Comments Posted By Brian
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Re: Record store: Dont know if you posted that because 4/20 is the States is Record Day, where there are certain promotions for independent record stores. Quite a few musicians that issue on vinyl will have special issues, etc. Fun day to go browsing in that type of store. Generally, independent record stores will have two record days – 4/20 and Black Friday.
Re: Random question – is Swan pretty short or is her ex pretty tall or maybe a combination of both?
» Posted By Brian On 22/April/2024 @ 2:06 am
Re: Toothache. Wasnt the remedy years ago when babies were teething was to put a whisky/whiskey soaked cloth on their tooth? Maybe you should try that! LOL (No swallowing however!)
» Posted By Brian On 18/April/2024 @ 1:36 am
Re: potential children you don’t know about. Interesting story about one of the founders of DHL, the package delivery company. I think it was the D of the three guys. Anyways I guess he was fairly promiscuous throughout SE Asia, and when he died, some very poor lady and her kid in the Philippines(?)came into a lot of money!
» Posted By Brian On 17/April/2024 @ 3:20 am
Re: Toe pic – I thought for a second that @Kevin had hijacked your blog!!!!
Re: Glen Campbell song. Dont know if you have seen it, but there is an interesting documentary out about his last concert tour as he struggles with dementia. “I’ll Be Me”
» Posted By Brian On 13/April/2024 @ 1:07 am
Re: Littering Not sure how much time you have spent in Japan, but Japan is crazy clean. Walk around any big city and see almost zero trash. And this is even after most/all public trash cans were removed in 1995 following the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway, whrere trash bins were used to place the gas canisters. Just a culture thing I guess.
Re: older foreigner/younger local. I have heard that Bali is a place where there is a somewhat substantial older foreign female/young local male population.
» Posted By Brian On 12/April/2024 @ 1:40 am
I can do one without the other
Although like everyone, I hate paying taxes, a friend told me to look on teh bright side. You are only paying taxes if you are making money.
» Posted By Brian On 12/April/2024 @ 1:29 am
I assume that Bridge #1 is the crossing closest to the red dot on your map above?
» Posted By Brian On 09/April/2024 @ 1:31 am
I read that story about the co-joined twins. Crazy, but I give them credit for seeming to have a relatively normal life up to this point.
» Posted By Brian On 30/March/2024 @ 2:12 am
John – good on ya’. Glad that the climb was successful and that your health problems seem mostly in the rear view mirror.
Keep on keepin’ on!
» Posted By Brian On 29/March/2024 @ 5:08 am
Never understood the allure of cock fighting, but it does seem to be popular in rural parts of Asia.
» Posted By Brian On 26/March/2024 @ 4:04 am
Are you planning on giving the Easter Mountain climb a try next week? Hopefully you are and are able to do it.
» Posted By Brian On 24/March/2024 @ 4:53 am
Yeah, I suppose if the Philippino peso all of a sudden got a lot stronger vs. the $, then it could be a problem.
Thai baht strengthened significantly vs. the UK pound (something like 70:1 down to 40:1) over the years so there was a lot of bitching by that particular nationality as their money did not go as far.
» Posted By Brian On 27/March/2024 @ 8:47 pm
Good to know and nice to have. Inflation should not be too much of a worry for you then. *thumbs up
» Posted By Brian On 25/March/2024 @ 4:15 am
Is your pension COLA’d? For some reason, I thought that most government pensions were. Then again, I have never worked for the gov’t so have no idea. LOL
» Posted By Brian On 24/March/2024 @ 4:48 am
Good luck John. It will be good that Swan is there to provide encouragement and motivation.
» Posted By Brian On 18/March/2024 @ 12:38 am
No matter how hard I push the envelope…
For cabs, is it a fixed fare that is designated by the city or does the driver set the fare at whatever he thinks he can get?
If it is the latter, then I am not sure it is a scam. Not saying it is a rip off and I would be pissed also, but putting on my grammatical @Kevin hat, I am not sure it meets the definition of a scam. LOL
In Thailand, cab drivers are required by law to use the meter, but they often try and avoid using them and charge a fixed fee, especially in the tourist and expat areas.
» Posted By Brian On 17/March/2024 @ 1:27 am
Glad to hear that the lung issues seem to behind you. Good news indeed.
And yeah, beautiful views from your favorite watering hole.
» Posted By Brian On 14/March/2024 @ 11:51 pm
Yeah, calorie counts on trackers always seem way overestimated. The rule I have heard is about 75 cal (max) per km. (Assuming of course a normal pace and not doing too many 15% inclines. LOL)
So, 18 km would be more on the order of 1350 calories burned.
