JaiRaiJaiDee

The Solo hotel is built only a few years ago. Great place, boutique style again, nice roof top pool and happy hour cocktails.

Have nothing but good things to say about hotel solo. My go-to spot in Bangkok past couple years when coming as a visitor.

iPhone.

So have you identified the rider who was clean in those races, who should be given the titles?

I imagine he's the same bloke that has never exceeded the speed limit.

SC

1999 Fernando Escartín

2000-02 Joseba Beloki

2003 Haimar Zubeldia

2004 Andreas Klöden

2005 Francisco Mancebo

I'm not sure if they've ever sped, but they haven't been declared drug cheats.

Well, let's see after a seven year witch-hunt.

SC

Well, lets see - there's the Irish woman who drove for the team and talked about the cheating - Armstrong called her a whore and sued her. Then there's David Walsh who talked about the cheating - also sued, slandered, and lost career opportunities after being targeted by the Armstrong team.

There seems to have been a very real code of media a$$ licking when it came to Armstrong in the past - the real witch hunts were the ones initiated by him to cover up the blatant con. Amazing what you can do when you exploit cancer survivor status for personal gain. Working in hospitals you see it on a small scale often.

Couldn't be happier to see the arrogant b@stard unmasked.

http://sportsillustr...rong/index.html

Christophe Bassons - the real yellow jersey winner.

http://en.wikipedia....istophe_Bassons

I wonder if the forum software will let me delete 153 posts as being 'off topic'

How would you choose them? Presumably you'd want something that would delete any further posts added as well, when they were added.

"Your reply has been posted and deleted"

SC

You would need to choose the off topic posts that are on topic in this off topic thread, once you find the on off topic posts you could then delete them, but since this is an off topic thread you would need to first find the off topic posts that were on topic before deleting the off topic posts that are not on topic in this off topic thread.

Anyone else dizzy?

Sent from my GT-I9003

I normally dont like to do this but by addressing the topic you ate blatantly OT dear sir. And that, unfortunately, is a flagrant violation of TV decorum. Will have to report this to proper authorities. It could even go on your permanent record.

iPhone.

Purchased the Google Nexus 7 when it was released for 199 USD and have been pleased with it. Had I known a 32GB version would be released a couple months later at comparable price would've held out, that said - it's fast and efficient with most apps. (There were a couple more obscure android apps intended for smartphones that didn't translate as well to the tablet - tried and removed them). You can access apps tweaked for the device through google play or utilize the amazon android app store. I'm not a 'watch movies on a laptop/phone' guy, but was in a position last night where I needed to kill time - watched 'the town,' and 'bladerunner' back to back and the resolution was fantastic. Still had battery left to go into evernote and do some work. I still can't type as fast on ANY tablet as I can on a laptop. So be it.

Ps. Nothing against the iPad mini, the machine I use most is a MacBook Air. Just need to diversify a little as an amateur layman. Now to replace xp with ubuntu on the old lapop and the trifecta will be complete.

4. Why do farangs drink so much alcohol? They always seem to be drunk

Remember being surprised my first time to Thailand at what a heavy drinking culture it was. Granted folks aren't walking around in a blackout, but social drinking is a cornerstone of the culture (and I certainly partake on occasion). My first email to friends I told them they put the Irish to shame.

My response to your high class pals would be that there is good/bad (depending on your perspective) everywhere, followed up with the comment I typically reserve for Thai bashers - clean up your own backyard before you go knocking on your neighbor's door. Not that there isn't elements of truth in the observations, mind you.

http://www.pbic.tu.ac.th/main/content/thai-studies-program

Was originally going to use the one year Thai Studies program at Thammasat but opted not to for various reasons. Haven't seen any in depth reviews of the program.

Hmmm, well, that's all clear now.

Good thread sarcasm aside. Had a similar question on the subject. It sounds like (most things) - context is the crucial defining element.

I am very concened at the price of fish, so can anyone tell me where I can buy a bicycle.

My expat neighbor Kevin, who used to own a Beer Bar in Pattaya, bought a red bull singlet at the night market while looking for the fish stall. That singlet was too tight on him. When his gik saw it she became bisexual. He went on a pisser at his old bar and refused to pay the bill.

This is Thailand.

iPhone.

Don't they offer safari packages now to the farang-geti plains?

iPhone.

Thanks, checked thread a little after posting and saw four replies. Good enough. Went down to AAA a few moments later on lunch break and picked up the IDP. Was very easy. See more replies nowj also recommending the Thai DL - will look at that also once I'm on the ground next month. Will be on a non-immigrant Visa through Jan 2014, maybe longer, not sure how much driving I'll be doing. Probably not much, but you never know how things are gonna pan out.

Thanks for all the good input.

Member of AAA and considering getting their International Driver Permit before taking off next month for a year long stint in Thailand. Does it have any value in Thailand? Worth getting?

Thanks.

The "I've been offended and will never post here again" brigade. Followed soon after by the "got another email address and new forum ID, ready to start posting" brigade.

The 'condemn all other brigades' brigade.

I know this isn't a music post, but to say that the Beatles were overated deserved a response. Sgt. Pepper changed the face of pop music as we knew it. It was absolutely revolutionary, and most people who are old enough to remember know where they were the first time they heard it. I know I was absolutely gob smacked. It set a benchmark that all other groups at the time strived to match.

