Fat is a type of crazy

3 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

The VP running mate choice will be a consideration because we have 2 very aged candidates. One is so very clearly unfit, both mentally and physically. The other is pretty healthy looking, speaks coherently for extended hours on end, but his age and preferred diet is worrisome. 

 

2 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Vivek would be OK, Haley as VP would be a home run.

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

joe needs, cards to help him exit the podium. The other day his wifey had to remind him he liked ice cream.

I agree that Haley as Vice President would give him some legitimacy he doesn't deserve. He is currently giving her a hard time making fun of her real name Nimarta Nikki Randhawa Haley, not racist at all, but of course that will all change if she drops out. Sad state of affairs seeing her not push back hard so as not to offend the base. 

I concur Joe has to go. He may still have some smarts but optics are bad and going to get worse. For the good of the nation. 

Is it significantly better in low season in Pattaya ? Hoping it is. 

4 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I think most members are Brits & Aussies.  I don't recall ever really talking about politics  when in the USA, with family and friends, or now.  I'd like to say never, but who knows, might have had a conversation I forgot about.  I've never asked someone who they voted for, and don't recall someone ever asking me.

 

If not for the forum, I'd never give a thought about politics.  Entertaining as all hell, listening to non Yanks yakking away about it.

 

It'd be like me talking about Euro soccer, and y'all be laughing your butts off about my ignorance 

If interested in Euro women's soccer, or whatever, why not comment. You can learn stuff and get feedback and be less ignorant.

I don't think being a local, now or 20 years ago, gives one an intrinsic or important insight, that others cannot have on a particular topic, in this modern technological age. Sometimes, a posters outsider status can help them to identify interesting discussion points e.g. they can see that the Emperor has no clothes. 

Though it can be boring and I rarely comment - the topic of American politics is more potentially impactful to many expats - than whether there was an accident in Chiang Mai or an Englishman and a Russian had a fight in a bar in Pattaya - topics that get 100's of the same ol' boring comments. 

I think political discussion adds to this site if only as a contrast to the normal topics such as ladies of the night or the availability of marmite. 

The $688 may have been a first up special for certain dates. Lot of options in May for $786 return. Cost should not go up unless you pick options such as free change booking or extra baggage.  

27 minutes ago, GypsyT said:

That will be your smallest problem to live in Thailand.

 

PS.Bath "busses" go every 3-5 minutes.

 

Thanks. Is it fair to say they take forever as they are caught in traffic - say from Jomtiem to Pattaya - or is that only at certain times

7 hours ago, Phulublub said:

Doesn't want to mix with the riff raff, but happy to use a baht bus...bit of a contradiction?

 

PH

Took it as a joke. Those buildings seem fine though let's be honest some of the downbeat descriptions of I think View Talay 1 or 2 and the local shops in this thread did not sound inspiring. Looking for a location for 6 weeks in a condo in the right location not so easy but some options look ok. Thinking I might travel multiple places to have a look at other options. 

4 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Why would anybody post those unconfirmed numbers in an anonymous forum?

 

Personally, I am happy if I go to the ATM and can still get some money.

It doesn't really matter if 10B is left or 10 million or whatever - until the next time I go to the ATM.

Sounds good but most people who feel like that actually know that there's closer to 10 million than 10 baht or they would not be so laid back about the whole thing. 

Interesting discussion. Until about the free water. I am going for say 6 weeks in low season to size up whether the area is my cup of tea to live and I must admit have been a bit turned off by the comments on the Talay area of Jomtiem with the lack of shops and facilities and busy baht bus to town.  Though surprised people talk about swimming there. Thought all beaches were too dirty. 

Thinking about more Central Pattaya to be near shops etc but don't want too much noise - may be a contradiction. Thought a bit towards Wongamat . Pratamnuk may be a bit separated without a bike. If anyone can suggest somewhere near transport, good gym and pool, at least 50 sqm inside, budget discretionary depending on what you get but don't mind paying a decent amount, nice to pick somewhere with potential to be long term base.  

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Surely you can't be a good person if you're not tempted to do bad things and resist.

Doesn't make sense. Maybe one too many nots.

I want to un reinvent myself when I retire. No longer be defined by what I do in my working life. 

Psychology is 6 years in Australia. Psychiatry is 12 years. 6 years medicine. 1 year on the job and 5 years psychiatry. 

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

You guess a lot, carry on the guessing. 

Why not acknowledge they have gone too far - been too indiscriminate in their bombings and not taken reasonable steps to limit damage to life and property. It is not to say the war was not justified but that they have at times gone too far. I have only read a percentage of your posts on this topic, I admit, but you seem reticent to do that. 

Delete

Sounds like you pay in full as it is in total less than 100,000. I do note that my policy does have a proviso that a deductible, of $750 in my case, applies to first visit to a hospital and not to others in that calendar year. I would suggest that is not the norm and others may know better. 

Further point is the operation and subsequent visits may possibly be treated differently depending on the cover i.e. the operation covered under hospital cover and cleaning of wounds not as a part of hospital cover even though done at a hospital. You might have to pay for the later regardless. Worth a call. 

4 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

 

I would be so bold as to make this statement.  We could not exist or survive in this world or any other without love.  Love is the inherent basis of existence.  To understand that statement does requires some thinking about it.  Probably a whole lot of thinking.  And it's true to say it requires more thinking than most would want to devote to it.  Not a problem.  Everyone has their own thing in this world.  Not everyone has a great interest in understanding that statement.  But, no workie, no rewardie. 

 

Also, it's not just humans who experience the emotion of love.  Ever have a pet? 

 

Wouldn't that be 'evidence' that love is a universal thing?

