Walker88

I ascribe human qualities to all deities. I'm ecumenical in that way. I do that because all of the evidence screams that every single deity, whether yahweh or zeus or thor or bokonon or any other are all figments of human imagination and---in many instances---need. So we get deities okay with things like slavery (just treat them well, as the bible says) or human sacrifice or eternal damnation for not being sufficiently appreciative or groveling, or even demanding humans correct 'celestial quality control errors' like giving women pleasure buttons between their legs that must be sliced off. Humans---not all, but many---manufactured deities to give them simple and easy answers when precious little was understood about the nature of reality. Many humans also needed badly to believe someone or someones were in control and that life---which used to suck badly---wasn't all. As quality of life improved and science began to understand the nature of reality, deities became increasingly unnecessary, or at best had many of their powers stripped away. Rationality took hold. Some make a silly argument that deities are necessary in order to instill morality in humans (despite most deities being okay with the obscene immorality of slavery). Those who so argue would have us believe moses came down from the mountain with a couple of stone tablets, gathered his mates, and announced, "Got some bad news, guys...we can't murder, rape or steal". Randomness---which existence is at the level of humans (though physical laws apply) is just too much for many people to accept. There can be no deal with randomness, no promise. There is the possibility of a deal with even the most malevolent deity, and many humans find that more comforting than "non-existence->birth->life->death->non-existence". The thread is silly and---like all religion---a product of its time and the needs of believers. Male or female? JFC! Of course that could get in the way of the 'knocking up the Earthgirl' thing. I never knew why it was once considered 'civilized' to have just one deity, the old monotheism thing. Why not a couple? A team? How about competing teams who take turns 'creating' Universes to see which team does it best? And why all this "loves YOU" stuff, when everything from childhood cancer to tsunamis says the deity/deities are vicious and sadistic sons of b!tches. Believe as you need. Just don't expect others to embrace the fantasy you embrace. And PLEASE, if you're going to have a deity or two, make sure they're omnipotent and don't need any Earthlings help to address 'transgressions' like blasphemy, heresy, apostasy, cartoon drawing, etc. Monarchs, maybe, can install lese majeste laws, but omnipotent deities ought to be able to straighten things out without anyone's help.

Well, such malware as Stuxnet and its successor Flame seemed to have had some capabilities heretofore unknown. These malware went after PLCs and were embedded in chips apparently.

Probably as good a place as any to ask this, since there are some 'believers' here..... What was your god doing from the beginning of time until -13.8 billion years ago, when this current Universe emerged from the Big Bang? Did your god get bored? Did it feel unappreciated and need to toss out 200 billion or so galaxies, most with around a trillion stars, most stars having planets orbiting them, just so on one planet orbiting one star in one galaxy some sentient beings would emerge ~4.5 billion years into the planet's existence, who would then thank and praise said deity for all and sundry things, while saying all the maladies like childhood cancer, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc., are just part of some Mysterious Ways Master Plan? Frankly, it seems a rather convoluted Rube Goldberg-esque way to get a little love. As for 'made is its image', THAT I certainly buy into, as this deity has just about every negative human quality a being can have.....needy, insecure, entitled, vindictive, violent, self-centered, self-absorbed and demanding

Riddle me this, CofE..... Was your non-binary deity a rapist? Deadbeat dad? Tough to make it female if you insist it knocked up an Earthgirl. Or did Mary just come up with the Mother of All Alibis? "I swear, Joey, god did it!"

