noise

When I had a new computer built last year, I went to several shops with my draft design and asked for recommendations. I got some, specific brand names, model numbers, etc.

I was in no hurry so I went home, did more research, and went back weeks later with a better, more intelligent design. But then the same shops said they now recommended different components.

Confused, I started asking questions and found out that they all were simply recommending the specific item they had on hand that day. They all said that if I was in no hurry, they could order anything sold in Thailand.

So I would say you have two options if you do not want to travel. Mail order from a good source like InvadeIT or select what you want and have a local shop order it for you.

Looks like a bronze keelback to me, also. I have had several in my yard.

Look for the sign below(men's barber). Usually a vertical sign, but not always, on its own stand on the curb infront of the shop.

My experience says 9 out of 10 of them will cut your hair the way you want for a price between 55 baht and 100 baht, depending upon location and how fancy the shop it.

Go to a shop catering to foreigners and/or in a mall and expect to pay 300 baht on up, end up with a hair dresser, not a barber, and be less than satisfied.

Thanks for that.

If I were to use a power exhaust vent, wouldn't the intake need to be at the lowest point rather than in the upper portion of the airspace, similar in concept to vented soffits, or do I misunderstand the design concept?

I would say the highest since hot air rises.

THIS MIGHT BE AN OPTION: I am thinking of installing a ceiling exhaust fan in the "trap door" attic access as the easiest and least invasive attempt to alleviate that heat build up. THEORY: It would pull hot air out of the 2nd floor while sucking in cool air from outside through the windows. And this air being pushed into the attic would push air out the soffits which, in my house, are all open.

While it may or may not create enough circulation to pull the hotest air from the roof peak(s), my assumption is it has to make a noticeable difference.

If it fails miserably, all I have to do is take in down and put up a new square piece of plywood.

I had a similar issue with True fiber optics and went into one of their main offices (in Chiangmai). They checked while I waited and said everything should be OK. But when I repeated I was not getting the speed I was paying for, they sent a tech to the house. He checked connections outside and checked my set up.

I am relating this to say True was responsive in trying to insure I got what I was paying for. Now in my case it turned out that I my PC was ether net cable connected to my separate router and not to my bridged cable modem. When connected to the modem, I got my program's speed.

This may be applicable for your situation: I was using TOT ADSL when True cable became available. TOT had treated me well for years, so I asked them if they could meet True's offer. TOT checked my line and said it could not give me more than 7Mbps down, the telephone wires and their hardware just could not provide more.

Prior to that, when I had performance problems, a TOT tech would come to the house and find corrosion problems on the pole on the street and correct that.

So you really need a check of your line and then a tech at the house to see where the problem might be if True says their end is OK.

I, too, am happy with the Chiangmai Ram dermatology clinic and they will refer patients to new oncology lab at Suan Dok with its new PET-CT scanner when warranted (i.e., when additional testing that exceeds Ram's capabilities is indicated .

Excellent info from Ocean268. And, yes, think about Thanyaburi Mac's suggestion.

Because I have returned a Kindle that way, I will add the recommendation make sure you also insure your item. If you expect to get some kind of refund from Amazon, you need the assurance you care covered in case something happens to the shipment.

If it's photos you are editing there is not much better than adobe photoshop or lightroom, with topaz and/or nik software plugins, Alien skin exposure 5 is also worthy.

Using FastStone tells me you are only doing minor processing of JPG photos. I agree with Rhythmworx with the added thought that those programs would be good if you want to expand your capabilities. It takes time and effort to use them effectively and are quite a bit different than the relatively minor adjustments available in FastStone. I would say they are really aimed at RAW files, not JPG, but they are great for JPGs also.

I would suggest googling phrases like "jpg photo processing programs" and "free jpg photoprograms". See what is out there. Win8 probably has its own photoviewer processor. And here are some free apps you would find by googling Win8 photo processing.

EDIT: I just reviewed my post and tried to open the image and it would not in 5 secs so I gave up. If that happens, I would just suggest the "Win8 photo processing" search again.

