Lordfoul

Regular Mail takes 7 - 14 days to the US around 7 days to Australia, UK . I had a bit of bad luck with SAL, I think the longer something is in transit the more chance of it getting broken. That probably does not matter so much with pants.

EMS is sort of an in between service faster than Regular Mail, not quite as fast as UPS/FedEx.

EDIT: Considering what you are shipping you should ship via "Small Package" if you are not already

Sea Air Land. I Believe

I have had packages take over a month to the US using it.

SAL is an economy air rate. Delivery within 21days although I have often found it is much quicker than that

Thanks for the info Milton, will ask for that next time! by the way do you know what SAL is short for, slower air something?

You did jump to a baseless conclusion about Thai ISPs capping bandwidth even though you are going through your buildings network.

Ah so now we get the real story. You are not using an ISP.

You caught me. I'M GUILTY of accessing the internet without using an ISP.

And he can't have both "what Thailand has to offer" and watch UK TV because you say so?.

Lot of people around here seem to like telling people how they should lives their lives. Is that why you moved to Thailand?.

I mostly download UK series like Top Gear, Fifth Gear & the soaps of course. So unless you know another way that I can watch UK TV bleep, bleep, bleep......

I always assumed people moved to Thailand for what Thailand had to offer, not so it was an outpost of where they came from. The simple answer to your question as how you might watch UK TV is either get UBC or move back.

Ah so now we get the real story. You are not using an ISP you are using your buildings shared connection.

I never commented at all on how much you download. You said that you felt there was a cap based on your experiences.

Would this same jury find you innocent.

Quote from you

"I have used wifi extensively at 3 different locations and my torrents"

So why do you think "they" have selectivly chosen to place download limits on you and not clockwise who has no limits?.

Your comment is a bit flawed. I just moved to a new place and the landlord warned me that the internet was very slow and drops often, thats why he no longer charges for it, so just like the previous place I lived in for nearly a year, internet access when I moved there was already slow.

Besides you have no clue how often I downloaded.

I hope, like a number of other TV members, you don't serve on any juries. I can just hear the jury foreman say, " HEY LORDFOUL, WAKEUP", and you saying in a daze "GUILTY"

Nice try for a flame.

OK, you win.

Could you give me a list of every Thai that feels you can not play cards without gambling?.

Because your statement "It's too bad that Thais don't seem to realize that there are loads of cards games that do not involve gambling" is incorrect. Thais in general do not feel that way. In fact it is very comon here to play cards with out gambling as it is probably common top play with gambling.

The hotels reaction to your request is not because that Thai Felt that you have to be gambling. They just do not want to take any chance with a government that is over reactive in regards to gambling or even potential gambling.

Are you under the impression that there was a nationwide vote on this?. Seems to be it was decided without the input of the common man.

Chiang Mai Plastics - 120 B

Crisis over. Bought a pack from the guy who sells magic tricks at the weekend second hand market. It's cost me 350 baht.

I only paid 50 baht for the cards but my stepson seems to have an unnatural amount of luck at pontoon for a seven year old. Still, it's improving his mental arithmetic no end .

Yes, It's too bad that Thais don't seem to realize that there are loads of cards games that do not involve gambling and are quite good at helping young learners to get good at doing quick mental math calulations. I grew up playing games like Cribbage, and I really believe it was helpful for "maths thinking". Not only that, but playing cards is also good for developing social skills through creating conversation opportunities, dealing with disappointment and learning sportsmanship (when one loses) as well as how to be a gracious winner (when one wins).

Card playing was an important part of my family activities when I was growing up, and no one in my family has any type of gambling addiction problems. I really feel it was a much healthier passtime than a non-stop diet of watching mindless TV shows or playing computer games, as is so common these days.

Sorry lordfoul, I don't understand your reply at all!

Could you perhaps elaborate? Maybe it would help you if I explained why I said that bit that you highlighted. Whenever I've been holidaying in Thailand (with Western friends) and we've asked the front desk of a hotel or resort if they have any playing cards, the Thais behind the desk usually looked shocked and shake their heads vigorously while saying something like, "cannot -- cannot -- police come." I've tried to explain that we don't want them for gambling -- just to play a game, and they can't quite seem to understand that concept.

