Lacessit

Many people got COVID after vaccination. I was one of them, in the most vulnerable age cohort. Delta variant. Three days of a sore throat and runny nose, no other symptoms. My unvaccinated GF, 23 years younger than me, was extremely ill for 10-11 days. The significant aspect of vaccination is not whether one got COVID, but how serious the ensuing illness was. The data that came out of Australia indicated an unvaccinated person was 6-7 times more likely to require ICU admission than a vaccinated person. My own experience of COVID supports that. IMO HCQ and ivermectin were two quack remedies, along with bleach ["disinfectant"], another Trump proposition. It's a pity cocaine is illegal, I'll bet that would have been embraced with great enthusiasm. At least it would have made COVID patients feel better.

I do a lot of thinking, I don't know if it is meditation. I doubt I would pay to learn the art.

If Trump did take HCQ, it obviously did not work, as he got COVID. He also got world-class medical care at Walter Reed Hospital, courtesy of the American taxpayer. Presumably some of the people who believed in his endorsement of HCQ were not as fortunate.

Years ago, I was talking with a fairly eminent psychologist, who had testified in many criminal trials. He said most criminals are a product of their home life, peer groups, interactions with authority, etc. However, he did say there were rare occasions when he would meet a criminal who was pure evil, and there was no rational explanation for what they did.

I don't know who you are quoting; however, it's not me.

The OP might specify which monotheistic version he prefers - Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. IMO it would be somewhat presumptuous to question a purportedly omnipotent being about why they do things. I am looking forward to what AI has to say about the problem of good and evil, given AI can be used for both. Human intelligence does not seem to have got very far with it.

True enough; however, Thai fruit juice producers add sugar to damn near everything.

I regard it as part of the furniture. Like or don't like doesn't come into it. OTOH, I think I would feel uncomfortable if there was zero security at condos, airports and banks.

I have met quite a few Thais with good English; however, most seem to be either professionals, or hooked up with a foreigner.

No argument from me re the Thai education system. I'd argue Thailand is bipolar - it wants foreigners, but only if they will submit to a straitjacket.

RACH2.mp4

Perhaps the OP should consider psychiatric help, his reaction to what most other people accept is not normal. My comment is not intended as an insult, we all have phobias.

I am going back to Australia in late March. For 6 weeks. My extension is in early November. I may get nailed by the 180 day rule, maybe not. How does the Thai tax apply, when there is a double taxation agreement with Australia?

Yes. I paid in cash for my condo in Chiang Rai.

I got a retirement visa about ten years ago. I have never put in a tax return in Thailand. I have not put in a tax return In Australia for the last 3 years either. Who is going to ask me to start doing one?

Fruit juices are high in sugar, would it not be better to stick to water and coconut water?

There is a choice when dual pricing occurs. Either accept it, or walk away. I don't get my knickers in a twist about it, whatever choice I make.

I stated about 0.5% of the world's population are educated in thermodynamics. If you want to take that comment as impugning your level of education, it's your problem, not mine. I would have thought radiation chemistry would actually be radiation physics, I could be wrong. Just as I could be wrong in assuming at the level of science you were engaged in, a training in thermodynamics would be an automatic inclusion in the syllabus. About 95% of scientists accept global warming and climate change as fact, based on evidence. When you accuse me of naivety, it is disingenuous to suggest every scientist has their hand out for a big grant. What percentage of scientists are actually in that field? I'd suggest 10 - 20% at most, and I am not one of them. I retired from private industry 15 years ago. I have never been in any research grant cycle. You also don't seem to consider the possibility naysaying scientists could be getting funding from sources with a vested interest in the status quo. IIRC, quite a few scientists work in the tobacco and alcohol industries. You may be right about nuclear being part of the solution, I don't consider it is all. Case in point - Norway is 97% renewable energy. It has no nuclear reactors generating electricity. You are also misrepresenting what I post. When I used the term cold fusion, I was referring to a scientific hoax. Time will tell if your speculative money is well invested, although CSIRO in Australia has poured cold water on the economics of SMR nuclear plants.

Climate change is not a hoax. Anyone with an education in thermodynamics knows that. The problem is, only 0.5% of the world's population have said education. EV's are not the solution to climate change. Number 1, if the entire ICE vehicle fleet on the planet were replaced by EV's overnight, it would only reduce CO2 emissions by 9%. Number 2, there is simply not enough lithium being mined to manufacture that number of EV's. It's about 20% at best. The real problem is electricity generation, where fossil fuels are still in use by 70% of total power plants in operation. The hoax is not climate change, more some of the proposed solutions. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) leads that charge, like cold fusion and Piltdown Man. Despite the billions poured into CCS, there is not a single plant on the planet that is operating to design specifications. It's a fact politicians ignore science in favor of economics. It's also a fact insurance companies are ramping up premiums across the board to cover their climate change risks.

I agree with the OP. The relationship with my GF evolved slowly. At this end stage of my life, I could not get a more devoted companion. I am assisting her grand-daughter through university, although I do not want or expect any return.

There is a coffee shop in the gasoline station, opposite the Riverside Condo in Nong Hoi, Chiang Mai. I still go there when I visit CM. I get a large cup of Americano with a dash of milk. . What would be called a flat white in Australia. 50 baht for a very good coffee, way superior to the watered-down stuff purveyed by Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Amazon and Black Canyon.

Poor is people who make less than 3000 baht/month, working in the rice fields. Poor was my GF walking to school 2 km away barefoot, the family could not afford shoes. Many of the Hilux owners you see are up to their eyeballs in debt. I don't know how many rural Thais drink coffee, it would not be many at Starbucks prices. 155 baht would feed a family of five at a village restaurant.

I don't understand the sugar shortage, as I understand Mitrapol has bought out all sugar production in Australia. Him with a capital "H" is a bit of a giveaway.

The range on my Vios is about 600 km. My point really is it's much easier to refuel an ICE than an EV in isolated areas. Yes, they will come. I see no reason to be a lab rat in the interim. EV's vary in quality of construction. Apparently there is one EV where the battery cover is also the floor of the vehicle. I understand big repair shops have equipment for straightening a chassis, although the same may not apply to monocoque bodies.

In case you have not noticed, I already have. Perhaps you could return the favor by giving electric Jesus a rest as well.