impulse

For years, I have loved my Garmin Magellan GPS navigators with 6 and 7" screens. Both in Thailand and in the USA, they worked great, though they didn't warn of traffic jams ahead. And I also liked using my Motorola smartphone with Google maps, which did warn of traffic jams ahead. Again, a 6-7" screen. Lately, I've spent a lot of time in Chinese taxis, mostly EVs that have beautiful 12" and larger navigation screens. Not only do they point out traffic ahead, they also tell the driver how long before that next light turns green or red. I can even see the screens from the back seat where I often ride. They beat the crap out of my 6-7" Garmins for ease of seeing what's going on at a quick glance. To the point of envy on my part. My question is whether anyone can recommend an aftermarket navigator that's available in Thailand with big honkin' screen for an old fart like myself. I found quite a few on Lazada, but I'm not sure they're compatible with Google Maps (or any other navigation app). And the solution may even be simpler, buying a nice bright 10"- 15" LTE Android tablet and figuring out how to mount it on the dash or console. So what I'm really looking for is input from guys who have good (or bad) luck with configurations they've actually tried in Thailand. Preferably solutions that don't include ponying up the cost of a new EV or ICE... That's a separate decision. Also handy would be suggestions for traffic apps that may work better in Thailand than Google Maps (if there are any). Thanks in advance for any helpful input.

Thai welders and craftsmen in our land operations and on our offshore platforms did outstanding work. World class. With the exodus from Thailand of so many international oil and gas companies over the past few years, I'd imagine a lot of good welders are available. It's just a shame seeing them have to leave Thailand to make a decent living. I'd rather see the Korean companies invest in building Thai shipyards. But, oh well. Maybe they're wondering why so many foreign companies bailed on Thailand? Or maybe they already know...

Strange that in almost all of the photos I've seen of thugs with guns from Haiti, they've usually had Soviet (and FSU) AK47's. And I doubt they were bought at retail in Florida or Georgia, where even a 2nd hand AK47 sells for hundreds of $$$. And AR15's cost just as much and more. More likely they came from elsewhere, where they can be bought for less than $100. There is, of course, a possibility that they traversed Florida or Georgia on their way to Haiti, but that's not due to any laxity in their gun laws. More like lack of enforcement of customs laws. Which are federally, not state enforced (or not). Who's in charge of that nowadays, I wonder?

The more obvious they're treating him differently than any other candidate and former president in history, the more support and votes he picks up. Remind me, did he read classified stuff to his ghostwriter? Or was that someone else?

I wonder if he woke up with that strange tattoo the next day? And whether he was pitching or catching...

Asked and answered.

Just to be clear, I'm not advocating trying it on, unless you want to risk being one of those OPs who wonder why they got denied even though they're technically not breaking any rules. Just pointing out that it's an interesting glitch in The Matrix. Edit: And I'm not sure I envy the guy who tries to explain what a "calendar year" is to an irate IO, especially since I don't have a Thai copy of the rules, nor do I know how "calendar year" even translates into Thai. And I don't know which calendar they're referring to. Isn't it 2567 in Thailand, and coming up on a New Year?

Whatever the OP decides to do, I hope he'll post back with his result. More of an American thing than a British thing, I'd be concerned they'd stop it just because it's so easy to package drugs to look like food. $100 worth of sealing equipment and another $100 worth of printed pouches, and boom. Edit: BTW, it wasn't always like that.

Years ago, I was looking for an accessory for my pickup and found myself wandering that street. It was amazing what you could find there, and I suspect that very few foreigners knew about it. I sure didn't see any in a few hours that day, or on subsequent visits which were more laser focused on shops and stuff I had seen before. I hope they don't screw it up. If anyone's been there recently, let us know what it's like for an old fart like most of the guys tuned in here. The fact that it's hip, slick and cool probably appeals to people much younger than myself. Related, I wonder if the popularity has to do with the development of the park in that area from a few years back? Anyone know?

I'll think about a Rolex when it can count my steps, take my pulse, measure my pulse-ox, tell me where I am by GPS, let me know who's calling my phone, keep perfect time, alert me when I set it to, and do all that (and more) for less than $400 like my Garmin. Or just keep perfect time and cost less than $25 like my Casio. Right now, I'm looking at a Casio dive watch for $50 and I can't even seem to pull the trigger there. Seems like a waste... Too many watches already. I only have 2 wrists. I guess I'm not in their target demographic, though I'm sure Rolex has a catchier name, like "discerning gentlemen".

