jetjock

What on earth would I be doing wandering around with someone 20 years my junior? What would we talk about? What kind of life-project could we possibly have in common?

Now, many years later, I am still in the dark as to what kind of age difference a respectable Thai woman would deem to be acceptable.

I asked my wife your question since I consider her to be a well respected Thai woman since she high degrees of education and comes from a well respected family of educators. Her answer was that 36 years difference was perfectly acceptable (her answer may be slightly prejudiced since I am 68 and she is 32 )

My wife and I talk and laugh and love and seem to do almost everything together as we have so many common interests ( playing sports, travel, theater, flying, hiking, swimming, investments, etc.) that we never even think about the fact that we are vastly different ages. I also have always kept myself in lean and mean top physical shape which also helps with the looks in age difference. In my humble experience, I think that finding someone that you deeply care for and respect and have much in common is far more important than any age difference when it comes to finding a future of true love and happiness.

quote "Ian, you are a sincere guy for sure, but did you ever ask yourself, if the people whose faces and homes you show on a very well known Thai forum would like that too?"

Birdman, I've NEVER shown any disrespect for anyone whose photos are shown on this or any other forum. None of the photos imply anything either, other than we are having a good time. But, people can believe what they want and think the worst, and I can't change that. It is highly unlikely anybody who views this forum will EVER meet or know the people whose photos are shown. And, the people whose photos are shown never look at the internet. If people indicate they don't want their photo taken I don't take it. And, I get prints of the photos I do take of Thai families and give the photos to those people. Most don't have the money to afford luxuries such as photos.

Ian--

Just wanted to let you know that your photos are greatly appreciated by some of us. I have seen some of your great photos and honest forthright anwers on other topics and I think quite highly of your posts. Keep up the good work.

If you would build your lady friend's family a nice bathroom like the one pictured below, I am sure you would be the talk of the village.

I am sure that her family would really appreciate an upgraded bathroom because I have my own private bathroom at home (pictured below) and I think it is also just about time for me to upgrade.

UAL is great - least when they have the Asian flight attendents.

Are you inferring that you prefer those young beautiful wispy UAL Asian F/A's over UAL's many older than the hills american bred F/A's that are usually overweight and built like a tractor. Just remember that UAL has probably the oldest F/A's in the business with many being in their sixties and seventies and with that comes many years of experience in dealing with the inconvenience of having to serve passengers. I find it hard to believe that it does not give you great confidence in their abilities when you see these old F/A's waddling through the aisles.

As a sidenote to all who posted about having an airplane preference, just remember that the 747 is probably considered the safest commercial aircraft ever built so slight differences in entertainment systems between airplanes may not be as important as you think in the bigger picture. Just visualize being overwater and losing an engine in a 747 (which can still fly OK on two engines if light enough) compared to the case of a 777 which if you lose an engine and then lose a second engine will then quickly transform you into a glider. Just remember that the airlines are primarily looking out for themselves and not you which is the reason they now choose to operate 2 engine aircraft which have significant cost savings.

unfotunetly, I can confirm they bite.

Its 1am and I am typing this (left handed)while holding a bag og ice on my 2RSE. I have been biten 4 times by a small brownish mille/centipede that fancied going to bed with me!

no baking soda.

peracetamols.

ice.

no beer

GOODNIGHT

DAVE

Unfortunately your post is not very clear as you use the wording "mille/centipede". I'm willing to bet that it was actually a centipede that bit you as I'm also in the "believe that millipedes don't bite" camp.

Please confirm whether you were in fact bit by a centipede or by a millipede?

Sophon

Millipedes do not bite and do not have poison glands unlike centipedes which do bite and do have poison glands. Some species of milllipedes do however have repugnatorial glands capable of producing irritating fluids which may produce allergic reactions in individuals sensitive to insects or insect toxins. It is best to avoid touching millepedes as this irritating fluid can cover their bodies. We have lots of millipedes and centipedes here in Hawaii however unlike Thailand we have no poisonous snakes here in the islands.

I cannot speak for everyone, but I reckon most of us have had our share of living the good life and are not just boring old geezers having never enjoyed ourselves to the maximum, in our earlier years.

