Off Topic Posts - Whats on your mind?

Does it break Buddhist sutra teachings to eliminate mosquito larvae, would it be considered to be larvae infanticide? 

just wondering,

MAc

- @Mac68

It seems to me that most Vietnamese are rather practical about their Buddhism.   I doubt that even the most serious practitioners would object to throwing out a stagnant bucket of water because it might have larvae in it.  For the adults, burning coils should be OK too as I think they are mostly repellant.  If you are concerned about your Karma and don't want to reincarnate as a mosquito, you might want to avoid using one of those electric tennis racquets, as they clearly depend on  an intent to kill. 

- @THIGV

Does it break Buddhist sutra teachings to eliminate mosquito larvae, would it be considered to be larvae infanticide? 

just wondering,

MAc

- @Mac68

It seems to me that most Vietnamese are rather practical about their Buddhism.   I doubt that even the most serious practitioners would object to throwing out a stagnant bucket of water because it might have larvae in it.  For the adults, burning coils should be OK too as I think they are mostly repellant.  If you are concerned about your Karma and don't want to reincarnate as a mosquito, you might want to avoid using one of those electric tennis racquets, as they clearly depend on  an intent to kill. 

- @THIGV

HANOI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Vietnam is considering building a high-speed railway that runs along the country's length with a possible price tag of up to $58.7 billion, the government said on Sunday.

My sole worry would be who would finance the project.

- @ebxebx2

@SimCityAT Just hire the Japanese to build it ... they are masters of trains.

Don’t you think that of the Department of Homeland Defense was really serious about the “War on Terror” … the first place they would start is our nation’s haunted houses?

@Lennerd I don't think they are flying solo ... seems to me they are collabed with VN ... idk 100 percent for sure on the details ... but there is little doubt the Japanese are the best at trains systems, me thinks.

Don’t you think that of the Department of Homeland Defense was really serious about the “War on Terror” … the first place they would start is our nation’s haunted houses?

- @Friday with Mateo

Don’t you think that of the Department of Homeland Defense was really serious about the “War on Terror” … the first place they would start is our nation’s haunted houses?

- @Friday with Mateo

I know this thread is labelled "Off Topic Posts" but I really can't see what this ties in to.

- @THIGV

@OceanBeach92107 Whelp ... someone mentioned "haunted" something or other ... and this just popped into my mind ... hence, the post.  It's an old Norm McDonald funny ... he tells it much better than I.

Yayyyyyyy! #14 Travel + Leisure magazine 2022

"Has an exotic mix of beaches, lakes, forests, and waterfalls. Also known for its delicious foods".

(and as a bonus, home to Aidan!)

(also close to my heart is #10)

Yayyyyyyy! #14 Travel + Leisure magazine 2022
"Has an exotic mix of beaches, lakes, forests, and waterfalls. Also known for its delicious foods".
(and as a bonus, home to Aidan!)
(also close to my heart is #10)
-@Aidan in HCMC

So sez bogus "Aidan in HCMC" impersonating the authentic "Aidan in PQ".

Moderator!

@gobot

Oh NO! Caught out!

I'd better go alert OceanBeach92107. The jig is up!

LOL!

@gobot
Oh NO! Caught out!
I'd better go alert OceanBeach92107. The jig is up!
LOL!





-@Aidan in HCMC

You've definitely got no life and too much time on your hands if you are googling my username...

@OceanBeach92107

agreed

Latest info on converting licences to VN licence.

I went into licencing office in HCMC Tuesday 6th September with an Australian friend who has just renewed his VEC and came over last week.

Instead of the normal VN licence lasting as long as TRC/VEC or home licence which ever is the soonest to expire he was told "it has now changed to only 1 year no matter how long VEC or home licence"

Can any members renewing give feedback if this is the case for just VEC or is same for all visa/VEC/TRC .

On top of that info just reregistered with local ward for accom and was told now not 1 year and free but 6 months and 50k each time!

Anyone else in HCMC done theirs in last few weeks to confirm this? this district is D2/Thu Duc/D9 now rolled into Thu Duc City.

Andy,

No but we were just talking about doing my license today, as I would be primary driver. SO, still haven't chosen a vehicle, as per my last contact with you. Oh, well such a conundrum we are in here.

I would sure like some sane clarification also. There was a fellow pontificating about legal research, laws etc., of countries, wonder if he would enjoy this one?

MAc

P.S We are in My Tho City, we went to property where we are building, met w a Peoples Committee Member in the neighborhood. Pretty nice fellow, we'll be there again Saturday, likely see him there. SO, I 'll talk/listen w him also.

Sad news - Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96

"On top of that info just reregistered with local ward for accom and was told now not 1 year and free but 6 months and 50k each time!"

Sounds like a money grab. House registration goes by   the visa you have. Not sure how it works now that many people can only get a 1-month visa.

"On top of that info just reregistered with local ward for accom and was told now not 1 year and free but 6 months and 50k each time!"
Sounds like a money grab. House registration goes by  the visa you have. Not sure how it works now that many people can only get a 1-month visa.
-@colinoscapee

The licence 1 year and 50k for 6 month reg , maybe trying to make up for covid?

Latest info on converting licences to VN licence.
I went into licencing office in HCMC Tuesday 6th September with an Australian friend who has just renewed his VEC and came over last week.
Instead of the normal VN licence lasting as long as TRC/VEC or home licence which ever is the soonest to expire he was told "it has now changed to only 1 year no matter how long VEC or home licence"

Can any members renewing give feedback if this is the case for just VEC or is same for all visa/VEC/TRC .

On top of that info just reregistered with local ward for accom and was told now not 1 year and free but 6 months and 50k each time!

