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[bcj]

Canadien Tyre $10 off coupons

[Sarlacc]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I found something made in Canada once!
Although people tend to think of everything made overseas as "cheaply made" or "inferior quality" that is not really the case. There are high quality items made as well but many of those items stay in the countries they were made in and are used domestically. The reason we get the "cheap" stuff here is because that is what the importers order, not because that is all they make.
Had this very discussion with my wife the other day. She was in the dollar store and was complaining about the quality of the plates that were made in China. My simple response was "we are in the dollar store"!

I see stuff made here in Norway now and then.
It looks just like the Taiwanese crap they sell to tourists in those shops with "tax free" signs, only it's made from really itchy wool and/or genuine twigs; and costs a years wages and a firstborn.
I really don't understand how we can base our economy on hairdressers, plumbers and physical therapists trading services, but it seems to be working for the time being.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by bcj

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FIFY

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Sarlacc

I see stuff made here in Norway now and then.
It looks just like the Taiwanese crap they sell to tourists in those shops with "tax free" signs, only it's made from really itchy wool and/or genuine twigs; and costs a years wages and a firstborn.
I really don't understand how we can base our economy on hairdressers, plumbers and physical therapists trading services, but it seems to be working for the time being.

Well, the fact that it's been working for so long shows that countries with manufacturing overcapacity are getting shafted. Japan is in trouble, China is finding itself losing business because wages rose a little and people would rather go to Vietnam or Indonesia to get their cheap goods now, etc.

When there are no poor countries left on Earth we should hope that someone's built a ton of robots to do all the manufacturing and farming, or else we're totally screwed.

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I found something made in Canada once!
Although people tend to think of everything made overseas as "cheaply made" or "inferior quality" that is not really the case. There are high quality items made as well but many of those items stay in the countries they were made in and are used domestically. The reason we get the "cheap" stuff here is because that is what the importers order, not because that is all they make.
Had this very discussion with my wife the other day. She was in the dollar store and was complaining about the quality of the plates that were made in China. My simple response was "we are in the dollar store"!

I bought Canadian made T-Shirts in a bloody Target a little while ago. Blew my mind.

I work for a company that makes leading packaging machinery out West here.

We still have good stuff here, but you have to look for it. But more to the point China no longer dominates the cheap stuff any more. When I cheap out on tools these days it's Indian or Mexican.

Only time I buy Chinese typically is from a solid reputation Western company. And more often than not it ends up being Taiwanese rather than mainland.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Dimman

We still have good stuff here, but you have to look for it. But more to the point China no longer dominates the cheap stuff any more. When I cheap out on tools these days it's Indian or Mexican.

Only time I buy Chinese typically is from a solid reputation Western company. And more often than not it ends up being Taiwanese rather than mainland.

Taiwanese made stuff is generally upmarket and it's pretty easy to guess from the price tag.

All the tools I've bought in the last few years have been from Harbor Freight, and indeed, they're made in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.

There are definitely some relatively premium products that are from the mainland but you have to look really hard for them if it's not electronics related because it's such a small market. Often times they don't have the brand to be able to sell things at the higher price points so they will cut down on the quality a bit. Manufacturing in China is definitely in a tight spot thanks to the years of government subsidy and encouraging overcapacity, moving up is difficult with the reputation they've built for low quality, and they're getting squeezed at the bottom, though electronics assembly is still doing well and probably will be doing well for some time.

[Sarlacc]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

When there are no poor countries left on Earth we should hope that someone's built a ton of robots to do all the manufacturing and farming, or else we're totally screwed.

That, sir, is a valid point.

[Allch Chcar]

US is still #1 in military spending. We might be middle of the pack on everything else by now. I stopped caring about statistical comparisons awhile ago. I haven't used my bookmark to a site with stats from the CIA factbook in years.

Originally Posted by Sarlacc

I wasn't, actually. I said their culture is sophisticated.
But please tell us more about your visits to China and your interactions with Chinese people; and why you see them as unsophisticated. I'm sure it'll be very enlightening.