So, what the heck were you trying to say, anyway? Perhaps you've replied to the wrong thread. That's the only thing that makes sense to me because you reply sure doesn't.

That's news to me. I really have never seen Thais playing card games. Since you apparently know so much about this, could you please give me some examples of non-gambling card games Thais regularly play?

lordfoul, it appears that your simply looking for an argument today. My request is obviously a lot more practical than yours. Sorry, but I refuse to play your little game.

Could you give me a list of every Thai that feels you can not play cards without gambling?.

Because your statement "It's too bad that Thais don't seem to realize that there are loads of cards games that do not involve gambling" is incorrect. Thais in general do not feel that way. In fact it is very comon here to play cards with out gambling as it is probably common top play with gambling.

The hotels reaction to your request is not because that Thai Felt that you have to be gambling. They just do not want to take any chance with a government that is over reactive in regards to gambling or even potential gambling.

Are you under the impression that there was a nationwide vote on this?. Seems to be it was decided without the input of the common man.

Chiang Mai Plastics - 120 B

Crisis over. Bought a pack from the guy who sells magic tricks at the weekend second hand market. It's cost me 350 baht.

I only paid 50 baht for the cards but my stepson seems to have an unnatural amount of luck at pontoon for a seven year old. Still, it's improving his mental arithmetic no end .

Yes, It's too bad that Thais don't seem to realize that there are loads of cards games that do not involve gambling and are quite good at helping young learners to get good at doing quick mental math calulations. I grew up playing games like Cribbage, and I really believe it was helpful for "maths thinking". Not only that, but playing cards is also good for developing social skills through creating conversation opportunities, dealing with disappointment and learning sportsmanship (when one loses) as well as how to be a gracious winner (when one wins).

Card playing was an important part of my family activities when I was growing up, and no one in my family has any type of gambling addiction problems. I really feel it was a much healthier passtime than a non-stop diet of watching mindless TV shows or playing computer games, as is so common these days.

Sorry lordfoul, I don't understand your reply at all!

Could you perhaps elaborate? Maybe it would help you if I explained why I said that bit that you highlighted. Whenever I've been holidaying in Thailand (with Western friends) and we've asked the front desk of a hotel or resort if they have any playing cards, the Thais behind the desk usually looked shocked and shake their heads vigorously while saying something like, "cannot -- cannot -- police come." I've tried to explain that we don't want them for gambling -- just to play a game, and they can't quite seem to understand that concept.

So, what the heck were you trying to say, anyway? Perhaps you've replied to the wrong thread. That's the only thing that makes sense to me because you reply sure doesn't.

That's news to me. I really have never seen Thais playing card games. Since you apparently know so much about this, could you please give me some examples of non-gambling card games Thais regularly play?

Because your statement "It's too bad that Thais don't seem to realize that there are loads of cards games that do not involve gambling" is incorrect. Thais in general do not feel that way. In fact it is very comon here to play cards with out gambling as it is probably common top play with gambling.

The hotels reaction to your request is not because that Thai Felt that you have to be gambling. They just do not want to take any chance with a government that is over reactive in regards to gambling or even potential gambling.

Are you under the impression that there was a nationwide vote on this?. Seems to be it was decided without the input of the common man.

Chiang Mai Plastics - 120 B

Crisis over. Bought a pack from the guy who sells magic tricks at the weekend second hand market. It's cost me 350 baht.

I only paid 50 baht for the cards but my stepson seems to have an unnatural amount of luck at pontoon for a seven year old. Still, it's improving his mental arithmetic no end .

Yes, It's too bad that Thais don't seem to realize that there are loads of cards games that do not involve gambling and are quite good at helping young learners to get good at doing quick mental math calulations. I grew up playing games like Cribbage, and I really believe it was helpful for "maths thinking". Not only that, but playing cards is also good for developing social skills through creating conversation opportunities, dealing with disappointment and learning sportsmanship (when one loses) as well as how to be a gracious winner (when one wins).

