TallGuyJohninBKK

Looks like the U.S.'s streak of 1,000+ COVID deaths has continued for another week, now reaching 29 consecutive weeks, just barely. The CDC's latest update with official numbers shows 1,002 COVID deaths for the week ending March 9 (the last/most recent blue-shaded column), as shown below. The gray-shaded columns for the other 3 most recent weeks are shaded in a different color because the data for those weeks for now remains incomplete. CDC source link: The relatively good news here is the comparable weekly U.S. COVID deaths count for the same week a year ago in 2023 -- 1,852 for the week ending March 11, 2023 -- was almost double the current number for 2024, showing that the fatalities situation, while still high, has been getting better.

Prompan's probably just jealous that he got to spend time, repeatedly, in jail for his past criminal offenses, whereas Big Joke thus far has remained a free man. 🤭 In Thailand, politicians sometimes get sent to prison for their misdeeds. But Thai police very very rarely do. Former red-shirt leader gets 2 years in jail for protest at Prem’s house May 18, 2023 https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/politics/40027766 Thai 'red shirt' leader ordered back to jail, cuts short comeback July 8, 2021 https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thai-red-shirt-leader-ordered-back-jail-cuts-short-comeback-2021-07-08/ Thailand 'Red Shirts' leader sentenced to prison July 20, 2017 https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/07/20/Thailand-Red-Shirts-leader-sentenced-to-prison/4251500574200/ Jail term for Thai red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan 28 January 2015 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31019510

The wife and I returned to Bangkok last Sunday afternoon after a weekend trip to Hua Hin via the VIP bus from/to Suvarnabhumi airport. You wouldn't think Sunday mid-afternoon would be too bad a time to travel. But the entire trip back to BKK took 4-1/2 hours compared to 3-1/2 hours the last time we made the same trip a couple months back. All of the delay was on the approach to and passing thru the Rama II construction zone, and we were backed up for miles in crawling traffic before finally getting past that area where, shockingly, suddenly the expressway traffic became free-flowing and fast for the rest of the trip back.

Central Group is one of the largest retailers in Thailand, with far more than just Tops in their portfolio. One might think / expect that they'd have the resources and technical expertise to better handle the technology platforms that are key to their online retailing presence. Including like the common sense issue that one member mentioned above, actually internally testing such platform changes before going live with them. But over a long period of time, they've consistently shown that they can't put one foot in front of the other without proverbially falling down. 😞 Among all the other issues recited above, just as examples: --Still haven't managed to solve their consistent problem with their online store showing items available and in stock, whereas when one's order is processed, they don't actually have what you ordered. And don't give you any opportunity to change your order or make substitutions prior to delivery. --Simple UI things like when you're making changes to your Favorites list, every time you do, instead of taking you back to where you were on the page, their UI automatically takes you back to the very top of the back, requiring you to scroll down every time to get back to where you were (on a system that is VERY slow for scrolling).

That above all sounds like reasonably sensible guidance/advice... Remains to be seen whether it will all turn out to be correct in the end. But in the meantime, I'm not going anywhere near a Thai revenue/taxation office, just as I never have in a decade plus of living here. As an American, I'm already taxed in the home country for everything that's taxable, and I have no income in Thailand, except for some bank interest that the Thai banks already automatically do Thai tax withholding on, and I report as paid on my U.S. tax return each year.

The info you cite above on the sources of some past VAERS reports came from a 2013 study that predated COVID by years. It used reporting data from past years involving periods drastically unrelated to the massive, highly publicized nationwide COVID vaccination campaign in the U.S. that occurred primarily in 2021 and 2022 amid the pandemic, where public awareness, media attention etc. was significantly heightened. Apples and oranges. Also, as has been reported previously, the adverse event reporting requirements for VAERS were significantly expanded in the U.S. for COVID vaccines vs. what they had been before, leading to more reporting. "As we explained then, the huge number of VAERS reports following COVID-19 vaccination and relative paucity for other vaccines is likely mostly due to a reporting bias. For one, because the COVID-19 vaccines are or were at first authorized under an emergency use authorization, there are much broader reporting requirements for health care providers. For the COVID-19 vaccines, health care providers are required by law to report any vaccine administration error; any serious adverse event following vaccination, regardless of the suspected cause; any case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome; and any COVID-19 case that results in hospitalization or death." Reporting any post vaccination serious adverse event regardless of the suspected cause. https://www.factcheck.org/2021/12/scicheck-increase-in-covid-19-vaers-reports-due-to-reporting-requirements-intense-scrutiny-of-widely-given-vaccines/ The second source you cite above, an undated U.S. government website with background on the VAERS program that makes no mention whatsoever of COVID, appropriately opens with the following passage: "When evaluating data from VAERS, it is important to note that for any reported event, no cause-and-effect relationship has been established. Reports of all possible associations between vaccines and adverse events (possible side effects) are filed in VAERS. Therefore, VAERS collects data on any adverse event following vaccination, be it coincidental or truly caused by a vaccine. The report of an adverse event to VAERS is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event." https://vaers.hhs.gov/data/dataguide.html In short, reports in VAERS prove nothing about whether any given vaccine caused any particular side effect. There can be millions of reports submitted to VAERS, and they still prove nothing -- other than serving as a early warning system for health officials to investigate potential patterns, which they do. And here's what they've found, per the U.S. CDC: "Multiple factors contribute to reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination, including heightened public awareness of COVID-19 vaccines, requirements under FDA authorization for COVID-19 vaccines that healthcare providers report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS (even if it is unclear whether the vaccine was the cause), and reporting requirements in CDC vaccine provider agreements. People receiving COVID-19 vaccines are less likely to die from COVID-19 and its complications and are at no greater risk of death from non-COVID causes, than unvaccinated people." [emphasis added] https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

