klikster

Why does every topic on TV need a punchline? Actually the OP made a point of telling something about his private life.

he made a point assuming we have all married hookers (like he has ) and are secretly hiding the fact

No, he didn't. Learn to read .. or keep trolling if you must.

Why does every topic on TV need a punchline? Actually the OP made a point of telling something about his private life.

Wife told me about hearing on the Thai news. Heavy winds and BIG hailstones, about 50 houses damaged or destroyed. Not sure where.

Sorry, no help then. I lived at the Cha am building for a couple of years,

^ at least rhiwfawr made a point.

.. and thanks for being honest.

The Cha am Condochain or the one in HH?

Then - to compound matters - you live in Phrae!

Seriously, it's like deciding to go and live in Dubai and complaining that it never snows.

And the gai-yang place on the hill north of town has one of the most spectacular views in Thailand.

grilled chicken ?

Yes, a series of shops just off the highway. Chicken is good, view is better.

Then - to compound matters - you live in Phrae!

Seriously, it's like deciding to go and live in Dubai and complaining that it never snows.

I have never visited Dubai, but spent many pleasant days and evenings in Phrae. It's a very clean little city with nature all around. And the gai-yang place on the hill north of town has one of the most spectacular views in Thailand.

slightly off topic, where can I get a reliable, independent laboratory test done for my water? Nobody seems to bother about this much, you just get told, 'don't drink the tap water'. I'm sure you can get rid of most stuff that's in the water, but what about pesticide and herbicide residues for instance? Arsenic and mercury?

From an old thread

You can ask for help from ..

Department of Agriculture Extention in Bangkok and Udon-station.

www.doae.go.th

Or at the Irragtion Dept. in BKK and Khonkhen station.

www.rid.go.th

Or. Land Development Dept. in BKK and Khonkhen station.

www.idd.go.th

Erection?

You asked so I posted a quote from another thread. Sorry for the favor -- will not repeat the offense.

slightly off topic, where can I get a reliable, independent laboratory test done for my water? Nobody seems to bother about this much, you just get told, 'don't drink the tap water'. I'm sure you can get rid of most stuff that's in the water, but what about pesticide and herbicide residues for instance? Arsenic and mercury?

From an old thread

You can ask for help from ..

Department of Agriculture Extention in Bangkok and Udon-station.

www.doae.go.th

Or at the Irragtion Dept. in BKK and Khonkhen station.

www.rid.go.th

Or. Land Development Dept. in BKK and Khonkhen station.

www.idd.go.th

I use a quite large activated charcoal filter, it's over a meter tall and about 14 cm in diameter. The water from that goes through a ceramic filter and that's what we drink. It is rain water collected off a metal roof and stored in a 1,500 liter fiberglass tank. My wife fills plastic Coke/Pepsi bottles from there and keeps them in a small refrigerator. No ill effects after 3 or 4 years.

I used to buy the big translucent plastic bottles from a water company but stopped that when I found mosquito larvae swimming in a sealed bottle.

I think rain water is the best because you don't have to worry about heavy metals, pesticides or minerals.

+1

My water is drinkable now,I just need to reduce the salt content which can only be achieved with a RO system

A RO system to removed sodium chloride is pretty complex. The 'salt' is dissolved, so an ultra-filtration membrane won't remove it. I doubt that salt was making your water undrinkable. Did you take water samples for testing?

As an aside, distillation also removes sodium chloride.

If you have lots of white scaling after water dries, it's probably calcium. If the water has a reddish-brown tint, that's iron. If a RO system scales up, the system probably needs a a mechanical filter, then a "softener" before the RO.

bad water -> media filter -> softener -> Membrane Filter ('RO') -> Carbon filter -> UV (Ozone) -> good water

Real RO removes dissolved solids, most 'RO' systems here are actually 'ultrafiltration'. Look up the differences in Wikipedia -- it can get complex.

Carbon filters should be placed down stream (after) RO since it is designed to remove organics (odors and tastes).

Ozone from UV systems kill biologicals.

PM replied

Just has 2 ngan in KK cleared, but basically removed all vegetation. The guy did a good job. If you have someone who can speak Isaan, send me a PM with info and I will ask my wife for contact info.

About 2 years ago I finally decided to get dentures. I needed 18 extractions.

I'm old. More than 1 dentist told me they would only do 2 extractions per visit and wait 1 week between visits.

So I looked through the dental related threads and found good recommendations for "Dr Dang" in Bangkok. Her dental surgeon did the lowers one afternoon and the uppers 2 days later. She actually asked if I wanted the uppers lowers done on the same day, but I had already been in the chair for 2 hours for x-rays, impressions, extractions. They fit the dentures on day 4.

Price wasn't that bad either.

Go to a pro instead of the clowns.

Respectable families in Thailand are normally quite a world different.

+1

.. not all Thais are the same.

+1

I have been burned twice here in Thailand -- both times by farangs.

First was turning over a detailed business plan for a promised % of the deal. The guy would never return my calls after that. Stupid on my part? Yep! Will I do it again? Nope!

Second time was getting some web coding done. Had done business with the guy for several years and thought I knew him quite well so I paid (not all that much) up front. Half way trough the project he needed to set up a new server and asked me to wait. A couple of months passed and I talked to him about finishing the work. He actually started an argument with me as to who put the project on hold, then told me to find someone else. Refund? Nope!

This is Thailand. Farangs are just as / more likely to screw you as Thais.

If someone has a good idea, they will likely do it themselves. Even if they can't, and have been here awhile, they are not likely to trust you.

can't resist giving a small smartàss lecture

there is no such thing like "passive cooling". any cooling is "active". what is commonly called "passive cooling" is nothing but avoiding heat transfer by various means.

I think that goes along with the static vs. dynamic concept.

Too often we see posts and hear arguments that rely on static conditions. Almost any system related to housing has to be considered/operate dynamically.

Ex: Water or liquids: how much, how fast, how far, how high, what depth, conduit size are just a few. Same goes for dynamic loads vs static loads on structure, roof, etc.

Projects undertaken based on assumptions drawn from static thinking usually end up ranging from worthless to overly expensive.

One might assume the OP is thinking about trips to Immigration. I believe I remember hearing that a round trip is Bt 500. I'm sure someone can confirm this.

Korat has metered taxis. One resource says, "Korat Taxi Call Center: 044-342255" -- but another resource says that taxis called to a location are fixed price rather than metered.

And this forum has too many idiots and trolls.

A Thai language website that you can get Google translate to clarify one page at a time is ddproperty.com. Quite a number of houses of all ages all over Thailand. Lots of land as well.

Excellent post, kerryk! Pretty much reflects the experience I have had over the past 16 years.

However, I am jealous of your guitar playing skills.

IMO, the quality of work you get is more important than saving Bt 100 or so per/ man/day