RocketDog

Yeah, but the only real rain we've had since rainy season started. Welcome, but we need more. Most of the pineapple fields around me have been newly planted. Without more rain they will do nothing.

No, but the extension will only be valid until your passport expires.

I would think that such manual labor would be taken on as an exercise in mindfulness while serving the temple. It's not like they have real jobs anyway. Of course leaves and rubbish don't tithe or give the monks fruit baskets.

I'm convinced that a majority of road accidents here are a direct result of the 'Me First' movement. There are so many members cutting across all lines of society they should form the MFP and take the PM seat.

Why presume it's even weed smoke? Could be tobacco.

Thank God.

I'll take your word for that. But of course a VPN has two ends. The first, your device, encrypts the data. Somewhere it has to be decrypted and connected to the web. Maybe apple has its own server farms for this. Otherwise it's useless and I don't trust apple farther than I could throw their corporate headquarters. It's the far end connection that you must put your trust in. Choose that very carefully. If you don't pay for the service how do you think they can offer it without monetizing their clients in some way? Server farms in dozens of different countries have costs to pay. If Google offers a free VPN do you believe they don't get something (hint: your data) from it? I have both express VPN and Trust.Zone on different devices.

That has not been my experience. I'm sure you're correct in some places, but not all for sure. I find it impossible to believe that buying jewelry requires an ID except in a few places that I would refuse to buy from. . If you give an ID of any sort when buying it is the first in a series of counterparty risks. I prefer anonymity.

I guess you didn't read the whole thread. My whole point is that in Thailand you sell jewelry to any one of dozens of shops in hundreds of cities. Metals are metals, cash is currency with no intrinsic worth whatsoever. Metals hold value for centuries, fiat currencies come and go. Fiat currency was invented do governments could spend with no backing at all to fund wars etc. Currencies 'backed' by nothing are only worth what people think they they are. Currencies not backed by anything are just cruel jokes. They are two separate, distinctly different asset classes. Personally I hold both along with real estate and equities. People often state the "cost of gold" in some currency. Actually it's the other way around. Currencies are priced in gold because currencies are just paper. People has lusted for precious metals from the time they were discovered.

Hence my observation about liquidity of bars and why prefer jewelry even at the extra margin cost. Singapore has no problem with folks coming in or leaving with PMs. Other places puts you at risk and in USA your metals might be seized under the draconian 'Civil Forfeiture' laws, a real nightmare. Good that you had no trouble. Can you imagine a sudden FX swing or currency collapse? How many people would be looking to sell bars & coins. Not a line I want to be in holding metals. First metals I bought was in 1975, lots of pre-1964 USA silver dimes, quarters, half dollars 90%, silver. I still have them!

Of course. I was referring to replies on this thread specifically. One camp says never buy gold except as investment other camp says.....

So clearly there are two camps : investors and value preservers. Since I retired my focus had changed from growing assets to preserving them from inflation and the other miseries/risks of fiat currency. Different strokes for different folks.

Good to know, thanks. I looked into shipping my USA bars to Thailand but DHL, fedex, and others just won't do it now. They sight too much risk and I understand. They were shipped to me from Canada way back when. I must note that boarding and traveling with jewelry raises fewer eyebrows than ingots or coins would do. Personally I keep most of it in a vault in Singapore, which close by too. Check out Silver Bullion in Singapore. It strikes me that having it is one problem, liquidating it another; both have separate issues unless it's strictly an investment.

You are correct. I pay a price for liquidity. If you've read other threads here you know that large bars and coins are simply not as liquid outside of resort town areas. Many jewelry shops don't sell either. I think they are afraid of buying fake gold plated tungsten. Drilling your bar before buying it will upset you too. Some shops sell the silly little one and two gram bars(?), but those are useless to me for storing value. On the other hand I don't mind at all if they smash with pliers some links on necklace to do a chemical test. I marvel at people buying gold bars on ebay. ????

I go with jewelry simply because it is so much more liquid than bars or coins. There's a jewelry shop on every corner. In America I bought bars and coins. He mumbled something about reading. So he didn't claim to an expert. That's good.

He mumbled something about reading. So he didn't claim to an expert. That's good.

Why did you try it? Did you have a reason? Did you pay for it? Did you do it just because other people did? Nobody wears a seat belt for fun. But you really can't buckle up when you see an accident coming. Why would anybody waste money on insurance of any kind? Of course the encrypt/decrypt takes resources and time, but I get 65 mbps on mine. Fast enough for the girls I go with. Again, I won't try to justify using a VPN. You get it or you don't. Up to you.

Identity theft will make you want to die though. Seat belts can also prevent serious injuries. You can also get lucky many times without using condom, but not forever. Opinions, like noses, everyone has one. Up to you.

OK. I won't argue the benefits of a VPN. For me, and countless other millions, it's simply necessary internet hygiene. Up to you. I bet there's lots of people who have driven for decades without a seat belt too. Instead of asking me, do some research to understand the apparent foolishness of people like me.

Sure, and it's all for free, right? Sure, if it's free then you're the product being sold.

Sure, especially the 'free' ones. One should never use a VPN headquartered in a country that can legally force disclosure of client info. Proton and expressvpn and all premium services understand this and are based outside such jurisdictions OR have a rotating IP address mechanism that uses the same address for hundreds of clients each day, making such records useless. If you want a real vpn then your going to pay about $100/yr for it. Them's the hard facts. Do your research before using one.

Unless that just started yesterday then I'm baffled. I've used both sites in the last few days and for the last few years. I do, of course, use a VPN; one would be crazy not to. 1337x always says my connection in unsecure and I should get their VPN, but that's just marketing. It's never been required and I have no idea what buying an IP address even means. You do that when you get an ISP and then immediately alter it using a VPN. You can have an IP address from a different country every hour if you choose to. If I'm wrong I'd surely like more info about this issue.

Uhhhhh.? So let's say one buys gold jewelry as a hedge against monetary collapse or gross swings. Let's say they bought locally, did so without any form of ID asked or given, which is very common and very important to remaining anonymous. Then let's say they decide to change it into local currency because cutting/shaving coins or bars is just silly to buy eggs. They may get more or less currency than they paid for it but still enough to buy their eggs at an international exchange rate for that currency VS gold. Why is that a mistake in your estimate? 'Seems' like good planning to me. I agree that owning gold for investment gains, especially paper gold, is unwise. But for some it's just planning for changes that are apparently inevitable. I call that prudent. To the OP: A huge advantage of living here is buying and selling gold without any identification or records. That is impossible in most countries, including USA. I love it! You pay the shop a margin when you buy or sell, so in that sense you will always take a loss when converting cash to gold to cash. Taking it to the same shop as you bought it means they might give you some preference but at least it's easier. Two things are for sure though: gold is not colored paper, and everybody everywhere recognizes the value, portability, and security of precious metals. It is an asset class not to be ignored.

Agreed. Engineering data sheets for all secondary (rechargeable) cells state a maximum number of charge cycles as reference. Temperature extremes decrease this values significantly. For the most part that can be used as a guide to actual life. The more you use it the faster, in calendar time, the sooner it fails. For most commodity batteries made in China (and most are) just divide that reference number by two.

Doubtful. But definitely a Class I Div 1 and Zone 0 location.