Comments Posted By Brian
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Pretty cool app. Does it have the GPS feature built in, or does it work off of your FItBit (or similar)? I know there are a number of trail apps out there. (I use All Trails). What do you normally use?
» Posted By Brian On 17/January/2021 @ 6:55 am
John, yup, keep things in perspective. There are so many people who are less fortunate, and seeing the foreigner you mention hits that home.
Ditto on Kevin’s comment on “Mary”.
“Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.”
» Posted By Brian On 11/January/2021 @ 1:48 am
I am an optimist and feel confident that things will chug along just fine. The Senate is too close to have the Dems force anything through (who would have thought that Joe Manchin would be one of the (if not the) most powerful people in Washington LOL), though I do think it would have been better to have a Republican controlled senate. It is best for the US if no one party (whether it be the Dems or the GOP) controls both the executive and legislative branches.
Anyway, I am comfortable where I am at in the world, and figure I will be in 5 years, regardless who is the head cheerleader is in the US.
Worry about things I have control over, and those things that I cannot control, I will go with it.
» Posted By Brian On 10/January/2021 @ 10:16 am
Interesting hike with some great views.
The houses/families that you find up in the mountains; I would assume it is kind of “squatters rights” on the land or do you think they have any real claim to ownership of the property?
And if it is not theirs, whose is it? Government owned?
More of a rhetorical question but just curious. LOl
» Posted By Brian On 09/January/2021 @ 7:26 am
Seems like an awful lot of first time visitors each day that never come back.
I bought a domain name (but have never used it for anything other than an email address). However, when I look at the stats, it does indicate a number of “people” visiting. The hosting company I use (Tiger Tech) provides some pretty detailed stats and it shows that pretty much all of the first time visitors are bots. I am not tech savvy enough to know what they are trolling the internet for, but at least for me, it is bots and not humans visiting. Wonder if alot if the single time visitors are bots for you also?
But, who cares as you said. LOL I enjoy the read and I am human last I checked.
LOL on Kevins comment.
» Posted By Brian On 09/January/2021 @ 7:15 am
Same with Thailand. Price for braces has come down enough or economics standards have risen enough to allow the lower middle class folks to afford them. There are also some (thankfully a rather small amount of) young ladies who think it is a fashion statement and have these “stick on” braces that have no purpose other than to look stupid. Oh well.
Happy New Year John – enjoyed the photo tour. Good way to end the year that was and get read for the year to be.
» Posted By Brian On 02/January/2021 @ 1:03 am
Tough to separate the wheat from the chaff sometimes. Some do the need the money for legitimate reasons and are in dire straits through no fault of their own. Others are in misery of their own making. Some are both. It does get to be a bit grating, and hardens a person (in probably not a good way).
I guess that comes with living in an area where a middle class foreigner is at the top of the economic heap.
A person can only do the best they can.
» Posted By Brian On 31/December/2020 @ 6:30 am
I dont know John, you took the whole “puking on the couch thing” better than I would have. LOL
Someone pukes on a couch, and that pretty much ruins the couch. Not sure I would want to be sitting on that couch again.
Merry Christmas!!
» Posted By Brian On 26/December/2020 @ 4:46 am
Good job! Nice to bring some festivities to those who maybe dont have the same opportunities as you guys do! Merry Christmas!!
» Posted By Brian On 23/December/2020 @ 12:27 am
Wow! That was quite the hike. Looked like fun! LOL
Though, I am not sure you would agree with the philosophical saying – “the joy is in the journey, not the destination!”
» Posted By Brian On 22/December/2020 @ 12:59 am
Yup, great pics of the walk. You do live in a very picturesque part of our universe.
(and a nice pic of the ladies. LOL)
» Posted By Brian On 18/December/2020 @ 8:10 am
John, this is really weird. Last night, I was watching some old Dick Van Dyke show episodes. There is an episode (#113) which aired in early 1965, and featured, you guessed it, Chad and Jeremy.
Had never heard of these guys before, but I had listened to the youtube link you posted above. As I was watching this show, these two guys, not exactly playing themselves but playing themselves with a different name, look familiar and yup, the credits at the end of the show listed them as Chad and Jeremy.
Just thought it was quite a coincidence that these two guys would pop up on a random show I was watching, considering I had just learned who they were from a blog post from 1/2 around the world. LOL
Maybe I should go out and buy a lottery ticket.
» Posted By Brian On 12/December/2020 @ 3:54 am
If the karaoke is (or has been) the only problem with the caretaker and her family, it doesn’t seem to rise to the level of having to move because of it.
I am not a very confrontational person, but I think letting her know no music after XX o’clock is a reasonable ask. You hold all the cards so to speak, so I would not think she would want to upset her boss (whether or not you are officially that or not).
» Posted By Brian On 11/December/2020 @ 3:43 am
Looks like the after hash get together went well.
Any chili left over? LOL
» Posted By Brian On 09/December/2020 @ 3:19 am
The picture that is like a metaphor – maybe it is a familiar path you are on, but there is always something new to discover.
Just like your life, alot of it is routine, but there is enough new things to keep you interested and thankful!
» Posted By Brian On 07/December/2020 @ 12:43 am
When appliances attack…………… Sounds like the start of a bad horror movie.
John, I chuckled a bit when you said that Black Rock is unique in that it offers great panoramic views. Seems like from your pics, the views are always great from whichever hill/mountain you end up climbing. But maybe the others dont have the 360 views that the others do.
» Posted By Brian On 27/November/2020 @ 3:58 am
Maybe John, you and Iline have a lot in common. Searching for love, sometimes settling for something less because she is not sure she will find what she really wants and needs. Like you, maybe she does not know exactly what she wants and needs.
