Ajarn

Sorry but that is absolutely nonsense John B Good. I don't know what people your respected friend associates herself with.  I went to Regina Coeli school for 10 years and upon graduation one girl in a class of 160 wasn't a virgin (we were 15, now we are 30).  Most of my friends remained so until marriage, many others were involved with boyfriends, a few were kept, but considering we are 160 middle class women, I would say less than 5% of these girls have gone on in life to do something we all consider a bit dodgy - mostly mia noy, only one a prostitute.

To say that most girls in CMU are on the game is just utter ignorance.  Its farang men with this attitude that so annoys us Thais.  Sure, many are, but the numbers you cite are just way out of porportion.  Believe it or not, Thai society does not condone this behaviour, so its hardly a good career move.  Only two types at CMU hook 1. the desperate, 2. the shallow and vain who want a better lifestyle.  The majority are decent women trying to get an education.

A very well educated and well informed Thai teacher who I am friend's with told me that 'absolutely, at least 40% of Payap girls are hooking in their spare time'. That I believe

Why does it seem like common sense is being tossed out the window with some of you guys? Which head are some of you guys using to think up this stuff?

How is this teacher going to know ABSULUTELY that at least 40% of Payap girls are hooking???

A totally ridiculous statement. The ONLY way this could possibly make sense would be if your teacher friend is the one using the 40%+ students himself...This is obviously bullshit, as is the statement from your teacher friend

Look, a very well educated and well informed THAI teacher who has been involved with a number of universities in Chiang Mai for nearly 10 years on a full time basis estimates that 40% are hooking. So maybe its 30%. Maybe its 50%. I found this a bit surprising myself until I asked my Thai friends what they thought and they guessed in the 50% range.

Why do you find this so hard to believe? If it was said of CMU or Mahidol, okay, its obviously bullshit, but Payap and a number of other uni's across the whole country are a different story. Are you in denial? Why do I get the feeling that you either teach at Payap or have a GF who attends?

Look, I taught full time in Thai schools for 16 years, mostly in universities, including CMU and Payap. I am no more an authority on percentages of student prostitutes than your friend... As I said, there is ONLY one way for your friend to know ABSOLUTELY.

Some bullshit is easy to see if your eyes are open....And just because a Thai person has an opinion doesn't mean they have any more of a clue than you. Tons of bullshit flies around among people who don't a clue, but still have an opinion

Oh, apologies for the crack about thinking with your penis. I'm sure it didn't help you to see things my way, and I would like you to 'get it'...

isn't there also a dairy opposite to the zoo on Huay Kaew Rd?

Yeah, Thai-German Dairy, across from the zoo... One of the first places you could find cheddar and mozzarela some years ago...Mae Kasem, I think, still gets her cheese from there. Delicious homemade ice cream, too, as I remember...

Sorry but that is absolutely nonsense John B Good. I don't know what people your respected friend associates herself with.  I went to Regina Coeli school for 10 years and upon graduation one girl in a class of 160 wasn't a virgin (we were 15, now we are 30).  Most of my friends remained so until marriage, many others were involved with boyfriends, a few were kept, but considering we are 160 middle class women, I would say less than 5% of these girls have gone on in life to do something we all consider a bit dodgy - mostly mia noy, only one a prostitute.

To say that most girls in CMU are on the game is just utter ignorance.  Its farang men with this attitude that so annoys us Thais.  Sure, many are, but the numbers you cite are just way out of porportion.  Believe it or not, Thai society does not condone this behaviour, so its hardly a good career move.  Only two types at CMU hook 1. the desperate, 2. the shallow and vain who want a better lifestyle.  The majority are decent women trying to get an education.

A very well educated and well informed Thai teacher who I am friend's with told me that 'absolutely, at least 40% of Payap girls are hooking in their spare time'. That I believe

Why does it seem like common sense is being tossed out the window with some of you guys? Which head are some of you guys using to think up this stuff?

How is this teacher going to know ABSULUTELY that at least 40% of Payap girls are hooking???

A totally ridiculous statement. The ONLY way this could possibly make sense would be if your teacher friend is the one using the 40%+ students himself...This is obviously bullshit, as is the statement from your teacher friend

Very nice person that Francois, met him at the meeting the last time I was in Chiang Mai. Hope all goes well for him and his wife. Kringle

Agreed. Good man, nice family. Thailand could certainly benefit from farangs like Francois.

He told me he wanted to stay here, but making money, and considerations about education for his daughter forced the move back to France.

