Fortean1

There is little to no control on who can become a monk.  There is little to no auditing of the temples.

My wife's home village is near Ayutthaya.  We've lived in Thailand since 2008.  The new village temple

now under construction for 15 years.  Gossip says the abbot has not one, but four mistresses.  I asked

one monk why so long in the construction.  He just smiled.  I see the abbot at the tamboon ceremonies

for my wife's mother.  He acts like a businessman.

The surviving email nodes should keep us in contact with each other.  America's DARPA began using a network that kept governments offices, university science labs, and other facilities in touch even with a WW III scenario.  I agree that ground zero would be best.

The Lotus's in Pran Buri just south of Hua Hin has stopped stocking sour cream.  Bread is scattered in two or three areas around the store, and IMO prices went up after Mr. CP bought it.  The same with our Makro re no sour cream.  I found sour cream at Villa Market in Hua Hin at the same price of 107 baht.  My Thai wife of 50 years suggested I buy more than one and put these in our chest freezer.  I looked up freezing sour cream and found:

"Sour cream can be stored in the freezer for up to six months. To thaw, simply transfer the amount of sour cream you need to the fridge and allow it to thaw for several hours. You'll notice the texture will be a bit watery and separated. Simply whip it with a whisk to reach a smooth consistency.  Jan 5, 2566 BE"

Terry

( a few miles south of Hua Hin, near Khao Kalock )

46 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

Lots of incidence of loss o f hearing for people who did what I did, decades ago.  Sat with earphones on listening to Morse code for hours a day going on for months, and other unexpected static crashes.   Got tinnitus form that too.  Then there were the loud noises of weapons being fired.   

Yep, communications at constant level does degrade hearing.  I worked in communications centers with its alarm bells, high precedence alarms, high speed printers, card punches, and more for 15 years.  Did you work at 7th RRFS at Ramasun Station near Udorn Thani, Thailand?

True Visions often uses Thai language subtitles.  I watched Equalizer 3 and saw the translations where

curse words were used to have been censored with a black rectangle.  My Panasonic is fairly old and

does not offer Audio Compression.  If I Stream Boost my hearing aids that helps.  Also, the sound is

awful compared to the other three televisions in the house.

Terry

( a few miles south of Hua Hin )

2 hours ago, Peterphuket said:

It's a good thing Europe exists, otherwise those Yanks would never be able to receive mail.
Does me good.

I heartily agree with your humor.  Paris, France for at least one U.S. agency.  Again, on the pro side my mail service here just south of Hua Hin is very good.  International mail office in Bangkok often delays my monthly issue of Fortean Times magazine.  It's a British magazine.  It gets sent somewhere in Europe, arrives in Bangkok.  Couple times I've received the previous month and current month on the same day.

22 minutes ago, sirineou said:

To view and or interact with many US websites you need a VPN. to make it look like you ae there.

I often use Venmo to move money around the US , if I forget to change my VPN location to one in the US it does not work. Then I change VPN to Miami and it works fine. I have Capital One credit card and have no problems interacting with and maintaining it from Thailand via a VPN. I like the Capitol One card I have because there is no annual fee, and the do not charge international transaction fees . We often travel to countries other than the US and Thailand where we are. 

Good information.  I've never used a VPN.  Avast security program has one.

One U.S. government agency has consistently changed my zip code in Thailand, 77220, to 939, which is routed to Paris, France.  I've tried shortening the province name from Prachuabkhirikhan to Pracuab as Thais often do.  That does not help.

I've dealt with Capital One banking.  They will not send credit cards or allow me look at their web site.  During a visit to the U.S., our first in nine years, I closed that account.  I still must make another phone call to have the 1099-INT statement sent to my son's home in Las Vegas.  Capital One bought out ING and US/REI Bank.  I could access those account on-line. 

Terry

( a few miles south of Hua Hin )

It varies at each IO.

More importantly, what has happened to my ASEAN NOW newsfeed?  I used to get at least two updates daily.

Now I see mention of X, formerly Twitter.  It has been over a weak.  I am a member or was a member.

Terry

( a few miles south of Hua Hin )

Rooster, where are you these days?  I miss your podcasts and written reports.  I suspect you are a bit put off by the treatment one often gets here on ASEAN NOW.

We just returned on 3 Oct after spending four months in Maryland and then in Las Vegas.  We visited and were visited by our five adult children, their spouses, and our 12 grandchildren.  I did feel somewhat like an alien in my own country.

Cheers to you.

Terry

( a few miles south of Hua Hin )

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We arrived in Bangkok on 3 Oct, then back home on Sunday the 8th.  No True Visions service so I called 1242.  The woman said there were thunderstorms two weeks ago in Bangkok.  I told her we were gone for four months to the U.S.  As we were talking True Visions service came back on our four televisions.  I always hesitate when someone tells me "automatic".

Terry near Hua Hin

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HSR in Thailand seems to be stymied with negotiations between the governments of China and Thailand.  There is some speculation on why this is so.  I heard that the Chinese wanted to have entrepreneur rights along the railroad lines.  Also, who pays the construction costs seems hazy.  Design and construction by whom is moot too.

Terry

( a few miles south of Hua Hin )

25 minutes ago, wombat said:

now there's a publication from my impressionable years

Yes it is.  I am 74 and still impressionable.

That ain't a close encounter, whatever those may be.  You'd think with advent of cell/mobile phones(*) that there would be abundant photos and videos of UAPs, but it is just the opposite.  I did forward this to the Fortean Times in the UK, but think it won't make the cut.

