impulse

She has every right to sell 'em. And I have every right not to buy them or wear them (or hide them in my closet). How simple was that?

That's reasonable. But if you do the permutations of the systems (Win, Linux, Android, IOS, Harmony, etc), multiply by the number of browsers available, then add in the idiosyncrasies of all the different locations (like the Great Firewall), that's a tall order to test them all. Add in the language confusion of even the English speaking travelers (is it residence or nationality? etc). I'm not sure that software engineers can emulate the Ludditism of their target demographic, no matter what their budget. The earlier they get real world feedback, the less of a chance of a true catastrophe.

That's just 2 different philosophies... One's valid for mega corporations with thousands of technical staff and huge budgets and a presence in every possible scenario. (Like behind the Great Firewall, where I can't access the site at all.) I know a lot of AN posters would be thrilled, but it would be a real kick in TAT's nuts if Chinese tourism dropped to zero on day 1 of the rollout.

Not on most of the 80+ flights I've taken in the past 2 years to and from China. Maybe 1 in 10, and none of the most common, 737-800's.

Especially since there's a lot of airlines banning power banks on flights, so a lot of passengers arrive with dead smartphones. That's been a learning curve for me flying the Chinese airlines where power banks can't be used in flight. Making sure I don't run out of battery.

It's probably not targeted at the 95-99% you're talking about. My guess is that it's for the 1-5% that come to Thailand to avoid jail back home, run some drugs, or for some other nefarious purpose. In theory, this gives them 3 more days to do their diligence.

I don't agree. They're probably identifying quite a few problems as posters here access the site from the real world, using real browsers, and asking real world questions. Better they find them before the rollout than after.

For a 45 year old take on the subject, listen to The Blues Brothers' "Green Onions". I recently rediscovered the song (and album) and it seemed more relevant today than in 1979.

Well, if you see a sudden 100% drop in Chinese tourism... I'd add that I have tried on 3 of my installed browsers. So that's not it.

This is one of those threads that screams out for an interlock device where you have to blow into the tube at less than 0.2% BAC before you're allowed to use the keyboard.

That would be super convenient for a site that's required to get permission to enter the country... Are there any other posters accessing it from their home country? Maybe it is just a pre-rollout condition.

Nope. Here's what I get: I can't tell where it's being blocked. Could be by the originator, or it could be by the Great Firewall.

Not here in China. Clicking the link results in a time-out message.

I love the BTS and the MRT. But I feel for the poor folks who queue up every time they get on one or the other, instead of buying a stored value card (one for each system, but no big deal). To anyone reading this who is paying one journey at a time, take your passport and buy a stored value card. It won't save too much time when it's quiet, but it saves a ton of time when it's jammed up. I top up my cards when there's no queue at the windows. No passport required to top up. Strangely, my new K-Bank debit card didn't work on the Visa option when I tested it. But, oh well. And I'm still getting the Elder discount on the MRT, grandfathered in, in spite of being a Yank. (I hope I didn't just jinx it)

Call me cynical, but swapping out one regime for another has been pretty hit and miss in the Middle East.

Just the other day, there was a thread about the long wait on hold at Social Security. Turns out that 40% of their incoming calls are fraudsters calling to have someone's benefits funneled into a different bank account. How anyone can be against ferreting out that kind of thing is beyond me to understand. Unless they have the syndrome, or they're benefitting from it.

If you do that, they'll just be washing up on another Euro beach in a few weeks. They need to go to prison. For a long time.

Under the premise that a picture is worth 1000 words... Here's one of those typical lefty "intellectuals".

Agreed. Look up the history of summer vacation from school and even spring break. Both were implemented to allow the kids to help around the farm. I'm not seeing where any kids are being forced to work when they don't want to. Just given the opportunity.

Not to worry. AOC and Maxine will soon be begging for bail money.

By "intellectuals", do you mean the ones that can't define what a woman is, because it's too complicated? Buh bye to them. Don't let that door hit you where the Good Lord split you.

You can have a reasonable, even meaningful dialog with someone who refuses to buy Bud Light. You can't reason with people who sneak around burning down TESLAs and TESLA shops.

Jan 6 was a few hours. BLM was almost 8000 protests over months and months, with thousands of cops injured, $$billions in property damage, almost 100 cop cars torched, and entire city centers destroyed. Not to mention a lot of big screen TVs and sneakers stolen.

Especially for the ones claiming "safe and effective" and suggesting we all eat bugs so John Kerry can jet all over the world to climate conferences.

There were 100 ways Bernie could have handled that question, even turning the tables on the interviewer. He chose poorly.