Gumballl

Just wanted to let everyone know that I bought a Dell Inspiron E1505 with the intent of installing FC5 onto it. Had trouble searching the web for an easy install of a driver for the ATI Radeon 1300 video chip set. Thus, I gave up on it, and installed WinXP onto this system.

Once I was happy with the WinXP install on the Dell, I blew away the WinXP on my 2-year old Compaq Presario X1030 with an install of FC5. Everything went smooth. All I had to do after the initial OS install was to download the appropriate s/w to permit the viewing of DVDs and to control the volume using the multimedia buttons.

My X1030 has the following specs:

I was surprised that FC5 had a driver for all of this hardware, minus the stuff needed to control the multimedia buttons as discussed before. Even the Wi-Fi works!

If you are adventurous, why not consider installing Linux yourself. I just installed Fedora Core 5 onto my Compaq Presario x1030 the other day. Wasn't much to it. Quite simple.

There is plenty of forums on the web, including this one on TV, concerning Linux should you ever have a question (or a problem).

Your PC is broken. Looks like you will have to buy a new one. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Is the interview where they give her the visa or is that later on down the road? How many days in advance will she get about the interview date? Thank you for all the info.

Usually the visa candidate is given a month (or more) notice about their appointment. I believe if the visa is approved, it is given the day of the interview.

I recommend that you attend the interview with your fiance. It adds more validity to your relationship.

One thing I can say that s*cks about the US Embassy (in BKK), is that they send the Packet 3 to the visa candidate (your fiance), and not to the petitioner (you). If your fiance is not fluent with English, I recommend that she send you the forms for you to complete (with information she provides you when needed). When you arrive for her interview in Thailand, have her complete anything that requires Thai script and her signature prior to going to the Embassy.

It seems there is a bit of interest in staying off the booze for a couple of weeks.

Does anyone want to join me in making a committment?

If so, how long?

I know it is no problem for a lot of you folks, but out of interest lets give it a 7 day trial yeah?

If you are interested in this let me know. I need all the help I can get and if a bunch of you will give me 7 days support I will be forever thankful.

Cheers

tuky

When I read this post, and another one that you wrote concerning your "problem", I began thinking that full abstention from drinking is not necessarily the only solution.

Choose the middle ground. Not one extreme or the other. Instead of hard liquor, just drink a bottle of wine. At most you will get only 4 glasses from a typical bottle. And there should not be a need to do this everyday. Supposedly red wine is good for the body. And a full bottle will help you sleep!

I think that one needs to control their drinking, and merely know when to say enough is enough. I have not had anything to drink since last Thursday night (a record for me!), but I will definetely drink again.

Anyhow, good luck with your plan.

May the Thai gov't should encourage UBC to air re-runs of the WC matches, thus increasing the amount of tax revenue collected from the sales of alcoholic beverages. This tax revenue could solve the economic crisis in Thailand. Plus since most folks will be drunk, they won't care one way or the other.

Internal Trade Dept protects consumers by taking legal actions against unjust traders

The Department of Internal Trade has revealed that 13 traders have been prosecuted last month as they exploited the consumers. The officials are now keeping a close eye on the traders during this economic rift.

Mr. Siripol Yodmuangcharoen, the Internal Trade Department Director-General, said officials have inspected business operators since last month, with an aim to suppress them from taking advantages of consumers. So far, 13 cases have been prosecuted, and they have been fined 22,200 baht in total. In Bangkok, prices of 4,387 consumer items have been inspected, and four traders have been found to violate the regulation. They have been fined 7,400 baht in total.

Mr. Siripol said further that people have issued complaints on the prices of 21,065 products selling outside Bangkok, and legal actions have been taken on seven traders, with a total fine of 9,800 baht.

Source: Thaisnews - ประจำวันจันทร์ที่ 26 มิถุนายน 2549

Is there more to this story? When is a trader considered "unjust"? What products were being sold at the unjust prices?

This is a lame article. Has no value whatsoever.

Also, is LOS in an economic rift? Last I heard (err, read) was that LOS could find itself in one. I guess now it is official.

Hello,

If I want to extend my visa, I can leave Thailand and prolong it at the border.

How does it actually work?

Is there a place to get it in Chang Mai? If not, what would be the closest one?

What do I need to bring along if I need a 30-day tourist visa?

How long does it take to get it for example in Laos or Cambodia?

How much does it cost?

Is it possible to do it at the weekend?

Sorry for all those questions. I just have no idea about it. :-)

Thank you for your patience!

Kate

I have not been to Cambodia, but I have been to Laos, and I would assume one thing... the weekend is not the best time to go.

If indeed all you want is a 30-day tourist visa, all you will need is your passport, I believe 1900 baht, and you will need to complete the application form at the Thai Embassy/Consulate (there is one in Vientienne). Applications (along with the passport) are accepted until 12noon each business day, and returned after 1pm the next business day. That is why I do not recommend submitting application and passport on a Friday; otherwise you will have to wait till Monday afternoon to collect it. (Embassy is closed Saturday and Sunday).

