HauptmannUK

Pop filter or pop shield reduces air velocity onto the mic from plosives during spoken word recording. Without it your speech will sound harsh and 'pop'. They are cheap (think c.500 baht).

For that kind of money you should be able to get something of high quality - 'prosumer'. Think about a Blue Yeti. Multiple pattern filters and solidly made. A pop filter will be essential.

My wife is thankfully very quiet and doesn't like loud noise. In fact she often tells me to turn the TV down. Some of her friends are terrible though - incapable of moderating their voices. Worst is when you've got one in the back of the car, bellowing away..

Well I know they are back because had swerve around a few idiots walking in the road by the roadworks on 2nd Rd (near Sun City). On the plus side my wife and I always enjoyed strolling along Beach Rd and spotting a bunch of these guys surround a girl and try to negotiate a group discount........Watching the girls' faces was very entertaining LOL!

Over about 7 years my wife and I rented at many locations around Pattaya, including VT6, VT1, Base, Pattaya Beach Condo, Unixx and a few others. Best location ever (for us) is Pratumnak area close to top of Theppraya Rd. Short walk to get the baht bus and then a few minutes to either Pattaya or Jomtien. Or in the evening we take a stroll down Soi 5, have a drink or a meal. Then a walk by the beach before taking the bahtbus back up Threppaya. Very very convenient location. We do have a car but don't need to use it that often.

Well done to the Thai police! Policing in the UK is such that guys like this don't bother staying under the radar.. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/albanian-killer-who-raked-in-40k-a-year-from-car-wash-job-is-deported/ar-AAM0kDn This guy even had his own website... The RTP get a lot of stick, often unfairly IMHO.

Prior to 2019 I used to fly Emirates business class very frequently (work) - always very satisfied. Usually A380. KLM/AF was horrible and not worth the money. Qatar once or twice and was ok.

You can ask the dealer to do a basic service, ignoring the standard schedule - oil and filter change plus inspection. I can't see it being more than couple thousand baht. If you really want to save money then try B-Quik... my (limited) experience with them has been fine.

Many in UK have fixed rate mortgages - mostly 2-5 years, some longer. Problem is these deals expire and low rates no longer available. Also first time buyers' rates are going up - which tends to cut the legs from under the market. The UK economy tends to pivot around the housing market and so I don't think the outlook is good...

The UK economy is in a terrible state. My extended family have a motor trade business that's been established 101 years (car sales, servicing etc) and the outlook has probably not been worse since the 1970's. The price of parts has gone through the roof (e.g. pair of aftermarket brake discs that were £30 last year, now £47 - same part no. same supplier). Many parts in short supply due to transport and distribution issues, e.g. clutch kits hard to get. We used to buy certain German car parts direct from a distributor in Germany on 24 hour lead time. Now we wait for 5 days and get import taxes and fees added - no longer viable. Various automotive lubricants in short supply. My brother's company, built up over 25 years, 16 employees, exporting fresh premium British meat (think Welsh lamb, Scottish venison) is closing down. Its impossible for him to compete. Transportation and customs charges have increased more than five-fold and taking three times as long. The country seems to be seizing up. Housing market stoked up over last two years now seems ripe to be crashed by interest rate rises. Relatively higher inflation in UK as compared to Thailand will push pound down relative to THB. I certainly wouldn't want to be depending on one of those 'frozen' pensions!

For the most part, yes. The Thai climate seems to be relatively benign as far as mechanical components go. Certainly as compared to North European climate. I think the main thing is that the vehicle is kept out of the sun.

I think 'fuel stabalizer' is available in Thailand - try Lazada. E10 and E20 goes stale pretty quick. Think 3-6 months - and hotter weather means quicker. Carboxylic acid is one of the oxidation products and that attacks rubber, plastic and aluminium. Old petrol looks kind of tawny coloured and smells unpleasant. Fuel stabilizer will extend the life somewhat - up to one year with straight petrol. With E20 I've no idea - E20 seems pretty foul stuff. Ideal drain old petrol and refill - but easier said than done for most people.

