Walker88

I have a personal litmus test I use to gauge the intellect of the Thai women I meet.... I ask this question, usually during an evening stroll: What do you think is closer, the Moon or Pattaya? Invariably the answer has always come back: The Moon. Why? "Because I can see it, but cannot see Pattaya" Flawlessly logical, if logic is defined as the false assumptions on which one's view of reality is based. She's a keeper. ---------- GG has introduced an interesting topic here. There are many amusing answers, which include everything from tired cliches to evidence of the Dunning-Kruger Effect. I may not know what 'intelligence' truly is, but I know it when I see it (I like to think it's in my bathroom mirror). A few points...being afflicted with prolixity..... I am of the view, perhaps mistakenly, that the tired cliche of the genius who couldn't tie his shoes comes from things like Disney's "The Nutty Professor" or else forgets that things like the "idiot savant" purposely contains the term "idiot". Life, at least in the West, tends to filter the populace until what's left are the geniuses. We get separated in grade school, nurtured into maturity, and further identified by the higher education for which we qualify. Yes, some genius slips through the cracks, but one is more likely to find true genius passing through the Ivy League/MIT/Stanford/Oxbridge/EasternEquivalent. "More likely", I said., not solely. Having passed through a few of those institutions, I'll repeat something I said earlier: I know it when I see it. There is also a human tendency to expect a 'genius' to be instantly or perhaps inherently knowledgeable about everything. Such a human is unlikely to ever materialize on this planet, though people like James Clerk Maxwell and Richard Feynman came close. (Maxwell, inter alia, used merely a quill, some ink, paper and a little math to deduce the physical makeup of the rings of Saturn). To expect a 'genius' to instantly know all, and dissing him if he doesn't, is like saying Usain Bolt isn't really a great athlete because he's probably terrible at gymnastics. I am of the view that humans have reached peak intelligence and have begun a slide back down. The reasons are many, but include birth rates among the gifted (only PC Culture has 'concluded' that genetics are of lesser import than nurturing), as well as things like 'the heavy lifting has already been done' or the fact we don't write anymore but rather type on a keyboard, and no longer teach multiplication tables but rely on calculators. Use it or lose it. Going back to JC Maxwell, I have always been in awe of the experiments he designed in order to arrive at his laws regarding electromagnetism. Of course I am also in awe of how a bunch of Mayans tucked away in Central America a few thousand years ago figured out things like planetary motion, the length of the year, etc. (Again, the heavy lifting has been done; we don't have to sit outside every night for years trying to figure what points of light in the sky move more than others, suggesting a different makeup and distance from Earth....I'm not even sure we could do it, distracted by the need to post TikTok videos or binge watch Peaky Blinders.) As for Thai women and their IQs, I suspect relative intellect is far less of a concern in a relationship than the cultural differences, and when Farang-Thai relationships fail, it is unlikely to be because couples ran out of things about which to talk, or that she just couldn't grasp Green's Theorem. In any event, while I would love our second date to be on the Moon, I guess we'll have to settle for more distant, albeit accessible, Pattaya.

He is a clown, a fascist, a cult leader, and the Pied Piper to the Moron Demographic. Not sure if you caught this, but he tried to overthrow the govt of the US, all because he's a crybaby loser. Much better people than the mutant could ever be put their lives on the line defending the US and its form of govt for almost 250 years, yet there are still low IQ people who somehow think he is something more than a self-centered, corrupt, self-serving, Narcissistic psychopath. He should be indicted, tried, and if found guilty of sedition---a capital offense---executed per the law. In the US, it seems I need to remind people, NOBODY is above the law. Yes, his cult will go batshoot crazy when he's executed, but they will anyway if he isn't "re-instated". Better he is dead and buried for his crimes, as eventually his cult will get hooked on something else like the Kardashians and move on from him. I'm not a Liz Cheney political fan, but in terms of her loyalty to the Constitution and to the US, she is something not a single person in that bloated clowns family ever was or could ever be. Cheney has put America first; 45 never put anything first except himself.

