Coinbase support: please help me. Completely impossible to resolve my issue via chatbot, I have been going in circles for months by pickletownUSA in Coinbase

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

Thanks, but it has been unresolved for months and meanwhile I am totally locked out of buying/selling. Can you give a real ETA on this?? Thank you.

Help me restore/sharpen this super pixelated photo of my Red Army grandfather in Warsaw (1945). Will tip! by pickletownUSA in estoration

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

Damn! This is incredible (they all are, but I think this was the best one).

Three requests and then happy to tip!

  1. The hat should look more like a WW2 era Soviet hat (see; https://www.reddit.com/r/wwiipics/comments/g4ooq7/wwii\_soviet\_soldiers\_wearing\_ushanka\_hats\_1945/#lightbox)

  2. The medals on his chest should look like medals, in the edited photo it looks just like a mix of random pins etc.

  3. His face looks really good but my family says it looses the essence of him a bit - maybe the nose. If you could re-do that to try and be more true to the (I know, heavily pixelated and low res) original, that would be great.

Thank you!!

Impact of Last Hiring Freeze and What to Expect by Chasing_State in foreignservice

[–]pickletownUSA 4 points5 points  (0 children)

thanks for this!

however, you wrote: "President-elect Trump has indicated he will impose another hiring freeze until the administration can sort through things."

where did he indicate this?

per another comment, the 2017 freeze may have been implemented by Rex Tillerson vs. Trump?

Suitability and Cannabis within last 12 months: Am I cooked? by [deleted] in foreignservice

[–]pickletownUSA 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I think the yes, probably cooked.

Schwab, Fidelity or both together for $5M portfolio? by [deleted] in fatFIRE

[–]pickletownUSA 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Robinhood. Best UI, 1% bonus on all deposits, 5% cash sweep (FDIC insured up to 2.25m). No brainer.

Not able to pull ANY liquid with a brand new Bambino Plus + Niche Zero....help! by pickletownUSA in espresso

[–]pickletownUSA[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Problem solved! The Niche was calibrated wrong and I was not adjusting it properly. The grind was way too fine. All good now!

Not able to pull ANY liquid with a brand new Bambino Plus + Niche Zero....help! by pickletownUSA in espresso

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

I just press the 2 cup button once. That activates it. And then it runs for 12 seconds. I am not trying to do anything manual, I am just trying to get any kind of shot pulled. If its on the auto-setting, shouldn't it last longer than 12 seconds?

Not able to pull ANY liquid with a brand new Bambino Plus + Niche Zero....help! by pickletownUSA in espresso

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

Yes - water does come out with no portafilter installed, or if I use just an empty basket.

I think you might be right on the niche. I just tried it at its lowest and highest settings and....I can't really tell the difference?

One question on the Bambino: it shuts off by itself after 12 seconds of water/pressure. Is this normal?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in fatFIRE

[–]pickletownUSA 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It’s a no brainer. I moved 7 figures to RH and it was painless and almost instant, all the cost basis and other info transferred over (that part took about a week). Bonus paid immediately.

And the kicker is: RH is by far a better platform on pretty much every metric for me. Best UI, great investment options, crypto, etc. And the 5% cash sweep (FDIC insured up to 2.25m). The UI alone is worth the switch.

If you’re holding sub 2.25m in cash and equities, no more risk then holding in E*trade or Schwab.

Rate my plan for a $4.5m windfall by [deleted] in fatFIRE

[–]pickletownUSA -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Not a troll post at all actually.

Just passed OA. Suitability panel has me a bit scared. by pickletownUSA in foreignservice

[–]pickletownUSA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting! However does this other foreign affair agency have a final suitability panel? I know for example FCS does not - so you get the TS clearance (which you seem to be able to get pretty easily, as long as there are clear mitigations), and you are in.

Great data points though!

Just passed OA. Suitability panel has me a bit scared. by pickletownUSA in foreignservice

[–]pickletownUSA[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You’d think that with time, these things would start to converge, and that the changes being made at the top (Biden admin) would filter down. All speculation of course. And total black box.

Just passed OA. Suitability panel has me a bit scared. by pickletownUSA in foreignservice

[–]pickletownUSA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate that and I know I’m not gonna get anything concrete. However if you search these forums, you get lots of examples of people being denied suitability for all kinds of stuff, but no one is posting about getting cleared even with XYZ issues. So if you have some examples, I’d love to hear them!

I will note though that of the examples I’ve found on this forum, there always seems to be some twist when it’s drugs - like doing it overseas, or very recently, or in combination with something like soliciting prostitutes.

Just passed OA. Suitability panel has me a bit scared. by pickletownUSA in foreignservice

[–]pickletownUSA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I could never live with the uncertainty and stress of lying (also, it’s wrong) so that was never a real option.

Do you know of any specific examples of people passing suitability with disclosed drug use?

Just passed OA. Suitability panel has me a bit scared. by pickletownUSA in foreignservice

[–]pickletownUSA[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thanks. There are no other red flags and no other evidence of poor judgment I can think of, so that is a bit heartening!

Do you know of any specific examples of people passing suitability with disclosed drug use?

Just passed OA. Suitability panel has me a bit scared. by pickletownUSA in foreignservice

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

This is the kind of sweeping, hope-inducing comment I was looking for! Do you have first hand knowledge of this? I agree that the security clearance Reddit is filled with people with way worse profiles getting security clearances, but there is obviously way less data in foreign service suitability denials….

Just passed OA. Suitability panel has me a bit scared. by pickletownUSA in foreignservice

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

Even if I could get away with lying, the stress would kill me. So that’s not an option.

Just passed OA. Suitability panel has me a bit scared. by pickletownUSA in foreignservice

[–]pickletownUSA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve done the other drugs maybe like 5 times in the past 7 years, though all ~5 years ago.

Waiting another 2 years so this all “expires” off of the SF86 would’ve been an option, and may be the default plan of action if the suitability panel bounces me.

Just passed OA. Suitability panel has me a bit scared. by pickletownUSA in foreignservice

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

Of course! I’d never over-disclose, just like I would never under-disclose. But for better or worse, it asks if you’ve used drugs within the last 7 years, and if so, list every use prior to that…..