JohnnyJazz

It's a very common story. You used to live with the same person for years, having breakfast, go to work, back for diner. Enjoy the week end and a couple of weeks holiday together. Happy life together.

Then come retirement, together 24/7/365. And happy together no more.

I need to get the hell out of the house ! URGENT !

A smartass suggested that i spent my days in Starbuck like the people who have been fired and won't tell their wife. Thanks but no thanks

Basically I need an activity, a job, whatever ... that will take me out of the house 5 days a week like in the good old time (I would never have thought I would ever say that !!!). I've run a company in Hong Kong for 20+ years so I can do a lot of things

Any suggestion welcomed

Bangkok area.

Any PC will do, much better than any box that has limited functions.

Personally I don't like air mouse, I never been able to find one that works to my liking. I eventually found in Mongkok this handheld combo keyboard/trackpad that works perfectly for Kodi and other application.

Edited : At the bottom left of the TV you can see the ZOTAC mini PC I use for KODI

Mercer would not know if their arse was on fire , what a load of rubbish, how this even gets printed as a bonafide report , when not one South American country is on that list , Where the <deleted> is Mexico, ? So as a paper report i would suggest to Mercer that they install the printed copies in their hong nam!

Couldn't agree more. A friend from Brazil was visiting a while ago. He was comparing Thailand with his home country and was amazed how he could feel safe anywhere in Bangkok, even in the most impoverished of the city.

An other friend from Texas too told me once how he feel safe here, he even added : here you don't get shot at for a pair of shoes (??).

To finish, I've been an expat in Asia for more than 20 years. I've personally known two person who were killed in two separate criminal incidents in the Philippine and an other couple of people who were killed in traffic accident in China. Regarding Thailand it seems the principal cause of death here is old age ...

I usually send the gf to buy anything when we're in Bangkok as she gets native prices, go in the door separately and I wait to one side until she has completed the transaction. We usually eat native and I find a table and wait for her to order and pay for the food, by the time the proprietor realises it's too late to rip us off.

Out here in Smallesville, Isaan farangs are a rarity and the dual pricing scam isn't practised, as far as I can tell.

Not sure where you shop but apart from at some temples, museums, tourist attractions, dual pricing is not practiced elsewhere. Exceptions are taxi drivers trying to rip you off (and I've heard but never experienced) small scale hole in the wall restaurants in very touristy areas showing tourists or those that appear to be tourists English menus with highly inflated prices, while Thais (in the rare event they go to eat there) are given Thai only menus with lower prices.

However, there is no dual pricing if you eat at hawker centers (food courts) with clearly displayed prices, whether there is English present or not, in shopping center chain restaurants, independent restaurants in most places, when you're shopping at central department store, Tops, Tesco, Big C, Foodland, Gourmet Market or anywhere else.

Maybe you should stop eating "native" whatever that means and do what the rest of us do and eat proper food, including Thai, at chain restaurants, independent restaurants (NOT hole in the wall restaurants serving boring overly spicy food with no air-con) or just cook at home, which is the best type of cooking there is.

I have to agree with 3tom69, in Bangkok if you avoid the tourist areas you're very unlikely to have to pay "farang price". It seems the myth is usually propagated by the local escorts in order to scare their companion (without me you're going to be ripped off) and to make sure they have total control of the walking atm.

I think I found the solution

In Settings>Indexers>Restrictions>Must Not Contain

It's a total disaster. Now 90% of Sonarr's download are in X265, which means first that I have to check and probably download again everything that I've downloaded for the past two weeks and then I've to stop using Sonarr until I've found a fix for that problem.

I use Sonarr to automatically download files into my Kodi libraries. Everything was fine until recently I noticed a drop in quality. In the setup I selected 720p as it is a good compromise between size and quality. But I found out the problem was with the encoding as it seems more and more files are now encoded using the X265 standard.

