Cycling is very dangerious
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Sun, 01 May 2022 06:29:20 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>Cycling is very dangerious
>https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=

Perhaps I should have titled that as "Don't fight with your wife if
you ride a bike" (:-)

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
> Cycling is very dangerious
> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>
> --
> Cheers,
>
> John B.

I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not. Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10 million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity of people around the world. But murdering someone for $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.

John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 01 May 2022 06:29:20 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>> Cycling is very dangerious
>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>
>
> Perhaps I should have titled that as "Don't fight with your wife if
> you ride a bike" (:-)
>

You could just as easily conclude that marrying a Thai woman is dangerous
and that cycling is safe.

On Sat, 30 Apr 2022 21:32:07 -0700 (PDT), "russellseaton1@yahoo.com"
<ritzannaseaton@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
>> Cycling is very dangerious
>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>
>> --
>> Cheers,
>>
>> John B.
>
>I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not. Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10 million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity of people around the world. But murdering someone for $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.

Well, comparing the baht to the U.S. dollar doesn't really tell you
much as you really have to look at what baht will buy in Thailand. You
can hire unskilled or semi skilled help, here, for about 300 baht a
day, for example.

But, while the article did say murder to get insurance the article
goes on the mention some 20 million in real estate which would
normally become the property of the wife, upon the husband's death, if
not held in her name initially. So it would be something in the
neighborhood of 30 million... pushing $1,000,000 U.S.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Sun, 1 May 2022 04:46:12 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone
<ralph@invalid.com> wrote:

>John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 06:29:20 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>
>>
>> Perhaps I should have titled that as "Don't fight with your wife if
>> you ride a bike" (:-)
>>
>
>You could just as easily conclude that marrying a Thai woman is dangerous
>and that cycling is safe.

Well no. I've been married to a Thai woman for 50 years and broke my
hip falling off a bicycle :-(
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 4/30/2022 6:50 PM, John B. wrote:
> On Sun, 01 May 2022 06:29:20 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>> Cycling is very dangerious
>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>
>
> Perhaps I should have titled that as "Don't fight with your wife if
> you ride a bike" (:-)
>

There are successful escapades involving dead cyclists:

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2022/04/19/barry-morphew-suzanne-morphew-murder-case-fremont-county/

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
>> Cycling is very dangerious
>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>
>> --
>> Cheers,
>>
>> John B.
>
> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not. Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10 million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity of people around the world. But murdering someone for $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>

Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per annum.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>
>>> --
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> John B.
>>
>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not. Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10 million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity of people around the world. But murdering someone for $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>
>
>Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per annum.

I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as currently minimum
salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
difficult to get anyone for that price now.

Statista has it that average monthly income, per household, is in the
region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as $590/monthly
in the extreme north of the country.

From my own experience I wood say that the Statista number are at
least indicative.

(I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my wife could
eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Mon, 02 May 2022 06:10:07 +0700, John B. <slocombjb@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>
>>On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Cheers,
>>>>
>>>> John B.
>>>
>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not. Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10 million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity of people around the world. But murdering someone for $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>>
>>
>>Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>>than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>>well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>>where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per annum.
>
>I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as currently minimum
>salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
>difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>
>Statista has it that average monthly income, per household, is in the
>region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as $590/monthly
>in the extreme north of the country.
>
>From my own experience I wood say that the Statista number are at
>least indicative.
>
>(I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my wife could
>eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)

wood is actually would (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>
>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Cheers,
>>>>
>>>> John B.
>>>
>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not. Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10 million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity of people around the world. But murdering someone for $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>>
>>
>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per annum.
>
> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as currently minimum
> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>
> Statista has it that average monthly income, per household, is in the
> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as $590/monthly
> in the extreme north of the country.
>
> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista number are at
> least indicative.
>
> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my wife could
> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)

I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of comparing
salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM that simple currency
conversions don't do the job. Some countries seem to be much less
expensive, others much more expensive than the currency conversion would
indicate.

One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in the days of
travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a month, touring by bikes.
I wanted no money worries, so I took considerably more in traveler's
checks than our travel agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized
that we had to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.

OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in the early
2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was astonishingly cheap. By my
estimate, my converted dollars purchased about three times what they
would have in the U.S. And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 5/1/2022 7:12 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi
>> <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>
>>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B.
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>
>>>>> John B.
>>>>
>>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar
>>>> conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not.
>>>> Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals
>>>> $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone
>>>> for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10
>>>> million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some
>>>> nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity
>>>> of people around the world. But murdering someone for
>>>> $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per
>>> annum.
>>
>> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as
>> currently minimum
>> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
>> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>>
>> Statista has it that average monthly income, per
>> household, is in the
>> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as
>> $590/monthly
>> in the extreme north of the country.
>>
>> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista
>> number are at
>> least indicative.
>>
>> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my
>> wife could
>> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
>
> I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of
> comparing salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM
> that simple currency conversions don't do the job. Some
> countries seem to be much less expensive, others much more
> expensive than the currency conversion would indicate.
>
> One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in
> the days of travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a
> month, touring by bikes. I wanted no money worries, so I
> took considerably more in traveler's checks than our travel
> agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized that we had
> to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
>
> OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in
> the early 2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was
> astonishingly cheap. By my estimate, my converted dollars
> purchased about three times what they would have in the U.S.
> And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.
>

Yes, that's right. Besides which style matters.

In Japan I stay at ryokans and 'business hotels'. Breakfast
'toast set' (toast with tea) roughly $1 if you walk a block
from the train station.

