pete_r

Two guys were burglarizing an office when they heard police sirens and saw the cops getting in the building. The first burglar exclaimed, "Quick! We've got to jump through the window!", to which his accomplice objected, "Impossible, we're on the 13th floor!"

The first burglar answered back patiently: "Listen mate, this is no time to be superstitious, ok?"

Thank you.. I can add a personal note as well of how the coup affected me.

Before the coup I was proud of Thailand and they way it was developing, getting stronger as a nation both economically as well as politically. I thought I lived in a democracy, one that had shaken off the shroud of dictatorship, which I thought was finally beaten in 1992, brought about by the blood of brave people who died for Thailand's freedom in the streets around Democracy Monument.

Last year saw the return of tanks on Ratchadamnoen Klang. Furthermore, it seemed the response by many Bangkokians (flowers etc) was a slap in the face of the people who fought and died for democracy a mere 15 years ago. It made me realize that in reality, Thailand was never a democracy, perhaps only on the surface were elected governments allowed to take care of the shop as long as they remained within certain bounds.

I realize that I was wrong about Thailand strengthening as a democracy. It was all as solid as a house of cards. Just like Thailand's economic bubble burst in 1997, Thailand's democratic bubble burst in 2006.

"But haven't there been many coups in the past, isn't this business as usual"?

No.

Because it's a biological inevitability that Thailand will face the biggest national challenge since World War II at some time in the coming years. The only hope of averting *complete* chaos on a biblical scale (or Cambodian scale if you will) is the establishment of a strong elected system of government. With the setback that the coup represents, and the return to alternating regional mafia clans in power, it is a real possibility that Thailand will NOT be strong enough to face this challenge.

I could live with this if I was a 'hand to mouth' retired (s)expat.. La la la la la la live for today... However I need to raise a family, provide income, save for retirement and make sure my kids grow up in a stable society where they can prosper and be safe. I have come to the conclusion that this is now very much in doubt that Thailand can be that place.

So yes, that's a profound change in myself.. I'm not sure that Thailand actually changed because of the coup or that it always was this way but I failed to see it. Probably the latter.

Great post and my thoughts exactly. Before the coup, there was a sense that Thailand was getting stronger, economically and democratically. After her studies abroad 3 years ago, my wife was proud to bring back her knowledge to her country and participate to its development. Since the coup, this sense of progress is gone, replaced by the same old game the army has been playing for the past 50+ years.

Sometimes I can't help wondering if the 2006 coup is in fact the army positioning itself in preparation of the biological inevitability you mention.

The writing is on the clock... It must be Chester, UK?

Another electrical question, if I may: I notice large sparks when I plug some electrical devices (in particular the laptop charger, and anything without a switch) into a socket, and would like to know what is the cause for them? In other countries they are much rarer/smaller or don't happen at all.

My two hypotheses are poor quality sockets or the absence of grounding in my house, but are there other explanations?

There is a huge ethanol surplus and more coming on line.

So if they stopped the useage of regular 91 and 95 tomorrow, there would be enough gasohol for the millions of benzene-driven vehicles in LoS? And there is a guaranteed supply with no likelihood of shortages?

The ethanol supply is not quite there yet... 22 ethanol factories are under construction, but only 5 are operational so far with an output of around 500,000 litres per day (gasoline consumption in Thailand is around 20 millions litres per day).

When all the factories are completed in 2-3 years, on the paper the production will be more than enough to supply E10 for the whole country and have some ethanol to spare, so the government's plan may well be to introduce some E20 in the near future.

A TV documentary a few months back investigated the dog export business from the dog-for-a-bucket in Isaan to the meat markets in Vietnam. I seem to remember the journalist quoting 2000 to 3000 dogs being transported every month, with a peak after the rice harvest season when people have more time on their hands.

The conditions of transportation shown were bad, with lorries loaded with dogs in cages parked under the sun, and cages being unloaded by dropping from the top of the lorry to the ground, a fall of 2-3 meters.

As for other animals, a first step to reduce the cruelty may be to introduce regulations and controls, since people who like dog meat are not going to suddenly stop eating it.

My wife took our 2 week old baby and left. I have just found out she is at her parents. [...]

It is fairly common in Thailand for the young mother to stay at her parents' house after giving birth. To put a figure on that, I've seen it 4 times in the 2.5 years since I've moved here, with the mom staying the full 3 months of her maternal leave and the father continuing to work in another city. Thai fathers are ok with this, but of course Western fathers have a different view.

My question would be, have you discussed this with your wife before the birth? Is it possible that she wants to stay with her parents for a while but doesn't know how to tell you or explain to you?

It is important when laying concrete, to make sure that there is a slight slope so that water drains off.

This important basic physics seems to be omitted from most Thai builders curriculum, or if there is a slope is is (of course) the wrong way

It was certainly forgotten for my backyard!

Links to the article (May 2007 and October 2006 versions):

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=12814

http://migs.concordia.ca/links/documents/B...dia_Kiernan.pdf

A few sentences I use:

"Mai sai toon, na krap" = Don't put in a bag.

