05.26.08
嘲笑世界最强大国家的近视外交。。。
今天，美国的确还是世界上最强大的国家。没有其国家或联合能“单方面”（unilaterally）宣战，等等。可惜真的少数美国公民花什么时间在了解美国以外的事。。。这个问题不是新的，也不单是美国的问题，就是美国权利那么大，所以责任也更大。如果美国要继续保持超级大国身份，必须让人民更国际化。
有一些地图嘲笑普遍美国人民的地理概念。同时，这群体的税费睡支持情报局和军部干扰射界各地。
05.15.08
马克思理论的社会发展过程:
1) 原始社会 2) 封建社会 3) 资本主义社会 4) 社会主义社会 5) 共产主义社会
在中国,”社会主义社会”前加了一个定语”有中国特色”。事实，可能倒退到”资本主义社会”以市场经济为主导。
China Mainland. Visa-Upon-Arrival (Visa On Arrival). Olympics. Etc.
Due to the upcoming Beijing Olympics, the 外交部 (Foreign Affairs Office) is clamping down on Visas. Sometime in lat April/early May, the 外交部 stopped issuing 多次 (Multiple Entry) visas under any circumstances. See CNR.cn
对符合条件的申请者，中方未停止签发多次入出境签证。
However…
正常来华将不会受到影响。
Additionally, in retaliation for the fingerprinting of foreigners entering the United States, China has not issued *ANY* Visa-Upon-Arrival for any American since 2004. If you are from a country other than America, you many qualify for a Visa on Arrival at the ports of Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Xi’an, Guilin, Hangzhou, Kunming, Guangzhou (Baiyun Airport), Shenzhen (Luohu, Shekou) and Zhuhai (Gongbei). See the detailed requirements.
Foreigners staying in China for an extended period must switch to a Z Type (Work) Visa. If visiting China for business purposes, your host must visit the 外交部 (Foreign Affairs Office) to secure a 邀请信 (Invitation Letter) on your behalf. Otherwise, you’re basically left with a Tourist Visa.
You can get Mainland China entry visas in Hong Kong, but visa processing requires 4 Business Days for the Standard Service. You can get the Visa more quickly, but the price is much higher. In agent called “CTS” in Hong Kong that can provide convenient Visa service.
If you are in Shanghai, the VisaInChina service is probably your best bet for Visa processing. They’ve even put together a great FAQ about the Olympic Visa Restrictions and what you should do… The current theory is that Visa madness will be rectified after the Olympics. Not sure if I would count on that though…
05.08.08
American’s and their Real-Estate market…
Interesting piece in the Economist: American housing - Map of misery. Can’t say I care too much, but it does define the relationships between rents and mortgages in more eloquent economic terms that I have 
A better measure of housing fundamentals is the relationship between house prices and rents. This is a sort of price/earnings ratio for the housing market: the price of a house reflects the discounted value of future ownership, either as rental income or as rent saved by an owner who lives in the house.
—Chinese Version—
衡量关于房地产的基础经济情况：房价和租金的关系。你可以理解这个比例有点像股票的市盈率：一套房子所有权的价格表示贴现值的未来所有权。这个所有权代表房子可以赚的租金或者这个房东可以节约的房租。
当然，你还要考虑：
－利息的比例
－通货膨胀的比例
－其他的因素但是可以用这个比例来判断这段时间是否适合买房。
And in case you were curious about that map…
UPDATED: 2008/05/15 - Added Chinese Translation and Considerations…
04.30.08
八国联军：Eight-Power Allied Forces
八国联军是指1900年（庚子年）以军事行动侵入中国的英、法、德、俄、美、日、意、奥的八国联合军队。前期由英国海军将领西摩尔率领,开始时总人数约3万人，后来有所增加。此事件最后以中国战败，联军占领首都北京、清廷政府逃往陕西西安，谈和后中国付出庞大赔款为终。
03.31.08
Dialing Int’l Calls from Shanghai ～ 0.4元/分钟
Call direct from your mobile phone. No calling card. Only 2x the price of Skype In, but better quality and you can call out!
