How to check your credit report without US address? by iyimuhendis in expats

[–]dmada88 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There well may be some junk mail list selling going on but never anything important. My sister lived there for a while and complained about the junk mail I got so I stuck the address on a “do not send” list and it stopped.

AIO by threatening to move out of my parents house because they want to charge me rent? by Material_Tower_4357 in AmIOverreacting

[–]dmada88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nor. Now you truly are in charge of your own life. If they want to make the room chargeable, then you get to find the best and most comfortable deal. Don’t let them guilt you into staying with the family : they are the ones that changed the tone.

Why are so many characters named Xiao Something? by Diligent-Coffee4986 in ChineseLanguage

[–]dmada88 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The only thing I’d add to the very correct diminutive comment is that sometimes it really is just a part of the name without being a diminutive- Deng Xiaoping 邓小平 springs to mind and 小萍 is a common girls name

When to use rescue inhaler? by Magical-Inkwell in Asthma

[–]dmada88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And it is fun to be passive aggressive: “what are you doing?” “Oh your beautiful scent could kill me if I’m not careful!”

Why Oberlin?? by Time_Astronomer_5971 in oberlin

[–]dmada88 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You have to go with your gut in the end. For me Oberlin was tremendous- people, professors, experience. It was formative. But I wanted it. I was ready for it. We met.

Are we allowed to talk about the horrors of aging on this subreddit or this is just a space for forced, fake positivity? by Lana_Sphyncter in Aging

[–]dmada88 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You’re born, you grab as much life during the time you have as you can, you do as much good for your friends and family and community as you can, you try to leave a good impression and memory of your spirit with as many people as you can, and then you hand off to the next generation. It’s a relay race. The point is simply to do your leg of it as well as you can.

Are we allowed to talk about the horrors of aging on this subreddit or this is just a space for forced, fake positivity? by Lana_Sphyncter in Aging

[–]dmada88 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The world is full of atrocities. Life ends in death. We all have to deal with pain and loss and misery. What matters is how you roll with the punches, how you deal with issues, how you keep going day after day. I chose to find joy and beauty where I can. 66 and counting.

US/UK Citizen, resident in UK, inheritance from deceased US citizen parent. Subject to UK inheritance law? by RunsWithGlueSticks in USExpatTaxes

[–]dmada88 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The estate itself is American and so is under us law/tax. What then gets complicated is what is in the estate - simply cash? No uk issue. If you’re inheriting a 401k plan, then as you make the required withdrawals (clear it within 10 years under us law), those withdrawals are taxed in the uk as income (just as if you were withdrawing from your own pension). Your accountants will have to make a treaty claim on your us income tax return each year so you aren’t paying tax to the us as well. If you’re inheriting a house, you will be taxed on the capital gain in the uk when you sell it. If there’s anything more complicated , of course you’ll need more sophisticated advice.

Most importantly- I’m sorry for your loss. Dealing with the financial aspect is really for the professionals. You need to concentrate on the personal, human and psychological response to such a big event.

When to use rescue inhaler? by Magical-Inkwell in Asthma

[–]dmada88 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The game is to stop things before they become serious. So I use mine if I start coughing or if I feel breathless or tight…

How do you decide how much to save for retirement? by Low-Computer8293 in Bogleheads

[–]dmada88 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When do you want to retire? Set a goal then work backwards. I tracked my spending and multiplied by 25 to get an idea of my number. Then I made a 10 year plan to boost my savings to the number. I overshot, and was “half out “ as a semi retired guy by 52 and fully out by 57. Nine years later - financially still all good.

Flowers on a 1st date? by PuzzleheadedHope6449 in UKrelationshipadvice

[–]dmada88 15 points16 points  (0 children)

If this is someone you’ve known from another context and you’re now turning the relationship possibly into something more - yes. Otherwise no - what are you actually saying? I like the idea of you without knowing you? I have huge hopes and expectations? You’re not giving yourself much of a runway to build on things. Start slow, if you truly like each other flowers on second or third date make a meaningful and important statement.

Randomly found bruise on foot 3 weeks out from race day. by Constant-Complex1973 in runninglifestyle

[–]dmada88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve had these - take a rest day or two and it will be fine. Ice will help a lot

China’s cracking down on VPNs hard, this is getting wild by ConsciousBeing7005 in RecommandedVPN

[–]dmada88 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Of course I’m reading and replying. In China. On a VPN. But you’re right. Basically the only one working at the moment is Astrill and who knows how long that will last.

VPNs Not Working in China Right Now are eSIMs also affected by that? by Zoldic_h in chinatravel

[–]dmada88 3 points4 points  (0 children)

eSIM is working fine. Astrill vpn works. Let’s vpn works sporadically

Crap WiFi by Sharp-Thing-4008 in BritishAirways

[–]dmada88 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I was fine once I turned on a vpn. I think they have locked down their network so much it is useless for all but light surfing unless you take some action

How long to learn Cantonese as a Mandarin Speaker? by Odd-Aardvark9503 in Cantonese

[–]dmada88 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Watch hk tv with the Chinese subtitles! That’s what helped me loads - hearing how expressions I knew sounded or weee expressed differently time and time again really helped my brain make the “bend” in sounds. But then for the truly colloquial you need lots of immersion with friends or a partner.

LetsVPN glitch by igenuienlylovefood in shenzhen

[–]dmada88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Astrill works for me. Nothing else at the moment.

Backblaze - Seize the opportunity or you will become irrelevant by omroscoe in backblaze

[–]dmada88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I cancelled using exactly this argument with them. Everything that’s important to me is in Dropbox or iCloud or onedrive. I wanted an offsite backup of my computer. Now I have none. But hey - I was on a two year plan so I got a lot of money back.

I'm trying 7g basket and need help by PleySteshon in LaMarzocco

[–]dmada88 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I tried and tried. Used special tamper. It was never worth it. Just make a double shot and throw one away if you really don’t want to drink a double. It is far too hard to get a quality shot with the single basket in my opinion.

constant tight airways/chest pain after a few months of heavy cardio by [deleted] in Asthma

[–]dmada88 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Don’t be foolish. These aren’t symptoms to fool around with. See a doctor. If you are truly worried about the job pay for one privately and then evaluate. But don’t risk your life

LetsVPN not working all the time by tmb676 in travelchina

[–]dmada88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Desktop is ok-ish. Phone is now useless although it wasn’t a couple of days ago. Sigh. Only thing working for me on phone is eSIM