Mid-Autumn Festival random observations.

• I got very drunk last night. I drank a mixture of gin, beer, Kahlua, 5 rmb baijoe, and other liquors at my friend's, the King of Wuxi, barbecue. The drinking binge was instigated by his in-laws. I made WTU #190 after the binge. After making WTU 190, I spent an hour by the toilet. My wife, a Beixing girl, picked me up, supported me as I stumbled home and gave me a bath - I never felt so lucky and ashamed.
• I am listening to ESPN Sports radio. I heard that my Seahawks are 0-2, My Jets are 1-1, and a Cubs pitcher named Z pitched a no-hitter.
• I hate the wildcard in baseball. Any excitement it generates is artificially created and ephemeral. Nothing is better than the excitement generated by an epic pennant race like the Yankees - Red Sox race of 1978. A race that could not happen now because the two teams would have sewn up playoff spots. Now, with the wildcard, historically marginal teams are engaging in pennant races.
• Earlier yesterday, it was my honour to join my friend, the King of Wuxi, as he drove to Xi Shan island in Lake Tai Hu. This place is close to Suzhou. On the way, we saw a very modern road system that you could have seen in America. But it was lightly used. To get to the island, we drove on more spectacular roadwork as the highway ran through three islands connected by three bridges.
• I saw a car cut off a police car and get away with it... I don't understand China sometimes.
• With all the modernity, you still see signs of the old China. As we drove, I saw an old woman with a bent and crippled body sweeping the front of her modest home.
• My wife and son go to Nanjing for one week. I will be by myself trying to figure out how to use the washing machine and watching DVDs of old movies like Ten Commandments and Anatomy of a Murder starring Jimmy Stewart.
• I check out the Real Clear Politics site, and it shows McCain with a two point lead over Obama in the polls. God, I hope McCain can hold it. 0bama needs to be punished for such stupid quotes as this: This is the time... "when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” 0 said this talking about his getting the nomination of the Democratic Party.
• Canada has an election happening. The election seems to be a question of whether or not the Conservatives can gain a majority of seats in parliament. (Last election, they formed a minority government) The Leader of the Conservatives, and our current Prime Minister, is Stephen Harper. The Wall Street Journal praises him. But a very contrarian conservative David Warren does not. I can understand Warren's disappointment because of the Human Rights Commission controversies and the awarding of an order of Canada to an abortionist slash baby-murderer, but maybe with a majority government, the Conservatives can do some sensible things that would please Mr. Warren and me.