lannarebirth

Lannarebirth,

I did some quick checking on the internet and found that 1 watt-hour is equal to about 370 kg-metre....where kg is a force kg...a force kg being the force that gravity exerts on a one kg mass. Since one litre of water has 1 kg of mass, this means that 1 watt-hour will lift one litre about 370 metres....or 370 litres about 1 metre...or 185 litres about 2 metres...etc. Since you were thinking about lifting the water a verticle distance of about 30 metres this means that 1 watt-hour will lift 12 litres of water up to the top of your hill. I looked at the link you posted that told about the specs for your solar system. It says each panel will produce 350 to 450 watt-hours per day. Assuming perfect efficiency (hahahaha) and assuming 400 watt-hours per day then you could pump 4,800 litres of water per day to the top of your hill...thats 4.8 cubic metres per day.

But you never get 100% efficiency...duh! Let's assume 50% efficiency getting the electricity from the panel to the pump....and then 50% effiency in pumping the water up the hill....this yields overall 25% effiiciency....so......1 cubic metre per day is probably an optimistic figure....maybe half of that is more realistic.....if you want to get a closer estimate you need to start looking into realistic efficiencies for all of the components in your system.

This same type of analysis can be used for estimating how much you could pump to the lower land you own.....Assume you have to pump 2 metres out of a creek to irrigate...then 1 watt-hour would pump 185 litres up two metres and 400 watt-hours per day would give you 74,000 litres which is 74 cubic metres...assuming 25% efficiency gives about 18 cubic metres per day as an optimistic estimate and 10 cubic metres per day is probably more realistic.....from one panel......more refined estimates come from more refined efficiencies for each of the components of your system.

Its late so I'm not going to proof read this and check for mistakes but I'm sure someone will let me know if I've made any.

Chownah

Chownah,

Thank you so much for taking the trouble to do those calculations. There are a lot of variables to be sure. Proper hookup of panel, head pipe friction, etc.. I was looking at this setup:

http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_waterpumping.html

and was encouraged. Wouldn't it be great to see an alternative/remewable energy subforum here at TV?

Thank you again.

Ken

You do have an idea on the water question....simply because you use it. You farm on a klong/irrigation channel and a river frontage. I presume you pump from these sources.

If so are there any restrictions on what you pump ?

If not then I guess that has answered my question lol.

Hi Nawtilus,

For that land we get our water from the irrigation canal. There is no charge for it, but we and the other growers nearby must volunteer our labor several days per year to provide maintenance and cleanup of the klong and ditches. We are free to pump what we wish out of the river, but it is a more troublesome and expensive solution.

Ken

Hi Ken

Anyway to your specific questions:

1) I think you is going to have problems with your water pump. You will need a pump that can pump at least 3.5 – 4bar pressure. Now in theory you can do that with 1 watt of power, but the volume which pumped will be a trickle – so pointless. I think you are going to struggle with one panel to get sufficient volume moved. It is not the way I would go about it. I need to know how much water you need to pump per day. From that, with the height info you have provided I can tell you exactly how many watts you require and exactly what pump you will need to get and how long you will have to run it – and from that we can calculate exactly how much power needs to be generated and stored. Get back to me on that please.

2) Sending power back to the grid? Knock the idea on the head – there is no system in place which will offer you any benefit or return for that at the moment in Thailand.

3) The turbines I build I build from scratch – I even wind the coils for the alternators/stators my self. You can have either type. The best for Thai conditions are the TAURUS design types – which have an odd number of coils in a circular arrangement around a diameter of 1 - 1.7meters, on either side of which are to direct driven circular plates onto which the magnets are fixed (the size and number of coils determines the power output. If you go to http://www.scoraigwind.com/nirvana/page1.htm you will see exactly what I build – mine are a direct copy in terms of the technical principals – but are produced using proper machined parts, and are professionally presented in custom housings – but in operating principal are identical. Yes – it really is that easy if you understand how – and much cheaper than buying commercially – less than 1/3 for the same thing from a professional wind turbine manufacturer. I offer a 5 gauruntee on the coil and all electronics. I give a lifetime garuntee on the tower – if I build it and install it – the exception been if it is hit by lightening (no on can garuntee against that damage

The grass problem – Guinea is an option, I don’t think you have been advised wrong per say, but letting animals graze it is a no no – they will tears the roots up over time and it will get more and more clumpy, as you like to describe it.

