vegas baby! Stoney, you should publish some pictures here.

Later in the summer a few friends and i attended Red Ants Pants music festival in White Sulfer Springs, MT. A bit of Texas came to Montana, as Jerry Jeff (Austin), Lyle Lovett (Houston), Carrie Rodriguez (Austin), Rodney Crowell (Houston), Guy Clark (Houston), the Trishas (Austin) and a few others showed up in the hills of central Montana for two days of awesomeness. The awesomeness culminated with Rodney and Guy sitting on the stage playing songs for each other on Sunday afternoon. Poor Guy can barely get around, and can't remember his own songs anymore, but still amazing, especially since his solo show was on Saturday, thus giving us a real treat by sticking around just to play with Rodney Crowell. During his solo set on Saturday, Rodney and Lyle sat just off stage simply to watch Guy Clark play music.

I did manage to squeeze front and center for the shows, because, well, that's just who I am.

Here is Guy Clark singing with Verlon Anderson. Yes, it was The Cape.

Rodney Crowell crooning Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight

Rodney watching Guy trying to remember the Lyrics to Old Friends

A sober Jerry Jeff singing Mr. Bojangles or Navajo Rug, I forget which at this point.

In other news, my brother submitted some photo and became season ticket boy for the Houston Texans. Monday night was meet the team night. Here's a copy of the ticket for all none of you that are interested:

I reckon I'll follow this up at some point with a few more summer details (hikes in Glacier, work trips to Florida, Vermont and Alberta), but who knows, maybe I'll just fade into the distance...

Chinese Inflation Continues

2011-07-12T12:10:00.002+08:00

Inflation rose to a three-year high of 6.4 percent in June, data showed on Saturday. The comments mark a fresh attempt to show the inflation fight is far from over and the government is determined to bring prices back under control, analysts said.

I guess this didn't work:

The central bank has raised interest rates five times and bank reserve requirements nine times since last October as the inflation threat has grown.

Bank reserve requirements may not be able to be used as a further weapon:

Many analysts expect the central bank to lean more on interest rates to fight inflation in coming months, partly because they see limited room for higher bank reserve ratios, which for big banks stand at a record 21.5 percent.

So, the other two tools that they can use are interest rates and exchange rates.

Higher interest rates tend to make your currency stronger. If you try to keep your currency rate down while raising interest rate, you just get more foreign money pouring in. To fight inflation you want to lower your monetary supply not increase it.

Looks like I will sit on my RMB CDs for a while longer...I will enjoy the higher interest and then hopefully some more currency appreciation.

Fixing the odd tweak

2011-06-17T09:47:00.004+08:00

Fortunately I found this video to help take the stitch out of my knee and ham string.

God bless the Dutch.
Too bad about Vancouver, drunk and high riot and looting?

Not Taiwan

2011-05-08T14:41:00.006+08:00

So, I'm drinking some yellow bellies and the wife is transfixed by the credits of Bourne Identity.

She demands I find the song played during the credits. Child's play for any non-senior citizen, but she is impressed. (Google search is indistinguishable from magic for her.)

Extreme ways. Moby. Ennnnh, sounded better with the credit rolling.

Anyways, bored, I plugged in Taiwan on amazon.com's MP3 website to see what would come up. Surprisingly, many bands use the words Taiwan, but have nothing to do with Taiwan.

Tex Taiwan - actually a Belgian industrial band or something. That's confusing.

Maiden Taiwan - ha ha, weird rap not from Taiwan.

Taiwan Typhoon - punk rock.

Anyways, I am forming a new band called Anglo-Japan. We sing in Swahili and are based in Brazil. Yes, we are all pretentious now.

My God, page 4 of the search result calls up:

Everyone Eats Taiwan Rice I think you use this one casually, acting as if you have no idea how dumb this song sounds. "What? Honey, don't you like Taiwan and Taiwan rice?"

Hsu-Nami - Passport to Taiwan cool name

35 mm - I live in Taiwan

Music you figure would have been suited to Taiwanese conscripts fighting for Japan in WW II in Pacific: Kiwi & the Papaya Mangoes...

Taiwan Ko-Ro seems nice...might even buy that.

If there was a Taiwanese version of Hawaii 5-O... this would be the theme song.

There are a bazillion more songs, from techno to jazz, but I will leave you with a nice song in old-school Mandarin exhorting Taiwan's economy to take off...

Awesome Review of China's Problems

2011-05-04T04:33:00.003+08:00

READ THE WHOLE THING

Very clear and concise in explaining a lot of the problems facing China.

Highlights...

The need to allow Chinese capital outflows unfettered by foreign exchange controls is growing more intense with each passing month. During the first quarter, China's foreign exchange reserves grew by another $197 billion, pushing total reserve holdings over $3 trillion. Because China was unable to sterilize the positive impact of money inflows (that is, neutralize their impact) on the growth of its money supply, inflation has accelerated while economic growth has remained at a level high enough to be generating more inflation. China's reported inflation on consumer goods rose to a 5.4 percent year-over-year rate in March, an acceleration from 4.9 percent in February. This is the highest inflation rate since July 2008 and is substantially above the level of 3-4 percent that China says it desires.

Think about that. They have $3 Trillion in reserves and are socking away $197 billion a quarter. They stopped buying so many US Treasuries to sterilize this, so their currency should appreciate.

The article also has an excellent explanation for the crazy real estate prices in China (and Japan, and Taiwan for that matter.) They happen when the government does not allow people to invest anywhere except domestically.

On a more fundamental level, China is tracking what one might call the Asian "work, save, and invest" model that proved so unsuccessful for Japan after its economic boom period in the 1970s and 1980s. During those decades, its financial sector failed to develop, and Japanese citizens were discouraged from investing abroad. Inside Japan, investment-allocation decisions were made largely by government agencies that recycled household savings deposited in Japan's Postal Saving System and its sheltered banks. As a result, Japan's financial sector developed far more slowly than its production sector. Saving was very high, as in China today, so there was a huge supply of funds for the government to allocate inside Japan. The government agencies favored investment in Japanese manufacturing facilities, especially those in the export sector.
As Japanese citizens grew wealthier, by the 1980s they looked for ways to store and enhance the wealth they were accumulating as a result of their hard work. They invested in the Japanese stock market and even more vigorously in Japanese real estate. In the late 1980s, the Japanese real estate bubble grew so large that the emperor's palace in central Tokyo was said to be worth more than the state of California. Of course, the bubble burst a year later, and Japan entered a lost decade that included wealth losses equal to nearly three years of national income followed by persistent deflation and generally stagnant growth.

Not only that, but the average person cannot afford a home in China. This is a problem in Japan, in Taiwan, and now in China. These countries all pursued very similar policies.

China Currency

2011-05-03T07:20:00.002+08:00

"So far, there has been no announced change in China’s currency policy. But the People’s Bank of China allowed the currency to rise more quickly in April than previous months, and on Friday set its target level for the yuan at 6.49 — the lowest since the early 1990s."

Well, its been trading at 6.53 for a long time...how much lower is 6.49 in percentage terms?

Less than 1% different. Yawn. Major currencies are swings around like a bunch of drunks playing crack the whip, and the RMB just slowly, ever so slowly appreciates.

But there is a glimmer of light at the end of my speculative tunnel...

'Meanwhile, officials from the People’s Bank of China have begun speaking in public about using the exchange rate as a way to control inflation — an approach that top Chinese officials have in the past tried to minimize. Monetary policy committee member Xia Bin said in a news Web site interview that rising prices might require a “one-off” jump in the value of the renminbi as well as “long-run, gradual appreciation.”
It is “a must,” he said, “unless we don’t want the economy growing ... and don’t want internationalization.”'

