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Alcohol is a mood enhancer.... you start out happy with your lot in life, it accentuates that.... you start out already depressed or angry about something that happened at work, dole office etc, it accentuates that…

This mood-enhancing explanation by Thaddeus is very thought-provoking: I hadn’t heard that before. Thanks. Maybe that does indeed explain most of the effects.

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Its correct though but it doesnt mean it has to win..

I myself need a 10 minute sleep, and I am back to sober...

Doesnt happen often but one should be able to control what one eats or drinks or smokes.

I donot smoke, but as medicines donot work on me in their normal way in many cases some experiments in University (controlled) showed clearly that what has an effect on one person doesnt work on another...

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But, by way of personal counterexample, each night that I return, incandescent with rage at the antics of the construction crew at the house I’m building in Phuket, I find a well-made Mohito, rather than provoking me to run amok with an AK47 (a perfectly reasonable response others who have built homes here will agree) merely causes me to relax, stare at the ceiling, and dream that one day it might all be finished.

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Whats a Mohito???

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Perhaps it’s just that everyone is different.

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correct

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And no Government can legislate for that.

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I will drink to that , no better not, its too late....

Anyway keep in mind that they arent worried about farangs health...

but too many Thais get drunk/plastered om rice vodka... AND that stuff hasnt got a brand to advertise as most is made locally.

One time they gave me vodka Thay style and it really tasted good...

Not like some of the crap bottled officially but allas the shops moved...

Cheers!

Alcohol is a mood enhancer.... you start out happy with your lot in life, it accentuates that.... you start out already depressed or angry about something that happened at work, dole office etc, it accentuates that…

This mood-enhancing explanation by Thaddeus is very thought-provoking: I hadn’t heard that before. Thanks. Maybe that does indeed explain most of the effects.

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A remark here as when I studied chemistry we did experiments on coffee.

Some people sober up, others get more drunk....

Well a couple of posters on the other topic quite rightly brought up the point of televised sporting events where alcohol is often advertised (on football shirts or something), whats the deal there? They did suggest in the other statement that this might be the exception to the rule, or what, no more football on Thai TV? I don't think so.

Red screen and blurry censors.

To be honest I was amazed today at a UBC movie where the guy had a sigar in his hand and as soon as it reached his mouth it was blurred out. Same with a guy pointing towards the target.. What about all those horrible magazines with dead people which are sold at many stands??

Anyway it reminds me of a movie I saw in the UK with the guy playing James Bond but on an oil platform hijacking.

In the English version there was a minor peep at a lady with as result: my god, a woman...

In the arabic version (I was in Egypt) they cut about 15 minutes and totally destroyed the 2 best jokes in the movie...

Long live dvd, vcd etc etc and obviously internet...

Anyway, I suggest it will die...

A couple of good points made in this thread.......

If alcohol leads to violence, why don’t guests at an elegant dinner party, out of their skulls on Pol Roger and fine Burgundy start fighting in the street, whereas the no more pi***d yobs down my ex-local in London do?

Alcohol is a mood enhancer.... you start out happy with your lot in life, it accentuates that.... you start out already depressed or angry about something that happened at work, dole office etc, it accentuates that.

I met my Brother in Hua Hin a couple of months ago (he was on holiday from the UK) one night he said this "what's happened to you Bro', you used to be a bad drunk" ..... my reply was simple ... "In England I had a hel_l of a lot to be stressed out about... but not here"....... (whispers.... until recently, but that is sorted now)

(in the UK) drunken driving has certainly been reduced over the years , but i would put that down to stricter enforcement by the police and the willingness of courts to lock up offenders rather than because of a ban on advertising.

How long for that to happen in Thailand?

Easy, have all Thai drivers do a new exam without bribes....

Should kick so many of the road its safe,

and as anyone on Phuket will admit, they should charge 10000 baht or more to the company/driver who gets stuck on a hill due to driving overweight or using the wrong gears.

The idiots drive a large car and havent got a clue how to drive over the hills...

The new law, he said, would see a strict control on alcohol outlets and an establishment of drinking free zones.

And we thought that with Thaksin gone, life would get better...

As anyone knows its a waste of time complaining about it as WHO READS THE BLOODY ADS.

Good. Thats likely nobody... If there is an add its likely something we KNOW and if its a Thai product there is no need to know as it likely tastes like shit....

I seem to remember some guy in the usa tried it... they tried it in many places. If people and I mean here Thai people donot want it, its a dodo... so a waste to even post about it....

I am sure if I want booze I can get it. Ok, maybe means buying a box and not a bottle...

Drink free zones, good idea, just better if they announce where it is so one can avoid or choose them...

