sykray

1 hour ago, arick said:

A vaccine not an inoculation! 

I thank you for this post.  Though I will concede that everyday conversations usually use the words "vaccination" and "inoculation" as interchangeable, unlike those of use that make a medical, scientific or denotative distinction.

This isn't really "new" news.  This report is using "may" and "might" to cover their <deleted>.  That is something we commonly do rather than make dogmatic statements.

I do not expect many people to know and understand the complexity of immune responses.  I can't claim to be an expert but I have studied immunology.  Many antibodies decrease after a time but we rely on "memory" lymphocytes (both T and B lymphocytes) to rapidly recognise viruses (or bacteria, fungi, etc) that have been dealt with previously.  They can immediately spot the reinfection and trigger a deluge of antibodies to combat the infective agent within a very short time period (minutes, hours Not days or months)/  The antigen is thus neutralised before the person has any symptoms and before there are any virus (in this case) particles to be sampled from nose or throat.

It is true that some coronoviruses that cause common colds do not result in future immunity but this is because these viruses (like flu, too) mutate very rapidly and the memory cells cannot easily recognise a reinfection.  SARS coronavirus 2 mutates slightly but not rapidly.  This and other earlier reports about antibody levels to SARS coronavirus 2 use "may" and "might" as they cannot guarantee 100%  life-long immunity because it might be 90%, or even as low as 80%.  Symptomatic reinfections have been relatively few in comparison to the millions of people who have been infected so the expectation is that long-term immunity is likely to be 90 odd% guaranteed.

2 hours ago, rkidlad said:

I saw them as unreliable pretty much from day one of the covid situation. Call me crazy, but I just want the facts and relevant health information from doctors and scientists. I don’t want their opinions on thuggish authoritarian regimes. 

I still trust and trusted their various health scientists and medical expert advice but the WHO at the top end played a very political game and failed us - not just Thailand but the whole planet.

Male elephants are periodically in musth with testosterone levels on average 60 to 70 times higher than normal but it can often be as high as twice that elevated average (140 times higher than normal).  It makes them very dangerously aggressive and ready to fight other males (or other anythings) to compete to mate with cow elephants in heat.  It also tends to give them headaches from swellings of the temporal glands, which secrete a sticky liquid that trickles down their faces.  All mahouts and handlers can do is try to keep the animal calm.  Indeed, even mahouts, who have grown up with their elephant, can be attacked and killed.  Any warning from staff should be heeded.  If this particular bull elephant was in musth, in this case, the man very unwisely decided not to take warning.

4 hours ago, Paul Robson said:

The gradient of those ramps you can see look rather steep for wheelchair access ?

Those are pedestrian stairs not ramps but there are elevators/lifts at both ends of the bridge for wheelchair users and those with mobility problems that cannot use steps, if the lifts can be kept maintained and functional.

For zydeco and any others:  Intersex is a term used to describe a variety of conditions - ambiguous genitalia, chromosomal differences such as XXY and XO(only one sex chromosome), hormonal problems (including tumours of organs which increase hormone secretion), metabolic problems and conditions where the body does not respond to sex hormones.

About 1 in 15,000 individuals can be diagnosed at birth; many more are picked up at puberty.  Depending on what conditions are included, it may result in as many as 1 in 500 people.

Medicinal cannabis oil is not about THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the compound in cannabis that gives the high recreational feeling.  Medicinal cannabis oil is about extracting CBD (cannabidoil), which does not give a high.  However, it must be granted that there will be a small quantity of THC in medicinal oil but one would have to consume a large volume of oil to get high.

2 hours ago, Matt96 said:

there is no such a thing as "intersex". this term was made up by western leftists in order to make a base for creating a one more group of interests in "identity politics" model.

Whether or not you choose to believe that the term may be used for political reasons, the UN accepts the definition: 

Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies.

Intersex is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural bodily variations. In some cases, intersex traits are visible at birth while in others, they are not apparent until puberty. Some chromosomal intersex variations may not be physically apparent at all.

These are not common variations and most occur about one in a thousand people (Klinefelter's syndrome, Turner's syndrome for 2 examples).  Androgen insensitivity syndrome occurs about 1 in 13,000 births.  In this later case, the person is genetically male but the body does not respond to testosterone and other male hormones.  The person is a fairly typical girl, usually becomes a very attractive a feminine-looking woman but never menstruates.  On investigation, she has testes inside the body not ovaries, no uterus.

