- Popular Post
-
Posts
9,180 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Downloads
Posts posted by theblether
-
-
Google is rolling out a core update and it's not going well. I saw a hack last week ( can't find it again ) that indicated searching for results before 2023 often provide better results.
- 1
- 1
-
- Popular Post
First, not every Russian in Thailand is fleeing the war. Just the same way as not every Irishman was in the IRA and not every Muslim is a member of ISIS. Plenty of Russians were emigrating and traveling the world long before he war started.
Second, far too many Russians are being harassed and bullied over an issue that they have no control over, or, in many cases, agree with. This is done by a coterie of idiot farangs that start firing into this stupid conversation as soon as they discover their nationality. It's from the same rancid low IQ stable as talking to Germans about the war and Argentinians born in the 1990's about the Falklands. By definition, the vast majority of Russians in Thailand want no part in the war so making it a topic of conversation ( which they hear all day every day by farang strangers ) is rude and foolish. Give it a rest.
Treat them as individuals. The Russians I talk to breathe a visible sigh of relief when I refuse to engage in any form of controversy or war talk. I've found them to be good, and interesting company, although I have no doubt they have their fair share of a**holes. Give them a chance
- 2
- 3
- 1
- 2
- 1
- 11
-
9 hours ago, Marsupienemi said:
In reality, I think you are mixing 2 notions: plagiarism and texts generated by AI. Regarding plagiarism, there are indeed tools that allow you to tell whether a text is original or copied. In any case, it is integrated into the Google engine and a plagiarized text will not be referenced or very poorly.
Concerning AI, there are detection tools to know if a text was generated by AI or by a human. However, it is entirely possible to circumvent them.
AI is a no-code tool (more than real Artificial Intelligence as we imagine it: a robot that thinks). Used well, it's fantastic. The problem is that everyone has their opinion on AI, but few know how to use it optimally and, above all, know everything that can be asked of it. Finally, human beings have this constant habit of always wanting to divert things and we all pay the consequences. This is also why the internet has become a real trash can.
I'm not mixing them up. I mentioned content spinning, I mentioned plagiarism, I mentioned unnatural AI text. They are separate issues.
- 1
-
2 hours ago, Rich888 said:
My fiancée did it...I'd be amazed if it's not iron clad, she doesn't take prisoners when it comes to her kids!
I think you need to review Thai custody law. You'd be amazed at how often "remote" fathers destroy the best laid plans of mice and men. Request sight and get this document translated before you get a shock. And you better make sure its recognised and not written on the back of a fag packet.
ps - I hope I'm wrong but I personally know four examples where the spouse prevented removal of the child. That includes one former high profile member of this forum.
-
12 hours ago, Rich888 said:
Still living, new wife and hasn't seen his kids, supported them or shown any interest for years. Signed away his parental rights during the divorce.
Make sure you have a copy of the document where he signed away his parental rights.
- 1
-
23 minutes ago, Sheryl said:
I did not say "substantial". Just enough Thais that they can have at least a few Thai friends/classmates. There are middle class neighborhoods in the UK with Thais -- middle class Thais, hardly "rotten hearted hookers". I am staying in one right now.
I live in the UK and have assisted several Thai students to navigate Masters degrees. I have watched them walk away embarrassed by the lowlifes they meet. I also know many middle class Thais that avoid other Thais like the plague.
The UK Thai community is bedivlied by rotten-hearted hookers often married to oil & gas workers who spend their lives crowing about money. I have witnessed this, I know Thais who have witnessed this.and here you are making up stories about "middle class communities" in the UK.
The community is overrun with illiterate, alcoholic prostitutes. You've as much chance of encountering this fantastical "middle class" enclave as tripping over Brigadoon.
- 2
-
Is the father still living? Is he okay with his children being removed from Thailand?
- 1
-
28 minutes ago, Sheryl said:
According to UK gov website no issue until age 18. Below 18, whether age 1 or 16, same same.
He will of course have to meet the financials, and wife and each child are a separate visa application.
In terms of the kids' adjustment, I would recommend settling in an area with a Thai population, there are a fair number of them.
Do not, under any circumstances, seek an area with a "substantial Thai population." They are overrun with a demographic that any decent Thai family would avoid like the plague.
"Thai rak Thai" is a nonsense in the UK. No decent Thai woman flies 6000 miles to consort with rotten-hearted hookers.
- 2
-
This is on my daily playlist -
I'm gonna take a freight train
Down at the station, Lord
I don't care where it goes
Gonna climb a mountain
The highest mountain
I'll jump off, nobody gonna know… Can't you see, whoa, can't you see
What that woman, Lord, she been doin' to me?
Can't you see, can't you see
What that woman, she's been doin' to me?I've gone to buy a ticket now, as far as I can
Ain't a-never coming back
Ride me a southbound, all the way to Georgia now
'Til the train, it run out of track -
1 hour ago, save the frogs said:
No one is ever going to stop lying to you.
