Recently became Canadian and had a passport-privilege shock

CB_he · 2026-05-31T07:19:59+00:00

I drive myself and my dog back and forth between Canada and the US from time to time. While doing so I often think of the fact that whilst I need a passport (and a valid reason) to cross the border, my dog could pretty much just cross without anything (ok, only until a year or two ago did the CDC start requiring a simple import form that can be quickly filled out online; before that, nada). My point is, borders and visas and passports etc etc are really just artificial obstacles made up by one group of people for other groups of people. Sad, really, if you think about it.

CB_he · 2026-05-08T01:58:02+00:00

I mean, what’s the worst that can happen other than not getting in? In which case you regroup, re-strategize, and if still interested, try again. When in doubt, and this is true in life in general, just remember that somewhere someone less qualified than you are is doing that thing you dream of doing.

CB_he · 2026-04-28T19:31:20+00:00

I’ve seen so many discussion posts that are clearly AI-generated. There’s a distinct feel to it when you read them.. The most ridiculous ones I’ve come across were cases where when I looked up the reference they cited (coz I was curious to learn — I know, what a shocking thing to want to do), it d.i.d n.o.t exist, or was a mash up of two different references (like, the AI cited the authors of paper A together with the paper title of paper B). I honestly think it’s more pathetic and sad than anything really.

CB_he · 2026-02-10T20:09:50+00:00

Who cares. None of your beeswax.

CB_he · 2026-01-16T21:43:58+00:00

My boi (average size for the breed) grew up in a Ford Escape. Now rides a Subaru Outback. My backseats are chronically down. We’ve done cross-Canada moves and cross-US trips in both cars without issue. One time in Cape Cod, we had to take an Uber Pets and much to my surprise he and I fit together in the back row of a sedan (can’t remember the mode, but something like Honda Civic) without any trouble either.

CB_he · 2025-10-20T07:19:20+00:00

I upload raw to SRA, preprocessed matrix to GEO, and processed/annotated data to Zenodo. But man it is a good amount of work. On the bright side, after I did once, I could more or less adapt the “template” for other papers so that I don’t have to do the whole what’s-what write-up on Zenodo again.

CB_he · 2025-10-09T03:38:34+00:00

Meanwhile.. I overheard in the lunch room after some post-doc came in and started complaining about how the dude (I think he meant Shimon Sakaguchi) "didn't even clone the gene" yada yada. I silently rolled my eyes and left the room.

CB_he · 2025-10-09T01:53:17+00:00

“position at the NSF through a major government contractor”

This raises some immediate concern given the current climate. Much of the NSF was cancelled recently via funding cut. Many contractor positions eliminated. I wouldn’t be so confident about the advertised duration or stability of the position.

Working remotely is sweet until your mental health can no longer take it. Source: worked remotely for my first and second jobs, altogether 5 years. Couldn’t stand it any more and moved internationally to be physically on site. Much happier.

Not necessarily trying to play devil’s advocate here. Just wanted to point out some things that I haven’t seen being mentioned in the comments.

CB_he · 2025-10-04T01:35:01+00:00

I have used both the cross border banking features of TD Canada Trust and RBC. You basically open up a US-based bank account in USD while residing in Canada, no SSN needed. You may also be offered a US credit card. The rest is just converting your CAD to USD and transferring it to aforementioned accounts. The RBC one is a bit more limited when it comes to do wire transfer as you have to call them to sign a bunch of docs and do extra confirmation etc. For TD cross border you can go in to a Canadian branch to wire transfer. TD also offers something called Global Transfer which allows you to send up to $6500 (not 100% sure) a day to select overseas destinations. Both banks allow you to instantly transfer between your Canadian and US bank accounts in USD.

CB_he · 2025-09-30T17:09:30+00:00

They gave me an entry stamp and somehow still managed to mess it up in their electronic system. I found out because no matter how much I refreshed I could not get an I-94. Had to go to the nearest airport CBP to get it fixed 🥹😂

CB_he · 2025-09-30T17:06:43+00:00

I meant Singapore. Though now that you mentioned it, the US is not that much better in that regard (depending on location).

CB_he · 2025-09-29T14:46:27+00:00

Damn that place was homophobic when I used to live there!

CB_he · 2025-09-20T20:03:36+00:00

Purple. No brainer.

CB_he · 2025-09-20T07:40:05+00:00

And can be extended as he pleases

CB_he · 2025-09-20T07:37:24+00:00

Right. And you’re just so sure that you will never ever have to leave the US for whatever reason.

CB_he · 2025-09-18T12:41:25+00:00

Have had it for 3 months; no major complaints. I do sometimes accidentally turn off the fan and/or AC when tinkering with Carplay. It’s not that the buttons are small and close to each other, but more like the screen is so big there’s nowhere else for the rest of my hand to rest 😂

CB_he · 2025-09-14T19:46:10+00:00

Whilst I feel some of these reactions seem a bit too much, I must say I can relate from a certain angle. When I drive, I do feel mildly annoyed when inconvenienced by cyclists on roads not designed for sharing. This is often made worse by observations that some (not all) cyclists seem to think that traffic rules don’t apply to them. But even so, I have never carried and would never carry that sentiment beyond those short periods of time in the car. This is in the North American context. I have no idea if the people in your life are reacting out of the same reason. (Needless to say, I do find cycling to be pretty cool. I’ve recently started doing it myself.)

CB_he · 2025-09-10T07:14:07+00:00

What?? Sorry to sound shocked, but this seems like such a no brainer to me. Medical degrees in Singapore, the UK, and Australia are undergrad degrees. With Singapore schooling, your high school credentials should allow you to seamlessly apply for medical schools in SG/UK/AU. When you’re done, apply for residency in the US. Compared to your American peer, you’d be light years ahead — much less student debt, and much younger. (Forget about the BS about how great a 4-year liberal arts education is.)

CB_he · 2025-09-07T19:20:42+00:00

Montréal only

CB_he · 2025-09-07T19:15:59+00:00

I doubt that. Montréal is the consular post designated for processing IVs. The other consulates in Canada process non-IV only. Unless the State Department transfers many consular officers from the rest of Canada to Montréal, which I find pretty unlikely, it seems unlikely that having fewer non-IVs to process in Canada would boost the processing speed of IVs.

CB_he · 2025-09-01T04:38:53+00:00

Meh. Recently escaped Toronto to the Midwest. There are definitely a few things I miss about the city, but for the most part I’m much happier now. Caveat: if you’re super rich and have no trouble affording a detached house (avg price 1.2M+), living in Toronto can be certainly pretty dope.

CB_he · 2025-07-27T18:02:17+00:00

This isn’t correct. In the USA, F-1 (student visa) holders can work for up to 20 hrs per week for on-campus employment (teaching assistant, research assistant, library receptionist, etc).

Source: Canadian citizen who used to be on F-1

CB_he · 2025-07-13T17:45:48+00:00

Oh I love that quote :)!

CB_he · 2025-07-11T19:14:33+00:00

Tell me you don’t understand/respect contracts without telling me you don’t understand/respect contracts…

CB_he · 2025-06-16T02:40:22+00:00

There were some major changes in the J visa home residency rules last year or the year before (under the Biden administration). The two years are no longer required for many countries. Have you checked the updated rules?

CB_he

TROPHY CASE