IsaanT

It's when people produce gold-plated terminals on Toslink (optical) cables that I smell snake oil...

I've got a circa £1,000 external power supply for my DAC (Digital Analogue Converter). It provides better quality electricity to the DAC, even though the DAC has its own internal power supply and can be plugged straight into the mains. Does the external power supply make a difference, after all 240v AC is 240 volts, isn't it? The difference is immediately audible and my friends and family can hear it too. The improved clarity reveals things in the recordings that you hadn't heard before. To paraphrase the great British audio component manufacturer Quad, I try to get the closest approach to the original sound. Most of the audio 'black magic' that people talk about (better cables, power supplies, anti-vibration mountings, etc.) can work and cause a noticeable increase in sound quality but will probably not work if not matched carefully. For example, not all expensive cables might sound better on a particular system but almost anything should be better than twin-core bell wire. Personally, I would try to get a Thai welding shop to create something because the fundamental requirements are basic. It needs to have a lot of mass and rigidity, i.e. thick steel. A filling inside a hollow stand is good, as has already been discussed. Sand is good for dampening vibrations, as the vibrations can be absorbed by the friction of the grains of sand moving against each other. Lead shot is denser and can provide a more substantial mass to minimise ringing and unwanted noise. A combination of the two would be possible, i.e. lead shot in the bottom half of the stand for improved mass (low c of g) and the top half filled with sand. If I was getting stands commissioned, I would also think about how to route the speaker cable(s) inside the stand at the bottom and exiting at the top near the connectors for improved aesthetics. Having created the rigid stand, you then have the choice of mounting the speakers on felt (or similar pads) to isolate them from the stands or bolting them rigidly to the stand. Bigger speakers, such as the OP alludes to, probably benefit from being connected rigidly. Isolation mounting typically gives a more natural sound. Experimentation is necessary to achieve the best sound for the listener but that's all part of the fun, as I expect the OP knows. Floor mounting is the final touch. This is typically done with spikes. Spikes allow for effective coupling between the speaker and the floor and help to improve the clarity (not level!) of the bass, among other things. When placed at the corners of a stand or speaker they facilitate even distribution of vibrational energy, allowing it to dissipate from the cabinet into the ground. This "purging" of vibrations helps to control resonances that could otherwise interfere with sound clarity. Rubber pads would be better than nothing if spikes are unacceptable, e.g. the speakers are to be mounted on a nice polished wooden floor. Stainless steel is the preferred material for metal spikes. Lastly, great sounding hi-fi is not about volume, it's about sound quality. Many listeners with loud systems need to have them loud to make their system produce some of the sounds they expect or wish to hear but these may be produced at the expense of excessive sound levels in the other frequencies. A high-quality system can sound excellent at moderate sound levels because all the right sounds are being produced, e.g. just like listening to an accoustic player or band - natural sounds, no amplification necessary.

Imagine a really, really big number. So big that you can't even imagine how big it is. Now, imagine a number that's even bigger than that. And then another number bigger than that. You can keep going on and on, making the numbers bigger and bigger forever. That's infinity. It's a number that's so big that it's impossible to count to the end. It's like a never-ending journey. No matter how far you go, there's always more to explore.

I had the same problem recently when I advertently drove over a "wet" road surface, only to realise that it was liquid tar sprayed on the road surface (there were no signs or warnings but when I went round a bend I then saw the road builders' vehicles). PLEASE ignore any suggestions that abrasive methods work - the vehicle's paint will be damaged. Use a solvent, as mentioned several times already, perhaps with gentle, non-abrasive scraping if you have large lumps. I used WD-40 but the others suggested will work. I didn't bother cleaning the wheel well arches - I regard it as extra protection. Any protective surface on the paint will be removed by this process but the surface will not be damaged. Polishing the paintwork afterwards is a good idea and will help to protect the paint and make it easier to clean subsequently.

235THB + delivery on Lazada. No brainer.

I'm an experienced pilot. A stall appears most unlikely. The plane was in the cruise, so would have been well above the stall speed. The weather was also apparently good, so no weather factors, e.g. turbulence. Even if it did stall, the pilot was very experienced so it's difficult to imagine that a stall couldn't be recovered from 5,000ft. Cessna Caravans are turboprops, so the engine (and the flight management thereof) are very reliable. The plane in the video did not appear to be spinning so any unusual attitude recovery should have been more straightforward than if it was. I, of course, assume that the flight controls were not incapacitated in any way. Even if they were, planes don't naturally fall vertically like a dart - they will naturally pull out of a dive due to increased lift with increased speed even without pilot input. I am waiting for more information from the investigation.

I've just bought a Royal Enfield Classic 500 single in Bangkok. Due to my partner navigating in our pick-up taking the scenic route back, it took 11.5 hours to get back to Roi Et where we live. On the latter parts of the journey we were cruising at 90-95kph. Remarkably, I didn't have aches and pains when I arrived home. Perhaps only my British BMW R1150RT could have done the same thing. If anyone is interested in meeting up in my area for a chat and a ride, PM me.

I've been here for just over a year. I extended my annual retirement visa in Roi Et today - possibly one of the most helpful and friendliest immigration offices in the country. I live happily in the sticks with my partner and our adopted son. I have been known to go fishing, exploring, kayaking, and recently bought a Royal Enfield 500 Classic because the superbikes I had in England are totally unsuitable for Thai roads and driving conditions. The RE is delightful and, coincidentally, I was born in Enfield. BTW, my partner was driving our pick-up back from Bangkok and mistakenly believed I wasn't allowed to use motorways or dual carriageways. She headed north out of Bangkok into the countryside on little roads. After I eventually persuaded her that I was allowed on motorways, we took the most direct route back. We stopped once to refuel, cruised at 90-100kph but it still took 11.5 hours to get back, when the same speeds the previous day in the pick-up using the direct route to Bangkok took 6.5 hours. The most remarkable thing was that I had no aches or pains after all that riding - there's very few bikes that can do that. I'm just south of Roi Et but happy to travel. If anyone wants to meet up for a chat (and bike ride?), PM me.

Hi all, first post here. Treat me gently please! I have a recently-dug large pond on our land in Roi Et province. It's a pleasant irregular shape but is about 73M x 30M at its extremeties, so about 2,000 sq metres. It's 4M deep. I have been advised by the nearby fish farm that we can stock it with giant catfish, carp, ruby fish and giant snakehead. Apparently, he says they will all get on fine if there is sufficient food (I'm happy to buy it and feed them) and space. These fish are just to populate the pond and keep it healthy. I have separate plans to raise Tilapia for our table in a much smaller pond on a relative's nearby farm. However, my research tells me that catfish can eat other fish and, possibly worse, snakeheads are highly predatory and will eat other fish and their own species. What is the truth here? Comments and advice welcomed.

Anticipation is a much more valuable - and unobtrusive - defence mechanism when driving.

FYI for UK expats: The Thailand-UK Double Taxation Convention can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/thailand-tax-treaties. Furthermore, in view of Mike mentioning that a number of double taxation agreements are currently being reviewed, this web page allows you to be notified of any changes in the content by email. The current information is effective in Thailand from 1st January 1981 and was published on the .gov.uk website on 2nd January 2014. I already use this .gov.uk email notification service for another UK legislation topic and find it reliable.