Byron Allen Black

On 10/23/2021 at 1:39 PM, cdemundo said:

" FDA, WHO, and manufacturers are pushing the vaccination, not the medical society. "

This is not true.

https://www.ama-assn.org/topics/coronavirus-vaccines

"Coronavirus Vaccines

The AMA is a strong advocate for the research, testing and distribution of vaccines to contain the spread of COVID-19."

 

"This comprehensive update from internal medicine specialist Sandra Fryhofer, MD, AMA trustee and the AMA liaison to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, includes:

A brief historical review.

COVID vaccines currently available and who should get them.

Expected vaccine side effects & more serious adverse.

Virus variants of concern.

Additional doses for immunocompromise and where we stand on boosters.

Equity: Vaccine access and addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Strategies for productive conversations about vaccination."

 

No debate going on in the AMA, only discussion of details and recommendations on particulars.

If you bring up a recommendation from the AMA, you are not making a strong case for yourself. Big Pharma, governments, hospitals and the AMA receive huge volumes of money from the pharmaceutical industry, sometimes routed through disguised channels. 

Doctors - increasingly treated as technician employees by big corporate hospitals - will freely admit they have been prohibited from discussing the vaccines and what they might do to you. "Get the jab" is the mantra. Is that the nature of science these days?

On 9/29/2021 at 3:02 AM, bangon04 said:

unless you have read the many stories about immature Thai men with guns or machetes who kill people while drunk to save "face".....

I have been wondering what (if anything) ever happened to the off-duty cop who got into a fight with a French national (Arab), didn't take his beating well and proceeded to shoot the guy dead. Any update on that? Slap on the wrist? Wink and a nod? B500 and a wai?

Farang life cheap.

1 hour ago, shy coconut said:

Incredible deductions made here from a news item with very little detail.

The old chestnut/ obsession about willy size even made a bizarre appearance.

 

I've never driven any kind of high performance vehicle, but suspect that given

the reins of a Ferrari, I too would be off the road in similar fashion.

 

Those people citing speed as a factor, any car hitting that free at high speed

would be in a far worse state than the photos suggest.

This little jewel, for instance. Rich Chinese playboy in Singapore, with his girlfriend. Decapitated.

On 3/13/2015 at 1:01 AM, MrWorldwide said:

PP was a bit of a shock for me having spent most of my time in BKK and Pattaya - walking out of Sharkey's Bar at midnight to find myself on a pitch black street didnt thrill me one bit but fortunately my hotel was only a few doors down on St 130. The aptly named City Centre Hotel might not have the best views in the world, but it was my sanctuary for roughly 36 hours of hell when I contracted food poisoning the morning after that first visit to Sharkey's. That's the one thing I'm hoping has improved since 2010 - hygiene standards - but looking at a few blog entries I'm inclined to wonder if that is the case. I did have another nasty night driving the porcelain bowl here in Pattaya a few months back but nothing to compare to the incredible eruptions of black bile that literally had me wondering which end to point at the bowl. I wouldnt have made the airport in a cab without soiling myself, much less got on a plane to BKK - many will laugh, but there were periods in that hotel room when I wondered if I would succumb to whatever nasty bacteria were having a party in my intestines, and that's not a good feeling in a country with such a poor reputation for medical care. Little wonder Sheryl is a walking encyclopaedia or medical knowledge !

(Apologies to those who might have just eaten )

Considering the pathogens found in crustaceans I am surprised anyone eats them in these hot, slack, not-particularly-hygienic countries. Friend had his stomach pumped in Manila after eating oysters (forget if they were raw) as well.

Eating mostly 'mangsawilat' is by far the safest way to stay healthy. You eat an animal, you don't know where it's been, what they've fed it, how it was slaughtered and dressed and how old the meat is.

To me this explains why the telly is choc-a-block jammed with stomach medications.

Little Turtle Wax and elbow grease and that red wop-job will be as good as new.

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

Why do people repeat the same nonsense they read elsewhere?

 

Victory stopped production in January 2017, Victory Motorcycles was an American motorcycle manufacturer with its final assembly facility in Spirit Lake, Dickinson County, northwestern Iowa, United States. It began production of its vehicles in 1998, and began winding down operations in January 2017.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Motorcycles

Thanks... I should have checked my sources. There are other smallish American brands as well but since I have always ridden and raced Nipponese rice-grinders I do not follow the dreamboat-crowd closely.

