Longwood50

50 minutes ago, peter zwart said:

Now I came across an article about baby powder. And there will no doubt be/are more things going on. Are we to gradually conclude that pharmaceutical companies are criminal organizations?

If and I repeat if a company knowingly produces and sells a product it knows is harmful then the "executives" who did so are criminally guilty. 
However history is replete with examples of companies innocently producing products and pharmaceuticals that later were found to have harmful effects. 

Take today as an example, we are rushing to vaccinate everyone with Covid vaccines to "protect them"  If 30 years from now there is a medical condition that is correlated to taking that vaccine are the companies criminal?  No I don't think so.  
 

I find the baby powder and J&J nothing more than ambulance chasing by attorney's.  Baby powder has been used for decades with no adverse effects.  Additionally, how can anyone attribute their cancer solely to the use of baby powder.  First, how can a cancer victim "prove" that they ever used baby powder.  Second, how can the victim "prove" that they did not use other chemicals, products, or foods, known to cause the identical cancer. 

Unfortunately in the USA it has become a sport for attorneys to seek out financially wealthy companies claim harm knowing that juries are predisposed to punishing the evil corporate world.  Often it is what is called Greenmailed.  Companies find it cheaper and less detrimental to their reputation just to hand over the money rather than fight in court. 

Finally, J&J along with all other companies has to submit its products for testing by the U.S. Food & Drug administration.  They ruled baby powder was safe.  So unless J&J had internal information that they concealed J&J should have been able to sell its baby powder with the seal of approval by the U.S. government.  

I view the J&J lawsuit not any different than the woman who spilled hot coffee on herself at McDonalds and sued because the coffee was hot and she won the lawsuit.  Strictly frivolous lawsuits that drive up the cost of products to pay the vultures in the legal profession. 

17 hours ago, happydreamer said:

Just to make sure I'm understanding correctly, by this logic investors in real estate are included in the greater fool theory?

Not exactly an apples to apples comparison.  Real Estate is a commodity.  Not any different than soybeans, pork bellies, orange juice and oil.   

Real estate, may be "income producing" such an an apartment building, office building, or shopping mall.  A single family home is "not an investment" it is a way of life.  People may find that the price of their home appreciates over time but one has to be careful defining appreciation.  If a home is purchased for $300,000 and 30 years later it sells for $600,000 is that "appreciation" or is it merely reflecting the higher costs of replacement. 

If you are purchasing a home to live in, that is "not an investment"  If you are purchasing a single family home, office building, vacant land, or a shopping mall to rent, those are investments.  If you are buying real estate to "flip" that is not an investment that is speculation.  Same is true with Crypto.  It is speculation based on the greater fool theory. 
 

15 hours ago, allanos said:

Incidentally, if all the millionaires in the world tried to buy one bitcoin, NOW, they would not be able to. They might be lucky enough to buy one-half a bitcoin.

You just validated my point.  The value is merely derived from demand not the production of anything tangible. 

14 hours ago, allanos said:

Will you change your thesis when Apple buys Bitcoin for its Treasury? (It's gonna happen)!

No.  The fact that Apple or any person or company wishes to put money into Bitcoin is their business.  Apple could buy Lithium or Pork Bellies, that certainly doesn't guide me that they are a worthwhile investment.  At least with Lithium and Pork Bellies they are a tangible commodity unlike bitcoin which is purely abstract. 

12 hours ago, happydreamer said:

ou're right in that Crypto is abstract

You are correct, it is abstract and no I don't have a in depth understanding of it.  However value comes from the ability of an investment to generate income.  The theoretical value of a stock is a multiple of its "projected income".  The faster the company is anticipated to grow the more its stock price rises in value. 

I fail to see of Crypto owns or produces anything.  If I own a crypto currency I certainly don't own a fractional percentage of any income producing assets.  If that is true, its rise in value is strictly a function of having more buyers who want it than those who want to sell it. That is the greater fool theory. 

Perhaps but I worked for Merrill Lynch during he heyday of the dot.com bust.  Companies that produced nothing and never made a profit were sold for huge amounts of money that kept going up on the theory that someday they would be profitable. 

I can recall the traditionalist saying that these companies were not worth anything since they had no earnings and only the imagined prospect of future earnings.  The refrain was " you don't understand the dot.com industry and this time is different" 

I wish I had purchased some crypto when it first came out, but I can tell you after reaching a profit, I would not hold it today.  My instincts still tell me that Coke will produce Coca Cola today, and tomorrow, that Microsoft will produce software, and Apple will make electronics. Those products have value and as sales increase so will profits and my ownership of those companies will rise correspondingly.  I find that far more reassuring than the prospect of crypto.  Two very influential people Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase and Warren Buffet the famed investor have repeatedly rebuked the idea that Crypto was anything more than a fad.  

