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HarrySeaman

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  1. The US imposed a ban on importing Chinese solar cells in a failed attempt to encourage the production of solar cells in the US. The result was a number of Chinese solar cell manufacturers set up a business in another SEA country. Thailand has a good trade relationship with the US so it was one of the favorite places to set up a Thai (Chinese) solar cell manufacturing company. The sale of solar cells is down in the US because of the poor economic situation and high inflation. The government numbers show high inflation but they are really a lie, the real inflation is always higher. The reason is that the housing and products they pick for measuring inflation are for a small town. Real inflation should include city prices and new "necessary" devices like cellphones but those are not included in the US government inflation numbers.
  2. I have a heart condition called cardiomyopathy, which simply means that my heart has enlarged and weakened (cause unknown). One of the dangers is a reduced flow of blood resulting in a blood clot causing a heart attack or stroke (so far so good). I have been taking Elequis (apixaaban) for 13 years. I take half a 2.5mg tablet after breakfast and again after dinner. Elequis is more expensive than warfarin but a big advantage is that there are no blood tests required to make sure the dosage is correct and if you miss a dose the time the drug stays in your body is long enough that you are still protected until you take the next dose. To me it is well worth the cost difference. The only side effect is a tendency to bleed a little longer/more than before if I scratch or cut. When I get blood drawn for my cardiologist visit I also get a bruise about an inch (2.5 cm) in diameter on the inside of my elbow - no big deal. My cardiologist is Naval captain working at Queen Sirikit Naval Hospital in Chonburi so I get my medications there with a small discount vs buying at a drug store, but I would gladly pay a higher price at Fascino for the simplicity of taking this medication. Ask Fascino the price and if it is acceptable ask you doctor about using it instead of warfarin.
  3. Stop worrying about cost. The computer should last you for 5 years so even an "expensive" computer doesn't cost that much per year. Even after 5 years is should still be more than good for hooking to a TV for YouTube or watching recorded videos. Look at what your needs are and find the appropriate board. You are asking for a lot of extra connections so you really need a motherboard that has lot of slots for adding connection boards. Another thing of importance is how much RAM memory? The answer is as much as you can stick in the motherboard - 16 GB minimum and if the mother board will accept 32 GB then put that in. Start off with a solid state 3TB C drive and add more 3 TB drives for extra storage as if needed. What about your display board - if you are just using the computer for browsing and watching videos then a simple low cost video board is okay. If, however, you are using your computer for something like video editing you need a high end video board. If you are doing high quality photography you will also a high power video board to provide fast response when retouching. For video editing and photography you may want to get a color calibration device for your monitors (Google search for "monitor color calibration tool"). Google is your friend for finding out what motherboards are available. Here is one example from a Google search for "motherboard for intel core is-13500 CPU" Best Motherboards to Buy for Intel Core i5 13500
  4. Interesting fact, the remaining mold eats the leftovers after you clean something like the tiles in a shower with bleach and quickly returns. To prevent this clean a second time using white vinegar and it will take longer for the mold to return. merry maids: A Guide to Cleaning Mold with Vinegar
  5. Wood is an electrical insulator. A wooden walking stick would NOT ground anyone unless it was wet. A metal walking stick with a plastic or rubber tip will also insulate anyone from the ground.
  6. Searching for a very good wine, or even just a good one, for less than about 500 Bt/bottle in Pattaya is a fool's errand. When I drink wine it almost always with a meal so I want one that will go well with the meal I prepare. Hopefully it is good enough that what remains can be drunk by itself before the meal and/or over the next day or two. I used to find good Australian wines for reasonable prices but they have out priced themselves now. I have occasionally had good luck finding a "bargain priced" Chilean, Argentinean, or South African wine at Macro, Friendship, or Villa, but their sales people are totally ignorant. Lately I have simply gone to the Wine Connection shop at the Pattaya Avenue Mall. If you pass Villa to enter the mall it is on your right. Describe what type of wine, taste, and what you want to eat so they can make suggestions. My success rate is better there than when I tried to guess at the grocery stores. There are other wine shops scattered around Pattaya now and it is possible that some of the sales people may have some knowledge about the wines available. I haven't been there yet (on my to do list) but there is Wine Pro, a large retail/wholesale wine shop on the corner of Thanon Chaiyaphruek and Sukhumvit.
