haha

I prefer an military solution, any thai roayl army generals

instead Mr. Toxin. I have spoken

I'm sure you don't want that to happen.

just imagine the consequences...

foreign investors would in fear take all their money out of the country.

the SET would skyrocket downwards.

the property market would collapse.

...is that really what you want to happen?

why can't you just let the guy do his job. he was elected by the people of thailand to serve the country for a set number of years. it's not like he is there forever.

frankly, I think thailand got lucky with this guy, thaksin. he's tough. and he is trying.

I salute the guy.

if you want to set up a mail box address in the states, check out the following 2 websites...

http://www.usglobalmail.com/default.asp

http://www.myus.com/

hope this info helps you out.

..happy memories.

That's a long commute from Bangna to collect the mail. Perhaps a bit closer, like Hanoi?

cv

not everybody has an address in the states. the websites I listed would allow you to provide a online address on the other end which would be very convenient - especially if you also have one here in thailand with which you could link the two together.

..does that make sense?

getting old. so, I'm not as good with explaining things. I try my best though.

happy memories...

if you want to set up a mail box address in the states, check out the following 2 websites...

http://www.usglobalmail.com/default.asp

http://www.myus.com/

hope this info helps you out.

..happy memories.

What are ppl's experience with receiving credit card payments? We have a registered business, but are finding this very tricky.

PayPal works OK, except we can't withdraw directly here.

We've tried Thaiepay, but it's problematic

Siam Commercial seems OK, but they're not accepting applications at present

Bangkok bank wants 5% commision and 14K set up fee!

Can any forum members recommend others? Ideally I'd like something that is suitable for shopping carts as well as letting me send invoices with a message field for customers.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

what I do...

link up paypal account with brokerage account via the brokerage checking account. when money goes into your paypal account, you can move it to your brokerage account. once the money is in your brokerage account, you can withdraw the money from any atm here in thailand using your brokerage atm card.

etrade allows unlimiited free atm withdrawals. ..they pay the fee charged by the other bank.

the key to this system is that you must be able to setup an etrade account. www.etrade.com

if you really need to work with a bank here in thailand, some brokerages in the states like fidelity provide free money transfers from a fidelity brokerage account to one outside bank account. I use to do this between fidelity and citibank. free wire transfers - fidelity calls this feature their "money transfer" service. but it takes 3 to 4 days for the transfer to complete.

hopes this info helps you out...

here is what I do...

before I came over, I setup a "personal" paypal account using my american express card. then, I linked up my paypal to my fidelity brokerage account using my brokerage checking account.

personal paypal accounts are allowed to transfer money to one another for free.

also, fidelity allows you to linked up one outside account with free wire transfers.

this setup allows me to transfer money back and forth between paypal and brokerage - for free.

to withdraw money from my brokerage account, I use the atm card that is connected to my brokerage account. (I'm allowed 3 free atm withdrawals per month.)

there you have it. my system.

if you want to receive income from another party, just ask them to setup a "personal paypal account".

..works for me.

I know many people have horror stories about paypal. ..just be careful of scam email, and you should be ok. never give your passwords out to anybody. even to emails that sound legit.

also, you might also want to consider etrade as your brokerage. they do unlimited free atm withdrawals, and have free billpay too.

My real concern for hiding my relationship is financial. Having a business means I need customers and there is no doubt that I have attracted many students purely on my looks and personality. I’ve had numerous girls join my classes and have tried so hard to flirt with me. Girls and gay guys are the ones who take learning English the most seriously. I would say 80% of my students are girls, 17% gay guys and 3% straight. The look is very important to Thais, and no matter how shallow it maybe, I have used it to my advantage to get students through the door. I have no doubt that this has also helped me a great deal at the private school where I also teach.

I agree with the advice given by scott and toptuan. I try to ignore most of the gossip though I did take exception to one Thai teacher who had obviously told the parents of an 8 year old that I was gay. One Saturday she came to class and mentioned the school where I teach and she asked my Thai assistant if I was gay because khun so and so said I was. I felt so angry and upset that this female teacher would say such a thing to the parents. I went to school on Monday and complained to the admin. On questioning the teacher she, of course, denied everything. Although nothing was done I did feel better and at least this Thai teacher and others knew I had complained about her.

So I know I have a choice, as we all do, to remain closeted, discreet or open. I’m sure my situation will change in time as the business grows stronger and students join classes because of my teaching abilities or other factors other than looks. I can see this happening now so hopefully it won’t be too long before I can walk to a restaurant with my b/f by my side, sit and enjoy a meal, and all without worrying who’s in there or who’s going to walk in.

