dclaryjr

But this requires much more detailed investigation and several months to complete each year. A retirement extension of stay is less paperwork and involves you only. One visit per year (other than the 90 day address reports).

Sounds like a good 'nuff reason to go with the retirement option! Thanks!

It's the way you read it... The deposit of 400.000 (not 40,000) is only a facility you can use if you had previously been applying for extensions before the police order 606/2549 came into affect. Since that order the only option to new applicants married to a Thai is an income of 40,000 per month.

Absolutely correct.

Assuming the monthly income is not a problem, is there ANY reason not to choose spousal support over retirement.

Wow...I didn't even realize that Tricare work in Thailand. Thanks for the info.

Ski....

But how about Tricare For Life? That works with Medicare Part B which isn't usable out of country if I'm not mistaken.

Inhale and hold, till my temple vains are popping.

Hands up how many of you do the following, whilst reading a line on the green; squat, and hold the putter shaft against the line, with one eye closed and a serious look of focus on you face, even though you have no idea what difference looking at the shaft makes.

Nope...no plumb bobbing for me.!!

When I played a few rounds in Thailand, all the caddies I had would pick a line for you by the way they placed the ball. I just had to judge the speed--worked fairly well.

I've decided to get one of the Sony SXRDs, which size will depend on price. Sony's RRP for the sets are:

KS-50R200A :129,990 Bt. (50")

KS-60R200A :149,990 Bt. (60")

KS-70R200A :199,990 Bt (70")

OUCH!!! The 70" JVC 1080P set can be had for a little over U.S. $3000. Guess I better bring a dollar stash when I make the "final" move for "luxury" items (although I consider TV an essential).

Go COWBOYS!

Mafaso

I sure hope the mid-season Cowboys show up!!

lastly, the night before a round you should have ur clubs beside you as you watch tv,

and just engage in pleasant banter with them during commercial breaks.

this quality time can often resolve long festering jealousies and inferiority complexes among them...

LOL!! I'll have to try that one!!

From what I can see, there are currently only two manufacturers that have 1080p (actual 1080p, not just "accept 1080p input" and downsize it to some lower res) for non-astronomical prices (in Thailand), and those are Samsung and Sony. Both Samsung and Sony have 40-46" LCD TVs for around 100-200k baht, and Sony has the 50-60" SXRD projection TVs (which many say are better than LCDs or plasmas) for around the same price bracket.

JVC has 1080P sets in their line of HD-ILA sets (I own one). It's based on the same technology (LCOS) as the Sony SXRDs and represent a better value IMHO (at least in the U.S.)

I give give the wifes mother 5000 baht every month and a little more when I visit her. The reason I do this is she has looked after the wifes daughter since her birth and I feel this is fair. I would like to give a little more but as I'm on a pension it is all I can really afford. How do other board members feel about this?

I've been sending money to help out the relatives in my wife's village (outside of Korat) monthly for 30 years. It started as $100 when I was a low-ranking enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, and has slowly increased to around $250 now. But once my wife retires from her civil-service job (probably in three years), we will have to cut that back quite a bit.

Thanks for the information...I too have enjoyed my swimming activities... I don't enjoy tennis anymore after years of pounding the courts.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I play racquetball for my competitive fix but it's getting tougher. After playing at lunch, and then sitting at my desk for awhile, I really feel my age when I finally get up and try to move! But my understanding is that racquetball isn't played in Thailand (I guess squash is as close as I can come to it) so I think I'll probably swim for fitness and golf, golf, golf!!!!!

Does anyone else have a particular Golf “ritual”, or habit, which they feel they must do when playing?

I mean rituals like putting the left shoe on first when changing before a game, or only wearing a white Golf Glove etc.?

For years I have always had to have 4 Golf Tees in my pocket when I start a Round – 3 long ones and a short one, and all must be a different colour.

Just wondering if I’m the only weird one - or are obsessions like this fairly common?

Patrick

Nothing quite like that. I do have a favorite shirt that I always wear for my weekend rounds, and I always take the Sharpie (black) to three new balls the evening before a round. I have a plastic template that I use to mark a line on the ball.

If, however, you want to make up your own rules, or follow some rules someone else made up

All rules are made up by someone....even the FINA rules are made up by someone!!!

Chownah

Come on--you know what I meant. I'm referring to the difference between a recognized sanctioning body and someone ('one' as in a single person) drawing up some rules for a non-sanctioned event. You obviously have to have the last word whether you actually have a valid point to make so you can have it--I'm done. But I'll leave you with this. According to your link, which you referred to as a complete set of rules, a swimmer doing a 100-meter free could do the following: dive in, swim a few strokes, stand on the bottom of the pool and then jump foward and start swimming again. He could repeat that several times until he got tired at which point he could just start pulling himself forward by grasping the lane lines. When he got to the far end of the pool, he could just turn around and head back without ever touching the wall. Obviously that would be a farce but those are all situations that are covered in REAL rules and not in your link.

Thanks.. I thought the backstroke had a restriction... I seem to remember that.. but freestyle and Fly..I'm not sure.. thanks for the information..

You're welcome. I've really come to appreciate swimming as a sport since I've started officiating. It's great to see kids working hard and achieving goals. Most of my time is as a volunteer (I get a small stipend for officiating high school but not the age group swimmers), and it has taken away from my golf time. But I think it's worth it after seeing what the kids get out of swimming.

Does Thailand have a masters swimming program? Cheers..

That I don't know. If they do, I'll be ready for the 60 and over class by the time I move there for good!

