GarryP

The back-pack is of reasonable quality and I see a few people about town with them. That orange mat is useless, my dog even refuses to sleep on it and my dog will sleep just about anywhere. In two weeks I pick up that big storage box thing so am not sure about the quality. My wife wanted it and we had enough stamps so who am I to argue. I do get funny looks when I redeem my stamps.

A few 7-11s haven't given me stamps, but I put that down to them thinking that foreigners don't know what they are or don't collect. However, I always ask for the missing stamps. Would feel odd leaving 7-11 without them.

By the way, the last time they had this promotion, those Doraemon boxes were great for storage and I still have a couple now. I even used one on the back of my bicycle to transport small items when I was moving house.

Different strokes for different folks. It would be boring as hell if we were all the same. Vive la différence.

I too am looking to buy my first smartphone. I really like the Galaxy Note 3 but cannot justify spending that amount of money. I will mainly use the phone for basic navigation (using some map app or another) so it needs an inbuilt compass, and photography (when out on my bicycle), and messing around on the web but I will not use it much for actually phoning out. I would like a quite large screen as I do not wish to have to put my reading glasses on everytime I receive a message. Obvioiusly, it must be able to operate on the 3g network. What would you suggest for not more than say Baht 15k? Any suggestions would be appreciated as I am really green when it comes to mobile phones.

Either a NEXUS 5 from the states (11,000b) or up ya money slightly and get a NEXUS 5 here in Thailand for 16900b from DTAC or TRUE

Thanks. I will check it out.

I too am looking to buy my first smartphone. I really like the Galaxy Note 3 but cannot justify spending that amount of money. I will mainly use the phone for basic navigation (using some map app or another) so it needs an inbuilt compass, and photography (when out on my bicycle), and messing around on the web but I will not use it much for actually phoning out. I would like a quite large screen as I do not wish to have to put my reading glasses on everytime I receive a message. Obvioiusly, it must be able to operate on the 3g network. What would you suggest for not more than say Baht 15k? Any suggestions would be appreciated as I am really green when it comes to mobile phones.

with what my wife cleans the floor in the bathroom ate the material in the gap between the ceramic.

The home maid before could even clean out the teflon from the pans.

I was forever having to re-grout the bathroom floor tiles. As a result, my wife is now banned from cleaning the main bathroom and I do it myself. It used to be: Pour on Vixol or some other equivalent, close the doors and leave for half an hour or more. Open the doors and then spray the floor once all the vapour had dissipated.

It is a blatant 'back door' version of socialism. Tax the wealthy minority then give it to the not so wealthy majority. All for a vote of course. But i feel that 40% premiums on rice won't be enough to save this government from falling on its sword.

The problem is that many of the wealthy minority are not paying their taxes as they should be. It is the middle class tax payer who is subsidizing this joke of a scheme, but then the PTT does not rely on the middle income vote so does not care that they are not happy with this schem. Perhaps, after the amnesty bill was put on hold for 180 days, the protesters should have started focusing on untenable policies/projects/ etc such as the rice pledging scheme, the water managment farce, etc.

for god sake is there anyone here, who can tell me who is Worraphanphooree?

This story become more complicated than any thai tv soap.

And by the way, so far we have a death champion, a doctor, a crooked lawyer, a hysterical mother-in-law, a daft hit man, but why there is no gardener?

So where is the gardener, there is always one around the house, i told you so!

He was somewhere near Pattaya looking after Naam's botanical splendours. Or at least that is where he claims he was.

The "go home and don't let the door hit you on your way out" brigade.

My guess is, that he will try and force it through in a 180 days. Hence the reason as to why he doesn't want to dissolve parliment. Whatever PTP, Yingluck or any of the other paid for cretins say, the Amnesty bill is still in play.

You mean ram it through and then dissolve parliament. In that case the law gets passed and when PTP gets re-elected they can justify the passing of the Amnesty with their re-election (obviously most were in favor of the amnesty or PTP would not be re-elected). Wild conjecture on my part but I would not put it past the PTP leadership.

Without being married you have no parental rights over any children you produce in Thailand.

The Thai authorities do not even consider the child yours, you are not next of kin, they will say the child has no father.

I married my woman before we had children to avoid 'complications'.

You can have yourself recorded as the father on the birth certificate and record your parental rights at the district office upon birth. There is no need to go to court to do this.

Too Late Mister T

You wasted a very good and kind woman- your sister- for your own selfishness.

It's not all about you a...hole!

I pray that the real reds tear down your ugly pictures-

Welcome to the history of Revolutions-

You failed the first test of a true revolutionary:

"I am the leader - therefore I must follow'. (Lamarque)

And you didn't follow.

You wasted a very good and kind woman- your sister. Can you explain how you might have arrived at that idea or opinion.

