bubba

1 hour ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

So a self driving car has already  ran over a woman and killed her, Now this!

 Oh what will the future be like, dead people everywhere?

 

Perhaps in the future, rather than Somchai in command of his pickup following several hours of lao khao with his mates, the computer will be doing the driving. 

48 minutes ago, balo said:

I prefer Windows computers and Android phones. 

 

I have been working in the IT business since back in the 80's and never understood the hype about Apple. And here I am 40 years later and never touched an Apple product. I am still alive and happy . 

 

 

 

 

Neither did Steve Balmer when the first iPhone was released:

Quote

It's sort of a funny question. Would I trade 96% of the market for 4% of the market? (Laughter.) I want to have products that appeal to everybody. 

Now we'll get a chance to go through this again in phones and music players. There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. 

11 minutes ago, Dante99 said:

I do not think there has been confirmation that CM Immigration is checking proof of income for extension renewals, is there?  Has it been only for first timers?  There seem to be reports of recent renewals without proof required.  Correct?

It has been reported by a few people here, and they were using an agent. Also, I do have an American friend who was informed by his agent that he would need to bring documents together with his Consulate affidavit for a fourth year renewal. No problem for him since he said he can show adequate income from his US social security deposits to his Thai bank; however, I think this may not be the case for a lot of Americans who relied on their affidavit, do not have the seasoned deposit and cannot show proof of income into Thailand.

14 minutes ago, amexpat said:

 

As shown at the top of the page: 

 

Easy Thai Retirement Visa

No funds needed, No visa, no fee. We do everything; no stress or  worry.   I think it costs about 20K which should make an i-o very happy.

Yes but unless they can time warp at the bank, providing the necessary funds in the person's bank account is not going to help if they have to renew next month, since the funds must have been seasoned for two months.

So here's a question: what happens to all those Americans who have been cruising along on their Consulate affidavit, cannot prove either the income or Thai bank balance seasoned for two months and their extension runs out next month? It is too late to do a deposit now due to the two month requirement. Are they out?

If so, this could be very bad news for a lot of people who have been here for a long time.

I accept that this is the law and planning is necessary to comply in order to renew a retirement extension; however, I can understand why many would prefer not typing up 800,000 baht in a zero yield savings account with currency risks when that sum could be invested back home and making either real earnings or capital gains.

I'm not sure about Casio straps, but I ordered one for my Apple Watch from Lazada. It was an exact copy of the Apple nylon mesh strap, about 1/4 the price and what appears to me to be of identical style and quality.

Although not on a visa run, I was up there this past weekend. There were no immigration queues for foreign nationals and the markets in both Mae Sai and Tachilek were completely dead and nearly devoid of visitors. 

Regarding signal coverage, DTAC is not at all good in many areas outside the city. 

I was speaking with an American friend yesterday who said his visa consultant (didn't ask who it was) phoned to tell him that he would need supporting documents in addition to his Consulate affidavit for his upcoming retirement extension. 

11 hours ago, el jefe said:

If you're seeing them all over, and I am too, then obviously it's working well. Within the city I see dozens of bikes being used every day. btw, the rate is "free for the first 30 minutes".

 

these bikes are the only way to make mass transit work. It solves the "last mile problem." CM officials would never even try the bus system without the bike-share program. Take the bus, get off at a fixed stop, and use a bike share for the short trip from the stop to home, school, or work. Without the bike-shares, you're stuck with songthiews forever.

 

The rate is not free for the first 30 minutes. It is 10 baht for every 30 minutes or fraction of 30 minutes. They also score you based on your use (or misuse) of the bike. If you fall below average (500 points), your rates doubled to 20 baht/30 minutes. If your score drops below 300, your rate goes to 1000 baht/30 minutes.

Have you actually tried riding one of these Mobiles? I have. They are truly crap. They have a single gear and solid tyres which makes them both uncomfortable and exhausting to ride for just a couple of kms. Definitely only good for a very short journey, and not one with any hills involved.

As Buick says, could be Qatar knows they will be assigned a remote bus stand out on the tarmac and will not be assigned a gate at the terminal with the jetway leading directly to the upper deck. That may be beyond the control of Qatar.

QR's A380 is configured to seat 561 passengers. Imagine a full A380 flight with all those passengers disembarking at a bus stand. That's one more reason I prefer smaller aircraft

5 hours ago, elgenon said:

Wow, thanks! Hope I can find it. Always happy to be schooled and learn a better way.

 

Anything to look for when I arrive to help me find it or is it easy?

 

Where is the Priority Lane when leaving Thailand? I have never seen one.

When you arrive, follow the "Visa on Arrival" signs. The Priority Lane is right next to that.

For departure, you could ask the check-in agent to direct you. It is located in the middle of the terminal.