I’d give Ruzzi (the Thai’s say Lucy – because they cant say their R’s) a go. Spread it by hand and then get a rake over it just to cover it a little. It will fill in nicely between the Guinea clumps and at some point one will start to dominate. Put some fertilizer down50kg p/rai with the seed should be fine (any of the cheap nitrogen types will do – you ain’t going for a high quality feed so don’t go overboard). How much seed - start off with 2 -3 kg max p/rai thats actuall a lot, and quite a bit will eventually get taken over by the rest - but its a one investment and its going to give you a quick well spread root system. This is on a hillside/slope - is it not. Thast important because if not then it will become water logged and will not germinate, let alone grow.

And keep the animals off for at least 18 – 20 months. Then you can let one of the locals who has cattle maintain it for you for free – but insist he “cut & carries” it off the land to feed. Should work out quite well and it will be in his interest to maintain it as it provides him with a free feed source for his cattle.

Get back to me when ready.

Tim

Hi Tim,

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and rapid response.

My immediate needs for water are to get water to a tank next to workers home, from a spring fed pool. It is a run of about 100 meters and a rise of about 12 meters. I'm in the process of building a 30,000 liter tank there, but rainy season is hampering my efforts. For there cleaning/toilet needs, together with feeding 9 dogs and a pig and watering various plants in dry season, I would guess perhaps 1500liters perday. I was wondering if a 12v pump might work delivering 200liters/hr over the course of the day. If not, what might I need? Currently I use a 6.5 hp gas powered centrifugal pump to fill a 1,500 liter tank every few days. Not a good long term solution and not in sufficient for further development.

Later this year I'll be building several 20,000 - 30,000 liter tanks at a range of 400 meters from source and a height of 35 meters from source. I can fill them with the same gas powered engine, using a reciprocating pump, but the fuel would be expensive, so much prefer a long term solution. I imagine 5,000 liters/day would be ample, as it's only for watering fruit trees during dry season, which most folks around here don't even do.

OK, I've knocked the power back to grid idea out of my head, darm it. I'm familiar with Hugh Piggots site and if there's someone to emulate in that field, it would be him. As I don't really have anywhere to send the power on the orchard land, I'd be considering this for the land I will live on. Can you tell me how noisy the turbine might be? What height of tower do you generally use?

Thanks for the lead on the Ruzzi grass. Here in Chiang Mai I had great difficulty in finding good advice. I'm told that I should probably look to Lopburi to find seed vendors?

Thanks again for your generosity.

Ken

I knew a girl in Mexico named Nadia. Then of course there was the Romaninian gymnast named Nadia, I also note, that there's a regular contributor here at ThaiVisa named Nadia, who dispenses advice with regard to real estate legal matters. Pretty good advice too, from what I can tell.

I

Hi Ken

I'll catch up with the subject later tonight (i.e. about 2am tomorrow) - need to get some sleep - have had none at all sicne I got up yesterday at 2:30am.

Tim

Good morning Tim,

I hope you had a good rest.

Anyway, I was called away suddenly to meet the installer for a solar panel and converter/controller/battery out at my land. We'd been on the list to receive 2 of these and we've been missing each other each time he was in the area. It's for the new house that we built for our workers to live in. Here's a picture of it:

http://www.palangthai.org/docs/SHSReport6June06.doc

Pretty basic, but I'm hoping to run 2 wires off of it with switches. One to the battery/controller and the other to a 12volt pump to handle filling a tank and irrigation on the lower end of one piece of land. It's a short term solution, but t's a free government program for about 25,000 baht of hardware, so what the heck. I think it's much too weak to run a pump with sufficient head to get to top of land, but it takes care of a need.