My business partner at the time stayed at the New Otani Hotel:
https://www.guestreservations.com/hotel-new-otani-osaka/booking?msclkid=6a6e5549dc47131af2a43726f809d62a

at a bajillion dollars per night and had coffee bacon and
eggs from room service at something like $90. Every damned
morning. Ouch.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Sun, 1 May 2022 20:12:33 -0400, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>
>>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
>>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>
>>>>> John B.
>>>>
>>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not. Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10 million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity of people around the world. But murdering someone for $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per annum.
>>
>> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as currently minimum
>> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
>> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>>
>> Statista has it that average monthly income, per household, is in the
>> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as $590/monthly
>> in the extreme north of the country.
>>
>> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista number are at
>> least indicative.
>>
>> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my wife could
>> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
>
>I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of comparing
>salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM that simple currency
>conversions don't do the job. Some countries seem to be much less
>expensive, others much more expensive than the currency conversion would
>indicate.
>
>One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in the days of
>travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a month, touring by bikes.
>I wanted no money worries, so I took considerably more in traveler's
>checks than our travel agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized
>that we had to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
>
>OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in the early
>2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was astonishingly cheap. By my
>estimate, my converted dollars purchased about three times what they
>would have in the U.S. And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.

Additionally there is, in many countries, something for tourists and
something for locals. Hotels, restaurants, shops, whatever.
Khao San Road, the Mecca for tourists in Bangkok has noticeably higher
prices then other districts in Bangkok.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Sun, 01 May 2022 19:26:09 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

>On 5/1/2022 7:12 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>> On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
>>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi
>>> <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B.
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> John B.
>>>>>
>>>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar
>>>>> conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not.
>>>>> Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals
>>>>> $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone
>>>>> for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10
>>>>> million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some
>>>>> nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity
>>>>> of people around the world. But murdering someone for
>>>>> $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>>>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>>>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>>>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per
>>>> annum.
>>>
>>> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as
>>> currently minimum
>>> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
>>> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>>>
>>> Statista has it that average monthly income, per
>>> household, is in the
>>> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as
>>> $590/monthly
>>> in the extreme north of the country.
>>>
>>> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista
>>> number are at
>>> least indicative.
>>>
>>> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my
>>> wife could
>>> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
>>
>> I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of
>> comparing salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM
>> that simple currency conversions don't do the job. Some
>> countries seem to be much less expensive, others much more
>> expensive than the currency conversion would indicate.
>>
>> One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in
>> the days of travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a
>> month, touring by bikes. I wanted no money worries, so I
>> took considerably more in traveler's checks than our travel
>> agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized that we had
>> to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
>>
>> OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in
>> the early 2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was
>> astonishingly cheap. By my estimate, my converted dollars
>> purchased about three times what they would have in the U.S.
>> And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.
>>
>
>Yes, that's right. Besides which style matters.
>
>In Japan I stay at ryokans and 'business hotels'. Breakfast
>'toast set' (toast with tea) roughly $1 if you walk a block
>from the train station.
>
>My business partner at the time stayed at the New Otani Hotel:
>https://www.guestreservations.com/hotel-new-otani-osaka/booking?msclkid=6a6e5549dc47131af2a43726f809d62a
>
>at a bajillion dollars per night and had coffee bacon and
>eggs from room service at something like $90. Every damned
>morning. Ouch.

Years ago I was in Tokyo with my, then, girlfriend and as we had been
walking and it was hot, stopped in a small restaurant more to sit down
and rest than anything else. I, showing off, ordered a cup of tea, in
Japanese, my girl friend, probably to show off, ordered a cup of
coffee, in English, I don't remember the prices but I might have paid
10 yen for my tea and she paid 100 yen for her coffee.

When we left she was muttering about how the restaurant had "cheated"
her and I told her, "Act like a Gaigin you pay like a Gaigin (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 5/1/2022 9:42 PM, John B. wrote:
> On Sun, 01 May 2022 19:26:09 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>
>> On 5/1/2022 7:12 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>> On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi
>>>> <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B.
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>>>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> John B.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar
>>>>>> conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not.
>>>>>> Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals
>>>>>> $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone
>>>>>> for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10
>>>>>> million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some
>>>>>> nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity
>>>>>> of people around the world. But murdering someone for
>>>>>> $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>>>>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>>>>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>>>>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per
>>>>> annum.
>>>>
>>>> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as
>>>> currently minimum
>>>> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
>>>> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>>>>
>>>> Statista has it that average monthly income, per
>>>> household, is in the
>>>> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as
>>>> $590/monthly
>>>> in the extreme north of the country.
>>>>
>>>> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista
>>>> number are at
>>>> least indicative.
>>>>
>>>> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my
>>>> wife could
>>>> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
>>>
>>> I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of
>>> comparing salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM
>>> that simple currency conversions don't do the job. Some
>>> countries seem to be much less expensive, others much more
>>> expensive than the currency conversion would indicate.
>>>
>>> One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in
>>> the days of travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a
>>> month, touring by bikes. I wanted no money worries, so I
>>> took considerably more in traveler's checks than our travel
>>> agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized that we had
>>> to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
>>>
>>> OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in
>>> the early 2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was
>>> astonishingly cheap. By my estimate, my converted dollars
>>> purchased about three times what they would have in the U.S.
>>> And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.
>>>
>>
>> Yes, that's right. Besides which style matters.
>>
>> In Japan I stay at ryokans and 'business hotels'. Breakfast
>> 'toast set' (toast with tea) roughly $1 if you walk a block
>>from the train station.
>>
>> My business partner at the time stayed at the New Otani Hotel:
>> https://www.guestreservations.com/hotel-new-otani-osaka/booking?msclkid=6a6e5549dc47131af2a43726f809d62a
>>
>> at a bajillion dollars per night and had coffee bacon and
>> eggs from room service at something like $90. Every damned
>> morning. Ouch.
>
> Years ago I was in Tokyo with my, then, girlfriend and as we had been
> walking and it was hot, stopped in a small restaurant more to sit down
> and rest than anything else. I, showing off, ordered a cup of tea, in
> Japanese, my girl friend, probably to show off, ordered a cup of
> coffee, in English, I don't remember the prices but I might have paid
> 10 yen for my tea and she paid 100 yen for her coffee.
>
> When we left she was muttering about how the restaurant had "cheated"
> her and I told her, "Act like a Gaigin you pay like a Gaigin (:-)

Another layer of complexity regarding this issue: Sometimes I've come
across articles describing the horrible poverty in certain countries, in
terms like "the average salary is only $XXX.XX per year." But many
cultures simply don't need American-sized salaries. The residents may be
quite happy without cars, mortgages, huge flat screen TVs, medical
insurance (or expensive medical costs), shopping malls, etc.

