Comments Posted By Brian
Displaying 211 To 240 Of 1,084 Comments
Re: Video and living in a developing country.
Yup, money is a great insulator from local life in a developing country. We (and I include myself in that) are pretty ignorant of the life a true local leads. We say they are happy and friendly, but who the heck knows what they say behind our back. LOL. I am sure some resent us. But, I am generally an optimist and do believe the most people are good, regardless of whatever country they are from or live in.If all countries around the world had open borders, do you think there would be a net increase or decrease in the Filipino population? My guess would be a decrease. You mentioned previously that you had no desire to visit Europe or Australia/NZ because of the shitholes they have become. I’m curious as why you say that what do you base that on? Do you truly think that they are in worse condition than the PI?
» Posted By Brian On 12/November/2025 @ 3:10 am
Seeking shelter from the storm
Glad that things were not as bad as expected, at least in your neck of the woods.
Slow internet, no mouse, paying for a hotel, etc. Definitely first world problems in a third world country. LOL
» Posted By Brian On 10/November/2025 @ 10:36 pm
The graffiti has a “Banksy” vibe to it. Clever.
Re: 7-11’s
Japan has the most stores in the world, something like 20000. Taiwan has a bunch, maybe the highest per capita at around 7000 stores in a country of 20MM. I think the PI has about 4000. I was surprised that 7-11 has very little presence in Europe. It is interesting (at least for me) to see how global brands lie 7-11 adapt to the individual countries they operate in. I remember that in Indonesia, the 7-11’s are more like a coffee shop than a pure convenience store.» Posted By Brian On 09/November/2025 @ 1:11 am
re: family
John, not sure why you don’t take a trip back to the US. I know you have said that your family back there isn’t making any efforts towards reconciliation. They may be thinking the same thing, though about you. And realistically, it is a lot easier for you to go there than the other way around. Somebody has to make the effort – it might as well be you. I think you would be pleasantly surprised.As the cliche goes, “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”
Re: SOB voucher for Whiskey Girl
Ummm, obviously I wasn’t there and don’t know exactly how you reacted, but it does seem like you were a bit of an a-hole. It certainly is not fraud on their part. There have been numerous cases will a store will print a coupon saying something is on sale for e.g. $1.99 when it should have been $199.99 and the store is not required to honor it. For example, the SOB could have had leftover coupons from months ago, etc. and there was no intention from Whiskey Girl validate them. I get it – it’s the principle, but on the other hand, it is $10 bucks and was it worth getting your blood pressure up?Doing a 10,000 foot psychological analysis, I would recommend that you take a break from SE Asia for X period (with X = 1 week, 2 weeks, whatever). I think you need to get out of the whole SEA bubble for a bit. You have been in it too long without a break. Previous trips – all to SE Asia. Your upcoming trip to Vietnam – still in the bubble. Trips outside of Barreto to other places in the PI – still in the bubble. Go to the US, north Asia, Europe, Aus/NZ, etc. I don’t think you have been out of SEA for 7(?) years or so.
Maybe even something like a (Mediterranean) cruise. I like cruises. A floating hotel that visits interesting places. You can do as much or as little as you want. Hey, when beer o’clock is over, it is just a matter of a few steps from the ships bar to the elevator/stairs to your room.
Anyways, hope you are not offended by me interjecting. 😛
» Posted By Brian On 06/November/2025 @ 3:14 am
Re: SOB contest
Yeah, it was held too often. Weekly is way too frequent for something like that. Hard to keep it fresh. The bar of Nana Plaza in Thailand (and maybe some of the other red light districts) used to have a VERY irregular dance contest. Maybe held a couple times a year. Always really well attended. Dont know if it was just a lot of work to put together or if the proprietors were smart enough to know that making something scarce seems to make it more valuable, but it worked there.(I was expecting to see you in your zombie office worker costume. I thought that was kind of a tradition. LOL)
» Posted By Brian On 02/November/2025 @ 12:43 am
Couple of linked posts that were quite the downer. But, that is life sometimes I guess.
