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Greatest gig...

Ken_8
Ken_8 Member Posts: 1,640
in THE MAIN WALL
I got a phone call a month ago from a GAMA guy who asked if I'd like to be a keynote speaker for a heating symposium in Beijing; sort of the asian equivelant of ISH Germany.

I said ya got the wrong guy. Holohan's the man for that gig. He said the speaker had to be versed in contracting, designs and wet heat. I said, yeah; Holohan. He said again, no, not a writer, a guy who is full time engaged in running a heating contracting business.

Jaye and I leave this Friday, return a week later. The gig? speak for one hour on March 9th in the morning and answer questions in the mid-afternoon.

Know how I got the job? Hangin' out with guys like you!

I'll have some pictures for sure. Wish me well.

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Comments

  • John L
    John L Member Posts: 118


    Good things always happen to good people and you are one of those.
    Enjoy the trip
    John L
  • Dave Yates (PAH)
    Dave Yates (PAH) Member Posts: 2,162
    Ken-San

    Ah-so, you go to spread hydronic fortune, eh? Wise man say - he who stand heads and shoulders above the crowd is bound to stand where others are cowe'd. Have fun!

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  • ScottMP
    ScottMP Member Posts: 5,883
    Remeber Ken

    " NO SUBSTITION !! "

    Wonderfull things do happen to Wonderfull people, all the best. Have a great time and take lots of pictures.

    Wait, did'nt the guy say you had work FULL TIME at contracting :)

    A Salesman walks into a Bar in China and asks the Bartender " Do you speak English ? "

    Bartender says " Yes speak Engrish "

    Salesman says " I want a Stoli with a twist "

    Baretender " O.K. Once upon a time ..... "

    Have fun Pal

    Scott

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  • Mark Hunt
    Mark Hunt Member Posts: 4,908
    A man of your stature


    will certainly impress those in the audience!

    See if you can find a decent pizza place while you're there.


    Have a GREAT trip Ken!

    Mark h

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  • eleft_4
    eleft_4 Member Posts: 509
    I wish you well

    Ken,
    I feel you are the perfect Ambassador for the Hydronic, Steam Comfort enthusiasts from the United States of America to any country.
    Your attention to detail, passion for excellence with concern for safety and compliance are evident in your responses.

    I pray for Gods travel mercy for you and Jaye.

    al
  • Ken_8
    Ken_8 Member Posts: 1,640
    Thank you,

    Mark, Scott, Al, Mark, Dave, John et al.

    With any luck, I may be able to laptop my way back here and make a few posts from Beijing. Rumor has it the hotel has wi-fi and my laptop may work well.

    My main concern? Getting this 6' 5" body in a Boeing 777 seat - and then getting it back out - after 13 hours of final leg flight time!

    After the first 10 hours, determining whether I have polio of just seatcramps will be an interesting prospect.

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  • Rudy
    Rudy Member Posts: 482
    I guess

    we'll never see flat rate or PEX used over there..:)

    Good for you Ken!
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,384
    Best of luck

    and take plenty of pics!

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  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    They do like writers.

    In fact, they invited me to that last fall and I said no thanks. I sensed they were preparing the Chinese to better understand how to manufacturer goods currently manufactured in America. That's the trend and I didn't want to help with it. Global markets are a reality, but I'm often guilty of thinking about families. One of the GAMA people said that I was wrong and that they were just preparing the Chinese to accept American goods, and that's the only reason GAMA had opened an office in Beijing. In any event, I went with my gut and stayed home. I could be wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time. Enjoy the trip!
    Retired and loving it.
  • Ranger
    Ranger Member Posts: 210
    Wow!

    What an awsome opportunity.All my bro's that have been to the orient say that you will feal like a "Giant" in the crowd.Have fun,stay clear of that bird flu...
    Ranger
  • Ken_8
    Ken_8 Member Posts: 1,640
    I appluad your decision,

    But not the irrational "logic" behind it(;-o)

    Now stop watching your Japanese TV, wearing your Malaysian tee-shirt, using your Korean digital camera and driving that Honda, while looking at the bird feeder with the German binculars and computer keboard made in Thailand.

