sleepyjohn

Thanx as always Sheryl. For the sake of a few days and a train trip I guess it's worthwhile.

I was impressed with the ENT surgeon at Ram Chiangmai and liked him. My girlfriend works there and has grilled the OR nurses who say he does very neat work which is a good thing when you get a frankenstein slice I guess! He also recommended total thyroidectomy. He said I could have a partial and hope for the best but warned that he had a patient who took that route who had an "unfortunate outcome" (gulp :-/). Also said if he found anything outside the thyroid he was going to have to cut it so could lose my voice (double gulp :-/). He demurred to take a vertical slice out too to improve the lizard skin on my neck as he said if I had to have radiotherapy scar tissue wasn't good . Raised a smile though.

keep up the good work

John

Hi Sheryl and all I thought this deserved a new topic as I would like to get advice ASAP now.

I previously posted and Sheryl kindly as ever responded:

John:

while we're on thyroids interested in your opinion.

I have a very enlarged thyroid, visible, and 6.3 x 5.4 x 4.8cm. Big enough to get a bit of a throttling feeling though that's receded probably as the nerves adjust. It's apparently tucking down just into my ribcage.

I have had three ultrasounds over 6 months which show it as fairly much homogenous so probably benign though it is still gradually growing.

Two sets of needle aspirations, the first suspicious, the second could not be read.

Unfortunately my stimulating hormone level is pretty normal, so no easy medicinal fixes or reasons for the tumour.

The attitude of the endocrinologist seems to be to monitor every 12 weeks with surgery as necessary.

Is this a good plan?

He talks about a 5% chance of a very malignant cancer, but as I see it that's across the board including those with a swelling due to hypo or hyper (easily most) which are generally much safer and more treatable, which doesn't apply to me. Thereby interested in how elevated my (bad) chances are and if he's taking this into account as it seems to me one should. I shall certainly talk about it to him at an appointment next week for a new biopsy result but interested in further good opinion.

thanx John

Sheryl:

John,

1. Before I get into your question -- are you on, or have you been on, any chronic medications? Because some drugs can cause this e.g. amiodarone, lithium etc

2. With one needle aspiration "suspicious" and the other unreadable it is really hard to say anything about your odds of this being malignant.

3. Malignant tumors of the thyroid are among the most curable cancers if treated early. You should therefore be aggressive about excluding the possibility of malignancy, and might want to consider getting a second open if there is still any doubt once you have the results of the new biopsy.

Good luck

Today I got a call from my endocrinologist about the latest needle aspiration.

The main diagnosis was

Suspicious for papillary carcinoma.

which is followed by a lot more detail about condensed colloids and the nuclei and so on.

As I said in my first post this is the third biopsy over a few months. The first suspicious and the second unreadable.

I also have three ultrasounds. The hormone test came out normal which is unfortunate because as I previously said complicates the matter as the growth is of unknown cause.

Anyway he now wants a thyroidectomy, and because he said papillary cancer is spreadable to the lymph system he wants a total throidectomy. He has arranged for me to see the ENT man tomorrow. Naturally I would like a second opinion on an irreversible matter like this, and fairly fast.

There are two possibilities (presuming there are no endocrinologists or pathologists reading this)

1. Can anyone authoritatively recommend an endo in CM or even BKK?

2. Whilst I'm not particularly biased against Thai doctors, I am in fact friends with some who I might ask the same question, I have found it hit and miss such as this tumour being overlooked by a senior doctor in CM doing a regular physical. So what i would prefer is to send all my results abroad for opinion. Is this in any way possible?....I would obviously be happy.....well, willing anyway.....to pay.

thanks to all and BTW Sheryl I'm not on any meds

sweet dreams, John

Small percentage Piffle!

I've had two replacements, and last time i was in (in CM not NY!) another guy was having the same problem and when I mentioned it to a friend that evening he said I just got mine back.