Human beings will continue to lie. And AI will lie.
You need to increase your level of discernment as to what information to take in and what information to avoid and increase your intuition.
But also, will it be possible that one day we will have our own AI assistants and we can ask our AI assistant if another AI is lying to us?
Like ... what do you make of this news story, C3P0?
Copy and paste this in the search bar - it will take your straight to the article. "Aussie soccer fans slam veteran SBS commentator for sending them to sleep with boring call of one of the best World Cup games ever played: 'He ruined the match'"
That's just google in action. The major players, for example Apple and Amazon, have superb content checking AI. Your idea of a personal AI assistant checking the news will be available to you as an individual within a couple of years max.
I read people objecting to using AI - it makes as much sense as the blacksmith refusing to drive a car - it's here to stay.
- 1
- 1
-
12 minutes ago, Lee65 said:
AN INTERNET ON LIFE SUPPORT
I used to think that the Dead Internet theory was just that—a theory, and an improbable one. Bots existed, but it was unlikely that the relatively dumb bundles of code behind them could have wiggled their way into every nook and cranny of the internet, generating nearly all of its content.
But with AI, it’s now possible that such a thing may happen, that AI could come to generate the majority of the content we humans see on the web. Indeed, a 2022 report from European law enforcement agency Europol pointed out that experts believe that as much as 90% of online content may be synthetically generated by 2026—90%!
If that’s the case, humans who want to engage with other humans and their creations may, for the first time in decades, have to avoid the internet and—gasp—return to the real world for authenticity. Sure, you won’t find shrimp Jesus there, but at least you’ll find some genuine human connection.
From:
https://www.fastcompany.com/91092650/dead-internet-theory-true-tiktok-ai-influencers
This is why Musk is close to demanding subscription only access to Twitter and this week threatened "engagement farmers." As usual, he is ahead of the game.
-
It's clearly fake. No serious author would write - "The crowd erupted in cheers as noodles rained down like confetti." And that was just one among many absurd lines.
Anyway - AI - if prompted - admits its unable to create nuance - and human's are not as consistent is style - hence experienced eyes can see it's fake in a couple of lines.
Also, there's a reverse text search available that tells you where the original text was originated - hence how many students are being captured using AI.
Plagiarism-style checkers are very advanced. While I accept that some people would read that and think it's true, others will uncover the truth in moments and until AI learns how to write like humans and defeats plagiarism software these articles will be called out.
Now, if you are having a go at certain "news" outlets who have gained a reputation for using AI - they are content spinning to avoid legal consequences including accusations of copyright theft. Content spinning was the scourge of the Internet at one time and it appears to be making a comeback since AI exploded.
- 1
- 2
-
9 minutes ago, hunkidori said:
I bet secretly you whish you were born a Brit and this rambling nonsense is all down to your deep rooted jealousy of us.
If you enjoy some light reading, have a look at he anti-passport bro movement in Colombia.
-
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
A married friend went to Koh Samui in January. He said it was an atrocious experience. Roads were mental and dangerous, prices more expensive than London ( in his own words ). He hated the entire vibe in Chaweng, says that daytime it was a concrete jungle, night time a cattle market full of drunk, rude and obnoxious tourists of all nationalities.
Phuket is boycotted by a large number of expat types, it's a rip-off hellhole. IMO Sukhumvit has lost the little bit of plot that it had, and that wasn't much. Pricing is laughable, the vibe poor and many a weird or dangerous thing happens after midnight down there. I know too many people who have either been robbed or ripped off by taxi drivers in Lower Suk. Walking the streets is like walking through the bar in Star Wars, literally full of creatures of all shapes and sizes, a surprising number either mentally ill or outright dangerous.
I haven't been to Patts for a while, the received wisdom is that town is going backwards fast. I was shocked at the level of passive aggressive and outright aggressive farangs in HUA HIN of all places, I wasn't shocked to read of serious assaults. Hua Hin police that I know told me they were delighted that the Patts ferry stopped, but the damage is done, the headcase brigade is already polluting that town.
Pai, high season, is laughable. CM, high season, is creaking under the weight of unsustainable tourist numbers. Crossing the road is a genuine heart stopping experience and when events take place the numbers are crushingly busy.
Others can comment on other locations. My opinion is that residual bad behaviour from isolated people re Covid is causing a lot of problems, and the hotspots can't handle the traffic.
I know no one of experience who thinks that Thailand is in any way, shape or form a better destination than ten years ago. Maybe we are jaded. My opinion is that we can see the evidence with our own eyes - the country has unleashed a dragon - and I don't know how they will slay it. Bringing in more tourists isn't going to be the answer, that's for sure.
