PMK

Hi Tum,

I think you made a good start - maybe hang out a bit here and other sites and be available for advice if anyone asks for it.

One thing I can tell you really pisses off this farang here, including my interaction with a very pleasant guy that I normally buy strings from online. I know Thais don't like to say 'no' but it's real irritating to me when I ask if something small, like a certain pick or something is available, and never get a response.

Happens all the time - not just with strings - and makes me not want to shop there again. How hard is it to email back "Sorry, I can't get that."? I'm sure if I asked for 50 sets of strings that he didn't have, I get an answer with alternatives or something. Don't make the same mistake.

I'm not sure I understand the details here, but if the family you want to help is a 30 yo mother with young kids, then you might look at what I did in a vaguely similar situation. I bought a house (but I only had 2 million and also needed a place to live) and put it in a kid's name. At least neither she nor mom can sell it without a court order until the child is 20. You could do the same with rental units.

An alternative, but I'm not sure about a usufruct for a minor, - perhaps someone else can clear that up - If it can be done, then put it in mom's name with usufructs for the kids. Usufruct entities a person to occupy the land for a period of time, which can be their lifetime. That will also prevent her from selling it without the children's permission (until all of them reach adulthood) without a court order, and that would be near impossible to get. And when the kids get to be adults they would all have to agree to the sale. Neither is perfect, but one thing is both are very doable and while not simple, probably simpler, than a lot of the alternatives, and involve little expense other than the purchase and/or construction of the land and units.

BTW, I saw a comment here "never buy land in Thailand" which is an absurd generality, IMO.

You cannot plan the rest of their lives though. Nothing will prevent them indefinitely from doing something foolish or getting cheated so you just have to trust in God, fate, karma or whatever you believe in and not torment yourself with that. Life goes on - people adjust and things generally work out better than we fear. Just do what you can do and be at peace with it.

I've got strings etc from this guy before in Bangkok, he does most of his stuff by mail. 50 Baht p&p if I remember correctly...

http://www.acousticshops.com/store/

Looks like this is the same guy that owns http://www.stringthai.com/ and I think one other string site as well.

Interesting. Competing against yourself like that, especially if there is minimal overhead, can be profitable. Someone checks 2/3 sites and figures they got a good picture of the whole market, or gets pissed with one, tries the second one. But the acousticshops site does have a lot more than just strings.

>>You know, I read about that somewhere else before. Too bad. I like their coated strings. Last a lot longer here without rusting!

I've only be playing for a few years, and other than brief trials, always used D'Addario phosphor bronze, but they are starting to sound sort of harsh to me. What Elixir strings are you using and do you think they might be a bit more mellow?

ebay.

is the best for this , your get them in about 12 days

Really? I haven't ordered anything from overseas for a very long time 'cause it would always get stolen or get hit with outrageous duties requiring a trip to customs. Do you guys order stuff like this regularly from eBay? Does it get delivered right to your door?

Just got a dozen sets of Elixir strings from Strings & Beyond in USA. Good prices and a week to get them. No customs.

I just did a test order. Didn't submit it, but the shipping for $70 worth of stuff was $13. Very reasonable. Sale on Elixir strings also. And they have flat wound strings also!

Great site. Thanks!!

Elixir Strings are only available for shipment to addresses in the United States, Canada, U.S. Territories & Possessions, and APO FPO destinations.[/size]

Amazing what you can find out by asking. ;-)

ebay.

is the best for this , your get them in about 12 days

Really? I haven't ordered anything from overseas for a very long time 'cause it would always get stolen or get hit with outrageous duties requiring a trip to customs. Do you guys order stuff like this regularly from eBay? Does it get delivered right to your door?

Just got a dozen sets of Elixir strings from Strings & Beyond in USA. Good prices and a week to get them. No customs.

How much was shipping?

I ordered my strings from eBay, saved me almost 100 Baht a pack. Also guitar picks (100 pieces for 270 Baht including shipping...) and all sorts of other odds and ends... USB charger cables... All cheaper on eBay than in a shop. Takes max 2 weeks for delivery.

I couldn't find anyone that would ship regular mail - Just shipping was US $10 or more. Can you PM me the seller info?

Thanks.

