that's what it's called in Japan. and it's dried and sold as food. it's called Tai-tiao in China. i love this stuff. i really hope they're not just throwing it away. dried or frozen, it can keep for a long time. also, it's under the name ulva(sea lettuce) now, not enteromorpha.

so no one here knows that the LIFX is a colour changeable lightbulb? and everyone expects the only use for a lightbulb is for home? ok....

Doing business in China is fine if you know what you're doing. Doing business with China without being in China and you're likely to be screwed. Ordering small things online from a big company always carries a risk. You're too small fry for them to care, and you're not there to oversee the manufacturing/shipping, which is to these companies, your own fault. This is why so many smarter foreigners still prefer to pay more to go through a Hong Kong company. QC is immensely better when the 3rd party company has someone who can actually go to China, and cheaply too, for a minor, per unit, price increase.

Would the Exxon Valdez suffice? (and Dennis Hopper at the helm of course)

we have the Octopus card in Hong Kong which works for convenience stores, subway and other transportation fees, and some retailers like Starbucks or our local supermarkets. it can only be topped up to 500HKD($64.43USD) at any convenience store or subway station and is anonymous. it uses an RFID chip, so it doesn't need swiping, just place close to the machine will charge the card. same goes for Japan's Suica card, which was only for Tokyo before but has just gone national. having an electronic currency card is wonderful, instead of having to pocket so much change for those times u need to use the payphone or pay for a one time bus ticket or buy something from a vending machine. and it's not attached to my credit or debit card, so i can hand it to a relative or friend when they visit me in Hong Kong, or i can buy a Suica card in Japan and use it just for the duration of the trip without worrying about daily exchange rates.