Fat is a type of crazy

This tape seems like an example of Trump in general. You have to ask yourself if he is actually dumb and believes the conspiracy theories or if he knows they are bogus and is just really making a threat.

But he seems smart enough to  possibly not cross the line into having actually committed a crime.  

So as normal you ask:

Is Trump just dumb, or a bit corrupt and a bit dumb, or corrupt and smart. Either way it's a bad outcome for Team Trump. 

My girlfriend called me last night on Line with a beanie and jumper on and I was in shorts and a TShirt. Normally the other way around.

I am happy for the people to get their $2000. If the Republican's reject this in the Senate though I have to admire them in a strange way for sticking to their guns that $600 is enough. This would be despite upsetting the president, and many voters, including Georgian voters.   If they are as cynical as they seem to be you'd think they would vote it through and let the Democrats deal with the debt.

2 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You've reminded me of a joke told to me by a very senior Victorian public servant many years ago.

Q "Why do public servants never look out the window in the morning?"

A " If they did, they'd have nothing to do in the afternoon".

When electricity was public in Victoria, before privatisation, the government body was the State Electricity Commission ( SEC ). It didn't get the nickname Safe, Easy and Comfortable for nothing.

The days of looking out the window, and throwing paper clips at fellow workers for entertainment, have somewhat, but not totally, ended. One main reason is the computerisation of case work - managers can see how much staff are doing and whether there are any duds amongst the ranks. 

In 2020 public servants were the ones that got Australia through the pandemic. Many staff had to take on new and unfamiliar work and work at breakneck speed to get payments out and get people tested and kept safe. We should all get a medal.

43 minutes ago, Liverpoolfan said:

I hate gyms and I have no friends.

Best just crack open a can then eh.

People are different. I come from the Lacessit way of thinking where drink has never been that much fun so it's not difficult to stop. If you really enjoy it then maybe keep going but I aren't buying what the heavy drinkers are selling - that it's fun to drink so much each day. 

The thing about gym is you probably think of showoffs and leotards but if you just get under a bench press or hit the boxing bag it's fun and let's out frustration. Good luck.

I have read a few posts where you talk about having a bottle of wine a day, then other posts where you talk about going out at night and watching soccer and getting seriously drunk , which I assume is on top of the bottle a day, and now this post. If this is correct then that's clearly too much in my opinion.

My 2 cents worth is to get some serious exercise into your body. At the moment your brain is telling your body what to do i.e. cop all that drink. 

The more you exercise the more your body will wake up and feel a bit healthy and may start fighting back against all your drinking. Your body probably won't want to have all that drink and your habits might change. Get out and kick a soccer ball with a friend or hit the gym. 

I have found this worked for me for my issues with too much sweet stuff. Four workouts a week and push yourself once you get basic fitness. 

Get medical advice about all aspects of doing exercise and reducing drinking of course.

Wake up Liverpool fan. I don't think it can be fun for you and your wife for you to be half drunk all the time and presumably out of shape. New Years Resolution and all that. 

12 hours ago, Natai Beach said:

I can’t remember paying any “national insurance contributions”. I was talking about in Australia.
 

The people who paid the most tax and saved and invested for their future don’t  get a pension in Australia. Get nothing for their hard work and saving. And get taxed on their self generated income ironically to pay for.....
 

The people who sat on the dole, or wasted all their money on booze, ciggies and pokies and DIDNT save or invest get a government hand out pension. Tax free. And all sorts of other perks, discounts on electricity, rent assistance, free medical etc that the lifters don’t receive. 
 

That is how it is in Australia. The Robbing Hood system.
 

 

I know where you are coming from but what is the alternative to this. You could not argue the average age pensioner on a full pension is living it large and the pension age is now 67. Some are as you describe but many worked hard in average paid jobs bringing up families. Some hit difficult times for a range of reasons. The current pensioners lived in a time when superannuation was not paid for much of their career. It's easy to complain but harder to find a better outcome.

19 hours ago, Natai Beach said:

Yes they are leaners also. 
All leaning on other people like me to pay their way. 

Where do you think Centrelink gets their money from? 
A. Me 

Steady on guys. As a public servant myself believe me we work for our money. The money I bring in, or save the Commonwealth, is a large multiple of what my pay is. Other workers contribute to the economy directly but I feel good about the contribution many public servants make to the economy and to a fair Australia. 

The superannuation is generous if you joined before 2003  as it is a defined benefit but for public servants after that it's pretty much normal superannuation i.e. just based on shares or whatever. I did join before 2003 thankfully. 

By all means you can argue taxes are a bit high but I am sure you enjoy or have enjoyed all the infrastructure, national parks, hospitals  etc that taxes have paid for. 

26 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Gold is never an investment, it is a currency hedge. Investments make income in dividends or interest, gold only makes money if one buys for less than they sell it.

An investment isn't defined by whether it is income earning - just as something that may be profitable in the future. Vacant land, memorabilia, a GT Ford Falcon or gold can all be good investments.

22 minutes ago, moontang said:

I disagree, they have been much more clear about being a custodian of your assets than anything any digital nomad ever thought up.  I wouldn't be sitting in a commercial space at a trading station, though.. and being a  broker or a financial advisor is clearly forbidden, and would require a WP, as well as registration with SEC.  There are some guys doing it, and even drumming up local business.. I wouldn't go near them.  I have been trading electronically since DOS and Compuserve.. Also, most of the FX trading systems are scams, so don't fall for that.  Look up Alan Hall, former president of CMEC.  He was recruiting members and pushing them into a fund, where he got a 20% commission up front.  The fund went to zero, he did a runner. 

