Fat is a type of crazy

Graham Bell was before Edison. Others before them in some form but Bell with documented proof. Invention of the telephone - Wikipedia The term 'Give me a bell' likely came from the noise of the bell on the phone rather than due to Mr Bell. Life in both places can work well if you are a happy person willing to work a bit.

My ex wife wouldn't dream of living in Thailand. She loves Melbourne and Australia. The availability of well paid work, the big open clean streets with wide footpaths, she can get all her Thai food with better quality meat and vegetables, not hot all the time, etc etc. Not UK but similar principle. Not sure it helped or hindered our relationship - probably gave her more options but 6 years was enough for both of us.

Some? Anyone with a brain and a heart. Are you seriously suggesting that Russia and Putin should not be criticised for invading that ONE country.

Actually I didn't see too much but when you are 22 you go with it. I saw a man in a heavy coat in a cold climate who apparently was me in a past life. I wasn't a king or a knight or something. Oh well. $50. Introduced through a swedish girl I met on the gili islands off Lombok. When your young the whole wide world seems to smile with you. But then when you get older you dream of nice apartments or houses in Thailand in which to retire. My plan in less than 2 years, is Phuket e.g. Phuket town, or Pattaya - somewhere with a nice pool and gym like they show on youtube, or maybe a house on the way to Ranong or Chantabhuri or in the other direction past Hua Hin. 6 months there 6 months in Australia sounds most likely and best.

I was taken into my past lives in the eighties buy a swedish girl called Karin Jansson who had a band called Curious (Yellow) in Australia. Her partner was Steve Kilbey of somewhat well known band the Church. She co wrote 'Under the Milky Way". She lay me on the bed and told me to think of floating down a river. I let myself go. The things I saw. The Church - Under The Milky Way (Audio only) - YouTube

Play this up loud, dust yourself off, keep off the booze and wait and see if you can get her to sign the divorce further down the track. No assets or kids so no worries. Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go (Extended Version / Medley) - YouTube

I haven't had time to watch news in the last 2 weeks but there was a reasonable example of how he can be unfairly portrayed at the start of September. I mentioned it in a different post. Fox showed him saying he does not consider any Trump supporter to be a threat to the country. The replacement for Laura Ingraham on Fox had that stupid smile as though, QED, he had proven Biden didn't know what he was saying and contradicted his concern about Trump supporters in a speech the night before. But straight after that Biden noted that those who voted for Trump in 2020 "and support him now, they weren't voting for attacking the Capitol, they weren't voting for overruling an election." "They were voting for the philosophy he put forward," Biden said. "So, I am not talking about anything other than, it is inappropriate -- and it's not only happened here, but other parts of the world -- where there's a failure to recognize and condemn violence whenever it's used for political purposes," he said. "Failure to condemn the attempt to manipulate electoral outcomes. Failure to acknowledge when an election has been won or lost." Not every Trump supporter threat to nation, Biden says - ABC News (go.com) His ability to give a clear consistent message about Trump helped him win. He is a bit slow at times, and a second term is probably not a good idea, but I think the issues we see are mainly style or a bit of old age over substance.

So is there a generic mainstream media that includes the New York Times and the New York Post in your mind - both manipulated by democrats. As others have pointed the New York Post is just one arm of Murdoch media that includes Fox News. The Murdoch family gets what they want and that is normally Republican policy of being pro corporate and wealthy and willing to be influenced by the highest bidder. I see Biden struggle here and there but I also see him make some highly intelligent unscripted comments. He's still with it - he's a bit old is all.

A melancholy post but it seems you had an excellent relationship with a big broader family unit so be happy for that. I have a close immediate family but there are aunts and uncles in relation to which I don't know if they are alive or not - including my mother's twin after they fell out 40 years ago. It might be symbolic of you seeing yourself in them. You could think about now and think about if the beer is still fun and a good thing. Try and relax and remember the humour of those gone and live for now.

Not sure if you watch Bill Maher but it would be hard to find a host who takes on all comers like he does. He has often said he would like more guests who are Republican and others to the right, and when he does have them as guests he does take them on but treats them respectfully, but he has few takers.