I suggest calling TOT and having the tech come back to the house and lead you through the set up. You need to set up user name and password to connect to your ISP (TOT) account.

You need to know how to access your modem/router and change settings. If you have wireless, you want to set up passwords and controls to prevent other from accessing your computer or just using some of your bandwidth. You do not want 100 of your closest friends and neighbors logging on to your open wireless router.

I use True fiber/cable, so a different company. But I called and complained about my 15Mbps program only giving me some 12 Mbps. The customer service gal called a tech and we had a 3 way conversation. The tech said 12 Mbps was not bad, but my reply was that was not what I was paying for, 80%. They sent a tech out, tweaks were made, I got my 15Mbps, pretty much world wide.

One of the tweaks was made to the fiber to cable junction box on the pole outside. If is possible that there is a problem out there.

I would say do not accept anything but the 20Mbps you are paying for. I used TOT ADSL for years and found them to be very coorperative in working any problems I had, including sending techs to the house when warranted. So I would expect you will find them willing to work with you.

P.S. These days, I still get 15 Mbps on speed test to BKK but only 11Mbps to the U.S.

I am confused by the question. I would say the market determines price when reselling, plus the condition of the condo, if there is a valid title. Unless you think a Thai/expat buyer would refuse to buy from an expat/Thai, why do you think the name on the title would affect the selling price ?

I will guess with high confidence that any router provided by any Thai ISP will be built to the 802.11g spec, which is not a bad one. And when you sign up as a new customer, your should get a new one. It will be OK, but it just will not be the best one now available for signal strenght and converage. You might consider either bringing a 802.11ac spec router with you, if you are coming from the U.S., say, or buying one here at a slightly higher price.

I would also suggest checking the other ISPs and seeing what all is available in your housing area. And look for fiber optic/cable service. My experience and that of my friends says that fiber/cable is peferrable, provides reliable speeds. ADSL lines are frequently old and more subect to speed fluctuations as when students are on line. Plus, the servers are old. When I got fiber, I gave my ADSL ISP (happened to be TOT) the chance to match the promises I got to switch to True fiber. TOT checked my line and admitted it would not handle more than 7Mbps down, and I would still be subject to the traffic fluctuations.

So, take some time, if you have not already, and not just sign up for whatever the last tenant had.

When I had ADSL and had problems, I got a tech to come to come to the house and test my equipment vs my contracted speeds/performance. A couple of times it turned out to be poor connections outside on the pole. The boxes for the phone line are not water proof, so the last couple of inches of wire were corroded. The tech cut 3 inches off, reconnected, and I was good for a couple of years.

I, too, have a modem and wireless router because I wanted better wireless coverage than the modem/router was providing. Turned off the wireless signal of the modem/router and hooked up the new wireless router.

I moved to fiber/cable and, after a while, was not getting my contract speeds (e.g., 12.5Mbps vice 15Mbps program). Tech came to the house made a few tweaks and told me to connect my PC to the modem, not the router. Speeds went up to full 15Mbps. I do not understand since the connection modem to router is the 100Mbps ether net cable, but it corrected the problem. If you are only connecting wireless, such hardwire connection does not apply.

But I would still recommend you get a TOT tech to come test your equipment and make recommendations.

If you are only wireless,

One year I had about 10 like photo 3 and then this year 2 two days in a row eating my smaller fish. Though mine were all solid grey colored vice the greenish color your photo 3 has. Otherwise, looked the same. I have no idea what their name is. Or where they came from.

I captured and released all of them to a small klong 100 meters away, assuming a more natural habitat with lots of little fish would be more attractive to them.

I agree with the bronze back relies. I have them showing up in my yard periodically but they have never gone into the pond. Maybe there are enough frogs and toads and lizards that they do not need to try for fish?

Try the Chiangmai Photography Group and the Lanna Photo Club

As with any extension for filing, automatic or requested, interest is charged beginning from April 15th.

Unless IRS Pub 54 has been revised recently, it says you have the automatic extension to file and pay. But when you do file, you must attach a note stating words to the effect OVERSEAS FILER. I help Thais with their taxes and filing and paying by June has been accepted by the IRS.

