impulse

Better yet. Get a male room mate to share expenses and chores, or live in a building with a good community of like minded old farts. Bros before hoes!

Can you imagine the horror scenario if Thailand started building NL style dikes to keep sea water out? Those same dikes would keep monsoon water in.

You can afford certain luxuries when your GDP per capita is 10x higher.

I'm also curious about distributed mode speakers, which use the walls or other flat panels instead of actual cone drivers and enclosures. I meant to experiment while I was in Bangkok, but had no confidence that they'd work on concrete walls.

Much the same as every MSM, Hillary, and the Dems believed after taking the L in 2016. There were dozens of MSM articles about the vulnerability of the machines after 2016 and even more after 2018 midterms. Google them. Not to mention montages of Dems claiming Trump and the Russkies cheated. Crickets, though, after 2020. Why is that?

Good info. I'll have to try that next time my hotel WiFi goes wonky. I have an AIS annual plan, but I'm not sure whether it's unlimited data. I'm only in Thailand for a few days a month, so I may not have popped for unlimited (if that was an option). And my brain leaks when I sleep. I just visit AIS every few months to see if I need to give them more money.

I wonder if the polling companies use the same criteria for selecting their participants that this "non-partisan" get-out-the-vote company uses to select who sees their ads on Faceplant? The Voter Participation Center (VPC), which describes itself as a “non-partisan organization,” posted advertisements on Facebook encouraging voter turnout in swing states, but instructed Facebook to exclude showing advertisements to people interested in things associated with Republican voters, such as NASCAR, military novelist Tom Clancy, the PGA Tour and Duck Dynasty, according to the ad data. Not hard to imagine Harris running away with the polls if they exclude NASCAR, Tom Clancy, and golf fans from their polling. Pretty insidious how they do that, eh? https://dailycaller.com/2024/09/02/this-non-partisan-voter-registration-group-will-help-you-vote-unless-youre-conservative/

Going back a few threads, I was under the impression he planned to return the A55. Quick question, do Thai service providers allow hot spotting? Some ISP's in the USA don't, at least under normal plans.

I freely admit I have become an anti-connoisseur after a few years of visiting factories in China who use the same parts and the same assembly line to make (for example) a JBL product in the morning and then an off brand in the afternoon, changing only the paint and the box. Add that to all the YouTubes where they review products and point out 3 or 4 different brands selling the exact same product at very different price points... Gotta love the interwebs. For woofers, I've only ever lost a set to the foam surround degrading over time. On a $100 woofer, meh. On a $500 woofer, ouch. Not to mention, I speak to the guys in the shops at Ban Mo and they have great recommendations to which brands hold up and which brands to avoid. As long as I don't tip them that I'm looking for XYZ. Because they're sales guys and they'll sell me what I'm willing to buy. That said, I haven't bought a woofer in years and years. Mostly, I buy home grade (spelled c-h-e-a-p) test equipment, like multi-meters and power supplies, for which BanMo is amazing. Let us know what you decide and how you make out. If I settle in one place in Thailand, I'd like to get a nice sound system. And I agree with you above. I don't need to play at high volumes to appreciate a huge displacement woofer.

Hey, I'm open to the possibility that both sides cheat and the reason Trump's pissed off is because he didn't get his money's worth. And Hillary, too. But don't try to tell me there's no cheating going on. Edit: I should correct that. It's not both sides. It's all sides. Because I can think of a dozen countries, half a dozen alphabet agencies, and quite a few corporations that may be programming their own version of the Ukrainian National Anthem into the sauce. Over the interweb, which we were told is impossible.

If we lose a few more posters (no names...), and the 2024 election passes by, AN could be in a world of hurt. That's about 3/4 of the posts.

In New Hampshire, a cybersecurity firm found troubling security bugs — and the Ukrainian national anthem — written into a voter database built with the help of an overseas subcontractor. The revelation prompted the state to take a precaution that is rare among election officials: It hired a forensic firm to scour the technology for signs that hackers had hidden malware deep inside the coding supply chain. The probe unearthed some unwelcome surprises: software misconfigured to connect to servers in Russia and the use of open-source code — which is freely available online — overseen by a Russian computer engineer convicted of manslaughter, according to a person familiar with the examination and granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about it. None of the findings amounted to evidence of wrongdoing, the officials said, and the company resolved the issues before the new database came into use ahead of the presidential vote this spring. I wonder what they'd have to find to consider it "evidence of wrongdoing"? And why such a forensic audit is rare among election officials? https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/01/us-election-software-national-security-threats-00176615

Years ago, before smartphones, I bought an interweb plan that required a USB chip that took a SIM card. That's when I lived in Asia and traveled to the USA, often staying in places with no WIFI. Worked great for email and web browsing, though that was before streaming and pirating terabytes became a thing. Being 15-20 years ago, I'm sure it was super slow and not compatible with current networks. But it looks like they're still available on Amazon in updated configurations, so I can't imagine they're not available in LOS. (Search Amazon for "USB cellular modem") My question, being an idiot when it comes to Thai cellular plans, is whether they include unlimited interweb? I have a 12 month AIS SIM and I just stop in at the shop every few trips on my monthly visit to Thailand, where they tell me I don't need to pay anything yet... I'd sure hate to pay by the GB using a laptop...

