JackGats

Even those with traffic lights. Besides, the lights will work for a few weeks then go dead for lack of maintenance. There's no money to be made in traffic light maintenance you see. Thai brain: "Are you giving me any money to maintain the lights? You're not? I won't do it then!"

I thought it had never ceased to be gloomy.

If Trump can check China he will do us all - lefties included - a huge favour. China getting bigger and more powerful year after year is not something we can ignore. What will become of Thailand once the Chinese have both the strongest economy AND the strongest currency? Hordes of poor Chinese are bad enough, fancy hordes of rich Chinese?

Somewhat said: "Harvard is a hedge fund with a university attached to it". There's some truth in that. Universities and their hedge-funds are tax-free, like cults. If I am a right-wing tax-payer, should I be happy with my tax-payer's money going to fund tax-free outfits of left-wing agitprop who already manage billions? Of course this raises the question of why Trump doesn't go after religious cults who enjoy similar privileges.

Indeed, and average hard drug overdoses per day how many? 0.5? Much of what is wrong with modern Societies is that they can't get their priorities right.

Indeed. They're death traps in Thailand.

This is one of the reasons I never advise acquaintances back home to book a holiday to Thailand. I don't want to be blamed if they come to harm.

This - and not the Songkran road carnage - is a scandal?

Quote: " up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 300,000 baht". In other words, a slap on the wrist.

Did she say she wanted you to be high on what? If it was on cannabis, no problem in Thailand.

Yes, that's what I meant for short. Not many non US people will go to the trouble of acquiring a (non virtual) US mobile phone number. No citizenship test, but requirements that are tantamount to one.

Google Voice only for US citizens.

The U-turn president.

Yes but in this case on top of the fee you stand to lose some money on the exchange rate. In this case there are two exchange rates, not just one. I understand this is what happens if your money is in Euros and you bank in South America. The Euros get exchanged to USD, then to Pesos or whatever. It's one of the things that make living in South America less attractive if you hail from Europe as opposed to the US. I'm sure technically nothing prevents the banks to go from Euros straight into Pesos, it's just that the banks and the US SWIFT mafia want to maximise their cut. It gets even worse if both these exchange rates are not the "good" Visa or Master interbank rates but some less good rates invented by the bank. Long live crypto!

High-level athletes often take drugs, that's why you get doping-control scandals. Not all people are happy drinking beer at 10 in the morning.

That's the war-on-drugs for you guys. Adulterated drugs leading to accidental deaths ("overdose"). Then calls for even more war-on-drugs etc. If hard drugs were on sale free this guy would probably still be alive. That's what the warriors-on-drugs won't tell you: the percentage of drug deaths they cause.

Sunday. When exactly do they start throwing water in Pattaya? Tomorrow (Saturday?). I nearly got doused today in Soi Post Office. I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't at it already this very evening.

This year I'm off to Jakarta for 10 days. A good use of Thai Airways miles that were to expire soon.

Does this apply to visa holders?

Jail visits would be even more efficient.

I think there might be an objective reason for this anomaly. When people look at themselves in the mirror, they instinctively adjust their posture to their best angle. When I curse at hot girls not giving me the time of day in Pattaya, I only need to look at a random picture (or worse still, video) of myself for a reality check.

I feel the need to revise my dismissal of auto-generated sub-titles. I was wrong to dismiss them as useless. I am now using them on a regular basis. Even when not 100% correct they can often nudge the listener towards the right answer.

That's the trade-off I am living with. The tariffs make me lose a lot of money on my stocks, on the other hand they limit the hordes coming to Thailand because the hordes lose their travel money.

Call.com ?

Actually from the pictures showing swaying high-rises during the earthquake, I'm rather impressed by Thai building standards, also given the poor substrate they have to build on in Bangkok (waterlogged soil?). Note that the earthquake was far away but shallow. Shallow earthquakes are more destructive all else equal. In this case it seemed only the high-rises were affected, which has to do with resonnance (higher buildings swaying in unisson with the earthquake's wavelength). This is akin to the 1985 Mexico earthquake: "Buildings of 5 to 15 stories were most affected, as their interaction with the shock waves created a harmonic resonance, exacerbating the degree of swaying. More than 400 buildings collapsed, and thousands more were damaged."