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gamb00ler

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Everything posted by gamb00ler

  1. I also checked my SSA account recently. I didn't check if I got the notice but I did see that they listed my new benefit amount that I would receive Dec. 3. I thought the increase wouldn't be applied until the Jan. '23 payment.
  2. You can simulate having one LINE ID on several mobile devices but it is kind of kludgy. Create a similar name on each of the devices... Bob100, Bob101, Bob102... etc. Set up a chat group (AllBobs) with all the Bob's as members. Share your list of contacts with AllBobs. Create a unique chat group for each of your contacts and add all Bob's to each chat group. You can easily rename chat groups to whatever you chose. Send messages to the unique group containing the person you wish to contact. Only send a message directly to a contact if you don't want it accessed by all Bobs. I know.... kind of messy. There is also a browser extension version of LINE. I'm guessing it doesn't work on a mobile browser.
  3. My Google Voice number is from the PST/PDT timezone. If I called SSA too early and got a "we're not open" response, I would re-dial but add *67 at the start. I never use a VPN for GV calls since they are eventually routed onto POTS (plain old telephone service) anyway.
  4. For my personal records, I download a monthly statement. For Immigration purposes I will request a 12 month printed statement from the bank. However, I have not yet used my SCB EZ savings account as the basis for my annual retirement extension. If come February, Imm. is not satisfied I'll pursue one of the other viable methods. There have been reports of successful extensions using the same bookless account.
  5. I never received my first 7162. Got my 2nd notice today (11/16/2022). The notice stated it(2nd notice) was mailed to me on Oct. 27. I sent response today using regular mail, not registered.
  6. Summer/part time jobs: farm laborer highway construction flagman refinery lab technician IT lab instructor steel pipe factory laborer blackjack dealer Full time: skating instructor many different IT roles professional gambler retired
  7. SCB currently pays 1.5% on their EZ Savings account for deposits up to 1M. I only checked BKK bank and the highest fixed term rate I was was 1%. You can't get an ATM card for this account but you can use their smartphone application to withdraw from their own ATM machines with no fee. Others have reported difficulties with opening accounts @SCB but my experience was pretty smooth. It functions like any other savings account, pays more interest than current fixed account rates and the switch from 800K to 400K and back for retirement extensions is dead simple.
  8. Trump uses his mathematical prowess to calculate that he can't be president again unless he runs.
  9. create a new gmail account with 6 - 30 alphanumerics using a simple password save your account name and password where you can find it login to new account click on the 9 dots arranged in a square near the top right of the web page select "Drive" select the books you want to share, drag them to window, wait for them to upload send the gmail account username and password to your friend(s) tell them how to login, activate Google Drive and how to download the books
  10. I'm not in the habit of buying a new air conditioner for use in a house I'm renting... The air conditioner is fairly new but not from a well known manufacturer. Plus either the control unit is messed up or the inside air temperature sensor is out of whack. The compressor won't start even if the temperature set via remote is several degrees below the current temp. I have to futz around with power and the mode setting until I feel cold air blowing out, then I can change the settings to something reasonable. Setting the remote temp to 27 takes the room temp to about 24. Increasing the remote temp to 28 results in the compressor shutting down requiring more remote control futzing (and cussing). So our choices are 24 (or colder) versus sweltering. Good thing we're moving shortly.
  11. We deliberately went low on ESS because of budgeting concerns for the construction. Adding more ESS will be very simple but still expensive, unfortunately. We also wanted the UPS functionality from the start. We hired the solar installer long before completion of construction so that any wiring required could be completed with ceilings still open. Our rental is a very poorly designed, 35 year old heat trap. Our electricity bill here is 500-900 units/month. The air conditioner is also probably not that efficient. For the restaurant system, it's easier to make it cost effective because the rate paid to the landlord is 7฿ per unit. It is likely that space for the panels will be the limiting factor for that system.
  12. We're having a 10Kw solar system installed by professionals to be shared between two households in two new colocated houses. We won't have anything with a constant load such as a pool or water features. The load will be primarily be daytime, evening and overnight A/C for a retired couple household and additional evening and overnight A/C for a typical working couple, plus normal laundry/bathing and cooking. Initially we'll have what will presumably be insufficient storage (8.2Kwh) to cover overnight usage. We won't have previous bills to guide us and the effectiveness of the design considerations (ceiling insulation/AAC 20cm) to keep the heat out are as yet unknown. I would like to start collecting more detailed power usage data than is provided on the power bills. Are there devices available that can record the power use for each hour of the day? Of course I would prefer one that doesn't require me to do a manual meter reading every hour. My computer experience is extensive but pretty dated at this point but I have an extra Raspberry Pi to work with. My software development knowledge is limited to '90s technology. I do have experience with computer communication devices and protocols as well as device drivers. In a pinch, I could probably add some ability in something newer. Also there is potential for another solar installation on our son's restaurant. For that system it is unclear how much storage would be cost effective. In the restaurant, most of the power draw will occur after sunset because there is a hot pot on each table plus A/C. The current rough estimate is that electric consumption is about 1Kwh per customer. I warn you that my knowledge of power transmission, distribution and residential wiring is indistinguishable from zero. Advice from those with greater knowledge and experience is appreciated.
