Rasseru

priceless . . . . . thank you for talking the trouble to point out my mistake : ) im most pleased that you are that bored you have to correct me or reply

And thank you for clarifying what kind of person you are!

Writers without Borders . . . have nutured the growth of many aspiring/wannabe writers. . . .

How big did you let them get before you neutered their growth?

It's just a small joke for all you writers!

My efforts on the internet to find answers to these questions have not been fruitful, and I would be grateful for any help here.

In the UK every city has a residential area where middle class young professionals live. . . . . 6 oclock sees many well dressed paople coming home from work. . . . . I live in Japan where I live in such an area too.

Japan must have changed enormously since I moved from Tokyo to Chiangmai two years ago. Six o'clock never saw well-dressed people coming home from work when I lived there. That happened at a much later hour.

Agree with the other posters' replies.

I'm most of the way there with you, Chuckler. I have the same burger at The Duke's regularly. My variation on your theme is to have the coleslaw as the included side order, skip the fries, but always, always add one of their dark German beers. Mmmm, mmmm.

Just had another weird thought........I envy all the nice posts you've received regarding your injury/pending dying. Had I been on the slab I'm sure there'd be pages of posts saying "Thank the Lord, he's gone".

'Pages' of posts? Such an egoist you are!

I am now at home.

. . . . .

Have I learned my lesson?

In American slang.....Phukin A I have!

. . . . .

It's time for me to stop acting like I'm still a 20 year old paratrooper.

To start living as a grown up man.

Excellent! And in that case, now for the important question: Waddya want fer the Vespa?

The blink-blink story prompts me to tell another one. This is something I love. In Japan, when a driver pulls into a lane ahead of another driver and the distance between them is rather close, the custom, which is nearly universally followed, is for the first driver to flash his or her hazard lights two times to the second driver. The meaning is a combination of 'pardon me' and 'thank you', with the emphasis on the latter if there is any sense of the second driver having slowed down to allow the first driver to enter. This custom is said to have started among long-distance truck drivers in the Kansai area, but has since spread to the point where it is almost universal.

That code was also used by truck drivers in the UK in a fairly similar way. The vehicle being overtaken would flash its headlights to indicate to the truck overtaking it that it was far enough in front (usually about 9 - 10 inches) to pull in. The truck now in front would either do a couple of flashes of the hazard lights or one each side of the indicators to thank the driver of the vehicle behind.

That's very interesting. Has the practice spread, as it has in Japan, from truck drivers to drivers of cars? Same question for dingdongrb, who reported on the similar practice among truck drivers in the United States.

The blink-blink story prompts me to tell another one. This is something I love. In Japan, when a driver pulls into a lane ahead of another driver and the distance between them is rather close, the custom, which is nearly universally followed, is for the first driver to flash his or her hazard lights two times to the second driver. The meaning is a combination of 'pardon me' and 'thank you', with the emphasis on the latter if there is any sense of the second driver having slowed down to allow the first driver to enter. This custom is said to have started among long-distance truck drivers in the Kansai area, but has since spread to the point where it is almost universal.

I think the main point is not riding a bike. And not operating a vehicle while drunk.

Agree wholeheartedly with your second point, but would modify your first with the words 'unless you really, really know what you are doing'.

Of course, the truly sensible approach -- albeit an impractical one -- would be not to operate or ride in any vehicle at all, ever. Anything short of that is just weighing and accepting the different risks necessarily involved in operating and riding in vehicles of all kinds.

Thanks for posting about gpdjohn, bunta71. I have not met him off the forum, but I know him here and like him. . .

I've now met him in person, and like him even more.

i find one of the potentially fatal hazards to any newbie farangs in Thailand on the roads is, when you are waiting in the middle of the road at a U turn and you see the cars coming towards you flashing their headlights lights..

Do not think, 'ok.. i can go' - as anyone new, particularly from the UK, would automatically think..

the courteous blink blink.. go on mate.. means quite the opposite here. . . .

It means the same here as it does in the highway code in uk ,people just do not read the highway code in the uk.

Your point being that it doesn't officially mean anything if I recall . . .

Now I am curious. I understood Patriciachas to mean that it has a specific meaning set forth in the 'highway code in the uk' (which I do not know, but take to be a legal code of rules applicable to highway use in the U.K.), and a meaning that is opposite to the one that drivers in fact use in practice, not, as Greenside suggests, that 'it doesn't officially mean anything'. It would be interesting if the British driving public in fact drive around following a practice that is at direct odds with what the legal code specifies. So, what's the story here?

If you like cheese, the Fondue House ( which used to be called le Coq au Rico ) has great fondue and raclette...

. . .

Phil

I do like cheese, and in particular fondue. After over two years of planning 'one day' to go to the Fondue House, I did two nights ago, in a group of four. The cheese fondue dish is for two people, so we ordered it, along with several other dishes, to share among all of us. After one taste, I wished we had ordered two -- absolutely wonderful! My wife and I are eager to go back soon. I will be torn between having more of that cheese fondue and trying the raclette!

The restaurant and service were both very nice, so I was surprised that we were the only diners in the restaurant the entire time we were there, which was from about 8 to 10. On a Friday night.

Quick update on GPDJohn... . . . He . . . would probably appreciate visitors in a day or two. He is in loom numba 1002 at Ram on the moat. . . .

I hope to be able to visit him today (some other scheduling issues permitting). Are there visiting hours at Ram?

. . . He was by himself . . .

Good.

Wearing a good quality helmet gives the family a less harrowing experience when identifying the deceased.

:D And to that end, I particularly recommend the full-face helmet.

Farangs should not be riding bikes if they dont know how.

Do you really thinks it only farang who should not ride bikes if they don't know how? Or, on consideration, do you now realise that the point applies to all people equally, and that your choice of 'farangs' as the subject of your sentence in fact was both meaningless and thoughtless?

Thanks for posting about GPDJohn, bunta71. I have not met him off the forum, but I know him here and like him. My best wishes to him for a quick recovery. Was he alone on the Vespa or did he have a passenger? If the latter, how is the passenger?

It's not safe out there...period

For sure. My best friend was just diagnosed with stomach cancer.

My friend told that the Chiang Mai Housewive's Association is a good place for a cheap beer and other forms of cheap entertainment.

There is no Chiang Mai Housewive's Association, Mr Bill. Perhaps you meant to refer to the Chiang Mai Housewives' Association?

(My form of cheap entertainment at 5:30, after a long day of condo painting . . . Ready now for the beer part.)

. . . Make sure you remove the bugs from the tables if the PC group is meeting prior to the Mac group.

What is your concern? Bugs can't get into Macs anyway.

. . . . . Obama won't be able to break the country. Oh, and if he does win, keep a list of all the places he bombs because every president does it.

Exactly. One more reason for the position I have taken here.

Most people take an interest in US politics since GWB messed with their lives. What he did, and what America does, affects us all, sometimes dramatically.

That's why it is better that America be weak, not strong.

The position, strength, standing and reputation of the United States have all shrunk over the last decade, but not nearly as much as I would like to see them do. I won't be voting, but for those who will and feel as I do, I would suggest that the McCain/Palin ticket offers more hope of continued American decline than the Obama/Biden ticket.

Hello!

. . . . . Has anybody met any Mexican expats in Chiang Mai?

Not I, but now I have it to look forward to! And many, many people here will be interested to know your opinion of Miguel's, a popular local Mexican restaurant . . . with freshly made tortillas, no less.

Welcome when you get here, and apologies that I cannot help with information about schools. . . .

UG, . . . your twisted lies are even classier - hats off to a true showman.

Yeah! He couldn't resist!