Pick your poison. (And don't read this if you prefer rationalization or salves to harsh reality) Imagine you're dying in a hospital bed, a leg amputated from Type II Diabetes, the other leg losing feeling, being almost blind from the same disease, in a good deal of pain, and you realize your present condition is up to you and your lifestyle choices. Would you go back and stop the pies and cakes and beers, hit the gym, and not be in your present state? That's an extreme, of course, but a good deal of mortality is a function of lifestyle choices. For some, stuffing their face with all the foods and drink they like, all while sprawled on the couch binging Netflix, is a life well lived. So be it. Like everything, it comes with a price. Perhaps it's clear from my tone that I would choose a different path...with the understanding I could still get hit by a bus or get cancer due to something as invisible as radon exposure. Still, I'll play the odds. I like life and the things I enjoy while living it. The latest research shows that healthspan is maximized by a combination of diet, exercise, sleep and good social interactions. Some health issues are genetic, some a result of childhood lifestyle, and a good deal due to adult lifestyle. Muscle mass and % of body fat are highly correlated with all cause mortality. How anyone sits on those scales is up to each individual. Billionaire Boomers who want to outlive their wealth are funding new research and many bits of previously 'accepted' wisdom are falling by the wayside. While there are some tweaks, the basic equation remains the same: calories in - calories out = degree of health. I have never been overweight. I do not eat until I'm full, and never really had a taste for sweets. Since playing university sports I've been a continual gym rat, even coming to enjoy the activity (which in Thailand comes with the added benefit of exercising among some truly lovely women). Resistance training plus cardio. One reason I keep at it is I see all the obese farangs waddling around in Thailand, and I vow not to let that happen to me. Some take joy in eating and drinking. Others find pleasure in being agile, nimble, full of energy, with no aches and pains, and able to slip on the same clothes one wore decades earlier...because they still fit. To take off one's shirt, look in the mirror, and see definition rather than a bag of soft blubber is kind of satisfying, and to some people more satisfying than another piece of cheesecake or a few more beers. To each his own. Maybe being guilty of one of the Seven Deadly Sins is better than being guilty of two. In what seems like a thousand years ago, before being sidetracked into alternative careers, I was to be a doctor. I learned a lot about self-inflicted bodily harm, both from instructors and from the dissection lab or hospital rounds. Many people were in hospital beds, victims of their own actions, and showing regret at how they were departing this one existence. Regret is a terrible thing. The pies and cakes and chips and drink no longer seemed worth it. Too late for them. As for all the fatties out there, have some concern for doctors and healthcare personnel who get covered in oily fat as they slice through inches and inches of blubber trying to get to internal organs. It's a mess. Oh, and do you know most fat people stink? Folds of blubber in spare tires or beer bellies allow bacteria in the folds (called panniculi) to fester. Toss in the heat and humidity of Thailand, and BOOM! Rancid. The fat folks are inured to their own odor, or think a shower a half hour ago cleans them up, but in Thailand, a half hour is plenty of time for bacteria to do what bacteria are wont to do. There's a reason Thai women are forever sticking a eucalyptus inhaler up their nose. Yes, I'm rather strident with regard to this. I'm another side to the coin of those who say "just go enjoy your life", because the way people like me go is as enjoyable to us as slovenly gluttony is to others. I expect to be be tossed some brickbats, but this is a Forum inviting opinions. Your club mates gave you one opinion. Mine is another. You choose what's best for you. Maybe my stridency is a reaction to the new term 'fat shaming'. Everybody has excuses and nobody is responsible for anything anymore. In the US, 43% classify as obese, and the rest of the world---including Thailand---is catching up fast. People in the US are, on average, 35-40 lbs heavier than 30 years ago. There is no excuse for that. The obese do not carry their own weight. My insurance is higher than need be because actuarials assume I might become like 43% of my fellow citizens and subsequently suffer the same maladies. Same same for hospital costs, as the obese who cannot pay get their costs spread over everyone. Again, up to you what you do, but ALL actions have consequences. And it's never too late to make a change for the better.

Insert your way into a hi-so family, and they will hoover up your paltry 25 million before you've consummated the marriage. Also, there is zero 'face' if a hi-so female marries a farang, unless you add at least two digits to your 25. Lay low, enjoy your money, and you will never have any need for 'connections'. It's the nail that sticks out too far that gets hammered in Thailand, not those who live discreetly. There's plenty of expats here with multiples of your wealth who go only as noticed as they want to be, and never get into any trouble.