- 2
- 1
-
1 hour ago, bob smith said:
…what about the Thai Koh Tao killer, who murdered the british backpackers Hannah & David, got away with it, and is still hosting pool party’s every night?
Just because that happened 10 years ago should we all forget about it and move on?
bob.
I gave the specific answer to the incident mentioned, including the length of sentence.
Now you are diverting to another despicable incident in a pitiful attempt to win Internet points.
No sane person can forget what happened in Koh Tao and no person with class would descend to use that to win brownie points.
Truly pitiful post. Pitiful.
- 1
- 1
-
8 minutes ago, connda said:
No - Actually I watched a video of a group of Thais beating the snot out of a elderly foreign couple with the final shot being when a Thai guy decked an old farang woman and knocked her out. What happened? Probably very little. Stories where Thais commit assault and battery on foreigners are memory-holed in the media. Memory-holed...made to disappear as Thai on foreign violence can affect tourism. So they stories disappear. Or are settled with a small fine and a wai.
But when a farang does something to a Thai? Well - open your eyes and look at the hyperbole.If you are referring to the assault in Hua Hin in 2016 where the older Scottish lady was kicked in the head and left unconscious along with her husband and son, all four were arrested and eventually jailed for two years each. Further, they were excoriated by the Thai media, in this case the Thai populace was appalled.
This is the second time in two days I've seen people referring to old and near ancient videos on this forum. The one posted yesterday was around 16 years old. You're an experienced guy here, you should know better than to post without context and the insinuation that it was memory-holed is blatantly false, it was national news.
-
- Popular Post
- Popular Post
10 hours ago, bubblegum said:Last one I visited lasted 10 days and was well over 2 mil. baht.
Aye, very good. The topic is a foreign Christian heading into his eighties and you derail with this fantastical nonsense. Feel free to return with an answer to the OP's question - the cheapest funeral - when you reconnect with reality.
- 1
- 1
- 2
- 2
-
You're going to have to ask your wife to explain why she thinks it will cost 400,000 baht or anywhere near. I attended a wealthy businessman's funeral last year and that was less than 150,000 baht. The last funeral I was at cost 30,000 baht and we attendees funded the majority of that. Heading north of 200,000 is wild, anywhere near 400,000 baht is absurd. Totally absurd.
- 1
- 1
-
2 hours ago, rexpotter said:
Who cares. Dumb people who can't control themselves. If your parents don't take care and protect you, then you are on your own.
Ah, yes - people with good parents have never ever fallen into the drug trap.
Dunning-Kruger strikes again.
- 1
-
- Popular Post
5 hours ago, KhunLA said:Need to bring back the life & death sentences for distribution, dependent on amounts. Countries that stick to them, without the revolving door prisons seem to have less drug problems.
This has been tried in Thailand including the horrendous war on drugs in 2004 which resulted in thousands of summary street executions including many innocents. It was a convenient way for certain people to get rid of rivals ( including love rivals ).
Question for the people who think this can be controlled. How do you intend to police the 1800 mile long land border with Myanmar? How do you intend to stop poverty stricken and war torn Burmese from earning life changing money from one successful drug run?
I'll answer. You can't.
- 1
- 1
- 2
-
- Popular Post
Fundamentally, nothing can be done. I was at a Lahu New Year party a few years ago, two days later two of the guys at the party were shot dead by police as they were caught in the act of running yaba. I point out Lahu as I know Thais who have been arrested for the same crime and jailed without the risk of a gun to the head. In fact, one Thai I know is in for his second offence after receiving a pardon first time round.
Lesson 1 - if you ain't Thai and your caught involved in this trade you're risking instant death. You really don't want to encounter Thai border guards anywhere near the Myanmar border.
Lesson 2 - the level of stupidity and desperation involved to be caught running again not long after a pardon should show you the level of desperado involved.
I've watched Thai police kick the living daylights out of Thais suspected of being involved ( aka they were involved ). The kicking was a warning and I'm not going into detail except to say I wasn't the only person watching. It was authorised from on high.
Usage - I keep saying it on this forum and it's not sinking in with many members. The fastest road to the sex trade is to be a yaba user in the village. You will be excommunicated. Over the years I've seen several women hanging around bars who are severely rattling. I've seen bar owners melt down in a few short weeks as they get dragged into the late night sub culture. To be fair, I have seen people recover but once that drug is in your system relapse is easy.
You mention stricter punishment. In a country where the death penalty is still force for drug running, what stricter penalty do you suggest?
It's a sexual drug. Vulnerable ( aka often drunk ) women are either spiked or encouraged to try. They guys involved know what they are doing, they'd never dare try it on with the "protected" girls. It's fundamentally "low-life" city and rural youngsters at high risk. Although the net can reach upwards at times. One sometime PG I know got hooked, and was jailed three times for minor possession, then eventually put effective under house arrest with her parents. This decent looking but known wild-child type was reduced to turning tricks for 500 baht before her father in particular put the hammer down. By the way, she's now a single mother, father unknown.
