What to write today?
Suddenly found there is no topic to write today. It happens frequently before, but this is the first time I write about it. :-D
So, what should I write today?
What to Write Today?
12
Monthly Archives: April 2006
PSP is Hard to Use
I got a PlayStation Portal (PSP). It is hard to use – you have to buy more stuff other than the stone-like black box.
The usability is not that good. May need some time to get used to. There is almost nothing I can do with it, if I don’t have a Memory Stick Pro Duo card. Information on the Internet for PSP is not good enough. Seems all complicated. I start to wonder, did I change from a geek type of guy to an idol, or the hardware changes?
The Metro City offers so different price for Memory Stick Pro Duo. Some quotes 690 RMB for 1 GB, and some offers 460 RMB for 2GB.
Anyway, I don’t know why but my passion for hardware, even including camera is not as strong as several years ago. Why?
China International Boat Show in Shanghai
Image credit: CMP SinoExpo
I didn’t know this event before. Anyway, it is the 11th time this event is held in China. Boat is just too far from me. The market of marina hasn’t really started yet. I met with Mr. Yuan, the CEO of a boat importing and reseller company at Taihu. He introduced the boat show to me and generously sponsored two tickets for me. Well. I start to get interested in boat. I guess I will be there next Sunday. Here are the pictures of the last year’s event.
Thanks to my friends in B.V. Capital, I had my first and exciting experience to go sailing in the Bay area last April. At least, I know there is a red rope on the boat that I can pull to lower the sail completely. :-) (Pictures)
There are many lakes in China, especially the east part of China. But they are very seldom leveraged. People don’t go there for sailing, or surfing. I hope this event will help to promote water sports.
P.S. Maglev stopped operation for 1 hour and a half due to technical difficulties this morning. It is not so positive news for Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev project.
P.S. 2: Oriental TV in Shanghai is creating a morning program for bloggers in Shanghai. Anyone interested? Please contact Miss. Zhang at [nizizp@126.com].
How Car Annual Checking Works
It is a hot day – 27 degrees, and Hangzhou seems to enter Summer already. I am back – very tired. The 170+ km express way is not easy to cover. Next time I go to Hangzhou, I won’t drive – bus or train is a better choice – so I can enjoy the nice scene of Hangzhou without the frustration on the crowded road.
My car is registered in Hangzhou. From considering to get a car, to I finally get one, the car plate in Shanghai raise from 38500 RMB to 43000 RMB. So I chose the much cheaper solution – to register in Hangzhou. (Later, the Shanghai car plate price once dropped to 21001 RMB). The pro side is, it is much cheaper. The con is, I need to go to Hangzhou for the annual checking. Although there are many agents who are willing to do it for me, I hate to give my car to someone I don’t know. So I used the weekend to drive there.
The Place
The place is not easy to find. They moved from the old place, from Hanghai Road, to the other side of the Qiantang River.
The Qian Bridge No. 3 was closed for construction. The added additional difficulty to find the place. When I am there, it is already 3:10 PM.
It is Closed
When I got to the window, they told me they do not accept new applications already. Their business hour is 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. There are still one hour and 20 minutes left, but they refused to take my application. The parking lot is near empty. It seems the only way to get examined is to come the next day.
There is Always Workaround
At the entrance to the office, there is a “car club”. We stepped in. A woman was practicing Chinese typing at her computer. I asked is she able to help us on the exam. She said “sure”.
We gave her 100 RMB for the service. She went to the same counter, send it in. Very soon, some official came out and drove my car in. 5 minutes later, I got all my documents stamped, and I passed the exam.
This is the typical way government collect money – to close the office early or setup enough difficulty, so people need to go to agents (commercial organization), to get something – like visa, permission, certificates, or license. Since the government is not allowed to directly get any money from citizen, they can leverage a commercial partner to collect the money by providing priority service to the agents. People pay the agents to get better service. The money can be used as “activity fund” for the employees.
This is the only way I can find to explain why they don’t accept application but the office 100 meters away accept it.
Disclaimer: Only the fact part of this article is confirmed. The how it works and behind scene part is my guess based what someone told me.
Hangzhou for Car Yearly Checking
I am in Hangzhou.
Two years for Goudaner, and I have to do the car yearly checking. So, I drove to Hangzhou.
The first weekend, I was in Hangzhou for meeting.
The second weekend, I went to Nanjing.
The same Sunday, in Suzhou, Taihu.
The forth weekend, which is today, I am in Hangzhou.
I will post picture tomorrow.