Longwood50

10 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Actually it's more like 12k - 16k to replace the whole pack.  Much less if just replacing the bad cells.

Google can be your friend.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/tesla-owner-blows-up-his-car-over-22k-battery-replacement-report-121122400769_1.html

On 10/1/2021 at 10:05 AM, Kanada said:

There’s no stopping them now!

This could slow down the appetite for electric cars.  $22,000 USD to replace a Tesla battery. 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/tesla-blows-up-repair-bill-b1983369.html


 

On 12/28/2021 at 5:04 PM, Tim121 said:

I viewed Thailand as a tourist spot first, rather than a underdeveloped corruption hub.

I have no idea why Thailand would treat you with such disrespect.  Now as to posting this subject and then responding how you "felt" you were treated, perhaps you can gently step down from your soap box.  People generally "earn respect" It is easy to blame ones treatment on their ethnicity rather than potentially look inward and say you were treated with all the respect they felt you were due and not because of your skin color.  If you were truly treated as you say you were, did it ever occur to you ask another American teacher one that is not African American and see if they received similar treatment.  I am Caucasian.  I have not got into all the colleges I applied to, I did not get all the job that I applied for, I got fired from a job, I even got stopped a couple of times by the police.  Guess what?  In none of those instances was the fact that I was white the cause.  Maybe the same is true of you. 

 

On 12/27/2021 at 9:54 AM, ikke1959 said:

If the interest is low and you want to make more of your money you have to take more risks. I worked a long time in the bank and I know it for years... If it goes wrong there is always a chance that you loose your money more or less, but that is the risk.. Results from the past are not sure in the future..

I also worked as an executive officer at a Major US bank for 4 decades as well as being in investments for Merrill Lynch.  A person who invests in riskier investments to pursue a higher rate of return does so with some if not complete knowledge of the risks of loss.  This was not a "risky investment" gone bad.  This was a fraud.  Huge difference

On 12/24/2021 at 8:07 PM, newnative said:

 I was relaying the latest scientific research. 

No you "gleaned' what you wanted and omitted the fact that the study found "NO GENE" that predestines a persons proclivity to be gay. 

Again I don't see how this is anything more than some sort of mental medication that comforts the person who is gay believing that genetically they were programmed to be gay.  Personally, I believe it is a choice, a preference.  I don't know why that is so repulsive.  Some people have a sexual preference for a particular body type, a particular hair color, a particular age group, or a particular ethnic group.  Now is that "programmed"   No, just like the article you keep referencing preference are based on a myriad of factors.   Why when we look at a person do we have the immediate mental response "oh they are attractive" versus "oh they are very homely"  That is not imprinted on us that is something we develop as we age. 

One final point coming from the perspective of a heterosexual.  I have no delusions that anyone cares about my sexual preferences.  I am not so misguided as to think that somehow showcasing those preferences to others will make them admire, respect, or convert to them. I am lost as to why the LGBT community thinks it is any different with them.  People by their very nature do not like to be prodded or preached to.  

I mentioned before I am for equal rights for everyone and special rights for no one. Consider

There is One day to celebrate and pay recognition to the life of Martin Luther King

There is One day to celebrate and pay recognition to two presidents Washington and Jefferson whose accomplishments of founding the USA are not deemed so unimportant that they must share a single day on Presidents Day

There is One day to celebrate and pay recognition on Memorial Day to those that fought and died for people's freedom in the USA.

There is :One day to celebrate and pay recognition on July 4, for the birth of the country and its end of servitude to another country. 

There is :One day to celebrate and pay recognition on Labor Day to those who toil daily to help create the worlds largest economy.

There is One day to celebrate and pay recognition on Veterans Day to those who served in the armed forces to protect Americans freedom. 
 

There is One day to celebrate and pay recognition on Thanksgiving Day for all the blessings bestowed on us. 

There is One day to celebrate and pay recognition on Christmas Day to the birth of Jesus who if Christian represents the savior of mankind. The number of Christians in the world living today is 2.32 billion.  So in the scheme of things the icon of the Christian Church is given only scant attention compared to the gay rights movement. 

 Somehow the public is subject to celebrate and pay recognition of Gay Pride for an entire month.  With the news media focused on the various parades and festivities celebrating and pandering to a population of the U.S. public that comprises fewer than 5%. of its citizens.  Excuse me if I don't share your enthusiasm for the lifestyle but it seems the attention drawn to it continually is way out of proportion to its significance particular when compared to the one day relegated to far more significant events.   Live your life, enjoy your lifestyle, but please stop trying to convince me to regal in it.  When someone is constantly seeking affirmation from others it only shows they are not confident of it themselves and want others to validate it. 