As for Hardly-Ableson they represent the typical stubborn American attitude of producing for a declining clientele. Just like the 'Big Three' automakers in the 1970s ~ 1980s, when the Japanese just walked in and ate their lunch.

The average H-D rider is probably pushing 60 and many who bought their $30,000 Hogs are neither employed nor employable. 

Actually the whole motorcycle market has been having a couple of bad years, and prospects are pretty gloomy. Millennials do not seem interested in the sport, by and large - even the few who have enough money to plunk down for a motor.

This is why Harley, the European manufacturers and the Japanese are going bananas on third-world exports. The Repsol Hondas in MotoGP have slogans in the Indonesian language: their second-biggest market.

On 8/13/2018 at 9:16 AM, Tradewind777 said:

The redneck Harley riders now conflicted are going to be facing a big decision. Their hero clown in Washington is now telling them to boycott Harley. Which if his argument is to hold out, they must stop riding bikes and buy American cars instead because he forgot one small point in one of his regular moments of lunacy: Harley Davidson has no American competitors! So if they want to follow his line (and keep riding bikes), maybe they will buy a Honda Gold Wing instead. Is this buffoon all America can produce as a “leader”?

Actually there are several other of those "motor sofas" on the market, Indian and Victory most prominently. You don't have to buy Japanese (although don't look too closely at your Harley or other "American" bike or you will spot many, many components manufactured abroad).

I was on my morning run down a railroad track passing through a poor area (Bangplat perhaps?) when I spotted this puppy standing stock-still, shivering and slavering. I had never seen a rabid dog before but there was no question in my mind that this poor animal, which could not have been more than about four months old, had all the signs: foaming at the mouth, glazed, blank look in the eyes, trembling. 

Think 'Cujo'.

My first impulse was to warn the children living in the neighborhood and playing in the area. I headed for locals strolling about, and attempted without success but with urgent imploring to point and warn them of 'Ma ba!' The dog had not moved from his position next to the train tracks.

The response was the usual dismissive 'farang ba'. Not one paid any attention to this clear danger. I gave up and continued on my trek.

That attitude perhaps explains why there are so many deaths from rabies (although the experience as narrated above happened in 1985).

On 8/2/2018 at 11:00 AM, spidermike007 said:

I am not a PC type. I despise the PC crap. But having said that I am definitely not a conservative, and do not have a racist bone in my body. I adore people of color, and think that is the best thing about America. Having said all that, I do believe that assimilation is a positive thing for society. And the lack of assimilation can be a destructive one. Especially when you have a people where a minority believe in and buy into extremist nonsense.

 

So, I have a proposal for all Muslim families. Some will say it is unreasonable. But, I think it establishes a desire to assimilate.

 

After 12 months of living on a conditional visa, a Muslim family needs to prove that they are at least attempting to learn the local language. After 24 months, there needs to be some proof that the kids are mixing it up with the local kids. After 36 months, another language test, and proof that the teenage girls in the family have participated in at least one bikini contest. Nothing lewd. Just a swimsuit. It is a modest attempt at assimilation, and completely reasonable. 

 

Lastly, though I am not opposed to a head scarf, I am totally opposed to the burka. It is inane, it is middle age nonsense, and it is an attempt by the men, to keep a woman from exposing herself. Why the need for that? There is so much that is wrong with the niqab or burka. It is the polar opposite of assimilation. 

Sooner or later this sort of reaction to extremism / terrorism is bound to happen, even in Eurabia. Raising kids to approve of bombings? Take away the children and put them in a re-education camp. Do not return them to the parents until you can confirm that they have forsworn their criminal convictions.

Take Germany, where there are autonomous Islamic enclaves where drug-dealing, gun-running and whatever else they please is going on. Sooner or later there will be a crackdown and boy will they be surprised. Bundeswehr / Police surround a block and cut off electrical power and water mains. All must come out and have their IDs check. Those who emerge with guns blazing will be met by superior firepower.

