owl sees all

I'm the same Scuba scuba. These Samsung devices are so prone to be dropped. Have a Samsung camera that was dropped (not by me I add) and I've yet to find an agent to fix it. Contacted Singapore Samsung and asked if it I could send it to them. They gave me the link to the Samsung Thai www. Absolutely hopeless. Still not fixed it after seven years. Don't want to talk Samsung down though. Took lovely pics when it was working.

You are right as usual One more farang. People do these silly/funny things though. They also lose them, and have them stolen. I can leave my phone anywhere and it will still be there next day. I went swimming in the lake, to rescue a distressed chicken, with my phone in my shorts pocket. No problem! Put it in the warmth of the sun for an hour. Got up and just walked away as if nothing had happened. Phone was good to go too. Still works as new five years later. Also dropped it from 10 metres high. Fell on grass, not concrete fortunately. Give me the originals. It's the no-nonsense mobile for me any day. Rather than these all singing, all dancing time wasters of today. People need to connect with nature more. 5G? My phone works well enough on half a G. Battery lasts for three months when fully charged. Things have gone backwards for the human race. Walked on the moon in the 1960s. You would think that 50 years on we would have regular visits to the sun. I know what you're thinking; far tot hot!! Go in the winter when it's much cooler.

Quite! Forget looks, forget the Gees, forget slo-mo camera, forget sound quality. Will it still work if the wife throws it across the room while in a hissy? Bought mine in Laos eight years ago. Dropped it, washed it and sat on it. Still going as good as new. Only 600 baht too.

A couple of things to consider that have not yet been. What is the test result if the phone is dropped from the standard test height onto concrete from 1.5 metres? If it is put underwater, as in dropped down the loo or inadvertently washed with the clothes in the WM; will it still be OK?

My Mrs said they were much the better team. Looks like I'll be having a wager on United for the coming season. Liverpool's run of recent times, seems to be petering out.

Big thunder storm yesterday, and got worse at about the time Mildred was due to catch the school bus. Gave it a miss. Extra day off.

Owl Log - 10-07-2022 - Sunday morning Spent an uninteresting couple of hours at Mildred's school last Monday. Hundreds of people there. Think it was some sort of fundraiser to get the construction finished. Little has happened this year. Hope my generous donation will help. Took advantage of the absolute boringness of it all to go for a drive for half an hour. Glad I did. found an 'environmental officer' out on the road. Another generous donation. Given with a genuine smile this time. Lovely lady. Great job dear. This was just along from 'Fang' school. And where do you go to school? I go to Ban Fang. About 10 km from Ban Dung (to the east) there is a lovely round-a-bout. Well looked after. Cute. The village Buddha-over-the-pond is still on the go. Progress best described as steady. Bricks at the ready. Have a couple of really old oil palms in the Buddha compound. With nut at 10 baht a kilo, might be worth someone getting hold of a ladder and doing a bit of cutting. At the farm there is one outstanding tree. If the other 700 or so were all as benevolent as this one I could soon retire. A drop of rain in Ban Dung plays havoc with the parking for the daily market. Compared to other countries, Thailand - especially up here - seems to be escaping any prolonged downpours. Not raining at the mo'. Next drizzle due on Tuesday. Number five pond could be smothered in lilies before the end of the year. After the pond six catastrophe I've decide not to bother with buying any more fish this year. Gonna put 100 litres of EM into pond six to kill any bad bacteria and get it rejuvenated. Pond five will probably get a few litres also. The mekongs in pond four are doing great. vid Milly feed fish.mp4 Really must find out about growing pineapples. Surely it can't be this easy?! Big effort to get the village looking ticky-boo this morning. Is there a big cheese on the way? vid village tidy up.mp4 Caught Mrs Owl red-handed. Having a crafty one. Found out where the old concrete pipes are stored. Any farmer wanting one; free. Cows out and about again. Not come to out house yet. No mangoes for them anyway. A bit of concreting at the Buddha side entrance. A couple of decent showers in the week. I've got my hopes up that all the ponds will be filled this wet season. Not yet put in the two pipes between pond 2 and 3, and 3 and 4. Maybe next week will see some action. Mildred off school for half-term starting on Wednesday. We'll get the chess set out for a few games. Budgies doing OK. Not got round to sorting out a new home for them. Charger and batteries have arrived. Plugged in the charger. Seems to be working well, but the lights stay on even when the batteries are fully charged. Well, I think they are fully charged. Have a Samsung camera, that got damaged a couple of years back. It takes great pics. Much better than the phone or even the my Minolta. Been trying to find out where it can be repaired. BlueSofa - remember him - once told me there is a Samsung repair shop in Udon. Anyone?! Footy round up. Rahime Sterling is about to join Chelsea from Man City. He originates from the Wembley area, which is not too far from the Bridge. Might be able to get back to visit his old muckers occasionally. He went to Copeland school; just along from where I had a shop on the High Street. Had a visit from two teachers in the week. They liked the posters on the wall. The world map; math tables, how the human body works, etc. Mildred's art production has slowed. She starts a painting and then seems to leave it for a week. Hope she will finish one or two when half-term arrives. Only one thing left to say; bye y'all.