May I ask... do you really need a 30-day tourist visa, or will a mere 30-day entry stamp in your passport suffice? A tourist visa can be extended (within Thailand) for another 30-days (for 1900 baht), whereas a 30-day stamp can only be extended by 10 days (cost?).

If all you require is the 30-day entry stamp, then there is no need to visit the Thai Embassy. A border checkpoint will suffice, and hence going on a weekend is ok.

Other TV-ers... please correct me if any of this information is wrong/outdated. I was last in Vientienne in 07/2004.

Buy yourself a laptop/notebook PC that has a decent CPU (> 1.4 GHz), at least 512MB of RAM, and a good graphics chip set (i.e. ATI). I would also consider getting one with the Wi-Fi chipset in case you are ever in a place that offers wireless internet access.

Phone cables can be bought that are 100 feet long, should you decide to use the PC's modem.

I just recently purchased a Dell Inspiron E1505 (for US$856) that I am running WinXP MCE on. I had plan to run Linux, but that idea went bust (pain in the arse to get Linux drivers installed). Instead, I slapped Linux onto my 2-year old notebook (a Compaq Presario X1030). It works like a charm.

WinXP Home Edition (or Media Center Edition) costs about US$90. Linux is free. Choose whichever suits you best.

Good luck.

I think I have a great location for a KFC....

But I don't know who to contact and where to get started.

Any suggestions?

thanks

Goto an existing KFC, and ask to speak to the manager, and if possible, the owner.

Remember, if ever caught in a riptide, do not attempt to fight the current. Just float along with it until it subsides. Then attempt to reach shore, even if it is 1km away from where you entered the water.

Also, rain showers do no harm, but lightning will. I used to live in Florida, which ironically is known as the Sunshine State. It seemed to me that it should be named the Rain & Lightning State. Everytime I was at the beach and saw dark clouds approaching, I got the h*ll out of there.

Suppose your front door (in the US for instance) opened outward. Further suppose that some not nice person rings your doorbell. You go to open the door and just as you turn the door knob the not nice person grabs the door knob on his(or her) side and yanks the door from your hand and pulls the door wide open....exposing you to assault. If the door opens inwards then if they push the door inward as you turn the knob then your body will be behind the door not only shielding you but also putting you in a position to force the door closed with your body.

That's one hypothesis, but I doubt that's why the doors in the west open inward. My hypothesis is that doors open inwards because if it were to snow heavily, there would be no way to open a door outward. Most Anglos that settled/invaded the world in the early days probably took this idea with them to the new world.

Like I stated... just a theory.

P.S. People should never open a door without first knowing who is on the other side. Consider getting a peephole or two placed in the door (one for adults, one for children).

Can we have a certified translation of this post in English please ?

My sentiments exactly. Does TV not have a spell checker, or a universal translator available?

HI

Can anybody give me an explanation of the attached website

http://www.tmd.go.th/radar/kkaen.html

If you have a green/yellow area does this mean actual rain or is it just radar bouncing off clouds that could possibly give rain?

Also on the right hand dbz scale why is blue a minus amount?

Any info appreciated.

TBWG

The yellow area represents people wearing their yellow t-shirts during the King's jubilee/birthday.

Just kidding... see here for more info... WeatherZone

In the next 6-8 moths, I am hoping to be able to move to bangkok. I will be selling my house in the U.S. and be arriving with (wire transfer) 1-1.3mil baht and would like to buy a condo. As I'm hoping to attend no less than 2-3 years of undergraduate school at Bangkok University, is it possible, by taking summer classes as well, to stay in Thailand for at least the 2-3 years.

I have no doubt in my ability to be accepted at the University, since I will be transfering (hopefully) some credits from my previous college, where I held a 3.75 gpa.

I did a search on student visa, but it didn't exactly cover the information I'm looking for.

I appreciate anything you can share.

I hope you have access to more than 1-1.3 mil baht. This amount of money may not last you 2-3 years.

BTW, have you been to LOS (Thailand) before??

If you have, then you probably realize that the money you are bringing is no where near the amount to buy a liveable condo in BKK.

Along as discrimination of age, sex, marital status, etc. are permitted in LOS, who will ever know whether a "low-class" person can succeed. Personally I believe that it is possible for the entrepreneur to succeed, but for one working for someone else, very unlikely.

Imagine the most skilled engineer in a company not getting rewarded for their efforts. This person decides to look for a new job, but alas they cannot because they have reached that magical age of 30, and nobody wants to hire them at such an "old" age.

How about a man who wants to be a nurse? How about about a woman that wants to be a police officer? (yes, these exists, but very, very few).

In any country where there is a growing disparity between the "haves" and the "have-nots", there will be crime. Many times crime is driven by envy, hence the reason for theft. Some others attribute it to drugs, others to mere extortion (e.g. mafia).

If you think that LOS is bad, check out this report on MS-13 here in the US and Central America. Imagine if something like this gang were to exist in LOS. I really do not think the Thai police force would be up to the challenge.

