Lacessit

Trump was predicted more than 30 years ago, by the author James Lee Burke, in his novel " A Stained White Radiance". “ But Bobby Earl is out there by consent. He has his finger on a dark pulse, and like all confidence men, he knows his audience wishes to be conned. He learned long ago to listen, and he knows that if he listens carefully they’ll tell him what they need to hear. It’s a contract of mutual deceit by which they open up their flak vests and take it through the breastbone. Bobby Earl’s ilk want power so badly that at some point in their lives they make a conscious choice to embrace evil. It’s not a gradual seduction. They do it without reservation, and that’s when they leave the rest of us”.

A descendant of Victor Trumper? Good heavens, trans may have Aussie genes.

The supreme irony is, we have trapped ourselves already. I remember the fuss when the Australian government wanted to have a national ID card. Said card is unnecessary now, we carry around something that can identify and locate us any time the government pleases. It's called a mobile phone. It's why Islamic extremists don't use them.

I don't disagree. Only 13% of Australians pay cash, compared with 66% in Thailand. Banks are closing down ATM's. However, when one compares the bank interest spread for Australia vs Thailand, it's quite obvious Thai banks are less competitive. IMO cash will still be around for some time yet, given the number of times I see Thais walking out of banks with satchels stuffed full of house brick-like 1000 baht notes.

There are already fees for receiving cash from a non-bank ATM. IMO the person in the US who is getting a lot of cash should be shopping around for a new bank, and better terms. Banks already make money from cash deposits, and the float. An excess cash deposit fee is simply greed.

IMO there will still be ATM's around for people who want cash in OZ. I think I can safely predict the big banks will charge for that service, as another profit stream. They don't do it on debit cards now, but IMO it is only a matter of time. Cash in Australia is a mechanism for hiding assets from Centrelink, so it's no wonder the government would be in favor of cashless too.

Can you make and edit your own videos? Do you post them on YouTube? Are you able to install a Linux OS? In my working life, I used instruments such as FTIR spectrometers, GC/MS, OES, AA, LC and IC. Equipment probably beyond your comprehension. Trying to portray me as a technological Luddite won't wash. Your claim I am unfamiliar with cashless is complete BS. Isn't a debit card cashless? How do you think I buy airline tickets and accommodation online? Or purchase goods on Lazada? With cash-bearing carrier pigeons? I use technology that works for me. Phones don't, my hands are too large to manage the tiny keyboards. I don't imagine people at a checkout would be too happy if I was struggling to enter the various incantations required. Calling my reasons silly is argument ad hominem, from a supercilious twit. You need to pull your head in.

You don't have a laptop or desktop to do that? I suppose I could use my phone, but it would be a lot more fiddly.

I haven't enquired at the local market about cashless payments. The day market for fruit and vegetables is definitely not tourist. It's about 99% Thais doing the shopping. I don't know if the vendors would accept digital. IME I have not seen anyone brandishing a phone at a vendor, although perhaps I am not looking.

Chaing Rai is not as advanced as the region you frequent, you're welcome to it.

I have not needed condoms for nearly 10 years. I gave up car seats as a place for sex in my twenties. Do you get vicarious pleasure out of questioning other posters about their sexual history? Kinky.

I use a debit card almost exclusively in Australia. Cash makes more sense here, the day markets don't seem to have got around to payment by phone or card. It sounds to me more like you are trying to justify phones as the be all and end all. They might be, if everyone was competent in using them. I prefer knowing I have made it very difficult for my my money or information to be stolen. If you think that can't happen with phone banking, I have a bridge in Sydney Harbor I would like to sell you. My system has worked for me for over 60 years. I see no reason to change it because you think differently.

Has it occurred to you it's you that's genetically designed for short-time?

Thai men are not interested in women who 1/ Have children 2/ are divorced 3/ are over 30. The women have to be 10 out of 10 to overcome those handicaps. That leaves a broad spectrum of choice for foreigners. I don't think Thais care what we do with that sector. Thai women who have been in a relationship with a Thai male seem to be universal in their preference for foreigners. That preference is most probably an economic one.

You used the term bag in your former post. My car and scooter have my driving licenses in them. My ID is on my phone. Cash, keys and phone are all I carry. Plus a bit of coin change at the end of shopping. Why would I need a biro when I can take a note on my phone? Why on earth would I be carrying a handkerchief, lube and condom? Are you a sex maniac? Seems odd to combine that with hypochondria. At the shops I go to in Chiang Rai, I would say someone paying with their phone faster than me with cash, is as rare as a newly-landed Brit in Australia without sunburn.

Not guilty, Your Honor. I only carry notes, the coins go into the piggy bank every day. Men do not usually have handbags, they use their pockets.

I use a debit card almost exclusively in Australia. Cash almost exclusively in Thailand. Phones can be hacked, I have never heard of anyone skimming a card if it is in a Faraday cage. Small change in Thailand is no problem to me. Every day, any coins in my pockets go into a piggy bank. When it is full, it's presented to my GF's grandson.

I don't know whether it's coincidence, but two of my golfing friends died of glioblastomas. Both were inveterate phone users. Perhaps you should think again before having two of them. My back pain flares up when I am forced to stand still for some time, I am OK if I can keep moving. Thanks for your concern. Saying you can pay faster than most in Thailand is not really setting a high performance bar.

I can't lose a wallet because I don't have one. I carry 2-3K baht in cash instead. I also carry a debit card in a Faraday cage. For emergencies only. Much of the time it stays in the condo. I simply have no trust in phones. To me, they are a useful tool for various functions, but certainly not to be entrusted with vital financial information. Telstra and Optus are the two biggest telecoms in Australia. They have both been hacked. That's enough evidence for me. I've seen multiple examples of payment terminals being down. I just sail through with cash, provided there is not some idiot faffing around with their phone in front of me.

IMO it's the small numbers on phones that take up the time, people either need bigger screens or smaller thumbs to enter their passcodes etc. correctly first time.

A change of 7 percentage points IMO is insignificant. I realise you didn't like it when I proved you were totally wrong about sugar in petrol. Trying to get back at me on something so trivial is pretty pathetic.

I tend to favor the principle of Keep It Simple, Stupid. ( KISS )

Wait until you have disc problems in your back, standing in line waiting for some moron to get their phone synchronized won't be so pleasant then.

Can someone please educate the writer of this article in basic math? In 2022, only 27% of people used digital payment. Therefore, 73% were paying in cash. That figure is now down to 66%, a change of 7%. IMO not a big change.

22 million baht for a house in Chiang Mai? Koh Samui, maybe. I have a friend in CM who could not sell his house for 5 million baht, and said house was built to his exacting standards. On the market for 3 years.. IMO the OP is dreaming. Everyone in Thailand wants new.