[Alternative working title: Shanghai Pancake Machine] Walked out of my building this morning to find that some genius from Public Works had – in the dark of the night – built a concrete culvert pyramid on my street. Probably unsafe to do so, but I availed myself of a closer look and found that the…
All posts in Labor
Big Dumb Recycling Machine.
[12 September 2008 – Suddenly, this post is generating several hits per day from Venezuela. Could someone explain why?] A couple of weeks ago Shanghai Daily reported that China’s first automatic “drinking bottle recycling machine” had been installed on Nanjing Road for RMB 30,000 (US$4290). The idea is simple: after finishing your canned or bottled…
Vanity’s Rainbow
The other night I had dinner at the Dongbei Ren on Shanxi Road, and while there I happened to notice this waitress stop at the mirror on her way back to the kitchen. I also happened to have a camera with me. As she stood there, preening before the customers, her supervisor walked by and…
What’s a disgruntled Chinese airline pilot supposed to do?
On March 31 and April 1, eighteen (some reports say seventeen) China Eastern flights departed Kunming with passengers, baggage, and cargo, flew around in circles, and then landed … in Kunming, leaving the passengers stranded and furious. [UPDATE 4/8: Xinhua now reports that twenty-one flights were turned around.] Now, what on earth could drive a…
Nine Dragons and a Whole Lotta Labor.
The Chinese blogs are alive with the sound of class resentment, triggered by the so-called “pro rich” proposals that Zhang Yin – once China’s richest woman – presented to the National People’s Congress last week. They certainly sound self-serving – especially the one to drop the income tax rate on China’s top earners. But what…
The Miner’s Woe, the Aussie’s Guilt.
In February 2007, during an otherwise triumphant eight-country tour of Africa, President Hu Jintao faced exactly one schedule change: on February 4 he canceled his planned inauguration of the new, Chinese-owned and operated, Chambishi copper smelter due to rumors of planned protests by disgruntled miners (the China Nonferrous Metal Mining Corporation maintains this site to…
Your Brain on Scrap
I’m at the very tail end of a several month project and my mental state – at least in regard to the writing process -is best described by the piece of steel jammed beneath the jaws of this hydraulic shear. Just a quick note on safety: don’t cut two-inch ship steel at home (with or…
Inkstone Workshop, Anhui
All this talk about the rising price of Chinese manufacturing and the threat it poses to the proliferation of cheap consumer goods worldwide, well, it’s kinda got me down. China has long been capable of better, and I’m not just talking about computer chips, either. So, in the spirit of fair and balanced reporting, I…
Back in Scrap
A couple of emails from readers wondering when I’ll next blog about scrap. Soon, I promise. In the meantime, how about a photo of a scrap motor processing venture up Jiangsu-way? I’m not going to name the company here, but I will say that they are likely China’s largest importer of ferrous scrap, and –…
There’s a great future in China’s civil service. Think about it.
Somewhat fictional Chinese job description: high-prestige, high-paying job with guaranteed housing, transportation and benefits for life. College education, connections, and test-taking ability required. One in sixty applicants offered employment, and demand – based upon five-year trends – likely to double. Microsoft R&D engineer? Coal mine baron? KTV manager? Just before Chinese New Year Xinhua reported…