Yesterday was a full day, as expected. The morning came far too early with the latest presentation at Tianjin Normal University. That said, the presentation and discussion went well. The students asked excellent questions, and I am certain that my answers were not always what they expected. As with each presentation prior to this one, I was asked about Bush, and to no one's surprise to those who know me, I condemned his murderous ways and lack of understanding of the law, the US Constitution, justice, legitimacy, and honesty. Given the actions that Bush and his cronies have taken against the people of the world, including the Chinese people, these statements went over well here.

The questions were not limited to politics, to tell the truth these were always in the minority. Other questions concerned philosophy, business, general attitudes (in the US), and any number of other topics.

I have been asked back once again to do a presentation on Business Ethics for another class, an offer I readily accepted. These talks have been a wonderful, though completely unexpected, addition to the trip to China.

After this talk, I met Summer in the technology district so that I could buy another card for my camera. I decided though this is a short trip to Mt Taishan and Qufu, I want to make damn sure that I have enough room on the camera. Also I want to increase the quality setting to the highest available for the shots of Taishan. For those who do not already know, this was the one thing that I put forth as a place to see while in China. Taishan is the holiest of the five holy mountains in China, and as I have been reading of it for close to two decades, I could not pass up the opportunity to see it while here. Qufu is the home of Confucius (Kong Fu Tze), so as a philosopher, this too holds some special meaning to me.

The afternoon was taken by Dad's talk on Quality and Customer Service, again at Tianjin Normal University, which was met with eager students who asked very good questions. The presentation went quite well and he has been asked to do another one next semester.

Today will be spent in preparation for the trip to Mt Taishan; we leave by train at 10:00pm tonight, arriving in Tai'an just after 4am. One day on the mountain, and another in Qufu, returning on Sunday afternoon.

Because of the trip I will be out of touch for a couple of days, so until I return I wish y'all all the best.

Brian