impulse

That's one opinion. Just like the Maine SOS's opinion. Quite a few Repub SOS's and election officials don't share that opinion. Deliberately allowing unvetted illegals to flow across the border doesn't sit well with them.

IMO, you're overthinking this. I chose to go on SS when I qualified for Medicare at 65, simply so I don't have to come out of pocket the $150-200 a month to pay into Medicare. Nor do I need to take any action on a monthly basis. Since I don't need the funds, they accumulate in my bank account and unless I do something stupid like buy a boat or some other toy that I don't need, the funds will still be there when I turn 70 and offset the lower payments I'll be receiving. (Unless I die in the meantime, then my heirs will get the $$$) The idea that I can predict Thai tax law, Thai (or Mexican) retirement requirements, the date of my death, interest rates, or any of 100 other unknown variables didn't figure into my decision. My crystal ball just isn't that good. Edit: That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the good flow of information. I'm open to the possibility I made a booboo.

You could easily say the same about the deliberate neglect of protecting the sovereign borders of the USA. The results would be just as wrong.

Gosh, here's a thought. Why not let the American voters decide? Are Dems that contemptuous of American voters that they won't allow us to decide?

You guys keep getting caught up in the minutia. I'm just saying that personnel operating indigenous equipment, with native language and idiosyncrasies geared toward their own experiences, are going to outperform someone operating imported equipment that they've trained on for months, and not years or decades. Using myself as an example, I will always be more competent driving on the right side of the road. That's the way I grew up. I've done millions of km driving on that side, and shifting with my right hand. Stick me in my Thai pickup truck and I was marginally proficient, in spite of years and tens of thousands of km driving Thai roads. I do enjoy watching air crash documentaries, and there are quite a few of Soviet pilots crashing Boeings and Airbuses because they're different. The autopilots act differently and even the attitude indicator is different. Uke pilots have trained in Soviet aircraft for decades. They'll be marginally proficient in F16's, for years. Just like I am driving on the left.

If they think they're going to prevail up against Russkie pilots with decades of experience flying Russkie jets, they're going to be in for a rude (but short) awakening. Minimally proficient is the best they can expect after a few months of training.

To get a 95% chance of being within 5% of the right answer, they'd need to poll 385 random people in a population of 67 million. That's just the way statistics work... And the people who do those surveys know how to reach out to "random people". Whether they do or not, I don't claim to know. https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/sample-size-calculator/

They're probably minimally proficient. Try this... Borrow a friend's Thai language cell phone and see how well you navigate it. And understand that an air defense system probably has 10x as many knobs and menu selections. Then hand it to a 6 year old Thai kid and see how much better he does. That's the difference between a native language user and someone who's spent a few months training (and getting drunk at night) in the US desert.

Took awhile to find this, since I'm sure they'd rather we didn't. It took 244 years from 1776 to 2020 for the USA to get to 3.26 million illegal immigrants wandering around the country. It took Biden less than 3 years to get that number up to 6.2 million. And those are just the ones they have paperwork on. Counting getaways, I suspect Biden doubled the number in just 3 years. https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/iceAnnualReportFY2023.pdf The Biden administration’s ICE authorities carried out 142,580 deportations in fiscal year 2023, according to an agency report released Friday. (while adding 1.44 million to the "Non-Detained docket" Deportation amounted to less than 10% of net arrivals.) https://dailycaller.com/2023/12/30/ice-held-less-37000-migrants-in-detention-2023-while-more-6-million-went-free-report-shows/

Gosh. I like to hear what both sides have to say. But if I'm ruining the acoustics of your echo chamber, feel free to put me on ignore. In fact, I'd prefer if you did. And to answer your question, since it was Russkies operating Russkie made, Russkie language air defense missiles in Belgorod, they probably do better than Ukes operating English language air defenses.

That's a lot of factoids. With absolutely nada to back them up.

Just curious... Has anyone actually sharpened theirs? I just replaced the blades. Which, of course, limits the choices to brands that I can find blades for.

Good info...

I don't know about Oz, but my banks closed all my US bank accounts (checking and savings) when they figured out I was no longer a resident of the USA. My investment accounts stayed open, but that was a PITA to work out of for month to month stuff. Same thing happened to my (much wealthier) brother when he worked in Kazakhstan.

