owl sees all

24 minutes ago, Dtaw said:

Use a Huawei product and all user data is sent to Beijing. Have a trip to China and some bad/critical/"illegal info" on your phone and you could find yourself rotting in a Chinese prison. 

And this is what the fuss with the USA is really all about. The technocrats working for the US, or their agents, cannot get info' from a Huawei device. China will not dance to the US tune.

It will not be long before everyone has to hand over their mobiles for data recording, to get into the US. Other countries will soon follow.

The US does not want anyone using a device that cannot be accessed for its data. It's the future; and it's coming to us soon.

1 minute ago, luckyluke said:

A Letter of Income/Affidavit, for extension of retirement, is also still accepted (so far) from all the countries which embassy/consulate is still issuing. 

 

Understandable there is a lot of vexation/irration from many Americans, Australians, British. 

 

 

I am English, and I'm assured by my agent that nothing has changed. I'll keep TVF members posted, but the agent has a good record. If not, then it's back to Laos; again.

20 hours ago, possum1931 said:

I'm a bit confused by this, though maybe I'm missing something, if you, or your agent on your behalf, waits until 6 months till the next extension, just how many 90 days are in 6 months?

Got my visa ext' in November. didn't pick up my 90 day in Feb. Picked up latest one in May. Next 90 day due in Aug'. 

I wanted to know from my agent if I needed to do anything between May 15th and November.

She said; "nothing changed, everything same."

On 5/30/2019 at 7:53 AM, essox essox said:

NO because ALL LOTTERY SELLERS NOW CHARGE 100 baht....and one, it seems, CAN NOT BUY one ticket....HAVE TO BUY 2 .....!!!

Up our way the price is 80 baht or 90 baht for single tickets but 100 baht or more for the packs. Of course, if it is a 'lucky' number the cost can be 150 baht apiece. But the lucky ones get snapped up quickly.

I personally go for tickets that have just two numbers; as in 155515 or 799797. i did get a ticket last year; 222222. 

Not won anything in ten years. But there is always hope for next time.

1 hour ago, VincentRJ said:

Oh! I see! So the New Testament is misleading and imprecise. It needs amending, along the lines, "Love thine enemy only when appropriate, and hate him the rest of the time." Right? ????

Don't be drawn in Vincent. This CMnightrider is, IMO, a great big wind-up.

Although he bangs on about christianty, other religions; catholics, muslims, shintoes, etc., don't get too much praise.

I just visit, this thread, occasionally, to get a laff at now just plain nuts people can be.

19 minutes ago, sniggie said:

I'm a bit fatalistic about this. Mosquitoes around here bite my legs the moment I go downstairs to get my breakfast. They are around all day. They have a further go at my legs in the evening.  They bite through clothing. The only thing that might help is to smother myself from morning to night with repellent. Even then they'll probably find a way.  I just get on with my life and hope that I'll be OK.  I use repellent in the evening if I'm outside but that's about it.

Never used that spray repellent. Have neem to ward them off. Available for free anywhere in Thailand.

Picked up my 90 day report from my agent last week. I've got 6 months til the next ext'. I asked her what I need to do NOW to ensure a smooth transition to the next.

I had thought about the combo method as under the present circumstances I fall short of monthly income.

She replied; "nothing, everything same." 

On 6/1/2019 at 4:47 AM, Elad said:

Hi

Yes, this is 'Time Dilation' in special relativity 

To see the effects you wouldn't need to be travelling at near light speed. If observer A was travelling at half the speed of light relative to observer B on earth, for every 86 days that observer A travelled, then 100 days will have past for observer B.

When approaching the speed of light, time almost stops relative to the observer on earth.

 

Then there's 'General relativity' where two observer in different gravitational fields experience different time rates.

The stronger the gravitational field the more effects of time dilation. Hypothetically, if observer A was stood next to a black hole, with observer B on earth and they could both see each others clocks, then B would see A's clock tick very, very slowly and A would see B's clock tick very quickly (and would see the earth spinning on its axis very quickly).

From both observers perspective their clocks would appear to be normal running at 1 second per second. 