Some of this Chinese stuff is good. The Chinese watches that look a lot like a Rolex are cheap and tell the time good.

Owl Log 03-07-2022 - Sunday afternoon Been having a lot of trouble with the leccy. Couldn't work out the exact problem for a long time. The village electrician tested the box and said everything was OK, and perhaps there was a faulty wire somewhere.. I did a couple of simple tests and I was convinced otherwise. Would have cost well over 1000 baht to replace the box. Anyway, in the week the box tripped and I couldn't get it up and running. Turned everything off and it was still tripping on 30 amps. Took it off and replaced it with a 40 amp switch. Might put a proper box back on at a later stage. But no problems so far after a few days. Holley! You are history. Got another hole in the roof over the rice store. Didn't bother trying to fix it. Got a new sheet and fixed it on top. Got Soo to do the biz. I would have done it myself; but who would have took th epics for the Owl Log? Put the new sheet in place. Job done. Moved Mildred's pineapple to the other side of the farm house. 10 months ago. Just the top of a pineapple. Took quite a while to get going. Not ready for eating yet. Another month or so. Rain on Friday night. Did the ponds and the paddy a real favour. Number one pond 100% filled and ponds two and three about 90%. Thanks to a bit of siphoning. Best year for water since 2015 I reckon. The village buddha-over-the-pond is romping on. A couple of pics have been displayed around the buddha showing what it's gonna look like. And it's getting there. Not exactly like the pic on the wall. Gonna be grand though. Old habits die hard. Mrs Owl's mum is getting on and can't walk unaided. But every year she makes mats. After a bit of drying they are good to go. Went down the buddha soi at just the right time to see the buffaloes coming home. vid buffs go home.mp4 The land clearance, just outside the village, is finished, although the old trees and roots are still there. It's next to one of the four roads that lead into the village. I'd plant Oil Palms if it was me. Price of fuel is gonna be high for years. And can only go higher. Easy income. Opposite are the two big ponds and a watercourse. I've sussed it out. Water fills the winding-way one. That fills; and the overflow goes into the very deep pond. When that's filled, the overflow then fills the deep pond lower down the slope. Nadia and Nadill out spending their pocket money. The farm house, just along from us, is now completely finished. Roof goes on. And a bit more roof. Not yet invited to a house-warming party. The house over the back has a new machine for cleaning the rice. I took a sack round there to give them a bit of work. The don't take money, but a few cups of finished rice and they get to keep the 'rum'. Tiny bits if the rice grain. vid rice machine.mp4 No footy roundup. Can't wait for it all to start again in a month's time. Mrs Owl wants me to pick Mildred up from school each day. At the moment she get home between 16-50 and 17-00. If I picked her up we'd get home well before 16-00. Mildred wants things to stay as they are. I'm happy with it as it is too. Got more stings clearing the wasps/hornets from the farm kitchen. But they are gone for now. The mekongs are doing great. As soon as I go over to their pond they charge over. Mrs Owl says they are like a load of sharks. No more rain forecast until Tuesday. I'll have all that's going. The next nut cut will be very decent. In about 10 days time. The price is still just below 10 baht. Only one thing left to say; bye y'all.

