Lannig

Gin kao ler mai?

So idiomatic indeed. Took me a while to understand why this was coming up in nearly every phone call!

-- Tapatalk

Chatting with southern girls?

Lol

Er.... no, not at all. Different people, mosly from central and north.

This seems to be part of the usual conversation in a phone call, asked almost as systematically asked as "sabai dee mai?" A Thai tradition obviously, although it's generally asked to me as "Gin kao reu yang?" (have you eaten yet?)

Another quite used one: จะโอนเงินวันนี้ (ja own ngeun wan nee). Do I really need to translate? Try telling me you haven't used this one...

Can you diagnose heart failure from analyzing feces? confused

I'd say Kamphaeng Phet. Agreed, it's not quite at mid-trip but it's a pleasant and quiet place.

The historical park is nothing compared to Sukhothai's but it's nice to see, quiet and shaded with numerous trees.

At this time of the year the river bank turns into a popular beach and I really think that it's north enough to be safe for swimming (well at least I did it many times)

There's a reasonably sized Big C shopping mall too in case you need some air conditioned place.

There's a newish night market too now (K-night) that's worth an evening dinner.

There is no variation for the hardware although the firmware could be country specific

Not quite true. Due to the different RF bands used in different countries (e.g. 850Mhz heavily used for rural 3G in Asia and not at all in Europe where it's 900Mhz) there could be slight differences in the RF (often called "modem") part of the electronics.

Sometimes this difference is not really in the hardware itself but rather in the internal microcode of the chips that control RF communication. In general it's not alterable by mere mortals so "hardware differences" is a valid approximation IMO.

Also, some manufacturers make it extremely difficult to re-flash a firmware for a different region, in a way to protect their pricing policies and minimize grey market.

Android apps are Java code vs. native code on iPhones. This could account for the extra RAM (and CPU horsepower BTW) needed. The cost of portability across a wide range of hardware platforms.

1Gb should be enough for normal use though, but not all Android firmwares are born equal (far from this!) and rebranders like I-Mobile are not know for the quality of their firmwares: poor kernel tuning, memory leaks in preinstalled apps etc. these are the things that can cause a device to be memory starved all the time.

Also, Android is moving is the right direction. Entry-level devices with 512Mb RAM were a nightmare to use up to Android 4.3.

It's become better with 4.4 and even more with 5.x

That's my experience with my numerous cheap devices anyway. YMMV.

Do not discount the "killer app" either, the one leaking memory like hell that brings your phone to its knees sooner or later whatever the amount of RAM aboard.

Often one with a widget.

Gin kao ler mai?

So idiomatic indeed. Took me a while to understand why this was coming up in nearly every phone call!

-- Tapatalk

This "attitude adjustment" sounds exactly like "re-education" and all the similar terms that have been used by dictatorial regimes over the years to qualify imprisonment, very often accompanied with physical and/or psychological torture.

We may not have reached this point yet in Thailand but we're getting frighteningly closer every passing day.

How can this wording be used by people who have any kind of faith in democracy? tell me if you can justify it, but that's going to be a tough lesson to teach without resorting to... well... you see what I mean, "adjusting my attitude".

Note to mods: I've chosen my words very carefully so that I did not break the current forum rules. Hope that does it.

But the IDP is issued under international convention/treaty valid for 1 year...

By imposing a 90 day limit Thailand may well be in breach international convention/treaty.

It's valid for 3 years in my home country...

I don't think that its validity has anything to do with this 90 or 60 days limit.

I can certainly use the same IDP if I stay, say, 2 times 60 days across its validity period.

A case of the first batch of boxes going out before they got the Google certification, hence without Play Store installed?

Then they've got it and the next batches go out with Play Store aboard.

I've seen this happening a lot on cheap no-name tablets.

Well, most people who go out for a swim don't really swim either, be they thais or farangs.

Just cooling off in water.

At this time of the year I wouldn't expect to have water above waist anyway.

(...) he had collaborated with and spied for South Korean intelligence authorities in a plot to bring down the North's leadership and tried to spread religious ideas among North Koreans.

Religion, religion, always religion making people doing stupid or criminal things all around the globe.

Getting tired of this, really.

It might as well end up with sparse concrete poles, half-done ballast with a few rails rotting under the sun when the project is put "on hold" (read: abandoned) like so many major infrastructure projets have been.

พูด ช้าๆ หน่อย ครับ (phut cha cha noy krub) -> please speak a bit slower

Not arrogance at all. I found this on the Internet.

Traffic violation fines

1 - No crash helmet - 200 b + no fine for a further 24 hours if receipt retained for original fine

2 - Speeding - 200 b

3 - Overtaking - 200b

4 - Temporary Red No. plates if expired - 200b

5 - No seat belt, 2 persons, 500b

6 - No driving license for motorcycles - 800b

7 - Driving down a bus lane - 500b

8 - No vehcle tax - 500b

9 - Foreign non international driving licence - 200b

My opinion on it being steep was formed by comparing it to this list. I'm not talking about prices of fines in other countries. I couldn't care less about that.

