Rogie

As somebody who's recently had his account debited to the tune of around £500 ($750) by a thief unknown who either did it via the well-known ATM route or via hacking into an on-line transaction, I find this really pathetic. With such a ridiculous amount of money at stake it becomes a media circus. That makes me wonder just how many smaller (well you can't easily go bigger, surely, can you?) ups and downs occur in the average day around the world without attracting any notice whatsoever. My guess would be millions! Millions of people either credited or debited by an extra dollar or so, but with a tiny (dishonest) minority making off with a nice little earner. Might not the odd Lear jet or fancy yacht be financed by such serendipity?

My rather clumsy way of saying you can't get away from 'em wherever you go. Admittedly I haven't been to many of the remoter regions so I am sure there are places where you can go out walking and not see a soul all day, but I bet such (inhabited) places in China are rare! (Obviously I don't include places such as the Gobi Desert in that category).

I'm not a frequent flyer, and the last few years I've been mostly to Thailand and Australia and cannot recall any serious problems at all. The only time a fellow passenger got drunk & disorderly was on the flight back from Peking and he was an Englishman in my tour party! Chinese are very numerous everywhere you go in China but I don't recall any rudeness or bad behaviour. I think as FH mentions other nationalities are equally inconsiderate, or more so. The majority of law-abiding air travellers are sheeplike under any sensible authority and ought to be easy to control. If the 'shepherd' is lax, however, they will go astray.

Goodness gracious me! What planet? I'm in a world of my own . . . As far as working in a library goes, draw your own conclusion!

Chinese tourists are bound to increase in numbers markedly as time goes by. I would hope airlines worldwide are keeping tabs on Chinese national's flying etiquette, and if it is true they are more inconsiderate or prone to rudeness train their cabin staff to politely intervene and make it clear their behaviour is unacceptable. That to my mind is preferable to any passenger taking on a vigilante role a la khun Enchanter with his choice turns of phrase.

When I'm out and about in cooler climates I like to wear a jacket, which serves two functions, style and practicality. Plenty of pockets to keep wallets etc well hidden, but easily accessible. In contrast, when I'm in Thailand I seldom wear a jacket, except for the occasional evening in the 'cool season' when it really is cool. I don't like stuffing my trousers with anything lumpy (I'm being serious here!) and shirt pocket (if it has one) ditto. My solution is to carry all my stuff in a smart little bag (you could call it a bum bag, but as it's Italian I daresay it has a more classy name in Italy). Maybe male handbag would desribe it as I confess to cluttering it up with way too much stuff. I do not, however, carry my passport in it.

It's not very nice when one of your posts is edited or deleted, so, as a mod is yet to respond, why not PM one of them and he can say yeah or nay. I suspect you've written it up already and you do seem to favour longish posts (which is fine by me). By the way, I liked your term "mutual symbiosis" as a description of male bonding.

Nostalgia is terrible thing. It can make us weep with joy or grind our teeth in frustration. Woody Allen's Radio Days was a great hark back to those times. I think I must've been a bit retarded, I don't recall listening to anything on the radio other than pop music. The good ol' b & w TV ruled the roost at chez Rogie. Regarding whether the film is a dud or not in terms of audience numbers, it is a long time ago since the Lone Ranger's heyday and kids nowadays are a lot more difficult to impress I would imagine. Plus there've been a whole load of other screen characters in masks so the mask itself is nothing special as a gimmick any longer. I never had any Lone Ranger comics in my collection so that's definitely a tragic omission, although I can't recall ever having seen any. Next thing Koko will be telling us he has the full set of bubblegum cards!

Q1. No Q2. I always carry documents (including money and credit cards) in a small bag that I stow away in the footwell or in a wallet -shaped documents case I stick in the pouch where the in-flight magazines are stored. So I would certainly be tempted to grab that, and as it is small and ready to hand I might well do that, probably instinctively. Q3. I would say more often than not, but if I don't I can't say why. Probably apathy. Following this crash, I think I might start weighing up my fellow passengers a bit more in future, especially if I am on a route I haven't flown before.

