tom in bangkok

3 hours ago, seancbk said:

What you should have been doing is using a password management tool (I recommend LastPass or BitWarden)

Either of these are fine, but 1Password has a much better whitepaper so is more secure in theory. I also vaguely remember LastPass was breached a while ago?

A good password manager and 2-factor authentication (I recommend Authy) is basically the best you can practically do to protect yourself.

There's probably nothing you can do to have the person who broke into your account persecuted.

If it actually isnt allowed then I suppose I'm breaking the law by taking client calls after hours when I'm already home...

Worth noting that extension applications for work usually involve a visit by immigration in the 30 day waiting time.

We live on the extension close to highway 9 (expressway 9? motorway 9?) on Sukhumvit and I like to call it "local" -- i.e. I've only seen a couple of permanent westerners around. I mention the highway as a positive because if you drive it's definitely better to be close to a highway onramp than sit in Sukhumvit road traffic for 10 minutes just to get on the highway.

There are two ladies at Big C near Pu Chao BTS that speak English but it's not hard to get by without any Thai unless you're completely lost. Imperial Samrong is okay but nothing special.

There are at least two apartment buildings being built near Chaeng Erawan BTS and I think one is almost finished at Pu Chao BTS.

Samut Prakan immigration is easy to get to and (in my experience) has short wait times if you come after lunch -- and it definitely beats driving/commuting all the way up to CW (if living on the border of Bangkok province). However, the Samut Prakan immigration office has more requirements for extensions and the like so it would be worth comparing requirements with CW and Samut Prakan immigration first.

There's not much in terms of casual bars that I've found; we usually head up to Onnut or Thong Lor for that. Having said that, there's a beer bar near Chaeng Erawan BTS (or it might be the naval academy station) that seems pretty chill. Western food is a bit lacking unless you're happy with having fast food and pizza a lot. If you live with or have a Thai friend nearby then it'll be a lot easier since you don't speak/read Thai.

I want to commission an oil painting made of myself, my SO, and our pet later in the year. I want it to emulate the style of one of those big portraits that are hung above a fireplace in old western mansions/palaces.

I'm wondering if anyone knows where I might find a good local artist who would be able to do this? Haven't had much luck with google so if anyone knows an artist or a starting point for my search I'd be very grateful.

Cheers

2 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

One of the disadvantages of having a Work Permit is that, in the course of the application, one is made to sign a form saying that you are making 80,000 Bht salary

Is this a recent change? It's been 50k for each visa and extension I've done.

PR application for workers requires 80k though I believe, is that what you quoted?

41 minutes ago, Speedo1968 said:

Probably an obvious answer...

Was the product for sale behind the pharmacy counter on purpose or by mistake ?
Some / all ? pharmacies such as Watsons, Boots cannot sell 'drugs' unless a pharmacist is there.

The shop assistant was doing her job as she knows it.

Hopefully as she knows it.

I was given prescription drugs at 8pm a while ago without a pharmacist present. The clerk called the pharmacist and asked me for my symptoms. Then I got drugs I hadn't heard of a couple of minutes later ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Waste management is a fascinating subject and Thailand urgently needs expertise in the area IMO. As the others have said though, you will need to at least be fluent in Thai speaking/listening.

I can't remember the Thai-only employment sectors but I think consulting for a municipality is allowed? Since you're a US citizen, I think there's some Thai-USA deal that lets you set up a company without the prerequisite number of local employees. I would get in contact with an agency to sort it out or at least advise you on how to procede, PM me if you want a contact.

Please update us if you find work in this field here.

Okay but which companies?

Why would anyone take insurance on a bank account or debit card? What a rort.

According to card schemes like visa and mastercard, it's the issuing bank that's responsible for any foul play. Credit card insurance is slightly more understandable for people unable to manage their spending and are suddenly unable to pay their debt.

I can't help you much with troubleshooting, however I had a similar problem that turned out to be caused by True resetting my router's IP address every 24 hours. Maybe that's causing your problem? I noticed the pattern because it would sort of "drop out" at around the same time every day.

My extender/router recovers by itself but it takes a bit of time, so I just power-cycled the router when it was 3am one night and never had a problem again.

8 minutes ago, boonchu said:

Australian immigration pulled me up because my 90 day report and the TM 6 were stapled in my passport. They said this defaces the passport.

I'm buggered if they check me then. I always staple my TM6 in and have had agents, thai immigration, employer staple things in it all the time. There must be 20 staple holes in it by now. Oops.

What happened? Just a stern and cold "you can't do that mate"?

1 hour ago, phkauf said:

The meter was covered with a towel to prevent overheating

Overheating happens when there isn't enough airflow/things to cool it down. If you want to overheat something, wrapping it in a towel is a good start.

12 hours ago, petedk said:

I noticed the meter at that point was clicking every 3 or 4 seconds

How often is it supposed to click? I'm suspicious of meters and every tick seems to be too frequent, but how do I know if the driver has modified it?

2 hours ago, Beggar said:

Airport is not a good business for Grab drivers because mostly they have to drive back empty. Since they are not legal it is not easy to pick up customers there. 

Either drive back empty, or loop back around and sit on the highway shoulder 10 minutes up the road for a long time.

I gave up getting Grab from the airport. It's too much of a hassle to stand waiting in the pickup zone for 10+ minutes checking the license plates of the cars slowly driving past. Never had to wait more than 2 or 3 minutes for a taxi in the official zone downstairs.

Sadly I cannot donate my O neg blood due to a bizarre rule that disqualifies me. The red cross center is so close to where I work too ????

I hope you can find a donor in time.

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Got a new BKB debit Mastercard yesterday (400bht), about 15 mins work in the bank, mainly me signing photocopies of everything, worked in the ATM, tried an online purchase (room with Agoda), payment failed.

Because the new BKB debit Mastercard uses TPN. Online payments with TPN debit are hit and miss. If the merchant uses a foreign transaction processor then you won't be able to use it.

1 hour ago, Stocky said:

What's Australia Day?

23 hours ago, tom in bangkok said:

What are you true blue Aussies doing on Sunday?

* emphasis added

How are you Aussies celebrating Australia Day on Sunday? Sadly I don't have a bbq right now, so I'm heading to Australia Bar near BTS Nana on the day. Apparently they make a really good steak sandwich.

What are you true blue Aussies doing on Sunday?

Should probably make this into a poll, hey

Around 500gb. We got upgraded to 300/150 speed for free recently (from 100/40) but the download usage is still the same.

Just now, tifino said:

except that a locust's job in life, is to devour plants!

Then locusts and humans have conflicting interests

<deleted>. Thanks @tifino. I'd been flicking them off the leaves since their "feet" vaguely reminded me of something not good for plants.

Glad to hear they're likely young locusts that somehow landed on my plants on my 10th floor balcony and not a utility insect.

Bump. Anyone know what this is?

People are at different stages of moving/living here -- not everyone has been here for 10+ years and already adjusted to life in another country / Thailand.

"Go home" replies to someone complaining or scrutinising something about the processes for Thai immigration or day-to-day life in Thailand are unhelpful. Why should someone apologise for not having the experience of living here for 15 years?

9 minutes ago, jackdd said:

TM28 is not enforced, so it's not a thing ????

But 90 day reports are enforced and you will probably get fined if you didn't do any in more than a year

Okay good. I asked my former agent about TM30 for my extension and she kinda just shrugged and said I can do it if I want. She had no idea about TM28.

I circumvent the 90-day reports by visiting some nearby country for a weekend when it's coming up.