brfsa2

6 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Just curious... How old are you ?...

 

Because at some point... escalation is far more harmful than the insult to your pride for getting a slap across the face... 

 

Additionally, if you are young and 'hard as nails' then there is the issue of 'one punch deaths'....  (i.e. where you punch someone back and they die or suffer serious brain damage)...

 

I know its a lot of whatiffery... and some issues are avoidable.... 

 

In this case the guard could have avoided further conflict by not following the lady back outside....  although, if she was behaving strangely, he was doing his job.... 

 

Could the guard have de-escalated ?...  I'm not saying the woman is not at fault for slapping him... but could the situation have been handled differently by the guard to the degree that she didn't get angry in the first place ?....

 

... Was the guard rude to the woman which triggered her to slap him in the first place ? (again, not suggesting she had any right to behave the way she did - just curious about the trigger points).

 

 

100% the woman had it coming - but could the whole situation have been avoided if the security guard dealt with her politely ? of course, we don't know he was impolite, but something triggered that response... or is she just a complete fruitcake ?

Why would anyone say "insult to your pride" ? 

Nothing to do with pride but respect and self dignity, if you are not worth that, then it is pride. 

And why would you deal politely with a dog or beast? you talk like my mother. such a p.

Very brave security man that stand up for his dignity and morality.

It's so good to see citizen justice done so well. She deserves it and more.

Why some people think that others with a low pay job or without education are inferior and should be humiliated being  treated like a dog?

Even the waterfalls for my occasional morning showers are not cold like before here in the south. Water that was coming out to be 15-17C right near the top are now definitely above 20C. If not 25C, wouldn’t be surprised. 

The last year almost everyday was a high temperature record, never happened before at this level of acceleration of global temperature rise. 

The banning of vapes in Thailand must only be related to the Tabaco taxes going into certain pockets. Everyone knows this. 

I would say that vaping is only bad because it lets you smoke better, cleaner, cheaper and much more convenient. That said, it's easy to smoke more leading to long term addiction, the same goes for cannabis.

I do have some portable vapes that last me almost a year, just for backups on trips, but no way it beats dry herb vaporizers like the dynavap that I have learned.

When vaporizing, the herbs are only baked at high temperature, enough to release the compounds, but not enough to burn it to ashes going to your lungs. There is no burnt substrates, only pure extraction that provide exceptional flavors, and best of all, it extends my flower reserve because I now smoke 1/4 of what I used to do. After I discovered herb vaporizer method, I have not lit a joint since a year!

But... vapes uses oil and concentrates, and I do know that there are some really crappy low quality vapes out there.

13 hours ago, dinsdale said:

“I am confident that, in two years, Thailand will house a large-scale battery cell factory. This will mark another significant milestone, further strengthening the supply chain and establishing a solid foundation for the long-term growth of the electric vehicle industry in Thailand.”

Trying to bolster a waning EV market in China. Hydrogen or new tech batteries such as sodium, sulphur and solid state for example are the future not lithium ion. In two years lithium ion batteries will be on the way out. As I said the Chinese EV market is not healthy. Not sure if this is the right horse to back.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/boom-in-china-s-ev-market-slows-as-economy-weighs-on-sentiment-1.2019532

It is true there will be new battery technology coming based on Solid State. However current Lithium batteries are actually really good, and I do think LFP batteries have a long way to go, compared to NMC Lithium batteries.

For comparison, Tesla and the first EV cars has been using NMC batteries since 2012, and only in 2023 it switched to LFP batteries with some models, other models are to follow this year. 

LFP batteries are the most durable and long-lasting batteries, and has slowly become one of the most popular in the industry. Every BYD car uses it. 

They are greatly overlooked and most people dont know they can actually last 1,000,000 KM , mostly used where long-range is not the primary requirement but affordability and battery life are. Eventually density will increase and provide better range. 

Here is a comparison, which translates to the battery of BYD atto 3 having the ability to last millions of KMs, which is way before the car itself is gone.

This image is a bit old, and new LFP batteries are able to reach 200 Wh/kg 

If you ask me, LFP is always preferable for everything other than high performance luxury cars. It is crazy that it has been so overlooked and under-appreciated.

This article main image is so obviously created with AI, and then the article looks like it is as well. 

so much low quality content from that site... 

And it looks like it's really bad in Myanmar, it confirms what people are saying and why so many are fleeing Myanmar. Laos and Cambodia have worsened a lot as well.

I had to dig a bit to get to these reports here: https://ocindex.net/report/2023/04-continental-overview.html 

Some news! The BYD Atto 3 now has dropped 200,000 Baht from the full price.

The standard range 50KWh used to be 1.1 MB , Now it is being sold for 900K THB

This is really a huge discount, now a tesla cost twice as the BYD, and now it is even cheaper than the popular ICE cars like Honda HRV, Toyota Corolla/Cross.

