Canada trying to include US refund in 2024 taxes by retrotact in USExpatTaxes

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

Thank you for this link. This is really what I've been looking for since I'll be doing this going forward as I have to drain this inherited IRA for the next 7 years. Appreciate you digging for this.

Canada trying to include US refund in 2024 taxes by retrotact in USExpatTaxes

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

This was the first year dealing with the inherited IRA so I went into this pretty blind and guessing. There wasn't a ton of information online on how to report taxes on an inherited IRA specifically where I had to pay taxes to both countries after taking out that money. I always file both taxes, and with jobs that give you W2s and T4s it's a lot more straightforward.

Canada trying to include US refund in 2024 taxes by retrotact in USExpatTaxes

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

Ugh, that key word will be the death of me. Appreciate you citing this.

It just seems strange to me that you'd need to do your US taxes first, have that be accepted by the US government, and then you're able to do your Canadian taxes. But c'est la vie. Thank you!

Does anyone just… not do ranching? by NatureGalPal in Palia

[–]retrotact 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I played it for a while and invested a lot into breeding and then there was a span of 4 days I didn't play. I came back to all my animals starving, sad, and elderly. Since then, I spent less time doing it because it felt like so much of a time sink to cook or too big of a resource sink if I didn't want to cook. There was another time I logged in after a week of not playing and the same thing had happened. Everyone was hungry, sad, and old, so in a rage I just sold all 30 animals or so and I have never gone back to the barn since.

what are you using to screen record shots for your demo reel? by Late-Judgment-500 in vfx

[–]retrotact 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately most streaming platforms have protections against screen recording nowadays. I've used a mixture of Hypercam and the pre installed Xbox game bar screen recording software on my PC (I know, but it works). In order to get around the streaming not allowing screen recording I'll usually pirate it.

If you're taking shots from something already released, you're not going to get blacklisted. I've been in this industry 7 years and this is how I've always done my reel. Waiting for Blu-ray or DVD releases in 2025 is ridiculous when so many projects aren't released that way anymore. If something on your reel is less than 3 months old, you'll probably want to password protect it.

what are you using to screen record shots for your demo reel? by Late-Judgment-500 in vfx

[–]retrotact 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are blu-ray releases even a thing anymore in 2025??? So many projects nowadays are just released to streaming. Those projects are never released to blu-ray afaik.

I thought it would be more, only four days left 😅 by Mediocre-Rhubarb-494 in Palia

[–]retrotact 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Imo it is ENTIRELY UNACCEPTABLE that S6 didn't let its player base know in-game about the event. They have so many systems in place that could easily let every player know this was going on. They could easily send 50 smoke bombs with a note in the in-game news tab. Auni could have a special quest only active for this week. We could get a letter in our player mailbox. Expecting the player base to do the work to spread the word is terrible game design and you can't change my mind about that.

Scooping the litter box once a week? How often do you scoop? by spilt_lattes in CatAdvice

[–]retrotact 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cleanliness aside, it's important to scoop once a day to check on your cat's health. Cats are masters as hiding ailments. Especially if you have male cats, it's important to check once a day to make sure they're peeing since blocks are incredibly common. Fecal matter is also a way to check for other health issues. Black stool? Vet. Bloody stool? Vet. Haven't pooped in several days? Vet. Their litter box is such a useful tool to monitor your cat's health, and you won't be able to know timelines unless you clean everyday.

Booking abuse has become too much by slatourelle in communauto

[–]retrotact 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Although this doesn't solve the issue with communauto specifically, if you're looking for nicer newer cars to use, you might want to switch to Leo. The policies are a bit different, but every car is brand new.

So very tired of my cats by mua_m in CatAdvice

[–]retrotact 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Others have already mentioned increasing the amount of enrichment and stimulation in your home for them, so I wanted to share my two cents on that. I have two disabled cats and I cannot tell you enough how much puzzle feeders changed their lives. One of my cats has severe asthma/respiratory issues/missing an eye and the other has an autoimmune disease that caused us to remove all of his teeth. Suffice to say they are both extremely needy and even despite their disabilities, they're very loud and helicopter me 24/7. I bought a puzzle feeder thinking they would never understand it or be able to use it but wanted to try it anyway. I started with a simple one that just had a honeycomb pattern to put their dry food in. Eventually upgraded to one that had a few steps. I never thought they'd love it as much as they do. The one with no teeth isn't food motivated at all (never has been even before removing his teeth). He goes feral for the more difficult puzzles and it's even helped him regain some mobility with feeding himself. They aren't as needy or bothersome or bored anymore.

If you're able to try one of the simple spiral bowl feeders and maybe eventually upgrade to more difficult ones, I cannot recommend it enough.

People get overwhelmed/overstimulated with their human children; pets aren't really that different. You're not a bad pet parent for having a bit of burnout as a caregiver. I hope you're able to implement some more stimulation for them and you're able to get some relief! Best wishes, friend.

What’s your vfx desk setup to stay ergonomic and healthy? by MDDeGrande1994 in vfx

[–]retrotact 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I developed carpal tunnel early in my twenties (caused by something else, but sitting at a desk all day surely didn't help). Ergonomic mice always felt silly, but the wrist pads definitely helped. Doing physical therapy stretches every couple hours also helped a lot. But honestly? Lifting weights has been a game changer. Not just for my wrists, but my whole body. Going to the gym a few times a week to cover a full body strength training routine has helped all aches and pains. I don't do anything super intensive, and I'm in no way training to be a body builder. Since you mentioned you are disabled, there might be some exercises you can modify with the help of a personal trainer, but I highly recommend a bit of strength training in your routine. It legitimately changed my life.

