You may have wondered why no posts in over a week (but then again, maybe not) and the reason why is I have been in the land of pain and spent 5 full days prone on a yoga mat on the floor. What started out as an RSI (repetitive strain injury) in my lower back turned into a pinched nerve in my lower left back and the the usual muscle spasms seized me up and I could not walk or sit without a world of pain.
The good news is that I am feeling better and can walk with very little pain and sit for 20 mins at a time with a bit of discomfort. However, Jaidan does not understand why I will not pick him up and why he can't ride around on my shoulders which is his favorite past time.
Thavorn was both concerned and amused. She could relate a little because she had problems with her sciatic nerve when 8 months pregnant with Jaidan. She was amused by the trucker's solution for my need to piss, but did not like emptying the bottle every morning.
Spending 5 days flat on my back on a yoga mat had a few upsides. One, I lost some weight, two, the broke the record for the longest continuous turd when I did manage to sit the ivory throne :-) and three, lots of time for reflection. I have mentioned before that if you don't have your health, everything else is meaningless.
I myself will head back to the gym as soon as my back allows and I encourage all of you in my generation to do the same. As a wise man once said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
I will fill you in on my reflections over the next few days, but at this moment my back is reminding me that it is time to rest.
Today's song is: Top 50 dance songs by Billboard .. January 2016
Communications when you are far from your friends can be problematic and costly. First off, forget about roaming, especially with data plans. Way too costly.
As long as you don't mind relying on WiFi then the various 'messenger' type programs have something to offer. These programs include LINE, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, Hangouts, etc. They also often include video but there is always a catch, and in the case of these programs I have found the quality of the connection to be sketchy at times. It all depends on both the originating and destination connections and the net in between.
The next type of app is the more dedicated programs such as Vonage, Skype, NetTalk, MagicJack, etc. I have used Vonage, Skype, and NetTalk mobile apps. My favorite at this moment in time is Vonage Mobile available on the Play store and Apple stores. Calls (and video) are free between the apps and calling to phone numbers is very inexpensive. You just apply some credit (from the appropriate store) and start calling. The call quality is excellent and I do believe it is cheaper than Skype, my second favorite. Each of the above have physical devices but I find the mobile apps more convenient and my phone is always with me.
Check out the advert below and read the review beneath it. Download the app and give me a call :-). Vonage mobile will search your contact list and show you which of your contacts have the app and who you can call for free.
I just downloaded the new Vonage Mobile app which lets me talk and text worldwide for free with other app users!
Vonage Mobile works on Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G data networks worldwide so I save on my carrier minutes and text plans. Download it now for iPhone and Android fromdownload.vonagemobile.com/vmappor search for Vonage Mobile in iTunes or Google Play, and we can talk and text for free!
Last night I was out with some friends for wings and a beer and afterwards I headed off to Soi Cowboy to play some pool with #1. I played well but last all 3 games on the last shot. She is just a better finisher than I am but then again, she plays all day, everyday and at best, I play once a week. Time to get out and practice a bit :-)
Afterwards I headed off to Shark bar to say hello to Thavorn's best friend T who just started working at Shark's. It was interesting to see T a little embarrassed dancing in close to nothing but her bathing suit :-) A bit awkward when it is your friend watching.
Sitting beside me was a young Japanese boy, who turned out to be a 22 year old university student whose parents had purchased an airline ticket to Bangkok for the weekend as a break from University. He was nursing a beer and seemed to be enjoying the show. I invited T and one of her friends down to join me for a drink and introduced ourselves to the young lad. His English was not bad and he was very refreshing (somewhat naive) but lots of fun to tease.
He was staying out in backpacker's lane (Kowsan Road) and was just about out of money but had not seen much as of yet. I suggested he needed to stop in at Baccara's and Crazy House before heading back to his hostel and offered to treat him to a beer in each place. He jumped at the chance and off we went.
Baccara's is extremely popular with Japanese middle age men and Kan was surprised to see that about 80% of the crowd were his country men. He had a quick beer and headed off to Crazy House where Kan was wide eyed and taking in the scenery when my good friend Chocolate spotted me and came bouncing over. I suggested she grab a friend and the 4 of us head up stairs which is always a little roomier. Kan, being a young 22 good looking 6' 2" boy was a big hit and had girls hanging all over him and he was enjoying it so much we stayed for an hour or so and then at 11:30 I told him he had better get to the BTS as it starts to shut down about midnight. So we said our goodbyes and asked Chocolate to take our pictures which she had to do in the men's toilet as photos in the main area are not permitted.