As long as you are comfortable that you have found companionship rather than love, that is not a bad thing after all the trials and tribulations you have had when you were searching for love. As we have talked before on your blog, relationships at the most base level are transactional. Just spitballing, but my guess is that with Loraine for example, she was looking for someone to adopt her kid, and probably knew that you were not willing to do that.
Anyway, as you often say, you are still here to enjoy the life you do have. Be grateful for the things you have rather than unhappy about the things you don’t.
» Posted By Brian On 01/November/2025 @ 1:02 am
Re: Driver
Is he reliable and drives safely? If so, is it worth telling Swan that you know you are overpaying him and are okay with that and to let you handle all interactions with him going forward? I know that in a place like the PI, finding a driver is easy. Finding a good driver is difficult. Don’t know if Danny is the former or the latter.Re: Myths video
Which myths do you still believe are correct? I think the only one I was unsure was the mice and cheese. Kind of assumed that was their favorite food. (I should know better, as my place in the states is out in the country and alot of field mice around. I found that peanut butter is the best bait.)» Posted By Brian On 29/October/2025 @ 11:22 pm
@Kevin – layman’s definition of insanity. LOL
@John
Re: Brazilian
The joke I heard about Brazilians:
During the Gulf War, an aide came into the Oval Office and whispered in the presidents ear. “Mr. President, just received news that 3 brazilan soldiers were killed today.” The president turned white and almost went into shock. “OMG!” He turned to his aide and said, “And how many exactly is a brazilian?!”Glad to see that you are mixing things up and planning on getting more out and about in the coming months. Variety is the spice of life. Too easy to get into a rut.
» Posted By Brian On 27/October/2025 @ 11:41 pm
Re: Reekay video
You hit the nail on the head. Money helps smooth over a lot of the irritants present in a third world country. Examples for yourself is paying your helper go and wait to obtain appointments for you, having a car/driver at your disposal, etc..Being a poor expat in the third world country; those are the guys that are always at the bars bitching about what a shithole the PI/Thailand/Vietnam, etc. is and how much they hate being there. They usually dont have the funds to return to their home country so have nothing better to do than drink cheap beer and complain. LOL
» Posted By Brian On 23/October/2025 @ 10:44 am
One other comment
Been a semi regular reader of Stickman also. I thought he always had some interesting stuff. Once he went back to NZ, he mentioned pretty frequently that it was difficult to crank out a weekly column from overseas.
The only thing constant in life is change.
» Posted By Brian On 20/October/2025 @ 11:13 pm
Re: Stephen King books
Also like them. About a year ago, finally read the Dark Tower series, all 3000+ pages of it. Some of the books were better than others, and I thought that the ending was somewhat “meh”, but overall a good read.Re: wooden eye joke
Reminded me of the one wooden eye joke that I know. (Though I guess now I know two).This boy goes to his school dance and he is really self conscious because he has a wooden eye. No one wants to dance with him and he is felling pretty down. He spots a female classmate, and she is in the same situation. She has a harelip and is being ignored by everybody. He gathers up his courage and goes up to her to ask her to dance.
“Would you like to dance?”
“Wouldn’t I !! Wouldn’t I !!” she says with excitement.
he responds “Harelip! Harelip!!!”
re: Keith Whitley
one in a line of musicians who had a “til death do we part” relationship with alcohol and drugs» Posted By Brian On 20/October/2025 @ 11:11 pm
Re: Central Park hotel
I am assuming that the hotel does not have GRO’s? So you pay 60 pesos more for a beer (what is that, a $1?) and save 200 pesos on a lady drink. Seems like you would be coming out ahead. LOLRe: mountain mama burning leaves
I am sure that some people burn plastic waste also, though probably the majority just toss it. Anyway, there is a video floating around of a group intentionally capturing the smoke emitted from a (small) burning pile of plastic trash. Nasty nasty stuff. Not sure it is worse than just tossing it to the side. Both are bad and it boggles my mind that people (not just in the PI) dont give a shit.Re: your comment from a couple of days ago about being called out for being loud in Korea
I agree with what you said in your original blog post. Hearing people speaking in a foreign language almost always sounds louder. For whatever reason, when you cannot understand what is being said, it seems like the decibel level is increased by X amount.» Posted By Brian On 17/October/2025 @ 11:23 pm
As always, great sunset pics.