BTW better to just get a large capacity HD from Computer Plaza for a couple of thousand baht and use the replacement in a back up case, Apple will only replace the original size which after 3 or more years is usually rather small mine was 80 gig I think.

With Fedex, you will pay import tax. But for $55 the whole thing is probably still going to be cheaper than buying it here.

My worst case scenario would be: Value $55 + $30 shipping = $85. 50% tax ~= $125. I don't know if it's actually 50% tax, but most likely it's going to be between 30 and 50. There' a website + database for taxes but good luck finding anything on it.

With ground shipping, they probably won't bother to open it and you won't pay import tax. But it'll take a lot longer.

Thanx Nikster

I had guessed the Apple part might be expensive and sure enough it is 11,000. To be fair Maczone CM, where I know one of the owners and am an old customer, very kindly said if I sourced one myself they'd stick it in for me. So I shall indeed send from US.

Now wondering the best place to find info about varieties/vintages of screens through the Macbook era as i don't want to get sent a misfit.

I have been offered by lcdscreen.com a model from

http://www.lcdscreen.com/ppc-series-macboo...d6XUUYg#screen2

who replied to me

We do have the 13.3” WXGA LCD panel for the Apple Macbook MB881LL/A in stock for $59.00.

seems they couldn't be bothered to read through my email. They seemed to be offering

Macbook MB881LL/A Apple 13.3 inch WXGA 1 CCFL Notebook Display for $59.00

and the

MacBook Apple 13.3 inch WXGA 1 CCFL Notebook Display for $59.00

I said i believed that the "MB881LL/A Apple 13.3 inch WXGA 1 CCFL Notebook Display" model was for a MacBook which ran from 2007 (mine's 2006), but would their other one fit......they just offered me the dirst one for some lazy reason.

If anyone's good at working this sort of thing out the Apple display part number needed to match is

661-3959

and details of MacBook

Model Name: MacBook

Model Identifier: MacBook1,1

Processor Name: Intel Core Duo

Processor Speed: 2 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 2 MB

Memory: 2 GB

Bus Speed: 667 MHz

Boot ROM Version: MB11.0061.B03

SMC Version (system): 1.4f12

Serial Number (system): 4H6233XMVMM

Hardware UUID: 00000000-0000-1000-8000-0016CBCB5878

I'd be very grateful for any pointers....

thanx John

Thanks to both of you for brilliant answers!

I think I'd go with Fedex for the extra few bucks as that's all that's on offer.

The company are offering two alternative screens.

http://www.lcdscreen.com/ppc-series-...6XUUYg#screen2

Hey why don't I show you the email i just sent as I'd love input...

Hi there from Chiangmai Thailand, I believe you send abroad and I hope u can help me...

I need a replacement glossy Macbook screen. I see you have two screens listed

Macbook MB881LL/A Apple 13.3 inch WXGA 1 CCFL Notebook Display for $59.00

and the

MacBook Apple 13.3 inch WXGA 1 CCFL Notebook Display for $59.00

I have tried to look up my screen details in "about this mac" but they don't seem to include a serial number.

However I can offer my 2006 Macbook's general details including the serial number:

Model Name: MacBook

Model Identifier: MacBook1,1

Processor Name: Intel Core Duo

Processor Speed: 2 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 2 MB

Memory: 2 GB

Bus Speed: 667 MHz

Boot ROM Version: MB11.0061.B03

SMC Version (system): 1.4f12

Serial Number (system): 4H6233XMVMM

Hardware UUID: 00000000-0000-1000-8000-0016CBCB5878

I'd be very grateful if you could advise which one suits, and if you're not quite sure do let me know I'll see if I can find out more myself.

I add this since I learned more. I've discovered that the MB Macbooks started in 2007 which presumably precludes mine. The question is is your alternative a glossy match? ......and what make is it I've been warned off Samsung?

thanx v much in advance

ps also found this......I sort of stepped half on my macbook towards the side and thats exactly where the black/white marks are (with extended lines over the rest of the bottom 2/3 of the screen, top OK) so was assuming it's just a busted screen but better to be aware of the possibilities:

Advice on purchasing replacement displays for notebooks:

Diagnosis / Recommendations

Do I need a new display? Perhaps. Is it:

Cracked? A cracked display cannot be repaired and requires the purchase of a new display.

