impulse

Not good at English? Could they be Scottish? I literally had to lipread when I had meetings with a couple of Scottish guys I worked with. Great guys and extremely competent. Just hard for this Texan to understand. Perhaps the guy with the watch got mad at being filmed because he didn't want to get deported for a WP violation. Or it may just be the watch was fake.

Perhaps they just want to reduce the tourists who would consider $9 a show stopper.

Nice eyes, slim ankles, and IBT's. These are a few of my favorite things... Edit: I would concede that there have been times recently when my fantasies were dashed when the masks came off to eat or drink.

Man, I feel for you. Not because I have kids, but because I remember the stupid stuff I did that had to embarrass my conservative, engineer Dad. I cringe to this day.

Good information, but beyond my comfort level, reading about power banks that occasionally burst into flames. And looking at the complexity inside, I'm reminded of the old stickers on stuff when I was growing up: "No user serviceable parts inside". (Which I, of course, took as a challenge) My fine work soldering skills have also gone downhill as I get old and shaky, not to mention that healthcare issue that started recently when I "followed the science" But I often get deleted when I talk about that, so I'll just go with old and shaky. I did find some data condoms in Chinatown today, but they were made for kids, with shells that look like tiny critters and comic book characters. So I passed.

It is true. Even a blind squirrel finds an occasional nut.

Good news if you believe the statistics. But the FBI's recent changes to the Uniform Crime Reporting Program have made it anything but uniform, with a lot of local enforcement agencies struggling with the system, and thousands of them don't even report. So... The FBI is using more estimates (guesses, and in the leadup to an election)... Color me skeptical of any statistics coming out of the Biden DOJ. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/19/fbi-data-shows-us-crime-plummeted-2023

But how much bigger could it be had they not alienated a lot of their fanbase?

Read 3 Felonies a Day, then come back and say whether it's a good idea to prosecute your opponents, knowing they can prosecute you next time. In fact, just read the Amazon synopsis of the book, which basically says we all break the laws because they're written so complex that it's impossible not to. Elections have always been like making sausage, with participants pushing the bounds of law and going over the line. Both sides. Eventually, the Dems are going to have to prosecute all 126 Republican house members who signed the Amicus Brief supporting the Texas vs Pennsylvania filing by Ken Paxton. Then the hundreds of Repubs from the 17 states that filed their own Amicus Briefs in support. Maybe some folks think it's a good idea, but I think that's a prelude to chaos, maybe even a Civil War. At the very least, payback is inevitable, unless they manage to lock up all their opponents.

Not really. A big part of old timey racing was watching cars that looked a lot like the one in your driveway. Because that's what they modified to go faster. They lost a lot of that appeal. Sure, they make more money than ever. But how much more would they make if they hadn't alienated so much of their fan base? I love going to Friday night at the local track to watch modified grocery getters. I wouldn't cross the street for a Formula 1 race.

You know what else creates jobs? Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and buildings falling down. And they're all about as beneficial as Biden's foreign policy, fiscal policy and border policy. But they do create jobs... Some in red states.

The best laid plans... If it's any consolation, both the phone and the charger are at 100%. Edit: I may have lied about data condoms being easy to find on Lazada. I'm limited on search patience looking at a tiny screen sitting in an airport departure gate, but no luv so far. There's zillions on Amazon.

That was my fear... Good info. I'll test my cheapo power bank with my laptop, at my Chinatown hotel. And I'll buy another data condom in Khlong Thom market. They're super cheap there, but easier to find on Lazada. But I won't be in BKK long enough to count on Lazada.

So far, it seems to be working. I'll let you know in about 40 minutes when the phone says it'll be fully charged. I learn something on each trip... Sometimes even useful stuff.

