Guitar God

This isn't about Pattaya but I wonder if there's a connection.

Last evening in beautiful downtown Ubon I drove past a street that is normally full of little karaoke bars (the ones with the (fairy) Christmas lights for decoration and nothing but provacatively dressed women sitting outside) and every single one of them were closed. 9 pm on a Friday night, very strange.

I don't know if the police/military shut them down or what but as far as I know they've been there for months, probably years and now all of a sudden they'd shuttered up on a week end night.

The oddest thing that happened to me is when I was using a new credit card that I hadn't signed the back of yet.

They processed the transaction, I'd signed the slip and when they went to compare the signature to the back of the card and saw it was blank.

They said they coudn't accept an unsigned card so I signed the back of the card, handed it back to them and after they compared the signature I'd just written on the card to the signature I'd just written on the charge slip and were satisfied that they were they same, they gave me my card, receipt and purchase and thanked me for my patronage.

It's 300 THB an hour for private lessons at English Center Ubon with a 5% discount if you pay for 50 hours and 10% discount for 100 hours. She has her own book (but I don't know the title). She's open to using other books, or conversational Thai, answering questions or a customized program.

I haven't taken any lessons yet but her English is very good and she seemed pleasant and capable.

And interestingly enough, the Netherlands doesn't have a meth problem.

Calling for a reduction of prison terms for drugs??

Arguing that the harsh policy has failed to curb dealing?????

And you think lower sentences will do this?

Do these people not see the damges done by Yaba and ice.

HIgh sentences don't make it better, but neither wil lower ones. At least they feel the pain of their mistakes unlike Holland where sentences are ridiculously low

What is the exuse as a buddhist to try to and make a profit by ruining others or at least aiding them to ruin themselves.

Once a year they burn the marijuana they find ?

I'd do the same thing if I found some, just in smaller quantities and over a longer period of time.

I wouldn't want to be downwind of a yaba or heroin bonfire though.

I can't imagine the seized items being destroyed considering the large gap between the monetary value of the items and policemen's salaries. so let's assume that most of it is released back into the market. Combine it with all other supplies that managed to get through (which I assume is most of the total supply, as seizures are only a tip of the iceberg), then it is clear that the rate of consumption of methamphetamine is enormous. Now how much of this consumption has led to problems? Can anyone provide drug-related crime statistics? I think that the proportion of consumption of illegal drugs that directly results in harm to society is so small that the strict and costly enforcement of drug laws may be a huge waste of taxpayers' money and may be inflicting more harm than the drugs themselves (such as imprisoned parents like those mentioned in the article not being able to properly care for their children). Please provide evidence to prove me wrong.

Even though you can't imagine it... One year ago Thursday:

Thailand destroys almost 6 tons of confiscated narcotics and marijuana

http://goo.gl/Tkg9GG

Check the photo. And even though you can't imagine it... roughly the same will happen again this June 26, which is Thursday. Imagine that!

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You don't have too many jing-joks, you have too few tokays.

Any suggestions for a good Thai language teacher or school in muaeng Ubon Ratchathani,

other than ECC?

I like Thailand but there are a few things I miss that I was used to buying in the US and Europe.

I've found TopMarket to be a good source for some US and UK imports, Makro, Tesco/Lotus and Big-C and Subway usually have A&W rootbeer (something I never found in Europe) and I finally located pipe cleaners in the liquor store at TopMarket in Siam Paragon BKK.

Has anyone else found any good sources for US or EU products in BKK or Ubon?

I'm still looking for: English Muffins, lefse, Tootsie rolls or Milk Duds, decent priced Moët Imperial Nectar, Proseco, pepperoni, Swedish meatballs, good cheddar cheese, a guitar shop that does repairs, stuff like that.

They usually commend me on my Johnson...

I agree with you about socially acceptable, annoying habits. I'm a pretty liberal and tolerant person and pretty much anything goes with consenting adults in the privacy of their own space but some thing when done in public, especially to excess, can infringe on others enjoyment.

I don't care if someone puts bleach in their eyes after taking a ketamine enema while they pork their dog up its bunghole while sitting in front of a burning pile of Justin Bieber CD's, inside a pentagram, while drawing cartoons of Allah and yodeling opera as long as I don't have to see it or smell it.

Where there's alcohol, the more that's consumed, the louder it gets. If there's live music I'd rather listen to the band than drunk people howling or some idiot yelling "Freebird, Freebird", to a reggae band. Too much alcohol and there's fights, or someone vomiting on the floor.

Not a fan of cigarettes either. Fine if people want to smoke but I enjoy breathing clean air while I eat and don't want my clothes smelling like smoke. My least favorite are drunk smokers who drop lit cigarettes, lay them on tables or burn holes in your clothes when they stumble past you.

Most people would never think it's okay to throw a burning object out their car window, cigarette butts are somehow exempt from that logic.

I might have annoying habits but I don't inflict them on others, getting shitfaced drunk at a club or chain-smoking at restaurants is somehow acceptable here. I can drink a bottle of champagne and not get loud or violent, I don't play my theremin outside at night, smoke weed around non-smokers, burn patchouli incense in movie theaters, or light farts in restaurants. I wish smokers and career drinkers would be as considerate, but nooooo.

A Thai massage lady commended me on my fit and firm body (I'm 66). I don't drink alcohol (perhaps one glass of wine or a small beer every now and again); She then went on about how fat a lot of farangs are and how much alcohol they consume. Quite frankly, it may be none of my business, but when I see these guys drowning their sorrows in glass (or should I say bottle?) after bottle, it makes me wanna puke. Along with smoking it's a disgusting and pointless habit.

