sibeymai

another thought....

when those "dark days" do arrive, as I believe they surely will, by revolution or otherwise, foreigners in thailand better have a piece of dirt somewhere upcountry to disappear to and escape the turmoil which could erupt in Bangkok. I'd think bangkok would be a pretty unpleasant place to be if you had nowhere else to go in Thailand. Make preparations now for your alternatives is my advice.

Bring on the revolution.....why put off the inevitable ?

Get it over and done with so whoever's left can get on with life.

Must say, I've never heard them referred to as fried eggs before. Maybe its a Scottish thing

I don't know if it is a Scottish thing, but it is a Thai thing, one of the ways used describe that type of breast arrangement. Something a bit bigger but still not too large is often described as Nom Sarapao after the Chinese buns. And of course there is the Nom Yai or "Big Tits" category as well. I am sure there are many more. As a middle aged man my fear is having any kind of breasts at all!

Just to give some idea of how entrenched the small breast "fried egg" concept is in Thai culture, when a golfer lands a shot into a bunker and the ball has burried itself in the sand it is referred to as "kai dow" because of the similarity to a small breasted women. I don't think it is meant as derogatory, just an apt description.

Anyway, a large precentage of Thai men I know prefer large breasted women and farangs seem to have likings either way. At least most women have the opportunity to alter their breasts to suit themselves so enjoy what you have or change, up to you.

PS. I'd like to propose a new addition to the Thai vernacular...."nom tok".....what happens to "nom yai" after 50 years

Go and nick one from another Vigo...there's lots to choose from....but just one thing....spares from white Vigos only fit other white Vigos. So pick any Vigo except a white one.

As for Indians, Pakistanis, Bngladeshis....yes, in my experience they can be quite insensitive to others....but remember, you wouldn't get anywhere in their home countries by being patient and courteous. Worst case, you'd probably either starve or be trampled to death. It's a survival technique in most cases that has by now become a reflex response.

The obnoxious exceptions are the wealthy who just are just plain rude, inconsiderate and abusive. Once had a blazer-wearing businessman try to jump the queue at check-in. I said to him very loudly "Did your mother teach you your bad manners ?". Another good line, again said very loudly is "do you own this airline ?" (rarely you'll get a yes answer). "NO, then get to the back of the queue."

I've had all five major banks in BKK lie to my face and cost me hundreds of thousands of baht. My recommendation is don;t bank with any of them and keep an offshore account with internet and ATM access.

Just for the record, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) lied the least and were the most contrite when confronted with their lies. None offered any compensation or an apology.

May we ask what these lies were concerning ?

Banks promised to approve a home loan but renegged after I paid the deposit which I subsequently lost.

a sexy model on bloomberg or cnbc says she dont want to be paid in usa dollars. this means dollar likely has hit bottom. models not known for financial acumen.

she getting paid for he looks not her brainpower..............lol.

You'll probably find it's her advisors at Julius Baer and LGT that who are giving her that advice.

Still, it's quite a bizarre thing to report and completely typical of the kinds of stories that mark a top/bottom :-)

Elle MacPherson hasn't done too badly for herself, but an exception I'll admit.

Isn't the gang in the wrong place....shouldn't they be on Krabi ?

I've had all five major banks in BKK lie to my face and cost me hundreds of thousands of baht. My recommendation is don;t bank with any of them and keep an offshore account with internet and ATM access.

Just for the record, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) lied the least and were the most contrite when confronted with their lies. None offered any compensation or an apology.

How unbelievably tragic, such a senseless loss. My sympathies to all concerned.

In LOS one becomes somewhat hardened to senseless death but this just goes to show that other countries really aren't much different.

Truly saddening.

Didn't the van driver flee the scene ?

What a pointless and predictable comment in a thread about the tragic deaths of children.

Someone had to post it...so now it's been posted.

What we have seen is a gradual slide of the US$ over a prolonged period. But historically there have been a number of events which periodically have caused dramatic economic changes virtually overnight. The subprime crisis was touted as a possibility but it looks to have run out of steam. The war in Iraq has a lot to do with the current slide but this has happened gradually as the US debt has mounted.

