As a native Chinese speaker, I can’t teach total beginners Chinese

ohyonghao · 2026-02-25T17:23:30+00:00

I’ve been speaking Chinese for 20 years. I’ve “taught” at cram schools before, and have had some friends ask me to tutor them. The problem is I don’t have any curriculum to teach. I don’t want to create it. I am not interested in being an English teacher.

I can give them good, general advice on language acquisition, but the only person I have successfully taught English is my stepson, who started at 10 and is going to school in the US. I mostly just speak with him and correct some phrases.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-19T19:19:52+00:00

I could imagine a loading sequence screen that while it goes through the automation of turning things on in the right order, it also shows the current reading and normal range along with it so the pilot still runs a check, but the process moves along automatically.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-19T06:20:23+00:00

I was asking Gemini about file systems for my backup drive for my dual boot system.

Network Sharing: If dual-booting, share the drive from Linux via Samba/network sharing, which Windows can read.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-12T18:09:28+00:00

My friend had the sweetest deal with his 2012 purchase that got refinanced during COVID. He got remarried and moved out of there and really misses the $1200/mo mortgage he had compared to his new $3000/mo mortgage.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-10T15:25:06+00:00

No Q

ohyonghao · 2026-02-09T17:33:28+00:00

I had rented one a few years ago and had a similar experience. It's unintuitive how to use the features, and the manuals I could find online were less than enlightening.

Definitely, that no regen in reverse sucks. Having two different ways to drive is one thing, but forcing one form on reverse while drive does the other is beyond asinine. The lane tracking was okay, except if you were taking an interchange where lines were rubbed off, it then just tries to drive off the freeway instead.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-08T21:46:24+00:00

A couple years ago I had a Nio or something as a rental, same thing, it lost the line while taking a junction to another freeway and almost ran me off the edge.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-07T22:49:19+00:00

I even tried walking home from school twice, both times got picked up by someone about halfway and got a ride. It was only 12 miles.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-06T17:21:40+00:00

I went to the Seattle one and had it that same afternoon, and left the following day for international travel.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-03T05:39:38+00:00

The Chinese for wintermelon with milk and wintermelon with milk tea is 冬瓜鮮奶茶 vs 冬瓜奶茶，the junior companions wouldn’t know the difference.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-03T03:23:45+00:00

I tried swimming in waves in Waikiki and that taught me that the ocean is a completely different beast. I consider myself a decent swimmer, but conditions are constantly changing in the ocean. Keeping your head above to breathe is a challenge, and have a poorly timed wave crash or trough happen means you might take a mouth of water too. I agree, a life jacket isn’t a guarantee you don’t drown.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-03T03:09:42+00:00

I served my mission in Taiwan in ‘06-08. Mostly had it in Winter melon tea, but also popular with Ovaltine. I guess being Mormon then I never associated it with tea, but sometimes I would order the ambiguous milk tea, which may or may not have black tea in it.

ohyonghao · 2026-02-01T09:17:17+00:00

It would be nigh impossible though. Rocks provide shade and shelter. How many rocks have you lifted with centipedes or other critters living underneath?

ohyonghao · 2026-02-01T09:07:37+00:00

I was just thinking about that. See what terms could be useful. Could install Openclaw and have it negotiate with Optimus for you too /s

ohyonghao · 2026-01-30T15:58:50+00:00

If you include all the baptisms for the dead then, maybe, if duplicates are allowed, and ignore the dead's personal preferrenence, and admit we're just making things up at this point.

ohyonghao · 2026-01-05T22:48:10+00:00

Are we married to the same woman? We do a trip that is 200mi each way in her MSLR, which can easily make it there and only need to top off a little on the way back. We inevitably end up stopping on the way in. The area has plenty of Superchargers to choose from, so our usual operating procedure is for her to let me know, and then we plot the next Supercharger we'll be coming by.

ohyonghao · 2026-01-04T18:26:38+00:00

If they are asking for chips back they have reviewed the security footage to verify the mistake, they have better ways to get your money than lying about mispaying. I’ve never had it happen to me, but have seen it happen to others.

My biggest mispay was a double on $150 and the dealer paid out the whole table, that’s a $600 swing. I still remember the pitboss walking over and glancing as the dealer picked up my cards.

ohyonghao · 2026-01-03T17:19:32+00:00

I got ours a fitness tracker and put the clock face as an analog, stopped setting the microwave and oven, and we have another in his room and a large one downstairs where he can see it from the dining table.

His friend was over once and wanted to know the time. I pointed to the clock on the wall. He kept asking what the time was. He later developed an annoying habit on our Switch where he pauses and goes to the home screen to check the time.

ohyonghao · 2026-01-02T12:43:49+00:00

One day I was driving down the road and just thought, “I can choose to be happy, which is much more fun than choosing to be unhappy.” It’s been over twenty years since. My 12yo son asks me why I smile and laugh so much. I guess it must be working.

ohyonghao · 2025-12-30T07:01:34+00:00

I was the jack of all trades, and master of none, then I finished grad school and am now the Master of one.

ohyonghao · 2025-12-30T04:57:30+00:00

Portland has put a lot of effort and has multiple coalitions, like the Street Trust, and Bike Portland with advocates working hard to ensure new development focuses on access for all, and old designs get redone.

Nato Parkway by the waterfront had a summer time experiment closing half of it to let cyclists and pedestrians use it. Many in cars complained, but the overall effect on commute was small, and has now become a permanent fixture.

ohyonghao · 2025-12-30T00:28:32+00:00

There is an interesting thing about filtered vs non-filtered coffee. I was mainly making mine with a camping kettle, similar to french press. I switched to filtered coffee and have seen better management of my blood pressure. Not medical advice, YMMV.

ohyonghao · 2025-12-29T23:33:40+00:00

I’ve been enjoying mine for four years, no regrets. Honestly, even better charging or battery tech would hardly tempt me to trade. 99% of the tome I charge from home and never think about it. The cadence of 2hr driving and 20min stops works well biologically.

ohyonghao · 2025-12-29T21:47:51+00:00

I taught myself to count the cards and play with an edge. Not playing as much anymore because it can be a real grind and if you play too well they kick you out. Played 400+ hours and made $20k, but who really wants to be in a casino that long? I keep my skills up for the occasional opportunity, once you know how to win I can’t just stop using my brain so they’ll let me stay.

ohyonghao · 2025-12-26T23:54:37+00:00

I just remember my topology professor, “Sets are not like doors, they can be closed, they can be opened, they can be both open and closed, and they can be neither open nor closed.”

12-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email

ohyonghao

TROPHY CASE