2 minutes ago, happydreamer said:

You're about 10 years early with the dot com boom sir

You are correct.  typo.  There are many ways to make money.  You can go to Las Vegas and bet on red vs black at the roulette wheel also.  I have to admit to not being an expert in crypto currency.  However my years in the investment business always taught me the value of an investment was a multiple of a businesses expected profits.  An earning multiple.  Cryto is really a commodity but unlike a true commodity such as oil, soybeans, orange juice etc it really doesn't exist.  

Value is determined by "perception"  When people perceive something has value they price it accordingly.  Perhaps I am naïve but the only way cryto appreciates in value is because a new purchaser is willing to pay more for it than the person who already owns it.  It can not generate income.  Contrast that to Apple who makes products and sells services.  Apple sales and profits can increase which in turn makes the owning the company more desirable to own and hence valuable. Perhaps there will be many who make vast fortunes in crypto currency.  I personally don't like investing where the only avenue for making a gain is someone who is a bigger fool than I am for buying the intangible in the first place.  

You might as well have purchased USD, Thai Baht, or Euro's.  The difference being that those currencies are backed by sovereign nations.  Currency crypto or otherwise produces nothing.  You are strictly making a bet on what is known as the "bigger fool theory"  That is no matter how much you pay for the crypto currency there will always be a bigger fool that will pay more.  The last time that played out in huge fashion was in the 1980's with the dot.com boom then bust.  

I am sure a lot of people have purchased crypto and it now is selling for substantially more than they paid for it.  The same was true for a substantial portion of the dot.com stocks until the crash. 

There is an old adage in the investment business.  Trees don't grow to the sky.  The bitcoin rage is fueled not by any investment fundamentals.  It is going up, strictly because people see it rising in price.  It may turn out to be a great investment for some people but personally I prefer to have an "investment" in a company that makes a tangible product, and generates income.  

Perhaps it would be well worth reading about "investing" in Tulip Bulbs that exploded in value and how that turned out. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania
 

Like all generalizations the characteristics don't apply universally.  You can have a Thai woman who is faithful, respectful, loving etc and the same can be said of a Western woman. Some meek and subservient, and others extremely assertive and dominant.  It is the person, not the ethnicity. 

5 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

Pattaya Klang

I did a google search.  Would this be the place? 

Well its Valentines day coming up.  I have done the search on the internet to no avail.  Some of the sites start at 1800 baht for a small bouquet but most don't even post prices or pictures of what you are ordering.  I have no desire to call each of them to to try and find out particularly since I only speak English.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to a florist here in Pattaya that they have had a good experience with. 

1 hour ago, jak2002003 said:

And the batteries are very toxic and hazardous to the environment.  

Those that are advocates of electric vehicles will tell you they will be recycled.  However those same people when told about recycling spent nuclear material for power plants reject that.

There is nothing clean about mining lithium the component required for production of electric car batteries.  There is nothing clean about battery manufacturing and there certainly is nothing clean about recycling or disposal of spent batteries. 

Consider, when an electric car is involved in the USA in an accident a HAZMAT crew is dispatched.  If a gasoline car spills fuel it quickly evaporates with few if any negative environmental consequences.  If the contents of lithium car batteries is spilled it is a significant hazard and very difficult to mitigate. 

I think that the world is pushing towards electrification of cars without giving much attention to the law of unintended consequences.  One of them is lithium is a precious earth material and is limited.  Will there be an alternative to lithium, maybe.  But I hardly want to put all my bets on one horse. 

I am looking to travel to Italy in May for strictly tourism purposes.  I see that Italy is open to those with an EU covid passport.  However I am a bit confused as to whether Italy does or does not have travel restrictions for tourists coming from Thailand.  There are still flights so it appears as though travel to Italy from Thailand has not been stopped.  Does anyone know what the current requirements to enter for tourist purposes are? 

6 hours ago, transam said:

If you do some Net search you will find the cheap jobbies, then the better quality ones with curved edges which cover the chips, which I have

Yes you are correct.  The cheap ones are 10 to 25 baht.  The curved ones are more expensive. 

On 10/15/2021 at 6:03 PM, Yellowtail said:

If EVs are so much better and cheaper, why all the mandates? 

 

And we'll still be burning fossil fuel to charge them.

 

Too funny

You are exactly correct.  If the marketplace was convinced that EV were better there would be no need to subsidize them.  No one subsidizes  Iphones, people pay premium prices for them because they offer superior performance.  Now while the electric vehicles may reduce pollution, they still get their electric from power plants.  In the USA 40% of the electric comes from coal, 40% from natural gas or oil, 10% from Nuclear, and 10% from hydro electric, wind, and/or solar.  

