Stone

Compaq Presario PC SR5350F I just did a whole lot of window and PC updates. I hope this will resolve the problem. I'll see. Thanks.

Yes, after I reboot, every was fine until I saw this error message again. The problem persists. I called my ISP, who indicated that I may need a driver update and suggest me to contact Microsoft or my computer manufacturer.

I all of a sudden got this prompt: Found new hardware, window cannot locate whatever "Ethernet Controller" driver. Then my internet connection was shut off. Then after I rebooted my computer, internet came back again. Where can I find the updated driver for "Ethernet Controller"? I am using Window Vista. Thanks. I did not install any new hardware lately.

About the rent difference: this is very common in large property management company. In oder to lure new tenants, they lower the rents and give out incentives. For existing tenants, they do not care. The whole system is geared toward new customers. In my state of MA, rents are very expensive. Paying 2 months penalty is quite a lot of money. But what can you do? Another option is to go out and buy your own home so that you do not have to deal with the landlord. I agree with Dan that it may be a good ideal to consult a lawyer. I pay less than $200 a year and have unlimited consultation to a lawyer and some limited legal representation. The lawyer really helped me last year in dealing with my landlord.

An article: http://housewares.about.com/lw/Home-Garden...Conditioner.htm Thank you, Dan, for pointing to the article. The article does not say how much electricty a central AC systems uses as compared to window AC for the same running time. Apart from the one-time installation and purchase costs, I am not sure about the energy costs of the central AC.

Thank you for your replies, Randy and Sam. We are still in the process of shopping for a house in a nice area which we can also afford. It is getting so hot these days in MA, reaching 100 degree in many parts of MA yesterday. We see some houses with central AC, a nice feature, but my wife says central AC may cost a lot of energy than window AC. In Massachusetts it is bitterly cold here, and most houses either use oil or gas furnaces to heat the houses in winters. I like window ACs, since they may use less energy. But in winters, it gets so cold here, that we may have to un-install all window ACs from windows for improved insulation. This un-installation process is inconvenient and the process could damage the AC extension wings like what happened to us.

If you see a house with a Central AC system and another similar size house with 3 window ACs, which house uses more electricity if the ACs are let run for the same duration? I am trying to compare Central AC vs Window ACs to see which one is more energy efficient. Thanks.

That $50 does not include hotel expenses. Besides she may have lost her previously reserved seat (window or aisle) when she took the next day flight. Good she is home and safe now.

The reason people would want dual citizenship is so that they can work/stay for indefinite periods in either country but also have the right to return to the other country. Perhaps a couple would like to work for 10 years in China, then come back to the U.S., or vice versa. There are also people like RogerLuli who want to retire in China with a Chinese spouse. If his spouse keeps Chinese citizenship and U.S. green card, she will be fine in China for two years with a reentry permit, but then what? She can apply for a new re-entry permit. Then what? And after that, then what? They are retired and there is not an end-date to their stay in China, but she would like to have the door open to the U.S. just in case. (For one thing, once the green card is gone for good, the U.S. would probably not grant her a visitor visa to go see Roger's family.) I see your valid points. Maybe if you can afford it, you can spend your summer months in your U.S. home and winter months in your Chinese home in Hainan, China. If both you and your wife are US citizens, how can you stay in China for 10 years? renew "L" visas for ever?

If the goal is to free one's self the obligation of "Affidavit of Support", then I would say I haven't heard much of the Chinese women going after their American ex-husbands for financial support after divorce occurs. Instead I heard more American husbands are burdened with paying child support.

If the Chinese relatives cannot find gainful employment in the U.S., then the ability to sponsor relatives becomes less important. If the Chinese spouse has a re-entry permit, then he/she can stay in China for up to 2 years without worrying about losing green card. It is cheaper than the alternative where the naturalized US citizen has to renew his/her tourist visa in China every 3-6 months.

Then the question would arise as to what are the purposes of keep dual nationality. If they are mainly for the ease of travel and stay in those 2 countries, then a not too complicated and cheaper way is to have a Chinese passport and a US green card.

Beijing Airport has 3 terminals: T1, T2 and T3. CO88 (Code-share with UA 3421) departs from T3 at 15:45. T3 is the newest terminal. There are shuttle buses between T1-T3 (I believe). CO88 may start check-in luggages around 1:00PM. If your wife's plane to Beijing is not late, she should be OK. Check the following website for updated flight info. http://www.bcia.com.cn/flight/flightinfo.action

The cost of living in NY-NJ is just as high as that in MA. NY is also a Democratic stronghold. I am surprised that NY min wage is $7.25 (it is $8 in MA). Even if at $7.25, after 30% taxes taken out, workers should get $5 an hour take-home pay.

