Observations

 Today's song is: Miss You ... Clean Bandit

Again, I have been remiss in posting and I will make it a New Year's resolution to post more.

Today's is mostly things I have observed over the past month.

First off, I finally caved and bought an iPhone 13 for Thavorn. She has been working her butt off at the mushroom farm and has maintained her joyful and playful personality so, as I see it, she deserves a treat. In Thailand, as elsewhere, the iPhone is a status symbol so face places a part in why she has always wanted one. Me, not so much. We transferred most of her content over from her Motorola Edge and she is good to go.

Is the iPhone worth it, status aside? It does have a very good phone and vibrant screen, especially in sunlight, but it costs 4 times the Motorola Edge and is it four times better? Not in a long shot, and the buggers don't even give you a charger for the phone, just a cable. Of course they want you to buy the wireless charger so consider the lack of a charger, a gentle nudge. I am not lookimg forward to trying to pair her Skull Candy ear buds as Apple wants you to buy their twice as expensive ear buds. Do you see a pattern here?

We live in the country and it is quiet and peaceful, except for the roads.The folks who live out here have quite a commute to Ottawa, probably 45 mins, and armed with their 4 wheel drive pickup trucks and suv's they drive like idiots, often tailgating you to speed up, despite the fact you are driving 18 clicks over as well. I wonder if all that stress and 1,5 hours out their day for the commute is worth it. In Bangkok and our first 6 months in Canada we lived downtown and could walk to everything. I miss that.

The woke are becoming a real problem, and you can't discuss anything with them because you are discounted as not woke and therefore will never understand because you have not experienced the enlightenment that comes with becoming woke. Factor in that most woke are young, possibly pre millenial, and boomers and other older folks are simply irrelevant. For the most part they are the product of our university system that is far left and has decided that different views are not warranted and will not be tolerated on campus.

The democratic countries are all lamenting that democracy is failing somewhat. Democracy goes hand in hand with capitalism and capitalism is also failing as most of the wealth in the world is now in the hands of the 1% who can control free markets and stock markers due to their wealth. I believe you have to fix capitalism first but what do I know, I am not woke. The French had it right during the French revolution ... Off with their heads! If you think the top 1% are going to give it up, think again.

The NBA has lost control of their league. The players are always injured and sitting out large parts of the season despite a paycheck of a $20,000,00 a year. The monkeys are running the show! Definitely not a woke comment and I meant no racism. It is an old expression but you have to be so careful these days.

Then there is the Karen phenomenon where women lose it and in self rightousness go on a trirade for whatever reason, if there was a reason. Beware the Karen, she may douse you with hot coffee.

For the first time in history, the minority are seen as more important than the majority. I blame it on social platforms where the minority can group and make their opnion hold sway over the silent majority who are usually to busy or scared that they will also be targeted. I believe most of this minority is woke, so doubly bad.

Covid is not going away soon, if ever, and I suspect that it will become the new common cold at best, or the end of humaity if it evolves into something truly potent. Whoever is responsible for Covid should rot in hell for loosing it on the world. You know who you are.

Canadians have over extended themselves and inflation is now at 4.5% and rising and interest rates will go up, especially morgage rates. Young folks have never experienced mortgage rates of 19% that we boomers had to live with. They will be sleeping in million dollar homes and eating at food banks. You read it here first :-)

A final observation for toay. People are important, things are not important, give your significant other or family member a hug and remind them they are special :-)

TTYL

Winter is Coming

 Today's song is: 'All I want ... ' Carey

We put the christmas tree up yesterday because it was chiily outside when we woke up. -8 degrees and I suspect it will get a lot colder despite global warming. Jaidan was quite excited! It should be a good Christmas for him as he is at a great age. 

Today, Jaidan lost his first baby tooth. I hope the tooth fairy is good to him tonight.

Today is also my Russian friend Aly's 29 birthday. It has been 12 years since I first met her in Malaysia. I am surprised she is still in Malaysia as I personally did not like Malaysia for a number of reasons. I wish her well and hope she has a great year. :-)

Thavorn cooked a great fish dish last night and the sauce was particularly yummy, sweet and spicy as only the Thais can make.

