1. Why Another Roundup Post?
2. Elon Musk: Recession ‘A Good Thing,’ Bankruptcies ‘Need to Happen’
3. Top Gun Maverick In Phuket
4. WHO Says Monkeypox Epidemic ‘Evolving Rapidly’ as More Cases Reported
5. Blood Clots May Be the Root Cause of All Heart Disease
6. PM Prayut insists no plans to drop face-mask requirement in Thailand
7. Looming Price Hikes on Food Set to Hit Americans This Fall

I caught a cold, a flu, or some neologism that starts with a ‘C’…I have no idea

Saturday evening I came home rather late, perhaps 1am or so. I felt fine. Sunday morning, I was feeling off and had “that feeling.” I had to tough it out until after an 11am in-person meeting which did not take long. Then I began feeling worse and worse. Then the typical sneezing starts, runny nose, congestion, headache and this time (I’ve had this before) a fever. Trust me, when it’s 35 (86F) outside, I’m not running A/C, and I’m shivering, I’ve got a fever. I’ve understood this since before I was 10.

So I did what I always do when a fever strikes. I go to bed. Always. I closed off the bedroom, put on the A/C (22…71.6F…my “sleep number”). I got under the covers and just kinda enjoyed the light shivering. I slept on an off and wasn’t getting cold sweats, so it must have been only a few degrees elevation. I got up after a couple of hours but was still cold as f…In Thailand. I had to turn off the fans and close the doors that pass fresh air through the place.

I was sapped for energy. A proper wet rag. No motivation, no focus. By about 4.30pm I was ready for the bed again, and this time it was for 14 hours. It’s funny when you have a fever. Far from feeling hot under pajamas, sheets, blankets and a comforter—as is always depicted in TV and film—I’ve always slept bare skin in skivvies so that I can get a proper chill when I want one, especially since I have the A/C unit blowing right on me. Toss those covers off for 10 minutes until good and cold.

On day 2 the fever was gone or mostly gone, but then the symptoms gathered together in earnest to make me miserable (congestion, runny nose, sneezing, coughing) Also, whole body ache. I used 3 things primarily:

• Vitamin D (10K IU daily)
• NAC (N-acetylcysteine) (1,200 – 1,600 mg 2-4 x per day)
• L-Arginine (3-5 grams 1-2 x daily as needed)

The thing about arginine is that for best effect you need to take it on an empty stomach and not with any food. Then it’s not competing with any other amino for entry into the cells. If you have some respiratory illness and find it difficult to cough from way on down, take 5g of arginine, wait until its vasodilation properties kick in and find yourself coughing up phlegm from the nether regions of your lungs. NAC works similarly in these respiratory applications because it breaks up mucus, liquifies it. Easy to sneeze and cough out. And the FDA might be backing off about banning it.

While I’m on the issue of sneezing, let ‘er rip. Find a safe space, or outside but I mean no holds barred. Ladies, you know who I’m talking to. This is what coughing and sneezing are for. Expel all that mucus and phlegm crap, including viruses and bacteria contained within. Another reason why masks are fucktarded. No, don’t do it in someone’s face, but all lady-like muffling does is keep it inside where your body has determined it does not belong. So day two was pretty much hell and I need to mop my floors. Day 3, yesterday, was markedly better and today, day 4, the symptoms are nearly gone.

…We got a break in the weather where it’s been raining for a week and in the last few days, almost 24/7 drizzle, which I hate. I love the big rains that get it over in 30 minutes and the sun comes out. So there’s a 2-3 hour window with bright sunshine and I went down to the pool. Spent from 12.05 to 13.05, full skin exposure and I felt great. I still do, 3 hours later.

…One last thing. Friends ask, was it the ‘C’ word? Don’t know, don’t care. Felt just like the dozens of respiratory infections in my life; and when I was young and I was pretty miserable, mom sometimes took me to Dr. Berger, the family pediatrician. He was already pretty old in the 1960s. He didn’t diagnose with TESTING TESTING TESTING!!! He did what docs did. He does an examination by listening to your breathing, has you cough, feels your lymph nodes, asks you questions…pretty standard stuff, I imagine. In the end, “probably just a cold or mild flu. Here’s some medicine to help with the symptoms. He’ll be fine, but if it gets worse, bring him back.” That never happened.

The bottom line is that I do not understand this obsession with knowing which form of respiratory virus you have. If it feels like a cold or mild flu, just treat symptoms like we always did. …In one measure of longed-for sanity in Thailand today, they will only be reporting “cases” resulting in hospitalization—as it ought to have been globally since the start.

[Alright, that’s the public free preview. The rest is for Free and Paid level members.]

Elon Musk: Recession ‘A Good Thing,’ Bankruptcies ‘Need to Happen’

Yep. I’ll let him say it before I comment.

One individual asked Musk if he thinks the United States is heading toward a recession.

“Yes, but this is actually a good thing. It has been raining money on fools for too long. Some bankruptcies need to happen,” Musk replied, later adding that it will likely last between 12 and 18 months.

“Companies that are inherently negative cash flow (ie value destroyers) need to die, so that they stop consuming resources.”