Here's an even better candidate for a Darwin award... Seen it quite a few times, drunks popping off rounds into the air to celebrate the New Year. Las Vegas MGM Grand wasn't a good place to do that after recent history. It'll be interesting to see what the guy's story is. It wouldn't be funny had there been any injuries... That's why I suspect hope the guy was just drunk. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/12/developing-massive-police-swat-response-signature-mgm-grand/

I can't help but wonder if anyone's been caught out by a paperwork snafu that would delay one month's deposit. I'd certainly have tight sphincter condition based on some experiences with international wire transfers where a single digit or errant letter caused me grief. Usually it was my paycheck and quickly straightened out. I'd hope SS deposits would go smoothly once they were dialed in. But... Anyone have a horror story?

The problem (as I see it) with hydrogen is that you're just pushing the problem up or down the supply chain. It takes energy to split H2O into H2 and O2. That energy has to come from somewhere. In that respect, it's like charging an EV using electricity produced in a coal (or gas) fired power plant. Contrast that to oil and natural gas that comes out of the ground with the energy built in, over eons, by nature. I'm not saying that EV's and hydrogen don't have a place, and technology and infrastructure isn't developing that make it cleaner and more sustainable. Just that you have to look at the whole energy chain to figure out whether they're doing right by the planet, or just virtue signaling.

Heavy on the "without a trial". In the Maine case, there was no open discussion, no opportunity to defend himself or present an argument on his behalf. Just a unilateral decision by a partisan hack. If there's anyone that doesn't bother, I don't understand their thinking. Because it may be you or yours that they come after next. Edit: I'd add that I didn't respond to Tug's post, because if he had substituted "Biden" for "Trump" he'd probably be getting a visit from the FBI.

The issue that I have with that (and not with you) is the politicians and greenies wanting to mandate EV's and eliminate ICE's completely. Long before, IMO, the EV's and infrastructure will be ready for prime time. That's a bet they're willing to take on my (our) behalf. Me, not so much. I think they're counting on changing our lifestyle as opposed to developing the tech and the charging infrastructure. For me in my last year in Thailand, I was hanging out with a woman that liked to spend weekends in a Wat around 3 Pagodas. So 2-3 times a month I'd fire up the pickup, pick her up after work and off we'd go. My kayak lived on top the pickup with a recumbent bike in the bed, so hiring a van wasn't a viable option. (I do question the wisdom of hanging out with her, since it never went anywhere.) Back home in Texas, I lived on Galveston Island and had family in Austin and deep East Texas. An EV would have been ideal around the island and my brother has a Prius for just that reason. For road trips, my Toyota Sienna takes me there and allows me to nap on a cot in the back since I recognized the danger of tired driving. The cot won't fit in the Prius and I can't tow the boats to the neighborhood boat ramp with it, either. Take away my ICE and I'll have to pay someone to launch the boats. And that's not cheap.

I wonder if this is one of the times that they haven't quite got it dialed in yet and it asks for a Thai ID #, but it should really ask for Thai ID# or PIN, depending on context? Please post back next time you try it and let us know if there's any changes.

Looking at their website, they apparently can't send the Wise cards to an address in Thailand, either. Nor to China, where I'm currently staying because of a personal issue. I guess that's good info, to get your Wise account set up back home before you come to Thailand... And keep your back home SIM activated internationally (which mine is, ouch)

Good info. I didn't realize there was a fee. Still, between a 55 baht fee and slogging down to the branch and waiting an hour in the queue, I'd pay the 55. Wouldn't be happy about it, but I'd pay it.

Works great if that's your lifestyle. I generally go on 2-3 road trips a month that exceed EV range. I've said before, if I ever become a multi-vehicle family (of one person) again, my main vehicle will be an EV. It works for 70-90% of my driving. But I can't see having an EV as my only vehicle, because of the 10-30% of road tripping. In fact, when I lived in Thailand, the only time I fired up the pickup was for road trips on weekends. During the week, I was a BTS/MRT/taxi fan.

Just spitballing here, because maybe I don't understand the issue... Would it be possible to do a cash deposit at a CDM using the one debit card, then move those funds from that account to your other accounts using your debit card at an ATM? Before I left Thailand, I loaned some baht to a workmate and she paid me back over a period of about 2 years while I was a Covid refugee back home. Obviously, she didn't need my debit card to deposit money to my account. Just my account number. (And there was no question who was sending me the money, it came from her account) I also recall making some purchases where I was able to use my debit card at a Thai ATM to pay 3rd parties for the goodies, with just their acct #.. I don't recall incurring any fees for either of those. Or has something changed above and beyond requiring CDM deposits to identify who's putting in the cash?

My brain leaks when I sleep, but I recall several years ago, I had to open a package I was mailing at Thai Post to show them the contents before they would accept the package. Again foggy in my memory, but it may have been during a time when Thailand was in a heightened security mode, like after the temple bombing. Anyone have a more recent experience at Thai Post?