GammaGlobulin

2 minutes ago, dddave said:

I'm well aware most squash players look disdainfully down their patrician noses at RAQUETBALL but during it's brief, one decade lifespan it probably saved me from stress related self destruction while trying to keep my business alive during back to back recessions.

I joined a club with well organized leagues. A 90 minute session would drain away every iota of tension and helped me loose 30 lbs.  

Rising urban real estate costs really killed it plus it was a hard game to get beyond a certain level without forgetting everything else in your life but it was fun and I still miss it.

Actually, squash is better.

2 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

When in Thailand, I play four times a week with my swiss friend. We have an excellent court in our condo (much better than those in Ambassor and even better than most courts I played in Europe). Used by no one but us. Great fun. 

Dunlop black double dot  is the right ball here. No lang warming it up like in the icy courts back home.

There are three aircons, but it takes time to cool the court down from 30+ degrees. When we finish it might be 29 or so...

After the matchball a fast jump in the pool, a shower and then out for diner. Quality of life!

 

Yes.

Warming your balls is important.

The warmer your ball, the more reactive it becomes.

Note:  Please do not forget that....bashing the ball, even by yourself, against the wall, is totally satisfying.

Glad to hear that you have a court.

Love it.

Play it.

Benefit by it.

My Dear Friends,

One of the greatest pleasures one might partake of, during these somewhat/extremely frustrating times, is digging up your old squash racquet and beginning to again smack around a tiny black ball until you have finally expended your last frustration, and are at the point of exuding tons of sweat, while huffing and puffing.

Some say racket.  Although, I always say racquet.

I recall many times when I thought my world might end, mostly due to love affairs, and the only thing which saved my sanity was the Squash Court.

The virus is no worse than a love affair, gone wrong. And so, squash is a Zen activity that I suggest for anyone.

Once you enter the Squash Court, and after you close that very thick and heavy door, that tiny monster door, behind you, then it is you against that lousy black ball (new balls are green, these days). You can whack the F out of it, and pretend that it might be a virus, or the head of your father-in-law, for example. Use your imagination.

So, I am just asking if you bash the black ball in the white room, in Thailand?  Are there any good courts in major cities, here in Thailand???

What I am saying is that, no matter what your lousy emotional state might be, SQUASH is the game for you if you want to return to a more stable/happy frame of mind.

I am telling you the truth.

Rock climbing and rowing are, OK….  But SQUASH is the cat’s meow, for me.

Anyway, you guys know I love you…Right?

Please Note:  The Squash Ball, in itself, is nether too hard nor too soft.  It is just right. Think Goldilocks. Squash is an amazing pursuit.  Please believe me.

Note Two:  We need to build more squash courts in Thailand, for sure!

Fine. 

But, can we just keep in mind that:

aa.  Science is not a democracy.

bb. There is only one coxswain at a time.

cc.  The helmsman must be guided by science, and so should we all.

dd.  There are always uncertain cost/benefit judgements to be made.

ee.  Rarely is it possible to determine what is right or wrong without hindsight.

We are alive at the moment; don't complain too much.

I have very little to complain about, other than not having anyone to complain to.

Soon, this will all be over, too soon.

7 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

Actually surprised to agree w/you - now Mr. Glob...

 

Loved Victory - Loved most Dostoeyevsky - The Idiot, my favorite... 

 

what about Oblomov, by Goncharov? 

Oscar Wilde, I have read.

Sleeping forever is what I am now preparing myself for.

I have not read Oblomov.

I know nothing about Oblomovitis, other than that most of the people I see around me are integral to my reality.

Most people that I know are not redundant, and most are irreplaceable.

Except for some, I guess.

Seems to me that this is a topic which should not really be up for discussion.

Don't you agree?

Obviously, if only we would follow the science, then we could still accomplish most of what we wish to accomplish, and we could get on with our happy lives.

The sooner we follow the science, then the sooner we will overcome this disgusting virus.

We all need to move forward, and no one wants to prolong the agony.

23 minutes ago, starky said:

2 year old protocols regarding lockdowns even many experts are distancing themselves from now . If you going to cherry pick my quotes at least try and be accurate. Never once did I show any  disdain toward the use of masks, getting vaccinated or social distancing quite the opposite in fact. Go and try and score your points off another poster. Your inaccurate representation of my post tries to paint me as something I most definitely am not.

