JensenZ

23 minutes ago, Robert Paulson said:

If anyone actually wants to help fix the ocean or coral or whatever the hell else, start with trash and plastics 

How will the removal of some trash and plastic lower water temperatures in a huge body of water? An increase of just 1C can cause these bleaching events. It is no surprise considering how hot it has been throughout April and May.

Just now, Hummin said:

They are more fertile, and often pregnant after first visit.

 

Philippines is great, Dumaguette is a great place to settle and have as base. 

 

 

I suppose that I've lived in Thailand since 2006 points to the fact that I have no interest in living in the Philippines again or even having a relationship with a Filipino. I have visited Dumaguette a number of times in the past and never liked it or understood the attraction for it, other than there being a university there, I suppose. I went there on scuba diving trips.

If I had to find a place to resettle there, the choice would be difficult, but at least I would need to be somewhere central in a big city. I've lived in provinces (Cavite, Leyte) and wouldn't want to do that again.

24 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Met a 75 year old guy from Philippines in my home country.

He escaped the country.

He had a power grab issue with the local mayor and the mayor put a price on his head.

Place must have been totally lawless way back when.

It hasn't changed since "way back then". Wealthy clans still run the show in the deep provinces. Everyone is on the take - police, lawyers, judges, mayors. The central federal government has little penetration or control when you leave the big cities.

Summary executions are common all over the country. Some provinces are worse than others, but provinces like Samar, or the far North of Luzon can be particularly brutal.

22 minutes ago, AreYouGerman said:

 

You think I would ask her if she's a virgin? In Facebook messenger? As a Christian? A fundamental Christian female? Okay. We live in a different world!

 

Anyway. Nice that you enjoyed your life at a time when there weren't any phones! In my youth we also didn't have any phones (or just those cool Nokias) and it was amazing to actually interact with girls back then. Poor boys nowadays are completely left out of it as their female counterparts are chasing some randommale  underwear model in some other part of the world.

I don't know - it was you who brought up the virgin topic. I do live in a different world. I'm in my 60s and don't spend time on Messenger chatting to girls... in fact, I just divorced a Filipino last year after 13 years of marriage and 20 years together. My time of dating young girls is long past.

Most Filipinos are Christian, but by birth and tradition more than faith, so corrupting them wouldn't be difficult.

Back about 20 - 25 years ago, in bars, the virgins would wear tags to indicate they couldn't/wouldn't go out on bar fines, but apparently, it was a scam and most were fake virgins looking for big payments.

42 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Food overall is much better in Thailand.

Hotels are cheaper in Thailand.

 

That depends on who is eating it. Filipinos prefer their food over Thai food. It also should be noted that their food varies a lot from island to island.  

I prefer Thai food overall, but that doesn't make it better. Most of the time I eat Western food. The advantage in Thailand is they do Western cuisines better here.

10 minutes ago, stoner said:

 

wasn't it like 90 percent of japan was bombed in ww2. manila should look like tokyo by now. 

The comparison is not even close, Japan was an advanced empire at the time, and the Philippines was a group of disconnected islands. I thought you were interested in a comparison between Thailand and the Philippines. As I suggested, to draw a more valid comparison, compare the Philippines vs Indonesia.  

On 5/7/2024 at 10:37 AM, Upnotover said:

People who want to travel regularly away from where they live buy cars.  

And in Pattaya, most of those people who own cars also own motorcycles. All my neighbours own both and use their motorcycles more often than their cars. It's worth noting that petrol is now roughly the price of milk.

9 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

No WAY in hell could this article have been written by a human.

I concur, absolutely. The extensive overuse of adverbs and adjectives is ridiculously redundant and extremely annoying in a rather feeble attempt to turn this extremely, very dull and boring non-event into an epic, fantastic saga that we might possibly care something about.

The solution is simple: post armed security guards at the entrance of all of Thailand's Pattaya eateries.

On 5/2/2024 at 3:42 AM, richard_smith237 said:

The Barbra Streisand effect.....     

... the unintended consequence of attempts to hide, remove, or censor information, where the effort instead increases public awareness...

 

Thailand is great at this....  No one would have heard of this guy, now they push him further into the public eye.

 

Should authorities also punish themselves for making his videos reach a greater audience ???

 

 

The juvenile minds of those in authority seeking 'revenge' rather than whats best for the country again.... Also, if the guy's criticism are genuine and valid... listen to them, act upon them.... 

