happenings

This is why I am learning Thai

Next month I will get back to going to school everyday for about 3 hours a day.

Someone has to combat this China taking over the world thing. Bums me out.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/mandarin.html

back to the books...

Damn - that's old...

super old turtle

pretty amazing.

reminds me never to buy a turtle for a pet...

cya

I know how to fix the economy...

Was reading the Asian Wall Street Journal the other day, I do from time to time to pretend I can still stay plugged into the business world, and came across a rather puzzling article. The article highlighted the current boom in the use of self storage by Americans and how well the self-storage companies are doing. Having just moved to Bangkok, living cheap and having a one room apartment near a slum I found it rather amusing to remember that I did not need a self storage locker until I had moved out of my pad in San Francisco. At that time I needed to rent out my loft in SOMA and since I had not moved much to Hong Kong I needed to find some place to put my belongings to make room for my renters. This article focused on the need for typical Americans to rent a self-storage locker for purposes of keeping all the stuff they need that they have no room for in their apartment or house. I refer to this stuff as junk most of the time because generally I find Americans purchasing junk, something they already have or frankly just desiring too many things they don't really need.

i don't have much room for things I don't actually need these days and constantly find myself getting rid of things or checking twice at the store to remind myself that I probably don't have room for what it is I am buying. Sounds like the opposite is happening in America. buy, buy and buy - before it is too late and you might die before you bought all that stuff you don't really need. We all know why this is happening - Americans are feeling like the cost of borrowing money is just too cheap, artificially so, and therefore it makes sense to keep on buying. The bubble in the housing market might also have something to do with this but as the rates keep coming up this may get a little pin prick before it is too late.

So one fix I have for the ailing US economy is for Bush to subsidize the cost of self-storage space. This makes perfect sense and this would continue to fuel the consumer to buy and buy knowing that they have somewhere besides there primary residence for storing these goods they are not using. This should help push the US economy along for another 6 months or so without people having to feel what is really happening out there.

I need to check sometime but somewhere between me and the local Carefour I saw a Bangkok self-storage place. I want to see what is going on there since my guess is it is not full of stuff that people cannot fit back on the ponderosa but is probably used by businesses for extra storage, document storage or expats needing to stash there random stuff somewhere.

Interesting times these are...

;)

China and Japan.

I won't admit I understand all the crap that went on before but I must say that this current attitude put forth by China is apalling. This is a country with more than half the people in it living on less than a USD buck a day and with no plan on how to fix that. They need this Japan trade more than I need another meal but yet they continue with some of the most childish behavoir I have ever seen by a country of their size.

First off China does not allow protesting. If I wanted to fly to Beijing today and protest China's apalling human rights track record I would most likely be thrown in jail, but yet they are tolerating all this Japan hate protesting and acting like nothing is happening.

I hope it all blows up in their face considering Japan is one of their largest trading partners. It is time that China gets what is coming to them in my mind for allowing their people to act like this. I just hope no one gets hurt in the process.

later

China's dirty little secret!

Say what you will. China is booming - they will one day be a superpower but should we let them become one at the expense of hard working everyday people who China uses to keep their cost of production artificially low? I don't think so but I am sure it will keep happening.

another chinese mining accident...

What I hate about the US Military...

This is just so shocking to me but at the same time I am not suprised at all. I know war is hell and it does things to people but this guy should be taken out back and shot. This person, this officer in the US military - emodies everything the world hates about the US and the US military actions in places like Iraq. Stunning. Funny thing is I could imagine George Bush saying the same thing - even using the same messed up english.

wow.

artcile on Yahoo News.

cya

How did he not feel it?

I just don't get how this can happen with no blood and the guy did not feel it?

crazy!

This guy better watch his back!

My guess is this guy is right and I am sure the officials in Thailand never listened to him but he better watch his back or he might end up on the former friends of Thaksin list...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/01/03/tsunami.warning.reut/index.html

hmmmm

Fight Club!

Check out this Craig's List post! Seems like a new way to form a Fight Club near you!

CL Post!

excerpt!

I would like to fight a Bush supporter to vent my anger. If you are one, have a fiery streek, please contact me so we can meet and physically fight. I would like to beat the shit out of you.

nice...

John Kerry Scares me...

I am not a big fun of Bush. Hell - not a big fan of US politics at all right now. Maybe that is why I have chosen not to live there in over 2 years. Sorry mom.

Anyway I keep telling people that Bush does need to go but the problem is some of what Kerry is talking about is scaring me just as much. Globalization is happening and it cannot be stopped. The western world really cracks me up. For decades we have been pushing our style, our so-called freedoms, democracy, free market mentalities and our goods into the rest of the world. Well folks - the world woke up and realized that when you open it all up things can go both ways. Even Clinton knew that free trade and globalization has to happen and we need to adapt to it. So this Kerry blowhard who is so out of touch with reality and the cost of a loaf of bread is thinking he can save America by stopping offshoring? Please. That is one huge step backwards and we all know it.

Kerrry - the makings of a bad move.

later...