(*) During testing of Mobile Subscriber equipment (1984-1987), conducted by the U.S. Army and the French Army, we laid some of the groundwork for the architecture of sending data while maneuvering.  Later Nokia picked up on and improved on all that.  Testing done at Fort Hood, Texas and Fort Huachuca, Arizona.  Several lucky blokes trained on equipment in France.

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Terry

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"Monsoon" weather in the American Southwest has been wonky, that is, unpredictable.  We return to Thailand on 3 Oct.  Our house is a few miles south of Hua Hin. 

Terry in Las Vegas.

Our first trip in 9 years to the U.S.  Departure on 1 June was quick.  We return on 3 Oct from Las Vegas so I expect a quite full plane.  Wheelchairs both ways.  Nine years ago I and my Thai wife used the Thai immigration lanes, just a few minutes.

Update:

T

Got the four months suspension, but no confirmation other than the phone call.  I was told that renewal on 1 October was "automatic".  We shall see.  Now introduced to streaming service here in Maryland.  That is amazing.

Terry

a few miles south of Hua Hin

A few miles south of Hua Hin in cactus country only a brief shower two weeks ago whereas Hua Hin had a strong rain.  We are off to Maryland in the U.S. on June 1st to enjoy the cooler weather.

The Wikipedia offers explanation of the lower house and upper house.  The latter is the Senate.  It has 250 members.  Details in this unofficial source are at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_of_Thailand

The news media does not seem to describe the composition and how the Senators can vote for the Prime Minister.  Can you discuss on either/or Saturday and Sunday?

Terry in Thailand

13 hours ago, cracker1 said:

I would advise you to send an email to True telling them to suspend the service for the period you are wanting and confirm to them that you will not be paying during this time.

Surely that's a simple solution ?

I do not see any email addresses for True Visions.  Do you have one or more email addresses for True Visions?  Maybe my eyes are crossed.  I tried opening an account at their web site.  It is indeed a mess.

I wanted to suspend television service for four months, 1 June to 1 October.  I have called 1242 twice.  The first operator said to wait until early May.  The second operator said to wait until 20 or 21 May.  They also said make sure to pay your bill.  We have four tvs and pay 3,000 baht per month.  Oh, the guy said they could send an email to me confirming the suspension.

I know many people have dropped True Visions.  I just want to hear about experiences that are possibly good, bad, and/or ugly.

Terry near Hua Hin

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

Very true for many WW2 veterans.

 

I lived in a very well organized war veterans village nth of Sydney until a a couple of years back.

 

A number of the residents were quite young, veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

 

Many of these vets had very serious issues fearing severe danger around every corner. Especially the Afghanistan vets.

 

I sat with many of these guys, and their wives and we talked slowly for hours, all aimed at getting them back closer to mainstream life with reduced PTSD issues, fears etc.

 

There was some success but their PTSD issues, panic, anxiety, lack of trust weren't gone.   

 

The wives always included because there was strong value in educating the wives about what the real combat situations looked like.  Also some meetings/discussions with parents for the same reason, always including many examples of what NOT to do/NOT to say at home.

 

I'm a Vietnam war vet. My parents alwas very caring and balanced.

 

I arrived home from VN, the same day my dad said 'on Friday night after work I'm taking you for a camping trip to shoot some roos and rabbits etc.' And he showed me the new rifle he had bought for me.

 

This was the very last thing I wanted to do.  In reality I desperately wanted to avoid:

- Night driving

- Camping with rifles in a small tent

- Handling guns / firing guns

- See more death.

 

I waited 24 hrs with lots of concerns going through my mind then I told my dad 'I don't wnt to go camping', and I explined why.

 

Dad quickly/deeply realized his plan was less than appropriate and he regreted what he had done and I never ever saw a gun/rifle in our house ever again. 

Your story is profound to me.  My father served in WW 2, Pacific Theater, in the U.S. Navy.  He had depression and lost a lot of weight.  When I was 16, my Dad killed himself at age 40, in 1966.  He used a rubber hose running from the car exhaust.  This was done in the stripper pits east of Evansville, Indiana.  I recommend watching this John Huston film made in 1946.  It is about one hour long:

John Huston does much of the narration.

I too served in Vietnam at the Headquarters and Headquarters company of the 1st Aviation Brigade.  I worked in the teletype communications center and later maintained codes and made the stenciled booklets of SOIs for use by the pilots of our light aircraft and helicopters.  I served at Long Binh 1/71 to 7/72.  I may have a mild form of PTSD.

Terry

( a few miles south of Hua Hin )

Tim, we celebrate Songkran from home.  It is better to watch the news re the festivities.  Our neighbor has done the traditional respectful pouring of water for the older folks, but she is in Germany this year.  Those delays in the high speed rail lines seems to be the give-and-take negotiations between the Thais and the Chinese.  I heard years ago opinions that the Chinese wanted value-added access to land either side of the railroads to build hotels, restaurants, etc.  We live near Pran Buri, just south of Hua Hin.  The overpasses (flyovers) were completed two years ago.  Everyone, be good and have a safe Songkran.

Tim, your vblog stopped at 1:41.  Odd that.  Internet is OK.  I just watched Rooster's vblog.  I now have watched the entire show.  False alarm.  Terry

Thank you, Rooster!  I have adapted but like others I preferred TWTW although I realize that is much more work.  Cynics insist on giving you a hard time.  A vblog colleague, Tim Newton, in Phuket does a 15 to 20 minutes show Monday thru Friday.  His Saturday and Sunday shows are about about one hour.  Sundays is Grumpy Old Men.  These TNT, Tim Newton Today, are at YouTube.