Category: Uncategorized

I AM THE WALKING DOOD AGAIN TODAY

Just thought I’d amend my statement from the other day:
NOBODY WALKS IN THAILAND –> THAIS GENERALLY AVOID WALKING AT ALL COST
Because, obviously, I am in Thailand, and I am walking.
Also, the only other guy I saw walking on my way home today was an illegal Shan.
I usually walk home from my university’s (Rajabhat Mahasarakham University) campus through another university’s (Maha Sarakham University) secondary campus, and then down a four lane highway to the entrance of our community. People offer me rides all the time, even if they don’t know me. They stop to ask what’s wrong. As in, did my car break down or something? And do I need a lift to the garage? This can be attributed to:

  • The fact that Thai people are really nice
  • Quite a few people that know me are driving the streets (although most of the people that stop don’t know me)
  • When Thais see somebody walking on the side of the road, they automatically think something is wrong

Your ride is a status symbol in any vertical society, but especially so in Thailand. The social pecking order (not related to right of way, et al.) goes something like this:
People in new or VIP cars –> people in new 4 door pickups –> people in new 2 door pickups or new non-VIP cars –> people in classic cars –> people in old (>3 years approx.) cars –> people on motorbikes –> truckers –> people using public transportation –> people on motorized farm vehicles made by Kubota –> people on motorized farm vehicles, non-Kubota –> people riding donkey pushcarts pulled by water buffalo –> people riding in imaginary sidecars –> bicyclists –> skaters –> and finally, the lowly pedestrians who have somehow reverted to bipedal locomotion.
For me to willingly go from the top of that list to the bottom (many car people think I maintain the best ride in town – my wife’s Cefiro A33 Brougham with VQ30, plus my car, the ’71 Crown) and hoof it in the hot sun is simply incomprehensible to the natives. Some people at work were apparently asking why I was walking home the other day, even though I had already explained I just wanted to walk for the exercise. I must make it clear to them I guess: I AM THE WALKING DUDE.
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Maybe I should change into running clothes and a sweatband before I start walking every day. Maybe it’s not so wrong to think that there’s something strange about a fat guy in semi-formal attire sweating to death on the side of the road.

(might as well) JUMP! – redux




Untitled

Originally uploaded by • peyote.

Last year I set up a group on flickr dedicated to my love of jump photography. We currently stand at 116 members, with multiple updates to the photo pool every day (current total 412). This is still a small group by flickr standards, but I’m very happy with how it’s turned out. Some very good photographers have joined, and everyone seems to be having a good time.

Come join us if you are interested in jump photography!

Anonymous Notifier

Let your co-workers know about their annoying habits: AnnoyingCoworker
Yeah, I know what you’re gonna say, “why not just shit in their drawer/key their car/exploit their drug habit,” but as an added bonus, perhaps you could donate their work e-mail address to a dedicated spam concern!
I will only remain an annoying coworker until the end of next week. After that I aspire to be an Annoying Operator of the world’s first water buffalo power plant (sorry, it sounds better in Japanese, “??????”).

Just a quick note

I usually don’t post on this date, because it means enough to me to want to post on 9/11 related topics. The thing is, my voice is one of many who feel the same way – sadness, anger, regret, patriotism, etc. – and I feel many others express that a whole lot better than I could.
However. Somebody is pissing me off, and today is the day to let it all go.
To the wannabe domain squatter who is trying to sell me the cosmicbuddha.net domain:
Spamming me ten times over the course of two weeks for any reason is lame enough, but asking if I want to buy the cosmicbuddha.net domain is the equivalent of pulling up next to my Lamborghini Murcielago on a donkey and asking if I want to race for pink slips – GET A CLUE, ASSHOLE! (dot com reprazent!)
That is all.