IsaanT

I just strayed into this thread. The responses from "Tuco" exhibit classic Bob/Elvis/Don characteristics. Bob/Elvis/Don/Tuco - you can change your name but you make no effort to change your personality. And why do you feel you need to hide behind different identities, changing to a new one each time you are comprehensively rumbled? Be yourself for once, like everyone else here.

I share your concerns, believe me, but the ironic fact is that he was democratically elected. As was Starmer. This makes me think we need to find an improvement on democracy! 🙂

I just found this. It is useful, so thank you, but it was difficult to read. In case it helps anyone else, here's my precis of the above: This expert guide, based on 20+ trips, details driving a Thai-registered car into Cambodia. Key insights include: Vehicle Ownership: You must be the outright owner; power of attorney is generally not accepted by Cambodia (unlike Laos/Malaysia), likely to prevent smuggling. Procedural Disparity: Cambodia has significantly modernized its customs system post-Covid with online pre-registration, while Thai procedures remain outdated, requiring in-person form completion. Purple Permit: The international transport permit (purple booklet) is not needed for re-entry to Thailand from Cambodia. It's only essential if transiting through Cambodia to Laos, where it must be stamped by both Thai and Cambodian customs (Aranyaprathet/Poipet is the most reliable Thai border for this stamp). Border Specifics: Recommended: Aranyaprathet/Poipet, Hat Lek/Koh Kong, and Choam/Chong Sa-ngam for smooth experiences. Motorcycles (250cc+) are generally fine. Ban Khao Din: Quiet, offers VIP treatment for foreigners, but requires careful re-entry form declaration to avoid hassle from Thai customs (though Cambodia's side is easy). Avoid: Ban Laem: Not set up for private vehicles, confusing, requires a pre-border military form from 40km south to exit Thailand. Chong Chom (O'Smach): Haphazard procedures, Thai customs may incorrectly claim you can't re-enter via a different border, and involves "human trafficking" forms for foreigners. Ban Pakkard: Nuisance for exit procedures, but easy for re-entry. Officials: Cambodian officials are generally found to be friendlier and more professional (despite language barrier), while Thai officials stick to old routines. Re-entry Right: Re-entering Thailand in a Thai vehicle is considered a right, similar to a Thai citizen's right of re-entry, regardless of initial exit point (except where specific border officials try to enforce non-existent rules).

Shall we look at the facts? I put out several posts at what I shall call the market top (mid to late Feb). The market retraced since that initial drop but it hasn't returned to the former highs. This week the market dropped abnormally quickly, which I noted as the first sign of trouble ahead. And have you seen the pre-opening drop on the S&P500 Futures this afternoon? I am interested because it makes me a lot of money. I mention the movements here because I know there are plenty here with a vested interest in the state of the markets, and the economy. For you, where maybe ignorance is bliss, wisdom is folly.

Last night at midnight, the S&P500 suddenly dropped sharply (see 15-minute chart). The daily session closed down 1.5%. This coincided with the announcement of a weak 20-year bond auction (i.e. few wanted to buy the US's debt). There are also heightened concerns about the burgeoning US government debt and potential fiscal imbalances. It will be interesting to see where the market is in a week's time.

I wonder why you ask these questions. Are you lonely?

The barcode is primarily for stock recording and ordering. This doesn't preclude the opportunity for different shops to have different prices at the till for the same barcode. In the UK all the supermarkets have regional pricing, and the small convenience format shops, e.g. Tesco Express, always have a price premium compared to the larger format shops.

No. Next question?

How do you possibly find time to 'do stuff'? 😉 If you had a pound/dollar/euro for every post you put on these forums you'd be a millionaire by now.

Oh, alright then, as you're curious here's the second half of the flight... 😉 PXL_20230604_090145252.TS.mp4

This video was taken in Roi Et province, a few hundred yards from my house and a few days after I moved here permanently in May 2023. The rocket doesn't get going until around 18 seconds in to the video - we knew it was going to launch but there wasn't any countdown so I kept rolling because I didn't want to miss it. I stopped the video when the smoke blew over the top of us. The rocket, however, was still climbing. The smoke cleared us quickly and I started filming again as it continued upwards. That video is 63 seconds long. At the rate of climb these big rockets have, it must have got to 20,000-25,000 feet. Extra points are awarded if the rocket lands close to where it was launched from - we did see some drop down into the fields around us, raising a big cheer from the locals. My vantage point to watch this was well away from the launch area. These things are built by farmers who, unsurprisingly, are not rocket scientists. What could possibly go wrong? Accidents do happen but, fortunately, not when I was watching. PXL_20230604_090006189.TS.mp4

I wonder why you are asking this forum. As the subject of the question, and the one most aware of the facts and circumstances, make a decision and execute it - whichever way it takes you.

Unlikely. Bob could only wish he could entertain like the OP. The OP's content contains insight, wit and humour - not qualities that Bob nor his alter egos Don or Elvis possesses.

C-130's have reverse thrust. Don't believe me...

Read my next post (above)... C'mon, you can do better if you try.