Hey, we are talking about GERMANS. And other Europeans who had to fight not so long ago. Will they be passive in the face of racheted Shariah imposition? I kind of doubt it. 

1 hour ago, holy cow cm said:

5 years ago had a baby banded krait strike my bluejeans coming home late night at my door. That was it for that. Lucky had jeans on. No snake until identified gets to live. 

Oh dear. Even though this was outside your dwelling, had this occurred to me my first thought would race to 'rivals', 'adversaries', 'those who would benefit from my most unfortunate passing'.

Snakebite has historically been a chosen method of disposing of inconvenient expatriates in east Asian countries. One long-time advertising fellow I knew discovered a poisonous snake beneath a pillow - not, one would imagine, a resting spot of choice for the serpent. He never found out who wanted him out of the way but retired from business soon thereafter.

If you study the annals of westerners (mostly adventurers - even the businessmen) in southeast Asia you will discover that the great majority never made it back to the old country, either by choice or because they were felled by dengue or a knife attack or an infected spider bite or an occult attack (yes, the bad juju can whack you even if you pooh-pooh it).

If you went bust you would be stranded at worst or sent home in shame and destitution. If you made money and important contacts you would arouse envy and hatred, becoming a natural target - even for your local partners. Or you could end up like Constantine Phaulkon, beaten to death in a bag with a fragrant sandalwood bat.

On 7/20/2018 at 10:50 PM, oxforddon said:

Some interesting points. I came here 52 years ago so have seen most of the changes that people don't like but somehow the very "essence" of life here has not changed drastically. I don't have much of a choice about staying on since the UK offers no pension or benefits for me having left so long ago that I am not entitled to anything there. And having been a contract player when working, when contracts finished there was no pension there either after retirement. With my two grown up half-Thai daughters having done well in schooling, marriages and careers etc. I am supported and live quietly and divorced these days and just flow with it all - gravitating to the things that I like and avoiding the things that I don't like. Thing is, we are all different in past experiences, personalities and circumstances that there are no strict guidelines for life here - or anywhere else for that matter.

Your observations are most interesting. I too first arrived in the late 1960s and visited frequently until the mid-1980s, when I worked there.

I wonder whether the apparent degradation of classical culture has not been much more exacerbated in the big cities. Living in Hua Hin or Khon Kaen might be much more like "the good old days" perhaps...

3 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

You're a professional hijacker aren't you.

(Darn. Busted again...)

13 hours ago, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

I don't think you being forced to wear foam earplugs is a solution you will still hear the barking and ears become plugged up with wax.

 

There are just certain types of people who let dogs out to bark all day and/or all night.

It does not bother them at all. Some Thais appear immune to all forms of noise

 

Nothing you do will get them to change their behavior and if you bother them about it they may in turn do something bad to your house, property, or cause trouble for your family. Double the possibility of this as I assume you are a Farang and they are Thai.

 

Only thing you can do is move house.

 

I suggest a high-rise condo that does not allow pets. Living in a house here is pure insanity.

I had a pal once who lived in a shack on a Bangkok khlong with open-exhaust boats blasting past all day long. Amazing racket. All conversation had to cease when they roared by.

Once when I asked an educated Thai woman who had lived in the UK ("So sad! Quiet all day long!") why the Thais love noise she told me with a straight face "Because we are afraid of ghosts and spirits. The noise keeps them away."

2 minutes ago, Byron Allen Black said:

Good point. Every developing country I've lived in (Europa, East Asia & Latinoamerica) I've found that second-tier cities offer immense advantages in terms of friendly locals, less pressure all around, milder traffic, less alarm about crime and crowding, etc.

 

Barranquilla, Florianopolis, Zaragoza, Bandar Lampung, Da Lat, Yancheng - I've felt much more comfortable in smaller cities much more than in a megapolis. Easier to make friends as well. And as a foreigner you are "special" (the way it used to be in Thailand, tee hee).

 

I wouldn't want to live in an absolutely remote village for obvious reasons: no supermarket with imported food, reliable medical care, educated locals to jaw with - to visit maybe but not long-term.

 

And a note to the headline-writer: It is 'fewer Western Expats' NOT 'less Western Expats': count noun, not mass noun.

 

You're welcome, Sunshine.

