On 11/20/2024 at 11:07 AM, Moonlover said:

And there's no doubt in my mind that ABS saved my skin that day.

Totally with you on that.  I'm old school and was one of them that was convinced all this 'new tech' was unecessary. Until that is, a couple of years ago when the traffic in front just suddenly stopped - as happens so often in Thailand. I stopped within inches of the car in front and I'm absolutely sure I wouldn't have done without ABS.  My ER6 has ABS and following that incident I've changed my attitude so much that I would never buy a bike without ABS now.

7 hours ago, Gobbler said:

 

Are you here or not? Go to a different Kbank. 

 

 

No, I'm not back until 30 December.  K bank are pretty strict on the requirements to open an account - one of which is a long term visa which I don't have at the moment.

2 hours ago, Gobbler said:

I don't think this is true. How would they know?

Not sure, I guess I should read the forms first and see what information they are asking for.  I no longer meet their criteria for opening an account - I wanted a second account which they refused as I no longer have a Non O or a Work Permit. I just don't want any problems with them as I have several regular payments to make.

The inclusion of the term 'by individuals residing oustide Thailand' is the thing that worries me. I opened my Kasikorn account when I had a Non O based on marriage and have never actually resided in Thailand. Being divorced now I don't have such a visa.

As far as I know, to hold a Thai bank account, you have to actually live in the country (officially), although there are probably thousands of people who like me, don't.  I am pretty sure that the local bank staff know I don't reside in Thailand but I worry they may close my account if I actually put pen to paper on this.

I don't think there is an actual 'Proper English Breakfast' - variations depend on the region of the UK and personal preferences. The only two constituents that should be in any one to be able to call it 'English Breakfast' are Bacon and Egg. Some say it must include Sauasage but an increasing number of people (including myself) won't eat that.

Although there have been improvements over the last few years, getting actual Bacon or decent Bacon can be difficult in Thailand.  Quite often you will find Ham is substituted for Bacon although the meal may still be named 'English'.  As far as I know - Ham is an American variation.

Variations can include Mushrooms, Sausage, Black Pudding, Baked Beans, Toast, Tomatoes and more.

For me, almost every day, whether in the UK or Thailand - its Bacon, Egg, Baked Beans, Tomatoes, sometimes Mushrooms but always Toast and of course - Tea - Yorkshire Tea.

5 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Agreed... but its also incredible how few are able to predict the movements of others on the roads here. 

I'm not so sure about that, I think its more that they just don't care.  If I had to pick one word to describe Thai drivers, it would be selfish.

Take for example when traffic slows or stops because of some incident, road works or other.  Their first thought seems to be 'I will go around it' - instead of trying to find out what the obstacle is. We see this daily on the expressways for example where they head off down the hard shoulder. I've lost count of the times I've  been exiting left (properly) and almost been cleaned up by a driver doing just that! They then have the nerve to flash their lights and blow their horns at you!!! I drive on motorways in the UK almost every day when I'm in country - I've never come across a UK driver doing the same. Observing your left hand mirror as well as the right is a must in Thailand.

A number of years ago on a normal 2 lane (1 in each direction) road the traffic in front of me stopped. There was a slight left hand bend in front of me and I was about 5 cars back so I couldn't see why the traffic had stopped. I saw a pick up in approaching in my mirror at what appeared to be high speed.  Instead of slowing and joining the queue, the driver simply overtook all the cars, still moving at quite some speed and there followed a loud bang.  When the traffic eventually got moving it became clear that the obstruction was simply a car that was waiting to turn right and just waiting for oncoming traffic to clear.

The loud bang was the speeding pick up hitting the right turning car which was now on the move.  He could not see the reason for the obstruction anymore than I could. Why, would anybody in their right mind do that?

I see similar, less serious examples almost everytime I drive in Thailand and I just can't work out what such drivers are thinking. Its just pure selfishness and lack of mental capacity.

13 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I've never hit a woman, never would but I can understand her getting a slap from a Thai guy if she was misbehaving, or acting inappropriately.

Well I can't and never would understand it. People who resort to violence to make their point are nothing but bullies. Such bullying is far worse when the victim is a female - it almost certainly comes about because the victim is peceived as weak.  I wonder what the perp in this case would have done if he was faced with a 6' 6" male?

It doesn't matter what the woman said or did - there is no excuse at all for the guy hitting her.

