radiochaser

18 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Have you ever known a federal employee of the US govt. who did not lie? Especially those in the 20 so called intelligence departments, which suck up how much money each year? Nobody even knows. One trillion dollars annually, perhaps?

I lied to those that violated laws, which I was charged to investigate.  Some of those people ended up in prison, because they put other peoples lives in danger, whose job it was to save lives. 

 Most of my work involved safety of life and property issues.   There were many times when I would tell someone, or some business, you need to fix this.   Next time I will have to write you up for a violation of fine.  The next time I visited, they were good.    Pissed the boss off because he looked good when there were multiple violations and fines issued from his office.

As to the "so called intelligence departments", most of those work in the various intelligence agencies, never have anything to do with the public.   Their jobs are either to collect the intelligence, or to keep the cogs and wheels turning so that others can do so.  It's the 1% or less (I have no clue of actual numbers) who the public see that are the ones that lie to the public.   Like a large number of "ex" intelligence personnel that were in leader ship positions, that lied to the public a few years ago!  And politicians, like, whose name I do not recall!

And there are those employees that don't lie, to the public, because there is no reason for them to do so, even when they have contact with them. 

Painting everyone with a broad brush, does not present a good argument. 

4 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

What does that mean?

Who or what is "80% on ignore" and the 80% is of what?

 

Might big nok mean that he has 80% of the posters on ignore and so does not see their comments?  

If true, then he has pretty big blinders on.  

 

idiom US (UK be wearing blinkers)

On 8/29/2023 at 7:41 AM, KannikaP said:

Who would have imagined such a varied menu?   5555

My niece.   I had taken a niece and nephew out to eat.   When I left the table to visit the men's restroom, I said, order anything you want.   

On returning from the men's room about 5 minutes later, there was a variety of food that covered the table.   Nephew had ordered one dish, niece ordered everything else.    1225 baht worth of food.   I still have not figured out how she was able to eat all that food!!!  Food for nephew and I cost less than 100 baht.

I didn't do it!
Nobody saw me!
I wasn't there!
 

What video?

On 8/27/2023 at 8:15 PM, LaosLover said:

Did you buy one? Did you go where they said you should go? 

 

It was hugely influential on me; I even kept it next to the toilet so that I might read "Roi Et does not reveal it's charms easily" for the 20th time while taking a dump. Another great line: "On Ko Chang, Long-termers contentedly stoke their bongs".

 

They were all over the map on places like Patpong; you should def go for a peek, but you should exaggeratedly communicate your suddenly-acquired worldly scorn and amusement while there.

 

You should be super-careful "never to give a Shaman an aspirin, lest you undermine his traditional medical practices". Child monk's head? Hands off!!! And of course, the invention of the banana pancake. I had my first one in '88. You?

 

It told you how you were supposed to be - as a traveler, you were in no way a mere tourist. Lonely Planet jumpstarted mass tourism and opened up the world to a lot of people.

 

If I go over someone's house and see a whole shelf of Lonely Planet Guides, I rate that person highly -partic if it has a lot of guides for places like for Ethiopia, places the owner wouldn't even go to, but was curious enough to have a book about.

 

Ha anyone here ever met the author of the Thai book, Joe Cummings? I wonder if he's still in Chiang Mai. Likewise, Oz-heads, any Tony Wheeler encounters?

I knew a couple of people that worked in Ethiopia for a year or so.   It was a secret electronic intelligence collection base.   I am not sure who the primary target was.   That was highly classified.  Sadly, I forget the stories they told me about their time outside the compound.   Too much of the evil weed I guess.  

On 8/29/2023 at 9:42 PM, pomchop said:

Go to NC and open your eyes for a few days and watch people walking around wal mart or gas stations with a gun holster on their belt like it's the wild west....if you sold guns i would think you might be a bit more familiar with various states gun laws.

 

I hunted all my life and never once felt the need for an assualt rifle and hope to never ever meet any sportsman hunter who would even consider it.

Not many people, other than government and military carry a select fire assault rifle around.  Especially in public! 

35 minutes ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

Maybe you can convert your points to cash. I get paid cash to the tune of $1200/year and also I get cash for one year at 3% and then invest it to make more money. 

I can save more money using the mileage points to fly.   At 3% I would only get between $1800.00 to $2200.00 back from the credit card company.   

Using my mileage points to fly, I get a ticket for a round trip business class ticket to Thailand, minus the less than $200.00 in fees.   The last time my wife bought a round trip ticket to Thailand, she paid almost $10,000.00!!