Legalising medicinal use does not necessarily extend to recreational use.  Cannabidiol (CBD) is the more useful medicinal component and it doesn't make you "high".  Medicinal hemp oil, if processed properly is CBD with little or no THC.  A small amount of THC (tetra-hydro-cannabinol) could be usefully included as a mild relaxant but you'd have to take a lot of such a medicinal oil to get a reasonable "high".  However, any over the counter or prescribed medication can be abused by taking overdoses so I don't see a need to make medicinal hemp oil a special case.

33 minutes ago, otherstuff1957 said:

Did anyone else notice the irony of the fact that it is Thai Airways that is discriminating against Thai people!

I was about to make the same point.

My full name is too long for boarding passes, too, but I have never been overcharged for it.  I have been challenged on one occasion about it not matching my passport.  However, reference to their computer screen and booking page has made it clear that I have booked in my full name and it is their system and boarding pass printer that has curtailed my family name.

IQ tests should be constructed statistically, with high test-re-test reliability and clear validity in measuring intellectual skills.  A well designed and constructed test battery would have roughly 68% of kids having scores between 90 and 110 (if the standard deviation is 10).  This means that roughly 16% should have scores lower than 90 and 16% should have scores above 110.

Therefore the original IQ test was poorly constructed and standardised.

The crux of the matter is that IQ tests are standardised to be sure that the mean is 100 and the points above and below that are equally spread to give the same percentages of students getting 100 plus or minus X, whatever X may be.  If it is standardised on Thai children then there is no fair comparison with other nations.  We cannot say that one nation is higher or lower in intellect, unless we produce a culture fair measure, free from language and cultural bias.

On a less pedantic note, I would like to see Thai parents and children reading together from an early age.  However, books are expensive here and most Thais do not read books other than text books.  

CBD (cannabidiol) is the main substance in cannabis that has a medicinal benefit. It will not give someone a "high" or get you stoned. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the stuff that gets you stoned.
I am in favour of legalising cannabis. 
However, I have some concerns. One is that smoking carries its own health risks so people should be encouraged to use non-smoking methods. Many companies produce CBD oil rather than selling weed or resin blocks.
Secondly, if people are requiring medicinal use then companies/growers should be developing plant varieties with a high yield of CBD and low THC. As far as I know CBD yield has remained much the same as it ever was.
Thirdly, I get a strong suspicion that THC yield is much higher nowadays in legal production than it was when illegal.  Perhaps 3 or 4 fold, at least, than it was 40-50 years ago, during the hippie era. This leads me to suspect that growers/producers/companies will deliberately increase THC yield in their cannabis varieties as that will bring them more profit. Small growers and peasant farmers will probably not benefit much from legalisation, as big business and politics will control it, as they do with rice production. 

If public safety was ensured then I dread to imagine what not ensuring safety would result in.  How do the bereaved and wounded take this message?  Whether or not the distressed share in the responsibility for the tragedies - it hardly much comfort for them.

Hazing or initiation rituals are intrinsically "inappropriate" in this day and age, whether involving humiliation, pain, fear or eroticism or not.  Just my opinion.

It is in reality, from my perspective, asking for information that they already possess.  However, it does seem that it is bureaucracy, intrusive on my time and effort.  Having filled it in 3 months ago, I went with a photocopy when I next went for a 90 days visit.  No one asked for it and so I didn't offer it.  I will repeat this precaution next time.

On an note of empathy, I don't think that immigration staff want it.  It creates more unnecessary work for them.  I can't see how it achieves any purpose in catching "bad" people, but then, I don't think the 90 days check does either.

Thanks for both responses. A friend suggested that I uninstall the MIDI driver and re-install it. This has worked. So, the news is that Windows 10 and Reason 8.3 and CME M-Key are compatible with each other and I am silly for not thinking it worthwhile to carry out a simple software solution. Rather like someone not trying - shut down and reboot. I appreciate both pieces of advice. Pinot, I shall bear in mind the possibility of using Garageband on my iPad.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I actually live near to Pattaya but I suspect that the Bangkok forum may be more productive for me.

I was using Reason 6 and Windows 8 with a CME M-Key to compose on computer. Recently, I have upgraded to Reason 8 and Windows 10 and I can no longer use my MIDi keyboard to input the notes. I cannot find a website to give me a driver to make things compatible and I have made a few enquiries in Pattaya but no one seems to stock MIDI keyboards.

I bought the CME in Bangkok for 5000 baht, but I am unsure of the shop. I think it was an instrument shop in Paragon.

Can anyone help me to either get a driver to make the CME compatible or (more likely) the supplier for a new MIDI keyboard, please?

Many thanks in anticipation.

On an off-topic matter, since upgrading Windows I can no longer use my webcam. I usually use my iPad for Skyping but it would be convenient to use my PC, too. If you happen to know what webcams are compatible with Windows 10 and where I might purchase one, I would be be grateful for the information.