I was preparing a breakfast sandwich for my daughter this morning, and she said, “Look, Dad, I can hold it with one hand!”

Sure enough, the sandwich which she generally has needed two hands to eat can now be held easily in one hand.

I looked down at the loaf of bread and realized it is about two thirds the size it was last month. Then it clicked: All kinds of edible goods are shrinking in China these days. The rice crackers I like to nibble on at the office are in the same sized package as always, but the crackers themselves have shrunk dramatically.

Annual inflation officially ran at 8.5 percent in April and 7.7 percent in May, and the government is doing all it can to rein it in. If I remember correctly, Premier Wen Jiabao said in March the government would pull inflation down to 4 or 4.5 percent for the year.

So the pressure is on to keep prices steady. That means most Beijing residents who go out to eat much have noticed things like shrinking portions at restaurants. Soups are more watery. And at the grocery store, there are no ads for “Bigger! Better! Improved!” Rather, goods are getting smaller.

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I got an email yesterday from an American reader, Andrew, who read my blog posting about visa issues for foreigners and had quite a different experience. Here’s part of his email to me:

While visas have undoubtedly become harder to come by, I'm starting to think that the reality is quite different then the picture that is being painted in the media, which in turn has scared a lot of people away from even attempting to get visas.

The reason I say this is that in the past two weeks or so myself and three other acquaintances have all had absolutely no problem getting visas, despite all the articles I've read on how difficult it has become to get a visa.

In fairness all four of us are Americans but considering how easy it was for everybody it seems like this has been blown out of proportion.

Although unable to renew my visa in Shanghai, where I live, I was able to fly down to HK and get a visa without a problem and it seemed that lots of other folks weren't having any problems either.  The three other acquaintances, all got 6 month or 1 year multiple entry tourist visas in the US.

I realize this is a different angle, but might be worth exploring a little as it seems that actually getting a visa is not as big a problem as it is being made out to be.  Of course 4 Americans getting visas in HK, NYC, and LA would barely even qualify as anecdotal evidence but considering the ease with which all of us got our visas, seems like there was something to it more than luck.

Can anybody out there corroborate that getting a visa isn't so hard as it's been portrayed in the media? Also I'd like to hear if anybody who has obtained Olympics tickets is having problems getting a visa.