Damrongsak

A bit different than, say, a Kawa Ninja/Z400

Yep. Pretty flat torque curve ...

Sad, sad, sad. RIP innocents.

Do you have credentials like this guy? (from BBC)

Nationality? Pangaean.

Yeah, like that Thai family at Yellowstone park who crossed over a very low restricted area barrier and tramped on virgin ground to get a closer look at one of the hot pools. Folks were yelling at them to get out, and it almost came to the point of a fist fight with one of the Thai sons. People were just telling them that the crust around the pool was fragile and if they broke through, they would be boiled alive. It's happened before. (Stupid American visitors get gored by Bison or bears. Some are killed by getting too close to dangerous wildlife. Not racisism, just stupidity.)

Back in the hippie days, I had a book entitled "Steal This Book" by the radical Abbie Hoffman. His trick was to rent a safe deposit box at a bank and put a dead fish in it.

In the linked article in the original article: Deputy government spokesperson Traisulee Traisaranakul revealed that the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) are preparing to discuss with hotel operators in various tourism provinces, including the Hotel Association of Thailand, regarding accommodation prices. https://thepattayanews.com/2022/07/07/thai-government-planning-to-set-dual-accommodation-pricing-for-foreign-tourists-at-similar-rates-to-pre-pandemic-period/

The delivery drone guys will be wearing these: If you lived above this row of shops, which 7-11 would you order from? This is in Loei by the University.

I had a 4 room bungalow in Loei for $25 a month ... in 1978. The 2-room place at Pratunam in BKK was about twice the price but the grounds were much nicer, as the owner, a Khun Ying, took care of that.

Some folks here in the U.S. celebrate Memorial Day, or at least party on the holiday. I don't.

Years back I worked for a British-owned company in the U.S. Occasionally a Brit would come to work on a short-term project. One such guy was happy to have the 4th of July off. He called it "Good Riddance Day". Still brings a smile to my face. I do get a bit upset the way things have been going in the last 15 years or so. After 3 1/2 years in Thailand, I came back to the US. That was 42 years ago. I thought people here were a little batty after living in Thailand, but got along fine for about 25 years.

Lately we have it knocked. Nearby friends vacation a lot, so I care for their 2 dogs, 2 lovebirds, 6 laying hens and water the plants. I get all sorts of colored eggs for free, not to mention an occasional case of beer. They have about 120 sq meter enclosure and the chickens occasionally get out in the larger yard. I hand feed them lawn weeds like chickweed and clover. They just got 4 more baby chicks that are currently at my house :). Back to chicken, I see stats that in 2021, the US produced 9.3 Billion broiler chickens in 2021. It will be interesting to see how inflation, supply and demand affect prices over here the next year vs. Thailand. I feel sorry for the folks who are just eking out a living.

A quick look here in Richmond, VA - 10 pound bags of leg/thigh quarters. Cheapest one is at ALDI (the German store). Maybe they're raising 4-legged chickens these days and have an over supply. Prices per pound for whole chicken. (The $6.29 is average price for ~ a 5.5 lb chicken @ $1.12/lb)

Grow bacon sprouts.

I've gotten by without meat for 50 years now. I do suck eggs and eat dairy. I see egg prices are up here in the US lately. The past few years one could get them for less than $1 a dozen, about 2.5 Baht each. Now maybe 5 Baht each. But egg prices have been all over the place for years. Chicken and pork can still be had here for reasonable prices. Good beef is worth rustling at present.

I rely on my stunning good looks and athletic physique. From Stastia https://www.statista.com/statistics/1248511/india-number-of-millionaires/ At the end of 2020, there were nearly 700 thousand dollar-millionaires in India. This was a significant decrease compared to over 760 thousand millionaires at the end of the previous year. In total, there were nearly 60 million dollar-millionaires worldwide in 2020. The highest density of millionaires had been recorded in Switzerland with nearly 15 percent, whereas India had a density of 0.1 percent. Persons owning assets worth more than one million U.S. dollars are considered high-net-worth individuals (HNWI).

Case in point (from Wikipedia): Antilia is a private residence in the billionaires row of Mumbai, India, named after the mythical island Antillia. It is the residence of the Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family, who moved into it in 2012. The skyscraper-mansion is one of the world's largest and most elaborate private homes, at 27 stories, 173 metres (568 ft) tall, over 37,000 square metres (400,000 sq ft), and with amenities such as three helipads, a 168-car garage, a ballroom, 9 high speed elevators, a 50-seat theatre, terrace gardens, swimming pool, spa, health centre, a temple, and a snow room that spits out snowflakes from the walls. The architectural design of Antilia has been fashioned along the lines of the lotus and the sun. The top six floors of the building have been set aside as the private full-floor residential area. It is also designed to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake. As of 2014, it is considered the world's most expensive private residence costing between US$1 and 2 billion to build.

I stumbled upon this snippet from Mel Brooks' History of the World Part 1—“Roman Red”. I thought it was appropriate with all the hubub about Cannabis these days.

How are they going to fit them all on that little stage?

Horrible. "...a tank containing 25 tons of the gas fell from the crane..."

For better or worse, I'm coming back for September and October. Wifey will stay a few months longer. Round trip economy airfare on Qatar from east coast USA is $1,300 -$1,400 USD. So be it. I left in 1980 and went back in 2001 and 2006, so this will be 16 years since the last trip. We have a house in Loei that I've never stayed in. Need to get back and visit relatives there and in Vietnam before I get too damn old. Hey, at least someone recently built a little watering hole an 8 minute walk from our house.

I've never paid outright for a haircut in my life. In Thailand I cut it myself initially, then married a Thai gal. Sent her to a top-notch hair cutting school in BKK. For what it's cost me over the last 43 years I could have had $100 haircuts and have my head replaced at least once. ???? One one visit to Thailand about 15 years ago we went to see the Emerald Buddha or some such temple at Sanam Luang in BKK, Thai wife and two half-breed kids. Dual pricing, so I didn't go in. Bought a cold beer from a vendor in the courtyard. Mmmm.