I hope things work out so that he can move back here

1. I am not talking about 18k. I am talking about 24k thai gold.

I have not bought any gold in Thailand in about 10 years but I have never heard of the gold shops stamping their pieces.

Yes, I would agree that maybe you should not buy gold in Thailand....The safest customer is an informed customer.

No such thing as 24K Thai gold, in my experience. About 22K is the standard, as far as I know.

Almost every shop has their own stamp, and that's the way it's done here. It's protection for the shop and for you. Not all pieces are automatically stamped, so one needs to inquire....Some shops will only buy back pieces with a stamp, preferably their own...

(This is the stamp from the oldest gold shop in Worwarot market. Located in the main out-of-town Songthaew parking area, behind the police booth)

My wife said you should never buy gold in Thailand , that it is mixed to much with impurities to add to the weight. If it is possible wait until you are in the states.

Chicago's gold stores are pretty decent. She also said that the Thai gold/pawn  shops will give you more money for gold that was bought in the U.S. On the other hand the gold shops in Chicago do not really want gold that was bought in thailand. They will take it but the will not give you what you paid for it. If you have to buy gold in thailand stay away from the shops near beach road in Pattaya. They are famous for ripping off tourist with mixed gold and charging your credit card with excessive amounts.

I must disagree....I've sold some US 18k to a Thai goldshop...they do NOT prefer American 18k gold, which is of a lower purity than Thai 22k gold....Not sure how the buying price compared, but it seemed reasonable at the time.

I also disagree with your wife's ideas about buying gold in Thailand...Maybe she thinks 'better safe than sorry'... All I can say is, I have never heard of anyone being ripped off in a gold shop...Also, most gold shops stamp their pieces. This is your best guarantee.

One caveat....There are plenty of street sellers and small shops selling gold plate, so buyer beware, but I seriously doubt you'll have such a problem with any established gold shop that stamps its pieces.

In the case of Dave Arthur, he did get set up from the group that is there, once Dave found out their true dealings, and this group was also under investigation. So in turn they themselves toss the buck right back on Dave's lap and got him out of there before he revealed to the authorities of those involved in Chiang Mai.

Sounds like you are simply quoting David A.... How do you know what happened? Got any facts?

What about a good Thai massage? I used to use chiropractors in The States for my sciatica, but the relief was always only temporary, if it even helped.....When I came here, I went to Rinkaew Povich...After the first time, the back and leg pain was noticeably lessened. After the second time, it was gone. Up to that point, I had suffered reoccurring sciatica for most of 20 years...

It has been almost 20 years since my visits to Rinkaew Povich, and I have never had sciatica again...

Rinkaew Povich is in the old CM Hospital complex....Another place for a great Thai massage is Lek Chaiya, who's been doing Thai massage longer than any other practioner in CM...Her shop is where the Easy Diner used to be.

Watch her sharp elbows, though.

Others are involved in private clubs in Chiang Mai where children are freely available. A charity founded ostensibly to help hill tribe families is known to recruit children for prostitution

What is this 'charity'? Where are they located? Have the authorities been advised? What was their response?

For an 'investigative' report, there is a lot missing.

> especially for the naked swimmers among us...

I wish you hadn't said that..    Tried to yank the 'imagination' module from my brain but was too late. 

I know the feeling!

Here's a different, more artistic perspective for your module.....

Good deal.. Unless of course it refers to some swimming pool inside the housing estate compound..

Rental houses with swimming pools are rare, and would normally command an insane rent. Which would be silly, like: House A: 10,000 baht. House A + furniture + swimming pool: 25,000 baht. .. right. Swimming pools aren't THAT expensive to dig and install.

A pool that is properly constructed will cost you at least 500,000 baht if you don't do it yourself (one local company charges 600,000 for the cheapest model) . That could be a fairly high percentage of your home's building cost..

(Requires maintenance though, chlorine chemicals, etc, etc. It's a bit of a hassle and other than the 'look at me with my own swimming pool'-factor you might as well use the semi-public pool your housing estate.. :-)

How often do you think they change the water in those public pools? Once a week? Once a month?......How about NEVER?

Chemicals are used to deal with water sanitation issues. Extremely dangerous chemicals, too, like Chlorine...Also, a number of deaths occur each year from infections caused by poor maintenance of public pools...In a waterpark in the States last year, 20 people got sick and 2 people died in one instance....

A pool is a luxury, but for some, it is literally a lifesaver to their health, and a public pool is not a practical option- especially for the naked swimmers among us...

Saw this housing ad today. If real, it sounds like a helava deal...