Re: Music quiz
Missed two, and guessed correctly on a few others. A bit before my time, though some of the questions made it pretty easy to get the right answer. E.g. giving a 60’s song and 3 of the 4 possible answers are artists who were not around in the 60’s! LOLre: Big guy in the chair
Recently in a doctors office and they had these chairs that were wider than a normal chair and looked a bit uncomfortable for one person as the arm rests were pretty far apart, but definitely too small to fit two people. Took me a while to figure out that they were for one plus sized person. But, good on him for getting out and about, and good on the bar for doing what it takes to make him a happy customer.» Posted By Brian On 16/October/2025 @ 2:44 am
@John @Kevin. Thanks. No damage. The friend I was with, she saw me start to fold up and was able to ease me down to the ground. Weird thing is that I had one of those “micro dreams” in the 30 seconds or so I was out of it.
I for sure drank more than 1 liter. Had a 20 oz water bottle with me and drank at least 40 oz. Can’t remember if I refilled it only once or twice.
As I said, lesson learned, so need to be more careful about staying hydrated and eating nuts, granola, M&M’s etc while on long walks. This was the furthest I have ever walked in one go. I have a “normal” walk I do around Lake Geneva (no, not the one in Switzerland, but in Wisconsin LOL) and that is a shade under 22 miles. I guess the extra 5 miles did me in.
» Posted By Brian On 16/October/2025 @ 2:32 am
Re: Dead hasher
Did at @Kevin Kim style walk this past weekend. ~42km doing the GreenCircleTrail.org that encircles Stevens Point, WI. Made it through the walk with no problem (8.5 hours total time). Went back to the hotel with no problem. Walked the short distance to a pub/restaurant okay. Enjoying a beer at the bar, started feeling light headed and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor (and not because of alcohol). LOL. 99% sure it was dehydration. Day was relatively cool, so didnt feel sweaty and definitely didn’t drink enough. Fortunately, all’s well that ends well, but lesson learned.Re: PI burrito
What are the ingredients? Looks good. I like burritos/wraps. Is the difference between a burrito and wrap mainly that the burrito is fried?» Posted By Brian On 15/October/2025 @ 7:07 am
John, in your current iteration, you remind me of a guy I used to work with in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He pretty much hit the expat bars early and left by 7 or 7:30. Always mentioned how he was surprised that the bars stayed in business as he was usually the only customer.
I wonder how much of a different vibe the Barretto bars have later in the evening vs. late afternoon/early evening.
Re: Cheap Charlies – I am generally a pretty forgiving person, the waitress could have just been having a bad day when you saw her last. There have been times when I have said/done something I regret, and it would have been disappointing if the person held a grudge forever based on one interaction. But, you are spoiled for choice there, so if one bar pisses you off, I guess that there are a multitude of others to fill the void.
Re: homeless(?) guy drinking the dregs from the beer bottles. Wow!! How sad is that. :(. Put me out of my misery if I ever am living that low.
» Posted By Brian On 11/October/2025 @ 1:28 am
Re: The post about your friend Dennis. In the pic, he kind of has that Gene Hackman look going.
Hopefully, he did not come to the same type of end as Gene did.
» Posted By Brian On 09/October/2025 @ 3:06 am
I second what @Kevin says. A visit, even a short one, is something that money cannot buy.
You and Swan could have a couple day getaway. Even though you have not spoken highly of Manila, I am sure that it has enough to keep you occupied for a couple of days.
» Posted By Brian On 09/October/2025 @ 3:03 am
Re: Hiking in Seoul
Agree with you on having a mountain just outside the door. When I was in Seoul, my “base” was the JW Marriott, just south of the Han River. Always to go hiking in the park/mountain right across the street.» Posted By Brian On 04/October/2025 @ 5:15 am
Re: Your pics.