I have another piece of land where I'll be building a home next year that's quite nearby. It's 12rai with about 100meters of creek frontage, culminating at a waterfall. It has electricity available, but I'd like to incorporate as much RE sources as I can. Perhaps a small hydro mill and a wind turbine and a few solar panels for specific tasks. I think I WILL hook to grid, but I'm wondering if I wouldn't be best off sending output back to grid, rather than storing and managing it myself. Do you know if Thailand has such a program, whereby they must buy any RE produced? I'd guess there's no subsidy, but I just don't know. Do you happen to know? The wind turbines you build; are they stator/alternator type, or motor conversion type?

Also, while I have you here. Last year I planted a lot of pasture grass on the hillside in the hopes of minimizing erosion. The guy at the sustainable farming place suggested Guinea Grass and I planted it. Well, it came in very nice, but it's rather clumpy. Lots of vegetation, but not much surface area of the earth is rooted. I don't think it's the grass I want. I need something with many more blades and greater/wider root proliferation. Something more like a lawn would be, but without worrying about constant maintenance. Any suggestions? While the local farmers love grazing on this (I let them) it doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for.

Thanks for any response.

Ken

KEN – the biggest wind generator I have built in Thailand is 12 Kw. The problem is, it don’t matter how big your genie is - if you have no wind it’s not going to do the job. A wind/solar panel combination is the best way to go – but panels are sooooooo….. expensive in Thailand that their cost in nearly every case is just not justified – however long the period of time is over which you hope to recuperate the investment.

Most of the units I build are 5Kw units – which I can build for around Baht 100 000 including the rectifier circuit, but no the tower or the dc/ac power supply (the box of tricks that converts the stored power back to ac power for use in the house.

That is your most expensive component – which for a house you will need around 2Kw – 4Kw and it will cost you around USD 2 000 – 3 000, unless you can find one in a scrap yard, which I have done before on occasion. There is place coming out of Bangkok if you are heading up to the North East past Saraburi/Pak Chong/Korat that stocks scrapped hospital equipment – I have often found some pretty good dc/ac inverters/power supplies amongst that lot.

Its like keeping livestock – the windmill turbine is only one part in a number of parts required, and if any one is not up to mark, then the whole chain suffers. I have 2 x

5Kw units which supply all power for the house through a series of old submarine batteries I purchased in Australia about 10 years ago. I store a total of 6Kilo Amps (6000 amps at 96vdc).

The windmills produce 120Vac at 5Kw at 36kmph wind speed which gives them an rpm of around 230 from 3 x 9 metre blades.

On average though I’d say that they are producing around 3.0Kw – 3.3Kw, which relates to a wind speed of around 24kmph and an rpm of 138.

Cut-in speed is 19kmph at which point they will produce 2.0 kilowatts

I am fully booked until end of November, and can then take on 2 more orders for the rest of the year.

In any event, before I make or say anything:

- how much water do you need to pump, and how high do you need to pump it above the pump, and how far down is it below the pump. Then we can work out how many kilowatts you need.

- For your workers – do you know how many amps are required – I presume they are cooking on gas woks, and just using the power for radio/TV and lighting. Is that correct.

When I have that info then we can consider how much power you need and how much you need to store in batteries.

Do you have a dam to store the water in?

Tim

Hi Tim,

Very interesting comments. I apologize for my slow response. I had a birthday and a short trip to Burma since we last spoke.

It is likely I was premature in posting these RE questions to you. The fact is the 31 rai piece I have for rice has 300 meters of river frontage, nearly the same distance at the rear of land of canal and a borehole with electricity available. So no RE needed there.