Crypto went up because it went up. When the number got big, it drew in new blood as the fad peaked....and newbies were led to the slaughter. Unlikely they will be back, and it should be noted that the number, e.g., of btc holders, soared in 2021 while the price remained flat. That is called 'distribution'. What makes it even scarier now is that the kind of things that drove btc down---over leverage by the likes of Three Arrow Capital that led to forced liquidation---is the same thing keeping it up now. Some big crypto players are trying to be 'saviors'. And how are they doing it? Borrowing money to buy more and posting their existing coins as collateral---which is exactly what drove Three Arrow to bankruptcy (and the principles have skedaddled.) If the downward trend picks up again, lenders to those who've doubled up will be selling the collateral, creating a potential vicious downward spiral. It also is a black mark---and will be noticed by the amateurs who flooded into the 'sure thing'---that many exchanges have limited or halted withdrawals, or are filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which means customer assets will be legally blocked while the bankruptcy is carried out. It could take years for customers to see anything at all. Dead money---and dead money of people who were fans of crypto.

I think this just shows how literally flexible the Thai authorities are. I mean, who else can shoot themselves in the foot, while the foot is in the mouth, and the head is up the ar se?

The move so far has been steady, but gradual. No sign of panic yet. Many trends end in a panic, blow-off top. I don't know how much dollar borrowing Thai corporates have. I don't think it's quite like 1996 when everyone got complacent with the old semi-fix of 25 baht per dollar and borrowed assuming that would forever hold. Major cross rates also impact peripheral rates, so if the euro breaks dollar parity, that could show up in a sharp baht move. The weakest currency at the moment seems to be the Aussie, though cable could get hit badly if BoJo gets ousted. Interesting times. There's going to come a point to unload the $ in bulk, but not yet. I think if polls start to make a redo of 45 look likely, there will be an outright collapse in the dollar.

"Woke" is also closely linked to Whiner. Not who is the biggest Whiner out there? Whose favorite written word is "UNFAIR", usually capitalized just like that? Who answers EVERYTHING that offends his delicate, snowflake sensibilities with attacks that generally...1) give the person a disparaging nickname, 2) call the person a 'loser', 'phony', 'crazy', etc., and 3) often claims "I didn't know them at all...maybe they brought me coffee or something" Who? The answer, unlike in The Hitchhikers Guard to the Galaxy is not '42' It's 45. The quintessential Whiner-in-Chief. He makes the Woke Folks seem tolerant.

The last turd the departing SPDC left in the toilet was a clause in the constitution they wrote which allowed the military to retake power at any time for any reason. THAT is how a real fascist justifies a coup. And who are the best friends of the current illegitimate govt? China, Russia, Thailand and the Monarchy of Singapore (sic) What they all have in common is a hatred of democracy and a love of power, control and self-enrichment.

What they have mostly is Russian equipment, which hasn't exactly distinguished itself in Ukraine. The original 10 MiG-29s were bought from Russia in 2001 by SPDC. The systems were upgraded in 2017, though overall the aircraft are a generation behind the world's latest. They have at least two dozen 29s now, though some are trainers. They have Russian Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-17s, which are used to ferry generals around. They may have a few ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea, and previously SPDC was in talks with North Korea to provide assistance on Myanmar developing its own atomic bomb. Overall their equipment is poorly maintained by poorly trained techs. The Tatmadaw can produce a good looking bunch of soldiers on Army Day in March, but the majority of their forces are poorly trained and poorly equipped. When the Saffron revolution took place in 2007, troops from rural regions were trucked into Yangon. Most of those troops were wearing sandals and were gobsmacked by the 'modern' city of Yangon. They carry H&K G3 (knockoffs) assault rifles made locally, though some still carry Enfield 404s. Generally they are not given too many rounds, because their higher ups don't really trust them. They rely heavily on asymmetrical warfare, which is to say they go after unarmed civilians. When faced with motivated fighters like the Kachin, they tend not to fare well. In rural areas, most are not supplied well, and rely heavily on theft from villagers for food and water. They still simply seize villagers for porter work, or worse, to clear mine fields that the Kachin, Shan State Army, Wa or Kokang might have laid.