Thavorn's job is going great and she is saving $2,400 a month which is making her very happy. Before you know it, she will have a million Baht in the bank which is something most Thais only dream of. That would be about Christmas 2022. 

THe plan is to still build a house in Thavorn's village, but she is in no hurry to do that and I suspect it will be in about 2 more years. However, things can change quickly so who knows.

TTYL

Wwwhhhhaaazzzuuuupppp?

 Today's song is: Shivers .. Sheeran

Jaidan is still in school although the covid19 numbers are climbing back up in Ontario. Hopefully the schools can hang in there as the government is announcing Pfizer vaccines for 5 - 11 year olds this Friday. They seem to think all children who want one can have their first dose before Christsmas.

Thavorn's job is going well and she is in fantastic shape.

My covid hobby is building motorized Lego cars and Thavorn's hobby is collect Coach purses.

Christmas shopping is finished for Jadain. His big purchase is a DJI Mini 2 drone (actually for me and him) as well as a Lego tracked stunt car that he will build hinself (he is old enough now). He is also getting some GAP clothing, a 500m piece puzzle of wolves, and a moose stuffy with a blanket from Cabelas. He is also asking for a pokemon game for his Nintendo switch that he received last Christmas.

Thavorn's present was a Coach purse (go figure).

As for me, the drone will be fun and a good sharing activity with Jaidan.

I buy Lego motors from New Zealand and China because Lego has stopped making the cheaper ones and their new ones are twice as expensive and no better. There is some good stuff coming out of China. Much of the Lego stuff is bought up by collectors who resell it later at twice or three times what they paid for it.

Jaidan is still growing like a weed despite eating mostly junk. Spiderman for Hallowe'en.

Thailand is still having covid and protest problems so we are in no rush to get back there. Maybe even not this summer. Thavorn seems more concerned with padding her bank account rather than visiting Thailand. All is good.

TTYL

Thavorn's Facebook

 Today's song is: Girls Just Want to Have Fun ... Kati and Nicki

I am not a big fan of facebook and I don't remember the last time I posted anything. Probably at least 10 years. I do have a facebook page and my friends seem to keep it populated at times but I seldom look at it. I get friend requests from time to time but seldom bother to accept the request. Instead, I have this blog instead.

However the other day I happened to link to Thavorn's Facebook page from a friends facebook page and clicked on Thavorn's. I spend the next couple of hours browing through her past 8 years. The start of her pages coincides with my gifting her a smartphone when I first met her. She has been busy posting her memories and I enjoyed seeing pics of us, Jaidan, and Thavorn partying with her friends.

Thavorn loves to party as do most Thai women and she must be missing her nights out. I know I miss my nights out with my expat friends in Thailand. We have Jaidan and he was never keen on being left with a sitter so we seldom went out togther unless we took Jaidan with us. Needless to say many bar staff got to know Jaidan :-)

Here are some pics I grabbed:

Thavorn at 27

Thavorn partying with her friends

Yours truly with Jaidan at about 1 year

There are many photos on her facebook page (the Thai page) so I will leave you to browse.

https://www.facebook.com/thavorn.bunphut

Tomorrow I meet up with my childhood friend Kerry and his wife Janet. I will alsosee his brother Bob and his wife Lynn. Bob is a biker so I will ride my bike if the temperature gets above 10 degrees. I have not seen Bob and Lynn for about 20 years.

Indian summer seems to be done and I suppose it is not correct to call it that. Perhaps Indigenous Summer would be more appropriate. That means biking season is almost over and I should have got out more but then there were not many places to visit with covid.

Thavorn logged an 11 hour work day yesterday and was as joyful as ever when I picked her up after work. She really is remarkable.

I am a lucky guy!

TTYL

Big Changes

 Today's song is: Be the One ... Dua Lipa

Finally, something to write about.

Jaidan is back in the classroom and enjoying it. Thavorn has a job on a mushroom farm working in quality control (final inspection). The hours are long, sometimes 11 hours a day and she has to work every second weekend. However, after the first couple of days which were tough, she is managing easily, as joyful as ever, and is enjoying watching her bank account grow as she becomes a contributing member of society.