But in regards to your response, I think it was spot on. If her ex said something like that to her, she should run very fast and very far away. It is not uncommon to read/hear stories of victims of domestic abuse. It is sad that so many of the woman return to the guy, expecting something different and seemingly surprised when nothing has changed.
Hopefully she will take your advice.
And if she does – PLEASE PLEASE John, dont let your little head think for your big head.
» Posted By Brian On 21/November/2020 @ 5:38 am
What Kevin said!!
» Posted By Brian On 18/November/2020 @ 3:29 am
John, Sounds like it went well. Looking forward to the write up.
» Posted By Brian On 17/November/2020 @ 8:38 am
Glad that, all things considered, you came out pretty unscathed.
(At least until the next one).
Remind me, what is the typical rainy season in your neck of the woods?
» Posted By Brian On 14/November/2020 @ 9:37 am
John, Quite a nice looking facility. Did not realize that your subdivision had a “clubhouse”. Pre pandemic, was it utilized quite a bit?
» Posted By Brian On 12/November/2020 @ 1:26 am
Thought this put things in perspective LOL
From the “Daily Stoic”
“It’s easy to sit here and say this has been a bad year. But is it really so bad? Is it 1865 bad? Winter of 1777 bad? Was it as bad as many of the years in Marcus Aurelius’s reign? The years at the end of Nero’s? How about 1919—when the world was mopping up after the Great War just as a pandemic was making landfall? Or ’68, which had civil unrest, terrorist bombings and a major influenza outbreak on top?“The Stoics would simply have pointed out those other examples to help you see that you still have options left. There is still room to maneuver. All is not lost.
“They’d want you to have some perspective and also to grasp this simple, black and white truth: Humanity will either survive this or we won’t. You will, or you won’t. Things looked dark in 180 AD, in 1777, in 1865, in 1919 and in 2009. But guess what? We made it through. We survived.
“This hasn’t been a bad year. It’s been a year. A year more like some and less like some others. But it is what it is. You don’t control what it has been, but you have some influence over where it’s going—there’s still a couple quarters left to play. So focus on that. Stay objective and don’t despair.
“It’ll get better…or as Marcus quips in Meditations, it won’t and you won’t be around to worry about it anymore.”
» Posted By Brian On 06/November/2020 @ 12:28 pm
I think the rhetoric on both sides is a bit overblown. I seriously doubt that the US will self destruct if (Trump/Biden) is elected. When George HW Bush (and President Trump) was elected, the Democrats predicted the end of the US as we know it.
Same for the Republicans on the (re)election of President Obama.
Last I checked, the US is still here. I optimist and believe that things have a tendency to swing back to the center from whichever side they overswing.
Anyway, I digress a bit. LOL
On a non-political note, I assume you have made it to the top of Easter Mountain at one time or another? Just dont remember. 🙂
» Posted By Brian On 05/November/2020 @ 9:19 am
Stay safe and hope that the typhoon is more bark than bite!
» Posted By Brian On 02/November/2020 @ 4:12 am
John, is the “leave the country” when you cannot get any further visa extensions a “leave the country for the weekend and return to start another 3 year cycle” or is it “leave the country and you can’t come back for XX amount of time?”
If it is the former, pretty good deal. Pre-COVID, Thailand was was becoming more strict on “tourist” visa extensions and giving a hard look at people who jumped across the border for a day to restart the visa cycle.
Aside to Kevin – congrats on finishing your walk!! Nice job!!
» Posted By Brian On 30/October/2020 @ 8:18 am
What about a generator? Assuming that pretty much every thing there is electric and no natural gas lines?
Though, a portable generator could do the job and run some key appliances during power outages.
Too bad about Brownie. With animals, people, etc., sometimes it is “there but for the grace of God, go I”
» Posted By Brian On 22/October/2020 @ 12:26 am
Thailand is worrisome for sure. Still go there quite frequently, and spent the month of August there – two weeks in a quarantine hotel and two weeks for business. LOL Was supposed to do the same thing next month, but I dont think that is going to happen. I do like the country, and to me, doesnt have the feel of a police state, certainly not any more than any other SE Asian country. I do admit that I am somewhat sheltered from that when I am there. But, I understand how you could get that vibe.
Unfortunately, I think things will get worse there before they get better.
Re: Laos – very sleepy place. Spent a couple of long weekends there, but was only in Vientianne. Capital city, but much more like a small provincial town. Once you have hit the two restaurants that cater to foreigners and the 1 or 2 bars, that is about it. Highly recommended for a visit, but lacking language skills and it being so small, I would have trouble living there full time. Having said that, I am sure that there is more to it than meets the eye, and a full-time resident would find out those things that I missed in my short visits.
» Posted By Brian On 17/October/2020 @ 2:26 am
Quick comment for Kevin Kim:
Kevin, the Chinese writing on the pagoda structure you came across translates as “Guanyin’s Hands Temple”
Guanyin is a famous goddess in the Chinese sphere, especially in Taiwan.
» Posted By Brian On 16/October/2020 @ 11:11 am
I actually like the second picture better. LOL The scenery and the way the winding road leads down seems to lend itself better to portrait mode than landscape.
Amazing how far camera phones have come. In the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, I think that a good SLR will take better pictures. But for casual shots, etc, the phone cameras of today give the SLR a run for its money.
» Posted By Brian On 11/October/2020 @ 12:58 am
«« Back To Stats PagePoor dog. Yeah, it is tough, but you are correct. You have to “harden” a bit and realize that you can do what you can, but you can’t save the world.
» Posted By Brian On 09/October/2020 @ 11:14 am