.png) |
| Source |
One is that China appears to be going all-in on heat-pumps. Not only do heat-pumps have the potential to produce more "heat" than the electricity used to run them, they can be reversed and used as air-conditioners. That is, they can pump heat OUT of rooms.
Another thing is that even though there are bars on the windows, even the second story ones (meaning rampant crime), the heat-pumps are completely exposed and vulnerable to theft.
And yet nobody has stolen them!
The fact that they are still there (as they are throughout this video) tells you that the heat-pumps belong to the government and that theft/destruction of government property in China is a slam-dunk, no appeals death penalty.
I used to drink coffee with a guy named Bob Crist. He did some consulting work in Communist China. He said that every six months they would broom out the prisons and have executions at the local sports stadium. Men were walked out in a line. A party of dignitaries walked behind them. An announcer read the crime, the name, the name of the head of his family and neighborhood of the criminal, the crime he had committed and the sentence. After that, one of the officials would execute the criminal with a shot at the base of his skull. One of the party would retrieve the spent-brass which was mailed to the family of the criminal along with an invoice for the cost of the round.
The bodies of the dead criminals were dragged away and then another line of criminals was be walked out to the middle of the auditorium.
And so on, and so on and so on.
I assume that some of those criminals were "scrap dealers" who bought copper parts that looked like they came from heat-pumps. No point in stealing something if you cannot sell it and/or the fence will turn you in to save his own hide.
That's interesting. Just out curiosity, what kind of consulting work did he do and in what year (roughly)? I wonder if he did it over the course of many years and was surprised by the rapid economic changes that have happened in recent decades.
ReplyDeleteMid-to-late 1990s if I remember right.
DeleteSetting up quality inspection systems for a manufacturing system. I think the goal was ISO 9000 certification so they could sell to western Auto manufacturers.
It seems that no matter what a government is it doesn't have any problem hiring executioners. Somebody always wants the job. It makes me wonder what people of that mindset do when that job isn't officially available. --ken
ReplyDeleteMore interesting is that people would still steal, knowing the penalty.
DeleteThat justice system predates the Chi-Coms. My father was stationed in China in 1944. His company caught a thief in their barracks and turned him over to the local police. His haul was about $5 mostly in change and a GI watch.
ReplyDeleteNext day the police executed him in front of barracks and made the thiefs family pay for the bullet before they could remove the body. The Americans were shocked but the Chinese seem to accept it as normal.
Saudi's behead drug dealers and chop off your hand if caught stealing in some cases.
DeleteFAFO... we offer 523 channels of cable tv for Jartavius.
Mini-splits have been ubiquitous in Asia since at least the early '90's. They fit very well with concrete floor & brick wall construction as well as for retro-fitting. I noticed the cars more-so than the lack of cages around the mini-splits. No beaters in sight.
ReplyDeleteERJ, having recently returned from 1.5 Communist countries (Cambodia and Vietnam), I can offer a bit of on the ground commentary:
ReplyDelete1) Although we were warned about pickpockets and some general tourist style "Take a picture and pay me" schemes, serious crime was not really noted as an issue we needed to be concerned about (Tourists = money, and the government wants hard currency).
2) Many, many businesses in both Cambodia and Vietnam had security guards sitting outside. None were armed. No idea if they were there to just prevent people from parking there or moving them along.
3) Scads of small scooters used, far more so than cars. No-one locks up their scooters at all.
4) In Cambodia, one could find evidence of walls and barbed wires around some homes. Not so much in the cities in Vietnam.
I am sure that crime exists in those places. I am sure there is theft. But it did not seem to be a concern the way it seems to be in the U.S. by how their businesses were structured and how they were locking things up.
You have to remember life is cheap over there. And there is no 'morality' about shooting a criminal. Also, the 'rights' of criminals is non-existent over there.
ReplyDeleteI think our current central air/heat systems are just the last echoes of the old coal-fired gravity systems (aka The Old Man's nemesis in Christmas Story).
ReplyDeleteWe are building a new energy-efficient house that will have a number of zones of mini-split systems for better heating and cooling efficiency. Plus, we don't have to deal with ductwork under the slab or in the attic we don't have.
Rick, in several of the newer facilities I have been involved in re-furbishing for biopharmaceuticals and in most of the hotels we stayed at in Vietnam and Cambodia, mini-splits were much more used now. The zone concept is part of it, plus (as you note) the ducting, especially in retrofits.
DeleteWhen I was over there in the 99's, mini splits were everywhere. I'm told that before then propane or kerosene room heaters were common. My understanding is that they never went for forced air systems, which isn't surprising given the prevalence of masonry building materials; there is far less wood in use over there than in the US these days (traditional homes used more of it).
ReplyDeleteIn general, crime is far less common but corruption is far more common, often very blatant.
As far as guards, wages are low and there are LOTS of people, so extra staff is common and labor heavy jobs are still used there that aren't here. For example, a friend who owned a car in Thailand said that rebuilt alternators, starters, etc are the norm since new ones cost far more than the labor to rebuild the old one.
Jonathan
Jonathan, in Camodia we saw storefronts (outdoor lots) that were nothing but engine blocks and transmissions. I assume either for rebuilds or metal salvage.
DeleteWhile I don't disapprove of Capital punishment if it was truly a deterrent crime would cease. That is obviously not reality. Poverty makes death less of a deterrent.
ReplyDelete