X265 is advertised as producing much smaller files at allegedly similar or better quality than X264. The X265 files are actually much smaller but when I watch them with Kodi I found that even in 1080p the quality doesn't match a 720p in the old standard. I was told it was because I need to update my softwares but I can't find any Kodi's update related to this problem.

Alternatively I could exclude X265 files from Sonarr but I looked in Sonarr setup and can't find where I could select or exclude the format in which I want / don't want the files encoded.

Any advise ?

If you're doing ok you're already better than me. Not that I'm losing money or anything like that, I just haven't start yet.

Like I believe many other posters here, I'm a semi retired guy with some time on my hand and I'm attracted by the thrill of day trading. The problem is I just don't know where to start. So maybe you can help yourself by helping others and share your experience.That would definitively help to jump start your thread and entice other traders to share their experience too.

Thai Buddhists are no different from Christians who are against abortion (because only God has the right to take back what He has given) but support the death penalty. Every country, every religious group has its contradiction

thanks for this input. i worded my my question wrong.

i am talking about bars that are just for Farangs. you know, bars with names like "Easy Bar" or "Honey Bar"

He means sexpat bars ;-)

Mosquitoes are driving me crazy. Of course there are all kind of spray to get rid of them but I'm not sure these chemicals are really healthy for us and they smell terribly bad. And there are mosquitoes' traps. My local department store has a full range of them, at all kind of prices. But the real question is, do they really work to help keep your house mosquito free ?

Thailand's negatives are on full display to anyone with common sense, a mature psyche and a grip on reality.

I don't need Thailand. Thailand needs me.

You have to admit, from time to time you can have a good laugh with ThaiVisa.

Indeed. I have a few questions for you:

1.There are a number of important foreign funded and led research projects underway in Thailand. If the foreigners responsible for the research and the operations leave, what do you think will happen to the subject patients receiving treatment? What happens to all the skilled labor employed? Would you not agree that Thailand needs these foreigners?

2. There are a number of foreign based representatives for major cruise lines. They ensure that the cruise lines visit Thailand, and they are responsible for large contracts upon which many Thais depend for their livelihoods. It night be logistics, or it might be shore excursions. What do you think would happen if these specialists were pulled from Thailand?

3. Thailand is seeking third party supply contracts for electronics and automotive parts. There are foreigners in Thailand who are tasked with over seeing QC and compliance with the foreign purchaser's needs. Some of the international hi tech electronic companies have full time inspectors in Thailand so as to avoid past negative experiences. What do you think would happen if these specialists were no longer in Thailand?

4. Olaf is a wealthy individual. He flies in to Thailand every few months and stays a few weeks. When he visits, he stays at an expensive hotel and spends a considerable amount on F&B. Olaf is also fond of wildlife preservation. He has donated large amounts to various wildlife charities and is considered the reason why some have been able to eke out survival helping to save many of Thailand's endangered critters. What do you think would happen if Olaf never returns?

Here's a reality check. All of the above are real life examples. Thailand needs these people. They do not need Thailand. It may come as a shock to you, but there are foreigners in Thailand who make significant contributions to the country and who contribute far more than they receive. Not every foreigners is unskilled, or retired, or living on benefits, or on the run from their homeland.

Your colonialist views are totally out of touch with the realities of this century. If they don't need Thailand what are they doing here ?

Here is the reality check. These foreigners are here for a reason, they are looking either for customers or suppliers. They do need Thailand as much as Thailand needs them.

Just like this forum with you. Do people appreciate your comments ? Yes, some for sure. Do you contribute to make this forum more lively ? Definitively. But do ThaiVisa needs you and will go bankrupt without you ? .... reality check !

Thailand's negatives are on full display to anyone with common sense, a mature psyche and a grip on reality.

I don't need Thailand. Thailand needs me.

You have to admit, from time to time you can have a good laugh with ThaiVisa.

