Fat is a type of crazy

In Australia there had been a fairly well paid public service, with newly compulsory superannuation, and where they still paid them out as a defined benefit. Properties were cheaper too back in the day so it meant the average joe if he invested a bit could do quite well. Might be different if a different country and certainly not the same for the young of today. I'll retire at 58 or 59, not too far off, get long service leave till 60.

Devo Too Much Paranoias - YouTube

A thing about Americans is they clearly see themselves more at the centre of the universe and believe in their specialness - as such it seems like they are more likely to fall for ruses -there is much less likelihood an extreme politician, cult leader or religious leader, would succeed in Australia in the same way as they seem to be able to get a foothold in the States - our down to earthness and BS meter is too strong to cop it. Having said that there does seem to be something in the air in the states that garners success and achievement that you may be less likely to see elsewhere. One last comment on the term septic tanks - I have never heard someone use that term in my life and it was probably last used in the 50's or 60's.

I am thinking of staying a bit in Patong after a break of close to 10 years. I did go a few times and each stay I would think 'What am I doing here' The smell, the traffic, so built up, the suit sellers hassling you everywhere. Not fun. I do have a hotel I like there though and food is good. The beach can be nice or can be terrible. Last time there were little areas cordoned off by rope to swim so the jetskis and parasails could take over the beach. The sand in the water felt sticky and there was sometimes, but not always, plastic bags and other rubbish. Depends what you are after I suppose. Bang Tao, Laem Singh if it still accessible, and Kata and Karon of course much nicer as a beach.

Not that low if you look over 5 years. Higher than all of 2019 and 2020. Got a bit above 25 here and there but promptly dropped. AUD doing OK against USD given interest rates have been lifted less. China opening up and possibly lifting trade sanctions could be good for Australia. Though China opening up is good for Thailand too so see what happens.

We could go on the hovercraftAcross the waterThey'll think I'm your dadAnd you're my daughter Not a bad song from 1980ish Je Suis Un Rockstar My personal opinion is if they were told there was no nakedness but then tricked into getting naked on the day as they seem to say they may have a point but too long ago I should think.

Now we can see, consistent with much that he does, that this and related actions were half a s s e d, with little chance of it leading to a different outcome, but it cost lives and sent a terrible message to the world about the state of democracy in the United States. Seems to have in the long term resulted in many of his supporters on this site giving up on him. Your claim though that the whole thing was nothing, if that is what you are saying, is not consistent with the events themselves and the actions he and others took, behind the scenes, such as taking steps to overturn various state results. There is an update this week of course. The key point is that at the time his words were leading to objectively bad things and it was not unreasonable after several warnings for him to be banned.

Hopefully you can see that January 6 was a different, fluid, and unprecedented situation involving the attempt to illegitimately keep the presidency. You probably accept now that all his election fraud stuff is nonsense and that the steps he took were bad for the United States. This in a brave new world where said President can communicate with millions in seconds. I won't recount the opportunities he was given not to be cancelled but long cut short, even if you say they made the wrong decision long term, you can hopefully see the logic of the decision.

Free credit card insurance is often as complete as insurance bought from the company direct. Still might not cover her as a passenger and this case it appears it did not. Wish her a fast recovery. I rode around Koh Samui in the eighties without proper insurance. In her case as a passenger only she has clearly made a mistake but many young people make much worse errors of judgement on a holiday such as this.

That joke was seriously in poor taste. I was going to give you a pass but since you are doubling down.

If you are not a fan of Bolan, and his career as a solo artist, with John's Children, Tyrannosaurus Rex, TRex up to his death in 77, then fair enough but no need to link him with the other 2.

You can't compare rates off covid before and after and say it's due to vaccines. Strict lockdowns eased in October 2021 in Melbourne and at different times in different cities and covid did take off in December 2021. Lockdowns were necessary before the vaccines were reasonably rolled out. The authorities knew cases would take off but the vaccines now meant the rates of serious illness and death would mean hospitals would not be overwhelmed.

Thought his tweet about Fauci on the weekend was ridiculous irresponsible and childish. Boss from hell. Deserves a good booing. For what it's worth not a big fan of Chappelle. He seems to have a slight bitterness or a take on things I don't relate too but can't please everyone. Comedians I like seem to think he's funny.

You can be cynical, but as it happens he is involved in Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for the poor and All Day Foundation, which help at risk youth pursue a better future and A day made better, where they donate $1000 to 1000 teachers. He started a charity that works against child sex trafficking and is an ambassador for Unicef etc etc. All hail Ashton Kutcher. I didn't know this myself but google makes him out to be a decent sort of chap.

CNN has a show on now called Heroes and many of the heroes are celebrities who have done something good. Can seem corny and self serving. But saw a story about Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis who set up a go fund me for humanitarian aide to Ukraine. They put a lot of effort into it. it Has gained USD 30 million. Not too shabby.

You can do it at giftcards.com.au and they will send it to the Australian address. Not sure what the pages of paperwork are. Is it that they don't accept your credit card? A few further details may assist.

Working from home was life changing. No more commute. Less workplace shenanigans. Luckily it continues 2 days a week at home.

I am no fan of the royal family but it is so condescending to say that she can 'educate' them. Have to be careful if you go to a party, a bit nervous amongst the so called socially elite, have a few drinks, maybe are having a bad day, that you don't say a sentence or two that could be construed as not totally appropriate and gets you labelled a racist for life. Lame.

Happy to have competition. Thought cheap airfares might be finished but Jetstar has a current sale $400 return for later this year possibly due to this competition. AirAsia fares seem to be around $400 one way which is still significantly better than some.

The problem is workers can't win. Times are bad. No pay rise. Economy surges. No pay rise due to inflationary risk. Wages are one input into the cost so a rise in wages does not mean the same percentage increase in the cost of a service or good. There has to be common sense but if you are looking at whether a country is successful, the ability for every day workers to live a happy and dignified life, is a key benchmark.

Air in Phuket much cleaner compared to most places north. Beaches too as a rule though Patong can be bad. A bit of rubbish can wash up throughout South East Asia sadly. Phuket isn't that big that you can't live near a fairly clean beach and be not far from high quality health care.

Wise is a fair bit cheaper and often instantly into their bank account. Don't need phone to send. Maybe you do to set up account.

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If the story is that someone said something heard by some people what evidence can you have except to confirm that those people say he said it. They had multiple sources. You would probably be aware that at that level they would likely check the people are who they say they are, that they were in attendance at the event, and that that they are not well known as having a particular anti Trump bias etc. For what it is worth that female reporter on Fox News is one of their credible ones and the fact that it is reported on a range of left leaning and right leaning media may give you further credence. Anonymity is reasonable as the individuals who heard may not wish to expose themselves to crazy Trump supporters.

Do you now look at his presidency itself in a different light? It may have seemed like some were overly concerned, before and during the Trump presidency, about what might lie ahead. The signs were clearly there though - poor decision making, constant lies, rarely acting in good faith. Many were criticised as exaggerating Trumps lack of character and smarts but here we are.