To be honest living here, some people here for ages behave like tourists so its likely a good rule for their health. In my case it absolutely makes no difference as I have to be home from Patong over the Kamala and Surin hills before dark as otherwise it gets dangerous. They still have these acc to rumours local Kamala boys trying to increase their income by robbing those at night over the hills and MANY houses empty as the farangs are leaving due to well informed burglaries and more then useless attempts to catch those doing it...

Hey brother, if I live in USA or England, can I get messages from the phone company sent to my phone in Norwegian if I choose Norwegian language on my phone?

Get real.

Do you think the hundreds of thousands of non-Thai and non-English speaking immigrants from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos should get messages in their own language too? Or just you?

EOQ

When the Apec meeting was in Phuket, they sure were sending every day crap in English via sms, pure spam.

That and English should do as it really shouldnt be that difficult to either read it in or get it clarified by a friend. TRY that with Thai....

The police then went to the Yacht Haven Marina and arrested Briton Ian James Newton, 49, and his Thai wife Sangwan Newton, 38, the owners of the 15-meter yacht Short Time.

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I have no compassion for any drug-dealing people. As they would say in Thailand "are you Tupid ?!"

I am, however very interested in this 15 Mtr. yacht named "Short-Time" ! Maybe the 'tupid' British-Kiwi needs money for his attorneys ? ? Wanna sell this boat ? ? I am very keen to discuss this matter.

eoq

I doubt if he gets a chance to sell the boat as it likely will be confiscated.....

I thought they did this last year already? (at least as far as Internet Cafes and online gaming is concerned...)

Anyway - I'm sure there's a generational divide here..., where those under 40 (who grew up with Atari or Nintendo are wondering what the fuss is about - after all they turned out OK, and those over 40 don't think it's healthy for kids to be sitting inside all the time on a computer...

Personally - I think I'd prefer children to be addicted to games than anything else at their age...

However, some of the characters hanging around at some of the Internet Cafes may not make the best peer models..., I don't see a few hours a week as an issue - but  every day in that sort of company is probably not a good thing... (just don't blame it on the games...)

Blaming online gaming for the not particularly nice vibe you get from some internet cafes is like blaming snooker for the bad vibe you get at some snooker halls. The game itself is not the problem...

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Having a computer business my kids have obviously computers and yes they play on line via adsl. So do I but not on line with as main reason I more like to see the logic/programming of them and once thats satisfied, stuff the game.

I also made sure they have a PS emulator so can go and buy these cd's for playstation and to my surprise most of what they get are those little monsters gardening etc... See nothing wrong in that. However as many of my friends agree with, its a whole lot cheaper to have them play games then having them run amok in bars and other places..... Besides they can hardly play and be drunk/doped and fight at the same time! The great pity in my opinion is that the old cheap home computers donot exist anymore as they were marvelous training tools, cheap etc...

Remember Comodore, Sinclair, BBC home PC... Simple enough for a kid to get smart at it quick.

Yeah right.  You'd have to get people to stop using cash receipts for their own tax avoidance procedures first before you'll get anyone to report others.   

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Well in Phuket and a prime example is in Karon, where they rent out 100's of shophouses for 5000 baht a month and 10000 baht keymoney per month...

Friend of mine rents a small restaurant in Patong where they use the same trick...

Poor renters obviously cannot deduct the real costs from income so likely cheat back as hard as they can(g)

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How much bigger is a magnitude 9.7 earthquake than a 6.8 earthquake?

A magnitude 9.7 earthquake is 794 times BIGGER on a seismogram than a magnitude 6.8 earthquake. The magnitude scale is logarithmic, so

(10**9.7)/(10**6.8) = (5.01*10**9)/(6.31*10**6) = .794*10**3 = 794

OR

= 10**(9.7-6.8) = 10**2.9 = 794.328

Another way to get about the same answer without using a calculator is that since 1 unit of magnitude is 10 times the amplitude on a seismogram and 0.1 unit of magnitude is about 1.3 times the amplitude, we can get,

10 * 10 * 10 / 1.3 = 769 times [not exact, but a decent approximation]

The magnitude scale is really comparing amplitudes of waves on a seismogram, not the STRENGTH (energy) of the quakes. So, a magnitude 9.7 is 794 times bigger than a 6.8 quake as measured on seismograms, but the 9.7 quake is about 23,000 times STRONGER than the 6.8! Since it is really the energy or strength that knocks down buildings, this is really the more important comparison. This means that it would take about 23,000 quakes of magnitude 6.8 to equal the energy released by one magnitude 9.7 event. Here's how we get that number:

One whole unit of magnitude represents approximately 32 times (actually 10**1.5 times) the energy, based on a long-standing empirical formula that says log(E) is proportional to 1.5M, where E is energy and M is magnitude. This means that a change of 0.1 in magnitude is about 1.4 times the energy release. Therefore, using the shortcut shown eartlier for the amplitude calculation, the energy is,

32 * 32 * 32 / 1.4 = 23,405 or about 23,000

The actual formula would be:

((10**1.5)**9.7)/((10**1.5)**6.8)

= 10**(1.5*(9.7-6.8)) = 10**(1.5*2.9) = 22,387

This explains why big quakes are so much more devastating than small ones. The amplitude ("size") differences are big enough, but the energy ("strength") differences are huge. The amplitude numbers are neater and a little easier to explain, which is why those are used more often in publications. But it's the energy that does the damage.