The next piece I have is 70 rai (actually 3 contiguous pieces) in the foothills near Chiang Mai. I am rehabilitating this land from it being deforested "degraded" land to orchards. I would prefer to make it a forest again but the giovernment won't allow that. Hence I'm stuck growing orchards I don't really want and the market doesn't really need. The least of my concerns are the orchards, save for their ability to root and hold earth, minimizing erosion. My main concern is the rehabilitation of the land. To this end I utilize "check dams" : http://www.forest.go.th/watershed/English/...vities/dem.html

in any area of heavy seasonal water flow, and Vetiver or "King's Grass" for planting on sloped areas: http://www.pttplc.com/en/ptt_core.asp?page=cr_so_vg. . Mechanized machinery is not allowed to be used on this particular plot of land, so progress is slow. I mark progress by seasons and sometimes years. It is slow, but it is perceptible and increasing more rapidly.

It is on this land that I have the 2 natural springs at the low end of the land. These springs are at ground level. The need is to pump these ground level pools of water up approximately 25-35 meters over about a 450 meter run. Since both these pools are on the low end of the land, they sit in "bowls" of the land and it is not suitable for any wind generation/pumping site. The very top of the land is a hill peak and is very good for wind, but I don't have water there. I could make a borehole there I suppose, together with a large tank. If I did, all other areas of the land could be irrigated through a gravity feed. For aboubt 200,000 baht I could place a 14' diameter turbine x 45' tall tower up there acting as a well pump. I would still have to pay for the boring in addition to that. At that price I was leaning toward solar panels, as I'd have more flexibility in their use, and eventually electricity WILL come to this site and the wind pump will become obsolete.

Uh oh, I'm being called away. I'll post the rest when I get back. Thanks for your forbearance.

Ken

Yet another example of "Thai Logic"

Well, it is as a matter of fact. If you overlook the interests of vendors and shoppers, and focus on the interests of those who stand to gain by granting concessions, then you can readily see it might be a very profitable venture. Thai politicians plunder public assets. That logic is inescapable.

Start one bar girl conversation and thats all you get.

Oh for the days of rinse or wipe.

I often wondered why these topics never came up, or were quickly ended once begun. I thought it seemed a natural topic of conversation in a nation with a thriving sex tourism industry. I think now, my curiosity has been sated, and for a good while to come.

"but you have completly lost me on that last piece : "self serving tripe"

Ok. In my view the guy was 100% responsible for the situation in which he found himself. Even he allowed that the bargirl would naturally assume the child was his. He went on at length about his mock (IMO)parental stirrings, when in fact he was looking to slip the noose and assign blame elsewhere; which he did.

Apoligies and condolences to sua vai. No more OT response from me.

It seems that the following article was prompted by the above sad tale:

Beware the Oriental fantasy

Many Westerners holiday in South-East Asia and return home with a spouse. Will Jory tells of his own traumatic experience

Regular visitors to Thailand will know the sight well: a wealthy, older Englishman arm in arm with the attractive Bangkok bar girl for whom he has fallen. Unfortunately, for 41-year-old, Marlborough-educated Toby Charnaud, his Oriental fantasy ended in bloody murder, according to reports now emerging from a Thai court.

Among the accused is his ex-wife, Pannada Laoruang, whom Charnaud met - yes - in a Bangkok bar, having sold his £2.5 million estate in Wiltshire to go travelling. The couple married in 1997 and lived for a time with his parents in England. When this didn't pan out, they returned to Thailand, where Charnaud bought two bars in the resort of Hua Hin.

They had a son, Daniel, but Pannada's gambling habit and £50,000 debts drove them apart and the couple divorced, with Charnaud gaining custody of the boy.

Toby Charnaud was murdered, presumably for his money, after being lured to Pannada's remote border village to see his son, who had been visiting his mother.

There, he was greeted by five men who, it is alleged, clubbed, shot and hacked him to death. His corpse was then burnt and the remains strewn across the jungly countryside.

