Lacessit

We have an Australian politician, George Christensen, who dogwhistles his constituency with the same nonsense. He is also known as the Member for Manila. That arises from his frequent visits to the Philippines at taxpayer expense. It's a sad commentary on the standards of the Liberal Party when they refuse to repudiate him.

As a conspiracy theory, I suppose it's up there with Trump saying he won. A quote for you: "A recent study in Mumbai found 96 per cent of COVID-19 patients who required oxygen were unvaccinated" Here's the complete link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-16/lessons-from-omicron-outbreak-in-india/100751716 So inconvenient for anti-vaxxers when facts get in the way of their addle-pated beliefs.

I only require flu shots once a year in Australia. Twice a year is recommended in Thailand. New variants of vaccines are produced to counter mutations. No big deal. I follow the science. In Australia, the science is saying 90% of COVID patients in hospitals are unvaccinated. They reduce the ability of medical staff to cater for non-COVID patients. Certainly, vaccines were originally sold on the basis of preventing COVID. The fact they don't is no excuse for throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I'll take a mild illness over hospitalisation and possible intubation any time. "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, Sir?" ( Keynes ) My GF and I are a case in point. I was vaccinated, she was not. We both got COVID. I had a runny nose and sore throat for 2-3 days, she was ill for 10-11 days. Therefore, we were both infectious for corresponding periods. QED. It doesn't bother me if I get jabbed once, twice or 3 times a year. I've made it to 78, and I've had so many vaccines I probably look like a pincushion. I'd suggest if you are opposed to mandates, you should live somewhere remote, like Bouvet Island.

Anti-vaxxers had better get used to being discriminated against, on public health grounds. When infected, an unvaccinated person is far more likely to infect others than a vaccinated person. Vaccination does not prevent infection, but it does reduce the severity and duration of symptoms. You are being discriminated against because you are refused employment in a hospital, dental clinic, or aged care facility? Makes perfect sense to me.

We have become conditioned to politicians lying to us. We are now accustomed to a media that perverts truth for its own purposes. Inconvenient facts are ignored. Google "Ted Mack". An Australian politician, last of the honorable men. The pandemic has exposed the flaws of unbridled capitalism. The social contract that existed between democratic governments and voters no longer is functional, the sole purpose of government now is to keep capitalism working. That's hard to do if half your workforce is off sick. It's no accident that the only people who are substantially benefiting from the pandemic are the billionaires.

The technology behind Sinovac, Sinopharm and AZ vaccines has been around for more than 70 years. No-one bitches about the long-term effects of polio, flu, hepatitis and typhoid vaccines, because there aren't any. I've been vaccinated, got COVID in October. I was doing my daily routine of exercises while I was in quarantine. Fully recovered, except for an increased intolerance of morons. I know someone, unvaccinated, who got COVID the day before I came out of quarantine. 7 years younger than me, still has problems with fatigue and ability to concentrate. The data coming out of Australia is saying over 90% of COVID-infected patients inhabiting hospital wards were unvaccinated. About 30% of unvaccinated people with COVID develop long COVID, compared with less than 5% of vaccinated people. Facts are never allowed to get in the way of anti-vaxxer beliefs. It reminds me of the Biblical allusion to straining at a gnat, while swallowing a camel.

I meant Duo does not need a SIM card either. The picture quality and range of movement with Duo is definitely superior to LINE, have not used Skype for quite a while.

My son introduced me to a video conferencing tool called Duo, works better than LINE or Skype, no SIM card required.

Oil is supposed to be changed on most cars every 10,000 km. As my car is older ( 16 years ) I change the oil every 5000 km. To get oil to be like tar, it's highly probable the oil has never been changed since the vehicle rolled off the showroom floor. There's a component in the engine block called a dipstick. It goes into the sump. It's used to check the oil level, and observe how clean the oil is. TBH, the OP's problems sound to me as if they arise from total ignorance of the way an ICE works, and the necessity for regular maintenance. Engines with 117,000 km on them don't break down unless they have been badly abused. I don't know how much of the problem is attributable to the garages, but IMO the OP has contributed substantially.

