Groongthep

Big congrats to Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon and Thailand on the gold medal performance. I hope this becomes a catalyst to promote more sports programs and other healthy activities for the kids in Thailand.

I don't think we can judge another person's emotions with any degree of accuracy. And we certainly can't judge the intensity a person feels for an emotionally charged career like NFL football.

I'll tell you this, when the Patriots won the first Super Bowl of their 42-year history, every one of which I had ridden through with them, I cried like a baby. When I watch Patriots games, my emotions are totally illogical and immature. Whether they win or lose has no tangible affect on my life. But there's no way that I can convince the emotions that flow within me of that fact!

Brett Favre was a hel_l of a lot more than a "fan" of the Packers. They were second only to his family in importance to his life. I believe that the emotion he showed when trying to retire were real. I believe that the team, the game, and his part in them, were so much a part of him that he had a very difficult time dealing with ending it.

I still respect him for the way he played the game; and for his dedication to it. If all of our American politicians truly had that same level of dedication; we'd have a much better country.

Well I totally agree with you about how fans' emotions can be totally illogical and immature; I feel the same way about the Bears. I've lived and died with them since I was a kid. I've even made stupid bets on them in Las Vegas knowing in the back of my mind they didn't stand a chance. Such is the life of any die hard fan. But back on topic, I was talking about Favre. Pro athletes do need to be concerned about their image and need to rise above the silliness of average fans. Favre will probably be around football long after he finally does retire or at least his name will be kicked around long after he is gone. The spectacle he has made of himself in this "I'm leaving-No, I'm staying" shenanigans will continue to hurt him. Hopefully we won't see him in a half time interview 10 or 20 years from now blabbering some drunken bull$h*t like Joe Namath. I still think he's a douche bag.

So what do you guys think about Brett Favre insisting on coming back and now being sent to the Jets? If this guy would have just made up his mind and really left the first time he said he was going to leave he would have gone down in the books as one of the classier players ever to play the game. Instead he besmirches his good name and fantastic record by 2 or 3 times saying that he is going to retire just to change his mind later. Oh, and each time he said he was going to go he made a big show of it complete with tears and hugs and all that crap. Now people will look back and see just another spoiled arrogant jock. What a douche bag.

By all reports I've seen the average Chinese is immensely proud of his country and of these Olympics. Yes, their government is still overbearing and guilty of serious human rights abuses but as bad as that may be, this same government has provided for an enormous improvement in the quality of life to a significant portion of it's 1.3 billion people in a relatively short period of time. Compare the China of today with the China of just 35 years ago. The transformation has been astounding. You can't take any country, especially the largest one on earth with over one fifth of the world's population from the stone age to an idyllic democratic wonderland overnight. What the Chinese government has done in the last two decades has been spectacular considering the state their nation was in even 20 years ago. Give them some credit and give them some time. I believe as China opens up more and more the people will eventually demand more freedoms and things will continue to improve in all areas socially, environmentally and politically. I say good for them and I hope the Olympics are a big success.

I saw him! He was hanging out up in the corner in front of Casanova.

He could mean the Ravens. I think the Cardinals flew off to the Arena League.

The Cardinals ended up at 8-8 last year. Three of their 8 wins were against Pittsburg, Cleveland and Seattle all teams with overall 10-6 records. Not spectacular but certainly respectable.

No I believe the poster is referring to the Sea Chickens.

They reside in the weakest division in the NFL.

The NFC West is definitely pathetic (Rams and 49ers) but a real strong arguement can be made that the AFC West (Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos ) is even worse.

Huh? The Chargers are Joe-Q's pick to win the Super Bowl this year......

No question the Chargers will be back in the playoffs again this year. They'll very possibly win all 6 games against the teams in their own division. Not entirely because the are so strong but also because the rest of their division is so bad.

He could mean the Ravens. I think the Cardinals flew off to the Arena League.

The Cardinals ended up at 8-8 last year. Three of their 8 wins were against Pittsburg, Cleveland and Seattle all teams with overall 10-6 records. Not spectacular but certainly respectable.

No I believe the poster is referring to the Sea Chickens.

They reside in the weakest division in the NFL.

The NFC West is definitely pathetic (Rams and 49ers) but a real strong arguement can be made that the AFC West (Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos ) is even worse.

how about a Chilly Dog and instead of the usual bun in jalepeno corn Bread?

I have no Idea if something like this is around or not but our US friends with abundend dog knowledge will surely know.. if not I may have invented a new Dog wonder if the Guide Michelin would be .... naaaa

John

Sounds a lot like a corn dog (the dog is fried in corn bread batter).

Hi Ulysses,

I know these but I'm thinking about an open "shaped" corn bread with the dog and chilly on top, more like a normal dog,

John

Your cornbread hotdog with chili on top sound kinda good. I may have to try one. Original corndogs like Ulysses spoke of are really quite awful. I remember as a kid some vendors would call them "Crusty Pups". That's one food I don't miss.

