Sterling

Owl, is this the abandoned restaurant: https://goo.gl/maps/ygBzDMRDukvLyDwf8

Looks like a decent location. What are the pagoda-like buildings in the background?

Good job to Mildred on publishing her website. Are you going to have her get an SSL certificate for it? Lets Encrypt has them for free.

14 hours ago, Fin87 said:

Hey, I called the NY embassy and she able to pull up our info and approve us instantly and we got email on the spot with test and go Thailand pass. Extension 803. Hope this helps. 

Thanks, I'll give it one more day then give them a call.

I submitted my request in Thai Pass 5 days ago and STILL no approval or denial.

I was planning on flying the weekend of 3 December so it's getting down to crunch time.

Do they normally take this long? I bought the AXA travel insurance, uploaded pics of that plus my US CDC vax card and my SHA+ hotel package.

For the $50k of COVID insurance coverage, can anyone recommend a cheap plan in Thailand that I can buy online that will meet the Thailand Pass requirements?

I have COVID coverage through my Cigna International Insurance but cant find a declaration from them showing that nor the dollar amount.

Owl, glad it's working for you now!

HTML isnt really my thing; I'm more of a System Administrator type, so I usually get Apache or whatever installed and working then hand it over to the WebDevs.

On 10/24/2021 at 12:48 PM, owl sees all said:

Anyone out there that can help me with 'onmouseover' and 'onmouseout' html coding?

I took an HTML course earlier this year as part of a CyberSecurity Degree. I dont remember using that particular function but does this help at all:

https://www.w3schools.com/jsref/event_onmouseover.asp

One thing to be aware of if you connect a Smart TV to the internet is that some of them nowadays are downloading advertisements and showing them when you're in the Menus of the TV. Apparently Samsung and LG are getting notorious for this.

Some people are now not connecting their TV to the internet and using a Roku/Apple TV/Amazon Fire device for their streaming instead of using the embedded Smart TV features on the TV.

https://digiday.com/future-of-tv/samsung-pitches-advertisers-and-streamers-on-ads-that-take-over-its-smart-tv-platform/

I can't believe nobody has linked to our esteemed @owl sees all136+ page Diary of a Farang In Isaan thread:

I've owned a car or two in the Philippines and it can be difficult to ensure that the mileage is accurate.

If the owner has the original service paperwork, you can use that to roughly gauge if the mileage is correct or not.

So if they have original receipts (ORs) showing oil changes at (for example) 10k km, 20k km and 30k km and the odometer shows 25k km, its obviously been modified.

If they claim the vehicle has been serviced at the dealer, see if they will provide the service history from the dealer.

No service paperwork is a big red flag. Either the mileage on the paperwork wont match the odometer or no maintenance has been done (not unusual); coin flip either way.

All in all, it's really a <deleted> shoot; and with a culture of not wanting to discount used vehicles much, you may be better off buying new and not dealing with someone else's problem.

Good luck!

Seconding Overcast for iOS

@SurelynotDont want to alarm you but I had the same thing happen to me a few years ago (bent down, felt a pop in my back and a ton of pain) and similar symptoms (back pain, numbness in one leg, etc). I tried to rest and take it easy but after a few weeks of no relief, I went in to see a spine specialist, had an MRI done and they found 2 ruptured discs. Had to have an endoscopic discectomy at Bumrungrad in Bangkok and I'm 100% better now. Thai doctor did a great job and i'm pretty much pain free.

The only downside is I'm not allowed to run/jog, lift weights or anything that puts undue pressure on my back.

Swimming, bicycling and fast walking is allowed.

Hopefully you havent ruptured any discs, but if the pain doesnt goes away, please go see a doctor.

Total cost of the procedure was around 300k baht and my Cigna International insurance paid 90% of it so I was out of pocket 30k baht.

Good luck!

I'm an IT professional and I would go with the iPad as well.

Apple iPads get security and OS updates for 4+ years where Android tablets are lucky to get 1-2 major OS updates. I have owned several different model iPads over the years and have had no issues with the speakers also.

As stated above, the resell value is generally much higher for Apple products. Take a look at some used iPads in your local area to see how they compare to new models.

Lastly, this could be compared to trying to decide between getting her a Hyundia/Kia vs a Honda/Toyota.

I have nothing against Hyundai and Kia, but I'd rather spend a little more money and get (in my opinion) a better product in a Honda or Toyota.

All the recommendations above on getting tested for sleep apnea are good.

You may want to try putting a Breathe Right nasal strip on the bridge of your nose before you go to bed to see if that may help with your breathing through your nose while you sleep.