10 minutes ago, pattayasan said:

 

Quite the opposite. Try to keep up.

 

A new study reaffirming that global climate change is human-made also found the upper atmosphere is cooling dramatically because of rising CO2 levels.

 

https://e360.yale.edu/features/climate-change-upper-atmosphere-cooling

Your attempt at wit implies that you do not believe the world's top scientists.  Either that or the point you are making is totally lost on me.

Whatever, I have to go watch some paint dry, thanks.

10 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

So you made clear that you don't support Trump's policies. Up to you, at least has policies, in contrast to Miss word salad, and at the end of the day they will not make a yota difference about how the climate change proceeds.

If you ask me what would be the solution to slow down the process, I don't have an answer, but it surely isn't EV's which are not less polluting than ICE cars, if you follow the whole process.

The only way would be to cull the population, at which they took an attempt in 2019, but that would really be not unacceptable IMHO

Correct, I do not support Trump's policies - not in the slightest. I know very little about US politics and even less about Biden/Harris. As my OP infers  - I just cannot understand how so many people could not only vote for him but clearly believe his ridiculous claims and lies. So much so that some were prepared to commit insurrection.  I also find it amusing that a convicted felon continues talking about all the criminals coming over the border.

Clearly a cull will never happen but I agree that the size of the world's population is a key factor in climate change.

EV's have their problems but they do not form part of my discussion, I'm not convinced on them yet.  I'd wager however, that an EV, for all the environmental damage it does do, is nowhere near as harmful as a gas guzzling 5.7 litre pick up truck - both of which will spend 90% of their life moving just one person around.

2 minutes ago, pattayasan said:

 

The Earth is currently in a natural cooling trend that began around 10,000 years ago. If all else remained the same, this cooling trend would continue for thousands of years.

I see, so we are simply panicking for nothing right?  All the leading scientists are wrong - is that it?

12 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

I'm sure you mean that the speed of how it is happening is because of the number of human population.

The size of the population will have a bearing on it but the main reason is that we have emitted massive amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere and destroyed much of the planet's natural mehtod of balancing them.

I.E. we have sent massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere and cut down the rainforrests that normally capture it.  Most of this has taken place relatively recently - i.e. since the Industrial Revolution - around 1750.

The planet's natural changes are well documented and have been intensively studied. They have taken place over millions of years - not just 275 or so.  There is a good explanation here:

https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2019/09/19/natural-climate-change-causes/

3 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

I'm not sure what you are trying to tell me, because I'm not a climate change denier, and neither is Trump.

Climate has been changing forever through the lifecycle of the planet earth.

It is the fanboys that deny climate change is a natural phenomena that bother me

In no way is the speed at which climate change is taking place natural.  It has been brought about by human activity.

The point of refering you to the previous post was because you had previously questioned why it was any of my business that people supported Trump. I think the post I refer to explains that quite clearly.

19 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I've wanted to this at times. 😂

 

Ha ha, it makes you wonder what she did to get a smack in the mouth. 

I'd like to hear the riders story. 

 

You think there is any excuse for punching a woman?

On 10/11/2024 at 6:00 PM, CallumWK said:

 

Then I wonder why you consider it any of your business why people support Trump

I refer you to the post above.

13 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

A large majority of posters from both sides in USA threads aren't from the USA. 

And how does that matter? 

On Economics: What happens in a country with an economy the size of the USA's affects what happens elsewhere.

On Environmental Matters: The actions of any county may affect others and possibly, the rest of the world. This is especially pertinent as the USA is the world's second largest polluter.

Trump being a climate change denier and in charge of the USA is likely to take the USA out of the Paris Accord again and possibly take other measures that could damage the environment further than it has been already. Local actions have global consequences.

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

When it's a choice between a proven POTUS that Trump is and an incompetent, stupid, flipflopping, woke, sleeping to the top, warmongering woman that millions despise, what other choice was there?

 

No one cared about your little list when faced with the possibility of her as POTUS. If the Dems were serious about winning they should not have put up an unlikable idiot that couldn't speak without a teleprompter and was afraid of a serious interview for the election.

Get over yourself - its quite simple. The majority of US voters have shown quite clearly that care only about the dollar in their pocket - today! Nobody in their right mind would vote for someone who suggests they use bleach to cure Covid.