 

If you are really concerned, start a company and if you want the entire home make her only a small minority shareholder.  If you want her to share in the proceeds then provide a common stock grant that is just a touch smaller than your share so that you remain the controlling partner. 

On 12/24/2021 at 10:26 AM, cliveuk said:

I' trying to open a bank account. I was just turned down by GSB despite having an old account

I have found that the various banks have  "rule du jour" Not only does it change daily but it changes depending on who you talk to at that particular bank. 

12 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

I have bought a couple of hundred items from AliExpress, I have never been asked to pay anything.

According to the seller, there is no VAT or customs charge because the package is sent from China.  Maybe some sort of free trade agreement? 

I have bought some small items from Aliexpress in the past and was never charged but I wasn't sure about the camera system. 

On 12/24/2021 at 12:28 PM, webfact said:

A large majority of Thai people don’t have enough money to handle an emergency situation for longer than three months, especially during such a crisis as the pandemic.

In response the Thai government is currently negotiating with Dave Ramsey to conduct Thai Financial Peace University 

3 hours ago, newnative said:

other factors have all been found to be contributors to sexual preferences.

Some people like vegetables, some like red meat, some like chicken, some like fish.  Those are preferences.  No, I never meant to infer your preference for Asian men was genetically linked.  Quite the opposite, I don't think a persons "preferences" are inherited traits.  We have for reasons unexplained preferences on how we dress, on the type of car we drive, on the style of home we prefer, on the climate we like.  I don't know why it is so difficult for gays to come to the realization that no they are not predestined or imprinted they just happen to prefer same sex over opposite sex.  To which I say, so what.  As previously mentioned but worth repeating.  The world does not care about how I revel in my sexual preference.  The public is not suppose to fawn over the fact that I am a heterosexual.  The world does not believe that I or any other heterosexuals should be actively indoctrinating them or their children on my lifestyle.  Why do gays think that somehow the world is interested in their sexual preference  I don't care about their preference in any aspect of their lives and I certainly am not deluded to think they care abut mine. 

Now to pose a question.  If you truly believe that somehow you were "imprinted" by genetics to be gay, then why the push for "education" of the youth.  All that needs to be taught is tolerance of the lifestyle and nothing more.  After all there is nothing to teach only that some DNA causes the same sex preference, and you either have that DNA or you don't. 

Again, thank you for being civil.  Many just end up ranting and bring out the homophobe card.  I truly don't think I am.  I have no problem with what consenting adults agree to.  I have known people who are into swinging, though I am not.  I have known people who are into group sex, but I am not.  The bottom line is that your preferences not just sexual ones are yours and though important to you, are of no concern to others.  When I go to a Broadway play and it opens with some tribute to gays I get angry.  I paid to be entertained not lectured to.  Yet for whatever unexplained reason the LGBT community is constantly clamoring to not just be left to live their life but seem to be seeking public affirmation of their lifestyle to somehow validate to themselves its acceptability.  As Morgan Freeman said about Black History Month, it is ludicrous  and to end racism people just have to stop constantly reopening the divisions by talking about it.  The same is true for LGBT.  The public I truly believe has accepted that others have the right to that lifestyle.  But they don't believe that lifestyle has to be constantly thrown in our face and we are asked to kiss the ring. 

30 minutes ago, newnative said:

  Alcoholism is strongly linked to genetics,

Yes alcoholism is linked to genetics  That does not by default that because alcoholism is genetically linked and difficult to cure, that somehow proves that being gay must be genetically linked because it is a difficult lifestyle to abandon.

Pedophilia is difficult to cure, rapist are difficult to be rehabilitated,  gambling is difficult to stop, pornography is difficult to overcome.  Are all of these "genetically" linked traits. 

I happen to like Asian women, slight built, and medium shade complexion with a pretty smile.  Oh, I must be predestined genetically to be predisposed to that choice .  Bull Pucky.

I don't know why you are fighting so hard to say gays are imprinted.  If it is a choice, so what.  

As mentioned my gripe is not that the person is gay, but the fact that it gets constantly shoved in my face.  That is a uniquely gay trait that somehow they feel compelled to share to the world their sexual preference and ask them to regale in it.  I don't want 7th day Adventists shoving their religious beliefs at me, I don't want a person who lets say is a communist attempt to force their political ideology on me, and finally, I don't want someone attempting to indoctrinate the public or me and the joy of being gay.  Live your life, keep your sexuality like your sexual organs to yourself.  I doubt you care my "sexual preference" why would you think that others care about yours. 