He also remarked that the new COVID-induced stay-at-home trends have “tricked people into thinking that you don’t actually need to work hard.”

“Rude awakening inbound!”

I’ll limit my comments to bankruptcy, since I’m kind of an expert, having had a company that did debt workouts in lieu of bankruptcy for a long time. I wonder how many people know that bankruptcy is enshrined in the US Constitution! No, not an amendment. the constitution itself.

So 235 years ago, these rich aristocrats ensured that it would be possible to escape debt. How that’s done is a combination of federal and state law.

The reason, having worked it for so long, is that bankruptcy is a Godsend for creditors. Bankruptcy is objective. Just the numbers, ma’am. Bankruptcy is the final information that there’s either any there, there, or not. A chapter 11 serves to hold off creditors while the company tries to restructure. That’s often successful for big brands with lots of capital assets that can muster additional financing. For small to medium-size companies, you’ll be eaten alive before you even get started. I never saw a successful one amongst companies doing upwards of $30-50 million per year.

So it goes to Chapter 7, liquidation. Take an airline. Those aircraft then get bought up by other companies who can turn a profit with them.

In the consumer realm, very similar. Unless it’s a high-net-worth individual, the creditors won’t even look into it, much less for anything to contest. It’s a write off, but a good one. They are no longer throwing good money after bad paying to try to collect what just isn’t there. Blood out of a turnip, an old saying.

Silly people who get all holier-than-thou moralistic about this should read this interesting bit by attorney Jeff Childers I’ve had in an open tab for over a month.

I understand the moral argument against debt forgiveness but it is misplaced. The FOUNDERS designed the bankruptcy system; they drafted it along with the Constitution. The only reason bankruptcy has survived till now is because it is enshrined in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8). And the Founders didn’t make it up; they based the bankruptcy system on the ancient Hebrew moral law requiring debts be forgiven every seven years — the same period that the Founders chose for our bankruptcy code.

The Founders were ethically opposed to debtors’ prison. They relied on the Biblical teaching, “At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.” Deu. 15:1 (NIV). Still, the Founders weren’t as generous as the ancient Hebrews. They believed in personal responsibility as well as mercy. They required citizens, in order to get a release from debts, to sell their non-exempt assets and fully disclose their finances in public.

There are good economic arguments for bankruptcy: it encourages productive risk taking and provides a way to quickly recycle entrepreneurs and taxpayers so they don’t languish in debt for long, unproductive periods of time. The existence of bankruptcy acts as a brake on creditors as much as a relief valve for borrowers. Bankruptcy stops creditors from making unnecessarily risky loans, which can destabilize an entire economy, as we saw in the 2008 real estate crisis.

So a debt discharge in bankruptcy is not immoral per se. It’s Biblical and Constitutional. But what IS clearly immoral is usurious interest, which is a criminal offense in 49 States. The only state to repeal its usury laws was Delaware, attracting all the large financial institutions for that reason. That’s why a credit card company can charge over 18% interest and not be arrested like you or I would be. Student loan interest rates, when combined with hidden fees, extra charges, penalties, and added interest, are often usurious. Just saying.

So.

Top Gun Maverick In Phuket

Yep, that’s right, at Central Festival…a place I’ve been to many times and hate it each time. I like motorbike rides, but without much traffic, stoplights, or general annoyances.

I’ll set those troubles aside this time, as soon as there’s at least a full day of clear weather. It doesn’t have IMAX, but it does have a big stadium. Oh, and it’s in English.

WHO Says Monkeypox Epidemic ‘Evolving Rapidly’ as More Cases Reported

From The Epoch Times

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it’s investigating more than 250 cases of monkeypox outside of Africa, although officials for the U.N. health agency say they don’t believe it will morph into a pandemic.

The WHO stated on May 29 that it has received reports of 257 confirmed cases and about 120 suspected cases of the virus in 23 countries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 14 cases in eight states as of May 29.

“The situation is evolving rapidly and WHO expects that there will be more cases identified as surveillance expands in non-endemic countries, as well as in countries known to be endemic who have not recently been reporting cases,” the U.N. agency stated on May 29.

Asked whether this monkeypox outbreak has the potential to grow into a pandemic, Rosamund Lewis, technical lead for monkeypox from the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said, “We don’t know, but we don’t think so.”

“At the moment, we are not concerned of a global pandemic,” Lewis said.

All the weasel words bolded. My favorite is “evolving rapidly,” designed to give an impression that the virus is MUTATING. it’s not.

Then what in the world makes it newsworthy, praytell? It takes a single search to learn that monkeypox was first discovered in 1958 and there was not a human case identified until 1970, 12 years later. It’s endemic in a handful of southwestern african countries, meaning it’s comom. It’s not lethal unless you have far more serious problems.

With a world population approaching 8 billion, everyone using their Internet and phones to signal concern over 257 CONFIRMED CASES, WORLDWIDE? And the WHO is involved and they want to run the word with edicts over “health” policy?

Didn’t the UN seek such power at one time…now reduced to a basic clown-car circus?

