impulse

As bad as the optics are, isn't this like telling purse snatch victims to let go of your purse to reduce your chance of being killed? Seems like reasonable advice if you value your life more than your car. At least in the immediate term, until they can clear the thieves off the street. Which requires a lot more than good policing. It requires political will to lock up bad guys, if only to keep them away from polite society. So I don't blame the cops. I blame the lefty politicians.

Kudos to the cop and bad on the tourists. But does anyone think that standing locked in the same pose for an extended period is the best way to prepare someone to hurdle into action if SHTF? It's theater. And I hope there's a room full of stout, well armed men limbered up right behind the wall in case something does go down. BTW, just out of curiosity, do they have women taking shifts at that position?

I don't know that I'd put that one on Boeing. Apparently a 25 yo aircraft: https://www.25newsnow.com/2024/03/16/united-airlines-boeing-plane-lands-oregon-with-missing-external-panel-officials-say/ United, OTOH, has been in the news quite a bit, and not for stellar performance. Maybe related to their DEI efforts to have half their employees "women and people of color". I'd rather the people working on my aircraft be "people who tinkered with their bicycles in elementary school and their cars in high school". They have the mechanical aptitude, but they don't include that many women as I recall.

Or a neighbor kid who needs a few spending baht?

The judge just guaranteed a lengthy appeal. Long past November. And he hasn't taken Fani Willis off the hook from the investigations into her conduct at the state and the federal level. Though the county's investigation seemed to stop, claiming that it's a state office and a state issue. I wonder if this'll be enough to get the judge re-elected in a blue dominated election?

Good catch. If true, my bad. I figured the reason he stopped is to pick up something he dropped. And I've never dropped anything from my air conditioned car. But I have dropped stuff from my 2 wheelers, powered and push. I can now see that he may have stopped to pick up something that someone else dropped.

Certainly, even rice that's properly stored has a sell by date beyond which it's no longer fit (or even safe) for humans. And it's a big assumption that it's been stored properly. I recall the horrendous photos of spoiled rice from just before Ms. Yingluck hit the road. If they do sell it, I hope it'll be with full disclosure where it came from and its vintage. But I had to chuckle even typing that.

I'm certainly not faulting the guy, because he's probably constrained to a scooter for economic reasons. But this is one more data point that 4 wheels, seatbelts and 2 tons of steel are safer than a scooter. This guy may not have a choice of transport modes, but most of the folks tuning in here do. Choose wisely.

Doesn't matter. I refer you to page 104 of the Hur Report: But on February 16, 2017, after he was no longer vice president. Mr. Biden read portions of the same notebook entry aloud and nearly verbatim to Zwonitzer, including portions containing information that remains classified up to the Secret level. 43 - https://www.justice.gov/storage/report-from-special-counsel-robert-k-hur-february-2024.pdf Zwonitzer was smart enough to leave the classified stuff out of the book. Biden was criminal enough to read the classified stuff to him. In spite of the fact that Zwonitzer was not cleared to hear it, and former VP Joe wasn't even allowed to possess it.

Probably a dumb question, but what's the story with the shops in Bangkok Chinatown making license plates right out in the open? I always figured they were making replacements for people whose plates wore out, because I couldn't imagine the local cops letting them make fake plates. But discretion has kept me from inquiring when I pass by. Several shops around Klong Thom market... First time I saw them was 2011 and they're still there, still banging out license plates in 2024.

For years, I have loved my Garmin Magellan GPS navigators with 6 and 7" screens. Both in Thailand and in the USA, they worked great, though they didn't warn of traffic jams ahead. And I also liked using my Motorola smartphone with Google maps, which did warn of traffic jams ahead. Again, a 6-7" screen. Lately, I've spent a lot of time in Chinese taxis, mostly EVs that have beautiful 12" and larger navigation screens. Not only do they point out traffic ahead, they also tell the driver how long before that next light turns green or red. I can even see the screens from the back seat where I often ride. They beat the crap out of my 6-7" Garmins for ease of seeing what's going on at a quick glance. To the point of envy on my part. My question is whether anyone can recommend an aftermarket navigator that's available in Thailand with big honkin' screen for an old fart like myself. I found quite a few on Lazada, but I'm not sure they're compatible with Google Maps (or any other navigation app). And the solution may even be simpler, buying a nice bright 10"- 15" LTE Android tablet and figuring out how to mount it on the dash or console. So what I'm really looking for is input from guys who have good (or bad) luck with configurations they've actually tried in Thailand. Preferably solutions that don't include ponying up the cost of a new EV or ICE... That's a separate decision. Also handy would be suggestions for traffic apps that may work better in Thailand than Google Maps (if there are any). Thanks in advance for any helpful input.

