Fat is a type of crazy

Fair enough. It sounds like you'll be happy in Thailand. Who knows what will happen when you get there - could be all sorts of opportunities. 48 is a good age to have fun. A bit harder though without a pension or job. It seems most people say go for it so I am saying sometimes being careful and saving up first is good too.

I think people are struggling through an Australian winter, cold, floods, having to go back to work for no good reason when you can work from home, inflation etc. Though I can see the appeal of going I think your mind might be a bit too active too sit around in Chiang Mai, watching your capital deflate, living off its income which could be inconsistent. I have a friend who went to Thailand about your age, left his business and sold up, had a low paying but fun job in Thailand and had a ball and 5 years later was in a bed sit back in Australia and a bit lost. I've mentioned it before. Can you cop being 55 and back in Australia in a bed sit. Or is it best to work hard now, put your investment ideas to work while the market is low, and look forward to life in Thailand a bit later and doing it the way you want to.

For what can go wrong, and a bit of comic relief, google Thailand bound cartoon episodes. There are 10 I think. I am in a not dissimilar situation to you in terms of working in my home country, being fond of my girlfriend, but deciding to live separately. We get together for 5 or 6 months or we did pre Covid and are now somewhat separated. Are you being ripped off? Are you being cheap? Would you be better to marry her and be looked after like a king or is the loss of freedom and possibly assets too much? Tough to know the best thing sometimes. Look after your best interests, be aware that Thai girls can lie easily, be ready how to deal with one of shocks, e.g. debt, in your case daughter problems, buffalo problems, but don’t be so careful that you miss out on something special.

That average mental age thing asks fairly loaded questions. Do people say you are old, do you hang out with older people, are you a boring sod that stays at home. It seems the average by country ranges from 25 in Portugal to 28 in Japan. So nearly everyone is mentally young. How nice.

Born in Melbourne. Still in Melbourne. I have lived in different suburbs though.

I make some observations on that video. He is in Portland which is a famously liberal city. The video shows people who came to him and were affected by what he was doing. In fact later one of them notes they are all social workers. Not nearly a representative audience of students as a whole. After initially some of them being rude on the roof, they were polite and the real issue they had was that he had a sign on campus saying 'There are only 2 genders'. Universities have always been inclusive places so having this presented as a statement of fact on campus can be seen as an issue for them. The point is it is on campus. Wouldn't have worried me and probably wouldn't worry students from other faculties such as science, economics, and medicine. But if it did I can see where they are coming from as they are on campus. After he explained that it was a thought experiment they seemed fine. They didn't shut him down and heard him out. The girl saying that she was a different gender in a binary society, i.e. men and women, seemed polite and harmless. When she says there's societal things associated with being a man and a woman, and that we have to sometimes fit stereotypes, I think there's some truth. Especially in times gone by. I would disagree from my experience that not fitting that that makes you a different gender but the concept of letting people be free to be what they want is not so bad. Having said that the language they use like 'triggering response', 'feeling safe', 'harmed', 'oppressed', and the woman saying they needed someone there to support a trans person if they feel triggered or hurt, was over the top a bit. But I think it confirms what I said. They are in a University setting which has always been a bit like that, and being young and idealistic and worried about hurting people's feelings seems normal for that setting, especially among social studies students. They seemed to accept that others have a different opinion and seemed nice. If students are overthinking things and overdoing the niceness and caring and trying too hard, but otherwise going about their day, it's not so bad. If I was a professor I think it wouldn't be hard to have a different say by saying I am basing my opinion on science that there are 2 genders, that science is never finalised and there could be a range of genders depending on how it is defined, and then being respectful to those who have a different opinion.

Some missing commas and such made my last post a bit confusing. Good point though. I am not sure if it's as bad as you say but I agree with your points if it is correct. It may be that the professors created the environment that made students that way and it's coming back to bite them. Bill Maher from time to time has some good examples of such excess, and if it is costing people there careers then that's of course inappropriate, but students have always been a bit that way and to focus on youthful folly as a sign of a broader issue could be a bit harsh. Universities may or may not be a microcosm of society as a whole but I'm guessing most here don't have much to worry about when it comes to this issue.

