whatsthehaps

Are you thinking again? Well, before I met you guys I came up with this really great idea. Why not find a nice Chinese girl, hmmm. I knew the kind of person I was looking for so I did. Then I come to find out that it is difficult and there are all these people with my idea! In fact I found out that I was not even close! Things should not be this tough or ridiculous. I'm sure criminals go about other methods than these to get in.

Did they give you any information on detoxifying your child? Lead is extremely bad. http://www.epa.gov/lead/ http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/sec...ter263/263b.jsp http://www.psychologymatters.org/needleman.html Does Your Home Need Detox? http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/...pring/detox.htm http://www.detox.org/masterchart.html Lead is one of a number of substances termed a "heavy" metal, all of which are either very difficult or impossible for the body to process out. Lead poses the greatest danger to babies and young children whose developing brains and neurological systems are very susceptible to its devastating effects, which include learning disabilities, behavioral problems, reduced IQ, mental retardation, academic failure, brain damage, neuropsychological deficits, hyperactive behavior and attention deficit disorder, antisocial (criminal) behavior, as well as seizures, coma, and death at very high levels. Make no mistake that it is a deadly chemical. The good news is that since its use as a motor fuel additive was banned in 1968 and its inclusion in house paints also subsequently prohibited, the average levels of lead found in children's blood has dropped significantly over the past 20 years. Nonetheless, The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) found that about 1.7 million US children under the age of six still had blood levels above the Center for Disease Control's "safe" level. Here are the major tips for avoiding lead contamination. More information is available and if you have young children in a home that was built or painted prior to 1978 (which includes an estimated 83 percent of privately owned housing units built in the US), we urge you to seek it out by calling the National Lead Information Center at 1-800 424 LEAD. 1. If you have small children in an older home with double-hung windows, only open the top window. This reduces the amount of tiny paint chips from oxidizing paint that rain down onto the window sills and floors in the area of the window. If you do keep the bottom window open, the area should be mopped frequently with a solution of trisodium phosphate (TSP). 2. If you're doing remodeling, again, we urge you to seek more information from the National Lead Information Center at 100-424-LEAD. Lead paint removal is complicated and preventing contamination will require either a lot of planning, or the services of a qualified contractor. Plan your remodeling so that children will not be around when old paint is removed. You must also be careful that paint removed from the outside of the structure does not fall down on the ground around the home as it will contaminate the soil. 3. Before drinking tap water (we don't think that in most cases, this is a very good idea anyway), let it run at least one to three minutes in the morning or anytime it has not been used for six hours orlonger. Tap water standing in old pipes may dissolve unhealthy amoungs of lead from pipes or solder. A good quality filter, however, will eliminate lead. [Link href to Water Filters] 4. When installing or repairing plumbing, make sure the solder used is lead free. 5. Avoid eating and drinking from imported ceramics, china and crystal that may contain lead. 6. If you have an old bathtub, replace it with a new one not covered with a lead-based glaze. 7. Do not eat vegetables or fruits grown very close to busy roads or highways. Residual contamination from leaded gasoline may still be in the soil. http://www.detox.org/lead.html

I'm here in Hawaii. Reply or send me a message if you need anything while you're here. 208542[/snapback] Please send Papayas. My wife loves them. Ate them just about every day. 208745[/snapback] I take it you are going to Oahu then? I've never had a passport issue, I never had a passport then either. You should most definately have Sunday brunch at The Sheraton Royal Hawaiian Hotel. http://www.royal-hawaiian.com/ If you don't mind cooking your meat, I like the Shore Bird Restaurant at the Outrigger Reef, I love the cajun seasoned ahi tuna. http://www.outrigger.com/hotels_dining.aspx?hotel=2 Piano and cocktails at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider http://www.moana-surfrider.com/ Next time I would skip on the hotels and rent a condo, they are nicer, not as crowded, and even cheaper. http://www.vrbo.com/ Maybe the Hawaiian resident has some suggestions also. If you get to Maui, there is so much to do and it is more relaxing. I haven't been to the big island or the others but heard great things. My favorite restaurant is Mama's Fish House on Maui. http://www.mamasfishhouse.com/

