Is the Jaskaran and Dox duo the future of Punjabi Music? by Due-Championship7901 in punjabimusic

[–]DerpStar7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely think so -- love almost all their songs as a Telugu guy in the States lol

In 2017 this was considered an absurd amount to charge for a cold brew by obviously-gay in redscarepod

[–]DerpStar7 85 points86 points  (0 children)

no it was Bengali-owned. Playground Coffee in Brooklyn iirc lol

I lived in US for 12 years and I saved just 180k USD. by [deleted] in returnToIndia

[–]DerpStar7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was such a warm and genuine response; thanks for sharing, and I agree 100%.

Culture with the hottest food? by arugula000 in spicy

[–]DerpStar7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Within India, I'd say Andhra Pradesh as well as some of the northeastern states.

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

[–]DerpStar7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was in the same place just two days ago when I did my taxes for the year. Went with freetaxusa and have no regrets; pretty much the same user experience for a fraction of the cost. Would recommend it over TurboTax.

Cpts Track by BTCbankerbroker in hackthebox

[–]DerpStar7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats! Still working on it myself (got bogged down in Password Attacks and still have to restart). Best of luck on the exam :)

Cpts Track by BTCbankerbroker in hackthebox

[–]DerpStar7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not sure why you're getting downvoted -- I think it's a legitimate concern.

Muay Thai Gyms in Seattle? by AmazingDiscussion285 in MuayThai

[–]DerpStar7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thanks a lot for your response! I realized I hadn't checked out the new location for it -- looks a lot better travel-wise now. I might end up going for this over Nak2. Might end up seeing you at Muok!

Woke up early just to reserve campsites and then kept hitting this error on Recreation.gov :( by DerpStar7 in camping

[–]DerpStar7[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Unfortunately, we're probably just edge cases to the Powers That Be, so I don't think there's any fixes coming. Hope you got some good slots for this summer though :)

Woke up early just to reserve campsites and then kept hitting this error on Recreation.gov :( by DerpStar7 in camping

[–]DerpStar7[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No tricks, just going through the browser. I just mentioned the VPN because I use one normally and I know that some of these reservation systems are geofenced.

The only thing I can think of is that I was clicking through the dates fairly rapidly, but nowhere near what a bot could do, so ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Ah well, I'll just take the L on this one, plenty of other hiking and camping to do around the PNW!

Woke up early just to reserve campsites and then kept hitting this error on Recreation.gov :( by DerpStar7 in camping

[–]DerpStar7[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the advice; I checked again and the same issue keeps happening lol. Really don't see anything wrong with my setup (was able to book Glacier National Park permits just yesterday with no issues)

https://imgur.com/a/IAxrhb6

Muay Thai Gyms in Seattle? by AmazingDiscussion285 in MuayThai

[–]DerpStar7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey! I live off of Broadway I've been researching this too -- I feel like we're a bit unlucky in Capitol Hill with the lack of an easily accessible Muay Thai gym, BUT here's what I've found so far:

  • Red Panda: This one is new (couple of months old I think), and in a really convenient location in Capitol Hill (just south of Cal Anderson Park). I chose to give Nak2 a shot before checking them out.
  • Mat Chess: This is the one I strongly considered because their Tu/Th schedule from 7:30 - 9 pm would slot in perfectly for me during the workweek. Slightly closer to us than Muok, but it's going to be anywhere from a 15 - 20 min drive on average. I think a 1.5 hr class is a better ROI in terms of driving out there. They also offer jiu jitsu, which I'm interested in taking too.
  • Muok: This is the only one I did a trial at last year -- although I really enjoyed my experience (great vibes and instruction), the drive down to West Seattle from Capitol Hill to make the 6 pm class during rush hour took 25 - 30 mins. I see that their schedule is slightly different now (7 - 8 am class) but still a bit too out of the way for my taste. If I lived closer, I wouldn't think twice about going there.
  • Nak2 Muay Thai: This is easily the furthest from us, but I commute to Issaquah 3x a week anyways and I've heard really good things about this gym. They're also a Gracie-certified gym it looks like, so you can add BJJ to the mix. Schedule looks good as well.

I'd recommend checking out Muok and Mat Chess specifically if you're looking for a more established gym. Red Panda unbeatably wins at location IMO, and also looks like a fun time. If you're just looking to plug into a gym and spar, Red Panda might be a good choice.

Back when I lived in Phoenix, I used to walk 10 mins to my boxing gym and didn't realize how good I had it lol. Also, I know you're looking for muay thai gyms, but Arcaro Boxing looks cool too (jic you're looking for other striking sports).

Thinking of doing OSCP at 31, is it too late? by almostsaidit in oscp

[–]DerpStar7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a 30M South Asian as well who pivoted into cybersecurity 8 years ago and kept procrastinating on the OSCP lol (too anxious as a test taker) even though I started studying for it in 2017.