There really is precious little a balloon could get that a satellite could not do better. Also, much 'intel' is open source. HUMINT is often the only missing piece, not any sort of SIGINT. While the US used to use the SR-71 to take photos and gather data, those aircraft were grounded when the various iterations of the Keyhole satellites were deployed. China has similarly sophisticated satellites. The NSA, as well as Chinese, Russian, and other Five Eyes intel services, can capture every single electronic transmission on Earth. Secrets are kept secret via encryption, not borders, and quantum computers can now break lots of encryption. (Anybody think WhatsApp is actually secure?) Google Maps is 100% borrowed low resolution material from US spy satellites. "Low resolution" means Google is not given the imaging that can tell the date on a coin on the ground---through cloud cover---via a satellite following a molniya orbit whose apogee might be 25000 miles above Earth. Best everybody just chill out about balloons. It's only a political issue now because repubs cannot bark about the economy.

Ah....folks.....it's a balloon. It's not Pearl Harbor or 9-11; it's a balloon. It's something between a kid's birthday party with clowns and Phileas Fogg. repubs went apoplectic over.....a balloon.....until they found out 3 balloons from China happened under 45. They're going to need another election issue in the wake of a 54 year low in unemployment (3.4% vs the 6.8% 45 handed to Biden) and a growing economy (+3.2% 3rd Q 2022 and +2.9% 4th Q 2022 vs the Recession 45 handed Biden). Oh, and the $350 less in FY21 deficit vs 45's last year and the $1.3 trillion less in the FY22 deficit vs 45's last year. I hope the Chinese learned everything they needed to know about elk and bison and grizzly bears in Montana. They already knew full well about the ICBM launch sites there, which are as covered up as always, and which have much more information available in open sources.

Precious little difference among nationalities. Americans are hardly unique. You isolate one particular type of traveler and project that style on to all. What I have seen in Thailand is: Brits hang with Brits and are constantly in search of a 'full English breaky' Aussies hang---and drink---with Aussies Swiss hang with Swiss...Solly ! Wie gehts! Italians hang with Italians...and eat Italian food Japanese hang with Japanese...and even have their own agogo street in Bangkok Germans hang with Germans I could continue, but the point is made Just because someone stays in an 800 baht hovel doesn't mean he's 'getting in touch with the real Thailand'. Just because someone only has 50 baht in his pocket and buys some some tam from a street vendor doesn't mean he prefers that to bratwurst or blood pudding or sushi or pizza or a vegemite sandwich, and would choose one of those if he had the money.

Nice rationalization. I've heard it before. Since I cannot help EVERY SINGLE person in need, then no need to help anyone, right? So life is unfair. Does that mean I can't offer aid to some, even if not all? Nobody's deity treats everyone equally (I'm of no faith). Why hold us mere mortals to a higher standard than believers hold their deities? Be cheap if you wish. Avoid 'cultural infestation' if that makes you happy. Some of us know how much dumb luck we've had in life, and we choose to spread a little of that luck around. To someone who makes 10K baht a month, 100 baht can make a difference. Stay in a hotel for a week, and the person has gotten a 7% raise. That can make a difference.

Not that you care, but hotel clerks at nice hotels make about 25K per month. Housekeeping staff make about 10K, unless they're Burmese, where they make 7K or so. Does it hurt so much to show appreciation in a manner useful to them? Again, it's a Forum for opinions. Obviously we disagree and it seems to rile you that anyone can hold a different view. I guess I'm a walking Cultural Infestation. So be it.

We are anonymous. What I write here grants me no virtue, as none of you could pick me out of a crowd of 2 people. If I wanted kudos, I'd tell you my name and show photos of the inside of my Gulfstream (am I joking or serious....hmmmmmm) You live your life your way, and I will do it my way. This is a Forum. It invites opinions. You gave yours; I gave mine. To each his own. Enjoy your money.

