thaipara

The numbers quoted come to about 8,000 people. What makes you think that the remaining 5,000 are not Thai?

Well said, that Rooster! In my experience the crucial word in customer service portion is "wait". I have had quite a lot of success in such situations around the world, but especially in SEAsia, by judicious waiting. "We do not have/cannot." Wait. Consultation with colleague; "have/can". And, yes a bit of judicious humor can also work wonders.

Perhaps they mean that your first such experience will be your last.

Tourists don't pay tax in Thailand? Where does one find such? Or isn't the VAT a tax? (Do retirees living on retirement income from abroad pay any significant tax _other_ than VAT?) In 2019 total tax income in Thailand came to a bit less than 3,000 million baht. [1] There were about 54 million adults, [2] so the average such Thai paid around 50 baht in taxes in the year. Did the average tourist pay less? Hmm, 7% VAT on a 1000 baht per night room is 70 baht. [1] https://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/revenue-statistics-asia-and-pacific-thailand.pdf [2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/667800/number-of-adults-in-thailand/

50% of auto fatalities happen to people wearing seat belts and 90% of people wear seat belts (US numbers). Should one conclude from this that wearing seat belts doesn't matter?

On the other hand, the US CDC reports that viral load in breakthrough cases descreases remarkably after the forth day: "Fully vaccinated adults infected with the Delta variant had a faster decline in viral load, implying a shorter duration of viral shedding during hospitalization, compared with unvaccinated adults." https://www.cdc.gov/library/covid19/08132021_covidupdate.html

No doubt I reveal my lo-so-ness by saying that my first trip to MBK took my breath away. I felt that I had wandered onto the set (non-CGI) of a sci-fi film set at least fifty years in the future. No other mall had as great an impression. Well, maybe with the exception of the Mall of America, back in its heyday, and that impression was no doubt influenced by its having a Hooters in which I could hide out while family members shopped.

I'm sorry to have misunderstood.

Is it being suggested that every Nobel prize for treatments of infectious diseases has produced a drug that will work against the current covid scourge? All 33 of them? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971216300017 Talk about a non-sequitur! (It won a Nobel therefore it's a good treatment for a disease that arose years later.) Or perhaps something else was meant.

Yes and it will provide a splendid opportunity for them to show that they _are_ the elite. Just as they don't have to wait in line for anything. Does anyone think a chap driving up in his Fazzaz [1] with his dolly-de-jour [2] and parking in a handicapped spot will actually dig out and flash his green card at the entrance? What plebe would dare to question his right to enter? [3] Vaccine passports, either you need them or you don't: don't you know who I am? What a great chance to show off to the world how special they are as they breezily enter wherever, preferably with abundant staff bowing and perhaps a little bit of scraping. [1] Extra points for knowing this ancient reference to Ferrari. [2] Oh dear, is one allowed to use "dolly" in this context anymore? [3] Anyone at what rank police and sojers get to play "know who I am" card among the big fish, say, in Thonglor?

The science says otherwise. See, for instance the article titled "How can a poll of only 1,004 Americans represent 260 million people with only a 3 percent margin of error?" from Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/howcan-a-poll-of-only-100/ Or google poll size and population for less technical explanations. Of course the fine point here is the people being polled. The quoted accuracy depends on the pollees being selected truly at random. To attack a poll, sample selection is the place to start (see the polls saying Dewey would defeat Truman in 1948) . Or one can question how likely it is that the sampled people answered honestly (see the polls in the recent US presidential election).

Those wanting more info can see the concise summary here: http://casestudies.atlanticmotorcar.com/audi-engine-oil-consumption-correction/ In short, the original problem was internal, the current problem is external, and there seems to be no reason to believe that the 100K baht was ill-spent. If the sealant fixes the consumption rate (for now), then there is no reason to think that the original internal repairs were badly done.