cooked

I left the place after 40 years and only miss a few things.

Let me see now, didn't we do this stuff when I was 13?

I break into a sweat when I remember how I once naively took ฿10 000.- from an ATM outside the 7/11 near Nana Plaza. Nowadays I try to take my money at the local Bangkok Bank (BigC) where the ATM is virtually inside the bank. My credit card was swallowed by one of these 'outside a shop' ATMs and I couldn't get it back. I was without further cash for 8 days after that, my fault I know.

We get one very irregularly. I only wish we could see a list of programs available on our TV set.

Well, an electric fence will do it, accompanied by a yellow tape. One shock off of that (you can try it yourself, unpleasant but not dangerous or really painful), he won't go anywhere near a yellow tape again. A bit of a bind to set up though.

We have a small, aged, poodle. She has, up to now: eaten through (not bitten, eaten) a bamboo gate about three times. We put chicken wire behind that and most of it disappeared. We don't know how it was disposed of although she has been wincing when she goes for her morning walks. She also bit a hole in a plywood barrier. She wins, she sleeps indoors now. I am now building a dog pound with concrete blocks and chain link fencing,

Don't worry, they will have plenty of room (6 dogs!).

I walked to the market and back, mixed mortar and laid 40 breeze blocks. I washed my tools, and am now getting drunk. The concept of 'exercise' never entered into my way of life, I just work when I can. Picture from yesterday.

but he is talking about today... not yesterday. getting drunk is only exercise for your wrist and throat

yes, yes, the foto was from the then yesterday but I did the same thing every day up to today come to that. I earned good money as a landscape gardener. I did a lot of stuff that the client could very well have done himself and watched them drive off to the expensive fitness club. I never did get over my contempt for people that wouldn't do common labour in their own gardens 'what would the neighbours think?' and then spend even more money performing really stupid repetitive tasks on a tread mill or something. They were often contemptuous of me also, of course, and I made sure they paid for that. For 3 years I worked as a life saver at the local pool in the evenings and saw these guys coming in (swimming IS the best exercise going). I once got 'who do you think you are?' (a university graduate, actually), so I had the pleasure of throwing him out. Sorry, I'm ranting.

Now that's not funny. Wasn't there a report that one of the guys that died had reported a senior officer for corruption?

I haven't heard that... Got a source?

I couldn't find the original report but apparently it was, as so often in Thailand, not too precise. What I did find was this: http://koratfart.com/thailand-news/parachutes-fail-2-cadets-fall-to-death/

So you have a mixture of incompetence and possible malice. What else is new?

If it took you a year to read a stop sign then maybe it would have been better to give his method a try.

Yeah, I'm sure you learnt to read Thai in three weeks. Most Farangs I know don't even know where Krungtheep is.

I do learn three languages though, but that was 40 years ago, verstanden?

Yeah, I'd say roughly 3 weeks is about right. One week to learn the alphabet, one week to learn the consonant classes/tone rules/special rules, and one week of practicing. I couldn't read much after a few weeks but I could sound out easy signs like ยา, หยุด, กาแฟ etc.

I agree that most Farang don't know where Krungthep is but I don't see how that's relevant. Being able to read หยุด at all puts your knowledge above most Farang, but it taking you a year puts you near the bottom of students who have learned to read. I was merely suggesting that there might be more efficient methods available.

I've also studied 3 languages in my lifetime...is that supposed to be impressive? I certainly don't think so. Comprende?

Let's start again. I am 66 years old, that's why I said I learnt 2 new languages (simultaneously) 40 years ago. It was relatively easy then. I am trying, you see, but (almost but not quite) insulting people because they take a long time to learn a new alphabet at my age is a bit arrogant. We can't all be intellectual snobs geniuses and learn one of the more difficult languages in three weeks at my age.

Most Farangs don't know that there is a place in Thailand called Krungtheep because they can't read road signs, that's why it's relevant.

So I cancel my family holidays to Trat / Koh Koot?

The only cheese in Thailand you should buy is Vintage Mainland.

If it took you a year to read a stop sign then maybe it would have been better to give his method a try.

Yeah, I'm sure you learnt to read Thai in three weeks. Most Farangs I know don't even know where Krungtheep is.

I do learn three languages though, but that was 40 years ago, verstanden?

I know plenty of guys (including my late father) that don't want to discuss what happened in the wars. Some do, some don't.

Ferric sulphate works wonders if your soil and water are on the alkaline side of the pH scale. No idea of where to find it here.

... is worth a try also.

I'm sure that the guy's methods are ok as I tried his free introductory course a couple of times. I decided that I didn't like his way of teaching the Thai alphabet by assigning each letter to an object whose name in English began with that sound. So that's why some people won't like it as he correctly, in my view, starts with the alphabet.

My granddaughter (8 years old) teaches me now and I try to read car license plates and traffic signs every day. I took me a year to find out that the sign outside our village meant 'stop'.

eh? I have a number blocking process on my Android.

Most of these places are generally empty, following the Thai custom of copying what was maybe a good idea until there are too many. I stopped twice and was impolitely served with bad food both times. Maybe there is room for a decent and discrete service area correctly licensed and run, that would make sure that no competition threw up its shacks.

Blimey, I had a fit this month when we got a bill for ฿2100.-.

I am surprised to read a positive comment from you Krisb, but good luck to you.

It takes time.

I remember getting desperate when the place I was in sold hammers but didn't have any f#$%^ng nails! However after three years now, for a price I can generally find what I am looking for, I don't buy important stuff in BigC apart from baked beans. You need to find a mom and pop store that will look after you. There are many, many 'mai mee' shops and stores around (even if the requested product is just behind them), but there are places that give you 'Mai mee -- but we can find it for you'. I do occasionally travel from Buriram to Bangkok to get stuff from Thaicarpenter, Petberry or IKEA, paying a hotel plus the price that their stuff costs of course. I ask people coming back from Europe to bring me stuff. It is probably easier to do stuff like this in the provinces than it is in Bangkok, which seems counter intuitive initially. That's the way it is, if you don't like this....

By the way Thais don't buy expensive cars primarily because of reliability but, as do many Farangs here, to impress the neighbours and the police.

(Edit) PS: push brooms are the stupidest invention ever imposed on the population of this planet and I speak both as an ex- brush salesman ('Confessions of a brush Salesman' available soon) and someone that had to clean large areas regularly. Buy a leaf blower.

OK, do that. I wonder how you will add the P and K. Buying a packet of granulate fertiliser is much easier. I got my certificate as lawn professional around 1980 and never heard of anyone regularly fertilising a lawn this way, not saying that it isn't possible. I had a customer that foolishly applied a pure nitrogen fertiliser as you seem determined to do and we had big problems cutting that lawn and the customer thought that we were deliberately wasting time. .(The mower had to be really sharp and even then it was difficult). The effect wore off quickly.

I have done quick fixes with a high N liquid fertiliser to get a lawn looking nice for a wedding reception. I reckon that that that is all that fertilising like this is good for, up to you.