Gecko123

The opportunity for cultural and linguistic immersion was part of the attraction of rural living as well. Generally, people speak less English out in the countryside, and traditional values are more adhered to. I feel fortunate to have experienced village farm life where you can still find vestiges of the hunter-gatherer way of life. Nowadays people are more jaded and apt to roll their eyes at that being a motive for moving overseas, but 20-30 years ago experiencing a different culture and the opportunity to learn the language was a big motivation for becoming an expat.

Just further evidence that there's too much liquidity in the system, and interest rates need to be much higher to take all the froth out of the stock, real estate and crypto currency markets.

I would say that opportunities to garden and farm are two of the biggest draws for rural life. Gardening and farming does keep you active for sure, and I've gotten decades of satisfaction from this activity, but it should be noted that it does take a physical toll on the body which is something Ryan and Damon might want to give some thought to when thinking about a decade or two down the line. Those who complain about the lack of stimulating activities in rural Thailand and who glorify urban life may want to review how they spend their time in the big city. Yes, an urban environment can be more stimulating, but its value is probably overstated and somewhat dated as so much entertainment is streamed and so much shopping is online nowadays. Complaints about lack of opportunities for stimulating conversation more often than not boil down to language skills, or lack thereof. Adjusting to the slower pace of life can be a rewarding experience. A peaceful and serene lifestyle can be had. A sense of belonging to a community does gradually emerge after you've been here a while. Rural roads do provide relatively safe bicycling opportunities. It has perhaps not always been the case, but it's been a decade or more since excessively loud music has been a problem in the neighborhood. I agreed with the assessment that the vast majority of people in rural Thailand are hardworking. The stereotype that everyone starts nipping on the Lao Khao from the moment they get out of bed is ridiculously unfair and untrue. The video showed villagers/family members pitching in during a pillar erection ceremony. Yes, your neighbor will help you pull your car with his tractor if you get stuck in the mud, but nobody should expect the village to build your house for free.

Something was lost in translation. Either the friend was unaware that fares had gone up over time (because he was giving a large tip which masked the fare increases) or they were trying to convey they didn't have change for a 1,000 baht bill.

Tookay often calls just after I turn off my bedside lamp light. The sound helps me fall asleep. I tell myself it's wishing me sweet dreams. A while ago, one took up residence right outside my bedroom window. Really loud, Interfering with my sleep. So much so, I tried to kill it, but wasn't successful trying to spear it. Surprisingly, it seemed to get the message that it was annoying me, and moved to the far side of the house. Might be smarter or have higher emotional intelligence than we imagine.

I thought these two pictures taken May 13th provide excellent insight into what Michael Cohen's demeanor on the witness stand was like. Does not look to me like someone whose credibility would be easy to undermine, especially with all of the corroborating evidence. I suspect the tragic sadness in his eyes and his stoic bearing will resonate with the jury. This simply does not look like a man who is committing perjury. Michael Cohen, former lawyer of Donald Trump, leaving his apartment to testify at the criminal trial of the ex-president of the United States on May 13, 2024. Photo credit: Mike Segar / Reuters Michael Cohen returning to his residence after testifying at the criminal trial in Manhattan on May 13th, 2024. Photo credit: Michael M. Santiago / AFP

Thank you. Was not aware of this. Active ingredient of SanJia is 1.05% Hydramethylnon, which appears to have a low toxicity rate for mammals as well.

I just wanted to give people a heads up on the importance of proper disposal of ant bait which has been mixed with ant poison. I've used SanJia ant poison for many years. For those who might not know, this product is designed to be mixed with meat, starch, or sweeteners (depending on the type of ant you're trying to get rid of). The problem is that there is usually bait left over after the ants stop eating it which then needs to be disposed of. In the past, I usually disposed of the uneaten bait in the trash which then got incinerated in a backyard trash pit. I wanted to alert people that even a partially incinerated or relatively small amount of food laced with this ant bait can still attract pets and other animals in the neighborhood and end up poisoning them. Apparently, dogs cannot easily recognize that there is ant poison in the food. Yesterday, I found a used container of ice cream in my back yard which i had laced with ant bait. I had burned it along with other trash, but the container was only partially incinerated and a neighborhood dog found it. To my horror I saw that the container had been thoroughly licked clean by the dog. I am starting to suspect that improperly disposed of bait laced with ant poison may be responsible for more accidental dog poisonings than people realize, and just wanted to take a moment to raise awareness about this potential threat to animal safety.

There are issues about being perceived as 'Chester the Molester', also issues of pride both for the mother and the child as being seen as a welfare case. If there's a father in the picture, sensitivity to not offending his status as the family provider needs to be shown. Also there are issues about the boy spending the money inappropriately. Unless the OP has a really fine-tuned understanding of where the boy is in life, giving him a "directed" gift, intended to "broaden his horizons" or give him a life experience he might otherwise never have, has a sketchy chance of succeeding. Take a bicycle for example. Great idea, except in many rural communities many teenage boys are well past their bicycle riding days, buzz around with their buddies on motorcycles, and would be mortified to be caught dead on a bicycle. A bow and arrow set? What happens if he ends up taking some kid's eye out with it? Whose fault is that going to be? If you're only talking about a few thousand baht, give the money to the mother maybe suggesting to buy him some food, new clothes or school supplies. I give food gifts to a neighboring family fairly regularly, but would be extremely hesitant to give the gifts directly to the children, even though most of the gifts are intended for them (baked goods, fruit).

