A strange phenomenon is happening in China dealing with travel and foreign visitors.  The Chinese government has literally started denying travel visas.  Business, tourist, student and work visas all alike.  (Although mainly business visitors.)  I do not really know what to think of this, and I think most of the foreign business population does not really seem to know either.  Call me naive, but I thought China was pretty high on rich, westerners coming to their country to invest, spend, invest and spend some more.  Is China really worried about us entering China legally and then not leaving?  Now I realize that the Olympics and China’s 19,887 Olympic fears has them in a tizzy these days, but still seems strange.  China during the Olympics is going to be nuts!

here are some articles I have run by on the subject:

Business Visas Restricted to Shanghai During Olympics

Olympic Paranoia clutches China

Immigration rules restrict business opportunities

I just saw a commercial on the Discovery Channel sponsored by Saturn and planetgreen.com that was kind of cool, but more weird than anything.  The commercial basically was trying to convince commercial viewing men to shave less often because 1) shaving less saves water (enough to make a commercial about it?) and 2) Guys look “cooler” when they go a few days without shaving.  The commercial also tried to convince commercial viewing women to wash their hair less often and wear a “cute hat” or something to cover-up their greasy disgustingness.  I am all for conservation (kinda) but this was a strange attempt.  I am pretty sure me leaving the front yard sprinkler on a couple hours too long by accident one time wipes-out my entire neighborhoods good intentioned, shaving-less, scraggy water saving beards.

I was reading-up on some of my favorite China blogs and came across a post that asks a great big question about China.  Is Bribery necessary in China?  Here is the source: The Rise of The Dragon: Is Bribery Really Necessary?

So back to the question.  I think corruption is a terrible thing, but having dabbled in international business (who am I kidding, US too) I would say that it is very real.  I hate to say necessary, but yeah, In China it is.  Foreign firms can not own land in China, so if you own a factory their you HAVE taken part in China’s exciting world of corruption.  In order to get a permit to build, you need government permission.  To get permission, on some level someone was bribed or “greased” somehow.  It is literally impossible, and incredibly nieve to think other wise.  My info comes from a few friends and other third party sources, so I may be wrong, but I doubt it.  There are so many levels of beuracracy in China, to think that you can avoid the built-in corruption is again, nieve.

But isn’t bribery illegal?  Yes.  And didn’t they execute the health minister a couple years ago for accepting bribes?  Yes.  Good show huh.  China is good at that.  There are a lot of illegal things in China that you would think their GDP depends on.  Prostitution, child labor (at least us American’s ignorant definition of it,) and environmental pollution just to name a couple.  You see these everyday.  In fact, unless you hide in a fort made of blankets in your hotel room with the phone off the hook and the blinds closed, you can hardly avoid the above three.  Bribery is not quite that bad, but you get my point.

The Travel Channel is the coolest.  Bizzare Foods is awesome with Andrew Zimmerman, but this week has been a lot of fun.  Why?  It is China Week!  it is interesting to see just how interested the world is getting towards China.  It is 12:40 a.m. and I have to go to work tomorrow, and I feel terrible, but this show is fascinating.

The Travel Channel is making everything seem so crazy and mystic, but really, the more I think about it, it really IS crazy and mystic.  I mean that in a good way.  I think that is why I am so fascinated in China, it’s history, people and FOOD.  It is so different than what I grew-up knowing as “normal.”  I am from Coos Bay, OR in case you were wondering.  I would give 197 Australian dollars for some xiao long bao (dragon balls?) right now!

When I was livng in Taiwan I almost literally sometimes survived by eating bing shas. Basicallysimle Jamba Juice, or Orange Julius concoctions.  Fruit, sugar and ice.  Delicious.  We bought a knock-off Magic-Bullet a couple months ago and have gotten back into the magic of freshly-made smoothies.  They are not quite fresh, but close.  Our favorites are soy milk mixed with frozen strawberries, blueberries and blackberries as well as frozen white and regular peaches.  Mix this with some fresh strawberries and raspberries, and I personally add a touch of Splenda to top it off.  When I am feeling extra crazy I throw in a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make it a little special.

Once, back in 2001, at the peak of my golfing ability I quit the game of golf. Today I am ashamed to say that I was reminded as to why. I was playing 18 at Cedar Hills Golf Course with Derek and Ted Ashton.  I think I was even after the front 9 and even through 14. 14 is a hole I will not soon remember. I hit a great drive (distance,) but not quite in the right direction. My second shot was from 85 yds (center pin left of the fairway on a side hill.) I hit a perfect shot, well almost, only to see it drop 20 yard short of the green into the hillside underbrush. Drop, chip on two-put double bogey. The problem was that I was NOT 85 yds from the pin. I glanced at a yardage marker and saw 67, counted 20 additional and hit an 85 yd shot. After coming up a confusing 20+ short, I walked past the 100 yd marker on the way to the green. Ahha. I saw 67, but what I really saw was 97. One of the biggest mental mistakes I have made in a round in a long time. What made it even worse was an eagle on 18 that would have had me finish -1. I finished +1. So why would this make me want to quit you may ask? +1 is the best round I have had in years. I shot one over par and was stil literally overcome with anger (fury Derek would have said) over the double. I let one bad hole not just ruin a hole, but ruin an entire round, and most of the day. Back when I quit in highschool it was for the same reason. How could a game I loved so much make me so angry? And even more important, how could a round of +1, +2, +3 make me misserable? I was playing for the wrong reasons. My round today should have been all about enjoyng a few hours with two good friends.  Embarrassing, and sad. Something I need to work on becase I am not quitting golf again!