I would suspect that this list has been gathered from people reporting that they had paid this for the said (supposed) offenses.

In many cases, not even a real fine, but tea money. Probably the reporters didn't even know the difference.

Just too many 200B fines in there, I suspect that the real fines for overtaking, expired plates, no valid driving licence are way over 200B.

Yes it does. That's precisely what I was using: headphone out jack from my notebook.

I confirm: Haier is made in China.

I've had a Haier fridge (bought new) and it was complete crap:

- totally deficient regulation, depending on the day it would either freeze food hard or let it rot. I had to adjust the temperature control knob all the time

- lasted for less than 3 years before the internal stuff (trays etc.) started to lose paint, develop cracks in plastic...

- it was an electricty hog

Haier? never again for me.

Ah OK, makes a lot of sense. Thanks for enlightening me

8 ohm is pretty much standard impedance for speakers so I suspect that should be no problem.

I've browsed through their site and this looks close to what I had bought: http://www.mynpe.com/mynpe/more.php?data=014390020902&quantity=1&c=class2

Details are scarce to say the least.

How can someone have 300% tax reduction? what the hell does this mean? You're tax-free and on top of this they'll give you money, twice the amount of taxes you would normally have to pay? confused.

I'm about to suggest something very cheap that requires some DYI skills: large electronics shops like Natthapong (NPE) sell small "kits" which include low-power amplifiers boards. Some have pre-soldered components, some don't (need to solder them yourself).

With the pre-soldered ones you basically have to hook up a power source, connectors and put the thing in a plastic or metal case you can buy there after drilling the required holes. Add volume buttons (sold there too) and you have a very cheap mini-amplifier.

Since they really have a lot of cheap electronics in there, they might even have ready-to-use mini-amplifiers as well.

NPE has a branch in Zeer Rangsit (basement floor) and many other places, see http://www.mynpe.com/mynpe/home.php

I think that you can order online too.

they do not do "routine top ups" of the gas. if you need gas then you have a leak. our A/C's have not had a gas top up since they were installed 8-9 years ago. an a/c working properly does not need a top up. cleaning cost about 500 Bath on average per unit. we get ours cleaned 2X per year. once in a while our guy checks the gas with the meter and shows me "does not need gas".

the same does not apply to car A/C's which do need top ups.

And why is this? just curious.

Lead springs ?

I'm no expert in this domain so bear with me. Just some information collected from people I know who've been into this kind of things.

Yes, I think you can have a 100% foreign-owned business in Thailand, but only in selected type of businesses and it's quite a hassle. Most people opt for 51% thai / 49% foreign with foreign director.

If you match the requirements in company capital (2M bahts I think) and number of Thai employees (nor sure how many) you will get a long-term visa.

Never heard of a tax holiday maybe unless you comply to specific requirements of the BOI (location, type of business)

I've found these links using Google, FWIW:

http://wls-legal.com/corporate/thai-company-limited/

http://wls-legal.com/corporate/100-foreign-ownership-company/

EDIT : I suspect that the OP knew these "regular" conditions already. Oh well, the electrons are wasted already...

Queensland Rail's tilt train is currently the fastest train in Australia and the fastest 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge train in the world, setting a record at 210 km/h, with standard operating speeds 160 km/h - is this new rail line going to be some kind of record-breaking technological marvel, or are they going to build it standard gauge?

Trains in Germany travel at 300 kph. I don't know what gauge they use - standard European whatever that is.

From Google: The Intercity-Express (ICE). The fastest breed of DB Bahn trains in Germany and Europe. The Intercity-Express (ICE) is the fastest and most comfortable way to travel on the DB Bahn network, reaching speeds of up to 300 km/h, and new standards of excellence.

Which means, of course, that Thailand's high-speed train service will still be slower and many years behind Europe. And by the time it's built the difference will possibly be even greater. Where the world leads, Thailand follows.

Well, so does the TGV in France.

I suspect that these extra 50km/h cost a lot, really. Especially the tracks and all the power feeding infrastructure. So IMO it makes sense for a developing country to target more affordable technology. 250km/h isn't bad, really, for a country the size of Thailand.

Whatever... even at those speeds, it won't be cheap and like a former poster I'm not sure I'll see any of these trains in my lifetime.

I'm really wondering who would be the targeted customers for such a train.

Due to the enormous amount of money it will cost in investments, I'm guessing that ticket prices aren't going to be cheap. Operation and maintenance are going to be costly too. With trains speeding at 250km/h, no corners can be cut or it will be a massacre. Operating costs will be higher if run by the a government company.

Same kind of situation with the TGV here in France.

So: poor people will still take buses or coaches because it's way cheaper. Wealthy people will still prefer riding their Ford Everest or flying. Trains are not fashionable anyway.