30 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

As many a brit has said to me, when I lifted their drunken face off of a sodden bar mat:

 

'Just 'avin' a laff. No worries".

Ah, not me.   The last I was really drunk was in 1979 and that was from 6 cans of Budweiser.   Made me sick for a week!  
 

On 8/29/2023 at 12:56 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

I think an important part is that we know what we are doing and that we could stop anytime if we detect "strange" behavior.

 

I.e. a few months ago, I looked from time to time at "shorts" on YouTube. I picked what I wanted to see. And then I clicked on something else I wanted to see, or I continued with my work at the PC or independent of the PC. Fine.

And then somehow I clicked on a "Short", and after that was finished, I clicked "next" to see another unknown short, and next and next. Maybe I did this for 20min. And maybe the next day I did the same.

And then, maybe a week or two later, I realized that I watched every day maybe 30 to 60 minutes shorts. And I did this without really seeing anything. Click, kind of watch, click again, watch a little, haha, click again. And I realized that is a waste of time. And then I didn't do it anymore, because I don't want to waste my time on that level.

Obviously it is still kind of a waste of time to look videos at all or look or write in this forum. But normally I choose what I want to read and see. And as long as I make a conscious decision, then I think that is ok. 

The moment when it becomes a click, click, click routine, that is a problem. But if we realize that and then change our behavior then I think it's still fine. We/I learned something.

If I would continue to watch shorts all the time, and not being able or willing to stop, that would be a problem.

I don't like youtube shorts.   

On 8/29/2023 at 11:47 AM, save the frogs said:

Too much Aseannow and crap on TikTok, yes absolutely

 

Just look at posters with over 10,000 posts on here. 

 

Or, over 110,000 posts .. with an average of somewhere in the 100 posts a week range!

24 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

Sweet that you took the time to really pad that out.

 Yeah.  I had second thoughts about the post after clicking submit. 

8 hours ago, bbko said:

What kind of "genius" thinks a lab tech is a genius?

She might be more than a lab tech.  She might be a bioengineer. 

8 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Well, you see, I could not very well post a photo of a "genuine/genius Thai" girl here, for fear of embarrassment to her and those who know her.

 

Therefore, I decided that my only safe option would be to choose a genius girl who happened to be masked when the image was captured.

 

In addition, having a photo of a masked girl symbolizes my respect for inner beauty far more than outward physical appearance.

 

And finally, I did not want to be criticized here for the objectification of women, something that I know is so often frowned upon.

 

 

The picture has a person who appears to be a lab tech.   The wearing of a mask may be to prevent contamination of that which she is working with.   
Just my opinion. 

21 hours ago, LaosLover said:

Possibly I alone here have been to a Mensa meeting. Twice.

 

The reason: Pornographer Al Goldstein was the speaker. I used to work for Al -a grotesque pig and a moron, but fair play: consistently hilarious. Arte Lange from Howard Stern basically stole his whole personality from Al (who died homeless).

 

Al Goldstein was the best speaker they could attract. In Manhattan. Hence, his double-booking. On a non-Al night, they might get 20 people. In Manhattan.

 

Unsurprisingly, Mensa had a lot of real estate agents and school teachers, but was a tad shy on brain surgeons -or even accountants.

 

If you like 'em fat, neurotic, and sex-starved, it was good hunting. Me? Sure, if it's on offer.

I was a Mensa member for a few months.   

On 8/29/2023 at 5:05 PM, likerdup1 said:

There's got to be a Mensa chapter somewhere in Thailand. Take a test, join up and see how you fare.

 

https://www.mensa.org/

I was a Mensa member one time.   It was boring.

I was wondering about skin cancer treatment if I had extended stays in Thailand and what the quality of care might be as well as what kind of treatment would be available. 

Contrary to what someone else has posted, I have no problem getting appointments for skin cancer treatment here in the U.S. of A. with my dermatologist.   That might be due to the office I go to or the area of the U.S. that I live in.   

I had my 6 month exam for skin cancers the third week of June this year and left the next week, returning to the U.S. the second week of August.    I had multiple phone messages from my dermatologist and a letter asking me to contact the office and arrange for treatment of a skin cancer.    They sent a letter because I was not responding to their multiple phone calls. 

A week after contacting the office I was scheduled for treatment beginning last week.  I had a choice of a Mohs surgery, or radiation treatment.  I chose the radiation treatment rather than outpatient surgery on my neck.   

