World Gym Hsinchu Big City Store

This World Gym is located on the 6th floor inside the Big City Mall in Hsinchu, Taiwan

It is relatively convenient compared to other World Gym locations because you can park your car or motorcycle in Big City's parking lot

It has a 25 meter pool, treadmills, bicycles, sauna, stair-masters, weight-lifting equipment, and aerobics classroom

Google Home

Just opened the Google Home device I bought at the Brookstone in San Francisco Airport several months ago.

It looks cool, but I find actual usage to be quite limiting.

Once you plug it in, it asks to to go download the Google Assistant on a phone or tablet.

Then, various settings are set via the Google Assistant app.

The first thing I asked it to do was play some music from Youtube, but it could only play from Youtube Music (which is not available in the region I am currently in), while youtube videos cannot be played. (I imagined it would be able to play the music in the music videos available on Youtube for free without showing the video portions, but I was wrong....)

Other than this, I cant really find anything else practical that I can use the Google Home to do with.....

This is somewhat disappointing.

I will post some pictures and videos of my experience with Google Home so far later .....

Coinbase No Longer Allows US Customers To Add New Credit Cards as Payment Methods

Due to four major US banks (Chase, Bank of America, Citi, and Capital One) barring credit card customers from buying cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc.) on credit using credit cards, Coinbase no longer allows US users to add new credit cards as payment methods. Now users in the United States can only add debit cards or bank accounts as payment methods.

To read the Chinese version of this article, click here: http://charlieblogch888.blogspot.tw/2018/02/coinbase.html

Four Major Credit Card Issuers Bar Customers from Buying Cryptocurrencies using Credit Cards

Chase, Bank of America, Citi, and Capital One have barred credit card customers from purchasing cryptocurrencies on credit using credit cards because they view them to be extremely risky investments. Now users on Coinbase must either use a debit card or link a bank account to purchase cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, or Litecoin. This applies to users in the United States.

To read the Chinese version of this article, please click here: http://charlieblogch888.blogspot.tw/2018/02/blog-post_20.html

Sukeroku Sushi (sold at Costco in Taiwan)

This type of sushi is lighter in my opinion
It includes a sweeter soy type of sushi
as well as another type of sushi that has egg, cucumber, dried pork meat, and rice wrapped in seaweed
The price is $269 (NTD)
Below are some pictures

Click here for the Chinese version of this article: http://charlieblogch888.blogspot.tw/2018/02/costco_17.html

2018 Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) Holiday in Taiwan

The public holiday for Chinese New Year in Taiwan will be from February 15 through February 20 in 2018.


To view the Chinese version of the article, please click here: http://seo-en2.blogspot.tw/2018/02/2018_12.html

Cryptocurrencies

The popular cryptocurrencies today include:
1. Bitcoin
2. Bitcoin Cash
3. Ethereum
4. Litecoin
5. Ripple

49ers Sign Jimmy Garappolo

The San Francisco 49ers have signed quarterback Jimmy G. through to the 2022 season with a $137.5 million dollar deal.

Can't wait for the next season to start!

Click here for the Chinese version of this blog post: http://seo-en2.blogspot.tw/2018/02/49-jimmy-garappolo.html

Apple AirPods keep disconnecting from mac

This was very annoying
Every several minutes, my AirPods would disconnect from my mac, and I would have to manually click the Bluetooth menu to reconnect, but they would again suddenly disconnect a few minutes later

Solution:
I found that this seemed to have to do with my iPhone that was also paired (but not connected at the time) with the same pair of AirPods. So, what I did was go to Settings->Bluetooth on by iPhone and turn of Bluetooth for the time being. This solved the problem for me.

Avocado Chicken Salad (Costco Taiwan)

I buy this salad from Costco pretty often
It contains a wide range of nutrients and is pretty balanced with respect to nutrition
The price is slightly high in my opinion (299NTD), but the overall health factor and high quality make up for it
It contains tomatoes, lettuce, avocados, hard-boiled eggs, chicken, and bacon bits
It comes with honey mustard salad dressing
One of the main reasons I like buying my salad at Costco is that they always wash the raw vegetables thoroughly and because they maintain high standards with respect to hygiene and food safety
This salad tastes good and is healthy as well
After you buy it, be sure to finish the avocados as soon as possible or else they will start to turn dark and their taste will deteriorate

Layered Cake with Fresh Strawberries (Costco Taiwan)

I have bought this cake at Costco in Taiwan many times
Its pretty good
Although it may seem a little bit pricey at 299 NTD
The fact that it has a generous amount of fresh strawberries spread on top of the first layer makes it worth it
Make sure that you pick one that has strawberries that are fresh and look good
When the strawberries are nice and fresh, this cake is absolutely delicious!

If you lose your voice during a cold

If you lose your voice during a cold, our should drink a lot water in order to keep your vocal cords moist (don't drink tea or coffee or other types of drinks that contain ginger or herbs)

Talk as least as possible

It would be best to see a doctor

Your voice should come back within three weeks

Chinese New Year 2018 (Lunar New Year 2018)

Chinese New Year will be on February 16, 2018

Chinese New Year's Eve will be on February 15, 2018 (traditionally families have a New Year's Eve dinner together)

2018 will be year of the dog  (戊戌年)

Cannot download files from Google Drive

When I try to download files from my google drive account, I get a "Failed - Forbidden" error message and cannot download any files

solution: fixed this problem by logging out and then logging back in again

Magnitude 7 earthquake in Taiwan

A Magnitude 7 earthquake occurred in Taiwan on 2018 January 6 at about 23:50

The epicenter was near Hualien at a very shallow depth of about 10 kilometers

Several buildings have collapsed

Source of pictures below: TVBS News, NextTV News, cti News

"Print to PDF" feature disappears after performing a Windows 10 software update

After I did a Windows 10 software update recently, I found that the option to "print to PDF" had disappeared

solution:
(1) Press "Windows Key" + "R"
(2) type in "optionalfeatures.exe", and press enter
(3) check the box for "Microsoft Print to PDF", and press enter

This should resolve the problem


Click here to see Chinese version of this post: http://seo-en2.blogspot.tw/2018/02/win10-pdf.html

Bitcoin

I have started to buy Bitcoin using a Coinbase account. The process is relatively straight forward, and the Coinbase service is easy enough to use. I happen to believe that crypto-currencies like Bitcoin will play an increasingly important role on the Internet as well as in the global financial system in general. I used a US driver license as my photo ID for Coinbase. I then used a credit card as my method of payment for buying Bitcoin.