Now as to preference, this is what I was talking about.  Now be honest,  if the states required "heterosexual history" would you not feel discriminated against.  Further, it is a family's role to raise their children as they sit fit, and not be indoctrinated and that is the term indoctrinated by the public school system.  They should not be teaching religion, politics or showcasing "sexual preference"  

 

As part of the Build Back better act, it was shoved by LGBT groups to include a provision that withholds federal grant money if LGBT curriculum was not taught in the pre schools.  That sir is brainwashing. Again, please tell me you would not be outraged if a similar provision was included that withheld money from schools if they did not have an anti-gay curriculum, or a pro heterosexuality curriculum.  

Equal rights and privileges for everyone, special rights and privileges for no one. 


 

1 hour ago, newnative said:

It's not my 'theory'.   I was relaying the latest scientific research.

You are going to have to show me this "new research"  Most conclusions are contrived to show the outcome desired by whoever funded the research. 

As to why therapy does not work,  give me a break.  We have alcoholics that don't respond to therapy, we have criminals who don't rehabilitate, we have pedophiles that don't respond to therapy, we have drug addicts that don't respond to therapy to say nothing of smoking. 

Again, the fact that one person is physically attracted to another of their own sex should be viewed no differently than someone who finds a person with a large derrière physically attractive, or who is into bondage and finds that activity "stimulating"  

It just seems that this " I was born " to be gay is indeed some sort of self medication that soothes whatever reservations a person has about being gay. 

Whether the person is born to be gay which I seriously doubt, or they select to be gay.  My position really doesn't change.  I want "equal rights" for everyone and "special rights" for no one.  

I do not want a person who is Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or any other faith to try and indoctrinate me or the public.  I find it hugely discriminatory if the flag of BLM matter flies over the embassy and gets a kneeling adoration from congress to the exclusion of non blacks.  I find that all the legislation is really nothing more than reverse discrimination intended to somehow address differences in the workforce or colleges.  The people most impacted by colleges are Asians who don't get into schools because of slots targeted for minorities.  Well if that is ok then why not target schools like Tuskegee or Howard that are almost exclusively black to take in a targeted percentage of whites.  If black only scholarships are OK then why not white only colleges.  If it is fine to have a congressional black caucus then why not a congressional  white caucus.   If the gays and BLM were considered religions the government would be barred from providing any support or preferential treatment.  Frankly Gay Pride, and BLM are "belief systems" not terribly different than religions except for the lack of a deity. 

To beat a dead horse, I am totally for whether Lesbian, Gay, Bi or Trans having exactly and I mean exactly the same rights as heterosexual couples.  But they should not be treated any differently that those who choose to be celibate, or those who are heterosexual.  That means no "special months" where the government pushes us to not tolerate but celebrate the lifestyle.  The government by flying the gay pride flag symbolizing alliance is blatantly discriminating against the 95% of the population that is not LGBT.  Not only that, no other country has ever received that honor of their flag flying over the embassies for one month.  Finally, it is stated in code that the US flag should always be the highest on the flagpole, fly separately from any other flag, and be the largest flag on the flagpole symbolic of its higher place of recognition.  All of those were disregarded in some embassies where the USA flag was not the largest, not at the top of the flag pole and not flying separately. 

You obviously believe the term "marriage" to by of symbolic importance.  I find the actions that openly promote the alternative lifestyle to by "symbolic" 

I am looking to buy a 4 camera security system on Aliexpress.  The cost is about 7,000 baht.  Will this be subject to customers and/or VAT tax when it arrives? 

55 minutes ago, newnative said:

reasons to deny someone the same benefits you have.

Thank you for your very civil reply.  However, I never said I was in favor of denying any benefits. I am totally for two people of the same sex have the same 'RIGHTS AND BENEFITS" but not the same term to describe their union. 

What I said was that we use terms to differentiate differences in almost every aspect of life.  Blonde, Brunette, Asian, Caucasian.  What I have repeatedly said, I am for whatever union you wish to call a life partnership between two people of the same sex, but I am not for calling it a marriage.  I "might" even go so far as to agree to two marriage certificates with one labeled Heterosexual Marriage, and one Same Sex Marriage.  

Your comments make "some sense" but your theory of some sort of imprinting I just don't believe.  Who a person is "attracted to" is a matter of personal opinion and choice.  If I like younger women is that "imprinted" on me.  If I like heavy women is that "imprinted" on me.  If I prefer Asians over Hispanics is that "imprinted" on me.  If I am dishonest  is that "imprinted" on me.  If I am a "rapists" is that behavior "imprinted" on me.  I believe this notion of that someone is "predestined" to be gay is nothing more than a mental coping exercise designed to provide some pretense for a sexual preference that they have not completely accepted as acceptable.  It is no different than the black person who doesn't get the job.  It is easier to blame racism than accept the fact that they were not the most qualified candidate for the job. 