I am not talking about being a broker. I am differentiating between just an investor and a share trader - both involve you buying and selling shares but there is a line, in countries like Australia, where if you invest significant amounts, and buy and sell regularly,  it stops simply being treated as an investment and becomes a business.  If it is done in a  commercial space it might be a further indication of a business but it is not a key factor as to if it is a business.  Share investors and traders are taxed differently. In Thailand though, as I said, I am not sure if there are similar rules or whether for his visa  it matters if he runs a business or not. 

Working from home.. when you work in a government job having less bureaucracy and wasting time is definitely a good thing. You can do stuff at the same time during phone meetings  .. meetings by WebEx you can just chuck on a shirt and there it is. Hopefully it can continue into 2021.

35 minutes ago, Nout said:

Late? NL? Getting all the likes? So much I don't understand in the above post.

I think the gist of it is that when he is available to post, the news stories have been up or a while. So on a Trump story someone might write on page 1 'Yeah Trump sucks' and get 30 trophies, 30 love hearts and 30 smiley faces whereas he might write some thoughtful illuminating dissertation on page 26 and get 1 love heart if he's lucky. That's because fewer people read page 26.  I could be wrong though.

The only point I would make, which may be irrelevant to your situation in Thailand, is that tax law often differentiates between share investor and share trader. A share investor is someone who tends to buys shares and leave them and maybe buy and sell some from time to time. It is passive income. This may be subject to capital gains tax. It is not a business.

If you actively manage a significant amount of shares, making regular buys and sales, you may be a share trader and this means you are in business. The shares are just like apples to a fruit seller - they are trading stock.

So if you are a share trader it may affect you if there are rules about whether you can be in business. I know nothing though about how the Thai law looks at this.

32 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Henry van der Sluys, stage name Roy Rene Mo, was virtually unknown outside Australia, and a household name in it. A master of ribald, lewd, larrikin and innuendo, he used makeup to accent a Jewish appearance. His radio serial McCackie Mansions was obligatory listening for my mother and father. He only made one B&W film, Strike Me Lucky.

Dame Sybil Thorndike and Jack Benny tried to convince him to go to the UK and America respectively. He declined, saying his type of humor was only relevant in Australian culture.

 

Don't forget Stiffy his sidekick

29 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

true but it doesn't make him funny, just a good business man.  Heard from a mate who was in Vietnam in 1969 that when Bob Hope appeared one Christmas, with his travelling show,  he was arrogant and stand offish, unless you were a high ranking officer. Its not the first time I have heard and read that about him.  Lots of indications that the man was a bit of a fraud and not as saintly as he was always portrayed. 

Much of the old comedy becomes horribly dated but I think he is still amusing in some of the old movies. He delivered a line well.  W C Fields is a comedian who is still funny today. Many of the British comedians  of the 60's and 70's stand up OK. Carry on, Frankie Howard, Cook and Moore, Monty Python of course,  the old sitcoms are OK. Personal taste I suppose or lack thereof.

Some good shows not mentioned I think

Key and Peale 

Tim and Eric - Awesome Show Great Job

Check it out with Steve Brule

The last two may seem a bit odd at first but were fairly original at the time. 

Recently finished a show called Holmes which is a fictionalised account of Pete Holmes attempt to enter the world of stand up. Not amazing but good fun and lots of comedic cameos.

Politics

Bill Maher

Stephen Colbert sometimes

Saturday Night Live sometimes

Jon Stewart 

Women

Amy Schumer

Tina Fey at her peak. 

Here's 2 more old or dead white guys from the UK. People may be just think of them as pop stars but I think they were good.

Marc Bolan of TRex  - Elemental Child about 2 minutes in shows his talent

Andy Scott - the whole band of Sweet was talented beyond their bubble gum hits

18 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

When I arrived in Thailand my idea was to be an immigrant. And I am still living in Thailand.

But I gave up the idea about full integration a long time ago. I think we will always be farang, even after 50 years in Thailand.

But that's not always bad. Because there are different rules for farangs and one of those rules is that we can ignore many of the Thais hacking order rules. Thais can't avoid being somewhere in that hacking order. I am happy I am not.

Do you mean pecking order

I think you need to sometimes think of the staff. I can recall at this hotel seeing staff at dinner that had been their at breakfast. They are probably tired and want to go home. It's a three star hotel. 

If I was at an expensive restaurant somewhere I might have an issue but in this case I would just let it be. You are correct to want good service but in this context, being the last customer at the end of the night, getting the staff in trouble over this was a bit over the top.

6 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

This looks like a very nice property...so many good recommendations from fellow forum members.

Ramayana is just so so in my opinion. It is owned by the same people as Dewa so when I stayed you could get free transfers there and could use the pool and sit at the beach. Nice but felt like a second class citizen.  The pool at the hotel is small. Rooms were not too bad but a bit dingy and dark. Not near shops. Not near beach.

I get why people may like it if they have a car as it has nice gardens and the rooms are nice otherwise and the price can be good. It had a nice breakfast and the restaurant was OK with fair prices. Just not my cup of tea. 

On 12/14/2020 at 12:04 AM, camble said:

I’ve stayed at the Emerald Cove 20 times since it opened in 2004, last time was last month.  I’ve always had an enjoyable stay there.  Mostly Thais were there for the weekend, it emptied out on Sunday and the resort gave me a premium sea view upgrade at no cost.  Otherwise, the rooms are the same so I always book the cheapest.  They have a Happy hour at the pool bar and I really like their seafood pizza.  Huge pool and you’ll want to swim in the sea on the south side of the property to avoid the rocks. The Dewa two doors down is also very good and their pool is even larger (slightly). I stayed at the Sea View once and never went back, who wants to climb a hill to use the pool?

There are two pools at Sea View. One is on the beach.