sleepyjohn

Keep in mind there are different types. If you want to future proof for gigabit internet you should go with CAT6. If that is not a concern CAT5 is cheap as chips. I've wired my house with CAT5 but I only required 20 meter lengths, which I bought in one of the non-descript shops on the second or third floor in Panthip, it was prepackaged in a clear plastic bag and very cheap.

It has lasted me fine for over a year, for what it's worth.

thanx Meadish and all. As it's only going to be strung across the trees I'll get the cheap stuff.

I shall try computer plaza as it's nearer.

They make for you while you wait

Anyone know where exactly?

Hi there

Vis a vis longterm investment.....

I notice that whilst hard commodities, and just about everything, have had something of a recoup in price after their fall, agri commodities exemplified by say DBA have yet to do so.

My question is:

1 Why?

2 Will new technologies keep the price of grains etc down

3 DBA seems a passive, futures based, instrument. If the answers to 1 and 2 do not preclude an investment, why not invest in representative companies which benefit from also being actively productive? If so which?

cheers John

Probably more economical to buy them already made from a computer store.

huh?

They have 40m, or perhaps 50m, ready made?

I was going up the Suthep road two days ago and was aghast to see large scale burning happening just above town between the channel 7 TV mast and Wat Palaat.

My gf called the hotline and was told they already knew.

My question is is there any sort of public record of what happens, what results, from the calls they get?

ps: a complete absence of true political will as this could be reduced dramatically in one season.

I was going up the Suthep road two days ago and was aghast to see large scale burning happening just above town between the channel 7 TV mast and Wat Palaat. In the car was grandma who I had just picked up from an appt for asthmatic symptoms!

My gj called the burning hotline and was told they already knew.

My question is what results from these calls? Is there any sort of public record of what happens, what results, from the calls they get?

ps There is of course a complete absence of true political will as this could be reduced dramatically in one season.

Hi there

where could I get a cable and plugs made up for me?

Would Kitty Electronics mentioned elsewhere be a possibility? Does Amorn do it?

Or do I need somewhere more computer orientated?

cheers

You preempted my warning about "financial advisers".....

I just want to thank Sheryl for sticking with me and offering lots of help through a difficult time.

We had almost daily messages and her advice was not only smart, it was a relief just to have someone on my side.

Thankyou

John

Simple fact is there is no free medical care for farangs in Thailand, in either government or private hospitals.

Though I think the guy should pay up in full when he can, and I recently had to put 300,000 in cash on the table to get an operation, I'm not at all sure the above is true.

Without it she can't sleep at all. When she wakes up, she starts to feel withdrawal symptoms along with general malaise. She doesn't take it outside of sleep.

Sadly there's no such thing as a pharmaceutical free lunch, and she will feel malaise.

That 70% being doable but further being more difficult rings true, because the less you take the more the reductions "hurt". You need to do the reductions proportionately. So rather than reducing every ten days or two weeks by a fixed amount the reduction needs to be itself reduced. I'm guessing there are websites suggesting protocols for that.

I will offer one thing.

You may like to take a tricyclic antidepressant like anafranil or dothiepin for a limited time (I think anafranil is the more sleep inducing one), until the present pills are kicked and a further time. Tricyclics are well understood but double check for compatibility.

It is a sleep inducing drug and is sometimes used as a sleeping pill. The tricyclic will be much easier to drop afterwards.

Do not expect it to be a cakewalk however. A certain amount of stiff upper lip is required and tricyclics make you feel rather odd at first. I reduced from lorazepam twice, last time after 14 years to nothing. It took a long time, and every couple of weeks when I made a reduction I had to hang on to the arms of the chair. The second time the tricyclic definitely helped me a lot however, getting a decent sleep is a great start to withdrawal..

Get her to do as much heavy exercise as she can.

Good Luck

Without it she can't sleep at all. When she wakes up, she starts to feel withdrawal symptoms along with general malaise. She doesn't take it outside of sleep.

Sadly there's no such thing as a pharmaceutical free lunch, and she will feel malaise.

