impulse

Every time I take my vehicle in to have it inspected, I always find out if the horn works. Because I never use it. And not just in Thailand...

When the Boeing guy referred to 165,000 fatigue cycles, was he referring to a single test on a selected fuselage to test the design, or ongoing tests on production fuselages? I can't imagine it being the latter... Also, it would be interesting to see what they actually inspected when they claim to have found no fatigue on 689 of the 1100 in service, and how many hours and cycles those inspected planes had. Edit: I can think of a few dozen reasons it can't happen, but it would be interesting to have CCTV cameras in the Boeing assembly area streaming video for the public to see the planes being built. And I can't think of a single reason they shouldn't have CCTV's for the FAA to watch.

So did I, for years. Post Covid, we got a phone call from the ISP on about my 3rd or 4th day back, saying someone on our network was using a VPN and that needed to stop. YMMV, but that was warning enough for me.

Not meaning to call out the OP, but can someone chime in whether it's really practical to buy and register a car on visa exempt status? Possible, probably. (Especially with the help of an agent, and/or in certain areas) But is it really practical? And if so, what's the process? As I recall from buying and registering a pickup on a WP, it was pretty involved and took over a month to smooth over all the paperwork required to do the transfer and registration.

That's a puzzler... The intervention was 2 days later?

I don't recall Biden being elected chief cook and coffee cup washer. Just Commander in Chief, and in charge of the Executive Branch of the gub'ment. Which puts all those disasters right in his wheelhouse. But probably not your coffee cup. But I'm sure someone will be along soon to tell you why Trump is responsible for your broken coffee cup.

And yet, Putin attacked nobody on Trump's watch (as opposed to Obama's and Biden's), Hamas left Israel alone, Iran was broke, there was no net illegal immigration in his last year, and WW3 wasn't in the air. Yet the lefties tie themselves into pretzels trying to blame it all on Trump, when there's a straight line between Biden and the messes around the world, in American cities, and at the border. But there were mean tweets, much worse than the threat of nuclear annihilation.

4% of the world's population, the most expensive health care in the world, and 75% of the world's Covid deaths last month. That says all you need to know about the CDC's credibility. 3,200 deaths in the USA of 4,230 in the entire world. Here's my link: https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths

If 8-10 different groups of right leaning protestors blocked traffic the same way on the same day in multiple cities across the country, they'd be filing RICO charges on them for coordinating.

They could end the foolishness with 1/10 of the effort they put into chasing down right wing protestors. But they won't risk alienating the lefty voters, even the "Death to America" lefties. They track cell phones and infiltrate the right wing groups because they know they're not going to vote the right way anyway. No risk of losing those votes because they're already lost.

I make it worse on myself because I wear shoes, long pants and a collared shirt whenever I go out in public in Thailand. I acclimate myself by not even turning on the A/C on the days I plan to be outside most of the day. More accurately, I set the A/C at about 28, just to knock out the humidity so the place (hotel nowadays) doesn't get musty. If hotel rooms had oscillating fans, that's what I'd use at night, but they usually don't. That's what I use to sleep at home, even in the heat of summer. It's amazing what you (I) can become acclimated to and find perfectly acceptable. Sitting inside all day in the A/C isn't on that list. I'd rather be out and about, even in the heat with my long pants. Getting acclimated is a lot like getting on an exercise program. It sucks for a day or so, but then I find myself happier when that gets to be the normal.

Some of them need to be in prison. But others are only guilty of walking through doors held open by cops and security waving them in. In any non-dystopian world, that would be called entrapment. But not in the 92.1% Biden voting Washington DC, and by the Biden controlled DOJ. But that's not the point. The point is that if you are going to stand up for the 1st amendment rights on the left, it's hypocritical (but completely unsurprising) to then clamp down on free speech from the other side. Like Dem senators actually raising bail for BLM rioters who burned down city blocks, then demanding long prison sentences for gawkers walking through an open door into the Capitol. Also, if you're following the current Supreme Court case, there's some pointed questions being asked about the unequal application of the laws that they may or may not have violated in quite a few contemporary cases, including Trump cases and Jan6.

The river's actually pretty nice up there.

I'm not doubting your experience, but I wonder whether you were really "nearly kicked out", or just pulled aside for extra scrutiny? Just before Covid, entering by land from Malaysia, I was "pulled aside for extra scrutiny". I wasn't aware that it was a Malaysian holiday and there was a huge scrum to get in. I think the first IO took pity on the only white face, way back in the huge crowd. So she pulled me out of line and into the "Big Guy's" office. Then the big guy was curious why in the world I came by land. Short story, I always wanted to try a train trip from KL to BKK. I just picked a bad weekend for it. First and last time I'll ever make that trip. It was pretty miserable, aside from the stopover in Penang, which is worth a visit. Bottom line, I never felt like I was "nearly denied entry", though they had the discretion, since I was on visa exempt. And that's why I always wear long pants, a collared shirt and a smile through immigration. And carry cash and extra socks and undies, just in case I do get the boot.

The linked article says BB guns. But are they really BB guns (metallic BB's), or are they Airsoft guns (plastic pellets)?

You mean like the 1st Amendment rights of the Jan 6 protestors? Because you can't have it both ways. Unless you're a Dem. Then, you can have the FBI go after concerned parents at school board meetings while giving a pass to liberals shouting "Death to America". 'Cause conservatives are a threat to democracy and liberals will probably vote your way, right?

There's no "cult of Biden" because Biden doesn't stand for anything, except buying votes and delivering for donors.

I wouldn't go down that rabbit hole. All they need is one dude to service the reproductive needs of 10,000 wimmuns. 20 or 30 dudes could service an entire city and prevent in-breeding... And with anyone able to identify as whatever gender they want, they could do it with 20-30 "women" like Lia Thomas. Edit: But God save the city if any of them get a flat tire...

Head over to Old Siam Plaza in Bangkok Chinatown and you'll see that Thailand isn't one of them. Dozens of gun shops within a stone's throw. But eye watering prices...

If they did a GoFundMe to raise this guy's bail, half the guys here on AN would kick in.

Using a WW2 analogy, we currently have the equivalent of the Brits and the Yanks sending France weapons and money to kill Krauts. All that would have caused is more deaths. Ukraine is a spent force. The only way for Ukraine to get back Crimea and Donbass is NATO boots on the ground. That means WW3, millions dead, and the prospect of nuclear annihilation. Many of us don't think it's worth it. That doesn't make us Russian apologists. Just realists.

Is that possible at age 16?

The problem isn't what we read. It's what they're not revealing. Like a cause of death, a toxicology result, or even a statement whether they suspect foul play. Zip. Nada. Just that it's an open case. Is there any surprise that social media is filling in the blanks with wild conspiracies, especially with the Burmese duo making the news? Solving the case is just one of the jobs of the police. The other is to communicate with the public, especially on an island that counts on tourist money. Gotta wonder how many British holidaymakers have changed their plans since the news hit.

Ukraine already lost. Crimea, on Obama's watch and Donbass, on Biden's watch. They've made no meaningful progress on any front for over a year, in spite of tens (hundreds?) of thousands of deaths and $Billions of treasure squandered. I'd like to see the killing and the dying stop, and those $Billions spent on rebuilding what's left. Or, you can keep poking the bear, then lament what you've pretty much forced him to do.

The last year in Thailand, every hotel I've stayed in posted notices of a 2000 baht fine for smoking in the room. And most of them don't have an in-room balcony.