'good and kind' that's an oxymoron. A Shinawatra (any Shinawatra) cannot be so described.

As much as many of us dislike or don't trust Thaksin, your attempt at painting all members of his family with the same brush is rather pathetic.

Congratulations to Samran and his missus and Oasis. Sounds like things went well. It is good to hear that they increased the batch size, even though that means long waits for some people, since they ask every one to register before 9.30am. My interview was a lot longer, around 20 minutes including singing, but it also seemed to go well. Our batch was only about 25 people and all the interviews seemed to last at least 15 minutes, some as long as 30. The larger batch size must mean shorter interviews in general. Another difference is that no one looked at any of my documents at all, except the faxed copy of my invitation letter. I offered the documents to the lady who registered us and she told me to take them into the interview room and plonk them on the table in front of me in case any of the committee wanted to take a look at them. But they didn't.

Congratulations Arkady, I wish you all the best.

One question though what singing did you do? Only National Anthem or something else as well? How was it done? Were you allowed to read from paper or you had to memorise it? What is expectation by the MOI on this point? Your tips will help.

Last question if you may advice when did you apply 2009 or 2010?

You have to sing the National and Royal Anthems, if you don't qualify for an exemption through having a Thai wife for the requisite period of time or being a foreign woman with a Thai husband applying under Section 9. They used to allow singing from a crib sheet, as noted by Newly Minted Thai but now you have to sing from memory. The singing is performed unaccompanied into a microphone. I spent some time learning and practising the songs and managed to get through them without a hitch, even to my astonishment receiving some applause and positive comments. I have a smidgeon of musical background which helped. I don't know how strict the MOI is in appraising the singing. Since it is supposed to be a test of Thai language ability, I imagine they give allowances to obviously tone deaf applicants and focus more on ensuring they get the language right. I was told, while waiting for my turn, that they give applicants a second shot, if they mess up, and, if they still can't get it right, they are invited to go away and learn the songs properly and will then be interviewed again several months later. Of course SB is supposed to ensure the singing is up to scratch before forwarding applications to the MOI. I know of one applicant who was made to sing the songs seven times to the SB director until he was satisfied. In my case I had one test at SB with a script that was OK but when I was asked to come again and sing without a script the director apologised and said he had to rush to a meeting and would therefore not be able to listen to my singing but felt sure from my Thai speaking ability that all would be fine.

It is really worth putting a lot of effort into practising the songs, if you to sing them. They are not particularly easy, particularly the Royal Anthem, and you need to be sure that you start in the right key for your voice, so that you don't end up squeaking when you get to the high notes or having to drop down an octave and growl. After finishing the songs, some other applicants in the past have been asked to paraphrase into standard Thai a line of the Rajasap from the Royal Anthem or asked how they felt in their hearts while singing one or other of the songs. So you should understand the songs thoroughly as well as be able to parrot them. Applied in early 2010.

I don't have to sing anything, unless the regulations change, as I am applying based on having a Thai wife. However, if it were the case that I had to sing, I would not know what to say if I was asked what I felt when singing the national anthem. I would obviously have to lie as "I felt indifferent" would certainly not go down well. This is not meant to be taken as comment on the content of the national anthem, I feel the same towards the British national anthem.

Anyway, I believe that it would be best to be on the safe side and practice the national and royal anthems in case regulations change. In the meantime, having not a single musical bone in my body, I will just keep my fingers crossed that the regulations remain unchanged.

there is a drug (naltrexone i think) that is used for drug addicts to stop them from getting high and has been used in trials for alchoholics with great success . maybe you could see a doctor and ask about this .

You won't be addicted to this Naltrexone, it's not a narcotic to substitute alcohol for a mellow feeling. Just taking the first one especially on an empty stomach in the morning may give you such a stomach ache that you will be so sick in the stomach you will hate yourself when you even think about taking another drink of alcohol. If that don't do it for you then 2nd one just before you normally have your first beer may stop you. I had one 3 days ago and the memories of the stomach ache is so bad, not sure when or if I'll ever have another beer again. At least it should keep you sober enough to get to an AA meeting hopefully.

On a similar line, a drug that's been around for ages is Antabuse. If you drink alcohol whilst taking Antabuse you will get some very unpleasant symptoms which may include, nausea and vomiting, flushing and headaches.

If you are going the drug route perhaps Naltrexone would be the first choice.

Actually Naltrexone does not work like taqila says. It does not produce violent reactions upon consuming alcohol, that would be Antabuse pointed out by you.

There is a new drug out now called Nalmefene, which instead of the usual daily dose type medicine is only taken 1 or 2 hours before anticipated drinking. It has been found to reduce consumption by nearly half, so would probably be ideal for binge drinkers, who actually drink only once or twice a month or so. As far as I am aware, this drug is not yet available in Thailand but can be obtained under prescription in the EU.