Right now there are quite a few very very low mileage 2020- and 2021- built cars offered at a big discount from new. These are cancelled fleet orders from when Covid hit. Seen quite a few Vios and Altis, for example.. However by the time you take into account the discount and extras offered on a 2022 built new car, and the lower resale value of the older car, they are probably not worth buying. My wife recently ordered a new Toyota. She specified that it should be a factory order (i.e. built to her order). It left the production line 29th March and she took delivery 4th April. She still got a good discount and a variety of 'extras' - insurance, mats, fuel etc.

My wife's condo in Pattaya is exceedingly quiet. In fact I never know if the neighbours are home or not. Never hear music or people walking around. Just the occassional door slam and street noises (dog barking and sometimes a loud bike). By contrast staying at the house up near Udon puts my nerves on edge. Its actually well outside the village but we still get the morning wake up call from the loudspeaker towers, music at all hours - carries several kms, dogs barking, roosters crowing. Not to mention the burning vegetation, plastic, rubber etc. And there is normally at least one internal combustion engine adding to the cacophony. After a couple of weeks there I'm longing for the peace and serenity of our condo in Pattaya!

The 1.5 petrol is called the 'Indian' engine because it was designed for the Indian market but then later also used in Thailand to get the car into a lower tax class than the 1.6 engine. Regarding the snapped cambelt on the SX4. Yes it does happen. Its on the smoke test where the engine is revved to the limiter. Our business in the UK does MoTs and have a sign up stating we accept no liability for cambelt failure. I used to do MoTs but never had one snap. Another tester did however. Was on a Vauxhall used as a taxi. The driver wasn't happy!

I'm not 100% sure which engine your car has or how old it is. I suspect its the 'Indian' 1.5 Ti-VCT - in which case the cambelt is 96 months or 100k miles. If due then best get it changed by the dealer. Starting a car for a few minutes every week does more harm than good. If storing a car the best way is out of the sun, battery disconnected and tyres clear of the ground - if possible.

Most people worry far too much about having a car standing for a year or two. I can give some advice (based on association with our family car sales and servicing business since I was a youngster) having dealt with cars that have been standing for very long periods... 1. Brakes usually suffer worst. Check/clean corrosion from discs and check slide pins are free and pistons move without sticking. This is the number one problem we encounter. 2. Check tyres for any perishing or cracking. Check the date code - anything up to 7 years is ok. They will be flat-spotted, but inflate to correct pressure and after a few miles of driving they should even out and be OK. 3. Coolant - just change at manfrs recommended interval. No need to do it before. 4. Brake fluid is mildly hygroscopic. Change every three years. 5. Gear oil change at recommended time/mileage interval - no need to change earlier. 6. You can run and drive the car - then change engine oil and filter when convenient. 7. New battery will be required. 8. Check all rubber belts and gaiters for cracking and vermin attack - but will likely be fine. 9. Check cabin filter for fungal growth - no need to replace if clean. 10. Check A/C operation. 11. Petrol will be stale - refill with fresh ASAP Cars with leather interiors often suffer mold growth - will need a good clean. We run an ozone generator or cleaning bomb in the car to freshen it up. You will need to tax, pay back-tax and insure it. No need for low loader.

A future UK government is more likely to look at ways of further restricting expat pension entitlement rather than indexing it. Retired expats in Asia are not popular amongst UK voters in general, particularly right-of-centre voters. Whenever the Daily Mail publishes a story involving an expat in Thailand you should see some of the reader comments! Most UK voters would be against any pension increase for expats on the basis that the money will only be spent on the services of more underage prostitutes!

Not exaggerating. I have been in cars with a dangerous level of tint. Tinting shouldn't be a substitute for a pair of sunglasses. Would you drive at night wearing sunglasses? I don't have any tint on the front screen (front screens block 95%+ of UV) because I can wear sunglasses on bright days. Mild tint (70% VLT) on side glass. Side glass does not block all UV so a film is advisable. A mild tint film will block 40-50% of infra-red radiation thus reducing the load on the A/C.