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if you can afford it, you should consider living in san francisco. being gay or bi there is no big deal. I lived there for about 20 years, and being gay or bi is no different from being asian or white. it is mostly accepted.

personally, I'm straight, but many of my friends in san francisco are gay, or bi.

we all meet on www.tribe.net.

a story...

one of my best friends is bi. when I first met him, I was sort of wary of him. originally from the state of oregon, I never met people who were non-straight. this guy helped me get many job contracts. not because he was attracted to me, but because he was just a nice person at heart.

anyway, his girlfriend is bi too. makes for an interesting relationship. he is into the swinging crowd in california.

his girlfriend came down with cancer a few years ago. and instead of pining about it, my buddy lined up guys so suzie could be fully occupied with getting orgasms during what they thought would be her last year on this planet.

I know it may sound sort of weird. but I never seen so much love in a relationship in my whole life.

thank buddha. suzie survived her bout with cancer and is still alive and kicking.

yeah. I think you would love san francisco. but then what do I know? everybody is different. you need to find out things for yourself.

happy memories....

From Stickman's weekly: December 18 2005

A very nasty fight broke out in the Nana Hotel car park on Monday night and eye witness reports have it that a farang had the crap beaten out of him by a Thai.  He was hit a few times and fell to the ground where he was pounded until unconscious.  Medical help was sought and he was hauled into an ambulance and rushed away for treatment.  But the story does not end there and the usual story of perpetrator just disappear away into the crowd was not to be...  The thug ran across the road, and misjudging his getaway was hit by a car!  And in what turned out to be poetic justice, he was hurt so badly that he couldn't get up!  The boys in brown were soon on the scene and the thug was duly arrested and taken away to the local cop shop where he had a lot of explaining to do.  The motorbike boys on the corner of soi 4, themselves a hard bunch, were shaking their heads at what this guy had done, saying that he went way too far.  The rumour mill has it that the farang died, but this is something I have been unable to confirm at this stage.

Does anyone have any additional information about this?

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I didn't see the actual incident, but was there about 5 minutes after it happened. I saw the guy laying on the street. about 3 vehicles from the hospital came to pick him up.

later that night, while hanging out with some friends, I saw some farangs looking at some motorcycles parked in the nana hotel parking lot. out of curiousity, I asked them what they were looking for. 2 of the guys told me that the motorcycle they were looking at was the motorcycle of the guy who beat up the farang. are you sure? I asked. they said yes. they pointed to a crack in the motorcycle where he ran into the guy. I said really?

I then asked if they had seen the face of the guy who hit the guy. they replied yes. 2 police came by on motorcycles, and the 3 guys reported this info to the police. curious to see who the owner of the motorcycle might be, I waited for about 30 minutes. but nobody came.

got hungry so went to get a snack. when I got back, the motorcycle was gone. as were the 3 guys, and the police.

that's all I know.

oh. one last thing. the number on the motorcycle license plate was 2443.

does anyone know if the injured guy is ok?

I didn't know the guy personally. but I used to see him walk up and down the streets every now and then. he always liked to wear suits whereever he went.

...someone told me that the police know who did it because the person left the premises without retrieving their ID.

..just a matter of time.

oh. forgot to mention...

back in the states, I used to eat a lot of wheat based stuff like bread and never had any problems. so, I'm thinking it may be the wheat here.

something about the wheat here that is different from the wheat in the states. ..maybe how it is processed?

just guessing...

doesn't matter to me anymore anyway. I'm off of eating wheat stuff here now.

are you experiencing stomach aches or indigestion?

the reason I ask is because at times I experience this indigestion that seems to never stop.

...one day, I discussed the matter with some friends, and they suggested I stop eating "wheat products".

...something about yeast.

also, when you stop eating wheats, also stop eating sugar based products like sodas which feed the yeast.

I did this last week, and get this, my extreme indigestion disappeared. just like that.

I'm eating a lot of rice-based stuff, vegetables, and fruits now. drink only water and milk.

my friend mentioned something called "candida".

so, I looked it up on www.curezone.com. interesting reading...

especially the sections on parasite cleansing and liver flushes.

rodney dangerfield knows the answer to that question.

..but seriously, I'm trying to lose weight too. I figure I need to lose about 10 kgs. it's my new years resolution.

lose 20 lbs of ugly fat without having to cut off my head.

it's not easy.

my feet hurt when I run more than 1 mile. so, running 5 miles a day is out of the question.

...maybe stay away from thaivisa for a while, go for long walks instead?

I gather you are trying to make about 100k baht income per year from about 40k dollars, right?

if so, have you considered investing in stocks that consistently pay out dividends in the 8% range?

40k dollars x 8% will get you about 3k dollars in dividends per year.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Please, please tell me more about these stocks that pay 8% dividends.