Dude, did I just see an actual monetary official say they may need a "one-off" AND gradual appreciation? SWEET.

I guess I need to apply this to Taiwan a bit...if the RMB appreciates, most likely the NTD will match it. Good news for teachers sending money back home and people who buy imported beer. Potentially bad for exporters.

Sesame Street Economics

2011-04-30T00:02:00.003+08:00

One of these 4 is not like the others!

If you had to choose, which of these currencies would you guess is "manipulated?"

By the way, if you look at percentage change, say over the last week when the dollar has plummeted, you will also find it interesting that one currency rose only about half as much as the other currencies. Any guess what currency that might be?

Now, to be fair, that currency over the last 5 years has fallen by about as much as some of the others. But in the week of dollar mayhem, its curious to see which currency seems to just sit suspended in air like Neo in the Matrix.

Over Kill

2011-04-25T04:58:00.006+08:00

So, the AC-130 Spectre Gunship has a 105mm Howitzer, a 40mm Bofors gun, and twin 20mm Vulcan cannons.

The 7.62 mini-guns are optional.

OPTIONAL!

Why not have a 420mm Krupp siege mortar, too?

You know, just in case.

This plane circles around the battle-field, steeply banked so that these guns can fire down to the ground. They basically hose down areas with lead, but are also very accurate.

They are the descendants of Puff the Magic Dragon, a similar aircraft used in Vietnam.

Do other countries not have these? You'd think they would be pretty cheap to develop. Its just mounting guns onto a cargo plane.

Inflation in China

2011-04-18T11:05:00.002+08:00

The thinking among some at the Fed, evident in several public speeches, is linked to a 1997 paper by then-professor Ben Bernanke in which he argued—along with two other academics— that the right response of the central bank to higher oil prices is to do nothing.
The paper argues that it's the central bank's reaction to oil price shocks that creates recessions, not the shock itself.
The best test for using the interest rate tool against commodity prices is whether:
There is a general wage/price spiral
The rise in commodity prices looks to be permanent
Inflation expectations get out of control
One gauge of the first measure is unit labor costs, or the cost of labor per some dollar amount of output. This essentially measures wages relative to productivity.
It is only inflationary for wages to rise if workers are not more productive. They have been very productive the past several years and yet wages have been stagnant. In the past two years, unit labor costs have fallen in five of eight quarters, including the most recent one in the fourth quarter of 2010.

This is a quotation from an article about inflation in the USA, but we can apply it to China:

There is a general wage/price spiral

Wages are going up, ostensibly by government fiat on minimum wages based on the rationale that food costs are going up. They have been going up pretty drastically, too. I am not sure if this is due to the minimum wage increases or those are just lagging actual increased prices for labor. I don't the productivity has gone up at all - maybe the old wages were too low and the new wages are NOT inflationary. But we do have a potential mechanism for a wage/price spiral in China, whereas we do not have that in the USA.

The rise in commodity prices looks to be permanent

Probably is the case if its due to additional demand from China, at least for oil, but maybe not for copper if they ever stop building buildings. But good news! Because houses cost so much, the government will build subsidized, low-cost housing. Doesn't that sound like it will increase the demand for building materials!

Inflation expectations get out of control

I think people in China already assume high growth, increase in prices, increases in land prices, etc. will go one forever. Why else would you buy empty apartment after empty apartment? Of course, the best evidence for this is the fact that interest rates have been hiked already - so the central bank must be worried, and they know more than me.

Fun Facts on Chinese price levels:

20 years or so ago, workers in Fujian province wanted RMB 8 / day in wages. Say RMB 200 a month. Now, the wage level in Dongguan is above RMB 2200.

A man-tou bun sold at 面点王, a chain restaurant, used to cost 1 RMB only a few months ago. Now it costs 4 RMB.

Now there are articles in China about how cheap Bangladesh is, or how cheap Myanmar is. They must be getting worried.

The Times They Are A' Changin'

2011-04-11T23:44:00.001+08:00

Bob Dylan played a concert in Beijing on Wednesday, the American music legend's first ever gig in mainland China.

His visit had to be approved by the national ministry of culture.

Officials said the singer would have to abide strictly by an agreed playlist.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12992837

As if anyone can understand what he is singing now anyways.

Taiwan Weekend Redux

2011-03-28T02:54:00.002+08:00

Denver, CO. July 1-4. Be there or be perpendicular.

Update

2011-03-23T10:38:00.002+08:00

Still snowing in Helena, MT. ENOUGH ALREADY GODS OF WEATHER!

-- practicing law enables one to deal with idiots on a daily basis. kind of like teaching.

-- fantasy baseball draft this weekend, always nice to catch up with Stoney, BigEl, PIMP, Dwayne, etc.

-- shout-out to Dean and his Spiders. Two Richmond schools still alive, not bad. And firm up those dates for Denver. Try to wrap them around a weekend and a Rockies game and we gotta chance. I think PIMP was talking of getting down there at some point as well, let's just make it a party.

-- heading to Houston for a family reunion crawfish boil next weekend. i get to see all my ass backward kinfolk who debate the finer points of Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck. YES!

-- the current legislature in MT has made itself famous nationwide with some unusual bills:

1. a bill stating global warming is good for MT
2. a bill implementing the gold standard
3. a bill nullifying federal rules (nevermind that supremacy clause in the constitution we all love!)
4. a bill adopting the cowboy code as the code of MT (no kidding)
5. a bill legalizing hunting with a spear
6. a bill to give sherriffs authority over the feds in terror cases (amended to make it more cooperative)
7. compulsory marriage counseling for those seeking divorce (i thought tea party folk wanted government out of our life?)
8. legalizing hunting with silencers (don't want to spook the elk away from other hunters -- nevermind the corpse at the elk's feet)
9. require the feds to prove in court national parks were legally obtained ( i reckon this has to do with national monuments and not parks, but I haven't read the bill)
10. withdraw the US from the UN (ummmmm)
11. omit obama from the 2012 ballot bc he was born outside of the US
12. create fully armed militias in every town (yes!)
13. eliminate state incentives for developing wind power (i.e. tax breaks, you know those things we all hate!)
14. allow concealed weapons in courts, churches and bars (so you can drink, pick off the guy sitting next to you, appear in court, go to church on Sunday for forgiveness, and never have to get rid of your piece!)
15. allow guns in schools

This doesn't even touch the abortion bills (16 if them!), the school cuts, the screw the indian bills, the closure of our one veterans home, etc. BTW, Montana is one of the few states in the black...and it's not by a little. Fortunately, some of these bills have been amended, and few, if any, will be passed by both houses and signed by the governor, but Jesus H! Jobs Jobs Jobs was the mantra if I recall. Aaron, I have no doubt you will look into these blurbs and set us straight about how they are helping us find jobs (i.e. cottage spear chucking industry).

3 Paragraphs from AP

2011-03-18T11:28:00.001+08:00

At the same time, the rebels were sending their own warplanes in an attempt to break the regime's assault on Ajdabiya, a city about 100 miles southwest of Benghazi that has been under a punishing siege by Gadhafi's forces the past two days. But by Thursday afternoon, Gadhafi's army were holding the southern, eastern and western outskirts of Ajdabiya.

