help

Normally I am not one to advocate the helping ways. I try to do my part and get on with life but I was told about a pretty cool website that seems to be doing some good in the world and i thought I would share it. Here is how it works, you sign up and register your bank info then you look through those people that have applied for micro loans, some of the projects are from families trying to buy their own rickshaw so they can earn a greater portion of the days wages to send kids to school, some are women needing 100 dollars to renovate a business of increase fruit stand merchandise, it can be whatever. Then you select how much you want to loan $25 and up, the money gets collected from a bunch of loaners and then sent. The person getting the loan gets it at super low interest, makes payments and you get your money back. The website has 98% payback and has loaned more than 2 million dollars. Personally I loan to people who need money the expand a bar in nicaragua and a woman that wanted to increase production of beer in uganda, hey when i get to uganda I am going to need a beer and she better still be brewing. At any rate seems like a simple way to improve some peoples lives and it beats the hell out of letting BOA or CITI use my money to make absurd payments to CEOs and CFOs for nearly bankrupting this nation. The website is kiva.org. check it out.

target

I went to target yesterday and was again struck by the vast mount of stuff that there is to buy in america. Aisles and aisles of clothes and sports equipment and food and I found a two and a half pound bag of reece's peanut butter cups minis. Talk about excess. Noone needs two and a half pounds of that ever, yet there they were staring down from the shelf on sale and waiting to be purchased and restocked. That was what got me not them being there but the entire network of the things stretching back to the factory and the nearly endless supply of everything in the store. Them I started to think about all of the other target stores out there that are the same and it is such a vast amount of junk it is incomprehensible. At any rate I bought a pair of shorts as i wanted a new pair but before purchasing them I made sure where they were made, nothing from china for me thanks. It is the smallest gesture that I can make to show my lack of support for the corrupt and repressive regime. I realize that bangledesh and other countries are not any better but I live in china and have seen first hand how completely wrong that system is.

missed me

The time really travels fast. I had intended to send all my grades and stuff out in the days following my departure from china and be finished with the school for the summer but I just got around to doing it and it feels good to be done. Something that I have been keeping up with and wondering about, in china the government is trying to make all computers sold there come with a preinstalled software that spies on the computer user. Now this is completely above and beyond the acceptable level of government snooping, the software filters political content, records passwords and can take remote screenshots. I remember when the soviets tried to run a really repressive regime and US companies didnt help them they told them to take the product like we sell it or screw. Levi's didnt install tracking devices into their jeans to help the soviets so why is HP helping the chinese government? Shouldnt they tell china that if they want HP computers they take them as they come? and google to why help? It drives me insane to think that these companies will sell out american ideals for a few bucks. I say make the best products in the world and force the powers that rule china to come sniveling to the door of freedom asking if they can play with our ball.

hot

It is silly hot right now. I mean it is like 90's and humid. I forget how much that sucks . I tried to go for a run this morning and made it through about 30 minutes then I felt like puking and my head was spinning. I stopped and walked the rest of the way. I think I just need to get up earlier. I will try that and hope it is better. The heat makes it really miserable to do other things as well. Just going for an errand becomes an oppressive exercise. I cant imagine why people given he choice would live in this kind of heat.

USA

Went to the grocery store and was reminded how great the US is. I have been to grocery stores in many countries, it is one of the things I do while on vacation, I think it gives you a kind of window into the culture that simply being in a country cannot. For example in china there are whole rows of instant noodles (ramen) but not a single pickle to be found. So yesterday I went to the grocery store here and my god what choices what variety thousands of different cheeses, hundreds of types of chips, fruit for days, and it was cleaned and not crowded and the people were friendly and helpful. It was a real treat to be there. I must say that when someone asks what is so great about america in the future I certainly know what my response will be. Anyways I bought a bunch of things to eat and I am now enjoying my vacation much more.