"Sai toon nee, douai na krap" = Put in this bag please (showing one of the half-full bags I already have).

"Mee toon lau, na krap" = I have a bag already.

"Tee baan mee toon yeu lau, krap" = At home I have a lot of bags already (to explain why I don't want a bag).

It works most of the time, but smiling is important.

Congrats ! Thats the way to live in Thailand !

You get a free car with the cool number plates?

I think he gets to import a luxury/sports car tax-free and re-sell it 5 years later with a profit.

Congrats!

"You think that's air you're breathing?" - Morpheus in Matrix

I see the rabbit as in Somtham's post, and my wife sees it as in Acquiesce's post. It took a long explanation from her to get me to see the cooking and the pot.

I try to see the man, but there are too many spots to choose from for the mouth, eyes, etc.

For what it's worth, in one of his early posts Tim mentionned his Thai name is Khun Seri.

Windows cleaning at Suvarnabhumi...

Sounds good, although I worry a bit about the humidity under the deck: Is there a risk of damage to the wood, like rot or moulds growing? Or would a good drainage system take care of that ?

This forum is yet another proof that several brains are better than one... I hadn't given much thought about drainage, but it's obviously the key thing to consider to get any improvement.

The place is my home (Bangkok suburbs), so removing the cement is tempting. We already have a lawn in the front of the house, and it's cooler than the back.

I'll also have a play with plant stands and bleach after the rain season.

Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming!

Hi all,

Every rain season the concrete floor in my backyard gets covered with greenish slippery moss/algae. I'm thinking of tiling the yard, it's cheap and algae don't grow so well on tiles (and even if they do it's easier to scrub off than concrete), but wanted to ask if anyone knows of other types of surfaces available?

Ideally, I'm looking for a surface able to dissipate the heat from the sun (tiles tend to heat up a lot), to keep the air temperature relatively low in the back of the house.

Another fancy idea I came up with is to circulate water in PVC pipes under the tiles to evacuate the heat, and collect the warm water for showers in the evening at the same time. Question is, where do I start to calculate the length of pipe needed per square meter?

Thanks much,

Pete

Another possibility is that the current administration never got any "Tea" money from King Power and they are going to put pressure on King Power to get their share...and then business as usual can resume..

Seconded. Looks like someone is flexing muscles to extract money out of King power.

I don't see KP kicked out without years of legal battle anyway.

And penalties for late payment, if enforceable.

Smoking is generally seen as impolite in Thailand today, but I guess no problem if there are smokers in the family already.

I thought that smoking was almost compuslory in Thailand, in fact in most of Asia... as long as bat doesn't mean the wacky weed...

Depends on the social circle. Smoking is definitely not compulsory among my colleagues (university lecturers and staff) and wife's friends (middle class), but more common among labour and blue collars, although my in-laws from this background (father-, two brothers-in-law and some cousins) don't smoke.

The father in law said he quit smoking some 20 years ago, according to him there was a campaign by the government to discourage smoking, and his children were complaining about his habit at the same time.

I think good old Malthus (1766-1834) deserves a mention on this thread (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthus ):

"The power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race. The vices of mankind are active and able ministers of depopulation. They are the precursors in the great army of destruction, and often finish the dreadful work themselves. But should they fail in this war of extermination, sickly seasons, epidemics, pestilence, and plague advance in terrific array, and sweep off their thousands and tens of thousands. Should success be still incomplete, gigantic inevitable famine stalks in the rear, and with one mighty blow levels the population with the food of the world."

Thomas Malthus, 1798 (world population at the time, 1 billion).

To the OP, I've had similar thoughts as you, such as wondering if it is a poisoned gift to give life to children with all the uncertainties in the world, as well as not wanting to contribute to population growth. In my case it's a family tradition, my parents had concerns with the cold war and fear of nuclear annihilation in Western Europe, and still I'm here with my two sisters. At the moment I'm on the optimistic side, after all humans have been living with uncertainty for a long time and will continue to do so for a while.

It is mother's child too. And the child is in her house, with her family.

The OP has antagonized everyone, including the child itself.

IMO, too much credit has been given to the OP and his side of the story.

I was going to write something along these lines too... Maybe the big issue for the grandparents is the fact that the OP had a child with their daughter outside of marriage, and is not providing adequate support for his family. I don't know the parties, but somehow doubt they will listen to motorcycle safety talks until the bigger issues are addressed.

Has there been any accident yet? Think of all these tired travellers with trolleys loaded with luggage and with kids sitting on top, innocently standing on the horizontal escalators (the supposedly trolley-friendly ones) and NOT being able to understand the warning that the belt is coming to an end. It's a disaster waiting to happen!

And where is Weho when you need him?

Ok, so the notice is indeed for 90-day reporting, and the date for the trek to the immigration office has been pushed back to end of November due to the re-entry in August (date of re-entry + 90 days).

My apologies for being tedious...