The unrest in Libya began Feb. 15 in the eastern city of Benghazi and spread east to Tripoli, the capital. Like others in the Mideast, the protest started with popular demonstrations against Gadhafi, rejecting his four decades of despotic and often brutal rule. The tone quickly changed after Gadhafi's security in Tripoli forcefully put down the gatherings there.

Soon rebel forces began arming themselves, quickly taking control of the country's east centered on Benghazi, the second largest Libyan city, with a population of about 700,000. Some Libyan army units joined the rebels, providing them with some firepower, but much less than Gadhafi's remaining forces, and crucially, no air power.

-------------------------------

Can you find the inherent contradiction in this piece?

I guess the editors at AP have some problems coordinating their information.

Sigh

2011-02-28T20:07:00.000+08:00

Every inning of every game? Maybe in another life.

Chinese Vegetarian Challenge

2011-02-18T02:47:00.002+08:00

OK, so we all know about the crazy quirks of Chinese vegetarianism/Buddhism and the inevitable questions they raise:

"What do you mean you can't eat garlic? Its not an animal fer chrissakes!"

"If you buy a caged bird and set it free and it dies a day later because its not a wild bird and has no idea how to survive in the wild, how was that not just the same as killing it?"

"If we all became vegetarian tomorrow, wouldn't the farmers kill all of their cows and isn't that bad?"

and my wife's contribution "You may be vegetarian up there, but you're still eating meat down there." That may be Chinese humor, by the way.

After watching some food show, I now have a new question for the Chinese Vegetarians...and this might even apply to normal veg-heads, too.

The Stone Crab has its claws harvested to be eaten, and then it regrows its claw.

Harvesting is accomplished by removing one or both claws from the live animal and returning it to the ocean where it can regrow the lost limb(s). To be kept, claws must be 2.75 inches (70 mm) long, measured from the tips of the immovable finger to the first joint. If both claws are legal size they may both be taken. Studies by the state of Florida have shown that removing both claws do not harm the Florida stone crab in any way when removed properly. In fact numerous studies have shown that by removing both claws, Florida stone crabs are forced to eat sea grass which has been proven to be more healthy for their diet and regenerate their claws faster and female Florida stone crab have more baby stone crabs since they are unable to fend off the advancements of the male crabs. These studies are what caused the State of Florida to change the laws to allowing two claws to be removed instead of just one. Florida stone crabs are legal for harvest from October 15 until May 15.

So, if you eat Stone Crab claws, you are NOT killing an animal. In fact, by taking both of their claws you make them healthier!

So, its okay for Buddhist vegetarians to eat these crabs right?

Just don't use a garlic sauce and everything will be kosher.

accumulation

2011-02-15T05:38:00.000+08:00

That's it. I've had it. Too much snow. Too few snow days. We need to move.

have a seat

2011-02-07T06:01:00.001+08:00

show cushioned adirondacks

I Call Bullshit

2011-02-07T05:31:00.006+08:00

That the Inuit have a hundred words for snow is a myth.

That I have a hundred phrases marrying snow with curse words is no myth at all.

3 hours of shoveling this latest effing bullshit weekend snow dump has once again led me to explore my curse word vocabulary followed by a nice cool bottle of Russian Standard. Enough snow already!

Enjoy the football game fellers. Go Pack!

great map

2011-02-05T08:39:00.003+08:00

world map labeled with what country's names actually mean -

i thought Taiwan meant super-effing-cool-place-that-i-miss-so-much-cuz-i-never-had-to-shovel-effing-snow-there-bay

Smokes for Karl

2011-01-23T11:42:00.004+08:00

I just watched a video with a 30 year veteran smoker promoting this product. He thought it was great, he switched over in just one day. "Electronic cigarettes so you don't feel like a criminal!"... "You' can't do this on the patch!"

Allen Carr set me straight, and I ain't going back.

Check out the proud kit owners braggin' about making "water-vapour rings",

Inflation in China...a feature not a bug?

2011-01-20T21:49:00.005+08:00

China has had some high inflation this year, 5.1% annualized rate in November, and now 4.6% in December. Those numbers really don't seem that high, and inflation supposedly doesn't get really nasty until wages have to be indexed, creating an inflationary spiral. (Prices go up. Workers demand more money to pay for stuff. Prices then go up again, as labor costs more. Workers then demand yet more money...repeat until you reach Brazil or Argentina.)

So China is fine, right? They don't index wages and have a vast pool of labor to exploit.

Actually, maybe not. Local governments have started to raise minimum wages multiple times this year, and by large amounts. You do this twice in one year and if I was a worker I'd start expecting it.

Workers also went on strike last year (not something usually seen in Communist China) and got big pay raises at a Japanese engine plant. I would imagine that they think they could do that again if needed.

Chinese New Year provides a great excuse for price increases, too. And not just for goods and services. Workers can sit at home and wait until wages go up enough to stir them to go back to the coastal factories. Or just find work near their ancestral homes instead as factories come to them. They may take less for a while to work near home, but I bet the labor arbitrage between coastal and interior China doesn't last long.

This seems to me to getting close to a quasi-indexation of wages - the sort of expectation that you will get more money (and rightfully so as food prices soar in China the workers need it in many respects.) This is what cause runaway inflation, a perception that everything will keep going up in price, so I'd better jack my price up too.

Now, here is my crackpot theory. I think the Chinese powers that be may actually prefer inflation, especially wage inflation, than to have price stability. I think they are letting it happen, perhaps even unintentionally, for the following reasons.

Obviously, one-party rulers that base their legitimacy on delivering the economic goodies have to keep the boom going as long as possible. Who wants to be the Suharto of China? So best to err on the side of boom not bust. Hell, that's the rule in democracies too.

To stop inflation, they would need to raise their domestic interest rates (which are essentially negative now) but that could bust the investment boom and also personally hurt the party princelings who are furiously throwing up villa apartments and hotels.

Or they could let their currency appreciate. That would hurt their export industry which is huge and employs a lot of workers. Plus, it could look like they are caving in to the Americans.

So how about this? Let inflation fly. Raise the minimum wages. The cost of Chinese products goes up but the currency peg is still technically held, and no one looks like they lost face to the Americans. The workers love all of the new raises they are getting. They might feel richer for a while, until they see the price of vegetables. The government actually put price controls on vegetable prices - we know what happens when you do that...less supply of vegetables and rationing in the form of waiting in lines. But it looks like you are doing something. The peasant farmers will complain but the city-dwelling middle class and workers won't. Buy some time and hope America recovers to keep buying Chinese stuff with borrowed money from China.

I solicit opinions on whether this is crazy - is it even possible? Did I completely blow the economics? I have a bunch of RMB sitting in accounts waiting for revaluation that may not come if this is their game plan. Shudder.

Most of the above came from this article.

Chinese Fertility Plunge

2011-01-14T02:15:00.000+08:00

Feeling down about the world?

2011-01-11T03:05:00.004+08:00

Check out this video showing the progress made by humanity.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-24T16:44:00.001+08:00

2010-12-21T21:45:00.007+08:00

I am all for Taiwan, Youth, Anti-Communism, and of course Corps. Who is not?

But I am confused that the leader of the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps 台灣青年反共救國團is an old guy with grey hair. And the people next to him are not exactly spring chickens.

Probably the actual youth members didn't make it in time because they were still preening over their hair

Lighting trees for the Christmas Season

2010-12-10T06:09:00.003+08:00

Last day of work... All trees not sold by December 9th are lit.

internet supervision

2010-11-25T19:05:00.002+08:00

You leave your kids unsupervised with a star wars thread for 5 minutes...

