impulse

I really don't want any drama at check-in, so I just follow published policy. Works. Some of us don't mind living on the edge. Especially when the worst case scenario is pulling out a hundred bucks or so to pay the excess baggage fee. It's not as if they charge me extra for trying to pull one over on them... And it's also not as if I'm the only one in the queue that's doing it.

Last time I checked, 56 yo wasn't over 65. With an adult population of 258 million, that's 1/2 of 1%. Making the majority of the noise. What a puff piece... Sounds like they have exactly the same concerns that most seniors have. Finding an affordable place where they'll be able to live the life they choose, along with health care where even the 20% Medicare co-pay can bankrupt you in one health related event. Nobody's denying them care. Nobody's dictating where they can live. My experience with transgenders in the USA (Texas, no less) is that they're as accepted as they allow themselves to be- based on their personality and how they treat the people they live around. Of course, those who live with a chip on their shoulder, not so popular. But that's the same with every demographic.

The problem with "looking it up" is that there's often a big difference between the published policy, and what they allow passengers to get away with. Of course, that varies by airline, the route, and even the staff manning the ticket counters. It would be handy to hear from people who have actually flown KLM out of BKK recently. Edit: I'd add that, the last time I got dinged for a checked bag, the ticket gate couldn't process my debit card. I had to go to an ATM and get them cash. (Not KLM...)

Even if you dismiss the possibility of getting a lemon up front, what happens when the pins on the charging port corrode due to sweat? Or any other simple repair is required, that would be a breeze for a Thai-centric brand. I generally go through a charging port every 2 years or so, just from corrosion due to sweaty pocket lint. Eezy peezy at a thousand repair kiosks, as long as they have the parts. Not so easy if the parts aren't available in Thailand. I did find out some parts are interchangeable, and the repair guys have cross reference charts for a lot of brands and components. But I wouldn't spring for a $1,200 phone unless I knew that want of a $2 part wasn't going to brick it. Not that I'd pop for a $1,200 phone anyway, knowing that there will be a better one coming out in 6 months or so... My $150 Samsung works fine for me, with a cheap 128GB SD card. Beyond that, I use my laptop. But that's just me. I ran out of hardware envy decades ago now that even a cheap phone or laptop meets most needs. Even if I don't impress the chippies...

Decent and affordable elder care could be an absolute goldmine for Thai "tourism". I put "tourism" in quotes because it wouldn't really be tourists. More like foreign born residents spending their golden years (and sweaty cash) in Thailand, instead of in a dreary situation back home.

Was that you in the fountain cleaning up a few weeks ago?

The scary reality is that could have been any one of us, driving a pickup or a car. Ending up in the dock because of a kid's inexperience and poor judgment. One more case for installing a good dash camera, in case the CCTV's weren't around.

Best of luck whatever the OP decides. But I wouldn't go anywhere near that driveway with a paint or any other coating. Right now, you have a concrete drive with a nicely developing patina. Slap a coat of paint on it and in a few months you'll have a peeling paint mess that you either have to touch up constantly, or just redo the whole thing. You've already acknowledged that the base you'd be painting over isn't stable. Paints and coatings aren't magic.

Out of curiosity, does Spain have a law (or a dictate) that anyone who makes it to land gets some kind of special treatment they don't get if they're intercepted at sea?

Back when the Ixtoc platform in Mexico was throwing off tarballs that ended up on Texas beaches, we kept Johnson's Baby Oil in our cars to get the tar off our feet, the car body and the carpeting. Very gentle, worked quite well and smelled good, too. The generic name is "mineral oil", but that doesn't smell as good. And you figure it's gotta be safe for use on skin if it's used for babies. WD-40 will probably work as well (or better) on the car without damaging paint. Just take your time, as opposed to rubbing real hard and risk damaging the paint. It takes time for the solvents to work.

Tragic event, but a good cautionary tale that maybe a pub crawl isn't a good idea. Before I took the oath, I used to wake up in unexpected places, often in sub-zero weather. It's only sheer dumb luck that I'm not with this guy wherever we go in the afterlife. Sheer dumb luck and then taking the oath back in the '80s.

You don't have to scrap it. Just do like other countries and stop the clock while the suspect is out of the country. Then restart the clock when his private jet lands back in Thailand. Looks to me like they intend to prosecute everyone involved, except the guy who did it.

In 2015, I went into the most expensive hospital in Bangkok for my annual checkup. Did the EKG and the treadmill test and the doctor (cardiologist) gave me a clean bill of health. I insisted that there was something wrong, that I was running out of breath climbing BTS stairs (and I didn't need more exercise, I was getting plenty). So they went to the next step and found one artery blocked 100% and another blocked 95%. That was a Friday, too late to get insurance approvals so (on my insistence) I waited until Monday to have a 4x bypass. Went fine, and that was over 9 years ago. I chalked the missed diagnosis up to Thai hospitals, but my brother had an even worse diagnosis in one of the most famous hospitals in Houston. He was in the hospital for 4 weeks before they finally figured out he needed a heart transplant. So I don't feel so bad about the diagnosis in Bangkok. Turns out most routine testing misses a huge percentage of blockages. You have to demand the next step. I'll let you ask your doctor what that "next step" is. But it ain't the treadmill... Just before I left for Asia (2023), I had a CT scan (I think) in Houston with the catheter and the dye and they say all my grafts are open after 8 years. So I can't complain about the quality of the actual surgery, and I really liked the surgeon's follow up care. That's speaking from a database of one case, and YMMV. I'd recommend Bumrungrad or Samitivej if you can afford them. I used one for my care, and the other for the second opinions. Both were world class.

