Monomial

It varies depending on the service, but generally the driver gets whatever the delivery fee is for your order, plus "incentives" from the particular service you are using (Grab/Line/Food Panda/etc.). These incentives are used to make sure the drivers are always available to accept an order, and are adjusted to maximize profits for the delivery service.  If there are many drivers available at a particular time and location, the additional incentive will be zero, and the driver will only get the delivery charge you see on your bill. On highly unattractive locations, times of the day, or on holidays, the incentive will be higher to guarantee someone is willing to accept the delivery.

The delivery service itself charges the restaurant a very hefty fee. Usually around 30% - 40% of the food bill. So they are the ones really making a killing.

Assuming they do a reasonable number of deliveries, yes, they are well compensated for their efforts.

3 hours ago, J Town said:

They're not even considered a living thing.

They are, however, considered organic. And unlike dirt, they evolve just as life evolves in a way that will maximize the strains that are most likely to survive. You can look at this as a form of rudimentary intelligence, albeit one easily explained by simple processes and mathematics and dependent on random fluctuations rather than specific intent.

So "dangerous dirt" is a bad analogy. Dirt doesn't change and react to your actions. A virus can.

If this is actually true - that herd immunity is impossible - then it becomes even more critical we stop all this ridiculous lockdown nonsense and border closures and get on with the normal processes of living.

The current situation is untennable as a permanent lifestyle.  We just have to accept the virus as a risk the same way we accept car accidents as a risk.  Let the medical community concentrate on treatment options just as they did with HIV, and let everyone else concentrate on getting back to living their lives and letting the human race adapt to the new conditions.

This is not an extinction level event. It's time to put this behind us. A virus that resists immunity also can't be eradicated. Best we stop trying now. We need to evolve to overcome its effects.

This is probably one of the most balanced reports on this particular incident I have seen. Seems the NY Times still tries to uphold at least the appearance of journalism standards.

They put the words "Covid party" in quotes; admit there is no supporting evidence to attest that this was genuinely a Covid party; that in fact past reports of Covid parties have fallen apart; that the San Antonio health department said its contact tracers did not have any information “that would confirm" (editor added "or deny" in parenthesis) that such an event happened; that the family of the deceased declined to comment; and that the only source of information was the word of the chief medical officer.

I obviously don't think the chief medical officer made this up, but in my experience doctors often have selective hearing, especially when they have a passionate belief in wanting to get patients to act in a certain way. They tend to embelish...a lot in many cases. I can certainly believe the good doctor may have added some questionable details and color to the story in order to make a point she strongly believed in.

So this incident really does nothing to help any of us. Everyone knows this virus is not a "hoax", but that doesn't mean that the lockdown, close the borders and stay at home brigade is taking the right approach to dealing with this new predicament the human race is in. This is still a battle of different personal value systems, rather than any kind of genuine science.

5 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

Lets have a Covid 19 party ... How stupid can one be ?

 

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/30-year-texan-dies-after-attending-a-covid-party

 

“Someone will be diagnosed with the disease, and they’ll have a party to invite their friends over to see if they can beat the disease. They don’t look really sick. But when you check their oxygen levels and their lab tests, they’re really sicker than they appear,”

The young Texan told a nurse caring for him… “‘You know, I think I made a mistake.”

She told reporters that the man considered the disease was a media hoax.

“He thought he was young and invincible and wouldn’t get affected by the disease.”

 

I won't call this a hoax or fake news. However, do look at the facts. This story has been widely reported by hundreds of media outlets. Absolutely NONE of them identify any facts about this party, other than it was in San Antonio.

How many people were at the party? Did anyone try to interview anyone else at the party? Did even a single reporter followup with friends and family of the deceased to find out how they feel about the party? Did anyone else at the party get sick? Is anyone else at the party going to get tested now? Has the state or any medical or research institution tried to contact this group to do followup testing to gather valuable insight about the nature of how this virus can spread in a youth population? A party like this is a perfect opportunity to do contact tracing, because a large percentage of the people are going to know someone else at the party, and like any social group, there is usually one super friend who knows hundreds of them and can contact all of them in an instant via social media.

These are basic questions and activities from journalism 101 that any genuine reporter would have attempted to ask. Worse, nobody at this alleged party has stepped forward to provide the other side of this story. Presumably, being a party of skeptics, there will be hundreds or thousands of skeptics who will not want to accept this media interpretation of events, and will be bending over backwards to discount it. That is human nature. Where are they?

Is this story fake news?  I don't know. I will say, that articles that are fake news and propaganda look exactly like this. So before simply accepting the veracity of this article, I want to see a lot more facts. I suppose it could be real and the journalist who broke the original story is simply exceedingly bad at his job, but this is exactly the kind of garbage that passes for news these days which causes so many people to lose faith in the institution.