I think this must be a record, two TV members interviewed in the same week. Another was interviewed only a few months back. Makes you feel there is light at the end of the tunnel, just that the tunnel varies in length for different applicants.

Congratulations. Now you just have to wait for the Interior Minister's signature and your wife's name announced in the Government Gazette. I hope my interview is as short as yours/your wife's.

BTW, 60 interviews seems a lot. I think Arkady mentioned some time ago that they were down to about 20 or so per meeting. If they keep on at today's rate I may not have to wait too long before I am called.

BP = lose weight if needed, exercise regularly and minimize sodium intake (no added salt, and avoid processed foods)

Note that even with this, some people -- many in fact, especially among the over 5 crowd -- cannot maintain a healthy BP without medication.

Cholesterol = would help to know exactly what you HDL and LDL levels were 9total cholesterol is not meaningful). Avopid all fried foods at the market/restaurants (they use the worst kind of oil) and use only healthy oils at home (canola, olive, sunflower etc). Take in as much fiber as you can. Keep red meat to a minimum, ditto cheese. Avoid processed carbs but it sounds like you already do. Fish oil supplements.

"cannot maintain a healthy BP without medication."

Is it true that if you start on BP medications that you have to continue for life?

Did anyone answer this question? When I spoke to my doctor about this, he said that it is possible to no longer need meds to control BP, however, it was not common. I did not question him any further on the subject.

What I do note from my visits to the doctor is that he does not rely on the results from the digital BP measuring machines but always rechecks using his own mercury sphygmomanometer. The reading on the latter is always somewhat lower than the digital ones at the hospital I visit.

If what the Mrs tells me is reported on facebook is correct the Dems walked out after being refused the right to speak.

The third reading was then over and dusted within an hour.

PT democracy strikes again.

Well if the AFP report of 19 hours of heated debate is correct it would appear that the "facebook" page was wrong don't you think?

I listened to the debate for a while on the radio. I believe that the Dems put forward the names of 6 people who would debate the bill, but after the third Dem to speak the PT tried to get the Chairmen to wrap it up and go to the vote. The Dems were up in arms demanding the right for their other 3 appointed speakers to speak, at which point I went to watch a documentary as it was a forgone conclusion that it would pass.

Thats strange, the other paper had it that the debate took the first 6 hours just deciding a name for the bill, presumably because of filibustering. Then there was a vote to postpone debate of Section 3 which was lost in a close vote. A few hours later the 2nd reading was completed. the 3rd reading followed and the vote finished the session at 4 am.

You must have been bored watching it, just hope the documentary was worth waiting up for?

I read what the Bangkok Post said. When I said I listened to the debate for a while, I meant only about half an hour and that was a 8:00 p.m. The documentary was far more entertaining.

I response to another of your posts, even if the Dems had voted against the bill, it would still have sailed through. So really not much point in hanging about. The Dems will not be hurt by not voting against the bill, as the public pretty much believes/understands that they are against it. Who may be hurt are the redshirt MPs who abstained rather than voting against it, which their red brethren wanted.

If what the Mrs tells me is reported on facebook is correct the Dems walked out after being refused the right to speak.

The third reading was then over and dusted within an hour.

PT democracy strikes again.

Well if the AFP report of 19 hours of heated debate is correct it would appear that the "facebook" page was wrong don't you think?

I listened to the debate for a while on the radio. I believe that the Dems put forward the names of 6 people who would debate the bill, but after the third Dem to speak the PT tried to get the Chairmen to wrap it up and go to the vote. The Dems were up in arms demanding the right for their other 3 appointed speakers to speak, at which point I went to watch a documentary as it was a forgone conclusion that it would pass.

Out of interest, Oasis, when did you apply?

Dear GarryP,

I applied in mid 2009.

Oasis

So it looks like I am in for the long haul. I applied in mid 2012, and my application was forwarded to the MOI in the last quarter of the same year. I will be dropping in to the MOI very soon just to see where my application lies in the scheme of things.

Out of interest, Oasis, when did you apply?

So, wife's letter has arrived informing of final MOI interview next month.

Congratulations. If I recall correctly, wasn't your wife called to an interview before but it had to be postponed as you were overseas or am I mixing you up with someone else?

I am still waiting for the letter but my application has only been with the MOI for just over a year.

Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz

I've started the Odd series myself, after having seen the recent movie

I didn't know a film had been made. I love the character. I like Dean Koontz for light reading. My only complaint is that in many of his novels the build up is great but the climax is very short, as if he has got bored of writing the book and decides to wrap it up.

Trainspotting

Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz

What does "not sufficiently capable of integrating" mean in real terms?