I agree. But IMHO, the report by The Hill misleads by omission by not making clear that the adverse event reports that are the basis of the cited study and its ensuing news report are in no way verified or proven to be actually related to people's vaccinations. That's a pretty big omission, IMHO.

If the above report actually wanted to be fair-minded, it would have told its readers important additional information needed to fairly evaluate what was being reported: 1. Although not explained in the OP article by The Hill, the reports submitted to the U.S. government’s VAERS database that are the basis for this study don’t actually show or prove that claimed adverse events were in fact related to the person’s vaccination. The reports there can be filed by anyone, and remain there regardless of what any subsequent follow-up inquiry may show. “As the VAERS website explains in a disclaimer, reports “may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable.” Reports are not vetted before being included in the database.” https://www.factcheck.org/2023/06/scicheck-what-vaers-can-and-cant-do-and-how-anti-vaccination-groups-habitually-misuse-its-data/ Or as the U.S. CDC said of VAERS in a different news report on the study data being reported here: “VAERS reports have not been verified, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes. "Anyone, including healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, and the public, can submit reports to the system," the CDC says. "While very important in monitoring vaccine safety, VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/states-lean-republican-report-more-covid-vaccine-related-adverse-events-study-finds As one example of that, a doctor, James Laidler, reported filing a VAERS report in the early 2000s claiming “an influenza vaccine had turned me into The Hulk,” a report that remained in the VAERS database until Laidler later agreed to have it removed. “If I had not agreed, the record would be there still,” Laidler wrote in a 2005 blog post, “showing that any claim can become part of the database, no matter how outrageous or improbable.” https://www.factcheck.org/2023/06/scicheck-what-vaers-can-and-cant-do-and-how-anti-vaccination-groups-habitually-misuse-its-data/ 2. Whereas large numbers of Republicans clearly don’t believe in the scientifically documented benefits of COVID vaccines, other research has shown that their beliefs are in fact mistaken. Multiple studies have shown Republican leaning areas with low COVID vaccination rates have higher COVID death rates than Democrat leaning areas with higher COVID vaccination rates – another relevant fact not included in the OP report by The Hill, even though the authors of the subject study here did take note of it. "Antivaccine sentiment is increasingly associated with conservative political positions," the study authors wrote. "COVID-19 mortality has been higher in US jurisdictions that are more conservative in their party registration, voting history, or representation. These differences are likely explained, in part, by differences in vaccination rates." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/states-lean-republican-report-more-covid-vaccine-related-adverse-events-study-finds In other words, the OP reported data here shows what Republicans believe about COVID vaccines. The other studies have shown what actually happens to them when they follow thru on those beliefs and avoid COVID vaccinations. “Excess death rates were 2.8 percentage points (15%) higher for Republican voters compared with Democratic voters (95% PI, 1.6 to 3.7 percentage points). After May of 2021, roughly 1 month after COVID-19 vaccines became widely available, the [excess deaths] gap between Republicans and Democrats further widened, to 7.7 percentage points (95% PI, 6.0 to 9.3 percentage points) in the adjusted analysis, or a 43% difference, the authors said. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/political-party-affiliation-linked-excess-covid-deaths COVID vaccines save lives, and the actual vaccine related side effects are exceedingly rare. Follow the proven science, not the unproven anti-vax claims espoused by too many in the right-wing political domain. "The February 2024 publication of the largest peer-reviewed study of Covid-19 vaccine safety to date has inspired misleading social media claims that its findings show the jabs are unsafe. Study authors and independent experts say the research confirms that adverse reactions to vaccination are rare and pose far fewer risks than Covid-19 infection." https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.34K78ZW

The burger scene in Bangkok has come a long way over the years, and is far better now with better quality and more variety than ever existed in the past... And I say that as being quite a long-time burger afficionado here... I'm sure the Nana burger place is OK, but seriously doubt it's anywhere close to being the best burger in Bangkok, with all the other quality choices that are out there. Some of them people may know a bit, such as Prime Burger or Easy Burger, but a lot of the others are single location places turning out some really good burger fare. The one thing that's missing -- at least in my experience thus far -- is anything remotely resembling a decent chili burger/chili cheese burger, which has long been one of my favorites. I've tried a couple lately from different places, and the chili has ended up being oddly dried out stuff not even remotely resembling actual chili con carne.

In the Italian parlance, wouldn't that sound more like "Gwee-dos"?