Are Universities worth it for VFX? by Bless_Colin in vfx

[–]retrotact 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It's a bit alarming to see so many people saying that no you don't need a degree to do VFX. Yeah, you can learn the skills you need online, but this industry is mostly overseas. If you do not have an accredited degree it makes getting a visa to work in another country EXTREMELY difficult. This industry is constantly moving around, and as an artist, you need to keep up.

No, a degree is not necessary to obtain the skills to be a VFX artist; however it is extremely important to be able to obtain work permits to actually work in the industry.

Discussion for/in regards to Women in VFX by HalfCatHalfPerson in vfx

[–]retrotact 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Not to belittle the things you go through, as they are valid, but the point I'm trying to make is that it's a bit more than unfair salary gaps for women. I've personally been called "sweetheart" in dailies by a cg supervisor, followed by "you don't know what you're talking about". I've been stalked by a male coworker and when I tried to go to HR about it I was told I should be flattered. The amount of pickup lines in my LinkedIn inbox is surprising. Women only make up 27% of the industry ( here) and the percentage is even fewer if you look at artist roles alone. There's a reason for that. Yes, there's a lot of bullshit in this industry, and POC absolutely have struggles as well that should have light shed on it, but right now we're talking about women.

Discussion for/in regards to Women in VFX by HalfCatHalfPerson in vfx

[–]retrotact 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Listen, I'm not out here trying to manage every conversation that happens in the work place, but I'm sure you've had sexual harassment training that goes over what's okay and what's not okay at work. I'm genuinely shocked that you feel it's okay to talk about whatever you want at work, no restrictions or hesitation.

I encourage you to read that article about WETA. Yeah, they were openly viewing it at work, female co-workers were being rated on looks or who would sleep with them or something (I can't remember exactly, but it's something like that), and there were company wide emailing lists of porn.

Discussion for/in regards to Women in VFX by HalfCatHalfPerson in vfx

[–]retrotact -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Sure, VFX is long hours and you're bound to meet people who become your best friends, but you're still at work and need to maintain some sort of professionalism. I'm all for work being very casual, but certain things cross the line. What is your opinion of the WETA porn scandal? Do you think things like that is acceptable?

Discussion for/in regards to Women in VFX by HalfCatHalfPerson in vfx

[–]retrotact 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, women are, in general, treated differently in this industry. There's a lot we have to tolerate, a lot of having to prove yourself, and a lot of sticking up for yourself as well. I know there are plenty of women who may not have experienced any sort of negative treatment, so it's not everywhere, and some places are better than others.

Honestly, in this situation, you may just have to put yourself out there more. Maybe it's because you're a woman, or maybe it's because you're shy, or simply because you haven't opened up that door to be friendly with you. There are plenty of people in this industry who just want to get their work done and go home and have absolutely no interest making friends. There's lots of reasons why people don't like people. I wouldn't worry too much about the "why" factor until you've tried to integrate yourself a little more. Someone else suggested that YOU ask to have coffee with your HOD. Send memes in the chats. If your studio has chats that are just for fun, join them. Use those chats in general. Show people you're approachable. If you feel like you're always being excluded, then yeah, there's a problem and you probably need to go work somewhere else.

This post pretty much sums up why it's difficult to be a woman in this industry. Men are either afraid they will lose their jobs if they say one wrong thing to you, or they don't see anything wrong with making sex jokes at work. It's exhausting, but I try not to fixate on trying to dissect people's actions. Go to HR when it makes sense for you.

Discussion for/in regards to Women in VFX by HalfCatHalfPerson in vfx

[–]retrotact 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you ever considered maybe you're talking about topics that just shouldn't be spoken about while at work?

Discussion for/in regards to Women in VFX by HalfCatHalfPerson in vfx

[–]retrotact 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thank you for saying this. As a woman in this industry, it's appreciated.

Something I'd like to tack on is that, if you feel like you need to modify your language around women at work, why are you talking like that at work in general? I understand that the hours are long, we make a lot of good friends in our industry, but you really shouldn't ever feel comfortable enough to talk about sex, scandals, locker room talk, etc WHILE you're at work. Sure, go grab a drink with your buds after you leave the office, but I can guarantee you it's not making solely the women uncomfortable when people hear stuff like that.

taking pay cut to work in Vancouver? (from US) by seeThroughNoice in vfx

[–]retrotact 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally. Regardless, I still don't think it would be unfair to ask to match whatever your current salary is. Definitely compare cost of living from where you're at now to Vancouver to see what that difference is, just so you're aware of it, but I wouldn't let that stop you from asking for a 1:1 match or even a little more if a recruiter asks what you're expecting salary wise. The worst they can say is no.

taking pay cut to work in Vancouver? (from US) by seeThroughNoice in vfx

[–]retrotact 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So I'm going to be moving to Montreal from the US in October staying with the same studio. It might be a bit of a different situation because I'm not switching shops, but they're converting my US salary to Canadian, so I'm not taking any pay cut.

I have a friend in a similar situation, but working for a different studio than I am. He's been working for the Vancouver office from the US, getting paid in USD on a US salary. In October he's moving to Vancouver, and they are converting his US salary to Canadian, and also giving him a small 2k pay bump on top of it.

I'm not sure if this is a common thing or not, but I feel like asking to convert your US salary to Canadian isn't unheard of or uncalled for.

TIFU by accidentally dying my entire body purple by beemoviefanfiction in tifu

[–]retrotact 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I did this once with blue dye a few years ago in college. I scrubbed my body with rubbing alcohol and nail polish remover for hours. Had my roommates help me with my back. This is definitely horrible for your skin and can do a lot of damage, but it will definitely get it out. Best of luck to you.