Well, we all know what “sub-population” this pertains to. No, I would prefer no one get it and I used to live next door to upwards of 7 ladyboys last year (the numbers varied…”I have customer in Patong”). We got along fine. When They cooked food I always got a plate and same with me, to them. What’s different here is that it’s not politicized…it’s cultural, a whole different relax ball game.

Take away the politics, almost nobody fucking cares. I sure don’t.

…I was just chatting with my friends Constantin and Marina in the pool earlier. Russian couple. He’s my age, she’s about 35, HAF. He does “the formula.” All three of us were laughing about how it will be one crisis after another. Covid, vaxxines, Russia Ukraine, now monkeypox. LOL.

Truly pathetic clown-car circus. They’ve got an uphill row to hoe and even mainstream media can’t help because people are tuning them out in droves, too.

Blood Clots May Be the Root Cause of All Heart Disease

This is an article penned by Joseph Mercola. I never followed him much. I just don’t care for outlets where it’s largely about selling a supplement or product. Doesn’t mean his info is bad…maybe that ensures its goodness because too much crap will lose sales. Suffice to say, I’m an ultra light fan. I think my dad is a big fan. He sends me more Mercola links than anyone. I’m glad he reads him.

This post in The Epoch Times is actually a really in-depth review of a new book by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, The Clot Thickens: The enduring mystery of heart disease.

It goes super in-hand with much of what Paleo was always about—until so many became purveyors of insanely expensive packaged crap called “Paleo” and fools gathered to gobble it up.

Just a fucking fad for stupid rich kids.

“I eat Paleo!” Gag.

Anyway, I haven’t read the book and am unlikely to. But Mercola’s review is really really great.

PM Prayut insists no plans to drop face-mask requirement in Thailand

I’ll make this short and resist using bad and insulting words. You really should click in though and see the photo they chose. PM with fist raised, flanked by his yes-men. Common scene in Thailand. They dress impeccably, stand at attention, salute when called for, and all wear their face masks.

A week or so ago, a big survey came out of foreigners who are lackadaisical about coming back to Thailand any time soon. Most concerns have been rectified which involved the hyper-arduous stack of papers required, then the testing, then the quarantine and then later, an approved hotel where you could meander about. Even the unvaccinated like me could re-enter Thailand with only 3 tests, no quarantine (as a US Citizen, I can’t enter the US without a test and until that changes, Fuck America. I will not comply…ever). I will also not fly gasping for air with a mask, especially across an ocean. Fuck that shit.)

…Oh, I’m only scratching the surface as regards Thailand. It changes all the time. It’s like get on the bus get off the bus. Hurry up and wait.

Anyway, one of the biggest reasons cited—and Thailand isn’t even at 10% of pre cold & flu euphemism/neologism tourism—is masks.

Good job reading the crowd, PM.

Looming Price Hikes on Food Set to Hit Americans This Fall

My first question is what sort of “stimulus” might be in the works to forstall that before November? But economics is economics. For elites, it doesn’t matter if the bill for their private-jet trip is $25K or $100K.

In The Epoch Times

While Americans grow weary of record high gas and grocery prices, however, another round of price increases is making its way through the food supply chain and is expected to reach consumers this fall.

“People don’t realize what’s fixing to hit them,” Texas farmer Lynn “Bugsy” Allen said. “They think it’s tough right now; you give it until October. Food prices are going to double.”

The 8.8 percent increase in food prices that Americans have already seen doesn’t take into account the dramatically higher costs that farmers are now experiencing. That’s because farmers pay upfront and only recoup their expenses at the point of sale, months later.

“Usually, what we see on the farm, the consumer doesn’t see for another 18 months,” said John Chester, a Tennessee farmer of corn, wheat, and soybeans. But with the severity of these cost increases, consumers could feel the effects much sooner, particularly if weather becomes a factor. […]

Much of the cost of food hinges on the price of oil.

“They have no electric trucks delivering that food and there are no electric tractors,” Allen said. “It takes diesel to run all this.”

Chester said fuel and fertilizer together make up 55 percent of his total costs. The price of diesel fuel has more than doubled, to more than $5 per gallon today from $2.50 per gallon at the end of 2020. Farmers say the cost of fertilizer, an oil derivative, has tripled and in some cases quadrupled.

“When you look at the machinery that uses diesel, it’s farm equipment, it’s railroads, and it’s truckers,” said Daniel Turner, executive director of the energy advocacy group Power the Future. Diesel “moves all of our goods, it grows our food. From cargo ships arriving from overseas to trucks or trains getting those goods across the country, all those things now have added costs that will get sent to the consumer.”

You don’t say. You mean all these inputs to production and transportation get passed on to consumers of the end product at the retail outlet, eventually…even 18 months down the road?

…Well, fortunately that never happens with taxes. Taxing a business more never results in price increases to consumers. Taxes are magic money. Just ask any green-haired lefty. They’ll set you straight. We could tax businesses 100% and that will only make prices cheaper.

it’s magic.

…OK, I guess that’s about it. Wow did I clear a bunch of open tabs. It’s like cleaning your dirty room.