connda

Nice set of chompers. "Ahhhh, what's up Doc?" I bet she's a vegan who loves carrots.

Do you think Ex Director James Comey will be indicted ? Nope. All these deep-state critters are made out of Teflon. Bondi and Patel aren't going to rock the boat.

True that. I've no doubt she has no interest in old farang guys living in Thailand. However, I've no interest is any farang women regardless of age living in Thailand. Especially the skinny variety with smaller knockers that my Thai wife. Farang women are just a notch below Thai Ladyboys in my personal preference of "female" company. <laughs>

No problem. I do understand that the average expat has the attention span of a gnat and reads at the sixth grade level. I know, it was a challenging read and it got the best of you. Sorry about the Mrs shaking you. Have her get you another beer. You'll calm right down.

I wonder when she'll find out that if she marries a Thai guy, she can get citizenship in 3 years and stay the rest of her life unencumbered by visas. Then she can tell all her female followers, "Come to Thailand, marry a Thai guy, and stay forever!" Maybe I've found my own digital nomad niche: hooking up Brit gals looking for the good life on an island in paradise who want to marry a Thai guy in order to "Stay In Paradise Forever!

Still in the Honeymoon Stage.

April's Fools!

200%

https://earthquake.tmd.go.th/ For the Thai language impaired:

Nice snark-filled comment. 🥴 "Orchidfan smart, other people dumb. he he he Thai stoopid..." The Thai Meteorological Department issues statements regarding natural disasters like earthquakes. "The TMD operates the Earthquake Observation Division, which is tasked with tracking seismic activity both domestically and internationally. This division uses a network of seismic stations to detect earthquakes and assess their potential impacts, such as tsunamis. For instance, after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the TMD significantly expanded its capabilities, including the development of a tsunami early warning system. This system integrates data from seismic networks, tide gauges, and tsunami buoys (like those deployed in the Andaman Sea and Indian Ocean) to issue timely alerts. The TMD collaborates with international partners, such as NOAA, to enhance its monitoring capacity, and it has installed over 130 tsunami warning towers along coastal areas to alert the public in multiple languages. The legal basis for the TMD’s broader role comes from the Meteorological Service Act of 1952, which established it as the national authority for weather and related hazards under the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society. Post-2004, its responsibilities were further clarified and expanded through initiatives like the National Disaster Warning Center, established under the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2007, which works in tandem with the TMD to manage multi-hazard alerts. The TMD’s seismic network, while robust for tsunami detection, is less focused on inland earthquake prediction due to limitations in current science and infrastructure—Thailand lacks a comprehensive earthquake early warning system like those in Japan or California. Instead, it excels at aftershock monitoring and tsunami forecasting, leveraging tools like the EarthquakeTMD app and real-time updates on its website (tmd.go.th)." And now you know!

Entire house shakes for over a minute. 😕 "Hummm. I wonder what that was? I need someone who is an 'expert' to explain this to me. I'm so confused." We have electric, cell phone, and water outages routinely where I live. No one needs an SMS from the government to figure out why. Everyone knows why - utilities in Thailand aren't the most reliable. Now - after your house shakes for over a minute and then stuff doesn't work? You'd have to be a complete moron who has lived their entire life in a hermetically sealed box all of their life not to understand what happened.

What is the Thai government suppose to do: SMS from the Thai Government: "Thailand just experienced an earthquake!" No **** Sherlock! Within 10 minutes I knew where the earthquake occurred, its magnitude, and its initial effects. All of this was being reported on various international geological sites and news outlets. I really didn't need the nanny-state to inform me that Thailand just experienced an earthquake. Everyone already knew. Anyone with a modern phone could have found that information in a matter of minutes. This isn't the 1920s - it's 2025. People have communication resources. Actually what this really is is just one side of the political divide attempting to bash the other side of the political divide. It does nothing the unify the country. But it is pretty much standard operating procedure in this day and age. Politicians don't seek solutions, they seek fault.

You missed this one OP: Everything John Burdett writes about. That would have saved you the hassle of writing 20 choices (about 15 choices too many imho).

