u/yippeee1999

Hey everyone. I've never used a storage facility before, but so long as I use a big/reputable one, such as Manhattan Mini Storage, have most folks found that their clothing (esp any wool items) and their original/expensive artworks kept OK...that the humidity and ambient temperatures were well-controlled enough, that everything remained in good condition?

Thanks!

Hey everyone. I'll be staying at Majestic Elegance in Punta Cana, and just trying to get a sense of what to expect. I know it's near the water, as well as other hotels (like many being 'all inclusive' type place...perhaps gated?)

I'm interested in walking around a bit ...exploring... is there any commercial area nearby, within walking distance, or perhaps a local bus? Maybe most local folks ride the 'gua-gua'? To be clear, I'm pretty adventurous and I'm fluent in Spanish, and I'd prefer not to be 'imprisoned' at the hotel. (I'm only staying here because a niece decided to have a destination wedding here...)

Thanks!

Many of us, here, recognize, and have previously discussed, how rampant and ingrained 'car-brain' is among a certain segment of Astorians. I think what also foments this mentality is the fact that so many drivers have little to no experience as a pedestrian...and in a neighborhood such as Astoria. So many drivers literally drive Everywhere, always reaching for those keys.

Many drivers have no clue what it feels like to be a pedestrian - much less a short-statured and/or elderly and/or very young and/or wheelchair-bound one - crossing the street IN the crosswalk, WITH the Walk light, and to have the operators of 2-Ton Machines speeding thru turns (often times, intentionally hitting the gas in order to 'BEAT' pedestrians thru the crosswalk).... or when drivers literally Inch Up to us with their deadly machines (essentially telling us to 'hurry the hell up, before I hit you').

Today I was In the crosswalk, with the Walk light, and the driver of a turning vehicle was coming at me, too fast for my comfort. So I put out a hand as if to say 'um, you need to slow down...' Well, would you believe the driver had the audacity to cackle after me 'What, do you think I didn't SEE you??', as if pedestrians are never hit in the crosswalk, and in the full light of day??

So basically, this driver was so irritated that I indicated that they needed to slow down, that they felt the need to yell at me. They didn't stop to consider 'Gee, maybe I WAS taking that turn a bit too fast....' or 'apparently I made that vulnerable flesh and blood pedestrian nervous, as they saw my massive SUV coming at them...' Noooo.... instead, they felt imperious, that a pedestrian dared to suggest they were driving in a threatening manner.

I wonder how these same drivers would feel if another driver behaved that same way to one of their own family members, while they were in the crosswalk....

I want to create my own Anki study decks, as well as use other folk's Shared decks, but I do not get Anki at all. TBH, I don't have the patience to read through pages of instructions, or watch how-to videos. I just want to get it up and running. I was able to create a few of my own decks, but then I can't see a full list of what's IN those decks. I think there are multiple places to store/see Anki....Ankiweb...Anki Desktop App, etc. It's utterly confusing for me. I also saw a list of Shared Decks, but then, I wasn't seeing the Decks themselves....just the list of Shared Decks...but I couldn't figure out how or where to access them.

Others here have already tried to provide me with tips and explanations but...it's so much information that it feels like overload.

So...is there anyone here in NYC, who's good with Anki, and who might be interested in meeting up at a coffeehouse or something...helping me with the basics....and we can DM and agree on a fee, etc?

Thanks!

Hey everyone. Looking for help to remember the name of a singer....African-American male...maybe mid-late 30s/early 40s...I believe he's from down South...

I'd describe his style of dress, as well as his style of music, as 'marching to the beat of his own drum'. The music is somewhat jazzy...silly at times... for some reason it makes me think of folks like Blood Orange or Childish Gambino (though the person I'm thinking of is neither of them).

I believe the artist I'm thinking of sometimes collaborates with other well-known musicians. When I think back to some of his videos, he can sometimes look a bit 'sloppy'...his attire and look are not at all 'stylized'. I think he often wears his hair in short braids....sometimes is wearing a hat... loose clothing...sweats and pants in mixed patterns...

Any ideas?

Hi everyone. If I wanted to say 'I forgot', I was always under the impression that that would be 'wasurete imashita'. But today, I heard a Japanese person say 'wasurete SHImashita'.

I've never heard of using the 'te' form + suru... only the 'te' form + iru. Perhaps, when you use the 'te' form + imashita, it's more appropriate for when you are telling a story of sorts...of how, in the past, you weren't remembering something...and the fact that you didn't remember something is integral to the 'story' you are telling...

