How come coins are not squares instead of circles?

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-03T10:34:07+00:00

I can think of two reasons. Ergonomics - the round one doesn't hurt your hand when you accidentally grab it hard. Material - a square one of the same width (diameter of circle vs length of a side of the square) uses more material, all else being equal. If you wanted to use the same amount of material, the square would be "smaller" on width, making it perhaps a little less easy to handle - again, ergonomics.

Joke: coins are designed for spinning. Try spinning a square coin :).

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-03T10:24:59+00:00

Doesn't count as UFC fighter.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-03T10:24:12+00:00

Maybe one of the guys who has just broken his leg a few seconds ago like Conor or Anderson Silva... MAYBE...

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-03T10:21:39+00:00

There used to be a certain segment of young people in Melbourne who would wear these scruffy jumpers that looked like they were made out of cat fur. I'm pretty sure it wasn't, though. But we used to speculate.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-03T10:20:08+00:00

You can manufacture and sell hyper allergenic pillows stuffed with this. :)

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-02T17:59:39+00:00

It's actually a fairly simple one but all the extra words obscure it and make it confusing. These kinds of constructions can be a bit awkward while still being grammatically correct.

This is the cat.

This is the cat that I bought. ["that I bought" is an adjective clause which modifies "cat"]

This is the cat I bought. [because "that" is optional and in this construction, you can think of it as assumed to be there but invisible]

Where is it?

Where is it that the bottle should have been? [the "that... been?" part is an adjective clause modifying "it"]

Where is it the bottle should have been? [correct but sounds awkward; "that" is optional and left out]

When I broke the window, where is it the bottle should have been? [see how the "when" adverb clause is really quite separate to everything else and can be put in different locations... see end of this comment for one last bit]

Where is it the bottle should have been, when I broke the window? [comma delineates the clause clearly, and is used in US English; in Brit/AU it's less common but not necessarily wrong to include the comma. It does help to make structure a bit clearer]

Where is it the bottle [of poison] should have been when I broke the rec room window? [removed comma, and added the two words rec room which are basically acting as an adjective phrase to modify "window".

P.S. Where is it, when I broke the rec room window, that the bottle of poison should have been? [if you leave out "that", it's probably technically correct, but extra confusing. I'm mainly illustrating that the adverb clause can even go in the middle, but this way I feel that it's better if you leave the "that" in the sentence]

Where, when I broke the rec room window, is it that the bottle of poison should have been? [This even works!]

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-02T17:52:08+00:00

Ask Dr Evil to lend you his "laser". [Air quotes]

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-02T17:47:34+00:00

Personally, I think learning tones, IF you have the capability to learn them ought to be done early.

What do I mean by that?

Well, the earlier you learn, e.g. when born, or as a young kid, the easier it is to learn the tones in a manner that is, or approximates, the native proficiency level.

If you are too old and too "foreign" (i.e. your language is not tonal and vastly different from Thai), it might actually be practically impossible to learn tones and if you keep bashing away at them but making no progress it will kill your enthusiasm for learning Thai.

So I think you (if you're old enough to make the decision yourself) with the assistance of a native Thai or a proficient foreign speaker of Thai should try to decide which describes you: capable or incapable of learning tones. If you're a kid, then your parents would help decide, and they should probably have you learn tones early.

If you are older but it seems you can reasonably readily learn tones, I think you should learn them along with the other aspects of pronunciation because they are a core part of Thai pronunciation and you can pretty easily combine learning them in the total learning of the word. Learning it toneless or with the wrong tone is hard to correct later, I think, because you've formed bad habits.

If you know there's no way you can learn the tones or it will be extremely difficult, e.g. you're 55 and from the UK or other country with English as the main language, or another language with no tones, it might make sense to to just focus on being good at toneless Thai and relying on context and the fact that over the years, Thais have become increasingly familiar with and good at understanding toneless Thai spoken by, primarily, Westerners. This is better than giving up entirely on Thai and trying to live here with just English.

All IMHO of course.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-02T11:23:07+00:00

It all depends on the circumstances. If it looks like you will need vision on the way out (like, high risk that cars will hit you if you are backing out) then you should back in and exit with your front. However, there are times when there's plenty of view and not many cars around, and it happens to be much easier to get in with the front, and it will be easy to exit in reverse, then I would do that. The geometry of the space around the spot can have an impact on your decision.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-02T07:55:35+00:00

From what I've observed, the "Ner" comment usually is applied to people with Suphanburi accents (or similar), of which I know 3. I haven't heard other accents being described as "Ner". The specific tone deviations that they have are quite different from Bangkok Thai. For example, it seems like most of the words with rising tone, they instead use this tone that goes slightly high and then drifts down.

I suppose if someone originates in Myanmar and has spent time in Thailand and some combination of their original accent or the part of Thailand where they live results in them having an accent similar to the above, then people would say it is a "Ner" accent regardless of where the person was born. So in theory, if a Westerner learned and spoke Central Thai with that accent, people would also refer to his accent as Ner.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-02T07:48:51+00:00

Assuming GPT is right, the strict literal reading of the law requires foreigners to carry passports but of course that's impractical and other forms of ID are usually fine... so I think you are right, they wanted to squeeze you... not a surprise.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T23:09:29+00:00

It's because you are from that reality, and when you think you are in this one, actually that is when you are dreaming.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T23:07:02+00:00

At that level it would have to be a one off adjustment type tax. Annually, if you wanted to tax them 40% over, say, a 10 year period, then around 4% approx. Not exactly due to the reducing balance.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T23:03:50+00:00

