mike carey

I agree there is far more for a tourist in many cities than there is in SIngapore (or Hong Kong), but close by in Malaysia there are other places to add on to a trip. Malay and Nonya food is amazing. I could spend a weekend in SN or HK and binge eat. But as you probably appreciated, I was citing my willingness to fly there for a longish weekend as a difference of perspective from an idea that an eight hour flight constitutes a major vacation rather than possibly a weekend or week away. (As another comparison that I hadn't considered until just now, how many people in the middle and east of the US wouldn't think twice about a week in Hawai'i but would reject the idea of a week in London or Paris as being far too far to travel.)

Two videos of lyre birds and their amazing mimicry.

Kurtis, I take your point that the forum may be at best an annoyance to you, and as such you may wish nothing well for it. For me, it is a source of discussion about a range of issues, many not related to m4m activity. But they are still the focus. I find it easy to ignore the things on the site that I don't much like. Although my chances of being in Texas to meet you are not that great, I enjoy the things you have to say here. You're whip smart on so many issues. By all means disparage the things here that you don't like, but I doubt I am the only one who values your contributions.

I agree absolutely, a good fortnight is needed to do London justice without venturing anywhere else in the UK. I was more reflecting on the fact that I have seriously considered flying to Singapore or Hong Kong for just a few days to meet certain gentlemen I've met through this forum, and Sydney to either of those cities is a longer flight than NYC to London. I wouldn't want such a short visit to be my first, though.

@Kurtis Wolfe thank you for continuing to comment here despite the challenges.

A long weekend in London is always nice, go there and see him. It's not as if there aren't heaps of flights to LHR.

Narrowly my favourite.

That's a possibility, and it could return in the US and under a possible new UK civil aviation authority. Less likely in the EU and they would apply their rules to any airline flying into the EU not just EU flag airlines. I'm not confident Australian or Canadian regulators would clear it (and from having watched US carriers track over Canada on US internal flights that could be a problem if Canada banned it from their airspace). Other than that, AU and CA would not affect the big picture. China is another big market, and regardless of the merits Trump could scupper any chance of regulatory approval there. That's not necessarily bad for Boeing, they have other aircraft that they can keep making, and they will sell albeit not into the same market segments. As a case study, Qantas has gone heavy on Boeing for long haul (cancelled A380s and retained B787 orders) but short haul single aisle it's gone in big on A320 variants.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/women-buying-sex/11486794 This is an item from a mainstream morning ABC radio program this week. It is a 14 minute segment on women buying sex. Before you all run screaming from the room, bear with me because it's relevant across a wider spectrum of sex work. It's reporting on some academic research, and as is stated in the audio it resulted from women contacting the researcher when she was looking for participants for a project she was running about male clients. It features the researcher herself and a sex worker in conversation with the program's presenter. The thing, apart from the general interest, that prompted me to post it was a comment that US legislation, referring to SESTA/FOSTA, had had a chilling effect on the ability of sex workers in Australia to advertise on the internet. Another comment that will likely raise some interest in the forum is one that the sex worker makes about workers choosing not to accept female clients, or not accepting clients of any gender, which she says is their right. (Some may recall that there was a knife attack in central Sydney a month or so back in which a sex worker was fatally stabbed. As well as the routine discussion of it as a crime, there was also mainstream media discussion that sex work is work and that like all workers, sex workers have a right to a safe workplace.)

Good to hear. Never sampled but he's always seemed the real deal from what I've seen.

Not related to this man, but you have been called out, @Epigonos [MEDIA=twitter]1171485227710996483[/MEDIA]

I would second the recommendation in post no 2 above or https://rent.men/thedudenextdoor, Eric Hassan. He is a regular at the Palm Springs weekends so many of us have had the opportunity to chat with him around the pool.

@Benjamin_Nicholas I haven't yet taken up the invitation the author of the 15minutesmore blog, whoever he might be, to correspond directly. I suspect as yet there is no need for that.

Noted!

My education on this subject is sadly lacking, it would appear.

[MEDIA=twitter]1170378351418183681[/MEDIA] Tropical storms are not what you expect in Canada.

Cue comments about Tito and Lake Bled.

Also in parts Wisconsin and parts of New England (the one in US rather than ours) according to Wiki.

[MEDIA=twitter]1169504628146204672[/MEDIA]

Yup it is. Used in parts of Australia and also in places in the US. It's the term used where I grew up in NSW.

Strange, I'm not having any trouble using Firefox.

Australians are less religious in general than Americans and the ACT is not significantly less religious than the rest of the country, although it is small, homogenous and relatively progressive. 'No religion' scored higher in the last census than on previous ones, in part reflecting a long term trend but also in part because it was the first option on the form rather than the last.

Nah, despite this sort of imagery, Maori and Pasifika identity is much more positive now.

Ceiling fans are wonderful, in hot weather they give you a breeze, when it's cold enough to have heaters on, on reverse they circulate the warm air from those heaters. I am torn about what to do, I split my time now between Canberra and my home town. Both would be nice as a retirement location, Canberra has the 'city' facilities that my home town does not, but it's nice living on country. I fantasise about other places. I doubt I would ever consider the US because of health care costs, but a tropical place at altitude would be nice. In the Americas, think places in Costa Rica or in Guadalajara or Quito. Health costs aside, there are places in the US, but I'll leave the selections to those of you who live there, but big city energy is always nice. And yes, @Eric Hassan, NYC would be nice! Both at home and in Canberra I have gardens to enjoy, both of which have memories, not quite of the order of my compatriot from Sydney, but of significant attraction nevertheless. I also contemplate moving within Australia to the coast or some other place, like Melbourne where my sister lives, but without much conviction. As our politics become more toxic (not to US standards) I also contemplate moving to Aotearoa/New Zealand but that would be a big step. Inertia will probably win, unless someone sweeps me off my feet it which case all bets are off!

TB, I'm sure you're having a great time, keep enjoying it!