On 3/21/2020 at 9:45 PM, elgenon said:

My niece works with a business that makes and sells fermented food. Very healthy. They are experiencing a pronounced bump in sales.

 

Other than that I would recommend becoming friends with Our Dear Leader in the US.

Good idea. I hear farmers are having to dump fruit and vegetables because they can't get to market. Switching to ferment mode, if the supplies are available, could be a good back up, and would surely help reduce food shortages that some predict are coming.

This COVID-19 crisis is scary, especially for biz owners and those considering starting a businesses.

But in most disasters, some people come out better off than before.

Other than setting up a toilet paper factory at home, what ideas are you hearing about, or do you think would work, for turning this horribly sour lemon into lemonade?

https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/11/21174720/coronavirus-amazon-robots-air-purifiers

Moving beyond US politics, WAPO published a really interesting article with moving graphics about viral spread and different strategies on preventing it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

That would be a tough one. Trying to stop the body from going into decay-mode while still at home would be the next biggest priority.

The typical traveler who's been to a high risk country probably won't even declare it if there's no record in the passport. They'll think, "I feel great, definitely don't have the virus, so why report and get stuck in quarantine."

Risky business.

Toilet paper has only been around for what, 100 years or so? What did humans use for most of their history? Leaves? Bare hands? The tongues of hungry dogs?

"In a new blog post, Google has confirmed three “High” level vulnerabilities within Chrome 80, one of which (CVE-2020-6418) is a zero-day exploit that “exists in the wild”. This makes sticking on the current version of Chrome an immediate danger."

Time to update or switch.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2020/02/27/google-chrome-80-upgrade-zero-day-vulnerability-security-problem-update-chrome-browser/#595773b077af

Snails.

The French and Chinese eat them.

The Thais smear their juices on their faces.

Not sure who's got the worst thing going.

Are lifeguards not a thing in Phnom Penh?

Sounds like there are a lot of happy, if not bored, school children in China. An extra two weeks out of school, yay! Lucky for them, they probably don't comprehend the scariness of the overall situation that's letting them miss school.

Looks like trouble.

Some people just aren't into body fluid exchange.

More than that though, have things always been like this, or is she getting more distant as time goes on.

One's attraction to their partner often fades with familiarity. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Minor irritations over time can eliminate all desire for physical closeness. Sometimes you gotta reset, erasing memories of those minor irritations with fun, romantic surprises. Just an idea.

I wonder how they are going to get the medical staff to go to Wuhan to staff this new, built in 4 days, hospital.

Can't imagine there will be many volunteers.

The water in the photo looks kind of brown, even though it's shooting straight out of the hose. Maybe recycled water, or river water?

It's news like this that upsets me most about China.

Another instance of China making it harder for ethnic Chinese businessmen to earn a reputation and employ good people.

^{_{APT40 Hacking Group Linked to 13 Alleged Front Companies in Hainan, China}}

"In addition to seeking offensive hackers, some of the alleged front businesses also have posted job advertisements looking for translators who know English, Cambodian, Indonesian and Vietnamese. The U.S., Cambodia and Southeast Asia region are all historically known targets of APT40."

Any takers?

https://www.scmagazine.com/home/security-news/apts-cyberespionage/apt40-hacking-group-linked-to-13-alleged-front-companies-in-hainan-china/

5 minutes ago, Janner1 said:

... at least she has the balls to stand up against perceived superior forces within the current government.

Wait...she's a ladyboy too?

There are flaws and backdoors in a lot of the apps and software we use. It's a good idea to always assume your stuff is at risk.

An interesting response to this though is a whole new industry of "righteous hackers" have stepped up to find those holes and report them to the companies that made the software or run it. 

Good money in it too for those bug hunters that find them and report it to the company before anyone else does.

From the article I linked to below: " In March 2019, HackerOne announced that 19-year-old Argentinian hacker Santiago Lopez (also known as @try_to_hack) was the world’s first hacker to earn $1 million with bug-bounty programs. Now, five more have joined the high-standing $1 million hacker ranks, including: Tommy DeVoss from the U.S., Mark Litchfield from the U.K., Nathaniel Wakelam from Australia, Frans Rosen from Sweden, and Ron Chan from Hong Kong."

https://threatpost.com/six-hackers-1m-bug-bounty-programs/147868/

Hi Thailand, please send fresh mangosteen to the US west coast! There's no fruit like mangosteen.

If only it was more tropical where I live, I'd smuggle some seeds and start an orchard of my own.

Hmmm...maybe a business opportunity.

A couple more? Thai friends have drilled the following into me:

1. Don't speak negatively of the royal family.

2. Remove shoes when visiting prayer areas of temples, and never let your feet point at a Buddha. When sitting on the floor of a temple, be sure your feet face to the side or rear --- away from the Buddha.

3. Accept the over-generosity of Thai friends with grace and patience. Yes, they will insist on driving you through Bangkok in bumper to bumper traffic at rush hour even though taking the skytrain or subway would be much faster. Grin and bear it, and realize this is their way of taking care of you.

8 hours ago, Fred white said:

Hard to stop a country from damming their rivers but there should have been some kind of agreement concerning rivers that pass through other countries

Yep, China doesn't tend to listen to other countries' requests, whether about territory, water, or anything else. I'm sure they'd be happy to work out a financial arrangement though where, for a fee, those up river dams release a bit more water each day.

In the US, recognizing the shortage of tech workers, Amazon and Microsoft have been setting up coding, AI and other summer camp style activities to train kids for the future and groom a future workforce. Tech jobs are roles that many kids don't even know exist, so more exposure to such opportunities could really help broaden Thai kids' horizons. Perhaps Thai tech companies and universities could do something similar, seeing the win-win potential.

55 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Same as ladyboys luring men into thinking they are having sex with a woman

Except that she's an adult, and her targets were children. Even ladyboys have higher standards.