Hard topic but it could be universally a feeling amongst some individuals at certain times. Dogs maybe do feel something similar. Cats are different. Insects may feel some driving force to survive and do their thing that maybe could be defined in some obscure way as a love or love of life.

ThaiBeachLovers seems to feel similar to romantic songs that it's more than a feeling - there is some thing universal in the air rather than a shared separate experience or feeling. 

27 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I never said love is evidence of anything else.

I was saying that if one disregards God because God can't be seen or proven, then one has to say that "love" does not exist either.

Your definition of love must be some universal thing. Could be strong feelings and that's it. You could go one further and say humans in love feel good, sometimes, and act a certain way that tends to be consistent with a positive outcomes for the community and therefore is held in high regard ...  as compared to negative feelings that have bad outcomes or something. 

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I ask you then, is "love" real, or an illusion, a nothingness that we imagine?

 

We idolise "love", write songs about it, write about it, dream of being "in love", dream of being "loved". Yet love can't be seen, smelt or touched.

 

So, is "love" as real as food, or is it an empty table?

I don't think love is evidence of a god. We all feel stuff. Some feelings can seem minor, and seemingly inconsequential, such as the good feeling of eating food - important though to my survival. Other feelings can seem overwhelming or bigger than others but are still feelings and they do not necessitate belief in a god or similar. No feelings or thoughts or ideas can be touched.  

46 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Did you miss the point because you chose to or do you just not get it? It was an analogy.

For what it's worth, I took the point of the post as noting the pointlessness of consumers at a restaurant, or the religious, debating and admonishing each other about what is the best food, or religious ideals, to consume. Since it is all food or all religion so let individual choice reign. Pineapple pizza or a Napoli pizza with traditional ingredients. It's all good. 

My point then noted  that to the non religious, it is not comparing different foods, but food and an empty table. The religious sit at an objectively empty table and say they are, if you like, having a satisfying meal that only they can see.   Or maybe others of a similar ilk feel they can see and may well see who knows. 

Of course I concur the religious should not be admonished or ridiculed or similar.  But if they stand up and say, take my word that this is a thing, or do these 5000 hours of meditation or read a 5000 page book and you'll see it's a thing, it is not unreasonable that they get some hopefully polite debate and or pushback, about whether it is a thing, or that they could provide evidence that doing the hard work leads to a thing.  

1 hour ago, Tippaporn said:

Long ago I came across a great analogy which fits perfectly into this thread.  It was told by someone this way:

 

The only time everyone gives two hoots about what anyone else chooses for themselves is in a restaurant.  In the hypothetical restaurant of the analogy you get a menu with every conceivable food item on it.  You peruse the menu and what you don't like you skim over and focus only on what you do like.  And order just that.  But in this amazing restaurant rather than the menu offering food it offers you ideas.  And again, every conceivable idea which exists is listed.  Again you skim over the ideas you don't like and focus only on the ideas you do like.  And you order just that.

 

Now imagine, the next time you go out to eat, walking around the restaurant going to every table to criticise, ridicule, admonish, and spew hate on all of the patrons for what they're eating.  But . . . only if they're eating what you wouldn't choose for yourself.  And patting everyone who is eating what you prefer on the back and calling them 'friend'. 

 

Isn't that what's happening here? 

In the restaurant there's actual food. You are talking about something in your mind that you think is a thing.  Imagine someone saying they are tasting something so yummy but there's nothing in front of them to see. You might then question, admonish, or ridicule.  So if you believe something and wish to talk about it you have to cop it as a reasonable thing to be criticised when nothing can be seen on the table. 

The hope of eternity was much more tempting, as you say, when life was much more unfair, people dying and in pain all over the place, still true for many in the world.

Simply lighten your load and believe that god serendipitously arranged for your parents to meet, for that seed to get to the egg, for you to enter the body somehow depending on the religion, and eternity waits, and there it is. Faith means that for confusing bits - God.  

Putting aside money, appearance and age, a reason why some expat types may not be seen as an attractive option is their thinking - their perception of superiority based on not much and their outspokenness and extreme opinions on politics, social issues and world news, culminating in a tendency towards conspiracy theories. Strong opinions that are not open to suggestion. Stubborn. Boring. Not fun for girls who want to have fun.  A fair few of this type. 

1 hour ago, ozimoron said:

 

garbage. It's the academic study of how racism is pervasive in society., Nothing more than that. The right wing have a problem with sloganeering.

Maybe so.. but you have to acknowledge that woke has taken on a different meaning regardless of the dictionary definition. Based on the wider use of it do you not see that people can go over the top in trying too hard to be inclusive and non racist etc. Doesn't mean being racist, or non inclusive as such is a good thing ever, but simply that trying too hard in the opposite direction can be tedious and damaging and can result in people being judged too harshly for having different opinions that may have some merit, or for saying something out of turn or making a mistake.  

I come across things here and there - in tv advertising, tv shows and films, at work, where there is a clear attempt to seem hip to the jive of what young people are thinking, and on occasion they go too far or muck it up. Mainly harmless - and hardly new for the powers that be to try and win favour for dubious motives.

It's impact, in my opinion, is somewhat overblown, mainly by the right wing politicians and media, who will scour the world for more extreme examples and say - fear this - this is what democrats or other lefties want to do to you and your children. 

For sure, point out where things are over the top, but be honest about it's implications on our lives, and being a bit kinder and aware of the feelings and point of view of others, is not so bad. 

Suspicious with some of these posts. This guy Jan1970, first post, starts with 'thank you for accepting my membership on the forum' and talks about his real estate issue involving someone wanting a deposit back. There's a post by Robyn2222, first post, that starts as 'thank you for accepting my membership on the forum' that talks about his real estate issue where he is looking to get a deposit back. Take from that what you will.