PattayaClub

Yes. before Speed Limits there were less Tailgate crashes,Lane Hogs are bloody stupid here, and where Coaches cruise at 110 , yet if i nip past sensibly poping 150 to make space into clear road ahead ,a week later a fine arrives from a Camera. nothing to do with safety , just revenue. Prudent limits seem the way to go imo.

Yeah, damned shame about the cameras. Just a few years go there weren't any. But you can always do what I did and install a plate flipper.

I leave the plate flipped down, popping it back up only on approach to road block checks.

There are several on the market. This one is expensive, but it is the premier model; very nice: http://www.speedflip.com/

They are also illegal to use on public roads if used to hide the registration plate (and there is obviously no other reason to have one) so if the plate is seen flipping on the approach to a police check point, or you forget what position the plate is in you are in trouble anyway, speeding or not.

As most plates are flat-mounted to the body here in Thailand the presence of the mechanism behind the plate will not only be ugly, but obvious.

Andf the plate hits a person when it is down it would kill him rather than posibly only causing injury. If someone uses this they deserve to have the book thrown at them.

I am always amused by the folks on here that wish others ill fate. What a load of heart-heavy baggage to have to carry around, all the envy, hatred and bitterness. Man, I wouldn't want to be you; life is too short.

let's switch to electrics again. i can't find the thread in which "dirty electricity" was mentioned which (allegedly) causes a high consumption of light bulbs in my home. googling that keyword does not bring any results. an electrical engineer in Germany made the sarcastic remark i should wash or dry clean incoming electricity before using.

Crossy, Forkinhades, IMHO et al... advice please.

I have some ideas, but I am no electrician so will leave it for those in the know. But in the meantime, they would probably like to know if you are using incandescent, CFL or LED bulbs. And are you using illuminated light switches (the ones that have a small light in the switch so you can see it in the dark)?

I will add this, though it has nothing to do with the dirty electricity problem (I learned the hard way). If you are using CFL's, the cheap ones are not worth tits on a boar hog. Buy name brand like Panasonic, etc. They last 5-10 times as long as the no-name ones you see on promotion.

Strike three: Commodities?

This thread has drifted so far off-topic that Naam will need his Warp Drive to get it back

He's suffering from too much cold dry air.

Round two: You're a currency trader. A far more exhilarating, but risky ride than stocks, with exponentially multiplied opportunities for profit -- and loss. But what is there to life without risk?

I would agree that there is not much worse than to be on the verge of clicking "sell' to snap up a quick and tidy profit on a stock, only to lose the connection at that precise moment, and find that the price has fallen dramatically by the time the connection is re-established. Imagine trying to trade while living a life out in the village with a pre-3G stick . . . The city does bring choices . . .

What are you doing with all that speed??? Watching high def movies in real time?

Makes me think of all the 500+ horsepower cars I see advertised in this country for 20+ million baht a pop. With all the speed cameras around, where can you stretch the legs on such an automobile.

Of course if I had loads of money to blow out my arse, I would mind having one . . .

and now we should get ready for some "forum holidays" because we violated one of the "holy cow" forum rules "discussing moderation".

Ah, but you assume consistency . . .

Be advised that all Thai parks, including Koh Phi Phi, have, a special treat for you not available to the Thais. Thais pay an entrance fee of 40 baht. You, of white skin, have the privilege of paying 10x as much, or 400 baht.

So don't be shocked when you fall victim to the discrimination.

But nobody, and I mean NOBODY tops Crossy as the top mod on all of TV. The others should follow his example.

P-Club,

my 3BB copper line (nominal 15mb ~950 Baht) shows the same speeds as your "fiber", my TOT copper line (nominal 12mb ~650 Baht) is in line with 2/3 of the speed.

but the real thing is now CAT fibre 2,158 Baht (promotion).

Frankfurt.png Athens.png

Auckland.png Sydney.pngLOS.png SFO.pngTokyo.png SIN.png

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Well I'm never going to beat you in a race! I see you got Ookla working! A couple of weeks ago, you were having trouble with it. Whats the deal from CAT for 2,158 (is that per month or installation?)?

I am so far out in the sticks, I can't get it anyway. I was damned lucky to be able to finally shelve the old USB stick. Only three years ago, I did not even have 3G!

