Comments Posted By Brian
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Re: Dire Straits video. Never played the drums or really know anything about them, but I always find it interesting that some rock drummers think that the more drums you have in your kit, the better. (ie the drum kit at the beginning of the video or someone like Neal Peart from Rush and his drum kit). Contrast that with Bun E Carlos from Cheap Trick or early Keith Moon from The Who, who both had very basic drum kits and I dont think that their bands were any worse because of it.
Re: candy walk. I think it is great what you guys are doing, but somewhat unfortunately (at least in my mind), you have been so regular in doing the candy walk that it has turned into an expectation rather than a “good deed”. I am guessing there is sometimes of a feeling of “this Sunday, I dont real feel like doing it, but the kids are expecting us……..” But hey, as long as you guys enjoy doing it
» Posted By Brian On 26/November/2024 @ 12:52 am
@Kevin, my take is that he initially turned right. LOL
Your lost key saga reminded me that I have no keys for my house. In the US, live in a rural area, so dont usually lock the doors. If I do, I go out through the garage and use the opener to get in and out. But now I envision a scenario where I have locked the doors and the power goes out. Time to get a new lock/key for at least one of my doors.
As you said about John Kim, too young to pass. 🙁
» Posted By Brian On 21/November/2024 @ 2:19 am
Shorter than it should have been
Re: fears – For the most part, I agree with your take on things. However, I am a bit more concerned about medical care in a third world country. Basic stuff – yeah, not a problem, but if I had a lingering serious medical issue, i am not sure a place like Barretto would be the spot I would want to be.
But, that wouldnt stop me from living in a place like Barretto. Would need to have an exit plan “just in case”.
» Posted By Brian On 20/November/2024 @ 1:08 am
Sorry to hear about John. Hopefully, he left his family in a good place. Would suck otherwise. 🙁
Unfortunately, I think that you are probably correct in that the restaurant will not survive his demise.
Good job on the weight loss. Slow and steady wins the game.
» Posted By Brian On 16/November/2024 @ 12:21 am
How is the beach bar name pronounced? At first glance, I thought of laryngitis, but I doubt that it what they were going for. LOL
Suppose I could do the research myself, but out of curiousity, what is the lowest calorie hard liquor per ounce out there?
» Posted By Brian On 15/November/2024 @ 12:30 am
Sorry to hear about John Kim. Seems like he has really struggled with health issues over the last couple of years. Here’s hoping things get better for him.
» Posted By Brian On 13/November/2024 @ 6:54 pm
Maybe my eyes are bad, but what am I supposed to be seeing in the picture you took of the sari sari store?
Glad to hear that your better half is feeling better!
» Posted By Brian On 12/November/2024 @ 12:25 pm
John (and @Kevin), A while back, I came across the Cebu Highlands Trail, which is a 400 km trail that goes end to end on the island.
With nothing but time, maybe that is in your future……………. LOL. Kevin could come down for a change of scenery, etc.
» Posted By Brian On 10/November/2024 @ 12:43 pm
Article recently about 7-11 in the US closing a bunch (1000+(?)) stores. In addition to shopping habits changing including on line shopping, another hit to 7-11 has been the decrease in smoking rates. Cigarette sales used to be a pretty significant portion of their sales and those have decreased quite a bit. I am guessing that vapes and things like Zyn pouches have not made up the deficit.
» Posted By Brian On 09/November/2024 @ 11:40 am
Woo hoo on the 17000th comment.
I have been plotting for years to make sure I was the one that did it!!! LOL
» Posted By Brian On 08/November/2024 @ 12:25 pm
No offense, but I have to laugh when people on both sides claim that the sky will fall if their candidate is not elected (e.g “I dont think we would have survived a Kamala presidency”). Seems like every 4 years people say that, and you know what, the sun comes up the next day, the bars open on time, stock market goes up, etc.
There have been some shitty presidents over the last 250 years and the US is still going strong. I am confident that the US has enough checks and balances to keep any one idiot (be they democrat or republican) from f’ing things up too badly.
I have said this before, but an unfortunate part of the internet is that news sources are so fragmented, and that results in a lot of people getting their news only from sites/sources that just confirm their biases. In turn, that just amplifies the extremes and makes things seems worse than they really are.
IMO, we had a choice between two terrible candidates. Trumps election does not mean unicorns will run down the street, shitting out rose petals. On the other side, If Harris had been elected, the US would not have descended into some sort of Mad Max apocalypse. I am baffled that in a country of 300 million, these two were the best we could do.
Can you tell I am a bit cynical about politics (or at least the business of politics)? LOL
Anyways, enough about that. 🙂
Why do you think Johns place doesn’t get the business? Seems as though he caters to the expat crowd? From your pics and descriptions, food seems of a high quality. Too many ‘cheap charlies’ that aren’t willing to pay for that?