Nice thought, but not sure if giving the gift directly to the boy is advisable. My advice would be to give the cash to the mother and let her decide how best it could benefit the boy.

a. whatever that is, it's not the traditional spinach I was talking about; maybe heat resistant malabar spinach? b. hardly looks "thriving"; looks like the plant has totally bolted in the heat; c. find it very hard to believe that whatever that is it's very appetizing (woody bitter flavor) but thanks for sending the pictures PS: where's the rest of your flourishing garden?

@Bday Prang A way to settle this debate: post a picture of your vegetable garden which according to your accounts is "thriving" in this heat wave. Please include a sheet of paper in the photo with today's date on it so that we can all see when the photo was taken. A close up of the spinach patch and enough background evidence to show that the photo was taken in Thailand would be useful as well. Perhaps wait until tomorrow morning when the garden will surely look better than it does in the late afternoon sun.

Your vegetable garden is doing just fine in 110 degree heat? Give me a break. Spinach has an optimal growing temperature of 50-60 degrees. When you claimed your spinach was doing well, I knew you were full if it. Appealing to people to stop belittling those who get by without air conditioning, and reminding people that its excessive use has an environmental cost is not the same thing as "berating" and "preaching" to others about using air conditioning. Reread my post. The use of the word "lemmings" was in reference to people following the behavior of the person in front of them, or continuing to do something they've always done, ignoring the dangers of doing so. Lemmings are famous for running off cliffs in blind stampedes. I doubt Easter Island has any lemmings. Your feeble attempts to portray anyone who is against cannabis tourism as a "must-be" alcoholic never cease to amuse me and reflects poorly on your reasoning skills. I have never been a heavy drinker, and have not touched a drop of alcohol in close to 10 years.

yet, here I still am 😃

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Good grief. I see 'whataboutism' is alive and well on this thread. You pointing to other polluting countries, and the other guy pointing to Bill Gates' jets as justification for continuing behavior you know is contributing to the problem. You should read Jared Diamond's 'Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.' There's a story in there about how the Easter Island society died out. They think it's because people cut down the last tree, and were no longer able to leave the island due to a lack of canoes. The lemming 'keep on doing what you're doing, change is pointless' mentality is cited over and over again in the book. Do you have a vegetable garden? How's it doing this year? What if there were power outages in Thailand due to inability of the power grid to keep up? Just buy a generator, roll another joint, and don't worry, be happy, huh? Good luck with that approach. I think you're gonna need it.

A "wallah" is someone who flips the fan back and forth for you, right? I don't think I would be comfortable sleeping with someone sitting in the corner flipping a fan back and forth. A woman reading under a punkah at her residence in Berhampore, 1863. But perhaps I could rig something up where the operator was in another room. I can only imagine the look on my neighbor's faces if I offered them a job to be a punkha wallah for me.

Googled this as never heard of a punkha before. Couldn't find any available on-line. Let me know where you bought yours. 😄 On a more serious note, this equating how much air conditioning/electricity you use with socio-economic status has got to stop. If you have good cross-ventilation, shade trees around the house, live out in the countryside, etc., your need for air conditioning in Thailand can be greatly reduced. Bragging about how low you set the thermostat on your air conditioner is like bragging about how low the gas mileage on your SUV is. You try growing vegetables in 108F (43 C) heat, and you'll start to appreciate my perspective. Keep blasting your air conditioners and telling yourself you're living large because you can afford a 6,000 baht monthly electric bill. But there are environmental consequences for this behavior and if people were paying attention they'd see they're already paying a heavy price (i.e., quality and availability of produce, etc.) I saw a DW news report on the SE Asian heat wave yesterday that said Thailand has - for the moment - a relatively resilient power grid, but many other neighboring countries are experiencing power black outs because of high demand. Whatcha gonna do if and when that starts happening here? People who are conserving their power consumption should be lauded, not ridiculed.

It has been hot, with overnight temperatures higher than normal as well. I am doing fine with just fans. I know in some urban areas or windowless environments air conditioning may be a necessity, but some of you might discover you can make do just fine without air conditioning. Take it easy on the electricity bill and lower your carbon emissions as well.

He was referring to Congressman Adam Schiff, the former chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, who showed great leadership and courage during the Trump impeachment hearings and who will soon be the next Senator from the great state of California, and who I am proud to say I voted for in the primary election, and will do so again in the November general election.

Russian troll/bot. alert.

Hello? The Ukraine war started because Russia invaded Ukraine. If you're suggesting that Russia wouldn't have invaded Ukraine if Trump had been in the White House, you're kidding yourself. Trump would likely have acquiesced to Putin's expansionist ambitions, further emboldening him to expand further, making the likelihood of a wider conflict far greater.

If you look at Hillary Clinton's character, intelligence, and depth of experience, to this day she stands head and shoulders over Trump. America would have been infinitely better off had she been elected in 2016, and it's an American tragedy that she wasn't.

crazy like a fox

The Plaza accord, mentioned in the Politico article as a possible template for what Trump's policies would be, was designed to weaken the US dollar so as to make US exports more competitive in Japan. Japan artificially suppressed its interest rates in the process, causing all the capital that Japan was earning from its exports to go into the Japanese real estate and stock markets (because bond and savings yields were so unattractive) and created a huge bubble which burst in the early 1990's resulting in decades of deflation which Japan still hasn't fully recovered from. It's doubtful that after that fiasco, there are many countries out there who would enter into such a scheme with the US again.