The folks at 3BB told us "It's fiber." Well what does that mean? Our 3BB is fiber optic running through the village on the pole, but the drops to the house are a tiny diameter 2 strand copper telephone wire. The copper wire comes into the house and into a little adapter box with a standard RJ45 connection for the modem. A friend just had a TOT installation and has fiber all the way into his house. TOT also supplied a modem with a fiber optic connection -- no adapters. All fiber all the way.

The bottom line is you can't really believe anything anyone tells you. You have to look for yourself (Edit: which I am quite certain both Naam and Crossy have done).

when i looked for myself how vulnerable the insulation and how thin the single strand of fibre is i couldn't believe my eyes.

question: how is your international ping and speed and how much are you paying?

You can't believe your eyes? Did you forget where you were???? Maybe it's not even fiber; maybe it is a horsehair.

We pay 631 baht a month for 3BB's 10Mbps service. They have a 15Mbps option, but I cannot recall the price tag.

Our speeded using Ookla thru BKK AIS server:

Ping: 45ms

Download: 11.15

Upload: .65Mbps

Retest about the same.

Vientiane server: about the same.

Philadelphia, PA:

Ping: 319ms (retest: Same)

Download: 6.14Mbps (retest: 8.14Mbps)

Upload: 0.61Mbps (retest: Same)

tomorrow i am getting my fibre optic connection. line has been layed already and only a "box" as well as a modem/router has to be installed. can a fibre optic line respectively the end gadgets be damaged by an electric surge?

Fibre doesn't conduct electricity, so that's the end of any line borne surges getting in that way

Your Honour,

i most humbly beg your pardon and draw your attention to fibre optic lines in my home country where the actual fibre is protected by a woven metal cladding. my connection in Thailand is not but i wish it was because it is laid unprotected (except for a little plastic insulation) 800 meters in one of the storm drains of my village (together with phone, cable and electric lines) but not easily accessible in case of necessary repairs.

i arranged of course that the connection from the storm drain via a part of my garden and the roof to my study was done in a protective PVC-pipe.

The folks at 3BB told us "It's fiber." Well what does that mean? Our 3BB is fiber optic running through the village on the pole, but the drops to the house are a tiny diameter 2 strand copper telephone wire. The copper wire comes into the house and into a little adapter box with a standard RJ45 connection for the modem. A friend just had a TOT installation and has fiber all the way into his house. TOT also supplied a modem with a fiber optic connection -- no adapters. All fiber all the way.

The bottom line is you can't really believe anything anyone tells you. You have to look for yourself (Edit: which I am quite certain both Naam and Crossy have done).

What constitutes a "commercial bank" in Thailand? Unlike the reports I have heard from BKK Bank, my bank has never collected anything from me. They could be reporting my name, but it doesn't mean much without my Social security number, which does not appear in my passport and which I have never given to anybody in Thailand.

Of course it would not be difficult for US Treasury to cross reference my passport number to my SS number, but I would think they would prefer to have the Thai bank disgorge the SS number.

Whether or not the bank reports to the US government, US citizens must file an annual FBAR and comply with FATCA on their income tax returns.

FBAR:

U.S. citizens are ONLY required to electronically file an annual FBAR form IF they have more than $10,000 in funds in all/any of their foreign financial accounts combined at any time during the year.

If you never exceed $10K aggregate in all foreign financial accounts at any point during the year, a U.S. citizen has no FBAR filing obligation at all.

FATCA:

As for FATCA, the financial threshold there is much much higher, especially for those living abroad full-time.

For a U.S. citizen living abroad full-time who is married and filing separately on their federal tax returns, FATCA only applies if you had more than $200,000 in foreign financial assets on the last day of the tax year or more than $300,000 at any time during the tax year.

For someone married filing jointly and living abroad full-time, those same thresholds increase to anything exceeding $400,000 and $600,000, respectively.

This is true. But anybody with a marriage or retirement extension that uses the "bank balance method" is scooped up and must file. As for FATCA, foreign banks need only report accounts with balances over $50,000. But I suspect that banks like Bangkok Bank, out of an excess of caution are simply going to report every American citizen account.

So folks that keep their marriage or retirement visa extension accounts at Bangkok Bank and haven't filed an FBAR, are going to be sifted out by the computers run by Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Considering that in the last 7 years or so that the IRS have become more than a leaky sieve, personal information that used to be near secret clearance private is showing to be more and more ending up in the public domain, under Facta and the annual forms it won't be long that private business creditors in the U.S. will be filling attachments - garnishments of funds against overseas bank accounts held by Americans citing civil court orders.