  We are all going to get sick and and old and die if not from covid from something else. In Australia suicide, self harming, domestic abuse numbers are through the roof. Children no longer are able to socialise, congregrate, play, go to school. If there is no hope and no future for our children whats the point?

 

https://www.aihw.gov.au/suicide-self-harm-monitoring/data/populations-age-groups/intentional-self-harm-hospitalisations-among-young

 

We are a social animal we didn't develop through millions of years to live in isolation 

https://www.psycom.net/covid-19-suicide-rates

You are very correct.  The damage done from isolation can be far worse than what it is intended to cure.

There must be a strategy that weighs costs and benefits. I think that most people recognize that your point is understood by most people.

As you say, there comes a time when we must move forward.

To do anything less would cause great harm, as you say. 

Is a novelist the same thing as a paperback writer?

Is a paperback writer not almost the same thing as a YouTuber?

The novel is not dead.

Neither is classical music dead.

It is only the West, some of whom, might be brain dead.

Classical music still exists in Asia.

The novel will still exist in Asia.

Don't worry about it, too much.

(Except, how long has the novel been in existence? Maybe 400 years?  Isn't 400 years long enough?)

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Here's another way to measure the decline.

 

When I was growing up it was a recognized cultural thing for some young people to dream of one day writing the great American novel or fill in your nationality blank. 

 

I would bet the house that's much much more rare now.

 

Today it would be more like dreaming of being a great youtuber, Instagram creator, or Podcaster.

 

A funny and I think true thing I heard to explain the popularity of podcasts especially with younger people.  Because you listen to those while doing other things!

Excuse me, but did you mean doing "other less-than-Jing Things?"

1 hour ago, Denim said:

I read some novels but not that many.

 

Problem is that if people know you like reading they try to dump garbage novels like ' The Da Vinci Code ' or ' The Beach ' on you and expect you to read and rave about them.

 

I have read all Conrads works and Mark Twains but as a rule I prefer first hand eye witness history books. The Plague by Albert Camus was very good and of course , currently topical , but I don't have a copy here to re read.

Duh Vicki Code?  Wat Daht?

Duh Beach? Wat Daht?

Conrad was not an English writer, although he did write English novels.

Twain didn't even use his real name, so ashamed was he.

If you want a good read, then why not read novels in French?

Candide, as you say, might be currently topical.

If you prefer a new translation of an old novel:

Then, there is always Crime and Punishment, translated by Katz.

Or, you might do better by not reading this much-acclaimed new translation.

Typhoon, is amazing. Yet, Heart of Darkness is too dark.

Personally, I love Raskolnikov, and who can even get enough of him?

For Young People:  Then they should read about Youngblood Hawke, slaving away in the coal mines.

Mark Twain, as a rule, still rules. Born under a bad star, very few writers of English novels can compare.

Dostoevsky is a god. No writer can compare.

So unfortunate, however, that Dostoevsky gave insects a bad name. 

Unforgivable.

Anyone here up for a reading of the novel:  Giles Goat-Boy?

Or, are novels dead?

"a black comedy to offend everyone"

The pun was probably intended.

Not all novels are dead, maybe.

1 minute ago, Will B Good said:

I remember considering Fanny by Gaslight as a kid, but went for a Harold Robbins instead

Sinclair Lewis is better than Lewis Sinclair, by any light. 

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The question really isn't about delivery format in any way.

 

It's about content.

 

A novel is still a novel whether it's in book, ebook, or audio format. 

 

Obviously some people are still writing novels and some people are still "reading" them in some way.

 

But I strongly feel that novels are in decline as far as their cultural importance and impact. 

 

I think over time that trend will continue with no hope of reversal.

 

Sure most probably students will continue to be forced to read novels in academic settings. But I think even that will decline. 

 

But what percentage of them will continue to read them voluntarily?

 

I think fewer and fewer. It seems to me appreciating novels has already become rather a quaint activity and in some sense an activity of a shrinking intellectual elite.

 

I should clarify that I'm talking about novels with at least some literary merit. 

Is our intellect shrinking, did you say? 

What about the Flynn Effect? 

14 hours ago, papa al said:

... have a crate of books to swap with someone.

Fiction & non-.

Pattaya.

Any First Editions? 

10 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 Or getting sick, hospitalized and/or dying for those who fail to follow well-known and understood COVID precautions like getting vaccinated, wearing face masks and observing social distancing....

 

You are so right! 

