JensenZ

3 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Most of you guys, is my guess, just do not know how very great life was in the USA....

 

What happened?

 

Such a tragedy, really.

 

So sad, really.

 

The total destruction of The American Dream.

This guy is not an American (Australian), but I do know things have changed quite a bit since I cruised 38 states of the USA between 1996 and 1998. It was an amazing place to visit, and I spent nearly a year there over the 3 years. I bought a Chevy Blazer and drove 25,000 miles from Key West for a full circuit of the country and back to Key West in 1996, from May to December. Best time I've ever had. Lots of cruising music was blasted LOL.

2 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

I did listen, no matter your opinion concerning whether or not I did or did not....

 

Regarding cruising....I love this song...

 

 

 

Baby, let's cruise....

 

If you want it, you got it....

 

PM me...

 

 

Great! (that you listened despite my opinion that you didn't).

I don't want to listen to your dreadful song as it came out 4 months after my father died in 1979. Music has a powerful link to the past.

6 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

She has my complete sympathies.

 

 

You didn't listen - cruising music with a solid beat.

Here's another example...

Sunlight Project - Antigua

7 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

RIGHT!

So...THIS is just one reason I moved out of condo living.

 

Sometimes....I ....just....feel the need...to....

 

BLAST AWAY, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!

 

(CLEAR THE COBWEBS, so to speak!!!!!!!)

 

 

 

I really enjoy living in my rented condo, so the sacrifice was worth it. I used to blast a bit in my last place - a townhouse with no neighbours, but then a Thai woman moved next door and pretended to care about loud music. It's a bit strange - Thai people complaining about loud music in Pattaya, a stone's throw from Walking Street, hence my comment "pretended to care".

Back in my not-so-distant blasting days, I began to enjoy progressive house music turned up to a reasonable volume. A bit different from my early days with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and so on...

Sunlight Project - La Marea

(have a listen - you might enjoy it too)

Due to living in a condo, blasting music is off the menu.  

23 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

But how is that going to stop the continual +60 and +697 calls that I keep getting?

It might not be ideal for people who receive a lot of phone calls, but my phone is on silent 24/7 unless I'm expecting a call. People can message me on multiple apps if they need my attention.

On 1/26/2024 at 2:15 AM, Walker88 said:

Are you feeling fearful?

 

I understand those maga types are particularly violent people. Look what they did to police at the Capitol. Too bad only one of them got a double tap. I wonder where Kyle Rittenhouse was? I thought he was big on protecting cops. He could have gone to DC and gunned down those maga terrorists.

 

 

It seems that on every thread someone finds a reason to talk about Trump. We could talk about the price of milk and someone will mention Trump LOL

10 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

 

I bought branded cast bars from HuaSengHeng (one of the biggest, if not the biggest dealer) with many outlets in Yaowarat - and likely elsewhere. The HuaSengHeng Gold website has immediate spot prices and also a XAU/USD chart. It often seems that the Thai gold price in Thai Baht is out of kilter with rises and falls in the spot gold price in US Dollars. I've often thought there might be an arbitrage opportunity there but I've got other things to do.

 

Considering the $25 ADR (14-day) of gold, which is about an 850 baht range, and roughly 420 baht per half ounce (15.16g of 96.5% purity), they cannot constantly adjust the price too frequently.

Here is my go-to site for the price in Thailand: https://www.gcap.co.th/gcapgold/home.php

I always check there before buying or selling.

I bookmarked your site too - good to have a few.

3 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

Many Thais are fixated on gold. Nothing like trying to spook the market into buying. They weren't telling people to "act" in the last few weeks when it was as low as 33,500 for gold bar (jewellry and ornaments lower).

Glad I bought last year when it was much lower. I'll not be buying more (nor selling) as gold for me is a safety net in case there's a collapse in the banks.

 

The main driving forces for gold are interest rates and of course feelings of impending doom in the marketplace. The baht is weakening against the USD, countering a small drop in the price of gold.

The Spot price of Gold plummeted by $55 on Jan 15 & 16 but it has since recovered nearly $20. They were a bit late with the news.

6 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Plummet 0.435%?

Yes, it's a joke, as the price of spot gold ranges about 1.25% per day on average.

2 minutes ago, novacova said:

Good time to buy gold, given that things are starting to flair up in the world. If things appear to change in the US elections in November, then expect the price to drop.

Gold is unpredictable and you can't expect it to do anything, but bear in mind that the 14-day ADR (Average Daily Range) of gold is around $25 per day.

2 hours ago, paul1804 said:

I cannot answer your question but I do know that by Thai law after 3 years living apart, ie not in the same dwelling divorce is automatic and either party can apply for it on those grounds. Yes Thailand will tell you many different rules & laws which is quite common & very confusing. 

This is not true. Thailand's laws on divorce are clear... in Chapter 6, Book 5, Commercial and Civil Code. You can buy an English translation on Lazada for about 600 baht.

7 hours ago, Getyourfactsright said:

Hi All,

 

some advice please because everything I have read as well as consulting Legal services in Thailand are giving me different answers.