On a per boink basis, I'd bet the average 2 week tourist spends more than most of the cheap Charlies that have to scrape up the 800K to stay another year. Of course, there are exceptions in both camps. Begpackers who stay in $5 hostels, and expats who are absolutely loaded. But on the average, I'd bet the tourists on holiday spend more per day, if only because holiday makers aren't as tight when they're enjoying their 2 weeks off. I know I'm looser with my money when I'm on holiday, and always have been.

If you can tell, it's a hack job.

Watsons may have been clearing out the inventory of black hair dye. Old farts like a good deal...

They're looking for volunteers for that study.

Years ago, when I first moved to Asia, my nieces and nephews asked me to bring them fake Rolexes like the one I gave my Dad. He appreciated the irony, because he wouldn't have worn a real Rolex if he got it for free. He just wasn't that kind of guy. I declined my nieces and nephews because of the case in my hometown (Sugarland, TX) a few years earlier where a high school kid was murdered for his watch. One of my neighbors' kids was the murderer. I had this picture of one of my nephews getting his arm cut off for a $15 Rolex. I bought a couple of fake Rolexes in Mexico back in the '80s and they were absolute garbage. But some of the fakes in Asia are beautiful. I'm not a Rolex owner so I don't know if they have tells, but they are very nice looking. So are some of the other brand fakes. The Asian fakes I gave my Dad ran for years and only stopped when he quit winding them. There's a corner in Bangkok where you can order one out of a catalog from half a dozen different vendors, right out in the open. And that's probably one of many places. Regarding the guy in the OP, as long as he didn't hold them out as real, I hope he gets off lightly on criminal charges. And let Rolex try their luck in a civil lawsuit.

When I was a kid in the USA of the '60s, we had Chevy dealers, Ford dealers, Buick dealers, etc. Nowadays, we have dealers who sell Fords and Toyotas and whatever, off the same patch of asphalt. I don't know what dynamic drove that consolidation, whether it was a change in the balance of power between dealers and mfg's or what. But I anticipate we'll see the same thing where the ICE dealers also sell EV's of a different brand off the same piece of asphalt. (Not the same lot, mind you. They usually seem to be separated by a row of flags. But the same asphalt and the same dealer's name.)

That sounds like the 3rd grade kid who rats out his classmate for chewing gum because it's against the rules. And he can't do it... Thai authorities are going to do what they're going to do. I don't object to that. But take me out back and shoot me if I get so petty as to rat out someone for a WP violation. They're not hurting me or mine.

I break fewer than the guys who indulge in short time intimacy. In fact, I can't think of a Thai law I have broken since my first 3 months in LOS when I jumped the gun on my WP because the agency that approves them only meet a few times a year. So, like most of my compadres, I started working before I had a WP, though the application was in. Technically illegal, but well accepted. That was 13 years ago. Be careful what you wish for when you clap like a seal because someone's deported for behavior you don't like. They may be coming for you next.

Couldn't GAF about ratting them out, much less wishing they'd be deported for a victimless crime like that. But I am curious about the formalities... Whose name are the vehicles registered in? Whose name are they insured under (if any)? Are the businesses even registered at all? And if so, under what structure and in whose name? How is it that the popo don't seem to mind?

Take me out back and put me out of my misery if I ever get petty enough to rat out a foreigner for violating WP laws.

Back to the OP, I'm surprised anyone thinks the take up of EV's isn't going to cannibalize sales of ICE's. With the Thai population apparently shrinking, I'd expect the entire auto market to shrink some. Unless, of course, gub'ment policies actually increase wages so more Thais can afford to buy a 4 wheeler instead of a scooter. Then the auto market may grow. But that ain't gonna happen.

Kudos to you for that. I mean that sincerely. But your heirs (and the lawyers representing them in the after crash lawsuit) could make the case the airline was negligent in sticking you somewhere you couldn't reasonably be expected to evacuate in time.

A risk they're willing to take until the lawsuit, when their attorneys will excoriate the airline. I wouldn't be surprised if the VietJet limitations come from their liability insurance carriers. Or even the airline regulators who can calculate how long it takes to evacuate someone with a given disability. Or rather, how much time it adds to evacuating the whole plane.

With the advent of Google Maps, Google Earth, and some pretty cheap mapping software, I can't imagine it would be hard to identify every encroaching structure without ever leaving the comfort of the Land Office. If only they wanted to...

Carbon based life on earth sprung up and evolved in an environment where there's liquid water as a universal solvent. I suspect we'll find that life also sprung up where liquid methane is the universal solvent, maybe based on silicon instead of carbon. Too cold for "life as we know it", but perfectly conducive to other chemical processes. But we won't see it if all we're looking for is carbon based life.