2010-11-08T22:47:00.001+08:00

Call me

Ivan
817-371-5460

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2010-10-31T20:05:00.002+08:00

It started to snow today.

clan of the kevlar

2010-10-31T01:11:00.003+08:00

Kev and fam stopped by 2 weeks ago today.

A fine time had by all.

This was when Kev was a tree.

On-line Advertisement

2010-10-14T08:48:00.002+08:00

Taiwan political parties To learn about Taiwan politics from reliable, official sources!

www.taiwan.gov.tw

Seriously?

1) Why is a democratic government doing advertising this on the internet?

2) Who in their right mind considers "official sources" reliable for political information.

I did not even click the link.

Blast from the past

2010-10-12T06:58:00.003+08:00

It's been a while since I've been on here. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hopefully everyone is well. Not sure how often people check things out here. Is Frenchie still around?

Anyways, I received an email a couple of weeks ago from Jim. We were able to get caught up this past Thanksgiving weekend. Great turkey feast out at my father's place. Just like old times, we recorded the Eagles- 49ers game and came back home to watch late night. We managed to avoid the score in the early evening, fast forward all the commercials and made it to bed just before sunrise. Excellent game! I won't ruin it for those of you heading over to PJ's later.

Just wanted to send a shout out to everyone. We both miss the late night card games, early morning Superbowl's and random evenings spent tipping back bottles of Qing Dao. No need to worry as we caught up on a few missed beers over the years and shared what we had to share about the writers of this blog.

Hope all is well for those left in the ROC and for those who have moved on!

China will increase minimum wages

2010-10-11T15:09:00.002+08:00

I just read an article in the Taipei Times that says China is planning to raise their minimum wage substantially. The analyst said this was as good as a revaluation of the Yuan.

I just googled around and it seems this has already been happening. (Its also interesting that China allows cities and regions to set their own minimum wages.)

Does this mean they are going to raise the minimums again? I know Vietnam did that for a while, which angered people who invested based on certain labor cost assumptions.

My big question is if raising minimum wages is really as good as revaluing the Yuan.

If it is, then I can see China doing this instead of revaluing. You get the same effect (supposedly) but your US treasuries still come due at the original amount in Yuan terms, and your working populace feels richer, too.

Of course, its comical that the same article says that revaluing the Yuan by 20-40% would destroy the export industries...but raising labor costs by 20-30% is fine?

May have to start closing down my RMB accounts if this is the new plan in China. If they export less due to higher wages, the Yuan might depreciate even. Still, I have to wonder if this is really the same as a revaluation.

Damn Straight

2010-10-11T10:35:00.000+08:00

Work in Taichung City - www.hess.com.tw/ - Cheaper Living Than Taipei Convenient and Laid Back Lifestyle

Yahoo Headlines

2010-10-01T08:35:00.003+08:00

Caterpillar to raise prices up to 2 percent

Prediction: The price increases will mainly be in China for their Chinese made product line as cost of labor and other raw materials have gone up. China may get their currency appreciated via localized inflation if they aren't be careful.

Just imagine if China had bought made in the USA Caterpillar products with their export earnings in past years instead of US Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds. China wouldn't have to worry about losing money on the mountain of financial assets. They would have a bunch of earth-movers they need and the USA would have more jobs and consumers for Chinese products.

Trade War with China Looms

2010-09-28T00:12:00.003+08:00

When your average free-market economist like Robert Samuelson says we probably should have a trade war with China, you know the shit is about to hit the fan.

My modest suggestion if we were to have a trade war is not to slap any tariffs on their products - that would violate the WTO agreement. Instead devise a tax on the purchase of treasuries or other US government bonds made by foreign central banks, government institutions etc. The way China keeps its currency low is not just through controlling the exchange rate, but by using all the US dollar funds from exports to buy US financial instruments to "sterilize" their trade surplus from causing a strengthening of their currency.

This would also affect Japan, Taiwan, and Korea who also play the sterilization game to some extent or another. This is important not just because they too should not be manipulating their currencies so much, but also because China has in the past bought Yen with their US dollars. This made the Yen strong which forced Japan to step in and do China's work for them, so to speak.

Now, China could buy private bonds, but those have default risk, which makes their game far more riskier. Also, I am not sure they could find enough bonds to purchase. I would also explicitly remove US government backing from Fannie and Freddie bonds. Let China take some risk of losing money on their US dollar holdings. One reason China is afraid to allow their currency to appreciate normally, is because their mountain of US treasuries and bonds will immediately lose value. Well, adding some risk on the other side might make it more palatable for China to change their position. Personally, I think we should have given them a haircut on their Fannie and Freddie holdings back during the crisis instead of making them whole.

Incoming

2010-09-27T11:25:00.006+08:00

I will arrive in Taichung on Wednesday.

Supposedly only there for a couple of weeks before I go to China for a long stay.

Is anybody left in Taichung now?

I will poor a Kirin down a 7-11 sewer grate in memory of my homies: Bread, Frenchie, Hannibal, Kevlar, Pimp, and Stony. (alphabetically)

Did I miss anyone?

Summer's Over, Slackers

2010-09-14T01:15:00.005+08:00

The governor of California is in China, and is keen on Chinese high speed rail system.

"We want China, for instance, to invest in our high-speed rail, to build high-speed rail, to be part of this bidding process we are going to go through," Schwarzenegger said in a speech in Shanghai.
"Many countries will be bidding to build high-speed rail. And we are also looking for financing from China," he said, lauding the "great potential" for increasing trade between China and California.

This is causing a hoopla in California for various reasons, but let's break this down carefully, because The Terminator was not clear what Cali is looking for:

1) China is part of the bidding process = China SELLING us some or all of a high speed rail system

2)China investing in the system = China actually OWNING some or all of the high speed rail system.

3) China financing the system = China LENDING us money to buy their rail system.

Now, some people in California are worried about China "owning" the rail system - that would be option 2. Personally, since I am not sure if high-speed rail even makes money in Europe or Asia, which have higher population density, more public transport links, and shorter distances between cities, I have to wonder if letting the Chinese put some skin in the game isn't a good idea. The problem will be that if the system fails - will it be bailed out? Of course it will! But that will happen in any case. Maybe it would be better to get at least some Chinese money in there.

The most likely is option 1 & 3: the Chinese lend us the money, probably conditional on buying their equipment. If they are smart, the money they lend will not be tied to the success of the project. So, if it fails to make money, they still get paid back. I think the governor probably "misspoke" when he used the word "invest" and meant lending the money to buy their system.

MY COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS, BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT CALIFORNIA CAN ACT JUST LIKE CHINA DOES:

1) Demand that all of the materials and equipment used in this project be built in California by Joint Ventures with California firms, where the California firms own 51% of the JV. Of course, technology transfer is part of that, including a waiver for any accidental IP infringement that happens along the way.

2) Make sure to invite lots and lots of Chinese provincial officials over and explain to them about Environmental Impact Reports. The Chinese officials should eventually figure out that you can hold up anything with these, and while CA officials cannot reap any economic rents from this, Chinese could. Make sure to offer some technology transfer of our own in this way, by training up thousands of Chinese students to become lawyers. Nothing like lawsuit after lawsuit in China to make America look better.

3) The entire deal must be financed using State of California IOU's, which will be exchanged to the RMB at a rate set by the State of California, subject to change as the State sees fit.

4) As per the bankruptcy of GITIC in 1999, all State backed bonds and State guarantees can be considered worthless. You foreigners pays your money and takes your chances.

