Top floor, 1,200 square meters 9 bedrooms, with breathtaking views of Pattaya below it
Want to see what a 13,000 square foot 4 million dollar Pattaya condo looks like here in Thailand? Comprising 9 bedrooms, 9 plus bathrooms, with its own helicopter pad I just happened to wander into the place with my Nikon D-300. It’s the penthouse at Saranchou condominiums on Wongamat Beach. Which is out of my price range for sure. And while I’m absolutely not involved in real estate sales or rentals but anyone is interested in checking this place out they can go to http://www.bigmangoproperties.com/.
Needless to say this 4 million dollar Pattaya condo is immense. So immense that the original owner contemplated selling it as two separate units. For example a plastered wall hides a sliding door.. It is possible to remove the plaster. And then the owner can then open the sliding door to which turns the two separate rooms a single vast unit.
American made New Balance Shoes are the best running shoes money can buy. They fit better. They last a lot longer. And most importantly, I don’t get injured while wearing them. The shoes I’m buying are the New Balance 990 line. They cost a whopping $160, but they are well worth it. But they are better made, offer more attention to detail, than anything the competition has to offer.
The New Balance 990 shoes are all made in the U.S. If you buy another style, chances are they are made in Vietnam, etc. But you might get lucky and find another style that’s made in the U.S. I always buy the 990’s. Because they are American made. I am much less prone to foot and leg injury wearing them.
My Thai girlfriend was incredulous when I told her that my old running shoes were made in the U.S. Believing they had to be made in China. After all, China supplies most Thais with their exercise shoes. But she despises Chinese stuff about as much as I do.
Now you would think that Chinese products are not flooding the Thai market because of the low price of Thai labor. But they are, and most these products are absolute junk.
So when I was approaching my annual two week trip to the U.S. she asked me to get her a pair of U.S. running shoes. So I ordered two pairs of running shoes from Amazon and a few other items, had it all sent to a U.S. business address of mine and brought it all back to my condo here in Thailand. And sure enough, my New Balance running shoes said, “Made in the U.S.” But hers read “Made in China”. I had thought the colors of her pair were very striking, but the look on her face went way South as if I had promised her a diamond, but when she opened the box a turd fell out at her feet.
A few days later we were talking to one of my German friends at the health club.
The German just didn’t believe me when I told him I was wearing American made New Balance Shoes.
And that they are the best running shoes money can buy. Because they fit better. And they last a lot longer. And I don’t get injured wearing them. So after he told me, “they were probably only assembled in the United States I decided to check out just how committed New Balance was to U.S. labor.
The New Balance web site states: “One out of every 4 pairs of shoes we sell in the USA is made or assembled here. And when the domestic value is at least 70%, we label our shoes “American made New Balance Shoes.”
The web site also states: “We’re proud to employ 1,300 U.S. Factory workers. That’s 1,300 more than any of our competitors. When it comes to strengthening our local economies, creating jobs, and crafting quality products, Made in America matters. At New Balance it always has. And it always will.”
That means that Nike, Adidas, Brooks and all those competitors are manufacturing shoes outside the United States. So I agree with New Balance, “Made in America matters.” And believe me, the New Balance shoes are a lot better than what their competition’s offering.
That’s because New Balance offers its shoes in half sizes. My shoe size is 11 1/2. Not 11, and not 12.
But here in Thailand I’m forced into buying shoes that are either too short or too roomy to give me a snug fit. And that just not good enough for me. Be sure that when I return to the U.S. next year, I’ll be on the telephone with whatever outlet I’m getting my New Balance shoes at, and I’ll be insisting that our next pairs of New Balance shoes will be made in the U.S.
The history channel used to be my favorite channel. But I never watch the History unhistory channel anymore.
Consider for a moment where its programming has gone. For me it all started with “Pawn Stars”, which has obviously been very successful. Pawn Stars features the day to day activities of a Las Vegas Pawnshop that is run by a trio of men spanning three generations. The characters are likable and much of what is presented on the show is quite interesting.
Then came a rash of imitators suddenly appeared. Which proved, at least for me, that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. For example “Pickers” follows the travels of two men who are looking for salable items that has been tucked away in homes and barns throughout Americana. “Kings of Restoration” followed with a focus restoring antiques. And now there’s “Counting Cars. Which is, you guessed it, all about the acquisition and restoration of cars. But at least these shows projected a sliver from the past into the present.
Unfortunately an infection of new shows that have nothing to do with History followed the success of these shows. Take the The World’s most dangerous Roads. What on earth does this have to do with History? Well I’ll tell you what this one’s all about. It’s all about the History Channel’s fixation upon the profit motive at the expense of what this channel’s supposed to be about. Or how about “Swamp People”. Which dramatizes the shooting of alligators and the home lives of the families who slaughter them.
Stupid people like stupid programs. Whereas very few Americans care a tinkers damn about History. In fact most Americans are uncomfortable with politicians who are truly intelligent. Or with men and women who are more articulate and knowledgeable than Mr. Average. And if you don’t believe me, look at who we just elected president. Trump the Rump.
A few years ago programming at the History channel focused almost entire on a target audience of History buffs. Unfortunately this no longer holds true. The HIstory channel has caved in to the whims of the masses. With the average American watching over 5 hours of television per day, the History channel has aligned itself with this mass of dullards who have nothing better to do than to sedate themselves with such baby pablum as the Duck Dynasty, Pawn Stars, PIckers, Swamp People, Counting cars, and Kings of Restoration. What do all these shows have in common? All of them have practically nothing to do with the kind of programming one would expect from a television station that calls itself the History Channel. That’s why I’m now calling it the History unhistory channel.
“Duck Dynasty” followed “Swamp People by dramatizing the antics of a modern Beverly Hillbillies family.
So there are now two shows glorifying red necks from Louisiana on a History unhistory channel that not too long ago was proud of its coverage of History.
And if all of the History unhistory channel is not bad enough already one can add “Ancient Aliens.” Which expounds on the hypothesis that the early Egyptians just had to have help from ancient aliens to build the pyramids. While aliens from outer space designed the Mayan temples in Central America. And that even the designers of Nazi Germany’s V-2 rocket were to stupid to manage such a feat. Unless extraterrestrials intervened.
The History Channel is currently far more concerned with ratings and how much profit each show can produce than it is with History.
It is also true that the educational standards for most Americans have plummeted from a plateau that was unworthy of much pride to start with.
Very few people read anymore while video Games, text messaging, and Facebook, have become the national pastimes. Cowboy western role models of the past such as “Have Gun Will Travel’s” Paladin and Gunsmoke’s Matt Dillon have given way to either anti heroes who make a living from crime or unworldly super heroes who bear no semblance whatsoever to real life.
There was a connection between a Matt Dillon or Paladin with the past as well as an enduring set of virtues and values that have stood the test of time.
All of this reflects the sad fact that America’s place in the sun is drawing to a much more rapid end than most of us realize. The History unhistory channel is a startling symptom of where the United States is going.
The History Channel is currently far more concerned with ratings and how much profit each show can produce than it is with History.