Dim / Black? A dim display is either the result of 1) a faulty inverter which is a separate piece from the display or 2) a burned out backlight which is part of the display. In the majority of instances, the inverter is the cause of the problem and not the backlight as most people tend to assume and therefore does not require the purchase of a display.

Lines? A display with lines may be caused by either 1) the video card or 2) the display. In the majority of instances, the display is the cause for lines and therefore requires the purchase of a display.

Depends where you live? but in Bangkok respiratory problems that start off viral frequently end up bacterial.

I believe you're right Mommysboy the antibiotics are for secondary infections.

Whether that's a good idea is another question.

(I was once given 7 types of pill for a stomach bug including, get this, an antiflatulant.

I never once had passed wind. Honestly.)

Sorry about your problem.

If you send something via Fedex from overseas it will arrive at your door (very quickly in my experience). If there is any duty, Fedex will pay that on import and collect from you on delivery.

Thanx v much Hugh useful info

Just to extend it is your experience of Fedex extensive in

1. the number of things you've sent?

2. the type of things you've sent?

......and always interested in others' experience (and of course if I can source a screen locally).\

cheers John

Hi I posted on the Apple forum but would like more feedback generally so am reposting here.

I need a MacBook 13in display replacement.

In the unlikely event anyone has one or knows where to buy in Thailand at non-Apple prices please do get in touch.

More likely I shall have to order from America. One company will send Fedex, so $55 + $38 = $93 maybe a little tax.

My question.

Do these orders get through? How should I get it labelled?

I'm in CM. Is it reliable it won't get locked up in customs I'm certainly not going to BKK to get one out.

thanks v much

John

Hi there

This afternoon I kind of fell over my Blackbook. At 3 1/2 years old it's all I need with maxed out RAM and 320gb......just saying it's not time for a new one it works beautifully.

The screen now looks 2 thirds knackered. Luckily everything else seems to be working as I connected and this is up on the TV screen.

I'm quite willing to do the repair myself.

The best option:

Someone has a knackered Macbook (even better if in Chiangmai but anywhere will do) for which they will sell me a screen. Please.

Or:

Someone can tell me the price of a screen in Thailand.

What's the Apple price, and is there a cheaper alternative available right here.

Or likely option:

I order from the US for about $55.

But I'm concerned about it actually getting here.

What's......best Fedex at $35ish? Will it make it through easily or get stick in customs?

thanks in advance

John

Quiksilva and Oracle...

if one went the lease route, would it be possible when you set it up with your Thai owner friend to ask for just a couple of things in future?

1. To sell the freehold if required (interested how one could control the funds from the sale if things were now pear-shaped and the evil junkie nephew had inherited.....any ideas?)

2. Every say ten years to renew the lease completely for a further 30 years.

This way one would always have 20 years notice of a problem, with the possibility of paying the evil nephew off for the renewal with him knowing he's got a real long wait ahead....

BTW anyone know the present tax or fees for the 30 year lease?

thanx in advance......

Hi Sheryl

while we're on thyroids interested in your opinion.

I have a very enlarged thyroid, visible, and 6.3 x 5.4 x 4.8cm. Big enough to get a bit of a throttling feeling though that's receded probably as the nerves adjust. It's apparently tucking down just into my ribcage.

I have had three ultrasounds over 6 months which show it as fairly much homogenous so probably benign though it is still gradually growing.

Two sets of needle aspirations, the first suspicious, the second could not be read.

Unfortunately my stimulating hormone level is pretty normal, so no easy medicinal fixes or reasons for the tumour.

The attitude of the endocrinologist seems to be to monitor every 12 weeks with surgery as necessary.

Is this a good plan?