Full disclosure: I'm not a chef. But I remember before fajitas got popular, the grocery stores threw the flank away, or sold it at reduced prices and Hispanics bought it up. They were ahead of the curve... Then, fajitas became popular and the price skyrocketed. Since carne asada calls for marinating the beejeezus out of the meat, I wouldn't get too selective. I certainly wouldn't pay 240 baht for 200 grams. If you can find ribeye, that'll make a much better carne asada than the scraps that are traditionally used. The concept behind marinating for hours (and fajitas) is making a great meal with an inexpensive cut.

Before buying anything, have a traipse through the Ban Mo market just outside of Chinatown. They have entire streets and alleys selling woofers, tweeters, enclosures, amps and anything else you may need. I can spend an entire afternoon just wandering the nooks and crannies. Make sure you go into the bowels of the market, with several floors of components. It's an amazing place. 5 minute (brisk) walk from the Sam Yot MRT station. 10-15 minutes if you walk like a local... Edit: I also recommend Ban Mo if you need anything electric or electronic repaired. They have lines of guys outdoors repairing hifi stuff, lined up along some of the streets. Here's a taste... https://wholesaleflyer.com/bangkoks-hidden-gems-top-5-lesser-known-wholesale-markets/ (Though the website needs to be updated, since the MRT is much closer now than Hua Lamphong)

Regarding tire pressures, I was surprised when I replaced the tires on my mid '90s pickup with new ones that called for a much higher pressure than the truck's placard. That was Thailand. Found the same thing back home with my 20+ year old Toyota soccer mom van. I assumed the new tires are rated higher pressures for better mileage. CAFE, and all. Perhaps it was my mistake, but I followed the recommended pressures on the brand new tire sidewall, not the 30 year old placard on the truck and van. I figured it was more current...

Maybe someone can give an update since I haven't been to Jomtien since Covid. My go-to resort there was the Pinnacle. It was south of town, off the main road and had a wide assortment of accommodations from simple rooms to real nice villas. Nice beach, great breakfast buffet, lots of pools and no road noise. But it is a hike to town(s). The potential downsides (though I was never bothered) was that they catered to Eastern Europeans, then to Chinese when the EU business tapered off. I found them to be delightful, because they were with their families and not the mongers you'd run into in town. They did set up a separate breakfast buffet catering to the Chinese tastes. I never tried that side. Shameless plug, because I really liked the place. I'd be interested in hearing any updates in case I decide on a beach visit on one of my monthly trips to Thailand... Bringing it back to the OP, my suggestion is to choose your hotel wisely, regardless of what beach you choose. Find the hotel on Google Earth and see how it's situated relative to the beach and the main roads.

Sheryl, The OP says he's pretty nicely insured. But do you have any insights or suggestions for those whose insurance isn't as stout, and may be on a tighter budget? Or any differential in seeing a particular doctor in the different venues based on how they handle insurance and billing?

Or Florida strain largemouth bass, and open up a world class destination for bass fishing tourism. Stock them in some of the big and deep reservoirs, wait a few years and then turn loose a few fishing influencers. They'd make $$ millions if they could get a few over the world record, and open up a market for bass boats, too. Rednecks and the Japanese would be the target demographic. It'd be like that movie... If you stock them, they will come. (I'm paraphrasing) I'm surprised there's not a barramundi fishing market outside of the fee ponds. I can't imagine none of them have escaped to populate Thai waters. And don't tell my Texas fishing buddies I said this, but barramundi are more fun to catch than bass. But I only found snakehead lure fishermen in my travels on wild lakes and rivers.

I really appreciate the OP taking the time to come back and post his experience. It's really helpful to hear a current update, especially in light of so many conflicting posts, and on a topic as important as banking. Also, kudos to ianguygil for his help.

Then they can start looking for remnants of MH370.

Surely there are some betting websites that post the odds...

Is that a function of Air India, or the route? The same (China) airlines that charge 4100 baht for any checked bags at all from BKK to China, offer 2 free checked bags (50lb each) on economy routes from China to the USA. Because that's what the competition has offered forever on those routes. I miss the old days when my mileage status got me 3 x 70lb bags, free in economy. But I digress.

They do. It's the tropics. It rains. It floods. Then the water recedes. The costs of letting it happen is lower than the costs of trying to stop it. As in any business decision, "do nothing" is one of the choices. Sometimes, the best of a bunch of bad choices. As far as Thailand becoming "green", they produce less than 1% of the world's climate problem. Thailand could go back to walking and living off grid in wooden huts and it wouldn't significantly affect the world's climate situation. And that's regardless of whether you believe the climate situation is man-made or yet another of the hundreds of natural cycles over history.

You do have the same opportunity. You're either XX or you're XY. Compete in the correct category, according to your biology. Not your feelings. Is anyone trying to stop Valentina from competing in the men's (XY) category? Other than not making the cut?