I agree with you that many of us that have enjoyed our early lives to the absolute max are still going strong and leading very interesting lives as we advance into the stage known as old age. I turn 68 this month and still do pretty much what I have done throughout my younger years which is to get a lot of exercise, play many sports, eat a healthy low fat diet, no alcohol or smoking or drugs, and try to live my life to the fullest. The only precautionary concessions I have made recently in my lifestyle (on the advice of my sports physician) were made to prevent my knees and hips from wearing out due to the high impact nature of my training and sports so I switched to some lower impact type of things. Now instead of running 5 miles a day, I do the equivalent on eliptical or stairmaster machines or swim laps. I switched from singles tennis to 2 man beach volleyball which is I have found is just a hard but much less joint impact. I also still do a lot of biking, hiking, weight training and boxing, acrobatic flying, and several other sports. On an average day, I spend about an hour and a half at the gym and another 2 or 3 hours doing sports.

I realize that my lifestyle would not be for everyone but the results have worked very well for me as I advance in age. I usually work out with very young guys and although they are now usually a little quicker than me, I can usually beat them in the endurance part which is obvious proof that an active life is not over just because you are past 60. Even my 32 year old wife who also into sports and is an excellent athlete readily admits that she cannot keep up the active pace of activities that I lead on a daily basis. Now that I am older and do not have to worry as much about work and money, I have found that I also have much more time in my life for cultural activities like going to plays and concerts and socializing with my friends and family which is an added bonus to the aging process.

It may be true that the aging process is not for sissies but it is my opinion that if you have a positive outlook on life, take very good care of yourself and have good genetics (my mom is 95 and still drives her car and works out at the gym every day), it is my belief after the age of 60 can be some of the best times of our lives.

Here is my hero Bob Hoover performing in the Rockwell Commander. I have had the pleasure to watch Mr. Hoover fly P51s, jets, Chipmunks, and the Sabreliner many times. Always was a great show. His book, "Forever Flying" is also a good insight into being a test pilot, airshow pilot, and aviator extraordinaire.

I have watched Bob Hoover perform many times and agree with you totally. He is not only one of the best 'stick and rudder' pilots I have ever seen but also one of the most colorful and interesting characters in aviation. 'Forever Flying' is also one of my favorite aviation books and it would be on my strongly suggested reading list for anyone that has a love of aviation .

I could not resist passing this story on to my fellow aviators. As most of you probably know from the news last week, a Continental Airlines Captain died enroute on a flight from Brussels to Newark and the co-pilot and landed the aircraft successfully.

'Reminds me of story, years ago, when a Braniff (I think) B747 Captain died

enroute from Honolulu to Dallas. The copilot made a routine landing at

DFW, did the paper work, and drove home.

In one corner of Operations, a large group of Captains was huddled in a

corner, all marveling at how a CoPilot was able to land the huge aircraft

without the Captain's supervision.

In an opposite corner, a large group of First Officers was huddled, all

marvelling at how the CoPilot even noticed that the Captain was dead. '

Very sad to hear about their possible extinction although I up until your post, I wasn't even aware that there were fresh water dophins in the Mekong. I plan to be cremated and have my ashes scattered in the Mekong (hopefully not for 30 or 40 more years) as I'm only 67. Now that I know that there are dolphins in the river, I hope they will stay around long enough for my dust to keep them company.

100 million Baht (3 million USD) is obviously not a life changing amount here in the US or most western countries however having more than that does allow many of us to lead very comfortable lives. I could easily live nicely anywhere in the world but even though I absolutely love spending a few months of every year in Thailand, I personally do not chose to live there mainly due to issues regarding my lifestyle of enjoying playing my outdoor sports in a more moderate climate like I have here in California or Hawaii, my many friends back here, never ending opportunities of things to do without language barriers, and not being considered a stranger in a strange land by the locals. If money is an issue, I can truly understand someone choosing Thailand as one can have a really good quality of life for much less. If someone however were to give me an "extra 100 million Baht" just to live in Thailand, I could overcome my issues and would move there tomorrow !

Not much action on this thread lately so thought I would share a link to a recent video of some really amazing flying by a 5 time Guiness record holder. Zoltan Veres Suggest that you don't try these stunts in your Cessna !

As many of you know, some of the current speculation on some of the possible factors leading up to this A330 crash has centered around the pitot systems and report of inconsistency in the airspeed indications. For those of you speculators that desire more information and are interested in what is being done in light of that possibility, attached is a bulletin from Airbus. Airbus issued this bulletin to all of its operators based on findings from the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA), an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those investigations.

