Gsxrnz

What a waste time and energy.

And "what they are really trying to achieve"!!?? Maybe the one clueful guy that wrote the rule in the first place.

For the thousands of bureaucrats working on the ground that follow, they couldn't give a toss about rationality or the real world, they have their rules, and if you want to deal with them efficiently and move on to more productive pursuits you simply provide what their rules state in the format requested, they put stamps all over the papers and you move on with your life.

Put some of that creative intelligence into an activity where you'll actually receive some real benefit in return.

What am I trying to achieve?

OK its a fair question>

Simply this.....Knowledge of what works and what does not work.

Asking why ?

• Is healthier than moaning about confusion.

• Being curious rather than accepting - bit by bit - will be useful forever.

The personal benefit so far - Having a friendly and very open relaxed conversation with the officer formed a kind of a relationship that was comfortable enough for him to gave me his personal details - This is not time spent trying to 'change face' in a transaction - This is time invested in a conversation.

Next time you go to see your "friend", hand him an envelope with 10,000 baht in it and he will suddenly see your unique form of logic.

That's why he's talking so amicably to you.

At Thai banks the spread is typically 30 satang above/below the midpoint, extremely good value, the spread at Western banks is far higher and is typically a rip off.

What is a 'satang' ?

When I exchanged some US dollars for Thai baht a few days ago the spread was 32.62 verses 33.26. That appears to me to be a difference of 0.64,...or about 2%

Those nasty old banks!! How dare they buy something from you so they can sell it to somebody else and make a profit on the deal. It's just not cricket!

I like to know where those idiots are who projected that the baht would fall. They are very silent now. Never trust a online FX.

Money can't be made if the market is stable.

Lord, let us pray for a falling/rising/falling/rising/falling/rising ad infinitum baht/dollar/pound etc....at least until the cows come home and all those pips find their way to my bank account.

BOOM!

This lunatic has finally flipped..!!

Yes I think you're right.

I also believe he's become swept away with his own rhetoric (read: propaganda) and is unable to stand back and take a more lucid view of the situation.

He actually believes he's leading a righteous revolution of all the people that will not fail, that whatever sins/crimes he commits will be forgiven and proven necessary when he leads the people from the hand of tyrannical oppression.

Now....if the Thai people were truly oppressed a la Sadam's Iraq, and he had the ethics, morals, and principals of a Gandi, then I'd probably be his biggest supporter.

But he's not. He's a tin-pot corrupt political megalomaniac and if he was on fire I wouldn't even piss on him. And the same goes for every other politician in Thailand, including any colour or flavour you care to name. There's not a politician in Thailand I'd trust with 10 baht, or trust to not line their pockets at the first (and every) opportunity.

Whatever change this present disruption might bring about, the chances of the lives of the greater Thai people being improved is zero on the Kelvin scale. There will be a change in the political control of the country, there may be a new constitution, and their may be a lot of people in power that endorse the changes. But the next day it will be business as usual. Ka-ching!

I say again that the person that will eventually lead Thailand out of the corrupt cesspool it is has not yet been born and at least a generation must pass before any significant gains will be made.

I don't agree:

1. As can be seen in the protest numbers and the make up of the protestors, and as I hear regularly from my adult Thai son and his friends, people want change now.

2. Yes Suthep has quite some baggage and yes during this protest, at times, he's not been good at clear communications, and the message I hear is that folks don't him as the next PM or whatever (and partly because they a slew want new faces / different types of people) but they are prepared to follow him if he can generate actions to gain reform then an election.

Ok, I agree that there is a groundswell that want "change". But ask any of them (man on the street or politician) to clearly define what changes they want and a roadmap to get there, and they will struggle.

Do they want a corrupt free Thailand where the politicians, the police, the military leaders, and government administrators do not take bribes or commit blatant acts of thievery against the state and live on there meagre salary? And elections are heralded by the international community as free and honest?

Do they want a safe Thailand where busses don't crash routinely killing hundreds, where safety standards truly are 1st world, bridges don't fall over, and everybody obeys the road rules?

Do they want a prosperous Thailand where everybody's wealth and health are improved, income is taxed, and the government provides genuine social services for the people?

Because if that's what they want, it ain't gonna happen in your son's lifetime. Even if a Gahandi or Mandella figure existed in Thailand, and assuming he could avoid assassination, it would take him 20 years to make one iota of change as he'd be blocked at every turn - even with a groundswell of support from the majority of Thais.

And because of that, I'm of the opinion that one day in Thailand there really will be a civil war. It will be bloody and violent, and it will devastate the country. But it will only occur when somebody worthy emerges to lead the fight and rebuild in the aftermath.

This current megalomaniac may well lead the country into violence but it won't be a civil war - the irony is that he'll probably force some theoretical beneficial changes (on paper) that will not actually be followed through on, thus placating the Thai people for a while and prolonging the current corrupt system.

