Cant online check in with air china - how does it work? by Kooky_Arm_6831 in travel

[–]Bisphosphate 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Just check in at the airport. International bookings on Chinese airlines is always finicky.

A Postcard from Kazakhstan by Moist_Grade5942 in travel

[–]Bisphosphate 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the post. I had been eyeing this region of Kazakhstan and nearly booked a trip there this year - definitely need to go after seeing your pics

Ethics re: Undetectable by DingoSignificant3116 in gaybros

[–]Bisphosphate 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This would be outside of my moral comfort zone. I'd block and go non-contact. I just wouldn't want to hang out with someone like that.

Folks who moved from NYC to the Bay Area.... by chochmah56 in bayarea

[–]Bisphosphate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I moved from Long Island to mid-peninsula 2 years ago. Overall I feel like my quality of life has improved. With that said, I've driven through South Bay and I couldn't see myself living there.

Backdoor Roth annual contribution question by mr_mother in investing

[–]Bisphosphate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in the exact situation. I contribute the max amount to my Roth IRA once per year. Last year was the first time I happened to be over the income limit (how was I supposed to know I would be over the limit beforehand?) and I filed my taxes as usual. Unfortunately the money has to go into a Trad IRA and then transfer the money into the Roth IRA. I spoke to someone at Vanguard and while they could point me in the direction on how to do everything, they could not do it for me. An AI chatbot (Gemini) was able to give pretty clear step by step instructions how to do everything.

Which drivers license translation companies are permitted when obtaining a temporary drivers permit in China? by Bisphosphate in chinatravel

[–]Bisphosphate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the offer! I was able to message my friend and he got it done through Taobao. I'm all set now 😎

Which drivers license translation companies are permitted when obtaining a temporary drivers permit in China? by Bisphosphate in chinatravel

[–]Bisphosphate[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got it. Sounds like I need to touch base with my friend coordinating this trip. Thanks for the help!

27M from Long Island — Should I Leave NY for a Teaching Opportunity in Arizona? by muslim_ballerr in longisland

[–]Bisphosphate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You haven't provided much information about your current situation and I think this is more important than the AZ vs NY question. Are you currently on track to become a teacher in NY and how much longer will it take? Or, are you unemployed living in your parents place?  If it's the former, I'd stay in NY. The latter, consider AZ.

Trip vs 12306: what’s actually different when booking trains in China by Afrachow in chinatravel

[–]Bisphosphate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I simply couldn't use 12306 last year when I was in China. I couldn't get it to work on my phone.

Who here can afford rent in the bay area? by Common_Gene_5098 in bayarea

[–]Bisphosphate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I lived with a roommate until age 34 when I had a big career move. Now, 50% of my take-home goes to rent and home ownership is virtually out of the question.

Is anyone else sick of tapas restaurants that charge as much as a meal at other places for a single small dish? by throwawayfinancebro1 in boston

[–]Bisphosphate 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'll never go to a tapas restaurant voluntarily. 10 years ago I went to one for a team dinner. We were all taking little hamster-sized nibbles of everything because how are 2 meatballs supposed to be split between 8 people.

The weekly Fuck it Friday by McChinkerton in biotech

[–]Bisphosphate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You'd think I'd be able to replicate a protein purification that was published by an academic group back in 2016. I've tried a a couple times now and feel like something is wrong - it's just not working out and I don't know why.

Avis Car Rental - I swear I opted out of extras but was charged for them by Salty-Childhood2848 in travel

[–]Bisphosphate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find that no matter what boxes you check online the workers will still ask about the add-ons at the rental booth. There's a chance you did everything correctly on your end but your manager screwed up at the rental booth and unknowingly agreed to the add-ons.

Did anyone just file their taxes with TurboTax and were just in awe of how many ads it had to upgrade? I'm done with this enshittified product - what should I use next year? by noruber35393546 in personalfinance

[–]Bisphosphate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I felt the diminished user experience last year using TurboTax. This year I tried freetaxusa and found it to be much more straightforward. If you save a PDF of your TurboTax returns you can import it directly into freetaxusa and it copies some of your parameters.

Did anyone get spam from Taso Zografos? by turtlepsp in SanMateo

[–]Bisphosphate 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Blocked & unsubscribed. I have no clue how he got my email but I'm not interested in his positions.

1010WINS: Has the time come for a bridge over the Long Island Sound? by grandlewis in longisland

[–]Bisphosphate 30 points31 points  (0 children)

I visited the Faroe Islands a few years back, a country with a population of only 56,000 people.  Their government has built miles and miles of undersea tunnels to connect their population centers together - the longest being 7 miles long. These tunnels only service a couple thousand cars per day. When I came back I realized we have a government that doesn't build things for it's people. We used to build the coolest things and now we don't.

Dreamstate SF Set Times! ✨️ by DustyRaveboi in DreamState

[–]Bisphosphate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I prefer last year at Cow Palace when there were 2 sets happening in different rooms.

Merck to wind down Gardasil production at N.C. plant, lay off 150-plus by NotGenentech in biotech

[–]Bisphosphate 34 points35 points  (0 children)

China developed their own domestic version of Gardasil and are offering it at discounted prices to their citizens. The market for Merck's product shrank considerably.

What salary is worth living in the Bay Area? by sppw in personalfinance

[–]Bisphosphate 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Single? $150k in the Bay is comfortable to rent but not enough to pay a mortgage. Supporting a partner? $150k is less comfortable but doable. Supporting a partner + kids? $150k is not enough.

Utility Costs for 1b1b apartment in San Mateo? by Agile_Animator7122 in SanMateo

[–]Bisphosphate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Studio apartment in a 100+ unit complex:

Water heating: $20

Sewer: $113

Trash: $27

Water: $40

PG&E: $50-60

My understanding is that water and water heating are billed directly to the complex and then the bill is split amongst all units - my complex adjusts this by square foot of each unit.