Where's Waldo?

2010-08-16T02:10:00.003+08:00

I went to Pj's twice. I went by the farm three times. I'm thinking he has moved, but people say he is around, Petra went to Texas and John did not move into a Tao-Feng.

CELL PHONE, Not yer number, My number: Kevin 0923289890

"Don't make me no never mind"

Ever have that feeling your shouting, but all your going to get is an ECHO!

I'm the guy catching the 11:53 Wednesday to Maple Land, and I doubt I will be near Lubbock anytime.

Globalization means...

2010-08-14T15:50:00.004+08:00

The most wanted person in my hometown is Amandeep Singh Dhami, who is apparently part of a Punjabi gang in Sacramento.

MOST WANTED PERSON
AMANDEEP SINGH DHAMI

photo 1
Sex: Male
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 200 lbs
Date of birth: 9/17/1984
Tattoos: On forearms:"Loyalty" "916" "Soorma" "Punjabi"
Bail Amount: No Bail Amount
Wanted For: Murder. Attempted Murder. Discharge of a firearm in grossly negligent fashion.

UPDATE:

They have their own youtube channel.

"SUCK MY MOTHAFUCKAS. YA'LL KNOW WHO WE ARE NIGGA. QUICK TO PULL THE TRIGGER. AND WE FRM SAC HOMIE. WE OUR OWN SHIT. WE DN'T NEED NOBODY OR FOLLOW SUM NIGGAS. ALL U FOBS NEED TO STEP YO WIEGHT UP. AND BEATZ RAP. AHAHA CUM SEE NIGGA. I STAY ON GERBER U PUNKASS NIGGA. WE ARE KINGS OF THE SOUTH NIGGA. AMERIKAZ MOST WNTED U FAGGOT ASS NIGGGA. RUN UP OR SHADUP MOTHAFUCKAS. AND 5RIVER FLOWZ. MY CUZION IS OLD SCHOOL UNION CITY HOW U GNNA TELL U WHO PUT PUNJABIS ON MAP? RUNS IN MY FAM NIGGA. BAY 2 SAC WE KEEPIN HUNDID"

Glad to see they are assimilating correctly.

Update

2010-08-13T22:26:00.001+08:00

2.5 cups of Rhubard to 1 cup of cherries and 1 cup of sugar, with a little extra pectin to make up for the lack of sugar yields a phenomenal cherry rhubarb jam.

How to Make a Poker Table 2004

2010-08-13T10:45:00.002+08:00

I just found this on a disc and uploaded it to youtube.

It is just a little creepy how thing we once were.

Typical Astros Fan?

2010-08-11T08:20:00.000+08:00

2010-08-11T00:41:00.007+08:00

Fridge great shape 220L paid 11500 will sell for 5000, will help you carry it. Rough dimensions 160 * 55 * 52 cm.

Motorcycle all legal, all yours 5000 or best offer. Works fine, fun to drive, but older. I did pay 7000 to have the engine rebuilt last year.

Kevin's cell number 0923289890 texting is better. leaving ASAP or August 18.

5000 for wheels is CHEAP!
5000 for an excellent beer fridge is a STEAL!

I long ago completed the contract on my Taiwan DA KA DA SIM card, Can I sell it? Just change the address the bill is sent to??? Use it, pay the bill, and use it some more. I guess I could if the convenience was worth anything.

Bus Trip

2010-08-10T14:29:00.004+08:00

The wife made me do this, claiming that Taiwanese run tour buses are the best way to travel. I thought it would suck, and it did.

It was your basic "checklist" tour - you know, the kind where the Asian tourists flood out to get their picture taken in front of certain specific "classic" landmarks to show their friends. I am sure westerners do this too - maybe low budget tour groups of Italy? God forbid you didn't hit the classic place or went off the beaten path...and multiple tour groups were on literally the exact same route. We were racing about 7-12 buses full of other Chinese/Taiwanese tourists. They even stop at the exact same Flying J truck stops. Maybe that company should put in a Panda Express because they already sell kitschy tourist stuff to these folks..

The bus portion of this trip thus was prodigious. 8:00 a.m. departure and arriving at the next Best Western chosen for its low cost at about 10:00 p.m. or later. Meals taken on the bus annoyed the wife, but it got me some Subway sandwiches instead of the normal greasy Chinese buffet. The wife ended up hating the Chinese Buffets, which universally sucked. (OK, one Vietnamese-Chinese place was good, but it was not a buffet.)

Locations we visited:

Arches National Park - Utah

Crazy Horse Monument - S. Dakota

Mount Rushmore - S. Dakota

some animal park

Yellowstone - 5 places each for about 30-45 minutes

Grand Teton - stopped at a lodge for a photo op, then left...

SLC - Copper mine, Salt Lake, Mormon Temple, State capitol.

Oh, and Vegas, which was where we started and finished up the trip. Ended up so exhausted that we did nothing in Vegas. I don't like casinos anyways.

The wife decided on day 2 that bus tours suck. Or at least this one did. Not much comfort for me as I knew we had many more days of hell.

Oh, and as a bonus, the guide spent a few hours on the bus discussing which vitamins should be taken, and how Chinese people in America should be like the Jews and Unions and keep close and collude to keep profits for themselves. Like the Koreans, who supposedly collude to keep the price of tofu-hot pot at 8.99. Also, don't drink coca-cola. Cola is bad for you. The same thing I have heard from every Taiwanese for 10 years. (The cola thing.)

He was a good guide, though. I did remind him that not just Chinese people built the railroads - the Irish did too, and he incorporated that factoid into one of his speeches.

Oh, when we visited the Mormons, they brought out their international hotties to show us around. We had a Taiwanese Mormon who had a huge flag of Taiwan button. (All the hotties had their countries' flag as a button.) I was interested in that these tour groups are now 50%-90% Chinese now. I was going to be a smart-ass about this and ask some "innocent" question about her flag, but I shut up. I wonder if China would allow missionaries in if they dropped the Taiwan flag? I also did not ask my Bin Lang question.

Updates, Updates and more Updates

2010-08-04T07:32:00.013+08:00

What a week it has been for phone calling here in Montana. I have spoken with Red A, Kevlar, Stoney/Rye, and Hannibal. Hell, I called up J-Ho just to see if he would answer his phone (word to the wise, he still doesn't). Here are the relevant news topics covered:

Hannibal is coming up for a weekend of camping and hiking over labor day. He is concerned about reserving a campsite. (note, it's Monfuckingtana! we got woods, plenty of 'em!).

Kevlar is moving home to a Halifax pier. He is concerned about reserving a plane ticket. (note, they fly daily).

Stoney is working in a town that boasts the world's longest covered bridge. He is concerned about reserving dinner at the fair.

Red A is in Yellowstone on a Taiwanese bus tour of the American west (two thousand miles, four parks, five days). He is concerned about reserving a spot up front to see Old Faithful.

I, on the otherhand, have been preserving. Flathead Cherry/Neighbor's yard Rhubarb (below left), Jalepeno/Pineapple, Strawberry Rhubarb, and Mixed Berry (huckleberries, blackberries, strawberries with a hint of pineapple). Post jamming festivities also featured for anyone interested (over under is one, below right).

We actually made three different types of cherry rhubarb jam in an attempt to find out the proper ratios. They have all set nicely, so I guess the only thing left to do is try them out to find out how much rhubarb is necessary to tarten up a cherry jam.

Caution the "F" word in action!