On 2/18/2024 at 8:06 PM, Pib said:

There is a Youtube video where a guy buys a wrecked BYD Atto just to get the battery...and he has around a half dozen videos showing his disassembly of the battery pack....well, "partial disassembly" because he found out he could not disassemble fully because of how the blade batteries and accompanying battery management circuity boards plus other components were so tightly integrated....pretty much once assembled at the factory they will forever stay assembled....not designed for disassembly/repair.   

I also watched the same video and I realized the BYD Atto 3 is not a perfect car, and actually this is really bad for the customers.

These LFP batteries are great for life cycle, but there is also the failed modules that will happen way before the battery reach 50% life time, or 1/2 of the 2500 cycles.

If the individual module that failed cannot be easily replaced to save the whole battery, then doesn't matter than LFP batteries have such a long life cycle of nearly 1 million KMs.

This is very crucial detail that nobody knows about, and will not surface until we see a lot of people affected by this, many years in the future.

On the positive side, the BYD battery has very good water proofing, and so does the Tesla battery.

Tesla and Nissan both have the best battery pack in terms or serviceability and repairs.

On 3/14/2023 at 11:22 AM, macahoom said:

Over the past month or two, I've read great reviews for the MG4 EV. And then yesterday, I saw it was voted car of the year in the UK.

 

My three and a half year old MG ZS EV is a great car and my plan has always been to hold on to it for many years. However, passing an MG showroom this morning I thought, "What the hell! Let's test drive an MG4 and see what all the fuss is about."

 

Well, holy smokes! As wonderful as my ZS is, the MG4 blows it out of the water; renders it old hat.

 

Dare I say it, it drives and feels like it's expensive and European. Handles beautifully.

 

It's so good, I'm sorely tempted to buy one. The problem is, it's difficult to justify getting rid of my ZS. For a start, I'd get peanuts for it - no matter how good it is. 

 

I suppose I may as well test drive the BYD Atto3 while I'm at it.

@macahoom also note that the MG4 motor is at the rear, RWD, while the MG ZS EV is at the front. that makes a difference in the fun factor by a large margin for EV,  FWD EV car have many handling problems because of the very high torque on the front wheel. the ZS EV had this problem and I could hardly floor it on a straight without the car driving like a snake. You should really test drive the Tesla Model 3, if you liked the MG4. but not the Model Y. 

I hated the MG ZS EV that I had. sold it with 40% losses. If you still have yours, you might as well keep it 😄

On 1/29/2024 at 2:05 PM, richard_smith237 said:

To be fair in light of my own criticisms of this airline..   that sort of delay is not uncommon at all.

 

A lot of my Emirates and Qatar Airways flights are similar.

 

 

Were you sleeping ?... If not, didn't you point out at the time as soon as they started serving the row behind you?

 

 

Luggage - thats not the airlines fault - but they are accountable for any compensation claim you make. 

 

------

 

While I too have criticism of Thai Airways, I do sometimes thing some criticism are unfair.

 

I recall a number of years ago that I was told to 'go and get a beer myself'...  !!!...

On a flight to Japan - Wife was asleep, I was with my Son (4 yrs old)...  I'd had one beer with dinner, all trays cleared up and we were entering the 'quiet phase' of the flight... I'd not seen an attendant pass through the cabin for about 20-30 mins... I didn't want to get up and leave my Son unattended - so I hit the call button... Apologised when the flight attendant came.."Sorry to bother you, I didn't want to leave my Son unattended by going to the galley... But could I have a beer ?"...    the flight attendant clearly didn't like having the call button pressed and really didn't like the idea of getting me a beer... 

...  I was told that if I wanted a beer, I should go to the galley and ask for one myself... I was shocked by the attitude of the flight attendant. I complained to the Purser, who didn't seem to think there was any issue with this...    

 

That was a shocker.. but that said, mostly the service on all travel in and around Asia is pretty good so no major or consistent complaints there.. just a one off.

 

----

 

Eithad did switch our booked seats (at the Gate) so my Wife and I weren't next to each other - this was so a Pilot and his Wife could sit together in the 'honey moon seats' (two business class seats next to each other) - written complaint that time, no response. 

 

When my sons Pushchair was snapped in half and Etihad rejected the compensation claim that it, never flown then again (and I was a gold card member at the time).

 

So... All airlines have their cra.ppy moments... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes I agree with you on that. Me being too picky with them. Of course it’s normal issues. 
on the good side Thai airways do have kind Thai staff and their good hearts. 
When they skipped my meal I wasn’t asleep, they thought I had already eaten cause my wife ordered baby food and I was eating the remaining baby food, but at least the could ask me instead of just move on. 

