Fat is a type of crazy

Bad girls can have the sweetest gentlest voice and be slim and cute and look after you like a king and then BAM ... I married one and divorced one. Tonight many years on as friends we were chatting about supermarket prices .. bad girls often mellow out and become good girls as they get older.

At the risk of being accused of going seriously off topic here are 2 songs. Social Fools from Hardcore No 1 About how freedom can be limited by our own actions and inactions. If you obey society's rulesYou will be society's foolsYou'll obey and then disobeyYou'll disobey but then you'll obeyYou thought your mom and dad were foolsYou never wanted to listen in schoolNow your mind won't go where you want to take itYou got a ride but you're not gonna make it DEVO - Social Fools - 1978 - YouTube Bottled Up from hardcore No 2 About how our health can be affected by our inhibitions and lack of freedom Doctors say you ain't got long to live Nurse say you ain't got much to give Don't listen to your doctor Don't play up to the nurse Wave goodbye to your doctor Just because you're bottled up Just because you're bottled up You're gotta get unbottled up Devo "Bottled Up" - YouTube

Love this album. The idea that just like everything else in the universe we are falling apart i.e. devolving not evolving. Can recommend the two Hardcore albums that came out which has stuff from 1974 to 1977 that didn't make the cut. You would think they might poorly compare but they are both the best.

The short answer to your final question for me is, based on available information, no i.e. no mechanism whereby I think something and it influences the behaviour or actions of people or objects. If I be nice, positive, good, bad, ugly to people it influences how they will treat me, but if I sit in a laboratory and try and levitate something, or try and influence the universe to give me good parking space, or make other good things happen, I don't think it will work.

Pretty weak jokes. There is a way to do it. Think of Borat. The first movie. Most jokes are politically incorrect and he makes fun of the left and right. Yet most on the left and right loved it. Ricky Gervais to a degree too. Talent can still shine through. Tough though on the less talented. Some youth have always been opinionated and holier than thou but now they have the megaphone and constant self reflection of the internet, and it makes everyone think too much. If you watch an old episode of On the Buses, say, you can see the youth may have a bit of a point on some of the jokes but there's still a decent laugh there. People got back then that it's nothing too serious. Benny Hill was made fun of as far back as the eighties by Ben Elton for being sexist and a bit old hat yet Benny somewhat endures because, though women were often seen as a sex object, the joke was always about himself and his attempts at getting women rather than the women themselves. Corporations and programmers will always go where the money is so if there is sufficient demand for something it will make its way back.

I have a friend who I used to see a lot who works at a liquor store. He's a gentle guy and an alcoholic but that's a different story. They are told not to stop anyone under any circumstances. People get sacked if they do. To do with insurance. So bogans go into stores and just walk out with a nice bottle and they hope the shopping centre security is nearby.

Not putting America first but putting Trump first. Trump picked those who kissed his ring. It's probably been noted but the the candidate against Liz Cheney was once an anti Trumper too but she gave in to him and kissed his ring and got his endorsement. If I was a Republican I would want free thinking smart candidates - not people who are blindly loyal and just follow the irrational lies of the Trump narrative of stolen elections etc.

To address your main point though except for some utilities, and some tradesman looking for cash jobs which I reject, I find there is seldom discounts for cash or debit card. For those that do the extra fee is normally the same as the points. I think businesses for a long time accept that people want to use new technologies and there are advantages for record keeping and not having to muck around with cash. Obviously though in Thailand sometimes cash is the only practical payment method for some small businesses. For those businesses that can accept card but offer discounts to avoid tax I would say don't support them.

I don't follow it much but as a former Collingwood supporter who has a vague memory of 1970 and strong memories of 79 and 81 when Carlton kicked our ass it kind of hit the spot. Sorry about that and go Doggies.

You'd be surprised. My HSBC card has no annual fee and I get a $100 voucher for $20,000 spent. Not amazing but free. Citibank has an annual fee of AUD $150 but they are constantly giving offers where you can get $50 or $100 vouchers. They are doing it hoping you'll take on additional credit. You just need to be disciplined in paying amounts back each month. I never buy things I don't need as the points can be used for cash back and supermarkets and similar. Throw in free product and travel insurance. I agree on American Express. They have big annual fees and many businesses charge extra to use them as there fees to businesses are much higher. Got rid of it years ago but I suppose you can make that work too if you find businesses willing to take it and you can get enough points.

Strange thumb or weird photo.

I can relate to that. Went in the early nineties. Unique and different country.

Watched 5 minutes today. I accept it is a small sample but had to turn it off. Firstly, I get that not every individual decision that democrats make at all levels of government, are good and correct. To me though he is simply using cherry picked examples, not looking at context, adding some obvious weak humour, and then worst of all, concluding with some childish statement like 'Democrats are going to take away your rights and freedom'. No subtlety. No humility or sense of being fair. Bill Maher he is not.

Good post but I just note a few counter points: Inflation already levelling off in United States. Rising interest rates are doing their job stifling demand. Government support payments are probably decreasing as unemployment is low around the world. Covid issues that affected supply chains are reducing all the time. Most governments have stopped lockdowns or extreme measures. Now we have good vaccines it is up to the individual to take responsibility for themselves. The biggest driver of inflation is fuel cost which has been reducing and will reduce further if the Ukraine war can ever be finalised. Fuel of course feeds into all sorts of other costs. The argument that increased wages leads to a spiralling inflation is inflated itself. It has some effect but there are many factors and, as much as corporations would like to stop higher wages, fairness has to be a factor and it will only lead to minor subsequent inflation i.e. it is only one input in the cost of a good or service. In terms of older people government payments is a concern but compulsory superannuation was introduced in many countries including Australia resulting in less eligibility for payments on retirement and more self funded retirees. A problem for governments was payouts to retiring public servants. Government workers such as myself are still on defined benefit superannuation whereas anyone who joined after 2003 has super based on their own savings rather than a defined benefit meaning less government liability in the future. This was a huge problem in countries like Greece. Climate change could be a big issue for particular localised areas though more broadly markets may work it out i.e. move production to new low cost areas. Depends how bad it gets though.

