[The moment of death: Motorcyclist killed as car goes through red light in Suphanburi]

17 hours ago, RobU said:

 the article clearly states that the motorcyclist did not 'jump' the lights he correctly moved forward when the green light was displayed the article also clearly states that the car driver jumped a red light

The motor cyclist can be seen in the wrong lane (see hatched lines). He jumped the lights also by undertaking the car in the 'ahead' lane. Both at fault.

 

[Cabinet Allows Flights from India to Land in 3 More Airports]

"Cabinet Allows Flights from India to Land in 3 More Airports".... I hope they are going to land "at" the Airports. not "In" the Airport.

[Denmark, Norway and Iceland suspend AstraZeneca COVID shots after blood clot reports]

This is pure coincidence. The AstraZeneca vaccine is much cheaper than the Pfizer and some other vaccines in use so you can expect propaganda from competitors to help sales of competitors products. Already Russia is slagging off competitor's vaccines, whilst promoting their own vaccines such as Sputnik.

[Ambitious "landbridge" plans could see Thailand as hub of worldwide sea transport]

I have been a consultant on of the Canal and Land-bridge projects for the last 40 years as well as other studies. I have come to the conclusion, from experience, that there is no intention to go ahead with these projects as there is too much gravy to siphon off from the  finance awarded for the studies. 

[Thailand starts COVID-19 vaccination campaign]

56 minutes ago, Paul Henry said:

Only yesterday the PM said vaccinations would be delayed as the wrong envelope had been delivered with the vaccine. Opps sorry letter! Today up and away. How do this Government communicate ? everyday contradictions  and miss information.

You should pay attention. The PM did not say that the vaccinations would be delayed in the hot spots like Samutsakhon, 70,000 doses are being administered there. The PM was due to get the AZ vaccine which came from the new AZ manufacturing plant in South Korea, the problem is that they are awaiting some data on the safety for over 65's, which is the same reason that Germany is awaiting clearance from their Scottish vaccinations of over 65's.

 

[Thailand starts COVID-19 vaccination campaign]

20 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

"Administrative problem related to the AstraZeneca vaccine from Britain" - the bureaucratic paper trail stops absolutely NOWHERE; I am sure the Brits screwed it up again which resulted in the inability to inject any of the British stuff into Anutin - remember the "dirty farang" comment a year ago; assume he referred then already to the vaccine ???? 

It came from the AstraZeneca Manufacturing plant in South Korea. Politicians would like to administer the shots straight away, however the have to conform the the ISO quality control procedures.

 

[6 million British tourists may travel to Thailand in 2021: Survey]

6 Million Brits want to visit Thailand this year but because of Brexit only the rich can afford the cost.

 

[Recycling of solar panels]

12 hours ago, Jlop said:

We'll be lucky if our solar panels last 20 years. And then what will we do with them all?  There are a lot of environmental  problems from producing these panels  with all of the mining and energy needed. We just don't see them as much because a lot of them take place in China and other countries rather than where the panels end up being used. The problem seems to be that the materials used in solar panels cost more to take out of the dead ones then you get for them. Has anyone heard of any planning or efforts to dismantle and recycle solar panels that no longer work in Asia? Maybe this is a pipe dream in a country where so many people throw all of their garbage on the street or into the river. But it seems worth asking and thinking about. For more background please see https://www.deseret.com/platform/amp/utah/2021/1/30/22249311/why-green-energy-isnt-so-green-and-poses-harm-to-the-environment-hazardous-waste-utah-china-solar

The design life of solar panels is 25 years and the average life is 30 years. Thailand already has at least one company that is handling waste solar panels mainly due to damage on site. Since few solar panels were on line until 2008, it follows that there will be few end-of-life panels sent for recycle until 2038. Thailand has already planned, since 2010 under an ADB study, to cope with the waste when it comes. EGAT is actively involved and 100 solar panel recycling facilities are planned. Korea has just announced that it has commissioned its' first Solar Panel recycling plant. China has quite a number already and hold the most patents on the process. Unlike Europe and the U.S. the Chinese are recovery virtually all the materials contained within the solar panel.