Mainlanders, as they are called by their peninsula and island neighbors, are infamous for their perceived rude and impolite manner. That is quite different from their national or ethnic heritage, that you are referring to.

I did get the chance to meet many foreign exchange students from several different countries during college. I will say this of the Chinese students that I have met, their manners were better than the vast majority of the Californians that I have met, including myself. But they were still more open and blunt about matters than the Korean and Japanese students.

One in particular was a graduate student. I happened to overhear her remark about my baby pictures, asking what happened to me. At one point she asked me if I could guess how old she was. I guessed the right answer but she wasn't happy about it. I kicked myself later, realizing how rude that was to a lady, but I was too concerned with getting the right answer at the time. My father tried.

[swarb]

^chinese students in America don't fall for the typical "mainlander" stereotype. If they can afford an American tuition, they are very wealthy. Those students are easily in the top 90th percentile.
Don't mention manners of Californian's, especially ones out to college to get away from home, to party... there is a reason why people leave where they came from.

99%+ of mainlanders have NEVER left china.

One thing people don't understand about the Chinese, is the concept of FACE and how strong it is and how it drives everyday life everywhere in China.

I've been to China maybe 8-10 times? I spent close to 2 years of my life there.

[Sarlacc]

Originally Posted by Allch Chcar

...
Mainlanders, as they are called by their peninsula and island neighbors, are infamous for their perceived rude and impolite manner. That is quite different from their national or ethnic heritage, that you are referring to.

I did get the chance to meet many foreign exchange students from several different countries during college. I will say this of the Chinese students that I have met, their manners were better than the vast majority of the Californians that I have met, including myself. But they were still more open and blunt about matters than the Korean and Japanese students.
...

Very interesting.
Someone recently pointed out to me that British people often perceive Norwegians as very rude because we ask them questions like "where do you live" and "what do you do for a living". These are things we routinely ask people we've just met, if we want to keep the conversation going after agreeing that the weather is nasty. Apparently, these are very private and sensitive matters for many Britons.
My point is simply that even minor differences in culture can cause unintended friction.

[swarb]

They aren't really rude, they just do things differently. Crowded areas do that to people. Especially when you work 6-7 days a week. Time is important, so they are always in a rush.

Personal space in America is about 2-3 feet, arm distance, striking distance.
Personal space in China is less than a foot.
They line up in lines, RIGHT ON YOUR ASS. Get in line or someone will go in front of you.

At fast food restaurants they don't throw away their trash.
American perspective: I clean up after myself.
Chinese perspective: I paid for the food.
Chinese perspective 2: Person who cleans tables needs a job, don't do THEIR job.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Sarlacc

My point is simply that even minor differences in culture can cause unintended friction.

Even cultures that are very, very close can have what seems like a minor thing misunderstood due to differences in perception.
A while back I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of military people on here so I started a thread in the Off Topic Lounge and titled it "Current or Ex Military Service Poll".
Now being Canadian where we have a much smaller military and being kicked out is very rare the term Ex simply means you served but don't anymore.
I had three different people from the U.S. point out (one nicely the other two not so much) that the term "Ex" Military was actually only appropriate for those with an "other than honourable" discharge, so in other words given the boot! It was pointed out that I should have said "former" instead.
Now, none of this was a big deal (other then to the two that sent me really pissy PMs) but was a good example of how we can totally misunderstand somebody's perception based on cultural differences.




http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76061

[Allch Chcar]

Only an American could be offended by a Canadian.

@swarb these were middle class students. I didn't spend nearly as much time with them as my family did, being myself preoccupied, but they talked extensively about their homes and family. My sister is a language major so she started hosting dinners every week for foreign exchange students at my mother's house. They didn't really talk about politics much though. The state school I attended was very cheap, and they were all but paying foreign students to come to our school(they were even heavily criticized for it too). BTW, I happen to be from California. :3

[Tcoat]

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