simon43

I usually give ChatGPT a few concise instructions and it produces good images, BUT it seems to be dyslexic and unable to put form correctly-spelt words! Viz: please create an image with the letters of the alphabet from A to Z in order, and please also write the sentence "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog"

Another Monday and my day off. I dropped some vocabulary posters off at the Girls' orphanage, and also ordered 8 more laminated poster sets (8 different posters/set), from the print shop. The reason for needing these extra sets is because I have planned a journey next week 🙂 . Since it's Christmas, I have a few days of holiday. Ideally, I would love to jump on a motorbike and ride across to Kalaw, Inle Lake and Taunggyi, just as I used to do when I worked in Naypyitaw. But it's not practical to do that, because I haven't yet bought a motorbike! Additionally, although the regions that I plan to travel through are considered reasonably safe, (by some close friends working in Myanmar, NOT by the red maps on the UK/US etc government advice web sites), I'm not happy to ride in a region bristling with trigger-happy soldiers when wearing a motorcycle helmet - it can make it difficult for them to recognise that I am a foreigner and they could shoot first.... So I've planned a private car tour guide trip from my base in Mandalay, and visiting/donating at all the orphanages that I previously supported. I want to check on their needs, meet some old friends and (hopefully), make my first attempt at 'vlogging' for YouTube with a video from a foreigner who is not just visiting Myanmar on a 'trip to the most dangerous country in the world' as how these vloggers seem to promote their videos. My tour guide and driver is fully aware of the reason behind my trip, and he also knows some more homes which never receive any donations or help. Using a car also makes it easier to transport donation items, such as rice, clothes that we might buy in the region after assessing the homes' needs. Anyway, my plan is to record a sort of 'introducing myself' video in the next few days, get that up on my new YT channel, and then follow up with my Christmas trip through war-torn Myanmar to some of these orphanages 🙂 There are some regions that I previously visited, such as Pin Laung and Loikaw etc, but these are too dangerous for me to visit now (so sad). ChatGPT has a vivid imagination....

Edit: I should add that these schools are all in Myanmar, not Thailand

This is a massive trailer where there are usually workers seated at the rear to facilitate turning of the rear wheels. " when the trailer’s rear end lost control and overturned." Well, either there was some mechanical failure, or the driver or rear wheel workers did something wrong....

Although somewhat off-topic, all the schools that I've taught in have CCTV in the classroom, for the protection of both students and teachers.

Nope, still the wrong forum - move to Jokes and Trolls Forum....

Thanks! I occasionally get $5 donations from radio hams in Japan 🙂 That sounds a pitiful amount, but that buys 2 school books or bilingual story books. Yonks ago (2010), I coined the phrase 'A little extra helps' for a philanthropic mobile phone venture that I started. https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/143465/if-only-1-of-twitterers-used-xtrer-it-would-generate-more-than-1-million-for-charities-every-month It was based on my view that even small amounts of money could make an important difference to people's lives, if that money was spent wisely and not squandered or 'mud thrown at a wall' syndrome. So even though I am somewhat poop-poor, I have still managed to help more than 3,000 Burmese kids with their school books over the years... I know several, small charities which adopt the same policy as myself. I also know some who provide help in Myanmar in exchange for converting to Christianity... Many foreign teachers that I have met in Myanmar over the years have been from the USA and have a hidden, religious agenda to their charity work or teaching employment. Therefore, if donating to a charity, dig deep, ask difficult questions!

As an example of the need to be wary of some charities. Oxfam's website states that only 65% of donations are actually used on their charitable programs. Of that 65%, 74% is used for their development work, 15% for project management and 11% for 'influencing'. So if my maths is correct, out of every 100 cents, just over 48 cents (less than half) is actually used directly to help those for whom you think you're donating to help. Save the Children (USA) invests almost 10% of their donations in hedge funds.... They say that about 85% is spent directly on their programs, but remember that this includes all the high salaries, 5-star hotels for their staff and shiny 4x4 vehicles. How much is actually spent on building material for new schools, medical centres, you know - the stuff that really matters? Still want to donate to them?

Next she'll be wanting 'her' meat and two veg removed. Put your foot down!

Just a few photos to curry interest. I usually teach online all day Saturday, but I'm trying reduce the number of lessons because - to be frank - I'm getting too old to teach all day and then teach in the evenings and all day at the weekends! Also, I don't need all this extra income and this heavy workload reduces my free time for hobbies and charity work. Therefore, I have been culling some of my students whose parents treat my lessons as a baby-sitting exercise, or where the young student has learnt a lot over the years from me, and would probably benefit from a different teacher. It's also a good time to wind down my relationship with iTalki, (where many of my students book my science lessons), because I have almost reached the impressive level of having earned $100,000 USD from my lessons with iTalki. None of my students/their parents are happy with this decision, but I need to be a little selfish here. In any case, it still leaves other students, and their online income over the month is about $1,500, (plus my daytime income, plus my UK pension next June). So, I took a walk to a hardware store where I was able to finally track down the PVC board that I'll use to make sturdy wall poster backgrounds for my day students to draw/create project posters about different aspects of science that they have been learning. I walked past the Red Cross office, who clearly don't want to take sides in the current conflict. Most of the houses have impressive security around their perimetre walls, with barbed wire, electrified wires, CCTV and lights. I do know from my time in Yangon than even 60 watt outside light bulbs would disappear in the night, if they were not locked within a barbed wire mesh. The workers who install the barbed wire are clearly rather skilled at creating something akin to a modern work of art... This (not so great) photo is of a pedalo, something not seen so often nowadays in Mandalay. Many years ago, when living in Yangon, I would take the ferry every Sunday across the river to Dala Township, and then a pedelo would take me the 2km or so to the local monastery where I would teach English. The room was bare, with no electricity, but the students were keen!

