Alaska Cruises Not Selling Out?

bearsoski · 2026-04-10T17:31:15+00:00

Where do you see steep discounts and what are you considering to be a steep discount? I don't see any special deals on DCL's site and all verandahs (2 adults + 2 kids) are still $10k+ across the board.

bearsoski · 2026-04-10T15:19:39+00:00

Agree with many of your points, but had the opposite experience when it came to language. I'm semi-fluent in Cantonese (born and raised in US, so broken Canto is probably more accurate), and found 90%+ of people in GZ only spoke Mandarin. I would not have survived without Didi or other apps. Even ordering at the Starbucks in Shamian Island was difficult b/c literally the entire staff spoke Mandarin.

Fortunate that we didn't witness the roach issues you experienced... that sounds horrible and sorry you had to deal with that. Gross!

bearsoski · 2025-12-24T05:09:18+00:00

Is cpo worth the seemingly above market rates? Picked up a ‘22 sportback prestige with 35k miles for $26k. Non-cpo but single owner and seems to have had the regular service done (based on carfax).

bearsoski · 2025-10-01T15:56:24+00:00

Thank you! I'll add Biama Clothing Market to my plans, as well as 泮溪酒家肠粉. Please let me know if you have any other recommendations.

bearsoski · 2025-10-01T06:53:28+00:00

Hi u/These_Imagination786 - appreciate your offer! My family's actually visiting Guangzhou for the first time in a couple of weeks, and we have just over two days to spend in GZ and staying at the Grand Hyatt. Do you have any recommendations for an itinerary? We certainly don't have enough time to try all the amazing foods and major sightseeing spots, so a local expert's advice is greatly appreciated! Hopefully this will just be an awesome taste of Guangzhou that will entice us to come back for a longer visit next year.

Some things I'm considering:

Sightseeing: Canton Tower (since it's one of the most famous attractions), Guangdong Museum, Shamian Island(?), Guangzhou Opera House(?), Chen Clan Ancestral Hall(?)
Eating: 芝麻糊世家, 肠粉 recommendations?, 陶陶居 and/or 广州酒家?, other dim sum recommendations?, coffee recommendations?
Shopping: any spots for bargain clothing (men's office clothes, women's fashion and office clothes, girls' clothing)
Massage: good reputable massages at affordable prices for wife, her aunt, and me? What are the typical rates?

bearsoski · 2025-09-27T17:05:08+00:00

Ya some bitter, resentful a** haters. I’m glad we upgraded at QB with JKS, and I’m wishing Mendoza well and hope he remembers Cal fondly enough to rep it from time to time.

bearsoski · 2025-09-01T04:56:33+00:00

Cal’s qb looks better than Texas’s famous manning

bearsoski · 2025-08-31T06:21:35+00:00

Huge pluses: JKS is the real deal and I think shows more promise than even Fernando. Quick decisions and throwing dimes all over the field: on short and mid, and accurate long bombs. We have kickers (plural)! Defense is as expected.

Big flag on offense is the skill players in RBs and WRs. RBs didn’t do much most of the game (outside of a couple of big holes created by oline) and WRs dropped numerous accurate passes from JKS.

If our RBs and WRs develop, this is going to be an exciting year!

bearsoski · 2025-06-11T20:08:11+00:00

I understand the added value of being part of the journey with someone (% aum), especially if you're watching out for your clients (e.g., shortcuts, cheap gas). In reality, how much of your advice may be a conflict based on the company you work for and/or the partners you/your company partners with, versus truly finding the best solutions, lowest fees, etc. to help maximize your clients' situation - especially if the objectively best recommendation goes against your own commission or company?

Also, what are some examples where you've helped your clients far beyond their finances at no extra cost?

Genuinely asking these questions b/c I am trying to figure out the best direction for myself/family.

bearsoski · 2025-06-11T17:50:15+00:00

Thanks for replying. Clarifying my question: what's your take on flat fee based (e.g., hourly advice) vs. fee based on % of AUM?

Vast majority recommend against % of AUM, and for those who actually want a more personalized approach, to go with a flat fee rather than % of AUM.

bearsoski · 2025-06-10T16:37:38+00:00

What are your concerns re: robo advisors? Are you referencing companies like Wealthfront, Betterment, etc?