The only thing ThaiVisa has discouraged me to do is to seek the company of other "farangs". When I see one the first thing that comes to my mind is he may be one the depressive whiner, thai basher that post here. Then I usually lower my head and quickly walk away.

If there are relatively minor damages involved and the police take your passport, you could end up overstaying your visa, missing a flight home and other consequences.

I was wondering more what you cooked for your golden retriever in his adult days.

Also my comment was about fresh goat's milk. (I wasn't even aware that tinned goat's milk was available.)

Soup with meat. I used to go either to Lotus or Makro, buy meat in bulk, then put in a pressure cooker with vegetable and water. I serve with rice.

What is important is daily exercices. As I was working abroad he used to stay in Bangkok with my in laws, they treat him right but he couldn't go outside, typical Bangkok neighborhood too many aggressive soi dogs to be safe to walk a dog. So he started to be overweight and develop hips problem until he could barely walk. The vets all gave up on him until I took him back with me. Good food with short then longer walk three time a day, he made an almost full recovery that surprised everybody.

For the puppy, the vet advised against all kind of milk, so we don't give. When he arrived he was underweight, the problem being he doesn't really like dog food. I tried switching to home cooked food but it gave him diarrhea. So now I mix dog food with boiled chicken, it's ok, he is eating and gaining weight fast. Following vet advises we will introduce new food little by little in order not to disturb his digestion.

PS : I used to add milk to the dog's soup, but very diluted. The vet says it's ok to "wet" the puppy food with goat milk, the goal being to push the puppy to eat more and the added taste of milk may help.

So far Thai beer has been very good for me. I find it absolutely disgusting, whatever the label on the bottle. For the past two years I haven't drink a single one and lost 15 Kg in the process. I honestly can't complain

If you start to mix old and new components you will be in for a surprise. For example, newer graphic cards require usually a new power brick and processors might require a different motherboard. As the previous poster said, start anew. Go to Pantip or Fortune and select all the components yourself. They will assemble it for you.

You're right, that something I definitively need to check before any purchase.

Optimal PC for gaming it's Core i5, Nvidia series starting from 550 (means 560+, 650+, 750+ etc. don't buy lower then 50 (610, 730 etc.)). 4+ GB of RAM (minimum). Also SSD drive help with loading and freezing in games!

Good advise. I was about to buy this one but after reading your post and checking a number of specialized site, it would have been a big mistake. Thanks again

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^ Thanks. But does it make sense to save money buying an old computer and then add a (relatively) expensive graphic card and SSD drive ? Will an old core I5 from 2012-13 be up to the task ?

And I forgot an I3 at competitive price

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So I installed GTA IV on my old computer (Celeron @ 2.4Ghz). To say it was laggish would be an understatement. I'm not ready to invest in a brand new computer so I had a look at 2nd hand computers. Prices seem to be competitive but I3, I5, I7, it's all very confusing.

I'm sure there are a number of experience gamers here, what would be the specs for a basic computer to play GTA, CoD and other similar games ?

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Usually the shop replaces a defective product within one month of the purchase date. After that you will need to contact WD directly. In Bangkok they are in Pantip. They are great, no need proof of purchase, from the S/N they know when you bought it and if it's still under warranty they will replace it no question asked.

Your old PC will probably do if you get GTA 3 or maybe GTA 4 depending on the graphics card, if you want to play GTA 5 you will need a newer 64 bit PC with a graphics card with 2 gigs of RAM to play it, the GTA games are fairly accessible to newbie gamers i'd say...

Personally i'd always buy a PC rather than a console, a far wider & cheaper range of games plus everything else that you can do with a PC, just make sure its got a HDMI slot so that you can use your flat screen TV for a monitor, also for up to date games make sure its 64 bit & has a 2 gig memory card plus at least 8 gigs of RAM, you'll get one for 30000 Bhts or so...

Thanks. Constructive advises, I appreciate !

A very naive question : Do you have an insurance ? Isn't your insurance job to go after the other party ?