Just came in from the farm. Had a couple of jobs to do this afternoon, including getting the hornets out of the kitchen. I managed to clear them, but not before I got 4 stings. Three on my side - through my shirt - and the other on the tip of my finger. That was over an hour ago, and there's not the reaction as last time on Thursday. Wearing a shirt probably saved me from a few more stings. But I was victorious, and they are gone. For now! Fixed the hole in the roof also; more on that in the Owl Log tomorrow. The rain has done the biz as far as the rice fields are concerned. And our pond number one has filled nicely. It's not done that by early July for years.

You are not wrong there Evenkeel. Was badly bitten by 20 or so hornets about 7/8 years ago. Not nice at all. But I'm not subject to great discomfort, unlike others. I think there are three stages. The first lasts for an hour or so, and it is just painful. The second one is different for everyone, and lasts for a couple of days. With me it is just ultra tiredness and loss of appetite. Then there is a day or so of itchyness. At this time you have a job not to keep scratching the hell out of the stung area. Takes about 5/6 days to disappear altogether. I like to light a fire and let the smoke do the biz. Today I'm gonna hit them with a spray and destroy their house. Took this pic just a few minutes ago. The other marks are just scratches. The one on my hip was through my shorts. They don't care where, or how, they get ya. People have been hospitalized over the stings.

Thanks for that Rhodie. Dave was the boss way back then. Give him my best wishes if you ever pass that way. That was my first ever stay in Thailand. He looked after my interests OK. Put me in the picture on a lot of stuff. Would play Chubby Brown vids in the restaurant.

Didn't think Pattaya and rain were compatible GT. i was there in 2007 and the place was under water due to a shower. I remember swimming from Beach road down Soi Diana and round the corner into Soi Chaiapoon to my hotel. Stayed at Canterbury Tales. Is it still there? Might have got those two Soi names mixed up though. A long time ago. Had some rain last night. Went to bed early as I was feeling under the weather since Thursday when I was attacked by a load of hornets at the farm. Got six bites. Two on my arm, one on my hip and three on my back. Still sore now. But now have morphed into an itchy soreness. Didn't have a shirt on. That'll teach me. Have to sort them out today. a couple of other little jobs to do also.

Mildred did say she was not feeling 100% when I met her at the bus stop on Friday. I think a lot to do with is is tiredness. If she goes to school next week, I'll get her tucked up earlier. Had 4 budgies to start with. 'Yellow' and 'Dark blue' escaped. Never found them. Not likely to either. But ya never know. Might come back to see their mates or for food.

