Categories
advice and tips gadgets Life Tips

Couple tricks to cut down doom scrolling

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This Brick Helped Break My Scrolling Habit #tech #smartphone I agree with the design philosophy behind this thing. I haven’t tried it yet, but if I feel it’s necessary down the road, I would try it. Here is the device at Amazon, and there is an app in the iOS app store.

I tried other things in the past, especially when I came back from China trip, and I really need to stay away from the phone during the night – otherwise I will get zero sleep. I put the phone downstairs – which would make me harder to pick up the phone. Because I need to get up, walk down the hall, walk down the stairs, and so on.

For now, I have used this Offscreen app on and off for a while, and I plan to use it more as recently I decided to cut down my screen time, especially re: my iPhone.

In the past, I have used this lock box – it was bought on Dec 23, 2020 in the height of pandemic. But kids used this pretty much as a toy, and that defeated our original purpose. Now I think for myself I have simply put my phone downstairs or put it in a drawer – to achieve something similar.

Categories
Life Life Tips

如何减少“登味”？

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My thoughts and observations so far.

The other day, when I was driving with my 16 year old, and she commented “dad, you smells”. 她的意思是我的身上有汗味。后来我的 better half 解释/猜测说也可能是我的衣服上有汗味。我想起来了，我小时候闻到我爸的衣服好像也有味道。还好我不抽烟。Anyway I don’t want to bore you with my 汗味。

Today I am really going to talk about something more serious, that is as we get older, how to avoid this 登味 (浙江宣传 – “登味”是什么味)。

登味是2025年中文互联网高频出现的负面标签，特指脱离现实、居高临下的决策思维或言行风格，尤其体现中老年群体的傲慢与代际冲突。该词与网络流行语“老登”相关，“老登”原为山东方言“老登徒子”的简写，后演变为嘲讽具有权势却顽固傲慢群体的代称。其内涵包含训话式沟通、油腻言行等特征，并衍生出“登味营销”、“小登”、“中登”等相关表达 [2] [4]。导演冯小刚曾在公开场合提及“要去登味儿”以回应这一现象…… (来源：baike）

如何减少”登味”；或者”爹味”；两者有类似之处，登味的含义可能更广一些。

Avoid
”我吃过的盐比你吃过的饭还多”

Avoid
”我年轻的时候，什么都没有。。。blah blah blah”. Sometimes I felt “life before iPhone” is much better and I think some of the Gen X* may agree with me, maybe some Gen Y* people too 🙂

Avoid

Alcohol, cigaret, vaping, cannabis, marijuanas, any other substances.

Do the below instead

Healthy hobbies, examples: sports, music (instruments), reading, creation and arts (all kinds, from writing, to drawing, to stitching, knitting, to crochet), and volunteering… You get my points, something productive, helping people when you can, and so on. I recall there is a saying in Chinese 度人也是度己 (helping others also helps oneself).

Cooking is good too, but don’t eat too much.

不建议对号入座：有则改之，无则加勉。我个人的建议是三连：点赞，收藏，favorite 或订阅 LOL

*Gen X (as used in the USA, wikipedia): Generation X (Gen X) is the demographic cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials, generally defined as people born between 1965 and 1980.

Gen Y (also called millennials): are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years, with the generation typically being defined as people born from 1981 to 1996.

Categories
Investing

Weekend thoughts on stocks 2026-08-02

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The biggest news for this week must be the blow up of “Situational Awareness” hedge fund blow up. I had a thread on X.com, and also I watched quite a few YT videos on the evening of 2026-07-30, as I was vacationing.

Martin Shkreli Breaks Down the Collapse of Situational Awareness 

Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness Hit by AI Selloff

How Leopold Aschenbrenner Lost $45 Billion in 3 Days

AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner forced to unwind all public stock positions: Sources

And I think the below articles are good too – How the ‘Nostradamus of AI’ failed to spot a market crash

Star AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner is unwinding trades after steep losses  

Leopold Aschenbrenner just learned Wall Street’s oldest lesson: Chart of the Day  

My biggest takeaway here again is twofold: 1) Don’t use leverage or excessive leverage. On a related matter, don’t short stocks. It appears one of the reasons Leopold lost is that his SaaS stock shorts backfired when they had a run in July. Full disclosure: I am long some SaaS stocks such as $BSY at this time.