It is a uniquely horrible story. Yet the impetus that drove Toby Charnaud to give up his life in England and risk his happiness in the arms of a Thai good-time girl is not unique.

Many Western men take inordinate gambles with young South-East Asian women, the kind of gambles they would never consider at home.

Why? Obviously, there is a physical attraction. For many Western men, the slender, petite, ever-youthful figures of Eastern women can be seriously alluring. Then there is a cultural aspect: Thai women have a grace, a femininity and a deferential sexiness that many women in the West appear to have forsaken.

The attraction of female submissiveness might be reprehensible, but it is none the less real. Who doesn't like having their clothes washed, their meals cooked and their brow smoothed by a soft and loving hand?

Yes, I know the temptation well. For something not entirely dissimilar happened to me, another thirtysomething Englishman, a few years ago.

I was holidaying on the Thai island of Koh Samui and in a noisy bar I met Sunee. She was pretty, 25 and great fun - one of those seductive Eastern women who inhabit the blurred moral zone between party animal and prostitute.

And I fell for her. It was more than a holiday romance and, when the time drew near for me to leave, there were tears from her and regrets from me.

Two dizzy weeks after we met, I had to fly home. I kissed Sunee, said goodbye and heard very little more for nearly half a year.

Then, out of the blue, I got an e-mail from her. "I have something to tell you. I am five months' pregnant." My head swam.

What should I do? My friends were divided. Some told me that I should forget about the woman. How did I know she wasn't scamming, fishing for money? Others advised me that I had to do the right thing. I had to ascertain if this baby was mine.

Four months later, that is what I did. I flew to Bangkok. Sunee and I had arranged to meet in my hotel. When she knocked on the door, she was carrying the tiny newborn.

Then she started crying. I hugged her, wordlessly, because I didn't know what to say. I didn't feel great passion for Sunee any more, yet I wanted to do the right thing. Whatever that was.

Then I cradled the baby. It was shattering. I hadn't expected the overwhelming emotions, the conflicting sensations that flooded me. I was 38, childless and single. Now, here was this perfect, vulnerable thing in my hands. My son, maybe.

Somehow, I got a grip. Before I had flown to Bangkok, I had established the best method of DNA-testing a baby. This, it turned out, was the "buccal swab" method.

You sweep a cotton bud across the inner cheek of the child's mouth, gathering cells. Putting the baby on my lap, I got out the cotton buds.

As I did, Sunee looked at me sorrowfully, perhaps contemptuously. It wasn't hard to sense what she was thinking. "How can you do this? How can you not trust me?"

I steeled myself and scraped the cotton buds, and sealed them in an envelope, which was then dispatched to a genetic-testing company in Britain.

Then I waited. And waited. I spent days sitting by my Bangkok hotel swimming pool, fretting. Half of me wanted this adorable child to be mine. Yet I had to find out the truth.

In the end, I couldn't help myself. Before I got the DNA test results, I went to see Sunee and the baby one more time. I had resolved not to do this because I was scared of the unmanageable emotion, that upwelling of paternal love.

It was a long drive across Bangkok to her tiny flat. There, I sat with Sunee and the child. We chatted and sipped tea, and I helped her feed the baby.

As I did, I started marvelling at the boy. Weren't those my eyes? Surely that was my nose, my mouth, even my Yorkshire complexion? Why did I need to do a test when I could see with my own eyes: this was my son.

I very nearly cracked. Back at the hotel, I decided to cancel the DNA tests and accept the child as mine. But when I picked up the phone, a small voice inside me said: "No, this is wrong. You will always have doubts if you don't find out now."

I put the phone down. The following day, the results came through. "We are 100 per cent sure the alleged father, Will Jory, is not the true father of this child." The boy wasn't mine.

My first reaction was anger - at Sunee, at life, at myself. I refused to see Sunee or the baby before I left. When she rang in tears, I rang off. On my return to London, the anger slowly abated.