I know the Beatles are sacred ground to many, and there's no doubt they exerted tremendous influence over pop music on an international level. I don't even *really* dislike them, just stirring the pot a bit. Even own Abbey Road. But I do think they had this Euro-folksy influence pervasive in their music, and prefer the stronger rhythmic influences of blues. Would sell my soul to have been able to see the Stones or Led Zeppelin in the 60s/70s, and am envious of that generation. "Gimme Shelter" was one of the most played songs (on cassette, had to rewind, what a pain) on the first Sony Walkman my parents bought me in the 80s, and it's still in heavy rotation on the ipod today.

There has been a decline in American pop music, sad. Hopefully not permanent.

Sorry to OP to go off topic (and thanks for the 'like' pigeon jake)

The Yanks lost in the British Invasion thread though ;-)

Are you trying to say that The Beatles, the Stones and Led Zeppelin were better than the Chuck Berry and Beach Boys?

Dreadfully sorry luv, are you really inferring that The Beatles, Stones, and Zeppelin are better than John Coltrane, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonius Monk?

The Beatles. Most over-rated group (with the exception of John Lennon) in the history of mankind. Pop music still suffers from the <deleted> level they took it to.

But I digress.

Ps. Right now in Los Angeles CA. Nov 2012 to Jan 2014 in Bangkok. After that, don't know. Not sure I'm qualified for either category.

Took a Thai course at a Wat in my own country, the instructor was giving us simple statements and having us relay them back to her in Thai (my house is near the train station, I would like 3 shirts, etc.). She asked one fella who was always cracking jokes to tell the guy next to him that he spoke good Thai and was a good student. He immediately retorted to the teacher in a manner that was clearly lighthearted and joking: "kun dting dtong?"

So, she stopped the class and gave a fairly good explanation of appropriateness. Wish I would've taped it. She basically said it's not polite outside of friends. And, her and her friends would put it in different ways (in other words, she never says it). It could make you look juvenile, and it could possibly offend - though people would likely get the gist. But her overall point was - don't get too casual dropping it around strangers.

It was something that had obviously come up before, and she put a little thought into.

Good place to set up camp for a month or more while you hunt: http://www.sitaraplace.com/

Can try looking here: http://en.9apartment.com/

Really, I mean, if you don't NEED Office, it is an overblown and really overpriced piece of software.

6,340 baht for Word, Excel and PowerPoint with a 2 1/2 star rating from users. Just try the free option first. LibreOffice.

LibreOffice looks interesting, I'll have to read up on it a little. I use a combo of OpenOffice Writer and Google Docs -- loaded on both an old Acer Aspire with Win 7 and a new (yippee, bday present to self) MacBook air. No problem working with Word Docs brought home from work, but I don't publish in any professional sense either.

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Some of us have learned that despite 25+ year marriages, you just can't trust your wife.

Blame it on my bad judgment, blame it on the sort of woman I married (middle class UK school-teacher).

But it happens, and it happens fairly often. Are you so sure your judgment is better?

Sometimes paranoia is the healthy and sensible life option for men.

Yeah, marriage is a man made institution, and though it's been adopted in every day secular life it's also still in many ways a religious one. A large percentage of my acquaintances marriages wouldn't fall into the category of 'happy.' No ill will towards people that do have a good one, but I'm skeptical that it's the norm and there's certainly no mandate in nature towards marriage. One could certainly make the case against pledging yourself to another person for a lifespan. People and relationships change.

In other words I kinda agree. .

Someone else speculated that it was possible that the victim could've been some sort of shady character or abusive, and the evidence was the fact that he was shot to induce pain and a prolonged death. Anything is possible, but this kind of speculation is in bad taste and disrespectful to the dead. Not cool. If you take even a cursory glance at history you'll see it full of violence between races/cultures, there's horrible history in my own country in the not too distant past of lynchings, torture, etc. when a man from another race courted a white woman. And vice versa. The hitman here was the woman's lover, plenty of evidence that this was just cruelty. There hasn't been a shred of real evidence brought forward that he was an abusive husband - I would be cautious in making those implications and drawing that conclusion.

RIP.

Any recommendations on laundry facilities in the general area of the Rama 9 MRT? (Close to Chinese embassy, Central Plaza).

Thanks

Ha ha ha, just listen to the anger on here when the subject of starbucks come up....are peoples lifes here really that empty that they have to throw a volley of abuse at a coffee shop??

These forums are packed of very sad individuals. Nerds.com

Gratefully, nerds have gained something of a foothold in international culture the past couple decades. Their slags at coffee shops, their offbeat opinions and tastes, and their deviations from the herd are welcomed by some.

It's a start.

Uh-oh. I see it's time for the ol' recurring HATE STARBUCKS thread, soon to morph into Death To America And Global Corporations. We done it most recently just a few months ago. Can we give it a longer rest?

Ummm, I'm from America. Worse, the most hated of the hated, Los Angeles California. So, hoping I have a little amnesty in my distaste for starbucks.

<explicit language bits removed>

Not sure when they open, but there is a place called Cherry's in Soi Lenkee....the sofas are more comfortable, the coffee is better and they have real cake. I forgot how much the price was, the value for money was certainly excellent.

Embarrassed and ashamed to say that one of the first places I went to in Thailand was Starbucks (in BKK, suk soi 3 I think). I paid way over for wireless connection and coffee. Should be tarred and feathered in public for that stupidity. &lt;deleted&gt; you starbucks, glad to see it go. Overpriced, over-rated, and good riddance.

The problem with Irony is that its existance lies in the recognition that an irony has occurred, which in itself requires a sometimes complex comparrison of events and/or use of language often beyond simple minds. Hence the oft made observation that American's just don't do Irony.

I suppose one could find some irony in your use of an American for your Avatar.