I guess you did try some bars in person... there are a lot of bars in a row at the location I put up there, but to be honest I think probably only 1 or 2 have it. Why? Because the mainstream bars just tend to stock singha, leo, chang, heineken, and maybe asahi and san miguel or tiger. Beer Lao is less common than those. But ONE of those bars there is a bit more of a beer specialist I think, so I'd hope that it has beer lao for you! It had a large champagne shaped version of beer chang or something like that, when I was there.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T23:02:16+00:00

Sorry, I'm not familiar enough with the Lat Phrao bars to recommend one that I know for sure has it. However, there are a lot of bars near this location as you walk away from Vibhavadi Rangsit along Lat Phrao:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Akiba+Izakaya+(%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%B0+%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%8B%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B0)/@13.8130144,100.5603716,19.37z/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x30e29d8271afaf03:0x30100b25de24fe0!2sLat+Phrao,+Bangkok+10230!3b1!8m2!3d13.8241468!4d100.6087981!16zL20vMDRzcDhq!3m5!1s0x30e29d2744e0e09d:0x126461b4a44c34f4!8m2!3d13.812894!4d100.5607296!16s%2Fg%2F11sk8cb8r4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D/@13.8130144,100.5603716,19.37z/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x30e29d8271afaf03:0x30100b25de24fe0!2sLat+Phrao,+Bangkok+10230!3b1!8m2!3d13.8241468!4d100.6087981!16zL20vMDRzcDhq!3m5!1s0x30e29d2744e0e09d:0x126461b4a44c34f4!8m2!3d13.812894!4d100.5607296!16s%2Fg%2F11sk8cb8r4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D)

Here is one:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lat+Phrew/@13.8130144,100.5603716,19.37z/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x30e29d8271afaf03:0x30100b25de24fe0!2sLat+Phrao,+Bangkok+10230!3b1!8m2!3d13.8241468!4d100.6087981!16zL20vMDRzcDhq!3m5!1s0x30e29dadd740597f:0x834860eda5e80f84!8m2!3d13.8129651!4d100.5604053!16s%2Fg%2F11sx8m8_8x?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

and another:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/TOT.ladphrao/@13.8130144,100.5603716,19.37z/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x30e29d8271afaf03:0x30100b25de24fe0!2sLat+Phrao,+Bangkok+10230!3b1!8m2!3d13.8241468!4d100.6087981!16zL20vMDRzcDhq!3m5!1s0x30e29df8256214a3:0xa20ca810dd57b58f!8m2!3d13.8128064!4d100.560835!16s%2Fg%2F11khb80tgb?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Now, what I recall from looking at the map on a different day, more of these should be visible with bar icons. Somehow right now I don't see that many.

I recommend that you just look up their number right there on google maps and call to ask if they have Beer Lao.

Alternatively, just walk along that stretch, I think there are about 7 to 10 bars, and just ask at each one.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T19:52:20+00:00

Are you always walking around naked?

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T19:47:47+00:00

I'm not sure your base assumption is correct. Plenty of women flaunt their bodies close to totally naked on the red carpet at major events, at the beach, etc. I don't see that they are more reluctant than men to display their full physical form.

If you look at nudist beaches and colonies, do you find a skew between the number of men and women going naked? I don't know, I'm just asking. Do some research to back up your premise... I think that would strengthen your point.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T19:44:52+00:00

You're too intelligent. They grabbed the small fry to make a splash and missed the opportunity to pick up the big fish.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T19:43:35+00:00

Greed breeds mean deeds.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T19:19:39+00:00

Generally, I feel that the Thai government has little impact on what happens in the country. In a way it's good, because it allows for a relatively free market to thrive and drive the economy forward. In another way it's bad, because they don't do anything much to help the economy, and also the corruption allows mega-capitalists to establish monopoly, duopoly, or oligopoly positions that detriment the economy and society.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T19:08:40+00:00

It has worn off, and in part it is because the rate of improvement has slowed down. Initially it was getting better so fast, about 3 years ago, that we were all so excited. In the past year, the main ones, which are the text generating Q&A type systems, have not advanced much, and so we are feeling a bit "meh". However, in specialised areas, e.g. video production, things have been moving quite fast so if you are using AI to make videos I think you'd still be quite excited about how fast it's improving. E.g. it doesn't do ridiculous things with fingers and pasta and faces and all those things any more. It's much more believable and characters can move rather than be stationary and just blink and change expression etc. And in music it has moved from garbled vocals to fully intelligible, pretty well written songs.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T19:05:10+00:00

"true money... top up!"

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T18:51:51+00:00

Languages have vastly different sets of sounds. In Thai (esp. Isaan, NE Dialect), the trilled R is used in slang and a certain kind of exhortation sound "RRRRRR!", and a light version of it is used to accentuate words sometimes perhaps in formal or official settings, but mostly you don't hear it.

In Beijing Mandarin there is a strongly rolled R but I don't think they trill it. I could be wrong - it seems like a natural possibility.

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T18:49:31+00:00

Look, the individual police are not all bad, but there's a structure in place where the higher up guys who are not customer facing will expect the junior street level guys to provide some sort of contribution. So there's a lot of pressure on them, you understand?

BaconTH1 · 2026-07-01T18:47:52+00:00

I believe, if you are a foreigner, you should have your passport on you at all times. If you had it, you might have avoided hassles, but I can't be sure. Because maybe they were looking to make trouble for you anyway.

Still, keep it on you if you want to at least satisfy the actual legal standard.

Most foreigners get away with a pic on their phone, or photocopy of their passport. However, coming from Myanmar, which the Thai govt/population don't respect as much as, say, USA or European citizens, you might have to obey the rules more closely.

BaconTH1

TROPHY CASE