It would not surprise me if this was a typical knee jerk reaction to the fact that Bangkok Bank has AGAIN been pulled up for not validating peoples identity and source of money - this time in the USA. Of course, the perception will be that its all the foreigners fault and I could well guess they have quickly tightened the rules in the last couple of days. I expect we will see a new position being advertised anyday now in the Bangkok Post for a "Vice President - Compliance" to work at Bangkok Banks HQ.

As one of the other posts stated, the BKK Bank branch between Sukhumvit Soi 8 and 10 allow for the opening of savings accounts with a minimal deposit.

I had to go to the US Embassy to have an affidavit prepared to indicate that my passport (i.e. my identity) is legit. After returning to the bank to open the account, I was out of there in about 20 minutes with savings book and ATM card in hand.

Neither a work permit or a visa was required.

Having a visa does not garantee entry to a country. The final decision is made at the entry port, usually by placing a date stamp in the passport.

It is still possible to be refused entry at a border despite holding a valid visa.

What would be reasons for being denied entry at the border?

How can I transfer my VCD’s on to a DVD so that I can still watch them on a stand alone DVD player?

Also I have some DVDs that I can still play on the DVD player but I am unable to copy the disk on my pc is there anything I can do?

Buy yourself a new DVD player (approx 2000-3000 baht). Most newer DVD players will playback a VCD.

To copy a DVD to your PC, use DVDShrink, and then something like Nero to burn it back to another DVD. For personal uses (e.g. making archival backups), this procedure is legal; for others (like reselling) it is not. But in LOS...

In lieu of taking a course at some "expensive" school, consider the Rosetta program for Spanish.

Also, if your sister-in-law requires any help, I can help. I am mostly fluent in Spanish.... but I live in the US. I will not be able to provide face-to-face instruction.

I always thought a tourist visa to the US was good for 6 months (after entry). As for being denied entry to the US, I doubt this would happen. It is up to the NVC & US Embassy to ensure that your wife is qualified for a visa to enter the US... not some Border Patrol official at the airport. Since your wife already has the visa, I would not sweat it.

Which visa status would be more feasible for our situation ?

We have lived together 2 years in Thailand, now with a 2 month old son. I would like to bring my son and partner back to the USA within the next year or two. We have not married yet because we don't we don't want to close any doors untill we have explored all of our options and balanced them out. If we marry here, it makes it more difficult for her to buy property, etc. under Thai standards-regulations for Thai female married to foreign national.

Also being unmarried, the K1 visa is also an option when/if we decide to marry in the United States (where rights won't be sacraficed for the wellbeing of raising a family). What are the basic requirements/quotas for the K1 visa? Is there a specific quota that we have to meet ? I.e. been together for x minimum amount of years or is it all up to the descrestion of the consular officer and our ability to convince him/her ? Does having a Thai American son with CBRA and passport hold any weight in K-1 visa cases ?

The other option would be to get married here, give up some of her Thai rights while still living in Thailand, and apply for the K-3 visa under the LIFE act. On Dep. of State website, I couldn't find the page with specific quotas for K-3 cases. Obviously the marriage in Thailand would have to be registered with the Amphur, translated and stamped by MFA before it can be valid with the US consular officials. Is there some quota for how long we'd have to be married before being eligible to apply for the K-3 ?

And how about the petitions for both ? I understand that petitions for K-3 have to be filed with INA office in Chicago. Do I have to independently file via snail corespondance or is all the petitioning done via Immigration-US embassy, Bangkok ? ?

Anyone with recent experience in either K-1 or K-3 applications, process, please share the pros, cons, and anything else to consider.

Thanks in advance

Getting the K1 is the shortest route I believe; about 6-8 months after applying. You do not have to be in the US to file the K1 application, but eventually you will have to prove that you have income and/or assets to support your fiancee when she arrives in the US.

Here are the links for the forms you will need to submit to get the K1 process underway:

I-129F

G-325A (you need to complete one for yourself and one for your fiancee)

Greenwanderer, I remember you stating that you preferred to remain in LOS with your child and fiancee. Rather than leave LOS to go to the US to work, you might want to check with the USCIS (or perhaps someone else here on the TV forum) if it is possible for someone else (family member, friend, etc) to guarantee financial support when your fiancee arrives in the US.

If possible, then you can defer your return to the US till a later date, and then look for work then.

Good luck with everything.

P.S. The other posts are correct... farang married to Thai does not prevent ownership of property in LOS. Also, you fiancee is not required to change her surname (after marriage) if she does not wish to do so.

For all others farangs who are expecting new additions to their family, consider getting the child a Thai passport and a passport from your country at the earliest possible time. It will probably save lots of hassles later.

My daughter was approved for US Citizenship just hours before we got her a Thai passport. Now she has two passports. Later in life, she will not have to "choose" which she wishes to keep. As far as I'm concerned, as long as she is a minor, my wife and I will keep renewing her passports when needed, and when she is an adult, she can do it herself.

She'll hopefully be able to enjoy the best of both countries.

a cup of water and a laptop do not mix. want to stop a Skype VoIP conversation? now you know how.