I showed him the way to the BTS and we traded numbers for his next visit to Bangkok and much to my surprise he gave me a big hug and thanked me profusely for showing him a great time in Bangkok. Nice to meet such a great kid.
On another note, Chocolate told me she was leaving the trade as she turns 30 this August and always planned her exit by that time. he told me she is tired of bar fines and playing for pay and will go live in Phuket and work in her sister's restaurant. She had always hoped to meet a farang who would look after her, but it just never happened. She is a wonderful girl and if I did not have Thavorn I would have snapped her up. I have known her now for 4 years. We traded numbers and I told her I would give her a call in September when I am in Phuket.
The Dollhouse was closed as the owner fell off a 45th floor balcony and I would guess the legalities of his estate have to be worked out. The Dollhouse is my favorite GoGo bar and it is where I first met Chocolate.
Today I was walking back from Terminal 21 after having picked up my new glasses, which I am getting adjusted to as I type this post when I viewed an ugly scene committed by a large farang with his small gay Thai guy in tow. Motorcycle taxis are always where they are not supposed to be, and are often on sidewalks. It is just the way it is, and you adjust to it. It turns out a motorcycle with a passenger was trying to squeeze between 2 cars at the same time as the bad farang and he elbowed both the driver and passenger as they passed each other in the small space. The bad farang is just stupid and was lucky to have gotten away with it as he could have easily been jumped by 10 Thai guys who would have supported the motorcycle taxi driver. Another case of when in Rome ...
Today's song is: Irish ballad by Canadian Ann Murray
Thai people have an expression that a person has a good heart. It is a great compliment because it means you care about other people more than yourself. Sort of "Do until others as you would have them do unto you."
Today I met with a good friend, his GF, and his mother who was visiting Thailand at Robin Hood, a pub we frequently patronize. This pub attracts a mostly farang crowd and today was no different. We arrived at 4:30 pm and I suggested to Thavorn that she and Jaidan join us about 5 ish as Jaidan's attention span is about 1 hour. Robin Hood was at about 50% capacity and the table beside us went through about 2 customers before Mr. Ugly showed up by himself. By this time there are two Thai ladies, one elderly lady, 2 farang males and a toddler of 18 months at our table. Remember, half the tables are empty.
Mister ugly sits down about the time that Jaidan is getting a little angsty and is making some noise, although not too much. Mister sends a few glares our way and I suggest to Thavorn, that Jaidan is hungry and perhaps she should go get some pork balls for him. She disappears for about 10 minutes and arrives back with a quiet Jaidan and some pork balls but accidentally bumps Mr. Ugly's table and his beer spills over the rim a tiny bit and he shows his displeasure by body language and some glares and mutterings. Thavorn has already apologized as has my friend but Mr. Ugly continues on!
I do not suffer fools gladly. Mr. Ugly had his choice of many empty tables and we had been there for over an hour before he sat down. He could easily have moved tables if he did not like having a child beside his table, but he was either too stupid or just liked to complain. I decided I did not like his continued mutterings and asked him what he was upset about. He suggested a pub was not an appropriate place for a child and I asked him where he was from and he said Germany. I was hoping he would ask me why I wanted to know so I could reply that I wanted to avoid visiting countries where assholes come from, but before I could, my friend suggested I leave it alone so I did.
Perhaps they don't permit children in pubs in Germany but in Thailand it is no problem and I, Thavorn, and Jaidan have frequented Robin Hood many time and are well known to the staff. Perhaps Mr. Ugly should consider, "when in Rome ...", but there was probably a good reason he was by himself and preoccupied with banging away on his cell phone. I just did not like him being rude to Thavorn. Now if he had been a Thai I would have backed off quickly as you are never going to come out ahead of a Thai in Thailand, but he was simply an ugly farang visiting for a week.
However, I backed off and left Mr. Ugly to his muttering and we left after about 5 mins.
Tonight, as I write about this incident I reflect back to when I was 19 and my Mom's millionaire friend and his wife visited us in Canada. They decided to take us (mom, sister, and me) and them out to a fancy French restaurant over in Quebec by the name of Cafe Henri Burger. It turned out that a young couple with a baby had the table beside us, and the baby cried throughout the meal. He threw a fit and got very upset. If I was the young couple I would have asked for the food to be put in carryout and would have left early. However, I do feel the millionaire was also out of line. He had no kids and would probably not understand that parents just sometimes, have to get out, and do not have a trustworthy baby sitter at all times.