That is my prediction anyway.

Ya, with Thai lawyers working for them in a Thai court of law.

Unfortunately, it's not funny.

If your marriage is not legal, then agreed, your partner does not have to worry about this. FACTA is only for US citizens.

Seems Europe is heading down this same road soon. The law, IIRC, is primarily oriented towards money laundering. And of course tax evasion. ;-)

As an American citizen, this law has absolutely no impact on me at all. Maybe 10 minutes of my time every year.

Well good for you. You are a good law-abiding citizen. But what if you DID have something to hide? Just in case you, and others, have never bothered to think about it, let me explain.

Did you ever consider that the FBAR requirement is absolutely contrary to the protections previously guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment? It is all well and good to catch the criminals. But the Constitution conveys certain rights and protections and the Fifth Amendment, in particular, guarantees an absolute right against self-incrimination. This right has in the past been considered sacrosanct, but in the last 20-40 years, and specially since 9?/11, it has been whittled away by Congress, regulation making agencies and the courts (which are supposed to protect us from legislative excess).

If an American citizen is hiding untaxed, laundered money and files a truthful FBAR, he has just incriminated himself and will surely be prosecuted. If he files and lies on the form, he commits a serious crime. If he fails to file, he commits a crime. In the last two scenarios, he may have gone undetected in the past, but no longer with the advent of FATCA.

The hell of it is, if he/she is a law abiding taxpaying citizen and fails to file because he/she simply did not know about it, the financial consequences (fines, etc.) can be devastating. And every single one of us that uses the marriage extension with the 400K in the bank option is required to file -- even if the money is borrowed. If one intentionally fails to file because he/she believes this is an unconstitutional intrusion on privacy, the intentional failure to file becomes a serious crime. So we have otherwise law abiding, tax paying, good citizens that are now criminals and could have their lives destroyed.

Now there are a lot of shallow-thinking Americans that think there should be no protections for criminals. But these protections protect us all. The US legal system is stare decisis (precedent-based). If you bend the rules to catch a criminal, you bend the rules for everybody. Do you understand the protections the Fifth Amendment offer an law abiding citizen and why the Forefathers included them? Would you like it if the police could just stop you and search you anytime they wished? Maybe you have a pony tail, which some cop associates with illegal drugs, so he just decides to "have a look." Would you like it if the police could break into your home in the middle of the night to "have a look around" because a prowler had been reported in the neighborhood? Would you like to live in North Korea or the former Soviet Union? You compromise these protections for some and you compromise them for all; it's a very slippery slope.

Now do you understand why a real American might think these laws "un-American"? But then one has to define un-American. The accelerated trashing of the Constitution since 9/11 hasn't left much. Where is the line between "patriot" and "terrorist/criminal"? It seems to be quite blurry these days.

So go ahead and spend your ten minutes every year filing the FBAR (I do). But I hope that each time you do it, you take a minute to think about what is happening to your native country (I do that, too).

Now a real life anecdote. I personally know a guy who has lived here continuously 16 years, married, using the extension with 400K in the bank. He has been law abiding and tax paying all his life. He's never been arrested or had any trouble with the law. He doesn't read books or newspapers and is not internet savvy. He pretty much keeps to himself. He did not know anything about this FBAR business until I told him about it only a couple years ago.

I have done a lot of reading on this subject and for people wanting to "come in out of the cold" and "get legal" the IRS had an "amnesty" where they were compromising penalties and "generously" assessing only $3,000 or ino fines for unintentional failure to file. This guy has modest retirement income and live hand to mouth. If he had to hand over a $3,000 fine, he would not have enough money in the bank to get his next visa extension. He has no other home.

Now he's scared fecalless and doesn't know what to do. His primary state of mind is utter disbelief. He cannot seem to understand how he can be a criminal when he didn't do anything. He is afraid that if he starts filing, the IRS will levy a big fine (a reasonable fear) and he won't have enough money in the bank to get his next extension. But I have also explained to him that with FATCA, his bank will inform on him and a willful failure to file is a far worse crime than an unintentional failure to file. A few years ago, "I didn't know" was believable. Today, with all the publicity, the IRS rejects that as utterly unbelievable. The poor bastard is now like a deer in the headlights. I won't ask anybody here what he should do as it would be a purely rhetorical question. It's a Hobson's choice. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

Yup, that will do it, you'll need to add some additional isolation valves but the basic principle is there.

pump setup 2.jpg

You may want to add a stop in line with the non-return valve too, they sometimes start seeping and cause the pump to run continuously.

