lannarebirth

Ask your wife if she'd consider Bua Loy?

Khun Chalerm is a larger than life type person and you'd think him a real ###### if you ever met him but didn't get to know him; and you might still think that even if you did. I find many artistic geniuses fall into this category.

I met this guy years ago when he just had started with the first temple. I bought a couple of reproductions and he came out and talked to me. I found him to be a very nice guy and he took his time to explain his work and his plans to me.

But I must say that I find the Black Temple, north of CR, more interesting.

He is a nice guy, but believe me you wouldn't want to work with him.

Tell me about the Black Temple. I wasn't aware of it and it sounds like an interesting place to visit.

Darn! I can't find the brochure and website right now, but there's a company in Bangkok that makes these. It's in the Chaeng Wattana district near Dhjurakipundhit University. They sell several models from 12' diameter to 20' diameter ttogether with the tower. My recollection is that a 14' windmill on a 60' tower is about B 200,000. It requires a 6" <b>metal cased</b> borehole. These windmills are a nice option if you cannot get electricity to the site inexpensively now or in the foreseeable future, but if you can, my study shows that the expense is not justified.

I asked the manufacturer for a lst of places here in the north where they made installations. Everyone I contacted had since moved to electric pumping when that option became avaiable.

Hey! I found the website!

http://usa-eco.com/Engpage.htm

Frankly I consider this temple to be more of a tourist attraction than a Buddhist temple....but of course I'm probably wrong. Most Buddhist temples in Thailand have little to do with the teachings of the Buddha anyway so I guess there is no reason to think that this one would be any different in that regard...in fact since it is being built by an "artist" and a famous and controversial one at that I guess one should assume that there would be lots of stuff that is unexpected and controversial...sounds like you've found some. My feelings about this temple and the associated art work is that the artist has fits of inspiration but does not seem to have a vision of how to stitch it all together....sorry but the fact that its all white doesn't accomplish that for me. The artist seems to be trying to create on the Frank Lloyd Wright scale but in this comparison he not only misses the mark but I don't think that he can even see the mark.

But perhaps I'm being too harsh on the artist....he has set out on a nearly impossible task anyway and one that not many would even attempt. Also, I only visited once along with some friends who were not interested in spending enough time to absorb all that was there....if I return again alone with more time to look then perhaps I will change my opinion.

Chownah

Hi chownah,

I'm sorry but I can't agree with you on this one. Khun Chalermchai has a complete vision for how the complex will be built and finished. He estimates it will take 90 years and he has already detailed every aspect of the project. You can look at his work ay Wat Buddhapadipa for a glimpse of what Wat Rong Khun may be.

http://www.buddhapadipa.org/pages/temple_muralpaintings.html

Khun Chalerm is a larger than life type person and you'd think him a real ###### if you ever met him but didn't get to know him; and you might still think that even if you did. I find many artistic geniuses fall into this category.

Eacg structure, statue and mural will be allegorical or symbolic of some aspect of Dharma and Buddhist philosophy. The white color for instance is a symbol for the purity of the Buddha.

Recently went to visit Wat Rong Khun temple again, and was surprised to see the inner chapel doorway wall mural scene painted with Ultraman and World Trade Center building with 9/11 scene which I think are completely out of sync with the rest of the Buddhist mural painting.

May I know what is your thoughts and opinion if you have any?

I can't ger rhe link to come up right now, but here Khun Chalermchai explains what is the symbolism of each structure, statue and mural he creates:

http://61.19.32.120/tour/columespacial/WatRongkhun.html

He and his wife are close friends of my girlfriend and I bump into him every month or so. I'll ask him when I see him again or if his wife is over to the house..

egads ..... save me from the overly lawbound systems in the "West"

Part of the joy of living here IS the fact that Thailand is not a nanny-state that watches what everyone does all the time!

life is nice here!

I met a farang here in Chiag Mai that said he fekt comforted by the fact it only costs about B 40,000 if he should accidently (or not accidentally for that matter) hit and kill a motorcyclist.

I agree about the nanny state comment, but a middle way might be something worth aimming for.

Seems that since the rainy season has ended all the mountains are covered with haze that obscures visibility and makes meaningful photography futile. Was up in Doi Tung yesterday and it was very disappointing

I've heard about the haze in March, April, May attributable to mountain burning .... but this is November!