BTW, I have been officiating swim meets for going on three years and will probably achieve my referee certification this summer. I also write a monthly column on swimming rules for a team newsletter.

Then you should be advised that there is more than one set of rules for swimming competitions......my link is not FINA....I believe that my link shows the complete set of rules used for a swim meet.....perhaps I'm wrong though...

Chownah

Your link is an abstract of a real set of rules written by a person who is running an intramural swim competition at a college in Alaska. There is no way that can be interpreted as a "complete set of rules" for serious competition. Go read a real set of rules and see how much is missing.

Yes, there can be instances of minor variances in rules. I officiate high school as well as USA Swimming meets and they have different rules for making a backstroke turn (although I think the high school rules will change eventually). Serious competition all over the world goes by the FINA rules.

So I'll rephrase my answer to the original poster:

If you want to follow the rules used by the overwhelming majority of swim competitions in the world, then your head must break the surface before the 15 meter mark. If, however, you want to make up your own rules, or follow some rules someone else made up, then you can stay underwater until your head crashes into the wall if you'd like.

in backstroke there is a maximum of 15 metres underwater

in breaststroke the head must break the surface of the water before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the second stroke.

freestyle and butterfly have no restrictions.

Not true. Freestyle falls under the same rule at backstroke--you must break the surface by fifteen meters. And the first arm stroke in the butterfly must bring you to the surface.

Not true. According to http://www.uaf.edu/src/SwimMeet.html there seems to be no restrictions on freestyle. It says "In a freestyle event, any style or combination of styles may be used." while it does mention that the breast stroke must be swum on the surface.

Chownah

All that says is that any style can be used--it is not the complete rule on freestyle. If you read the actual rule, it includes the heads up at 15 meter condition, and the requirement to touch the wall with any part of the body on turns and the finish. The fifteen meter rule applies to the butterfly as well since you can do numerous dolphin kicks before doing the first arm pull. I'd suggest a visit to www.fina.org and follow the links to the swimming rules.

BTW, I have been officiating swim meets for going on three years and will probably achieve my referee certification this summer. I also write a monthly column on swimming rules for a team newsletter.

in backstroke there is a maximum of 15 metres underwater

in breaststroke the head must break the surface of the water before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the second stroke.

freestyle and butterfly have no restrictions.

Not true. Freestyle falls under the same rule at backstroke--you must break the surface by fifteen meters. And the first arm stroke in the butterfly must bring you to the surface.

I do a monthly SWIFT transfer in U.S. dollars to an in-law's personal account at a Thai bank. The conversion to baht is done at his end. Is this affected by these restrictions? If so, we're in a big bind. He's making my house payment with that money, and his house is collateral for the loan!

I have Tricare (retired US Military). It only pays 75% and I have to pay 25% of the bill first.

I had an accident in CM this year and stayed in the hospital. The tricare rep in BKK helped me with the paperwork and called me yesterday to tell me the hospital will get paid and they also sent me a check. Too bad the check they sent me was for U.S. Dollars. Not sure where to cash that.

Hi Richard,

I have been using TRICARE Standard for the past 4 years for my wife and I and have the same problem with them sending the check to me here. I just send the checks to my bank in the US for deposit. It beats not having any reimbursement at all.

Greg

Can you use Tricare Prime in LOS? What about Tricare for Life after hitting 65 (shaky since that includes using Medicare)?

Well I just decided against the purchase of a house here so I won't be transfering a big amount of $ for now.

Amen! I very reluctantly agreed build a house back when the the rate was 42 or 43. Obviously my monthly payment has jumped quite a bit. My only consolation is that it will be paid for in 10 years and I'll still be able to live pretty well even if the rate drops into the 20s.

If you have been, like me, waiting and hoping that one day the owners of the franchise would treat the subject with some seriousness and intensity, your wait is finally over.

I haven't seen it yet but I'm looking forward to doing so. I read all of Fleming's books before the movie franchise started. In the beginning, the screenplays closely paralleled the books but eventually there was very little in common. Heck, in The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond doesn't show up until halfway through the book and most of it takes place in a motel room. So I find your post encouraging!!

HeII, it's been so long I don't remember...I'm guessing I was Googling for some visa info at the time. My post count is low but so is my member number.

Why did they draft Fausano when they have Witten?

So he could make that catch for a first down and help the Boys beat the Colts!

How about dem Cowboys?

OK, it was the Cardinals, and we have the Colts next week, but we are only one game behind the Giants and they are crippled with injuries. Philadelphia is also in it. This division is still wide open.

Owens still need to go visit Jack Tatum and get some StickUm!!

Romo is looking great.

Losing Ellis is gonna hurt.

Hardy, all my US govt. pensions including SSA are deposited directly into my WellsFargo account, and I've been withdrawing funds at a daily limit of $500 per day for several years now. They've just been bought up by Bank of America, I think. But when I phone and ask, they increase my limit to $1,000 per day. I use an address in the USA.

Are you withdrawing this through ATMs? I set up a Wells Fargo account so that my brother-in-law could draw funds to make my house payment and the monthly support we give my wife's relatives in the village. But they capped the withdrawal at $300 a day and it was a PITA. Instead they do monthly wire transfers for me for $15.

Times are getting hard for US citizens getting the $$$ transferred across from the states....

I'm paying a mortgage in baht using transferred dollars! I'm trying to console myself with the thought that I will have a paid-for house when I retire and then I don't care if the exchange rate drops to 25 to 1--I'll still be in great shape. But it sure s*cks now!