Owl Log (Part 2) - 26-06-2022 - Sunday afternoon Wanted to separate the posts today. The following is distressing; even more so if you were a fish keeper in an earlier life. Went to the farm as usual on Friday evening. Fed the fish in ponds 1. 2. 3 and 4. Then it hit me. Virtually all the fish had died. Immediate thoughts were that they had somehow been poisoned. Just as well Mildred was not with me. It would have really upset her. Especially as she regarded this pond as her pond. Dead fish all around the pond, and in the lillies. Did a vid to record the unhappy day. vid deadcarp.mp4 The following morning a 6-30, I started the sad task of removing the fish. Some were spawn-bound. Mildred favourites - the big grass carp - were also dead. 'Ee' and 'Soo' came over from the next farm to help me. Then it was 'bag up' time' Took the sacks around to the lower part of number 4 farm. vid 11deadcarp.png.mp4 Started digging. Quite a lot of fish were burried. vid bury carp.mp4 Went back yesterday evening (Saturday) and found two more. Don't think they were new deaths. Just stuck in the grass in the corner and were missed in the morning. I'd like to get the water from that pond tested. There are only really three ways fish can die like that. A disease got among them, an outside source of poison, or low oxygen levels. I rule out the last as it's a healthy pond. My money is still on poison. Will not be able o put any fish in there for quite some time. Perhaps next year! I'll look into getting something to sterilize the pond. Have to get my two helpers a big pack of coffee and baccy. All told; about 100 koi carp, 20 or so small nin and 4 beautiful grass carp. In contrast pond 4, with the mekongs, is absolutely thriving. Sad week end for me and Mildred. Bye y'all.

Owl Log (Part 1) -26-06-2022 - Sunday mid-dayish What a week! Don't want too many like that one. Mildred has not been well for a couple of days. Since Friday evening she has been asleep more that she has been awake. Unless she bucks up today, I don't see her going to school on Monday. I'll have to go round to the pick up point just before 7 tomorrow morning to let them know if she does not make it. Every school day I walk with her to the bus stop. There she is. In white. In a way the village retains its links to the days of old. Although many traditional aspects are long gone; film shows, menstruation huts and getting water from the well about a kilometre from the village (which Mrs Owl did as a youngster. There is one that has stayed the same, although nowhere near as much now-a-days. Bringing the cattle home to rest under the house each evening. there are still a few houses that are built on stilts in the village. One less than 100 metres from us. We had the mozzie lads come round in the week. I stay well away when they are doing their work. Never found out what the smoke consists of. A friend says it's a DDT concoction, but I wouldn't like to speculate. vid 11mozziekill.mp4 Had to bring the budgies inside for half an hour. Mrs Owl wanted to spray inside the house. I said 'no'. First time fore a couple of months she has listened; and I got my way But next door - in the shop - they had a blast or two of smoky poison. vid 12mozziekill.mp4 And just as they were finishing and moving on the the Ma-in-Laws, a fish pick-up pulled up. The timid among us should look away now. The guy opposite (Bella's hubby) is still in hospital after a covid jab reaction (more on this in another post). Word is that he is OK, and will be back in the village shortly. He will be well pleased to know that his fighting chickens are being cared for. A chicken gala must be imminent. Last year there was a little one in his garden. But the big events are kept secret. The project, just across the way, has virtually collapsed. Still don't know what is was all about. This is where a bit of Thai would be useful; "what ya up to guv". But I can't ask the Mrs and can only guess. The rice planting season is here. That's our number 2 farm oil palms in the backdrop. Usually get a view from the road. Unlike last year the rain has been just enough to stop the paddy fields from drying out. should be a decent crop all round this season. A bit of a calamity in the village. A silly-billy truck drove itself into some low leccy cables. The lads were soon sorting it out. All's well that ends well; they say. Lovely sunflower in the Ma-in-Law's back garden Mildred says it's her favourite flower. I like them too. When I was in France there were whole fields of them. So beautiful. Mildred's pineapple is nearly ready to be eaten. Had to move it to the other side of the farm house. Pics in the week. The lillies are just fantastic in number 7 pond. Rain is just about enough, but other places in Asia seem to be having more than their fair share. We want some of yours!! Modern off-grid living. Of course in days gone by there was no leccy to run a fan, or to power up the tippy-tappy. The lady at this farm is a bit confused I reckon. Don't look like no rice to me! I'm quite taken with a young Romanian swimmer; David Popovici. At just 17, he is the best in the world at 100 and 200 freestyle. He set a time of 47-06 secs, for the 100 last year. We will hear a lot more from this talented young man. No footy roundup. Except to say that Man City have snapped up Peacock's Phillips with a bit of loose change. And I must mention Rooney. Suddenly left Derby yesterday. I can't get me head around this footy lark. Derby are looking for a buyer. so why don't 20 thousand supporters put their hands in their pockets for a grand each and take control of the club. TBH, this club, or that, being bought and sold like a turkey leaves me cold and somewhat bewildered. Supporters should take back control; if they ever had some in the past that is. Look at Man United. That club could/should have been owned by the fans. I remember when it was up for sale. Went to the farm on Friday afternoon. Very sad!! See Owl Log part 2. But only look if you are made of tough stuff. Noi borrowed our cart. hope we get it back. Avocado plantation doing OK. Only one thing left to say; bye y'all.