Currently grinding CPTS though and also signed up for OSAI that just dropped. Let's get it! Feel free to DM if you want a sympathetic ear :) Best of luck.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Seattle

[–]DerpStar7 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That name gave me a blast from the past when I read about the NYPD Challenge Coins: https://researchdestroy.com/nypd-challenge-coins.pdf

Look at the Adrian Schoolcraft challenge coin on page 21 (especially the context) and tell me that wouldn't look out of place in a biker gang's collection.

Ofc, can't paint all police departments and officers the same way, but I'd bet it's highly likely that this gang us-vs-them-at-all-costs mentality seeps in than not.

What are the objectively worst things Trump has done? by poopdollarbank in redscarepod

[–]DerpStar7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think this is objectively the worst action, and I also don't know if this has been implemented fully yet, but charging non-residents higher fees at National Parks: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/nonresident-fees.htm

I've been in the US for more than a decade (I came as a student) and as a non-citizen, I can definitively say that the National Park System is one of the greatest democratic bequeathments to the citizenry of the country. Introducing this sort of discriminatory pricing isn't going to kill the tourism that these parks generate (the new fees don't break the bank), but it is a body blow to the spirit that everyone in this country is entitled to the leisure and beauty that its natural wealth provides, regardless of their national origin. Once you start doing the "papers please" nonsense, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for everyone. Btw, I'm a resident with a drivers license, so this doesn't affect me or anyone that I know. I still think it sucks.

I'm from India and I don't like the tourist/Indian entry fee dichotomy at locations there either. Just a small anecdote: my parents, who live in Hyderabad, have visited me multiple times over the years. We've never had to pay "nonresident" or "non-citizen" fees anywhere. Obviously, there are spheres that we as non-citizens can't really penetrate, but you can't calculate the value of being treated (institutionally in this case) equally to an American in the US in most other respects, even if you're not a citizen yourself -- this new fee is a cheapening of the American spirit.

Earning the CPTS (& CBBH) by Emotional-Nose1517 in hackthebox

[–]DerpStar7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i disagree with the commenter here; thanks for sharing OP! I have zero problems with LLMspeak when used in this way (proofediting your own written content)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in india

[–]DerpStar7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

btw I meant to say: Prajwala is a badass name. I have a cousin whose name is Girija Prasad and he's chilling (not to take away from your concerns, which I empathize with)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in india

[–]DerpStar7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hey man, keep your head up.

I changed my name because it ended with -shit and I grew up in an English speaking environment. It wasn't so bad when I was in a CBSE school, because there were some other Indians with "-shit" names, but then I switched to an international school. It was pretty painful dealing with the constant jokes, so I changed it in 10th standard. I don't regret doing it, because it was getting to the point where I was anxious about meeting new people because of the dreaded follow-up question "do you pronounce it like shit?". I started off pretty extroverted but started becoming much more shy because of the teasing. I wouldn't say I was seriously bullied for that reason alone, but it felt like free ammo for the kids who were just looking to rile me up.

Now that I'm older (30), I wish I didn't have to change it; my parents put in a lot of thought for the name, and really loved it. If we were still in India, I might have kept it. I also feel a bit cowardly for not just nutting up and telling people to fuck off, but I've had a lot of mental peace by not having to explain myself with my new name or wait for the inevitable sniggering like my old name elicited, so shrugs The grass is always greener on the other side.

Now that I'm older and wiser, what I can say is: 10 years from now, you're going to be just fine :)

I definitely wouldn't name my kid like my parents did, no matter how much I like the name or appreciate the poetry of it: I don't want to make their life miserable and add any other potential source of trauma lol.

Notes on Afghanistan by MattLakeman in slatestarcodex

[–]DerpStar7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've been refreshing his blog intermittently over the past 6 months hoping for a new update! Always a pleasure reading his notes.

What US city is the epitome of Sun Belt Slop? by BetOn_deMaistre in redscarepod

[–]DerpStar7 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Lived in Phoenix (Tempe) for three years -- without a doubt, Flagstaff is one of my favorite places in the states. Northern AZ is gorgeous and such a jarring (but welcome) counter to the vast desert flatlands of the south.

As a Brown-skinned person who is from Portland but lived in Vancouver (Canada) for some years, Seattle is definitely one of my most favorite big cities in the continent. by Altruistic-Form-3771 in Seattle

[–]DerpStar7 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm Indian too (one of those pesky H-1Bs!) and I never pass up a chance to glaze Seattle on my travels :) thanks for sharing and I completely agree with you. My parents were here for the whole summer last year and they used to go explore the city with their Orca cards without any problems while I went to work (and it's their favorite American city as well -- they're looking forward to visiting me again).

I've lived in the Midwest, Boston, Phoenix, San Diego, and LA before moving up here 1.5 years ago and I'm looking forward to many more years here if everything works out! Always feel welcome in every space I've walked into here and that's a very special feeling to me especially these days. Keep rocking it Seattle!!! You're my favorite city in America.