Something else you may want to do if you use a lot of water outside for watering gardens, etc. Put in a Tee and add a pipe to the bypass line (the one with the check valve), so you can bypass the pump for watering. You would need to put it on the supply side of he check valve.

You want pressure in the house, but it doesn't matter much for watering, so why run the pump? You can save a lot of electricity and wear and tear on your pump.

Provided you have useful pressure from the main supply - unless of course a low pressure flow is suitable for your watering jobs.

I have my bypass with a leg to the pump-pressured side so that I have the option of natural flow from the public supply (generally low pressure for me -- 20 psi, but fine for watering) or open a valve and have full pressure (40 psi) for things like washing cars and pavement.

I try to think of every possible combination and permutation and put in pipes, valves nd check valves to accommodate it all. Of course your system might end up looking like the guts of a nuclear submarine . . .

Stop this face nonsense, pay the fine and move on. The second photo clearly shows her moving through an intersection on a red light.

If you want to get 'technical', traffic lights at intersections here are badly configured in that the lights controlling your progress are mostly located at the opposite side of the intersection, thus it is very easy to run a red light. This also contributes greatly to the locals penchant to run red lights and jump the green ones as pretty much everyone can see everyone else's lights. In the UK and most other European countries, the traffic lights are located on the near side of the intersection with the vehicle stop line a few meters back so the lights can only be seen by the drivers coming in that direction. In the US, the lights may be located the same way as Thailand but will have longer shrouds to 'blinker' the view from the side.

I got caught at a red light in Udon when shortly after entering an intersection on amber, I had to brake quickly for a police pickup coming from the opposite direction and making an illegal u-turn in front of me. By the time I exited the intersection, the light was red and a few yards further on, I was pulled over and ticketed for such. It did not matter one bit that the police pickup that forced me to stop was bringing the next shift of itinerant traffic ticket writers to work either.

Whilst in Thailand and especially in the cities with the new red-light cameras, it is best to observe 'stop on amber'.

Defending yourself is nonsense? You probably also pay bribes to immigration officials "just to get along."

Here is the English translation of the law:

The driver shall comply with traffic signals or traffic signs in the following cases:

(1) Amber traffic Light: the driver shall prepare to stop the vehicle behind the stop line in order to be prepared to act according to the traffic light to be mentioned in (2), except that a driver who has passed the stop line may proceed through.

(2) Red traffic light signals or red traffic light signs with the word stop: the driver shall stop the vehicle behind the stop line.

(3) Green traffic light or green traffic light with the word go: the driver may drive the vehicle through, except when there are traffic signs to the contrary.

(4) Traffic Light signals showing a green arrow to turn or go straight: the driver shall turn or go straight along the direction of the arrow. In using the way along the direction points by the arrow, the driver shall use the way with great care and give the right of way to the pedestrian in the zebra crossings or the driver to the right.

(5) Red traffic light signal which is blinking: if installed at the road junction with opening on which side, the driver on that side shall stop at the stop line, and when it is seen safe and not obstructing the traffic he may proceed with care.

(6) Blinking yellow traffic signal: at any point where this traffic signal is installed, the driver shall reduce the speed of the vehicle and proceed though the crossing carefully.

The driver who is to drive the vehicle straight ahead shall keep to the traffic lane with a traffic sign indicating going straight ahead and the driver who is to turn the vehicle shall keep to the traffic lane with a traffic signal indicating turning. Entering into the said traffic lanes shall be made from where there is traffic sign indicating such.

Section 22, Land Traffic Act B.E. 2522

So, if her wheels were past the line before the light turned red, she was not in violation. I have to wonder why the camera would even activate before the red signal activated. It seems as if the thing is defective. I would definitely go into the police station that has the jurisdiction and have a talk about it. As in this case, I suppose red light camera can also protect you. If you can get ahold of a Thai version of the section cited above, you will be better prepared. But at least bring the English one.

If you both dress properly, are polite, smile and not aggressive, I think you have 90% chance of having it tossed. But when you go in, or, preferably, before you go in, find out the name of the highest level officer at the station, then ask for him. He is the most likely to show his magnanimity by throwing it out than a lower level officer. If a lower level officer refuses to throw it out, nobody is going to change his decision because he will lose face. That's just the way it works here. Talk to the big cheese first.