EOQ

OK, hope this sorts out what a Richter is.....

I copied it from an expert website, easier then doing the calculations!!

And by the way we had a 9.6 to 9.7 in december and this last one I seem to remember was less then 7 so numbers are kind of applicable to comparing the July and December earthquakes.....

Not 2 richter less but about 23000 times less power.....

Note that I have seen texts putting energy for safety purposes higher than whats mentioned above.

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Now the problem - Kata has no warning system. To get from there to high ground, you need to pass the entire Karon beach, which is a long way right next to the sea, so if the wave needed an hour to get there, by the time you get the message, you'll most likely get wet.

Hotel staff doesn't care about any warnings from anyone and couldn't bother waking up the guests.

EOQ

To get out of Kata quick all you need is 300 m to main road between Patong and Chalong and drive maybe 1 km up the hill to Chalong, park yourself in one of the many food places above waterlevel. Why do you want to goto Patong???

Blocked anyway and a lousy road.In Kamala to get to the assigned high places you have to drive IN THE DARK over gravel paths etc, much easier as I couldnt find anyone to tell me where it was to dive up the hill to Patong. No use going to Surin as on the way there its difficult to park and no place to sit....

9 on the richta scale is hundreds of times stronger than a mere 7, The Thai goverment needs to get this exactly right.!!!

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Yes, but how many Thai understand the logarithmic nature of the Richter scale???????????????????

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I don't think you understand the whole thing. All you do is put Thai people down.

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Its not the Thais Job to understand the logarithmic scale, however it is the Job of Thai Goverment Officials to employ people who do understand it, and to issue the appropriate warnings, Surely..?

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And I thought that Richter used a 100log scale, not a 10log....

Whatever, it was a 9.6 or 9.7 in December

Thailand averts second tsunami 

The centre warned in an urgent statement broadcast live on TV pool that the new tsunami, if took place, was forecast to hit Phuket's Kalon Beach at around 0:12 a.m. and other areas in the tsunami-prone provinces from around 0:13-1.30 a.m.on  Monday.

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Living in kamala in Phuket I was called at night by friends and received sms's etc so had a look.

1. not ONE siren, no warning over speakers or whatever. Normally they can play music, explain farang football and politics and not least of all religion, but they were QUIET.

2. Didnt see one policeman (heard they were on the beach) and in a bar with TV all one saw was some Thais talking about Tsunami's, showing films of december and music with Thai songs and were surprised the next morning there had been a fuss..

Anyway to be sure I went upto Patong Hill where there is a small karaoke and waited out what never came. Many people slept through the whole thing ( as I did myself a few months ago).

Later on internet when I got back 1.30 to the vilage I dove into a bar with PC's, looked up CNN and the eartquake center, and it was quite clear that 1) it wasnt powerful enough and 2) acc to CNN the warning was withdrawn very quicky.

In Patong several guesthouses lost customers who had enough...

Best recommendations for multiple entry visa run from Phuket would be appreciated

./Steve

depends on your circumstances but I use the bus to kolok from Phuket, arive in the morning, goto the tour office which does the runs for a 100 baht and sofar I managed to go back in the evening...

Ie lose 2 nights  and one day for 2000 baht plus visa cost.

Tour isnt every day...

Believe being the father of a Thai child should allow you to obtain a non immigrant visa and I would present birth cirtificate/copy at the Royal Thai Consulate in Penang.  You could also take a letter from mother explaining why marriage has not yet taken place but this probably would not be required; along with a copy of her ID card just for more paperwork.

Lopburi3, exactly! This attack plan should work both in Penang and Singapore!

Penang no problem, I used to get multiple year entries on these papers, take birth certificates and paper you are the father...

Note in theory but immigration disslikes it, you can also use it to get a year visum as requirement is supporting a Thai national, not a Thai wife. As its a huge loophole they are less then happy if you try to use it so it likely gets refused,...

Here's my situation. I have a Thai wife; but, I cannot yet register the marriage. We now have a son & I should qualify for the 90 day, non-immigrant, "O" visa. We live in Bangkok & I need to obtain a new visa near the end of June. What neighboring consulates in SE Asia can you recommend? I've heard that it's chaos up in Vientainne (same might be true in PP).

I got my last tourist visa in Singapore ... nice atmosphere and pleasant service there ... but to afford it, I stayed in Little India & ate at the food courts at malls!

Also, exactly what will I have to show ? ... I have the original birth certificate. Thanks for any advice.