Does nobody actually care about science and honesty any more today? Does everything have to be propaganda pieces to push an agenda?

I have learned that idiots both at the WHO and at all levels of world governments are such egotistical ass hats filled with such hubris as to believe they not only have the right, but truly think they have the capability, to dictate to the entire world that their values are superior to everyone else and that they alone should be allowed to dictate how we have to live.

I read with amazement people saying the 'R' value is now returning to 1 and to prepare for a second wave.  It's not a second wave guys. It is the first wave that was merely artificially suppressed by morally intolerable lockdowns. The first wave was simply artificially stalled by inflicting massive pain on society, and is finally being allowed to emerge.

Hopefully this time around the idiots in charge will behave more responsibly and throw their enormous resources at increasing health care capacity and allowing this disease to run its course, rather than trying to force the entire global population to bend to their will of what they would like to see happen. Nobody wants this disease. We all want it to be gone and to get back to normal. But that can only happen once we allow people to act as they want to act, not as how someone else demands they act.

That is the basis of any society. I have learned that even people as smart as doctors and epidemiologists are not smart enough to see this basic truth, and that many will happily destroy any goodwill they enjoy among the people to try and enforce their civil religion.

I have also learned that politicians have no shame, and will happily usurp any crisis, no matter how serious, in order to advance their own agendas.

11 hours ago, ezzra said:

Not sure where you live but i see them everywhere in BKK like in big C, for me the local avocados don't come close to the hass avocados in other countries not as far as taste and texture and i could not understand why no one can grow hass avocados in Thailand...

I specifically said "cheap avocados". Imported, expensive Hass avocados are everywhere. I am looking for the inexpensive, local variety. Buccaneer or Booth 7, for example. Usually sold by the kg for around 70 baht.  I haven't seen those anywhere yet this year.

Rain problem? Is there some issue with the harvest this year?

I think you will have an extraordinarily difficult time if you are talking about a traditional bank account. Most banks that will allow you to open an account online will also require proof of address in the form of a utility bill. That makes it almost impossible to meet the requirements if you are not physically living in the USA.

Sadly, the KYC laws are designed to prevent exactly what you are trying to do.

You may have better luck with an investment account that does not require you to be a US resident. As posted above, Schwab does accept expats for their investment accounts, and that may be sufficient for you. You can also get a Transferwise borderless account which will give you an ABA and account number that can received US domestic ACH credit transfers and domestic wire transfers.  ACH debits are not supported through Transferwise.

Normally July marks the beginning of the Thai avocado season. In years past I have been able to find Thai grown avocados starting around this time. Usually they appear in Makro. Occasionally I have had to look more extensively in malls and other venues. But this year, at least in the northern Bangkok area, I am not seeing anything. I've checked everywhere. Typically I see them on sale for around 60-90 baht/kg when they are in season.

This is the first year I have had my freeze drier and I planned on stocking up and making powder that I could use for the rest of the year. So I was absolutely looking forward to this opportunity. But I have been sorely disappointed.

What is wrong? Are the avocados afraid of catching coronavirus and staying at home?

Anyone know someone selling avocados by the kg I can buy online?  Or anywhere near Talat Thai in Rangsit?

At least in the USA, the peeping tom laws are a local ordinace, so they vary substantially between locales, but as a general rule most of them require that you are unaware of the presence of the individual or camera in order to be enforced.  As this camera is visible and permanent, in most areas of the USA you would have no recourse either.  In general there is no right to privacy from something that can be readily viewed from outside your property.

If you want privacy, Sheryl's idea is the best. Simply install curtains. Newspaper and duct tape even works well in a pinch. We wanted some privacy from our neighbor as well. We simply installed a 3 meter high privacy shield made from square post and slats of shera wood bolted onto the border wall.  Works fine except for the time it blew over in very high winds. Bent the iron post right over. Impressive display of physics. So just make sure it is structurally sound and you'll be fine.

Also, horror of horrors, have you thought about actuall TALKING to your neighbor about this and finding out why they installed the cameras?  Perhaps they can be adjusted slightly to resolve your privacy concerns.  Are you really so beautiful and interesting that you think someone intentionally wants to spy on you?

7 minutes ago, DavisH said:

No doctor can help patients when there are NO ventilators. This is the issue. A low number of cases over a long period of time is acceptable as hospitals can deal with the case load.. Why is happening in the US is utterly unacceptable. 

Then Dr. Thanarak should be campaigning for getting more ventilators. We've had 4 months so far. How many have been acquired?  Have any new manufacturing lines been established in Thailand? There are many, genuinely good things the doctor could be doing. Rudely telling everyone else to "come to our senses" though, is not a helpful response.

6 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

I noticed 'The bastion of unbiased reporting and understatement, the Daily Express' has a horoscope section, too - that is probably the part of this publication with the least bias and most credible facts, everything else.........mehhh!