» Posted By Brian On 07/November/2024 @ 11:19 am
Getting that deja vu feeling all over again. LOL. Hopefully this time, there was be more of a long term benefit.
Re: switching over to G&T’s from beer. Probably discussed previously in one way or the other, but is it the taste of alcohol, the buzz you get from drinking, or just the atmosphere of sitting in a bar having a beer or three? From my 30000 foot perch, it seems as though you mainly enjoy the atmosphere that goes along with drinking. If that is case, just switch to having a Coke zero or soda water. If you like the buzz you get, then yeah, not much that can be done other than to continue drinking.
Re: Halloween costumes. Swan’s = good. Yours = well, unless you have explained it to me, I would have had no clue what you were trying to pull off. LOL. And I follow US current events. I am sure the locals there figured you were just making an impromptu rain jacket.
Re: expenses. You are in a good position. Nice to know how much you spend, but even better that you really dont have to watch it too much.
» Posted By Brian On 02/November/2024 @ 11:33 am
What did the chicken scratch in the dirt say? “Call something a something?”
» Posted By Brian On 02/November/2024 @ 11:06 am
Munching on those sweet, tender loins
re: Chinese EV’s. Quite popular in Thailand also. BYD and Oppo are the two that I see the most. For the most part, people vote with their wallets when it comes to buying something. With the PI being a developing country, it is a relatively easy decision when choosing to spend $50K or $25K on a car.
All the US automakers are aware of the threat. Tesla is at the cusp of this. Sales are up but market share keeps going down. In fact the CEO of Ford has been driving a Chinese made EV for the past six months and somewhat ruefully indicated that it was a decent car. One of the reasons Biden increased tariffs on Chinese EV’s to 100%
» Posted By Brian On 31/October/2024 @ 10:51 am
Good to explore new places, even if they are similar to the old place. LOL
Any more thought to a return trip to the ROK?
I have to ask, what did Swan thinking the birthday suit dancing?
Enjoy the hash.
» Posted By Brian On 26/October/2024 @ 10:58 pm
Re: the video. Agree for the most part. You are smart to think of the future. I think a fair amount of your monthly income comes from your pension, which will presumably stop upon your demise. Hate for Swan to go from 60 – 0 income-wise if that happens with no pre planning.
However, I am not sure a business is the way to go. Maybe an annuity or something like that?
The PI seems a bit more liberal in allowing the silent partner (i.e. the foreigner with the money) to actually participate in the running of the business. You have mentioned a couple of times going into Bar X and the “owner” was behind the bar, serving customers.
In Thailand, unless you have a business visa, just being behind the bar is enough to cause some serious problems visa-wise, etc. if the police happen to stop in and see you.
» Posted By Brian On 22/October/2024 @ 2:29 am
Some days are good, others are a real SOB
RE: The video. Yeah, feel bad for the guy, but you have to use common sense. I heard from a friend who heard about violence in Chicago and wanted to know if I was okay. Well, I am a couple of hundred miles from there, and have never seen any violence where I live. That’s not to say that I would move to the south side of the Chicago however……
Also, the vlogger commented that even prior to the kidnapping, the guy was soliciting donations. Egads – dont ask me to fund your retirement just because you dont want to work.
» Posted By Brian On 20/October/2024 @ 10:53 am
Re: “when the show was over, I was done. We had our regular trike driver meet us outside and headed home.”
One of your recent posts had a link to a post from ~10 years ago. I clicked on that and went a few days either forward or backward. You were living somewhere outside of Itaewon, and one of your comments was something to the effect that “one of the bad things living where I do is that I have to watch the clock so that I can catch the last subway home at midnight.” LOL
» Posted By Brian On 20/October/2024 @ 10:41 am
@Kevin, maybe you can educate me. What is the advantage of a VPN? I know that they are used to spoof your location so that a person would have access to websites that otherwise might be blocked in a country (e.g. people in China wanting to access Facebook, etc.). Does Korea block a lot of foreign websites or is there another reason to use one?
» Posted By Brian On 20/October/2024 @ 10:34 am
Re: the video – Definitely no sympathy from me. Getting what he deserves. Actually, I do have a small amount of sympathy. Being locked up in a third world country jail cannot be a pleasant experience. I will be interested to see how this play out.
» Posted By Brian On 18/October/2024 @ 10:19 pm
I like beer, and I like ice cream. But the combination of the two is something I do not like.
In this case, the parts are much better than the whole. LOL
» Posted By Brian On 17/October/2024 @ 1:35 am
Enjoy the mini vacation from your vacation. LOL
You are fortunate that you are in a good place financially. Like you, I track expenses, but dont really budget. I like to know where the money is going but it really doesn’t change how I am going to live.
I know this has been discussed before, but nothing sadder than a down on his luck expat that comes to SE Asia, and is still down on his luck.