Here is what they shared:

The route of the aircraft was crossing a tropical multi-cell convective area at the time of the accident.

Failure/maintenance messages have been transmitted via ACARS from the aircraft to the airline maintenance center.

The above-mentioned messages indicate that there was inconsistency between the different measured airspeeds.

Therefore and without prejudging the final outcome of the investigation, the data available lead Airbus to remind operators of the applicable operational20recommendations in case of unreliable airspeed indication.

Erroneous Airspeed Indications

An erroneous airspeed indication scenario may result in the following: one or both crew members airspeed indications may roll back to airspeeds between 60 and 80 knots which could be followed by A/P and A/T disconnects and stall warnings. The airspeed indications return to normal after anywhere from 5 to 20 seconds.

The FAA requires procedures for erroneous airspeed indications on all types of aircraft to ensure that pilots are prepared to handle such an event. Therefore, should you encounter such an event, follow the attached Airbus procedure from our COM (2.31.14).

Pitot Tubes

In 2006, Airbus issued a Service Bulletin for the A319/320 fleets to retrofit to a newly designed Pitot tube, which would be paid for by Airbus. The bulletin was issued after Airbus discovered that the Pitot tubes on some of its aircraft were failing to drain properly causing the tube to ice over and result in momentary unreliable airspeed indications. Per the Airbus advisory bulletin, Northwest has installed new pitot tubes on its A319/320 aircraft, the last of which is in work today. Per the manufacturers recommendation, we are currently installing new pitot tubes on our A330 aircraft.

We are working closely with Thales to determine the timeline for which we will receive additional pitot tubes to complete our installations on the A330s.

We are committed to sharing additional information with you as it becomes available.

As always, thanks for all you do to keep us safe.

EMERGENCY/ABNORMAL PROCEDURES

A-330 2.31.14

Jan 21, 2006

Erroneous Airspeed Indications/ Radome

Damage

1. Disconnect the autopilot, flight directors, and autothrust.

2. Maintain current flap/slat configuration and retract speedbrakes.

3. After takeoff and safely airborne, retract the landing gear.

4. Ensure that the PROBE / WINDOW HEAT pb is ON.

5. Use ND groundspeed and MCDU GPS ALT data (if available).

6. Adjust pitch attitude and thrust according to the guidance below.

Note: The drag associated with major damage to the radome may

require an increase of the NN up to 3% above the table

figures and a fuel flow increase of up to 13%.

Note: Respect stall warnings if in Alternate Law.

Flight Phase Weight Flt. Level Pitch Att. NN

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Message: N/A

Condition: Unreliable airspeed indications caused by

pitot/static probe obstruction or radome damage.

Takeoff ALL <5,000 + 13� TO/FLX

Climb (250 KT) ALL <FL 200 + 8� CL

Cruise (260 KT) 400,000 FL 250 + 2� 72%

Descent (260 KT) (DO NOT USE SPD BRKS) 0� IDLE

Appr. Flaps 1 - 3 390,000 LEVEL + 8� 58%

Appr. Flaps FULL 390,000 LEVEL + 6� 64%

Approach GEAR /

FULL FLAPS

390,000 FINAL - ON

GLIDESLOPE

+ 3� 50%

wrong post

I could write a book about female flight attendants since I have worked, partied, dated, and had relationships with many of them over the past 40 years including being married to one for 25 years. The fact is however that they are individuals just like everyone else and there are still many really good ones and now unfortunately many really bad ones. F/A's are put on a flight mainly for the safety of their passengers however service is (or should) also be a very important part of their job. The airline business, however, has changed so dramatically over the past 50 years that it has led to a dramatic change in both the quality and attitude of both the F/A's and the passengers. Much of the glamour and most of the of the long crew layovers are now history in the airline business and the idea of an airline being a high quality service oriented business is slowly being replaced with a cattle car mentality with only a bottom line oriented way of doing business. The job of a F/A now usually consists of many long duty days, short layovers, and dealing with many not especially happy passengers that have been packed into small seats like sardines. This change in times and attitudes along with the fact the F/A's are now getting older (some even in the 70's) has made it much more difficult to find 'service with a genuine smile' on flights. I much preferred the 'old days' when we had many "stewardesses" that were young and pretty and wore a smile on their face and really cared about making their passengers happy. IMHO I think the the closest that you are going get in finding that today is to fly on some of the higher quality Asian airlines.