That 70% being doable but further being more difficult rings true, because the less you take the more the reductions "hurt". You need to do the reductions proportionately. So rather than reducing every ten days or two weeks by a fixed amount, a half milligram, or 100 mg, or whatever an initial dose proportion is, the reduction needs to be itself reduced. I'm guessing there are websites suggesting protocols for that.

I will offer one thing.

Your friend may like to take a tricyclic antidepressant like anafranil or dothiepin for a limited time. Tricyclics are well understood but double check for compatibility. The dose needs increasing gradually if a small dose is not enough.

It is a sleep inducing drug and is sometimes used as a sleeping pill. The tricyclic will be much easier to drop afterwards.

Do not expect it to be a cakewalk however. A certain amount of stiff upper lip is required. I reduced from lorazepam after 14 years to nothing. It took a long time, and every couple of weeks when I made a reduction I had to hang on to the arms of the chair.

Get her to do as much heavy exercise as she can.

Good Luck

If you can't afford a Rolex watch, then perhaps you should really be wearing a Timex, if you get my drift.

I've owned a Rolex which I found untimely, stupidly expensive to service, and the quartz face cracked meaning ultimately the works were ruined.

Timex, well GeorgeWBush wears one and I never heard him complaining about it.

Personally after not wearing a watch for years I have a very strong and waterproof Diesel. I was poleaxed from the side by someone I didn't even see last year while making a complaint to his drunken friend about his dogs attacking me on my bike. I later felt something heavy in my shirt pocket. His watch had burst off his wrist and flown in. My policeman friend says technically he gave it to me.....

I cannot know if there is such a thing as nirvanna until I personally experience it.

Not to be picky.....

Your "experience" would not be a direct (therefore reliable) experience as in paramattha dhamma, but more an overall impression which includes conceptualisations. As conceptualisations aren't reliable, this may also tell us something about the non-path to nirvana.

Be aware there are different qualities of tiles.

High glaze tiles are surfaced like glass and do not take so kindly to being stuck to.

Low glaze tiles.....probably what you have in your NATO cafeteria.....are glazed in a rolling machine, are not so slippery, which is why the scale starts to build up on them in a bathroom over time. These you could glaze over.....you can even paint them.

John

The best quality care in CM area would be at Sripat, part of CMU. A few of the specialists at Sripat also have hours at CM Ram so IF you don't mind paying a great deal more in exchange for less wait time/more English speaking and IF you have clearly found such a doctor, might be able to get your care at the Ram.

Do not use the Ram except for a doctor you have specifically identified as well qualified , which would usually mean affiliated with CMU. Over the years I have seen manty reports of sub-standard care eminating from the Ram, some of it really bad. So do not take pot luck or let the hospital recommend a doc to you. (Actually that advice holds for anyplace but most especially here).

Most TV members in CM prefer to use Sripat by all accounts.

Of course you know I agree with you Sheryl

......with the caveat that the Sripat may only be marginally cheaper on treatment per se, but I believe considerably cheaper for medications if it's that type of illness (though for outpatient treatment I have often taken my Ram prescription outside never a problem).

cheers John

Egoomaniac

on further investigation you may start to see there never really was a you existing in the first place......so rebirth really becomes moot. I see the (natural) interest in it as a form of clinging which we'd be best without.

As a friend of mine once said: "You don't think you're alive do you?"

John

I got in touch with the 0845 number today for the first time ever.

It took the best part of 10 minutes, but I did get politely answered to be told there was another number for overseas calls. I called that and it answered immediately and I was informed politely and efficiently.

Message me if you would like me to look it up.

John

Thankyou kindly for that Maizefarmer very thoughtful....

I have sent an enquiry if any boats from BKK, though I must say I think I should be aiming to be able to use planes normally again. There was a time I was never off them and actually both the RAF and BOAC wanted me to train as a pilot, me having been in the Air Training Corps. Be nice to know I could get back anyway though and write my book at the same time. Last time I voyaged was to Australia and back in the 50s! Would it be about 25 days from BKK?

Back to the pension questions proper......any information whatever about my previous questions would be greatly appreciated.

cheers John

Thankyou all for your kind replies!

I'll going straight to the "worst":

John, you've been misinformed about a lot of things. You should read HM Revenue and Customs pamphlet NI 38, Social Security Abroad, which is available on the net and which will answer most of your questions - although I doubt if you will like most of the answers!

