Bentley gets Ticketed

Illegally-parked Bentley gets what he/she deserves by way of police writing them a ticket.
Location: Soho/Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong

Reduce your US Taxable Income

I've always known in general about the USD 3K deduction, but always end up having to look up the rule for the details.

Here is a good, simple article on how you can use the 3K: HERE
Key points:

• You can use an infinite amount of capital losses to offset your capital gains in any given tax year
• A maximum of USD 3K of net losses can be used to deduct your taxable income for any given tax year.
• Therefore, if you have losses you can benefit from taking them before Dec 31st and thus reducing your taxable income.

Two thumbs up for the HK Constables

Last night I had a noise complaint at 2AM and did as I always do in other countries - I called the police. They responded quickly, caringly, and with in force. They called me on their cell phone when near the apartment building in question (the apartment generating the noise was a neighboring one) to find out more specific directions. When they couldn't locate it, they actually called me to come up to my apartment - to see where the building was, and what noise was coming from it. I was a bit startled when they showed up with 3 policemen, but it showed that they cared (or that it was a slow night in Happy Valley). After the visit, they proceeded to visit the apartment in question and crack down on the party. After they made the visit they even called me back to find out if the noise had died down. It had, which was great. Unfortunately, it picked up again 10 minutes later. Those damn expats with nothing else to do but party on weekday nights (2nd night in a row).

(Yes, in Hong Kong, they call the police "constables")
For your information:HK is so advanced that it has online complaint forms for Noise and other issues: HERE

Here are some useful police phone numbers: HERE

Where's the Coke?

Location: Wellcome Supermarket, Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Issue: Abnormally low levels of Coke in sealed bottles. It's about 2-3 inches from the top, vs. the normal 1.... Not to worry, it's probably just due to lack of QC at the Chinese factory it was bottled in.

Sleep problems? Get a foot massage

Now that the weather has warmed up in HK, and I don't need to turn on my heater while sleeping, I've lost sleep due to the street noise coming through loud and clear. I've luckily discovered a way to recoup some sleep by getting a foot massage. After the initial foot soak and back rub, I pretty much pass out for the remainder (usually 50 minutes/session).


If you do decide that you'll be a repeate massagee in HK, I suggest taking advantage of the pre-pay packages, which usually save you 20-40%. I did the save 40% by purchasing HKD5,000 at Zhong Yi Guan in Happy Valley. However, the promotions only come up once in awhile.


I've only been to that massage place, and I've been happy so far. They are clean and skilled at body and foot massage. The only downside is that there is not much space (probably a HK thing), so you can hear other people speaking at times. Taiwan has more space.