A man's chances of dying early are cut by a fifth if their bride is between 15 and 17 years their junior.

I wonder if those stats could be interpreted to mean that since my bride is double that and is 36 years my junior that perhaps I only have about a 50% chance of ever dying ?? Probably not but the reality of the situation is that I am so healthy that someday I will probably find myself in the unfortunate position of lying in a hospital bed dying from nothing. : In any event, being married to a beautiful, vibrant, intelligent younger woman with whom I share many common interests including our life of playing in sports, has given us some of the best times of our lives which in turn makes the thought of my someday inevitable demise (even if delayed) even more unappealing.

Interesting question which I have been trying to find the answer for a long time. Through the past years, I have spent quite a few hours reading the many studies and so called scientific opinions on the subject but the fact is that for every study or opinion there are just as many contradicting ones. The studies and opinions usually deal with everything from the type of plastic used to the effects from reuse, heating, microwaving, and freezing of plastic bottles and containers. From my extensive research in trying to find an answer, I have come to the conclusion I do not have a clue to the answer to that question since there is absolutely no solid consensus on the safety of the above effects on plastic. I personally try to carry my water around with me in a stainless steel water bottle but it is probably only a matter of time until some researcher comes out with a study that SS is also unsafe!

The thing I remember when I landed at BKK for the very first time was that for the first night of our 30 hour layover, my crew had made plans for all of us to go out to dinner at 'Cabbages and Condoms' and then after dinner us guys would split from the girls and head over to Patpong for a wild night on the town. Patpong was much wilder in those days and we partied well into the wee hours and had one hel_l of a night. It is interesting that the thing I most remember about that first night was the sight of a very distinguished looking and well dressed white haired old man in his 80's walking down the street holding hands with a very pretty girl in her late twenties and thinking to myself that someday this place might offer some amazing possibilities for me. In retrospect I now realize that what I really should have been thinking when I first arrived in Thailand is that this is the first day of the rest of a fantastic life and adventure that lies ahead .

Not only do my wife and I fly the flags of our native countries but we have a self appointed security guard that keeps watch over them.

JetJock -- I've spent a lot of time in Santa Barbara, in fact was just there this weekend. Spitfire Aviation is great.

J

ThaiJon----Santa Barbara is a nice little airport and I use it mainly for commuting to LAX however I do most of my small airplane flying out of Santa Paula Airport which about a 40 minute drive south of SBA. I think any avid pilot type would really like Santa Paula Airport as it is a real airplane aficionado's type airport with alot of interesting old warbirds and experimental types. It is an expecially nice airport because it is uncontrolled and located right next to an aerobatic practice area so it is no problem to roll inverted while climbing out on a long downwind departure and be doing loops, rolls, etc. within minutes after takeoff. A couple of my pilot buddies and I had at one time planned on doing some general aviation flying when we were in LOS, but the more we looked into it for the type of flying we like to do, we decided that for the few months we spend there each year, it probably would not be worth the hassle. Since it appears that general aviation flying in Thailand is not very big, it may be that gliders and ultralights are perhaps an easier and less hassle way to get some air time there.

I am in a LTR with a Thai lady in the UK. I am eary 30's, she is late 30's. We have been together for about 7 years. Her friends are all Thai, with whom she communicates in her native tongue. She pretty much only speaks English with me.

She did a very basic English language course when she first came to the Uk.

At first the communication problems were fun/funny, but as time has gone by it has become out and out frustrating, at least for me.

Constantly trying to "find" the right way to say something, the way she understands it, before I say it, has exhausted me.

I am trying to encourage her to get some tuition but she seems disinterested and would rather watch Thai VCD's and eat Pappaya Salad.

Any similar experiences?

I may have a minority opinion, but I firmly believe that if you live in a country then you should do your best to speak the language or you do not belong in that country. Thai is obviously a very difficult language to learn but not an impossible language. English is a relatively easier language to learn and with reasonable effort, I think any Thai girl moving to an English speaking country should have no problem learning the language. My Thai wife has only been in the US for 3 years and speaks English with virtually no accent and is now as fluent as I am and is able to use and understand our many American slang expressions (both the good ones and bad ones ). She is now getting ahead of the game by taking a college course to learn Spanish as it will in the future probably overtake English as the primary language of the US (thanks to the illegal Mexican immigration). IMHO if your gf/wife has been in the UK for any reasonable length of time and still cannot speak English fairly decently then you can most likely attribute it to her hanging out with Thai girl ghetto types which has left her with no desire to bother to learn and improve her skills in the language of the country that she now resides.

