gamb00ler

I probably would just skip the long version 🤷🏼‍♂️ despite the fact that I DO agree with you.

How about waste less?

I'm guessing that you don't know why interest rates go up? You'll probably blame George Soros... LOL or ... but, but, but Hillary!

Depending on your car's and your phone's capabilities, it may be possible to use your phone to connect to an internet source of English audio news and route it through your car's speakers. Apple CarPlay can do that with Apple phones.

About most topics, he would be correct..... he just doesn't know much about anything.

The answer to a question you didn't ask... but you may find it useful. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/listening-outside-the-uk/international

After several go arounds, he hasn't mentioned a single issue or clearly stated what he expects to be done during a "checkup". He did mention wanting "advice on backup system, VPN, Waterfox extensions, and more and more.'

I no longer know the details of who provides it.... but there is a Thai government department that will provide a list of entry/exit dates for Thai citizens. We needed this document for my Thai wife when we imported our household goods when moving to Thailand in 2020. Perhaps that same department can provide the dates for you. We did have to send the two most recent passports for my wife to the customs broker and they looked after getting the appropriate document. Sorry I can't provide more details than the above.

Correct.... however some users have developed methods to allow older macs to run newer MacOS versions. Search for OCLP... I use it to run Ventura on the wife's 2012 Mac mini. I'll update it to Sonoma soon.

I'm a retired software engineer and I'm perplexed by your request for a computer "checkup". Since there are basically no moving parts in computers these days there is minimal need for checkups. A computer's electronic components don't normally slowly degrade... typically they just suddenly fail. Old style hard drives are the exception as they will often start to show errors before failing completely. By far the largest percentage of PC problems are software failures or user errors. MacOS's updating process is very smooth. In my experience I have had no significant problems since migrating to MacOS. I only had problems when trying to circumvent Apple's restrictions on upgrading older Apple hardware to newer versions of MacOS (using 3rd party software). I've been a PC user for almost 40 years and a Mac user for 8-9. The only preventative maintenance I recommend is to periodically open the case and blow out as much dust as you can with some compressed air. If your computer isn't on the floor, dust shouldn't be as much of an issue. Since you only claim to want a checkup, start with Apple's diagnostics: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102550

It sounds like you are really looking for a tutor rather than a technician. There is a YTube Mac/Apple specialist with years of content that I like: https://www.youtube.com/user/macmostvideo/videos

The cessation of federal income tax on SS benefits has ZERO impact on the SS trust funds. The income taxes currently applied to SS benefits goes into the Federal governments general revenue. The SS trust fund currently does not draw from general government revenue. Show me proof that I'm wrong. Lots of people get this wrong..... you've just read some article written by someone who has it wrong. https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/HowAreSocialSecurity.htm#:~:text=Social Security is financed through,self-employed pay 12.4 percent.&text=The payroll tax rates are,up to a certain amount. LOL.... I'm WRONG. Sorry.... my mistake. The taxes on SS benefits are contributed to the SS trust fund. I thought all federal income taxes went into general revenue. Jingthing is correct... I humbly submit my apology.

Federal Income tax and employment taxes (FICA) are completely separate. FICA taxes are currently the ONLY source of funding for SS. FICA taxes are help separately from all other taxes but are invested in special Treasury bonds. https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/WhatAreTheTrust.htm https://www.ssa.gov/people/materials/pdfs/EN-05-10297.pdf FICA in reality, should not be called "taxes". Rather they should be called insurance premiums in the case of the medicare "tax" and the portion funding SS should be called annuity premiums.

You need to start that SS thread now!. It's apparent you're not clear on the topic of taxes and SS. Income tax on SS benefits has NO impact on the SS trust fund. Only employment taxes have such impact.

He wanted to achieve many changes but his incompetence won out. 1. Repeal and replace Obamacare LOL... despite not having an inkling of a replacement he forged blindly ahead before getting the ducks lined up.... so typical 2. the eternal Infrastructure bill.... about as real as the Tooth fairy 3. he had hoped to slash domestic spending on programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, but these efforts were blocked by both Congress and public opposition. 4. His attempt to negotiate a deal with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program was also seen as unsuccessful, as talks failed to yield a lasting agreement 5. Trump aimed to enact a range of strict immigration policies, such as instituting a "Muslim ban" and ending protections for undocumented immigrants, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. While some of his early travel bans were implemented, others faced significant legal challenges, with courts ruling against key provisions. His attempt to end DACA was also blocked by the Supreme Court in 2020, citing procedural flaws in how the administration tried to rescind the program.....incompetence again! 6. Many of Trump's proposals on tax policy, such as further tax cuts for the wealthy or a broader overhaul of the tax code, were blocked or scaled back due to political pushback and concerns about increasing the deficit..... more imcompetence!

If you have no specific complaints I don't think there is much regular "servicing" or tuneups needed for MacOS. In my experience MacOS doesn't exhibit the slow deterioration in performance that Windows did when I depended on it about 8 years ago. What Mac do you have an how old is it? Have you been installing the available OS updates? Like any hardware there can be unexpected failures, so make sure you backup all your personal files or synchronize them to some cloud service(s). I wouldn't bother backing up the OS unless you're quite computer literate. My iMac is a late 2015 model and still hums along just as well when I got it new 8 years ago. The only software I added was the MSoft Office package. I don't even really need that as the free Apple apps are just as good but less familiar to me.

I don't think Thai banks limit your outbound transfers to the same amount that you previously transferred in. I assisted my good friend in sending funds out of Thailand using Bangkok and Kasikorn banks. Those banks simply wanted a reason for the outbound transfer. Those two banks allowed up to 2M baht per outbound transfer and it could be done using their phone app. The banks never asked for any proof of an inbound transfer. I only transfer from US funds from US bank so I can't give specifics for UK sourced transfers. Wise transfers from the US are cheaper than a SWIFT transfer below about 22K US$. Above that amount the fixed SWIFT transfer fee (25$) beats the exchange rate+fees from Wise. The OP can easily determine the best transfer result with some simple math. Ask your UK bank for the SWIFT charges and get the current exchange rate from your Thai bank. There is also a receiving fee charged by the Thai bank (200-500 B).

It seems the many AN members have started to think their opinions are as good as facts despite their limited experience.

I and a couple of expat friends are proof that your statement is incorrect. We all have a Thai tax ID by going to TRD and requesting one. My TRD visit was 3-4 years ago and took 15 minutes and only reasonable documentation. I was and am on a retirement extension. I have never filed Thai taxes as I successfully had the banks stop the tax withholding on interest payments.

In researching to help a friend send funds back home, I found that Bangkok and Kasikorn banks allow you to easily send up to 2 million ฿ per transfer. My friend didn't have to prove the funds were previously brought into Thailand but he did have to give a reason for the transfer. One banker did insist that my friend show a bill when he said funds were to pay for his family to come visit him.

But how can you get to Heaven if you don't make your political opponents see that they're the Devil's spawn and are headed to Hell?

I fail to understand why consistency matters. As long as each state has well defined regulations, procedures to implement them and trained staff, it should be fine. There's more than one way to skin a cat. How will having the US Federal government in charge of federal elections eliminate "potential political influence" more so than can be done at the state level? It seems that corrupting a single federal government agency would be easier than corrupting several key state government agencies. A conspiracy is best kept as small as possible.

some.... mostly NO!

that horse has been dead since 2022... Trump never showed them... the Supreme Court forced the IRS to release them to Congress. Every decision by the Supreme Court is available online to those who actually want to know the truth. I suspect that's not you.

nice try... only redacted portions of a few the 400 tax returns Trump files each year were accessible to the public after the Ways and Means committee release them