ballzafire

There was a recent topic concerning "foam pads" for a bed but I can't remember what board. Try doing a search.

You might also just consider investing in some noise-canceling earphones (like the Phillips variety) and use them during the noisier moments. About USD 100.

Good luck.

Chose your location very carefully, personally I would strongly advise against some of the northern cities during the early part of the year during the burning season.

Seconded.

anyone know an outlet that sells small domestic water distillers??

Why do you want a distiller ??.....A water filter is more than adequate and you can buy these a just about any Tesco's, Home Pro or Big C's

One good reason is that a distiller doesn't require the constant expense of filter changing. You get consistent quality, too.

Filters begin clogging from day 1, so after a few months you may think you're drinking safe water, but, it is, in fact, coming closer and closer to tap quality all the time...

But, distillers require electricity, so there's a trade-off. They are also more expensive (but I've seen ones on Amazon that distill a gallon in a few hours that go for about 100 USD).

I've often wondered whether it would be economically feasible to set up one using relatively inexpensive LPG as the method of heating. That's something I might look into at some point, myself.

Anyone know about the scientific safety of drinking municipal tap water? Or where one could take some of it for testing?

While it may be safe to drink once it leaves the treatment plant, it may not be by the time it reaches your tap.

Be on the safe side and drink filtered water. Use tap for everything else.

There was a thread a while back discussing this where someone mentioned where you can bring a water sample to one of the universities or something where they would test it. But, why bother? After all, if the Thais are going to the trouble to filter tap water and then deliver it, that should tell you something...

I have a simple Hanna TDS1 meter I use to test water with. I discovered that my tap water had more than twice the dissolved solids as the filtered drinking water I buy. But what it doesn't tell you is what those dissolved solids are. That's the mystery you don't want to find out...

So, just drink bottled/filtered water and be safe.

Just curious... what kind of lock did you use? Did you secure it to something immovable?

If you used a standard bike lock (the ones with the circular-looking, tubular pin tumbler mechanism) keep in mind that those can be picked just as easily, if not faster, once you know how it's done (or if you've purchased the right tool through the internet, for example).

There are (unfortunately) all kinds of lock-picking 'how to' videos on the web now (mostly on youtube.com), and it would behoove everyone to set aside some time to watch some of these. I was shocked to learn just how unsecure most locks are, and the ONLY type of locks I use now are the harder-to-pick 'Abloy-like' mechanisms, such as the heavy-duty ISEO or ISON brands which are common in Thailand and can be found at Tesco, Big C, Carrefour, etc, and most hardware stores.

While you're at it, if you haven't already, invest in a cylinder cover (doorknob 'cup') with one of these abloy-like ISEO or ISON locks for both the front and back entrances to your house. Those simple cylinder locks (door-knob locks) are VERY easy to pick, as denoted in some of the videos (so, too, are the standard 'dead bolt'-type locks, unfortunately...) I always take one with me on the road and use it whenever possible. I'm sure it has deterred many a would-be thief (yes, hotel and guest house managers included....[ahem]) during my travels throughout SE Asia, where simple cylinder locks are standard fare...

I have instituted a permanent boycott of Thai Airways...

perhaps people should just stop eating all pate!

I agree. That stuff's bad for ya. Almost 100% fat.

yeah...so's cheese...mebbe should stop eatin' cheese as well...

On the contrary, cheese can contain upwards of 30 percent protein, whereas Paté de foie gras, for example (canned goose liver paté), is only about 3 percent protein with fat and cholesterol making up most of the rest. Not healthy, IMO.

Cheese certainly is somewhat fattening, too, but it's also nutritious. One can't say the same about paté.

Say, all this talk is making me hungry. Gotta go eat dinner now...LOL

Even tho I have image stabilization on my camera

Whoops. Missed that. Reading a bit too fast... LOL.

The new 'IS' -type cameras work great.

Life is like a breaking newsfeed...

You never know what you're going to read...

FWIW, upon the advice of others here, finally took the step of opening a K-Bank savings acct the other day. Process was smooth. Needed passport (of course), physical address, and 500B or so initial deposit (although I opened it with a bit more). Ordered and initialized VISA ATM debit card (300B first year, 200B each additional year) and Internet banking (no charge) at the same time. Did this while on a Tourist Visa, too.

