Old Croc

Do you refuse to consume cream, yogurt, butter, cheese, ice cream, etc.? I have a friend who claims he won't eat pig, because they're dirty animals. (Not religious reasons). However, he brags about his special butcher who makes the best pork sausages in town, and like most of us won't pass up a serving of bacon. "That's different!". My mother never drank milk and was calcium deficient to the point where she accumulated over 20 broken bones.

I'm not the first to say it, but the smartest country on earth also has millions of the stupidest people on the planet.

They were too clever for their own good. By being pardoned before trial and conviction they thought he would not even have a conviction on his record. (Nor be forced to testify against any silent partners in the fraud?) However, double jeopardy can't apply thus allowing the state charges to proceed.

Former FBI assistant director says Trump could have kept hold of a foreign country's nuclear secrets because it had 'the highest price tag' for classified info (msn.com)

Recently saw a YouTube video from "The Voice" highlighting very deep masculine voices. Seemingly at the first low note, most of the female judges hit their buzzers all atwitter and goose bumpy at the masculinity of the sound. Nary a vestige of feminist behavior displayed.

I wonder how much North Korea or Russia pay for America's top secret defense plans.

Several thousand Australian tourists are currently stranded in S. E. Asia, including in Thailand, because half of Jetstar's fleet is grounded. One Brit who buys a dirt-cheap special holiday, with apparently little financial backup, becomes headline news on AseanNow because his flight also gets cancelled. Not much doubt about for whom this forum is now aimed, despite the pretense of it being for all foreigners in the ASEAN region.

Put them in a box outside a big store with a sign saying free re-usable bags.

You state he has Australian citizen by descent. This is not an automatic process, it has to be applied for with evidence (DNA). If you have already done this, parental consent is still required to obtain a passport. Incomplete consent | Australian Passport Office (passports.gov.au)

I guess a pedant is also most likely to be the spelling police. You usually just use the "sad" emoji on many of my posts, you probably didn't realize I was using sarcasm when I spelt it for you. I do remember you from your days in Phuket despite your frequent changes of niks.

When I wrote that humous bit I guessed someone would make that distinction. I should have known that would be you! Sad!

You Americans would get really confused if you knew much of the world calls them footpaths. Motorbikes belong on the road with the petrol guzzling taxis (you know petroleum is a liquid, not a gas don't you?), where they are at risk of getting hit by a car bonnet and ending up on the boot.

Me wife shop at Lotus's's. Many place in Thailand have no alternative.

Habibi is used often by the Lebanese. It's not a slur as such. No doubt she is a descendant of Lebanese refugees who came to Australia in the 70s and 80s.

As a hospital, BHP has doctors specializing in eye and vision care. They're called ophthalmologists. I've had lens replacement and laser surgery at that hospital. I also asked them for a prescription for my eyes and they obliged, although they did make it known that they are not opticians. Opticians are everywhere in Thailand, just not in the hospitals. Try any large shopping mall and look for a shop with a window festooned with glasses. It will probably be a Charon brand outlet.

Recently on a country road miles from any town, my Thai wife nearly cleaned up a couple of young girls on a scooter. There were 4 or 5 of them on two bikes travelling together. Young, but I don't know if they were school age. A long straight stretch of road, no oncoming traffic and my wife pulled out to pass the slower bikes. Ahead, a square, half road section of tarmac had been removed and never repaired, making our side of the road very rough. I was in the passenger seat, saw the danger and tried to warn the lady, but her response time was slow. The lead bike swung out to the wrong side of the road to avoid the rough patch just as we were passing them. I don't know how they didn't bounce off the side of out car and come to grief. I think they saw us at the last second and swerved back. The Thai system: Worker-not necessary to repair roads dug up, someone else's job! Rider- no need to check for traffic before suddenly swinging across the road. Driver- Much keener eyesight than her passenger, but not able to foresee the potential danger nor react quickly.

Perhaps the worse thing that happened to me came when my life began in the womb. A mixture of abnormal genes in both parents resulted in me (and my only sibling) getting a blood disorder, hereditary hemochromatosis. (aka iron overload) This has severely affected my latter life in retirement. (No need to read further if easily bored, think some posters have literary diarrhea, believe it couldn't have happened to anyone more deserving, or have stated you have me on ignore.) It didn't manifest itself until I was in my 40s when damage had already occurred to my body. (My sister died in her 50s from complications caused by the condition). When younger, I was unaware of the condition, I was very active in many sports, I played AFL to reserve grade level. Many doctors at the time were lacking in awareness of the disorder and its symptoms. When I told my doctor I thought I had it, he said "you cant because you don't have diabetes." I convinced him to arrange a blood test which confirmed my iron levels were extremely high. As a genetic mutation there is no cure, but treatment by regular blood donation/letting can keep the levels of iron (poison for me) from accumulating in the body. As a voluntary blood donor for many years I had inadvertently been treating the condition, but the onset of AIDS made a panicked Red Cross Blood Bank refuse blood from all males for a time. Extremely miffed by the slur I ceased donating, which exacerbated my condition. I had two hip replacements in my early fifties, developed kidney disease (my alcohol intake over many years didn't help) and full body gout which made me bed ridden for several months. I've now been in a wheelchair for 9 years.

It's reasonable and normal for a primary officer at an airport to ask questions about travel and stay intentions, particularly if they notice a passenger has frequent entries. It could also indicate criminal activity. However, the officer should also be able to quickly ascertain if a passenger is just a tourist or entering for other reasons. Any questions should be polite, relevant and professional. Proper training is sadly lacking in Thailand. Also, I believe the arrogant attitude of some, stems from their status as police officers. In my opinion Immigration should be separated from the RTP.

People are still dying from the virus. Apparently there are about 30,000 new cases in Thailand daily. Just heard yesterday that there is infection in the family of our nearest neighbors. The older population in my village are dropping regularly. Many remain unvaccinated because of the scare stories about a few people dying after the jab. The rabid deniers and rumour mongers are still causing deaths among the unsophisticated and illiterate.

A few years back I had an infection in my foot that turned to sepsis. You could get some Amoxil at the pharmacy, but if it doesn't quickly heal get professional treatment urgently .

Can't see it working in Thailand. Would a computer know to hit the horn instead of the brakes?

Might have had a very strong reason to not want to be sent home.

Note to self: When in America make sure my hire car isn't red.

With downpipes, etc we just painted with the same paint as on the outside walls. We even tarted up an old 1000 litre blue water tank with the same. Easy to touch up if necessary years later.