Normally, I carry a data condom (USB-C Male x USB-C Female, with most of the pins blanked). This trip, I accidentally bought a ticket with a 4050 baht adder for a checked bag. So I packed light (short trip) and left behind my big bag o' cables, which also normally includes a charge only cable from my shaver, also left behind in favor of a lightweight blade. All I have is a cable to feed the power bank, and one from the power bank to the phone. Hopefully a one time problem. But a problem this trip. I'd add that, in several airports I frequent (China) the public chargers only have 3 or 4 cables with different tips for USB-C, Micro-USB and Firewire. No 220v available. That's why I bought the data condom adapter. Thanks, both for the advice.

I'm sitting on a long layover and wanted to charge my cell. The airport charging ports look so inviting, but I worry that they may be perusing my phone for nefarious purposes. Normally, I save my power bank only for when I need it, when there's no available power. Today I decided to use the power bank between the phone and the airport charger, as a data condom. I'm hoping the result is keeping the power bank charged up while using it to charge the phone, with no chance my phone's memory is being downloaded and scoured for bank numbers, etc. Is there a flaw in that plan? "Google it" is not a helpful answer since Google is blocked here and Bing returns mostly non-English responses...and it's sloooow.

I thought there were reciprocal treaties where US (for example) licenses were acceptable for a limited time with no IDP required. And Thai licenses are accepted in the USA, for a limited time.

Walls are great, but not needed. Just a rule that, if you cross illegally, you will not be considered for any asylum claims, work permit, or gub'ment funded bennnies. IOW, there's no path to work or legalization unless you enter legally. First offense... Go back and start over, down the legal path. And the 2nd time you cross illegally, it's a lifetime ban on legalization. Ever.

You mean like what the Dems did to Bernie? And tried to do to Bush?

Dems better be careful what they wish for. Just about every candidate puts together a slate of alternate electors in states where the voting is close. Gore had 'em. Hillary had 'em. Obama had 'em. Start prosecuting alternate electors on the right and you can guaranty they'll start prosecuting them on the left.

2 questions, the first rhetorical: 1) I wonder if there are visa "agents" in Mexico? 2) Is there a decent expat/visa blog?

Russia's already got the Crimea (under Obama). They have the Donbass. (Under Biden). They've already had elections in both, whether to stay in Russia or revert to Ukraine. And there is no way to win those back in a ground war against Russia. Not going to happen, even with all the Ukrainians left, fighting to the death. Those, Russia will rebuild (and based on GDP per capita, those residents will have a better quality of life than the Ukrainians) That leaves about 90% of pre-war Ukraine to rebuild. Or, you can completely annihilate the rest of an entire generation of Ukrainian men. Then rebuild. That's the only question... How many more to die before accepting the L.

I'm not disagreeing, because I don't know. You got a link for that? This is one American that supports rebuilding Ukraine with loans that could be forgiven under the right incentives, but not a dime more to perpetuate the killing in a war that's already been lost. And that doesn't make me a fan of Putin or Russia. Just a realist that worries about WW3. And what will happen to Israelis if the USA gets sucked into wars in Europe and the Pacific?

In spite of the commission, you'd probably net more using a good agent. Plus, a good one can keep you out of a lot of pitfalls (which would be a major consideration for me, if selling in a foreign country). That's assuming you can find a good one. So this isn't an endorsement of agents in general. Just good ones. The OP may want to ask if anyone knows a good one in the area that they'd recommend. You can always choose a different path after you've interviewed some (and gotten some free advice about how to price the property). Other bonus... Once you've signed on with one, the rest of them won't pester the snot out of you.

A billion here, a billion there, and eventually you're talking about real money. Since its founding America has given $260B to Israel. Add interest, and the Present Value of that aid is probably close to $1Trillion. I'd add that the US is the biggest donor to Israel, when that should be the Europeans who actually perpetrated the Holocaust. But we're a soft touch for the Israeli lobby. Don't even get me started on Epstein and blackmail... Or the USS Liberty. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2023-10-10/how-much-aid-does-the-u-s-give-to-israel