I married a Thai lady who had a big family. I have a girlfriend of 10 years who has a family. I get it but if she's 57 and frugal might be worth giving her the benefit of the doubt. Both of my partners were aware enough not to fall for family pressure but only he knows the situation in detail.

The issue seems to be 1 who do you want to get the funds; and 2 if you want your wife to get it, is it reasonable to consider that at 57 she is not able to manage funds, or control her family. If deep down you want it to go to a charity then there are many and up to you to decide what cause. Often the big administration costs come with those street spruikers that sign you up and the charity can get as little as 5 per cent. There are lots of legitimate charities of course that can be paid direct. Your wife would be understandably upset that you did this. If your wife, then couldn't you just trust her and just have it in a bank account and tell her not to tell the family. Now you can get the message to her about how to best handle the funds. If you are concerned about her managing the funds then give her say 20 per cent a year or similar but it will probably not make her happy, given she's 57, that you did it this way.

I concur. I have mentioned this before but I went to University in the 80's and there was plenty of feminists, environmentalists, those fighting for the rights of gays and other 'ists' there back then as there are now. I can recall a lunch time comedy show in 1987 where a guy called George Smilovici did a comedy bit, he's 'I'm tuff' bit is on youtube and not particularly funny, and a group of feminists Cancelled him - started shouting 'Off Off Off' and he went off. I can recall protests when say politicians or business people deemed inappropriate or to be from the right attempted to come to campus. Before no one noticed. Those students would get older and their outlook would change. Now thanks to social media the students get a chance to vent more widely and the media, particularly on the right, gets a chance to pick up on it and use these young idealistic types as a representation of all the ills of the left. Before they were left to vent amongst themselves unless their was a protest. Since the 60's at least universities have been a place for idealism and hope for change. Sometimes good things result. Sometimes they are totally self indulgent and it is over the top. They get things wrong, and all this safe space and some of the more extreme aspects of there being different genders can be silly or unfair, but it's a university and it's not clear why this is such a concern to so many older white guys. When was your life actually affected by this stuff.

Not sure but I guess by ATM card they mean credit card and you can negotiate the interest rate if you don't pay it off each month. Sounds a bit unlikely but I don't know Thailand banks

I think there is some argument to say the attack is personal and nasty. It's not necessarily being namby pamby, but in fact Twitter's right as a business, to say that direct personal attacks are not allowed. To talk about cutting breasts off and stuff is personal, insulting and an attempt to humiliate the individual to look silly, crazy, whatever. You might argue they are. Had he discussed the issue of mutilating the body in relation to trans people in general and suggested it is not appropriate he may not have been suspended. But he picked someone out focusing on them and lambasting that individual for his followers and the world. My point is he could have adjusted the tone, content and focus of the tweet to still make the same point, but he choose to focus on the individual. Though the individual is an actor they are not a public figure who is saying they are necessarily right about their decision as far as I can tell. They believe they are a man and are trying to get by. Media was different before. There was no twitter or similar. Imagine if the news had a discussion about trans people in the 1970's and reporter focused on one person in the same way - it wouldn't have been allowed. Do you think a letter to the editor like that would have been published in a newspaper. Political correctness does exist and is an issue but things may not have changed as much as you think.

I can see by being specific to the person it is a bit offensive but surely the feeling of harrassment is not sufficient to merit a ban. I don't get what he has done wrong enough to break the rules. The description of the procedure can be deemed a bit nasty but it is accurate too. Or is it that it was secret information about the procedure. Or was he on two strikes and a small third offence pushed him over the line. I don't like his attitude and approach necessarily but surely people can have a say even if their attitude is not appealing to all and sundry. I am all for people doing what they want but, like religion, people can surely be critical of actions or beliefs that aren't necessarily backed up be science at this stage. Sticks and stones and all that.

Shouldn't be cancelled but I wouldn't get on the Peterson train myself.. some things he says is good stuff but some not to my way of thinking .. I just have no trans people or situations to concern me in my life so I am happy for them to do their thing as long as they are adults and if they want to cut this and that then no skin of my ... nose

I assume that's buying one 750 ml bottle. Just buy a box. Bought 24 Coopers Pale Ale 440 ml with discount for $42 or $1.75 or 43 baht a bottle for a third bigger size . Goat beer is $46 for 24 375 ml cans or $1.91 a bottle or 46 baht for the bigger size. Good beers too.