Very difficult to travel at 1/2 the speed of light. Light can be sped up, and distorted, and even stopped, but it is difficult to slow it down (I have tried). Time on the other hand is dependent upon outside influences.

Personally I do not believe in a 'god' or 'goddess'. Bowing to crosses, dropping onto knees in front of concrete objects (even those painted gold), or kissing mats makes no sense to me. I have thought about this 'on the knees' stuff and have decided I would only do it under two distinctly different circumstances.

I am of Jedi tendency, and worship the beauty of the universe, and nature here on earth. Nature can be vicious, uncompromising and nasty, but never ugly. Nature is what it is, and is interpreted differently by all of us.   

If I were to start again with a Thai lady, I would take note of times she goes to the temple each month. I find that after a temple visit she are particularly evil. Virtually all my darkest times have been when she has recently gone to temple.

It's not been all doom and gloom however. There was a day last month where she actually made me a decent cup of rosy without me having to whistle for it; as I normally do. And last year she fed my koi carp without me telling her; no dinner for me though.

Sometimes I think she has matured. "Owl dear, do you like this shade of lipstick?" "Lipstick is wasted on you dear!" As she came at me with the cleaver I quickly said; "your lips are perfect as they are; no lipstick needed ." This seemed to clam her.

Our lovely daughter is the glue that holds it all together. Couldn't continue without her.

Just now, malagateddy said:

Hope some Brexiteer has little bit of " dirt " about hammond which can be spread at the right time.
Politics being the dirtiest " sport " in the world.

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

What!! Even dirtier than woman's mud wrestling?

1 hour ago, leekman said:

Owl sees all. Blinding im abit lost off with that i am thinking damp course membrane ? is that what blinding is or a blinding of stone . I have read of stories regarding ready mix concrete been to weak and very wet. My job is a footpath side and back but the back needs reinforcement which i think 6mm is ok as i will be building a Thai outside kitchen on a section of the back . Do you know the going rate to hire a mixer per day or week if i go down that route.

Blinding is a mix of concrete that is put onto the base giving an uncontaminated base for the main mix, once it's gone off. I've seen here concrete that has been put directly onto mud. Blinding takes care of this. Just a weak wet mix that separates the ground from the main concrete.

The ideal mix for your path is a standard mix with JUST enough water to get the job done. Too much water will weaken the concrete considerably. Although it is only a path, it's best to have the concrete as strong and durable as possible.

Slump test has been mentioned. A bit OTT in my opinion. But consider it for a more critical situation.

Why not hire a mixer and get the local lads to do the biz? The biggest problem I see in Thailand is lack of control over contamination and too weak a mix. Also, get a blinding down. They don't often bother with that here but it's worth it,

The major difference in concrete quality is the Thais put too much water in to make life easy,

You don't need any reinforcement for a footpath. Just make sure there is a blinding, as little water to do the job as necessary and plenty of Lao Khow on tap for the lads.

25 minutes ago, CMNightRider said:

I'm sorry to hear that.  It must be difficult being spiritually blind and unable to speak too.  I certainly hope your disability isn't permanent.  ????  

IMO, religious people are at best kidding themselves and at worst suffering a mental illness.

Just look at the current problem with that poor girl being burnt alive in Bangladesh, to shut her up. And Asia Bibi.

Is the problem that Pattaya is too low? No natural run off to surrounding areas. This is often the trouble when villages develop into towns and then into cities. The development below ground fails to match the building above ground.

Some good info' on this topic.

We visited a commercial farm near Yasathon last year. The owners were very welcoming and informative. The farm grows three distinctly different varieties (see pics). The largest of these were all at least a kilo in weight. I was told that they can get to nearly 2kg apiece on some trees.

They pick over 3 million a year. Two varieties go straight to China and the third (the smaller yellow ones) are sold wholesale in Thailand.

Mr Owl holding one of the varieties that go to China.

Mrs Owl's hands are not big but this pic shows how big some grow. These were all about 1.5 kg each.

They bag them a couple of months before harvest; and number them.

They also sell the grafted trees for 80 baht each.

