Reno, Nevada

Feb 13, 2010

CHENGDU, SICHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA The arcade game introduced in 1981 involved frogs crossing a busy street, trying to avoid getting run over by cars. An episode of Seinfeld featured George Castanza playing a human version. Of course, that was TV. In downtown Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province in China, crossing the street is the real-life game of Frogger. No doubt about it, crossing the street in Chengdu is an adventure and in...

Reno, Nevada

Feb 13, 2010

CHENGDU, SICHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA The arcade game introduced in 1981 involved frogs crossing a busy street, trying to avoid getting run over by cars. An episode of Seinfeld featured George Castanza playing a human version. Of course, that was TV. In downtown Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province in China, crossing the street is the real-life game of Frogger. No doubt about it, crossing the street in Chengdu is an adventure and in...

Reno, Nevada

Feb 10, 2010

“Snake oil salesman” has a negative connotation to most of us. In America, he’s known as a shill, a salesman trying to pull the wool over our eyes with a product that does little to cure what ails us. He usually skips town before the locals realize he’s a phony. Little did I know that snake oil is a traditional Chinese medicine made from the Chinese water snake and it is used to treat joint pain and inflammation. Snake oil is ac...

Reno, Nevada

Jan 7, 2010

Ear-Pickers and People's Park You can hear him coming. A metal twanging. It's the ear-picker and he makes music as he walks around soliciting the unusual business of cleaning out people's ears.Not sure how well this particular career plays out at parties. My guess is it's an eyebrow raiser."What do you do for a living?""Oh, I'm an earwax remover."On the streets of many U.S. cities, guys trying to make a buck wash your car ...

Reno, Nevada

Jan 7, 2010

Ear-Pickers and People’s Park You can hear him coming. A metal twanging. It’s the ear-picker and he makes music as he walks around soliciting the unusual business of cleaning out people’s ears. Not sure how well this particular career plays out at parties. My guess is it’s an eyebrow raiser. “What do you do for a living?” “Oh, I’m an earwax remover.” On the streets of many U.S. cities, guys trying to make a buck w...