Catshanghai

Today is new year’s eve, but tonight I will be home baby sitting Jake waiting for Jenny to come back from a work party. As I look back over another year in Shanghai I realise I have spent more time in this city than in any other place as an adult. Working for over six [...]

I'm back at work today after nearly three weeks in Guangzhou, southern China. As temperatures were set to plummet in Shanghai we decided to head south where the weather is much milder at this time of year. The trip was the first time we have been away since Jake was born. We went away as [...]

We enjoy films at home on a 90 inch pull down projector screen. One of the benefits of living in China is that the latest releases are available on DVD for less than $1. Even James Fallowes of the Atlantic admits to buying pirated DVDs while he was living in China so I don't feel [...]

Are they resolutions or a wish list? Here is a list anyway. Keep Jake's milestones documented with videos, pictures and blog posts Be a good dad, husband, employee and global citizen Write 100 blog posts Exercise 100 times Listen to 12 audio books covering a wide range of topics Cut carbon footprint by 10% Get [...]

Highlights of 2009 Jake’s birth Jake’s first swim Jake’s first smile Jake’s first laugh Jake sitting up Jake’s first plane ride to Guangzhou Valentine’s Day at Bacaro Family coming to see us in Shanghai Getting VPN to work in China Watching Zombieland Listening to Boduf Songs Setting up school Moodle site Lowlights of 2009 Execution [...]

Last night I saw a new American diner at 200 Taikang Lu. It's called Superdiner. The sight of mirrors and neon sickened my stomach. This may work in Las Vegas or even Tongren Lu, but it does not fit this place. Taikang Lu-Tianzifang is special, because it is an organic collection of independent shops, art [...]

Yesterday my journey to work took two hours. Normally the same trip takes less than an hour. What happened? I tried a new route and everything went wrong. Normally i take a taxi or school bus. The bus is provided by the company. It’s free, but I need to cycle to the bus stop and [...]

(download) Click here to download: Moodle_Learning_Tips.swf (378 KB) ICT has always been prominent at BISS, but this year it will have an even bigger profile as all subjects will be expected to use Moodle to make their resources and activities available online. It will be useful if this blog was a platform to share tips [...]

I've been using Freedur VPN to access blocked websites from China, but recent developments have caused me to drop them after accountant Chris Mathews ran off with the domain and a database of customers. See this Shangahaiist story for more details. Despite reassurances from their twitter feed I can't give them access to my data [...]

Summer is here and many expats are selling their stuff as they get ready to move on to newer pastures (or be sent back to older ones). Those of us who have been in Shanghai for more than a year will recognise the cycle and see there is an opportunity to get good secondhand gear. [...]