BigLek

TIME Studios has produced a series of short, three to four minute historical videos on their YouTube channel called "On This Day… 1776". They are releasing new ones on their channel every couple of weeks. I am not sure how many they plan to release in total, but they have done four so far and are calling it a documentary series about the history of Independence Day in 1776. It is being created for the 250th anniversary of US independence. Almost all of the public reaction to this production has been completely negative. None of the video cuts in the clips last more than five seconds, so it feels like a string of five second shots assembled to tell a three to four minute story. It is far from perfect, but this is the direction things are moving. This is where technology is heading. If you are going to make a historical documentary like this in the future, it will make more sense to create AI imagery showing what the real people actually looked like rather than spending lots of money on period costumes, historical looking sets and using actors who bear little resemblance to them. Six to twelve months from now they will likely be able to produce thirty second clips instead of five second clips like these. Five years from now, the possibilities will be almost limitless. As much as people dislike what is being produced here, it is the way forward. It is the future of filmmaking across many areas of video production. Fewer investors will be willing to commit millions to projects in the same way now that this technology is becoming available. That is simply the reality. Many people will be upset and will not want to take part, but as with every major technological shift, those who refuse to adapt risk being left behind. This is the latest one TIME posted a few days ago:

Exactly. Thank you for pointing that out. With the app, I can just put in the passcode that I created for the app when I first installed it and then I don't have to wait for an OTP to come via email first to enable login. So it's a bit faster. The one downside is the fact that you can't download the PDF confirmation file from the app as you mentioned. Here is the link to the app in the App Store for iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6459407468

Thank you. Yes, that worked. I got the PDF now. Yes, the mobile app doesn't offer the print and download option when you click on booking detail like it does if you login directly through the website. The direct login link for the queue system didn't come up in a Google search though, but eventually I found it through the main Thai Immigration website. I was also able to use a browser on my phone to login to the website. So I was also able to save the file right onto my phone as well. Perfect. https://gov.immigration1.queueonline.net As I mentioned, in the past, the confirmation email has always shown up in my inbox too. But this time it didn't. And I checked Spam in Gmail just in case and it wasn't there either. No idea why it never came this time. Guess it's an imperfect world.

The other day I successfully made an appointment online using the Immigration Division app to obtain a queue number/booking to extend my retirement visa later this month. At the end of the process the app confirmed that the booking was successful and I took a screenshot of said confirmation. Normally I also receive an email from the Immigration Department to my Gmail account with a PDF attachment that I can print out and bring with me on the date of the appointment. The PDF also includes a QR code and the appointment details to show at immigration. This time I did not receive any email at all though. Right now all I have is the screenshot of the appointment confirmation from the app. I checked inside the app and I cannot find any option to generate or download the PDF from there either. Has anyone else experienced this? Or have they stopped sending those appointment confirmation emails out with the PDF files? Will it be a problem if I do not have the printed appointment PDF and only the screenshot of the confirmed booking or is there another way to still get a copy of that PDF? I am not really sure what to do next.

Bored, lonely, jealous, obsessed, miserable, jobless, desperate, take your pick...

After a long sweaty bus ride down from Bangkok yesterday, I finally arrived in Pattaya. I checked into my usual hotel. I’ve been staying there for years. It’s not exactly top nick, but they know me, give me a decent rate, and always put me in a quiet room. The coffee shop in the lobby is good for breakfast too, and it’s barely a stone's throw from Soi 6, which is all that really matters. I was exhausted, so my plan was simple. A quick dump, then a nice bath, a nap, and a big night out, hopefully finding a hot little sack warmer at the end of it. I tossed my bag in the closet, stripped down, and decided to take a long bath instead of a quick shower. One of the other reasons I like this place is that they have real bathtubs, unlike so many hotels these days that just have a standing shower stall. The lukewarm water, the quiet, the weightlessness. It was exactly what I needed after that chaotic, red-bull-infused bus ride. I laid back, pulled out my dry herb vaporizer, and toked away. Absolute zen bliss mates. Exactly what I was needing. Maybe thirty, forty, even forty five minutes went by. Maybe even an hour or longer. F**k knows. I can’t remember. I was wasted from the vape and wasn't counting the time gone by. Finally, I stepped out, toweled off, and walked back into the room, still fully baked from the bath and the weed. Completely naked, now ready to collapse into bed for a power-nap before heading out. So I pulled back the covers and... There was a couple sleeping there! A young Asian couple. They looked Thai, but maybe they were Burmese or Cambodian. Couldn’t tell. But fully clothed and fast asleep. For half a second, I thought maybe I was hallucinating from the dope. Then, as the covers moved, they woke up, saw me, and absolutely freaked out. They bolted upright, panic in their eyes, and before I could even say a word, they jumped out of the bed and ran! No screaming. No explanation. No attempt to grab belongings, because seemingly they didn’t have any. No luggage, no shoes, no phones, nothing as far as I could see. They just ran out the door, vanished down the hallway, and gone. I stood there, still naked, still confused. So I scratched my nuts with one question looping in my head - What the actual f*** just happened here??? How did they get in? Were they already there when I checked in If so, how did they not hear me when I entered the room? And if they came in after, why would they crawl into a bed in an occupied hotel room with the lights on? Were they hotel staff, drifters, just looking for a place to crash. I had no friggin idea. I checked my stuff. Nothing missing. I checked the minibar. Nothing touched. The only thing that was a bit peculiar was there was one unopened condom sitting on top of the fridge. Then I remembered. The door had been locked when I arrived. I had closed it behind me before getting in the bath. So the room was locked at all times and there was no sign of forced entry. How did they even get in? Did they have a key card? Starting to feel a little paranoid, I knelt down and looked under the bed, hoping for no additional surprises. And that’s when I found it... A single high heeled woman’s shoe. Bright purple. Slightly scuffed. And a small tote bag. I didn’t even want open it up. Who knows what might be in there. Could even be illegal drugs or a gun, right? And I noticed a strange smell in the room. It was faint, but a bit like the smell of burning plastic. Did all this stuff, the condom, the shoe, and the bag all belong to the man and woman who had just been in my bed? Or had it been left there by some previous guest? And what was that smell? Anyway, it didn't really matter. I just wanted to get rid of the stuff and for this entirely bizarre encounter to finally end. So I called the front desk: “Uh… there were two people in my bed when I got out the bathtub, and there’s a shoe and strange bag under my bed.” There was a pause. Then, in a completely neutral tone, the receptionist just said... “Sorry sir, would you like a different room nah Mitter?” Bloody hell dudes, not what I was needing at all!