Obviously that particular definition was intended to be sarcastic. In this case they do basically admit in the article that the information in the article came from the Sunday Times, so one might give it slightly higher credibility.

"shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators in the lab at the time of the experiment is likely to be responsible for the outbreak, the Sunday Times has found."

But again, there is nothing inherently ground breaking in any of this. People of varying credibility have been tossing these ideas around for months. What I find compelling in this case is that this is no longer a fringe movement. It has apparently gone mainstream to the point where nobody feels ashamed to speak about it any longer.

38 minutes ago, Damrongsak said:

Cheapest stainless would probably be a large 304 exhaust pipe.  Here's a 4 foot piece of thin-wall for about 2,000 baht. Thicker stuff and tubing with a smooth interior gets expensive very quickly.

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-640240?seid=srese1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwl4v4BRDaARIsAFjATPk9fmOI_yuVCXxvIr1FgZ3OQEaOGeemv_deFCcZkw2OQVa0c4roDLAaAprnEALw_wcB

 

Do you need a polished interior?  If corrosion will be a problem, the interior should be back purged with Argon while welding or a compound should be put on the back side of the joints to prevent oxidation when welding (look up "stainless steel sugaring").

 

Could you adapt something like this 4 inch 90 degree elbow?  It's a bit thicker than the tube above.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vpe-13044?seid=srese1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwl4v4BRDaARIsAFjATPn88GgSJ2SIysdOMl1b9w7jm76Zb5qKcFoGK7oohlrxelbGbYZ5gqgaArlREALw_wcB

 

Or perhaps something like this $20 weld elbow:

https://www.stainlesssteelfittings.com/304_Schedule_10_Elbow_90L_stainless_p/w190les4.htm?gclid=Cj0KCQjwl4v4BRDaARIsAFjATPl5E3UXpsqxd2z_98TONEb_Nzv4dDxSpAUkrQW9I2x-aE7f2wWcDrIaAlWkEALw_wcB

 

Alternatively, search for "Sanitary Clamp True Tees and Y Tees ".  That's about what is shown in the OP.

 

Can you fab it out of PVC pipe?

For this application it must be stainless. The powder is highly statically charged and the mixing process exacerbates this. It will stick to any kind of plastic, including PVC. Here is a video of basically how the mixer works, although this one is made of acryllic so you can see what is happening inside.   The idea is when it flips over the powder falls due to gravity, and also mixes horizontally from one side to the other as it crashes together in the middle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRkRLPnAWh0

An elbow might work if it was long enough, but I'd still need someone to weld on the flanges so I could close it up during the mixing process.

I'll investigate those ideas further. Although looking at that link from Summit Racing, I wonder if a auto shop might be a better choice than a general purpose welding shop. They may have more use for 4" inch pipe, as it seems to be used in exhaust systems.

I am looking for someone to make a simple stainless fixture for me. Nothing fancy. I need the following made out of 4" or 100mm thin walled 304 stainless tube. I also need holes drilled in the flanges so I can screw down a stainless plate on the ends of the tubes. I could make do without the 3rd flange and just let the 2 tubes come together in a 'V' if that strange angle at the joint in the middle is too complicated. It also doesn't have to be beautiful. I can live with ugly welding joints as long as it is functional.

It is a tumble chamber for mixing powder. I went down to the only stainless welding shop I know and the guy wanted 6000 baht. I thought that was absurd and passed for such a simple device, but I wanted to know if anyone had a feeling for what would be a reasonable fee. I told him 30cm for the length of the legs. I don't have experience with stainless steel, so I really don't know how much 4" stainless pipe costs. Is 60 cm of 4" pipe really expensive? Really thin pipe is fine for this purpose.

Is anyone here experienced with stainless welding?  What would be a reasonable charge for the part pictured here?  I am in Rangsit in Northern Bangkok, but I think the part is simple enough it could even be done remotely and shipped.

Thank you for any advice.

13 hours ago, Nigel Garvie said:

They don't need our financial services, they have their own.

Would you care to expand on exactly which financial services you are referring to when you make this statement? Because there are many financial services, such as investment banking, derivatives exchanges, OTC trading, etc. where the EU definitely does NOT have anything even remotely approaching the financial depth of the London markets. How about the reinsurance market?  I would expect Lloyds has their hands in much of the EU's insurance industry.

I think EU companies will definitely be hurt if they can no longer easily access some of the financial services that London offers. Yes, these can eventually be built in Berlin or even Paris, but it could take years or decades. Investors don't just establish new accounts for fun. They will need to be woo'ed and there has to be a realistic incentive in order to move their funds.

It is easy to say the EU does not need the financial services of the UK in theory. But I wonder how true that statement is in reality.