My 'little list' as you call it - was quite clearly an extremely condensed summary of Trump's lies, calims and falsehoods.  He's even on record as trying to pressure an election official (a Republican) to change at least one 2020 election result.

The 'little list' is actually a very long list and the more you learn, the less any rational thinker understands the election result.

Trump's 'masterstroke', for want of a more fitting description, was that which he came up with during the last few weeks of his campaign - asking people if they were better off 4 years ago or now.

They didn't seem to stop and think about the effects and costs of Covid or the fact that inflation was worldwide. Blaming Biden for inflation is simply ridiculous. The US economy has rebounded from Covid far better than most, inflation is now falling and growth in the US is better than that of many countries. That will begin to filter into the public's pockets soon and Trump will claim its his doing.  That, in much the same way as he inherited a healthy ecomony from Obama and claimed credit for it.

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

He's not falling into the same trap as last time and this time he won't have backstabbing, traitors in his cabinet.

 

Yes, great - departments run and policies installed by people who have no knowledge of either the position they are going to hold or the sector itself. A bunch of Yes Men and Women.

Lax Law Enforcement Cited for Alarming Road Fatalities in Thailand

Really? Well that's amazing, who would have guessed it?

What do you do with a convicted felon who suggests that drinking bleach might cure Covid. A man who claims its OK to grab women by the p**sy. A man who states that Covid would only claim a maximum of 100,000 US lives and that, without a shred of evidence, claims an election was stolen from him. A man who falsely claims that refugees are eating cats and dogs.

A man who seems to know more about the earth's environmental challenges than seasoned professionals do and who incited his supporters to riot and attempt an insurrection ...................to name just a few of his many lies and baseless comments.

I know what you do with him - elect him.

I have absolutely no idea why the rest of the world is laughing in disbelief at the USA.

12 hours ago, Hanaguma said:

Look to the future, the rosy future that America has just on the horizon. 

Yes, very rosy - more floods, wildfires and don't forget the odd hurricane or two. But never mind eh?  The most important thing is the money right? With all the drilling Trump's going to do, you'll be able to continue running your V8, 5 litre pickup that you obviously must have because you yanks are so special. Never mind the fact that it spews out tons of pollution and does 12mpg eh?  That doesn't matter does it?  Your grandkids are going to love you.

Trump looking around Smithfield market during a visit to London:

"Say buddy, what's that?"

"That's a potato sir"

"Ya call that a potato? Why, in America we have potatoes yay big"

"Yes sir but we only grow them to fit our mouths"

14 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

To me, the election result speaks volumes about the American people in general and illustrates the fact that the dollar in their pocket will always matter more than the state of the planet or indeed, their fellow man - bear in mind that the USA is the world's second largest polluter.

I'll take that comment back - I should say 50% of the American people.

13 hours ago, deeks said:

The climate has always changed, Science proves this fact.

Don't be a dipstick.  Of course its changed but it changes over hundreds of thousands of years - not in 250!!!

Anyway, I'm not about to get into that debate - I'm not a scientist, I leave that up to those who are.

The problem with denier's is - just like conspiracy theorists, they'll argue black's white.

1 hour ago, alien365 said:

I can see it already: Thai price 2,000 baht, foreigner price 10,000 baht.

You actually raise an interesting point there - one that the Thai government would absolutely hate.

This 'event' is very unlikely to ever take place and even if it did, I doubt they'd try dual pricing but they would almost certainly try carrying out other aspects in the 'Thai way'.  But let's say they did introduce dual pricing - the FIA would not allow it and so the friction would begin.

The Thai government will be told from the off that the race, track and spectator facilities have to comply with FIA standards.  During discussions the Thai's would do their usual 'yes, of course' and 'absolutely' - stating their agreement with all FIA requirements, knowing full well that they would in fact, try to do things their way.

It would therefore, be a very short lived relationship - probably cancelled after the first race.

There is also the matter of corruption - something that is endemic across all aspects of Thai business.  One hint of corruption in any aspect of the event would lead to cancellation by the FIA/Liberty Media - even if the track was built and ready.  Thailand should probably look at what happened to the Vietnam event with regard to corruption and decide if they can live with someone else calling the shots.

Apart from the physical aspects, the Thai government needs to ask itself if it can 'live' with not being in control of an F1 event on precious Thai soil - something I doubt very much.