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Acharn

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Posts posted by Acharn

  1. I never met Trink, and I suspect his best work was for the Bangkok World, which was out of business before I retired from the Army. I enjoyed reading his column in the Bangkok Post, but it didn't give me any information. Alas, Silom became sleazy and they raised the price of beer at Nana Plaza. I spent most of my time at the Thermae or the Beer Garden on Soi 7, which had great pork chops. In his later years he had quite a bad reputation as a grifter and freeloader.

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  2. 11 minutes ago, Dolf said:

    Maybe you are taking the wrong ones.

    Yeah, that's actually pretty likely. I tend to be a cheapskate. About 47 years ago I quit drinking alcohol (I am self-diagnosed as an alcoholic). I started eating a healthier diet (I was in the Army at the time, so I ate what was served in the mess hall) and exercising regularly. After a year, I was in great shape, without any vitamins or supplements. I also started following a couple of Usenet newsgroups devoted to health and body-building. Most of the people there (mostly power lifters, rather than body builders) were skeptical of vitamins and supplements; they were very concerned to avoid steroids. Alas, with the growth of the commercial world wide web Usenet is practically extinct and I haven't had the comfort of those newsgroups since the late '90s. By the way, I think the body builders had a somewhat different attitude toward vitamins and supplements (and steroids), but I never got into that side of it. I'm 86 now, and think my good health comes from that period of several years of physical fitness.

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  3. On 3/19/2024 at 8:19 PM, Dolf said:

    Why are they scams? Most athletes take them and they know better than most.

    I'm pretty sure one third of what they're taking is worthless, one third you or I would need a prescription for, and the rest are illegal. I dunno. I confess I take vitamins and/or supplements from time to time, but usually they don't make any difference in how I feel. I'm sorry I posted on the topic.

  4. On 3/18/2024 at 8:52 AM, brianthainess said:

    White vinegar with lemon juice. Marinated then apply with some lemon 'flesh' and a plaster on top to hold in place. I had some removed with dry ice in a hospital, but they started to come back. then I tried the above method, they went and never came back. 

    The internet tells me the preferred method is liquid nitrogen, which is quite a lot colder than dry ice. I'm currently trying salicylic acid. I may try superglue, since this doesn't seem to be doing anything.

  5. On 3/18/2024 at 1:37 PM, Jaymatheson said:

    Getting older and slowly adding various things into my daily intake.  Currently taking Zinc Picolinate, D3, Omega 3, B Complex, and C.  I don't have any known health issues worth mentioning and don't really have much insight on my body as I've never had any serious problems to look into.  I eat healthy and stay in shape.

     

    Any recommendations of what I should add to my daily vitamin / supplement routine? 

     

    Thanks

    Vitamin and mineral supplements are mostly scams. It probably won't hurt you to eat them, but you usually don't need any, either. I'm currently taking B12 and zinc citrate, but expect to stop when I've finished these bottles. I admit I'm not consistent.

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  6. On 3/12/2024 at 4:22 PM, PingRoundTheWorld said:

    Pun intended?

     

    Seriously though, I've been having vision issues too for the past couple of years. I've been wearing glasses/contacts for the past 30 years - always been fine both reading and far sight with glasses or contacts on, but now I can barely read anything with contacts on, and it's not optimal with glasses either. Far sight isn't what it used to be either. I had a couple of vision tests done and my prescription hasn't changed - doc had me try different close prescriptions too but they were even worse. So bottom line is I can ace a vision test, but I don't feel like my vision is what it used to be.

     

    Anyway, might give Rutnin a try. 👍

    When I served in the Air Force, from 1955-1958, I didn't need glasses. When I joined the Army in 1965, I needed glasses. When my wife took me to an ophthalmologist in 2008, she diagnosed cataracts. When I went to another ophthalmologist in 2021, I had astigmatism, along with nearsightedness. I wish I could afford lasik, but the prices I've been quoted are ฿80-100,000, which is far beyond my financial ability. I gather lasik only corrects astigmatism temporarily anyway.