I finally saw a Mac commercial that I did not like. For clarification, I don’t particularly like most of the Mac commercials I have seen, but I have not disliked them either. I saw one yesterday that I did not like.

The commercial itself was ok. It presented the build-up and suspense around a secretive “new” phone that was going to be the iPhone killer. Turns out this “new” phone is just the new iPhone. I thought this part of the commercial was fine, even kind of clever, except for the fact that the key sales point was that it is everything you like about the iPhone, but 2x faster and half as expensive. This is where I have a problem.

Yeah the handset it cheaper than it used to be, but the data plan has increased in cost 33%. The new iPhone is not cheaper at all, in fact it is $160 more expensive than the old iPhone. Do they really think we are that stupid? (Yes, they do.) So, if you bought your phone and never activated it you would truly have a sweet desk decoration at half the price of the old iPhone. But you can’t even do that. You’re not allowed to buy an iPhone and not activate it. (Unless you want to buy one on the black market.)

source: (Only one out of 997 out there) consumerist.com

It would be similar to if Honda sold you a “new” Civic for 8k that could only run on $13 per gallon “special” gas. I guess Americans jumped all over the subprime party, so why not market phones in the same way.

Market the iPhone because it is cool and because it is the best phone out there, but don’t sell it because it is 2x as fast and half the price of the old iPhone. Make more of those trendy iTunes commercials and call it a day. Don’t make stupid commercials that are deceiving, you don’t need to.

Excitement is passed, now what?

So we hired a PR guy, CNBC guys came from NY to visit, we displayed a new line of kick-butt office chairs at NeoCon in Chicago, created new marketing materials and hired an awesome designer to re-brand and build a new website, (which is coming soon) and there was a lot of excitement.

We are back from Chicago now and it is time to really get to work. But what do we do? It is not as idf there is nothing to do, on the contrary, there is so much to do it is hard to know what should be done first. Leading-up to NeoCon there seemed to be a ton to do too, but the difference was that we knew exactly what needed to be done and when. Now we are faced with mountains, and the excitement has somewhat worn-off. The rubber has hit the road and the work that we do know is really going to determine our success. It is now time to prioritize and get focused. (While including golf, motorcycles, traveling and camping into those priorities.)

I finally did it! And it is only July 2

My goal this year was to shoot under par at least ONE time, and I did it this morning. I tee’d-off at Hobble Creek at 6:40 a.m. with Dan Capel, trying to get one more round off before our July 4^th weekend adventure to Boulder, CO. First shot was a 125 yd. pitching wedge downhill, pin-high 15 feet. That turned out to be a familiar place all day. Three birdies and two bogies, and a three putt on 18 for a par that would have made the round 2 under. Two of the three birdies were 10ft+ puts that I don’t normally make, but hey, I did today!

The only problem is that I could only play 9 holes. We played-off of the back and only had time to get in nine. I would love go out and finish the rest later today, but I can’t. But I will next week.

I was on fire today. I wish I could have played this well with Derek and his dad at Gladstan on Monday.

I did not want to write about this, but I have to.  All the time, when I tell people I ride, they love to tell me how just how dangerous motorcycles are.  that is like telling a fat person that being fat increases their chance of having a heart attack.  Or telling a Marine that guns can kill.  Do you really think that you are “enlightening” them?  I know motorcycles are dangerous.  Don’t ever date someone, becasue heaven forbid, you may actually fall in love.  (I have heard that is how it can happen.)  If the rate of failure riding motorcycles were as high as say, staying married, (over 50% crash and burn rate) then maybe I would stop.  But riding motorcycles makes me happy and I will not stop.  I just wish the girl behind me yesterday at the RED LIGHT had chosen to stop.  Despite a little whiplash, a broken foot-peg and loose rear brake, I am fine.  A little psychological damage perhaps, but my ego is big enough to mend that fence!

Dear car drivers,

Please stop talking on your cell-phones and hitting people on motorcycles.  Heck, go ahead and talk on your cell phones, but STOP hitting people on motorcycles.  (I hear in Oregon it is now illegal to talk on your cell while driving?  Good for you!)

Sincerely,

Jason Barber

p.s. wear a helmet