 

They would be advised to consider how much this YouTuber will trash Thailand if he leaves voluntarily after their warning/threat A young guy his age will hardly spend the rest of his life in Thailand. You can find videos trashing every country on Earth.

4 hours ago, AreYouGerman said:

 

You are correct! Unusual for you! For the earth it's not unusual.

 Most places in Thailand are recording the hottest temperatures since recording began. I've been here since 2006, in Pattaya, and there is no doubt this year is the hottest. My room temperature in a shaded room reaches 32C and never goes below 30C. Right now, at midnight, the recorded outdoor temp is 30C.

It's best to keep the windows shut during the day and open them at night to prevent hotter air from blowing in during the day.

Today the max in Bangkok is predicted to reach 38C, which is pretty damn hot, even for Bangkok.

22 minutes ago, lkn said:

Right, easily solved by just getting rid of the coins, i.e. paying by phone.

 

Again, easily solved by having a wallet/payment app on your phone.

 

I don’t mind that some prefer paying with cash and carry around physical cash for “just incase” or going to ATMs, etc., but why do you have to insist that cash is easier than paying with your phone? It most certainly is not, that is just silly.

I insisted on nothing of the sort. You were insisting that carrying any cash is an inconvenience, which is nonsense. Many places won't accept phone or card payments. Market stalls, street stalls, small restaurants - the list is long. The people who insist on paying small amounts by phone hold up the queues in many stores. So many times I'm held up in a queue waiting for you to fiddle around on your phone.

5 hours ago, lkn said:

Not OP, but yes, coins are definitely annoying!

 

In a hot country like Thailand I generally wear thin trousers and a buttoned shirt, so limited pocket space where several coins add noticeable weight to the trousers, and when you also carry a caseless phone, you have to take notice not to put the phone in the pocket with your coins, as your phone may get scratched.

 

Furthermore, after having counted how many coins I have, e.g. if I want to buy something, I need to wash my hands before touching food again.

 

And of course there is just the nuisance of always making sure you have enough cash with you. When you go out, you don’t always plan for taking a taxi because it was raining, eating dinner at some restaurant because it got late, buying something in a store you hadn’t seen before, entering a museum, or what have you.

 

It really boggles the mind that “cash is king” people can’t see it is much more convenient not having to carry around bills and coins all the time, not having to make a budget each time you leave your home, not having to forego a snack because you didn’t bring enough cash with you, etc.

 

I am 100% cashless in Thailand (PromptPay + TrueWallet for 7-Eleven), and my home country (ApplePay), it is only when visiting countries that are still not entirely cashless (Japan and Taiwan comes to mind), that I am reminded of the hassle dealing with cash. I can tell you countless stories about issues we had wrt. cash on our travels, and of course also the annoying problem of not having too much excess cash when you leave the country — likewise, I can tell you just how big of a joy it was in e.g. Switzerland where we didn’t see a single Swiss franc on our entire trip: The pay toilet accepted ApplePay, all public transport, the vendor selling handwoven baskets at the market, etc.

 

Not just is this more convenient, but you also get a full record of everything you have bought, and nobody is shortchanging you.

You certainly have some major problems that are easily solved. 

Carry the coins in the other pocket. If that's a problem, put them in the tip box.

I do all my major shopping by card at malls but always keep some cash for things you cannot buy with cards, which are many. I'm amazed people find this so inconvenient. 7-Eleven is a piece of cake - if it's raining and you don't have any cash, there's an ATM at nearly every 7-Eleven.

3 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

I don't like Japanese software or online catalogs.  The Japanese don't think straight.  This is why they are unable to develop software with a logical machine to human interface.  They are LOSERS when it comes to software design.

 

So, after much time trying to find a few designs of these chairs, online, and the pricing...

I was redirected all over the place.

 

I do not like this company for that reason....

 

All I could find is a headrest, after a 20-minute search, which is priced in Singapore dollars.

Just a headrest.

 

 

And....

9 weeks delivery!!!!

 

The Japanese are WAY OUT OF TOUCH when it comes to marketing what they make.

It has always been this way.

 

Japan is still an island.

People are still very insular.

 

 

You certainly do enjoy waffling on about nothing.

