Here’s my building:

When I moved in, both the north and east gates were open and in use. At night the north gate was often kept almost closed, so that only pedestrians could fit through and cars had to go through the east gate. Fair enough. But after a couple of years, the north gate was locked shut without warning. I asked the wuye about it and was told that there wasn’t enough money to keep a guard posted there.

Let’s do some math.

I pay approximately 4000 RMB every year in management fees. There are six building entrances, each of which holds 20-24 apartments (two doors on each floor, and 10-12 floors per entrance, depending on the location). So let’s say 136 apartments. That’s 544000 RMB per year from basic fees. There are also at least 100 cars parked inside the gates, covering almost every single inch of available space. Let’s say 300 RMB per month for parking; that brings in another 360000 RMB. So with close to 1 million RMB at their disposal, the wuye have decided it’s out of their budget to assign a skinny 18-year-old kid with a crustache and an oversized shirt to sleep in the guard box at the north gate.

The joy in this story comes not from the stupid decision by the wuye but rather by the sad and predictable effect of that decision. Because unlike me, someone was not content just to complain to everyone who would listen. This guy wanted his north gate back, and he got it back — by bending and removing the metal bars of the gate until he could fit through them. Here’s the gate now:

Even with the makeshift bars tied on, it’s easy to get in and out. There’s no guard there, so whoever was being kept out “for my safety” now has easy access. You couldn’t even open the gate if you tried, and replacing it surely won’t be cheap.  All in all, a brilliantly played hand by the building management.

Here are a few more pics. Note the cars parked directly in front of both sides of the gate, as well as the graffiti sprayed right next to the guard post.

The thousands of comments are even better: some expressing admiration, but most in shock that a Yale professor, or any sane person, actually believes in this sort of parenting. Instead of the Chinese patriots who overwhelm the comments sections of other China-related articles, this time we hear from Chinese-American and other Asian American grown-ups who endured this kind of childhood. Unsurprsingly, most didn’t enjoy it too much.

The combination of the yappy, Taiwanese-accented newsreaders, the bizarre stories chosen for coverage, and the overwrought emotions on the digital “actors” is irresistible. Hire some English-speaking anchors, and NMA will surely become the next TMZ, no? I just hope they keep their subtly Chinese perspective on America’s celebrity, gossip, and entertainment news.

7:10pm: Sitting on the plane for over an hour now. Pilot’s last message: “Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally been cleared for takeoff. However, the car that was supposed to push us back has disappeared. I will try to contact the tower.”

UPDATE 7:15:

Last message: “Ladies and gentlemen, the tow truck arrived and disappeared again. This is not an organized airport. I apologize.”

UPDATE 7:20:

All announcements are in very good English. Chinese versions are toned down… Last message was English only.

UPDATE 7:24:

We are finally moving. I guess they found the missing truck. Just one hour late…

UPDATE FROM SZ: The flight was almost two hours delayed. I spent 5 hours on the plane, only 3 hours of which in the air… It is July and the weather in SZ is better than Beijing…

Remember last month when Baidu was hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army?

Well, Domain Name Wire explains the hi-tech coding techniques used to perpertrate the crime:

Here’s how Baidu alleges the hacker got access to one of the world’s most popular web sites domain name account in under an hour:

1. Hacker starts online chat session with Register.com representative, claiming to be an agent of Baidu.

2. Register.com representative asks hacker to provide verification information. Hacker provides invalid information, but Register.com goes ahead and e-mails a security code to the email address it has on file for Baidu anyway.

3. The hacker doesn’t have access to that e-mail address, so he/she relays a bogus security code to the Register.com representative via chat. Baidu claims the representative didn’t bother to compare the code to the actual one.

4. Hacker asks Register.com representative to change email address on file to antiwahabi2008@gmail.com, and representative does.

5. Hacker now uses “forgot password” link at Register.com to request the username and password to the account. Hacker can then log in and change the name servers.

Baidu is currently suing Register.com but they could have simply avoided this whole debacle by paying a few extra  dollars a year for increased domain security. After all they do rely on their website being available for their core business. But it’s easier to blame it on the idiocy of a Register.com tech support guy.

If you are one of these lucky 1500 ladies mentioned in the story, TFF would love to hear from you….

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http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/6839840.html

Nowadays, there is a popular saying among Japanese girls that goes “What we want is Chinese food and men, not French lovers or American houses.” This means Japanese girls have lost their interest in French and American men. In Japan, men from China are becoming more popular with Japanese girls. More than 1,500 Japanese girls married with Chinese men last year, an increase of 30 percent, which is the highest in history. A representative from Japan’s China information research institute told the reporter that the quick development of China’s economy and Chinese people getting richer are the most important reasons for Japanese girls changing their appetites. Also because Japan has more women than men and Japanese men compared to Chinese men are generally less capable when it comes to being both a considerate family man and a breadwinner. Today’s Japanese men feel much more inferior compared with men from China because they found what they are lacking is not little. By People’s Daily Online

The Guardian reports on a Chinese clothing company that has angered Iranians by creating a line of jeans bearing the Islamic expression “In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful”.

A Chinese clothing manufacturer probably thought it was on to a winner by exporting jeans bearing the Islamic expression “In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful” to Iran. But an otherwise sound marketing ploy was undone by one embarrassing flaw: the phrase (Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim in Arabic), which graces each of the Qur’an’s 114 chapters, was prominently displayed on the pockets of the jeans’ backsides, something likely to be seen as disrespectful by devout Muslims.

The Guardian is quoting Asriran.com who is accusing China of “attacking Iranian Muslim sacred symbols in the most offensive manner”. Also, the importers of the Jeans have been arrested.

Now Wuhan’s chengguan are taking it a step further and deputizing a foreigner to put help save Wuhan from utter chaos by forcing shopkeepers to move boxes of bottled water off the sidewalk:

Let’s hope that the makers of this launcher don’t team up with this guy.