John I've read it through.

I find it and other publications do not conflict with my suggestions of what I can do in my opening post, with one worrying proviso:

I see it says that to top up pay from abroad I must previously have three years of NIC contributions. This would be a problem but may (should?) be covered by the 4 sixth form/ university years. I did read something casting doubt on the school years counting somewhere, (although a friend says they do....I think from experience waiting to ask him), but the NI38 article you cited itself leans to supporting those school years counting:

Whilst in the UK you may be able to get credits instead of having

to pay NICs if you are:

• unemployed or unable to work because of illness or disability

for full weeks (a week for these purposes means Sunday to

Saturday). You will normally have to attend an interview every

two weeks at your nearest Jobcentre Plus office (Social Security

or Jobs and Benefits office in Northern Ireland), or send in sick

notes (also known as medical certificates) to your nearest

Jobcentre to get the credits. In Northern Ireland you should

send sick notes to the Incapacity Benefits Branch, Castle Court,

Royal Avenue, Belfast, BT1 1SB

• entitled to Maternity Allowance or Carer’s Allowance

• entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay or

Statutory Adoption Pay

• taking a course of approved training

• receiving Working Tax Credit

• required to attend jury service and did not have earnings

at, or exceeding the Lower Earnings Limit for employed

earners employment

• receiving a compensatory payment such as a Payment in Lieu of

Notice (PILON), or a Payment in Lieu of Remuneration (PILOR)

• a person who served a prison sentence for a conviction which

has been quashed

• a man aged 60 or over (credits can be awarded automatically),

but this will not apply to any tax year during which you are

abroad for more than 182 days. These credits will start to be

phased out from April 2010

• a young person, for the tax year in which you reach age 16 and

the two following years.

Maizefarmer

I haven't been banned from NHS treatment, just still can't get on a plane home due to a very genuine and disabling phobia (getting slowly better without drugs). This has been sorely tested just now with a serious cancer problem so I know I'm not there yet. Oddly enough i have flown planes myself!

To carry on with the questions.... I have read I can get:

a forecast of how much you could get by putting off claiming your State Pension, if you have asked for it

Does this mean I can put off the pension and continue contributing after 65 for a while if I wish to?

and can I re-ask:

I am told April the 5th is very important and I must get started officially by then. Is this date truly critical or would I just lose a year?

thanks to all

John

Hi

I've done some searching but have some questions.

I am 61 and a bit.

I am one of those guys who has travelled a lot, and when in the UK did lots of bits and pieces and didn't get their stamps paid. In the very large lots of time I was out of work I never signed on once and so never got my stamps paid free.

I have taken very little indeed out of the system and have just paid a quarter million baht for medical treatment because I cannot access the NHS at the time of life I need it. I would like to at least get a partial pension. I have been told some interesting things some of which may not be exactly so.

Sixth form school counts as two years

University counts too, that's another two

I can back pay 6 years

I can pay from now on that's nearly 4 years to 65.

This lot alone if they can find nothing else would amount to 13 and 3/4 years which divided by 30 years gives over 45% of the full pension.

Is this all true so far?

From there....apart from other bit and pieces......I was a partner in a pub in Germany for a couple of years.....BEFORE the EU about 77 on. My partner did all my paperwork. Would I get a credit for this?

I have had considerable health problems.....very seriously bad back problems (recorded), and now a (very real also recorded) panic disorder which has stopped me getting back to UK to do some work each year, but never used this to get payments of any sort. Can I use somehow use this for national insurance payments retrospectively?

I am told April the 5th is very important and I must get started officially by then. Is this date truly critical or would I just lose a year?

Any other tips?

Thanx v much in advance

John

Hi there

7 days (used for 2nd opinion and checking other highly recommended surgeon) after the biopsy result came back which was (because some genius forgot to make a date for the doc to check the result....only got it because I queried!) 14 days later than it was issued....because of waiting lists and other reasons I am surgeonless and back at square one.

Onward and upward....