So how does this different than Mr. Ugly. Mr ugly was simply having a pint for a couple of bucks, not spending over $250 for a fancy meal. Mr. Ugly had control over where he sat and came after us. My mom's millionaire friend had to take his assigned table and the other folks came later and all the tables were full. There is a difference, I would think, but both were wrong to get their knickers in a knot, as I was as well for letting Mr. Ugly ruin my time with friends.
Sometimes blogs are good for reflection and putting feelings to rest with words.
Can I survive a month in the village at one time. That is this summer's grand experiment and I have been preparing for it. I now have my own instant mosquito net. It pops up much like a popup umbrella. I am also purchasing a mattress top at Ikea to make my stay on the floor more comfortable.
Our lease is up on April 30th and we will travel to the village at that time and my month begins. As I have mentioned before, I have very good connectivity in the village and my work/blog will not suffer but I imagine I will due to the lack of aircon (fans notwithstanding). We don't own much and what we do own will easily fit in the back of a pickup truck and Thavorn has a cousin who (How the heck do you figure out to use who or whom?) we will hire to take us and our stuff to the village. I hope to do a little bit of running in the morning, before it heats up. Time I lost a few kilos and got my 6 pack back. Jaidan also has many children to interact with in the village and seems to enjoy it except for the heat in the summer.
On May 31st I will travel to Bangkok, spend the night, and catch my flight to Ottawa the next morning on June 1st at 9:15 am. I will be in Ottawa for almost 2 months, until July 27th when I fly back to Bangkok to be there in the village for Jaidan's 2 year birthday.
While in Ottawa in June, I will catch my daughter Jaime's 30th birthday as she enters middle age. I will also spend copious amounts of time working with my partner Brent. I would also like to see as many friends as possible so please feel free to invite me for dinner, drinks, and a good time. I am even able to visit for a couple of days if you have a place on the water and would like some good company (hint to Ann, Debbie, Liz, and Larry).
When I return to the village I have another month in the village and then Thavorn, Jaidan and I will return to Bangkok (probably, the same condo building) and spend another year in the City of Angels. September is a good month for Thavorn and I as we both have birthdays and I have booked a week at the Marriott Beach Resort in Phuket so Thavorn can spend her 30th birthday with all 4 of her children for one week, which will be a first for her.
It has been wonderfully cool again in Bangkok for the past 3 days and we have not turned on the aircon. It is winter, afterall, so here's hoping we continue to get some cool air flowing into Thailand. It is quite humorous to see the Thais all bundled up in jackets as I stroll by in t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. There is justice in the world :-)
Today's song is Jumpin Jack Flash - YASS (yet another Stones Song :-)
Live before 1.5 million fans! Rio
I have been programming schedulers lately and one of the options is defining the beginning of the week as Sunday or Monday. Personally I always think of Sunday as the end of the week and Monday as of the beginning. However, here in Bangkok it is Monday morning, the beginning of the week while in North America it would still be Sunday evening, the end of your week. One could say my beginning is your ending :-) Dates, food for thought .. sorry.
Dates are a programmer's nightmare. By date, I mean calendar dates as opposed to dates, as in, may get lucky. The only date format I like is 2016-02-08 (yyyy-MM-dd) because they can be sorted correctly. Enough of calendar date.
Dates in North America usually cost at least $100 and that is just the run of the mill date, not the 'someone you was trying to impress' date. I feel sorry for males dating females in North America. You have to be on your A-game at all times. That means, showered, well coiffed and dressed, cologne, and whatever you do, no nose or ear hair present. Once well turned out, then you better be picking up the lady in a nice set of wheels as you will be judged by what you drive. Next comes the choice of venue for dinner and make sure if there is a movie involved, the lady gets to choose. Stay away from politically correct conversations and tend to agree a lot. Acquiescence is key. No give and take, just give. Now, if you did everything correctly you may or may not get lucky and if you get lucky you better be on your A-game again and be ready to perform. The problem with all of the above, is it is not sustainable in the long term.
Dates in Thailand are completely different. If you suggest an itinerary, the answer is always 'up to you'. However, it is usually best to go somewhere that has a choice of both western and Thai food and if you really want to impress, just Thai food. Going with Thai food only is also way cheaper which is a bonus. If you are a farang, you are assumed to be well off and you do not need to impress with a set of great wheels. The BTS, taxi, or motorcycle taxi are all good. Even walking is good for many Thai women, but make your decision on what type of shoe the lady is wearing. Doesn't really matter what you talk about because of the language barrier, but if you throw in a few self-deprecating remarks in Thai, she will find that funny. Above all else, Thais love to laugh and have fun!
