• 7 Posts
  • 500 Comments
Joined 3 years ago
Cake day: December 1st, 2023
  • Meron35@lemmy.worldtoMildly Infuriating@lemmy.world•You must have an internet connected smartphone to eatEnglish
    311·
    27 days ago

    Chinese, and to a lesser extent Asian Big Tech is what American Big Tech dreams and aspires to.

    Everything is intimately linked to the super app platforms WeChat/Alipay (China) or LINE/Kakao Talk (Japan and Korea). Nearly everything online is designed primarily with WeChat/Alipay plugins/mini apps as the primary entry point and it is not uncommon both many services/pages to simply not exist outside of these super app ecosystems.

    The apps are super invasive with privacy and require identity documents and banking details to even function. To some extent, it has resulted in convenience for the locals, though tbh this is mostly just replicating the convenience of western infrastructure like payment systems.

    Where it gets messy is dealing with foreigners. China is particular has an incredibly messy system of regulations, mostly to curb money laundering and capital controls, that interact in very unforeseen ways.

    Foreigners must link their identity documents and a payment method. Many vendors (either due to laziness or laws) cannot deal with foreigners at all. Additionally, due to capital controls, foreign payment methods cannot transfer or receive money. Many smaller vendors only accept payment via personal transfers, so you can easily end up being unable to pay, or split bills with locals. The inability to receive money also means you can’t receive refunds.

    It gets way worse when interacting with HK/Macau, which operate their own, distinct parallel WeChat/Alipay systems. So, not only do you need to set up and maintain separate accounts for these, doing so may still be of limited use due to capital controls. A common trip around the Pearl Delta region covering Shenzhen, HK, and Macau unironically requires planning out a convoluted chart of which specific systems and accounts you need to use.

  • Meron35@lemmy.worldto196@lemmy.blahaj.zone•laundry ruleEnglish
    5·
    1 month ago

    You’re not meant to mix them beforehand.

    You’re supposed to wash/soak using vinegar to let the acid work through stains. If that isn’t enough, you then optionally add baking soda so the fizzing and abrasiveness of the soda can additionally physically dislodge stains.

    Tbh I find white vinegar kind of overrated. Citric acid is cheaper and physically easier to purchase due to coming in a powder form, and methylated spirits + a dropd of detergent are better if you’re working with glass.