Lacessit

You think I am so skint I live in Chiang Rai to save 10 baht on coffee? Each to his own. Having a holiday in Pattaya or Phuket for a week is enough for me. As for Bangkok, I would sooner chew razor blades, than be there for more than a day passing through. A dirty, expensive s##thole, with too many people and year-round air pollution. A lot of tourists pass on Chiang Rai, which is fine with me. It's the starting point for a lot of unusual and beautiful places the average tourist never sees.

AS I understand it, if a foreigner rents a house or condo in Indonesia for a year, they pay the full year's rental up front. If the maid gets pregnant while employed by the foreigner, more money to be paid as well. Doesn't matter who the father is.

Chiang Rai has plenty of coffee shops in the 30 - 50 baht range. The places you mention are tourist traps, with prices adjusted accordingly.

Wicked.

Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar?

You may be right, perhaps I should have put in a disclaimer about no technical problem that cannot be solved eventually. I am finding it difficult to envisage a battery-powered clone of an A380 carrying 500 passengers from London to Singapore, though.

Perhaps the OP might want to consider adoption as an alternative.

I would say no, because the metal roof has to be fixed to something, which should not be brittle tiles.

When I moved from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, my first Immigration visit was taxing, with proofs of residence etc. being demanded. After that, extensions have been much easier. It doesn't sound like the OP has much time left on his current extension, perhaps he should consider getting an agent in Samut Prakan for the first encounter.

You may be right, recycling of lithium hexafluorophosphate batteries is proving to be a major technical challenge. Having said that, IMO there is general agreement fossil fuels have to go. I've just read an article where one of Australia's biggest natural gas producers is admitting sequestering carbon dioxide by pumping it underground is a failure, but that always was thermodynamic BS. I can't see an electric aircraft making it from Melbourne to Los Angeles. It's like electric cars, which are much better suited to urban travel.

IIRC, I was looking at the specs for a 2016 Almera, and it may not have been the Thai market version. Different engine sizes for export vehicles are quite common.

Rich people in Australia disagree with you. The ones I used to play golf with competed with one another to see how many solar panels they could cram onto the rooftops of their houses, and who had the biggest battery storage. You don't get to be wealthy by being stupid with money, those guys could see what is coming. So could I, the six solar panels I put on my roof about 20 years ago repaid the capital investment in about 18 months. Most businesses are very happy with 5 years. Australia still relies on fossil fuels for 70% of its energy. Albania is 100% renewables. We are running tenth in terms of renewable energy production, if it was not for venal morons like Abbott and Morrison we would probably be up there with Albania. We do get plenty of sunshine.

Just revisited the Adam Hall "Quiller Meridian." It has some relevance to what might be happening in Russia now. Before that, Steve Martini's "The Arraignment."

The Chinese have developed an unenviable reputation for shoddy goods. It's a bit like when the Japanese starting making cars for the American auto market. I'm betting the Chinese tablets are mostly cheap inert filler.

I can remember in Australia when the Labor party split, with the formation of the Democratic Labour Party. Anti-communist, strong Catholic influence. Arguably, the split kept the Liberals in power for more than a decade. Voters shy away from disunity, as I suspect the Republicans found out in the mid-terms. Roe vs Wade was icing on the cake for the Democrats. History repeats itself.

Thanks for letting me know where your taste buds are located. IIRC, you claim to be the Daddy Warbucks of share trading, making a motza every day. Why are you obsessing about a 99 baht pizza, which for that price was probably inedible? Are you Scrooge McDuck's love child?

This is what I make for myself - pork tenderloin, hot English mustard, and tasty cheese. Oh dear, I've gone off topic again.

I am not sure Twitter will survive Musk.

Perhaps it is all the work that goes into beating the s##t out the dough, and tossing it up artistically. Or the capital cost of the oven. I eat it very rarely, IMO there are better dishes around.

The Republicans are between a rock and a hard place. Support Trump, they will lose yet again. The mid-terms proved that. Oppose him, he will destroy the GOP out of spite. He adds an extra dimension to vindictive. Their best hope is for him to be convicted. For all his faults, Biden represents normalcy to the majority of voters. Trump is a return to chaos.

Small turbo-charged engines seem to be the way most vehicle manufacturers are going. The Nissan Almera is another case in point, the 1 L turbo version which replaced the sluggish 1.5 L engine in the last year or so has far better acceleration.

LOL, have you heard of laptops and desktops? I use a phone for making phone calls. I have to say your record of jumping to conclusions on minimal information is Olympic-class. When are you going to learn when you are in a hole, it's best to stop digging?

I have a joint account with my GF that has enough money to last her for a year or more. My will takes care of everything else, I understand probate in Thailand takes about 6 months.

What do you think would happen if he stopped using it? My main beef with Firide is the effect on my libido. I've been told I have a very large prostate, 1 mg of Cardura daily seems to keep me flowing OK.

IMO what you do outside Thailand is entirely your own business, irrespective of whether you are retired or not. Apply for a multiple re-entry permit, TM8. 3800 baht. It is valid for the period of your visa/ extension, you can come and go as many times as you want.