LALes

Had Japan won WWII, the "occupation" would have morphed into full-on colonial status.

The Skytrain is the best thing to happen to Bangkok in the last 25 years. I would never have thought about retiring there if I had to drive. Bangkok is so much easier to negotiate with BTS and MRT. My mantra is, "if it ain't Skytrain accessibe, I ain't going". Occasionally, I do find myself in that eternal Bangkok traffic jam inside a taxi and I swear I will never take one again.

You couldn't be more wrong. Any country with a large export economy has a vested interest in who controls the world's shipping lanes. If Thailand moves closer to China, you will see that manifest itself here in the good, old LOS.

Check out Real Me from China. A relatively new brand that offers a lot of bang for your buck. I bought their earbuds a few years ago and was very impressed with their sound quality for only a thousand baht. Last year, my pricey Microsoft Surface laptop bit the dust and I found a good replacement in the first line of Real Me laptops. Only available at IT City in Tukcom. 16,000 baht for a good looking machine with a lot of the features you need. 512 GB, too. This is not Red Mi. That is totally different. My friend just bought the new Real Me phone at Banana. Again, nice phone at a great price.

Controlling the world's 7 Seas, ie: the world's shipping lanes, is vital to US hegemony. That includes such "minor" seas as the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal. America can't do much about China's Belt & Road overland trade route but it will do its damndest to prevent any upstart from getting too powerful on the sea lanes.

Democracy is a term that is bandied about by people who don't know or don't care what it is. It sounds good and is useful to their agenda. There are countless, tin-horn dictatoships around the world that the US is totally unconcerned about. Couldn't care less. These "sh*tholes", as Trump called them, exist solely because they have no strategic benefit for the US or they have no resources worth a damn. Whatever you feel about our little, SE Asian, provincial backwater, it is STRATEGIC. Sitting on two bodies of water necessary to China's aim to break out of the US Containment Policy, Thailand will always be of interest to the US. Just look at what happened in Bangladesh last week. Did Thailand take notice when they decided to change the PM? Will Daughter of Toxinstein be more of a US or China ally? Moving away from US to China can be detrimental to your health.

I just completed this quiz. My Score 60/100 My Time 211 seconds  

Wally Cox.

Awesome, bloodless coup for the military. One week's work got rid of MFP and the PM. No tanks necessary.

More like designed to deter. Case in point, the new tax law for farangs. These people are dreaming.

Is that you, Gamma?

Not much better in Jomtien. Tour busses parked all over Thappraya Rd. More monster condos coming on line in the next few years. Second Rd. will be a disaster. Its already started. Getting into Pattaya becoming a real drag.

The truth is that the Democrats had planned to throw Biden under the bus as early as 2022. They saw the cognitive decline. Hell, I saw it as early as 2020. They knew. This whole dog and pony show was choreographed down to the last detail. Watching the CNN and MSDNC crew falling all over themselves to express their amazement at how Biden had declined was disgusting. Anyone anywhere close to him knew it. If I could see it on TV, the people close to him knew it all along. The interesting part is how will they get rid of the dunce who couldn't even win her own state in the 2020 primary. Leave it to the un-Democratic Party to find a way. They rigged 3 straight primaries and I'm sure this upcoming Convention will be full of shenanigans that will include everything but a vote by the electorate. How democratic.

Spoken like a true, Democrat cultist.

I'm 75 and I don't take any boner pills. The urge only strikes once a week. When it does, I go down to one of my "mechanics" for a lube and oil change. In and out in about an hour and I go on with my day. I am a "firm" supporter of the local Crankyankers Union.

I love these Buddhist holidays. 2 days of peace and quiet instead of the usual loudmouth yammering coming from all the bars around my condo.

30 years ago, I did it. Train to Surat Thani, stayed overnight in a flophouse near the train station and took a bus for 6 hours the next day to Phuket. Never again!! The bus was the worst part. Its a very mountainous route with a lot of twists and turns. Depending on your driver, it can be quite an adventure-and I don't mean that in a good way.

I knew it was you, Gamma. As soon as I read the headline.

I've pondered this dilemna for over 10 years. Smog season used to be just January and February. Now, it starts right after XMAS and goes to Songkran. That's over 3 months of crappy air to deal with. I tried getting out to Vietnam, but Danang and Saigon have their awful air days, too. You have to go south, young man, to get out of the zone. At least as far south as Phuket. I have a place in mind for next season that is way south and hopefully out of the zone. Don't ask where.

Going on 20 years now...I lost count of the sperm donations. Of course, none were done in a clinic and I never got paid.

We called it Rock Fever in Hawaii, where I lived on and off for 30 years. The longest I stayed in Honolulu without leaving the island was 2 1/2 years. I couldn't wait to get away but after 6 months, I couldn't wait to get back. After I got back, I made provisions for leaving every year so I wouldn't get Rock Fever again. If you have enough money, you can accomplish most anything in regards to lifestyle. I have a similar situation now in Pattaya. I need to get out after about 3 months so I get on a bus and go to BKK for a few days. What can you call that? Slob Fever?

I don't care how cheap or expensive it is, if I drink a whole glass of red wine, there will be a headache the next morning. If I stay at about a half a glass, I will be OK. You gotta know your body and what you can get away with. As Clint said, "A man's got to know his limitations."

Butt ugly. But, there are enough tattooed guys around for them. I hope they will be very happy together and I don't have to look at them.

It's amazing that Booking can be so good while Agoda can be so bad. Booking gives you the total price when you search. Agoda doesn't include taxes and fees in their quoted price. Agoda is useless if you have a complaint. A couple of Indians in a call center who just parrot the company line. Booking isn't much better with the customer service but at least you know what you're paying.

I want to see the watches.