griz326

Just to keep this fair 'n balanced... We've been correlating MAC addresses, source routers, email addresses, and various Internet postings for many years. That's the basis of network security forensics. There are hoops for officials to jump through but if you say "FU!" loudly enough, they can come and get you here too.

I should probably mention that getting two visas was a challenge because they both want the passport and green card. It wound up costing $450+ for a Republic of Ireland & UK visa - I had to request expedited handling when things got bogged down and it looked as if we won't get the visas in time. Ireland was a dream to deal with; the UK was a nightmare. That really has to do with no phone or email access to the UK visa processing center except through a pay-per-minute service that really didn't know anything that you couldn't find on the visa website. ...although they did have a link that I couldn't find in the end.

There have always been and will always be bad and crazy people. There are no laws, no technologies, and no magic cures save the harsh solutions we abandoned as cruel and unusual.

Thank you, Mick. Same to you and everyone here.

VERY EXPENSIVE! Stayed at the Piccadilly Backpacker's Youth Hostel in London. Perfectly located, but we are a bit too old for youth hostels like this one. London's Chinatown is a short walk. The food was exceptional...of course, we live in Montana which has no real Chinatowns...so the bar was set low. Unfortunately, "Singing in the Rain" had not yet opened and we were not interested in the Michael Jackson show. The museum was nice, but it provoked a discussion about theft of Chinese antiquities. Ireland really does close down between Christmas and New Year's. Clontarf Castle was a good choice, but a little pricey. The holiday week upset our plans for the Ring of Kerry, so we stayed in Dublin. The Arlington Hotel might have been a better in town choice than the place we stayed after leaving the castle, although a tiny bit divey. It has a large pub with Irish music and Irish dancing; the music was great, the dancing was good. We bought a hop-on, hop-off bus tour. The green bus has Chinese language tours, the red bus does not. It is well worth the money. We did the Guinness and the Jameson tours, the jail (gaol) tour, the museum, and Dublin Castle. I had a bit of fun with the Dublin Castle tour guide when he mentioned Obama's Irish heritage. In an Irish brougue, peppered with a couple of choice Gaelic sayings, I learned growing up in an Irish family, I tossed a few humorous political barbs into the tour. I purchased a few bottles of better Irish whiskey at the Celtic Whiskey Shop, but failed to locate a place to smoke a cigar and sip a whiskey. All in all a good trip and worth busting the budget to mark a few things that I want to do with Lao Po off of the bucket list. A health scare almost stopped our trip, so it was especially sweet.

Lao po wants to see my Grandma's farm on the river Moy. I haven't seen it in 20 years. Even in Ballina, I can't imagine riverfront property as a dirt farm. I've overruled her. We are going to the ring of Kerry My daughter is more interested in Germany. She wants to drive on the autobahn.

LaoPo 'n I are going to Ireland & the UK for Christmas. We will stay in Clontarf Castle Christmas eve and day. Getting two visas on short notice was a pain, but we got 'em! It promises to be very expensive...and I hope a dandy good time.

I found the document that I thought might make Lao Po exempt. http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Visa%20Waiver%20Programme%20Information%20Note%20March%202012.pdf/Files/Visa%20Waiver%20Programme%20Information%20Note%20March%202012.pdf I wish bureaucrats spoke English!

There was something on the Republic of Ireland's website about a UK visa being honored for short term visitors from XXX countries. China was one of those countries. Does anyone know if I need to get the wife both visas or will one do? BTW - try getting a phone number for either Ireland or the UK visa offices #@$&!# !!!

And to think that manufacturers can sell a pretty nice guitar for a few hundred bucks. A labor of love and art... Very nice work.

People are racist and discriminatory by nature; it is a survival mechanism. My father-in-law is not happy that his daughter married me. He is not happy that his grand-daughter is not at home with him in Nanning. My mother-in-law loves me because I take care of her daughter and grand-daughter. I doubt that either of my brothers-in-law hold me in high esteem; although taking care of their family and my family is not lost on them. My wife decided that for the best interests of her daughter and her own hopes, marrying an old, fat, ugly, American fart was a good plan. She's a great woman. Both she and her daughter have taken great care of me in the last year when I was so close to death. There are many married American men whose wife is not as loyal and reliable as my Lao Po. Presuming I live into old age with my Lao Po, it concerns me that I will never really know her the way that I want to know her because we lack the words to truly communicate on an intimate level.

You know you are getting old when... Lao Po gives you a bottle of Grecian Formula for Men on your birthday and forgets about playtime

I think that I'd be filling my freezer, but after I took care of that, I'd help out

Thank you for sharing your opinion in my survey. I'll spare you the details, but I've got a bit of a battle with another person doing videos at the company and I'd prefer not to be the BSer in chief!

My apologies if this sort of posting is not permitted and will understand the deletion if it is a violation of the rules. I am trying to learn if people who use web videos use the on-page video player or expand it to full screen mode. This is business research for me, but you guys post a lot of videos here, so I thought that you might want to participate. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YL6XRQY It is a one question survey.

Do Chinese women need a telephone to call China? Do Chinese women breathe when they talk??? Not my Lao Po! All that she needs to do is to open the window and aim her mouth...they'll hear her in China! hehehehe ... Lao Po, "small a little..." On top of that, she doesn't breathe when she talks! In her call yesterday, she talked none stop until the money on her calling card ran out...just over 90 minutes. I don't think who every she was talking with said a word. Are those behaviors uniquely Chinese?

The western invasion of Chinese politics concerns me greatly. I only hope that China does not lose her way in the blur of modern reporting of politics and life.

I figure this comes from growing up during the cultural revolution. We waste so much usable food, it is probably difficult to see good food in the garbage. The younger women might not understand. It's okay. I spent two years living as a homeless person.

Lao Po walked up to the preparation table at a local restaurant and saw that they were throwing away the part that I would eat and serving the part that I would throw away and grabbed them asking if she could give them to the chickens! Then she says her dumpster diving is "husband's fault!" TFF :roller:

The Chinese woman I visited before meeting my wife used a translator. The translator was a gentle, sweet woman and bore no resemblance to the woman I visited. When I was introduced to the translator, I could tell immediately who she was. I would strongly advise against using a translator. Without a way to communicate, what sort of relationship could there be? Cook, clean, s***, f*** ??? That may not be all bad, but I prefer that my wife be a friend and partner.

I haven't caught her doing it, but I cannot come up with another explanation. The question is where she is dumpster diving: a restaurant or a grocery store. Everything that I've found has been fruits and vegetables. I'm okay with that even though it is a bit embarrassing. If I found evidence of her coming back with meat, it would be a different matter. I would not settle for an "I don't know translation" answer.

OYE! Now that I'm getting around pretty well, I'm finding boxes of funky looking fruits and vegetables in the garage. We are a wasteful country. Restaurants and supermarkets have to dump a lot of stuff that is perfectly good. I've got to believe that Lao Po knows this and had decided that it' okay to retrieve that food for "our" use. Is this a logical presumption? Does your wife dumpster dive for food to save money? Is this common behavior of Chinese immigrant women when first exposed to American wastefulness? Just wondering.................................

I played some very old Harmony guitars that were great, but mine was a much newer version in '67 ... and not so great.

In the hands of an amateur I'm sure it sounds like an old, beat up, Harmony guitar.

This book is an absolute HOOT!!! We are all enjoying it immensely!