For the moment, it really doesn't matter who is in charge - change will only be given lip service by whomever assumes power.

Political change in itself just will not work here. The feudal system is too entrenched.

Make a note in your diary for 5 years from now and PM me that corruption in Thailand has been eradicated in the police and all government departments, and the country is now equal to the USA on the international corruption scale - it will be interesting reading. It won't happen of course, and I forecast that Thailand will be no better on the corruption scale than it is now, probably worse.

I can't figure out this one as well. If the floor or stairs move (moving walkways and escalator) Like at airports and stuff. Why people can't continue to walk. Floor is moving for me time to stop..... Not so bad if everyone kept right but people always wanna stand beside each other. I normally bellow excuse me before pushing past. Maybe I am rude but when I have been in a plane for a while I just want to go home

You'll love this - at Central Plaza on Saturday the elevator on level 4 to the outside viewing deck on level 3 wasn't working. I walked down them for a cigarette. I watched 4 or 5 groups of Thais approach the escalator at the top, realise it wasn't working and do a U-turn.

Five minutes later, two of the groups appeared at the side door to the viewing deck. They'd obviously gone in to the inside escalator, a walk of probably 50 metres, gone down, and then walked the 50 metres to the viewing deck. Go figure.

There were many that did walk down them, but it was funny to observe these two groups take the long way down.

Nice to see it's not just me who is driven mad by dreadful pedestrian skills here, especially when it's a baking hot day and dawdlers mean I get stuck next to some blazing barbecue stall....

......while getting poked in the eyes by their umbrellas.

If it was my condo I wouldn't be refunding you a single baht, and be suggesting you learn to whistle the American Confederate Anthem.

Caveat Emptor applies. Your wife entered into a contract, paid an agreed price for an agreed service, no refund upon failure of the purchaser to utilise the service was asked for, nor was it offered at the time the contract was made. The service is still available at the agreed price and has not been withheld from you.

Hopefully you and your wife have learned a lesson. And while I don't hold to the opinion of many posters about not allowing her to buy or negotiate on your behalf, it is up to you to ensure that she knows the limit of her authority and knows specifically what your expectations are in the future.

JT - I lost 30% bodyweight at age 35 and kept it off for 18 years. That video is no news to me. To paraphrase Julia Roberts from "Notting Hill": "I've been on a constant diet since I was 35, I've been hungry for 18 years".

In the same way that those who are prone to get drunk easier than somebody else need to drink less, those that are prone to gain weight more than somebody else need to eat less. It ain't rocket science.

Right now I'm starving. It's my usual indulgence day for a great big mother of all mothers English Fried Breakfast - my weekly food treat for myself. But I weighed in 500 grams under my trigger weight this morning, so it's 2 weet-bix and no sugar for me, and that will be it until tomorrow. My trigger weight is what sends me into a tailspin and have had the same weight (or less) for those 18 years. I know that in 2 days I'll be 1kg below my trigger weight and can start to eat what has become my norm.

I could say "oh what the hell" and cook myself that huge breakfast, but do that 5 or 6 times and suddenly I'm 2kg over my trigger weight, depressed, uncomfortable, ashamed of myself, and will probably decide to increase my trigger weight in my mind. And then in a month I'm buying clothes one size up, and then a month later I'm 2 sizes up and spiralling down a miserable road.

IMHO the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to learn the art of self control. Not saying it's easy, but in time it becomes normal.

Yes, that is the whole point self control. I am in the same way as you I am on great weight now in super shape. But at a cost but it becomes normal for me. The longer you keep it the easier it gets.

There might be a small percentage of people who can do it, but I hear of more of those success stories probably because those are people willing to do what it takes instead of blaming outside forces.

I can't say that maintaining this weight makes me feel hungry... does not mean I could not easily eat more without feeling full. It is normal.

Checking weight is a normal routine for me now you got trigger weights and such to keep on program.

Good on you - yes eventually what we're referring to as self control just becomes accepted. The trigger weight and frequent weighing is important. I always know my weight and take action accordingly. Even simple things make a difference. If I feel I'm half a kilo up on where I want to be or approaching that trigger weight, I'll only add half a teaspoon of sugar to my coffee instead of a whole, or scramble two eggs instead of three.

It's not as though the sacrifices are that dramatic as a rule. Even the word "sacrifice" is a bad choice of word because that implies one is giving up something. It doesn't feel like that, it just feels like common sense - you're near your trigger weight, you don't want to have to starve for two days to compensate when you break the barrier, so do a few little modifications for two days and hey, you lost half a kilo instead of gaining it.

Yeah, but "normal" is a very subjective state. What was normal for me then is not what normal is for me now. My normal has been recalibrated and now I don't think of it as being abnormal/unusual.

Every now and then I visualise all the excess food that I used to eat during a week sitting on a table. It was literally enough to feed a family of three for a week, and that's no joke.

