Ventenio

Well, I wish more had laptops.  It's hard to be productive on your iphone; HOWEVER, you can still learn about the world and maybe stumble across something that ignites a passion.  If a phone can introduce kids to something that leads to a passion, it's fine.  Hopeful, yes.  

We all "waste" 90% of our existence, but if you are athletic, educated, analytical, have money, and manageable stress....keep doing what you are doing.  IF you are a fat loser with zero marketable skills....put the phone down.  

passion first, phone second.  

It's fun to watch how the world works.  First you find a "diamond in the rough," and then the word gets out. It takes you a little longer than expected to leave, and then your next "diamond" gets swamped.  It's OK, that's life.   Don't worry, there are 100 more cities that have yet to be "discovered."  

The truth..... 1 BILLION people could move to America and it wouldn't be that crowded.  

So this expansion is not a problem for anyone reading this.  Talk to me in 200-years

The forecast is soooooo weirdly predictable.  FIRST of the month and things really change.  March 1st and it looks to get MUCH worse.  I've seen this sooo many times.   I guess this year the rainy season wasn't very strong, but I'm sure it started "on time."  

PRINT this post out and tell all my followers you read this in 2020:

Before the year 3020, there will be massive death, suffering, and technology will change far beyond what we can imagine today.  There will be global changes and there will be fires, great rains, strong winds and the Earth will move.  We need to be prepared.  

I do not speak often, but when I do I stay at a Holiday Express.  

It wasn't really a fight.   One guy with massive punching power against a much bigger guy who is fast for his weight and just bullied the smaller fighter.  20 kg difference or something.  I didn't think it would make that big of a difference, but it did.  Then he sang American Pie.  Hilarious.  I don't care where they are from or what color their skin is, I like to watch a good fight.  This one wasn't good, but it wasn't bad.  

vietnam:  really good food, women seem to have a better understanding of English, and I'm guessing odds of a relationship lasting might be better (I dated women from both countries).  Vietnam is a must visit.

Thailand is a must visit.  It comes down to your first impressions.  We all like different things, and different things happen to us at different times.  Vietnam had way too many motorbikes, and I don't want that in my life right now.  Thailand has worse pollution I'm guessing.  I do think Thai sounds a little more pleasant to my ears, and I like the Thai alphabet better.  

Both must visits.  you decide.  

On 2/20/2020 at 2:35 PM, webfact said:

US pensioner

These two words are not used together in America.

US retiree.  

1 hour ago, tarmovannas said:

From the photo that the 55 club posted on facebook it looked like the accident happened up on the narrow Doi Pui view point/camping area road — past the Palace, turning right onto the narrow road up Doi Pui high point (straight continues down to the Hmong village).

Interesting, thanks.  I've been on that road only a few times, and back when the road was as in horrible condition.  I think I remember a lot of honking into the turns, because every turn is blind and really narrow compared to the climb up before the turn-off.  That's a pretty bad road and it would definitely be easy for a head-on collision.  I guess luckily for me the last time I was there it rained, I was extra-cautious, and decided never to ride it again.  I don't remember that section being fast, just technical.  But head-on is head-on.  From experience, I'm a little tired after a long climb...so that doesn't help.  

A front-tire blow out this time of year (not too hot), I'm guessing is pretty rare.  It always happens in our minds, and i've only experienced it once on a descent.  lucky i was fine.  didn't crash.  

The korean rider who died, I'm guessing he was very fast on a team and looking to really sharpen his skills.   Really should have people re-think road racing with lots of descending.  Crash in a crit, you're not dying.  

I just looked at some of his previous rides.  He looks pretty experienced, and his descending times down Doi Suthep were not, in my opinion, at a "reckless level."  I'll look later for more information, but I am certainly thinking he had the worst luck possible.  Again, I don't think he had a ton of experience riding in CM, so maybe his accident was on "one of those roads" that I would be afraid to ride on.  There are many of those.  

RIP

There are NO fluent non-native speakers.  I've talked to some with almost a perfect TOEIC (?) score and they fail miserably in very, very, very, very, very basic conversation.  OK, OK, maybe 1 in 300,000 are good.  

Paying natives more will get the NNES super mad and the Thai teachers will NOT be happy.  Might work in the short-run, but the NES will leave after all the backlash.  

Nobody has a clue how to teach conversation, and the exams are copied from a book where some questions don't make sense to an NES.  

Maybe a teacher can teach 20-minutes per class, that's NOT enough if they only meet with their class once a week.  

Plus their parents don't speak English........and it goes on and on and on.

1.  ONLY natives, ONLY real teachers, pay 100,000 for a multi-year contract and try to gives these kids a chance.  

I'm not trolling on this post.  I am curious how much the pollution affects your day-to-day activities. 

100 = I can't do anything. 