Speaking as a lifelong Californian, we don't really do eggs on hamburgers as a general rule... That's more of a British thing. Californians lean more toward burger accompaniments like fried onion rings, chili, sliced avocados, jalapenos, etc etc... Not necessarily all together on the same burger... although, the thought sounds pretty good!!!

Thailand's new hospitalizations for COVID, for the past week, climbed again to surpass on average more than 100 per day, or 728 for the past week. ------------------------------------ Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Mar. 24 - Mar. 30, 2024: --728 new COVID hospitalizations, up 98 from the prior week --2 new COVID deaths, down 3 from the prior week --215 current COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition (pneumonia symptoms), down 7 from the prior week (dark purple) --76 current COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation/ventilation to breathe, up 2 from the prior week (light purple) (cumulative figures are COVID new hospitalizations (6,966) & deaths (62) since the start of the current year) Note: with this latest weekly COVID report, MoPH has now resumed giving basic age and gender information on their reported COVID fatalities. In this new report, both of the two new COVID fatalities -- one man and one woman -- are reported as being age 70 and above. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Mar. 24 - Mar. 30, 2024: --728 new COVID hospitalizations, up 98 from the prior week --2 new COVID deaths, down 3 from the prior week --215 current COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition (pneumonia symptoms), down 7 from the prior week (dark purple) --76 current COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation/ventilation to breathe, up 2 from the prior week (light purple) (cumulative figures are COVID new hospitalizations (6,966) & deaths (62) since the start of the current year) Note: with this latest weekly COVID report, MoPH has now restored giving age information on their reported COVID fatalities. In this new report, both of the two new COVID fatalities are reported as being age 70 and above. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Of course, if we wanted to have a general discussion about the wisdom and expertise of Thai retailing, we also could look to another current thread on the subject running here at present:

The prior comment being responded to was: "Never seen a forklift drop a pallet in the aisles, where does this happen ?" It wasn't a location limited comment. And the answer was quick and obvious from several posters here -- Makro in Thailand for starters. And yes, they do tend to cordon off the aisle and use large forklifts with "beeping" alerts.... But they're still closing off store aisles temporarily in the middle of the shopping day.... which seems not ideal. I've also seen customers in Makro walk past the cordons set up and go shopping down the aisle where the forklift is moving heavy pallets -- something that would give OSHA a nightmare if Thailand had anything functionally resembling OSHA.

Makro for starters... They do it all the time.

No, I was a graveyard shift cashier and supervisor by choice because, believe or not, that was the time that least interfered with my university class schedule back then. But all of that has nothing to do with the remaining fact that the very large retailer I worked for purposefully did all of the major restocking in the quieter overnight hours... so as to not have it interfere with sales traffic during busier "regular" hours. That obviously doesn't mean if we happened to run out of something during the day shifts that we'd ignore it. Of course not, someone would go to the back and retrieve some new stock.... But we wouldn't start piling up the aisles with cases and cases of product to be shelved during the normal shopping hours. That's only common sense, at least, for some of us.

It would be too boring if they didn't constantly reshuffle the locations of things, moving the ketchup to the wine shelves, and the wine to the diapers shelves... etc etc... All in a day's work.

The aisles of typical Thai supermarket venues are often narrow enough as it is... often making it difficult to pass just one other party in the same aisle... It certainly doesn't get any better when the store staff start hauling out piles of product boxes and stacking them around the aisles in the middle of the shopping day.

I was able to pick an hours time window for Standard delivery for tomorrow, but it took some doing to get there... When I first got to that point in the Checkout process, it also seemed like the only choice on offer was an immediate delivery option. But I believe there was another less than obvious link in that same section that produced the option to pick the normal time windows for standard delivery.

I worked in retail to help pay my way thru college.... We always did all the major restocking and maintenance/cleaning at night...after midnight until the early morning hours, because that was the time of the lowest traffic volume in a 24-hour market operation, and the work could be done most efficiently without annoying or interfering with paying customers... But hey, that was just a worldwide multi-billions of dollars retail market operation. What did we know....

Obvious, of course! The GHOSTS come out at night.... Woooo........

Right now, after completing my order via their website with some difficulty, the order is showing up as received and processing for tomorrow standard delivery in their system:

CP and Dhanin's family also being China origin, like the other group. Two of the biggest big money ventures in Thailand.

I went to try to place a Tops Online order via their website this afternoon... before I caught Jing's thread here... What a MESS!!! I was able to finally place an order, at least.... But with their latest changes, I found that: --90% of my previously saved long Favorites shopping list had been wiped away, leaving just a handful of Favorited items. --When I went to try to re-Favorite various of the missing items, I found I was totally unable to add any new Favorites right now. --When I tried to "search" for various of the now missing Favorited items, I found the website's search functionality was balky at best, bordering on useless. etc etc etc... Tops has done similar things to this various times in the past with "upgrades" or "changes" to their online platform, including previously having erased all of my Saved Favorites at various past points... But this latest re-do -- at the moment -- surely is one of the worst versions they've done. You really have to wonder where they get their IT staff from... Ahh, but then it struck me, it's probably the same geniuses who mishandle tech for this particular forum!!!