It dawned on me that Sunee had convinced herself that I was the father because she so desperately wanted me to be the father.

The timing was right, she had my e-mail address, we had sort of fallen in love. And she was a single and frightened young mother, without any options. I understood.

But even when the anger had gone, the melancholy remained. I felt like someone had given me a son and then snatched him away. I was aware that my feelings were irrational, but that was no help. I was bereft.

Over time, however, these feelings mellowed. Two years have passed and now I think very differently.

As I see it, much of what happened was my own fault. After all, it was me who fell for Sunee so hard that I stupidly dispensed with the usual precautions when we had sex.

But why did I do that? What is it about young, seemingly vulnerable Thai women that makes so many Englishmen take such absurd risks?

For as poor Charnaud and I discovered, their submissiveness can come at a cost.

Thai women often see their older, wealthier white partners as saviours in all situations, such as pregnancy or gambling debts. And when the saviour fails, the reckoning can be painful.

For many, the Oriental fantasy should remain precisely that.

• Some names have been changed

Source: Telegraph Online

Condolences to the family of the dead guy. Shame on the respective bargirls for their actions, and shame too on the authour of this unadulterated, self serving tripe article you've just pasted.

I think some people have been watching too many films.

Don't own a gun UNLESS you're prepared to use it.

Good advice. I'd add "unless you're also prepared to deal with the consequences from having used it".

As a sideline a make wind generators ( I think there is a German guy somewhere around who's into solar panels) and build the occassional high-rise agricultural sprayer. Both are made totally from local components - you'd be suprized how easy it is to build a 5 - 10kw wind generator for a fraction of what they cost commercialy!

Very Interesting. I have about 100 rai near Chiang Mai. About 70% orchards, 30% rice paddies. The orchards are in the hills and currently have no access to electric power. I do have natural year round springs, but that available water is at the low end of the property. I have been examining the possibility of building a wind turbine or using task specific solar powe for pumping needs and providing electricity to on site workers homes. I'm an avid reader of this site: http://www.otherpower.com/otherpowerfront.shtml but am admittedly short in electrical engineering know how. I would love to hear what projects you have completed, or are planning, with respect to renewable energy.

Ken

My sympathies go out to him and his family.

But does anybody on here not find it insulting, to use the words "Thai Bride"? After all they had been married 9 years. Would they still call 2 english people married for that long a "Bride". NO, it seems like they want to label anybody with a Thai Wife, with the stigma that they got them off the internet. To me, it is just as "Racist" as calling someone a "Paki" etc. and yet you could be taken to court (in the UK) for saying such a thing. Makes my blood boil

Lots of upsetting things brought up by this incident. Your grievance least among them.

Well, after 2 months of abysmal service, my TT&T Maxnet is flying tonight. I'm getting about 1/2 the speed I'm paying for, but it's about 10 times faster than it's been. I hope it continues.

Just back from Mae Sai. Tachilek crossing is now $USD 10 or 500 baht. Thai immigration using scanner on most Thais, and if the immigration guy I dealt with is any indication, Thais getting surlier. Chastised me for having only 2 empty pages left in passport and for the first time ever , had me show 10,000 baht. ortunately, for the first time ever, I happened to have it on me.

Alas, the little solar panel from the Chinese baseball cap I bought long ago at the (new) airport does not supply power sufficient to recharge a motorcycle battery...

Yesterday's newspaper said the (mainland) Chinese will be making cheap panels soon, but that unit cost for solar power remains significantly more expensive. Still, i have seen panels on roofs, and would like to know commercial details. Have not yet found where they are sold. Anyone know?

As i as i know the amphur will supply free to the tentant if their place canot get the government pwer supply. I ever talk to the owner before he say he ask it for free and te company that supply it its in sukhumit. bkk.