  7. And for Korean food. The USA soldiers brought it during the Korean War, the Koreans loved it, and still use it for a number of dishes. In Korea, Spam Isn't Junk Meat — It's A Treat
  8. Dying in a hospital means that the doctors will certify the cause of death so no autopsy is required. If you die outside of a hospital usually the Thai police, and the USA embassy, require an autopsy at the Police Hospital in Bangkok. This can take a month or longer. The USA embassy will NOT issue an order that the body be released for a funeral until they have a certified cause of death. Dying without a Thai will seriously complicates things and the family in the USA will definitely be involved by the USA Embassy. The USA family then becomes responsible for all expenses, past due rent, hospital bills, transportation of the body, autopsy if performed, and the funeral, etc., etc., etc. To accomplish all this the USA family will need to obtain a Thai lawyer to handle the paperwork. They can do this in person (add in travel expenses) or the way I did it for my friend who died without a will as described below. I became the executor of a USA friend who died in hospital without a will. Becoming the executor required the consent of his father in the USA since the father was still alive. The father couldn't handle this because of age and health so the family had to have lawyers transfer responsibility to a brother. After physical forms went back and forth between the USA lawyers/family and the Thailand lawyers and me for certified signatures, over the course of about a month, the lawyer was finally able to get the paperwork finished and me in front of a judge to ask to be appointed executor. Two weeks later the judge had decided that I was acceptable and formally appointed me the executor. When the USA Embassy were sent certified English and Thai versions of the order appointing me executor they finally issued an order that the body be released from the hospital. Thai friends of the deceased and I went to the hospital to secure the release of the body (somewhat decayed), which was placed in a cheap plywood coffin, and transported to a Wat to be cremated. There was a short and simple ceremony attended by a few friends the next morning proceeding the cremation. The next day the Thai friends picked up the ashes, which consisted of about 90% wood ashes and 10% bones. We took the remains to another Wat that specializes in a final short ceremony and then transports the ashes to the end of a dock where the final ceremony occurs and the ashes are dumped into the water. About a kilogram of the ashes and bones were saved for me to send to the family in the USA. The USA Embassy basically washed their hands at this point saying it was illegal to ship the ashes. I finally found a funeral home in Bangkok who does ship remains to the USA. The cost was high, close to $2000 if I remember correctly. The ashes could only be shipped by direct flight to an international airport in the USA and could not be directly transshipped. They went to New York, where picked up by a funeral home, changed from a plastic bag in a box to an urn, and then shipped to the family in North Carolina - the cost of that was $11,000. I went to a lawyer right after this and made my own Thai will. I made my "long time companion" (Thai for common law wife) my executor and the beneficiary of everything I own in Thailand. I realize that since I won't be there to tell my "wife" what I want she can do whatever she wants but I have expressed my wishes that I get the lowest possible cost cremation and then she can do what she wants with the ashes. My wife, being Thai and being my executor, will be able to bypass many of the things I had to do so things should be finished much more quickly and easily, unless an autopsy is required. I expect to be living with my wife in her family home, probably legally married, and a patient of the doctors (heart condition) at the the local hospitals by the time I die. It is my hope that my wife will be able to get a local doctor to certify the cause of death even if I don't die in a hospital and eliminate the autopsy requirement. Trust me, if you don't have a Thai will then you need one. Otherwise things become a cluster "intercourse" after you die. You also need to make sure your USA family knows your wishes, AND if you have assets in the USA then you need a USA will on how to distribute those assets.
  9. Too many replies for me to read all of them. I got the fish and chip with tarter sauce and beans at Sharples in Jomtien two weeks ago. My review of the Jomtien Sharples fish and chips; If that wasn't clear then; The fish was well cooked but the fish coating wasn't a batter and had never seen even a drop of beer, it was basically a cornmeal coating. The chips were limp. The tarter sauce cost extra (30 Bt) and was fine except it was only about 1/2 of what was needed. About three tablespoons of canned baked beans were also extra (30 Bt). Next time I want a good fish and chips I'll to the Caddyshack Pattaya. For less than I paid at Sharples I can get beer batter fried cod , better chips, limitless tarter sauce, a good serving of beans, and a half pint of Guinness. I also get enough fish and chips to take half home for the next day's dinner. I'll also recommend their Sunday Brunch, which is a bargain and large enough that I am able to take home enough for the next night's dinner.
