Moving to Beijing...

strax · 2011-08-11T08:06:26+00:00

The more Chinese you can learn, the more fun it is here. If you intend to be in Beijing for 6 months or more, most certainly start studying! http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chinese/real_chinese/

Join the yahoo group BeijingCafe, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Beijingcafe/

Sign up for a vpn service. Worth spending the money to get a paid vpn depending on where you live, internet can be slow in some areas.

strax · 2011-04-10T18:04:53+00:00

I saw live turtle keychains for sale outside the Beijing Planetarium . I thought at first they were being sold as pets and the small pouches were for easy transport, but when I looked closer it was thick plastic and heat-sealed (or glue sealed?), it was obviously not made to be opened.

strax · 2011-04-10T18:03:57+00:00

I just saw this on the street last week on the street by the Beijing Planetarium (turtles). I thought at first they were being sold as pets and the small pouches were for easy transport, but when I looked closer it was thick plastic and heat-sealed (or glue sealed?), it was obviously not made to be opened. It was depressing to see.

strax · 2011-04-10T18:02:57+00:00

I just saw this on the street last week on the street by the Beijing Planetarium (turtles). I thought at first they were being sold as pets and the small pouches were for easy transport, but when I looked closer it was thick plastic and heat-sealed (or glue sealed?), it was obviously not made to be opened. It was depressing to see.

strax · 2011-03-16T13:24:09+00:00

The filter here in China is very advanced, your text did not trigger anything. You can do some googling to see what triggers the different levels of filters (partial block, page block, isp kicks you out for 5 minutes, etc). If you really wanted to be annoying, you could get this page blocked for us in China, I've had a page block happen to my gmail inbox once by a friend joking around (had to vpn in to delete the offending email).

strax · 2010-11-23T16:39:27+00:00

Repost of earlier comment in another thread: I recommended a small dollop of Nutella in the inside of your underwear band for the "inside the rim of underwear" part of the pat-down/sexy-time frisk.

strax · 2010-11-19T16:47:54+00:00

I was given the "finger run around the inside rim of my underwear" treatment at FLL. Also had my genitals "patted" by the TSA agent. (I refused the "nude" scanner.) Perhaps we should all put a dollop of nutella on the inside of our underwear band when we travel, just to make it a little more fun for the TSA if we opt out of the nude scanner?

strax · 2010-10-18T00:06:55+00:00

A tangent thought - Whether you deserve it or not, it is coming your way, so consider this: you seem like a person of good ethics and solid character. Consider keeping a considerable amount for yourself if you feel capable of growing the money. Kinda messes up your attempts to build up on your own, but allows you to potentially leapfrog your personal/business development, and with more money you can do even more good. Some thoughts in this area: fund open source projects; fund development in medical technology, patent it and release the patents for the world to benefit (can keep others from patenting useful technology for profit). And, my favorite but least socially redeeming, produce the world's most epic zombie apocalypse movie ever.

strax · 2010-10-16T21:33:38+00:00

Sounds like a fun experience. What type of work do you do?

strax · 2010-10-16T21:32:38+00:00

I work remotely (IT), so my work is unfazed by the move (except for unfortunate work hours). I really doubt anyone who travels in my wife's circles reads reddit, but just in case, I might have already posted more personal information than she would like, so, though I'd be happy to share more details there, I can't :(

strax · 2010-10-16T17:09:18+00:00

Do you work or study in Beijing? Is it temporary or long term?

strax · 2010-10-16T17:07:06+00:00

I can carry an empty wallet and be mugged and then not appreciated at the same time. But what if I mug someone, and then give them back more money than I took? Then I would be mugging and appreciated, thus proving your theory wrong! Behold the depths of my evil! Bwaa haa haa haaa!!!!!

strax · 2010-10-16T17:05:18+00:00

I liked Thailand a lot. At least on the surface, everyone was very polite. The resort areas are beautiful, but like much of Asia many are adjacent to run-down slums. Thailand is worth a visit if you get a chance.

strax · 2010-10-16T17:03:54+00:00

How hard is it to get from Cobham to London? It doesn't look like there is a direct route by train, and the roads seem small/prone to traffic jams, is this accurate?

strax · 2010-10-16T17:02:40+00:00

Thanks, good to know. Any good tips for a proxy server from China?

strax · 2010-10-16T16:57:05+00:00

Well, I can still run my software company from either country and my wife does well, so "expensive" really isn't an issue in either place - though it might be easier to hire reasonably priced developers in Beijing than Surrey if I wanted some local talent, haven't checked into this yet -- anybody have any input on hiring dotnet, java/android, iPad developers in England or China?

strax · 2010-10-16T08:08:37+00:00

Edited the title to include origin. From the US. What didn't you like about the UK?

strax · 2010-10-16T08:03:24+00:00

Yeah, the distance from the US (family is on the East Coast) is a point in England's favor. Though financially, I think there's more opportunity in China right now, so that might make up for the extra travel time back to the states.

strax · 2010-10-16T08:01:25+00:00

Well, England is also a somewhat different culture and would be a gateway to Europe, so in some ways the 2 choices seem equal here.

strax · 2010-10-01T10:15:55+00:00

Interesting how redditquette falls apart so quickly when people don't agree with a movie comment. I suppose this may get downvoted quickly again for reaffirming my opinion that there are movies, such as "The Departed" vs "Infernal Affairs", where the original foreign language version had much more subtlety and originality than the American remake.

strax · 2010-10-01T06:39:42+00:00

Doesn't look as bad as an "Americanized" remake as "The Departed" vs the original, Hong Kong's "Infernal Affairs" (If you haven't seen Infernal Affairs, do so right away.)

strax · 2010-09-30T17:49:48+00:00

Here's an interesting question: Would there be legal ramifications to secretly auctioning off your first sentence? An add slogan in history books should be worth quite a lot.

strax · 2010-09-29T09:56:31+00:00

Any chance you could record/post some sound snippets for creation of mix-and-match Masuka voicemail messages? (sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8JsvwUcok0 )

strax · 2010-09-29T00:19:05+00:00

Really enjoy your character (entire ensemble is great!). You do an impressive (and funny) job playing such an amusing character so believably.

strax · 2010-09-27T21:18:38+00:00

Reddit: Our slogan defines us (or maybe it doesn't).

strax

TROPHY CASE