Does anybody who's lived here long-term know if this haze is here to stay until June 2007 and the

next rainy season? I've read websites such as 1stopchaingmai.com and GT-rider.com, and they say that this time of year (especially December) is the best for photography. But, it seems the opposite is true!

Anybody know the real scoop on the haze? Is it everywhere in N. Thailand, will it go away for a while?

Thanks All!

I think what you're probably seeing is "radiation fog"; brought about by the cooler nights we've had lately. When the daytime temps drop a little it should lessen after the early morning hours.

"the Thai economy next year is projected to grow 3.9 per cent with an inflation rate of 2 per cent"

*****

2% inflation? whom is Khun Kittirat Na Ranong trying to bullsh*t? some farang tourist who spends a two week vacation in Thailand?

These kinds of press releases are completely worthless. Not only does he have no idea what the baht will do, he has no idea what inflation will do either, The governments official inflation rate for last year was 5.9% I believe, which was about the same as the economic growth figures; which means of course that there was zero economic growth.

Not only does Chiang Mai have bottled water, it has bottled water plants, including Aura and Wang Nam Kang to name only two. As for TP; never leave home without it.

"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse"

"I love the smell of napalm in the morning"

"Round up the usual supects"

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room!"

Some of the companies growing and marketing coffee in the north:

http://www.banriecoffee.com/wawee/index.htm#

http://www.doichaangcoffee.com/

Good website for coffee information:

http://www.coffeeresearch.org/agriculture/coffeeplant.htm

Coyote girls 'inappropriate at any age'

Education minister Wijit Srisa-arn disagreed with culture ministry's suggestion to set a minimum age for girls to become a coyote dancer - because no one ever is old enough for such a task.

"If it's inappropriate for girls to be a coyote dancer, it will always be inappropriate, regardless of age," said Mr Wijit on Tuesday. "It's not about the age. It's more about the impropriety to do that in public."

Mr Wijit said the education ministry should consider before issuing a regulation that it would work in reality and that it does not violate individual rights.

Amornvit Nakorndhup, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's faculty of education, said there is no need to issue a new regulation if government wants to ban college students from becoming a coyote dancer.

According to Dr Amornvit, universities and education ministry have rules that students must not do anything unethical. "These rules can be applied to the coyote issue, so no need to issue a new one," said Dr Amornvit.

05:16 Oct 31, 2006

Bangkok Post

I don't have UBC, but if I did, I guess I'd be grateful.

What I have never been able to grasp is why Thailand taxes the importation of solar panels and wind turbines?

This country has a close to perfect climate for solar panels and solar energy - yet, so little is done at a national or government level to promote its usage.

Solar energy can produce about 80% of this nations domestic energy requirment (by domestic I mean home requirement) but there is zero financial incentive to install and use it - and above all, the bizarrest thing about it - is that then ###### fiscal policy is one that levies a substantial import duty on solar panels.

What on earth for?

Makes no enviromental sense at all - makes no sense.

Tim

Here's why the tariff Tim:

http://www.solartron.co.th/Newer/home.aspx

It seems to be the nature of societies that they wait till things are "on the brink" before any meaningful change takes place. That said, it was only 30 years ago that we were being warned about the "coming ice age". The US is probably 10-15 years away from converting natural gas fueled power plants to hydrogen, with negligible emissions. Technology like this is a little nearer on the horizon:

http://www.nanosolar.com/

Lannarebirth,

I checked out the floor unit that holds up the sand. It has one hole in the center which is about 6 cm in diameter. This hole is for the incoming water pipe. The pipe that supplies the water enters near the bottom of the tank and then makes a 90 degree bend and goes up through the center of the tank, through the floor holding the sand, through the sand, through the water above the sand and extends about 40 or 50 cm above the top water level. This way when the water is pumped it falls a bit through the air and gets aerated somewhat (I guess).

The floor unit that holds the sand also has two holes that are 3 cm in diameter on opposite sides about half way from the center to the edge of the floor. One of these is used for the air vent pipe to vent the clean water storage portion of the tank which is below the sand floor. This pipe goes from the storage portion, through the sand floor, through the sand, through the water above the sand and extends about 20 or 30 cm above the top water level and its purpose is so that if your pump is pumping faster than the rate that water can move down through the sand then air can enter the lower clean water storage portion and your pump won't be sucking a negative pressure in the tank which might overload your pump or suck sand down through the sand floor into the bottom clean water storage area (I guess). I don't know why they have two of these holes....I guess it never hurts to have a spare!!!!