The best part of the job is that it is a 5 minute drive from where we live so I drop her off and pick her up without much of a disruption to our daily routine of putting Jaidan on and off the bus.

However I find it lonely and a bit boring without my 'tilac' at home.

My business work is finally becoming manageable as new features were rolled out in September. The business is growing slowly which is fine by me as I get a life :-)

The Canadian dollar has appreciated substantially against the Thai baht and is now 1 CDN = 27 Thai Baht, up from  1 CDN = 22 Thai Baht of a few months ago. Here is hoping it goes back to 1 to 30 of 10 years ago when I first started to visit Thailand.

Thavorn will be able to bank $2,500 a month so we should be able to start building her house in Kok Som Lan in about 2 years. At that time she can return to her life of leisure.

Also, at that time, Jaidan with be in grade 4, a grade I have taught and I will probably home school him for 6 months while the build is in progress. We may eventually be doing 6 months in Canada and 6 months in Thailand. However, we live each day, at a time, which is the Thai way :-) Fate, karma and Buddha will look after us :-)

I did not use my motorcycle as much as I would have liked so one of my goals next year is to make more use of it.

My TPA (Teacher Performance Appraisal) software is now in its 20th year. Those of you in the software industry will realize that is quite a milestone. Kudos to me :-)

Jaidan is looking forward to snow, as am I. Thavorn, is not so sure! Thavorn is now the proud owner of a six pack and enjoys being taken for a teenager. 

Life is good, take care.

TTYL

Finally - some news

 Today's song is: Take Care - Drake and Rhianna

Jaidan is back in school in grade 2 and loving it. He goes to school on the school bus, picked up at 7:40 and back home at 3:20.  He is growing up.

The big news is Thavorn has a job starting Monday at Carleton Mushrooms which is a 5 minute drive form our house. $15 per hour with room for advancement and dental and health plans available. It is a family run business and the people seem nice. Plenty of Asian working there but Thavorn is the first Thai hire. She was tentaive about the interview but got the job. It was time she became a contributing member of society.

I finally need to buy Thavorn a sim card for her phone as she will have to call me when she is finished work for a ride home. I will go with PCmobile who have some good prepaid pricing. $30 a month gives her unlimited texting and calling and 4 GBytes of data.

I also added tJaidan and Thavorn to my RTO extended health and dental plan. Jaidan aced his first visit with no cavities. Thavorn was not so good and needs some work done :-(

As for me covid life goes on and my software business will soon enter its 20th year. Who would have thunk it!  I guess I must be doing a good job :-)

I did not use my motorcycle as much as I thought this past year but I hope to get out more in the fall.

TTYL

NBA has Lost Control

 Today's song is: A 5 year old kid playing the game he loves (btw wrong size balls to train with!)

I believe the NBA has lost it.  The major problems are:

The players are calling the shot.

1. The players are getting paid too much.
2. The season is too long leading to injuries.
3. Players opt out of too many games.
4. Star players are loading up on a team just to get a ring.

The top players are now getting over 50 million a season and that is ridiculous. The top players also get at least that much in endorsements.

The top players in the NHL make 5 million and they are more than keen to work for that amount.  Why the difference? Easy, the NBA has lost control.

I can guarantee you that the bball players would work for 5 million a year. After all, outside of basketball, where would they command that type of salary? I don't recommend that level of pay, but the price of tickets is too high especially when the star player you paid to see sits out the game.

I believe the problem could be easily fixed by adjusting how the cap works.

The solution would be:

1. The max amount for the best salary on the team is 40 million per season.
2. The max amount for the next best salary on the team is 30 million a season.
3. No other player can make more than 20 million per season.

That would stop players migrating to a team and forming a super team which takes the competitiveness out of the league. Teams would now have to develop talent within the organization. Keep those caps for the next 10 years.

I would also cut the season by 10 games.

If a player misses a game due to non medical reasons (like resting) then deduct his salary.

Will the players squawk? You bet, but where else can you make that kind of money for playing a game that you love?

The NCAA also has a problem with so called student athletes. The problem is the one and dones that teams are loading up with to be competitive. Student athletics are for students who plan on an education, not a jump to the NBA.

