Lacessit

If I do use an ATM ( very rarely ) I make sure it is the bank's ATM outside the bank itself, so if anything goes wrong I can get the problem attended to immediately.

IMO part of the problem is advertising revenue. I doubt anyone can read a review of any vehicle nowadays that discusses a vehicle warts and all. Two reasons - the journalists themselves would lose the junkets to a manufacturer's headquarters, and the advertising income would dry up overnight. Any writer with the temerity to describe a vehicle as a pile of excrement, with supporting facts, would be shown the door quite rapidly. The other problem area is media ownership. People such as Murdoch know there is more money in catering to the lowest common denominator, than being impartial. Going through secondary college, I was taught English Literature, French, Latin and German. I was also taught the meaning of terms such as ontology, epistemology, and empiricism. I learned about the various forms of dishonest argument used in debate. Permit me to doubt that breadth of background is available in classrooms nowadays.

It may simply be a hot transmission, from using too high a gear. https://magazine.unsealed4x4.com.au/unsealed-4x4-issue-068/mu-x-common-problems-and-solutions

To whom? The phu yai? Good luck with that. I get the same about once every couple of months. I just close the windows, turn on the aircon, and inset my earplugs.

Parking at a shopping mall here is very easy with a scooter. As for bird watching, I'll find a seat, and just watch an assortment of women walk by ranging from cute to beautiful. It's pretty rare to see scooters parked at a shopping mall in Australia. I have no interest in whale-watching, not in a shopping mall anyway.

You may be right. Having said that, there are plenty of single Western females who seem to get along fine in cities such as Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. You've never heard of rape and murder in the Philippines? It's a violent and dangerous place, perhaps you should broaden your reading horizons.

It is true the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. It is true no-one has succeeded in circumventing the Second Law of Thermodynamics. It is true if one steps off the twentieth floor of a condo, the probability of surviving the fall is vanishingly small. Perhaps you could explain what you think establishes your own credibility. I suspect ontology and epistemology are not your strong suits.

IMO it is useful to post material grievances here as a warning and information for others. If there is a brand that throws you under a bus when it comes to a warranty, or a defective product, wouldn't you want to know about it? If there was a police checkpoint that had a reputation for extorting foreigners on the flimsiest of pretexts, I am damn sure I would like to hear about that too.

I would suggest Thailand and Vietnam are better choices. From what I have heard from people who have been to the Philippines, it is probably the most violent of the Asian countries, due to poverty and the proliferation of guns. A middle-aged foreign woman would be an easy target.

I find winter in Chiang Rai to be very pleasant. During the pandemic, it seemed to be one of the better places to hunker down.

Quite true, however, there are less pleasant ways to shuffle off this mortal coil. Here's some of the complications from diabetes: Complications Heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease. Diabetes majorly increases the risk of many heart problems. ... Nerve damage (neuropathy). ... Kidney damage (nephropathy). ... Eye damage (retinopathy). ... Foot damage. ... Skin and mouth conditions. ... Hearing impairment. ... Alzheimer's disease.

Best advice I can give is stay out of the sun. Private hospitals usually have a dermatologist on their staff.

Any 50% synthetic or full synthetic motor oil will do. Oils designed as specifically for chainsaws are more designed to drain the pockets of people who buy them.

Americans confuse socialism with communism, they have been indoctrinated that way, just as the majority of Russians believe the war in Ukraine is justified. We have had socialist governments in Australia on and off since Federation, and we have survived OK. It's worth noting most of our reforms are introduced by them, whereas conservative governments tend towards corruption, and selling off any publicly-owned assets they can lay their hands on. No, I am not a red sympathizer. I was told by a Siberian Jew how he and his fellow students were conscripted to harvest wheat in the new lands. They stored the harvested wheat in bags, which stayed open because the factory that was supposed to be manufacturing thread to sew the bags up failed to deliver the thread. One of the pitfalls of a planned economy. As a result, about one-third of the crop was lost to birds and vermin. I also remember a quite hilarious article in "The Economist" many years ago entitled " In the Lunatic Bus Factory", describing truck manufacture in Russia.

Excellent pets when domesticated, a neighbor had one. Supposed to be illegal to own a dingo; however,he was a lawyer so presumably he was immune to prosecution. Speaking of lawyers, did you know one in ten people in Washington, D.C. is a lawyer? We make do with three in one thousand. No wonder you guys have problems. My spelling eagle eye detected you feinted in your OP, and did not faint as you no doubt meant. Is this another feint?

Scorn is about all bitter people have got.

Kevin Rudd is like the curate's egg, good and bad in parts. As we all are. You should show more gratitude. Those insignificant people have contributed quite a lot of blood and treasure to the various wars America has engaged in since WWII. We have also made ourselves a nuclear target on your behalf, without North West Cape and Pine Gap your intelligence-gathering would be severely impaired. Perhaps Stalin was correct when he remarked gratitude is a disease of dogs.

What is "normal?" A war in Ukraine causing global economic turmoil, perhaps? The BS trotted out by politicians to excuse their lack of action on global warming and climate change? An ex-president accused of being a felon on so many counts it reads like a phone book, who still is supported by about 30% of the American population? The OP is confronted by too many toothpaste choices, and the queues for car parking. One of our former Prime Ministers, Malcolm Fraser, once famously remarked "Life wasn't meant to be easy." It's obviously too hard for some.

You forgot Sheryl and Crossy.

Which is why I tell Centrelink nothing. If they want to know something, they will have to ask me. Your spelling of the name has me wondering if you are even Australian, center is American English.

Wolf Blass wines are not a single vintage. They are usually a blend of wines coming from half a dozen vineyards. Having said that, the vintners at Wolf Blass are pretty good at blending to produce palatable and affordable wines.

There are some very good wines in Australia, it's a matter of getting friendly with a guy who owns his own wine shop, and letting him choose. Usually $20 - $30 a bottle. I only drink reds. It's near impossible to adulterate red wine, the colloid that gives a red wine its color precipitates out. Whereas one can put almost anything into white wine, some German producers were sweetening their whites with glycerol and glycol. The best wine I have ever had was Booth's Premium Shiraz 1990, $15 a bottle. It was only sold from the cellar door, because it didn't need any retail outlet. Booth's were usually out of stock about 6 weeks after vintaging, people would drive from Melbourne to load up with 2 or 3 dozen. The guy who made it, Cliffy Booth, died in the 90's. His secrets of winemaking died with him. The vineyard still made a good wine, but it was no match in hypnotic persuasion.

Wolf Blass and Jacob's Creek are within the OP's budget. IIRC 500 - 700 baht. Unless I go to a premium wine - say 4000 baht/bottle, the difference between a 700 baht bottle and a 2000 bottle is indistinguishable to me.

I was actually too old for the Vietnam lottery, although the song "Khe San" by Cold Chisel still resonates with me. Kudos to you for serving in a war we should not have been in.

The neighbors are out to get you, Crossy. They are reporting the sparks they see flying out of your garage, and fear you are building an apparatus for lightning bolts.