He talks about a 5% chance of a very malignant cancer, but as I see it that's across the board including those with a swelling due to hypo or hyper (easily most) which are generally much safer and more treatable, which doesn't apply to me. Thereby interested in how elevated my (bad) chances are and if he's taking this into account as it seems to me one should. I shall certainly talk about it to him at an appointment next week for a new biopsy result but interested in further good opinion.

thanx John

No-one ever apply for building permission?

They have commission off each prescription and also have a quota to fill which is decided by the hospital. If they don't fill their quota of prescriptions their contract will not be renewed.

I'd be very interested to know if this has an evidential basis or is a waste of space.

I'm going to add to Sheryl's list of reasons.

The placebo effect is a very real phenomenon. Measurably real. The largest metastudies suggest that antidepressants owe just about all to the placebo effect. There is actually a debate going on whether their lack of effectiveness should be made public as one would lose the placebo effect.

What's more the nastier tasting, the bigger, the more red(!), the medicine the better it works, and an amazing thing is the that even the medical fol de rol, the doctor in the white coat with the stethescope and diplomas on the wall, makes a difference to people's relief.

Somehow I think this isn't why there's overprescribing in Thailand and that Briggsy was nearer the mark.

Hi there

this question's about a very large 5 block of flats development which have been approved to go up bang in the middle of a residential area in Chang Kian Chang Mai.

The residents have had enough and protests, including by some pretty influential neighbours, have started.

At a protest consultation at the Tesabahn Monday with TV present they were told that it was "too late". The flats had already been given a permit to build. There are still grounds to appeal to the Environmental Impact agency in BKK but I'm interested in another aspect.

Do the tesabahn, like authorities elsewhere in the world, have a duty to inform local residents to ask for any objections before permission is given? It seems to me if this didn't happen (which it didn't) then there are grounds for appeal to a court. The tesabahn was saying hey it's too late, we gave them permission and they could sue us if we stopped them. I have suggested to teh Chang Kian residents group that yes, let them be sued!

So two things:

I'd be very interested in the specific regulations for a case like this (specifics because something was mentioned about there being a notice given but not that anyone local would know about.

I'd also be interested in the general aspects of building permission procedure for the building of a house or small group of houses.

thanks in advance

SJ

How about using a muzzle on the dog overnight ?

Totster

I would see that as a worse solution only somewhat better than the shock collar except it now can't defend itself.....AND you're stopping the dog "communicating" anyway.

John, you can't just remove a dogs ability to communicate because you are not getting enough sleep. Imagine being taken into hospital, and when waking up you can't talk anymore, you open your mouth and nothing..IMHO putting the poor thing down would be less cruel.

There are obviously underlying factors that are causing this dog to bark, which need to be investigated.

Totster

Thankyou Totster

I know the underlying factors.

The dogs, when they were taken in, already had the barking habit. They then used to all but attack the workmen every time they came near, who stupidly responded by goading them but have been talked to and are every careful not to now. The men have been encouraged to come in and spend extended time with the dogs because it is such a problem., but the habit is too engrained and other outsiders go past sometimes, and even if it's a friend of the dogs they bark first and ask questions afterwards. I must say I'm amazed that the dogs ability to go "bark bark don't come here!" is considered so highly at the expense of other also sentient beings and amazed at your suggestion it would be less cruel to put the dog down than let it live an almost perfect existence. What's the evidence for all this dog stress and how does one balance it against others' stress?

Thankyou for your opinion Nienke, however it seems to me we need a balance here.

(interrupted by two dogs barking)

I'm not persuaded that a dog living a nice cosy life in an enclosed community with no real danger is actually going to be affected badly at all. She was just barking at the workmen and she's walking after them barking loudly but in a very relaxed way.....it's just a habit. What's far worse is today I saw my dog copying her. This is a useless habit being propagated.

I, on the other hand, (and surely several other neighbours) am undergoing very real effects from poor sleep.