The floor unit that holds the sand also has about 35 holes that are 2 cm in diameter and are spread all around the sand floor unit so that there is no more than 15 cm distance between any hole and its nearest neighbors. These are the holes that the water trickles through to the bottom clean water storage area.

So, to recap....35 holes +/- of 2 cm diameter spread all around no more than 15 cm apart, two holes 3 cm in diameter for an air vent pipe and a spare, and one hole 6 cm in diameter in the center for the water supply pipe.

No screen is used above the sand floor. The sand is kept back by first placing a layer about 10 ore 15 cm thick of rocks that are about 4 or 5 cm in diameter and on top of this a layer of coarse gravel (mixed sizes with max size about 2 or 3 cm) and above this a layer of smaller gravel (mixed sizes max size about 1 1/2 cm). Then the sand. Best to not use limestone since it makes your water hard. Around here they use river rock for this since it is mostly not limestone and the sand is a white quartz type sand (although not purely quartz but mostly) since limestone sand should be avoided too.

Chownah

P.S. There is some rebar in the lid too but I don't know how much...if I remember I'll ask.

Chownah

oooh,

That is very very useful information chownah. Thanks ever so much for checking, as I had a different idea; but this makes much more sense. Khup Khun Mak Khup

The Baht may seem strong against the dollar, but it's basically that the dollar is weak. The Baht is well off highs V the GBP and EUR. The dollar has corrected a lot over the last couple of years, but personally I don't think it has finished yet. I'm from the UK, but not biased, as I get paid in US$. I can still see the xrate going above $2/£1 within the not too distant future, which would probably mean a similar decline V the THB. Is it even possible for the BOT to intervene to a significant extant anymore after what happened last time?

I'm no expert, just a barstool economist who still feels the $ is overvalued, please feel free to comment, criticise, or correct me.

I think you very well could be right, but I just shorted the GBP tonight anyway. Let's see what happens.

The last couple of wat festivals I've been to have had these girls. They'd do the bump and grind or dry hump a pole trying to entice the men to part with 10 baht for a dance or whatever. I don't say that there might not be appropriate venues for these activities, but the wat festival is not it. Incidences of rape and gang rape at these fairs has climbed sharply. There is very little oversight save for the local puyai. It really is a very inappropriate activity given the location and occasion.

That John Cleese is a funny fellow. It's also funny how he somehow overlooked that those barely literate, Neanderthal Americans, managed to register 23 times more new patents last year than their British betters. Oh well.

True but did you know that 22 of the 23 were designed / created within the U.S. by Europeans lured there by large sums of money! So the cash was U.S but the brains......!

The other one was from Turkey.

I didn't say 23, I said 23 times; as in 3, 500 vs 85,000. Hey, and why single Turkey out? It's Europe too, right?

Thanks chownah.

Hi chownah,

Now that it's getting dry enough to do a few projects, I'm going to construct one of those sand filtration systems for a house I built this year for my workers. I have a couple of questions however.

On the cement ring that has a cment bottom holding the sand, did you drill one or several holes in it to allow for the seepage of the filtered water down to the lower tank? If so, how many and what size? Also, did you set a fine screen under the sand to stop particles from flowing to the lower filtered water section? TIA

Ken

That John Cleese is a funny fellow. It's also funny how he somehow overlooked that those barely literate, Neanderthal Americans, managed to register 23 times more new patents last year than their British betters. Oh well.

i humbly beg to differ Maestro and state that your graph is misleading (because inverted). that goes for CNY and THB which did not drop against USD but appreciated.

Thank you for pointing that out, Naam. I feel embarrassed for having got things wrong, upside down, so to speak.

Seeing it the correct way now is highly interesting. When China changed from an exclusive tie of the Yuan to the US dollar to a currency basket, the Yuan strengthened against the dollar, which was the exact opposite of what the US government had hoped for. This, I take it, is further proof of the dollar’s current weakness.

---------------

Maestro

]

No, that's not correct. The US government felt that the Yuan was being kept artificially low and the US wanted the YUAN to strengthen against the $USD.

"Only problem is that the USA doesn't make anything other than Harleys and fat people."

*****

what about Boeings, F14/16s, cruise missiles, smart bombs?

I think they make a few other things. Like the chips, operasting system and networks you're communicating on. A lot of agriculture too as I recall.