Our expensive "western" lifestyle is not the only possible lifestyle. In
many ways, it's also not the best.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Sun, 1 May 2022 23:20:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On 5/1/2022 9:42 PM, John B. wrote:
>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 19:26:09 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>
>>> On 5/1/2022 7:12 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>>> On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi
>>>>> <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>>>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B.
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>>>>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> John B.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar
>>>>>>> conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not.
>>>>>>> Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals
>>>>>>> $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone
>>>>>>> for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10
>>>>>>> million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some
>>>>>>> nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity
>>>>>>> of people around the world. But murdering someone for
>>>>>>> $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>>>>>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>>>>>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>>>>>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per
>>>>>> annum.
>>>>>
>>>>> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as
>>>>> currently minimum
>>>>> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
>>>>> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>>>>>
>>>>> Statista has it that average monthly income, per
>>>>> household, is in the
>>>>> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as
>>>>> $590/monthly
>>>>> in the extreme north of the country.
>>>>>
>>>>> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista
>>>>> number are at
>>>>> least indicative.
>>>>>
>>>>> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my
>>>>> wife could
>>>>> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
>>>>
>>>> I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of
>>>> comparing salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM
>>>> that simple currency conversions don't do the job. Some
>>>> countries seem to be much less expensive, others much more
>>>> expensive than the currency conversion would indicate.
>>>>
>>>> One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in
>>>> the days of travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a
>>>> month, touring by bikes. I wanted no money worries, so I
>>>> took considerably more in traveler's checks than our travel
>>>> agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized that we had
>>>> to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
>>>>
>>>> OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in
>>>> the early 2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was
>>>> astonishingly cheap. By my estimate, my converted dollars
>>>> purchased about three times what they would have in the U.S.
>>>> And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yes, that's right. Besides which style matters.
>>>
>>> In Japan I stay at ryokans and 'business hotels'. Breakfast
>>> 'toast set' (toast with tea) roughly $1 if you walk a block
>>>from the train station.
>>>
>>> My business partner at the time stayed at the New Otani Hotel:
>>> https://www.guestreservations.com/hotel-new-otani-osaka/booking?msclkid=6a6e5549dc47131af2a43726f809d62a
>>>
>>> at a bajillion dollars per night and had coffee bacon and
>>> eggs from room service at something like $90. Every damned
>>> morning. Ouch.
>>
>> Years ago I was in Tokyo with my, then, girlfriend and as we had been
>> walking and it was hot, stopped in a small restaurant more to sit down
>> and rest than anything else. I, showing off, ordered a cup of tea, in
>> Japanese, my girl friend, probably to show off, ordered a cup of
>> coffee, in English, I don't remember the prices but I might have paid
>> 10 yen for my tea and she paid 100 yen for her coffee.
>>
>> When we left she was muttering about how the restaurant had "cheated"
>> her and I told her, "Act like a Gaigin you pay like a Gaigin (:-)
>
>Another layer of complexity regarding this issue: Sometimes I've come
>across articles describing the horrible poverty in certain countries, in
>terms like "the average salary is only $XXX.XX per year." But many
>cultures simply don't need American-sized salaries. The residents may be
>quite happy without cars, mortgages, huge flat screen TVs, medical
>insurance (or expensive medical costs), shopping malls, etc.
>
>Our expensive "western" lifestyle is not the only possible lifestyle. In
>many ways, it's also not the best.

It is more complex then that. Along with huge salaries you have huge
costs in the U.S. probably largely because of the huge salaries.
While, in Thailand we certainly have lower salaries but also lower
costs.
https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php
seems to compare the U.S. (index 100) cost of living with other
countries. Thailand, for example has an index of 40.6 which indicates
that the costs here are about 60% lower then in the U.S.
But, of course, at the same time salaries far lower.

But, I'm not sure about your "expensive Western Style". Is it so
different? I live in a rather large housing development. Roughly 1
square kilometer and I can't think of a single house that isn't
sporting a TV antenna or at least one car in the yard.

A distant relative of my wife usually visits us at New Years time. Get
out in the country, national park, elephants, stay with relatives :-)

Anyway, during their last visit it seems his oldest son is out of
collage and has a job as a salesman at a large Toyota dealer in
Bangkok and I asked the lad what percentage of his customers paid cash
for their car and he said that from 75 - 80 percent of the cars he
sold were for cash.

Another indication. At the major department stores here I think you
would be hard pressed to find a TV on display that was less the 36".
All "flat screen" of course.

In one survey, reported by Statista, some 60.17% of the 10,295
questioned stated that they owned a car.

Of course I'm generalizing but my wife has a "cleaning lady" who comes
in several days a week. This woman's husband works for a family who
own property here but work and reside for much of the time in Bangkok
(about 200 km away). He is employed as a sort of "house minder" to
keep up the property, take care of the yard, while she keeps the house
spick and span. They are (as a couple) paid 17,000 baht a month. About
US$500. They live in the servants quarters, no car but they each have
a 125cc Honda motorcycle, the kids go to school, free of course. They
have free medical care, well they have to pay 30 baht, about 80 cents
U.S. per visit, so assuming the kids were born in the hospital that is
60 baht, about US$ 1.76, for the birth of two kids.
Poor Folks?

