theblether

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

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.

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.

If you enjoy some light reading, have a look at he anti-passport bro movement in Colombia.

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.

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.

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.

Ah, yes - people with good parents have never ever fallen into the drug trap. Dunning-Kruger strikes again.

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.

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.

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.

I Yes,, but numbers have vastly increased in the last decade plus.

Many things can be true at the same time. No decent Thai man wants a woman with the scent of the sex trade. Also, farangs are universally a laughing stock among Thai men, they can't believe who we wrestle with. However, you made a different and more valid point. The arrival of the younger expatriate generation has increased competition for young Thai men. It's not unusual to see middle-class girls dating and marrying stable younger farangs. That is starting to annoy some younger Thai men as their general xenophobia mixes with sexual jealousy. All of these relationships that I am aware of are thriving. One friend has just given birth to her second baby, she lives near The Somme, France. I can't think of any relationships that have broken up but neither do I have a drone pursuing pals across the world. So, no - Thai men are content to allow farangs wrestle with the sex trade "belle's" And, yes - they don't like having their better ladies stolen away.

The only figure I am aware of is the average Mountain Family would gather 15-25,000 baht worth of Hot Thep each season. To put that in perspective, most of the families involved have a cash income of less than 36,000 baht per year otherwise. So you're looking at an income boost of around 50% of their cash income. That money has multifarious social impacts, arriving around Songkran is always welcome, but some families borrow on the strength of their Hot Thep crop. The idea of surrendering that cash is unimaginable.

I forgot to mention, I know oil & gas engineers who are looking for solutions on a hobby basis. There are serious people of many nationalities keen to see an end to the burning, or at least to reduce the worst of vagaries.

I'll not get into the usual sugarcane/commercial burning arguments - they have been done to death. Burning is essential for safety reasons in the mountains. One thing people miss/don't know, don't understand is that municipalities end out teams to burn road verges etc. In the mountains, bad enough on main routes such as CM-Pai, the roads in the interior are tight, dangerous and often dreadful condition. One friend was killed as she was washed over a cliff edge in her SUV. With rapid foliage growth, many of these roads are reduced to effective single lane status. If the fire load is allowed to build the villagers would be cut off in the case of a wildfire or similar. Helicopters, which I see overhead many days during the burning season, would struggle to rescue people due to the terrain. So routine defensive burning is essential and is practised by the villagers and authorities. Well before the attack on Hot Thep, authorities need to get a grip on open field stubble burning, whatever the crop. They are the open goal awaiting action. The mountains can wait.

No chance. You can't control the growth of wild mushrooms. The Mountain People, esp the poorest, rely upon the money. They literally will not give up the crop as the financial impact would be too severe. The last time there was a shortage the price went mental. Introducing it as black market item will cause carnage and, if anything, encourage more burning. You'd end up with the police organizing distribution and creaming profit. The only way to destroy the Hot Thep market is to produce it on greenhouse/farmed environments. I know one mushroom grower who has tried to do so for years ( the first person to do will be a Thai baht billionaire ) and it's driving him nuts.

I have to commend the OP, this is an all too rare example of standing by a red line issue. The marriage is dead. Walk away, don't look back and I wish you a long and successful retirement.

Pricing - do your own research - the prices I have paid or seen pals pay range from 80,000 baht ( in my case ) to 310,000 baht paid by an American friend. It depends on your grade of hospital, personal medical needs, length of stay etc. You live in Thailand, put in the hard miles and find out for yourself.

This is the correct way of doing it, drive around then get the Thai national to ask in the local mom and pop store, or village eatery, not in your presence. Jungle drums will start. The last time I was on the periphery of this the land, with a good aspect, that attracted the Thai nationals attention was 650,000 baht a rai. Drumbeat brought an offer of land with the same aspect for 450,000 and the deal was done. In fact, 2.3 rai was purchased at that base rate.

I still see it now but the one that repulses me are the frogs on a stick. Even worse, deep fried whole frog, with the oil seeping out across the plate. Horrendous.

Who remembers the visa tightening regime re overstay around nine years ago? When automatic bans for overstay were issued. At the time the Thai gov gave people a grace period to sort out their visa status before the policy took effect. One Mae Hong Son resident declared an overstay of twenty-two years at the airport, left for London, and returned with a valid visa. TWENTY TWO YEARS. I know someone personally who is twenty-nine years in Laos without a visa, and he hasn't owned a valid passport for twenty-one years. Go with the assumption that a guy who knows he has an arrest warrant in the UK will do anything but draw the attention of UK authorities. Further assume that he knows the risk of overstay but figures every day is a bonus until caught. The only question is why return now? One of my mates surrendered after skipping court ( convicted in absence and sentenced to eight years, drugs and firearms ). Relatively young, he surrendered as he got sick of looking over his shoulder every day. What annoyed me was that he only served an additional four months for skipping before trial. These people are criminal, they don't think live the way we do. So growling about "passport renewals" and the like is foolish. You assume he had a passport at all.

*The ignoramus have spoken. Fixed it for you.

I've lived there, Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. It was Mexicans that informed me of the Tex-Mex issue. Maybe you should go over and correct them , huh?