Thais do not find personal questions such as how old are you, how much do you weigh, how many babies do you have, offensive. First off, because most of the ladies you are dating look like greyhounds or salukis, and they love to show pics of their kids. They all think they are too old if they are over 25 so not to worry.
They do like to experience different things so going to a new disco or night club is something they will enjoy. Ditto for going back to a 5-star hotel for a night cap. Your night out is going to cost you far less than in farangland, and unlike in North America, where you may of may not get lucky, in Thailand you will most likely get lucky. Farangs are rock stars in Thailand and many a Thai girl's dream is to hook a farang and get married. Instant promotion to a hi-so life style :-)
Your reward is a devoted (perhaps loving, but I am not sure what loving means anymore) partner. However, everything will be 'Up to you', which is not a bad thing. You can always surround yourself with farang male friends with whom you can have 'intelligent' conversations without being wrong all the time. It's all good.
An observation: 90% of the Thai women I smile at smile back ... almost no farang women I see are ever smiling. It is as if they come from the land of the perpetual frown. Why is that?
Today's song is: Brown Sugar by the Stones .. bit of a Stones theme by me lately :-)
Life at times (even in Bangkok) does get a little routine at times, especially with Jaidan at 18 months. There is only so much we can do with him and our social lives are highly restricted. This will change in April when Thavorn's 2 older children Tia and Dun will come stay with us for a month. Tai is now 10 years of age and very good with Jaidan, so once he drops off to sleep around 8 or 9 pm then Thavorn and I will be able to get out and about and have some fun. We are usually only a 15 minutes motorcycle taxi away so we can get home quickly if needed. That is one of the benefits of living in the heart of Bangkok.
The first outing will be to Hillary 2 and Climax which is where Thavorn and I first explored our relationship. The band members (4 bands) have not seen Thavorn and I out together for about 2 years and I think they will be surprised to see us still together.
Glasses (eye) have been driving me crazy as I have been using my relatively new single focus (reading) for my reading and computer work. I am constantly losing them as I take them off and put them someplace safe where Jaidan can not get to them. I also push them down my nose to look over them and they invariably fall off. My distance vision which was always perfect is now being affected by old man time. It was time to get some multi-focus lens and new frames. These new glasses will be on 90% of the time so I also got the auto-sensing sun glass feature as well as many Thais develop cataracts due to the strong sunlight.
I chose a relatively expensive pair of frames that hug my head and do not fall off. I also wanted them to be able to fit in a motorcycle helmet. I went with a Porsche design that met all my criteria but they were 15,000 baht, but what the heck, they are going to on 90% of the time!
I also went with state of the art lenses that are quite thin and light but hellishly expensive at 30,000 Baht, but what the heck, they are on 90% of the time. I will be able to see far and also not have to hunt for my glasses when Thavorn brings her phone over and asks, 'What does this mean?'. Bonus, they also server as my sunglasses!
The other item I purchased recently was a ChromeCast dongle as Jaidan really likes to watch Cartoons on YouTube and I got fed up with changing and searching for the appropriate cable to hook a smart phone, or computer up to the television. ChromeCast is convenient because it hands the streaming off to the dongle and frees up the computer or smart phone to do something else, or in the case of the smart phone, leave the apartment. Highly recommended, but perhaps you are aware of it as it has been out for 2 years.
http://www.androidcentral.com/chromecast
Thais eat just about anything, and here is a delicacy from Thavorns home province of Phetchabun.
They are not what they look like. They are a fruit and look even more like what you though when they are peeled. Apparently they go well with Rat :-)
Here are a few pics from our daily life:
Jaidan and Thavorn saying bye, bye Papa
Jaidan in his corner of the universe
Oops, something to explore .. why is Papa taking my picture?
Rock Star wannabee
And, finally, Thai food can really create gas from time to time, especially when eaten with copious amounts of beer. This remarkable traditional Thai herb remedy available at all 7/11 stores for 20 Baht is better than anything available in Canada at any price. Highly recommended.
Today's song is by Steppenwolf, Born to be Wild, from the movie Easy Rider
I have been addicted to motorcycles since I turned 18 and bought a 1969 Triumph Bonneville T120R. I lasted about a month before I crashed it, but it was rebuilt and I used it all summer until it was stolen one cold Autumn night while I was flipping hamburgers at Harveys.