To solve the problem I would make athletic scholarships permanent for 4 years. When a one and done comes in, he is awarded a scholarship. If he leaves after one year then that scholarship is frozen for the next 3 years and can not be given to a new incoming player. 

For example, when Kentcuky has 5 one and dones, they will be good for a year, but the next year they will only have 7 scholarships to award. If they again, recruit 5 one and dones, the next year they will have 2 scholarships to award. It won't be long before the school starts recruiting athletes that will stay for 4 years.

The NBA wanabees can opt for the G league or let them go right into the NBA if they are good enough and let the teams develop them.

TTYL

WWWHHHAAAAZZZZUUUUPPPP

 Todays's song is: Resurrection ... Kinky and Willy

Covid is still with us but Thavorn and I are double dosed as is everyone in our extended houshold except for Jaidan who just turned seven at the end of July. Time has slipped by and the little guy is now past Thavorn's shoulder in height and is looking forward to in person classes in grade 2 at Osgoode Public.

I do miss my expat friends in Thailand but most of them are back in their countries at this moment in Time except for Shaun and John. Life in Thailand is very boring and hazardous with Covid 19 rampaging through the Thai population with very little leadership form the brain dead PM, who makes are PM Trudope look smart, which is very difficult to do.

I get out on my new motorcycle from time to time and most excursions are to grocery stores, McD's and Tim Hortons. It is a nice dry and sunny summer in Ottawa without the drought and fires plaquing western Canada.

Antivaxxers may be the death of all of us as they are giving Covid many chances to mutate (the Delta variant) and I beleive there will be more to come. IMHO it is time to put the squeeze on these idiots as they are a thraet to not only themselves but the general population. I suggest we tatoo their foreheads with the 'I am a dumb f__k' as a start.

The above paragraph suggest that I am not 'woke' which is probably true. Wokeness leads one to believe they have all the answers to everything in a very complex world. I would suggest they are too stupid to realize they are stupid.

My two Russian friends reached out to me on a video call recently and it was great to see Sveta and hear Aly. It appears that Malaysia experiencing the same covid wave that Thailand is. Political leadership (leadership being an oxymoron) is lacking in many countries.  My friends have decided to search out a new country that offers more than Malaysia. I wish them luck and Canada is always welcoming new immigrants and it is not a bad place to land in.

Meanwhile back in the USofA, the 4th wave is gaining in strength due to the anivaxxers that seem to trive in the American gene pool. Covid may be a harbinger of Darwin's survival of the fittest theory. Is anyone missing Trump? CNN must be short of things to comment on these days :-)

Some pics:

TTYL

Life of James

 Today's song is: Happy by Pharrell Wiliams

I thought I would reflect on my life. Why, because I often do so on my morning 2.5 km walk at about 6:30 am. Here are some thoughts I had.

My first decade was pretty uneventful. The 50's were 'Leave it to Beaver' on TV. Not that there was much on TV with 2 channels and TVs were black and white until late in the decade. Ice cream cones were 5 cents and the milk arrived on your doorstep (as well as bread) pulled by horses that gave way to trucks later in the decade. Children died of diseases such as the red measels as anti biotics and vaccinations were still not the norm.

My second decade, the 60's were a decade of change as the Beatles arrived in 1964 and the yohawks with long hair fought the greasers who were clinging on to the old ways of Bobby Vinton and other singers of the 50's. It was the decade of the Cuban Missile crises and air raid sirens were installed across Canada and were tested regularly which scared the crap out of us. This decade was also the start of my teenage (troubled age) years. It was also the decade that my dad abandonned our family during his mid life crises. My Mom also went out to work for the first time. I started playing high school football (which I excelled at) and started working fast food outlets such as A&W and Harveys. I bought my first motorcycle at the end of this decade which started a life long love of biking.

The next decade saw me working at my first job at Carleton University in the library. I did that for 2.5 years while studying part-time at night. I decided to enroll full-time and play football again at Carleton and had a fairly successful 4 years until succumbing to injury. At this time I also worked as a bouncer in the University pub. I also moved in with a girl I met clubbing and spent 4 years with her until my first wife showed up job interviews at the pub. I eventually decided to graduate and went to work at the Royal Bank in Kitchener/Waterloo. My wife and I were married at Christmas in 1977. In the summer of 1978 I quit the bank and attended the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. In September of 1979 I started teaching in grade 4 in the Ottawa Catholic Board.