The coolers in Big c can hold over 50 litres of water. Not sure if the water is cooled before it is fired out as a mist. They are all over in the Ban Dung store. Must be over 20. I'll keep my eye on them. There is an even bigger one (just one) - from the same manufacturer - in a car-repair shop about half way from Big C to the town centre. As for the clippers; I was oiling them before each use. I think they were just blunt. I'd had them a few years and others had used them also. These new battery one is better all round. They have a wider range of setting, and one is so tight that it can double as an electric shaver. (If Mrs Owl finds that out I'd never get it back.) I have kept the old pair to either give away or to exchange for a cooking pot when the junk man comes 'round. Had a decent drop of rain today. Steady from 11 to just after noon. An absolute tragedy at the farm today. Have to sort it out tomorrow morning. Full story in Sunday's Owl Log.

Same here Matt. Did a feature on one that I bought from DoHome in Udon for about 4-5k baht a year or so back. Went well for about 6 months. Then the display went wonkey. After that is was just a clumsy fan for the next six months when it packed it in. Gave it to the junk man in the end. The ones in Big C look to be robust. I'll be keeping an eye on them.

Found the data for the fan used in Big C. Price 9590 baht. https://shop.masterkool.com/mik-55ex.html

Once the people that are in it simply to take a profit have got out, those left who believe in the concept will see it slowly move upwards. I think Bitcoin and perhaps Etherium will survive, but the majority of the others will become worthless. Recall the Pattaya coin; Shinecoin? That died a death.

I hear you Hummin. But have to move with the times. Don't want to be a 'fuddy-duddy' who missed the boat. Can get a girl-friend in the Meta-verse now , and even get married, Don't know about children though. Not sure I'd have the energy needed to look after them now. Buy land (in the real world) and it's a constant worry about rain. Obviously the Meta-verse land is different. But if you buy right, you can charge for access, and rent it out. Unfortunately the currency is crypto. I think I'll wait it out.

I was gonna buy a load of land in the Meta-verse. I already have 30 NFTs. But now - with the Bitcoin at such an inviting price I'm thinking that the correction might be finished and now is the time to step in. Max Keiser thinks that it was the big boys getting involved, that drove the price unrealistically high, and they are now getting cold-feet; hence the current price. Or was it all planned for the investor to lose confidence. I'm tempted at the current price. Might wait for 15k. Really not sure at the moment. But I don't think I'll sell any gold to buy crypto.

Owl Log (Part 2) - 19-06-2022 - Sunday afternoon. Sorry about the last post. It really is June; I jest you not. Mildred just finished her painting. She asked me what I thought. The over-riding theme was that is was very good, but I slipped in a couple of things. One was about different facial expressions. She needs to practice them. Then we spoke about texture. The girl's top in the painting looks like a black cut-out bit of card. The hair also looks a bit stiff. She listened and I think she agreed. I said that other art forms might not have a finished product every time, and 'practice makes perfect'. She took it in, and I've just looked around the corner to see her drawing faces. www.mildredart.com That Dentine I mentioned in the previous post was a throw-back in history for me. I usually had a pack on hand 30/40 years ago. Also spelt it wrong, It's Dentyne, .About 50 chews for one baht each. Not bad. Forgot to mention in the last post, that two budgies escaped. The dark blue and yellow birds have taken their freedom. Let's hope they come back when they get hungry. Not seen them, although I'm looking out for them in the trees locally. Also that special day in the summer for us fishermen in England. The most eagerly awaited day - perhaps in the whole year - June 16th, Yes! The start of the fishing season, Would spend weeks getting the tackle ready and planning where to fish. Pre-baiting. Dreaming of the monster that evaded capture every season. That's all for now.