Whereas if you use the 'te' form + shimashita, it's not so much as part of an ongoing story...it's more to state the fact that you forgot something, and nothing more?

Thanks all!

I use WaniKani - which I think is fantastic - to learn kanji, but just now I came across something that has me stumped. As part of my reviews, I saw the kanji/radical for what I thought was 'window', but it said I was wrong, and that the kanji means 'mother'.

After searching elsewhere, it seems the radical for the 'mother' kanji is actually called the 'window' radical, but that the kanji for an actual window (the noun, 'window') is a totally different kanji.

So I'm at Episode 9 of Season One. The woman who runs the intake/room assignments board is spectacular, as are many of the intern characters. I especially like the intern who's got a sorta tough/jaded exterior and is often making her own calls on what to do (without getting her superior's input) as well as the other intern who has a house-arrest or whatever thing, on her ankle.

One aspect of the show, however, that I'm wondering how realistic it is, is..... in many instances, while someone is being worked on in the ER...and especially in instances where a patient is literally flat-lining, etc. and there are multiple staff anxiously working on the patient...there are times when a family member either just 'runs into' the room, asking what's going on with their loved one...they are hovering....panicking...and basically just getting in the way, imho. I'm guessing that in reality, in such situations, someone in the room would politely tell the family member that they need to leave the room...not only for their own good, but the good of the doctors and the patient...that the last thing they need is a hovering, hysterical family member getting in the way.

Not only that but...that they'd allow family members to be in the room, i.e.,, while they are slicing open a patient's eye, or chest. I'd imagine hospitals know only too well, that many family members not only likely could not 'stomach' seeing such a thing but...there could be the chance for a lawsuit, later, where the family member says the hospital staff didn't sufficiently prepare/protect them from what they were about to see, and that it caused them emotional trauma, etc.

Thoughts?

Hey everyone. While I know the difference between when to use desu vs aru, I often still get mixed up on the various conjugations. That said, I know that I just need to continue practicing and drilling, until such time as I no longer have to stop and think - or question/doubt myself - before speaking, such that it all becomes automatic.

But today, during a 1:1 tutoring session, my native-Japanese teacher said something that really has me stumped. (Keep in mind, she's native Japanese, so the way she explained something to me - in English - may not perfectly translate between her brain and mine...)

We were practicing various ways for me to say 'I Am a student...Am Not a student...Was a student...Was Not ...', and in polite vs casual forms. And somewhere in there...among the 'ja nai...dewa nai...etc', I swear she said something should have included 'arimasu'...or some version of what I'd interpret as being from the dictionary form of 'aru'.

When I expressed confusion...that I thought any talk of 'I am this or that (student, American, etc.), that it uses the verb 'desu' vs 'aru'. She then replied that in the instances we were practicing, that the 'arimasu' was not from the verb 'aru'...that it was something different.

What am I missing here? Just when I think I get something in Japanese, an instructor says something that totally skews what I thought I'd already understood/mastered, more or less.

Thanks for any inputs.

My sister has had ongoing back problems for a few decades. No firm diagnosis, but she believes much of it may have to do with repressed trauma...not dealing with emotional stuff...always being the go, go, go type...

Anyway, a few years ago she got some 'micro-needling' treatment in her back, and she wonders if that worsened things. She recalls that some time after the micro-needling, she was out walking.... felt an actual brain 'zap'....then almost fainted...couldn't walk straight...and she likely sat somewhere...rested a bit...and then was able to try and walk again. And then I guess it eventually resolved itself, more or less.

She thinks her nervous system got overwhelmed from that treatment....she now often has anxiety... depression.... she's been on anti-depression meds for a bit, and said they helped alot. She then eventually went off them, but is now back on. She tried a recent Rolfing session, where she said the woman worked quite intensely on her. Now my sister has 'shaking' in her thighs...slight numbness in one of her legs.

Have other folks who've tried micro-needling and Rolfing found such strong nervous system reactions to be common? Do you think they've done more harm than help?

In the meantime, my sister is - thankfully - finally coming to the realization that perhaps she needs to speak to a mental health professional...that maybe all these various modalities that she's been trying...acupuncture...chiropractor... Rolfing.... vagus nerve work...some other type of nerve (I forget the name...not sciatic but something else?), daily meditation.... etc. ...that maybe a focus on her mental health may be more impactful.

