midlifecrisis

It used to be a company that didn't cut corners. At first I didn't think it would affect their business too badly with the long lead time for new aircraft and only one main competetor but then I read that one of the biggest Boeing customers in America, Southwest, with I believe has the most 737 Max planes in their livery, is considering Airbus. A major blow if it works out that way. https://simpleflying.com/southwest-a220-order/

The Federal Reserve policies regarding interest rates, although Chairman Powell in his last press conference claimed that the Treasury Department is responsible for the strength or weakness of the dollar, as if interest rates don't affect it. Lower interest rates make money cheaper to get. It also means investments that depend on interest rates for returns are not worth putting money into except I suppose as a hedge. That is why we have had a decade or so in our stock markets. No place else to go to get good returns on investments. There is a debate raging frequently from Trump to pundits on business channels here as to whether or not the FED should drop interest rates. The FED chose not to do so in June and a few days later consumer confidence levels were shown to be down (not as a result of the FED decision) and other indicators for the economy were down...just the kind of things Powell and the other FED members are watching. So, the article is a bit ambiguous as to what constitutes dovish FED behavior. Is it doing nothing, where decisive up or down movement in interest rates would be hawkish? Certainly our exports under this administration benefit from a weaker dollar but it sucks for overseas travel. On the other hand, with the trade wars and Europe and China with down economies, we aren't selling as much as we should be under the circumstances.

This article goes back six months but it discusses Thailand's strong currency. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-20/world-beating-baht-adds-to-challenges-for-thai-economy-in-2019 "The baht has jumped thanks to Thailand’s $207 billion of foreign reserves, a current-account surplus and dollar weakness sparked partly by the Federal Reserve’s recent dovish tilt." "A surge in the baht is adding to the challenges facing Thailand’s trade-dependent economy this year as exports decline." "Currency strength is a worry and will hurt shipments, Pimchanok Vonkorpon, the ministry’s director general of trade policy and strategy, said in a briefing after releasing the trade data." "The currency will continue to be strong this year, said Krung Thai Bank Pcl Chief Strategist Jitipol Puksamatanan. But ING Groep NV Economist Prakash Sakpal said politics could be a headwind amid uncertainty stemming from the general election due in 2019 after more than four years of military rule."

According to this, Boeing outsourced the 737 Max software to $9 dollar an hour engineers. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeings-737-max-software-outsourced-204657048.html The Max software -- plagued by issues that could keep the planes grounded months longer after U.S. regulators this week revealed a new flaw -- was developed at a time Boeing was laying off experienced engineers and pressing suppliers to cut costs. Longtime Boeing engineers say the effort was complicated by a push to outsource work to lower-paid contractors.

They did a prequel, Better Call Saul. Not as good but some of the same characters like Saul Goodman and Gus Fring.

30 baht is my cutoff.

Two things make EVA my airline of choice. The first is lower business class faires. The second is that my flight arrives around midday.

Not true. I am simply not an arrogant westerner that thinks they have to be like us. I go there because it is different. The Thais accept a level of risk that has been mostly legislated away in the west. When I was a kid, you could ride in the back of a pickup. Today you get a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt. In Thailand I have seen and entire family on a motorbike. I don't pity them or condemn them for being different. I trust in them to sort things out for themselves. I apologize for being overly harsh before.

lol

That one reminds me of "Danger Will Robinson!" or even more of "Forbidden Planet" What we really need is Gort.

I look forward to finding out!

force, I get a sense from the (great btw) photos that the top of the tank is higher than the previous street level. It could be just camera angle but to my eye it appears that the bottom of the lowest step, which I think was at street level, might now be below the top of the tank. Is that just my eyes playing tricks on me? If not, how is water channeled away from the shop entrances? Also, you made a comment about debris being covered up rather than cleaned up. Will this impact the paving at a future date? This has been an excellent photo essay. I hope you will do more in the future.

Typical westerner! Tourist! I suggest you stay home with your judgemental western "we know best" attitude. The more Thailand becomes the west, the less reason there will be to go.

I am booked with them for November. Plenty of time I tell myself. Patience. This can't last. I might consider another airline but it would cost me a gogo bar barfine, LT and lady drinks to do so. $200 if I have my Pattaya prices and exchange rate correct.

Reagan gave a warning first. edit: The air traffic controller's strike shutdown the nation's air travel briefly so that was quite different than one airline on strike. From wikipedia: "At 7 a.m. on August 3, 1981, the union declared a strike... " Ronald Reagan declared the PATCO strike a "peril to national safety" and ordered them back to work under the terms of the Taft–Hartley Act. "Only 1,300 of the nearly 13,000 controllers returned to work. (sonly 10% took him seriously) "Subsequently, at 10:55 a.m., Reagan included the following in a statement to the media from the Rose Garden of the White House: "Let me read the solemn oath taken by each of these employees, a sworn affidavit, when they accepted their jobs: 'I am not participating in any strike against the Government of the United States or any agency thereof, and I will not so participate while an employee of the Government of the United States or any agency thereof.' "He then demanded those remaining on strike return to work within 48 hours, otherwise their jobs would be forfeited. "On August 5, following the PATCO workers' refusal to return to work, Reagan fired the 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored the order,[9][10] and banned them from federal service for life." This is a foreign airline and subject to different laws.

I was never a big Prince fan but he was a great guitar player.

Picture wise cell phones take good photos but they are not as easy to use for taking serious photos nor do they have the functionality. At least my Samsung. For roaming around in daylight, I prefer my point and shoot with a viewfinder.

That has shown up twice in two topics with no picture for me. Plus it appears to be a repost of something Bigus posted already but I have no idea what.

Squirrels are frickin' bushy tailed tree rats. Got a pet rabbit for the kids once. He could be a mean little cuss.

I looked for a couple of Eagles songs, one a Henley tune, and they are not available to post. A shame. So as you posted Henley: Well, The Garden of Allah isn't available on YouTube either. I won't link covers when the original is absent for comparison. This is a great Eagles tune.

I got a chuckle. How many western guys have taken photos of rats nests of wires, etc and Bill Gates posts a picture and it gets money allocated to fixing it. It will likely be a long project when you count the length of the streets mentioned plus the other cities. It seems to me 230 million baht might not be enough for all of that but local expats would have a better feel for the money angle.

My son is a progressive but not when it comes to local politics. He is quite conservative because he can see what is happening across the river in Portland.

I was just dreaming of a green curtain obscuring an unfinished building. Always look forward to your contributions and I am never disappointed.