I shall start further investigations tomorrow but if anyone can give me a referral to a good thyroidectomy-experienced surgeon I would be very grateful.

cheers John

ps Sheryl PMed you

Dear John,

clearly in terms of comfort and ease of communication Ram would be a better environment. However I would be inclined to give a lot of weight to Dr. Ampika's advice. First of all, she was recommended by Dr Rosanee; secondly, from the way you describe her, she is a straight talker of the type who inspires confidence; and thirdly she gave you a very specific recommendation which did not include the surgeon you had in mind.

That's true Sheryl...

Have you ruled out the possibility that Dr Pichid has privileges at the Ram? Many government doctors do. If so you could then have the best of both worlds.

I have enquired of my girlfriend who works there and she doesn't know of him ever working at the Ram.

It's only a few minutes away to Maharat to come for an op but maybe the need for bedside follow ups is a negative factor. I'd certainly be more comfortable at the Ram and i know some of the docs and nurses there. I even have trouble being on the 13th floor of Maharat with my panic problem though it may be good exposure therapy .

Not sure of the politics of placing the resident doc as second best.

If you can provide the full name of both surgeons I can search about a bit to see what I can find.

Don't have the full name right now Sheryl but it's Chalermpong at Ram and Pichid (pronounced "pitch it" from the Thai spelling I think it's พิซิด ) at Maharat.

thanks once again for your interest and kind offer Sheryl

cheers John

ps: Ram is expensive on meds. I usually get a prescription and buy at Thapei Gate from our own Nalin. Whilst thyroxine is cheap I will likely need radioactive Iodine 131. Anyone know the ballpark price here?

Hi Sheryl an update

I went to see Dr Ampika, an elderly lady, who was mentioned as recommended by Dr Rosanee. Though I didn't hear exactly what I wanted to it was a very worthwhile trip. I am a proponent of people talking in probablistic terms, percentages, rather than in vagaries such as "big chance" "small chance", and this is exactly what Dr Ampika did. Instead of the "suspicious" result on the FNA diagnosis and because the slides showed enlarged nuclei she told me I had an 80 to 90% chance of cancer. She then went on to tell me the percentage cure rates in the event of types of spread.

As usual I am left with a decision, and this post is a method of thinking about it and maybe getting a little feedback.

It is clear now I need a total thyroidectomy.

I immediately moved on to the surgeon, having told her I'd had a referral to Dr Chalermpong at the Ram already. She immediately, in an unmitigated manner, recommended a Dr Pichid at Maharat. I have provisionally made an appointment though it's not for three days.

My decision is now about which way to go.

I know Chalermpong has been referred "at least 100" cases by Dr Kaset......and for what it's worth I liked him and my girlfriend who works there says the OR nurses speak highly of him. OTOH I'm told Dr Pichid at Maharat is very highly experienced.

The other factor is although I'm willing to undergo waiting and so on, the conditions at my consultation at Maharat, even though it was via Sripat, were not great. The doctor did very well by me and oozed competence but I must say it felt rushed with the nurse standing in the open doorway as if to hold the next patients back. She had about 28 patients booked in over four hours. There was so much noise that with a bit of a hearing problem it was actually difficult to have a conversation. I'm mulling over how relevant to my future treatment this environment would be, as i'm quite likely to need radioactive ablation and so on. The Ram is certainly much more relaxed and hey maybe Kaset was being nice, is perfectly competent, and trying not to worry me unnecessarily.

gotta run

cheers John

Guys, i went to Dr Rosanee, and I have nothing but praise for her. She recommended me Dr. Ampica in Chiang Mai, as i live in Chiang Mai, and i have found her to be excellent also. However, personally I would go see Dr.Rosanee, then use Dr.Ampica as a regular maintenance doctor.

Dr Ampica works out of Sri Pat Clinic in Suan Dok Hospital. 13th floor.

Thanks again Sheryl and thanks for that Eek may be useful.

I made a provisional appt with Dr Rosanee but earliest is Friday next. As I have a panic disorder i can't fly to BKK but can manage the train now.

I think a reasonable plan is to see my endocrinologist which I can do this Sunday to try to get his interpretation of the detail in the FNA diagnosis and play it from there. If I don't see much downside from the hormones and so on the likelihood is I'll go along with the recommendation for a TT without too much procrastination. If I'm unclear I'll get further advice.

goodnight and thanks

John