One more time, adding up all the cases, when what we really need is a breakdown of the benefits and risks by segment, specifically age. Otherwise, you can't ethically recommend vaccinating toddlers to save grandpas.

I think being in QSNCC will help them survive. Most foreign companies won't flinch much at a $150 USD receipt for lunch at an international trade show, especially if you can mention a customer on the back of the receipt. The question is whether the QSNCC will be hosting enough international trade shows to keep the expense account trade flowing through. I'm impressed with the recent QSNCC update, but I'm not sure Bangkok can support so many exhibition centers. QSNCC has the location advantage over BITEC and especially over the IMPACT. And I sincerely wish them good luck, along with Red Lobster. But we'll see. So far, the few trade shows I've attended have been domestic focused or rather small int'l shows.

Even back in the USA, Long John Silvers is more of a place to go for a change of pace than someplace I go on a very regular basis. I like their fish and fries and some of their other offerings that slip my mind right now. But not more than once or twice a month.

Doesn't surprise me a bit that they'd support the party that was in power when Russia attacked Ukraine. Twice. And Hamas attacked Israel. The world was too quiet for the Neocons' taste (and their careers) under Trump...

If they're the same Bushies and Neocons that got us into Afghanistan to punish the Saudi terrorists behind 9/11 and into Iraq to go after Saddam's WMD's, good riddance. Especially if they're still sucking on the gub'ment tit working for defense contractors or lobbying groups to channel money into forever wars. The fact that they're worried about a Trump administration is good news as far as I'm concerned. They're worried about their gravy train(s). Just like 51 so called intelligence experts from a related 2020 story...

Post back with any info you find, especially about what you get for the extra $$$ as you go up the Samsung A(x) product line. I suspect it's more processing power and maybe a zoomier display. Then you can make a quantum leap into the other Samsung lines, spending up to 60K baht (and more) for a folding screen. I just don't have F..U.. money for that kind of upgrade, though I don't fault anyone who chooses to go that way. I do have the peanuts (in the big scheme of life) to pop for the A15 or the A25 if they offer a discernable difference in performance or...? Edit: As far as RAM goes... With a tiny screen, I can't multi-task enough to eat up whatever RAM I have, like I can with a ton of programs and tabs open on my laptop. I chose a 128 GB micro-SD card, with the thought that I can replace it with higher capacity if I fill it up. So far, not even close.

I don't know what the A25 gives you above and beyond, but I've been perfectly happy with my A05s, currently selling for less than 5,000 baht. I popped 1000 baht for the "upgrade" over the base model, A05 (I think) which gave me a higher resolution screen. Mine's also a dual SIM model. I think the A15 is available in 5G if that's important to you, for 6,000 baht or so. I've been looking for a backup phone and pricing out the Samsungs since I've always had good luck with Samsung products, starting with my first smartphone, a Galaxy S2 for about $600 USD at the time. 10 or 15 years later, I can buy a more capable phone for 1/4 the money... But the S2 still works AND it has a field replaceable battery. Sadly, I left it in the USA, The main reason for wanting a backup phone is to have an extra media player for those long flights where they no longer allow power banks to be used in flight, and the (older) aircraft don't have USB charging ports. And if my phone does eventually crap out, I can just swap the SIMs to the backup... Edit: I'd add that I'm not a gamer, so I have no clue about gaming performance... Mines' just a communication device that I use to play songs via Bluetooth and videos on flights, mostly.

50+ years ago, I went to 3 different high schools in 3 different states, and each of them had a group or groups of girls that would very willingly have sex with one athlete after another, and sometimes a couple of them at the same time. It was referred to as "pulling a train" and it was usually jocks and musicians on the receiving end. The only time there was trouble was if they ended up pregnant or one of the jocks' girlfriends got jealous and ratted them out. It was despicable behavior, but hardly rape given that the girls were willing participants and age appropriate. If these guys forced, tricked, or drugged the girls, they should be hung up by their nutsacks. Otherwise the charges should be limited to the recordings and the blackmail. When I was that age, you'd have needed an 8mm video camera the size of a basketball to record the goings-on, so that was never an issue back then. (And who can forget that line in the Janis Joplin movie from 30 years ago or so... about doing a whole football team)

I'd be interested to see how Thailand records these 2 fatalities from the same wreck. My understanding is that the guy who died at the scene will be recorded as a road fatality, while the guy who died later, won't.

Clicks is clicks and impressions are the product...

The very best that 300 baht a day can buy. After you take out money for clothing and food and healthcare and...and...

I hope the cops at least investigate the co-resident relatives. It's about as likely that they pushed him out of the window, then blamed it on sleep walking. Shouldn't be too hard to confirm or deny that he actually did have a problem, by asking other relatives who had an alibi.