We can agree to disagree. If you know Thailand, you know how important 'face' is, and also how Thai people, on average, gain face. Saying 'thank you' gives some face, a tip turbo charges it. Maybe they are overly materialistic, but even 100 baht is nothing to those of us who can afford international travel, while to someone who makes maybe 10K baht a month, it's meaningful. Again, up to you, but I am of the opinion that it doesn't hurt to be a little generous and to find a way to recognize service that both makes the person feel good and also benefits them.

Not sure what that means, as merely by visiting you are a 'cultural infestation'. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it sounds like a convoluted way of saying "I'm cheap". Regarding the Malaysian you left hanging, do you consider that a personal victory, kind of like a vaccination against 'cultural infestation'? It does seem as if it makes you feel better about yourself, or perhaps superior to him. A show of gratitude can make for good feelings. If you are traveling internationally, you clearly are much more well to do than hotel staff. Does it materially affect your lifestyle so much by leaving a little money in recognition of services provided? Is creating goodwill between cultures such a terrible thing that it demands you show them the error of their ways and thinking?

I always tip. The staff are not paid much, so a little gift is welcome. Perhaps this is an American thing, but I also feel it's polite. It's a recognition that you know they exist and what they do is appreciated. During Covid I stayed in the same hotel for more than a year. The staff who did the cleaning learned my schedule, and would clean the room when I went down for breakfast. It probably also had something to do with the fact that my couple hundred room hotel often had only 3-4 guests, so the staff didn't have much to do. If I returned before they finished, we'd exchange a little light banter. It made for a pleasant environment during a difficult time. Because there were so few customers, staff were forced to rotate, taking more days off than they wanted, along with cuts in pay. The daily tip helped make up for their shortfall. I'm not messy, and since I ate breakfast in the hotel cafe rather than use the suite's kitchen, the job was putting on fresh sheets, providing fresh towels, and doing the Covid-cleanse of floors and tables. The rest of the day was mine, without any interruption. Everybody wins.

There's now some interesting science behind sauna use. Dr. Andrew Huberman of Stanford School of Medicine is a fount of knowledge about many things.

"fresh sweat doesn't stink, regardless of what you've eaten." Wrong. Peanuts, garlic and red onions, inter alia, can make even 'fresh sweat' stink. You seem to get triggered easily and often.

Sea Island cotton is the fabric of the gods. Well, except maybe for shahtoosh, but that is now outlawed.

I'm a perennial bear, but I did not expect a Recession in the near term, and now the figures back it up. There was so much pent up demand due to Covid that many people are throwing caution to the wind and doing what they were prevented from doing for 2 years. Travel is booming, even to Thailand. People continue to buy cars in the US. Interest rates have hit house prices, but even that is regional. Some areas continue to grow. Unemployment in the US is 3.5%, down sharply from the 6.8% Biden inherited from 45. Inflation is dropping rapidly. Natural gas prices are lower than when russia invaded Ukraine. That impacts fertilizer prices,in a good way, which in turn helps with the cost of food. The winter has been warmer than expected in much of the EU, and despite the every fortnight cold snap in the US, overall weather hasn't been as severe as normal. Now the bad news is that a lot of this spending is debt based, and with interest rates climbing people who fail to pay off credit card balances are looking at 30%+ rates on unpaid balances. I do think we have a good chance of a Recession starting later in 2023, as consumers reach their credit limit, but until then, we'll make hay while the sun shines.

