WannaGo

Thaifan, as Bob said, no disrespect, but I have to agree with him. I always laugh when I see people talking about how prisons are so nice that it's like vacations for the inmates, or how inmates have it better than poor people because they have air conditioning, three hots a day and free cable. The only people who say stuff like that are the ones who've never actually seen the inside of a prison. We're talking tiny cells where you have just enough room to stretch both your arms out straight to your sides without touching the walls, bunks that are basically metal slabs built into the walls, stainless steel toilets where you shit out in front of your cellie, and about the only light you get in that cell is from those damn fluorescent bulbs. Then, there's the culture of prison, where you are constantly being told what to do and when you can do it, every minute of the day. You're locked up with hundreds or thousands of other men who are all trying to get over on you and each other one way or another. If you aren't careful, you'll ending up getting your ass beaten, either by another inmate or by a CO, or you're going to find somebody putting something in a hole you'd rather they didn't. I know a prisoner who was beaten into critical condition because he was a trusty and wouldn't pass a kite for two other inmates. In some states, like California, you have to contend with extremely powerful and violent prison gangs on top of everything else. Even in supposedly "safe" county jails, people get hurt and die all the time. The career criminals get to know things about the jail, like where the blind spots are in the security camera coverage, and take advantage of that. Another inmate I know was in a county lock-up awaiting trial on purely white-collar stuff...he was in no way a tough guy. He wouldn't give another inmate his deodorant, so that inmate and another dragged him into a blind spot in the cameras, stuffed some dirty socks in his mouth and raped him. And, of course, the system itself hurts plenty of people. The Florida Department of Corrections had a scandal a few years back in which a group of COs stomped an inmate to death. It turned out they were part of a group of COs with white supremacist leanings who beat on minority inmates whenever they got the chance. Most of the prisons here are located in rural counties, so ugly things like that can happen and keeping happening without anyone knowing, unless an inmate dies. Sometimes, the system doesn't kill through violence, but just plain neglect. We had a female inmate in a county jail who had some problems with depression. The lowest-bidder private contractor that provided medical services to the jail kept feeding her anti-depressants, even after she complained they were making her sick. When she was found lying on the floor of her cell, nearly catatonic, the jail doctor said she was malingering and left her there. A couple of days later, she was dead. Oh, and all that stuff about air conditioning, three hots and free cable? Bullshit. I've never been in a prison or jail that wasn't hot, stuffy and stinking of feet and ass. Three hots? Depending on the budget of the county or state, that's more like one or two hot meals a day. Free cable in prisons is just a joke. Maybe, and I mean maybe there are TVs with a few basic channels in the dayrooms, but inmates only get to use them for a few hours each day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that people who've committed crimes don't deserve to be locked up somewhere unpleasant. But this idea that criminals are coddled in prison is usually just conservative propaganda.

They must have overdone it with the sleeping pills. Alcohol and too many sleep tabs will definitely do it. But damn, those are some pretty good-looking guys.

When I worked at the airport in Miami, there were a group of Colombian pickpockets who came through pretty consistently to hit the crowds on the main concourse. The airport cops told women to carry their purses as they would a football, tucked in tight against their ribs with their arm between the purse and anybody else, and told the men to put rubberbands around their wallets. The rubberband snags against the cloth of your pocket, making it difficult, if not impossible, to slide out undetected. It was a pain to get your wallet out sometimes, but I never lost mine in the three years I worked there.

It's just odd that this outfit, or any others like it, would not make sure its equipment was idiot- and panic-proof. I mean, this can't be the first time a customer has panicked after jumping. I would imagine this probably happens quite a bit...like maybe one or two out of ever 10 customers probably panics to some extent at the point of the jump, or during the fall. So, is this owner saying that if you panic and squirm around, you're going to fall to your death? OK, fine...then put that on a big sign right at the entrance to your business.