I know they knock-off our stuff like crazy. The invention/technology end is what made this country, along with some risk taking. People thought Henry Ford was nuts, "your gonna do what?!" This would be bad to outsource research. To promote this we should have investment tax subsidies in place to encourage businesses to spend more for research. Right now the US debt is sky high, businesses were not spending during the recession, consumers were. You cannot do that forever, you have seen the record levels of bankruptcies. The spending got us through some rough spots though. To make things happen you need business spending, it creates jobs, puts money into the economy. Good for a period of stagflation where the value of the dollar is low and inflation is high. US debt limit nears $9 trillion http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4827248.stm Japan is a good example of what you were talking about. It basically got started the way Korea and now China did/are. (we helped build it) Japan has some very strange inventions but really good at taking an idea and engineering it to the max. I am carrying this into the quality side more so than the invention for the reasons mentioned previously. They need investment and technology to get going. Generally start out as poorer quality goods. Japanese cars came out and they basically had motorcycle engines in them. America at the time was not interested in what Deming had to say. So off he went. Japan focused on quality. They took market share. Then the American automakers thought to themselves, Americans want cheap cars (also more economical from the 70s oil crisis). Whoops! They really want an economical quality car, not a Horizon, Pinto, Vega, or a Citation or a Chevette, etc. They were in big troubles for a while there. Take a look at the Korean vehicles now, they have come a very long way. Hyundai can make one of those giant cargo ships in a week from scratch, including engines and props. http://english.hhi.co.kr/News/Media.asp?p=...ek=&class=Media It also helps when you have brand new facilities that are streamlined, in the front door with raw materials and out the back with finished goods, and your vendors are next door. Japan was so efficient that even importing most of their raw materials they could compete with price and quality. Toyota is a model company that serves as a case study for many MBA programs. China now has huge investment and many of the newer factories being built there are high-tech. Most aren't and get by with cheap labor. And there are no labor shortages. Significant issues though. The poor need to be brought up to speed so they can contribute and live better lives. Right now though it looks like the rich-poor gap is widening. Why spend your money and time inventing when you can get it from someone else? By the same token: Intellectual property in China The boot is on the other foot http://www.economist.com/business/displayS...tory_id=6750250

China had the most wide open kind of capitalism right now of any other country... 207403[/snapback] I here ya, Roger. I agree. I spent a week in GZ last Nov. And, their capitalistic drive is truly something. However, I still can't believe GZ will ever match HK in a true capitalistic/free-trade sense. Tell me a brand name of a Chinese product that all of us can identify with (something like; IBM, Dupont, Ford, GE, Microsoft......). Until China pass laws that penalize those who steal and copy trade secrets and proprietary information, most economist state they can never truly become a developer of products, but simply a producer (and consumer) of products. Time will tell. 207470[/snapback] Foreign businesses will not invest that kind of capital if they feel it won't pay out. And business is booming but significant challenges need to be addressed. By looking around it would be hard to see, everytime I go back it has grown some more. China is now the world's top destination for foreign direct investment. There is no question that living standards have improved for most of China's people, and while its political system is still a “monopoly,” the economy is becoming, for all intents and purposes, a market economy. But major challenges remain and if they aren't met soon, the undeniable improvements that China has enjoyed in recent decades will be at risk. First among these is growing inequality, between urban and rural areas and within urban areas themselves. The growing prospect of mass unemployment could well exacerbate this inequality. A second significant problem is a potential banking crisis, due to the high proportion of bad loans. And a third major challenge is the hard process of reforming China's 300,000 SOEs, an effort that involves 100 million workers and one-third of China's GDP. Each of these difficulties is intimidating in its own right; their resolution is even more daunting because they are deeply intertwined. According to Preston J. Miller Vice President and Monetary Advisor, “Americans need not fear the Chinese economy. The nation is still plagued with inefficiency, so it is not quite the juggernaut it is made out to be.” Knock-off's are a problem. You can walk into a store and everything may be counterfeit. Marlboro is now producing cigarettes, through a separate Chinese company, because they were ripped off big time. Many others are doing the same. Wal-mart had a beauty of a system, I don't think any other company can match that. They had the right people to set it up, you were not going to pull fast ones with that set up. Now I can easily see how a company like that gets currency out of China, just ship the goods to the US purchased with RMB. They get rich off the Chinese, they get rich off the US. The Chinese workers suffer. How do some of the others get money out of China? McDonalds, KFC? Those with the technology win. Open trade is an important factor in determining the wealth of nations. Prescott's theory is that modern economic growth results from increased productivity due to technological advances. Poor nations can achieve growth by opening their doors to technologies developed in rich nations. However, entrenched interests, such as monopolies, often block technologies that would compete with their business and thus create barriers to growth in poor nations. Open trade is therefore essential to economic development. What you do not want to do is give up your secrets. Never outsource strategic business functions, unless you want the other guy to have them. I am also concerned with a swift and sudden reversal of capital inflows like what happened in the Asian economic crisis of ’97-98. The price of land was going up like crazy. Investors were looking at the huge growth numbers and eventually realized that much of that growth was related to asset prices. They began to panic. It is also hard to keep the economy in check when money is being driven into it like that. Can you say "a reverse flow of capital?" It's also nice to see where this capital went. banks were the primary mechanism by which the funds left Asia, and that these funds did not flow directly to the United States. Rather, they went first to offshore banking centers and then to European banks. There are a lot of assets over in China. If the US were to stop buying and save more or something would cause the US economy to slow rather significantly, China could collapse. The Chinese citizens would have to buy goods to prevent this but right now China saves and the US buys. More articles: Progress and Peril in China's Modern Economy http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/03-12/chang.cfm Foreign Direct Investment in China: A Spatial Econometric Study http://research.stlouisfed.org/wp/1999/1999-001.pdf China & WTO http://surveys.ft.com/chinawto2002/index.html Asia Crisis Postmortem: Where Did the Money Go and Did the United States Benefit? http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/epr/00v06n3/0009vanw.html Asia’s Trade Performance after the Currency Crisis http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/epr/00v06n3/0009higg.html The Impact of the Asia Crisis on U.S. Industry: An Almost-Free Lunch? http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/epr/00v06n3/0009harr.html China's Rich but Troubled Banking Sector http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/03-12/banking.cfm What Ails China? A long-run perspective on growth and inflation (or deflation) in China http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/03-12/china.cfm Truths About Trade and the Dollar http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/05-12/trade.cfm A Look at China's New Exchange Rate Regime http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economic.../el2005-23.html

