Fully equipped, riding Superman!

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

I finally got the type of mask I was looking for, to use on my bike when pollution is getting too bad, like today: well above 200 AQI. I tried all the other usual ones, none worked as my glasses became foggy and I could not really breathe.
This one (3M) works OK, as it has valves for incoming and outgoing air. Tested today for the first time.


So now, fully equipped with my little SUPERMAN bike – no joke, that is actually the BAT brand’s model name as I discovered a couple of weeks after buying it. It is a small and simple bike, no gears, giving me extra exercise when climbing a little or when it’s windy. I already bike fast enough like this, often passing e-bikes. But I would have preferred to ride SUPERWOMAN
Important is, it brings me around, even to Lido Hotel (twice). Rain, snow, freezing or sauna weather are normally not able to stop me.
Translation of the (Dutch) sign: “One more car less”!  (WEER EEN AUTO MINDER, from 11.11.11)
And if the crazies in DPRK start a chemical war I might be well enough prepared. The filter stops a lot of bad stuff! And it does not allow me to scold the unruly Chinese in my path.

Beware of oil scams

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

I have been contacted several times by companies and individuals to get involved in the trade of oil, diesel and similar.
We even started lengthy discussions with people based in Amsterdam, talking on the phone with them. Finally we concluded well in time that 99% of those ”deals” are scams and done by “companies” that sound very much like some existing oil groups.
So, when someone contacts me about “oil deals”, my warning lights start flickering.
Just recently someone did that again, through LinkedIn.
Some warning signs: they ask for your “private e-mail”; they do not provide clear contact details; they use fake companies. Like the latest one:
Head of Sales Department – http://alramooz.net/index.html# “AL RAMOOZ NATIONAL LLC”
Turns out that website is bogus, with mostly dead links and … text in Latin. The “introduction” looks very much like an existing company in Oman.
The site alramooz.com (also featured in LinkedIn) has its domain name expired, supposedly to be “Al Ramooz National Oil & Gas Company, Muscat, Oman”.
There is “Al Ramooz National LLC”, PO Box: 275, P. C: 124, Al Ghubrah (in Oman), no website found.
Looking pretty similar: “AL RAMOOZ ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL CONT CO LLC”, with the website http://www.ramoozuae.com/
So, end of that story.
Always check very carefully with whom you are really dealing. Use Google!

The Gongti Strip seen from a vintage point

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Being in Julong Garden, our views are limited to rather ugly Julong versions of apartments and when there is not that much pollution, WTC3 somewhere next to Guangcai.
My neighbor Michelle has a real vintage position, overlooking the Gongti Strip as well as the whole Worker’s Stadium area. Makes me kinda jealous…


See here some of her pics, shot at different times but all very recently. Including this morning, with the snow.
Thanks, my friendly neighbor!

Snow in Beijing!?

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Yesterday, as usual, the useless Yahoo weather report left me soaking wet on my bike, coming back from a meeting. The cloudy day it predicted turned out to be half a day of rain.
Then in the evening it started snowing, this morning I woke up to a white white Julong Garden with a blue sky.


Goo no meetings this morning because biking would be very messy and slippery and taxis, well, forget about those.
All that after the Party decided on Monday we did not need any heating anymore.
Just now hope Spring is coming soon.
Will it?

Talking about China and sports

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Once again I welcomed a group of Dutch sports professionals who are visiting Beijing. The trip is organized by the Wagner Group (see www.wagnergroup.nl). The group is following an MBA in sports management.

This time my presentation not only included a short and personal introduction of what is China today, but also a look back at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, how it was prepared, how it went and what its legacy is today.
One of the key problems in China is the lack of mass sports: soccer, rugby and similar suffer from a shortage of players and grassroots clubs. Soccer has been plagued by scandals and corruption. A city like Beijing has only one club worth mentioning and China is nowhere in the World Cup. It is also a result of the lack of sports in the education system, due to too much emphasis on studying. As a result, the levels of obesity and myopia (80%!) among college students is alarming. The government is aware but there are many problems to change the attitude among parents and schools. And there is a great shortage of teachers qualified for physical education.