I haven't needed my own cell phone for several years now because my employers gave me one. But, like all the good perks, those days are a thing of the past. So, reluctantly, I found myself venturing out recently to purchase a cell phone and plan. That introduced me to the world of the SIM card, something with which I was completely unfamiliar. I was amazed at how simple these cards have made it for non-technical users to buy, activate and use new phones. It made me start wondering about using a cell phone while visiting Thailand, for short- or long-term. It's possible I'm the last person in America to whom this stuff is new, but in case I'm not, I'll pass on what I found. When you are traveling to Thailand, you have a few basic options. 1. You can take your US cell phone and have your carrier set it to international roaming. But apparently that isn't always available, and even if it is, it's prohibitively expensive...something like $3 or $4 a minute. The one pro, though, is that you will still get at least some of your calls from anyone in the States trying to reach you. 2. You can go online and buy or rent an 'international cell phone' such as the National Geographic Travel Abroad phone or one similar. However, these also are very expensive -- $200 just for the phone -- and the SIM cards can run you another $50 or $60. That's a lot of money, especially if you are going for less than a month. 3. You can rent a cell phone online, or while in Thailand, usually from booths at the airport. Again, this is going to be expensive. You can see an example here that charges $60 to $70 just for the phone for a month. And you have to pay hefty deposits on the phones at the airport. Then, you still have to buy a SIM card and minutes. 4. You can buy a cell phone in Thailand and get a SIM card with minutes from a 7-11. A cheap phone at one of the shopping malls will cost you less than $30, then you can just buy a SIM card with minutes at a 7-11. 5. You can take your US phone, find someone in Thailand to unlock it (so it can be used on another network), and buy a local SIM card. It's my understanding, and I'm not sure how accurate this is, so you'd best check with some of the guys who live there, that the malls are full of little shops where you can get your phone unlocked for less than $10. The SIM card and minutes will probably run you another $25 or $30 and last you a while, if you don't spend too much time on the phone. Incoming calls won't cost you, either. Only outgoing calls will. It sounds simple and reasonably inexpensive. Funny how fast things change. I'd be willing to bet that 10 years ago, this would have been a complicated experience that would cost a fortune, if it was even possible.

I'm not sure about the idea of government subsidizing reporters because, despite all promises to the contrary, that can only lead to compromising their independence. But as for the rest of it, I say, "Hell, yeah." Broadband access needs to become ubiquitous.

I'll be damned. I didn't know this and had to go look it up. Felt like I was reading about a modern political scandal.

Hey, thanks, that was the correct title. Netflix had it, and I put it in my queue. But first, a friend insists I watch "Spaceballs." Not a big Mel Brooks fan, but we'll see.

It works kind of the same way. You have a little screened boxed and you dump dirt into it and shake. It's apparently difficult to tell the diamonds from the rest of the pebbles because rough diamonds look much like any other rocks. When I was there as a kid, I think I drove the adults crazy running to them with every stone, shouting, "We're rich, we're rich!!!" If only.

If you find any apartments that come with servicing, let me know. I've always thought of Rio during Carnaval as one big near-orgy. Every time I see footage of it, there are topless women in g-strings everywhere, like a strip club parade. Michael, if this is anywhere close to true, let me know. If it isn't, please don't spoil my fantasy.

You're right, this is not uncommon, particularly when the defendant is poor, young or black, especially in dope cases. I even knew of a guy who was going to go down on a homicide charge because the cops had a confession and his PD told him to take the 15-year deal the prosecutor was offering, instead of risking the life sentence he could have gotten after trial. Only he hadn't actually done it...he was just stupid and made the confession as a way of getting back at his girlfriend over a fight (refer back to the stupid part). Fortunately it got worked out, but the guy was ready to enter a plea. Having said that, I haven't seen anything at this point to convince me that was the case with Polanski. He's had 30 years to make his case to the public that he did not have sex with the girl and did not force her, but I've never seen anything like that, although, to be fair, I haven't followed the case closely. Still, if this happened to me, and I didn't do it, I'd be shouting that from the mountaintops, not complaining about how the judge didn't play fair with me. Frankly, I'm tired of this guy and his clown show already. He's old...surely he'll die soon, right?

2. The CBS lunchroom lady suddenly becomes an executive producer.

So, the Indians have a car company called Tata and the Chinese have a car called the Cherry...anybody else's inner 12-year-old just dying to break into fits of laughter? Back in grown-up land, I'd love to have a tiny little car like that (even if I would have to shoehorn myself into it) because it must get outstanding gas mileage and parking would never be a problem. However, with so many of those damn giant SUVs on the roads here in the States, I'd have major reservations about safety issues. Even a minor collision with something like a Ford Explorer could be extremely serious in such a small car.

So, I wasn't able to check out American Tabloid at the library. Apparently, I still have a DVD of "The Client" around here somewhere that the library wants back. Until I find it, I'm eighty-sixed. Can't blame them, though. Whining commences now: But jeez, to be banned over a movie of a book by the second-crappiest popular writer in America (after Dan Brown) just kinda sucks.