在上海，申请中国移动的国际长途就发“3211”到10086。这样可以申请国际IP长途服务，每次拨国际电话号码，先拨：12593＋00＋国际电话号码，比如：
拨美国的“＋1－206－555－1212”，变成：
12593－00－1－206－555－1212
Give China Mobile a call and Sign-up for IP Int’l Long Distance. Just send an SMS containing only “3211″ to 10086. Each time you want to dial an Int’l number, just add: 1259-00, then the country code and the number.
如果你忘记你的密码，就发密码查询的拼音到10086，那就是：MMCX
If you forget your password, just send MMCX to 10086
如果要查你的账户还有多少钱，发“余额查询”的拼音到10086，那就是：YECX
If you need you current account balance, send YECX to 10086
03.30.08
Get Out of Commodities - Barron’s
Quote Seeking Alpha / Barron’s
Commodity bull Jim Rogers notes that there are about 70,000 mutual funds in the world, and only about 50 that invest in commodities. He thinks the speculative bubble has a few years to go. But looking at the ’smart money’ — farmers and others who actually trade in and use the physical commodities — tells a different story. Net commercial shorts are 30% higher than a previous record.
Factors that could burst the bubble:
- Even the slightest hint of a China slowdown (much of the bullish outlook is due to the perception of an ‘insatiable’ China).
- A U.S. recession.
- A stronger dollar (commodities are dollar-denominated).
- A stronger stock market, leading people to put money back into stocks. (Or, conversely, a weaker market that sees traders liquidating commodity longs to meet margin calls. Barron’s doesn’t mention this, but it got some mileage when gold and oil dived suddenly a couple weeks ago.)
- The CFTC changing its exemption of position limits on index funds.
Personally, my money’s on Jim Rogers, but we’ll see
03.26.08
China Mobile call to the USA for 30¢/minute
If you’re a China Mobile user, you may or may not be aware that you can get inexpensive international long distance (国际长途）by dialing 17951＋00 then the country code and number you want to reach. You can actual save the full number in your address book (not like using a calling card) for the people you call most frequently and make the habit of saving a lot. Note that you don’t want to save this as the primary number in your address book, else you won’t be able to send text messages.
That is 2.2元／minute (See complete IP talk Rate Chart), compare this to the direct dial price of 0.8元/6 seconds - or 8.0元/minute, it’s a savings of almost 80%. At the currently miserable USD exchange rate, using “IP Phone” from China Mobile is just over USD 30¢/minute.
If you check the Skype Rate Chart, calling to a China Mobile phone is only 2.4¢/minute, so Skype In is still by far the cheapest way to talk to someone on your mobile for a long conversation. Here’s China Mobile’s post about Int’l Long Distance…
国际长途 您打给国外朋友的长途电话 使用方式 1、确认您的手机号码已经开通国际长途功能； 2、您可以直接拨打： 00＋国家或地区代码＋城市代码＋对方号码 或00＋国家或地区代码＋对方手机号码 3、也可以加拨17951进行IP通话： 17951＋00＋国家或地区代码＋城市代码＋对方号码 17951＋00＋国家或地区代码＋对方手机号码 标准资费 1、至世界各地0.80元/6秒，采用分时段及国家法定节假日资费优惠的办法； 2、加拨17951具体资费以当地移动公司公布为准 特别提醒 目前国际长途可通达世界上280多个国家和地区。 具体开通情况，请以当地移动公司公布为准。
Details at Baidu “Know” (chinese) on a variety of Int’l calling options.
03.24.08
Countdown to Meltdown…
Had coffee last week with a reporter from The Atlantic, James Fallows. Just saw an excellent story he put together called “Countdown to a Meltdown”:
America’s coming economic crisis. A look back from the election of 2016
Countdown to a Meltdown
January 20, 2016, Master Strategy Memo
Subject: The Coming Year—and Beyond
It’s an excellent read. Check it out.
There’s also a great article called “Win the peace” with a speech from Thomas PM Barnett at the TedTalks. Watch it.
03.20.08
The Octopus is Alive…
Interesting eating choices around Shanghai…
Live shrimp: Yue Lai Jiu Jia
Price: ¥25.
Availability: They’re open 24 hours, but if you’re coming just for this, it’s best to come in the early evening, as they sell out later on.