No, we all make choices and the choice to be attracted to another person of the same sex, is absolutely no different than the person who has an attraction to younger women, Blondes versus Redheads,  

Now as for "equal" rights.  I am totally for Equal rights for everyone, and preferential rights to NO ONE. 

When governments starts mandating that company boards "must have" a certain portion of their board being of a particular race or sexual orientation, that is "preferential".  When laws are passed that mandate that LGBT curriculum must be taught in pre-schools or lose federal funding.  That is not equal.  That is discrimination and indoctrination. 

If I am terminated from my job and what I truly want is my "benefits"  I can care less if the agreement is termed a separation agreement, a non disclosure agreement, an agreement not to sue, a termination agreement.  So long as the benefits I receive are identical.  However, the LGTB community could care less about any legal union that truly conveys equal rights.  They really want the term "marriage" to convey to others that the union has the same public perception as a heterosexual couple and that the same sex union is "normal"  No mind you I did not say deviant, but normal it is not.  Normal is when something is manifested by the majority, and abnormal is when it is a behavior only manifesting itself by a small percentage. 

My complaint is not that people are gay, or that they want the "rights" of others.  My complaint is the constant call for "special treatment" and "special recognition"   I don't ask that you see the heterosexual flag flying over the U.S. embassies, I don't ask that you have a special heterosexual pride month, I don't ask for special legislation that endures benefits to only heterosexuals.  So don't do the opposite to me. 

 

12 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

It's obvious that we dont need 'white lives matter' as white people are rarely targeted and abuses by people of other colours due to being white as the reason

Here is a perfect example today.  Joe Manchin is "targeted" only because HE IS WHITE.  If Joe Manchin said something absolutely identical about another Black politician and say they don't care about the whites.  YOU WOULD LABEL MANCHIN A RACIST.

However, racially charged accusations by minorities are "accepted" while by non minorities immediately chastised. 

 

2 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Why are looking to animals for how humans should behave?

I am not sure I have enough crayons and paper to explain it in a way so juvenile that you could understand. 

  The person said they were not "gay" by choice but were genetically predisposed.  I countered saying if that was the case, it would also manifest itself in other animals.  

12 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

If you want to be like animal then you would support rape of females,

What planet are you living on.  My reply was to a person who said that being Gay was not a choice but rather something that they were genetically pre-disposed to.  I countered saying if that were true, it would evidence itself in other animals which it does not. I know of no examples in nature where another animal chooses ONLY another of the same sex and excludes those of the opposite sex. 

I continue to say, that being gay, or lesbian is a choice.  Not any different than someone who has a sexual preference for someone with blonde hair, tall, Asian, etc.  It is not genetically imprinted and if it was that gene would soon diminish in the gene pool since only heterosexuals reproduce. 

 

11 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

It's obvious that we dont need 'white lives matter' as white people are rarely targeted and abuses by people of other colours due to being white as the reason.

So using your logic and I use that term generously.  Discriminating against whites is OK not treating them identically is ok because they are rarely targeted.  

  Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation, as well as other categories.
 

  Then please justify White students being denied entrance into colleges in favor or minorities "just because they are white" 

Then please explain how a white contractor can be denied receiving a contract because he is white and the law says it must go to a 'minority" and that is not targeting

Please explain how a white employee can be fired by a black supervisor and be denied equal protection under the law to sue for being targeted for their skin color, but a minority fired can immediately sue claiming racial discrimination.  

Please explain how government loans and grants only go to minorities but that is not targeting by default the Caucasians. 

Using the gay population, tell me how it is not targeting heterosexuals in legislation that "MANDATES" that LGBT curriculum must be allowed in pre-schools or they lose federal funding and that doesn't "target" heterosexuals. 

If you substituted the word White or Straight in Black Lives Matter, Predominately Black Colleges, The Black Caucasus, The NAACP, Black only scholarships, Minority Contract Set Aside, Affirmative Action, etc. You would scream discrimination.  Saying that there should not be a White Caucasus, a National Association for the Advancement of White People, Scholarships that only go to Whites, Contract set asides only for Whites, etc. 

Discrimination works both ways,  Just as it is wrong to give prejudicial treatment to minorities that hurt them, it is equally wrong to give preferential treatment based on being a minority that by default discriminates and hurts those who are in the majority. 

Equality is when "everyone" is treated equally.  Equal treatment for everyone, and special privilege for no one. 