2010-08-03T15:19:00.005+08:00

Summer school...
it may be applicable ?

My cycle hums....

Afghan Photo

2010-07-31T02:12:00.002+08:00

Ala Sesame Street: "One of these people is not like the other...."

What's the deal with the green looking dude?

New guy, not enough dust yet on his uniform?

Photo-shopped from Vietnam war movie?

Everyone else is hitting the dirt and grimacing. Green dude is upright looking like a cool customer, at least from the neck down.

Sorry, I missed this one

2010-07-29T05:30:00.002+08:00

I have been sick, but apparently our audience demands frequent postings...

Yeah, I hate videos where Sarah Palin mud wrestles Obama to the ground in the end...yep, totally horrible. Of course, we know Obama would let her win - no man is going to fight a chick.

So far in this series of videos, I will note the following errors:

1) Monica Lewinski was nowhere near as slim as the video made her out to be.

2) Sarah Palin would know enough about weapon safety to not allow her kin to fire rounds off into the air during her inauguration.

People of Walmart

2010-07-26T00:30:00.004+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the United States of America. I just spent twenty minutes on this blog thinking, wow, these are my compatriots? Makes a Houston boy in Montana proud.

Sam's Poker

2010-07-22T11:44:00.004+08:00

Poker night was a long one. At some point Soho Sam said he wanted a poker table. Since the chess man is moving to Taipei, I stole a hand truck and delivered the table to Sam's door.
Seven years,the construction date on the table is July 2003.
Brit Bread would not like his photo here on this post.

Super Smart Asian Kids with 5.0 GPA

2010-07-22T07:42:00.005+08:00

Wow, how do they do it?

I have just been informed that you can get your local Taiwanese high school or Chinese high school to provide you with falsified grades. You see, you tell them you are moving to America and they will helpfully convert and C's or D's to straight A's.

I am not sure if any money changes hands.

Cleveland vid part 2

2010-07-21T22:17:00.002+08:00

Cleveland Tourist Video Part II - (made prior to Lebron's departure)

Land of Cleves

2010-07-21T22:00:00.003+08:00

Our road trip to Ohio went swimmingly. Approx. 3500 km round trip NB to Cleveland and back or 20 hours one way. Kids were great. Weather was scorchin'. Grass is burnt south of Lake Erie. How did people travel with kids before portable DVD players?

Anywho, I have to visit Cleveland every now and then and here's why the rest of you should too...

(and, no, this is NOT Cleveland...ugh... rocks)..

run time 51 secs - very catchy

Heavy Seas

2010-07-13T12:35:00.002+08:00

I've been involved in trade for about 20 years now. Only lost one container at sea. It was a container of glass beads, so maybe some archeologist in 1000 years will discover it.

Anyways, here's a youtube medley of tribute to how your ipod got to you in one piece.

Now, how about getting me some fish sticks, bitch?

Scratch Yard Sale Off the List

2010-07-09T07:23:00.005+08:00

My neighbors were my best customers. Toys, tools, CDs, DVDs, pots, dishes, shelves, jeans, hand bags, books, all gone at rock bottom prices.

Between the heat and carrying boxes down the stairs I got pretty tired. A neighbor bought me a bud and a Heinie at 10 am to beat the heat, bless her little heart. What I did not sell fell into the recycling bin.

Only the basics are left: Car, Motorcycle, TV, Fridge.

TV TV TV 37" BENQ FULL HD

2010-07-08T18:41:00.003+08:00

Like this but better! Paid 20 000nt in February. You can run over to Carrefoure and buy one today
for 19 500nt.
My TV is new, and I still have the packing and manuals.
I would try to return it if I had, Brett's temper and Aaron's language skills.

Bottom line 16 000nt delivered to your door step. Yes, I will try tea lit.

Refrigerator

2010-07-08T18:24:00.006+08:00

Like the photo, but has a few stickers and magnets.
Grey in Color bought new in 2006 for 11000 at 3C. Would like to sell for 6500 nt.
HITACHI 220 liters, pretty much only used for drinks.

Leave a message, I'll get back to you.

North Korean Traffic Girls

2010-07-08T09:32:00.002+08:00

This might actually make North Korea a contender. Kudos to the Great Leader!

Updated Animated Political Sex

2010-07-05T11:32:00.001+08:00

NOW WITH CLINTON ZIPPING UP HIS PANTS.

Updated Animated Political Sex

2010-07-05T11:32:00.000+08:00

NOW WITH CLINTON ZIPPING UP HIS PANTS.

Russian Spy - Taiwan animated news...

2010-07-03T13:09:00.000+08:00

Taichung AmCham's poster for some unknown day

2010-07-03T09:56:00.005+08:00

For the past several years I have contacted Taichung AmCham about their re-naming of our Independence Day. No response. But at least this year they have moved it from the skull-splitting friendly, bricks and concrete venue of Tiger City to a place where grass can actually be seen. And they compiled all the details you need to know for you day of fun in this cute, little poster.

The eagle had to be done by a local who took a visit to the Taipei zoo for reference - mangy, sickly and buck-shot ridden.

America Day. What a bunch of holes (takes one to know one). PJ pointed out that they even got the day wrong - Saturday, July 4th. He is also of the opinion that AmCham refuses to call it by the correct name because they are infested with a bunch of KMT-loving roundeyes who are scared to use the word independence. I always thought they were just plain stupid, but who knows, he may be right. Regardless, there is no such thing as America Day and to anyone who can prove me wrong I will gladly pay 10 monies.

I'm off to Guam to celebrate Independence Day and see if any F-22 pilots would be interested in AmCham's office coordinates.

Gorebot Sex Video

2010-06-26T09:50:00.001+08:00

And, yes, this video is now being spread around the United States and the world...Taiwan, leading the world in simulated sex tapes.

Cadillac

2010-06-25T14:32:00.003+08:00

20,000 NT or best offer ( $ 600 CDN)
New starter, new timing belt,
all road taxes and speeding tickets paid.

Cheap and easy.

Mountain Man

2010-06-25T12:54:00.005+08:00

While surveying an old homestead two weeks ago I came across this old gentleman, Archie. He was more than happy to talk...and talk...and talk some more. His family had homesteaded the area north of Missoula back in the 19th century and he had lived in the old house his entire life. No kids, no wife, no worries for this character. Over the weekend, some friends and I were looking for a place to go shooting. One of them is going through a divorce and needed to blow off some steam. So we loaded up the car, drove to the hills and went to visit my new friend.

We showed up at Archie's house around eleven, and he didn't immediatly answer. We sat around bullshitting for about ten minutes when he stumbled outside looking a bit worse for the wear. We asked him what he was up to and here was his response:

Well, last night my buddy and I ended up at Fred's (the local titty joint on the Interstate, a rough location with rough looking women). Then we went into Missoula to grab a hamburger and somehow ended up at the Fox Club (another titty joint, a bit more upscale). I can't remember what time I got home, but if I don't get some coffee in me soon, my head's gonna explode.

85 and still looking at titties -- I hope I'm as interested should I live that long. He gave us permission to shoot on his property, got his coffee, and came out and joined us. He picked off gophers at 150 yards and encouraged us to find the coyote that had been hassling his calves. While picking off coke cans, he regaled us with stories ranging from the times of street cars in Missoula to replacing the transmission in his Chevy blazer two years ago to what's really going to happen with all the oil in the gulf (in short, he's not optimistic). After shooting for an hour, he told us to wait. He went inside and brought out his dad's old Colt revolver in perfect condition. We shot it for awhile, but not near as well as he. We wrapped up our visit to the Carlson homestead with Natural Light on the porch and bid Archie adieu. I reckon we'll be visiting again soon.

