mfd101

Massive introduction of solar panels feed-in to old power distribution systems is, as Australia is discovering, a MAJOR TECHNICAL headache (quite apart from the usual conspiracy theories mentioned above). Requires massive new investment to prevent the whole system from crashing.

Would be interested to hear from anyone with knowledge of the current sources of power generation in Thailand. Presumably coal & hydro? in what proportions?

24 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

... even with very good drawings, twice I had to pick them up on misreading them. ...

 

My son bought land and house in a new moo bann, buyers had the option to, increase the overall size etc.,  as long as it was within proper building standards. My son increased the overall size. moved walls to that he could have a big internal western style kitchen. Eventually the builder said he was concerned he misunderstood the drawings, extra 3 phase wiring, many extra power points, 2 points for water and drainage;  he asked 'this is for a kitchen; it's way too big, waste of space' etc. Son had to insist that it be built to his drawings. Months after the building was completed a kitchen company completed the white cabinets black marble tops and installed  a black glass hob, exhaust fan, oven, double ink, big fridge, big micro-wave etc. The original builder looked at all of this and took numerous photos. His brochures for his next moo baan featured the same photos and (from some feedback) was a strong selling feature.  

Yes, one of the problems that arises regularly is simple ignorance of how a 'Western' house looks and functions.

For example, If you have builders or workmen who have only ever washed themselves by crouching down with a hose in the out-back dunny, then you may get the problem of leaks around a 'Western' shower because they haven't understood that a falang stands up to shower so water travels much further. I encountered that living in The Trendy building in BKK a few years ago on the 9th or so floor, where the shower was over the bath ... but no provision for the water spilt around the bath to run into the bath rather than across the bathroom floor.

Similarly, little understanding of the need for so many electric power points in the kitchen, or indeed anywhere. And they often end up in strange places (like near the ceiling).

Then there's the weird logic problem. Took 3 goes in our kitchen to get the marble bench top at the right height. Never occurred to the workers that, to accommodate the dishwasher, they could always lower the (concrete) floor under the dishwasher, rather than make the  bench so high it was unusable by a small Thai and difficult to use by a falang.

20 hours ago, villagefarang said:

We were onsite everyday when we built and there were things which needed to be handled nearly daily.

Yes, you need to supervise every minute of every day. If they can steal tools or supplies, if they can do deals with suppliers to overcharge you & pocket the difference, they will.

31 minutes ago, RotMahKid said:

Why you think Google, Amazon, One web and Space X all want to bring satellites in orbit for spreading internet worldwide, They don't do it for free, the all do it for profit to reach the billions of people that don't have internet Yet.

That's why the government here in Thailand and other companies here do it also, for Profit and political reasons.

So don't think they all do that because they like you so much, they just need customers and votes!

But for the customers - whether you & me or the locals - it's not the motivation that counts, just the end result.

Perfection is not achievable in this world. Just to see sensible & steady progress in rural Thailand is a godsend. With the technology increasingly in place, cultural change & economic progress will follow - but it will take a decade or 2.

And then Thailand will be like everywhere else and tourism will come to an end.

6 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

It uses the term 'reference number' not 'password' when I do transfers.

After completing the first part of the transfer to your Thai bank, they send an e-mail with the 'reference number' to include for the second part of the transfer, that is from your home bank to TW.

 

This reference number is your membership number and remains the same for each and every transaction.

Mine begins with P------.

Yes, I agree. They don't ask for a password, they simply need a reference number (that THEY give YOU to quote when you do the transfer from your bank to TW) so that, when your payment appears in TW's account, they know who it's from. Indispensable to the whole operation, I should think, & no threat at all to your security.

In an authoritarian state that is still weak enough to feel the need to go through the motions of democracy, it's pretty uncomfortable and really only a short-term proposition to straddle the barbed wire fence that separates the authoritarians from the true democrats.

States in crisis have no middle ground. People have to choose.

And what happens when the monsoon arrives?

You win some, you won some. You han'some, you winsom.

3 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

37.2% voted to leave, it was a minority choise as they are about to find out.