Anyway, I know this post is rambling...doesn't contain much other history or diagnosis on my sister...it's just that....she is so ADD etc that she'd never sit down, herself, and write such a post, asking for help. And she's still working, which means she can only try to address her issues now and then....she can't afford, say, to take a few months off to go to some special holistic treatment center or whatever. I feel like all these procedures she's trying may be doing more harm than good, and perhaps only OVERstimulating the very nerves that she is trying to relax?

Also.... my sister is essentially unable to sit for extended periods...it's very painful for her. Does anyone happen to know of any special chairs that can be ordered, online, and which might help alleviate pain from sitting in traditional chairs? (Typically, if she goes to a restaurant, she either must eat, standing, at the bar or a hightop table, or else if she's in a traditional chair, she needs to ask if there are chair pillows...one for her to sit on, and one to go behind her back...)

Thanks for any thoughts!

Hey everyone. Wondering if it's just me... I'm flying to the D.R. in a few weeks, and was told I need to complete some online forms, in advance. That said, I understand that I CAN also fill out the forms at my departure airport, but that it's better to do it in advance, online.

Anyway....no matter what I do, I'm only seeing a form where I am to provide my flight arrival and departure details, along with the name of my hotel, purpose of my trip etc. But nowhere am I seeing any health-related questions, or a separate health form, which I was told is also required. I'm just not finding it. And by the way, I also speak/read Spanish, and still am not seeing the form, even among the Spanish-language content...

Should I worry, or just leave this part for when I get to the airport on the departing flight end? At this point, it seems I have no other choice, and when I call my airline for 'help', they can't explain why I'm not finding the health form (likely because the forms themselves are on an external DR govt site....)

Thanks.

Hey everyone. I'm considering getting a storage space for a year or so, but am concerned about the slight possibility of fire at the storage facility. Naturally, these places are un-manned, so by the time any fire alarms/sprinklers go off, the fire could have already spread quite a bit.

Has anyone ever rented such a space, and then was able to find an insurance company willing to provide some type of insurance coverage (personal property insurance...renter's insurance...or whatever it would be in this instance), for their possessions?

While I'm sure most storage spaces have some fine print about potential coverage up to X number of dollars in case of fire/flood, I suspect it's not sufficient. My biggest concern are my artworks and a few pieces of furniture.

Thanks.

Hey everyone. I've not been to Europe in a long time, but I remember back in the day, anyone from the US had to bring a little adapter kit with a few different adapters for the different countries they might be visiting in Europe.

But more recently, I get the sense that worldwide, adapters and outlets are starting to become more uniform?...or is that in fact Not the case?

I have an old adapter kit with four different types of A/C prongs, and I'm just wondering if I still need to hold onto it...or if, maybe nowadays, there are multi-functional/multi-country adapters that can work for pretty much anywhere and everywhere?

I'm trying to downsize, and don't want to have to hold onto four different adapters, if I really don't need to. That said, I DO have a single adapter for Japan, that I know for sure I need to hold onto. ;-)

Thanks!

https://preview.redd.it/68q12jtqfxzg1.jpg?width=2296&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19e5dd090353aa9186de6fc3f9ff56aaf1ab3807

Hi everyone. I'm in need of some help with various aspects of my computer use, including Google programs, Microsoft OneDrive and OneNote, etc. But I've no idea how to find a reputable person/place to go. Most places only offer very specific support, such as fixing hardware issues with your PC...or if you have an Apple device (I don't use Apple products)....etc.

I know there are some random folks out there who'll say they can 'help you', but then they often are just pulling at straws...can't really help you...but then expect you to pay them.

Can anyone recommend a reputable person/place for such help (understanding how Google dox works, and which I never learned but occasionally am forced to use, when other parties send me such a file.... figuring out how to combine all the Contacts, etc. that I have, but that are located within two different Google accounts....how to get around the fact that I seemed to have forgotten my Microsoft account password - and the forgot/reset password option is not working - and now I can no longer access my OneNote files, etc.)

Thanks!

Sometimes I will have hours at a time, with not one Like, Share or New Follower. Sometimes, an entire day or two goes by, with Nothing. And then suddenly, a burst of new Followers.

I also sometimes Share to ongoing Parties, and though the system says 'Share Successful', clearly something is wrong, as again, not one Like, Share etc. from all my Sharing to a particular Party.

I know Poshmark has made a few changes to the platform appearance etc...it seems there are other issues that they haven't figured out...and of course, any messages we send to their 'support team' often result in generic copy/paste replies...the reps often don't read our messages or understand them.

I'm ready to give up on Poshmark and just send everything to ThredUp, and just be happy with the few bucks I might get...