The following link has all the data on Valtrex. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see a picture of the tablets. VALTREX

Australia and NZ's coffee culture is very developed. On the trendy Ponsonby Road in Auckland there must be around 30 high quality cafes serving wonderful coffee. There is also one Starbucks. Curiously, the only people you would ever see in that Starbucks are bewildered American and Asian tourists. Nuff said.

I wasn't taking a shot at Oz or NZ nor was I defending Starbucks. I was pointing out that I didn't agree with samran's comment that Americans have lacked an appreciation of coffee and his stereotype that all Americans think Starbucks is the "bees nees". He goes on to say that no one from one of the 'mature' coffee countries would touch them. The numbers however, just don't support that statement. I assumed the 'mature' coffee culture countries he was talking about were in Europe since they go back significantly longer than either Oz, NZ or the US. Even after all the closings there are still many Starbucks outlets open in Europe like it or not. You can't tell me that it's only tourists that keep them open. Starbucks also takes a lot of criticism in the US for their fast food approach to the coffee shop business. One trip to San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Denver, Portland, Seattle or any number of the other more progressive cities in the US and one will see that there is no shortage of small high calibre independent coffee shops. I don't doubt that Auckland sees it's fair share of bewildered American tourists but I seriously doubt if it is Starbucks that has them bewildered.

but you go to somewhere where there is a more 'mature' coffee culture, and people don't touch starbucks with a barge poll.

Australia maybe ? There closing 2/3rds of their stores here.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080729/ap_on_...ralia_starbucks

I don't think samran was talking about Australia when he referred to countries with a 'mature' coffee culture. Starbucks also closed 600 stores in the US.

The fact that so many Thai's love the Italian food from these places is beyond me. I don't think you could do worse getting microwavable frozen Italian from the supermarket.

It isn't beyond the owners of these chains....

The fact they have done so well is that they have amended their menu to take into account local tastes and preferences. The locals love it. Try serving them a 'real' pizza and they'd turn their noses up at it.

A bit like Starbucks really. Serves <deleted> coffee with way too much milk, and flavouring to cover it up the coffee taste. Americans, who have lacked a traditional coffee culture think starbucks is the bees knees, but you go to somewhere where there is a more 'mature' coffee culture, and people don't touch starbucks with a barge poll.

Actually there are millions of Americans who don't like Starbucks either. I'm not sure exactly what countries you are talking about that have mature coffee cultures and whose people wouldn't touch Starbucks with a barge poll, but even after the recent wave of store closures worldwide there are still 45 Starbucks in France, 126 in Germany, 42 in Switzerland, 11 in Austria and 77 in Spain (It is true that Italy has none). There must be quite a few people in those counties who patronize the stores or they would have closed too. The fact that Pizza Hut has amended their menu to take into account local tastes and preferences makes them quite different from Starbucks in that Starbucks doesn't change their product from country to country. Maybe that's part of the reason Starbucks has struggled financially in the last year or so.

A bit like Starbucks really. Serves <deleted> coffee with way too much milk, and flavouring to cover it up the coffee taste.

BTW, you can order expresso or drip coffee at Starbucks without any milk or flavorings.

Be a bit more specific as to what you mean by Central Bangkok. The closest thing to a Central Business District is Silom. Other posters have sugggested hotels that are in lower Sukhumvit which is a tourist area. The usefulness of the responses that you get here will depend on whether you are coming for business or holiday.

you order small drink and they chargwe you for large size! it happens too often to be a coincidence . i think its in employee manual to increase sales.

its not the principle its the 5 baht im worried about!

The fact that the Pizza Company and Pizza Hut call there product pizza at all is a scam in itself.

Although I haven't seen her in months now , there used to be a young woman with 2 children who would beg just below the Asoke BTS Station near the escalators to the MRT. As time passed I paid closer attention to her kids and noticed that they weren't always the same kids. Different days...different kids. Obviously, she was just exploiting these children to get money. It worked. As time went on she gained more and more weight and began wearing better and better clothing until she looked better off than many of the people she was begging money from. As I used this BTS station nearly every day I saw her as often and would give her nothing but a disapproving frown. I could tell from the look on her face that she knew that I was on to her scam and she began looking away embarrassed every time I walked by. Tourists just kept giving her money.

One the other hand, I do sometimes give a 10 baht coin to a blind person who is begging. This is because I have at times seen these blind beggars away from tourist areas begging from everyday Thais. The fact that the locals give them money leads me to believe that they may truly be in need and not working some sort of scam.

...... I have also heard that soon they will be charging for Hotmail which has so far been free.

You are using the free Hotmail service. You are not their customer because you pay them nothing. How can you compain about something that someone is giving you for free?

Is something is free, there should be no counter prestation .... ie the wind. As you have to endure ads, there is a counter prestation. To judge something is free or not, money doesn't have to be a deciding factor.

The phrase "As you have to endure ads..." is prejudicial. You don't have to use hotmail if you don't choose to do so. The ads come along with your choice to use the service. Advertisers pay Microsoft to post the ads, the user is out nothing; money or otherwise. Hotmail is free. If you don't like it, don't use it.