Have a farang friend whose 74, he's very fit, runs every day, into very healthy eating, takes good care of his appearance, dresses well, etc. He has a long list of lady visitors who call at his home, entertains at least 4 nights a week, or more, and he doesn't use Viagra or similar.

Makes sense. I've always had a fairly strong urge since my teen years. In my late 40's and early 50's I felt the urge start to taper off. I thought this was just part of the many body changes in the life cycle. Then late last year I dropped about 25kg of weight and had a noticeable increase in urge once again. I'm not fit by any stretch, but I think there is a link to the healthy mind, healthy body and the sex drive.

I agree that keeping fit seems to be one of the major keys to keeping the libido and testosterone level up as we age. I stay trim and keep in top shape by working out and playing heavy duty sports about 3 hours everyday. I am pushing 70 and can still keep up with most of the young 20 and 30 year olds in my sports but probably not in the sport of sex. I can't do it 3+ times a day anymore like the young guys say they do but once or occasionally twice a day still works fine for me (no ED pills ever needed). Naturally I am not the man I once was--but once, I am as good or better than I ever was ! I also find that having a wonderful beautiful gorgeous sexy wife also does wonders for the libido.

edited for spelling

I am currently 8 months post op from rotator cuff surgery so have leaned something about the surgery that I will pass onto you for what it is worth. I have been an athlete all my life so have had about every joint in my body operated on due to athletic injuries. Rotator cuff surgery has a fairly high failure rate as surgeries go so it is important to choose your surgeon very carefully. Proper post op care and rehab is critical to increasing the chance of a succesful result (my doctor restricted what I could do and should do for the first 6 months post op as he considers resuming heavy use of the shoulder too early to be one of several things that can lead to an unsuccessful result). The doctor has now returned me to normal activities involving my shoulder including weight training (no heavy weights yet) and said I could return to my sports like tennis and beach VB that involve heavy shoulder use at the 9 to 12 month point. I did specific rehab exercises for the first 6 months with a sports therapist . The surgery was a piece of cake, but the rehab was the longest and most difficult of all my injuries. I chose my doctor with great care as he is considered one of the best knee and shoulder surgeons in the US and has operated on hundreds of famous athletes. Now that I know how more about rotator cuff surgery, I am very happy that I took my time to find the right surgeon. Good luck.

From my experiences with the Thai culture, I thought is was a very good article. To further check the accuracy, I had my Thai wife read it and she also agreed that generally speaking the article was a fairly accurate portrayal of the Thai attitude and culture. If westerners took a little more time to understand the Thai culture a little better before coming to Thailand, I think it would enhance their experience in LOS.

I noticed that the majority of Americans said they could sing their National Anthem word for word however I seriously doubt that is true. If they can, however, I give them a lot of credit as I doubt if very many Americans know any more than the first verse of the anthem. My guess is that most Americans are not even aware that there is more than one verse. As you can see below, it is a long song in it's entirety. BTW I don't mind being called a Yank and in fact I do not even mind when the Taco Benders call me a Gringo.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,

A home and a country should leave us no more!

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The conditions the drugs are stored under obviously can have a dramatic effect on how long they retain their efficacy. Expiration dates on drugs are set up by companies to comply with certain hypothetical criteria and storage conditions so depending on how one stores them, the date of full efficacy can be either shorter or much longer than the date stamped. I recently saw a test report done on the efficacy of drugs past their expiration date and the tests usually found that the drugs stored under ideal conditions were good long past their expiration date. Personally when I have large quantities of vitamins or drugs that I may not use for some time, I break them in smaller quantities and store them in vacuum sealed bags (I have a vacuum sealer machine) and just open a bag when I need them. I keep the vacuum sealed bags in a refrigerated environment so their shelf life is most likely much longer than the date stamped on it.

runner, if you are young and wanna feel old for long time the trick is marry a woman 50years+

That is really a rupulsive mean idea ! I hope there are more pleasant ways someone can think of that will lead him to feeling older..

He could spend some time in Iraq which would definitely age him but be easier than the aforementioned suggestion.