Well not really,
I am currently sitting in the Airport Lounge of the Guangzhou Baiyun waiting for my flight to board.

It has been a hectic trip, but I think it is quite successful.
Cant wait to get home in another 11+ hours (9.5 hour flight + Sydney Border security).

So whats new?

Well Hi Geland!! Where the heck is Guagz...Baiy..what the heck. China? What you doin over there? Heck your coffee cup is gettin over-run with ants. We'll save you a beer tho. You're going to be another year older by the time you get back.

silly
wabbit


Suz

Aah Suz...Gelandangan is worse then a door to door salesman...

Welcome back. Hope you had a productive trip.

Cold beer comin' up...

Suzanne wrote:

What you doin over there?

+1! Had to look that one up !

Suz & Jim,
I get chinese company to produce products for me, and due to language difficulties,
it is much better if I go there and point out to their engineer the things I want done.

Went with a mate this time, had a good amount of "lost in translation" episodes,
frustrating but hilarious!!

Welcome back mate...wondered why you had been a tad quiet lately.

Hope all went well on the business front for ya mate. Time to get a decent beer into ya face and bust a few caps.

Cheers, Vince

gelandangan wrote:

I get chinese company to produce products for me, and due to language difficulties ... frustrating but hilarious!!

Sounds like too much fun! Can you tell us what they are making for you?

Gotta tongue cramp trying to say that place's name.

Hurry back fer some baloooooomphing!

I think you need a beer after the trip.

I think I need a beer after his trip!

me too gnarlywine anyone?

Slim, I sort of (re)invent some electronics consumer device that involve electronics PCB assembly, steel stamping, Injection molding and custom cable manufacture.

========================================
About Alcohol in China

Over there, I have several different beers. Some are pretty good other are purely horse p!ss.
Their Tsingtao beer are pretty good, as long as you dont order the light beer which taste foul.

They do not need liquor license to sell alcohol, so every restaurant,
big 10 storeys establishments to small dilapidated two table under the stair Uncle Sung's,
sell beer to accompany your meal..

Hard liquor whisky, such as Jamison, chivas regal etc cost about $40 for 750 ml bottles.
Aussie Yellow Tail red wine is about $9.
There prices are retail at the nearest 7/11 stores.

The only price "rip off" happening is on the so called international hotels, where a 20ml shot cost about $20.

=======================================
About the living standard.

Some of you who have not visit China in the last few years, would have heard from the news, etc,
that Chinese workers work in sweat shops eeking out existence.
This is FAR from the truth.
Yes, they do have some sweat shops scattering here and there, however, most factory are ISO standard,
including 40 hours week, 5 working days week, medical and superannuation.

The factory adopts ISO standard and have cleanliness, comfort and safety as good as,
or better than any Australian factory.
The product manufactured are world class products.

Granted that after the exchange rate, the monetary amount does sound very low indeed, however,
if you compare the buying power of the money in the original countries, they have much higher relative salary than Australian.
Viz, a typical Australian worker get about $800 /week gross, or usually about $500 after taxes and super.
Out of the 500, typically about $200 goes to the accommodation, $100 for transportation, $$150 for food and $25 - 50 for phone,
Thus left almost nothing for entertainments, much less for saving.
In China, due to the low cost of living, the average workers would have at least 10 - 15% of their salary for entertainment or saving.
The average (low - middle class) person in china would have a saving enough to last 1 - 2 years without external addition.
Whereas average person in Australia is IN DEBT for at least an equivalent of minimum 1 year of their gross salary.

==================================

Anyone think to visit China?
I usually go there three to four times a year, we could meet there and I could show you around, you can see and experience it yourself.

Thanks for the China update, gelandangan! I haven't been their since the 80's. They have made great progress and have become a world power.

Geland I hope you're not re-inventing stuff so they can call it their own? I'm having trouble with that one. I won't be helping out communist countries....yeah I know lots of people are makin money that way, but I won't shop at WalMart. I know I have a few Chinese things around the house, you can't avoid it very easily but I try to. Is China abolishing its Hukou System? Here's what I found out;

Previous reforms haven't changed the Hukou system. Reforms have only moved Hukou control to local governments. The Hukou system is still in use and continues to perpetuate China's rural-urban earnings disparity. Rural residents have to buy urban residency permits to be able to work at a higher wage and work in the city legally. 49.7% of the population are considered migrants. Rural people seeking work in cities. That's a huge number. That's 221 million people. To put that in perspective the US has a tad over 300 million people. 2/3 of rural workers don't have pensions.

On Tuesday, President Hu Jintao said the "one-child" policy, which applies to most families, would continue, as the population continues to strain resources and government services. A study last year warned that over 24 million men of marrying age could find themselves without wives in 2020, a potentially explosive social problem.

In 1984, China insisted in the United Nations General Assembly that space is to be used strictly for peaceful purposes.
This was reiterated in 1998, when a white paper on defense said that China “opposes the development of anti-satellite weapons.” The white paper proposed “a complete ban on weapons of any kind in outer space, including anti-missile and anti-satellite weapons, so as to keep outer space free of weapons.”

It urged all countries to undertake not “to experiment with, produce or deploy outer space weapons.”
So it came as a shock when, in 2007, China tested a weapon in space, destroying one of its old satellites. Despite this, however, Beijing continued to insist that it was opposed to the militarization of space.
China's frequently declared policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, first enunciated in 1964, may also be in doubt, even though it continues to be China's stated position.
A glimpse into what China's real position may be was provided in 2005 by Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu, dean of the Defense Affairs Institute of China's National Defense University, when he thought he was speaking off the record.

General Zhu blithely ignored all official statements regarding no first use and asserted that China would use nuclear weapons against the United States if war broke out over Taiwan.
Since then, China has again reiterated its position that it would never be the first to use nuclear weapons. Statements by General Zhu were never explained.

I love helping China obsolve it's tactful ways.

Our President had this to say about our concerns with China;
"We agreed that our two countries should increase contacts at the top and other levels, strengthen strategic mutual trust through dialogue and communication, intensify exchanges and cooperation in all fields, and step up communication and coordination on international and regional issues,"
Wow he hit the nail on the head huh? Sort of a motivational seminar kind of thing. Doesn't sound like China is much of a threat really.
The two leaders acknowledged continuing differences on human rights, but they pledged to keep working on such issues in a "frank and candid way," according to Obama. Sort of a way you would talk to your bestist frien! You would think he was talking to the President of Mexico or something.

Suz

I dare say Suz that if you look closely at the products around your house that a good deal of them are made in China or have components made in China. The same goes here in Canada and it is a fact of life whether we like it or not. First we had WW2 and defeated Japan and Germany and found out that the production methods were American. Studied, refined and 100% American. The problem was that America gave up on their made in America philosphy and gave in to Asia to be the manufacturers of the products used in our households every day. If you wear any clothing that has American camoflague patterns on it chances are it is made in China. Cabelas, BassPro, Wholesale Sports etc are all stocked with American branded chinese made products. You have a daunting task for a noble purpose in front of you. Godspeed in your journey.