The next decade, the 80's saw me develop a love of coaching basketball, first at the grade 7/8 level and subsequently at St. Pius X HS. I also developed a love for computer technology, teaching Computer Science at St. Pius and subsequently moving to the board office as a special assignment teacher in Computer Science. From 1979 to 2009 were my career years and they were very successful in terms of coaching, my career, and raising 2 superb children. I retired as a Coordinator of IT and Learning Technologies winning a few awards along the way. I also won the Ottawa High School Athletic Associations coach of the year award in 2005.

In 2009 I decided to retire and not hang arond the board as many retirees seemed to do. My wife could not stand the thought of me not working and she pressured me into teaching overseas which eventually lead to the end of our marriage. Be careful what you wish for.

The decade of 2010-2020 was a decade finding myself and embarking on new adventures. It was a time of walking on the wild side and seeking personal happiness. It ended up with a second marriage to a beautiful. joyful,and thankful Thai lady as well as a  new child at my age of 63. As a buddy once said, 'Children are God's Gift to Mankind'.

So here I am in my 7th decade, having declared myself a minimalist, and enjoying life (except for Covid). You have to remember that 'Life is not a dress rehearsal, you only go around once. Don't fool around, buy a round, and keep smiling as your glass is always at least half full'. If it isn't. you have no one to blame but yourself.

TTYL

Morons at Large

 Today's song is: Paint it Black ... Stones

Doug Ford, our estemed Premier of Ontario, a college dropout of little accomplishment, other than getting elected by the Toronto folks announced today that classes will not resume this educational year despite the recomendations of just about everyone outside of his party.  It appears that only 24% of Ontarians have children in school so he preferred to piss them off rather than the folks who want their restaurants, gyms, golf courses, nail and hair saloons, restaurants and bars reope ned. It appears that kids do not matter. Data science at work. Who to kiss ass and who to piss off. After all, we must not forget the main goal of every politician is to get relected!

That is my rant for the day.

Don't be fooled by the talk that online learning works for JK to Grade 6. It is a joke and kids are learning very little compared to the classroom experience. How do I know that? I listen to my grade one's online experience each and everyday. He manages to succeed because I sit with him the whole time.

It appears the most we can expect is about 70% of the poplation will get vaccinated the other 30% are mostly anti vaxxers of one type or another. 

Yesterday we went for a walk on a forest trail beside one of the vaccination sites. The site was hardly busy at all as I suspect we are near the 70% mark for the first shot and the brilliant mind of Doug Ford hasn't figured out how to reschedule people for their second shot. How can he ensure the most votes? Probably catering to his home base of Toronto rather than need, age, etc.

Trudopes keeps apologizing whether it be for Italian internment during WW2, black face, or whatever. 

It will be interesting to see what happens after the discovery of 250 indigenous child bodies where discovered in a mass grave in Kamloops. Residential schools were deemed a good idea at the time but implemented similar to our old folks homes. They were made worse by turning them over to bible punchers and abusers of various types.

However, many stupid things happened in the past under the guise of good government. Nothing that handing over our hard earned dollars to the new generation of indigenous folks won't fix. That would be generational entitlement. I think we should use generational punishment and lock up the decendents of the politicians and government officials that put that abomination in place.

It also appears that the Canadians that benefitted the most from Trudope's covid handouts were large companies like Air canada and the top 30% of Canadians in terms of income. However what can you expect from the former drama school teacher. How is going to pay off the huge deficit? The same kids that are currently being hurt by Ford's pandemic decisions.  What a pair Ford and Trudope!

It appears that I am ranting again, so ...

TTYL

2 Wheels Again

 Today's song is: The Motorcycle Song ... Arlo Guthrie .. I don't want a Pickle

It has been about 9 years since I sold my last bike so it was eager anticipation Jordan and I went to the dearlership to pick up my 7th and probably last bike.  My first was a triumph T120 Bonnevile purchased in 1969. Fifty two years later a Triumph 660 Trident takes its place.