  10. Fortunately most expats think that anyone who is LGBTQIA+ is just another person and accept them or not depending on their personality. Thailand isn't a perfect paradise for LGBTQIA+, but is one Hell of a lot better than most countries. If you don't like being in a country like Thailand, where LGBTQIA+ people are accepted, then I suggest you find another country to live in.
  11. I can't comment on stage three but for those with less severe symptoms try using a PHYSILLIUM product. In the USA Meta Mucil is a common one but generic ones are also available for a lower price. Here in Thailand most pharmacies have a generic version available. The Health Benefits of Psyllium Husk
  12. Not really. Except for the new track for the high speed rail it is all narrow gauge track. Because of this when traveling by train between Thailand and Malaysia you have to get off the train with your luggage, cross the border on foot, and then board a different train in the other country. A good example is the smooth running luxury Eastern & Oriental Express train from Kuala Lumpur railway station (Salak Selatan) to Thailand. Once you cross into Thailand you are back to outdated railway cars, terrible tracks, and multiple stops along the way to Bangkok.
  13. I sympathize with you, having had similar problems all my life. For a long time 10 mg Claritin tablets (non-drowsy antihistamine and dirt cheap generic loratadine tablets are sold in Thailand) and Flixonase (fluticasone propionate) nasal spray worked for years. Tramadol HCL 50 mg tablets also work well as an antihistamine and are also sold as a generic in Thailand. Eventually Claritin and Flixonase were no longer enough so I opted for nasal surgery at Ramkamhang Hospital in Bangkok to enlarge the entrances to my sinuses. Having the surgical packings removed was incredibly, unbelievably, painful. It the worst surgical experience of my life. Looking back I should have simply had my deviated septum fixed and seen how that worked before agreeing to further surgery. I will regret having the full surgery to my dying day. The good thing that while I still have some problems I no longer have pain in the sinus above my eye. I still take loratadine or tramadol HCL when necessary. If things get really bad I start using Flixonase again for a few weeks. If I start having clogging problems because of thick nasal secretions I add Acetylcysteine (which thins phlegm) 2 or 3 times a day - it is available in 200 mg soluble power form in sachets at most pharmacies. I avoid the use of decongestant nasal sprays as much as possible but if absolutely necessary I will use one or two sprays of a generic 0.05% Oxymetazoline spray once a day, which is usually at bed time. Warning: decongestant nasal sprays can have a rebound effect if used too often so even with a clogged nose from a cold use it only two times a day, one nostril in the morning and the other at night. If you want to do a nasal lavage you can buy bottle of normal saline in most pharmacies or simply dissolve 1/2 teaspoon (about 3.5 gm) of kosher salt in 1 cup (235ml) of bottled water to produce a much less expensive normal saline solution. I use a slightly higher concentration of salt, about 5 g per 235 ml of bottled water. You can use regular iodized salt but kosher salt doesn't have any iodine or anti-caking additives and I find it gentler to my nasal tissues. The rock salt sold here in Thailand for salt encrusting fish before cooking works fine. If you don't like the large crystals you can grind some up in a mortar and pestle to produce small salt grains but the small grains will probably cake since they don't have additives. Warm the saline solution to the same temperature that you would warm a bottle of milk for a baby (98.6ºF or 37ºC) and use either a large syringe (obviously without a needle) or use a large rubber bulb ear syringe for the lavage. Just as an added note, iodized salt adds a slightly bitter aftertaste to food so food cooked with the rock salt tastes better. Sea salt, on the other hand, adds a taste that can very from source to source and you use it and which you use is a matter of whether or not you think it adds a good taste or not.
  14. Thai Police fines Dutch couple for carrying Swiss army knife in car (VIDEO) Personally I have carried a pocket knife since I was about 6 or 7 years old. I have used my pocket knifes for everything from opening envelopes to making wood shavings for starting a fire to trimming a fingernail to cutting up food. At 81 I'm not likely to change. If I get stopped by a police officer I will gladly pay the fine but be very unhappy if he confiscates my Case 2.5" tip to hilt locking blade pocket knife. Even if he does I'll simply dig out of a drawer the cheap non-locking blade pocket knife I bought from a Beach Road vendor 15 years ago. I also have a good Swiss Army Knife in the drawer that used to reside in my carry on luggage, and have been offered a bigger one free by a friend but I refused it since I wouldn't use it.
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