Yes you can deduct your wife and daughter on income tax as they have a SS number. I have been deducting my girlfriend for years using a ITN number. The ITN is used by people who have dependants living outside the US and they do not have a SS number and cannot obtain a SS number. When I applied for mine some years back at the IRS office the very helpful staff knew what I wanted and what forms to file.

You can claim a non citizen (even a girlfriend) living in their home country as a dependent on your taxes?? Are you filing and living abroad or is this even if you sent money?? What did you tell them at the IRS office? I'd like to find those forms.

I did not see a reply to this, so I will give you my input. I do not what the criteria is for identifying an adult as a dependent for an ITIN when there is no legal relationship. I do not that non-citizen in-laws living abroad can not be claimed.

However, spouses and children (adopted or not) do qualify for ITINs and are allowed to be used for filing jointly and getting deductions.

And that can be extrapolated to Thai widows, for example, drawing survivor benefits, filing yearly, getting personald deductions, etc.

It would also be interesting to hear (see) if anyone whose spouse does not now have and will never apply for citizenship (and a passport) believe that, in any way, it would be detrimental to their financial well being or what other reason they might have.

In other words, is anyone adamantally against their spouse having dual citizenship? If so, why?

The refrigerator repair man I had look at mine said the coolant is a closed system with no valves for checking pressure and/or refilling, adding that both of those would have to be done in the shop. Is that brand specific, mine being a Whirlpool side by side? Don't know.

Brazing a patch on the hole is one thing. If there are no refrigerant pressure/fill valves, you might want to take the brand and model particulars to the Niyom Panich appliance repair shop (say) and check with them before having an air conditioner technician work on a refrigerator.

I think I read somewhere (and can not find it today) that you have to have permanent residency before applying for citizenship. Extrapolating from that, I would think that if Chelsea qualified for residency, he would quality for citizenship depending, of course, on what ever additional requirements there may be. Investment & job may be required, but I would guess not based on the residency requirements.

FEES: Given the permanent resident application fee (see below), I would expect the citizenship fee would be more than 8,000 baht.

BUT WHAT DO I KNOW?

Here are quotes from the immigration web site about permanent residency which may be completely off subject. If so, moderators and others' comments will be welcomed additions to my limited knowledge. There are other requirements, of course, like length of marriage, police checks, etc.

Categories of application
1. Investment
2. Employment
3. Humanitarian reasons as follows:
3.1 Spouse:To provide patronage or to be under patronage of a Thai national spouse,
3.2 Child: To provide patronage or to be under patronage of a Thai national father or mother,
3.3 Father or mother: To provide patronage or to be under patronage of the applicant’s Thai national child,
3.4 Spouse: To provide patronage or to be under patronage of the applicant’s spouse who was granted with residential permit,
3.5 Child: To provide patronage or to be under patronage of the applicant’s father or mother who was granted with residential permit,
3.6 Father or mother: To provide patronage or to be under patronage of the applicant’s child who was granted with residential permit.
4. Expert,
5. Extra circumstances on a case by case basis

Foreign national applicant must hold a passport that bears a Non-Immigrant Visa and was granted with one-year visa extensions which reveal that up until the date of application submission, the applicant have been staying in the Kingdom for at least 3 consecutive years.

• For shared investment or special investment: 191,400.- Baht
• For employment or expert: 191,400.- Baht
• For foreigner married to Thai national: 95,700.- Baht
• For foreign head of family taking care of children of Thai nationality: 95,700.- Baht
• For spouse of foreign resident in the Kingdom: 95,700.- Baht
• For children of foreign resident in the Kingdom or of Thai nationals:
  • Underage: 95,700.- Baht
  • Adult: 191,400.- Baht
• For non-quota immigrants (original resident): 95,700.- Baht

It is a general Thai bank policy that many of us have run into. Doesn't matter if you are a Thai making a deposit of your check or a farang. You get the same answer.

I questioned Bangkok Bang via email on this and the home office reply said NO JOINT ACCTS was their policy.