Pick the string manufacturer you prefer i.e. D'Addario, select the type number of the string. Go to the OEM website and try to find Thai distributors. (D'Addario has 3 listed) Send them an e-mail to see if they stock the required type, if yes, then money transfer , Thai EMS to doorstep. If no, then wash, rinse repeat with another supplier. Maybe difficult as not so popular in Thailand, maybe niche market like the Jazz scene? Happy hunting !

Good idea, but those strings are not listed, and emailing Thai companies in a situation like that is invariably a waste of time. I just wanted to try them out - I guess they are a sort of an oddball item. Thanks!

get them from ebay

Thailand is hit miss, hit miss, you can get them via normal post.

stay away from any, Fedx, DHL, UPS, EMS, and all that, just get no cost or low cost post.

very easy to do from the chair your sitting in, it will be the correct ones aswell.

Have a nice day

Thanks - I'll look into it.

Flat wound. Like I said the Thepprasit store does not have them - not for acoustic. They were very helpful though - looked up a translation for "flat wound" and all that. The shop in soi Town in Town - the woman there is very nice but the last time I was there the old guy - her husband I guess - was super rude. I can't bring myself to go back. Yes, I know, my choice.

PickandString - I have a feeling that is the same outfit as stringthai.com, which is where I usually buy strings but he doesn't have those either.

Thanks anyway.

ebay.

is the best for this , your get them in about 12 days

Really? I haven't ordered anything from overseas for a very long time 'cause it would always get stolen or get hit with outrageous duties requiring a trip to customs. Do you guys order stuff like this regularly from eBay? Does it get delivered right to your door?

Online or Pattaya area.. Anybody know where I can buy some? (The music shop at the top of Tepprasit Rd does not have them. They do for electric, but not acoustic. Neither does Stringthai.com)

Thanks.

They did a pretty good job of rerouting traffic. The detour took me about an extra 30-35 minutes.

Skin sores are healing nicely without treatment. They are all eating solid food now. My vet's assistant has kept one to raise himself, so now there are 4 left. I can bring them to Pattaya for you to have a look at - just PM me.

5 pups, 5 weeks old but the mother doesn't have enough milk so they might need hand feeding of milk for a bit, or reserve one and wait a few weeks as the owner is doing that now. There are both males and females.

All are lively and socialized with both people and dogs. They have been checked by a vet. Some hair was shaved from some skin sores which were due to bad living conditions. No injections or creams are necessary.They will heal naturally.

3 sets of vaccinations included free at my vet in Sattahip.

If you are in this category, this may be of interest to you. You’ve probably received notification that paper cheques will be discontinued next year along with an application for direct deposit service.

And if you’ve followed up at your bank you’ve probably had a very frustrating experience being told that the only transfer code they have is the SWIFT code, not the 7 digit (actually 6 – see below) one the form insists you must have. If you want to set up direct deposit, the following is one way.

UOB does have the required code (I don’t know its formal name), but not all the staff at your branch may know about it and it varies according to branch. Therefore I suggest when you request their assistance on details of the form, you have some sample codes which may help them track it down. I’ve provided two.

You can open an account at UOB with the following. Nothing else is required. That is not to say it’s the only way nor that UOB is the only possible bank (although I suspect it is), but if you have a 1 year non-imm O visa, this is all you need to both open the account and get the direct deposit form completed.

Passport with 1 year non-immigrant 0 visa.

THB 50,000 minimum deposit (can be immediately withdrawn)

They will probably pressure you to buy health insurance. That is not required. Same goes for a Visa card, but I do suggest the 400 baht/year ATM card.

Some staff may be hesitant to sign the form or chase down the code. Just politely but firmly explain the direct deposit is the only reason you are opening the account: no code, no signature = no new account, and all the signature is for is confirmation that the account name matches the account number.

As stated, for the deposit form, you may initially be told there is no 7 digit account number. In fact it is 6 digit, and Canada adds another one for processing – you need not be concerned about that nor bring it up. The point is they may not be familiar with anything but the SWIFT code. Once you do have the 6 digit number from them enter it on the form.

Sample codes are: 024081 (Pattaya – 2^nd road)

024017 (Chiang Mai)

If you don’t have a form, they are downloadable from http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/dd/form/th-eng.html or if the URL cannot be posted here, do a search at servicecanada on “Thailand Direct Deposit Enrolment Form”

Sounds like it is as I suspected. I had a feeling it would just be easier to do a rental contract.

Thanks, guys.

Super guy - larger than life character. Thanks so much for posting about him.