This merger news is probably good for stock prices overall. But may not be so good for passengers or airline employees?

I like Mikey's idea - beer works. You boil beer ?? I don't but it works for cooking German sausage. I was actually responding to Tony's use for tooth brushing. Not sure I'd waste it for dish washing, though. I tried boiled coke with gingers, with suggestions from my wife's friend. It worked fine.

I heard the news. My first reaction is what will happen to my mileages accrued at both carriers. Are they (the combined companies) going to require 70K miles in your account to be eligible to a free round trip ticket between US and China, as it recenly increased from 60K miles to 65K miles? My second thought is what will happen to the prices of US-China routes. Continental and UAL are both major carriers of US-China rountes. I hope this merger will not create any monopolistic power over prices.

After I saw your post, I immediately went to a supermarket (Stop & Shop) in Boston. The water shelves were completely empty. But luckily, the store took some bottled water from their warehouse and put the bottled water at the back of the store. I bought some bottled water and it was gone fast. The shoppers appear quite frantic, as everyone was rushing to buy bottled water. Must mean good business for water bottlers.

I was talking to my friend in China. If Chinese residents are allowed to invest their excess liquidity in HK (or to buy foreign funds in China), it will not only cool property market, it will cause a collapse.

There is lots of valuable information on US child support system. I learned a lot from the above posts. I just came back from a trip to Beijing, which is one of my favorite cities, because of its histories, diversities and nice people. I was also exploring job opportunities in Beijing. I found that things have changed a lot during the past several years. First of all, the cost of living is really high, especially if you want to settle down there and purchase a home for your family. Beijing Univ is around the 4th Ring and housing is not cheap there. A typical 2 or 3 bedroom apt costs between 2 million - 3 million RMB. A 2 million 20-year mortgage would require about 13K RMB a month for mortgage payment. An average couple making 8K RMB a month each would have 16K RMB in pretax income per month. But after taxes and mortgage payment, there is very little left for food, clothing, transportation, medical, etc. If the Univ provides free housing, and pays you 10K RMB a month, then there are still high expenses for taxes, food, transportation, medical, etc. and there won't be much leftover at the end of the month. Then after a couple of years, you will be asking "when can I afford to buy a home in Beijing?" I do not know your wife (jin)'s age. But there are lots of competition for jobs in Beijing. A woman over 30-35 would find it extremely difficult to find a job there. That's why my wife says she has virtually no hope of finding a job in China even though she holds a master degree. Just food for thoughts.

My wife went back to China last year. From her experience, I guess your wife needs a valid Chinese passport and a valid green card. You need a valid China visitor's visa.

As I know, most U.S. banks started charging foreign transaction fees with either debit/credit cards since the financial crisis hit last year. My wife called before she left for China last year and the fee is not cheap. You can call your bank and ask for a specialist who knows fees on foreign transactions.

Maybe she's just converting to RMB in her head (?); that would certainly take our clothing costs out of context and make them seem sky-high. If you convert $1 = 6.8 yuans, then a whole lot of clothes and shoes sold in the U.S are very cheap, when you compare with department store prices even in 2nd or 3rd tier cities in China. Of course, many clothes sold in China flea markets or small vendors in China city outskirts are very cheap, but those only last a few months (i.e. poor quality). Maybe she was still thinking the old days exchange rate of $1 = 8.2 yuans?

Interesting you mentioned that clothes are more expensive in the U.S. If you compare Chinese department store prices with U.S retail chains such as Sears, JCpenny, Kohls, etc., U.S. prices are comparable if not cheaper than Chinese. Last year I went to China trying to buy a pair of shoes and found out the prices there way too expensive. Of course, if you took your wife to an upscale clothing store in your state, then it is a different story.

I guess I look at this story differently. The waitress surely knew the $14 was not meant to be the tip and took advantage of the situation (was the waitress chinese?). I would have had not problem to go back and explain the "misunderstanding" and get the money back. I always would consider whether I would return to that resturant. I agree. $14 is too much of a tip for a buffet meal. Somewhere I read that you only need to pay $2-$3 for tips for a buffet meal, because you are getting the dishes yourselves. We usually try to have small changes before we go to a restaurant. In case we don't have changes, we would give the waitress the money, then the waitress would come back with exact changes, and then we leave tips on the table from the changes we receive. The waitress sometimes asks if she can keep the changes. Anyway, I know it is history. When the weather warms up, you can take your wife to a Chinese restaurant where they serve lobsters, mussels or clams, because those dishes are rare in China, and your spouse might like it.