  13. I have bought several used Dell desktops that came off lease. I've been very impressed with their quality and performance. The price made them excellent value. I never buy laptops...too many compromises are involved in their design.
  14. I used to agree with you, but I tried a Mac after learning how to convert a home built computer to run Apple's Mac OS. I'm not a typical user. I was a software engineer in a previous life so lots of experience with many different computer systems. Switching to MacOS was not at all difficult for me. Apple has never prevented me from doing what I needed to get done on my computer nor have they made it require jumping through hoops. Apple's integration of their apps is superb. To match Apple's scripting capabilities would require a 3rd party app on Windows. MacOS includes so many features that I find useful that were lacking in the last Windows version I used (Win7). However, Apple's security for downloaded programs is more restrictive than what I remember from Windows. If you download a program from an unknown source, you simple have to acknowledge and accept there may be some risk involved. After you do that, you can run it with no further interruption. I'm not a gamer (only chess and backgammon) so I don't miss the greater selection available on Windows. The integration between iPhone and MacOS was really convenient for my last working stint. During each day, the notes and results I spoke into my phone were converted to text and synchronized with my desktop via iCloud. No extra software needed to be purchased or installed. For a very large majority of users, it doesn't matter much whether you choose Windows or MacOS. Everyday tasks will work well and smoothly on either platform. I do feel that I have far fewer problems on MacOS..... on Windows 7 and earlier, I would have to reboot quite frequently to recover from some problem. Now, I reboot almost never.... mostly only for software updates that require it.
  15. You should have been able to recover access by using your Apple ID and it's password. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202860
  16. 112 @ Macro.... out of stock about 10% of the times I went to get it
  17. I bought a used 2012 mini about 6 years ago. It provides my wife's daily YouTube fix. To keep it useable I added an SSD as the system drive. About 2 weeks ago I used a hacking tool to upgrade the OS to the latest version despite Apple deciding they wouldn't support further upgrades a few years ago. It now fits into my home network better following the upgrade.
  18. Can you provide the particulars about the mini? What year? What is the smbios for it? For instance a 2012 MacMini is referred to as macmini 6,1 or 6,2. Can you be more specific about "will not open"? Does it power on and make the chime? Do you get to the login screen? It sounds like you got that far if you tried to enter the password. Some solutions you may try: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204267 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063
  19. The .25% fee also maxes out at 500 ฿. You can find the exchange rate for Bangkok Bank at: https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Other-Services/View-Rates/Foreign-Exchange-Rates Schwab also gives free SWIFT transfers if your balances are above a certain level.
  20. Last year I tracked the US$ exchange rates for Wise and 3 major Thai banks for a couple of weeks. All 3 banks adjusted their exchange rate several times a day as did Wise. You're correct when you said they vary. But, they don't vary by much. The rates are pretty consistent. Based on the average of the rates and the applicable fees, I calculated that for transfers under about 21K US$, Wise would result in the most ฿ per dollar. For transfers greater than 21K $, a SWIFT transfer was best. I assumed a SWIFT transfer cost $25 and the Thai bank would add a fee of 500 ฿.
  21. Many of the dishes listed are heavily influenced by food from neighboring countries. My three favorite long time traditional central Thai dishes: - gang keowan gai (green curry with chicken) - gang taypo moo (ong choy, makroot fruit+leaves, pork, coconut milk, tamarind) - pla chon todd (deep fried snake head fish with herbs or with yum mango sauce) For Northern dishes: - Chiang Mai larb nur (ground beef, mahkwen spice, eaten with pug pai leaves/cabbage/cucumber) - khao soi moo (traditional Northern noodles with red curry broth, pork, shallots, pickled cabbage) Gang taypo is such an old dish that it is hard to find these days. My wife had forgotten about it until we came across it last year. It has since shot to near the top of my chart!
  22. There are several mis-statements in that article. Withholding and actual taxation are two distinct matters, but the author frequently conflates them. No wonder so many are confused. That article also implies that the banks do not forward notifications to the Revenue Department for interest payments unless they total more than 20K฿. If true that's a sad state of affairs. Overall, I have to conclude that the said article is too inaccurate to be of any use.
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