Sadly the world didn't care enough about Myanmar's 55 million people to help them after the coup. The coup leaders are cowards. They were colonels back during SPDC and were waiting their turn to drink at the trough of corruption like Than Shwe and Maung Aye. When democracy came, they realized they were never going to get sinfully rich. The SPDC-written Constitution had a silly clause where it allowed the Tatmadaw to retake power at any time for any reason, so the coup plotters claimed that---which is 'convenient' since the old departing military had written it into their document. What the world coup have done is supply a few SAM-7s or Stingers and had coup opponents---which is to say 99.99% of the people---shoot down a couple of helicopters carrying generals. The remaining generals would have instantly fled to Singapore and democracy could have been restored. Instead, thousands have been slaughtered by the military, and 55 million Myanmar people---who had finally been given a chance to prosper and have a shot at a decent and free life, are now subjugated and abused under a self-serving brutal dictatorship (a dictatorship which, of course, is viewed as legitimate by the useless ASEAN)

See yourself as a victim, and a victim you will be. Life is unfair and unequal. Always was, always will be. What 'civilized society' should endeavor to do is make things as legally equal as possible. After that, each person succeeds or fails according to his or her own efforts. Where societies err is when they think they should be held to a higher standard than anybody's gawd, since nobody's gawd is even remotely fair. Level the playing field, leave no one out, but don't afford anyone any special privilege or right, and folks will succeed on merit. Yes, sometimes there must be a kind of redress for situations where societies have failed, but that is usually at a basic level, such as insuring all have access to a good education. Oh, and don't discriminate. Nobody asked to be born the way they were born, whether that means ethnicity, gender, the predominant faith in one's nation, or what kind of person attracts them. Best, too, to remove religion from any form of government, as it's pretty silly to make rules in 2022 based on the abject ignorance of Bronze Age 'prophets' (aka either liars or lunatics). The epitome of the 'angry white man' was previously POTUS. Born into incredible privilege, with a monthly $200K allowance since age 3 and an inherited $412 million, somehow his favorite word is "UNFAIR !". Actually, he's less the epitome of the angry white man than the whiney white man. He gave voice to other whiners who are in search of someone else to blame for their own personal failings. Sadly, that sort of projection resonates with a certain demographic, which is what has led to the rise in autocrat wannabes, snake oil salesmen who take advantage of other's self-proclaimed victim status.