Asshats In Taiwan

2010-06-25T11:01:00.006+08:00

Warning! The following photo shows a graphic image of a deranged man mutilating flesh. Never - NEVER - attempt this at home. Or at a park. Or, or... anywhere else on Planet Earth.

For those too lazy to click and read the caption, here is the salient part: American Institute in Taiwan Director William Stanton, right, demonstrates yesterday how to prepare a T-bone steak in the American Pavilion at this year's Food Taipei, the Taipei International Food Show.

(Not pictured: bottle of A-1 sauce; boiled Beluga caviar and peanut butter sandwich; 1959 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Pauillac and 7-Up spritzer)

Jesus wept. Tom Perini threw up. I'm suing. If that don't put beans in your chili, I don't know what does.

Mandarin Swear Words

2010-06-18T18:18:00.003+08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese_profanity

Executive Summary:

bàojúhuā (爆菊花) = explode the chrysanthemum (anus), i.e., insert the penis into the anus

cào nǐ zǔzōng shíbā dài (肏你祖宗十八代) = fuck your ancestors to the eighteenth generation

wángbā (王八) / wàngbā (忘八) = cuckold; this was an insult as early as the Song dynasty.

wángbādàn (王八蛋, informal simplified: 王八旦) / wàngbāgāozi (王八羔子) = bastard (lit. "turtle egg" and "turtle kid.")

wǒ kào (我靠 or 我尻) – "Well fuck me!", "Fuck!", "Fuckin' awesome!" or "Holy shit!" (Originally from Taiwan, this expression has spread to the mainland, where it is generally not considered to be vulgar. 尻originally meant "butt.")

There are many, many more insults in the link.

Another Fine Japanese Candy Product

2010-06-17T18:49:00.003+08:00

Salt in your Coffee - Its not just for Taiwanese anymore

2010-06-17T12:09:00.001+08:00

85C has opened a store in Irvine, CA.

I have never been to an 85C before - any good?

They have special sea-salt cream foam in their coffee.

and squid ink buns...

Oh hell - read the much better NPR story.

F this, F that

2010-06-14T12:08:00.002+08:00

Finga's FM Fatty's Fubar Full House

to follow Falut and Fj's link to full house

Watched my first full rugby game on Saturday warming up for "the footie".
Spent 7 hours plowing through beer tickets, 4 draft 300nt. The bubbly cure all juice for the FIFA world cup fever.

footie, FIFA, Fever,
got more F's then Dr.Zeuss' beaver.

A Game for Frenchy

2010-06-10T15:51:00.002+08:00

"Icing" is a new viral drinking game involving Smirnoff Ice.

Rules, etc. are explained here.

Smirnoff Ice was a popular "desert" drink after a session during the time of Frenchy. We just didn't make it a game and force people to drop to a knee to slam it. Its supposed to be savored - dammit.

Stalin Still Rules

2010-06-09T22:45:00.003+08:00

Re the ongoing North Korea fetish.

'NK -the most bizarre country in the world' by Sue Lloyd Roberts.

I showed the correspondent's mini documentary last week to a World Issues class.

This scene, included in the report and republished in the above link, floored me (I'll link to the doc if I can find it again) :

"I visited model farms, model villages, model factories and model schools, though, at the school, even my government minders looked faintly embarrassed when I asked a model pupil in an English language class who he admired most among modern world leaders and he answered: "Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong."

Reportedly rounding out his top five were Ho Chi Minh, Nicolae Ceausescu and Enver Hoxha.

Sanctions Busting

2010-06-09T16:05:00.003+08:00

One advantage of living in Taiwan, is that since they aren't recognized by the UN, they don't have to worry about complying with global boycotts or sanctions.

In my 18 years in Taiwan, I have broken the following sanctions/boycotts:

1) I drank South African beer when South Africa was still under the trade embargo. It was good and cheap at Circle K and other locations.

2) I bought a winter coat made in Vietnam, when the United States wasn't doing business with Vietnam. I always wondered about making winter coats in a hot, humid country - like making surf boards in Siberia.

3) I smoked Cuban cigars in Taiwan, and even took a few back to the States. Shhhhhh, don't tell Homeland Security.

4) Last week-end, Dean-o bought some pistachios to share at Mom & Pop's. They were from Iran. I have checked pistachios in Taiwan for a long time, and they are always from California - so this was a first.

Dean-o of course told me he actually bought a bottle of North Korean soju. This depressed me as I realized I was missing North Korean products in my line-up now.

Luckily, I found a company that sells jeans made in North Korea: nokojeans. I may have a pair sent to me to achieve my final illicit purchase.

I wonder if the jeans are made from Vinalon? That would be a key selling point.

UPDATE: US$ 231.00 for a pair of jeans...may have to wait a while for that to be possible.

Umami - George Foreman Jedi's Favorite Taste

2010-06-07T11:41:00.004+08:00

Sorry for the blank post - this pic would not load up and I just said "fuck it."

Apparently from comments, people did like the new, empty format. Go figure.

Sitting around at Mom and Pops on a Sunday without the internet means that you have some serious googling to do on Monday.

Umami:

Umami, also referred to as savoriness, has been proposed as one of the basic tastes sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human and animal tongue. Umami (旨味^?) is a loanword from Japanesemeaning "good flavor" or "good taste" (noun).^[1] In English, however, "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have been proposed as alternative translations.^[2]^[3] In as much as it describes the flavor common to savory products such as meat, cheese, and mushrooms, umami is similar to Brillat-Savarin's concept of osmazome, an early attempt to describe the main flavoring component of meat as extracted in the process of making stock.

Also, if anyone is interested in World Cup Soccer, you can watch the Germany-Greece match here. Its like a 3 minute highlight clip - highly recommended.

the dread scarlet lily beetle

2010-06-07T00:38:00.005+08:00

These little bastards have made swiss cheese out of my lilies.

I've tried squashing, mashing, stomping, burning, roasting and drowning them.

They hump constantly and squeal and kick their legs when hunted.

Soapy water helps to block their breathing but like any insect with a foothold they're hard to exterminate completely.

A local science teacher suggested beer. They're quickly drawn to the aroma and plunge into a drunken doom.

The last search of my garden turned up none but they'll soon be back.

Just wondering if any other Howdlings are familiar with these annoying creatures.

2010-06-04T17:30:00.000+08:00

Gone Rockin' II

2010-05-25T14:05:00.004+08:00

Who let the DAWGZ OUT!!

Saturday, what a day.....

Thomas Friedman - China for a Day

2010-05-25T13:49:00.008+08:00

[The center]'s been decimated by everything from the gerrymandering of political districts to cable television to an Internet where I can create a digital lynch mob against you from the left or right if I don't like where you're going, to the fact that money and politics is so out of control--really our Congress is a forum for legalized bribery. You know, that's really what, what it's come down to. So I don't--I, I--I'm worried about this, it's why I have fantasized--don't get me wrong--but that what if we could just be China for a day? I mean, just, just, just one day. You know, I mean, where we could actually, you know, authorize the right solutions, and I do think there is a sense of that, on, on everything from the economy to environment. I don't want to be China for a second, OK, I want my democracy to work with the same authority, focus and stick-to-itiveness. But right now we have a system that can only produce suboptimal solutions.