2) Don’t believe other people, no matter how intelligent they are, re: my own investments.

On other news front, my $MSFT did very well post earning report in the after-hours of Wednesday 2026-07-29, and I was able to unload about 80% of it.

PS: more on leveraged ETF, which burned both the Korean retail investors and Leopold recently, in my opinion it’s basically “buy high, sell low”. Refer to this YT shorts video by Warren Buffett.

Reference:

How Rebalancing Works When Prices Rise (google AI overview – when I searched “does leveraged etf need to put up additional collateral when the portfolio go up“)

Mechanics of Rebalancing After a Drop (from google AI overview too)

Related question “has leveraged etf elevated the stock market volatility”

Just want to share one YT video from Warren Buffett

Categories
Investing

Weekend thoughts on stock investing 2026-7-11

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I did some adjustments on my stocks, both in my regular brokerage accounts and IRA (including both regular and Roth IRA accounts) since my China trip. And I wrote a bit here on Twitter/X. Please note I sold $AAP as I believe they are not the best quality stock in the Auto Parts space and in the US stock market.

For Costco, the stock dropped quite a bit this past week after the June same store sales data (Barron‘s, and Costco IR website).

(quote from Barron’s…June sales were a mixed bag. While it reported its highest monthly sales of the year so far in June, same-store sales grew at their lowest rate since February on a year-over-year basis...

My takeaway is we don’t always shop everything at Costco: but buy the quality stock when it dips.

I think this is applicable to $HONA (Honeywell Aerospace) and SK Hynix too. I have a few shares of each. I plan to hold them for long term too. My quick thoughts on them is $HONA is comparable to $GE, while SK Hynix can be compared to Micron $MU. The latter 2 are doing well recently too.

Categories
401k and Personal Finance advice and tips America finance Investing kids

$250 Trump Account Money from Dell Foundation

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This is the link to Michael and Susan Dell foundation’s $250.

Personally I think if your kid is eligible, it’s probably a good idea to get the “free” money. About 16 years ago, I did something a bit similar for my older daughter’s 529 plan (https://www.stlplace.com/…/enroll-in-ohio-college…/). And the money I put in then plus the referral money her account received (total probably 4k then), grew via #snowballeffect (about 5 times from the original contributions; investment option is S&P 500 index fund) in last 16 years. #trumpaccount #250dollars #DellFoundation

Some background information

I did a google search on “trump account $250 contribution” after seeing a post on a private FB group. I pasted the google AI overview results below

The $250 contribution refers to a charitable seed deposit funded by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation for eligible children’s Trump Accounts. [1, 2]

To secure the Dell gift, your child must meet these specific criteria:

  • Age: 10 years old or younger (born before January 1, 2025).
  • Income: The family lives in a ZIP code with a median household income below $150,000.
  • Federal Exclusions: The child does not already qualify for the $1,000 federal seed money designated for children born between 2025 and 2028. [1]

Why this matters:
Not all children are eligible for the $1,000 federal start, so the Dell gift is designed to bridge the gap and ensure millions of low- and middle-income children still get a financial head start. [1, 2].

Also, HuffPost – ‘Too Good To Be True’: Many Parents Are Wary Of Opening A Trump Account. Here’s Why Financial Experts Say They Should.

Categories
401k and Personal Finance

Can I Open a Roth IRA for my child?

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Google search AI overview shown below

Yes, you can open a Custodial Roth IRA for your child, provided they have earned income (e.g., W-2 wages or self-employment like babysitting). You manage the account as the custodian until they reach the age of majority (18 or 21). [1, 2, 3]

Key Rules to Know

  • The Income Requirement: Your child must have documented earned income. Routine allowance or cash for chores does not qualify. [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • Contribution Limits: You can contribute up to $7,000 or 100% of the child’s total earned income for the year, whichever is less. (If your child earns $1,500, the maximum contribution is $1,500). [1, 2]
  • Tax Benefits: Contributions are made with after-tax dollars, meaning money grows tax-free and all withdrawals during retirement are tax-free. [1, 2]
  • Penalty-Free Withdrawals: Your child can withdraw their contributions (the principal amount) at any time, penalty-free. [1, 2]

I did the google mainly because my older daughter asked about it – she told me she will make $1,000 from her internship this school year. And she wants to save some and spend the rest. I told her that she can save it in a Roth IRA (I didn’t do google then), and I can give her the “spend money”. And what’s funny is our younger daughter heard the conversation and she commented “what about me”? I said I will give you the same amount ($1,000) – now it looks like I cannot put the money into my younger daughter’s Roth IRA right away – because she doesn’t have a job.