Thai welders and craftsmen in our land operations and on our offshore platforms did outstanding work. World class. With the exodus from Thailand of so many international oil and gas companies over the past few years, I'd imagine a lot of good welders are available. It's just a shame seeing them have to leave Thailand to make a decent living. I'd rather see the Korean companies invest in building Thai shipyards. But, oh well. Maybe they're wondering why so many foreign companies bailed on Thailand? Or maybe they already know...

Strange that in almost all of the photos I've seen of thugs with guns from Haiti, they've usually had Soviet (and FSU) AK47's. And I doubt they were bought at retail in Florida or Georgia, where even a 2nd hand AK47 sells for hundreds of $$$. And AR15's cost just as much and more. More likely they came from elsewhere, where they can be bought for less than $100. There is, of course, a possibility that they traversed Florida or Georgia on their way to Haiti, but that's not due to any laxity in their gun laws. More like lack of enforcement of customs laws. Which are federally, not state enforced (or not). Who's in charge of that nowadays, I wonder?

The more obvious they're treating him differently than any other candidate and former president in history, the more support and votes he picks up. Remind me, did he read classified stuff to his ghostwriter? Or was that someone else?

I wonder if he woke up with that strange tattoo the next day? And whether he was pitching or catching...

Asked and answered.

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating trying it on, unless you want to risk being one of those OPs who wonder why they got denied even though they're technically not breaking any rules. Just pointing out that it's an interesting glitch in The Matrix. Edit: And I'm not sure I envy the guy who tries to explain what a "calendar year" is to an irate IO, especially since I don't have a Thai copy of the rules, nor do I know how "calendar year" even translates into Thai. And I don't know which calendar they're referring to. Isn't it 2567 in Thailand, and coming up on a New Year?

Whatever the OP decides to do, I hope he'll post back with his result. More of an American thing than a British thing, I'd be concerned they'd stop it just because it's so easy to package drugs to look like food. $100 worth of sealing equipment and another $100 worth of printed pouches, and boom. Edit: BTW, it wasn't always like that.

Years ago, I was looking for an accessory for my pickup and found myself wandering that street. It was amazing what you could find there, and I suspect that very few foreigners knew about it. I sure didn't see any in a few hours that day, or on subsequent visits which were more laser focused on shops and stuff I had seen before. I hope they don't screw it up. If anyone's been there recently, let us know what it's like for an old fart like most of the guys tuned in here. The fact that it's hip, slick and cool probably appeals to people much younger than myself. Related, I wonder if the popularity has to do with the development of the park in that area from a few years back? Anyone know?

I'll think about a Rolex when it can count my steps, take my pulse, measure my pulse-ox, tell me where I am by GPS, let me know who's calling my phone, keep perfect time, alert me when I set it to, and do all that (and more) for less than $400 like my Garmin. Or just keep perfect time and cost less than $25 like my Casio. Right now, I'm looking at a Casio dive watch for $50 and I can't even seem to pull the trigger there. Seems like a waste... Too many watches already. I only have 2 wrists. I guess I'm not in their target demographic, though I'm sure Rolex has a catchier name, like "discerning gentlemen".

On a per boink basis, I'd bet the average 2 week tourist spends more than most of the cheap Charlies that have to scrape up the 800K to stay another year. Of course, there are exceptions in both camps. Begpackers who stay in $5 hostels, and expats who are absolutely loaded. But on the average, I'd bet the tourists on holiday spend more per day, if only because holiday makers aren't as tight when they're enjoying their 2 weeks off. I know I'm looser with my money when I'm on holiday, and always have been.

If you can tell, it's a hack job.

Watsons may have been clearing out the inventory of black hair dye. Old farts like a good deal...

They're looking for volunteers for that study.

Years ago, when I first moved to Asia, my nieces and nephews asked me to bring them fake Rolexes like the one I gave my Dad. He appreciated the irony, because he wouldn't have worn a real Rolex if he got it for free. He just wasn't that kind of guy. I declined my nieces and nephews because of the case in my hometown (Sugarland, TX) a few years earlier where a high school kid was murdered for his watch. One of my neighbors' kids was the murderer. I had this picture of one of my nephews getting his arm cut off for a $15 Rolex. I bought a couple of fake Rolexes in Mexico back in the '80s and they were absolute garbage. But some of the fakes in Asia are beautiful. I'm not a Rolex owner so I don't know if they have tells, but they are very nice looking. So are some of the other brand fakes. The Asian fakes I gave my Dad ran for years and only stopped when he quit winding them. There's a corner in Bangkok where you can order one out of a catalog from half a dozen different vendors, right out in the open. And that's probably one of many places. Regarding the guy in the OP, as long as he didn't hold them out as real, I hope he gets off lightly on criminal charges. And let Rolex try their luck in a civil lawsuit.