I found some computer parts in the market. The market is a bulding with tons of small booths (10x10) with stuff. You ask for a price then knock it down. I had to buy the broken connectors off of a old power supply & splice it in. I bought the power supply & then sold it back after cutting of the SATA power connectors. Then I had to figure out the disk combination for the array. I figured it out & now it is working.

Ate at McDonalds today. I had a Quarter Pounder - it is different. It had cucumbers on it instead of pickles and had a spicey sauce. They sell corn in a cup, very good. It had cost about $3.50

Restaurants have a rating on the outside from A to D, clean to diry. They place we love to eat at is probably a E, but it is very good.

Last night we found a great place. The sweet & Sour Pork is really good. I don't like the American version but over here it is great. We also had cow stomach - not bad.

The food is done Family style. You order 3 or 4 bowls & then get little plates to eat on. I am getting really good with the chopsticks. I can pick up peanuts.

In the photo album - July 30 - you can see a typical bathroom, it's a squater. I recommend that you do not wear flip flops in there.

Of course nothing goes right off the bat. I took out the compter & heard a rattling noise. I opened it up & saw the video card was half way out of the slot & also the video/encode card. The SATA cables connectors & power plugs into the hard drives were broken. It looked like someone - China Customs or United - opened the case up & forced the hard drives out. The outside of the case looks fine. We found a computer parts store called "Buy Now" and they had the SATA cables for $2 (US) each.

And of course the computer is still down :-(

Not sure what the next step will be. It does not see all 4 drives & does not load the OS.

We made it around Midnight USA Mnt. Time.  We ate at an interesting place. The owner's kids was peeling garlic at the doorstep & they were cooking something in the entry way. The meat freezer was a place for storage & a cutting board. The food was really good. The 3 platters cost $50 Chinese,  $15 each ($4 US). We noticed in the older sections, there are no stop signs or a stop light at the intersections. Bigger vehicle wins.

Tomorrow is the first day of work. I have to set up the edit bay - keep your fingers crossed. If you look in the album, there are 2 pictures from my hotel room that overlook Beijing. The pilot said it was a clear day & the visibilaty is 1700 meters. Nice & clear - Hmmmm - hate to see a hazy day.

Sunday, July 6, Nate will get a lesson on how to race BMX bikes. It's a 2 hour lesson & finishes with some races. He loves riding fast, he loves riding in the dirt by the creek, he loves riding over the hills, so I decided he should give this a shot. I showed Nate a video of the BMX races at our Olympic Day celebration & he said he wants to try it. Hopefully there will be pictures tomorrow.

I head out to Beijing July 27. Flight leaves Denver at 8AM to San Francisco & then a 13 hour flight to the land of pollution.

I should be back home in the afternoon of August 28.

Don't forget to check out www.teamusa.org to see the results plus my work.