Kurt Weber

working out

kurtalanweber — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:04:29 +0000

The gentleman next to me grunts with effort. He’s doing some curls with light dumbbells. His face turns red. He’s about 25 years old, wears thick, black-framed glasses, wears his dark hair forward. I’m jogging. I hear him grunt again. He’s really starting to push himself. Must be getting ready for a big event or goal: a wedding, a beach vacation, or maybe he’s trying to meet girls. My jog continues. The gentleman moves on to do some leg squats, fumbling a bit with the machine. Probably missed the appointment with his personal trainer.

His loafers match his new khaki pants. His button-down shirt starts to show sweat marks under his armpits and around his collar. The gentleman rolls up his dress shirt and moves from the leg squats to the benchpress. He grunts more, the weights precarously sliding on the bar. The gentleman is definitely pushing himself. His khakis now start to show sweat around his belt, his face is flush with sweat, his shirt starting to soak in the humid and hot gym. I feel almost bad for him that his trainer recommended that he dress business casual for his workout. But he looks snappy, as the back of his oxford shirt grows dark with sweat.

I finish my own workout, shower, and head back to my office. After finishing a few emails I head down to the company shuttle to start my 1 hour commute home. I open my laptop and send a few emails, the shuttle closes its door. The scent of undershowered lockeroom fills the trapped air on the bus. A distinct and sour smell of body odor permeates. I look around. The gentleman with the khakis sits across from me, hoping to stop sweating after his strong workout – before he arrives home.

Made it to the airport in 35 minutes.

kurtalanweber — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:41:54 +0000

It typically takes about 55 minutes to Shanghai Pudong. The difference? My taxi decided to prep for the upcoming Formula 1 races. We were topping out his VW Fox – and crushing the competition doing 100 MPH. Yes, MPH, not Kilometers per hour.

gang of four

kurtalanweber — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:20:20 +0000

Tis a shame that Eric doesn’t see Microsoft in the new gang of four: http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/31/schmidt-gang-four-google-apple-amazon-facebook/

Microsoft in China

kurtalanweber — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:11:21 +0000

Our CEO talks about the struggles of doing business in China… http://on.wsj.com/m7awwn

factory conditions–Apple

kurtalanweber — Sat, 07 May 2011 00:02:36 +0000

eek.

http://voices.allthingsd.com/20110506/you-are-not-allowed-to-commit-suicide-workers-in-chinese-ipad-factories-forced-to-sign-pledges/?mod=ATD_rss

no salt in shanghai

kurtalanweber — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:11:34 +0000

A major shortage of table salt has hit China, which, as everyone knows, prevents radiation sickness…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/17/chinese-panic-buy-salt-japan

NPR exec caught bashing Tea Partiers as ‘racist’ – Politics

kurtalanweber — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:12:52 +0000

I’d like to re-write the headline, “Republican moviemaker tries to blackmail NPR”…who the hell goes around posing as a donor with $5million no-strings-attached and trying to pull quotes from people on camera? The truly racist remarks are from the filmmaker, “Jews do kind of control the media or, I mean, certainly the Zionists and the people who have the interests in swaying media coverage toward a favorable direction of Israel.” Evil. This is journalism? Probably worked for Fox News.

Michael Moore never hides who he is.

Bruno, you must be appalled…

NPR exec caught bashing Tea Partiers as ‘racist’ – Politics – More politics – msnbc.com

Smoking Ban in Shanghai–1 year anniversary

kurtalanweber — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:07:08 +0000

Fantastic success for the smoking ban in Shanghai in thousands of places including Karaoke bars, office buildings, restaurants and more:

- 5 people in the past year were busted

- the top fine was RMB 200 (about $30)

No question, this is going to save massive costs on health care with those 5 people learning their lesson…

Panorama

kurtalanweber — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 09:30:57 +0000

Enjoy

China Networking Site Renren Said to Plan $500 Million U.S. IPO – Businessweek

kurtalanweber — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:08:28 +0000

With Renren (and other Chinese social networking sites) going public, I expect the remaining US-based social networking sites to be blocked soon. Don’t worry, this is not about what the western media typically reports, it’s about protecting the local companies and ensuring success.

China Networking Site Renren Said to Plan $500 Million U.S. IPO – Businessweek