Thanks guys. I got the P4 forms from the link provided on the site and wanted to get those filled out so she can copy down what I have.

There were many issues behind the 1989 uprising and it was widespread. China's economic reforms and the presence of both the planned and market sectors helped to create inflation and corruption (due to poor legal systems and a lack of checks and balances). Those with personal or political connections were able to control these markets. Prices climbed for many products since there was no competition, particularly food and other agricultural goods. “While Westerners tended to perceive the protest as a student-led push for political reform and greater democracy, the true popular support for the uprising had more to do with the general public's dissatisfaction over the adverse consequences of economic reforms—in particular, rapidly rising prices for basic commodities.” Progress and Peril in China's Modern Economy http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/03-12/chang.cfm

I know many Chinese here. As is with human nature, people tend to live near people like themselves. So most of the Chinese are a tight group. It may not be a bad idea to get involved with the Chinese community. Your SO could make friends or network with the other Chinese. That isn't necessary though and in some cases may give you a whole other schedule. The Chinese I know like it here very much. In fact one of the people I work with was not fond of going back to China to work there (even though on that salary they would be living la vida loca). For some language is an issue. The language issue also can determine the quality of job your SO can expect. Being a minority helps as far as jobs go. I'm not there yet myself but I keep these things in mind. Then there is things like driving lessons, getting situated... Remember what it was like when you first went to China? But they do adapt quickly. I would say surprisingly quick. I know some people who have a small restaurant and they have to take all the orders and they deliver. Many people do not want to go out in a snow storm but they do. They also own a house, pay taxes, have children that go to school here. I help them out now and then. Now another thing I keep in mind is that a teacher in China may smack a student for not paying attention, not hard but it is a smack. This day and age that is a no no here. This is those one step at a time things and I think it will go smoothly. Smooth sailing!

a ha!!! I was expecting more chinese dishes. How do your ladies/fellas like the Western food? Also, is there any digestion related issues when they eat the food over here for the first time? Lets see... I had ham, mashed potatoes, asparagus, acorn squash that was mashed up-I think salt was accidentally used instead of sugar!, biscuit-like buns, green stuff (with the mandarin oranges - does that count?), some really nice chocolate and stuff cake and some other cake with a strawberry mouse like-filling.

Thanks everyone. She said she wants to get the medical before I get to China. That way we can concentrate on the interview and not cut our selves short. I will post what happens when I find out.

yes, that's a very nice learner!!! I was in one, I think you should let her drive it! Ha! take her for a spin first!

Hello, Question 6 on the P4 GIV-24 asks for US Entry Date/Type of Visa. For the SO (Myself) is this N/A or upon K-1 issuance? She was never to the US before. Thanks, Rick

Any ideas what I can expect on insurance premiums? I know this guy from Germany who wanted a car and he was paying $4000 a year for insurance. He had driving experience. My SO has never driven a car before.