I'm curious about what forum member's might regard as a potential trigger for a more dramatic and sudden shift in the US$. Something in the league of a world event. Where will it come from ? When ? US bombing Iran or North Korea ? Another Eastern European crisis ? What about South America and Africa ? Could China's intense interest in Africa cause friction with the US and Europe ? Something else ? Maybe a domestic US event or crisis. Any ideas ?

Didn't the van driver flee the scene ?

Next it will become an offence to use a mobile phone in the toilet of an aircraft.

two of you, yes YOU! stop fighting here.

OK, OK. Not another word from me about the poor quality of software on mobile networks......

As another poster said.....

Suprised how this has turned into a mobile phone debate and not a 'why the heck didnt the oxygen work' question.

Did the oxygen masks not deploy or did they dploy and not provide oxygen ?

Oxygen masks wouldn't deploy automatically unless there was depressurisation. If it was an air conditioning failure, as Thai Airways says, and not a depressurisation then the oxygen masks not deploying would appear to be correct function. There would be plenty of oxygen in the cabin already assuming pressurisation is maintained for the time taken to make an emergency landing.

If there was depressurisation then one assumes that cabin crew can also trigger the deployment manually if necessary. If after having been deployed no oxygen was available then that is a very serious matter.

Based on the information given so far the former scenario seems to have occurred.

A mobile phone at ground level can be within range of multiple cells at the same time just the same as a mobile phone at 11,000m. The altitude of the phone is irrelevant to the cell network's software which passes the phone to whichever cell has the strongest signal regardless of the phone's altitude.

the altitude indeed makes all the  difference, it's called line of sight and that means that on the ground you can never be connected to as many cells as you are in the air.

It's simple physics.

check out these links

http://www.privateline.com/Cellbasics/cell...esairlines.html

<a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?articleId=9015839&command=viewArticleBasic" target="_blank">http://www.computerworld.com/action/articl...iewArticleBasic://http://www.privateline.com/Cellbasi...iewArticleBasic

://http://www.privateline.com/Cellbasi...ticleBasic</a>

</a>

Please check your facts first

"line of sight", or more usually, "direct line of sight" is a simple term describing a situation where a transmitter has an unobstructed straight line path to a receiver, or visa-versa. Microwave is an example of a transmission method which requires such a direct line of sight path.

Mobile phone signals require no such "line of sight" path. Their connectivity is limited only by the signal strength sent and received between the phone and the transmitter. The signal strength depends on the transmission power of the phone, the transmitter, the distance between each, the physical obstacles between each and the prevailing terrestrial and solar weather conditions at the time of transmission.

Cell network engineers may indeed not design their networks to provide service delivery for the aircraft scenario. If today, when such instances occur or in the case of the hiker on the mountain, it causes a cell network problems then the network software is the component at fault.

I hardly think airlines would have agreed to ban the use of mobiles in flight just to make the telcos happy although I'm sure the telcos are happy to provide airlines with a slightly modified dedicated service for inflight calls at a premium price.

But conspiracy theories between airlines and telcos is so way off topic this is the last I'll post on this thread.

The problem with using mobile in an airplane is that

A mobile used on the ground connects to one cell in the network, but at altitude it can connect to many different cells, thereby possibly causing confusion and problems in the cellular system.

If you are flying near a border, you could connect to cells in two different countries, the system cannot tell where you are because you are simultaneously connected to two different cells in two different countries.

In the USA they use mainly CDMA/TDMA cellular systems and to a lesser extent GSM systems, whereas in Thailand they are solely on the GSM network, very different systems with different charecteristics.

A mobile phone at ground level can be within range of multiple cells at the same time just the same as a mobile phone at 11,000m. The altitude of the phone is irrelevant to the cell network's software which passes the phone to whichever cell has the strongest signal regardless of the phone's altitude.

Different networks in border areas, or different networks within the same country also pose no problems as the network acccessed is controlled by the phone settings, not by the network software.

Please try to post accurate information in future.

Really glad to hear he's ok.

If cell phones were a danger to aircraft they wouldn't allow them in the cabin.