Card playing was an important part of my family activities when I was growing up, and no one in my family has any type of gambling addiction problems. I really feel it was a much healthier passtime than a non-stop diet of watching mindless TV shows or playing computer games, as is so common these days.

Sorry lordfoul, I don't understand your reply at all!

Could you perhaps elaborate? Maybe it would help you if I explained why I said that bit that you highlighted. Whenever I've been holidaying in Thailand (with Western friends) and we've asked the front desk of a hotel or resort if they have any playing cards, the Thais behind the desk usually looked shocked and shake their heads vigorously while saying something like, "cannot -- cannot -- police come." I've tried to explain that we don't want them for gambling -- just to play a game, and they can't quite seem to understand that concept.

So, what the heck were you trying to say, anyway? Perhaps you've replied to the wrong thread. That's the only thing that makes sense to me because you reply sure doesn't.

Are you under the impression that there was a nationwide vote on this?. Seems to be it was decided without the input of the common man.

Chiang Mai Plastics - 120 B

Crisis over. Bought a pack from the guy who sells magic tricks at the weekend second hand market. It's cost me 350 baht.

I only paid 50 baht for the cards but my stepson seems to have an unnatural amount of luck at pontoon for a seven year old. Still, it's improving his mental arithmetic no end .

Yes, It's too bad that Thais don't seem to realize that there are loads of cards games that do not involve gambling and are quite good at helping young learners to get good at doing quick mental math calulations. I grew up playing games like Cribbage, and I really believe it was helpful for "maths thinking". Not only that, but playing cards is also good for developing social skills through creating conversation opportunities, dealing with disappointment and learning sportsmanship (when one loses) as well as how to be a gracious winner (when one wins).

Card playing was an important part of my family activities when I was growing up, and no one in my family has any type of gambling addiction problems. I really feel it was a much healthier passtime than a non-stop diet of watching mindless TV shows or playing computer games, as is so common these days.

Just as I thought Mapguy is the real "hog" Good catch

Talking about user habits, Internet "BitTorrent (and similar) Hogs" are certainly not the only problem. The increasing popularity of online interactive games and sites like "Facebook" is awesome.

Many countries are getting into costing internet usage differently than it is costed at present. It turns out that only about 15% of internet users are "hogs." I think it is reasonable to charge by usage. What's odd about that?

Your thoughts?

the funny thing is that mostly the "hogs" are the ones who are complaining of low international speeds. my thoughts and two Satangs are "slaughter the hogs or make them pay through their noses!"

So why do you think "they" have selectivly chosen to place download limits on you and not clockwise who has no limits?.

SO why don't Thai ISPs have download limits?

I think they are. Over the last 3 months (PAD slowdown?) I have used wifi extensively at 3 different locations and my torrents and software update download speeds when it is is good, averages 7k to 10k bps (remember 9.6k dialup modems). Same complains around Thailand read Slow Internet on the Internet, computers, communication, technology in Thailand forum.

So if Torrents are slowing everything down explain why I don't have a problem doing any of these things?. In fact I can do most of these quite well while downloading a torrent.

If 2 people in Thailand are downloading the same torrent the can download off each "locally" reducing the strain on international bandwidth. if 2 people are watching a video on youtube the are both draining international bandwidth and giving nothing back locally.

I think you can't ask people to change their habuts in this way, as they probably still arent getting the speed they're paying for evn if they are hogging all the bandwidth. I think a better solution is have the ISP charge extra for excessixe use till these folks decide it's cheaper to buy the ripoff DVD than dowload the ripoff internet file.

I agree that the most practical answer is variable pricing although that is certainly not the only problem in the mix.

Elsewhere someone wrote that there are some legitimate uses for BitTorrent and its cousins. Perhaps there are, but I rather doubt that that is a realistic assessment of their use (and I look forward to kudos on that understatement!).

