TallGuyJohninBKK

COVID deaths in England, according to the most recent data, running about 160+ per week. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths?areaType=nation&areaName=England And if you expand the count to the entire UK, about 210+ per week: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths?areaType=overview&areaName=United Kingdom

Add hospitals in North Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin to the list: Hospitals in at least 6 states are requiring masks indoors "Some hospitals across the United States are reinstating indoor masking rules amid rising cases and hospitalizations of respiratory illnesses including COVID-19 and influenza. Hospitals in at least six states -- California, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin -- have put masking guidelines in place, according to an ABC News count. ... Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows 31 states, plus Washington, D.C., are experiencing '"high" or "very high" levels of respiratory illness activity, described as people visiting their primary care office or the emergency departments with respiratory complaints such as fever, sore throat or cough." (more) https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/hospitals-in-at-least-6-states-are-requiring-masks-indoors/ar-AA1mk5k6

As is typical of most of his misinformation peddling ilk: The opening paragraph of the above report: "Florida’s surgeon general on Wednesday officially called for a halt “to the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines,” citing a discredited theory that has been debunked by federal and global health officials." But then again, Ladapo has been down his vaccine misinformation road before: Report: Florida officials cut key data from vaccine study April 8, 2023 "TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — An analysis that was the basis of a highly criticized recommendation from Florida's surgeon general cautioning young men against getting the COVID-19 vaccine omitted information that showed catching the virus could increase the risk of a cardiac-related death much more than getting the mRNA shot, according to drafts of the analysis obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. ... The early drafts of the analysis obtained by the Times through a records request showed that catching COVID-19 could increase the chances of a cardiac-related death much more than getting the vaccine, but that information was missing from the final version put out by the Florida Department of Health last October." https://news.yahoo.com/report-florida-officials-cut-key-150016558.html

Did you miss the fact / background that it was the girl's allowed entry into this club that ultimately led to her meeting a Thai celebrity there who then took her to a nearby hotel and allegedly raped her? Olympian Somrak faces allegations of sexual misconduct; claims it is blackmail "Somrak, who reportedly met the girl at a pub in Khon Kaen, claimed he did not know she was a minor when he took her to the hotel. He said he stopped all sexual activity upon learning she was underage. However, he did acknowledge undressing and caressing the girl before falling asleep." ... "Police have said the operators of the pub, where the incident unfolded, will also face charges of allowing a person under 20 years old to consume alcohol and for selling alcoholic drinks after hours." https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40033699

Average of 3,631 patients in hospital with Covid during Christmas week, data shows, a rise of 57% in a month Fri 29 Dec 2023 "A surge in the number of flu and Covid admissions to hospitals in England is adding to a “storm of pressure” facing the health service, NHS leaders have said. Figures released on Friday showed that in Christmas week, there were on average 3,631 patients with Covid in hospital, up 57% from the same week in November. Cases of norovirus were up 61% from the same period last year, while serious flu cases also continued to spiral, with an average of 942 patients with flu in hospital each day in the week to 24 December, including 48 in critical care. (more) https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/29/nhs-england-storm-of-pressure-flu-covid-cases-surge

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home "Data during recent periods are incomplete because of the lag in time between when a death occurs and when a death certificate is completed, submitted to NCHS, and processed for reporting. This delay can range from 1 week to 8 weeks or more, depending on the jurisdiction. The most recent 3 weeks of mortality counts are shaded grey and mortality rates shown as dotted lines because NVSS reporting is <95% during this period." https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Hospitals in at least four U.S. states have reinstated mask mandates amid a rise in cases of COVID, seasonal flu and other respiratory illness. Healthcare facilities in New York, California, Illinois and Massachusetts have made masks mandatory among patients and providers. ... The most recent weekly data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed there were over 29,000 hospitalizations from COVID across the U.S. from Dec. 17-23, up more than 16% from the previous week. (more) https://www.reuters.com/world/us/mask-mandates-return-some-us-hospitals-covid-flu-jump-2024-01-04/

Meanwhile, I guess I missed this recent Pink Line-related news item: Pink Line Skytrain track collapse causes havoc in Nonthaburi 24 December 2023 "A lengthy section of the Pink Line Skytrain track collapsed in front of the Agricultural Land Reform Office market, causing damage to three parked vehicles and nearly toppling a high-voltage electricity pylon. The incident occurred at 5am today, in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi. ... The fallen track, an aluminium rail measuring approximately 4 inches wide and 2 inches thick, extensively damaged the vehicles parked in front of the market." ... Pak Kret police officer Thapana Pungmi said the incident was reported at 5am and that the fallen rail stretched from the market to the Kasikorn Bank near the Kae Rai intersection. https://thethaiger.com/news/national/yellow-lines-wheel-deal-mrt-mishap-takes-a-detour-hits-taxi-driver-escapes-unscathed-near-bangkok "...an incident on December 24, where a segment of the conductor rail detached from its beam and fell onto a road. As a consequence, seven stations from Nonthaburi Civic Centre Station (PK01) to Pak Kret Bypass Station (PK07) were shut down for two days." https://thethaiger.com/news/national/pink-line-monorail-extends-free-service-during-conductor-rail-repair

Yes, that's the tram service I was referring to. No cost. Last time I used it last fall, its beginning point was at the corner of main CW Road and CW Soi 7 (the soi that leads to the Government Complex building). In the early morning hours, there's typically a queue of Thai office workers lined up there at the top of Soi 7 waiting to use it. In my case, I've only ever taken it on the inbound journey to the Govt. Complex. I've never used it for the return / outbound trip. And I haven't been out to the GC since the opening of the Pink Line.