Of course, the next stop would be go to court. But at some point, it just isn't worth the trouble.

And above all, don't listen to the spineless apologists on TV that always tell you to roll over and accept your fate. I have ALWAYS politely stood my ground with Thai police officers when I knew I was in the right, and have always been waved on instead of ticketed. It helps to be able to speak a little Thai; they seem to appreciate that.

Many of the kissy folks on here are applauding these cameras. They are nothing but another road tax to raise revenue. I got one of these tickets about five years ago just outside Chiangrai (was a speed camera). Now i avoid the whole problem with a plateflipper: http://www.speedflip.com

I just love the thing!

Interesting... detailed research and a precise quotation of Thai traffic law capped with a rather noisome endorsement of a device that has no obvious other use apart from aiding one to break the speed limit and thus go undetected.

You must be an Englander with the 'another road tax to raise revenue' claim. Take a look out the window, this is Thailand and the traffic speeding fines, whether arbitrary or correct have absolutely nothing to do with any bloody road tax.

PS. Do you show off your plate flipper when down the pub?

We don't have "pubs" where I come from. We have "bars," although the places that see themselves as trendy like to call themselves pubs. And it that is not hint enogh, we also have a lot of guns. And no, I don't show off the plate flipper anywhere; that would only be asking for trouble I neither need nor want.

The purpose of the plate flipper is to avoid detection and identification by all road cameras, including those designed to catch speeders and those designed to catch red light runners. The amount of a fine in this country is negligible -- certainly not enough to warrant the purchase of flipper. But if you are caught on a camera, you get a paper citation, and that goes on your record. Get three in one year and your license is gone.

And if it is my wife's car I am driving, there is hell to pay when the ticket comes in the mail to her (although I think it's pretty funny to pass the buck like that). In any event, I simply do not want to take the risk. Of course, there is always the option of obeying the law . . .

Or to put it another way, what about banks that are fatca compliant?

I suspect SCB is because I had to fill out a fatca form when I was added as a signatory to the company accounts.

I explained I wasn't American (they had my passport on the desk) and the staff explained all foreigners have to complete the form.

And this was for company accounts where every shareholder and director of the business is Thai, and the bank absolutely knows this (It's a real company that trades rather than an illusory company set up for work permit reasons, etc).

It's not my money, I'm not American and I still had to complete the fatca form.

Yes...you completed the form...checked the block saying you were not a U.S. person...signed it...and that's as far as it will go other than the bank keeping that doc as documented proof they have accomplished their due diligence to comply with FATCA.

Yeah, but it is a request made only of palefaces.

Be careful of criticism regarding artificial rain making in Thailand, if unsure as to why not to be too critical, do some research on the background of artificial rain in Thailand.

I understand you loud and clear, and am nervous about posting anything on this. I'll just point out the fact that the entire world's scientific community rejected "rain making's" efficacy years ago. No serious scientific community in the world currently advocates the practice.

I have a friend that is a customer of BKK Bank. Every time he goes in, the asks him for another form. They have even required his Thai wife, who has never been to the US, to come in and sign FATCA papers. He bitches about it constantly, wondering how many times they will ask for the same information, the same form, over and over..

I am a customer of TMB Bank. That's redundant, of course, as it stands for Thai Military Bank Bank. In any event, I have never been asked for anything. No forms, no Social Security number, nothing. I recently clicked on their "international branches" to see where they were. Vientiane and The Cayman Islands. Hmmmm.

Banks like BKK Bank are requiring a lot of non-Americans to fill out these forms simply because they see a white face and don't want to take a chance. If they send the IRS a FATCA form on a New Zealander, no harm, but if they miss one American, they get grief. The whole thing is outrageous. All the banks of the world should unite against the US. I have heard that many Thai banks are now refusing accounts to Americans. Don't know if it is true or not.

My bank give me the letter free . . .

This doesn't belong in a serious forum, moved to Pub.

Christ, I thought we were in Pub! Where were we?

I like Street Pilots. they are not the stickiest tire out there, but are about the best blend of sticky and longevity I have found. The hard core sport riders like something a bit more sticky, but they don't last long.

Buy Dynabeads from Chiangrai Saddlebgs and ditch the lead weights.

Hot link, please.