8 hours ago, mike787 said:

She complains about your penis, fine!  Tell her you have many other women all over the world that will happily complain how much they love it!  I recommend she adjust her attitude...good luck, life is worth more than listening to a women complaining about your penis.  She doesn't it like, well this is a take it or leave it deal, not pick and choose...by the way, the same options are available to you.  You can choose another partner in life, this is not a terminal diagnosis of cancer where no options exist....there are plenty of choices.  Hope things get better for you...

The most interesting post, so far, on this Topic mike787.

If the OP's wife is that picky about something so trivial then best to give her the boot; or kick her to the kerb as we say in our local bar.

His giant penis is probably hurting her during sex, but she doesn't want to say. Plenty of ladyboys out there for his taking.

If the OP'er loves his wife however, why could he not not selotape his manhood to his leg, as I do, about 6 inches above the knee. This would stop it swinging about and causing concern.

Great topic though.

3 hours ago, Moti24 said:

This subject has been posted to death many times over.  Nobody gives a toss except the foreigners, who are powerless to interfere with Thainess.

 

Nothing will change for the better in Thai education until a completely new generation with a completely different mindset are bred into society.  Sadly, that will never happen until snow falls on Bangkok every day of the year.

I have to take issue with the first paragraph. Most of the TVF members are farang. Many have children with their wives or girl friends. The farang I know have a lot of influence over their children. Excessive Thainess, If not completely eradicated, then considerably diminished. and in place, a far broader outlook on life and the world generally.

Just as a PS; when I got hitched to Mrs Owl, I really put some effort into making the now step-daughter (14 years old) enlightened. I bought a number of posters; one on numbers, another on the workings of the body and two maps; one of Thailand and the other of the world. The map of the world had the countries in English. I asked the step-daughter where Thailand was. She had no idea. After giving up, I pointed out Thailand on the map. She seemed surprised. The wife interpreted "Nan thought only America and China were larger in size." 

12 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

We homeschool. 1 to 2 hours a day are enough, can you imagine. The rest of the time is play time, reading, watching documentaries and going to the park and beach.

I have considered this for my daughter.

Just a couple of points: how do you overcome the work permit issue? And, should I be concerned about the missing school social interaction?!

22 hours ago, essox essox said:

surely its all relative....or is your like an elephants trunk??!!!

It's what you do with it that's important.

Chubby Brown got it right; "I wish I had a 10 inch dick like other men. Instead of this <deleted> great thing down here." He said, scratching his knee. "I don't know how you men with 10 inch dicks manage on the toilet. Don't bear thinking about. I've not got that problem, 'cause mine is long enough to tie a knot."

What's the point of having a 10 inch penis, and it cannot get erect. Just gets in the way when one is having a poopoo.

1 hour ago, cornishcarlos said:

The palm oil and rubber prices have been dropping continuously over the past 5 years.. So a tiny rise from 1.80 to 2.15 doesn't really represent anything positive that this junta has done !! 

 

This is not the whole story, and a little complicated unless one is involved:**

August 2015 -- 4.0 baht

August 2016 -- 7.5 baht

Sept'    2017 -- 4.2 baht

July     2018 -- 4.6 baht

April    2019 -- 2.8 baht

The reason for the steady drop since 2016 is the government buying in 'trade price' oil from Malaysia. Thus reducing the domestic demand, and the price of nuts, at the factory gate, has collapsed accordingly.

There are many big farms (1000 rai+) in Southern Thailand, but also thousands of smaller plantations in other areas including Isaan. All Thai oil palm growers got a hand-out (sweetener) of 22.5k baht in March this year.

Thaksin pledged that there would be 15% oil palm in diesel by 2020 (I think that's correct). Thousands of oil palm farms then cropped up all over Thailand during the following 10 years. Often replacing Eucalyptus plantations. The price of Euka has risen considerably recently and resulted in big re-planting schemes.

** The figures are factory gate prices. If a farm is a fair distance from a processing plant, there are considerable transport costs (as much as 1 baht per kg).

Just as a side point: we cut down 192 oil palm trees this month. Many farmers can't afford to remove them; costly business.