What I was simply pointing out is that there is indeed a problem, and as I read the news, ISPs are (fairly or unfairly) often pointing the finger at the "hogs." That isn't the only problem by far the way usage is skyrocketing, but consider some simple inconvenient facts (from a simple user's point of view):

1. It is much more difficult to get a decent (usually uploaded; sometimes downloaded) Skype connection these days;

2. iChat and AOL AIM are among several look-and-chat capabilities that are often degraded to two-cans-on-a-string communication;

3. All but quick patches to operating systems become onerous to download --- and I don't have to deal often with Microsoft (which is a whole other issue!);

4. Email can take donkey's years to upload.

A larger problem --- in my view --- is the "bells and whistles effect." That is, the tendency of web site developers to totally overdo graphics and interactive functions. When "cloud capability" becomes de rigeur, I shudder at the effect upon "56k" users, like the government schools of Thailand.

I ask politely that hogs back off! It is rather like using a "party line" in the old days of using a telephone. Not certain how "party line" translates. It simply means that you shared a line with other households in the neighborhood. You could literally hear and break into some neighbor's conversation on your party line! There had to be some civility among those sharing a party line and there was, in my experience. Well, it is a new day with new technology. I just hope that civility has not gone out of fashion.

Would you kindly please stop checking your email?. I noticed a torrent I was Downloading went from 204KB to 203KB and wasted a second of my precious time.

Dear "Thaihog" (who is the OP of the current "Downloaded Movie" thread on TV Chiang Mai Forum) and Friends,

Will you please stop hogging the Internet? I think there is promise that it will alleviate significantly a local Chiang Mai problem. I think many people in town have noticed significant drops in download and upload speeds lately regardless of ISP. I believe that part of it is a local problem.

First of all, let me tell you that I have the latest Intel Mac with more than adequate RAM and use Firefox with an add-on that eliminates some advertising and other unnecessary graphics trash that too many web sites unfortunately tend to use. I am not burdened by the bizarre security coding of Microsoft. That said, I would be grateful if internet hogs using BitTorrent and the like would stop downloading very large files, such as movies. There are truly inexpensive alternatives --- porn and blockbuster Hollywood files --- around town, especially when ripping off movies is concerned.

The problem, truly, is not just local. Wiring a country is a hugely expensive and time consuming task. And there are other problems: perhaps in part a Thai portal and distribution problem; occasionally (with Olympics demand, for example, it might be a regional distribution problem; and then, finally many will remember when traffic was choked for a while by trans-Pacific underseas coax cable breaks when happy birthday emails from here to Hawaii were being routed through Kazakistan and Egypt! But I do still think my problem (often as low as 5 – 15kps downloads --- which I could achieve easily before 1990!) is in large part local.

Talking about user habits, Internet "BitTorrent (and similar) Hogs" are certainly not the only problem. The increasing popularity of online interactive games and sites like "Facebook" is awesome. In Chiang Mai, just check out the number of motorbikes in front of the game parlours in the afternoon, let alone in the evening! Or, read the editorial in the current edition of Citylife! But BitTorrent and similar programs remain a serious problem. Truly, this sort of practice sucks up bandwidth, and it is very difficult for the infrastructure to keep up with such demands.

Many countries are getting into costing internet usage differently than it is costed at present. It turns out that only about 15% of internet users are "hogs." I think it is reasonable to charge by usage. What's odd about that?

Your thoughts?

I use GParted Live CD. http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php

Great for deleting, creating and resizing Partitions.

I have a partition on my pc that i created a while back. I thought when i reinstalled XP the last time i could just overwrite stuff automatically. But no. Anyway. I would like to get rid of the partition.(40 GIGS) 99% Free space. Not too arsed about whats on it(if anything) getting erased. But is there an easy FREE way to do this? Thanks in advance.

I can not argue that

Maybe they planned on Thaksin coming back.

That may have kicked things off, But there are several buildings that have been planned here since he was removed. I don't see any slow down until there is an actual crash.

All these buildings started being planned when Thaksin was in power and trying to make Chiang Mai a major center for tourism. Things really picked up here when he was in office. I bet they wish they had waited a little before investing their hard earned money.

Tilliamook is good and cheap, but regional, There are many companies like it making cheese in the US.

Tillamook Cheddar made in the U.S.A. is hard to beat. Probably the only product still made in the U.S.

And on the eight day the Lord invented Tax write offs.

I just cant see that anyone, indigineous or not would operate and run a loss making business. Please back up your theory by naming these altruistic ventures so I can abuse their munificence. Perhaps theyll pay me just to keep these people busy.