Not going to lie – those were pretty funny. Maybe some Halloween costume ideas there?» Posted By Brian On 02/October/2025 @ 11:55 pm
I agree with your usage of cross country. Ran all through high school and four years of college, and never once did I see it written as cross-country. Sometimes, it was written as X-country, and occasionally I would see the hyphen applied there, but that was about it.
» Posted By Brian On 04/October/2025 @ 5:01 am
Re: hyphenation
John may just be ahead of his time. Language and grammar usage are always evolving. For example, I read somewhere that in ~1900, the words “today” and “tomorrow” were written to-day and to-morrow. In 2025, I don’t think that anybody would write them like that. Maybe same with cross-country/cross country? LOL» Posted By Brian On 02/October/2025 @ 11:32 pm
Re: leg pain
Could it be sciatica? Maybe related to your earlier back pains?Whatever it is , hope it resolves itself soon.
Re: T-shirt
Long time ago, I read about a company that was called Pen Island, obviously specializing in high end pens, inks etc. Existed pre internet, but I believe did have a mail order presence. When the internet came around, they dutifully registered their company. Oops. http://www.penisland.com» Posted By Brian On 26/September/2025 @ 9:55 pm
Re: beer meme
Saw this quote from Albert Einstein (hey, it was on the internet so it has to be true)
“I used to think drinking was bad for me. So, I gave up thinking.”» Posted By Brian On 25/September/2025 @ 3:02 am
Re: Typhoon – Hope the typhoon does not overwhelm the new water pipe!!
Re: Reakey video – I agree that the loser (emotionally, personality, etc.) in the US who moves to SE Asia and is still a loser is probably a minority among expats. Most retiree expats are pretty decent people,
But, I think that the number of retiree expats that are living on the economic edge are more plentiful than you think. Exhibit A is your blog where somebody gets injured/sick/dies. 9 times out of 10, they dont have (adequate) insurance and some bar is hosting a fundraiser to raise money for their medical care or funeral. Also, came across another PI blogger whose parents in the US are dying and he has been saving money for two years just to afford a plane ticket to fly back to visit them!!
There is the “rule of thumb” in the US to have 3-6 months of liquid funds you can access in case of an emergency. Wonder how many expats in the PI would fail that “test”.
» Posted By Brian On 24/September/2025 @ 6:17 am
>Brian, should illegal immigrants be deported?
Yes. I am a big fan of legal immigration. That is the only thing keeping the US population stable. Without immigration, we would be like Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Italy, etc that are going to be in a world of hurt in 25-50 years.
However, the crackdown on illegals will have consequences. Restaurant prices, grocery prices, etc. That being said, I do agree with it.>Should men who identify as women compete in women’s sports?
No. But I do think that this issue is way outsized in amount of newsprint vs. the reality. I read somewhere that in college athletics, the % of trans athletes is ~0.01%. In HS, it is somewhere around 0.1%.So, should they be competing? NO
Is it as big as problem as it was made out to be? NO>It is issue like those that are losing middle American for the dems.
Agree. The republicans did a very good job of picking subjects that resonated and the stupid democrats doubled down on their positions.As in the past few elections, it was more that the losing candidate snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, rather than the other side actually winning.
>I know nothing about crypto, Trump’s or otherwise. But I’m not hearing you claim anything illegal about Jr.’s involvement.
Yeah, but there was nothing illegal about Hunter Biden being named to the board of that one company. If general if the other tribe does something shady, it is “OMG, look at that!!!” If it is (generic) my tribe, it is “may not be morally good and is in a gray area, but all is good.”
>It never crossed my mind to violate the rules when I worked for the government, and if I had, I would expect the consequences for my dishonesty.
If it was a rule that you or your family could not use your office/position to enrich themselves, then why should it be different for the President and his family, or any member of congress and their families? Do you really think that the Saudis would have invested $2B in an investment fund run by President Trumps son if he wasnt President Trumps son? LOL. Again, both sides suck equally.
>“Anyways, life will go on, the sun will come up, hikes will be walked, and beers will be drunk regardless of who is in charge. LOL”
>See? We have found some common ground! I’m just glad I’m not living there.