In the sex trade, you know that old saying that nothing good happens after 2am? Some of the activities would make any slumdogs skin crawl and it's yaba at the heart of it. It cannot be controlled, it cannot be stopped, it will burn like wildfire until it's target market is wiped out. So let me finish with the saddest story I know. My female pals sister was jailed as her front door was kicked in by police who knew her bf was a dealer. She was clean when arrested, but jailed for dealing. A year later they both got out, her head was destroyed by the prison experience. She left prison, got back with the guy then started smashing yaba.
A chaotic year later, now with a weeks old baby ( gawd knows how much yaba flowed through that wee one's veins ) she drank battery acid in desperation at her addiction. She lived for a week in intensive care then died. Tne coward of a father fled to the monkhood, abandoning the baby who was then delivered to the elderly parents door. My pal had to take on an extra job to pay all the expenses. I don't know how the kid is doing now.
Yaba is the devil. You'll never be rid of it. Never. Drinking battery acid to escape it's grip? dear me - it's the devil indeed.
- 3
- 2
- 3
- 3
- 3
-
Sickening to see the forum GLORY IN A WOMEN SUFFERING FROM MENTAL ILLNESS.
I've seen this before. The Thai authorities will interact with her and if need be she will be sectioned. I've witnessed two foreigners sectioned this year already. On both cases they were released after a few days with appropriate medication.
Almost all of us of a certain age have witnessed mental illness in our friends or family circle.
Some of you guys need to get a grip. Think before you post.
- 1
- 1
-
10 hours ago, Classic Ray said:
Most Western countries use a tractor with a cutter attachment to control verges.
Surely the road authorities could use the same method if they truly wanted to deal with the problem?
Burning is cheaper short term but not long term.
First, they don't have the money. Second, it's not just verges, they burn around 20 metres back to stop the fireload from piling up year on year.
I don't think members of this forum really understand the staggering heat generated by a well-fueled wildfire. A walk through the debris shows the wildlife caught out by the rapid spread.
If forum members saw these fires in action they would support defensive burning. Due to terrain there is no realistic alternative.
Since realising this I have supported the idea of a one week burning blitz and get it over and done with. However, I maintain there is no excuse for open field burning. Treat the mountains and the fields as seperate entities.
-
3 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:
Younger working expat farangs have been dating and marrying university educated middle class Thai women since the 80's and probably before.
I
Yes,, but numbers have vastly increased in the last decade plus.
Frozen pension policy turns British expat's dream into a nightmare
in Thailand News
Posted
One of my ( very ) close relatives is an HMRC tax investigator. I posted this years ago but now time for a reminder. The government has an internal system called ICE. My relative only needs to submit your national insurance number and it spits out reports. If he adds a last known address and ( god forbid ) a passport number, twenty-three government agencies spit out everything they know about you.
First, I haven't read the whole thread - the Thai government has a report of every time you have entered the kingdom. Do not kid yourself that the British government does not have every single entry you have made to the UK in the last 20 years. Second, the UK government has access to every flight manifest for passengers of any nationality entering or leaving the UK. By the way, some of you will be unaware that the HMRC investigation period has been extended from the previous six years to twenty years now.
Second - HMRC can demand every financial transaction linked to your UK account and the banks cannot deny access to the records. So every time you have used an ATM drawing from a UK bank in Thailand it's recorded and accessible by HMRC. Equally every bank transfer overseas is recorded but no one is that stupid that they don't know that.
Third - DWP are part of the ICE system, that should be obvious to everyone too.
Fourth - one that you likely don't know - council tax records are part of ICE so if you are declaring that you are resident in the UK to bypass the pension freeze it will take the DWP a press of a button to discover your registered address. Another press of the ICE button will uncover your banking records, flight manifests etc.
You cannot defeat ICE.
After the bad news, now the good news. HMRC etc are far too busy to be chasing up every pension claimant. The people that get caught usually have an unexpected change in circumstances ( such as the person who they are registered as living with dying ), or the housing association discovering that an "unknown" person is living in the accommodation, or the "registered person" coming to the attention of social work support due to illness. Otherwise, someone would need to grass you into the authorities.
There have been absurd cases where, for example, people sublet their own council house and use the profit to live in Thailand, then the council catches them out. You must be beyond stupid thinking you'd get away with that.
However - this OP is approaching trolling territory. Mentioning the 55 year old and 61 year old is another absurdity. Who cares? They are nowhere near being affected by the pension freeze.
And this forum has been tortured for decades by people moaning about the pension freeze that knew before they retired it applied in Thailand. An utter waste of time as the governments ( including Labour ) have no interest in increasing their pension burden for people who choose to live overseas. They are delighted you have made the move and saved them a fortune.
So sad, too bad.