I said earlier that I always feel hungry - that may have been an oversimplification. It's simply a different way of feeling than I used to have. If I overeat (which I do occasionally), I feel so damned physically uncomfortable that it scares me. And while it may be a little uncomfortable having that "hunger" bug telling you to have a snack because your body thinks you're hungry, having an enlarged belly through overeating is a damn site worse.

The hunger bug goes away when you eventually eat something in line with your regimen. That bloated uncomfortable feeling always stays with me for a full 24 hours and coincidentally, my bowels shut down in sympathy which makes it worse. My body tells me that if I have a choice of feeling a little hungry or very uncomfortable, the best option is to feel hungry - and that feeling is normal. Maybe it's not even "hunger" in the true sense, maybe it's how those that were never fat always feel?

JT - I lost 30% bodyweight at age 35 and kept it off for 18 years. That video is no news to me. To paraphrase Julia Roberts from "Notting Hill": "I've been on a constant diet since I was 35, I've been hungry for 18 years".

In the same way that those who are prone to get drunk easier than somebody else need to drink less, those that are prone to gain weight more than somebody else need to eat less. It ain't rocket science.

Right now I'm starving. It's my usual indulgence day for a great big mother of all mothers English Fried Breakfast - my weekly food treat for myself. But I weighed in 500 grams under my trigger weight this morning, so it's 2 weet-bix and no sugar for me, and that will be it until tomorrow. My trigger weight is what sends me into a tailspin and have had the same weight (or less) for those 18 years. I know that in 2 days I'll be 1kg below my trigger weight and can start to eat what has become my norm.

I could say "oh what the hell" and cook myself that huge breakfast, but do that 5 or 6 times and suddenly I'm 2kg over my trigger weight, depressed, uncomfortable, ashamed of myself, and will probably decide to increase my trigger weight in my mind. And then in a month I'm buying clothes one size up, and then a month later I'm 2 sizes up and spiralling down a miserable road.

IMHO the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to learn the art of self control. Not saying it's easy, but in time it becomes normal.

thats the best news i have heard for about 10 years I might start looking for the new car then///and start going out more with the extra pension money....so its not all bad...exports will rise also

Good for tourism too. The prices for "everything" will be better when quoted in baht.

Hmmm.....Thais aren't as green as they're cabbage looking.

Overheard the two owners of a restaurant discussing the weakening Baht and a decision to increase their menu prices by 10%.

I've noticed some very large increases in prices in Jomtien and Pattaya over the last 3 months. The smart ones get new menus printed. The cheap Charlie's put a sticker over the original price which makes it a bit obvious.

I'm a little disappointed. No wheelie in the whole performance. Use the rear brake for speed control, slip the clutch, static throttle, a doddle really.

Say what you want but id love to have control like that guy. He knows his bike well. I think its sarcasm as nobody can downplay this kind of skill. I am sure there will be some forum users that claim (and some that can) do what he can.

My comment was tongue in cheek. The guy has amazing skills and that's undeniable. Not many everyday riders would even know how to begin to use the throttle/clutch/brakes in unison to achieve that sort of control.

We had a test at a training school that consisted of 30 cones in a row spaced one metre apart. The objective was to go as slow as possible through the cones without touching the ground and not going more than one metre to the left or right of the cones The best time on the day was just under 2 minutes and that was by the instructor. He was keeping the bike (R1) upright through clutch slip, steady throttle, and rear brakes to control speed. he was going so slow the bike was almost stationery most of the time, but was smooth and stable at all times.

That's the same skills the bloke in your video is displaying. Handy skills on a scooter in slow traffic around Pattaya as well, even easier because only have to worry about the rear brake and no clutch.

Maybe an alcohol ban in BKK will keep those hotheads a bit cooler ...

blasphemy

Worse!.......Heresy!!!

For the same reason they call the world series, "The world Series". No logic whatsoever. Like, I mean....where's the rest of the world?

I'm a little disappointed. No wheelie in the whole performance. Use the rear brake for speed control, slip the clutch, static throttle, a doddle really.

Haven't seen the movie.

Is It a Thaksin biographical type movie?

Sorry, you don't win the coconut for introducing Mr. T to a thread totally unrelated to him.

I believe the record is 2 posts, so you're well behind at post #10. Have another go in the motorbike thread - plenty of opportunity there.

Your departure card DOES have a number on it. They all do. Have a closer look.

EDIT: The new cards have a smaller number than the older cards. Under the barcode, RH top corner.

That's about the most intelligent observation I've ever seen about Thai politics.

The population will increase as Bangkokians (ites?) migrate to Patts. It will get busier but I can't see food or the basics becoming a problem except maybe some short supplies at the 7/11's or supermarket. Could be more interesting if the tanks do roll and they introduce a curfew.

Just in case I'll keep a good supply of the essentials at home.

Cigs, JD, coke, ice, baked beans, man-farang, cash, diesel in the tank and a 20ltr of 91 for the scooters. Sorted

I just hope all the temporary residents don't rock up to my golf course!