1 = I never think about it.  

For over a year I've been in the 70's PM area and I would rank my experience :  30.   So the asthma, pills, medicine, etc....probably affects 30% of my existence.   

On 2/17/2020 at 12:26 PM, toofarnorth said:

If you give a bar girl 1000B to pleasure you it is not rape.

Are you sure???????

Let's say you knew she was trafficked.  Then I'm sure you are guilty of many offenses.  

Let's say she says NO NO NO, does giving her 1000 baht nullify that? 

Let's say she drank 20 beers before you gave her the 1000 baht.  So, now it's OK?

"But judge, I gave her 1000 baht, doesn't that mean I own her?"

JAIL!!!!  Come on Farangs, no bar girls!!!!  Make your family, kids, fellow farangs, and yourself proud!!!

I heard something funny the other day on web cam girls....The owner said, "We never hire hookers or strippers, they are easily the laziest."  I think the guy was American, girls American.  It's on YouTube.   

For us farangs, it gets tricky.  I use sarcasm and comedy, but not everyone gets it.  The fact that we are not typing in THAI and not affecting Thais, I think we are simply laughed at.  We are a bunch of 99 year old losers trying to kill boredom and very few people around us can read English well enough to understand.  

again....NO Facebook, Twitter, nothing in Thai, etc.... and never name names or businesses or make it personal.  

THIS is why you must support Apple and pay retail price for their phones!!  40,000, OK!!  I will support companies who struggle and have mouths to feed and mortgages to pay...

Oh, what?  There are suicide nets outside Foxxcom where they build these phones marked up by 800% so Apple execs can make billions while the slaves suffer???  Oh, they make 100000 zillion a year and charge 3000 baht for some proprietary adapter and another 5000 baht if I want them to look at my battery?

oh.  OK, I will not lose sleep over missing revenue guidance.  

2 hours ago, rumak said:

I am also nearing 70 and could care less

couldn't care less.   could care less implies you could care less.  I know, you are 70 and who cares....but I like to help.  ????

I think age matters if it matters, especially if you want kids.  If not, then it depends if you are worrying everyone is looking at you as some old loser with a young girl, then it matters.

50 to 30, yeah that won't work.   50 to 40, sure.  60 to 40, possibly.  40 to 20, impossible.  once the lady is over 35, probably the guy just needs security (money).   for fun, 18 and 99 is fine if the girl is blind and resistant to nightmares.  lol

in a normal country, much harder because you have to talk to each other much more.  lol

Horrible pollution:  Asthma, lungs messed up, flem, sinus issues, headaches, can vomit as hard to digest food, and sometimes a slight fever.  BUT it's pollution related.....until this year.

Next month I'm sure hundreds of thousands will forget their symptoms from last year and believe they have Corona.  

A big test.... IF your legs are strong, it's not Corona.  Try some antihistamines at 711 for one day before you run off screaming Corona.  

they say self-containment for a month is good.  that seems unlikely to realistically happen.  

Solution.  NEVER non-native speakers.  Imagine going to school in London and someone from China, who has never been to Thailand, is your Thai teacher??????  It's a lose-lose on so many levels.

I tried to listen to a non-native "teacher" last year, and I gave up.  Thick African accent (no, not South Africa).  I'll say it again, very nice people...BUT teaching English isn't helping anyone but giving them a little money.  

Once the supply dries up and Thailand realizes they MUST hire Native speakers, then the salaries will go up.  Then it's a win-win.  

Non-native speakers love to teach what they THINK is spoken in the UK or America, but I've met anyone who got it right.  

rant not over, lol.  

Yes, ZERO cases reported in Pattaya.

However, according to my secret sources and online detective master ability and past fake special forces job, this virus will find its way to 60% of the world's population.  

There are not enough tests, hospitals, anything to properly test all these people.   Meaning hundreds of millions will get this virus and yet not "officially."  

Roll the dice on your life!!!!  LOL.   I'm not getting 100 kms from anyone who can find Wuhan on a map.  

OK, this post will get everyone MAD!!!!  

Look, many guys come here and exploit, molest, and "rape" bar girls who are drunk and are forced to work and please farang.  Farang smiles and doesn't want to think about reality.  Oh, this is Thailand, it's OK, they tell themselves.  Or, well, everyone does it.  Or, well, ... blah, blah, blah.... i'm handsome, so it's OK.  

If you want to give girls and women a voice, maybe quit your behaviour.  

Yea, my horse is high as I sit in Pattaya and drink my 20th Leo before 11:00 a.m.  lol

Go farangs, be good people and set a good example!!!   LOL

9 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Is China a better option for English teachers?

Wuhan is lovely this time of year.  

And Chinese teachers in Thai schools feel at home as everyone thinks they have Koorona (in Thai, it's a K, not a C).