    Don't forget to stop speaking at ISH Tornto, Canada

    Oh. And that Guinness beer from Ireland?

    Fawgettabowdit.



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  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    Points well taken.

    Just pointing out that they weren't completly honest with you when they said that about me.
    Retired and loving it.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Congratulations Ken, I am sure

    you will be a good ambassador to China. I just hope your way with words is not lost in translation. Enjoy and Oh by the way my tall friend as one who travels a lot get up and move around on that plane. You have to watch out for blood clots when seated for long periods. My trip to Africa 9 hours to London and then 10 more to Harare, Zimbabwe was tough on my old legs.

    Enjoy take lots of pictures and may the good Lord watch over both of you.
  • John R. Hall
    John R. Hall Member Posts: 2,245
    Ken

    Good luck -- thank goodness for "wide bodies."
  • BillW@honeywell
    BillW@honeywell Member Posts: 1,099
    No good jazz clubs in Bejing...

    but they still run lotsa steam locomotives on their railroads, but probably not right around the cities. If you & Jaye choose to explore the hinterlands by rail, ONLY travel first class. Congrats on the invite, the industry never had a better ambassador.
  • Ken_8
    Ken_8 Member Posts: 1,640
    Oh...

    Now I get your point.

    BTW, I get to say whatever I want, and you know how that goes; especially with me!

    BTW, I had to write the 55-minute speech. They will simulcast it in Mandarin and include 34 of my job photos using Power Point.

    Seven day forcast? 45° days, 25° nights, no dust (or snow) storms in the picture.



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  • Ken_8
    Ken_8 Member Posts: 1,640
    Sorry. Double post deleted.

  • Paul Pollets
    Paul Pollets Member Posts: 3,663
    Nice

    Good job, Ken. Next thing you know, you'll be a distributor for Chinese PEX. :)

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  • Weezbo
    Weezbo Member Posts: 6,232
    Good For You :)

    Here i study chinese,play wei chi,chop the sh outta bricks,dance about with martial art skills and they call You:)) cool :) my friends invited me to chinese new years at the university and it was a blast..they preformed some tai chi,tai chi sword,music(r who),sang a chinese opera from beijing opera :) they are great human beings...and help many people in the community...which reminds me i have to tell them about a new accupunture doctor ,born in Chicago an American guy Nam Jeon :)My Korean friend told me about this dr. he sounds like he is into chinese accupunture....oops Well you represent a likely bridge to the future of hydronics in the woild :)Take all kinds of broke down electronics with you..then you can throw them away and replace them with cool nifty stuff :) my friends had dvd player from china years ago... thier son graduated Beijing University and was snapped up by some big finacial company as a vice president or some such thing in Switzerland :) sorry...well, a prophet is seldom heard in his own country ...you must be bad to the bone at whatever you are doing :)
  • Murph'_5
    Murph'_5 Member Posts: 349
    Have a safe and enjoyable trip !!

    .
  • Dale
    Dale Member Posts: 1,317
    Army stuff

    If you like military museums check out the red army military one just off the subway, the subway is excellent. Also if buying stuff remember the rule of 8 there are 8 yuan (kwi) to the dollar and to them a kwi is a dollar. So if something looks like a good deal at our 8 dollars start at 50 cents, 4 kwi, and end up at a dollar. Beer on the street is 40 cents for 2/3 of a quart, very good or so I have been told.
  • Robert O'Connor_7
    Robert O'Connor_7 Member Posts: 688
    Ken..

    Great news! Don't give away all the secrets. Have a safe trip.

    Robert O'Connor/NJ
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,384
    Is that

    we'll never know for sure, cause Murph deleted the picture. Oh well......

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  • Mark Eatherton1
    Mark Eatherton1 Member Posts: 2,542
    Conglaturations missa cloppa head...