I haven't seen the film and until I read this didn't know anything about it. I suppose I was a fan of the TV series (at the time, not sure I would describe myself thus nowadays). It's often fun to watch re-runs of those old westerns and try to spot actors who made it big later on. I spotted a much younger Lee Van Cleef in an episode once. Wasn't it the Lone Ranger who used silver bullets? I do hope he was given a supply in this new film. Do we get to see him un-masked? I hope not, the mask was a master stroke to encourage a generation of boys to believe in something magical (I've definitely got my rose-tinted spectacles on as I write this!).

You're right about young people's resistance to messages they don't want to hear or maybe don't understand in the first place. Smoking (no jokes please!) is an obvious instance where there are plenty of warnings NOT TO DO IT, but if you are blind to that message then you will ignore it (I am thinking of young people here who start smoking knowing the dangers which are clearly spelled out - or rather graphically displayed on the outside of the packet - I can sympathise with any of our older members and readers who have tried to quit and failed, as smoking was so all-pervasive back in the 60's and 70's and deemed quite acceptable, despite the price to be paid in health terms having been known since the Royal College of Physicians report in 1962). Now onto something I know very little about - drugs (apart from alcohol!). Methamphetamine is, quite frankly, a disgusting chemical which everybody should know about before they contemplate taking it. DON'T DO IT! If in doubt read up about it. This quote from wiki below confirms what FH reported above. The final two sentences are not so relevant to Bangkok as it seems it's more often smoked than injected. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine Quite why any sensible person would risk their longterm health for the buzz of short-term kicks escapes me. Furthermore it's not just impressionable young Thais who take methamphetamine. Farangs in Thailand do so as well. I knew (note the past tense) an extremely well-educated ex-pat who took it for sex kicks. He described it to me in great detail once. Thankfully I said "no thanks I'm not putting that junk into my body". I suspect he would've been an ideal person to 'drop in and tune out' at this place: Incidentally it describes the difference between yaba and methamphetamine here: http://www.thecabinchiangmai.com/archive/thailand___s_drug_problem__methamphetamine_and_yaba

Don't forget you're living in a Buddhist country FH, hang on to it by all means, but there's a lot to be said for letting yourself go. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detachment_(philosophy)

Even if you assume the only likely place you will be asked for it is in clubs or other drinking establishments, these are the very places many of us would not want to take our prized possession.

Good that the BP has published these reports. But what about the Thai-language press, newspapers and magazines? One hears the odd derogatory comment thrown in the direction of the Thai educational system, but I would imagine many white collar workers are avid readers. If the Thai press are printing the same articles as the BP any MSM reading it will be aware of the risks he is taking. These risks include STD's such as syphilis (mentioned in the OP). That's all very well for me to conjecture, but do Thai-language newspapers print this kind of article? Assuming they do, does the target audience of 'young Thais' read them? How about magazines which specifically target young readers? I would say they have a big responsibility to spell it out in plain language. The plainer the better, and if it involves the use of crude terminology (which as you all know, I don't like under normal circumstances) then do it! Maybe any of our members reading this, who feel comfortable discussing it with their young educated Thai friends, can ask them if the kind of stuff they read, or leaflets they come across, carry these blunt messages. Don't forget we're talking about white collar workers here, not simple (meant in a nice way) country boys.

Your requirements are your own business Christian, and I'm not intending to comment on them. The part of your post I have quoted above warrants further comment though I think. If you are living in Bangkok, with its very high population density, and your radar is switched on, then spotting only one a day (and you say 'up to once per day', so some days you are implying you do not see a single one!) shows extreme discernment. The obvious question to ask is how do you get more than just a passing eyeful - wandering in the park, on the skytrain or metro, in the shopping mall or wherever . . . ? Do you try and make eye contact (and I certainly don't mean 'staring')? Following up with a simple smile may reap rewards. I am shy and find doing that difficult. I can happily smile at anyone I pass on the street, but if it's a person I am attracted to then I feel awkward and may avert my gaze rather than risk the disappointment of an unrequited smile! If you succeed in being able to start a conversation, especially as your language skills sound good to me, and provided you can stay relaxed and friendly, that could lead onto a something more, and a chance over a coffee or if you can get his phone number over a later chat on the phone to find out more about him. If you can make some genuine Thai friends Christian, it doesn't necessarily matter if they aren't gay. Everybody has friends and your new friend may well have many his own age some of whom may be gay. If you can build a 'family' of Thai friends word will soon get out about you . . . your many varied interests, including the type of person you are looking for. This will take time, plenty of time, but you have said yourself you estimate 5 - 50 years before you find the perfect man. In the meantime, you can just go on as you have been doing, offing the occasional boy or using gay Romeo or whatever works for you when you're feeling horny.