Nonelectrified rural homes qualify for solar panels from the electric authority. It's a long waiting list. I'm on the list for 2 and after 1 1/3 years am getting the first one this month. It is a program in association with Solartron, the primary Thai manufacturer of solar panels. Ther is a new program I believe that will provide solar panels for pumping water, so that rural farmers may participate in the more lucrative produce production sphere. You can check out Solartron at

http://www.solartron.co.th/ . There really isn't much difference in the price of solar panels anywhere, whether you buy from US/UK or China. Solar panels are a commodity and the price is about $USD4/watt and tack pn anothe buck for batteries/controllers. There is possibly something new on the horizon however, and that is this www.naosolar.com . when or if it comes to fruition I can't say. For Thailand I like the idea of task oriented solar power, but I think it is not the best solution for supplying a homes complete energy needs, unless price comes down considerably.

The copy shops on the road turning west off Nimmanheimin (just south of Aden's Health Food) make books and copy books. My recollection is about .5baht/page and about 80 baht for a hardcover binding. If it's already on a CD or in PDF form, it's less labor for them, so your mileage may vary.

Criminal Court asked police to trace those post criticism against court on Web boards

The Criminal Court has asked the Crime Suppression Division to trace the identities of those who had posted strong criticisms against the court on Web boards.

Than Boonyatulanon, secretary to the Criminal Court chief justice, said he asked CSD commander Pol Maj Gen Winai Thongsong to trace the IP addresses and find who were the ones who post the comments against the court after the court found the three election commissions guilty.

The Nation

For any lawyers or other knowledgeable folks.

Are all court cases in Thailand eligible for appeal? Are all convicted persons granted bail during appellate process?

My undersatnding of the appeals process, is that only those convicted who can show an irregularity or mis-application of law in the initial trial may be granted an appeal. Otherwise you have a case of just rehashing everything, tying up the docket, until you get the result you seek. Additionally, those with medical maladies are generally sent to the medical wing of the prison, are they not?

Can anyone provide any illumination beyond TiT?

Just guessing of course, but I'd say the website is the brainchild of some enterprising Thai lawyers. You'll note they make reference to the fact you shouldn't trust Samui lawyers to protect your interests, while referring you to a list of Bangkok attorneys. Additionally they have boilerplate contracts for sale through the website, which points perhaps to a consortium of Thai attorneys. All very well presented I must say.

I did do some research on this crop and it seems perfect for marginal land and limited rainfall. Unfortunately there is TOO much information available. There are even forums warning of the toxic nature of this crop. Is there anything to it? I don't really know but the plant is regarded as a toxic weed in many places and is difficult to get rid of. It is accused of being a potent carcinogen as well as causing serious skin problems. Why is nothing simple?

Has anyone checked out Jatropha Curcas?

Inedible but a great source for Biodiesel.

Ideal for the Isaan climate & soil...

Gary, it's known as the "bellyache bush" in Aus and regarded as a weed/pest, in some areas.

As animals don't like to eat it, it was originally grown for it's use as a barrier hedge in India, Africa, et al..

I grow about 200 trees of Sabudam or Jatropha in the hills near Chinag Mai. I'm just eperimenting with it. I'm not as yet convinced that it's not more costly to grow and harvest, than just buying the diesel. I wouldn't worry about toxicity. It's grown everywhere in Thailand as living fences.

ThaiRanger,

Reciprocating pumps are not very efficient....and I think they cost more than centrifugal pumps and cost more in maintenance. I think that the centrifugal pump is a better choice. I can't think of an advantage for reciprocating pumps and have always wondered why you see them for sale. Am I missing something?

Reciprocating pumps are used when a greater head is required. Centrifugul pump capacities drop considerbly as you pump water up a hill. Reciprocating pumps do not, as they are "positive displacement" piston pumps. each "slug" of water pushes the next one up the line. Even uphill.

" Do you make an effort to fit in?"