5 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I saw the Deepal saloon L07 today, very impressive, quite a bit bigger than the Seal. 

Oh yes.  that car is really something different isn’t it? I really loved the look. 
And the power is supposed to be good. 

6 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

I think they are looking a bit dated now.  I have 3 issues with Tesla in Thailand...

 

First, Elon Musk, Tesla=Elon Musk, Elon Musk=Tesla.  Elon has no checks and balances and he talks BS, he also employs some underhand practices, eg black colour is free, white colour is 50k THB more, but in Malaysia it's the other way around.

 

Second, the prices here are too high, they need to be dropped by 20%

 

Third, Tesla is priced as an AI company, it's not, it's an EV manufacturer, his full delf driving will never work in Thailand because their vision based system likes clean white lines.  There is a class action lawsuit in the UK, they are suing Tesla because 4 years ago they bought FSD, it's never been delivered, many people in the Uk work on a 3 year replacement cycle.

 

Even if the prices were dropped 20%, I would have to think long and hard about all the missing bits you get standard on the BYD.

I agree as well that Tesla is quite expensive here in Thailand, and they need to greatly drop prices here. It is a fancy tech car for the people that want it. I really wanted it 🙂 haha.

I would attest that Tesla is huge in AI, they invested lot, Elon wants it to be like that, the Tesla autonomous robot is driven by AI, so does FSD. 

The main reason I went for the BYD ATTO3 vs the model Y with LFP battery was the high price difference and the fact that insurance and repairs for Tesla are insanely expensive. And that 500,000 baht difference I installed a 5kW solar system and still have money to replace that crazy crappie tires with some Michelin SUV +. Really amazing tires. 

insurance is a must in Thailand. 
On the BYD I have just done two claims from two minor occasions, a motorbike hit-and-run, ruining my rear bumper and I very sad to say I have killed a dog on the motorway to chonburi, that ruined my front.

The insurance for the BYD is also expensive, around 23,000 baht when compared to a Toyota fortuner Legender that cost 30% more was only 13,000 baht. 
 

I don’t like Toyota cars performance, but I own a great car from them. It’s just so well made and reliable. And their spare parts logistics is top notch in the world.
only issue: 1 year ago they really pushed me to replace the battery, quoted 5,500 baht. trying to make money from me. I wasn’t stupid. 

1 year later now the battery is still running very well. I am going to replace myself for just 3,200 baht the same model. Just because it’s 3 years old now. 
 

I don’t think 5 years from now Toyota will be as big, but definitely a big player for sure. Their main advantage: they have less dependability on China , now with the instability in the region with China, Taiwan and the south sea problems. 
Would the worst case happens with China-Taiwan, we will have a major worldwide disruption in every technology and car sector. 

39 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

I was once a passenger in a BMW 518i heading the motorway in the UK when it died, timing belt went, valves all bent.  He hadn’t serviced from new, 120,000 miles on it.

 

I would be money that Toyota’s new engine is nothing more than an ICE designed to burn hydrogen instead of petrol, in other words, nothing more than a slightly modified CNG engine.

 

Toyota are doing everything they can to spread FUD about EV’s, they recognize the threat to their business.

That's partially correct, however the Hydrogen engines are very different and today also very inefficient. Toyota needs to develop an engine that can be at least 50% more efficient.

However I think Solid state batteries are taking a huge leap forward and are much more promising. 

One of their main issues are that they are offen late on schedule.

Last time I flew with them was Bangkok<->NewChitose/Japan 

First flight of the morning, still got delayed 40 minutes.

Attendant "forgot" my meal, lol, i got skipped. 

My luggage arrived with no wheel, broken and torn off.

They should be considered lucky that only the police came. I would have expected nothing less than a mob beat up, you know,  this is pattaya. 

9 hours ago, Shocked farang said:

When you say that you smoked very powerful stuff back in the day, there are many studies about the ganja being sold now and they say that the THC content has gone up many times. That's the reason that I really don't smoke anymore, the mellow weed simply disapeared and now we have these THC bombs.

In Thailand there are very cheap Koh Tao or Thai Green Crack strains that are super low in THC. Around 5-10% 

10g goes like 150-300 Baht

my fav is called Charlotte Web, it has 

CBD 10%THC 1%

or BaOx, CBD 7%THC 7%

I ingest very little but I do know a lot about strains as part of my knowledge. 
 

A few years ago, it was available online the whole database from the Health and Quarantine office with all the data from arrivals that had to show yellow fever certificate. With full name, full passport details,  full address and flight details. 

14 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

Most of the regulations and penalties in the draft are for businesses and growers in the cannabis trade.  For users I see only the 60,000 baht fine for recreational use and the 1 year in jail and/or 20,000 baht fine for driving while intoxicated with cannabis. 