I found the shop this way:

Going south down Central Road from Sukhumvit, maybe 1-200 m past Foodland there is a large yellow bank on the east side. His soi is directly opposite, that is, the same side as Foodland. The shop is very small, easy to miss. It's on the right, about 30 m in, behind the first large tree. I did not see the famous sign outside.

To euthanize the dog, if you have a separate, sealed room, like a storage room, or where you can close all the windows and doors, this is what I would try. I've never done so, but there are references to it on the 'net, and given that probably 1000's of people die accidentally ever year this way never sensing what is going on,I see no reason it shouldn't be painless and effective, and much less stress than an amateur trying to give an intravenous injection even if they got the drug and dosage right. Actually the stress on the animal should be zero

Carbon monoxide, which is given off from charcoal burners is deadly, odourless, and if the charcoal has burnt down a bit, should not give off much in the way of smoke. Make the animal comfortable, even give a tranquilizer or painkiller from the vet, put the now smokeless but burning charcoal burner in the room. Close the door. There is still the option of not going through with it if the animal then clearly indicates they are being highly stressed.

If the day comes with one my guys (maybe even myself for that matter) needs some help to pass on, that is what I plan to do.

This solution uses poison gas. The carbon monoxide gas will still be in the room when the OP enters the room afterwards. Accidental CO poisoning is quite common. PMK has a good idea, however it also carries a fire risk. There must be less risky methods.

I didn't think it was necessary to spell it out, but in hindsight, and prompted by your comment, probably I should have. When finished wear a mask - one with granular carbon inside instead of a simple surgical one - they are easy to find - most pharmacies have them, and reducing the exposure of fumes to any living creature particularly yourself to an absolute minimum, quickly open all the doors and windows, air out the room and put the charcoal burner outside.

About less risky methods, there are plans available on the 'net for building a chamber to do this which would not be practical for this OP. Having twice had a vet (different ones) put down a dog - vets that up to that point were competent - it was a very stressful experience for the dogs. Intravenous injections are usually difficult at the best of times. I think this is the better way.

To euthanize the dog, if you have a separate, sealed room, like a storage room, or where you can close all the windows and doors, this is what I would try. I've never done so, but there are references to it on the 'net, and given that probably 1000's of people die accidentally ever year this way never sensing what is going on,I see no reason it shouldn't be painless and effective, and much less stress than an amateur trying to give an intravenous injection even if they got the drug and dosage right. Actually the stress on the animal should be zero

Carbon monoxide, which is given off from charcoal burners is deadly, odourless, and if the charcoal has burnt down a bit, should not give off much in the way of smoke. Make the animal comfortable, even give a tranquilizer or painkiller from the vet, put the now smokeless but burning charcoal burner in the room. Close the door. There is still the option of not going through with it if the animal then clearly indicates they are being highly stressed.

If the day comes with one my guys (maybe even myself for that matter) needs some help to pass on, that is what I plan to do.

If he later seems to be in pain: There are pain killers for dogs, not morphine of course. A vet will probably give you some without bringing the dog in. Ask around, and explain it's difficult/impossible to bring him in. Some vets will make a house call without charging too much especially if they are close. Try the smaller, 1-2 vet shops not a big animal hospital.

You could also try getting a vet to come around right now - just to get a diagnosis, even without blood tests. An experienced vet might be able to make a pretty good guess what is going just with an examination. If he has just started having problems peeing he could just have a urinary tract infection which inexpensive antibiotics would clear up. If you can collect some of the pee, then bring it in yourself for testing. That is what the vet would ask you to do anyway.

If/when the dog is clearly dying: Few vets will put an animal down (kill) but some will. I've found they sometimes charge more than major surgery to do it!

This is just personally what I would do and have done. Death is natural. From what you've said here, I would not try to prolong his life with expensive and painful treatments. But, please, I'm not a vet and have only a few sentences of yours to go by, and it's not necessarily the right thing, or the wrong thing - it's just what I would do. Anyway, if a dog is dying, and does not seem to be in serious pain, I would just make it as comfortable as possible and let him pass on (die).

I'm sure they had a very good life as well as such a long one. Nobody lives forever, It's just natural, Wayne.

Soundhouse in soi town in town on Central Pattaya Road.

Just went there. They have a much better selection of acoustic strings and are also more helpful when buying them, than the large shop on Sukhumvit Rd., opposite the top of Thepprasit Rd. Also have decent capos which the other shop doesn't.