Yup!! Cheers. I will be at a virtual street side seat with you and will lift a virtual beer (or three) and remember what is really important!! 🙂
» Posted By Brian On 26/September/2025 @ 5:54 am
>Brian, I’d be curious to learn the positions a centrist takes.
I guess I would describe myself as fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Thinking about it, maybe this skews toward libertarianism.
>Comparing Hunter to Donald Jr. seems like a stretch. Do you have any info on how he allegedly gained that wealth?
I dont think it is a stretch. One example, crypto. Don Jr. holds $hundreds of millions in Trump crypto. Do you really think that the launching and increase in price (knowing that Don Jr. basically got it for free) of Trump crypto is some sort of legitimate operation unconnected to the fact that his father is president?
Getting back to Trump crypto/memecoins:
>More than 813,000 crypto wallets have lost a total of $2 billion after buying President Donald Trump’s memecoin, according to an assessment by Chainalysis. Meanwhile, the Trump Organization and its partners gained $100 million in trading fees. Since its Jan. 17 launch, $TRUMP has lost most of its value, which is now about $16 per share, down from its $75 peak.I agree with some of President Trumps policies, but I think he is an asshole and a despicable human. No president and family has enriched themselves more using the office of President than Trump. I think it is a sad commentary that most people on the right seem to give this a free pass. “Oh, that is just Trump being Trump”
Other examples of enrichment: Trump phones, Trump coins, Trump NFT’s, Trump perfume, Trump crypto, Melania NFT, Trump watches, trading cards, $2B investment by the Saudis into a fund run by his son, etc. all done since he became president
I think you are a smart guy and generally pretty fair minded, but not seeing/believing how the Trump family uses the office of the President to enrich themselves is just wearing blinders.
Bringing up the other side (AOC, etc.). Both sides are guilty. As I stated above, saying that one side or the other has some sort of moral superiority is laughable. I have a problem with either side doing it. Both sides suck.
Imagine back to your days when you were working with the 8th Army. If you (or your family) used that association to generate personal financial gain, what do you think would have happened? Jee Yeun opens up some sort of commercial establishment (store/restaurant, whatever) and prominently indicates that her husband works closely with the 8th Army and has a picture of you and the commanding general displayed. No issues?
Anyways, life will go on, the sun will come up, hikes will be walked, and beers will be drunk regardless of who is in charge. LOL
» Posted By Brian On 25/September/2025 @ 2:53 am
re: politics
John Mc – I am pretty much a centrist and I find it laughable (in a sad sort of way) to see the various political memes and think that there are people that believe that one side or the other has some sort of moral superiority over the other side. The right is just as guilty as the left and vice versa.The right complains about Hunter Biden making a couple of million trading in on his father’s name. The left says “nothing to see here.” Donald Trump Jr’s net worth has increased from ~$50MM to $500MM in the course of the past year and no-one on the right seems to bat an eye. “Nothing to see here.”
I need to start a centrist party. The primary system and election system are so stacked against a third party that I am sure it will never happen.
» Posted By Brian On 24/September/2025 @ 6:01 am
RE: 13 month calendar.
It is called the “International Fixed Calendar”. It does make a lot of sense. Obviously 28×13 =364 so there is an extra “holiday” day at the end of each year. Leap year follows the conventional leap year currently done.I believe it was Kodak (either Eastman or Kodak) who was a big proponent of this calendar and it was used at the company for a long time.
re: SOB contest
Not a surprise that it is on a death spiral. Maybe hold it once/quarter or once per half year to keep it fresh. Every week for something like that becomes boring.» Posted By Brian On 20/September/2025 @ 11:36 pm
«« Back To Stats PageRe: news sources
Out of curiosity, where do you go for your news and why do you think those sources are more reliable and unbiased than others?Re: memorial for Art Miller
I dont want this to come off as unsympathetic, but he didnt have enough money for a funeral so they are having a fundraiser for him?! I mean, come on. From his perspective, doesn’t make any difference, but if a person is that hard up for money, they really need to take a look at where they are spending what they do have.» Posted By Brian On 19/September/2025 @ 12:28 am