8 minutes ago, robblok said:

If you do look into a load balancing router.. then you can connect 2 internet providers and if one fails the other kicks in. Not sure about prices and you do have to know how to set it up. 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for pointing this out! 

Appreciate it! 

2 minutes ago, robblok said:

Sure its reliable i had it in nothaburi and BKK and both times it was great.

 

I have 340GB on dropbox 1 million files. The first time the computer took over a day to upload (many small files go slower then a few big ones). However now it just mutates the changes and it works perfect.

 

I think if you have to upload 8tb new (not just changes) all the time then your computer takes each time 2 days or more. Also 3bb might start to complain about fair use.

Thank you very much for answering my question. I was asking about 3BB service reliability, speed, offshore. 

I will change my internet service to 3BB this week. And, just in case, I will keep my present internet service provider, as backup. Two wheels is better than one. 

Tks. 

18 minutes ago, robblok said:

That will take forever. I have uploaded with speeds of 70MB/s with 3bb even more at times. But it also depends on the speed of the overseas server. I mean if one is fast the other is slow the slow one will be the limiting factor.

 

But with the 70MB/s it would take you 4 hours to upload 1TB in optimal conditions so a connection like the one I have (3bb can be better or worse depending on location) and the receiving server needs a fast internet connection to match.

 

 

If you had one computer with 8TBytes of storage here, and were trying to use some application such as FileSync, to sync with a computer offshore, then a fast and reliable connection would become important. 

Sounds to me, just from reading past posts here, that 3BB is reliable. 

54 minutes ago, carlyai said:

Being an older scholarly enlightened binary person, I know the answer.

It's all because of them there Ones  and zeros, rushing around .

We are analogue people. You get a large erection, and you wack it in the closest crack. That's analogue. Nine months later your wife/mistress/gic gives a little 'heave' and out pops an analogue thinggy.

Our world, body, brain, trains, hard ons, are all analogue.

So we were all living healthy productive lives in our analogue world, when some idiot invented Ones and Zeros and we started to live in a Digital world (except us Isaanders). 

Us Analogues just can't keep up with a digital world. It's way to quick and complicated.

So it's the digital revolution that has stuffed up our Analogue world. (Except for politicians as  they live in their own stuffed up world). 

So hope I've made as much sense as the OP. ????

 

Your so-called ones and zeros are just an abstraction of what is actually happening in digital memory. 

30 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Yes. You will hardly find any server providing a single internet connection with such speeds.

And then ask the basic question: what to do with it as a private user?

Or do you run a design/engineering company with x engineers/designers?

Currently I am not aware about an application for private use with such bandwidth?

Virtual reality in 8k?

Nextflix requires about 50 Mbit/s (0.05 Gbit/s) for highest resolution available.

Some "hightech" country in central Europe can not provide 50 Mbit/s connections in all regions!

And: distance can't be cut short.

The ping (signal travel time) to Europe or US (200/300 ms) is a handicap for gamers who often complain and hope to find a solution which there is not.

Thank you. 

I was asking for purposes of large file upload to overseas servers, in the order of several TBytes. 

31 minutes ago, amexpat said:

According to the World Health Organisation (2016), there are around 2 billion adults overweight, 

I had no idea there were that many Americans, did you?

I am becoming fatter by the day. 

But, I don't need to be so pear-shaped, if only I would eat less rice and begin lifting weights. 

NOTE:  As "amexpat" correctly cautions us...  We need to LOSE WEIGHT, Lift Weights, and walk/run in order to become more physically fit. The alternative, just possibly, might not be a pretty picture.  The virus loves fat people.

11 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

Life's been normal for us throughout this whole pandemic period. Nothing has changed much in rural Issan, so I've able to go about my normal daily activities of walking in the countryside (without a mask) and getting plenty of outdoor exercise.

 

We are receiving vaccinations, but I have no fear of this virus anyway. We are very unlikely to come into contact with it and I'm sure this holds true for many country dwellers worldwide.

 

As F.D.R. said, 'There's nothing to fear but fear itself'.

 

 

While I agree with your FDR quote, I must disagree with your suggestion that this virus will not reach every nook and cranny of our world. 

For example, the 1918 virus reached Inuit populations in extremely remote areas, even before transportation was as well developed as is the case today. 

Therefore, as has been clearly stated recently, we will ALL meet the virus, sooner or later. 

The only recourse in order to avoid severe consequences for the vulnerable, is vaccination. 

For sure, all of us will meet the virus.