BoganInParasite

Something very unusual, and whatever it is appears to be spreading to other spots in the US and the globe. In fact it appears to have first manifested around several US bases in the UK. Right now in NJ there appears to be a mix of unexplained drones/UAPs, legit (likely US military/govt) drones and conventional aircraft playing with one another. My gut feel is there is something to worry about going on, perhaps something potentially quite devastating or sinister. Despite the potential downside I find the whole thing fascinating. Loved the temporary closure of Wright-Patterson AFB air space within 24 hours of official US govt statements that there was "nothing to see here".

Scrambled eggs, sauteed mushrooms and ham on buttered toast plus a side of french toast I made using a baguette left over from yesterday's morning bread baking.

I'd say over the last sixteen years I've probably turned the wife down more than she has me, but the number of times is not high at all.

Nothing. Only eat breakfast and a light lunch.

I prefer to pay in cash at a 7 Eleven when booking Air Asia.

Started making my own bread by hand two years ago after being dissatisfied with supermarket options and reliable availability here in northern Nan province. Started simply with a white round loaf oven baked in a cast iron camp oven. Then expanded the range to include a whole wheat loaf, a fruit loaf, then white loaf milk washed and with sesame seeds and a white loaf milk washed and cheddar cheese on top. A bit later mastered white and whole wheat bread rolls. Three months ago tried making white baguettes and they have become our favourite; we make 2-3 times a week now. Have also produced some fruit baguettes and just last week a whole wheat baguette. Really do enjoy it.

My take is that the judges are either sight impaired or only managed to assess six airports.

Silly me thinking the government might be better focused on fixing the housing crisis, or providing relief to the high cost of living, or maybe the environment, etc.

We've been trying to sell land and a 4bed/4bath home (build completed early 2019) in northern Thailand for 30 months without any interest. Priced sensibly, quality build, amazing views, western kitchen, undercover parking for four cars...listed on many websites, plus our own built site and the engagement of what passes for an agent here in the remote rural wilds of northern Thailand, two of them. We are yet to get even one inspection from a genuine buyer. Bit frustrating really.

Yeah nah. Likely just leave before extension due next September and not come back.

An application on my laptop provides online weather updates for my location. It has been noticeable this year that notations of temperature near record or new record (like this morning) were quite frequent. And these have only been for higher temps, not near or new low temp records.

Seen the news today. Not going to be collected by any airline nor applied to Thais.

In the north I'd say Nan. Temps, humidity, rain, etc pretty similar to the other northern provincial capitals but the Nan River valley does seem to have less heavily air polluted days.

A lamentable lack of safety equipment there. Yes I know this is typical of a Thai worksite but hard hats and enclosed shoes would surely be an easy step and cut down on injuries.

Likely at the same rate as less corruption, better education system, better footpaths, burying cables, finishing railway lines (of several types), less social inequality and flood/drought preparation and mitigation.

You've set out enough facts for a sensible person to know it is time to move on. She made is to 27/28 without you, she can survive again that way. By all means help her on her way in a kind and generous manner if you want to feel less bad, but get rid of her. You're young enough to find another.

100% cash in Thailand. The Thai wife is a little more sophisticated and does a lot of online payments and the occasional debit card in-store.

Yeah nah, not keen on this. Happy to move towards a greater percentage to be cashless but cash needs to be there for power/comms outages.

Yeah sure. Another benefit of living in remote rural northern Thailand; no Bangkok style footpaths. Our small town and smallish provincial capital have substantially better footpaths.

My Thai wife was absolutely staggered for several trips to Australia how all cars stop, even if the pedestrian was not yet on the crossing strip. I guess I was as well by the no stopping on my first trip to Thailand.

A noble aim for sure but I'm assigning it to the same category as fixing footpaths, burying cables/power lines, finishing railway lines (of several types) and flood/drought preparation...all have always had unrealistic and constantly missed schedules.

At least a couple of large influential airline/industry associations, the two largest GDSs and several large airlines already told them in no uncertain terms they will not collect it, particularly if it is applied differently (or at all) based on citizenship. In fact the move by the industry towards offer/order sales and the proliferation of a large number of new channels for sales/distribution means that an industry wide application is almost impossible.

My wife's homestay and most other accommodation businesses up here in northern Nan province largely cater to low-mid middle income Thais living in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. No surprise that her sales were down 30% over the past 12 months and based on her monitoring of local competitors via online sales sites, they seem to be doing a bit worse. Not uncommon to get automatic cancellations a week out from the stay when the online booking site is unable to access sufficient funds in the guest's card account.

I've been overpaying.

Zero, nothing the Thai wife or I wear ever gets ironed. She irons quite a few things used in her homestay business but that's it. Even when I was working and we lived in Singapore, Dubai, Brisbane and Phoenix I always had my clothes fully laundered externally. Back then she would iron a few items of her own.