Mid October 2010 and everything is what it is.

Butt Ends  I really love to see cigarette butt ends on the stairs of my school, and of my apartment building.  It gives me opportunity to ponder the wonder of others' mindsets.

Pizza Delivery in Hui Shan City  There is now a restaurant that can deliver pizza to Casa K.  The pizza is nothing to blog about, but it will do.

Not as interesting as they could be  Why are the Chinese like this?  No democracy.  Even Canada's Trudeaufied democracy is an improvement on this society.

Bags  On the bus, I see a deboarding man with a long stick for carrying bags.  In one of the two bags with handles that he will tote, I see a clear plastic bag filled with peanuts.

One Child Policy Question:  "Do you have your child, yet?"

A simple question.  I can't ask the students what their favorite restaurant is because they will take the question too literally and really think hard about what their favorite restaurant is -- I only ask the question to get them to talk.  I have often had a student tell me, after their pondering, that it hard for them to say what their favorite restaurant is.  So, I ask the students to just tell me a restaurant they like -- but even then, they find the question hard to answer without thinking a lot about it.

U.S. Mid Term Elections  I am following that election campaign avidly via podcast, hoping for a Republican landslide.  Here are a few observations I can make about it:

• I listened to a progressive podcast from Slate.  Their talking point was to lament all the money being spent on campaign advertising.  (I also heard Obama talk about this, which raises the question of who originally came up with the talking point -- the White House or their minions in the media.)  The progressives didn't want to even broach the subject of the fact that the ass-kicking they are about to receive is the result of the fact that the Obama agenda is a fraud and is not at all what Americans want.
• I heard a RINO squish say that the quality of candidates matters (he was referring to the O'Donnell candidacy in Delaware).  I immediately thought that if that was so, how did Obama get elected president?
• I don't bother telling the students about the U.S.elections -- but, I should.  I do find them exciting to follow.  Even if the two sides in the election talk around each other, an observer can gleam some facts from what is being said. (Unlike China where they get fed only line).

10/10/10  A student told me that he got his wedding license on that date because the number pattern was considered by the Chinese to be a source of good fortune.  So when he went it the wedding license bureau that day, the place was very crowded.  I think 10/20/2010 is also a good date because of the symmetry of the tens and twenties.

Range Anxiety  I heard this term used for the first time on a podcast about electric cars.  What this refers to is the fear that the electric vehicle one is driving will run out of charge and leave one stranded far from home or an electrical outlet.  I have been experiencing range anxiety with my electric scooter.  The battery is getting old and so the range of the scooter has been diminished -- when once I could go downtown and back twice, I now don't think I could make it to the downtown.