Also, (Fidelity) How unused 529 assets can help with retirement planning

Last but not least: trump accounts vs other accounts and tax implications (google search) and AI overview are shown below:

Trump Accounts are special, child-focused accounts designed for long-term wealth building. Unlike other tax-advantaged vehicles, they are taxed as ordinary income upon withdrawal and lack front-end deductions, making them generally less tax-efficient than 529 plans or traditional taxable brokerage accounts unless you are seeking specific retirement incentivization. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Comparing Trump Accounts to common alternatives reveals significant differences:

Trump Accounts (Growth & Withdrawals)

  • Contributions: Made with after-tax dollars; no state or federal tax deductions. (Contributions are not considered taxable income for the recipient, however). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • Growth: Taxes on investment gains are deferred until the money is withdrawn. [1, 2]
  • Withdrawals: Distributions are taxed as ordinary income. If withdrawn before age 59½, you may owe a 10% excise penalty. Once the child reaches 18, it functionally operates like a Traditional IRA. [1, 2, 3, 4]

529 Plans (Education & Partial Retirement)

  • Contributions: Made with after-tax money, but many states offer significant state income tax deductions.
  • Withdrawals (Education): Completely tax-free at the federal and state levels when used for qualified education expenses.
  • Withdrawals (Retirement): Up to $35,000 of unused 529 funds can be rolled over into a Roth IRA for the beneficiary over their lifetime, completely tax-free. [1, 2]

Custodial Accounts (UGMA/UTMA)

  • Contributions: No limits or deductions; money is owned by the child but managed by a custodian.
  • Growth & Dividends: Taxed annually at the child’s tax rate (subject to the “kiddie tax”), which is often lower than the parents’ rate.
  • Withdrawals: Can be liquidated without penalty prior to age 18 (or 21, depending on the state), allowing you to easily tap into the funds for any of the child’s needs.

Also – Google search does trump account have tax benefits and AI overview below

Trump Accounts (created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) offer limited tax advantages: individual contributions are made with after-tax dollars and withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income. However, the accounts do allow for long-term growth to accumulate tax-deferred until the child reaches age 18. [1, 2, 3]

While they lack the tax-free withdrawal benefits of other vehicles (like a Roth IRA or 529 plan), they provide unique employer and government incentives: [1, 2, 3, 4]

  • Tax-Free Employer Contributions: Employers can contribute up to $2,500 annually on behalf of an employee’s child, which is excluded from the worker’s taxable income. [1, 2]
  • Government/Charitable Additions: Federal pilot programs and charitable organizations can also make tax-free deposits that do not count toward your individual annual limit. [1]
Categories
uber-and-side-hustle

Private Driving Lessons in Saint Louis Area

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Please use this Calendly link for scheduling one hour class. My rate is $60 per hour. You will need to provide your own car, insurance and gas.

Forms of payment: cash, check and Venmo/Paypal.

Service provided (including but not limited to): help answering questions regarding driver exam (road test). Practice near your preferred testing location. Parallel parking. Pull over. Backing up straight. Practice higher speed driving, e.g., Lindbergh road. We will step up from here if the student (and parents/guardians if applicable) and the coach decided the student is ready.

Location: empty parking lot, residential area, industrial area, main roads such as Olive Blvd and so on.

A bit more about myself in terms of driving and driving coaching or teaching experience.

I drove for Uber since Oct 2024. My current rating is 4.83, 1% cancelling rate, 42% acceptance rate, 94 driving insight score and 318 trips.

I received my Missouri driving license in Spring 1998. I have taught 2 of my family members: my wife in 2009, and my 15/16 year old daughter in late 2025 until April 2026. Both were successful passing driving exam (road).