Thomas Friedman has been saying this for a while now. I think he really does not know very much about China. Let's review:

1) The fantasy of "Let's be dictator for a day" needs to include the bad things that happen under dictatorships, not just the good things. You cannot claim you will simply implement the "good ideas" because the "bad ideas" always start off as good ideas. The Great Leap Forward was called the Great Leap Forward for a reason. It was going to be awesome. It ended up being a "bad idea" though. Same thing happens on a smaller scale in China, too. Just see the derelict white elephant buildings littering the countryside.

2) If you think China has better control over corruption than the USA, and that being China for a day would work, you'd better think again. Being China for a day, means everyone would have to fork over red envelopes to all manner of low level officials. Pro-tip: take that day off and don't attempt to renew your license at the DMV. You will save some money.

3) If you can identify beneficial aspects of China's decision making versus ours, then why not attempt to reform those parts of our system that lag rather than simply copy the whole shebang. Let me assist Mr. Friedman here with an example. Say you wanted to build a high speed rail system in the United States and in China. Check out the reason our progress lags so much slower, such as environmental impact reports, historic preservation, or the prevailing wage rule. If its better in China why do it just for a day? Reform the US instead. Most likely, when confronted by why China really is "faster" than the US at implementing policies, it will more often look like a bug than a feature.

But who knows, maybe they do streamline some procedures, most likely because poor countries really, really want development, whereas rich countries are way more into NIMBYism.They have not had the time to create vast structures of licensing, regulation, inspectors, etc., that the USA has. You need to throw up a dirt road to build your new factory - just do it. You probably don't even need to bribe someone for that. I am sure in the USA, this would involve a lot more paperwork. I don't think Thomas Friedman really is a fan of less government and less regulation, do you? Otherwise why does he think the Chinese government is actually the driver of growth in China rather than the private sector. The high speed rail wasn't built for the 5 year plan and the worker's needs, but for the use of rapacious factory owners and their middle class children to visit Guangzhou in a speedy fashion.

In conclusion, Thomas Friedman is an idiot.

HALLELUJAH!

2010-05-24T16:34:00.002+08:00

North Korea now has a YouTube channel.

Looks like my evenings are now booked.

That is the official channel. You can also find the channel "supernorthkorea"and "SunofSongun" as well.

Bonus YouTube channel: American Party of Labor "We love Stalin" (and who doesn't?)

Sign of the Times

2010-05-19T15:59:00.003+08:00

Yahoo Finance is usually a place of boring investment advice via Suze Orman, or that Japanese dude who somehow was catapulted to financial advice stardom from his unfathomable Rich Dad Poor Dad book.

Today, we see something a bit more exotic.

How To Profit From the Sovereign Debt Crisis

They include such ideas as shorting the Japanese Yen, getting out of Treasuries, and buying Gold.

Now, nothing against trying some of these ideas...you can also short the S&P (ticker: SDS) or whatever.

(NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE - I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT TO DO ANYMORE.)

But these are getting a bit beyond "Buy index funds and hunker down" or "Choose quality stocks."

You are betting against governments. You know, the people with the guns and the printing presses.

Still, it says something when average people who see their money sitting at zero percent in their bank have to consider such ballsy schemes to get some return. And inflation may happen which means you really do have to consider that, if you are on fixed income.

I can only suspect that within a few months, the Yahoo Finance Page will be debating the merits of different brands of rifles and where ammo can still be bought.

The precious metals...Gold....Silver...Lead?

p.s. If the Gold Bugs win...oh man will that suck. Yes, I did buy some Silver - Canadian Maple Leafs in fact. But Gold Bugs are insufferable.

Arab Geek King

2010-05-14T09:04:00.005+08:00

King Abdullah of Jordan appeared in a cameo role on Star Trek: TNG when he was younger.

Now, he has a new book out about peace in the Middle East.

Our Last Best Chance for Peace?

Are you shitting me?

The dude used the tag line from Bablyon 5 for his book title!

Ok, the Bablyon 5 intro piece says "Our Last Best Hope for Peace" but you just know he got that from the series...anyone else could claim ignorance, but a Trekkie? No way.

So, which ones are Hamas?

Various Shite

2010-05-13T18:40:00.002+08:00

A) Hearsay on the Deep Purple concert I avoided:

1) J-hole got drunk and fell down twice in Taipei.
2) A photo exists of Dean in a compromising position in a Hooters...somebody post it.

B) Of all the Chinese accents, the most incomprehensible to me is the Hunan accent. I pretty much can guess who is from Hunan just by gasping the fact that I have no idea what the person is saying. and they say "FuNan" which is sort of the opposite of Taiwanese who pronounce F's like H's sometime...

C) I have decided that Taiwan has the best inexpensive "lunch box" style meals in Greater China, Hong Kong the worst.

D) Chinese supermarkets have improved a lot. I actually saw food I would eat there. Even the bread looked edible. Snicker's bars now available as well. They were also selling frozen pizza, including a Taiwanese style pizza...That would involve corn I assume.

E) Back in Taiwan - started drinking straight from the airport to Fubar. Ugggggh. Rough week-end that has now transitioned to a rough week.

F) Does anyone know if you can buy silver coins in Taiwan? I know they sell gold stuff, but the only price I found for silver coins from Bank of Taiwan were really expensive.

Sorry for the dumb ass nature of this post...

Gone Rockin'

2010-05-08T10:13:00.003+08:00

I'll be out of pocket today and tomorrow, so no phone calls or text messages. Today is Deep Purple day in Taipei and there's a great lineup. On lead vocals we have, of course, Esquire Willy. (Leading to the) Front man, Mr. Bean. D-Wayne is in charge of the pyros, Brit Paul is technical engineer and token ginger and I will be playing the Macolm McLaren role of encouraging excess and reaping the profits. There may be a couple of special appearances. Union Sam is wishy-washy in his commitment and AJ expressed interest but has not confirmed. As I got off my scooter at the Internet cafe I saw AJ speeding south on his scooter, laden with backpack, fanny pack and snack pack. Time to go to the train station. I'm sure there will be pictures later.

Shout-out

2010-05-06T10:03:00.002+08:00

If I remember correctly, Dean-O's old man played for Tottenham back in the day. They have recently qualified for Champions League play for the first time since the 1960's. Kudos to them. Though I've been an Everton supporter in honor of Bald Titty and their American keeper Tim Howard, I might just pull the dreaded P.J. double fandom for next year's Premiership. I'll lift one vodka-cran for you and your late father tonight Dean, congrats.

In other news, I was sworn in as an attorney for the State of Montana yesterday. I received my results and found out my scores were solid enough to qualify me to waive into Minnesota and North Dakota, as well as the District of Columbia. That's kind of neat considering Montana lacks reciprocity with any state (only Minnesota and ND allow you to waive in based on bar results from Montana). Kudos to me.

Spent the month of April kicking it with Jim. We attended several Rockies games and even managed to squeeze in an Astros - Phillies game on the boob tube. Good times in Denver (which is just a few short hours from Lubbock, J-Hole). Now I'm back in Montana and contemplating my next move. I'll keep checking gas lines while determining exactly where I want to end up. Are there attorney positions in Palau available to American lawyers?

Phillies Fan Tasered

2010-05-05T06:39:00.002+08:00

Did everyone hear about this? Link to video.

What does this mean for the streakers of the world?

Taichung IntraBlog Meeting:Esquire Willy & J-Hole

2010-05-01T09:43:00.001+08:00

Check out Greg Zaun!

2010-04-28T10:36:00.003+08:00

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=7677663