Anyone else in HCMC done theirs in last few weeks to confirm this? this district is D2/Thu Duc/D9 now rolled into Thu Duc City.
-@Andybris2020

On Hanoi Massive FB group, a similar story about inability to open a bank account with a Visa Exemption Certificate.

Based on the poor way some VEC holders (Ciambella, anecdotally) were treated during COVID lockdowns, and the increased centralized control over TRC approvals that I've personally experienced here in Hanoi, I'd "guess" that if you truly want to be treated as a "resident" it may be time to switch from a VEC to a TRC.

Latest info on converting licences to VN licence.
I went into licencing office in HCMC Tuesday 6th September with an Australian friend who has just renewed his VEC and came over last week.
Instead of the normal VN licence lasting as long as TRC/VEC or home licence which ever is the soonest to expire he was told "it has now changed to only 1 year no matter how long VEC or home licence"

Can any members renewing give feedback if this is the case for just VEC or is same for all visa/VEC/TRC .

On top of that info just reregistered with local ward for accom and was told now not 1 year and free but 6 months and 50k each time!

Anyone else in HCMC done theirs in last few weeks to confirm this? this district is D2/Thu Duc/D9 now rolled into Thu Duc City.
-@Andybris2020

Sharing my lived experience

I got my renewal TRC last week, and my renewal license (A2B1) yesterday in the mail using my TRC, 135,000d.

We went to the Saigon D3 office last week, there is a post office desk, they mail it for free.

I got a full 3 years on the marriage TRC.

License expires on my birthday 2025, so I"m good for only 2.5 years.

Because that aligns with my Calif driver's license expiration.

..........

@Gobot

So there must be something against VEC as OB said.

I was with mate when they said only 1 year which I questioned.

Thats hardly fair seeing if VEC/TRC is spouse.

If anyone else with VEC could confirm if they do would be good info.

UPDATE:

When he picked up the licence it was only for 6 months not 12, so runs out same time he has to exit... TRC 100% better under that condition having to pay 135 every 6 months and waiting to get it back each time.

I thought this would be a good post ... comes from the late/great Carl Sagan ... I really love this guy's style of thinking ...

**********************************

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g]

"From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us.

On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

Update

The solar was a piece of piss to set up - 30 mins from opening the boxes to watching a fan running - COOL !

I joined cables using chocolate blocks and the panel's connectors are solderless so easy.

Upgrading to a large system able to fully power a house is a matter of money, not skill.

@Fred

KEWL! You mentioned before, I believe, but I forget now. Which batteries will you be using for storage? Got specs on the inverter?

I'd love to have a system here. Phu Quoc's grid seems to go out every time a butterfly lands on the wire. Mind you, T.P. Thai Nguyen wasn't much better (if at all).

Mine is a test system just for playing around and, before I moved house to somewhere the electricity supply is reliable, intended to run fans, give me light, and charge phones during our many power cuts.

However, the basic principles hold true so all you really need to do is learn how to join a few wires and put MC4 connectors together - No soldering required.

The rough specs are a (probably overstated) 100 Wp panel feeding a 35 AH zero maintenance car battery through a simple charge controller.

To work out your own, add all the peak power ratings of all the devices you want to use, then multiply by 2. If it's also for night use, buy a lot of expensive batteries.

It is stunningly easy to put together.

Mine is a test system just for playing around and, before I moved house to somewhere the electricity supply is reliable, intended to run fans, give me light, and charge phones during our many power cuts.
However, the basic principles hold true so all you really need to do is learn how to join a few wires and put MC4 connectors together - No soldering required.
The rough specs are a (probably overstated) 100 Wp panel feeding a 35 AH zero maintenance car battery through a simple charge controller.

To work out your own, add all the peak power ratings of all the devices you want to use, then multiply by 2. If it's also for night use, buy a lot of expensive batteries.

It is stunningly easy to put together.
-@Fred

I can imagine a lot of expats appreciating your guidance on this Fred.

We are getting ready to move into our new home in Hội An this Sunday, and my wife has already "directed" me to get a generator, so my CPAP machine will still function during power outages.

I could just get a UPS battery backup, but I especially like the idea of powering fans & a few lights.

Would you consider creating a new thread in the Vietnam forum on the subject?

You would be just the guy who could copy and paste all relevant posts from here, since you are a forum expert.

Cheers!

O.B.

Wondering whether a term I coined today will be appropriate  to use in any future instances.

We've all probably noticed how, regardless of the speed we are traveling at on our bikes, regardless of the distance away we might be (even in a crowd), that the VN people are able to spot us. It's uncanny how they are able to identify a foreigner in such situations. It's as though they have an in-built ability to zone in on us.

Well, today I think I figured out exactly how they do it. They're using tâydar!

Amazing. 🤯

Before I even clicked to open this Off Topic Post, my bad-Joke-dar  started ringing. 🙉

Amazing. 🤯
Before I even clicked to open this Off Topic Post, my bad-Joke-dar started ringing. 🙉
-@gobot

You're welcome

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

― Plato

We had dinner last night at a very nice French bistro/restaurant in Duong Dong, owned by a VN friend of ours.

When we finished she sat with us for a bit and I asked her when she thought that the number of tourists, pre covid, would return. I was surprised by her quite candid answer.

"Maybe not for another 6 or 7 years."

What’s the name of the restaurant. I see many foreigners in district 1

What’s the name of the restaurant. I see many foreigners in district 1
-@Hooked

The clue was in the name,,, he is in Phu Quoc Island

What’s the name of the restaurant. I see many foreigners in district 1
-@Hooked

Hi there, Hooked. I'm in Duong Dong, Phu Quoc.

I didn't mention the name of the restaurant, as promoting a commercial enterprise (friend or not) on the forum is frowned upon.

I've sent you a PM.