It was nightime, that would explain why he took his sunglasses off.

Saw this guy enjoying himself in Phuket last year. Fun, fun, fun.

He was probably examining something in the sky, and laying horizontal makes it easier.

What about hyphened last names? Mrs. G wants to have my last name, i.e. Patchrapa Chaichua-God.

Do they do that in Thailand? It's popular in the UK but I've never seen a hyphenated Thai last name.

Saw this guy enjoying himself in Phuket last year. Fun, fun, fun.

I think it's the tweakers on meth causing all the problems. I've been in some parts of the northeast where houses had bars on the doors and windows to keep the burglars out.

The worst problem ganja smokers cause is missing cookies. Never heard of anyone stealing a TV and pawning it because they needed to get mellow.

I thought a "shocker" was "Two in the pink, one in the stink." I'm not seeing where this applies here.

I flagged down a taxi near Phloen Chit by Lumphini park and (asked in Thai) to go to Pantip Plaza, we wanted 500฿ for a 50฿ trip. I said no thanks and walked to flag down another, he backed up, presumably to make me a better offer but I ignored him. When I left Siam Paragon the taxi maître d' gave me a feedback slip to report drivers who don't use the meter.

It seems like they're trying to clean up the taxi service here.

I thought meth addicts looked paranoid and "twitchy" and people on ecstasy look like they want to hug someone?

Anyway, I'll try to contain my happiness in public.

I'd better be careful with my illegal smile.

My preference is a refrigerator with an ice maker with through-the-door water and ice, hooked up to the tap water via a 5 stage filter with pre and post filters, sediment filter, charcoal filter for removing organics and bad smells and taste, high capacity reverse-osmosis membrane filter and a UV light to kill germs or viri.

The water doesn't have any taste, is pH neutral and since you're not opening the freezer section as often, the cubes don't thaw and freeze together.

Probably cheaper than 15 ฿ a bag in the long run, you get chilled water too and it's a lot more convienent.

Thanks for the info.

I know Canadians who were turned away at the border and blacklisted from entering the U.S. because they truthfully answered "yes" when the immigration agent asked if they had ever smoked pot.

Canada will refuse to allow U.S. citizens entry if they know they have a dwi or a misdemeanor conviction. A friend from FL was arrested for possession of an "alligator" clip (roach clip) and they turned him away at the Canadian border.

I doubt this will change much until it's legal in both countries and anyone with a drug conviction is given amnesty or had their conviction expunged.

I've noticed the same phenomenon here, sometimes it seems more like a comment section on a news site than a forum for expats. I'd expect on an online community like this that the people would be more civil and less negative because although they are still anonymous, they at least have an online persona here and "know" people here.

On CNN I expect it when they report that the price of sugar went down 10 cents that one of the first few posts are going to be from someone calling Obama and idiot and ranting that he should get on a boat back to Kenya and the next poster blaming the Republicans and then a pendant correcting their grammar.

I'm on a few music forums, bike forums, AMG forum, expat forums in other countries and others and none of them have threads that routinely turn into p!ssing matches, arguments or excuses to insult people.

It's gotten it so I expect it here if a newcomer mentions that he met a Thai girlfriend that someone's going to say "ohh, you must be hansum man" and others will berate him for his choice in women, tell him how naive he is and automatically assume she's a 21 year old hooker and he's some old, fat, bald, stupid, ugly man who wears wife-beaters, goofy shorts and sandals with black socks.

It's so noticeable that I'm actually surprised when someone starts a thread and asks a question and it stays on topic and people actually help them and make positive contributions.

I don't know if it's just a few angry people who can't or don't leave their house and have nothing else to do to entertain themselves, but I'm not recognizing many names coming up over and over so it must be more than just a few. A few Debbie Downers can set the mood for the forums.

Some people make lemonade when life gives them lemons, here I have the feeling there's a lot of people who'd prefer to squeeze the juice into stranger's eyes.

What a bunch of cynical old farts TV.com has. Of the many internet discussion groups I periodically participate in, TV.com by far has the largest number of rude, ill-willed, argumentative, and cynical posters ... no other group is even close.

For many of them I think it's a type of mental/spiritual sickness whereby they get perverted joy in putting other people down. Psychologically this is a sign of chronic anger and and feelings of inferiority ... i.e.,reveling in finding fault in others in order to make themselves feel superior. It somehow brings to mind how some dogs enjoy wallowing in carrion.

ATM's will suck the card back in after a few minutes if you don't pull it out. That's why some of them keep beeping when you're done.

Left my bank card in ATM (intersection bhukao and diana - busy). Realised a minute after walking off and came back, gone.

Lots of pain to me, no benefit at all to the keeper.

Sorry to digress and post on-topic but I have also noticed how honest and helpful Thai people are when they found lost articles.

I left my wallet on the counter of a small shop in a mall and when back after I retraced my steps to see if it was still there. The proprietor saw me coming and pulled it out of his drawer and gave it to me. He would not accept any money for a reward.

At a restaurant I paid the bill with 1000 and forgot to take my change, the next time I went there they had my change in an envelope waiting for me because they assumed a 300฿ tip was too much and I forgot my change.

The other day 20฿ fell on the floor when I got my change from paying a bill and I didn't notice it. The girl came outside and brought it to me after I'd left.

I list a wallet in Wisconsin, a trucker found it and mailed it back to me. I thought it was very nice if him, it was empty except for my license. Either him or someone how saw it first was less honest that the Thai people I've encountered here.

With that said, now you can go back to arguing and slagging people off.