"I'm not young enough to know everything"-----Oscar Wilde As a student of history, I might add Dickens to Wilde and say "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times" The poster I quote, who seems to base his view on what his dad remembers (Nostalgia ain't what it used to be---Yogi Berra), might not be a student of history. Another poster noted getting drafted for Vietnam, in order to 'go fight for our freedom', which was not only a silly lie, but gave the draftee an opportunity to either die horribly or watch others die horribly. That seems a tad worse than the dilemma young people face today, which is failing to get enough "LIKES" on their TikTok vid. Youth today also beef about the difficulty of making money, all while boasting of how much they made trading crypto. They moan about climate change all while accumulating the most energy wasteful new invention since the 60' Cigarette speedboat or the Hummer. Five percent mortgage rates leave them sleepless, but if I take a look at the historical Yield Curve and interest rates, I see that around 1980-81 mortgage rates were 15%. (Asset prices eventually adjust to ability for the marginal buyer to service debt). I'm not in my 20s, though I'd like to be so long as I could keep both the modicum of wisdom I might have gained along with the not-so-miniscule wealth. What would turn me away from being 20s again is that their lives are so banal and pedestrian. All the heavy lifting has been done by those who came before, back when people in their 20s produced everything from calculus to Relativity Theory to the PC. Today's young, collectively, have done absolutely nothing but beef about the world "OK, Boomer" left them. Silly. Blind. Willfully ignorant. There are folks here who have grandparents or maybe even parents who went through, inter alia, WWI, the Spanish Flu, The Great Depression, WWII, the Korean War, Polio and iron lungs, lack of antibiotics, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, Stagflation, etc. EVERYBODY who ever lived was born into a challenge not of their own making. That is life. Some first complain, then 'lift themselves up by their bootstraps' and go about trying to make things better. Today is worse than those eras? Hardly. Millennials, gawd bless'em, somehow are of the belief that they DESERVE to have been born in a perfect world, where they can wallow away existence making TikTok vids and then sitting back waiting for LIKES. Their goal (some Polls put the figure as high as 60%) is to be an "Influencer", whatever the heck that really is. Millennials are entitled and demanding, yet have next to no skills to go along with their lack of desire to learn. Apprentice in something? Please, "we already know more than you", which is, of course, a childish fantasy of a pampered and weak mind. At every time in human history there have been obstacles to success and challenges to overcome. At the same time, there are also opportunities if one takes an objective, non-woe-is-me look at the world. Relatively speaking, today is probably easier to make a go of life than most times since we stormed out of Oldavai Gorge or ate the apple. The difference is that---from my observation---each generation is becoming weaker and more snowflake-ish, unable to even find their bootstraps. Life has become too easy, and in one sense that is a shame, because the real joy in life---in my opinion---comes from steeling one's self up, taking on challenges, and seeing if one has what it takes to succeed. Perfection is likely wildly overrated. Putting one's self to the test in whatever circumstances exist when one comes of age is what will give a life meaning. Perhaps we're in the midst of a long cycle, kind of like the period after the fall of Rome, where much knowledge was forgotten and those made weak by the successes that came before them couldn't continue to move the species forward. History once gave that period a name: The Dark Ages. Maybe we've reached that point of weakness again, albeit falling from a much higher level than the Romans. Maybe we're headed into, or have already entered, Dark Ages 2.0. OK, Millennials?

Personally, I'm not a big fan of kids. Most grow up to be slimeballs anyway. I look around and see all these obese foreigners waddling around and wonder if 'Mom' is proud of what they let themselves become. These christians like pence think the same as I do, as most only really like theoretical humans, not the ones who are actually alive, and certainly not if they are minorities or of another culture's superstition. Guys like pence are all okay with wars when LIVING kids are splattered, which they euphemistically call 'collateral damage', but they will get on their knees and 'pray' for zygotes. pence also seems to forget plenty of his fellow christians intended to hang him on 6 Jan 2021, because thou (them) shall have a strange bloated gawd before them and do his 'will'. Not so nice people, by and large, these christians. Kids aside, I'm even less of a fan of undifferentiated zygotes that might be as few as two cells (when a woman might choose a morning after pill). I also know there is no way on gawd's green earth I would want to spend 9 months getting increasingly bloated and uncomfortable, spend the first trimester with morning sickness, and generally have one's body totally out of control....so I would never impose that on someone else, especially if it resulted from an accident, or worse, a crime. I never thought 'penis envy' was real, but I damn well know womb envy is not. I'm more than happy to practice, but that's as far as I would ever go. If I ever got a little crazy and decided to become a parent, certainly I would discuss it in detail with my partner so that both of us were sure it is something we wanted. Of course, given that the world is already carrying 7.9 billion people, I am not going to let that happen. I am delighted to say my gene pool stops here.

Speaking of 'the science', well, many Thais wear amulets, too. Now masks might have some utility (think hitting a golf recovery shot from behind a tree that is 95% air, yet balls still hit branches), but amulets are as useless as any Stone Age belief can be. Of course, it is their business if they want to wear one and think it protects them from anything. I don't think I will be calling them out for wearing an amulet, nor will I call them out if they choose to wear a mask.