House with swimmingpool for cheap rent

Date

06-08-2004

By Kan

Email

[email protected]

City / Location

Sansai..Chiangmai

Phone

09 759 47 37

Description

one soty house with 200 s.q.wa of land just 4 k.m. from downtown in the north of Chiangmai. 3 bedrooms,2 toilet, 2 livingrooms,kitchen and dinningroom, 2 car parking,separate mate room with toilet,terrace with waterfall and spring,garden and big swimmingpool. full of furniture = 2 aircon,hot water,setty,fridge,gas stove,wardrop,sidebord,telephone ,dinnig table set,desk.clean,quiet,and only 200 mettres from the main road. Only for quick decision,because we will give now only 10,000 B. per month < yes only 10,000 B. for very quick person.> contact ..call Kan 09 759 47 37

Since i am now onine a lot i was wondering if there are better deals out there than what im paying? I am paying 400 baht(actually 387/discount) for 40 hour from Inet-easy I like it because its not that 1222 number because thats hard to logon to after 4pm.

Any better deals out there?-R

One important consideration regarding cheap fees is how fast your connection is, and how much downtime you average- and all the services have downtime...

Also, some servers will continue to charge you even after you've hung up...They don't always reset properly, and you wouldn't know unless you tried to log in again, before the server was reset (assuming your ISP only allows one login at a time)....Loxinfo had some problems like this last year....

I pay 9 baht per hour with Loxinfo, and I still feel they have the best service and techs, overall. Whenever I've had a problem or issue, They have taken care of it to my satisfaction. I am online over 350 hours per month, all with Loxinfo.

In the past, whenever I've tried the other cheaper deals, I figured they ended up costing me more than lox, what with the disconnects, slow speeds, long periods of downtime...

If someone can find better service than Lox, I'd sure like to know about it, too.

It's hardly metered when you pay 30 baht for the first 2 km's and way above Bangkok rates.

Doesn't metered refer to that little box in the car that calculates the fare according to a charge scale.

Incidently if BKK is 35Baht flag fall fee, i just got out of one and it is how comes CM at 30 baht is "way above"??

Curious

CT

I guess that you might have a point.

But then in Bangkok the scammers are often very reluctant to turn their meters on. By your analogy "yes they have a little black box, so they must be metered taxis. What do you call them when they refuse (leastaways attempt) not to turn the meter on. I guess you could call it a metered taxi with the meter not being used. Like I say you might have a point.

Maybe if you're really a thai girl (which I somehow doubt) they might "switch on" but on my recent trip to Bangkok the criminal calling himself a taxi drive wanted 600 Baht to go to town. I told him in very clear terms that even the thickest Thai would understand "to go &lt;deleted&gt; himself". My taxi with meter on cost around 275 Baht.

This example is not an isolated case.

As a former Yellow cab driver in San Francisco, I can sure undestand BKK taxi drivers preferring to flat-fare a customer, especially a farang. There are plenty of farangs who do accept such offers, so, frankly, why wouldn't a Bkk driver make that pitch first? Thais are opportunists, so some might say the driver would be foolish to use the meter if the customer agrees with his flat fare rate....Business is business na'?

But, speaking rude Thai with a taxi driver is not a good idea....Just say 'Mai Aow' and close the door....Your life will likely stay intact. I would never insult a driver, then get in his cab for a ride...

I just called them. Empower doesn't do housecalls unless you bought the computer from them...Nor would they suggest anyone else...

Back to the drawing board.

Any suggestions for someone who can do house calls would be appreciated. Taking my machine to a shop is not an option.

I would suggest a two pronged approach 

1.  You need to get up and running again.

2.  You likely want to salvage as much as possible from your sick C drive.

To save some time, I'd actually go get the screwdriver and make whichever of your 4 remaining drives is the newest/biggest your new C drive.  Have Windows XP installed on that one.  This is a perfect job for any computer shop, like Empower, which they can do rather cheaply. Think 300 baht.  And on the plus side, you're up and running again in a day.

Then for your sick C drive, I'd put it in another computer (as a D, E, whatever drive) and see if it can be revived from coma.  This could be a separate job.. Depending on the value of the data on it you can decide how much effort/money you want to spend on that.    Then again, it may be easier and some disk utility tool can bring it back in 10 seconds.  With these things you never know in advance if it will take 10 seconds or 10 hours..

Good luck!

Cheers,

Chanchao

You read my mind

I suspect that the problem might lie with the IDE controller, since I've had the same error messages on another machine...Sometimes it works fine, sometimes not...