Your comments, which I thought were interesting, were looking at what happened in some of your relationships and you seemed to wonder if it applies more generally. I was not criticising you for attempting to do this. I was making my own broader theory, noted that my theory is a generalisation, and .. well .. that's that. I went back and looked at my post and one bit is supposed to say they don't really care as long as they get what THEY want.

I have noted before I think Thai people , as a massive generalisation, can be a bit faint or weak hearted. It can show itself in a kind of shallowness, a limited desire to do be active in intellect or action, a kind of blankness. Could be a downside of buddhism or could be due to a history of poverty where being to aware of yourself and your place in the world was not so pleasant. An upside is that they often let you do your thing - but is that because they are strong and understand you or because they don't really care as long as they get what you want. The downside of western women has been discussed, and I think men can be entranced by the upside of thai ladies, while not taking into account that they may lack the strength of character and strong heartedness of western women. So they are confused by the kind of blankness. This doesn't apply to all thai women of course but is just an observation of others outside my inner circle. The more the lady has had to sell her body in different ways the more she may be afflicted.

He quoted someone who I guess made some sort of comparison of abuse of leadership and here we are. I thought I'd set Thaibeachlovers straight but I make a habit of replying to off topic posters and then getting deleted so all good.

Lily Serna from the Australian copy of the show 'Letters and Numbers' was a beauty at the shows peak. You have to see her in action to do her justice.

We were reminiscing today at a work lunch about how different it was in the past. Long lunches, everyone went out on a Friday night, etc. Now not many people do including the young ones. Those that do drink a lot less in general. I was never a big drinker so it suits me but I think maybe computerisation of the office work force has dimmed sociability. Get on a train everyone's looking at their phone. In the work place if not working people probably like to look at the internet rather than get up to the water cooler and <deleted> on about football. Thanks to ongoing covid stuff workers are even more separated working from home. I love working from home though. Going to work is a drag.

Freedom of Choice (2009 Remaster) - YouTube

My opinion Freedom of choice is there but limited by our capacity to think, our life experience, and what it takes to get through the day. What we can actually do and what we are likely to do. I could do anything right now. No god to stop me. But I don't do stuff - why. Freedom of choice by Devo has the lines: Freedom of choice is what we got Freedom from choice is what we want I think the feeling of too much freedom can be difficult and upsetting. 20 choices of Muesli and soap powder at the supermarket. Starting a day of work right now rather than sitting on a beach in Thailand. For peace of mind many, if not all of us, limit our freedom so we don't think too much - we put blinkers on ourself, like for a horse, so we can stay somewhat focused. It's the same with politics - I see it in your Trump posts and you see it in the democrat posts. A self imposed internal bias and limitation. There is what we are too that explains that bias. Freedom to take action is limited by our bodies and circumstance e.g. physical attributes, ability, appearance, financial situation. Some can be altered some cannot. In the longer term our freedom and ability to think becomes limited. Our place in society, perception of our self that develops over time, having been hurt in relationships etc - they have an effect on us, make our shoulders slump or sit back confidently, our heart be a bit tired or full of spark, how 'open' our face is, and over time in reality this limits our likely decisions and options. Limits our ability to communicate and limits our actual thoughts and feelings. Hard to overcome this. So freedom becomes limited to avoid pain and maximise pleasure available to us. Different for different people. So we have absolute freedom in terms of thoughts but not actions. But even our thoughts and feelings become limited as we close off some parts and open up others so the sense of freedom becomes distorted.

Freedom to me is a bit like accidents and luck - it is a subjective experience or feeling. I don't label what I am after. I keep life simple and do what needs to be done and take it easy and see what's next.

You know this, but the science and secrets of chance is based on statistics, using the base of science and mathematics. On Australian 60 minutes this week they had a story about a guy in a small town in the United States who noted a flaw in a lottery, and how prizes were paid, and was able to make a small fortune. It's going to be a movie with Bryan Cranston. No luck which is a human construct. Accident is a human construct too i.e. it is based on our expectations. He couldn't be sure he'd win but increased his chances. Chance not being a mechanism or thing but simply a construct with a margin of error based on scientific and mathematical knowledge.

You have shown the wonder of science but also shown your bias or the bias of those you read. This is new news and no one is hiding or dismissing the issues you raise. NASA are telling the same story as you. The issue is that these are new findings that have not been peer reviewed. To rewrite history give it time. Science and scientists are on your side in terms of finding the truth. There is probably some out there who will be peeved if it's proven wrong but too bad for them.

No hypocrisy in science itself. How many times does it have to be said. They have a theory. Test it. Some theories close to proven. Some lesser so but extremely likely. Some lesser so still so just a theory that can be debated but still much more likely than theories of control by a god. Some individuals go beyond science and call it science. Criticise them - no problem. Dreams. Luck. I think we all think, from time to time, that maybe there is some outside influence. This is more likely explained by human nature rather than reality. Until there's proof dreams and luck are just dreams and luck.