Too many Americans are willfully ignorant. Many have no clue what the actual ideals of the country are. On the repub side, they abhor democracy, and have spent decades doing everything possible to undermine it. repubs know they cannot win legitimately, so they cheat at every opportunity---redistricting and gerrymandering, changing voting laws, blocking any change that would favor the majority (such as abolishing the Electoral College or changing the rules of the Senate---2 from each State, ignoring population size, so that a State like California only gets 2 Senators, but has a greater population than the combined population of Alaska, Alabama, West Virginia, Nevada, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Utah, Arkansas, Nebraska, Idaho and Montana---which have 32 Senators in total and are usually Red States. Those who still support 45 are generally poorly educated and too ignorant to understand what democracy even means, so repubs pander to the woefully ignorant. Now, the repubs even have resorted to outright lies, claiming 'fraud' where there was none, trying to send fake electors to certify the election, pressuring officials to 'find votes', threatening officials who do their proper job, etc. The worst and most egregious thing was mitch mcconnell blocking a SC appointment for 8 months "because it was an election year", yet rushed through 45's appointment of the catholic fanatic handmaiden SC justice 2 weeks before the 2020 election. So 4 SC justices were appointed by POTUSs who did not win the popular vote, 1 under Bush II and 3 under 45. Biden should get the Dems to increase the SC to 13 justices, have Biden appoint 4 more, then pass a Bill that locks the SC at 13 justices. With the House and Senate under Dem control, they could one-up the repubs and mcconnell by stuffing the court. Biden could also select 24 year old Harvard or Stanford grads who will live another 50 years, long after thomas, alito, and maybe kavanaugh and gorsuch are pushing daisies. Of course they won't do it. Sadly, the Dems are weak. Pelosi is tough but old. Schumer is a wuss. Nobody keeps the woke far left in line, and that tiny element of the Dems feed the repubs ammo as if the woke Dems really were repubs in drag. The vast majority of Dems are moderates and centrists, but they fail to reign in the fringe. The repubs, OTOH, are now mainstream fascists and autocrats, who champion superstition (fake religion) and work tirelessly to destroy democracy. The majority of the repubs now are fascists and autocrats, the absolute opposite of what the US should be. Coming under the current court is an end to gay marriage and if some repub elected officials get their way, and end to interracial marriage (justice thomas probably hopes this passes so he can rid himself of ginni, his whackjob wife)

I've seen her walking around Pattaya. In person, her face---without the filters---looks mid-40s and a bit haggered. The tattoos are stunning---as in sort of knock you over, rather than attractive---and other than as a human curiosity, are kind of off-putting. I know she makes money as a model, though her use in that field is severely limited. Personally, I look forward to the day when the tattoo fad goes the way of the mullet and Leisure Suit. NOBODY looks better with tattoos, IMO. Young women with beautiful skin and lovely bodies mar what nature gave them all because of a silly fad that scars them for life and suggests what their profession had been. It also limits job opportunities, as, for example, banks in Thailand will not hire women with tattoos that cannot be concealed with clothing. I even see a lot of old fat foreigners getting tatted up with silly looking things that scream mid-life crisis. Maybe they saw tatts as a cheaper alternative to a Porsche for the MLC thing. To each his or her own, of course, but damn they look foolish.

Confronted with a rack like that, my joss stick would spontaneously combust. Seriously, though, isn't superstition just a kick ! The best the likely all powerful netherworld can do is produce some giant bolt-ons? The devil you say!

Not according to the laws of Texas and Louisiana, and maybe Alabama. In fact some States are planning to ban the morning after pill. It is possible fertilization hasn't even yet occurred, and if it has, it might be a 2-4 cell zygote, hardly ready for entry into Harvard or his/her first iPhone. Texas and Louisiana are also going to make interstate travel in order to seek an abortion a crime. Now it's funny that those who argue a fetus is human might take exception in the case of rape. The 'fetus' is guilty of something like Original Sin? Which is it...a 'sacred' life or a criminal deserving of capital punishment?