  7. On 3/7/2024 at 4:11 PM, bob smith said:

    what happens if a Thai upsets us first?

     

    do we have the right to defend ourselves or will we be deported for that too?

     

    bob.

    If the Thai physically attacks you, you can defend yourself. If he just annoys or upsets you, and if you hit him/her, you should be deported. Some people get very upset when Thais refer to them (when talking to other Thais) as "farang." I've never understood why.

  8. On 2/14/2024 at 6:06 PM, Mike Lister said:

    There's ample evidence that QE causes inflation and that's effectively what the 560 bill digi wallet giveaway is.

     

    https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022615/why-didnt-quantitative-easing-lead-hyperinflation.asp

    Well, we had QE for twelve, fifteen years, and until two years ago the CPI inflation rate stayed at 2% or less. It was great for the stock market, though. I haven't read the link you enclose, but the headline seems to agree with me. Sometimes people luck out and inflation follows their prediction; sometimes they don't and it doesn't. Nobody knows what causes it. I used to really like Milton Freidman's theory, inflation is a purely monetary effect, but that didn't pan out.

  9. 23 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

    All bets are off on the Baht. I just read that the cabinet has approved THB 560 bill in extra borrowings, not fund the digital wallet which happens to be that exact amount, but to pay for a budget deficit. If I read that correctly, the government will no longer borrow specifically for the digital wallet giveaway but will instead fund it from a budget deficit. 

     

    This is going to lead to inflation and loss of investor confidence, the new borrowings total over 750 billion baht or 15% of GDP, the highest it has ever been, during peak covid it was 9%. 

    Alas, nobody has figured out yet what causes inflation, much less hyperinflation. Pundits in the USA have been predicting catastrophe from our budget deficits since 1789, and yet we persist. In fact, the five times we have seriously lowered the public debt have produced recessions/depressions. Japan's public debt is well over 200% of GDP, yet they persist. The big problem is the debt denominated in USD.

  10. 12 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

    I think people are confusing the two types of bank letters. The OP is talking about the income method and not the 800K/400K method. The income method, where there is no embassy letter, requires a statement showing all 12 monthly foreign deposits of at least 65K. Bank books and proof of money in the bank is not needed. 

    Apples and oranges. 

    I renew my visa in Nakhorn Sawan using the income method. The local Immigration Office wants a twelve-month statement. I use Bangkok Bank, and they give me a printout of ALL my transactions for twelve months for ฿200. They also demand copies of my bank book for the twelve months. Seems like overkill, to me. Oh, and don't forget to make copies of the tabien baan and the owner's ID card.

  11. 12 hours ago, stupidfarang said:

    not an excuse, still wrong and illegal, what would you think if it was your daughter?

    Errr... the age thing wasn't illegal until December, 1996. I remember the before times very well. Used to be a lot of 16 and 17 year olds in the Thermae. Even the occasional 14 year old. I'm not so sure about removing a minor from her guardians, but I imagine they're very well-to-do. I don't expect we'll ever hear the facts of the case, nor its outcome in the courts, nor the reason they decided to prosecute now.

  12. On 1/29/2024 at 11:11 AM, Maybole said:

    On Saturday I found a text message on my 'phone purporting to be from the PEA. It was in Thai but a  family member translated it and it was a notification to settle my electricity bill immediately as it was 2 months in arrears. I keep all receipts and I knew I was up to date.

     This morning I went to the local PEA office in Sanpatong with my folder of receipts and showed the staff the message, it was immediately denounced as fake.

     I also discovered that my neighbour had also found a letter in shape of an official looking form in the box which is used by the meter reader to leave the bill.This was also denounced as fraudulent.

    My text message require me to log on to a website to settle the bill.

    The URL is "www.pea.vz-th.com " and the telepohone number it came from is +66660269886.

    I do not know if the attempted scam is local or widespread, but I share it as a warning.

    We pay our electric bill at an office each month, so I don't know the correct URL for PEA, but any official Thai government site is going to end in "...go.th." This is obviously a scam.