Oh yes, all four in the family have a hand phone (of course) and she's
been working for my wife off and on for about a year and I've never
seen her wearing the same blouse twice.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 5/2/2022 1:29 AM, John B. wrote:
> On Sun, 1 May 2022 23:20:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski
> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>> On 5/1/2022 9:42 PM, John B. wrote:
>>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 19:26:09 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 5/1/2022 7:12 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>>>> On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi
>>>>>> <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>>>>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B.
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>>>>>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> John B.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar
>>>>>>>> conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not.
>>>>>>>> Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals
>>>>>>>> $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone
>>>>>>>> for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10
>>>>>>>> million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some
>>>>>>>> nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity
>>>>>>>> of people around the world. But murdering someone for
>>>>>>>> $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>>>>>>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>>>>>>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>>>>>>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per
>>>>>>> annum.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as
>>>>>> currently minimum
>>>>>> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
>>>>>> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Statista has it that average monthly income, per
>>>>>> household, is in the
>>>>>> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as
>>>>>> $590/monthly
>>>>>> in the extreme north of the country.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista
>>>>>> number are at
>>>>>> least indicative.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my
>>>>>> wife could
>>>>>> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
>>>>>
>>>>> I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of
>>>>> comparing salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM
>>>>> that simple currency conversions don't do the job. Some
>>>>> countries seem to be much less expensive, others much more
>>>>> expensive than the currency conversion would indicate.
>>>>>
>>>>> One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in
>>>>> the days of travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a
>>>>> month, touring by bikes. I wanted no money worries, so I
>>>>> took considerably more in traveler's checks than our travel
>>>>> agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized that we had
>>>>> to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
>>>>>
>>>>> OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in
>>>>> the early 2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was
>>>>> astonishingly cheap. By my estimate, my converted dollars
>>>>> purchased about three times what they would have in the U.S.
>>>>> And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Yes, that's right. Besides which style matters.
>>>>
>>>> In Japan I stay at ryokans and 'business hotels'. Breakfast
>>>> 'toast set' (toast with tea) roughly $1 if you walk a block
>>> >from the train station.
>>>>
>>>> My business partner at the time stayed at the New Otani Hotel:
>>>> https://www.guestreservations.com/hotel-new-otani-osaka/booking?msclkid=6a6e5549dc47131af2a43726f809d62a
>>>>
>>>> at a bajillion dollars per night and had coffee bacon and
>>>> eggs from room service at something like $90. Every damned
>>>> morning. Ouch.
>>>
>>> Years ago I was in Tokyo with my, then, girlfriend and as we had been
>>> walking and it was hot, stopped in a small restaurant more to sit down
>>> and rest than anything else. I, showing off, ordered a cup of tea, in
>>> Japanese, my girl friend, probably to show off, ordered a cup of
>>> coffee, in English, I don't remember the prices but I might have paid
>>> 10 yen for my tea and she paid 100 yen for her coffee.
>>>
>>> When we left she was muttering about how the restaurant had "cheated"
>>> her and I told her, "Act like a Gaigin you pay like a Gaigin (:-)
>>
>> Another layer of complexity regarding this issue: Sometimes I've come
>> across articles describing the horrible poverty in certain countries, in
>> terms like "the average salary is only $XXX.XX per year." But many
>> cultures simply don't need American-sized salaries. The residents may be
>> quite happy without cars, mortgages, huge flat screen TVs, medical
>> insurance (or expensive medical costs), shopping malls, etc.
>>
>> Our expensive "western" lifestyle is not the only possible lifestyle. In
>> many ways, it's also not the best.
>
> It is more complex then that. Along with huge salaries you have huge
> costs in the U.S. probably largely because of the huge salaries.
> While, in Thailand we certainly have lower salaries but also lower
> costs.
> https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php
> seems to compare the U.S. (index 100) cost of living with other
> countries. Thailand, for example has an index of 40.6 which indicates
> that the costs here are about 60% lower then in the U.S.
> But, of course, at the same time salaries far lower.
>
> But, I'm not sure about your "expensive Western Style". Is it so
> different? I live in a rather large housing development. Roughly 1
> square kilometer and I can't think of a single house that isn't
> sporting a TV antenna or at least one car in the yard.
>
> A distant relative of my wife usually visits us at New Years time. Get
> out in the country, national park, elephants, stay with relatives :-)
>
> Anyway, during their last visit it seems his oldest son is out of
> collage and has a job as a salesman at a large Toyota dealer in
> Bangkok and I asked the lad what percentage of his customers paid cash
> for their car and he said that from 75 - 80 percent of the cars he
> sold were for cash.
>
> Another indication. At the major department stores here I think you
> would be hard pressed to find a TV on display that was less the 36".
> All "flat screen" of course.
>
> In one survey, reported by Statista, some 60.17% of the 10,295
> questioned stated that they owned a car.
>
> Of course I'm generalizing but my wife has a "cleaning lady" who comes
> in several days a week. This woman's husband works for a family who
> own property here but work and reside for much of the time in Bangkok
> (about 200 km away). He is employed as a sort of "house minder" to
> keep up the property, take care of the yard, while she keeps the house
> spick and span. They are (as a couple) paid 17,000 baht a month. About
> US$500. They live in the servants quarters, no car but they each have
> a 125cc Honda motorcycle, the kids go to school, free of course. They
> have free medical care, well they have to pay 30 baht, about 80 cents
> U.S. per visit, so assuming the kids were born in the hospital that is
> 60 baht, about US$ 1.76, for the birth of two kids.
> Poor Folks?
>
> Oh yes, all four in the family have a hand phone (of course) and she's
> been working for my wife off and on for about a year and I've never
> seen her wearing the same blouse twice.

On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 9:46:17 PM UTC-7, Ralph Barone wrote:
> John B. <sloc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Sun, 01 May 2022 06:29:20 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Cycling is very dangerious
> >> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
> >
> >
> > Perhaps I should have titled that as "Don't fight with your wife if
> > you ride a bike" (:-)
> >
> You could just as easily conclude that marrying a Thai woman is dangerous
> and that cycling is safe.
John doesn't have to worry, his income is from the military and if he dies it stops.

On Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 8:52:48 AM UTC-7, AMuzi wrote:
> On 4/30/2022 6:50 PM, John B. wrote:
> > On Sun, 01 May 2022 06:29:20 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Cycling is very dangerious
> >> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
> >
> >
> > Perhaps I should have titled that as "Don't fight with your wife if
> > you ride a bike" (:-)
> >
> There are successful escapades involving dead cyclists:
>
> https://denver.cbslocal.com/2022/04/19/barry-morphew-suzanne-morphew-murder-case-fremont-county/

The trouble is that we have now all learned not to believe a single word the FBI says about anything. Friends who traveled back to DC tell me that now there is no longer a fence around the Capital - they have built a concrete wall entirely around the White House. Those responsible for this should be imprisoned for the rest of their lives.

On Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 5:26:14 PM UTC-7, AMuzi wrote:
> On 5/1/2022 7:12 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> > On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
> >> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi
> >> <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
> >>
> >>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russell...@yahoo.com wrote:
> >>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B.
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
> >>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> --
> >>>>> Cheers,
> >>>>>
> >>>>> John B.
> >>>>
> >>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar
> >>>> conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not.
> >>>> Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals
> >>>> $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone
> >>>> for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10
> >>>> million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some
> >>>> nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity
> >>>> of people around the world. But murdering someone for
> >>>> $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
> >>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
> >>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
> >>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per
> >>> annum.
> >>
> >> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as
> >> currently minimum
> >> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
> >> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
> >>
> >> Statista has it that average monthly income, per
> >> household, is in the
> >> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as
> >> $590/monthly
> >> in the extreme north of the country.
> >>
> >> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista
> >> number are at
> >> least indicative.
> >>
> >> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my
> >> wife could
> >> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
> >
> > I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of
> > comparing salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM
> > that simple currency conversions don't do the job. Some
> > countries seem to be much less expensive, others much more
> > expensive than the currency conversion would indicate.
> >
> > One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in
> > the days of travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a
> > month, touring by bikes. I wanted no money worries, so I
> > took considerably more in traveler's checks than our travel
> > agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized that we had
> > to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
> >
> > OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in
> > the early 2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was
> > astonishingly cheap. By my estimate, my converted dollars
> > purchased about three times what they would have in the U.S.
> > And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.
> >
> Yes, that's right. Besides which style matters.
>
> In Japan I stay at ryokans and 'business hotels'. Breakfast
> 'toast set' (toast with tea) roughly $1 if you walk a block
> from the train station.
>
> My business partner at the time stayed at the New Otani Hotel:
> https://www.guestreservations.com/hotel-new-otani-osaka/booking?msclkid=6a6e5549dc47131af2a43726f809d62a
>
> at a bajillion dollars per night and had coffee bacon and
> eggs from room service at something like $90. Every damned
> morning. Ouch.

At my weekend stay in Santa Rosa and not especially expensive breakfast places, breakfast started at about $17 and coffee $3,50. Dinner in a Italian restaurant with Eggplant Parmesan was over $40 with a terrible Italian beer on draft. The second day we went to a pizza joint and all I had was a Cesar Salad which was about as authentic as if it were made from cabbage, but it was still $20 with a draft root beer and a tiramisu.

Wonder why people are fleeing California? In Santa Rosa, there were more license plates from other states than California. And I suppose that is because of a Casino.

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:39:59 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
<cyclintom@gmail.com> wrote:

> Friends who traveled back to DC tell me that now there is no longer a fence around the Capital - they have built a concrete wall entirely around the White House. Those responsible for this should be imprisoned for the rest of their lives.

I agree. Donald Trump should spend some time in prison for defacing a
national heritage site. Note that he was in office as president until
Jan 20, 2021.

"Donald Trump finally builds a wall - around the White House!
Presidential mansion gets 13-foot 'anti-climb' fence around its
perimeter." (30 July 2019)
<https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7301155/White-House-getting-13-foot-tall-fence-anti-climb-technology.html>
"The fence design won approval from both the Commission of Fine Arts
and the National Capital Planning Commission in 2017." Since Trump
was inaugurated on Jan 20, 2017, it's likely that he was in office
when the plans were approved.

The wall that your alleged friends mentioned is a temporary wooden
wall intended to prevent entry until the planned fence could be built.
The original fence was removed during construction.

What you probably read about is the Photoshop version:
<https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/nov/04/facebook-posts/photo-concrete-wall-front-white-house-doctored/>

[ 15 minutes wasted doing the fact checking ]

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Mon, 2 May 2022 10:34:45 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
<cyclintom@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 9:46:17 PM UTC-7, Ralph Barone wrote:
>> John B. <sloc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> > On Sun, 01 May 2022 06:29:20 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >>
>> >> Cycling is very dangerious
>> >> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>> >
>> >
>> > Perhaps I should have titled that as "Don't fight with your wife if
>> > you ride a bike" (:-)
>> >
>> You could just as easily conclude that marrying a Thai woman is dangerous
>> and that cycling is safe.
>John doesn't have to worry, his income is from the military and if he dies it stops.