But my work place is clearly well represented by women whereas not long ago the supreme court was not and many positions of power are not. Each decision in that 60 years probably got criticised like this one - but in the longer term it has been a good thing. I think her not answering about what is a woman shows a difference between how people think. Some can accept it's not her job to answer that and leave it there. Focus on substantive issues. Listen to her words not interpretations of what it might mean to fit your purpose. I would call that common sense.

See the bigger picture. Think how women and blacks were treated in 1962 and what has been achieved in 60 years . At my work there are programs for indigenous Australians to get experience and it might mean a faster track than a different person. Might even cost me a promotion. I can live with that. But in 2022 if a woman got the edge over me for a promotion because she is a women I'd be peeved. Hasn't been an issue so far I think. Sometimes giving hard working smart people a helping hand can be a good thing without concluding some one is a dumb soft liberal or horrible person with false motives.

The first black woman in such a role can act as a role model and a trail blazer like the first black president. I bet a lot of people through the years have altered their thinking as they saw blacks succeed in roles of authority especially after Obama became president. It can also potentially balance a court somewhat that is supposed to represent all Americans. Beyond that make of it what you will. It appears she was an excellent candidate, no one is saying otherwise, but if you think it's not fair that Biden made that promise before hand that's fine by me.

Your assertion that there was a predisposition to pick a black woman is correct. Not ideal, but justices can play an important role as a model to america's youth which is a positive, and it happens there are a lot of black women who are eminently qualified to do the job and she is one of them if not the best.

May not be as proficient as others but the two that come automatically to mind are Marc Bolan of TRex and Andy Scott of Sweet. Just like the feeling behind what they did or are doing. Saw Prince live a couple of times, once close up, and though the music is a bit less my cup of tea now he put some strong feeling into what he did.

I find it hard to understand the extreme opinions in this debate. When I watch him I see someone trying to do the right thing but trying too hard to the point of being boring. Not hard to see that various 'ism's, racism, sexism, etc are still around and to be sincere in wanting them reduced is a good thing. Some things that might seem trivial or detrimental to some can be seen in a different way without much effort e.g. blacks not being keen on having to walk past statues of confederate leaders each day. I wonder why? Then one extreme leftie says Lincoln statues should go and the right tars the whole left with the same brush. One thing I don't like on this site is people who seem to make a point of pride of dismissing the suffering of others such as Ukranians. Thinking that it's clever or antiwoke to have no reaction to seeing a bully kill innocent people. Or to want to do something is insincere unless you take on every battle at all times. On the other hand a constant thought process whereby a person is telling the world about trying to help and stand up for others, while often actually doing nothing, can come across, and probably is, insincere. Relax and live your life. On other topics covered: I find many young like 60's to 90's music and don't see it as kids of the 70's like me saw big band music. Rock n roll and pop changed the dynamic and in many ways hasn't changed over the years. Hotel California is and was not my cup of tea and was neither rock or pop in my opinion. It's some kind of easy going blend. Parmas not parmies where I come from. Prawns not shrimp.

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Your approach of attempting to draw a line in the sand is interesting but I am not sure why it should be the ability to live outside the womb. If a baby is born sick and cannot survive without machines it surely is not OK to kill it. I would have thought, if it is appropriate to say when an abortion should or should not be legal, it is the humanity of the fetus. Brain activity, can it feel, those types of criteria. It would be difficult now to make such a call but as science develops it may be possible to say that there is a light on and someone or something is home.

I don't think Bill Maher would approve. It's not woke to suggest a man should not influence kids or put pressue on them to pray to Lord Jesus at a school football game. Okay relax and assume the positionGo into doggie submission Devo Praying Hands - YouTube

Where I am is cold and wet. A week and a bit ago I was in a top resort with my girlfriend that had been quarter of the cost of a similar Australian hotel on a nice clean beach. I think some of the full costs quoted in the article were never going to be charged in low season but there are definitely good deals to be had. Good dining options half or less the cost of Australia. Keep in mind most people don't have the mindset of the naysayers who have followed the to and fro of the pandemic in Thailand, Thailand Pass, TAT policies etc. They are cold and bored after 2 years without a holiday. They see a nice hotels and beach at a good price. I think many will be back.