    Tell'em how it is. Bring back some pictures of THEIR heating systems.

    ME
  • Ken_8
    Ken_8 Member Posts: 1,640
    Arrived in Beijing,

    safe and sound.

    Saw the Great Wall today and Tienamen Square today. I'll post some pictures later. Did a Thai restaurant last night. Very interesting. The visible heating system was a plain jane c.i. radiator its mounted vertically (sideways from "normal")! It was water, 2-pipe R.R. Then in the lobby, 1.5" serpentine welded bare pipe wall hung emitter, about 6' X 12' primitive radiant and hydronic.

    More to follow.

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  • Keith_8
    Keith_8 Member Posts: 399
    How cool is that?

    Sounds like a great opportunity for everyone!

    And here I thought I was something special talking to the 8th grade class at the local middle school for career day next month.

    Good Luck, I'm sure you will come away with some good incite as to what makes them tick. Let us know.

    Keith
  • Mark Eatherton1
    Mark Eatherton1 Member Posts: 2,542
    You ARE something special...

    Thank you for taking the time to plant some early seeds. If I may recommend something that will etch the brains of these young impressionable minds forever, take a small paint can (gallon), and put a coule of teaspoons of di-hydrogen monoxide (water to us pros...) in it, heat it to boiling using a hand held torch until you get a good vapor trail coming from the can, then quickly place the lid on top of it and seal it, then keep talking to them and distract them to another place in the class room, and in about 2 minutes, the paint can will look like this...

    A great diversionary tactic is to have a large fitting located in another part of the class room ready to solder. Go over there and show them how to solder. Kids are fascinated with flame.

    It takes a little practice, and you want to keep them back away from your experiment in case the can slips when you're hammering the lid home. I find that placing a 2X4 across the top and smacking it with a hammer then turning the board 90 degrees and smacking it again does an EXCELLENT job of quick sealing.

    Let us know how it goes, and agin, THANKS for planting some early seeds. This industry needs ALL the help we can get, and the earlier we start showing them our trade, the better chance of getting them when they come of age.

    ME
  • Weezbo
    Weezbo Member Posts: 6,232
    Knee how ma? :)

    kneeda shenti how ma? try that out :) wo yao means i want..so food is chur fan. woah yao chur fan ...means i want something to eat! :) oh ,"shay-shay" means "thanks."bing shuwee means a glass of water with ice cube :) woah yao e ge ...means i want one of those :) doe shaow means How Much..?..enjoy :) so now you can buy something just ask doe shaow? and you can point and say e guh ..means one of those ..and you wont starve :)...Boo sorta means No. so if someone is trying to get yoy to eat something you think er nah...i ll pass... just say woah boo yao.:)
  • Ken_8
    Ken_8 Member Posts: 1,640
    Amazing billboard

    Saw this yesterday (Sunday) a block from Tienamin Square.

    Runtal type unit and c.i. rad. Proably looked at by 50 million a week...

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  • Weezbo
    Weezbo Member Posts: 6,232
    I like the guy in the orange suit...

    he seems a bit like me *~/:) sorta...'well,heres good.'....' maybe i dont wann go no where just yet'.....'.maybe if i just stand here i scare off all these BIG people '....:) 'and they will realize my gong fu is Zui how la!''now wheres that Blankety blank bus anyway?!' heck i dont even see the bus stop sign ..what dumb bus system we have anyway ':).....Cool pictures :) did you get to check out the boiler room in the hotel ?
  • ScottMP
    ScottMP Member Posts: 5,883
    How Cool is This ....

    Ken's on a trip on the other side of the globe, and we can see pictures before he gets home :)

    Ken, Please start another thread, if you can, and keep sending pictures.

    Let us know how the big speach went.

    Scott

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  • ScottMP
    ScottMP Member Posts: 5,883
    How Cool is This ....

    Ken's on a trip on the other side of the globe, and we can see pictures before he gets home :)

    Ken, Please start another thread, if you can, and keep sending pictures.

    Let us know how the big speach went.

    Scott

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