USA - China - India

Ok... I'm REALLY tired of hearing this crap about how much better India and China are than the US of A... Ok? I get bombarded every friggin day about how we are going to be losing major industries to China and India and how we the US of A will end up being a third world country in just a few short years.

First ... This is BULLCRAP!! And I will take a few minutes of my very valuable time to discuss this with you few unfortunate souls reading my blog at 4 am.

We are inundated with how stupid and unprepared all our kids are out of high school going into college and how we will end up being second class to India and China.

Here are a few irrefutable points to mull over.

1. I have yet to meet ANY person who is heading over to India or China to open an Office as a Doctor, Dentist, Veterinarian, engineer, etc, etc because he / she can make more money in India or China.

2. I have never heard of a break through Medication discovered in India or China.... or even Russia, Mexico or Canada for that matter.....

3. I have yet to see an industry changing surgical procedure or mathematical formula that was credited with an Indian or Chinese discoverer. OK Russia had an eye surgeon that was cool.

4. When we have a mad Exodus of Physicians and intellectuals (Engineers, Mathematicians, Scientists) going over to India or China and they start standing in line waiting for H1 Visas to get into that country to be an indentured servant for 5 years ... Let me know because we might have 20 more years before we have a trend.

5. I have never heard of 1 person who sells everything to go to the promised land of India , China, Mexico, or Russia to live the good life and leave the squalor of America. Not 1!!

6. Bill Gates did not even graduate from college.... !!! He was a dumb, stupid retro bate according to some new criteria now that says you have to have a masters degree or better to amount to anything.

7. Every day I hear about all the top colleges in India, China and Russia that students are lining up to get into... So much so that Brigham Young University, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, USC, UCLA, The Ivy league in general, the Pac 10, Big 10, SEC, ACC etc etc. Colleges don't even compare. Give me a break. you can get a better education at a community college than most non USA Colleges.

8. All the rich Saudi kids are going to India and China now to study, computer science, engineering, medicine etc. ( Yeah right .... Dream on brother.... ).

9. The Global economy is reacting to market trends in India. Hmmm. Whats the name of their stock market? London is Footsie, France is CAC, I know Hong Kong... Yang see or what ever... Never heard of the Indian Stock Market and all the earth shattering IPO's going on over there.

10. When will Europe be concerned that an Indian in India, can't buy a house due to a credit crunch or a housing market fluctuation???... Give me a break!!...

11. The world shudders when India and China have off years at the hectic Christmas shopping season over there... (Yeah right!!)

12. What ever happened to Japan? They were going to kick our ass and take names later... Did they fall off the map? Are they on Mars now?

13. Kids in India or China say.. "Daddy is everything made in the USA"?? since outsourcing to the USA is cheaper than making it in China and India due to labor costs.

14. The Indian film industry just blows away all American films and grosses more than any American Film Company. (Actually insert any American industry and you get the same question)

15. I'm a China man In China and I call my electronic gadget support desk and get some hayseed in the middle of Alabama who trys to answer my question but I can't understand them due to their outsourcing accent.

16. That Indian Software conglomerate ______, which I hate so much, gets another $200.oo out of me so I can buy their latest operating system, upgrade or newest gadget... ( Insert favorite Indian or Chinese company).

17. Hot American Women are marrying all these Filthy Rich Indian and Chinese men and are moving to India and China to raise passels of kids because they are such hot catches ....

18. Business news channels are now broadcasting 24 hour a day and 365 days per year from China and India....

19. The hottest sports car is made in India and the most admired CEO is a Chinese CEO of a company that is Chinese founded, funded and deeply rooted in the business history of China. (And it does not have it's root in slavery... etc.)

20. Paris Hilton moves to China or India to be with the cool hip people.

21. India and China are constantly bailing our ass out of natural disasters like Hurricanes,( tsunami's) and earthquakes... Because we are too dumb to even train a cadaver dog....

22. All Major Industries in America can trace their origins back to an Indian or Chinese Company.

23. The international jet set flocks to China and India to Ski, Gamble and relax at their million dollar villas for a few weeks.