I saw this headline in the LA Times "David Letterman apologizes to staff" and I couldn't help but think, "Why? Was she that ugly?"

I love how the owner of the place throws his injured customer under the bus... "He didn't follow instructions," Pearce said. "He jumped with his feet first, panicked and kicked his way out of his harness. In 17 years we've never had anyone jump like that before." As Ron White says, "You can't fix stupid."

OK, this isn't really a recipe, but I tried it last night as a fast, simple meal, and it worked out well, so I thought I'd share. This is what I had: 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a plastic container Green curry paste Lemon juice Low-sodium soy sauce Garlic powder Splenda I put in about 1 1/2 tablespoons of curry paste, then poured in enough soy sauce to almost cover the chicken. Added a splash of lemon juice, about 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder, and about a tablespoon of Splenda. Put the lid on the container and shook it until everything was dissolved. Then, wrapped the chicken in aluminum foil, poured in the sauce and put it in the George Foreman grill for about 30-40 minutes. When it was cooked, I put the chicken on a bed of rice, poured the sauce from the foil over it and had it with veggies on the side. Damn, it was good!

I could never be a cross-dresser...it's tough enough finding men's clothes that will fit my enormous ass.

ROFLMAO My stepmother was Japanese and spoons and chopsticks were the predominant eating utensils in our house when I was a kid. I still rarely use forks.

This is an interesting story from the BBC about how Thailand has managed to pull back from the brink of an AIDS epidemic and has been testing a vaccine combo with some success. It's a little creepy that the US military is helping to run the drug trials, though. After all, these are the same people who gave experimental nerve agent antidotes to troops during the first Gulf War and dangerous anti-malarials to soldiers in Afghanistan. Thailand's long battle with HIV/Aids It is no surprise that Thailand has held the largest ever trial of an HIV vaccine. The South East Asian country has long been at the forefront of the battle against HIV and Aids. "I did this for others," said 33-year-old electrician Thanad Yomha. "It's for the next generation". Thanad was one of more than 16,000 Thais from the provinces of Chonburi and Rayong who volunteered to take part in the trial, which was run jointly by the Thai government and US military. The researchers had sought HIV-negative men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 years old who were at an average risk of infection. They wanted to test a combination of two vaccines, ALVAC and AIDSVAX, which on their own had previously not worked.... ...The results of the trial show that the vaccine lowered the rate of HIV infection by 31.2% compared with the placebo. Although the results are modest and need further study, the trial has been hailed as a major scientific breakthrough by the medical world because it is the first time a vaccine has been shown to be able to prevent HIV infection. More

Wow, I've always thought of meth as a rural white American problem. That can be said of any drug, even prescription pharmaceuticals. Although, Thailand would be better off if the problem was heroin or prescription painkillers. Meth, like crack, turns users into addicts very quickly and breeds paranoia and violence. The meth wave that started on the West Coast of the US and rolled inexorably toward the east over the last 10 years finally seemed to be nearing its end, but now the chemists have come up with something new. They call it "shake-and-bake." Toss all the ingredients together into a plastic bottle, shake it to start the reaction, and use what's left after the burn-off. The problem is, the reaction often burns through the bottle or shoots out the top in a flamethrower effect. People are getting badly hurt. Even had a 1 year old girl locally who was all but cooked when this happened while her dad was making meth. It's so easy to make, I wonder why they're bringing it in across the border. Is it difficult to get ephedrine or red phosphorous in Thailand?

Hard-liners are the same everywhere...and never seem to comprehend that it is they who are destroying the nation.

If he ain't talking, he's bawling.

Trust me, it is the poor who are opposed. Or at least a certain segment of the poor...specifically, rural white Americans who, for some unfathomable reason, buy into the whole Republican lie about health care reform being the road to ruin. These are the people who were showing up all pissed off at these town hall meetings...people who can't afford healthcare themselves. It's insanity. I don't have health insurance. Fortunately, I can get some medical care through the Veteran's Admin, but I live in fear of a medical emergency. The VA doesn't cover ER visits, so to get any sort of emergency care that would not bankrupt me, the rules require that I travel to a VA hospital about 6 hours from here.

Thanks for that article. It was very interesting. Second time a fanged frog had made the news recently. A British and American team found 40 new species, including a frog with fangs and a giant rat, in a volcano in Papua New Guinea. Sad to see these wild places disappearing all over the world -- it's happening at a rapid rate in the Everglades, too -- while the flat-earthers continue to deny there is any problem.