 

[Why has smoke started so early...?]

The PM 10 concentration in Chiang Mai, Thailand, has followed a similar pattern every year since 2010. The annual monthly PM 10 concentration is at a high level at the beginning of December and reaches a peak in March, subsequently decreasing from May until November.

[How to Pay Utility Bills with a Foreign Credit Card in Thailand]

I have Citibank Credit Cards, VISA & Mastercard. In addition to those you mentioned, they work for  True and AIS. They also work for online international purchases. 

[Transferring 150K GBP To Bangkok Bank]

If you are not currently in Thailand you will have the same problem as I had due to the amount of transfer (AMLO regulations). Whether you are in Thailand or not, you also will need to visit Bangkok Bank Silom head office to fill out the AMLO declarations.

[Thailand discovers naturally carbonated water fountain in Kanchanaburi]

We are producing up to 6,430,000,000 litres of water from the great artesian basin below the Sahara desert. This water is also  highly carbonated which is corrosive to steel and concrete pipes. If you are not going to bottle it, you need to degas it.

 

[Super Gonhorrea - Pattaya]

For treatment of uncomplicated urogenital, rectal, or pharyngeal gonorrhea, CDC recommends a single 500 mg IM dose of ceftriaxone (Box). For persons weighing ≥150 kg (300 lbs), a single 1 g IM dose of ceftriaxone should be administered. If chlamydial infection has not been excluded, doxycycline 100 mg orally twice a day for 7 days is recommended. When ceftriaxone cannot be used for treating urogenital or rectal gonorrhea because of cephalosporin allergy, a single 240 mg IM dose of gentamicin plus a single 2 g oral dose of azithromycin is an option. Gastrointestinal symptoms, primarily vomiting within 1 hour of dosing, have been reported among 3%–4% of treated persons (26). If administration of IM ceftriaxone is not available, a single 800 mg oral dose of cefixime is an alternative regimen. However, cefixime does not provide as high, or as sustained, bactericidal blood levels as does ceftriaxone and demonstrates limited treatment efficacy for pharyngeal gonorrhea

 

[Thai scientists unveil saltwater Covid-19 disinfectant device]

I remember in 1994, that there was a Thai Inventor's award given at Seacon Square to Thai young scientists, who had invented an oil skimmer that I had been selling in the UK from 1974 onwards that they had copied from Vikoma, a European Patent holder. We were manufacturing the above mentioned electrolysis plants from 1974 onwards in the UK under license from an Italian Company and later similar EDR plants for Ionics USA. There are 1,000s of patents and patent applications for the exact same type of electro-chlorinators, this is a typical Thai copy of an existing device. 

Sodium hydroxide is produced (along with chlorine and hydrogen) via the chloralkali process. This involves the electrolysis of an aqueous solution of sodium chloride. The sodium hydroxide builds up at the cathode, where water is reduced to hydrogen gas and hydroxide ion:

2Na⁺ + 2H₂O + 2e⁻ → H₂ + 2NaOH

[Bangkok’s Tap Water Is Salty on Seawater Intrusion]

27 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Surprisingly, BKK water was quite good quality....when we lived there 7 yrs ago, we filtered tap water and tested for drinking and it was good. But now with the BMA in new hands....who knows?

The water is nothing to do with the BMA, it is the Metropolitan Water Authority. The operator in charge was ex-Thames Water. I have been drinking the water since 1982 without problem.  In periods of drought there can be a taste problem due to salt water intrusion for a short time, but I have a water filter for drinking water for that contingency. Last year there was a similar problem with taste blamed on salt water intrusion, but it tasted to me that they had overdosed the water with too much Aluminium Sulphate water conditioning chemical. I used to manufacture large R.O. water treatment plants because that is what the market wanted, however, bottled R.O. water is not good for health as it has no minerals.

 

 

[Yellow Line extension gets green light from environment board]

Update: The second wave of Covid-19 is going to delay the opening of both Yellow line monorail and Pink Line Monorail from October 2021 to April 2022 instead. 