Over the last few years I've experienced most factory-fit nav systems, including Ford, VAG, Porsche, BMW, MB and pretty much all the Japanese brands. Google easily beats them all. Reliable real-time traffic data and bang up to date mapping showing road closures etc. Also, using e.g. Android Auto, you can spend time researching and setting up a route on your phone, then go out to the car and immediately you're all set to go..

Difficult to be precise because there are so many brands and ranges of films, vehicle sizes etc. This link give approximate prices for the various 3M films for different vehicles. Use translation app if you can't read Thai. https://www.3mautofilmclub.com/ราคาฟิล์ม

Pratamnuk area between Jomtien and Pattaya would tick most of your boxes.

I did a little bit of research into WRLife. They have a small office in London and are registered at UK Companies' House. Their marketing information appears to have been written a person with English as a second language. There is one person with 'Significant Control' - he is French and resides in France. Another company officer is Indian and resides in India. The remaining company officers are Thai and live in Thailand. The Thai company officers are all associated with Assist International Services, 284 Thanon Phra Ram 9, Bang Kapi, Huai Khwang, Bangkok 10310, Thailand. This is a 'medical and technical assistance company' and, in turn, the senior people are also passociated with Thonburi Hospital. "Assist International Services (AIS) is a medical and technical assistance provider company with its registered office in Bangkok since 2003 in response to the need of assistance services from travelers, local nationals and throughout Indochina. We have succeeded in its positioning medical and technical assistance provider company that facilitates the patients and tourists in the areas of patient care. We provide medical services to locals throughout the whole country operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year." The emergency assistance number for WRLife is a Bangkok number.

Tinting is a bit of a minefield in Thailand. In most of the world the amount of tint is expressed as Visible Light Transmission (VLT). So 70% tint is 70% VLT - 70% of the light passes through the film and 30% is blocked (converted into heat in the film or reflected). Thais would refer to this as a 30% film - i.e. they refer to the amount of visible light blocked rather than the amount transmitted. All films block almost all UV light. Keep in mind that windscreens are made of laminated glass and this blocks over 95% of UVA and UVB. Side windows are not laminated and although they block nearly all UVB they may only block 50% of harmful UVA. So you definitely need film on side windows for UVA protection. In UK/EU the legal minimum VLT is 70% tint (i.e. maximum 30% in Thai terminology). Most UK police cars carry a light meter to check. I know the law in California is also 70% - not sure about other states. There is a Thai regulation - but it doesn't seem to be enforced. Again keep in mind that many cars come from the factory with a light tint on the glass (10% or so block) so check that out because any tint you apply will add to that. Optical quality is another thing to think about - the cheaper films may not be optically uniform. My wife recently took delivery of a new Toyota. The windscreen already had a very light tint, so we left that - she can wear sunglasses in the daytime. We then had 3M 70% VLT film (30% block) on the other windows. I've driven cars with heavy tints and they scare the hell out of me when driving at night in rural areas - you can't see pedestrians or fainter motorbike tail lights. Driving in rural Thailand is challenging enough without handicapping yourself with poor vision. Few years ago my wife's uncle up in Udon was killed when a pickup literally drove over his motorbike. The windscreen was heavily tinted and the driver admitted to not seeing the motorbike. Anyway, stick to something like 3M and beware of the exaggerated claims of the more expensive ranges of films - some of the claims appear to defy the laws of physics.

If this statement is accurate then Australia is greatly out of step with the rest of the developed world. I don't see how colonoscopy would definitively diagnose prostate cancer. From my discussions with my daughter (she's a doctor) and a urologist it is a systematic biopsy of the prostate which can definitively detect prostate cancer. The problem is determining whether the cancer is clinically significant or not. And of course biopsy itself is uncomfortable and not without the potential for adverse effects. mpMRI is now commonly used in UK and Europe to determine whether or not systematic biopsy should be undertaken, and to guide the biopsy if one is recommended. In the UK NHS an elevated PSA gets you on the two-week screening pathway, which mostly involves DRE, mpMRI and then biopsy (depending on PIRADS score from MRI).