I did this for years with 4 kids....

1. go with girlfriend to Umpur and register that you are the legal father. Used to be some dirty page in a school journal, maybe thats changed. Smaller umpurs may not know how to do it...

2. With that paper you can take the kid out of the country if they have a thai passport (I have done that as well) .

Please note that under Thai law lying who is father when registering the baby is a one way process. ie you cannot register as no father and later trying to change that.

Also recommend changing surnames of kids to mama's name.

Less chance on problems in school like with entrance examss. The less they can see on paper that the thai kid isnt 100% Thai the better...

Mai Chai wrote

"Thai children have a great responsibility to their parents, and we all know how devious some Thai women can be. "

I have heard of a daughter giving the house back to her mother as soon as she reached 18.

The falang husband could do nothing to stop it.

Do not buy, RENT

You are making a very valid point here. However in my case I am my daughter's legal guardian and my ex has signed documents at the district office in which it is clearly stated that both parties have no right to claim money or property from one another. Indeed, my daughter could sell the land when she reaches the legal age of 18, but then again how would she do that without the original land deed and other original documents kept safely in her father's safe deposit box at the bank. To which only one person can have access:me! ???

remaking a chanoot is not impossible, just hard work.

However if the value is great enough, sure you can make a

new chanoot to replace a mislaid one....

On the other hand if bought on the kids name and its legal as a load of the chinese do it as well and as farang only requirement is as far as I know that you are legally the father and can sign for the kid.

If you can hide it from anyone, ok, but there are things like land tax and no doubt the girlfriend will dig who is owner of this farm....

old celeron, old style ram, 14" screen ...

lucky they give a keyboard ... no sound card for sure, and the same about video card for sure too, everything onboard

and no floppy, no cd !?

Not completly true.  The desktop has a 52x CD drive AFAIK.  Only the laptop has no input device.

well, the whole offer is in my opinion to get rid of old defunct hardware and the only ones silly enough to buy this junk are Thais... I wouldnt Buy a Belta at half that price...  Laser the same, all cheapo all on board motherboards from Taiwan from same manufacturer and guarantee... wanted me to pay 1200 baht on a laser board where the capacitors had popped open due to wrong electrolyte being used... And that with supposedly 5 years waranty. Belta, same problem said changed battery ettc etc, cappacitors still there. Now sending it back with printout of the internet article so it helps them to see whats wrong.  

Anyway, customers machines and they already had been replaced with ASUS boards. Same problem, 2 weeks have new one...

Is this a requirement for only one category or for all???

I have had sofar very little problems with workpermit renewals and minor hickups were solvable if known before a renewal is due...

agree with Morgan, no way you can prevent her kicking you out in a small village. I mean you make problem, you fall down the stairs with or without help and all they will say is drunk farang even if someone pushed you... Thais never fight alone

(afterall they might get hurt) so if you get a fight you got the fight with the whole  familly=village.

You can protect your property, but NOT that you can live there. Secondly do you WANT to live in ISAN. All year drunken sods (oops familly) walking in and expecting you to buy their beer...

Thirdly, you can rent 30 and 30 years, but I donot think it prevents her selling it, but anyway its the wrong way to do it.

You cannot enforce the second 30 years...

Your best protection if you really like that girl is to get a few kiddies, as after that her first priority is kids, number 2 parents, number 3 herself and you last. At the present familly will be number one and its essential to boot them out of that position unless you like getting cleaned out by permanently lazy and drunken Thai males...

Whatever you call it, independend work doesnt exist in Thailand, you are farang, you work, need workpermit.

I would make very sure your USA company knows that whats going to happen is illegal and make them sort out the lazy Thais on this side. Remember you can end up in jail and get blamed for it, not your bosses in the USA...

Anyway, they can make up a letter as suggested, and you can get a double visum, 3 months repeated via Kolok.

Penang  will ask too many questions.

However to do it properly the Thai company should apply for a workpermit.If you pay the required tax, ie they should or your USA employer should, not a problem to get one. Tax and social security may add up to 2000 baht per month based on about 35000 baht required minimum income per month.

Its also more relaxing for the mind to know they cannot kick you out or lock you up in places which acc to some resemble the Spielberg movie 'the slave trade' or whatever it was...

Well, as I repair and sell PC's I Do run an original Xp home. for the 3700 I paid just not worth the risk.

In addition I have a 95 (floppies), 98 upgrade which in the past I was given....

I donot use office, only word and I have an original, didnt buy it someone gave to me who went to Mac...

For the rest my email and other stuff is original and I used it for years. But obviously I have loads of specialised shareware products most may get used rarely in case of problems so those arent originals...

Even have an original dictionary program, why not for 280 baht in big C...

Windows (original) I sell at cost as I make sure customers know support if screwups exists are MS screwups not mine(g)