My plan is to put drive c in another machine (not the one above) and see whether the data can be read. If it can, then I know to focus on the controller, or something else...

But this time, the screwdriver will hopefully be from Empower, and not another clueless idiot like the other guy- or me

Thanks for your your useful advice, chanchao

on start up goto bios b4 u hit windows then reinstall from d drive ur windows disc, if ur disc is partitioned reinstall windows to ur partition then boot up from there and find out wot is wrong with ur c drive, its probably a virus but u can get all the updates to ur partitioned drive then use that to check ur c drive.

ps u will not need a screw driver to do this lol

Yes, I do want to install XP on drive D, rather than drive C as before. Drive D is not on the same harddrive as C. There are 5 harddrives, totaling 300 gigabytes.

When I tried to install XP on Drive D, it told me it couldn't read drive c, and I would need to reformat C before I could install XP on D...

This isn't really my forte'. ..

If someone could walk me through the process of installing on D and avoiding C all together, I'd be grateful.

Like, what do I need to change to bypass drive c, or change c to d, and vice versa..?

Is there such a thing as a good one in CM?

I seriously doubt it...

I just got finished with another time waster. My computer crashed, and I couldn't enter Windows, so I called for a tech this AM. They said 1 pm.... 4 pm is when he shows (after 2 more phone calls)

Guy shows up, but with only a screwdriver....Not even a set of discs with drivers and programs in case of some damaged drivers or maybe a reinstall....

Turns my computer off and on for about 15 minutes, always coming up to the same error screen...... Is he thinking? He shows no sign exept for the brain activity need to repeat the same actions forever...

Then the screwdriver comes out. Looks around inside the case for a few minutes and then closes the box...

More turning on the computer.....same same, and the same...

"Pen Aray?"

"Mai Nae"

"Saum dai mai?"

"Kit waa, mai dai, krap"

Krap is right

And I am asked to pay 500 baht for the service because I don't want to send my computer to the shop( kiss my ass) . My com is waaay too open, sorry to say now. No way would I send my com with all my online banking passwords, as well as the little cookie file which allows me to auto-log onto my online stock trading board.... Of course, things will change after this..I've been enjoying a trouble free computer for more than a year, and I got waay too sloppy.

But, that still leaves me in this bind of not knowing a truly reliable Com Guy to help me, now, and afterwards...

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Especially someome who you've used more than once...

WE TV has Fox News. Fair and Balanced and easy to watch 24 hours straight. It really gives you a lot to think about when whipping up a post for The Bear-Pit.

They also have their own English movie channel which is much like HBO, but more recent movies. The Adventure channel, some English music channels. A really good Thai music channel ( I usually don't appreciate Thai pop, but this one mostly plays good songs), and a bunch of other stuff.

Pretty good for 300 baht.

Fox TV news Fair and Balanced? That's the first time I've ever heard that said about Fox News, except as a joke

Admittedly, I haven't ever seen it...

Cable service? Who's the supplier? I'd be interested in learning more.

WEtv. But its available in very select areas only. I live inside the moat very close to Chiang Mai Ram and we've been waiting for them to lay the cables for over a year. I think Huay Kaew is the main avenue.

I have 2 friends in Chang Puak and Santitam with cable.

Well, I've learned a lot more than I ever knew about cilantro/coriander/pakchii tonight. Lots of different names and types all over the world, and many confusions about the names, too, it seems..

Here, I think, is the most complete info...

http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/eng...l?Cori_sat.html

I have no dictionary, but I think 'Huay' (Kham Muang) is the word I see used for 'creek' or other such small waterway (huaykaew= 'Crystal Creek' in western cowboy speak) smaller than a river, and in a more natural area.....I think

I think that if the small waterway was in an urban area, it's called Nam Muang (central Thai) or just Klong...

Any corrections would be appreciated

Ajarn,

That posted photo is what my wife et al Thais I know call "Pakchee Jeen".

Sorry, My wife just scolded me and said this is a pic of "Pakchee Lao"

Now it is Pak Chee Lao, I think. It's what I like to use, and what I call Mexican cilantro

And here is Vietnamese cilantro.

And Mexican cilantro...

And Humbolt cilantro

Finally, the only one that so far hasn't confused me here, Parsley..

Are we completely confused yet? Or completely clear?

I always thought "Pakchee Farang" was Parsley and "Pakchee Jeen" was Cilantro, is this correct? 

Yes, but opposite references, I believe...

This post has been edited by Ajarn on Thu 2004-06-03, 09:29:41

And, now, a photo!

Maybe a local clown college has an extra one..