stub

I've tried two. The one on Sukhumvit Rd. on the even soi side between Asoke and soi 24 (sorry I can't be more precise) was the better one. A single shop front that obviously does nothing but mount pictures - cutting table right at the front. Most of the 'higher end' looking places just seem to have someone come in a few times a week.

all that sounds really great ! so basically the beercamp fellows are already doing what we planed to do, am I right (for those who know this group) ? so what shall we do now, anyone already in touch with them ?

Turn up tomorrow :-) From http://groups.google.com/group/bangkok-beercamp/browse_thread/thread/6e2433cb4ef4a3a7 :

Next Beercamp will be on the 14th of October 8pm at 'Soul Food

Mahanakorn', a place just recently opened.

Jarrett, the owner, offered to make a menu for us of shared food and

we will get Beer Singh and Leo for 100 Baht, and Beer Lao for 120

Baht. He is also on twitter: http://twitter.com/WrisJarrett

There is a review on CnnGo

http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/eat/soul-food-mahanakorn-348453

Google Map:

http://bit.ly/cgp4hx

Website:

http://www.soulfoodmahanakorn.com

Address:

Soul Food Mahanakorn

56/10 Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Soi Thonglor), Bangkok

Tel. +66 (0)85 904 2691

Open Tuesday through Sunday, 5:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

For Bangkok Open Source stuff, including Ubuntu, I'd suggest meeting up with Beer Camp http://groups.google.com/group/bangkok-beercamp and get along to Bangkok BarCamp 4 http://www.barcampbangkok.org/

Also the existing Thai Ubuntu users group could be worth a look - http://ubuntuclub.com/

For Bangkok Open Source stuff, including Ubuntu, I'd suggest meeting up with Beer Camp http://groups.google.com/group/bangkok-beercamp and get along to Bangkok BarCamp 4 http://www.barcampbangkok.org/

This could lead to some creative thinking from some cash strapped family members with little value on life.

Indeed. We have already seen string of suicides in Chinese sweatshops because of the payout to the families. Even a small debt can be insurmountable to many families, and in these depressing situations you find people more than happy to try another spin of the karma wheel whilst lifted their family out of abject poverty for a year.

39 trained, and one already blew themselves up. Typical Thai education system.

Can't see why some people are upset by this, about time really.

There really is no excuse for overstays of more than a week IMO, unless someone has a valid reason like a medical emergency which can sorted out anyhow. However, those that have a total disregard for the rules and are on long overstays already will probably just not bother at all and will only get caught if the police go looking for them. There are plenty of those long time over stayers around who have been on overstays of years - sure if the police were really bothered they would know where s significant number are.

Even though very few people will be affected, I suspect people are upset because the messed up system is getting worse and more tangled. Immigration, Dept. of Labor etc. are implementing a maze of messed up and antiquated laws. Someone in these areas sees a problem and they twiddle with the processes in an attempt to address the problem. They don't have the authority to address the problem correctly, so the solution is always flawed creating further problems that require further twiddling and there is a hole in my bucket.

This is just another example. Immigration got pissed at the long term overstayers laughing at them. They can't charge more than 20k Baht to dissuade them. They can't throw them in jail for an extended period (a judge has to do that). So they decide that it is now going to take a day or two to process the paperwork, during which time you are stuck in jail. So no attempt at a correct solution - lobbying the lawmakers to change the penalties so they affect the people they want to affect. Instead one more gotcha in the process, because someone with no authority to change the law wants to change the law.

Why give an amnesty - if you overstay then you have broken the law. You do not do it accidentally you set out to do it so take the punishment. I am all for the law being applied fairly and firmly. A period in the slammer would at least go some way to making sure these people do not do it again but I think it should be a day for day punishment overstay 50 days then 50 days inside. Blacklisting is pointless as it only ensures that the passport does not return to the kingdom it does nothing to stop the person getting a new passport and re-entering under a new name etc etc.

As soon as Thailand does something positriver everyone thinks they do it for money - well I can asure you that most countries have strict immigration laws and they apply them - Thailand tolerates foreigners and we should never forget we are mere visitors in the kingdom and should act accordingly.

Put them in the slammer day for day.

Why give an amnesty? Because in most countries messing up some paperwork is not a jailable offence - that is left to the places with a reputation for human rights abuses. Would you want to go to jail because you filed your taxes a week late? Would you want to pay for other people to be thrown in jail because they filed their taxes a week late?

I wonder how the chronic overstayers will avoid the issue when it comes time to leave? Hop on a boat in Phuket, enter Malaysia without exiting Thailand and request a new passport? Or just hop the river to Laos or Cambodia?