81 Huanghe Lu, near Fengyang Lu, 6327 1026
黄河路81号, 近奉贤路Live fish: Spring Summer Autumn Winter
Price: Market price, depending on variety of fish. As a rough guide, expect to pay ¥150-200 per fish.
Availability: As long as there are fish in the tank.
3/F, Minfang Department Store, 593 Fuxing Lu, near Ruijin Lu, 2402 8111
复兴路593号民防大厦, 近瑞金路.Live octopus: He Lin
Price: ¥15 per octopus.
Availability: November to February is the high season for eating octopus, and during that time you’ll need to call in advance to reserve.
232 Ziteng Lu, near Qingshan Lu, 3431 3930
紫藤路232号, 近青杉路.
More at SH the Shanghai Magazine…
Also, here are some great Youtube videos of Squid eating…
03.12.08
The Man Who Stayed Behind…
Today was an extremely exciting day. I bumped into James Fallows again, after I had just met him for coffee yesterday.
Then, low and behold, in the parking lot behind me was the man who I came to meet, The Man Who Stayed Behind, and his wife Wang Yulin (王玉林). Today I had the fortune of spending most of the day with the two of them.
When Sidney was at the Stanford Language School, he had already realized America had a huge supply of technology and capital, and China, the largest and oldest country in the world was badly in need of technology and capital. The two made for such natural friends.
Today, when asked what one can do to help China, Sidney said that telling Americans about what is happening in China, trying to improve American support for Sino-American cooperation is very important.
02.28.08
UPDATE: Recent Reading…
Well, we’ve managed to burn through the list posted at the start of the month:
21:Bringing Down the House and Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai
These two should be commented on together because the style and stories are so similar. If you in the mood for a fast paced novel about a life that sounds exciting, then either of these might be fun. Author Ben Mezerk spins out a story that you should be able to find on MTV. In the case of “Rigged”, saying that building a oil futures exchanged in Dubai “changed the world of oil”, it seems a bit exaggerated, but I’m not in the oil business so I suppose it’s not really my place to comment otherwise… In both cases the stories are a lot of fun, but again, I think of these more as a novel written in the character of historical fiction (ie, parts may have been based on actual events). Don’t get your expectations out of control and you should have a good time 
In the Ruins of Empire: The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Postwar Asia
This was an excellent history of Asia from 1945-1950. If you’re interested in how military occupation works, in how systems operate, in how civil wars get started, in how arms get moved from one group to another, this is a great read! Thoroughly enjoyed this one! How did the Vietnam War get started anyway? And what about the Korean war? And why did we let Suharto get away with so much in Indonesia? Much of the current state of Asia is the result of “The Allies” unwinding the Japanese Empire in Asia. The Korean War, Vietnam War, Chinese Civil War, and Indonesian Independence from the Netherlands will all be quickly understood. Prior to reading this, I confess I wasn’t even aware that France tried to restore it’s colony in Vietnam after Japan’s surrender at the end of WWII. At least I’m slightly less ignorant then before I read this one… Highly recommended!
Liar’s Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
This was a very wittily written story about greed on Wall Street during the ’80’s, and a bit about the training (hazing) process for new recruits. At least a few blank spots in your knowledge of modern finance will likely be filled in by a read through this one. Recommended! Enjoy
02.20.08
Spring time will be here soon!
Nothing much to say lately…. Chinese New Year is over. The snow in Shanghai is gone. Another Valentines day has passed. Spring time is on the way. Finally back to drinking iced coffee today!
02.12.08
OS X设置助理无限循环
刚才碰到了怪怪的MAC OS X漏洞。我的设置助理不停着重新开始。很烦恼的一种问题～特别烦恼因为是新的一台MacbookAir笔记本。
终于查到了怎么解决这个问题。。。
1。启动的时候按“SHIFT”（等很长的时间～会启动超级慢）
2。别登陆！
3。按那个往左的箭号（back arrow）
4。按那个“重新启动”
5。等很长的时间～电脑会再来跑更新的程序
6。等等等～电脑会自动的重新启动～都会好了
原来的英文解释在AppleInsider.com的这里。