Follow the news....rapists have been claiming parental rights. If your wife, girlfriend or daughter was raped---perhaps by an illegal alien---you would fully support her as she brought the fetus all the way to birth, right? Sleep next to your wife/girlfriend every night for nine months as she carried the rapist's 50% contribution to term, right? Engage in a little pregnant whoopie from time to time knowing full well the rapists sperm fertilized your wife/girlfriend's egg.

Isn't it sad that a rapist gets paternal rights for committing his heinous crime?

Putting aside for a moment that the Morning After Pill aborts an undifferentiated zygote, I am sure that if your wife or daughter were raped by, say, someone of a Middle Eastern faith or a minority, you would demand she carry that zygote all the way through to birth and give the child all the love it deserved..

There is a segment of the anti-mask brigade that is hellbent on imposing their beliefs on others, per my FACTUAL anecdote from last night in Bangkok. I don't know what is wrong with these bozos, save for the fact they are probably impotent losers seeking some control over something. That the lout was abusive to a Thai female guest, and as I subsequently learned, to a Thai female waitress, suggests he has manliness issues with what an impish and economical Universe might have handed him. If someone chooses to continue to wear a mask, it doesn't affect me in any way, thus I have no right to tear into them for their choice. Civil society would match that term if the louts would keep their own mouths shut. (I offered a gentelmen's bet to a skeptic, which in no way would benefit me. I guess the skeptic is of modest means and thus fears losing, knowing I did not make up such a story. I'll state it again for those who in need of remedial education: if someone CHOOSES to continue to wear a mask, it is their right and others are welcome to keep their mouths shut.)

The pain of rape or incest has to be bad enough, but to force a woman or teen to be constantly reminded of the crime against her---by forcing her to carry the zygote and birth it 9 months later---is salt in an open wound.

I don't understand why you have a hair across your ahhhse on this. IT HAPPENED. Anti-maskers can be right proper a-wholes.

I am not going to embarrass the restaurant publicly. I can forward the info to a Mod privately and he/she can decide to forward it to you. I do not understand why you are skeptical. Just read through this thread and see many anti-maskers are irrational losers. <deleted> it matters what another person CHOOSES to do I don't understand. Also, I did not see your subsequent post until now. I edited, but not in reaction to anything you posted, rather just some details I thought might be germane. Apparently you are not willing to bet your entire net worth against my post. That is wise. The incident happened. Not everyone, however, grabs his/her phone to record incidents, especially when they are trying to enjoy a meal. Having eaten in the restaurant many times, I do know IT has cameras that would have captured the entire incident. After the bozo stormed out, one of the wait staff told me the same loser had been calling her 'stupid' and 'an idiot' all night because she was masked. <deleted>? What right does he have to berate a woman just doing her job in a way she feels comfortable? Perhaps he will choose another restaurant in the future, as his custom will not be missed.

It happened. 100% guaranteed. Too bad we can't bet. You could post 100% of your net worth, I would win (can produce the wait staff at the restaurant), and I would donate whatever you lost to this website. (Mods, let Doubting Thomas put his money where his skepticism is). Oh...got to add...the restaurant has cameras, so there's a tape of the entire incident...... It happened because some bozos decide THEY can tell others what others can or cannot do. These bozos have decided that CHOOSING to wear a mask is a personal affront to the bozos. He ought to GTF out of Thailand, and soon, because he is going to pull that schtick on the wrong Thai woman at the wrong time, and fifty motocycle drivers will womp his sorry backside, as he deserves. It was an incredibly rude and childish display that cast a pall over all the other diners, as the lout also tossed out a fusillade of swears. The clown also used his bully pulpit to scream out about every known silly conspiracy theory in the Universe, indicating he is a sorryarse loser in every aspect of his useless existence. Gee, and to think some Thai people develop a negative impression of foreigners. Imagine that! JFC, some people are 100% a-wholes.