Cheers for the response.

Im not short on USB ports, I just prefer to have internal components on desktops due to increased performance and less chance of loss or damage.

Thats a useful link siemect but unfortunately it defeats the purpose of my question, since I weant to know whats easily available in Thailand (Pattaya).

Also a bit surprising seeing a linux hardware site which doesnt even say the model of the component (the image shows DWL-G510 when you zoom in but some text would be nice!)

I had previously found this site which answers the supported question, but with pages of models for every manufacturer I don't feel like carrying so many pages round looking for a card.

https://help.ubuntu....sCardsSupported

There are not many wireless PCI cards available - USB sticks are more popular even on desktops. For PCI it will be easier to get the model numbers that are available in your favorite shop and then see what is compatible rather than carrying around a sheaf of notes that bear no relation to what is available today in Thailand. I'd confirm that your bias against USB is valid too - my USB stick (cheapest available - D-Link 110) outperforms my ADSL link which is what is important in my case.

What is it about people that they feel they have to continue denying the realities of climate change?

I really don't know.

We continue to pour CO2 into the atmosphere, yet global temperatures since 1995 have shown no rise, invalidating the 'man-made global warming' theory at a stroke.

Hi.

This is incorrect. Global temperatures have kept rising. If you cherry pick certain start and end points, you can lie with the statistics, but it doesn't change the fact that this last decade was warmer than the 90's and the 90's was warmer than the 80's, and scientific consensus is that the trend will continue.

http://mediamatters.org/research/201004060040#myth10

One of the key differences is that it is infinitely more difficult to predict how the climate will be in 50 years from now than how the weather will be next Tuesday.

With weather we can see an area of high pressure moving in, for example, and can make a reasonable prediction that the temperature will go up for a few days. Or we can see a cold front that is likely to move across and bring rain. Etc etc etc. We can see weather patterns and make reasonable guesses as to where they may go and what the outcome will be.

With climate on the other hand the variables are vastly more complex and are totally beyond us at this moment. Will it get hotter or cooler over the next 50 years? Nobody knows, no matter what the tabloids may tell you.

I certainly wouldn't say 'infinitely' more difficult. They are just very different. Yet many of the above posters use the terms interchangeably. One involves looking at things like high pressure systems, the other is pouring over statistics and developing models that match the facts and using these models to extrapolate.

The tabloids are the ones saying nobody knows btw., as it sells more papers to put up articles from some fringe dweller with a book to sell. Always fun when people start posting links about AGW, citing newspapers better known for their page 3 girls. The anti warming propaganda machines long ago stopped saying it isn't happening and moved on to 'we don't know if it will happen' or 'its happening and there is nothing we can do about it'.

Weather is not Climate. A snow fall does not mean an ice age and a sunny day does not mean global warming, no matter what the tabloid press tells you. Climate models are utterly uninterested in if it rains on Tuesday or Thursday. They are interested in how much it will rain in that decade. The difference is similar to trying to predict the actions of an individual vs. the actions of a crowd.

Not that I'm claiming the models used or START Regional Research Centre's conclusions are correct - the predicted sea level rise seems extreme compared to other conclusions. Hope they are not right.

If you want to kill a public transport system, survey motorists.

Identify, fix and don't repeat the implementation issues. Add more routes so it is an option for more people. I guess scrapping it would be a short term political win though, even though residents will lose the inevitable housing price increase.

Wow, I am really surprised that so many things were missed with this. A couple of glitches are usual for big projects, but this is ridiculous. So much money wasted...

TheWalkingMan

There is no surprise. It had to be built, because that is how you transfer the money into your pockets. But it couldn't actually be useful, because then the existing concession holders would be pissed. The whole project is an amazing success. Huge amounts of cash has been spent with the right companies, it is working well enough to save face, but does not threaten lowering the profits of the limo and taxi monopolies. Or did you think the idea was to transport people?

Myself and others I know have given up on taking cabs from the departures queue - pissed off drivers who try the flat fee gag and rigged meters. I still recommend it to people new to Bangkok though. But if you know minimal Thai and how to spot a decent taxi from a no-have-meter-rustbucket arrivals is the way to go. There isn't even anything dodgy about it - it isn't illegal to pick up passengers at arrivals, and in fact probably illegal to refuse a fare. Just get one dropping someone off to avoid someone 'heavy' or who bribed the guards to not move them on. You get the taxi of your choice with a driver feeling really lucky he didn't have to go through the queue.

Did you reverse "departures" and "arrivals" in that paragraph? Seems rather confusing as written...

Yes. It seems if I don't know if I'm coming or going.

