jaywalker2

That's only true in developed countries though. In Africa, for example, only around 6 percent of the population is vaccinated but the number of deaths for the entire continent was only about 1/4 that of the U.S. alone -- and 40 percent of those were in South Africa. The rest of the continent was largely unaffected, despite the fact that an estimated 70 percent contracted Covid. So hardly anybody was vaccinated and yet hardly anyone died.

What I meant was I don't think they need to see a copy of your extension of stay. I wasn't asked for one. After they pull up your passport, the computer provides that information.

I don't think the banks have to check for an extension of stay. They were able to check my passport on their computer, so all the information should have been there. I don't know if they can do that at Western Union.

That true. Then you would favor the Palang Pracharat as they've driven the price of yaba down to 20 baht a hit

i had the same thing when I went to make a deposit at my bank (which I've been using for 15 years). They told me it was due to new money laundering rules

This has nothing to do with current visa criteria. It was all about corruption in the upper ranks of immigration officers. Tightening criteria isn't going to do anything about that.

You didn't inspect the apartment first?

He was probably earned it working Korea. Maybe he didn't have a bank account here to transfer it to.

You need a big apartment -- 80 or 90 square meters and preferably on a high floor.

Look at the statistics. Alcohol consumption jumped from 6.5 liters per capita when the law was introduced to 8.4 in 2018 (precovid, of course it went up during the lockdowns). The percentage of the population that regularly consumes alcohol has remained steady at between 30-33 percent. Recreational drinking is more popular than it has ever been, especially among teenagers. Road fatalities have more than doubled with drinking the leading cause. This despite the global trend of reduced alcohol consumption and the Thai government's anti-alcohol campaigns. Anyway, why would anybody think that not letting people buy alcohol until 11 in the morning and between 2-5 in the afternoon would have any appreciable effect on alcohol consumption. Only alcoholics drink during those hours.

The current restrictions have had no effect on either alcohol consumption or traffic fatalities.

apartments

A "cashless" society is just a way for the big financial institutions to screw you -- guranteed. Right now in Thailand, you can transfer money for free online but not using an ATM. That' s an enticement of course. Once you get enough people going cashless, just watch the service charges increase. You'll lose on the fees and the exchange rates (if you're using an foreign card). And they can keep increasing those fees because you won't be able to do anything about it. How much is the charge on a credit card now? 2 or 3 percent? Prepaid debit cards in the US can charge as much as 5 percent. Only with cash do you know exactly what you're paying.

I've been locked down by Facebook twice in the past two weeks. No explanation in either case other than the generic "suspcious activity."

You're like a frog being boiled in water. Just look at what Canada did to the truckers during the Covid 19 protests.;.

Me speak good English kimosabe

No, there's no longer any penalty for for not buying health insurance. The Republicans did away that just after Trump took office.

I also liked it very much. Based on a true story, it doesn't really aim at being realistic. All of the Indians speak perfect English, for example. But despite the mannered presentation, I found it quite an emotional experience. And I think I'm in love with Emily Blunt.

It is pretty bad but it's a Dwayne Johnson/DC superhero movie so you should know what to expect. That said, the CGI is okay.

Most amusing was Thomas' justification for striking down gun laws. He opined that no laws could be constitutional that did not exist at the time the Constitution was promulgated.

I had two implants and, like you, was anxious about the surgery. It turned out to be much less arduous than a root canal.

I always love these quotes. Stuffed in a freezer, mouth duct taped -- but other than that there were no suspcious circumstances.

I quit coffee for a few months and switched to chamomile tea. Now I've gone back to coffee. I haven't noticed any difference either way.

Market fundamentals haven't mattered much for some time as Central Bank policies have been driving the market. If the FED stops raising rates, the market will probably surge. If it continues tightening, expect more volatility, Stocks aren't cheap but, as I said, nobody has cared about valuations in a long time except old timers. That said, I watched a podcast between Howard Marx and Joel Greenbatt. Marx was talking about how his investor son-in-law had convinced hm that valuations didn't matter for faangs because they were going to keep growing at 20 to 30 percent indefinitely. Since then, Amazon has lost a trillion dollars in market cap. META is down 70 percent. The only faang that has held up fairly well is Apple, which is only down around 15 percent. Is Meta a bargain now? How about Amazon? I have no idea. Chinese tech stocks have been killed even worse. The Shanghai stock market has surged 26 percent in the last couple of weeks and if history is any guide there's more to come. But, as the man said, "Do you feel lucky, punk?" Look at all the people who have been wiped out buying tech and crypto and yet there still hasn't been any capitulation (as can be seen from this forum). That's what scares me.

Now. What happens if QR codes become ubiquitous? If cashless stores become the norm? If two-factor authentication using a phone becomes compulsory? If you need some form of digital payment system to make simple payments? Maybe this won't happen for 5 or 10 years but this is certainly where we're headed. The Thai government just announced it.