I think I got caught up in this scam. A few weeks ago, I paid for fuel at a Shell station using my credit card. The next day, I had two charges for purchases of AMEX gift cards of US$220, both in exactly the same amount. That was the only time this card had left my hands for at least a month. I reported it straight away to the issuing bank and they removed the charges cancelled my card and sent me a new one.

Appreciate the idea of scratching off the PIN number. I've just done that with my cards.

Thanks for that, NanLaew. I hadn’t noticed they had changed the names. 

Great news, timeout!

At 58 yo can't even get much lower than that and still have a prostate. I'm seconding xylophone and hoisting a few for you tonight as well. 

I have accumulated a lot of miles on several different airlines and my experience is that limited seat availability is a common thread with all of them. As posted above, TG used to be easy up until a few years ago, especially back when they had the dedicated Royal Orchid Gold reservations staff, which are now gone.

With TG, I have had Royal Orchid Gold status for a long time. I found that if you go to the dedicated ROG agent at TG HQ, they can sometimes open up some seats for you. I have had that experience twice and was very grateful for their help.

Speaking of Emirates – I found their add-on taxes and fees for a free ticket to be exorbitant. I paid something like US$900 in fees for a free one way business class ticket ticket from IAD - BKK. Fortunately, you can burn miles for free stuff at their Emirates High Street online shop.

Tideout: From my experience and having discussed all this with a radiologist who only does prostate MRIs, his opinion regarding usefulness of an MRI was:

1. Only 3T MRIs are very useful and even then, some instruments are better than others.

2. The competence and experience of the MRI facility and the techs is important. A great instrument with techs who do not conduct the scan properly can yield images that are not useful. 

3. As you said, the experience and competence of the radiologist in interpreting multi parametric MRIs (with contrast) is essential. I learned that from getting a second opinion that saved me from what he thought would be an unnecessary biopsy. Also, the gadolinium contrast is essential.

If you do find a good 3T prostate MRU facility in Bangkok (I couldn't) and have the images done, you can message me here for the contact information of the radiologist in the USA that did my second opinion. You can upload the images from your DVD to Dropbox and his staff will download them for his review.

Good luck and hopefully that PSA comes out low!

29 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Isn't that the same line?  I use the airport a lot and I've never seen a separate line just for over 70s, pregnant women and children line - only the same "Priority Lane" that also entitles business class, first class, BOI company employees, diplomats, aircrew etc.  It's all in one.

Priority lanes are one and the same. Here is a photo of the sign at the entrance to the Priority Lane at departures in one of the main departures halls. Note the agent at the door checking for appropriate docs.

There is also what is termed a "Premium Lane", which is located midway between the two main halls. This one does not specifically state that "over 70" is allowed, but I suspect that if you were over 70 and hobbled up to the door, they would allow you in. Here is a photo of that sign and note that there are also staff at this entrance checking for appropriate docs:

While the signs do not state "First and Business Class", those passengers are also allowed.

But the point is that the fast track queue specifically permits diplomats, first/business class passengers, holders of BOI letters, ABTC cards, or purchasers of fast track passes. Entitled categories are clearly stated on the sign at the entrance. Chances are, those "obviously fit around 30's" are as equally entitled to the queue as you are. Perhaps that is why the immigration officers allow them to pass? I have been through those fast track queues more times that I can recall and I have seen some people rejected who were not entitled and yes, the officers do check your docs. On the way in, you will not even get through the door of fast track since they have staff posted outside to check for qualifying docs.

I suggested that if your back and legs hurt too much to endure ten minutes max of waiting, you can significantly reduce your waiting time by getting a wheelchair and relaxing. But no, you don't want to do that. Alternatively then, perhaps politely ask one of those in front of you if you can step in front of them because you are in pain. Arbitrarily cutting the queue to the front is not going to earn you or other over 70s any sympathy or respect; however,  by being "special" and a demonstrably "grumpy old fart", cutting the queue will likely get you some unhappy looks and grumbling.

3 hours ago, overherebc said:

The less time I have to stand waiting the less time I have to suffer pain in my leg and back.

So it's got nothing to do with proving a point.

I was brought up to respect rules orders and common sense when it involved people who had physical problems, personal reason being my father who lost a leg in an accident and long before people nowadays developed the me me me attitude.

Don't try to lecture from ignorance.

Have you considered getting wheelchair service if you are in that much pain from queuing ?  Or is complaining about it an efficacious analgesic?

In addition to the above, obviously fit around 30's with diplomatic passports, ABTC cards or BOI letters are also entitled to use the fast track queue. You might want to consider that before jumping the queue in front of them.

Anybody have any recommendations for a locally available radar detector? I had a look at Lazada and they have several listed. Most look like some kind of cheap Chinese knockoffs. They do have a listing from an overseas seller for a "Cobra XRS-9880". Googling that, I found a listing for it on Amazon with a bunch of one star ratings stating that it is a Chinese or Russian fake not made by Cobra.