The drivers do have to pay B50 to enter the taxi pool from where they are dispatched to various stands around the airport. I used to drive a taxi in Boston, USA and the same system was used at the airport there. The taxi pool at S-bhumi has a restaurant and shower facilities for the drivers.

I'll be willing to bet that you guys who advocate taking the cabs from departures are the first to bitch when there is a problem.

The drivers who pay the fee and wait their turn are playing by the rules and I've never had one refuse to use the meter. They should be supported.

Myself and others I know have given up on taking cabs from the departures queue - pissed off drivers who try the flat fee gag and rigged meters. I still recommend it to people new to Bangkok though. But if you know minimal Thai and how to spot a decent taxi from a no-have-meter-rustbucket arrivals is the way to go. There isn't even anything dodgy about it - it isn't illegal to pick up passengers at arrivals, and in fact probably illegal to refuse a fare. Just get one dropping someone off to avoid someone 'heavy' or who bribed the guards to not move them on. You get the taxi of your choice with a driver feeling really lucky he didn't have to go through the queue.

But my main reason for avoiding the official queues is I hate the idea of supporting a system designed to drive traffic to the AOT car monopoly at the expense of the hard working drivers. At least public outrage was enough that the original plan of making you get a bus to the public taxi rank was scrapped, so it could have been worse.

The way the rules where written, drivers are supposed to get the fee to compensate for waiting in the queues. But the 'fee' charged to drivers is the work around is just part of the endemic corruption at the airport. I too am interested in how much the fee is. The customer only pays 50 baht a pop, but multiply that by the number of customers you end up with big money - way more than is justified in running showers and paying for the girl who scribbles on your ticket. I endorse the concept but the implementation is flawed and the management corrupt and I don't want to have a part in it.

Pretty sure Old Dutch fish is better than Offshore Bar.

But they do those shoe string fries, not chips.

Most places either have good fish, or good chips. Rarely both (and 'french fries' are not chips at all!)

Bradmans on soi 23 is good. Its not obvious, but you can choose your chip style to suit and there are a couple of options on the fish (snapper, baramundi I recall). They are on ChefsXP so you should be able to check out the menu there.

Offshore on soi 23 is variable but cheap. I find it works best with a bowl of gaeng hed to dip in ('fusion cuisine'?) and generally skip the chips as you don't get a good batch that often there. I think its because the oil isn't kept up to temperature and if you don't time things well you end up with a soggy pile.

Bars are opening earlier in the afternoon. The last bar closed up in cowboy at 8:30pm tonight, giving time for people to wander home. Best burgers in Bangkok (seriously) at Cactus 1pm+ tomorrow but don't expect to stay past 8pm!

A 10 year old boy shot dead today.

Do you have a link for this? Last I heard he was wounded - collateral damage along with a wounded taxi driver from soldiers stopping a van the hard way at a checkpoint.

Interesting how Seh Dang was being interviewed by International Herald Tribune when he was shot. If I'm not mistaken, this is the paper that had ties with Sondhi Limthongkul as distributor of his ThaiDay. A set-up with the cooperation of the yellow shirt leader? What a message to send to his nemesis, Thaksin.

Seh Dang? 'Say' no more.

You misspelled 'New York Times'.

Good luck with the rest of the conspiracy theory.

What's the best way to treat an obstinate woman? That's right, ignore her. That takes away all the power she ever had. The reds are the same

VAT collection for April didn't show a drop, or was it the slightest of drops. Yes, it's costing a bit but it is not costing the government as much as we think it does.

Just ignore them there, let them sit there and get wet, let them sit until August or longer if they (really) want. The Thais have adopted well and don't care about them really, there are other department stores...

Indeedy. Sucks to be an employee or shareholder at Paragon, but business is booming at Emporium. Now we understand the thinking behind building all these shopping centers - redundancy!

Anyone surprised?

Reds Do Not Accept Suthep's Appearance at DSI

Of course not. Reds need a majority of the votes next election, and that isn't going to happen unless Isaan is angry. There will be one excuse after another until there are enough Red deaths to ensure enough of the rural vote goes their way.

Has anyone, apart from the press, actually claimed that Taksin was expelled or kicked out of UAE?

I've only recall hearing he was 'requested to leave', and the only denial was 'not expelled'. It seems nobody is lying about what happened, but to the press there still seems some confusion.

Unsubscribe

Or maybe raise awareness of the issue. Maybe next time such an obviously incorrect headline won't be regurgitated causing such confusion and noise and TV will be better for it. I'm sure the owners of TV appreciate feedback more than losing subscribers as you are suggesting.