You keep saying that and I keep telling you that you don't know what
you are talking about, but then I realized that is, for you, normal.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Mon, 2 May 2022 11:39:06 -0400, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On 5/2/2022 1:29 AM, John B. wrote:
>> On Sun, 1 May 2022 23:20:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski
>> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>>> On 5/1/2022 9:42 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 19:26:09 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 5/1/2022 7:12 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>>>>> On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
>>>>>>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi
>>>>>>> <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russellseaton1@yahoo.com wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B.
>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>>>>>>>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> John B.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar
>>>>>>>>> conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not.
>>>>>>>>> Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals
>>>>>>>>> $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone
>>>>>>>>> for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10
>>>>>>>>> million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some
>>>>>>>>> nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity
>>>>>>>>> of people around the world. But murdering someone for
>>>>>>>>> $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>>>>>>>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>>>>>>>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>>>>>>>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per
>>>>>>>> annum.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as
>>>>>>> currently minimum
>>>>>>> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
>>>>>>> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Statista has it that average monthly income, per
>>>>>>> household, is in the
>>>>>>> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as
>>>>>>> $590/monthly
>>>>>>> in the extreme north of the country.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista
>>>>>>> number are at
>>>>>>> least indicative.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my
>>>>>>> wife could
>>>>>>> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of
>>>>>> comparing salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM
>>>>>> that simple currency conversions don't do the job. Some
>>>>>> countries seem to be much less expensive, others much more
>>>>>> expensive than the currency conversion would indicate.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in
>>>>>> the days of travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a
>>>>>> month, touring by bikes. I wanted no money worries, so I
>>>>>> took considerably more in traveler's checks than our travel
>>>>>> agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized that we had
>>>>>> to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in
>>>>>> the early 2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was
>>>>>> astonishingly cheap. By my estimate, my converted dollars
>>>>>> purchased about three times what they would have in the U.S.
>>>>>> And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Yes, that's right. Besides which style matters.
>>>>>
>>>>> In Japan I stay at ryokans and 'business hotels'. Breakfast
>>>>> 'toast set' (toast with tea) roughly $1 if you walk a block
>>>> >from the train station.
>>>>>
>>>>> My business partner at the time stayed at the New Otani Hotel:
>>>>> https://www.guestreservations.com/hotel-new-otani-osaka/booking?msclkid=6a6e5549dc47131af2a43726f809d62a
>>>>>
>>>>> at a bajillion dollars per night and had coffee bacon and
>>>>> eggs from room service at something like $90. Every damned
>>>>> morning. Ouch.
>>>>
>>>> Years ago I was in Tokyo with my, then, girlfriend and as we had been
>>>> walking and it was hot, stopped in a small restaurant more to sit down
>>>> and rest than anything else. I, showing off, ordered a cup of tea, in
>>>> Japanese, my girl friend, probably to show off, ordered a cup of
>>>> coffee, in English, I don't remember the prices but I might have paid
>>>> 10 yen for my tea and she paid 100 yen for her coffee.
>>>>
>>>> When we left she was muttering about how the restaurant had "cheated"
>>>> her and I told her, "Act like a Gaigin you pay like a Gaigin (:-)
>>>
>>> Another layer of complexity regarding this issue: Sometimes I've come
>>> across articles describing the horrible poverty in certain countries, in
>>> terms like "the average salary is only $XXX.XX per year." But many
>>> cultures simply don't need American-sized salaries. The residents may be
>>> quite happy without cars, mortgages, huge flat screen TVs, medical
>>> insurance (or expensive medical costs), shopping malls, etc.
>>>
>>> Our expensive "western" lifestyle is not the only possible lifestyle. In
>>> many ways, it's also not the best.
>>
>> It is more complex then that. Along with huge salaries you have huge
>> costs in the U.S. probably largely because of the huge salaries.
>> While, in Thailand we certainly have lower salaries but also lower
>> costs.
>> https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php
>> seems to compare the U.S. (index 100) cost of living with other
>> countries. Thailand, for example has an index of 40.6 which indicates
>> that the costs here are about 60% lower then in the U.S.
>> But, of course, at the same time salaries far lower.
>>
>> But, I'm not sure about your "expensive Western Style". Is it so
>> different? I live in a rather large housing development. Roughly 1
>> square kilometer and I can't think of a single house that isn't
>> sporting a TV antenna or at least one car in the yard.
>>
>> A distant relative of my wife usually visits us at New Years time. Get
>> out in the country, national park, elephants, stay with relatives :-)
>>
>> Anyway, during their last visit it seems his oldest son is out of
>> collage and has a job as a salesman at a large Toyota dealer in
>> Bangkok and I asked the lad what percentage of his customers paid cash
>> for their car and he said that from 75 - 80 percent of the cars he
>> sold were for cash.
>>
>> Another indication. At the major department stores here I think you
>> would be hard pressed to find a TV on display that was less the 36".
>> All "flat screen" of course.
>>
>> In one survey, reported by Statista, some 60.17% of the 10,295
>> questioned stated that they owned a car.
>>
>> Of course I'm generalizing but my wife has a "cleaning lady" who comes
>> in several days a week. This woman's husband works for a family who
>> own property here but work and reside for much of the time in Bangkok
>> (about 200 km away). He is employed as a sort of "house minder" to
>> keep up the property, take care of the yard, while she keeps the house
>> spick and span. They are (as a couple) paid 17,000 baht a month. About
>> US$500. They live in the servants quarters, no car but they each have
>> a 125cc Honda motorcycle, the kids go to school, free of course. They
>> have free medical care, well they have to pay 30 baht, about 80 cents
>> U.S. per visit, so assuming the kids were born in the hospital that is
>> 60 baht, about US$ 1.76, for the birth of two kids.
>> Poor Folks?
>>
>> Oh yes, all four in the family have a hand phone (of course) and she's
>> been working for my wife off and on for about a year and I've never
>> seen her wearing the same blouse twice.
>
>I'm sure all this is complex, and I know roughly nothing about Thailand.
>(And BTW, that's an interesting link.)
>
>But part of my point relates to the countries that measure low on that
>site's Purchasing Power Index. For example, do typical residents of
>Cameroon sit in misery because they lack wide screen TVs and
>superhighways? Or are they quite content with their lives as they are?
>
>Even broad national data probably masks significant differences. A
>person living in Mexico City has a life and aspirations very different
>from a person living in an indigenous Mexican village in a remote area.
>
>Also, as I recall, personal contentment or happiness is poorly
>correlated with financial prosperity. Suicide, though, does correlate
>with prosperity.
>https://www.businessinsider.com/link-between-wealth-and-suicide-rates-san-francisco-federal-reserve-2012-11
>
>It seems many people may be worrying about entirely the wrong things.

