Lacessit

Agree. IMO the only thing the private hospitals have going for them is faster service, and possibly privacy IF paid for. A recent bout of pneumonia in the Chiang Rai government hospital was managed very professionally, I doubt a private hospital would have done better. 7000 baht. It also was a lot better than I could expect from a public hospital in Australia.

You implied I was not educated. Respect me, I respect you. Don't, and I don't. Is that too hard for you to understand?

Did your cleaning lady forget to stroke your ego today?

Well-educated people don't swear? News to me. You sound like a bit of a snob.

Oh wow, a statistical sample of two kids in a population of millions proves your case beyond doubt. The virologists and epidemiologists should clean out their offices, you've made them all redundant.

So the fact you and your friends all drink like fishes and eat loads of processed foods has nothing to do with the bowel cancer, it's all on the vaccine.

That's probably because you lack the ability to comprehend it.

True enough, I have no desire to move in the realm of HiSo's.

I remember one of the kids in my street bought a Buick Straight Eight. 3 times around the block emptied the fuel tank, fuel economy obviously was not a consideration. Is the term "petrolhead" used in the USA?

The improvements in the FJ were mainly styling, the engine got a very modest power boost from 45 KW to 48 KW

I have found over the years Thais love a joke, even bad ones, in their language. IME it's also useful to learn Thai slang for various body parts and functions.

For me, it is a way of staying mentally active. I like to think I can contribute knowledge and experience as well. Slightly addictive, when I get on a thread of a topic which strikes a chord with me. I do take a break occasionally, when I have had enough of suffering fools gladly.

I can speak Thai with reasonable fluency, and understand it 50% of the time. I can't get my head around the alphabet, so I can't read or write it. i know a few signs. IME the foreigners here who don't have any Thai usually have a Thai partner who is proficient in English, and hence don't bother. I can usually make myself understood in most situations. I talk to my GF in Thai all the time. IMO knowing some Thai is much better than having none, if living here long-term.

Don't worry, the term "witty" will never be associated with your posts.

If the sole qualifications of a "better team" is absolute loyalty, permit me to doubt experience and competence will be there, except perhaps by accident. As for Trump himself, the saying you can't teach an old dog new tricks springs to mind.

Here's a news flash - France, Germany and the UK can make military toys just as technically advanced as the USA. Even the Israelis. Please do place 100% tariffs on car imports. Then you can go back to driving crappy rustbuckets with fuel inefficiency, which will pollute you to death on your Western and Eastern seaboards.

Trump does not seem to understand tariffs are a two-edged sword. His last trade war with China was a disaster for American farmers. IMO leaders of other countries should simply say, bring it on. The tariffs you put on our goods and services, we will double on yours.

Like this? One thing you had to say about the TR-3, it LOOKED like a sports car should.

The Honda's predecessor was a VW Beetle. Heating came via floor vents, from the air-cooled engine. Although basic, the bucket seats were quite comfortable. I worked for a firm, Texfoam, which made those seats. They were manufactured from coconut fibre sprayed with latex, and cured in a mold. It took quite a while for the PU foam technology to do better. The rear engine weight distribution made for quite vicious oversteer in corners, quite a few drivers used to front-engined understeering cars came to grief with it.

In 1974, I bought my first NEW car. A 1974 Honda Civic. Five speed manual gearbox and air conditioning, very economical and agile. For its time, a brilliant small car. It still is the only car I have made money on. My wife of the time had a phobia about old cars, anything over 100,000 km might break down and leave her to be kidnapped by white slavers. I am not exaggerating. It was still in very good condition when I sold it in 1982. No rust, paint only slightly faded. I bought it new for $3200, and sold it to a work colleague's daughter for $3400.

I'd expect Trump to be well into senility by the time he gets to 86, dementia runs in the Trump family. IIRC that was what the Republicans were flagellating Biden with. https://people.com/fred-trump-family-history-dementia-donald-behavior-exclusive-8738427 Someone with dementia with his finger on the nuclear button, now there's a thought.

My first number plate was PT 157

The first Chrysler to be assembled in Australia was the Chrysler Royal, followed by the Chrysler Valiant. The Royal was all fins, whereas the styling of the first Valiant was quite different to the other large car brands, although they would be called compacts in the USA.

Agree with all of it, especially exercise. Interesting sugar is not mentioned as a major health threat.

I bought a 1973 XB Ford Fairmont, exactly as pictured. Cheap plastics manufactured in Broadmeadows kept falling off. The engine was OK, but the radiator was under-designed for a 4.0 litre straight six. It did not like mountain climbing. Four on the floor. As it aged, the steering got more and more vague, with about three inches of free play. Its major design flaw was the drain scuttle under the windscreen wipers, which only had one drain outlet. As a result. water pooling at the other end of the scuttle inevitably caused the steel to corrode, as it was only protected by a cathodic E-coat. Any time it rained, the plush floor carpet got soaked, and rotted. I eventually gave up trying to keep it dry, and retired it to a friend's property west of Euabalong as a hunting vehicle. It was still going strong with its oversquare motor when he sold the property, and I gave it to a kid from one of the neighboring stations.