But like NancyL says, sometimes if you persevere or know someone at your branch, you can get it done.

Yhe first time it happened to me wit CitiBank baht checks (and after BKK Bank said POLICY), I tried to email CitiBank with the question and go no reponse.

I gave up. Next time I get such a check, I will just open a separate account and link it to our joint account so I can transfer the funds on-line.

Good point, I should have gone to that link and read what was there.

I was not saying it could not happen. I was just saying I did not experience it and offered up my view of CClean. After reading the link, I see that since I use Win 7 and Win 8 had the problem, I really had nothing to offer.

I shall try to do my due diligence next time before posting.....maybe.....

I have been using it for years and never have had such a problem. CCleaner does not delete any extensions or plug ins in any of the browsers I have loaded. And looking at the options, I do not see any with which I could ask CCleaner to do so.

h90

I hope someone will say I am all wrong with what I am going to write.... which is how i understand a VPN works (note: very limited understanding, at that).

First, if simply going through your server in Germany would solve your speed problem, then you would not be considering a VPN to that server, you would not need one.

If your speeds "tank" at a certain time because of traffic, I do not see how adding a VPN will speed anything up. You still have the same route in and out of your house through your ISP. You are just inserting an encrypted tunnel from your machine to the server.

I have a VPN and I see a slight, just barely noticeable delay when I use it. Since I have fairly constant speeds all the time, the delary is noticeable. Back when I was on ADSL and a slower speed option, I could not see that slight delay during high traffic times because the local service was so slow to begin with.

So, my impression is no matter whether you use a VPN or not, you are constrained by in-country conditions.

Hi again,

There are 20 wires running from the tower but some are not being used as the villagers have ceased using the internet due to unable to pay the bills..

Cannot see a name of the service on the bill or otherwise, so can't help you there.

Yes we live in a fairly remote area about 22Km from the nearest town.

Have had this internet now for about 2 years and though had some problems in the past (this is after all TOT we are talking about) but never one like this.

I have a feeling that mobile calls are not affecting the internet as most of the people use AIS here and while the signal strength is reasonable it is never that good and some houses less than 100metres from the new tower get very bad signal strength down to one bar if outside in the garden, or zero if actually in the house. This has been the same for the 4 years i have lived here while the tower has only been put in about 2 years ago.

I am currently recording/downloading TV 5 programs from UKtv-asia and my speed is fluctuating betwen 35ooKBps and 7,000KBps. Again if I pause or stop recording some but not all of the programs then the speed drops back, so as I said before it seems something is limiting the amount of speed to a particular task.

I think you are correct it has something to do with the box on the tower but it does seem rather strange what is happening. I have the speed yet I don't have the speed if you can see what I mean.

I am having trouble following your explanations. Are you saying, for example, if you try to download 1 TV program it will download at 3.5Mbps but as you try to download more in parallel your speed goes up to 7Mbps?

Regardless, I take it TOT has never come out and checked (a) connection at tower and (b ) connection at your house? Back when I had ADSL and problems, they did that and ended up cutting off some 6 inches of wires because of corrosion. The connection improved.

I also found that by going into the office and asking the right questions (speaking Thai is mandatory to do this), between the clerk and an IT guy you might find that, being 22 km out of town with not that many customers for land lines any more, you are on some really old TOT H/W all along the run. But again, you have to, in a non-accusatory manner, ask the right probing questions, specially if the clerk is talking to the IT guy on the phone. The clerk probably is not computer savy.

I would suggest not deciding upon cost alone. Try to find out if you will have a dedicated line or sharing with everyone else in the building. And then ask about H/W outside. You might decide it would be worth getting your own dedicated service, whether ADSL or fiber optics/cable.

My neighbor moved into a new house close to a year after I moved in. I had 2 TOT telephone lines, using 1 for ADSL. TOT gave him a telephone line but said their servers and local hardware could not support another ADSL to his house until they finished their upgrades in 4 months. They finished and he added the ADSL.

So ask lots of questions, be very specific, make sure you know exactly what you will be getting. You may be happier with a dedicated cable at the added expense.