 

10 hours ago, lkn said:

No, the spreadsheet is on the big screen where attendance is also visible, and raised hands are counted and entered into the spreadsheet in front of everyone.

Well it sounds like your operation is far more sophisticated than most. At our meetings the person says they can't prepare a budget until they know how much money is collected.  There is no computer record being broadcast live to the people.  As mentioned, I don't believe most people recognize all of their fellow owners and which units they represent.  Many are company owned units so who is the general partner in the company.  So you get a show of hands.  Even the count is done by merely saying 1,2,3, and until recently there were not even minutes prepared.  Even now, minutes are prepared but never distributed.  

7 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

We have a spreadsheet with ownership ratio, so people raise their hand if they vote in favor of the proposal / option A / etc., and we count raised hands

Any method of voting is fine, if the votes are rigged.  At ours there were votes supposedly cast by people who did not even attend.  The only way of establishing that was to go to the land office and obtain a copy of what was reported as the people who attended and look at the vote total. 

Even then, you would have to have a videotape to establish just how many hands were being raised, and of course that assumes you know each of the other owners and that they truly were the owner and not some shill in the group who was there to raise their hand for a particular property even though the property owner never attended. 

Seems to me, paper ballots with signed signatures is the only way to truly establish who voted.  Even then, as mentioned our entity to establish a quorum making the meeting legal reported that more homeowners were in attendance including forging their signatures on the attendance sheet. 

1 hour ago, jak2002003 said:

homophobic, raciest and ignorant

Oh, please show me those White Lives matter movement with the leaders of congress kneeling to it.   Or the heterosexual pride flag over the U.S. embassies.  Please show me the White Pride month.  Show me the laws that bar employers from terminating whites on the basis of race.  Show me the affirmative action laws mandating that black owned companies must have a specific percentage of whites on their payroll and boards.  Show me the policies at universities particularly at Predominantly  Black Colleges that mandate for diversity they must have a targeted percentage of whites on campus.  Show me the laws that says heterosexual schooling must be taught at pre-schools or they lose federal funding.  

You see there is a huge double standard and you are evidence of it.  If I suggested any of those preferential treatments be to whites or heterosexuals then I would be labeled a racist and/or  a homophobe.  However you are blinded to the fact that these are not "equal" but preferential treatments.  That sir is being a hypocrite. 

Thomas Sowell - Professor of Economics and Senior Fellow at Stanford  Institute said it best. 

1 hour ago, BobBKK said:

My issue is they DEMAND minority rights as if it really is a right - not just sexual minorities but racial too.

Well said.  There are too many minorities that don't demand "equal" treatment but preferential treatment.  For me, whether gay, lesbian, transsexual etc. that is a conscious choice.  Now some people may be swingers, or into group sex, or into bondage.  Hey if that is your thing and everyone is a consenting adult go for it.  However, don't ask me to admire it, embrace it, celebrate it, or not call it exactly what it is. 

In the case of same sex marriage, I don't want anyone to lose out on any rights and privileges afforded married couples. However I draw my line with the demand that it be called "marriage"  We distinguish all things in life by differences.  A caesarean and natural child birth both achieve the same result but are different.  A duet, trio, quartet, and choir are all singing groups but they have different names because of difference in numbers.  

A union, life partnership, life companion, civil union, or registered relationship whatever you wish to call it should come with the same rights and privileges as married couples but have a different term to signify there is a difference between two people of the same sex forming a union and two people of the opposite sex.  Nothing more, nothing less. 

However I truly believe the push for the demand for marriage is a red herring by the LGBT community.  What they are really wanting is to convey to future generations the "normality" of the lifestyle and hence promote it.  No, normal is what the vast majority due, abnormality is when something is not mainstream. 

What I hugely object to is the pandering to minority groups placing them on a pedestal that somehow we are suppose to embrace, agree with, and pledge allegiance to.   

I do not see the heterosexual, or celibacy flags flying over the embassies of the USA , but I do see gay pride flags.  I don't see months being devoted to White History or Heterosexual Pride, but I do see Black History Month and Gay Pride Month.  I don't see colleges having special lower admission standards for Caucasians, or Asians, but I do for Blacks, and Hispanics.  I don't see contract set asides for Caucasians but I do for minorities. I don't see legislation being even suggested that forces companies to have a percentage of their workforce, and/or board of directors be black, brown, or LGBT.  But I do see the opposite. 

That is the definition of systematic racism when preferential treatment is given solely on the basis of race.  Equality is when everyone is treated identically and it is not giving preferential treatment to gain identical outcomes.