Thanks to all! I'll check out yt-dlp 🙂

Definitely not stupid. But do check that ALL of your donation is being used to help the deserving kids and homeless people. Too many rich charity workers driving around in top-of-the-range 4x4s nowadays..... For me, I never give money to charities. I go directly to those who deserve charity and make sure that my small amount of $ is used only and directly for their benefit.

EMF can indeed have harmful effects, BUT absolutely NOT at the miniscule levels that a wi-fi router emits. Look, I have been a radio amateur for 45 years, and a professional RF engineer for almost as long. I build and operate equipment with much higher RF levels without any issues. The wi-fi equipment is but a knat's arse of power. Go stand in front of a British Telecom backbone microwave relay dish and then you'll experience dangerous levels of EMF 🙂

I have a plan for Christmas 🙂 But I need to sound it out to see if I can implement it without getting arrested by the military...

As a professional RF (radio frequency) engineer, I would appreciate if you could substantiate the utter <deleted> that you've written above..... such as 'loads of electromagnetic radiation', 'it will dramatically affect one's health', A quick Google for the actual power density.... The RF power density of a typical Wi-Fi router is usually very low, ranging from around 0.001 to 3.302 W/m², with an average measurement often falling between 0.390 W/m². This means that the radiation emitted from a router is considered very weak, and the power density significantly decreases with distance from the router

Can anyone suggest a reliable (even paid) service that allows me to easily download YouTube videos and audio files? I do use YouTube Premium, but the download function is somewhat 'walled garden'. I want to download science videos to my USB stick, for then playing back in my science lessons (the school's internet service is mostly blocked - I'm in Myanmar!). This isn't a VPN issue. The results from Google Search for 'download YouTube MP4' lists a large number of scam and phishing websites - I'm yet to find a truly decent service amongst them....

Friday is a part-time teaching day for me, and I planned to pop home after the morning lessons. However the young, pretty female teachers (they all seem to be like that in Myanmar!) had other ideas. "Teacher Simon, we want to make a movie with you" they chorused! Well, that sounds more fun,and I was ready to strip off my kit and lube up the rusty banana when they explained "The school is making a promo video for our winter sports festival, and the other foreign teachers have nominated you to be the presenter of this promo video". My first thought was that the appearance of the oldest teacher in the whole school to promote a sports video was not a good idea. However, after briefly considering the apparent health (or lack of it) of my fellow foreign teachers, I decided that I was maybe the better candidate. So myself and 3 lovely young Burmese teachers squeezed onto 2 motor bikes and rode the short distance to the Mandalar Thiri sports stadium to make our movie. 30 or so grade 2 students arrived shortly by bus and they busied themselves in running around the sports hall and generally acting like errant cats, whilst the gym teachers tried to herd them. I was given a sheet of paper with the various phrases and sentences to read out. We didn't have any professional recording equipment, so one teacher videoed me with her mobile phone and I spoke my lines into my own phone voice recorder, to ensure an adequate sound level. Videos and audio clips will be spliced together by the highly-skilled post-production facility (that means the computer teacher...). Well, I have to say that the Burmese teachers were suitably 'wowed' by my professional presentation. Little did they know that they were face-to-face with none other than 'Barry Lancaster', a famous radio DJ from Radio Delmare, from the days of the offshore pirate radio stations in the 1970's! (Actually I spent most of my stint on that ship being seasick, but I need to keep the illusion going). We completed the promo video by the kids all jumping in the air to a raucous scream. So, the winter sports event will be on the last day of this month. That gives me plenty of time to 'plot' my revenge on my fellow foreign teachers! Addendum: For anyone interested in my 'radio' career, here are links to information about Radio Delmare: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Delmare https://www.dxarchive.com/offshore_radio_delmare_english_service.html

Getting 'into it' sounds like some sort of sexual encounter with that taxi driver. Bob, were you making passes at straight guys again?

Jeez, seems like some of you have just discovered ChatGPT create-images function.... You might have noticed that ChatGPT create-images is incapable of spelling words correctly, even when you correct it time and time again. some bug I think.

Wow, so many cynical people. Enjoy your sad lives....

I studied for an MA in Thai Culture at Chula. Very easy to get into - just show them the money....

One of the (minor) burdens that I have to bear for more than 25 years are somewhat 'weak' lungs. This is the sole reason why I emigrated from the UK 23 years ago to live in more humid and sunnier climes. This certainly helped, but my lungs are also very 'fussy' and prefer the salty coastal air of southern Thailand. When I venture too far north, I am plagued with coughs and bronchitis, and enough phlegm to fill a large swimming pool! Of course, I knew all this when I returned to Myanmar. So I came with various medications and a high quality face mask to try to keep my lungs healthy. I was realistic to know that I would suffer again in the north Myanmar climate. So it has been for the past few weeks, and yesterday I was laid low and racked with coughing. I'm feeling better today, but still with bronchitis and a hacking cough, which is not recommended when you have to teach all day. 🙂 Anyway, I know from experience that these problems will subside (until the next flare-up). A forum member recommended N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine, which definitely improved my ability to cough up 'gunk' Unfortunately, I bought the last bottle of this wonderful medication in Mandalay, so have ordered some more from AliExpress. Tomorrow afternoon I will visit a rather 'destitute' orphanage in the slum area by a local river. I last went to that locality 8 years ago and watched the local funeral director washing the dead bodies in said river before encasing them in their coffins.....

He was just faking:)

Does Bumrungrad cost the same as the NHS?

"Rabbit Slaughter" Who dreams up the names of these operations?!