simon43

Well, he should have 'fun' when jailed with the muscle men in prison.. Execpt he will never go to jail, because he's above all that......

Not so bad actually - Brochiectasis is widening of the bronchi airways, which causes the lungs to produce more mucus than normal. Unless that is coughed up by doing regular lung exercises etc, it can become an ideal habitat for bacteria growth and viruses, leading to bronchitis, pneumonia etc. So whilst I do wear a mask during the worst of the burning season, I just carry on with my daily lung exercises and hope for the best!

The last time that I went through the Swampy x-ray machine with one of my telescopic ham radio antennas, the end cap came off and the antenns proceeded to extend itself (due to gravity), much to the amusement of the security staff, who ended up with a pole all of 7 metres in length! There was some discussion as to whether it could be a security risk if it extended whilst inside the airplane cabin, but some sticky tape put the end cap firmly back in place! I take radio transmitters etc through security and have only had politeness from the security staff, when the latter has been faced by coils of wire and strange-looking electronics equipment.

The aspergillos caused Bronchiectasis, which is widening of the bronchi. Unlike COPD, this illness, although uncurable, doesn't progress if I avoid further infections, pneumonia etc, (the previous pneumonia already did the physical damage). So I do lung exercises every day and have some mucus medicines to help to cough up the gunge. It's not so bad :) The Myanmar situation is very frustrating, because the military have made it very hard for schools to employ foreigners. I'm getting old anyway! So I've made siem Reap my 'base' and I plan to enter Myanmar on 28-day tourist visas, (and see if I get arrested for teaching in a voluntary capacity...) 2 advantages of not having a partner is that I spend less money, and I am not 'tied' down geographically. Neither of my Thai exes would ever contemplate giving charity to any Burmese people......

"I am talking about John Cleese reposting racist conspiracy theories." Maybe that's his idea of a joke >> highlighting how stupid and discriminatory the people who created these theories really are? I wouldn't know, because I never use Twitter, Instagram etc etc. I only use Facebook under duress. As for this forum, well it's torture every time I open the webpage - so much bollo x... :) (This is an example of my sense of humour BTW...)

Racist jokes, jokes about skin colour, body shapes (slitty eyes, thick lips etc), different cultures, jokes about the mentally and physically disabled, jokes about the Royal Family, gays, trannies, and absolutely anyone else on this planet is fair game to me!! Some of the best jokes ever created have been based on these topics....

I don't think you have a sense of humour do you?

"...and stressed that CDV is not a zoonotic disease." Oh well that's OK then....!

Well, I wouldn't mind the female carers that he had in 'Are you being served?' !!

Illness - contracted aspergillos in a damp, cold basement office in London. That lead to several cases of severe pneumonia which physically damaged my lungs, leading to Bronchiectasis (incurable but controllable). My doctor suggested that a hot and humid climate would help alleviate the symptoms, and a few trips to Thailand confirmed that. I relocated to Thailand in 2003, thereafter expanding my 'home' and work to Laos and Myanmar. Very recently, I returned back to the UK to see if I could live there again in my retirement. I lasted all of 7 weeks before returning (last week) to base myself in Siem Reap (Cambodia), with regular trips planned into Myanmar. Whilst in the UK, my lung illness got worse again. I suppose I could 'snowbird' (winter in south-east Asia and summer in the UK), but my finances don't stretch to the outlandish costs of the UK! As for women, I've been married 3 times and 3 times I've initiated the divorce because the women (in the UK and Thailand) seemed only interested in my money! (I was quite well off in years gone by). Now I find that being dirt-poor and only using my excess money for my charity keeps the female leeches away :)

.. and the moral of this story is "Do not climb radio masts if you are unfit, have no experience of climbing such structures, and are afraid of heights..."

Wow - All I had were plates and sharp knives thrown at me by my mad ex#2...

BMT - have you got your beer goggles on?! That 'thing' is revolting... Yonks ago, I worked as a police volunteer in Patong, and often watched newbie tourists going to a nearby hotel with a LB. I got on well with the bar staff and I asked some of these women what happens when the man gets into the bedroom and 'all' is revealed. She replied that she and her Thai friends can't understand why these foreign tourists can't recognise a man in a frock when they see one! Perhaps beer goggles again. 'But if the tourist really doesn't realise that he's with a man, surely the LB could get a good slapping in the bedroom when the tourist finds out'? I asked. "No, that rarely happens. Either the tourist is so turned on by foreplay, that he's not able to control himself, and keeps going when the true gender of his partner is revealed. Or the tourist thinks 'No-one will ever know' (What happens in that room stays in that room...)

