Comments Posted By Brian
Displaying 391 To 420 Of 1,055 Comments
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
Government 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
You said: “The beach bar looks very nice, but I won’t pay 150 pesos for a beer.”
I am blowing you shit, but boy oh boy, you have definitely settled into the life of a local.
Imagine paying $2.50 cents for a beer!!!!!! I am out of touch with Korean beer prices, but remember them being 5-6000 won a few years ago.
(I get it – there a lot of cheaper alternatives to chose from, but it struck me funny that you are complaining about a $2.50 beer in a bar. LOL)
» Posted By Brian On 07/October/2024 @ 5:19 am
My favorite snail joke:
Two turtles get into an accident at an intersection. The only witness is a snail.
The police ask the snail if he could describe what happened.
“Sorry, I dont know. It all happened so fast!!!!”
» Posted By Brian On 06/October/2024 @ 12:28 am
John, I was never in Korea full time. Well, actually I was in the late 90’s but in Sosan, which is on the west coast. Actually nice little town.
However, from ~ 2009 – 2015/16 I was in Korea quite a bit. Based in the States but spent 30-50% of my time in Seoul. The JW Marriott across the river was my home away from home. Believe that i mentioned previously, we shared a beer or three a couple of times. But, I was not a dart player, so usually just warmed a seat in Dolce Vida or other places.
» Posted By Brian On 04/October/2024 @ 11:32 pm
Good ol’ Dolce Vida.
I remember going there one night and finding a drunk expat who had fallen down those extremely steep stairs that led to the bar.
He was dazed and bloodied but eventually got up, resisting all offers of help, and staggered off into the night. LOL
» Posted By Brian On 04/October/2024 @ 1:40 am
I track expenses, not so much because I need to budget, but just to see overall trends. I use something called Moneydance, which I like because it is a one time purchase. None of this subscription crap where you have to pay every month.
I am sure you could do the same thing with an Excel spreadsheet or something similar.
I think it is a good exercise to do even though you really do not have to budget.
» Posted By Brian On 03/October/2024 @ 1:12 am
In the best of all possible worlds
Kris Kristofferson was a better songwriter than singer IMO. But looking at his bio, he had an interesting life – Rhodes scholar, US Army helicopter pilot, singer, songwriter, actor, etc. RIP
Heres to good results from the heart test.
» Posted By Brian On 02/October/2024 @ 12:50 am
Wow! Great sunset pics!!
I think Korea would be a good trip for you and Swan. Playing tour guide will take you to places you maybe never went before within Seoul (for example, something offbeat like the Kimchii museum, etc.).
» Posted By Brian On 30/September/2024 @ 12:09 am
I seriously doubt that the decision at Facebook was made by a human. There are probably millions of pictures uploaded every day to the platform, and whatever algorithm or AI that is used spotted a child and recognized that it was topless so it was automatically flagged. Their concern is child porn and Im sure that the algorithm is designed to very much err on what they think is the side of safety.
Appealing the ban means some guy (or gal) sitting in a third world country maybe will have about 0.1 second to look at it and make a decision, with the default being to deny the request. I dont have any hope that they will make a logical informed decision.
» Posted By Brian On 29/September/2024 @ 9:30 am
Personally, I would do some research on the hospital in Angeles City. For something like “advanced” heart test, I think it would be worth it to go to a first world equivalent hospital, even if you have to travel a bit.
Re: the pic of Korea. Why dont you take Swan on a week (or 2) trip to Korea? I know you have mentioned that you have no desire to go back, but playing tour guide with someone who has never been (assuming she has never been) there would be fun and make it interesting for you. 4/5 days in Seoul, go down to Ulsan, Jeju, eat live octopus on the beach in Busan, etc.
» Posted By Brian On 27/September/2024 @ 11:12 pm
There is nothing wrong with being content with routine, but at the same time, I get the impression that you want something different (at least occasionally).
Hardest thing is to overcome that internal inertia and try something new. You keep talking about traveling to the Philippines and beyond……….. Really nothing stopping you. You are (reasonably) healthy and have no financial problems so just do it.
Maybe there is something to be said in making a bucket list.
» Posted By Brian On 26/September/2024 @ 2:17 am
“Later in the day, I made the cross-town walk to Hideaway for the weekly feeding ritual. Once again, there were several other customers in the bar when I arrived. One of them even bought me a beer! It’s good to see owner Griff turning things around there.”
Has anything actually changed in how the bar operates? looks? different menu? Just curious what has caused the influx of customers?
» Posted By Brian On 24/September/2024 @ 12:11 am
Good luck with the cardiologist visit.
Re: the video. Makes quite a few good points, but as you mention, some of the things are subjective. Kind of like ranking on SE Asian country vs. another. No right or wrong answer.
» Posted By Brian On 21/September/2024 @ 3:59 am
Re: the videos. A bad situation all around. Pretty low of Bob to just kick her out, but dont really know the whole story.
» Posted By Brian On 20/September/2024 @ 1:41 am
How can you mend a broken heart?
John, hopefully the docs can find the root of the problems and remedies for it.
Re: video. Most (but not all) of older foreigner/younger local are (partially) transactional in nature. Doesn’t mean that the relationship won’t work, as long as both sides understand it may not be based on “love” as we define it in the West.
» Posted By Brian On 19/September/2024 @ 3:41 am
Generally, I think solar is a positive. But, as @Kevin points out, still a ways to go. Efficiency of solar panels is still relatively low. But just like computers, etc. I think that the pace of improvement will be pretty rapid.
Yeah, solar panels aren’t pretty, but if I had the choice between living next to that or next to a chemical or power plant, it would be an easy choice. (And if the choice was living next to a solar farm or not having electricity, a pretty easy choice also. LOL)
» Posted By Brian On 13/September/2024 @ 12:08 am
«« Back To Stats PageDoesn’t WordPress allow “drag and drop” of photos?
But, I always use my computer, so maybe not so easy via phone.
(Get a Mac! LOL. Airdrop photos direct from your phone to computer.)
» Posted By Brian On 12/September/2024 @ 11:58 pm