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Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018

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Re: Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018

#61

Post by pentae »

muro wrote: post #55
zinckiwi wrote: post #28

"Many flats have pipes rigged on the outside" as if that's a bug and not a feature. Hong Kong doesn't get cold enough to have exposed pipes be a freezing risk, and in the meantime you get a) access to the pipes for repairs and maintenance with ease and b) no risk of property damage, cascading down the many floors of a typical residential highrise, if a leak does occur.

And it's ugly as sin too!

Well so are exposed air conditioner compressors, fire escapes and hanging laundry. Most of these things and those pipes look as though they are placed on the back of the building facing an alleyway.

Re: Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018

#62

Post by patosai »

hawkice wrote: post #57
whytaipei wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you end up in Taipei, and how are things there on the tech front?

Tech here seems more hardware oriented than I normally am, but beyond that, I don't know much yet. Taipei helps me study Chinese which is useful because 我的中文不好，但我每天学，住在这里让我沉浸其中。

You study simplified Chinese in Taipei?

Re: Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018

#63

Post by mistermann »

rhn_mk1 wrote: post #21

The note about hydrogen balloons makes it seem as if helium ones are somehow better. It is not so. Helium is a non-renewable resource. It's extracted by mining and it escapes into space once released into the atmosphere. Using it for silly things like balloons takes it away from science and industry forever [0]. Hydrogen may be flammable, but it can be extracted from water. So please, don't waste helium. [0] https://…

I have no opinion on the matter but perhaps it's not so dire.

https://www.wired.com/2016/06/dire-helium-shortage-vastly-in...

Re: Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018

#64

Post by mistermann »

oblio wrote: post #40

> Nationality is a fading illusion, nobody cares where they were born unless they have nothing else to cling to. We are citizens of the globe. Home is basically where a good bed, a supportive environment and fast Internet is. The former you can get from IKEA pretty much anywhere. For the latter, we'll just travel and spend most of our time where things are easier, cooler and better. What a nice, sheltered life :)

Ah, to be young and chock full of wisdom again. ;)

Re: Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018

#65

Post by Fins »

mediumdeviation wrote: post #12
Fins wrote: post #3

To comment on the face mask thing, locals told me that they wear it not so much for their own protection as out of consideration so as not to infect other people if they sneeze.

Their actual efficacy is questionable at best though. After about 10 minutes of breathing, water vapor from your own breathing would have rendered it more or less permeable to anything infectious. Sneezing into a handkerchief would probably be more effective.

Efficiency is another question, it may be more of a "it's the thought that counts".

Re: Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018

#66

Post by pc2g4d »

mediumdeviation wrote: post #12
Fins wrote: post #3

To comment on the face mask thing, locals told me that they wear it not so much for their own protection as out of consideration so as not to infect other people if they sneeze.

Their actual efficacy is questionable at best though. After about 10 minutes of breathing, water vapor from your own breathing would have rendered it more or less permeable to anything infectious. Sneezing into a handkerchief would probably be more effective.

If it catches your spit when you pronounce sounds like "p" and "t", and catches your sneeze particles, it's likely to be pretty helpful.

Re: Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018

#68

Post by hawkice »

patosai wrote: post #62
hawkice wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tech here seems more hardware oriented than I normally am, but beyond that, I don't know much yet. Taipei helps me study Chinese which is useful because 我的中文不好，但我每天学，住在这里让我沉浸其中。

You study simplified Chinese in Taipei?

My studies go back years, my residence here only weeks. I'm fixing the gaps in my education, but slowly.

Re: Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018

#69

Post by shanghaiaway »

hawkice wrote: post #68
patosai wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You study simplified Chinese in Taipei?

My studies go back years, my residence here only weeks. I'm fixing the gaps in my education, but slowly.

He meant that he's surprised that you're learning the language using the simplified type system instead of the traditional one which is used in Taiwan.
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