A little note of Mayo trivia: Hellmann's and Best Foods Mayonnaise are the exact same product made by the same company. Hellmann's is sold east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and also in Canada, Latin America and Europe. The exact same product is sold under the name Best Foods in the United States west of the Rockies. Hellmann's and Best Foods I can't explain why the Best Food's mayo sold in Thailand is made with a different formula. Perhaps they think Asians prefer it with more sugar or maybe it's a copyright infringement.

Some sort of plastic factory on fire this morning.

Noticed it about an hour and a half ago, fire still not under control (09:00).

Where?

From TV News, I understand somewhere at Rama 2 Road.

Probably meant Rama III Road as that looks like Khlong Toei Port.

Click on the following link to get an interactive map of Bangkok: Bangkok Map. In the small search box in the upper left hand side of the map type in Phahurat then click "FIND". It will show you Pahurat Road near the end of Sampeng Lane, which is the area sometimes called Little India. You can use the zoom controls to determine the best route for you to drive depending on which direction you are coming from.

Speaking of Romo and dropped footballs, who can forget the botched hold by Romo in the January 6, 2007 playoff game against Seattle? The 19 yard chip shot of a field goal with only 1:19 left on the clock would have almost assured them the win. Instead they lost 21-20. As much as I have always hated the Dallas Cowboys I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the guy (for about 2 seconds).

That's why I avoid the heavy sedation.

We're talking about 10mg of valium or 5mg of ambien here, not barbiturates or quaaludes. Both valium and zolpidem are relatively mild and can hardly be classed as "heavy sedation". They have been proven safe and effective in clinical trials and are frequently prescribed in most countries around the world. I don't pretend to be a doctor but I can read the safety data and it says that while there can be serious side effects in some people they are statistically rare for both these drugs. If there is a serious emergency while in flight (the chances of which are about the same as getting hit by lightening) neither of these drugs is going to effect you to the extent that you are not going to be able to help yourself. They are not that strong. Besides, the OP's question was "What is the best thing I can buy over the counter at a pharmacy to help me sleep?" Valium and ambien are available over the counter in Thailand and are perfectly reasonable answers to his question.

I can never sleep on the plane and am off to the UK tomorrow.

What is the best thing I can buy over the counter at a pharmacy to help me sleep?

thanks in advance

Steve

If you don't have time to go to a doctor for a proper Rx, Ambien (zolpidem tartrate) is available at some pharmacies in the mid Sukhumvit area in Bangkok. I sometimes take one after my flight is airborne and it helps me sleep well for up to 8 hrs. It might make me a little groggy when I awake but a cup of coffee or two will bring me right out of it.

This topic was already discussed in another thread yesterday. Oil Companies Profits

anthonyu and bkkjames,

The OP, NoSpeakIt, has posted this story from the blog of a writer from BK magazine. He is not the one who wrote it and he did not attend ABAC.

Hi BambinA

Maybe you are just having a bad day but you have completely misinterpreted the article you refer to.

The long-term residents are NOT complaining about their fellow international students; they are NOT being racist at all. They are complaining that the increasing percentage of short-stay students is negatively impacting on the social cohesion of the long-stay students. The crux of the problem is the length of stay, not the nationality of the students. The fact that the short-stay students happen to be foreigners is not relevant to the complaint of the long-stay students. It seems likely that the long-stay students would be making the same complaint were the short-stay students Dutch.

As an 18-month student, I don’t think you would even be regarded as a short-stay student. One student quoted complains he can’t get to know his fellow students when half of them leave at the end of their 6-month stay.

I am not Dutch but I was a student at an international college in the Netherlands 31 years ago for 2 years. I had a great time – made many Dutch friends there. I'm sure you will too.

Kind regards

Khonwan

Edit: It appears that no other respondent here has bothered to read the article.

Bambina,

Khonwan is right. Read the article closely and you will find that the other young people in the flat are not so much worried about international students but about short stayers of 6 months or less. I got the impression that they believe most foreign students won't be staying long and will therefore not contribute much to the community atmosphere that they have developed in this place. This may be a good thing. Since you will be staying for 18 months I doubt if the other students will even consider you to be in the "short stayer" category anyway. I Googled "Warande in Zeist" and found that there are 800 rooms in this flat. If only 124 to 200 of the rooms are for short stayers (less than a quarter of the total) I really don't think they have much to worry about regarding the break-up of "social cohesion". The two quotes from other foreign students that I found through links at the Warande site were by students from Denmark and the United States, so I really don't think racism has anything to do with their concerns. It looks to me that you are just a little nervous about your new school and how you will fit in. That is totally natural. Just relax and take it easy...you'll do fine. In fact, judging from the helpful nature of your posts that I have seen in the past, I am confident that everyone there will see you for the lovely person that you are and that you will quickly make a lot of friends. Best of luck kiddo. Keep us updated. We are rooting for you.

Groongthep