Re: Job Offer

On Fri, 21 Mar 2025 16:27:18 -0700,
  Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:

 I could use some opinions here.  Is this video of China for
 real? "This Video Will Change Your View of CHINA! (no more
 lies)"

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED9iaYliMSg> (11:17)

 It presents a very positive view of China from the point of
 view of a resident who emigrated from England 13 years ago. 
 Is all of urban China like that, or is he cherry picking the
 best and most modern areas?  Do the videos look like they have
 been "improved" with AI?

From about 2005 to 2019 I made something like 20-30 trips to
China.  The largest number were to Beijing, but I also spent some
time (multiple days each) in Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Jinan,
Chengdu, and probably a couple others I'm not recalling.

I only watched the first few minutes of the video, and thought it
was not terribly off base--though somewhat optimistic.  I've
ridden on the bullet trains, including first class.  It's not bad,
but nowhere as nice as the shinkansen in Japan.  In general,
things are grubbier up close and not uncommonly in need of repair. 

For example, one conference center I was at had carpet that was
stained and dirty and had obviously been brought in from somewhere
else.  The edges were loose and didn't quite fit.  Cupboard doors
in hotel rooms may have broken hinges.  The air in most cities is
atrocious--unless a front had come through and cleared the air, my
sinuses typically burned from the moment of getting off the plane
until leaving.

The nicest hotels are quite nice, and amazingly affordable.  On
the other hand, you can walk less than a mile and find yourself in
alleyways that are somewhat scary--at least I felt a bit nervous
walking alone.

Not sure if that answers your question, so please feel free to ask
more specifics if you like.

--
Ted Heise      <theise@panix.com>       West Lafayette, IN, USA