Yesterday I started feeling dizzy from it, and as I said i have health problems. I don't think it can be very nice for the workmen being audibly attacked again and again.....what about their feelings?

I have read quite a few opinions on the internet that seem to be more appeals to emotion and quite unevidenced, but read from a vet and a very experienced dog owner of 40 years that they can discern no ill effects at all from debarking.

I know we're living in the country where many owners let their dogs run out and attack people on bikes or just taking a walk as if it's normal. It's not like I want to have her debarked but hey life's not 100% perfect (though this dog's life more or less is)....

Your further comments as a fellow dog lover are of course welcome

The surgery itself may not be such a biggy, but the stress you provide to the animal afterwards is and that's life-long.

Debarking a dog falls under the chapter of animal abuse.

Care to expand Nienke?

John

Hi there

I have a real problem with a neighbour's dogs barking. I and others are woken up, particularly by the female, which emits a truly disturbing screaming bark as if it's being attacked, most mornings and sometimes at night. Prior to further discussion I would like to know my options (screening may work but the female is very sensitive indeed to noise).

Before the cruelty brigade rushes in, I am a dog lover. All the dogs in question have been wild and adopted, including one that's mostly mine, but who's no problem. I used to take all these dogs for walks, and have injected them all for heartworm myself. I recently paid for an operation for an unrelated dog which had an accident. The "owner" has tried inviting the people the dog barks at to visit to try to adapt the dogs to them, with no joy.

Another neighbour uses a dog collar, but this seems to me an unattractive option, as the dog gets shocked as repeatedly as it barks. I read that debarking surgery causes little or no problems. Seems to me a better option than severely limiting the freedom of movement of the dog, which is happy to be free to roam at the moment.

I have to think about my own health and lack of sleep several days a week makes a huge difference to the way i feel. Not to mention I have a tumour in my neck and would like all the resilience I can get from good sleep.

So.

Anyone know any details about getting this done in CM? Where/how much/follow up?

thanx v much

By way of a bump I shall post the meeting details this afternoon.

Thanx for the help guys, though I'm not sure about poking anything at the lens without it all open!

Found this page

ttp://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1684759&tstart=0

which indeed points to a non clean lens often being the problem and I shall try a lens cleaning disc today. Odd how it seems so common with Mac though, and my disc drive has been little used even after 3 years. Could it be the software is rather over-demanding and the least dirt on the lens exacerbates?

cheers

I've inspected a Kindle and it seemed to me they'd tried to make it the same size as a book but a fair bit of that area was taken up with the keyboard, making the screen too small.

Any owners comment on "too small"?

The annotation feature was a plus, but the quality of the annotation (ie no colour as I annotate with on my MacBook) reduces that......a lot.

Overall I'd wait......maybe a long time as books don't break and get battery failure, and they feel, well, nice and bookish.

Hi

I got 3 DVD movies from a rental store recently. One played. Two didn't. (using Mac DVD player)

When i went back she said Ahhh I think this one is a master and these two are copies. Presumable these would all have played with a simple DVD player machine or they'd be out of business.

Today someone lent me a British series and said i'll have to give you copies. I tried number one with Mac DVD player and VLC, but it just waited a minute or two and spat it out.

What's the story here chaps?

I missed applying last year, but am told that applications will start again soon. Any specific info please?

I'm posting on behalf of friends in the Chang Kian area.

They have found out a large development of 8 condominium buildings on 8 rai is intended off the road joining the ChangKian mini roundabout with the army base to the north. It's in the heart of the semi rural residential neighbourhood, between many homes and the mountain.

They were given no notice by the (believed to be) Korean developers or the Tesabahn, but have found out a meeting is being held at 5pm Tuesday 26th. Facts are slim as yet but it may be a required environmental impact study meeting.

If you've had enough lousy condos being built in this area in a city with 30% oversupply, it may be a good idea to go along with a number of other locals and make your feelings known.

I hope to post more details Tuesday of where (it will be close by the site) and the when may be a little earlier than 5pm for a preparatory chat.