I have yet to see a genuinely good-looking, youngish, self-made woman in Thailand who has a pile of her own money and assets. Anytime you hear some geezer on here boasting on about how his wife is so rich, doesn’t need his money, and is with him purely for other reasons, you can bet it’s either complete rubbish or she’s a fat old maid that nobody would want to plonk anyway. There are only two kinds of women in Thailand. Hot and poor or fat and rich. You lot all know it, so let’s not fool ourselves. Now take your pick. Which kind is yours?

So there I was, in one of Bangkok’s premiere shopping malls. I’d just finished off a nice pizza and was now in a bathroom stall, taking care of, well… you know… dropping the kids off at the pool. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I feel a hand. Not my own hand. A foreign hand. Grabbing my toes. I freeze. My brain almost short-circuits. WTF is this? Do I shake it? Kick it? Call for backup? Before I can react, the hand disappears. Nothing happens for a couple of minutes. I’m almost done anyway, and I think, Right, no worries, maybe it was a mistake. Maybe he dropped something and accidentally brushed my foot while looking for it. Then, out of nowhere, a head pops over the top of my stall, looking down at me from above. He must’ve been stood on his toilet. A full-on, grinning face, just casually peeking over at me. He doesn’t say a word. Just smiles, drops a small piece of paper onto me, and disappears. On the paper? A phone number and a LINE ID. Now, my question to you lot: What the hell does one do in this situation?

Bob, I rent my wives on an hourly basis, yes, that's wives, plural. I usually visit with them about 6–8 times per month, spread across multiple women, and spend no more than ฿15,000 in total each month, sometimes less, on the whole shebang. It's all about just focusing on a single part of my anatomy. No grief, no stress, no “I’ve got a headache,” no emotional breakdowns or mood swings to deal with. No dinner dates, no weekend trips, no strolling through shopping malls. Don't need any of that tosh. So I have complete control over all of my own free time. Plus, the women are usually half my age, never fat, entirely all by my choosing of course. I could go on, but you get the point, let’s just say I’ve got it made. Your fat old wife who doesn't want to get off the couch, can't beat my setup cuz. 🤣

In general, I believe foreign retirees are a positive presence in Thailand, more so than tourists. Retirees typically stay in Thailand nearly full-time, consistently spending money, including at private hospitals over time. From what I’ve seen, most of them don’t cause any trouble either. They tend to make an effort to assimilate into the culture and get along well with locals. On the other hand, I think it’s the short-term visitors, those who don’t grasp the nuances of the culture, that tend to create more problems for the local community.

Hopefully my presence has been a positive thing. I've put a lot of money into the local economy over the years, I don't cause anyone any trouble and I've helped a few of the locals extensively in many ways. I've also got a lot out the place myself in positive ways. So hopefully it's been a win-win on both sides.

You do the math...

Thank you for all the replies. Very helpful. I'm 158cm tall and weigh about 60 kilos, so I'm not so big, but in other areas I'm very gifted, like a horse! Still wondering about what to do given my situation. Oh, well.

Do people think that size really matters a lot in Thailand? I’m just curious, because I’m not so big.

What's that sitting on top of your ride mate? Looks like a huge durian got into a fight with a cannabis bud and lost. 😂