[quote] ... The elder we get, the more expensive health indurance become ... [/quote] That is not correct - it depends on your insurance policy. With my policy, no claim, no increase in premium....

You are still sitting on the loo when you flush it?? That sounds weird.....

Thousands of substances are 'poisonous' if taken in enough quantity. Boron (Boric Acid) is a common substance used to kill ants, but smaller quantities strengthen bone joints, especially knee joints. Arsenic is considered highly poisonous, but we ingest small amounts daily in our food, since arsenic is a natural element found in the soil.

Do you need to have sex with the macaque to get infected by the Herpes B virus? Just asking...

Can't you help it on it's way by pushing it with your hand?

No idea! I've never been to a football match in my life. At school, football was banned as being a game for 'sissies'. We all played rugby!

Was there a queue of monkeys waiting to slap the back of your head??? :)

I'll add to this topic, because I've just moved to Siem Reap, to use as a 'base' for my charity trips into Myanmar (so I'll also post in the Myanmar forum as well from time to time!) Basically, I have been teaching in Myanmar for many years, and also running a small educational charity that donates teaching resources to orphanages, government schools etc. My last job was teaching science in Mandalay. After the bad earthquake, (luckily I was in Chiang Mai at the time), and also because I had started to draw my UK pension, I decided to return to the UK, because there are various pensioner benefits that are not available to me if I remain overseas. But having lived in Asia for 23 years, the reverse-culture shock of living in the UK was indeed a big shock! So I decided to return back to Asia, and where I could more easily continue my charity work in Myanmar. But I'm not allowed to live in Myanmar unless I'm actually employed, (there being no 'retirement' visa). So I decided to base myself in Siem Reap, with an easy and cheap ER retirement visa, and cheap AirAsia flights to Mandalay and Yangon via Bangkok. I'm not living in the centre of Siem Reap. I'm a few km away, near Makro. I pay $100 for a very peaceful 60 square metre big studio bungalow, with 7 further bungalows set around a nice swimming pool. I rent a scooter for another $100/month. For food, I haven't cooked in yonks! I buy fresh salads and fruit, nuts etc. The price of these is cheap in almost any country! I'm spending about $10 max on food/drinks each day. So my monthly expense is $100 rent + $100 scooter + $300 food = $500, and add on another $100 for extras (petrol, shampoo etc etc). So $600 out of my $1,100 UK pension. Plus I also have an online teaching income of about $2,500/month :) This all looks good for my lifestyle and charity work. The local print shop in Siem Reap is able to print my A3 vocabulary posters at a good discount because it's for charity, funded out of my own income, (each poster costs 2,000 riel/A3 laminated poster on 300g card). So I can get a batch of say 500 posters printed and then hop on a plane to Myanmar on a 28-day tourist visa, and distribute these posters to the schools - the posters provide instructions in Burmese how to download and use my app to listen to good pronunciation of each word!) My bungalow in Siem Reap is quite secure if I'm not there and there is nothing worth stealing anyway! Why don't I stay in Thailand? Too much hassle for a long-stay visa, too much prying into my private life (eg 90-day reports etc). I prefer to be left completely alone by 'authorities' to get on with my life, (a lifestyle which would not appeal to most people, but for me I love it!) Since arriving in SR, I've been asked if I can make my posters available for Khmer schools and orphanages etc. So I'm busy changing the Burmese language instructions into Khmer :)

I have never had any problems with internet connectivity in Myanmar, having taken precuations by 'paralleling up mobile internet and hotel wdata connections using Speedify software. As for electricity, most hotels have generators, and when I stay in Myanmar, I also buy a 12 volt car battery and charge it up in my hotel room - then use a small 12v/220v inverter to power my laptop and lights etc if there is a power cut. Laptops use very little energy nowadays - so no problem to power it for hours and hours. But as you say, these challenges are not for everyone :)

Influencing idiots and the weak-minded.... who in their right mind would pay?

[quote] ... As I said: I am bored with complete retirement. ... [/quote] As are many retirees, unless they something that occupies their mind. I retired about 7 months ago, decided that teaching 5 days a week was too much. I fill some of my time building ham radio antennas that rarely work well, so go and build another one! (A never-ending hobby). But GG, why don't you come with me to Myanmar next time I go (maybe next month)? Come and help to teach English at the monastery schools. I think your personality would go down well with the kids who - frankly - have little to smile about.

But what about this 1111 Hz 'garbage'? To my scientific mind (and my non-scientific ears), it's total <deleted>.....