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On 9/6/2017 at 6:54 PM, NanLaew said:

With the low spot that floods regularly at the u-turn just north of the Pattaya Tai traffic lights, any tunnel under there would be very challenging.

Maybe, just maybe, they will change the plan to an overpass/flyover at the Pattaya Tai and Thepprasit intersections.  I actually don't like the appearance of overpasses/flyovers but they are a heck of a lot easier to build and would serve the intended purpose without dealing with flooding issues.

Several people have mentioned tea tree oil.  I've been using a tea tree oil liquid body soap for a few years now and maybe that's a contributing factor why my rash has never reappeared.  I have no doubt that the amount of actual tea tree oil in the soap is a trace amount, but maybe it's enough to keep outbreaks at bay?  I originally grabbed a bottle of the soap at random in Tesco when my usual brand was out of stock.  I stuck with it not because of the tea tree oil but because it lathers so well.  I doubt the soap would be a cure for a virulent outbreak, but maybe once it's cleared up it helps keep future outbreaks from erupting?

I just noticed the bottle says anti-bacteria, and above folks were talking about its anti-fungal properties.  Seems like an kind of universal antidote.

Unless you open the door, the freezer should keep foods from thawing for several hours.  However, that said, the motor/electronics in the appliance could be at risk from repeated & prolonged brownouts.

Are the "native" condo building windows white, as well?  If not, you might need approval from building management to have non-matching windows installed.  It would be part of the condo regulations.  Might not be a problem with your building, but I know it has been with others.  Can apply to both the color/material of the frame and to the tint of the glass.

@thailandroadblock:  What kind of testing sites are these?  Inside of bars?  Roadside stops?  Shopping centers?

On 9/4/2017 at 2:03 PM, HarrySeaman said:

One of the keys to living happily in Pattaya is transportation.  The Baht Buses (songthaews) routes are limited.  A car is expensive vs a motorcycle and it takes a lot more time and aggravation getting around in a car than on a motorcycle.  It takes some getting used to but you can learn to transport most things on a motorcycle.  For anything too big for the motorcycle there is usually someone you know who has a car or you can just hire a songthaew.

 

Transportation is also critical for where you can live and how much it will cost.  Jomtien and Naklua are cheaper than downtown Pattaya on the beach side of Third Road.  You can find much less expensive housing inland of Third Rd and even less expensive housing inland of Sukhumvit.  You definitely need transportation if you live in any of these places.

The arrival of Uber and Grab have opened new options, too, for folks who live away from a baht bus route.  Heck, I live on a busy baht bus route, but use Uber/Grab quite a bit for the comfort/convenience.  They're great for returning home with loads of groceries or other purchases.  Ever tried to return from Boonthavorn or Thai Watsadu without a car?

23 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Hilarious. I almost bought a condo near there. Dodged another bullet. 

Moi, aussi.  I was thisclose to buying a unit in View Talay Residence 3 -- literally next door!

11 hours ago, newnative said:

There were suppose to be 3 tunnels but whether the remaining 2 will be built seems to be up in the air.

Leave it to Pattaya to build tunnels in the air.   

Seriously, though, I thought the other two were to be Pattaya Nua and Pattaya Tai?

Some oldie but goodie YouTube videos, not brought to you by TAT:

This may sound a bit whack, but many years ago I used to have frequent rashes -- ranging from mildly irritating to quite painful -- in my underarm area and I read somewhere that after you've successfully treated a recurring rash, to start shaving your pits as the hair not only facilitates keeping the area damp, but something about the hair itself was contributory.  (Shaving while you still have an inflamed rash is AYOR -- ask me how I know...)

Willing to go out on a limb to try anything to stop the recurrence of the rash, I started shaving and have never had a recurrence since.  Could be totally coincidental, but maybe it was legit?  I even transitioned to having my pits waxed as it lasts longer and there's no itchy stubble ever.

I'm wondering out loud now if hair removal could help in other body areas, like the crotch/butt.

Of all the methods mentioned by other posters, the one that worked best with me to relieve symptoms was Quadiderm.  But no other medications prescribed by doctors seemed to do much of anything.  Aloe was good for quick, fleeting relief. I never tried neem or coconut oil, but had I known I definitely would have tried them.

I find that codeine is the most effective relief for moderate pain, but I've developed a *strategy* for getting it.  If I have a severe sore throat and want codeine relief (cough syrup with codeine is heavenly) I do NOT ask for codeine and more often than not, I get some codeine concoction.  However if I ask the doctor for codeine I usually get something else.  i.e. If I ask for it I don't get it.  If I don't ask for it, I'll usually get it.  They must thing this semi-elderly guy is addicted and faking ailments?

6 hours ago, Grumpy Duck said:

At LAX earlier this year they were $5.00 and wowie zowie you can pay by cc/debit. 

Last time I arrived in Terminal 6 international arrivals at LAX they were still free, though in the domestic arrival areas there was a charge.  Is there a charge now in international arrivals, too?  

@KittenKong Thanks for the rehash.

I waited for someone, you in particular actually, to post about speeds after getting the VDSL with @3BBinter, but once you did, they no longer were offering the @3BBinter supplement so I'm now looking for folks with the bare-bones (i.e. sans @3BBinter) VDSL package to report speeds to/from overseas sites.

When I initially took over my 3BB ADSL account from the previous owner of the condo I bought, I asked at the 3BB counter about "upgrading" to VDSL and was told that the particular ADSL account I had inherited (18/1.8) was an old one with little (no?) overseas shaping and that changing to VDSL would be a downgrade in speed to overseas sites.  So, I kept it.  BTW, there was no @3BBinter supplement on offer at that time.

