Robs' Blog: incoherencies from an american ex-pat in exotic beijing,
  or: how i learned to stop worrying and love bureaucracy

• Gul in landmark visit to Armenia
• Google reigns as world's most powerful 10-year-old
• 40 years after capture, USS Pueblo crew reunites

Two important events in my life happened around 25 years ago:

• I graduated from high school
• I became a parent

As with Palin's daughter, I was 17 when my child was conceived. And, as with Obama's mother, I was 18 when my son was born.

Although I wasn't brought-up in a family that preached abstinence, my parents weren't expecting to become grandparents in their early 40's.

I am grateful for the way that my son's mother raised him. I am beyond grateful to have him in my life. And, I can say without exception, that everyone involved is extremely proud of what he has accomplished.

I applaud Obama's stance that the affairs of one's family should be left out of politics.

That said, I am hopeful that this issue... which, it seems, has been used more for polarization (political and otherwise) than anything else... can now be spoken about in a manner more befitting of a society which truly understands the importance of supporting its future generations, no matter what choices they might make.

To those who might've voted for JFK with the first vote they were eligible cast, only to see the flame extinguished on a Dallas street;

To those who might've stayed away from the polls because of disgruntlement with LBJ or being distraught with the death of RFK, only to let Humphrey and Muskie loose to Nixon and Angew;

To those who might've even switched party loyalties to put Nixon into office for a second term;

To those who have lost faith that dreams can come true, that politicians can do the right thing, that America can take pride in it's leadership;

To you I say, it's time to pass the torch.

• Legal milestone for open source
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars

I have been very impressed so far with Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. I find him a refreshing change from the previous administration. I mean, to come out of the blocks and apologize to Aborigines was really quite something.

It kinda got me thinking a bit about America and the ongoing discussion about whether it should officially apologize to Africans who were brought to the land of freedom as slaves. And, well, the very really possibility that we might soon have a President who is of African decent.

If this were indeed to happen, would it mute calls for such an apology? Would it be appropriate for him to make it?

I recently purchased a 160-GByte AppleTV. Pretty cool toy, with a lot of opportunity for modification (not that I would ever dream of doing such things).

In any event, whilst I was taking the outer sleeve of the packaging off, I was greeted by wordage on the inner carton which has quite frankly perplexed me. Here's a to scale image which I took with my scanner:

What I find so strange about this is that in this time of infinite global collaborative possibilities, of web 2.0, of the network being the computer (shameless plug), of a flat world (still haven't gotten through the damn thing... I find Friedman to be a boring author), of, basically, there being no geographical limitations to creativity and the spawning of new and unique ideas, Apple has taken pains to stress that the innovation behind this product came from a geographical location with a population of 36,457,549 people.

It's like somebody was sitting around their home in Cupertino enjoying a fine glass of Californian wine, and said, hey, it works for them, why not us?

Now, being a fairly linear thinking type of guy, my first instinct was to check the outside of the carton to see where my patriotic little beastie was in fact made. Wanna take a guess where?

Yeppers, the good ol' land of five stars on a red background (pop quiz to those in the US... what does the Chinese national flag symbolize?).

So, now I'm thinking... does the statement that California was somehow involved meant to atone for it being assembled here? Or, perhaps, appease those protectionist zealots who don't remember when Made in Japan was viewed as a scarlet letter?

Proceeding on my linear track, I pondered still more... okay, designed in California, but by whom? I mean, do their designers proportionally represent the demographics of my fair state? How many Native Americans from California (I am, after all, pro-Californian)? How many H1-B visa holders does it employ?

Just to be clear, as one whose paternal grandfather was not born in the US, and who has always admired immigrants for the drive which they showed in coming to a new country, I really don't care about the above.

So, once again, what did they expect to gain by proclaiming in white text on a black background that this system was designed in California, let alone to someone who had already purchased the product?

I can tell you one thing in a categorical manner, I am proud to be working here in Beijing, proud to be helping folks as they develop new and unique ideas, and proud of the many contributions that they have made to Sun in general and OpenSolaris in particular.

Since the celebration of 49th anniversaries seems to be a bit in vogue these days, I think it's fitting to note that the 49th anniversary of Hawaii's inclusion into the United States will be celebrated on August 21st.

Yep, that was the date 49 years ago that the native Polynesian people, without any influence from Americans, Europeans, or other foreign interests, willfully decided on a course that would result with the destruction of some of their most beautiful lands, a severe impact to their native cultures, as well as an influx of foreigners that now has reduced the native population to 16 percent... not including the large tourist or military population.

Then again, it is certainly heartwarming to see a native son like Barack Obama has done so well.

For more information see:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii

And, in particular, the History section.

I continue to be impressed by my Vonage VoIP internet phone service.

They recently updated their SimulRing© feature to include international telephone numbers. So, when someone calls my 408 area code number in the States, it rings in my apartment here in Beijing and on my China Mobile registered cellphone at the same time. Just too cool.

Also, they now have a plan that gets you 12 months of service for the low price of $US 239.99... that's a 20 percent savings, or around $US 20 per month. I signed-up because I don't especially like monthly bills, and don't mind giving some upfront cash to a company I like. (This type of agreement... money upfront for a 15-20 percent discount, is very common here in China.

It was the summer of 1968. We'd already lost JFK and Malcom, with both Martin and Bobbie having been assassinated earlier that same year.

America was knee-deep in Vietnam, with close to 30,000 Americans, and goodness knows how many Vietnamese, dead by that point. The march towards equality had seemed to have stumbled, if not on the verge of falling altogether.

And, in the midst of this, two courageous athletes by the names of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, after coming in first and third respectively in the 200 meter sprint at the Mexico Summer Olympic Games, choose to protest by bowing their heads and raising their clenched fists in a non-violent and non-confrontational display against the injustices that they perceived.

I have never experienced the hardships that they endured. But, I am proud to have run the 200 meter sprint. I am proud to have come from Silicon Valley (they were teammates at San Jose State University). And, most of all, by the beliefs they held, and how they made their ideals visible, they made me proud to be an American.

Here's a great video on their feat, as well as a recap of the events leading up to it:

Now, with that as a backdrop, this caution... I think that if the current protests continue, it won't be long until everyone associated in even some distant way with the Olympics (and not just the athletes, a la 1972) are prime targets for any group who want to bring light to some perceived injustice.