On Monday, May 2, 2022 at 12:29:15 AM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
> On Sun, 1 May 2022 23:20:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski
> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> >On 5/1/2022 9:42 PM, John B. wrote:
> >> On Sun, 01 May 2022 19:26:09 -0500, AMuzi <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
> >>
> >>> On 5/1/2022 7:12 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> >>>> On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
> >>>>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi
> >>>>> <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russell...@yahoo.com wrote:
> >>>>>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B.
> >>>>>>> wrote:
> >>>>>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
> >>>>>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> --
> >>>>>>>> Cheers,
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>> John B.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar
> >>>>>>> conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not.
> >>>>>>> Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals
> >>>>>>> $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone
> >>>>>>> for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10
> >>>>>>> million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some
> >>>>>>> nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity
> >>>>>>> of people around the world. But murdering someone for
> >>>>>>> $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
> >>>>>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
> >>>>>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
> >>>>>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per
> >>>>>> annum.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as
> >>>>> currently minimum
> >>>>> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
> >>>>> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Statista has it that average monthly income, per
> >>>>> household, is in the
> >>>>> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as
> >>>>> $590/monthly
> >>>>> in the extreme north of the country.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista
> >>>>> number are at
> >>>>> least indicative.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my
> >>>>> wife could
> >>>>> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
> >>>>
> >>>> I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of
> >>>> comparing salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM
> >>>> that simple currency conversions don't do the job. Some
> >>>> countries seem to be much less expensive, others much more
> >>>> expensive than the currency conversion would indicate.
> >>>>
> >>>> One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in
> >>>> the days of travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a
> >>>> month, touring by bikes. I wanted no money worries, so I
> >>>> took considerably more in traveler's checks than our travel
> >>>> agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized that we had
> >>>> to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
> >>>>
> >>>> OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in
> >>>> the early 2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was
> >>>> astonishingly cheap. By my estimate, my converted dollars
> >>>> purchased about three times what they would have in the U.S.
> >>>> And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> Yes, that's right. Besides which style matters.
> >>>
> >>> In Japan I stay at ryokans and 'business hotels'. Breakfast
> >>> 'toast set' (toast with tea) roughly $1 if you walk a block
> >>>from the train station.
> >>>
> >>> My business partner at the time stayed at the New Otani Hotel:
> >>> https://www.guestreservations.com/hotel-new-otani-osaka/booking?msclkid=6a6e5549dc47131af2a43726f809d62a
> >>>
> >>> at a bajillion dollars per night and had coffee bacon and
> >>> eggs from room service at something like $90. Every damned
> >>> morning. Ouch.
> >>
> >> Years ago I was in Tokyo with my, then, girlfriend and as we had been
> >> walking and it was hot, stopped in a small restaurant more to sit down
> >> and rest than anything else. I, showing off, ordered a cup of tea, in
> >> Japanese, my girl friend, probably to show off, ordered a cup of
> >> coffee, in English, I don't remember the prices but I might have paid
> >> 10 yen for my tea and she paid 100 yen for her coffee.
> >>
> >> When we left she was muttering about how the restaurant had "cheated"
> >> her and I told her, "Act like a Gaigin you pay like a Gaigin (:-)
> >
> >Another layer of complexity regarding this issue: Sometimes I've come
> >across articles describing the horrible poverty in certain countries, in
> >terms like "the average salary is only $XXX.XX per year." But many
> >cultures simply don't need American-sized salaries. The residents may be
> >quite happy without cars, mortgages, huge flat screen TVs, medical
> >insurance (or expensive medical costs), shopping malls, etc.
> >
> >Our expensive "western" lifestyle is not the only possible lifestyle. In
> >many ways, it's also not the best.
> It is more complex then that. Along with huge salaries you have huge
> costs in the U.S. probably largely because of the huge salaries.
> While, in Thailand we certainly have lower salaries but also lower
> costs.
> https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php
> seems to compare the U.S. (index 100) cost of living with other
> countries. Thailand, for example has an index of 40.6 which indicates
> that the costs here are about 60% lower then in the U.S.
> But, of course, at the same time salaries far lower.
>
> But, I'm not sure about your "expensive Western Style". Is it so
> different? I live in a rather large housing development. Roughly 1
> square kilometer and I can't think of a single house that isn't
> sporting a TV antenna or at least one car in the yard.

John, here in America we park our cars on asphalt or concrete surfaces. Not on the grass yard. As for antennas, that is kind of old school now. Coaxial cable or fiber optic cable for purchased cable TV. Or best of all, get TV through the internet connection. Antennas are going away.

>
> A distant relative of my wife usually visits us at New Years time. Get
> out in the country, national park, elephants, stay with relatives :-)

Elephants!!!!! Only exotic animal we have in the USA is buffaloes. And they aren't really that exotic. I used to live near a park that had half dozen or so buffaloes in a field.

>
> Anyway, during their last visit it seems his oldest son is out of
> collage and has a job as a salesman at a large Toyota dealer in
> Bangkok and I asked the lad what percentage of his customers paid cash
> for their car and he said that from 75 - 80 percent of the cars he
> sold were for cash.
>
> Another indication. At the major department stores here I think you
> would be hard pressed to find a TV on display that was less the 36".
> All "flat screen" of course.

Local Walmart has several pods of TVs in one of the aisles. First pod has 75" TVs. Expensive ones. $650-750 for a TV. Next pod has 65" TVs. Few hundred cheaper. Next pod has 55" TVs. Cheaper. Last pod has the puny 45" TVs. Few dollars for them. Back wall of the store has about 50 TVs on the shelves. Every size imaginable. I'm guessing Walmart sells a lot of TVs..