I don't care about Japanese software design. I sat in one of those chairs at a Holiday Inn in Bangkok for a couple of days and it was so comfortable that I bought one. At that time they were available on Lazada for about 7000 baht for a basic model.

My website link is a Thailand-based website. Even if you don't look, others might be interested.

You said you were going to relocate to Japan. When is that likely to happen?

14 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

So, a few months ago I bought this office chair which is both padded and made in China.

 

The material is PU.

 

The problem, as best as I can determine, is that there is relatively less padding in the center of the seat, and the biggest offender is that there seems to be some sort of hard padded ridge at the front of the seat.

 

This raised ridge, which is also padded, cause diminished blood flow passing through the circulatory system at the bottom of both thighs.

 

And, this restricted or diminished blood flow has led to edema in both feet.  True, the swelling is reduced after a few hours.

However, repeated swelling can stretch the blood vessels so that they will probably lose their elasticity, after many days, months perhaps.

 

This is why I would like to nip this in the bud.

 

a.  I do not want to discard the chair, it being new.

b.  Anyway to make this chair very comfortable and ergonomically healthy with minor modifications?

 

Also, how do other more expensive chairs circumvent this potential problem though better design?

 

When I was younger, much younger, maybe four decades ago, I would buy real leather chairs that were extremely comfortable.

 

Now, chair manufacturers seem to be creating tools of torture fit for the use of a medieval Catholic tribunal, or maybe....

A chair designed using a copy of one of Edgar Poe's stories.

 

I will not be able to continue using this chair until I find a good solution.

 

What modifications might work?

 

Regards,

Gamma

 

 

2 solutions:

1. Cut your losses and dump that Chinese piece of crap.

2. Buy one of these: https://kokuyo.co.th/

Best I've ever sat in. If you can't afford one, revert to a normal kitchen type of chair. I sit for long hours at my desk and had to dump my office chair for the same problem - losing circulation in the feet. A normal flat chair might be a bit less comfortable on your butt, but it's better for your back and your legs if you sit for long periods.

2b. Get more exercise to improve the blood circulation in your legs. Getting up for a short walk at least twice an hour helps too.

Office Chair Catalogue (from page 28 in pdf)

On 5/1/2024 at 5:13 AM, scubascuba3 said:

One of the things i like is not getting more change and coins

Are you serious? Having some coins in your pocket distresses you? A lot of things seem to stress you out. Are you OK?

Here's a tip. Keep the coins in your pocket and spend them the next time you shop. 7Eleven staff are more than happy to take them off your hands. If you learn this simple method you can keep the coins in your pocket to an absolute minimum.

7 hours ago, Highlandman said:

What is the benefit of truemoney? I don't see one.

 

For me it's cash or when necessary, credit or debit cards only. I don't use anything else. 

7-Eleven doesn't accept even local debit cards - only credit cards. There's an ATM outside most 7-Elevens. What's the problem with keeping a bit of cash in your pocket? I use debit cards everywhere else. Even the Big C Mini and mini Tesco stores accept debit cards.

9 hours ago, connda said:

First - Correct me if I'm wrong, but in Thailand or in left-lane countries, those on the "Left" in an unmarked intersection have the right-of-way.   

In Australia, you give way to all vehicles approaching from the right.

On 4/22/2024 at 11:51 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

What are the traffic rules on that intersection? 

It's an uncontrolled intersection, so the rule here is to proceed slowly and keep your eyes open for oncoming vehicles. It's a courtesy system which the foreigner does not understand. It's also good to proceed more carefully if you're on a bike and heed to bigger vehicles. I would say the foreigner thought that he had absolute right of way.

Also, offering "sorry" to the damaged party is the wrong thing to do. Insurance policies normally stipulate in the fine print never to admit liability in any accident. If they find out you did, they can refuse your claim. It was right for the car driver to leave it up to the insurance company to sort it out.

12 minutes ago, rexpotter said:

Add in, most folks are running with very short fuses. For me, the pool is too hot, and I can only get a short walk in early before I start sweating like a pig. Consider, a few weeks ago here we had a short pretty good rain. It cooled it down from 40c to 26c very quickly. Now back to unbearable, every dam day.

In Pattaya last night, the lowest the temperature got, by about 5:00 was 29C. It was 30C most of the night. I walk late at night when the temperatures are at their lowest, but my clothes are drenched walking in that heat at about 6 km/h. Fortunately, I have a home gym where I can train in comfort.