 

(Sincerely,)

 

Der Grammar Obersturmbahnführer

I forgot to mention Chantaburi, Mae Sot, Prachuab Khirikhan and best of all Kanchanaburi (wild west - cowboy country), all of which were lots of fun.

On 8/2/2018 at 7:47 PM, Gecko123 said:

I feel like this survey reflects accurately what I've observed.

 

The hollowing out of the under 35 expat demographic probably can be explained by Thailand's war on foreign teachers without work permits, creeping rise in cost of living, and improving economies in the West. Suspect that many working aged expats who were paid in their home currency have found cost of living here has shot up and left as a result. Crackdown on beer bar scene has probably made Thailand less attractive to some as well. Still, expect that next downturn in the West will probably trigger a new wave of retirees and early retirees looking to stretch their pensions in Thailand. With the global homogenization of culture and mass tourism, worldwide tourism has simply lost a lot of its allure.

 

Survey also thoroughly debunks the myth that majority of expats over here are broke. Note rates of home ownership, car ownership, and monthly expenditures reported.

 

Also of interest was that while the majority of expats appear to be living in major metropolitan areas and popular seaside towns, a full third (32%) of respondents fall into an "all other" category, presumably many in smaller cities, towns and villages, i.e., rural Thailand, which, in my opinion, is under-rated as a place to live.

Good point. Every developing country I've lived in (Europa, East Asia & Latinoamerica) I've found that second-tier cities offer immense advantages in terms of friendly locals, less pressure all around, milder traffic, less alarm about crime and crowding, etc.

Barranquilla, Florianopolis, Zaragoza, Bandar Lampung, Da Lat, Yancheng - I've felt much more comfortable in smaller cities much more than in a megapolis. Easier to make friends as well. And as a foreigner you are "special" (the way it used to be in Thailand, tee hee).

I wouldn't want to live in an absolutely remote village for obvious reasons: no supermarket with imported food, reliable medical care, educated locals to jaw with - to visit maybe but not long-term.

And a note to the headline-writer: It is 'fewer Western Expats' NOT 'less Western Expats': count noun, not mass noun.

You're welcome, Sunshine.

(Sincerely,)

Der Grammar Obersturmbahnführer

On 12/29/2016 at 9:37 AM, Sphere said:

 

There are options.

 

On 4/11/2018 at 8:29 AM, utalkin2me said:

You wanna go somewhere thats actually unsafe, try jumping in a taxi in mexico city after midnight. sure youll probably be fine but im just making a point that thailand is a complete kindergarden when it comes to saftey on a world stage. if you dont know that you havent "gotten out much".

When I was working for STOU there were a number of fatalities among acquaintances. Most were traffic-related, which also has to do with the mercurial Thai personality (bus driver running irritating traffic off the road). One western woman lost both legs when a truck ran over her motorbike from behind - the driver was accused of deliberately crunching her.

I knew the owner of a jewelry shop in the Erawan Hotel who was assassinated, allegedly on the orders of someone who owed him a debt of around US $25,000. Naturally I thought "Jeez, just stiff the guy. Don't have him killed" but there was also an issue of face involved.

An ex-pal now aged 90 living in Bangplat owned a house previously occupied by a famed American scholar. His Thai colonel lover was an instructor and apparently ruffled the feathers of one of his students, who sent him a letter bomb.

So it's far from just farang who succumb to the excitable, mercurial, unpredictable nature of the locals. White folks do, however, often have a brash, in-your-face attitude which is taken as an invitation to get oneself shot. A confrontation that will not go beyond slapping, fisticuffs and comic drunken wrestling in the gutter in Manchester or Melbourne will draw hot lead here.

Later someone is really and truly sorry for making you really and truly dead. Or not.

On 7/26/2018 at 12:54 PM, sammieuk1 said:

Looks like a chopped one to me the dustpan looks equally in trouble.

I think the matter of the dustpan abuse should be referred to the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague.

3 hours ago, dabhand said:

Maybe you should check the facts before passing off scurrilous rumours as fact. Read the truth here:

 

https://www.farang-deaths.com/case/john-malone/

 

 

 

"The truth". Ah, the police report. Thai news media. "The truth". Ah.