A lot of questions Roger, but perhaps accurate observations as well.... 206119[/snapback] Who do you think invented firecrackers? This post is what I call a twofur. Two topics, both complex. It involves invention, politics and economy. And the politics have a lot to do with that but I'll save that for another post. If you recall some of my other posts with the pics you will notice that the Chinese are innovative, they use what little they have to get a job done, although in many cases very dangerous. They are good artists and great at copying things. There was a time when there wasn't much to copy. Btw, there is a great program on one of the discoveries about Chinese inventions. Some of the greatest inventions in the world were by made by the Chinese. In the T'ang dynasty, fireworks were invented. These were originally for shows, but later on they used them to scare of enemies in war. The fireworks were mainly small bamboo cases filled with gunpowder, and a fuse was put on the side. In the Han dynasty, they invented the wheelbarrow, which was for carrying loads too heavy for a normal person's back to support. The wheelbarrow was originally wood, so the Chinese nick named it the 'wooden ox'. The compass was for religious use. When a new houses was being built, they used it to see if the house was faced in perfect harmony with nature (which meant they thought if you faced your house to magnetic north, you and nature would get along). The compass started out as a wooden circle with markings on it, and a magnetic spoon on top. Designed with a machine called the Earthquake weathercock, which was a contraption that told them when and where an earthquake would come. This machine looked like a giant six-foot bronze pot that had dragon heads lining the top, and ivory frogs under each dragon. Spaghetti The Chinese first manufactured the 'fan', which was mostly carried by women and soldiers. First to create kites, which mostly children played with. The kites were most of the time silk squares, held together by bamboo. Created many things with bamboo, which made a lot of baskets and holders and were really strong. The Chinese were the first to discover iron casting around the sixth century, when they mixed tin and copper together. Revolutionized agriculture by harnessing animals made boats modern with magnetic compasses, sternpost rudders and watertight flamboyance, plus many other things to long to tell. The first clock that they devised was for astronomical uses. In the first clock ever, there was a puppet that would hold up a plaque that would tell the time. They also invented giant water clocks, which rang every fifteen minutes. The first blast furnace, which was water powered. To Chinese, jade was more valuable then gold. They invented the first object for counting, called an abacus. The Chinese used a method of medicine called acupuncture They were the first to discover the rudder Processed grain with bamboo machinery They made most toys, machines, houses, and other things from bamboo. The Chinese were the first to think of harvesting silk, and make clothes, fans, kites, toys, paper, and lots of other things from it. They produced the first planetarium. They a found a wine that acted like anesthetic, and they also used herbs before the age of written history http://www.crystalinks.com/chinainventions.html Yes and Yes.

You know our guys here don't need subtitles at all They've got special training for body language from SO 207277[/snapback] Oh man, now I'm really jealous! I have been neglecting my studies lately. I am trying to review so I don't lose the things I have learned. I kind of put it off until after this K-1 business.

The one thing I have found out is that in most cases the Chinese name and the English name is different, regardless of the translation. Generally they give the movies a completely different title so a translation of the Chinese name may not work. This movie may be available in China with subtitles or dubbed, but if it is a fake copy those could very easily be so far off that you won't understand it. There are places to search for movies. I have seen some websites list movies of interest for people learning chinese. I unfortunately lost most of my links when I got new hard drives. I will keep my eyes open.

Thanks! And thanks for putting this post in the proper forum.

Hello, My SO is on the 001 site and she says the girls are saying she needs only one day for the medical exam. I saw a minimum of 4 on here. Is her information accurate? Thanks everyone, Rick

Oh, Oh, good recommendations. I will have to watch them. I have also noticed that many Westerners are interested in the Asian culture and the Asian countries interested in the West. I have asked people in various Asian countries about there culture. The younger generations don't know. The older generations have a wealth of knowledge.

It's interesting to me to find many Westerners becoming interested in this, as well as chinese medicine/techniques, and Asians less interested (in a younger generation I would say). It seems they are becoming more Americanized and losing some of their culture. What I get out of it is a natural balance of elements. Elements and living beings have energy and the arrangement of these elements creates harmony. Now I like a nice balance, myself. From my perspective a space generates a feeling, you have a comfortable and relaxing feeling or a harsh feeling, etc. I like a nice pleasant feeling. While I may prefer one architectural style over another, the feeling is more important. Therefore, the style I prefer may give me the wrong feeling in certain cases and the other style a pleasant feeling. It's an oddball way of describing things but it is a feeling and I'm trying to put it in words. Other cultures have different ideas on achieving harmony. The Danish like natural colors and organic forms. The Italians like more vibrant colors and clean lines, simple, stylish, also a little more hard looking. I think the feng shui is probably the most philosophical and thought out. I like Danish and Italian and you can add the feng shui touch. Donald Trump actually hired a feng shui master to revise some of his buildings and he keeps these principles in mind for his new ones. It cost him quite a lot also.