1 hour ago, mcl2504 said:

The problem is with the receiving country, not where the letter originates. I've received air mail from the US because Thailand allows it to come in. But I still can't send an air mail to the US because the US does not accept it. Again, the issue is the country in question allowing air mail in, not Thailand being willing or not willing to ship the letter.

No. It is not that the USA does not accept it. This is all Thailand Post. They will not accept it or send it. They need to make an arrangement with an airline to carry it to the USA, and they currently do not feel there is a passenger route with sufficient frequency and reliability to offer delivery to the USA at a price they are willing to pay.

So they will not accept normal airmail and SAL services. Only expensive EMS and Courier Post are on offer. Until international air traffic is restarted with lots of flights interconnecting to the USA, no mail will be accepted by Thailand Post for the USA. It is an absolute disaster right now. It costs 550 baht to send a postcard to the USA right now, and that is via 4 month delivery surface mail.

Contrast this with most countries in Europe where they have restarted normal airmail services and prices are reasonable. The USA, Australia and New Zealand are currently still turned off. I suspect Australia and New Zealand will restart shortly. No idea how long it will be before mail to the USA is back in service. But it isn't by choice of the USPS. It is Thailand Post who is in control.

7 hours ago, Andy from Kent said:

Sorry to hear about your plight, Mate.     It sounds like you were living very close to the  edge most of that time and  a  bump in the road knocked you  completely over.

From your tale, hopefully others will learn well the lesson of having a sufficient emergency back up fund and plan.    6 months emergency fund is probably no longer enough.

We are all entitled to our own opinions of course, but I don't consider what the government just did to be a "bump".

It was a political and economic weapon of mass destruction that eviscerated the lives of millions. Going from 150K+ with resiliency between 2 income providers to zero overnight is not a "bump". It was a chasm that no normal person would ever have anticipated. It is entirely equivalent to someone sitting on a million USD and finding that overnight the USD collapsed and became worthless.  Sure, you thought you were secure, but suddenly you find every basic assumption you ever had was rendered irrelevant in the span of a few hours through an unthinkable action by the government.

It is always easy to blame the victim when you aren't the victim.

19 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Statements like this one, I find amusing. Remember when there used to be democrats and republicans? Now, most of the heavily indoctrinated members of the right, are using expressions like the far left, socialists, extremists, leftists, and other bizarre, and juvenile names when referring to a democratic voter. I do not call Republicans names. I do not need to, as my self esteem is high, and I am fine with who I am, what I believe in, and feel no need to demonize those of opposing views, which includes alot of good friends, and family. We all have to share the planet, right? I tend to call those on the opposite side of the aisle republicans, or the opposition. Civility is the essence of nobility, right? Just because others have hate in their hearts, does not mean we should feel compelled to reflect that vacuum of humanity, and embrace the heart of darkness. And when I do criticize the president, I typically make it a point NOT to criticize his followers. I get it. People feel differently about the issues. 

 

I am a democrat, and very, very proud of it. But, I am very centrist, as are the vast majority of Americans on the opposite side, of where you stand. 

I have a problem with the word "centrist", because it has no genuine meaning.  It only works if you assume all political belief can be defined by a line with a specific beginning of "far left" and a specific end of "far right". You can then define a midpoint of "center".

In reality, politics doesn't look like that. Instead, it is some kind of convoluted, multidimensional hypersphere, with people on the extreme left and those on the extreme right actually sharing much more in common than they are willing to admit. Seen this way, everyone is a "centrist".  There is no objective center that everyone can agree on. Personal biases always define this point, which is why nearly everyone considers themselves "centrists", even those who are very right biased or very left biased in the colloquial sense. 

There are other more appropriate words, such as "liberal" and "conservative".  These had meanings at one point in time. But in today's political environment, those who are liberal don't actually want to liberate anything. Instead they want to restrict freedoms in favor of more government control. Similarly, there is no intent of conserving by the conservatives. They are actually trying to actively expand the government policies supporting corporate welfare over the individual.

Words change over time, but human biases remain. We are all biased. Saying we are centrist is simply a way of avoiding facing our own biases and avoiding accepting the uncomfortable biases of others. I have a problem with the word "centrist" because it is usually a substitute for the intended meaning "reasonable and not radical". And yet, in the correct context, we are all radical thinkers with deeply held convictions that we would never compromise on.

I am neither right, left, nor centrist. I find anyone that self identifies and is proud to be a Democrat or a Republican quite radical to be honest.

1 hour ago, robblok said:

I thought that the mail was open again. I get my parcels again and i can also mail to the outside country. 

Only to Europe. Most of the world, including the Americas, Australia and New Zealand are still shut down. Australia and New Zealand might return soon. The biggest market is the USA though, and there is no hope for mail to return there anytime soon...