It was touch and go whether we would pick it up today, May 1st as it snowed quited heavily the last day of April but we woke up to a sunny, albeit cold 1 degree. Needless to say, today's rides will be short.

Thavorn found the short ride chilly and may not be able to drive the bike as she is on het tip toes to balance it. I may have to buy a smaller bike for Thavorn and we will go sit on some when dealers open up if covid ever ends.

The bike is my way of covid coping, a pandemic midlife crisis.

TTYL

Bored in the House - Again

 Todays song is: You Don't Know Me ... Brody Barclay

Cabin Fever sets in from time to time but never stays long. I suspect that is because I live with young people and hanging around young people is an excellent way to stay young of mind.. That is one reason why I miss coaching basketball. I also miss watching university basketball which was an activity I was very much looking forward to upon my arrival back in Canada.

My new motorcycle is supposed to arrive next week and I am quite looking forward to that. It is my 7th and perhaps last motorcycle. Time will tell. Thavorn is also looking forward to taking it for a spin, having ridden motorbikes since she was 12 years old. Jaidan aslo feels at home on motorbikes having ridden them since he was able to walk. One reason I chose the Triumph 660 Trident is that it is a managable size for Thavorn to drive.

Thavorn survives boredom by working out daily and cooking up spicy Thai dishes for herself (mainly) and me from time to time. I am unable to eat some of the firey concoctions she cooks up. They make my eyes water and me sneeze from 20 feet away.

My latest Lego car is my best yet and is controlled by a Raspberry Pi, programmed by me, and features a proper servo motor and 2 RC Buggy motors that make it very, very fast. I also cleaned up the wiring. It is controlled by an 8BitDo Zero 2 bluetooth controller that fits on a key chain. Awesome tech :-)

Jaidan is excited and dismayed at the same time as his permanent teeth are coming in. He is also growing like a weed and now comes up to Thavorn's shoulder.

Jaidan is back with online learning due to the spread of variants in Ontario and I suspect that is how he will finish off his year in grade 1.

My work area has expanded to 3 monitors, the main being a 43 inch 4K TV (Roku) which is an excellent choice as a monitor and quite affordable.

That's it for now, TTYL

Dirty Old Men

 Today's song is: I am Alive .. Celine

Did you know that Celine married a man 26 years older than herself and loved him until the day he died? 

Pierre Trudeau married Margaret Sinclair who was 30 years younger than himself when she was 22. What a dirty old man :-)

I came across this refreshing YouTube post by a youg Filipino woman. It is interesting to read some of the over 3,000 comments. I would love to go for a beer with her :-) I guess that makes me a dirty old man!

What I find amazing is that many of the young guys I meet in Thailand get quite put out when a Thai girls refuses to put out for free and walks out of the bar with an older expat. Don't get me started on women and how they view old/young relationships. However, I doubt many of them would marry a man who could not support them in the manner they would like.

Short post today :-)

TTYL

WTF

 Today's song is: Dreamer ... SuperTramp

Have you ever woken up and thought, 'WFT, WMI and how did I get here?'. If not, perhaps you are not really living your life. Just a thought :-). I uderstand a comfort zone has its merits, but at the same time, a comfort zone has its boundaries that may be locking you into the mundane.

I was forced out of my comfor zone by a variety of life altering decisions that were made, some by me, and some by my wife at the time. It was also at a time when my children were out of the house, on their own at university. It was not a mid life crises because I was too old for that but a time in my life when life altering decisions were easier to make.

Thoughts of 'Don't foo around, buy a round', and 'Life is not a dress rehearsal' leapt to the forefront of my mind and decisions flowed.  I recently read a quote that stated, 'No one is interested in listening to what you have not done.' and that resonated with my own saying, 'I don't regret the things I have done, just the things I did not do.' and my life has flowed from that.

So, the question you should be asking yourself is, 'Am I part of the mundane, or am I challenging myself to be somewhat different than the pack?' Or, perhaps you are happy in the mundane and wish to pursue it for the rest of your life. BTW, embarking upon cruises once you retire is part of the mundane, whereas partaking of the full moon party in Thailand is perhaps stretching your horizons.