In 2024 I also helped an adult friend practice higher speed driving. Note he had no US driving experience and very little driving experience in China at that time, and although he has the driving license. He was able to drive from St. Louis to Souther Carolina after my training and some more practice on his own.

In May 2026 I helped a 16 year (girl, along her mom) did similar higher speed driving practice, as well as practice in the neighborhood near Hazelwood Driving Exam location.

Categories
DIY

DIY Series – I replaced Delta Faucet RP50587 Single Handle Valve Cartridge for kitchen sink

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Difficulty level: 7 out of 10

My kitchen sink has a single handle faucet somewhat like this one. In last year or two I noticed it’s hard to completely close the faucet, or in other words, it’s very easy for the faucet to leak or drip water. It’s wasting water and making noises. The only use case I can think of is during the freezing weather, keep the faucet dripping will help the water inside water pipe not freeze.

I did a bit research and found this YT video explained things well. But please note the video is a bit old and it’s not the exact same faucet I have (again mine is like the one I put at the beginning).

After removing the screws and the handle and I saw the Delta Faucet RP50587 Single Handle Valve Cartridge: both Amazon and Home Depot carry the item. Note I don’t know the English name for that component initially, but I was thinking about finding it at the local Home Depot store.

Keep in mind removing the enclosure takes a bit effort, and for that I watched 2 other YT videos (one and two). Note I have some tools that’s mentioned in the three videos. One difficulty is to pick the exact hex head for the screw. I tried quite a few, lined them up and eventually I was able to pick the right size (right one).

Initially I also did one experiment and I made a dumb mistake: I switched the red tip which is probably to switch hot and cold, and I turned on the water main back (100%). Because I didn’t put the screws and handle back, the water spilled and made a mess in my kitchen. I asked my better half to turn off the “water main” quickly. She was not happy but I told her everyone including I make mistakes – it’s just life. I was more careful when I turn the water main back on the second time – I turned on a little bit instead of all the way.

After that minor scare (the water leak), I headed to Home Depot Overland store for the Delta Faucet RP50587 Single Handle Valve Cartridge, as I speculated that was the main culprit for the leak. It took me sometime to find it, again because I don’t know the English name (refer to the featured picture is this component, I brought it to the store so I know what to get).

I found it mainly via the Home Depot app: it tells me the exact aisle and shelf, just like the Schnucks mobile app for grocery. I bought it and came back home. I put the new Valve Cartridge in, tightened the things on top of it. And turned water main back on a bit (not 100%). It worked. I was happy. Once I am satisfied, I tightened everything, and also turn water main back on to about 95% (you may google this too – how much water main should I turn on)

Previous faucet job

I recall probably in year 2018, I did replace the old kitchen faucet with a Glacier Bay single handle faucet. The old one didn’t turn easily, and my wife didn’t like that. It took some efforts to remove the old faucet, because it was stuck there. If I watched today’s two videos regarding “things stuck”, I think probably the cause is similar. But faucet is such a common used item at home, and I feel it’s okay to splurge a bit too.

Anyway, I believe this is the first faucet job I did in the house we moved in since summer 2019, and now I hope the new valve lasts a while. Knock on the woods and keep finger crossed.

One more thing: user habit. I noticed I tried to close the faucet hard because earlier I had to turn it hard and also to certain angle to avoid large leak. This seems no longer necessary, and I will need to unlearn that habit.

Last but not least, I partially did it myself because I felt I can do it, and I did (technically both my wife and I) did a similar job in year 2018. And we probably saved some labor cost by doing it ourselves. Similar can be said about replacing the component instead of the whole kitchen faucet (which starts at about $150). I googled the cost and I think this is something I can do.

Now I recall I did a small job on new fridge because they need a valve. The fridge delivery guy dropped off the new fridge but they didn’t help connect it to the water pipe. They said a valve needs to be installed and I may need a plumber to do it. I just bought a cutting tool (Husky 5/8 inch Junior Tube Cutter For Tight Spaces 1/8 to 5/8 OD Tubing) and valve from Home Depot, cut the copper pipe, and installed the valve. After that, I just connect the new fridge to the valve (copper pipe) myself.