You're not well versed in biology and biochemistry, I think. Some foods cause people to exude unpleasant aromas in their sweat. This can be a function of one's individual metabolism, just as individual metabolism might make one person allergic to a food that is no problem to another person. Examples of such foods that can cause odor in sweat are peanuts, garlic and red onions (foods high in sulfur can lead to hydrogen sulfide emissions). Do you think 'fresh sweat' is just water? Lots of different molecules in sweat besides H2O. Now bacteria does react with the H2O in sweat and can produce some nasty smells, particularly in obese people. Excess adipose tissue often has folds, called perniculi. Bacteria gets trapped in the folds and can absolutely reek. Those with 'spare tires' or bellies that hang over the belt are prone. That is why obese people often smell, even if they've recently bathed. The bacteria grows quickly in the folds of fat, especially in hot and humid weather. The obese become inured to their own odor, so don't notice, but other people do notice. Yet another reason to get fit.

If you come to Bangkok, try Massimo Dutti. There's one in Siam Paragon and one in EmQuartier. Very reasonably priced (relative to, say, NY) They have lots of casual cotton shirts, some cotton and linen blends, cotton or linen shorts, and cotton boxer shorts. You simply cannot beat cotton boxers for Thai weather. Many of the tailors in BKK have a range of fabrics, cotton and linen. Tailor-on-Ten (actually on Sukh Soi 8) is a good shop if you want cotton or linen shorts made, or dress casual cotton shirts. Personally I do not like the feel of man-made material, so always wear cotton or linen or tropical weight wool. Even the 'wife beaters' I wear to the gym are cotton (definitely not easy to find in Thailand)

45 lost the popular vote by several million in 2016, but because of the anachronism known as the Electoral College, he 'won' the election. Had Beau Biden not died of cancer, it's likely 45 would still be a Game Show host and would never have disgraced the White House. Biden would have run and won in 2016. Sadly, HRC felt 'entitled', despite all of her negatives. Then russia intervened, both by funding treehugger jill stein's campaign, and then after manafort gave internal polling data to GRU asset kilimnik, who gave it to the Internet Research Agency (a GRU entity) in St Pete, who then microtargeted voters in swing States with disinformation about HRC. stein had more votes in several swing States than the margin 45 had over HRC. One can safely assume all of those would otherwise have gone to HRC, as stein was left of HRC. Sadly, 45 won and gave the green light to racism, violence and all manner of craziness. ("Good people on both sides", where one side was chanting "Jews will not replace us".) So we have terms like 'groomers', which the far right uses to censor reality and create a straw man where "dems are trying to turn your children gay/trans/etc." We have sitting repubs in Congress who think the insurrection was something between 'typical tourists' and 'legitimate 1st Amendment protest', when the 1st hardly said trying to overthrow the govt or hang the VP was okay.

It's unlikely to be the kind of pornography you have in mind. Also, who decides 'age appropriate'? What many of these books do is discuss the reality of things like slavery. There is a segment of the population, known as republicans, who insist everything always has been perfect in the US and it's the greatest country in the history of the world now and forever and ever, Amen. There needs to be a middle ground between the absurdity of the far right and the wokiness of the far left. The far right is maybe 35% of the US, while the far left is maybe 3% of the US. Both extremes are too loud.

Does the female have to pay child support when you give birth?

If cops are stopping cars to check for Criminal Vapers, they might also go to all the street stalls in Bangkok selling e-cig equipment. Surely they'd meet their quota of catching Criminal Vapers that way. I never understood the random stopping of taxis. It isn't as if they test the driver for booze. It's always the passengers who are checked. I've been stopped many times riding in a taxi at night. I have to get out produce my passport and empty my pockets. I haven't been shaken down for money in BKK, but the whole thing just seems odd. I've been stopped at a massive checkpoint on the highway before, where cops just went up to every vehicle and said simply "Two hundred baht". That was a shake down, a kind of dunamic toll booth for the Police Welfare Fund. One time my taxi was stopped riding between Maesai and Chiangrai, a cop came and sat next to me in the back seat, put his face right into mine, and told me he was going to go through all my possessions. I told him to have at it and stared back at him. He smiled, and then climbed back out. I sort of understand that check, given the region of the country, but the other random stops are just odd.