With the environmentalists hating power generating plants if Americans went big for EV they would soon outstrip the ability to supply the electric.  In terms of pollution, those plants that generate using coal, natural gas, or nuclear are hardly pollution free and even wind/solar/hyrdroelectric have their polluting aspects.  That is saying nothing of the billions of miles of electric cable required to transmit the electricity to the users.  

Probably as soon as your wounds heal from the first 4

Back in 2009 I purchased a Lexus RX 400H Hybrid SUV which was about $10,000 USD more expensive than the comparable gasoline version of the same SUV.  The car was fine, it was a little bit bothersome to hear the engine ignition turn on the engine when it shifted from electric to gas but not terribly so.  With that said, it got no better gasoline mileage than the comparable gas only model, and upon selling, the resale value was virtually the same as the gas model. So it summary I was not a big fan. 

Just purchased a Toyota Cross that is a hybrid.  Given my experience with the hybrid I would have purchased the gas only version but that came only in the stripped down base model, so I bought the hybrid. 

Different result from the same company, Toyota.  The transition back and forth between gas and electric is totally seamless.  You feel nothing as it migrates back and forth. Additionally I am averaging about 19.65 KM per litre.  So I am very pleased with the fuel economy. 

I can't foresee myself ever going 100% electric.  Too much hassle with charging, worrying about where the next charging station might be, and as the vehicle ages, I suspect the value will drop like a rock with the new owner knowing they will face a large expense to replace the entire battery in an all electric car. 

28 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

My experience is that if done by Zoom (not acceptable in all counties as well as e-file), witnesses and testor must be in the same video frame and witnesses must provide proof of US identity with a US Government ID card (ie., driver's license, passport, green card, etc.). 

I believe you are correct.  Though it appears that Covid has caused a number of states to permit online notarization.  Doing some additional checking I found that the State of Michigan where these are to be filed, did authorize online notary services with specific services.  

That will unquestionably be the way for me to go.  They arrange a video conference, verify identity, I email them the PDF files with my signature, they notarize, and then forward to the state email site. 

Less work, and much cheaper. $25 first signature, $10 each additional. 

14 minutes ago, transam said:

They had an incredibly thin tempered glass cover exactly same colour and shape with curved sides that has adhesive on it, it is expertly positioned on the existing screen/phone edges. You cannot see any difference and the screen is incredibly clear with no visible cracks. Highly recommended...

These sell on shopee for between 9 and 25 baht.  They are really screen protectors. 

First, are you sure that it was your screen that was cracked on the edges and not a screen protector?  That is typically where the screen protectors start to chip.  Second, expect that the thin tempered lens will eventually crack and will need to be replaced.  I have an iphone 8 and I have probably changed mine 4 times.  Tiny chips in the tempered glass will start from keeping in my pocket.  You just peel off the old lens, wipe with alcohol wipe, or microfiber cloth.  Peel off the sticker on the new tempered lens, position it, at the top and slowly place it downwards on the phone.  Then smooth with finger, or plastic scraper, credit card etc, to remove any air bubbles. 

5 minutes ago, david_je said:

s this a good time to buy? Do you have recommendations for specific funds? Where would I find expert opinions of good buys?

Thanks.

I am a former financial consultant with both Merrill Lynch and UBS.  Plus a former head of trust division for a major U.S. bank. 

There is zero chance I would ever invest in any fund here in Thailand.  I don't even keep much in the local Thai banks transferring only my social security each month. 

You have the country run by a group after a coup and there is next to zero in terms of accountability in the way of financial oversight.  Look at the USA where you have accounting standards, the Securities & Exchange commission, the office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, The Securities Investor Protection Corporation all monitoring and regulating the securities sold in the USA. 

Despite that, you still end up with the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, Enron, and most recently Theranos.  And you really believe that somehow that investors in Thailand do not risk a huge chance of being fleeced.   

Inspector Clouseau has found it. 

I have two Moderna vaccine shots available immediately.  I purchased for my Thai GF last fall but she finally was able to get vaccine as a foreigner quicker using her foreign passport.  These are at Princ Hospital Suvarnabhumi.  I have registration form to change name to purchaser and allows to pick the date and time for the shots.  Can be full dose or 1/2 booster dose.  1,000 baht each for shots.  PM me if you are interested. 

They use to use lead to boost the octane in gasoline.  After that was banned they juiced the gas with alcohol to push the octane up plus give a boost to the farmers to grow the crops that ethanol is made from.  

Ethanol is less fuel efficient than gasoline so you burn more litters to go the same distance.  Ethanol is also harder on engines.  They have made the newer engines more tolerant of ethanol but if I had my choice I would pick gasoline and if I was forced to use one with ethanol I would use the least possible usually a 90%/10% blend. 

Thailand is wise not to lift restrictions too quickly

Yes the economy still has a pulse.  Far better to completely render it lifeless before trying to resuscitate it.