mania

20 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

I was a cigarette smoker for 40+ years before I quit 25 years ago.

That you were a smoker from the age of 12 may explain your current tolerance for smoke 😉 

Trust me your comfort does not bother me at all. I only mentioned your filter picture to point out to those that do value their health that your filter is a good visual of what the inside of lungs likely look like.

I need not argue the obvious 😉  I maintain it is totally up 2 you enjoy !

On 3/25/2024 at 7:26 PM, tydoorman said:

it depends how you send it. if I send pay for services it takes seconds. sending it for long term stay it takes me like 2 to 5 days 

Not sure when the last time was that you tried this but it no longer works (even for services/money to family etc)

The reason is Wise now uses yet another service called PLAID

Plaid is a financial services company based in San Francisco, California. The company builds a data transfer network that powers fintech and digital finance products. Plaid's product, a technology platform, enables applications to connect with users’ bank accounts

So it depends on if your bank even allows plaid in the first place. If it does you now need to allow yet another app to access your info & make the transfer to Wise. Wise then does there usual thing & yes in seconds can be done

If your bank does not allow PLAID or you don't want yet another possible data leak your trans will take 3-5 days

16 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

And listening to cigarette smokers and weed smokers complaining about air quality?  Just makes me laugh!

As well it should as those who smoke of course should not complain.

But everything else you mentioned makes zero sense & is just justifying some form of ignoring a problem

At a restaurant if a cigar smoker sat next to you & started puffing away & blowing it in your face you would say...oh that is nothing I use to live in a snowy climate?

Again UP2U it is your life your lungs your health spend it as you wish 😉 

3 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

This happens all the time and it always gets me thinking. One of these days I'm going to swerve 1 or 2 feet to avoid something or raise my arm and we're going to collide.

Recently read about a long time cyclist...I think he was originally from Austria? Lived in Prachuap Khiri Khan killed recently by a woman who said he swerved...This being a 30+ years road cyclist I doubt very much he randomly swerved or if so surely not into traffic unless she flat out hit him. Sadly his side of the story will not be heard

Same in your case I know your worried about the kid but truth is as I'm sure you know getting hit from behind by any kind o vehicle doing any speed over 5mph with weight is going to seriously damage or kill you. I had a friend in the early morning hours in Chiang Mai get hit from behind while stopped by a drunk on a full sized motorcycle. Luckily it was not a center hit but still his  injuries took months for him to recover.

We also cycle 3 months a year in Thailand but further in the country where it is pretty good on the roads with vehicles often times moving too far over that I sometimes worry for the oncoming ....Take Care

On 3/28/2024 at 4:37 AM, rainyday said:

My wife went to pay the yearly car taxes today. Surprise surprise, she had to pay for a fine-ticket we did not know about, or she would not get the tax sticker. Apparently I have been speeding in Chiangrai about 3 months ago. No further information could be given! Pic of my car with license plate: NO, exact speed: NO, exact location: NO.... How can one check if it's correct? 3 months later and, in theory, could have been almost a year. The tax-lady told my wife to go to Chiangrai to check with the police........
Is this something new to fill the coffers?

That is basically what they sent me years ago...a pic of me speeding? in my truck & you could see my face clearly. Fine was not bad 500 baht

I thought it would be funny to send them a pic of 500 baht but thought they may not get the joke 😛 

So paid up 😉 Comparing to home country fine + rise in insurance premiums 500 baht was a good deal I guess

On 3/27/2024 at 2:35 PM, FolkGuitar said:

Get a box of N95 filter material at HomePro or Global House, and just cut a square to cover the back side of your fan. That's really how an air purifier works, just with a fancier filter. This will work perfectly, and is as cheap as chips!  We do that with three fans in the house in rooms where we don't have the main air purifiers.  You can see the effective difference after just one week's usage.

True that method will also remove what is in the air. It may burn up fan motors sooner but in any case works.......

But a bigger concern is  just seeing these used filters & imagining what is going in your lungs, because yes your fan sucks but so do you. This is basically a mirror of what your lung is also filtering INSIDE your home no less.

Always amazing why folks tolerate such bad air. The world is a big place with clean air readily available. Yes of course not everyone can afford to leave but many can & don't......Famous Thai proverb....Up2U 😉 

Good Monkeys In

Bad Monkeys Out! 😉 

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand’s Wage Committee decided today to increase minimum wages to 400 baht for employees working in 4-star hotels which have at least 50 employees, located in specific areas in 10 provinces, effective from April 13th.

Classic Thailand.....Only Make others pay 😉 

That anyone other than a Thai ever invests in Thailand is beyond me 🙄

To add insult to injury those 4 Star hotels are employing at least 50 Thai citizens each 555

EDIT: Note I am not saying minimum wages are fair in Thailand I am saying this policy is yet just another racist BS move

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss 😉

You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free 🙂 

Kidding aside we did back leave in 2016...It was great in Thailand while we lived there ..... we got tired of the things you mentioned & others we left.....now it is great where we live. Perhaps some day we will tire of this but actually so far so good.

No worries....Life is usually more than one place 😉 

Good Luck to you in your new spot!