I have had several Mohs surgeries that last almost an hour, one or two went more than 1 hour.   Each one I ended up having a pad of gauze taped to my skin, that I had to keep on for a couple of days.  I think I was told not to get the wound wet when bathing.   

 

On 8/28/2023 at 8:39 AM, CartagenaWarlock said:

All US credit cards now have 1-3% cash back at least. 

Not mine.   I accrue points for flying from purchases.   I have a credit card account almost 30 years old.   It has one of the best point plan for dollars spent of just about any credit card in the U.S. of A..  I have not paid full price for a ticket to fly for several years by using my accumulated points for my tickets.   Last three years I have only flown business using my points.   I do pay fees which are less than $200.00 for the business class tickets.   I pay that with the same credit card, which earns even more points.  

On 8/28/2023 at 5:44 AM, impulse said:

If you do pull out your int'l credit card at (for example) Bumrungrad, the next question will be "do you want to pay in THB or USD?"  Ask me how I know that...

 

I haven't a clue what the best answer is.  Fortunately, I just pick up some scripts at Bumrungrad amounting to $400 USD or so.  So I don't sweat the fees.

 

But someone may want to chime in with the right answer.

I was asked the same thing at Bumrungrad hospital in July.   I chose dollars.  I don't remember if the other hospital I went to before, a few years ago, asked that question.    

I was charged a co-pay of 15% by the hospital.   The rest was paid for by my U.S. health insurance.   The bill was for a CT scan with IV injection and blood work.   

I paid the co-pay with my credit card.   The credit card company charged me less than $2.00 for an international international credit card charge.   I had about the same charge from the credit card (under $2.00) after I bought a coffee at a starbucks that was providing service to a movie theater.   After I was given the coffee and I offered up Thai baht to pay for the coffee, I was told, credit cards only!!   

On 8/26/2023 at 4:06 AM, whereyougo said:

Dont marry an ex prostitute for starters. Her job has been to lie and she is an expert

I used to work for the U.S. of A. government as a federal agent.   Part of my job was to lie too!  ????    

1 minute ago, bignok said:

Sorry to hear

Too bad!  

On 8/26/2023 at 12:15 PM, bignok said:

World record 13 year marriage. Never been done before.

Been married to my Thai wife for 33 years now.   

On 8/26/2023 at 10:00 PM, BritManToo said:

Would point out most foreigners in Thailand come from the lowest social groups in their home countries and have little education beyond that mandated by our governments.

 

As such, uneducated Thai farm girls are entirely suitable partners for most of us.

But, some of us are intelligent and even though I only have a high school degree, I ended up doing the same work as others who have bachelor and masters degrees as an electrical engineer.   I did that for 10 years before retiring.   

Been married to a Thai woman who has a degree in business management (or something like that) who owns a business that makes an awful lot of money, in the U.S. of A.  Yes, the condominium in Thailand is in her name, but it was her money that bought it, the only thing she wanted from me, regarding the condominium was, if I like it, she will buy it, if I don't like it, she would not have bought it!   She freaks out over snakes, bugs, and stuff and I call her a city girl, having part of my childhood living deep in the sticks of Louisiana, but lived in three different countries before I was 15. 

16 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Only those who don't know what fertiliser is.

I know what fertilizer is and know that urea is a component of fertilizer, but this is the first time I can recall reading (or hearing of) the term, "urea bag".

Off topic a bit ...

I used to live near a fertilizer plant.  Tank trucks would pick up loads of different kinds of fertilizer, park across the street from the plant next to a rail yard, and piles of it would leak out of the truck onto the ground while the driver was checking out of the plant after weighing at the scales.   

I asked the guy at the scales about it and was told, if use the multi colored fertilizer for roses, use the (forgot what) for vegetables, and use the white granules on your grass to make it turn a rich green color. 

I collected the white granules in a 5 gallon bucket and spread it on the yard.   In less than a week, I could cut the grass in the afternoon before going to swing shift, and it would have grown an inch or more about 10 hours later.   I had to cut it every day!   But I had the best looking grass of any house on the block.  Neighbors were asking me how I made my grass look so good.  

I only put it on the yard one time.   I didn't like having to mow the yard every day!

 

15 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

I clicked the news link and got this...
imperva might not like my vpn I guess. 

Switched my vpn to Germany and the linked page opened up with a lot of Thai language and a short paragraph, with no pictures, in English.  This was with the opera browser.   Pasted into google chrome and had a better response.