I am confused.. at what point do I go to the Dukes?.

Even better still ................

Get the BLT to go, pop into Gecko Books and pick up something decent to read and then retire to Tuskers for a nice pint and a relaxing afternoon.

If you are already using Open DNS then it would definitely not be a DNS issue. unless you need to flush your local cache. Can you ping the google sites that are timming out?

I would try going through an OpenDNS DNS server

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

That may help determine if CAT is having DNS problems with Google.

I have had a very weird experience with Google over the past 4-5 days.

Most of the time google.com or any of its aliases like google.co.th are not returning any data. Websites that require data from google time out. ThaiVisa is one of them. Apparently media.thaivisa.com link to googleadds or something.

google.com and google.co.th respond to pings and i can traceroute to the host.

I haven't noticed any other domains or hosts not accessable, so I am really puzzled here.

Every once in a while google then respond and I am able to get the front page, search and browse them for some time (1 hour or so), then it goes back to not accessable again.

On my other connections TOT and TT&T this isn't an issue at all.

Give me your best shot guys as I am clueless to this. I am 99.9999% sure it is related to the CAT network.

I strongly doubt this is a DNS issue. I am using OpenDNS already, but have tried CATs own DNS and it is still the same.

I would try going through an OpenDNS DNS server

208.67.222.222

208.67.220.220

That may help determine if CAT is having DNS problems with Google.

I have had a very weird experience with Google over the past 4-5 days.

Most of the time google.com or any of its aliases like google.co.th are not returning any data. Websites that require data from google time out. ThaiVisa is one of them. Apparently media.thaivisa.com link to googleadds or something.

google.com and google.co.th respond to pings and i can traceroute to the host.

I haven't noticed any other domains or hosts not accessable, so I am really puzzled here.

Every once in a while google then respond and I am able to get the front page, search and browse them for some time (1 hour or so), then it goes back to not accessable again.

On my other connections TOT and TT&T this isn't an issue at all.

Give me your best shot guys as I am clueless to this. I am 99.9999% sure it is related to the CAT network.

The way to compete with those types is by providing a high level of service and if you have a brick and mortar place make it nice looking and welcoming. While I have noticed Thais have been getting better at the second item, they still fail miserably at the first. I find even at establishment where the owner and employees are friendly actual service is still quite lacking.

A few years ago I had started a small one man business, my only competition at the time where Thais who charged much less than I did. Even so I had many repeat customers and my business was quickly growing. I am sure I would still be successful if I had not been pulled out of that and into a more lucrative career My motto has always been, compete on price and you will lose, compete on service and you will have no peers.

My other motto being, will not work for rice.

-- Edit--

I should add that I realize the above is not the end all solution that guarantees a business success, but I do think it is one of the most important and easiest to address.

I do feel for an individual business owner who is struggling, but it is time for the heard to be thinned out a bit so the rest can prosper. This is all part of the ebb and flow of business

Normally, you would be correct, but Chiang Mai is so full of hobby businesses that constantly lose money, yet stay open, that it makes it impossible for normal rules to apply here. There are all the ones owned by rich Thais that just want something to do and farangs on a pension who want their wives to work - even if they lose money - and the ones owned by BGs who have a constant parade of fellows helping them out with the rent which is how they meet even more.

Thailand is a tough place to do business.

That is absolutely hilarious.

It is also worth noting that it is not legal to bring Playing Cards into Thailand.

Yeh, when I went through customs they were busting a people who got free cards from Thai Airlines and Silk Air on their flights.

That is exactly right. It is also worth noting that it is not legal to bring Playing Cards into Thailand.

Yes, it seems like I see them in every 7-11 I go into. I think they're relatively expensive, though. They have what looks like a tax seal on each pack, so I assume they're taxed pretty heavily. I think the justification for the high tax is because it's assumed that people will use them to gamble, so they must pay a "sin tax".

Yes, same here. If you change the language to Thai (still english audio) it is normal levels.

Anyone else have a problem with Star World's sound level?

It appears to be about 20% of the level it was - almost inaudible until I turn the volume to maximum.

This started yesterday.