Don't disagree happiness is the goal. My son taught me the most important thing in life is time. I already knew about quality.

Perhaps the reason for why she has aged so drastically has not dawned on you.

Not all of them. My Thai GF is 55, and she looks 35. That's not just my opinion, other men can't believe it when I tell them her age.

Life is full of risk/reward. Touch wood, I've been driving a car and scooter here for 10 years now accident-free, so I must be doing something right. If you look at the road safety figures here, or most other countries for that matter, IMO you'll find teenagers up to mid-twenties are the bulk of the toll. They think they are immortal.

The safety of any vehicle is completely dependent on the mindset of the user. Maintain a vehicle properly, drive defensively, concentrate on threat assessment and avoidance. It's not rocket science.

I used to take pantoprazole ( similar to omeprazole ) every night for gastric reflux. I don't anymore, because I have trained my stomach. These are my rules: 1/ I avoid fatty foods 2/ I quit eating before I feel full. 3/ I only drink alcohol two days in a week. Even then, 2 - 3 standard drinks. 4/ I keep water by the bedside at night, take a sip if I wake up. 5/ Perhaps most importantly, I eat at 6 pm, with bedtime no earlier than 10 pm. IMO we take too many pharmaceuticals to fix health problems we inflict on ourselves with our lifestyles.

If it works for you, fine. I limit my speed on a scooter to 40 km/hr, and stay as far to the left as I can get. Works for me. If I was to be obstructing cars with the increased width at 40 km/hr, IMO jai yenn yenn would be thrown overboard by other road users.

The three factors most common in motorbike and car accidents are speed, alcohol, and fatigue. I don't speed, and I don't drive if the other two are present.

IMO those prices are very reasonable, given the cost includes sedation. Someone to drive the patient home is essential, and the patient should avoid driving and alcohol for 24 hours afterwards.

I've adjusted my driving here to ultra-defensive to compensate for slowing reflexes, and wear prescription driving glasses. After 10 years of driving scooter and car here, my only accident has been a female car driver who shunted me on my scooter when I was stopped for traffic. She was very apologetic. I do hear what you are saying, and at some point my GF will take over. I'm not looking forward to that, as she does not have my driving skills and experience, acquired in 60 years.

The flexibility of most Thais always astonishes me. If I was to try this exercise of my GF, I would probably have torn quads and half a dozen slipped discs.

I would agree for cities such as Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, it is much easier to get around on a scooter, and I do. Having said that, I need a car to travel to my GF's village, and also haul my golf clubs around. I don't fancy my chances trying to balance a golf bag and drive a scooter simultaneously. There is also the age factor. Eyesight, balance and reflexes inevitably deteriorate, and at some point it will be much safer for me to be on four wheels.

Buying a new car for a 19 yo is not something I would do. Secondhand banger, so he could learn driving without all the modern frills. Statistics say most new drivers have their accidents in the first three months of driving. Myself and my son both reinforced said statistic.

He said he had not traveled to other countries, when in fact he went from Serbia to Spain. Alex Hawke, the government minister in charge of granting or denying visas, has rejected Novax' visa on the grounds it is not in the public interest. Djokovic is a poster boy for the anti-vaxxer movement. The rules for travel to Australia include a requirement for double vaccination, as do many other countries. IMO many Australians were outraged by the shifty scheme of exemption cooked up by Tennis Australia and his team, having suffered through multiple lockdowns and being urged to get vaccinated. They felt they were being taken for fools. Djokovic's situation reminds me of when John McEnroe was disqualified in the 1990 Australian Open. He didn't think the rules applied to him either.

I respond if needed to the positive notifications, and ignore the rest.

I have to say Chiang Rai is a lot easier than Chiang Mai in terms of Immigration. Even with an agent, CM was more than an hour. Last extension in CR was 20 minutes.