My third child arrived at my age of 63 and although unplanned, a conscientious decision to keep the child was. Definitely not mundane and it was a great decision on our part. Young people keep you young as they have yet to discover the boundaries that lock many within. It is my job as a parent to make sure that will not happen. 

My mother always called me Walter Mitty. I am not sure whether she meant that as a compliment but I think she did.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Walter Mitty as "an ordinary often ineffectual person who indulges in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs". The most famous of Thurber's inept male protagonists, the character is considered "the archetype for dreamy, hapless, Thurber Man".

However, perhaps, unlike Walter, I made some dreams come true :-) I would not want to die thinking, 'What if?'.

My sone recently gifted me with a coffee mug that I am most proud of:

TTYL

Overload

 Today's song is: Dua and Da Baby ... Dua is hot!

My Lego RC cars have kept me sane and occupied during our lockdown. Apparently I will get a vacine sometime in April. My motorcycle is also delayed to port outbreaks of covid and a work to rule. Arrival also in April, 3 months late!

I have come to realize the Lego cars I like the most are my smallest, and cheapest, easiest to running and control, and designed by me.

Here is a pick of my 8 Lego RC (remote controlled) cars:

Here are my 2 pride and joy racers. I plan to shoot some racing video later today.

I also felt the need to get organized and now I am.

After my vaccination I am looking forward to sitting in Timmys and enjoying a coffee, sitting in Starbucks and watching the millineals, and perusing the motorcycle dealerships for accessories, and visiting Chapters for a good read.

I would be remiss to miss saying that Thavorn and Jaidan have also been instrumental in my sanity remaining strong during Covid. However, the wild side is calling ....

TTYL

Woke?

 Today's song is: Another Brick in the Wall ... Pink Floyd

I am becoming annoyed at 'woke' individuals. I have come to believe that 'woke' only applies to certain beliefs perpetuated by group ideologies. I learned long ago that there is no white and black, only shades of grey, no right or wrong, as it depends on where you are on a spectrum. Woke individuals seem to think they have the definitive answer.

However:

One Urban Dictionary contributor defines woke as “being aware of the truth behind things 'the man' doesn't want you to know”. Meanwhile, a concurrent definition signals a shift in meaning to “the act of being very pretentious about how much you care about a social issue”.

Pretentious indeed, to pretend to be all knowing. The problem is that the marketeers listen so carefully to woke opinions because they do not want to lose sales. This is exacerbated by social media that give woke individuals a stage to preent on.

What it amounts to is a threat to freedom of speech, or perhaps even having a different opinion to the woke crowd. Our news media is at play here as evidenced by Piers Morgan daring to criticize Meghan Markle for her Oprah's interview. It used to be if you put yourself out there in the public you had to take the good with the bad. Not so with the woke crowd.

I have discussed before how universities have restricted free speech due to unversity groups protesting certain speaker's rights to have an open debate on campus. Thought police at work! 

And don't get me started on cancel culture. If we pretend it did not happen ...

TTYL

Beautiful Music

 Today's songs are: New Orleans is Sinking ... Left The House ... Tragically Hip

...

Music can help you survive the lock downs. I especially like listening to the Hip, probably the greatest Canadian band that is mostly unknown outside of Canada. This article, brilliantly written somes it all up.

CBC.ca: As an immigrant, I wanted to understand Canada's fascination with the Tragically Hip. This is what I found.

https://www.cbc.ca/music/as-an-immigrant-i-wanted-to-understand-canada-s-fascination-with-the-tragically-hip-this-is-what-i-found-1.5932223

Thavorn remains a joy and keeps me uplifted and smiling. We both miss 'Hillary 2 Bar' in Bangkok and hope it survives the pandemic. It will be one of my first stops in Bangkok when I return. It is my Cheers, 'Where Everyone Knows Your Name', however I suspect I will have been somewhat forgotten.

I was in Thailand for the Hip's last Canadian tour and I just 'Watched Long Time Running', the documentary on the that tour. What struck me was the country wide love for the group and their music. What else struck me is what covid19 has taken away from us. The ability to get together to celebrate something in common whether it be a 'Woodstock' or a love of music.

