Stickman

My thoughts on vaccines can be summarised as follows: - Some vaccines that have been around for a long time have been proven to be effective and are safe. - Some vaccines that have not been around for so long and were rushed to the market have been shown to be not particularly effective and their safety profile may not be great / what is expected. - If you're not in great health / lead an unhealthy lifestyle / are old / infirmed / have underlying health conditions then there are certain vaccines which you might be best advised to take. - If you're in good health, lead a healthy lifestyle and are not old or in a high-risk group, then certain vaccines may not be necessary. As someone who exercises daily, has an excellent diet, leads a very healthy lifestyle and fills in nutritional gaps with high-quality supplements, the likes of the COVID vaccine and the flu vaccine are a case of, "No, thanks!" Most disease is related to lifestyle factors, mainly diet. If you eat a good diet and lead a healthy lifestyle, your chances of contracting the likes of the flu or many modern diseases decrease markedly. There are other things you can do like manage stress, be aware of environmental toxins, prioritise sleep etc. I had 2 shots of the COVID vaccine which with retrospect, I regret. I am not aware if I caught COVID or not. I have NEVER had the flu vaccine and I have never had the flu. I can't remember when I last had a cough or cold but we're talking several years, at least. I think what is lacking with many vaccine discussions is nuance. For sure, some people most certainly should get vaccinated for every nasty out there. For others, like me, the likes of the flu shot and COVID vaccines are not necessary.

I'd say in your native New Zealand that way more than 7% are anti-vaccine. Why pick on the US suggesting only 7% are enlightened? No need to pick on the other 93% of the US population.

Outdoor patios were built in front of every bar on Soi Cowboy many years ago which had the effect of making the soi feel narrower. Midnite was taken over by The Arab some years ago and he ruined it. It was a real fun bar back in the day, wasn't it! Nice memories from that bar.

I could use "old codgers" if that would be preferable?!

This would not be easy to do at all. The Internet has changed and most people have moved over to social media. Forums and basic websites don't appeal to a lot of (most?) people these days. Consider also that the market for what this website used to be known for is well past its peak. Reader numbers for pretty much all websites / forums in the Thailand expat space have been in serious decline for a long time. Personally, I don't think there's any coming back. (FWIW, Stickman website traffic numbers are down 75% from what they used to be.)

Merry Christmas, everyone.

There are agencies who can help you open a bank account. Around 5K baht seems to be the going rate. This is a bank account in your name and has nothing to do with the agency. The "agency" is just a regular Thai who knows someone in the bank and most likely they split the fee you pay the agent for opening the account. A few months back a friend used such an agency in Pattaya and it cost him 4K baht.

Try going in to a bank with a respectable Thai who holds an account in that bank and is willing to vouch for you.

Oh, that's really sad to hear. He was a thoroughly decent fellow and really loved Thai people and Thailand. He was also extremely helpful with advice to anyone asking, always patient. So sad to hear he has passed.

Most Kiwis are very precious about the haka. I think it's become a total nonsense and am very much an outlier in NZ over this.

I will go against the grain and I say that personally, I question the haka being allowed before all matches. It gives New Zealand an unfair advantage. It's over-done these days and I am one of few Kiwis who agrees with some in the Northern Hemisphere who rightfully ask, why is this pre-game pageantry allowed before every match?

Well he didn't do a great job of emailing everyone because I missed out on the email.....or perhaps that was deliberate.

My feeling is that here in New Zealand, over 90% of transactions are done with what we term "Pay Wave" i.e. waving your card or your mobile phone. In supermarkets, it might be 96% or 97% - I seldom see people using cash in the supermarket. I understand in some countries like Sweden, cashless use is higher still. There is one exception when I use cash and that is at my favourite Indian restaurant. The owner is always sitting at the cash register and his eyes light up when I pay with cash. The transaction is not rung up on the till and it's obvious he puts the money in his pocket. I want to support his business as best I can and if me paying in cash means he makes a few extra dollars, then all good. Obviously, in big businesses like supermarkets it doesn't matter how you pay, it's all being declared. Further to this, a couple of tradesmen I have had around - one a gasfitter who repaired the stove and another an electrician who did some small jobs for us preferred payment by bank transfer. As the sparky said to me, it's just not worth it for him to take cash. Too much hassle and the tax department gets really nasty if he is caught not declaring income.

Like most New Zealanders, I pay for almost everything by electronic transaction - but I like the option of being able to pay by cash. Perhaps only 1% of stores here don't accept cash but I expect that to slowly increase. And certainly, some stores which accept cash actually prefer you to pay by card / electronic means. With electronic transactions now very much the norm here, plenty of people don't use cash. But when something happens, you'll wish you had some cash at hand. I keep some cash in the house and given what happened here last year, I am *very* glad that I did. For anyone who thinks cash is unnecessary, here's something to think about. In February of last year, parts of the North Island of New Zealand were hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle. The town where I live, Napier, was cut off from everywhere with roads badly damaged and no way in or out. We could not get out and outsiders could not get in (other than by plane or helicopter). The power was out for 5 days across the city. Supermarkets opened as did petrol stations and some other stores but it was cash-only (as no other means of payments would work). Plenty of people did not have cash which meant could not buy food or petrol or essential supplies.

Most of the Bangkok forums have gone by the wayside and the few that remain have much lower traffic. Probably the only true nightlife forum with decent traffic these days is Pattaya Addicts. They'd all be in long, slow, downward trajectory which Covid really accelerated. All of this notwithstanding, I agree with what Jigger said in a previous post that there *is* demand for something different, and something potentially old school.