You're right to comment on the coffee cups (last pic). Nice Bone china for tea, and something a bit chunkier for coffee, passes muster for me. I confess I've never ever eaten pizza for breakfast. No reason why it shouldn't be a staple, maybe my breakfast choice is stuck in the 60's or 70's, or whenever it was muesli first reared its head in Britain. That's fine when I'm in my home environment, but would I want to eat muesli for breakfast when I'm on holiday? Fiddlesticks! No! Neither have I ever eaten Japanese nosh for breakfast. I think the breakfast buffet at W Hotel would challenge the comfort zone of my morning eating habits.

Normal service is resumed!

'On balance' a good pair of scales should not lie. Surely the most likely explanation is that given in the OP.

I've heard of Betty Crocker and 'Aunt Mary'. Is this woman something similar? That's what they all say! Catch 22. If you don't say it you're in trouble and if you do your waistline is.

That may be, but are you pretty as a picture? Seriously now, well done KT! Fortunately - in the sense that going easy on the calories is beneficial Unfortunately, that often needs that rare commodity, will-power Thanks, I'm a little rusty, should've kept up with trends. I love many of the older American coins, especially ones with Liberty. The silver dollars have what's known as the Liberty walking design. Our equivalent in Britain is Britannia (of 'ruling the waves' fame). Taking a quick look, it seems both Britannia's and Eagles's retail for about $30

There was a good letter in Britain's Guardian newspaper yesterday, and as their website has links to the letters page I've copied and pasted below: Pride in gay rights "As a British historian of black civil rights currently in Washington DC and watching the genuine excitement following the supreme court's decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act (Report, 27 June), I feel it is an important moment to understand the civil rights and human implications. Bayard Rustin, a key civil rights tactician who organised the march on Washington in 1963, was persecuted due to being African American and for his political links to communism – but also due to his homosexuality. In the early 1980s, he said the barometer for civil rights in the US was changing focus upon how its gay citizens were treated – this was as the HIV/Aids epidemic struck an increasingly conservative America. In the 1950s Rustin had a relationship with Tom Kahn, a white student radical – breaking a lot of social taboos at the time. Kahn had been struggling with his sexuality but upon meeting Rustin embraced his identity fully and engaged in the civil rights struggle in all its social and economic forms. Apparently Kahn went to a psychiatrist in 1956 to try and understand his sexual identity – the diagnosis was "you're in love". After the legal decisions last week and all the bluster of social conservatives, the simple diagnosis for America could not, perhaps, be simpler." Dr Lee Sartain University of Portsmouth

Moses, I assume when you use the word 'compet.', that's short for competition. Am I on the right track here: http://www.google.com/competition/howgooglesearchworks.html (not that I understand the smallest fraction of it!)

I see what you mean: instead of Thai Massage for men in Pattaya by men we now have: Ef Thai Massage. so if I have understood correctly two 'key' words no longer feature men and Pattaya

Update There has been much bemusement today to learn this 'idiot' was, owing to a cock-up, released from prison early: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/death-crash-footballer-courtney-meppenwalter-back-in-jail-after-being-freed-in-error-8682586.html http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/01/courtney-meppen-walter_n_3529965.html So, Thailand after all doesn't have a monopoly on strange and bewildering exploits when it comes to law and order (or the lack of . . .)

I just love silver dollars. I bought several for just a few dollars each when I was a kid. The 'Morgan' dollars. But they're only 90% silver. Can you really get a dollar which is 99.9% silver? The dollar shown below isn't one of the Morgan ones. Anyone know what's so special about it? (disclosure: it isn't mine, sadly!)