Where are they?

Russia? In your dreams?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

there are several. here are just a few I have been reading about...

ARCC, FBR, TNH, TWTUF, AW-UN.TO, BPF-UN.TO

RYN is a good one too but it only makes about 5% dividend.

that it. no more free info from me. I pay for this info.

if you want more info, just subscribe to the "12% letter" on www.stansberryresearch.com

how in the h#ll does someone get 20,000 posts????

you would have to live on Thaivisa 24/7 or have a twin, right?

Thaivisa 24/7 would drive me up the wall. ugh!

...I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy.

500 posts? I think I might be able to get there in my lifetime.

Low Cost Housing built by RTAF for the Tsunami relief. Price tag without labour and land is Baht 130,000.00

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

130k baht? can a foreigner buy one of those? install an air/con, dedicated phone line and weather-proof the house.

..would beat a studio anyday.

I gather you are trying to make about 100k baht income per year from about 40k dollars, right?

if so, have you considered investing in stocks that consistently pay out dividends in the 8% range?

40k dollars x 8% will get you about 3k dollars in dividends per year.

of course, there are no guarantees in life.... the price of the stock could go down. but then, that is a choice you would have to make - and live with.

www.stansberryresearch.com offers some financial advice that might help you in selecting stocks in the category described above.

just got back from pattaya.. any food left?

I saw the water container that teeters back and forth for sale at a big C recently. as for the hand pumps, I saw some at some department store in Ban Mo district of bangkok a few months ago. can't remember the name but remember the store was in a small shopping mall with a McDonalds in Ban Mo.

..thinking of getting one of those pumps too. so, when I relocate the place to get one for myself, will let you know.

if the "Nation" newspaper wants someone perfect as a leader, they could pray to buddha and see what happens.

..seems to me that thaksin has done a pretty good job especially with all the hard decisions that he has had to make.

the country seems to be prospering...

as for human rights...

chuwit is still alive. wouldn't you call that an inprovement?

just curious...

is the christmas party on christmas day? also, what time?

last, but not least....

is it one of those "eat slow at your own risk" type of parties where you need to fight off fellow TV members to get any food?

solar technology seems to be increasing with leaps and bounds. I found this following article interesting...

http://www.solarserver.de/index-e.html#world

..just found these new websites on the topic of solar power.

http://www.chasepower.net/

http://www.homepower.com/links/other.cfm

I did some research on solar power some time back. if you do a search, maybe you can find the thread.

I still have some links to some websites on the topic..

http://www.alpinesurvival.com/system1swd.htm

http://www.scottevest.com/

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18424786.000

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2004Dec/...41217028313.htm

http://www.solonmover.com/english/projekte/lproj.php

http://www.solarairportlights.com/content/...ls/Default.aspx

haven't looked at the latest developments.

I seemed to remember some vendors who sold systems that could provide electricity for whole house. ..even power your air-conditioners. but costed like 20k dollars.

if you want more links, let me know. I have about 30 links on the topic in my bookmarks.

After reading the responses for the party, I believe that very few people will join the party. So Please vote and all of us know the tentative attendance.

Cheerz.

P.S. I will surely be there (if everything is ok  )

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This is what happened the last time. Not everyone will post saying they are coming. The last time was a decent turn out. BTW i'll be there. So polls can be deceiving. Rest assured there will be quite a few there. Since FREE booze is involved.

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free booze??? really????

how about free food? will there be free food?

..just curious.

doing a google search for no-fee ATM, I found out that several internet banks provide no minimum balance checking accounts with no-fee ATM service.

in particular, if I am correct - www.netbank.com offers the above with their net value checking account.

I don't have any accounts with any internet banks. so, I don't know how reliable they actually are. it will be up to you to check this out.

as I see it, if someone in the states opened up an account with one of these internet banks, they could deposit money into it. and then someone overseas with the atm card could withdraw the money "for free" as long as the local atm was on the cirrus network.

check it out, and let us know if it is legit.

my 2 cents...

I think most people criticize when they are frustrated about something.

it is normal for people from other countries to criticize things in a country that is not their home. everything is new to them, and they get frustrated.

when I first started traveling the world back in 1979, I recall myself criticizing things whereever I went whether it was the uk, china, italy, etc.

as I got older and more accustomed to traveling, I learned to be more tolerant and understanding of things in the world.

I think one of the most important things I have learned over the years is that the more time you spend being unhappy, the less time you have being happy.

at age 52, I calculate I may have only about 20 years to live. and of those 20 years, about 7 years is asleep leaving only 13 years of active living.

only 13 years left..

am I going to spend most of that valuable time complaining about the world????

no way, jose.

... to happy memories.