retiree

The IR suggestions sound good, but does anybody out there happen to have either a dumb terminal, or a terminal emulator (Kermit?) and cable that can be plugged into the serial port on the box? I heard a rumor that "help" or "?" might produce a prompt.

Retiree

Thanks, Autonomous and Firefoxx. Yes, I had a faulty idea of how the international link work -- I don't know what I wuz thinking when I thought it was a bus ;-) .

Retiree

I have 2.5M/512K TRUE ADSL. In the evening, this frequently degrades to 250K/400K for international download from / upload to the US (as measured by http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/). My in-country speeds stay relatively unaffected, so I assume this isn't a 'last-mile' problem.

If both downloaders and uploaders are contending for the same limited international bandwidth, why don't both download and upload degrade at the same rate? Is the pipeline itself not symmetrical? Are the download routers getting swamped? Or do I just have a faulty view of how international Internet traffic works?

Puzzled,

Retiree

Does your computer have an IrDA (infrared) port on it?

Yes.

I assume that it's pretty easy to record UBC programs from their box to my video card to my disk. But is there any way to (electronically) change the channel on the UBC box (i.e. using the serial port on the back)? Or do I need to hire a thumb-bot?

Retiree

I am retired (and have a retirement visa), but study Thai history as a hobby. I would like to hire a part-time assistant to help with translation, typing, and the like.

Under Thai law, can I simply hire an assistant just as I would hire a housekeeper, or driver, etc. -- that is, somebody who provides purely personal, rather than business, services?

Is there some set of government regulations that I must comply with, or can the person be treated as an indendent contractor, who takes responsibility for his/her own tax payments, etc.?

Does it make any difference if my girlfriend, a Thai national, is the official 'employer'?

No, I'm not worried that anybody is going to come knocking on my door. I'm just curious about what the official rules are, if anybody knows.

Thanks in advance,

Retiree

Customers will be charged 500 baht an hour for internet access, with a minimum charge of 100 baht.

Doesn't this break the regulation (reported in local newspapers) that non-duty-free items cannot cost more than 125% of the price for local services?

This headline:

"78% of all new mothers in Bangkok are students"

has nothing to do with the story. Yes, if you do a

survey in:

"several emergency homes for girls in the capital"

you will probably tend to find young mothers.

US citizens are required to file this form annually (by June 30) if they have "financial interest in or signature authority, or other authority over any financial accounts, including bank, securities, or other types of financial accounts in a foreign country, if the aggregate value of these financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year."

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/articl...=148845,00.html

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f9022-1.pdf

This has always been the law, but as of last year it has some nasty teeth (a $10K fine) in it, even if the violation was not wilful.

That having been said, I was still wondering if anybody knows any actual facts about enforcement/fines if: a) nothing is filed, and the accounts were used for modest living expenses, and only strayed over the $10K limit on rare occasions (the exact limit is only counted on the day of the bank statement, despite the wording above).

5000 baht fine at airport? Has anybody actually seen

90-day reporting stamps being checked at Don Muang?

Or heard of this fine being imposed?

-- Retiree

To check your local speeds to see whether your ADSL connection is working properly and set at the proper "speed profile", go to

http://www.tabroadband.com/main/speedtest/index.html

I can't seem to get this page to load. Can anybody point to a local equivalent of the McAfee speedometer at http://us.mcafee.com/root/speedometer.asp -- i.e. a speed test that only uses domestic lines? -- Thanks.

Myself, I can't think of working until 70

Perhaps, but there's a reason not to file for SS until 70. Normally, the 'early' retirement penalties are a wash -- you receive the same total, regardless of when you first claim, if you reach maximum life expectancy according to the standard actuarial tables.

Delaying filing, if you can, is a better worst-case scenario (that is, if you consider being broke at 90 to be the worst case). It maximizes your ongoing income if you outlive the tables (and any other savings).

Is there a Hunan (or other hot, spicy Chinese) restaurant

to be found in Bangkok?  Getting tired of this bland Thai stuff  :-)

 Thanks in advance for any tips.

I just went through this process.  You must:

-- 'resign' your work permit.  This took about 5 minutes at

the Labor Ministry near the Thai-Japan Stadium off Din Daeng.

No special paperwork or forms were required.

-- bring an extra copy of the slip they give you.

-- bring a copy of your previous year's tax form 91 (this is part

of the packet submitted as part of your yearly work permit

application.  I had no trouble providing a copy of a copy.

I also had to comply with the ordinary written and unwritten

rules:  retirement income affadavit (from my embassy), and

bank book (account opened the week before; I was told that

50K baht would be enough, but deposited 100K just in case).

No police report required.  Also, you must wait at least one

day after your 50th birthday.

 Good luck!