Christmas has come early for you! (If you want a Google Wave invite for Christmas) (提前发送圣诞礼物啦！（如果你想要Google Wave邀请）)

I think I was the last person to get access to Google Wave, however now I have it I want to use up ALL of my invitations to other people before it become OPEN and everyone can use it!

我想我大概是最后一个得到Google Wave邀请的人，不过我现在有了然后我想用所有的邀请给大家，在它开放以前，每个人都可以用它！

So if you want an invite, just leave a comment here saying so (as well as a joke) and then I’ll add you. If you don’t want an invitation, feel free to leave a joke here anyway!

所以如果你要邀请，只要在这里留言（或者说个笑话），然后我就会加你。如果你不想要邀请，那就在这里讲笑话吧！

Happy Christmas! (nearly)

圣诞快乐！（差不多了）

ps, it takes a while after the invitation is sent to arrive (like a week) – be patient!

ps, 在发送邀请以后要过一段时间才能收到（大概一个礼拜）- 耐心点！

Let’s beat hunger – together! (对抗饥饿——一起！)

I have Google adverts on a lot of the pages on my website. These ads are very clever, because they ‘scan’ the page that they’re on to see what sort of content it is about, and then put adverts up there accordingly. Theoretically, if I talk about buying turkey in Shanghai in an article, then if there’s a company who advertises with Google selling turkeys in town….the ad will be there.

我网站上有很多Google广告。这些广告都很聪明，因为他们总是出现在和他们广告内容相关的页面上。理论上说，如果我的文章里提到在上海买火鸡，那么Google里面卖火鸡的公司的广告….就会出现在那儿。

One small problem, however, is if Google doesn’t know what you’re talking about on a page (or if nobody wants to advertise on a page which talks about McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy looking like Iran’s leader). In this case, they will either put a solid colour (no ads) or PSAs (Public Service Ads). These ads are generally pretty plain and served on behalf of charities and other community groups – and usually are nothing to do with what is on the page.

不过还是有个小问题，如果Google搞不清你的页面是关于什么内容的（或者如果没人想在讨论‘实习医生格蕾’中的McDreamy长得像伊朗领导人的网页上刊登广告）。这种情况下，他们可能会放全色（无广告）或者PSAs（公益广告）。这些广告通常都很平淡无奇，为一些慈善机构或者其他社会团体服务。

Sometimes though, even a PSA can be relevant…

不过有时，即使是公益广告，也能做得很深刻…

Google really knows how to fix EVERY problem in the world!

Google真的无所不能！

Welcome to Shanghai (上海欢迎您 )

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of an eye-opener for me. A new colleague arrived in my office, and it’s made me cast my mind back to the first few weeks of my time here in China.

前几个星期算是让我小开眼界了。一个新同事来了。很多情景让我回想起我刚到中国的那几个星期。

I was super-excited when I arrived in Shanghai 20 months ago – so excited that I totally ignored nearly all of the faults which, to newcomers, are often obvious.

20个月前到上海的时候我超兴奋-由于太激动了以至于忽视了很多对于一个新来的来说很明显的不足。

The air-quality was atrocious (it’s ok, just hold your breath!), the weather was uncomfortable (that’s what aircon’s for!) and the hygiene of some places, like restaurants, leave a lot to be desired (but McDonald’s in Shanghai is so cheap!).

空气质量恶劣（只要屏住呼吸就没问题了！）天气不舒服（那就是为什么要有空调！）还有有些地方的卫生，比如餐厅，还有很大的提高空间（可是麦当劳在上海非常便宜！）

The one thing that was undeniable, however, was the friendliness and welcome of the people. Everywhere I went, I met people who were more than happy to show me around, give me info and generally help me out – which is why I’m so suprised whenever I see people who are clearly NOT friendly – like this girl:

不可否认的一点是人们很友好。我去的所有的地方，我见过的所有的人都很乐意带我转转，给我信息并且帮助我-这也是为什么当我看到那么明显的不友好的人会如此惊讶-比如这个女孩：

What sort of welcome is that for a lonely fresh-off-the-plane expat? I was considering having a word with her and trying to let her know that it’s not polite to be so abrupt with people…until I saw the front…

对于一个孤身来此的外国人这是哪门子的友好？我正想告诉她这样对人不礼貌而且非常鲁莽…直到我看到前面…

…now that’s more like it! Welcome to Shanghai!

…现在才像话！欢迎来上海！

This is almost beyond a joke… (不是开玩笑的…)

I hate spam as much as anyone, but come on man…give me a break!

我比谁都痛恨垃圾邮件，可是……放过我吧！

Is that pi?!?!

这是派吗？！？！

Fake DVD shop life lesson #1 (盗版DVD商店教训之一)

I absolutely love our local fake DVD shop. THere are two floors of movies, music dvds, cds and tv series. The people who work in there are always funny and relaxed and they’ll be honest with you if the quality of the disc is not exactly ’100%’.

我真心喜欢我们这里的盗版DVD商店。2层楼都是电影，音乐，cd和电视剧。在那里的工作人员总是很有意思并且很放松，而且如果片子的质量不是100%的好，他们绝对会如实告诉你。

I went in last week and spent a bit of time in one of my favourite sections – Classic Movies.

上个星期我去哪里花了点时间选我最喜欢的一个部分的片子-经典电影。

I haven’t seen ‘Weather Man’, but I’m sure it’s a real classic (because everything Nicolas Cage touches turns to gold). Part drama, part action film…and part philosophy?

我没看过‘天气预报员’，但是我相信这是个经典的片子（因为Nicolas Cage能点石成金）。一点情节，一点动作的片子…还有一点哲学？

I couldn’t have said it butter myself, Nick.
我已经说得够清纯了, Nick.

Blogstar.TV – Episode 2 – Party for the Party (博客之星-第2集-盛会的聚会)

I’m happy to announce that we’ve just released Episode 2 of Blogstar.TV – the web series / TV show / documentary / rockumentary that has been taking Shanghai, China and the World by storm.

非常高兴地在此隆重宣布,博客之星第2集新鲜出炉了-这部席卷全球,中国,上海的网络系列片/电视真人秀/记录片

If you like it, please do me a favour and share with your friends on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Kaixin001, RenRen, QQ or anywhere you can think of! I really appreciate it!

Don’t forget to leave a comment here on the official site too -> Blogstar.TV Episode 2 Party for the Party !

如果你喜欢,请帮我在Facebook,Myspace,Twitter,Kaixin001,Renren,QQ或者任何你想得到的地方和你的朋友分享这个视频!别忘记留下你的评论在我们的官方网站-> 博客之星-第2集-盛会的聚会!

Customer service in Shanghai (上海客服)

Some people moan about customer service in Shanghai, but I found one café near my workplace which actually thanks you if you take the piss out of them!

有些人常常抱怨上海的客服，可是我发现我工作的地方旁边的一个咖啡馆，他们会感谢你如果你拿他们开玩笑！

I wonder what they’d do if you didn’t pay?

我在想，如果你吃霸王餐他们会拿你怎么样？