 

My Thai spouse and I want to divorce.  We have been separated 4 years and I’m in the uk.  I want to divorce from Uk but he is refusing to send the marriage certs and wants me to go to Thailand . I’ve read if we do an uncontested divorce that it won’t be recognised in the uk.  Is that correct? Also I have to get my passport notarised end certified . Question is can I do that here or has to be in Thailand .  
 

please help I’m at my wits end 

If you were married in Thailand, was it necessary to report your marriage in the UK? I've recently gone through a divorce as an Australian who married in Thailand and recently divorced in Thailand. There is no marriage reporting to Australia. As far as Australia is concerned, I never married. I was thinking maybe it's the same deal in the UK.... however, Australia does recognise uncontested administrative divorces legally obtained overseas.

11 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No.  Why would the UK not recognise a Thai divorce following a Thai marriage...what's it got to do with the UK authorities?   

For the divorce obtained in Thailand to be valid for a UK citizen, the divorce needs to conform to UK divorce law. For sure the Thai spouse would not have a problem and would be officially divorced.

21 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No.  Why would the UK not recognise a Thai divorce following a Thai marriage...what's it got to do with the UK authorities?   

Unfortunately, some countries don't recognize divorce by mutual consent, namely administrative divorces in Thailand. Australia recognizes them, not sure about the UK - each country is different. There's quite a bit of information online about divorce in Thailand.

Edit: There might be a problem.

Reading here: Divorce in Thailand

According to this article, only a judicial divorce is recognized in the UK, not an administrative divorce. If you divorce in Thailand, you'll need to do it in court.

I would suggest you hire a lawyer in the UK and get your divorce there. Just make it clear you haven't had any contact with the Thai spouse for 4 years and you can't contact him.

7 hours ago, cdemundo said:

It seems that a lot of the vaccine skeptics/"healthy immune system" crowd have very little understanding of the immune system.

 

Starting with the basics:

 

"The immune system is made up of two parts: the innate, (general) immune system and the adaptive (specialized) immune system."

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279396/#:~:text=Last Update%3A July 30%2C 2020,adaptive (specialized) immune system.

(The link is a good place to start.)

 

Someone who doesn't understand this (general and adaptive components)  cannot understand the role of vaccines.

What the "healthy, natural immune system" crowd says indicates that they do not understand the general and adaptive immune system.

I would say you're the one who doesn't understand how the immune system works. Let's say you exposed a group of people to a virus. Some wouldn't get sick at all, then others would get varying degrees of symptoms from very mild to serious. I've had COVID-19 several times and they were the mildest respiratory ailments I can remember, and I'm in my 60s in a higher-risk group (pre-diabetes).

It's hard work to stay healthy, so yeah, people who don't look after their health, most people, better get jabbed and hope that it works and take the risk they won't be one of the excess deaths being documented after COVID-19.

If you don't mind, I'll take my chances with my natural immune system.

1 hour ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

 

I missed the sarcasm too in that case. 

The post was clearly a mini rant by someone who is an anti-vaxxer.  Probably someone who, for whatever reason, has decided they don't want to listen to experts; or do what the authorities recommend.  

Vaccines are a good thing and assuming you've not already been vaccinated or your previous vaccination is out of date, it is a good idea to be vaccinated for any diseases that are circulating within the population.  

I'd rather my immune system was given a boost by receiving a vaccine than run the risk of getting the disease and my body not being able to fight it off.  

You've obviously done no research as you are convinced or brainwashed that what you think you know is the truth. Excess deaths are a real thing and data proving it has been made public in many countries. I respect your right to blast your system with vaccines for every disease known to man, so you should respect that people who don't agree might also have good reasons. Insulting the intelligence of people who choose not to receive vaccinations is no way to start a conversation or debate. We are ranting, but you're not?

Someone didn't get your memo. Vaccinations had become an afterthought a year ago despite the earlier craze. In April 2023 I searched Pattaya for a place for my wife to get vaccinated for entry to the US. 3 private hospitals couldn't tell me where to go. Eventually, I found a public hospital that could administer the vaccination on their one-day-per-week program, at the cost of 1300 baht.

Just now, JimTripper said:

Resting in pieces

LOL. It was a somber occasion as it was my very first tooth extraction. I had the broken tooth sitting on my desk for months, to mourn its passing. It had been in my mouth for about 60 years.

6 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

The Usofan concept of 'freedom': I'll do whatever I damn-well like.

 

The rest of the Western world does (mostly) not share that concept. The policeman who arrests you when you exceed the speed limit is understood to be looking after the interests of ALL the people, not just the interests of the manufacturers of speed signs.

Fortunately, expats still have the freedom not to be vaccinated in Thailand. I did have the thought that the Immigration Department would make COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory for visa renewals back in 2020, but luckily it didn't happen. Thai people weren't so lucky and many were forced to get vaccinated as a requirement for their employment.

I suppose you would prefer everyone gets vaccinated for a long list of diseases and we carry a vaccination card with us at all times to prove our vaccination status.

1 hour ago, thecyclist said:

Had lots of root canals and crowns down in Bangkok and Pattaya, and recently in Vietnam. In Pattaya it shouldn't be more than 12000 Baht for root treatment plus ceramic crown.

They do professionel work in Vietnam, too.And it's significantly cheaper than Thailand. 

The crowns come with a warranty. The more expensive they are, the longer the warranty. 

The crowns themselves are not usually the problem. The problems usually start if you develop an infection under the crown. This is the case if you develop a toothache under the crowned tooth and usually a sign the dentist did a bad job cleaning out the root.

Bear in mind it's a dead tooth with no blood supply, so infections can set in where your natural immune system cannot help.