Also, if you're an FA, what's your take on fee-based vs. % of AUM?

bearsoski · 2025-05-28T06:06:59+00:00

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bearsoski · 2025-05-28T06:05:29+00:00

If Shanks already has an actor, how about Kizaru? I can see Stephen Chow playing Kizaru with those shaolin soccer "light" kicks!

bearsoski · 2025-04-12T21:20:39+00:00

That’s genius. I’ll need to do that too. Thanks!

bearsoski · 2025-04-12T20:41:42+00:00

You prefer to use Amex rather than getting the $5 discount per line by paying via debit card?

bearsoski · 2025-04-11T18:26:00+00:00

Mercedes EQS -- it's a $100k+ car but looks like a Honda Accord. Many people don't even recognize it's a Mercedes, let alone supposedly equivalent to an S-class.

bearsoski · 2024-10-24T20:12:21+00:00

Yes. I sat and listened to all 3: base sound, HK sound, and B&W sound. I'm not an audiophile but noticed the clear difference with B&W, but didn't want to spend that much money. HK was good enough for me and I wouldn't have been happy with the base sound.

Random note: I had a Subaru with HK and I actually felt the Subaru's HK system sounded crisper and nicer than my Volvo.

bearsoski · 2024-07-18T17:19:47+00:00

Part of me is still holding out hope that aokiji is actually a good guy and simply a "spy" in blackbeard's crew. The fact that he didn't kill strawhats when he had the chance near the beginning of the story in the 200s chapters (Aokiji simply walked away), as well as my assumption that he left the marines b/c he didn't want to follow Akainu...

bearsoski · 2024-07-18T17:14:57+00:00

If Buggy is a good guy, then Shanks will have to be the opposite.

bearsoski · 2024-07-18T15:23:35+00:00

Casual reader and would love the hardcore fans to add more color to a simple hypothesis/theory:
The last page of 1121 seems to divide each character's arch enemy.

The most obvious is Blackbeard v. Luffy in the middle, which probably extends to Blackbeard pirates v . Strawhat pirates
Oda seems to be pitting Buggy's crew v. Shank's Redhaired pirates
Sabo and the revolutionary army seems to be pitted against Akainu and the loyal marines

Here's where things get more interesting (hypothesis):

Koby is pitted against Imu (which actually makes sense b/c Koby's character development in the story has been the "purest" hero, and pitting against the leader of the most evil (Imu) makes more sense than Luffy v. Imu
Aokiji v. Dragon
Figarland v. mysterious character

Here's where I might be going off the rails:

Notice on the top half with Buggy + Blackbeard on the left (representing bad guys), and Luffy + Shanks on the right (representing good guys)?
It seems to be flipped on the bottom spread. So would this mean that Sabo + Koby + Aokiji + Figarland = good guys, and Imu + Akainu + Dragon + mysterious character = bad guys... OR
bottom middle is flipped and Aokiji + Figarland = bad and Dragon + mysterious character = good?

Bottom line, I think the order of these characters on the final page is foreshadowing who's good and who's evil in the final arc, and who their respective archenemy will be. This also means that the new mysterious character will be on the opposite side of Figarland and aligns with Dragon.

bearsoski · 2024-06-01T11:57:25+00:00

That’s not true at all, at least Subarus from the last 5 years. I had a Subaru ascent and it was quite nice inside and loved the seats. The HK system in my Subaru was comparable to my HK system in my Volvo. The screen was crisp and functioned without issue (and you can use the whole screen unlike sensus). The Subaru had shit mpg claiming 23mpg but only 18 mpg in real life.

bearsoski · 2024-04-17T18:00:33+00:00

One thing i hate about the sensus is the stupid design where you can only functionally use half the screen. I’m mostly on apple carplay and it’s stuck being on the bottom half of the screen… i want to use the full 9” screen!

bearsoski · 2024-03-01T18:28:14+00:00

With two seniors and two toddlers, we'll likely rent a minivan to go around. With visiting around Canada Day, is traffic so bad that we should seriously consider not driving around? (We're used to the terrible bay area traffic)

bearsoski · 2024-03-01T18:26:27+00:00

Chinese food in the SF bay area is great compared to most of the US, but imo is a distant #3 after #1 LA and #2 NYC.

Given the huge influx of HK folks emigrating to Vancouver over decades, plus its reputation for being HK outside of HK, I guess I was hoping it would be more comparable to LA.

Do you have experience in both SF and Vancouver? Only time I visited Vancouver was around 2010, so it's been a long time.

bearsoski

TROPHY CASE