» Posted By Brian On 09/March/2024 @ 3:03 am
You may have mentioned this before, but are there any restrictions on foreigners owning a business in the PI? Thailand creates a whole lot of restrictions, like having at least 5(?) full time local employees, etc. Usually means that a foreigner “owned” business is actually in the name of a wife or girlfriend, which many times is an invitation for disaster.
» Posted By Brian On 07/March/2024 @ 1:04 am
Re: beer prices Funny how prospective changes. 160 pesos is what? About USD$3?
IIRC, beers in pubs in Seoul were typically 5000 won or even more on the cheap end?
(Not sure why but maybe because of taxes, but beers in Thailand generally run about $3-4/bottle or so minimum. (Could be rent also, as I am in Bangkok, and prices may be cheaper in the boonies)
» Posted By Brian On 02/March/2024 @ 10:31 am
QUOTE
I always liked the norebang concept in Korea.Me too. Always had a good time at them. (The alcohol involved may have had something to do with also. LOL)
Looks like you have definitely found your new favorite bar.
» Posted By Brian On 01/March/2024 @ 8:56 am
Re: I think it is okay to not actively tell Swan about your blog. Oversharing in a relationship is not necessarily a good thing either IMO.
Anyway, glad that things are going well with Swan. I think you have known each other long enough so that any red flags would have already surfaced.
» Posted By Brian On 01/March/2024 @ 8:50 am
It’s official: I’m a Flat Earther
Okay, I am not a mathematician, but isn’t the difference between 6′ and 5’7″ closer to 5 inches than 3 inches? LOL
Re: Hills – life is all about adapting. if hill climbs are not in your future, appears that there are plenty of interesting flatland walks. I would think that you could also take a trike or Jeepney to the top of some hills and work your way down.
Anyway, hope you are able to get into the pulmonary doc and get some worthwhile feedback one way or the other.
Brian
» Posted By Brian On 28/February/2024 @ 2:33 am
No. Just happened to be walking around Itaewon and came across the Dolce Vida.
You may have mentioned your blog to me or I may have looked for reviews of Dolce Vida on line and came across your blog. My Biden like brain does not remember. LOL
I wasn’t a dart player, so would usually just warm a seat at the bar when I was in Dolce Vida.
» Posted By Brian On 27/February/2024 @ 8:13 am
QUOTE
Dolce Vita was my Itaewon hang out for years. And I know several folks who took that tumble down the stairs. When were you there?I was covering Korea from about 2008-2013 or so. I was based in the US but would go to Korea approx 6x a year or so for a couple of weeks at a time. We shared a couple of beers (or maybe more than a couple) in the Dolce Vida a few times.
» Posted By Brian On 25/February/2024 @ 1:51 am
Go ahead and buy the bar. LOL. Have @Kevin Kim come down and have a grand opening by showing Hitchcock’s movie “The 39 Steps”. Kevin could provide commentary and do a Q&A. Do a weekly movie event, though I am not sure Kevin would want that type of commute.
Actually, I am sure that owning a bar would cease being fun pretty quickly after making the purchase. As you said, the place is nice, but even you don’t spend that much time there.
(As an aside, I remember going to Dolce Vida one time and walking through the door at street level and seeing some guy lying there who had tumbled drunkedly down those super steep stairs that led up to the bar. A little blood, but he refused help and staggered off into the night. LOL. When you buy the Bar Celona, you will have to add one of those stair lifts for people!)
» Posted By Brian On 24/February/2024 @ 12:36 am
The forlorn teddy bear and the unknown backstory reminded me of the time Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a short story with as few words as possible.
Baby shoes. For sale. Never used.
» Posted By Brian On 23/February/2024 @ 11:55 pm
Don’t know if it is just me, but some of those photos (esp at Johannsons) seem to have some filter on them. They look hyper realistic or over exposed.
» Posted By Brian On 20/February/2024 @ 11:55 pm
Have you been able to convince the Rite Spot bartender to stock San Miguel Zero beer for you? LOL
» Posted By Brian On 19/February/2024 @ 6:52 am
«« Back To Stats PageAgree with your thoughts on retirement. The earlier the better.
I know some people say, “Oh, I love my job. I have no thoughts on retirement.”
Well, would you do it for free?
No!
Then you love the money you get from your job, but maybe not the job itself.
» Posted By Brian On 15/February/2024 @ 3:50 am