Update 05-23-2026:

I found the product reviews at the Delta website is interesting. The rating is 2.9 out of 5, not that high. One complaint I saw it’s leak and some people say it lasts less than 2 years. From my experience I think it probably lasted more than 5 years – we moved in the house about 7 years ago, and it started leaking probably 2 years ago? I also noticed the product has been in market for a while. Last but not least, the Delta product I purchased at Home Depot was made in the USA, as I saw from product package. Also noticed Delta has a limited lifetime warranty.

Home Depot product review (summarized by AI from customer reviews): Customers say the Delta RP50587 cartridge is easy to install and effectively resolves issues with leaking faucets, restoring smooth operation. While many appreciate the product’s quality and the lifetime warranty offered by Delta, some express concerns about the cartridge’s longevity, with reports of needing replacements every few years. The pricing is viewed as somewhat high, but customers often find it a worthwhile investment compared to cheaper alternatives. Overall, the product is well-regarded for its performance and ease of use, despite some variability in durability.

Also this Amazon review has step by step guide of the job – as shown below.

======

The process is simple and the only tool I needed was the proper size hex key.

Here’s the process:

  1. IMPORTANT – Shut off the water to the faucet (our shut-off was in the cabinet under the sink)
  2. Remove the Hot/Cold indicator button from the faucet handle (ours is a single handle)
  3. Use the proper size hex key to remove the grub screw that holds the handle on (the grub screw is hiding under the hot/cold indicator button on the handle) and remove the handle
  4. Unscrew and take off the metal cap that covers the old cartridge (no tool required for me, I just grabbed the cap and turned). With the cap off and if you can… take a picture with your phone of the old cartridge so you can be sure to install the new one correctly. Otherwise make sure that you note how the old one was oriented in it’s hole
  5. Using it’s metal stem, pull out the old cartridge (it’s tight and required some gentle wobbling back and forth as I pulled)
  6. Slide in the new cartridge making sure it is oriented in the hole like the old one was
  7. Replace the cap that covers the cartridge (make sure you screw it down firmly)
  8. Put the handle back on
  9. Turn the water back on. Test it by using the handle to turn the water on, making sure it’s giving you hot and cold water and to make sure there are no leaks
  10. If everything is okay, put the grub screw back in to hold the handle in place and press the hot/cold indicator back into the handle to cover the grub screw ……. Thats it!
Categories
America Economy

Consumer sentiment, economy data and job market

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There seems to be a disconnect between the econ data and job market right now. Consumer sentiment is not very good recently mainly due to the K shaped economy (I wrote a blog post that mentioned K shaped economy recently).

WSJ YT video: Kyla Scanlon on the Disconnect Between Economic Data and Consumer Sentiment

THE WASHINGTON POST: 7 charts that explain why the job market is so tough right now (Apple News)

THE WASHINGTON POST: Why the U.S. job market is so hard, especially for recent college graduates (Apple News)

Job market situation in Chinese and in YT Video

(Apple News) CNBC: ‘Doomjobbing’ can hurt your job search, experts say: Why it happens and how to avoid it

(06-24-2025) Steve Rattner – tweet – look at the chart below

The top 1% now hold as much wealth as the entire bottom 90% of Americans combined — about 32% each.

This is what runaway inequality looks like, according to the Fed’s most recent data released this month.

Categories
Software development

History of AI

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history of ai – Google Search

My work at Ascension

I recall I was pulled into evaluation of ambient ambulatory environment (mainly hospital) mainly around voice recognition and recording to EHR/EMR. The vendors I recall: AWS, 3M, Nuance (bought by Microsoft later, news) and Google (actually it’s more like Suki – ai company starts with S – Google Search). Keep in mind at the time, Ascension just signed a work agreement with Google (Google Health and GCP).

My contribution is minimum during the evaluation, but it’s a good opportunity for me to learn the AI mainly around voice recognition and recording in a healthcare setting.

Stocks

SOUN $6.54 (▼3.68%) SoundHound AI Inc | Google Finance

C3.ai: the company claims doing industry (industrial) AI

Recent Development

OpenAI

Anthropic: they had crazy or mind-boggling growth recently.