[Yellow Line extension gets green light from environment board]

Why is the above photo of a 20 year old 3 car conventional sky train and not of a Yellow Line Monorail train? The line is only partially opening from  Samrong to Patthanakarn (Hua Mark Airport Link Station) in October and certainly not the extension which is the subject of this article.

[The Serpent]

An excellent gripping series. Brings back memories of Bangkok when I first came here with clever shots of Bangkok as I knew it at that time. Well worth watching. Well acted and the period costumes also brought back memories of how we dressed at that time. 

[Thailand says COVID-19 vaccinations to start next month]

“Reports that the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine efficacy is as low as 8% in adults over 65 years are completely incorrect. In the UK, the JCVI supported use in this population and MHRA included this group without dose adjustment in the authorisation for emergency supply. In November, we published data in The Lancet demonstrating that older adults showed strong  immune responses to the vaccine, with 100% of older adults generating spike-specific antibodies after the second dose.’”

[BTS: Cheap or expensive? Comparisons with foreign systems point to bad deal in Bangkok]

3 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

 

New York flat fare on it's subways is $2.75 (about 90 Baht) in one of  the most expensive cities in the world. A flat fare of say 30 Baht on BTS and MRT in Bangkok would seem fair for here.

 

The New York flat fare for a single ticket was $3.00 (B100), not $2.75 and similar to the BTS, its' fare will shortly be increased to $4.00 (B122). The fact is that that the New York Metro was built in 1904 and is aging considerably, consequently there have been 64 major accidents on the system. It does not have modern signaling systems on all its' system, like the BTS has. If there was a flat fare of B30 the whole system would be overcrowded and without any profit, the maintenance of the system would suffer and trains, stations etc would start falling apart with frequent breakdowns, the same as the BMTA buses and SRT trains. 

 

[Which light bulb lasts longer in practice?]

1. They sell LED light bulbs (yes they also make them as bulbs, not just the fancy forms)

 

2. I have a drawer full of Philips light bulbs that frequently blow

 

3. The EVE LED bulbs and lamps have also blown too soon

 

4. The manufacturers often guarantee them for life (so if they blow after a few months, that is the end of their life)

     This could happen even with the Philips Dubai lamp.

 

5. My first job as a student Electrical Engineer in a Power Station was to change light bulbs, which were very high up, using a "Grabber" which has a long extendable handle. They sell the same thing in Tesco Thailand or via Lazada at around B440 to B560. 

[Trump returns Cuba to U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism]

13 hours ago, wombat said:

just asking...when was the last time Cuba committed terrorism in the states?

It is a fact that the only Country to have plotted to assassinate a President of the United States was Israel. 

[Sinovac's vaccine efficacy less than 60% in Brazil trial -report]

6 hours ago, Virt said:

 

Now we have 2 anecdotes. 

Wow it's almost a study ????

I've never had a flu shot and I've had the flu a number of times and recovered. I don't fancy my chances with COVID-19. So I will get the vaccine.  Now we have 3 anecdotes, only another 30,000 required for this study.

[Sinovac's vaccine efficacy less than 60% in Brazil trial -report]

23 hours ago, graemeaylward said:

I guess that 50-60% efficacy is better than nothing!  Isn't this the vaccine that Thailand is getting from China?

This is the first vaccine to arrive. It has a similar effectiveness as a conventional flu vaccine (50%) because it is based on an inactivated COVID-19 Virion. A year ago they were hoping for a vaccine that was 50% effective but the new Mrna Vaccines are >95% effective. Thailand will be manufacturing the AstraZeneca Mrna vaccine here soon, the Chinese vaccine is a stop gap measure. The AstraZeneca vaccine other vaccines will be arriving later.

[Why did you come to Thailand in the first place?]

I first came here in 1982 to help clean up the environment and sell pollution control systems, including sewage plants. I soon discovered that they had no concept of what pollution was and the effluent was running down the streets into the khlongs and into to the sea. At that time the only plant in the whole of Thailand, was at one hotel in Pattaya which had a sewage plant because it was an R&R HQ for the US Army serving during the Vietnam war. Came here permanently in 1994 to work with my Agent when we launched the first packaged sewage treatment systems.