16 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

 

Decathlon bikes are not junk - they have the RC520 at the moment, running the 105 groupset - and it is a quality bike  for 25,000. Should check out the dudes on Cade Media, they have tested these bikes, and one of them is bike packing in Malaysia on the Van Rysel bike from Decathlon 

Actually that bike is quite a porker....

*WEIGHT 10.4 kg in size M, without pedals - 23.4 LB

That is going to sting going up Doi Suthep 😉 

That aside Van Rysel   is making some good but expensive nice bikes now RCR & have sponsored a Pro World Tour Team AG2R

OP you should do as another poster suggested & look at used especially in CM there are many

Try a aluminum road bike with rim brakes for light weight & a great deal....Like a Trek ALR or even carbon like Giant TCR etc

11 hours ago, xylophone said:

Yes, I thought about recommending that because I take it, however it does contain lovastatin, often in varying amounts, so you don't always know the exact amount you are taking.

Although levels of lovastatin vary in the product, 2.4 g of red yeast rice daily may contain about 4.8 mg of lovastatin, or 0.2% of the total dose.

On 3/21/2024 at 6:57 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

Surely then, prices must decrease if people can't sell theirs at a high price. I thought America was a market economy, or does that not apply to houses?

Unlike Thailand USA sells homes to many countries citizens so the market is not dependent on just them.

(then again US allows even folks on a green card to get a SS# & work.  Because the US is not stupid enough to ignore the possibility of taxing immigrants & citizens alike 😉 )

As a retired General Contractor I can tell you Prices on homes rarely decrease...They can go sideways for even quite awhile but as labor & materials continue to increase so does everything else. Of course prices do decrease in areas that have become ghettos but that is not for most

6 hours ago, noobexpat said:

Think how a bank makes profit.

 

With Fractional reserve banking they don't need no stinkin small profits 😂

On 3/16/2024 at 11:46 PM, CanNot said:

Doctor said last options are PCSK9 Inhibitors but I hesitate as its a injection and I cant just stop it like tablets if I got side effects from it.

Actually you take the injection every two weeks so you could stop & that is the duration.

But really it is well tolerated & based on something some folks have naturally

Peter Attia who is quite well known in this field has been on it himself for many years

Is it even available in Thailand though?

Worth watching this video 😉 

8 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The only point of relevance is that one does not go to a foreign country where one does not have a clue about how it works, and assault a cop,

Well that is the problem isn't it...Did they assault a cop or just disarm a situation that may have ended much worse?

Old saying that of course will not be valid in Thailand though is....

“It's better to be tried by 12 than carried by six”

On a not so funny side note ....imagine how the parents feel hearing this story & then the news today that Thailands two top ranking cops have been suspended/switched off due to corrupt activities accusations..... The Joe Ferrari's of Thailand are alive & well. Thailand Thailand 🙄

Agree with Tim that banning import of Maize from neighboring burning countries does Zero to help Thailand.

In fact it is little more than the pot calling the kettle black.

The PM should consider cleaning up his own house before sanctioning others.

If this is a tit for tat then all those countries should also ban any imports from Thailand due to their burning

2 hours ago, Startmeup said:

They didn't hurt the cop whatsoever they disarmed an aggressor, that's what happened. 

Can't say I disagree 😉 

14 hours ago, jvs said:

How often has any Thai police officer shot a tourist at a traffic stop?

I have lived here for a while now and have never heard of it.

Well I don't think you would have heard of it unless the guy is caught.

But that cops in Thailand are often unhinged is not unheard of

Thailand massacre: ex-cop kills 24 children in knife and gun rampage

That Phuket cops are some of the worse in Thailand is not unheard of

Phuket officer gets 25 years for drunken Bangla shooting

Both of those examples are recent...do you think they are the only examples? They do not include the unheard 😉 

3 minutes ago, jvs said:

For a car ,probably yes but for a motorbike?

Could be true...My license is dual passenger vehicles & motor bikes but perhaps not all are.

But as they said in that clip too it is good they also go after rental agencies that rent to folks without showing proof of license

10 minutes ago, Goat said:

You can run over the police in a Ferrari and be freed in Thailand.

If you have money.

That is the truth of it isn't it?

At the end of the day these guys did a stupid thing for what ever reason yet to be known

But basically did not harm the cop just disarmed & embarrassed him...

But also as you said it will be bought & paid for either way

Vorayuth Yoovidhya not only hurt but killed a cop but then a cop ex police chief helped him escape and was never really chased again

42 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

No, I'm definitely not saying that, but it has to be a pretty extreme situation to physically assault a policeman and attempt to grab his weapon. I would say in the vast majority of these cases that the perpetrator was either insane, unhinged, very very high, or feeling overly entitled. 

Problem is yes of course it has to be extreme but it does not look like they grabbed his weapon to turn it on him instead they grabbed the weapon & immediately put it out of reach & then immediately disarmed the weapon so NONE could use it to do harm...

Not exactly the actions of someone trying to hurt anyone but instead a self defensive move, self preservation move.

But as always TIT & we will see what tale develops.

If it was anything less he would have turned the gun not thrown it immediately out of reach then have his friend disable the gun rendering it not a threat. These two do not seem the normal thug types