It's more amusing to think he was getting a hummer in the back seat when the driver lost control. 

On 2/24/2018 at 3:01 PM, ezzra said:

Why don't they fingerprint everybody who comes into Thailand at the airport, just in case you know,

who knows what else will necessitate fingerprint in futur so might as well....

 

That is precisely what they do at Changi Airport Immigration, with an electronic fingerprint reader.

My last time there I was sent to the Immigration Office at the side of the lineup because 'your fingerprints do not match' what was already on record (been visiting Zinger since the 1980s). Passport, signature, face, everything else match up, right Ossifer? 

So much for their vaunted technology.

I owed a debt of gratitude to Apple for introducing the extremely user-friendly 512 which was the first computer I ever used, at the age of 45, in 1986. You can imagine the stress and frustration. But Apple made it easy for non-nerds to get going on documents easily.

I was thus not wary or suspicious when, in 2008, I made the decision to purchase an iMac 24, having earned my living as a copywriter / proofreader with PCs, starting off with DOS and WordPerfect in 1991. The iMac was glamorous and appealing, like all Apple products.

Disappointment set in immediately. The beautiful transparent acrylic keyboard was so sticky that fingers started to hurt from punching keys after five minutes. Solution? $30 Logitech. Further, the cable from the keyboard to the main unit (integrated mechanicals / CD-ROM / screen) was about 50cm long. Already I am thinking 'This is the quality I'm getting on a $1500 computer?'

BUT IT'S AN APPLE!!

The internal CD-ROM drive was slow to load and occasionally did not want to eject, which was frightening when you considered the entire unit would have to go in for service if a disc got jammed. I go burrowing on the web: '...Apple is notorious for cheap and flimsy hardware...'

BUT IT'S AN APPLE!!

Three weeks after the one-year warranty expired the hard disc passed away. Go to have it replaced: $225 - more than double the price of a nearly-identical Seagate.

BUT IT'S AN APPLE!!

By this time I was getting the picture: the brand has the masochistic fanboy core market, so they can cut corners and chisel the user as they please.

Try to load a .jpg file: cute little question mark on the screen.

Try to work with Microsoft software: can't do this, doesn't want to do that...

Then the motherboard died, on or about its second birthday. Tell me, dear reader, what does a motherboard cost for any other home computer? Certainly not $800. - and that did it for me with Apple.

BUT IT'S AN APPLE!!

When an employee carried the big unit into the Jakarta service center, lo and behold, it met up with many, many of its brethren: same model, lined up by the dozens. This indicated it was a generic flaw in the design, that would cause the motherboard to detonate at a certain point.

BUT IT'S AN APPLE!!

It was already 2010 and the world of PCs strode right ahead, particularly in terms of value-for-money. Windows 7 was an impressive, reliable workhorse, requiring none of the finicky work-arounds you face with Apple.

BUT IT'S 'ANYTHING BUT APPLE' on Facebook, friends. 

(Now I try to give away the dead iMac 24. Nobody wants it. No surprise.)

The brand philosophy is apparently the same as with other snooty high-end brands like Porsche, Leica, Sony or Ferrari: take it or leave it. Don't like it? <deleted> you.  

On 2/2/2018 at 6:20 AM, inThailand said:

Add...

 

Don't believe 98% of the stuff posted on expat forums. For the most part, its down right false and hersay.

Oh that is fabulous. He could be saying 'hearsay' or 'heresy'.

Why not both?

On 7/25/2018 at 6:50 PM, Essaybloke said:

He was most likely a good bloke. Had his good side and like the rest of us, his petty jealousies and concerns. Sorry he's dead, sorry for his wife and kids or mum. But yeah, comedy requires victims, and this one's past carin'.

For some odd reason, reading this thread I was reminded of the awful online surveillance video of the little sedan out of control, flipping and spitting out this farang ESL teacher wearing nothing but a shirt...  he had been getting <ahem> orally-serviced in the back seat of the car when the driver lost control.

Imagine that being how the world remembers you. (Thanks YouTube.)

On 7/25/2018 at 11:35 AM, Happy Grumpy said:

His money seems to have vanished. 

 

Well, maybe he took it with him.

What? Excuse me, what's that? You sure?

Oh, I guess he didn't after all.