I, and others in the community, were very disturbed to realize that...all evidence of a ghost bike/memorial that we had installed for Xing Long Lin (food delivery worker who was mowed down by a driver, while in the Bike Lane on 35th Street, near Ditmars), four years ago, has vanished. Reps from both the DOT and DSNY have confirmed back to us, that it is never their policy to remove any ghost bike, and that after checking with various departments within their agencies, they can safely say that no one in their agencies removed the bike (nor the accompanying ghost bike signage).

So....we are only left to assume that someone in the neighborhood (perhaps someone who viewed the memorial as 'unsightly', and/or someone who detests all cyclists, bike lanes etc.....) took it upon themselves to remove this memorial.

While we will plan to replace both the bike and the signage, in the meantime, we are wondering if anyone who spends time in the vicinity of 35th St and Ditmars...if they ever saw/heard anything suspicious, related to this memorial.

Thank you!

https://preview.redd.it/ochlqnv8cdzg1.jpg?width=1816&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ded9ed372869e898269ffc6b9446ae9d7c9c297

Original sign. Note its placement in relation to branch, AND the amount of open pole space, ABOVE the sign.

I spoke with a woman at the DSNY, who told me that the removal of a ghost bike (such as that, for Xing Long Lin) is not something that would fall within their purview, and that in addition, she understands that it serves as a memorial (so in other words, I got the sense that she herself supports ghost bikes...so it didn't sound like she was just giving me some B.S. response....)

Someone from the DOT left a message back for me (in response to my initial outreach) but it was totally unintelligible. So I then reached out, directly, to Nicole Garcia at the DOT, who told me she'd look into it and get back to me (though she also added that the DOT, as well, does not normally remove ghost bikes....)

This has me really perplexed, and very bothered...IF in fact, a mere member of our own community decided that they disliked the existence of a memorial to a cyclist/food delivery worker so much, as to remove it under the cover of darkness. (Not only was the bike removed, but also a metal sign that was affixed to the pole, above it, to indicate it was a ghost bike...)

I just so happened to find a copy of old photos - see photo, above - from when we installed the bike, and the accompanying sign. When I compare that to a more recent photo of that same pole, it appears the parking signs may in fact be newly-installed. (I'm not sure our ghost bike sign could have been installed so far below these other signs, and still have the tree branch in the frame.) I'm going to contact DOT again and ask if it's possible that a new, UNinformed employee put up these signs (and possibly removed the bike and our sign....)

UPDATE: I've since heard back from DOT, who said that they checked with various teams, and that 'no', it was not anyone from the DOT who removed the sign or bike. It's now on my to-do list, to work on getting a new sign and bike, to re-install....

These are what appear to be newly-installed signs. Note signs relation to same tree branch as photo above.

Hi everyone. I recently tried starting to create a few decks on Anki...just to try and get a feel for it. And while I was able to create decks, and add some cards, I think I'm now realizing that.... was I supposed to start and create my decks within the Anki app (software?)....and only after I've done that, can I then use...maybe import my decks...onto AnkiWeb (which in turn, will then allow me to access/use my decks, even from my phone)?

Assuming that's all correct, I did try to download Anki (not AnkiWeb, but just Anki) and....I guess I didn't realize it was an actual software program. I thought it was a website. So it's an actual software...yes...sorta like MSFT Office software, etc?

Anyway, using the Anki software, I was able to create my first deck, and add my first front/back card. So I guess I should continue creating all my cards, there, first (vs thru AnkiWeb) and then later I should be able to connect or link that account...to my AnkiWeb account (so that I can also see/review my Anki decks, from my phone)?

Thanks for any input.

Hey everyone. I'm going to give Anki a 'try', even though I've already made a few half-hearted attempts, but then stopped, because the overall platform seems overly techie looking...not very intuitive or user-friendly.

But... I'm going to give it a more determined try. So...today I was able to create my first deck, with three cards. I now want to EDIT that deck, and add more cards, but I see no Edit option appearing at all...just a message that says 'Congratulations, you've finished this deck for now.' Yes, I know that decks have pre-set timings on when you will next see/review the decks (and that we can change these settings) but still....I can't even EDIT the deck or look at it, until the pre-set timing has passed?

Also, just now, I tried to create a new deck, and while I was able to create the overall deck.... typing in the new deck's name, once again, I see no option to actually add any cards to that new deck, and I'm getting the same 'Congratulations...you've finished this deck...' message.

Why can't I edit these two decks I recently created, or Add new cards to the decks?

Thanks!

P.S. Looking for helpful replies....not smug, jerky ones. ;-)