I'm currently looking at SCB, too, and checking out some of their online and other interesting services not requiring a work permit.

Bangkok Bank? Who needs 'em...

Better to be stuck in a cool building full of food than a tiny cage w/ little to none, while sittin' in the hot sun to boot...

If there are no sactuaries near then take them to the nearest temple with a large bag of dried food.

That's exactly what I had done, after receiving the same advice. I understand that the monks actually like the cats because they keep the rodent population under control and they don't cause any fuss or 'noise pollution' (unlike with dogs, for example).

So, yeah, by all means don't just dump them anywhere. Find the nearest wat or two for their new home and definitely bring the largest bag of kitten chow you can afford with you as a courtesy....

^^

you'll have to face up to facts and realise you're the one whose been scammed

Correct. I've been scammed, you've been scammed, and so has the whole Western world, into seeing our tax money paid to crooks for a non-solution to a non-existent problem. Yes, global warming is man-made, almost completely man-made by the crooked "scientists" at CRU and related institutions, and as a result we've all been badly scammed. Thanks for reminding me....

Most assuredly a scam. But promulgated mainly by high-level NWO members and other subhumans to dupe the public into believing that a world tax on carbon emissions is needed for the survival of the planet. The reality is they just want to use this as an excuse to bring in global govt. That's the bottom line.

Keep in mind that global warming DID occur recently but it was due to the effects of the most recent solar maximum -- not humans. Now that there is a prolonged dearth of sunspots we are witnessing a SHARP reversal in global temps, even though CO2 levels are still rising. If you watched "The Great Global Warming Swindle" you would understand why this is occurring (i.e. that the oceans are continuing to release CO2 from warming that occurred some 800 years ago).

All this is established scientific fact and only the hard-core "human-induced climate change" knuckledragging, under-educated, overzealous environmental "activists" out there continue to refuse to see this as a possibility, all the while gleefully making references to biased scientific "findings" -- findings put forth by people who have a vested interest in keeping the scam going.

So, scam or no scam, there still seems to be a lot of people that absolutely want to continue to believe that global warming is continuing, probably because they or someone they know still depends upon the "business" of global warming for their livelihoods...

perhaps people should just stop eating all pate!

I agree. That stuff's bad for ya. Almost 100% fat.

It may work fine in the beginning but watch it degrade over time...

Thai ISPs almost always can't deliver with any consistency. It's part of their "business model"...

And the records keep dropping...

Record Lows - 2009

The latest from Spaceweather.com:

Nah. Absolutely NO relation to the current global COOLING trend we're seeing.

Nope. NONE at all...

Attention all you "human-induced climate change" troglodytes out there... are you listening?

I can hear your teeth chattering........

Some people believe breathing in Talcum powder can cause lung cancer.

That may be true, but I know that it gets into your lymph system and may accumulate there, which is not healthy. Stopped using it years ago...

Troll................

As I write this, my connection has inexplicably gone back to what appears to be 'normal' speed. It's as if the floodgates have been 'reopened' or something.

This is what I was talking about -- the "on again, off again" nature of the Thailand Internet beast.

Not crossing my fingers that things are fixed now, either. This is only a temporary reprieve. That I know...

(Package: Maxnet Premier)

See my recent post. My theory is that they are all cheating their subscribers by instituting "rolling bandwidth black outs" because their bandwidth is so oversubscribed to begin with.

Anything to boost earnings.

F'ing cheaters... Grrr....

Really, REALLY getting tired of the flaky internet here.

There is NO excuse for the constant slowdowns (less than dialup speeds, at times...) to outright multi-hour outages.

It's almost as if they have all oversubscribed their bandwidth then instituted some kind of "rolling bandwidth blackout" to make up for it.

Anybody else share my theory? For the record I have Maxnet (a.k.a "MaxNOT"!)

Grrr...

Life's a b_tch sometimes, aint it?

Give us a break, you braggart.

LOL!

And what is your educational background, if I may ask?