» Posted By Brian On 16/October/2024 @ 12:50 am
Thailand and the king is a VERY sensitive subject. The old king was pretty well liked across the board. The new king (old kings son) is, how shall I say, more disliked than liked. Some of the stuff he (and his wife) do and the lifestyles they lead are pretty appalling. But, the powers that be still support him, so even though the majority are fed up with him, unlikely for things to change in the short term. Regarding the bars closing – for any major religious (Buddhist) holiday or holidays associated with the royal family, the bars are closed. These are known in advance so people plan around it. The kings death was kind of a one off unexpected occurrence.
I really have never gotten that police state vibe here. A lot of people talk about problems they have had with the “boys in brown” as the police are called, but so far, so good for me. I dont do any thing stupid, respect local customs, and if I am in a situation where I am not sure of how to act/react, I err on the side of caution and have never had a problem.
There is a lot of discontent bubbling under the surface in Thailand, but because of the reasons I mentioned in my original reply, the core reasons go unnoticed by me. Ignorance is bliss I guess. LOL
» Posted By Brian On 16/October/2024 @ 12:27 am
Yeah, I could only watch the first half of that video. That guy has his head up his ass. I am not saying that the PI is a terrible place, but like any country, there are things that a foreigner is immune to.
A foreigner is insulated from a lot of the BS that the locals put up with, especially with they are not fluent in the language and do not read/watch the local news, etc. And also, our money buys comfort that is out of reach for many locals.
I was in Thailand during the last coup (2016 or 2017) and for me, life went on with no more than a hiccup. I know that the locals did not feel that way at all. While I interact with the locals (as you seem to do also), we live in a bubble in a developing country.
» Posted By Brian On 14/October/2024 @ 11:12 pm
You may already know this, but a lot of the most recognizable 70’s/80’s (and to a lesser extent, 90’s) power ballads were written by Jim Steinman. Most famous for his work with Meat Loaf, he had his hand in a number of hits for various artists.
Paradise by the Dashboard lights
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Making Love out of Nothing At All
Two Out of Three Aint Bad
Its all Coming Back to Me Now
Nowhere Fast
etc.If you are in a schmaltzy power ballad mood, you could do worse than set up a Jim Steinman penned playlist to listen to.
» Posted By Brian On 13/October/2024 @ 11:27 pm
Glad to hear that the heart report was good. Keep on tickin’!
» Posted By Brian On 11/October/2024 @ 11:19 pm
Re: Laos – I just think it is pretty underdeveloped. Exaggerating just a bit, but Vientiane, the capital, has just one stoplight. Very sleepy.
The Chinese have built a gambling enclave in the far northwest of the country, but it is a mini China that is run by gangsters, so not a place I would want to set down roots.
Another thing is that sex with a local is a crime, unless the two of you are married to each other. Doesnt matter if you are living together in a monogamous relationship, both single, etc. Not sure how much that is enforced, but the law is there.
On the positive side, it could make Barretto look expensive.
I think it is worth a visit – another place to add to your travel list. LOL
» Posted By Brian On 11/October/2024 @ 11:11 pm
Thailand has lots of places other than Bangkok and Pattaya for an expat. For example, Chiang Rai is a semi-sleepy city in the far north. Chiang Mai is a relatively big city with a large expat population in the north. Laos is probably the cheapest option in SE Asia, but not much of an expat haven yet.
Hope the news is good from your docs.
» Posted By Brian On 10/October/2024 @ 11:20 pm
I did not realize that your sense of smell was still gone. On a 0-100 (where 100 is perfect smell), where do you think you stand? Following up on @Kevin, you dont mention it affecting your taste too much. I have a buddy whose daughter (late 20’s) has long COVID and pretty much lost both smell and taste. A significant loss of taste and what remains is really screwed – certain things taste like rotten meat, etc. Really is struggling to eat as nothing tastes good.
Silver lining I guess is that yours is not as bad and hopefully will improve over time.
» Posted By Brian On 08/October/2024 @ 11:06 pm
«« Back To Stats PageGovernment is good as long as it is benefiting me. LOL I am guilty of that reasoning to some extent, along with most people.
Nothing wrong with getting federal pension. Those were the rules when you hired on, and you are just playing by them. But, I am guessing that you will get a lot more out than you put in. Now, whether or not you could have done better by taking your contribution and investing it is the big unknown. With federal pensions being inflation adjusted, maybe not.
I am lucky that the company I work for offered a (non COLA) pension as well as a 401K match when I hired. Ten years or so, they eliminated the pension, but grandfathered in those who were hired before XX date. Sucks to be the new hires I guess.
Definitely alot of inefficiency in government, but difficult to get people to agree exactly what needs to be fixed. Cut back on X, Democrats bitch. Cut back on Y, Republicans bitch. (Especially if it affects their state/district, etc.)
» Posted By Brian On 07/October/2024 @ 11:09 pm