24. More Billionaires and Millionaires are being made every day in China and India than the good old US of A....

25. I know the name of the leader of China and India. ... Nope never heard of them... Guarantee they all know George W is the leader of the free world.

26. Israel starts buying military armaments from India and China because they are more high tech, hot and sexy than the US stuff.

27. The Indian and Chinese Military are routinely mentioned in US Military training Videos and are the ones to look out for and not mess with since they are so well trained....

28. People in India or China have a cork message board in their office with the first Indian/Chinese dollar bill they ever made pinned to it....

29. The best place to send your kid after graduating from high school to get a world class education is India or China.

30. Michael Moore creates a documentary in China or India out lining how much better the health care is in the USA than India or China....

31. The Indian and Chinese $100.00 bill equivalent is the most forged currency in the world.

32. There is a black market in the US funded by Chinese and Indian currency since it is more valuable.

33. Indians and Chinese are coming to America to Adopt American children and save them from a life of poverty.

34. The UN moves to India or China.

35. Osama Bin Laden declares Jihad on the Great Satan of China or India....

36. American speak Chinese or Hindu since it is the international language of business.

37. The best quality aircraft are made in China and India. (Please give me a break!!)

38. Hugo Chavez ships free oil to the inner cities of India and China to embarrass the leaders of the free world.

39. When China or India need a great programmer at bagain prices they turn to the USA to get that filled.

40. Chinese and Indian computers blow ones made in the US of A away.




OK that's Fourty... I'll take a break now.

I agree we need to tweek the education in the country. I also agree the Middle school and High school years are the most important.

This is Citrus Country

Had a nice drive to Ft Pierce today. It's about 2.5 hours from Tampa. I traveled a few back roads and got to see the HEART of Central Florida. Bartow, Lake Wales, and passed through Yeehaw Junction. Definitely the city that is the most fun to pronounce!! I had not been through this part of the state in 5 years or more and it was great to see the changes as well as all of the industry in Citrus and Phosphates that takes place in this part of the state and is the backbone of the Central Florida Area.

I passed through Indian River County, and Port St Lucie County which are part of the Indian River Citrus district. Which gets it's name from the Indian River that runs along the East Coast of Florida from Daytona Beach down to Port St. Lucie. The Indian River is more like an inter coastal water way than a river.

There were quite a few trailers with Grapefruit and oranges loaded up headed to the juice extraction plants. The trailer you see is full of Pink Grapefruit. You can get stuck behind these guys for miles if you are on Route 60 and some of the smaller roads. There is no real main Highway or Turnpike that you can take so I did back roads from 39 to I-4 to the Polk County parkway to 98 to 60 to the Florida Turnpike to 70 and 2.5 hours later you hit Ft Pierce. 80% of the citrus in the Unites States comes from Florida Citrus. You pass roads like Minute Maid Drive Tropicana Blvd. Etc. Minute Maid and Tropicana have Massive Groves as well as many independent groves. They stretch for miles and miles in rows upon rows of neat trimmed citrus groves.

It's hard to imagine this huge industry got it's start from a couple of explorers back in the 1500's who carried citrus on board to prevent scurvy. They are credited with the first groves near

St. Augustine and Tampa over 500 years ago.

Capella Triple c is one of the independents that has a nice website.

Picking season is here in most places but when they trim the trees that is something to see. They use large bush hogs that trim the trees. The irrigation systems look like large Fire Hoses Nozzles mounted on street poles. They also use large fans mounted on poles that look like a large propeller on a light pole. These fans are used to move the cold air from the ground and mix it with warmer air when the cold weather settles in prior to picking the fruit. They also use water as well as coat the trees during a freeze to keep the fruit from freezing. Click here for citrus facts...

Citrus and the groves that produce them have always fascinated me. I guess it stems from my childhood dream of owning an apple orchard.

The Internal Medicine Group in Ft Pierce were nice and eager to get started implementing the EMR/EHR... The Dr looked really familiar... Must have worked with him when I was at Misys (+Medic) .

Nice day full of great sightseeing. I'm headed to Winter Haven tomorrow. Similar area but mainly interstate to get there.