Boom boom boom, let's go back to my room... Brit expat knocked unconscious by 10 security guards at popular nightclub - police find drugs... "What! That's not my heroin, it's hers," Brit expat denies drug use, pee tests purple for opioids..." Brit expat spruiks new book: "Hell In The Bangkok Hilton"... Author of "Hell In The Bangkok Hilton extradited to the UK to face charges of pedophilia... Author of "Hell In The Bangkok Hilton" unable to collect book royalty states judge - author opens "Go Fund Me" page... Author of "Hell In The Bangkok Hilton" found beat, hanged in prison showers - coroner rules suicide... Oh wait! That's not fiction!

If you have children, make sure they have all of their shots, including the most recent MMR shots, flu shots, RSP shots, and Covid shots. Never can be too safe. Maybe get them twice to be sure. You too.

Here's reality: There will never, ever be peace. There is no profits in peace. If peace suddenly breaks out, the US weapons manufactures will not be able to make hundreds of billions of dollars in revenues and profits. The US war industry depends on forever war. The US must always sell death and destruction. Therefore the US will always find enemies it needs to bomb and proxies it needs to arm - forever. Or until it provokes a nuclear war. So in the case of Russia, first Trump will bluster about tariffs, and then sanctions, and then more weapons to Ukraine, the EU, and the UK, and then a ramp up in bellicosity and threats. Then bombing Yemen, then Iran, then Russia and China when they support Iran, then WWIII. "Defense" stocks will go through the roof. Then when the first carrier is sunk, it goes nuclear. The US would rather bring the roof of the world down on itself than compromise its self-aggrandized position as "The Most Important Country On The Planet" And if they can't have Greenland and Canada? Well - they can be bombed too! I'm sure a reason can be fabricated out of thin air.

I absolutely believe that living in the tropics near the equator affects the frequency of upper respiratory infections. In the last 18 years I've had 2 colds, no flu, and a case of Covid that lasted 2 1/2 days. I used to get colds every year, sometimes multiple times a year when living at 47.6 North latitude. Coincidence? I don't believe so. Of course, the "experts" who make vaccines and their bought and paid for toadies in the regulatory agencies will tell you with a straight face that vitamin D doesn't do anything and you must have your shots. That should change with RFK Jr in the HHS. Expect more independent studies. Personally I call 🐂💩 on the "experts." These charlatans have an economic incentive to lie.

And I don't believe that either.

That has been exactly my personal experience with flu shots. Haven't had a flu shot for 20 years, haven't had the flu for 20 years. I don't consider that to be coincidence.

We're cool. No damage here in our neck of the woods in NE Lamphun. But then we sit on some really solid mountain bedrock.

Sorta like the fickleness of tornadoes. One house destroyed, the house next to it untouched.

This is an earthquake prone region. They aren't rare. This one: May 5, 2014: Magnitude 6.1 "Epicenter near Mae Lao, Chiang Rai Province, approximately 70 km northeast of Chiang Mai. This quake, known as the Mae Lao earthquake." I was living primary in Chiang Mai at the time. The apartment I was in had a significant shake. The last fairly large one was here: November 21, 2019: Magnitude 6.2 Epicenter about 260 km east-northeast of Chiang Mai Northern Thailand has a number of active fault lines: However several techtonic plates converge in Myanmar, including the Indian, Eurasian, Sunda, and Burma microplates which make up the Sagaing Fault which is the primary major fault line in Myanmar, stretching approximately 1,200 km through central Myanmar. And this baby creates some large earthquakes as we have just experienced. Although there are fault lines outside of Northern Thailand, they haven't historically created much in the way of major earthquake activity. Thailand is more exposed to large earthquakes produced on the Sagaing Fault like we just experienced or on other fault lines in the surrounding area.

One thing about earthquakes. You get immediate feedback regarding your building's construction quality. Most buildings suffered no damage, but a few in the same geographic area suffer significant damage. Funny how that works?

I have two houses on a rai of land. Who wants a condo?

My guess is that a lot of building throughout Thailand are structurally compromised now. But TIT, it will be glossed over with brown envelops handed out to engineering inspectors. However, when the next major quake hits, my guess is that quite a few high-rises will be collapsing in their own footprints. "Don't worry about that cracks in the high-rise condos - trust us, it's only cosmetic. Slap a little plaster and paint over it and good as new!"