I think the downside of working from home is probably more applicable to young people who need the social interaction, whether they know it or not, and for particular types of employment. In terms of discussing ideas, we have an internal messaging system that is more simple and direct than email, and some people feel freer to talk on the phone, than face to face. No one listening. Most queries I have require experts who are often at a different office in Australia - I work for a big department. It's 2022 - the genie's out of the bottle - the commute, small talk in the lifts, and sitting in an office under flourescent lights is so 2019.

You must have been taking notes. It was a good episode. I felt those dating app stats sounded a bit out of whack i.e. that 96 per cent of men miss out. But could be I suppose.. I think people can be categorised into those that need and like the office social interaction and those to whom it is a hindrance. The modern set up of no separate offices means having to hear conversations about the new TV show, football, long discussions about some ones new baby, etc. I am clearly more productive at home and save 2 hours each day in commute time. Don't need the chatter - happy to be social outside work. We are at 3 days at the office and 2 at home so better than nothing. I have Foxtel pay TV - a bit funny when it's on youtube before it's on Foxtel but there it is.

I take your point but don't concur. I have walked down the street once with my girlfriend and I wouldn't have considered I had the right to inappropriately touch any of the women. It's not a thing.

I don't want either party in control. I just want to be me and let her be her. I am over 50. The die is cast. Attempts to be decisive or to take control or be some idea of masculine that I am not now is not something I would want to do. Maybe I am already super masculine. Maybe I am super feminine. Don't care. You are what you is. And that's all there is.

It's not just baggage handling - there are significant issues with engineering which some say has been exacerbated by cuts and outsourcing over the years. This is from one of Australia's largest papers notes the following on September 6 : 'Jetstar has been operating with half its long-haul fleet out of service because of maintenance and engineering issues, contributing to widespread cancellations that have affected thousands of customers’ international travel plans.' It refers to the Four Corners program on ABC this week as follows: 'The ABC’s Four Corners reported on Monday night that some Qantas employees and unions were concerned that cost-cutting was putting its reputation for safety at risk.' Jetstar planes grounded, thousands of Australians stuck abroad (smh.com.au) This too: Jetstar Bali passengers to fly Qantas after cancellations – Australian Aviation “Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel some services between Australia and Denpasar due to engineering requirements,” said Jetstar. They do have a long history and reputation for cuts and outsourcing sometimes for practical reasons such as Covid shutdowns but they have built a reputation for overall cost cutting. Coronavirus: Qantas adds to job cuts by outsourcing 2,000 roles - BBC News This story isn't recent but shows they have over the years cut maintenance staff to lower levels than they had in the past - this is when they had the same Chief Executive Officer. More maintenance jobs go as Qantas continues engineering restructure – Australian Aviation You make a point though that there may be a range of reasons for their issues, and they would of course have to maintain funding for maintenance by law, but it seems their maintenance and engineering is not keeping up with their flight schedule.

Made big news in Australia. Too many maintenance cuts to Qantas and Jetstar it seems. People taking sick leave. Low unemployment so hard to replace. My flights 2 months ago were 3 and 6 hours late. They have to be careful because people can only take so much before they give up on the cheaper tickets. I did book a cheapie though for next May for $350 return to Phuket to get rid of some vouchers. Hope they get their act together by then.

Cringe a bit sometimes. Not sure what there is to laugh at. What are you laughing at exactly? The President is a figure head of course. Many youthful smart people around him to get things done. I think the key point is all of us, though we may be reasonably intelligent, struggle to eloquently express ourselves sometimes. A person who is eloquent is more likely to be intelligent. But being intelligent doesn't mean you are necessarily eloquent in the same proportion. Might mean you are a bit old, slower, but still intelligent. Still able to effectively delegate. Not many Obama's or Clinton's around but he can be judged on what he achieves which I think is pretty impressive and you no doubt don't.