I now use the paid version of ChatGPT. It isn't faster but the crucial difference for me is that you can upload documents, data, screenprints, etc. and it can interpret and analyse them. Apart from all the other things that others benefit from, I have been using it intensely over the past few days to help me develop a successful stockmarket trading method. Firstly, I should point out that I didn't benefit from asking it how to make money on the markets (I tried that, somewhat retrospectively, yesterday to satisfy my curiosity and its suggestions were not good performers). My approach was to develop the shell of an approach myself, describe it to ChatGPT and then upload historic market data for it to back-test according to my instructions. It would then produce a performance summary and a fully-documented spreadsheet that I can download. The original shell of an idea still remains but it has been refined continuously based on test runs. I should also point out that it is not fiendishly complex - quite the opposite: I could explain it in five minutes and a ten-year old could recognise the buy and sell signals on a chart visually. Again, it couldn't come up with my answer by itself but it has been a tireless assistant to crunch the numbers, write the Python code for APIs, provide insight into the times and effectiveness of different trading sessions for specific markets around the world, make helpful and challenging suggestions, etc. I know some of you might be wondering about its accuracy, and whether I could rely on the results. That would be a good question. I have used the spreadsheet results to manually verify that theoretical trade successes - and fails - would, indeed, have occurred. It took a while but the latest model is pretty bullet-proof. The bottom line? If you started with 1,000 units of currency (pounds, dollars, baht, etc.) and traded Gold, USDJPY and GBPUSD for the last six months, you'd have 12,000 units of your chosen currency now. I compound the returns - the results start getting exponential after a while... Although the method is not fully complete yet (I'm a pragmatic perfectionist), I saw a strong signal on Gold a couple of days ago so did a small trade and it's paid for my ChatGPT subscription for the next few years. Other uses? a) I used it a while back to write a specific usufruct agreement - in Thai and English - for my land (I'm aware of a friend who paid a Thai lawyer around 60,000 Baht for essentially the same thing) b) It provides insightful information when I ask it about cultural differences between the UK and Thailand, particularly for certain situations that occur (I know Google can do similar but ChatGPT just does it at another level) b) It produced a tailored exercise programme for me to meet specific aims a couple of weeks ago, and I'm already feeling and seeing the improvements There is so much more but there's no need to reproduce what's already been said by other enlightened users. The key to success is to ask detailed questions. Invest the time to craft the question and you will reap the reward in the answer. It benefits from knowing context, constraints (budget, time, resources, etc.), aims and/or objectives, personal preferences, etc. (just like if you asked a carefully-formed question to a human - it isn't rocket-fuel science...). As an example, if I said 'Suggest a simple meal I can cook for dinner tonight' you can probably now guess the response. However, if I said 'Suggest three simple meals I can cook tonight so I can choose one to use. It needs to feed two people and I am limited to 30 minutes for preparation and cooking. I have eggs, milk and butter in the fridge, various meats in the freezer and could pick up other ingredients locally in preparation.', you'll get a much better response. And if you baulk at the time taken to prepare the question thoroughly, don't worry - AI just isn't for you. 😉

The quality of the answer from AI very much depends on the quality of the question. Your apparent 'brief and succinct' style will elicit similar replies.

My personal experience is that people who are always smiling often have something to hide (personal insecurity, traumatic past, etc.). It is normal to smile occasionally, when one has a reason to do so.

I beg to differ. I just learned this from your post and tried it for myself - marvellous! Labelling of the button or on-screen instructions would be helpful but, as Thai IT goes, the function is good and helpful. Thanks!

The fact that the passengers had no input into the success of the flight meant that six inert teddy bears could have occupied the capsule's seats and the flight would have had the same outcome, so calling the passengers 'astronauts' is demeaning to those who actually are.

Do we think this is a partial cave-in...? It's certainly not holding the line defiantly, is it? Apparently, Peter Navarro (and his alter ego Ron Varo... ) have been sidelined in the White House and Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury (and a rather sensible-sounding chap) is the main contact negotiating international tarriff agreements and advising Trump now.

Hi @Crossy. Is there some way to contact you offline? Thanks.

The 80% majority appear not to understand the enormity of the issue, nor the personalities and cultures involved in this scenario. China will not blink first. China also appears to be selling US bonds overnight from its massive stockpile. China selling U.S. bonds = higher interest rates, more expensive borrowing, and possibly slower U.S. economic growth — like putting a little brake on the US economy. Trump has picked a fight with the wrong guys. China doesn't like being bullied so it appears to be retaliating. And there's nothing the US or anybody else can do to stop them.

Does that fact support the approach to not get married to one's Thai partner in the first place?

An usufruct agreement is a good thing to have for the foreign partner/Thai house-owner situation. A Thai usufruct agreement is a legal arrangement that grants a person (often a foreigner) the right to use and benefit from a property—typically a house—owned by a Thai national, without owning the land itself. Under this agreement: The foreigner (usufructuary) can live in the house, rent it out, or otherwise use it for their benefit. The Thai landowner retains ownership of the land, but must respect the usufruct holder’s rights for the duration of the agreement. A usufruct can be granted for the lifetime of the foreigner or for a set period (often up to 30 years). It must be registered at the Land Office to be legally enforceable and to provide real security of tenure. This arrangement is commonly used by foreigners in long-term relationships or business partnerships with Thai nationals to secure long-term use of a property without violating Thai land ownership laws. It's very simple to arrange.