 

This driving aspect seems to overlap with the existing law on driving while intoxicated with alcohol or other substances, where I think the maximum penalties are higher.  There is wording about the obligation to take a cannabis test, if demanded, and you are deemed intoxicated with cannabis, if you refuse to be tested.  But it doesn't say what the limit is or what type of testing they will do.  I don't think anyone has out with a particularly suitable test for roadside testing. Most existing tests will just confirm that you consumed cannabis within the last few days but it is hard to determine whether someone is intoxicated to the point that driving would be impaired.  They could end up busting anyone who has any traces of cannabis in their system, even if they are stone cold sober.  This would be unfair as they allow a small amount of alcohol in the body.

Cannabis tests can detect THC in the urine for usage between 1 and 30 days. not sure how a quick test can tell if a person  has consumed the same day or the day before, and which one counts as a felony?

Unless it's a very high dose, Cannabis doesn't influence driving capacity, it does make you drive like you are sleepy, which can be dangerous for some people.

What many people will never get is that Cannabis is not like Alcohol. Small doses of cannabis are really good for many reasons. 

I dont drink or smoke tobacco, I hate those 2.

I have kids, a busy work from home schedule, busy life, train muay thai and bjj and do regular exercises. 

Most days in the morning or in the afternoon I really need to smoke a bit feel a bit released and more energetic, it really helps me a lot to motivate in the mornings and get me through some hard days.

At times I dont smoke for weeks, like when I go to Japan or Singapore for regular work. One thing I learned is to have micro doses, I buy 10g-20g of pop or trims of my favorite strains and it last me like a whole month or more for just 500 Baht!

Micro dosage is amazing, small doses are great, medium to high doses makes you way too lazy, high doses you are couch locked or too passed out.

it also helps me a lot to get rid of all the arthritis pain I get on my knees and also the pain from my training when I get beat up often.

For some people it helps a lot, for some it doesnt make sense or they dont need it.

23 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Where, for example? 

Quite possibly true that most places sell mediocre coffee, even thought the Thai beans are so good. 
Most Thai coffee shops can’t make a nice cup of black coffee or even latte. 

Honestly Starbucks do make great cups just that their beans sux badly and it is way too expensive. Total ripoff. 
 

Flash coffee is another crap coffee brand.  The taste is just like Starbucks, Lacking on notes. 

 THAI coffee beans are so good, why would anyone waste money on over roasted coffee from star$ucks?

I bet most of everyone don’t know why coffee from SB is made with super dark beans, without any special flavor. 
It is to ensure all the stores have coffee taste the same and they can sell a uniform repeatable coffee taste. 
 

when the beans are over roasted (dark), all the special tones and tastes are gone. That’s Starbucks coffee. 

when the beans are medium roasted , you get all the extra flavors derived from the area and soil, such as chocolate, berries, fruits and so on.
So that most good coffee beans will show a different tone and taste different experience. 
 

my favorites are the beans with chocolate tones, mostly from Brazil. Ethiopian beans are also pretty good. 

6 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Yes, and when the rest of the car can't keep up with the battery pack, it would be a fine addition to our solar system.

 

Phones have peaked on what they can do.   Just a better camera, if willing to pay.   Phones have peaked on new abilities so much, that now they make the battery not user friendly, so have to replace the phone, simply because the battery no longer holds a charge.   Main reason I upgraded my last 2 phones.  Couldn't find replacement batteries.

 

AND ... give you a 'fast' charger, to kill the battery faster 

Phone batteries are based on Lithium Polimer, very compact and lightweight, but greatly degrades over the years, like down to 80% after only 600 cycles. 

It's true that many EVs are based on a battery that degrades over the cycles, NMC batteries. 

However most new EVs are using the new LFP batteries that can easily go 10-15 years and still hold more than 90% charge. LFP cannot be on a phone because they are 40% larger, and greedy phone makers, specially Apple, would not shoot themself in the foot by using new battery technology that lasts 10 years.

Just google for LFP batteries. New cars from Tesla, BYD, Neta, MG and most of Chinese cars. only the Europeans are behind with the old "trusted" battery chemistry. 

For your ref: https://www.pcmag.com/news/carmakers-are-switching-to-cheaper-ev-batteries-but-theres-a-big-trade

The issue with LFP is working at freezing temperatures, and Zeekr already solved that with their new LFP battery that works at extreme temperatures and can charge at 360kW. (Zeekr is owned by Geely/HK, that also owns Volvo) I have stock Geely and I expect 300% returns in 5 years. 

https://electrek.co/2023/12/14/zeekr-unveils-own-energy-dense-lfp-batteries-can-recharge-500km-in-15-minutes/