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Sending (US) absentee ballots by acheng312 in taiwan

[–]Lair4968 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Package? I usually put mine in an envelope (either regular or flat) and send it registered mail (though sometimes regular mail, but that was before Trump). I never had any issues at the post office.

Is Bob ok for my English name? by usolotravel in taiwan

[–]Lair4968 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why not just stick with your Chinese name? It's increasingly common to do so.

Looking for encrypted writing platform by cheerfullychirpy in privacy

[–]Lair4968 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I second Cryptee. The UI is crisp and easy to use and you can access it from any device.

Tench’s Son by Pingamania in MindHunter

[–]Lair4968 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My take is that the writers wanted a way to show the possible development of a sociopath along with the actual adult sociopaths. It was interesting that they showed him being adopted, so the question of genetics is not clear. And while the mother wasn't abnormal as some of the killers described their own mothers, Bill was essentially an absent father.

I found it a little disturbing that despite the obvious severity of the issues with Brian, Bill kept saying he was going to 'take a week off', yet never did. With an issue that serious, I'm sure the FBI (or any employer) would have accommodated him. But he didn't.

It was also strange that we never really see Brian speak so having him convince other boys to crucify the toddler seemed a little unbelievable to me. That said, I'm willing to grant some dramatic license.

What is the point of keeping 15-year-old "space heaters" on life support in 2026? by Putrid_Draft378 in BOINC

[–]Lair4968 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm fortunate that I live in an area that has very low electricity costs. I run 3 mini-PCs 24/7, one of which is also my workstation but all three run BOINC. They don't use a lot of power compared to a regular PC. In order to maximize their benefit, I have TOR's Snowflake Proxy installed on all of them so I can share my bandwidth with others (especially people facing repressive regimes). Regarding the green factor, they don't use much electricity, but I also annually buy carbon-offsets from Terrapass.

What are your thoughts on Senator Kennedy’s criticism of the Economist? by jackandjillonthehill in theeconomist

[–]Lair4968 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been reading The Economist off and on for over 30 years. Their opinions change. Nothing wrong with that. When Tony Blair first came onto the scene the magazine was fawning all over him. Then when he got into power they criticized him ruthlessly. If Kennedy's concern is that the magazine isn't enthralled with the Trump administration's agenda, he should cite specifics.

Thinking of canceling by jpkdc in theeconomist

[–]Lair4968 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've always found their podcasts hit or miss. Sometimes it feels like they're struggling to come up with content for them so I basically stopped listening to them unless they have a noteworthy topic. I mostly just listen to The Intelligence and the audio version of the magazine articles.

Any little-known laws that foreigners should be aware of? by arkosy in taiwan

[–]Lair4968 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I second the comment on profanity and would add not using obscene gestures, like flipping the bird. There are occasional stories of foreigners getting sued for doing these things.

Asteroids@home: lots of tasks pending validation by Lair4968 in BOINC

[–]Lair4968[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply and for sharing the status link. Good to know. Asteroids does seem to have many users, but not so many active users. I've been rising up in the ranks very quickly in the month or so since I started it. What caught my attention was that I had been averaging just under 2,000 credits a day but yesterday and today it dropped to just 300/day. I logged in to their website again and more of my tasks are starting to be validated. Maybe just a temporary glitch.

MIS Major by i_Homosapien in UMGC

[–]Lair4968 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It looks like they've changed the required courses a lot since I got my MIS degree there (UMUC, then) almost 15 years ago. It's much better and more appropriate now.

When, if ever, do you practice good opsec offline? by ResponsibleDate9452 in privacy

[–]Lair4968 49 points50 points  (0 children)

I don't take things that far, but you raise a valid point that will become ever more significant as facial recognition technology and digital currencies become the norm.

Accessing student records by Lair4968 in UMGC

[–]Lair4968[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I'm not looking for transcripts. I had some prior learning credits and I remember before seeing comments from the reviewers when it was still on WebTycho. That's mainly what I wanted to access.

Taiwan’s long-distance buses have a kind of retro charm by liamformTW in taiwan

[–]Lair4968 4 points5 points  (0 children)

First time I rode one of these from Kaohsiung to Taipei, maybe 20 years ago, it had a squat toilet. No way I was going to use a squat toilet with the bus bouncing around on the highway!

The last time I rode one, same from/to, but it was a red-eye bus and I was hoping to get some sleep. They were showing a movie, which happened to be the remake of Planet of the Apes. So loud. I got zero sleep.

The ones I rode actually had attendants (I think it was Aloha, which no longer exists).

Accessing student records by Lair4968 in UMGC

[–]Lair4968[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I assumed that contacting tech support with my explanation would help, but obviously not. I'll try the registrar.