On 5/11/2021 at 9:27 AM, dwagner said:

Sitting in ASQ now

Can you get someone at your ASQ hotel to get you a sim card?

One of the most awarded comments on Reddit is excellent reading for anyone wanting to know more about rabies:

https://np.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/81rr6f/he_fed_the_cute_trash_panda_and_looked_up_for_a/dv4xyks/?contex=3

Excerpt:

Rabies. It's exceptionally common, but people just don't run into the animals that carry it often. Skunks especially, and bats.

Let me paint you a picture.

You go camping, and at midday you decide to take a nap in a nice little hammock. While sleeping, a tiny brown bat, in the "rage" stages of infection is fidgeting in broad daylight, uncomfortable, and thirsty (due to the hydrophobia) and you snort, startling him. He goes into attack mode.

Except you're asleep, and he's a little brown bat, so weighs around 6 grams. You don't even feel him land on your bare knee, and he starts to bite. His teeth are tiny. Hardly enough to even break the skin, but he does manage to give you the equivalent of a tiny scrape that goes completely unnoticed.

Rabies does not travel in your blood. In fact, a blood test won't even tell you if you've got it. (Antibody tests may be done, but are useless if you've ever been vaccinated.)

You wake up, none the wiser. If you notice anything at the bite site at all, you assume you just lightly scraped it on something.

The bomb has been lit, and your nervous system is the wick. The rabies will multiply along your nervous system, doing virtually no damage, and completely undetectable. You literally have NO symptoms.

It may be four days, it may be a year, but the camping trip is most likely long forgotten. Then one day your back starts to ache... Or maybe you get a slight headache?

At this point, you're already dead. There is no cure.

(The sole caveat to this is the Milwaukee Protocol, which leaves most patients dead anyway, and the survivors mentally disabled, and is seldom done - see below).

There's no treatment. It has a 100% kill rate.

Owl, that's actually really good news. Windows 10 can see the USB drive, so you are a third of the way there.

Next, you can try to recover the data yourself or take it in to one of the computer guys near to you.

In the past, I've used a program called Restorer Ultimate to recover data off of corrupted memory cards.

They have a free trial, so if you're feeling confident, you can install the program on your PC there and see if it can restore any of the files:

https://www.bitmart.net/restorer-ultimate/

The free trial should let you restore a couple of smaller files so you can verify if it works or not.

If you'd rather leave it to one of the computer guys, they should be able to use that app or something similar to try and recover some/all of the files off the flash drive.

Just be aware that sometimes those files cant be recovered, and sometimes they CAN be recovered, but the filenames may be reset to something like image001.jpg, image002.jpg, etc. Better than nothing though.

Good luck!

When you plug a USB device in (flash drive, mouse, webcam, etc) Windows should make a ding-dong-ding chirping noise and you might get a pop-up saying something like "New Device Detected".

Next time, open up My Computer so you can see the C drive, D drive, etc and when you plug in the drive, see if Windows shows the flash drive as something like an E drive. Is that what eventually disappears?

On 5/11/2021 at 7:57 AM, owl sees all said:

data on my flash-drive, that I've been unable to open since graduating onto Win10 16 months ago.

Owl, did you ever take your flash drive in to one of the computer repair shops there to see if they could recover your data?

Does your new laptop make the chirping noise when you plug it in?

Gattaca evoked a lot of emotions and is arguably more socially relevant today than when it came out in 1997

Rides4Kickz on YouTube has several videos about buying scooters and bikes in the Pattaya area.

I've posted this advice before:

If you both agree to the divorce and can agree to the terms of who gets what, Guam is a popular divorce destination as it only requires 7 days of "residency" to file for divorce there.

I have a friend who talked with a lawyer in Guam beforehand to schedule everything and he flew there, met with the lawyer the next day (day 1) to sign paperwork, then spent the next 6 days on vacation there. On day 8, the lawyer filed the paperwork and he was able to leave. Divorce granted a short time later.

This was with a house in Thailand and 2 kids.

You might want to contact a few Guam lawyers to see what paperwork they'd require.

Did Owl happen to say what actions led to the 3 week ban?

If you both agree to the divorce and can agree to the terms of who gets what, Guam is a popular divorce destination as it only requires 7 days of "residency" to file for divorce there.

I have a friend who talked with a lawyer in Guam beforehand to schedule everything and he flew there, met with the lawyer the next day (day 1) to sign paperwork, then spent the next 6 days on vacation there. On day 8, the lawyer filed the paperwork and he was able to leave. Divorce granted a short time later.

This was with a house in Thailand and 2 kids.

You might want to contact a few Guam lawyers to make sure they can do it with you being British and she being from an EU country and what paperwork they'd require.