I take your point but sometimes I see that as inspirational. Older guy who probably should retire knows they need a good centrist candidate and puts his name forward. People laugh and say he's too old as he does poorly in early states but then wins nomination. Takes on Trump, gets it right in how to deal with him, and saves us from 4 more years. He has achieved some significant things. He is old. It shows sometimes. Many on this site are getting on in years. Imagine being president at his age. He deserves some serious respect. Still 2 years to go too.

I am in Melbourne. I have had the same experience as you if I call later in the day and particularly at night. I would say between 7 and 9 which is 4 to 6 your time. If that doesn't work I find if you pick an option that suggests you want to open an account they'll put you ahead of people who just have an enquiry - but the staff member will still be able to help. Worked with Jetstar too last week when I had a question about vouchers and couldn't get through, in fact the line dropped out, but then said I was buying a ticket and got through fast.

I have my main accounts with ANZ. Often the big banks are hard to get through but I find if you call between 8 or 9 in the morning Australian time there's a fair few staff but not so many callers.

To the latter point if any other politician said what he has said, on the topic of election fraud alone, he would be chastised and or laughed off the stage by not only democrats but by republicans too. There have of course been so many ridiculous statements and outright lies. These range from endless trivial lies about himself and his businesses and crowd sizes, to more serious statements supporting and defending dictators, lying and making up stuff about the extent of the coronavirus and how to treat it, saying a fix for the health system was around the corner but doing and having nothing, to simply distasteful actions such as attempting to discredit war heroes or mocking disabled reporters. These are ignored by most republicans, the right wing press, and sometimes by the mainstream media which I imagine get tired and take it as the norm. There are though still many conscientious reporters who do in fact take him to task. That is not hounding him but simply stating facts about the shortcomings of what he has said and done.

It seems like she was a bit more popular back when she gave that speech than she is now.

It is a difficult topic for Biden to discuss without seeming to tell all Republicans and all Trump supporters they are deplorable. The setting and coloured background and the use of marines did give some fodder for Fox and others to paint the speech as looking a bit over the top and dictatorial. I think though it was a good speech. Trump often gets a free pass because .. oh that's just Trump .. but calling him out clearly is a good thing. It's not easy to change the narrative but I think there will be some voters who will look at Trump slightly differently when he has his next 'greatest hits' speech of election fraud etc . I watched a bit of Fox News last night and, if you needed further proof they can't be trusted, they quoted Joe Biden in comments he made the next morning, seeming to contradict himself about whether Maga supporters are a threat, by saying “I don’t consider any Trump supporter to be a threat to the country” On ABC news they showed a longer quote where he eloquently followed this with “I do think anyone who calls for the use of violence, fails to condemn violence when it’s used, refuses to acknowledge an election has been won, insists upon changing the way in which we rule and count votes, that is a threat to democracy.”

It's reasonable to be a bit suspicious of such a group that is funded by large corporations and other wealthy donors, and who meet once a year in a beautiful town like Davos, to pontificate about the future of the world. On the other hand, the problem in life can be that those who try to do something BIG, make big changes and talk in terms of big ideas, can be fodder for conspiracy theories when the intentions may not be conspiratorial or negative. The Great Reset seems to be about finding new ideas to rethink the way things are done post covid. The term sounds bad but the idea makes sense. Build back better was of course Biden's policies to deal with climate change etc. The catchphrase you quote was from a 2016 talk by a Danish politician, predicting life in 2030, where the message was 'all products will become services' and the full quote is 'You'll own nothing and you'll be happy. Whatever you want you'll rent and it'll be delivered by a drone.' That prediction has some truth with all sorts of rental sharing sites etc appearing for things such as clothes to homes to cars. Ideas with merit can be distorted. As far as Jacinta Adern's involvement I couldn't see much except a strong speech on Climate change in 2019 along with David Attenborough. They probably like having her associated with them as she has some credibility. Keep in mind she is a Labour politician which is akin to the left of the American democrats - hardly a close friend of large corporations in the bigger picture. Best to keep an open mind on these things.

Correct. I love my chocolate, nuts, good muesli, a wine from time to time, a good beer all probably more expensive in Thailand.