Shock waves off an AK-47 when fired

A very cool photo from the slideshow attached to this NYT article. Discusses photography of airflow from things like coughs, gunshots, a hair-dryer, etc.

Via Shanghaiist:

For all of you outside of China right now who have no idea what the internet is like over here and are curious enough to meet the Net Nanny face to face, here comes the ultimate Firefox extension for you, the China Channel Firefox Add-on.

Hilariously awesome. It makes any Firefox browser outside China behave as if it is instead inside China (I assume through a proxy), and the logo they worked up ain’t so bad either!

Went out to the house of a friend of a friend last night to play some poker. Lost about 50元 ($8), but it was a good time. The main problem with the whole thing, was that the house was home to 3 cats. I am quite allergic to cats, but also love them to death, so as soon as I walked in, without thinking I picked one up and was cuddling it. For the next hour or so I was sneezing like a fiend, much to amusement of everyone else at the table. We also played with monopoly money instead of chips, which was surprisingly fun. (more…)

So it has been a while since I have thrown a real update my blogs way. I have been busy I guess, but also lazy. Many times have found myself thinking I should write something, but never getting around to it. Just really need to make blogging a habit, if my sister is any indication, a little habit might soon turn into an addiction.

But anyways, back to the subject at hand, my life and its progression in Shanghai. As I was saying to Tim just last night, when October 1st hit over a week ago now (holy shit!) I could not believe that a month had passed so quickly. I don’t know if it is the business everyday or what, but time is really flying over here. It is a bit monotonous I guess, not that I am not having fun, but class + work can get a little repetitive. Of course I am still telling myself I need to get out an explore more, and it is still not happening. There is always next weekend…

I joined a website for hooking up people for language exchange from all over the world (I think originally started by people in China, but in no way China specific) called italki.com. Got a lot of hits off of that from mostly Chinese people wanting to learn English from me. Have made a few friends though, some in Shanghai, some not. Hung out with one girl, Mandy, during the National Holiday vacation last week. We ended up having dinner at her friend’s parent’s restaurant so that I could speak English with her friend (Mandy’s English was quite good, all things considered). It was a fun time, and lots of good food, though there was, of course, the awkward, “Yeah, I really don’t like that…” after they brought out all the food without ever asking anything I might dis/like. On the upside I didn’t have to pay, so why am I complaining.

Finally, in non-school/work news, was my trip to a nearby sports bar this past weekend on both Saturday and Sunday morning to watch MLB games. Seeing the Sox on a nice big TV, with the English commentary blarring through the empty bar and a beer in my hand, while the Chinese employees looked at the TV with no idea what was happening, was just freaking awesome. Every time I would erupt in elation or dismay at a play I would then have to explain in broken Chinese/English whether I was happy or sad, and why that was the case. Plus the Sox won, and went on to take the series. Good times. I will definitely be back at a bar this coming weekend.

Side note: I can not find shoes in China. I have been to many, many stores and no one cares anything about a US 10.5. This could soon become a real problem. Must find the hidden shoe man that caters to the 老外 (foreigners).

A stinging editorial from Esquire endorsing (sort of) Obama. Amazingly written and saying all the things that need to be said after the past seven years of disaster:

Bushism must be ripped out, root and branch, everywhere it has been established, or else the presidential election of 2008 is a worthless exercise in futility. Barack Obama may not be the man to do it, but John McCain, for all his laudable qualities, clearly is neither willing nor able to do so.

Esquire Endorses Barack Obama for President – Election 2008 – Esquire.

The people in urgent need of long-term banishment – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com:

The GOP has controlled the House for all but 20 months of the last 14 years. They’ve controlled the White House for the last 8 years, and also had control of both houses of Congress for 4 of those years. It’s amazing what “the Left” can accomplish by never being in power, and how “the Right” is powerless to stop it even as they control the levers of Government.

And a few long-form posts coming soon, for those finding themsleves wanting for updates.