  13. I've gotten all my mail here in Thailand for over forty years. It takes longer since 9/11, but usually gets here within two or three weeks. I just got my U.S. social security tax form today, faster than the last several years. Bank of America sends my credit cards to me. So does my credit union.

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  14. I'm so old I remember the winter of 1993, which was the Year of No Winter. It not only got as hot during the day as during the rainy season, it did not cool off at night. On the other hand I also remember the winter of 1982, when I was living up on the Korat Plateau. On New Year's Eve it got down to 4° Celsius and I was glad I had my Army cold weather gear (I had just retired that year). It doesn't look like this winter is going to be particularly cold, but I've learned I have no weather sense in Thailand.

  15. 16 hours ago, QuantumQuandry said:

    <snip>

    Can't beat the price, though.

    My wife had a six week stay in a government hospital in Nakhon Sawan. Among other things, she had an endoscopy performed, during the third week. Total cost would have been ฿30 (for the whole six weeks), but in the fourth week a private room became available for ฿100 a day. You can beat the price if you're a Thai.

  16. On 10/29/2023 at 4:40 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

    Why do you wonder? Loads of men stay celibate for long periods of life. Chance of nookie for a guy in Antactica on a year long posting is virtually nil, given women are a rare burd down there.

    Well, I found that, during periods of celibacy, I had to masturbate every day. Since that practice is frowned upon, I wondered if all those other guys staying celibate do the same thing. 

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  17. On 10/25/2023 at 10:33 AM, Goat said:

    A large majority??? 

    Nah.

    Didnt know anybody who paid prostitutes to be their girlfriend, or even wife, before coming to Thailand.

    Especially at 30 years old like Dan 

    You may not have known them, but there have to be lots of customers to support so many prostitutes in American towns and cities. I've long wondered how so many men could stay celibate so long -- maybe I was wrong.

  18. On 10/21/2023 at 2:02 PM, delgarcon said:

    Only one answer, you're a long time dead and there's no rush.

    Well, no, there's no rush, but putting your family into bankruptcy for an extra couple of weeks in the ICU seems unacceptable to me. Maybe I'll feel differently when I'm faced with it, but I'm 85 now and I've been living since I was 19 with the knowledge that I might die tomorrow. I'm an alcoholic and stopped drinking alcohol when I was 40, but didn't stop smoking until I was 75. Since I'm in reasonably good health, I believe I'll tell my niece and her husband not to give me extreme care, although I don't really know if I'll still feel that way when I'm in the ICU. I don't take care of my health and I don't have a social network, so I really shouldn't be living now. My family was not long-lived, except for my maternal great-grandfather, who served in the American Civil War and lived to 105. I really don't know why most people are so frightened of death. We all die someday.

  19. 6 minutes ago, topt said:

    Yes the international rules that a no. of the leagues in Pattaya are now playing removes that simpler "snooker" option. I am surprised the discussion ended that amicably.....:biggrin:

    I wholeheartedly agree  with your first 2 sentences and people can potentially save themselves a lot of grief by clarifying early on.

    Being able to clear a blocked pocket without penalty (as long as you have hit your ball first) is one of the other major differences.

    We were playing that the loser paid for the game, IIRC ฿20. We were having fun, so amicability was possible. Actually, now that I think about it, I only remember one or two incidents where things got serious. May have been the bars I hung out in.

  20. On 10/23/2023 at 11:12 AM, Goat said:

    Thats right Peter. It just keeps happening.

     

    <snip>

    ... at that age you shouldnt [sic] be paying for sex, that is just pitiful.

    <snip>

     

    I've really never understood this attitude. I think a large majority of us either pay for it or use our hand. I'm socially inept, myself, plus I have inhibitions that make me unable to speak about sex with women. I never learned how to tell a "normal" woman that I wanted to take her to bed, and I lived for many years content with masturbating. Then I lived in Bangkok and spent a lot of money on it. Certainly many women (not only in Thailand) are able to make a living because so many men are like me.

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