to JV; chicken and JB and of course anybody who bothers to read my my bs...
John 1st and most important:
one fine day, long, long ago someone told me of a great book [in the 60's] and i lived in Manhattan so i went to my favorite book store - Brentanos and bought it. i was the kind of person [not really a nerd, but maybe heady] that would spend a day at Brentanos just finding a new great book.
it was true for me then that this book was great and i still remember a few direct quotes from this imo great book; and here is one of them:
"""TO ONE WHO HAS THE EXPERIENCE NO EXPLANATION IS NECESSARY, TO ONE WHO HAS 'NOT' HAD THE EXPERIENCE NO EXPLANATION IS POSSIBLE."""
just one mans opinion John, you have learned the 'basics' of China, and i am sure being married to a Chinese National has helped you on that road greatly. you have vested you life; and i will say again "Your Life" in China and really, you have far exceeded me in your short time there [me = someone 'i' think is pretty wise], but i can always speak from the heart and i am sure you have already, or, will soon exceed me. Great Job kid.
getting back to my books as a youth, and the CAPITALIZED QUOTE ABOVE, you will never ever find success trying to reason with JV or chicken [unless they one day are willing to open their minds - to learn from another with far greater experience]. kind of like; if you look for unhappiness in life - you will find it; and take for example my wife - she always looks for happiness in life - and she finds it everyday.
JV & chicken have a "Belief System" that they can not escape from. to me, and only to me, they have created the prison of the China they compose irrespective of reality and serious thought. and besides, their only experiences if bad briefcase locks and thinking they really know sh*t about lead.
and by the way boys and girls, lead is still present... and not only in paint, it is in your drinking water too; what a revelation, huh. i can tell you ppm and also ppB. i am an importer and i have to know and i have to test every fn thing, always!!!!
to chicken & JV:
we all have our hobbies and things we love to do in life and for sure as the inimical chicken said "WE ARE ALL POOL PLAYERS"!!!!! yeah, chick, that was the best line in all of this thread, hands down, without doubt.
if you get to vegas in may, i would love to meet you. you have a great spirit and no problem; we can agree to disagree.
but i want to add, i love trapshooting. beautiful clay targets against a beautiful sky and one of my great shotguns in my hands. trust me when i tell you how enjoyable it is. and also, just about 2 miles from me there used to be [but now gone] an indoor range i would go to at least 3 nights a week just to enjoy an hour or two of target practice with handguns before my wife made dinner. do you know how much "volatile" lead i consumed whether shooting trap or hand guns? lots and lots , beyond belief. that is pure lead dust, and even with jacketed bullets, but of course shotshells are just lead and not jacketed at all.
do you know why they put lead in paint? it was a preservative, and why they put lead in gas, also cause it was a preservative [or lubricant but that has the same meaning for both gas and paint.
further: when i was a child, i feared my grandma the most. maybe she was 5'3" and weighed 90 pounds, but heaven forbid i did anything wrong she would tell me how i shamed our family. well for Chinese, that is even more strong. to do something to shame your family, or, heaven forbid China, in the first case your family will feel you betrayed "all of your ancestors", in the second case, for sure you will be put to death!! no questions, done deal, and even the family of the perp will be made to pay for the bullet!! i kid you not. i kid you not!!!!!!!!
JB really tries so hard to express things you have no idea of. you should really try and trust him. i know you are great guys, and we all enjoy your presence here, but i hope you can learn some things that you are not as familiar with as John. that is my hope, truly. and again as chicken said: "WE ARE ALL POOL PLAYERS", right?
sri for this long post and now its time for me to go back to my pasture and shut the heck up. i'm on my way, leaving now...
and all the best to you all,
smokey