It certainly is walkable, for someone in decent physical condition without any impairments... But probably would be a 15-20 minute walk depending on one's pace. But I'd still opt for the local tram service from the top of Soi 7 at the main CW Road, assuming it's still running.

For many years, there has been a tram-type shuttle service running from the top of CW Soi 7 down to the Govt. Complex building at the far end of the soi.... Last time I was there last fall, it was still running. Assuming it is still running, it would be a relatively short walk from the Government Complex Pink Line station on main CW Road to the corner of CW Soi 7.

Japan Airlines jet bursts into flames after collision at Tokyo Haneda airport "A Japan Airlines plane carrying hundreds of passengers burst into flames at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday after it was in collision with another aircraft involved in earthquake relief efforts. JAL flight 516 ignited after flying into Haneda from the northern Japanese city of Sapporo at 5:47 p.m. local time (3:47 a.m. ET) All crew members and passengers, including eight children under the age of two, were safely evacuated from the passenger plane, according to the airline." (more) https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/02/asia/japan-airlines-plane-fire-airport-intl-hnk/index.html

From the AP: "A plane burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, with news reports saying it hit another aircraft after landing. NHK TV reported that all passengers aboard, believed to have been about 400 people, got out safely. (Jan. 2)" Their imagery seems to show the whole aircraft from front to back consumed by flames. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ligTpKkNMzQ

Channel News Asia is saying JAL 516 was one of the two aircraft involved. Looks like the whole aircraft is toast. https://youtu.be/er1JkpJuE4s

Sky News is saying a Japan Airlines plane collided with another aircraft, described as a Coast Guard aircraft, resulting in the fire... An image from the Sky News coverage:

It often comes down to a couple of factors: 1. what specific websites or apps a person is trying to use with the VPN... Some of them use specific technologies aimed at blocking VPN use. And some also blacklist IP ranges recognized as coming from VPN providers. I'm guessing, the major U.S. streaming providers are more active about this than other smaller ones based in other countries. 2. Oddly, in my experience, it also can vary by what kind of VPN implementation a person is using. I've had situations where a particular streaming service did or didn't work when using the VPN setup via a router, and then got a different result when using the exact same VPN connection via the provider's own app.

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Dec. 24 - 30: --594 new COVID hospitalizations, up 39 from the prior week --3 new COVID deaths, down 5 from prior week --120 COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition, up 7 from the prior week --74 COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation to breathe, up 9 from the prior week https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Yea... I didn't think to ask the taxi driver guy about that possibility! The Grab taxi guy we had sounded like he bought his own EV...because he wanted to....not because he had to or was required by Grab, etc etc... He was a youngish guy, and seemed to be of the opinion that EVs are the future....

At the recent US Chamber webinar on the new Thai tax regime for expats, the panelists opined that Wise transfers into Thailand would be considered as remittances just the same as traditional wire transfers.

Funny thing, the wife and I just returned from a holiday vacation trip to Hua Hin...and while there, got a Grab taxi driving a BYD EV, which was a nice ride and nice vehicle, my very first time sitting in one. I had my wife ask the taxi driver if he had any difficulty finding local places to charge his vehicle, and he replied he had no problem finding enough charging places locally. On the way back to BKK, I did notice that a lot of the bigger gas/fuel stations along the highway now had/have various forms of "EV charging" signs up on their sign posts.... But, unlike you, I didn't stop our airport bus to see whether any of them were actually working!

@Mike Lister I was talking in my prior comment about NON-DCC transactions being done here with home country bank cards, whereas you seems to be addressing DCC transactions. In the case of a non-DCC transaction, for example, who's saying that it's VISA Thailand that's issuing a credit to the merchant as opposed to VISA or MC International outside of Thailand? And while the local merchant and the local merchant bank will know, in the case of a debit card, the debit card number being used and the issuing bank, I'm not aware of anything that knowing that somehow gives them the broader knowledge of the card holder's linked home country bank account number, for example.

In the example you use of a U.S. bank issued card here, typically, the transaction is going to be "settled" not by the local Thai bank, unless DCC is involved, but instead by the international VISA and MC card networks, which assign the applicable exchange rate. I don't think any of us knows what level of detail the Thai bank processor for the local transaction has about the non-Thai aspects of those kinds of transactions. Nor is it clear, to me at least, that VISA and MC international would be required to report to Thailand on their details of non-Thai bank card transactions.

As for airfares, my main experience with that lately has been booking online with EVA... And in those cases, even though I'm typically using a U.S. VPN IP, EVAs booking system quotes my fare in the currency of the departure city, regardless of what IP I'm using. So if I book a flight out of Bangkok, I get a fare quoted in baht. But if I book a flight out of California, I get a fare quoted in USD.

I've had a paid Surfshark subscription for the past several years, but rarely ended up using it, because it didn't work for unlocking most of the paid U.S. streaming services that I'd want to use it for.... SS tends to often get ranked among the top VPNs on various rating sites because of its comparatively low monthly price. But... 1) a lot of those VPN rating sites lean heavily toward VPNs that pay them in some form or another, and 2) in the case of SS, IME, you get what you pay for, which is very little. Whereas other VPNs like PrivateVPN and Windscribe VPN did and do a much better job allowing access to those same paid U.S. streaming services like Amazon Prime, Hulu, Sling TV and others.

1. AFAICT, those regs only apply to info required to be provided by Thai entities, not just banks, but various other kinds of local financial entities. 2. None of that appears to involve financial entities outside of Thailand.