Knowing the language and having an MBA would be very valuable. Few westerners understand Chinese. Business in China is coming at a huge price though, I'm afraid. The money comes first, the environment second. The food is contaminated with heavy metals and pollutants, including the food we eat over there. (Not all food, some food is being grown for export because it is a more valuable crop on the global market, they actually place bags on the fruit to protect them) I guess I would rather eat the fish out of the Great Lakes (I live here so I am afraid of that). I am talking bigger than any love canal. The poor are getting hosed. They are driven off there land as a result of all the construction. I've heard many people on here say they are thinking of retiring there. I would strongly think about that. There are over 1.3bil people there (and I think it is more like 1.6). It covers the same area as the US, much of the land is mountainous, desert, or uninhabitable. There will be issues regarding traffic, food, pollution, etc. And on the other hand you could come out filthy rich with investments/business. Again it's the haves and the have nots. In this day and age I think it is a shame anyone has to live like that. I am thankful for what I have and always like to help out. I see the growth, the numbers, the improvements but it seems like it is in a race with all those bad things I mentioned. I don't know if it could keep this up without harming the people in China and the rest of the planet. Imagine 4 to 6 times the US with no environmental concerns and driving those vehicles with no emissions and leaded fuel. Remember our mistakes? I live not far from the love canal. When you buy those chinese sneakers, remember those leather tanning facilities are killing people. I do have a couple pair of sneakers made in China, they are canvas, and that's because they don't make one of the all time American shoes - the all stars - in the US any more. I have some nice US sneakers and a whole lot of US steel toed boots (and I am still wearing a pair as I do everyday for the past 5 years, I have another pair still good from 10 years-those are worn but are very comfortable and do not come apart). You would expect them to be more expensive but they are really not. So, who is pocketing all that profit of the Chinese goods? The government is focused on the economics strongly right now. China gets focused on things and that's that, until they change their mind like with the economic push. Also, these things are being made with sweat labor and they are not getting the minimum wage and they are working illegal overtime. That makes me extremely sad. Eight people shoved in a small room sharing cold showers with the entire floor. Getting food so bad that the little money they make (if lucky 200rmb a month) they use to buy expensive food on the outside. Believe me I am a doer not a talker. I think it is important to educate the younger generations so they can lead their country. China is also not the worst, but they are one of the biggest. I am also worried about the educational system in the US, its bad. A lot of spoiled brats have something to do with that also, I'm sure. Bill Gates can't get enough qualified workers so he has been making a big push for immigration. This is a topic for dicussion at another time perhaps.

I love your stories!!!!! Never, never, NEVER, take 3 immodium tablets at teh same time. Never! love your avatar! p.s. what's going on in the car???

Is this forum like the twisted one but deals with culture? I don't want to get myself in trouble, again, if I can help it.

WAIT!!!!! She hasn't got to the good MBA stuff yet! So quick, pull the plug! haha Big business is calling the shots. Have you seen any of those real life shows lately, that are not that real? YOUR FIRED! In fact I would say we are very much comercialized. What gets me is China buys into it because it's a US company, so it must be good. When they can't exploit America, then they do it in other countries. Make them work illegal overtime and do not pay them the legal minimum wage, if that wasn't low to begin with. Reminder, I am talking about big business not America. And it's not just American companies. Ever hear of transfer pricing? For example: I am a japanese company and make VCRs. I make them in japan for $100. I sell them to my singapore branch for $100. No profit in japan. I then sell them at $200 to the US and they sell in the stores for $200. No profit in the US, all profit in tax free singapore. Now, how it is supposed to work is that countries should stick to what they are good at. Lower economically developed countries benefit from job creation and the stimulation of their economies. The bigger countries benefit from lower prices and so on. Theoretically everyone should win in a global economy. It should not be slave labor and then turn around and rip off the buyers because they have the product. It's supply and demand, but does a company need to be that greedy? I try to get things made right here or by companies who are responsible. I will even pay more. But I don't want to hear companies complain that revenues are down so no raises to the workers, and health care is up so so are your premiums, meanwhile the board gives themselves a 61% raise the CEO a 14%. Please! They also have a 3 month timeframe, quarter to quarter. And, OH, we are taking away your retirement. Worldcom gets busted and the next thing you know they take away the employees coffee to save money. What about the future? What about the employees and the customers? I'm afraid we could be heading increasingly towards the haves and the have nots. p.s., I never watch those real life shows.

Good luck! I've noticed your timetable and it corresponds to how far in advance I wanted to be there. So I hope to hear some good news! Keep us posted.