However, if you have not watched the documentary do so now:

https://youtu.be/sWqlD8prGH4

TTYL

 Today's song is: Lifestyle ... Derulo and Levine

Covid19 has altered many lifestyles around the world. If I was in Bangkok at this moment I would be sitting out covid in my apartment except for runs for food. The entertainment places are still closed and I suppose the BTS would be somewhat risky so getting around would be a problem.

Here in Canada many of my plans fell apart. I was planning on driving out east with Thavorn and Jaidan and visiting the Atlantic provinces this past summer. Of course that never happened. I was also planning to do some camping and canoe camping in Algonquin Park. Then again I was going to book some time at Mount Tremblant and introduce Jaidan and Thavorn to skiiing and the mountain village. Not happening.

We were also planned on visiting my 2 sisters fairly regularly and that is not happening. Ditto for my friends, or just getting out to a sit down in Timmy's, Starbucks, or browsing the books at Chapters.

So, my lifestyle has been altered dramatically, but not as much as the past 10 years when I embraced minimalism and embraced being a bad boy on the wildside in Thailand. I don't miss owning a house, 2-3 cars in the driveway, keeping up with the Jones, etc.

I do miss a motorcycle, my friends, coaching basketball, and travellingwhich I can solve once covid19 gets diminished. My motorcycle arrives this month.

Meanwhile age is catching up. I strained my achilles tendon running on the treadmill and altering my walk has strained my lower back as well. Apparently the achilles takes at least 2 months to heal. Bummer. 

Some motorcycle pics. I always like a touch of red on my bikes:

What's in store for my lifestyle down the road. For the next 4 years we will live with my sone Jordan, with perhaps a trip or two of 3 months in Thailand, probably June-August. At the end of the 4 years, Jaidan will be in going into grade 6 and we will probably spend at least 6 months in Thailand as we build a house for Thavorn in her village. I will home school Jaidan during that time.

After the house is built, we will spend 9 months in Canada a year and 3 months in Thailand. Or 6 and 6 with 4 months of home schooling. Time will tell. You don't want to plan too far ahead at my age :-)

TTYL

Proud of my Mule

 Today's song is: Proud Mary ... Tina Turner

I am proud of my RC controlled mule. Mainly because I built it from scratch with my own drive train and steering mechanism. Also because it is very fast. It is driven by 2 lego L motors geared up running on a NiMH 9.6 volt battery back. However, it can be improved.

I am using a Raspberry PI to control it which is okay, but I use an AdaFruit Crickit board to drive the motors and it is overkill for what I need and has one inherent problem that is, it can only drive motors up to 5 volts dc. That means I then add on another Cytron motor board to drive the 9 volt Lego motors. I also have an issue with the 9.6 volt battery pack as I can't tell how much battery is left. I could add a small volt/capacity meter but that means another small addition. I like to adhere to the KISS principle.

My plan is to keep the Raspberry computer, but perhaps downgrade it to a Raspberry PI Zero W from the Model 3B+. Why, because it is cheaper, and does the job, as well as being half the size.  I am then going to add a WaveShare Motorboard that sits ontop of the PI zero and is the same size, and can drive the Lego motors at 9 volts and potentially up to 12 volts (more on that later). The more volts, the faster you go.

The final new addtion will be a 12/5 volt USB Battery Pack. Most of the USB battery packs only pump out 5 volts to charge phones. The one I found by TalentCell has two outs, one at 5 volts and one at 12 volts. I could (undecided), run the PI Zero off the 5 volts and the motor board off the 12 volts. Best of all, it has 5 leds that show the status of the battery so I know when to recharge it.

All of the above makes everything much smaller and simpler. I should be able to get it all hooked up in a week as the parts come in, unless I fry something.

Meanwhile in Covid land we are surviving and today is a snow day and Jaidan is at home and working hard om Math and Reading. Thavorn is drying pork to use with this week's meals. Thai, her daughter has managed to get herself kicked out of school in Phang Na for truancy. Not sure, what will become of her, but probably nothing good.

Some more picks of the existing mule.

TTYL