Yes, I do make an effort to fit in. That is sometimes complicated by the fact that so many Thais I know make an effort to accomodate me as a farang, that I'm often robbed of the opportunity. Still, whoever's being courteous to whomever, it's a pleasant experience.

"For example, are you wearing yellow on Mondays to honour the king?"

No, I don't. It strikes me as tokenism (which in small measure can be very nice). What I DO do, is practice the Kings sustainable farming practices. I'd probably never have tried these things if not for his striong and wise advocacy. I get mixed reactions from other Thais for this.

"Have you made an effort to learn Thai?"

I have made an effort with mixed success. I can understand about half of what's said to and around me, and can be understood about half of the time. Sadly, I'm lazier and more stupid and more deaf than I used to be , but I'm committed to improving. I often have my friends laughing over my progress, but they respect the effort.

"Do you try not to be critical or emotional when dealing with Thais?"

Yes I do. I wasn't always that way, but have discovered I was hurting myself by not adapting well. In addition I have discovered that what might have initially seemed like impediments, turned out not to be at all. Almost every setback I've experienced here has led to an even better outcome. If I hadn't adapted in that way I might never have gotten to experience that life lesson.

"Do you wai to the proper people at the proper time?"

I do, and when I'm not sure I wai higher. No one seems offended by that. I'm told I have a very "sincere" wai, though I don't know how that opinion is derived.

"Do you go to boring weddings and funerals when invited by people you hardly know?"

I've been to both, and since I haven't been to too many, I don't find it boring yet.

"Do you avoid pointing your feet at people?"

Yes I do. I only had to be taught that lesson once.

"Do you eat Thai food?"

Almost exclusively.

"Do you attend Buddhist ceremonies or tham-boon when invited to?"

I do attend these ceremonies. I am Buddhist and it is one of the few areas that's a bit uncomfortable for me. I give to various projects in the wats near me and there's usually a big show about ME maing a presentation to the luang por or another monk. I don't want to do it, have said so, and I'm always overruled. Actually, merit making is one of the few Buddhist tenets I don't embrace FOR MYSELF. What I give, I give because it makes me very happy to do so.

"Do you stand still when the national anthem is played in public places?"

Always

"There are some activities which are actually illegal in Thailand but they seem to be accepted in popular Thai culture, like giving bribes to the police, buying pirate software or DVDs, and companies using two sets of accounting books."

I've never bribed anyone, but I have given "honoraria". I've bought the odd DVD. No funny business with bookkeeping.

In summary I would say I try to fit in and most know I'm trying. I'm lucky that it's no trial for me to make the effort. I get back more for my effort than I ever give.

After marriage my name changed from "Man" to "Swine" in a few short years.

Thanks for that, you made me laugh out loud.

I'm getting married early next year, and my fiance has said she'd like to take my name. Back in America, I guess I wouldn't give that much thought, but here I have. She comes from what IMO is a very fine family, with a family name bestowed upon them by Rama IV, whom her descendants served happily, as with most royal families since. It's clear she is proud of this fact and it's clear it means something to people she meets. I'd feel terribly guilty depriving her of that.

I'm not sure what what's to be done as far as officildom goes, regarding land, wills passports and such. I guess we'll do as lawyers and embassies advise.

I hope she decides to keep her name.

I have a Thai friend who is interested in setting up an on-call spa service aimed at falang. She would go to peoples houses and do massage and spa treatments. Strictly professional - no funny business. Incidentally, she is quite good (my mother is a massage therapist and has 5 NBA players as regular clients ... my friend is as good.) She has a long resume and is Wat Po trained. She speaks good English and some French and some Swedish.

My have some questions...

(1) what reservations, if any, would you have to using this kind of service? Would you use it? How often?

(2) what kind of advertising should she do?

(3) her target is falangs and their wives/girlfriends.

Thanks

Perhaps yor friend's rates are too high. What are her rates? I usually pay 100-150 bt/hr at massage shop, or 200-250 bt/hr in my home. I usually tip 30%-50%.