It will come to that, if only for anti-terrorist reasons.

Aussies just can't handle booze.

They should stay away from it.

They usually drink Fosters, so no probs

Actually you'll be hard pressed to find an Aussie anywhere who drinks Fosters.

Fosters is the rubbish left over from brewing the good stuff which we keep to ourselves.

Glad you're ok, Jai Dee...

Edit: after re-reading the original post I apologise for assuming Jai Dee sent the sms in-flight as it appears it may have been sent after landing.

On top of that, they don't even work until you get close to ground.

Not according to passengers on the 9/11 flights who made plenty of calls while at altitude.

Unfortunately mobiles dont interfere with avionics - big misnomer.

As a computer engineer of 20 years experience I tend to agree, even more so since no convincing evidence specific to mobile phones has been established beyong the fact that radio waves can interfere with electronics.

I can recall from experience one computer system which would crash every time a navy ship turned on its weapons system within 1,000 metres so the link between radio interferance and it's effect on computers is real enough in my mind.

But the radio energy of a naval weapons system is many more times that of a planeload of passengers, probably even on an A380. Even the plane's own systems would probably generate more radio energy than all the passengers could combined.

So why airlines persist with this dogma is a mystery.

Glad to hear the plane landed safely. Three cheers for the pilots.

Edit: after re-reading the original post I apologise for assuming Jai Dee sent the sms in-flight as it appears it may have been sent after landing.

I don't recall there being an exception for the use of mobile phones in-flight in an emergency.

If the use of mobile phones in-flight can indeed interfere with the flight control and navigation systems (and I'm not saying they do) is it not somewhat irresponsible to use a mobile phone at a time when the pilots will be placing heavy demand on those same control and navigation systems to effect a safe landing, the successful completion of which may well depend on the correct functioning of those very same systems.

Jai Dee, I hope as much as anyone that it has turned out ok, but a plane load of passengers using their mobile phones may not improve the pilot's chances.

Your financial obligations are next to nil. Two or three thousand baht a month, that's for the kid, none for the girl. And that's only if the kid is yours so do the DNA test. Fortunately Thailand isn't one of those liberal-infested places where your slut wife can push out another guy's kid and you get stuck for child support.

Your moral obligations are entirely up to you. Even if it is your kid and you don't want to deal, then don't deal. Just make sure you can live with yourself first. One more bastard kid in Thailand makes no particular difference in the greater scheme of things.

I love it when someone has the guts to tell it exactly like it is.

As I mentioned in one of my blog entries, I drove empty from Chiang Rai to Bangkok and full on the way back. The ride was much better on the way back. Trucks can be a bit light in the butt when unloaded and act accordingly on a bumpy turn.

Yeah !! You should see the look on the guy's faces riding motor cycles when they see me coming towards them sideways on a bumpy dirt road. Hilarious !! Cracks me up every time.

I do mostly highway driving in my Vigo 4x4 auto dual cab. I run 32 PSI against the manufacturer's recommended 29 for unladen. Laden you should of course run a higher PSI.

the service station guys like to put 45 PSI in them. If this is the standard practice in Thailand, perhaps because so many pickups are overloaded, or because people are trying to squeeze a bit more mileage from a litre, then it's no wonder there are so many stupid accidents.

At 45 PSI the road contact area of the type is significantly reduced. If the tyre is also worn then in wet conditions the water shedding ability of the tread is also reduced which means the vehicle will aquaplane and loose grip easier. Simple physics really. A higher PSI will definitely not give you a smoother ride either.

29 PSI (or thereabouts) will give you the maximum road contact area and the best tyre profile for safety and longevity of the tyre. 40 PSI and above is asking for trouble, especially on tyres worn 50% or more aqnd especially so on wet roads.

Would anyone ride a motorcycle around with 45 PSI in the tyres ?

Edit: Just one more point regarding tyres...the tyres fitted to the Vigo in Thailand may be different to the tyres fitted for Swedish/European models as are likely the suspension settings. It's more than likely the Thai spec Vigo behaves differently, maybe better, maybe worse.