But, now the new folks at the 3BB counter are trying to sell me on the current VDSL package "promising" that it will be faster to/from overseas web sites than my existing ADSL.  I also tested Sophon FTTH and was shocked at how poorly it performed with overseas sites.  I'm a little suspicious of the change in the 3BB sales pitch.

Off-topic a bit, but another change in the 3BB offer is that had I switched to VDSL back when this started (Dec 2016) they said they would keep me on a month-to-month package.  Now, I'm required to sign a 12-month (or longer) contract.

10 hours ago, johng said:

One of the TMN cable fitters told me not to bother with their internet option...that was about 4 years ago in Na-Jomtien maybe its better now ?

I tested TMN early this year and while I got full speed on tests to Bangkok, the overseas speeds were quite bad.  My existing 3BB 18Mbps/1.8Mbps ADSL was considerably faster for overseas sites than even the 30Mbps/10Mbps TMN fibre internet.  This was with a fibre cable all the way to my living room wall (Jomtien condo).

17 minutes ago, manarak said:

I checked TMN about 1.5 years ago by connecting directly to their fiber hub at their headquarters.

Speed within Thailand was 100/1 (yes, upload limited to 1mbps) and international was pathetic.

Unless they did major changes to their service, don't bother.

 

I too use 3BB VDSL 50 and I am currently satisfied with the service, after going through a difficult period about 1-2 years ago before they introduced VDSL 50.

Is your 3BB VDSL with, or without, the B200 "@3BBInter" supplement which they no longer offer to new subscribers?

This totally a shot in the dark, but apart from the fall where you injured your foot, your symptoms match my gout attacks.  Have you had your uric acid levels tested recently?

14 hours ago, smedly said:

channel numbers are allocated by your TV or box when doing an auto tune so quoting numbers is actually quite pointless

I wondered about that, but how does my TV know which are movie channels, which are news channels, etc, in order to segregate them?  e.g.  On my TV, the movie channels start at 600 and overseas news channels start at 700.

Before Hua Hin can take on Pattaya in popularity something needs to be done about traffic.  Imagine all the traffic on Pattaya's Beach Road, Second Road, Third Road *and* Sukhumvit all on one narrow thoroughfare through town.  Hua Hin is already at near paralysis on weekends during High Season.

The solution I can see is to really (over-)develop west of the railroad.

On my TV (no converter box) Fox was/SkyTV is on channel 702.  I haven't seen Fox anyplace else today, either, but I didn't go through all the channels, just the 700's which are the foreign news channels on my TV.  BBC is still on channel 701.

It seems strange that different folks are getting different channels on Sophon.

13 hours ago, NewGuy said:

Fox News is back on my south Pattaya condo's Sophon feed. 

4 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Back on mine too, North  of Pattaya.

Is it the same channel number as before?  I just checked and SkyTV is still on the channel where Fox News was on my Sophon feed (ch. 702) in Jomtien.

On 8/25/2017 at 0:23 PM, Sheryl said:

 

There are many brands of caffeine mixed with other meds (for migraine) ...

 

Are any of these OTC?  I usually stock up on acetaminophen and/or aspirin with caffeine when I'm in the USA.  It would be nice to be able to source something for my headaches here locally.  (Ideally, I'd like codeine, but...)

13 hours ago, Ahab said:

Super high shipping costs.

On Amazon?  When I was considering buying a laptop earlier this month it was US$26.73 for standard shipping and US$39.55 for expedited (3 to 5 days) shipping.  I didn't think that was exorbitant.

I have a new computer with the hardware to support biometric log-in -- both facial recognition and fingerprint reader -- so Windows boots up to a "Windows Hello" screen where it tries to recognize my face or fingerprint.  It is reasonably proficient with both.  The set-up process includes setting a PIN in case the biometrics fail, like someone else tries their face/fingerprint or, Windows being Windows, it doesn't recognize you.

However, it seems way more un-secure (and not that much faster) than using a local username and password log-in.  If the biometric log-in fails, it prompts you for the PIN.  However, the PIN is *NUMERIC ONLY* and can be as short as four digits.  A password can include numbers, letters and special characters allowing for WAY more combinations than a mere 10 digits.

So, if you were to sit in front of my computer and power it on, Windows Hello will (hopefully!) not recognize you and prompt you for the PIN.  Wouldn't it be FAR more secure to prompt for a PASSWORD?

4 hours ago, funandsuninbangkok said:

And no, I would not throw two kids out into the street for 18,000 baht. But I can afford to write off that amount. 

What is your price threshhold for evicting a mother with two kids?  In the OP's example debt will accumulate at the rate of B18,000 per month.  Would you consider evicting at ten months (B180,000), or ... ?

On another thread I mentioned how Amazon's Import Deposit Fee for a computer I was considering went from just under $100 to over $250 in the matter of a week or so.  Makes me wonder what would have happened had I ordered it when it was quoting ~$100 -- would I have been charged more when it actually hit Thai Customs?  For that matter, what about the >$250 -- is it the result of a dart board toss or should it be considered a reliable estimate?

I ended up buying locally in Thailand since with the higher Import Deposit Fee Amazon's price was actually higher than buying at IT City.

When I arrived at New York's JFK airport last time I noticed that even by the luggage carousels for international arrivals, the luggage carts/trolleys were not free.  IIRC, they were US$7 (~B230).