If I were a Brit, I would be a Remainer, but - as has been made clear on many many occasions in just about every democracy in the world - if you don't vote, not only do you not count but you don't get counted.

We live in interesting times.

In the short term Prayut will govern by decree & ignore as much as he can the facts that (1) he will have little or no control over the lower house and (2) the upper house as farce will be obvious to all.

But, down the track, this will mean that he will enjoy no more legitimacy after the election than he did before. Indeed, less in fact, because even his supporters can count & will recognize, at least in private, that he did not win a fair & democratic election.

As happens so often in Thailand at the individual level, so socially: The culture of appearances rather than truth & reality means that few problems are ever solved, which builds up a head of steam that eventually causes an explosion of rage & violence. It will only take one idiot military officer to order the troops to fire on a student demo to set the whole land on fire. Once again.

38 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

So many people complain about BA. Obviously you have never tried Saudia 10-20 years ago.... That was sometimes an unforgettable experience.

I remember flying something Saudi in 1990 from Riyadh to HK on the way home from a recce in preparation for the 1st Gulf War. As we roared down the runway for takeoff, men were standing in the aisles smoking & women were ripping off their black robes, chadors & face masks to reveal their Christian Dior dresses & jewels underneath ...

To the limited extent that the numbers are an accurate reflection of how people actually voted, this BKK vote is quite interesting. Broadly: Out with the old, in with the new.

Future Forward will need to be very careful who it allows into its ranks over the next period, or it will get swamped with the Old'nBold (to put it politely) ...

It's often - as usual in Thailand - a question of who you speak to & whether he or she knows what they're talking about. If you push your request up the line to someone who not merely understands & knows but has authority to make decisions, then it goes pretty smoothly ...

Our experience was like that here in Prasat in January opening a new BKK Bank account, having had several & active in BKK for several years. The bank manager processed us himself, and commented in passing that he was under pressure to open new accounts. All I needed was ID (p/p), proof of residency, & current bank books from BKK. The fact that we had our house insurance with them no doubt also helped.

48 minutes ago, natway09 said:

Same, same... Liberal gets in, saves reserves, labour gets in, spends it all & around & around it goes

Mmmm, well you need both 'reserving' (not an end but a means) and wise spending. The Libs are not as good at 'reserving' as they once were - the effect of long prosperity. And the ALP is sometimes pretty impressive (Hawke & Keating) & often not (Whitlam, Rudd & Gillard).

We're likely to find which category - if any - Shorten fits into after May. He has considerable potential to be highly successful or absolutely awful ...

I spend my spare cash on books. I find my intellectual fitness is greatly enhanced by reading or rereading Popper, Greimas (my former professor in Paris) and Locke. I have no need to gross out on the latest Usofan fat novel.

For my physical fitness I have only the most basic basics in the small gym we built beside the carport as we built our house here in Prasat a couple of years ago. A running machine, a couple of weights, and a situps thingee. As long as I get there 3 times a week for 30 minutes, I feel fit & look good. I have no need to look like a gorilla. Actually I look rather more like Rees-Mogg (for those of you who follow & love the British news.) I'm aiming for 4 times a week but my long-term average is probably closer to 2.

Yesterday I did my 3rd monthly transfer of AUD3000 using TW [for income method retirement extension].

The first 2 times, in December & February, the job-finished email from TW was called a 'Deposit Note' and noted inter alia the intermediary bank between my Aussie bank and Bangkok Bank as the (Aussie) Macquarie Bank. And registered in my BKK Bank book as FTT. All fine.

The job-finished email this time round this morning was labelled 'Transfer Confirmation' & 'Delivered by Local bank transfer'. Needless to say, this had me a bit worried & I thought I might need to go to my fallback option this month [do a second AUD3000 transfer for the month using SWIFT between banks]. But a few minutes ago I updated my bank book here at my BKK Bank branch in Prasat and, Lo & Behold!, the transfer still registered as FTT. So still fine despite the TW record changing.

Not sure what that all means. Has TW changed its modus operandi? or has Bkk Bank? or perhaps both?

Anyway, so far so good. Seems to be working OK, at least from Oz.