Owl Log - 19-05-2022 - Sunday afternoon Mildred went to school on Wednesday, forgetting her white trainers. We had to visit Ban Dung to deliver them to her at 12 noon at the school rear gate. Where was she? A teacher came over to us after 10 minutes or so, and Mrs Owl handed the package over to her. Had a meal at the bus station restaurant and headed to Bic C. They have swamped the place with portable water fans. There must be over 20. I was impressed with their power output. Had a fiddle around with the settings on one while I waited for the Mrs to finish her shop. We take a truck each. I buy the same things every time. Flavoured milk, cat food, ice poles, pringles - if they are on a special - M-150 pack, 24 bottle soda pack and this time some toothpaste and mouthwash. The mouthwash has jumped up in price and is now about 150 baht a litre. Bought some dentine chewing gum on a special. Always finish before the Mrs. Might get one for home. I'll check on Lazada. Bet they are not cheap though. I'll guess at 10/12k baht. The farm next to us - Bella's farm - is building up their cow heard. Two youngsters caught my eye. Had to go to the Co-op bank on Thursday. Gradually knocking down the loan amount. Found a couple of novel chairs. Can't recall seeing them before; anywhere. Couldn't see any cushions. Earlier in the week a guy was building a nice farm house just along from us. Think it's gonna be a nice pad. Finished a couple of days later. Under a lovely euca tree too. Back in Ban dung, Mrs Owl had to visit the Post Office. It's changed a lot in recent years. Can walk all the way around it now. So I did, and found something interesting. Just as I was about to grab one, the Mrs came out of the building. "What you do farang?" "Just looking at the mushrooms. Would make a nice mushroom soup Teerak. " "Not take. Will go you to monkey." Busy in the mornings, as soon as the veggie man comes around. That's Nadine still in her jam jams. Little kids in the village don't wear much on their feet. Nadene, Nadill and cousin with great grand-ma. And on the way back from seeing Mildred off to school. Electric transport everywhere in the village, The original vehicle; about 6 years old. Newcomer. Another newcomer. New rice machine just at the rear of us. I'd had the hair clippers since Mildred was 5 years old. So about 7 years. They were getting so blunt that it felt like each individual hair was being pulled. Simply torture! Treated myself to a a new cordless barnet trimmer. 360 baht. Mildred did the biz with them when she came home from school. Didn't even feel them on me head. Footy round up. Irons have an easy first game. Fulham too. Nut man came this morning. it was an interim cut. Finished up with 5k baht. Mrs Owl took two k baht, and I had the other three to help with the family spend. Price of nuts; 9-80 a kilo. Was that mask wearing coming to an end on the 17th, a red herring? Don't seem no different to me. No-one wearing them in the village while in Ban Dung it's about 75%. Mildred is finishing her latest masterpiece. I'll put it display later today. Decided to buy a set of rechargeable AA batteries and a charger for camera use. My Minolta is quite greedy and the four AAs only seem to last about 100 shots or 3 minutes of vid. I went for Sony as I remember John Cleese was always on about them years ago. So that's 8 rechargeable batteries and a charger for just under 400 baht. Should come Monday or Tuesday. Still not enough rain. Only one thing left to say; bye y'all.

Completely agree with you there Bannork. Still have 10 or so in the freezer from the pond draining. I have a chance of getting some barramundi fry. Never ate one knowingly, but I'm told there are good eaters. Our Aussie posters would know.