On Mon, 2 May 2022 22:15:40 -0700 (PDT), "russellseaton1@yahoo.com"
<ritzannaseaton@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Monday, May 2, 2022 at 12:29:15 AM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
>> On Sun, 1 May 2022 23:20:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski
>> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>
>> >On 5/1/2022 9:42 PM, John B. wrote:
>> >> On Sun, 01 May 2022 19:26:09 -0500, AMuzi <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> On 5/1/2022 7:12 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>> >>>> On 5/1/2022 7:10 PM, John B. wrote:
>> >>>>> On Sun, 01 May 2022 10:58:50 -0500, AMuzi
>> >>>>> <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>> On 4/30/2022 11:32 PM, russell...@yahoo.com wrote:
>> >>>>>>> On Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 6:29:26 PM UTC-5, John B.
>> >>>>>>> wrote:
>> >>>>>>>> Cycling is very dangerious
>> >>>>>>>> https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2302558/wife-friend-arrested-for-plotting-to-kill-danish-husband-for-b10m-insurance-payout?#ins_sr=eyJwcm9kdWN0SWQiOiIyMzAyNTU4In0=
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>> --
>> >>>>>>>> Cheers,
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>> John B.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> I had to look up the Thailand Bhat to US Dollar
>> >>>>>>> conversion ratio to see if this made any sense or not.
>> >>>>>>> Insurance payout was for 10 million Bhat. Equals
>> >>>>>>> $292,000. So I concluded it made sense to kill someone
>> >>>>>>> for that amount of money. I was worried that the 10
>> >>>>>>> million Bhat would equate to something like $292 or some
>> >>>>>>> nonsensical number. And then wonder about the stupidity
>> >>>>>>> of people around the world. But murdering someone for
>> >>>>>>> $292,000 at least meets some kind of rationality.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> Here in USA you can have someone murdered for a lot less
>> >>>>>> than that (and pocket the difference). Also, one might live
>> >>>>>> well for a long while on that kind of money in Thailand
>> >>>>>> where average household income is around $3500~$4000 per
>> >>>>>> annum.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> I believe that your numbers are somewhat outdated as
>> >>>>> currently minimum
>> >>>>> salary is 300 baht/daily, or $3,229 per annum, and it is very
>> >>>>> difficult to get anyone for that price now.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> Statista has it that average monthly income, per
>> >>>>> household, is in the
>> >>>>> region of $1,200/monthly in Bangkok ranging to as low as
>> >>>>> $590/monthly
>> >>>>> in the extreme north of the country.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> From my own experience I wood say that the Statista
>> >>>>> number are at
>> >>>>> least indicative.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> (I would note that when we first married, 50 years ago, my
>> >>>>> wife could
>> >>>>> eat for a cost of 1 baht - $0.05 per day - $18.25/annum :-)
>> >>>>
>> >>>> I've done a bit of wondering about appropriate ways of
>> >>>> comparing salaries and living styles between countries. ISTM
>> >>>> that simple currency conversions don't do the job. Some
>> >>>> countries seem to be much less expensive, others much more
>> >>>> expensive than the currency conversion would indicate.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> One of our first overseas vacations was to Ireland, back in
>> >>>> the days of travelers' checks. We were to be there nearly a
>> >>>> month, touring by bikes. I wanted no money worries, so I
>> >>>> took considerably more in traveler's checks than our travel
>> >>>> agent recommended. Within a few days, I realized that we had
>> >>>> to seriously economize or we'd run out of money.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> OTOH, when we traveled to about six European countries in
>> >>>> the early 2000s, it seemed to me that Poland was
>> >>>> astonishingly cheap. By my estimate, my converted dollars
>> >>>> purchased about three times what they would have in the U.S.
>> >>>> And we were staying in quite nice B&Bs, hotels, etc.
>> >>>>
>> >>>
>> >>> Yes, that's right. Besides which style matters.
>> >>>
>> >>> In Japan I stay at ryokans and 'business hotels'. Breakfast
>> >>> 'toast set' (toast with tea) roughly $1 if you walk a block
>> >>>from the train station.
>> >>>
>> >>> My business partner at the time stayed at the New Otani Hotel:
>> >>> https://www.guestreservations.com/hotel-new-otani-osaka/booking?msclkid=6a6e5549dc47131af2a43726f809d62a
>> >>>
>> >>> at a bajillion dollars per night and had coffee bacon and
>> >>> eggs from room service at something like $90. Every damned
>> >>> morning. Ouch.
>> >>
>> >> Years ago I was in Tokyo with my, then, girlfriend and as we had been
>> >> walking and it was hot, stopped in a small restaurant more to sit down
>> >> and rest than anything else. I, showing off, ordered a cup of tea, in
>> >> Japanese, my girl friend, probably to show off, ordered a cup of
>> >> coffee, in English, I don't remember the prices but I might have paid
>> >> 10 yen for my tea and she paid 100 yen for her coffee.
>> >>
>> >> When we left she was muttering about how the restaurant had "cheated"
>> >> her and I told her, "Act like a Gaigin you pay like a Gaigin (:-)
>> >
>> >Another layer of complexity regarding this issue: Sometimes I've come
>> >across articles describing the horrible poverty in certain countries, in
>> >terms like "the average salary is only $XXX.XX per year." But many
>> >cultures simply don't need American-sized salaries. The residents may be
>> >quite happy without cars, mortgages, huge flat screen TVs, medical
>> >insurance (or expensive medical costs), shopping malls, etc.
>> >
>> >Our expensive "western" lifestyle is not the only possible lifestyle. In
>> >many ways, it's also not the best.
>> It is more complex then that. Along with huge salaries you have huge
>> costs in the U.S. probably largely because of the huge salaries.
>> While, in Thailand we certainly have lower salaries but also lower
>> costs.
>> https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php
>> seems to compare the U.S. (index 100) cost of living with other
>> countries. Thailand, for example has an index of 40.6 which indicates
>> that the costs here are about 60% lower then in the U.S.
>> But, of course, at the same time salaries far lower.
>>
>> But, I'm not sure about your "expensive Western Style". Is it so
>> different? I live in a rather large housing development. Roughly 1
>> square kilometer and I can't think of a single house that isn't
>> sporting a TV antenna or at least one car in the yard.
>
>John, here in America we park our cars on asphalt or concrete surfaces. Not on the grass yard. As for antennas, that is kind of old school now. Coaxial cable or fiber optic cable for purchased cable TV. Or best of all, get TV through the internet connection. Antennas are going away.
>

Well, the word "yard" has a number of meanings and among them is " the
enclosed land around a house or other building". And here at least it
is not uncommon to see a concrete or "black top" parking area
incorporated into the yard. Our place has two, one in the front of the
house for friends and visitors and one in the rear between the
servants quarters and the rear of the house for tradesmen, deliveries,
etc.