I lasted until 1972 when I purchased a Norton Hi-Rider. Kind of a ridiculous looking bike and was subject to speed wobbles due to the High bars and upright seating position. I sold it a year later to a young lad from Quebec.
I lasted until 1975 when Norton started running these adds. Best motorcycle ads ever:
I ended up purchasing a red Norton 850 which I kept and enjoyed for many years.
I sold it about 1985 because I needed some cash. Big mistake, it was a great motorcycle! I lasted until 1988 when I purchased a Honda 650 NT. Once again, a great motorcycle, and I rode it for many years until I sold it because I needed some cash as I now had 2 children in sports.
My Dad passed away in 2006 and left me some money and I had always wanted a 4 cylinder crotch rocket so I sprung for a 2006 FZ1 that had a top speed of 275 km. I confirmed this top speed a number of times. This motorcycle was capable of breaking all known speed limits in 1st gear as it topped out at 140 kms in first! It would also wheelie at over 120 kms in 3rd. Lots of fun! I kept that bike until divorce lawyer fees forced me to sell it in 2014.
If you have not seen the 1969 Easy Rider movie find it online. It was Jack Nicholson's breakout movie. This has been my motorcycle trip down memory lane. I am currently looking at downsizing to a 2016 330 cc Yamaha Mt-03. I must be getting old :-)
Kind of reminds me of my 2006 1000 cc FZ1, but only has a top speed of about 180 kms.
Today's song is: Symphony for the Devil ... Stones
For some unexplained (soon to be remedied by this post) both presidents and educators think just about anyone can learn to code. Just think if there was a shortage of doctors, dentists, engineers, architects, mathematicians, lawyers, etc. and educators started proclaiming, 'Let's encourage everyone to learn how to build bridges, fill a cavity, argue a case, etc.'. I would think those professions would be just a little upset :-)
I came across a great post that does a fantastic job explaining this phenomenon. Every educator, politician, and the President of the United States should all read it!!!! Here are a few quotes:
All the evidence shows that programming requires a high level of aptitude that only a small percentage of the population possess. The current fad for short learn-to-code courses is selling people a lie and will do nothing to help the skills shortage for professional programmers.
So the consensus seems to be that high barriers to entry and a lack of accessible training mean that only a rich and well educated elite have access to these highly paid jobs. The implication is that there is a large population of people for whom programming would be a suitable career if only they could access the education and training that is currently closed to them.
Every year it’s the same – no more than a third of them [CS students] are showing the sort of ability I would want in anyone doing a coding job. One-third of them are so poor at programming that one would be surprised to hear they had spent more than a couple of weeks supposedly learning about it, never mind half-way through a degree in it. If you really test them on decent programming skills, you get a huge failure rate. In this country it’s thought bad to fail students, so mostly we find ways of getting them through even though they don’t really have the skills. (university professor)
In particular, most people can’t learn to program: between 30% and 60% of every university computer science department’s intake fail the first programming course.
If we accept that programming requires a high level of aptitude, it’s fun to compare some of the hype around the ‘learn to code’ movement with more established high-aptitude professions. Just replace ‘coder’ or ‘coding’ with ‘doctor’, ‘engineer’, ‘architect’ or ‘mathematician’.
“You can pick up Maths in a day.”
Start surgery this year, it’s easier than you think!
skyscraper.org aims to help demystify that architecture is difficult.
“The sons and daughters of miners should all be learning to be lawyers.”
In the meantime we should stop selling people a lie. Programming is not easy, it is hard. You can’t learn to code, certainly not to a standard to get a well-paid-job-of-the-future, in just a few weeks. The majority of the population can not learn to code at all, no matter how much training they receive. I doubt very much if the plethora of quick learn-to-code courses will have any impact at all on the skills shortage, or the problem of unskilled low pay and unemployment.
If you have read 'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell (shame on you) then you know what it takes to be a good coder. Aptitude and time. If you are not willing to embrace coding and code for hours, days, and weeks at a time, you will never be good at it! Unlike many professions, coders are never done learning. You have to reinvent yourself about every two years.
Most coding requires very little Mathematics but unfortunately Calculus is used as a prerequisite for Computer Science programs in University. Not much of a perquisite if there is a 50% failure rate. Students that are good at Math tend to be linear thinkers (like Linear Larry) whereas most good programmers tend to be non-linear thinkers like myself.
Summing it up, coders are independent, self directed, life-long learners, with an aptitude for coding. What percentage of the population fits that description. But, then, again, every student can be Level 4 in everything :-)
