jfchandler

To the OP, good luck venturing to Bumrungrad.... I've had experience there and also at BNH in Silom.

Thus far, I prefer BNH to Bumrungrad, mainly because Bummers appears to have a bit of a conveyor belt treatment attitude these days, in terms of rushing patients thru... The good news there is they're almost invariably always on-time for your appointment. The bad news is, you're lucky to spend 5 or 10 minutes with the outpatient doctor.

I think a lot depends on which doctor and department you go. I'm sure there are good and bad to be found in both places... But I've found BNH doctors seem to be better listeners, more willing to try to understand what's going on in your particular situation, and less inclined to deliver pro forma diagnoses...

I happen to be headed to BNH this week for two separate outpatient appointments with two doctors I've never seen before...catching up on some old medical business. So I'll be interested to see if they show me the same good practices I've had from others at BNH in the past.

A couple of thoughts here.... and thanks to Jing for posting this subject...

1. I'd never tell a U.S. credit card co. I'm living in Thailand, and I maintain a U.S. mailing address for that very purpose. Yes, it's possible that it might not matter for this or that individual card company. But as some posters above have mentioned, it's taking the risk of getting canceled or non-renewed particularly in the current environment. And, if you don't have to take that risk, why take it? Keep your U.S. address of record and don't invite hassles you don't need.

2. Despite the prevailing bad credit environment, as someone mentioned above, I too had an unsolicited balance increase lately from BofA on one of my cards with them. I rarely use the card, but I did put a largish balance on it one month and then paid it off a month or two later. A couple months after that with no further use of that card, my credit limit increase notification arrived in the mail. Still not using their card.

3. I have accumulated over the years, and now still keep, more credit cards than I ever use with a variety of card providers. In fact, I rarely use any at all, except for travel expenses when going back to, or staying in, the old USA. But I still keep the multiple cards with different card companies for a couple of reasons.

--a: It's good for your credit worthiness/credit score. A big factor in that is the amount of your available total credit compared to how much of that you have outstanding (revolving debt). The higher your available credit and the lower your used debt, the better off for your credit score. That's one reason financial experts always advise to never cancel existing credit cards, even if you're not much using them. Just keep them in the drawer, and let your available credit work to your advantage.

--b: the other reason to keep credit cards is flexibility, particularly if the credit tightening mentioned above starts getting very serious even for those with good credit histories. So if I have 6-8 credit cards, all in good standing, and if for some (usually bank-specific) reason one or two of them get canceled, I still have many left available to use. But certainly, you don't want to only have one or two available to you, and then happen to have that bank or two come along and cancel you... Then it's a big headache.

EVA from BKK to Los Angeles is good, especially if you're frequent flier with them. But even if not, if you book thru their web site and use their Hot Fares list there, it's usually close to the best price to be had anywhere. China Air usually can be found a bit cheaper, but I like EVA and their sterling safety record compared to China Air's less than sterling record.

The EVA flight from BKK to L.A. stops in Taiwan, usually just an hour or two layover and plane change... Just long enough to stretch the legs, grab a bite, relax before the long flight leg. Never had a bad flight with EVA, and most of their planes on this route are 777s, which are more comfortable and have better in-flight entertainment options compared with the older 747-400s that some others fly.

Thai Air used to have nonstop flights between BKK and L.A., but I believe those have been discontinued as of November. Thai Air usually also is more expensive than EVA...and service not usually as good.

I'm also going back to L.A. for Christmas...and just purchased my return ticket from EVA back here for New Years...

If you're considering the Honey Hotel, then I'd suggest the Royal Asia Lodge at the end of Soi 8 would be a better choice. You can book direct thru their web site or many of the hotel booking sites, usually around 1000 baht per night for a very nice, well kept room. But I haven't checked with them lately on todays prices, since I'm no longer a tourist here. It's good clean place with good service. Also a free 24 hour tuk tuk between the hotel and main Suk Road. Soi 8 comes out right at Nana BTS, which makes it very convenient for traveling. And if you don't take the hotel tuk tuk, it's still only a 5-10 minute walk from the hotel on a quiet, little trafficked street. Soi 8 also is about halfway between Nana and Cowboy, for those so inclined.

A little checking produced some surprises....

WaterPik apparently has an official distributor in Thailand.... it seems...

Thailand

Distributor Name CONICE ELECTRONIC CO LTD

Telephone No. 662 277 6912

Address NO.4 SOI VIBHAVADI RANGSIT 2; JUNCTION 2,

DIN-DANG, BANGKOK 10400, THAILAND

http://www.waterpik.com/distributors/inter...onal-users.html

Also, I see some other potential resources for this...

http://www.dentajoy.com/waterpik.asp

http://astore.amazon.com/waterpik-ultra-dental-water-jet-20

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-WATERPIK-ULT...%3A1|240%3A1318

http://www.allergybegone.com/waterpik-wp-6...-water-jet.html

All this from a Google search... You can follow these above, or look more for yourself.

I haven't seen one here yet, but haven't really been looking, since I brought mine (actually two, one to use and one as a reserve model just in case) from the U.S.

I simply use it/them with a small 300 baht, 100 watt capacity 110/220 voltage converter... Works fine.. no problems..

I'll take a look around when shopping and see if I spot any here, but I'm not optimistic based on the things I've typically seen in the stores here.

Alternatives would be to retrieve your one from the States, or order one and have it shipped here. I always used to buy my Water Pik units at Target stores, usually for around $30-$40. The model I use with the separately purchased Grossan tip is the WP-60W. Very durable and long-wearing...

OK, I have no idea what's going on...but contrary to True's schedule...

The early game they're showing at 1 am Monday BKK time is the Packers vs. the Vikings...

Who knows what the second game will be when the time comes....

Here, from the True online schedule, is their football schedule for Sunday night/Monday day Nov. 10 on True Sport 4....

Note the one-hour later BKK start times for the live game broadcasts due to the recent time change in the U.S. It looks like the True magazine this month only listed the games, but no mention of which teams were on tap...

BUFFALO BILLS @ NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (10-NOV-2008)

10-Nov-2008 01:00 am

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS (10-NOV-2008)

10-Nov-2008 04:15 am

BUFFALO BILLS @ NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (10-NOV-2008)

10-Nov-2008 18:30 pm

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS (10-NOV-2008)

10-Nov-2008 21:30 pm

The printed magazine says the initial games are midnight and 3:15 am, which clearly are wrong times because of the U.S. time change.

The magazine also lists the repeat times as 15:30 and 18:30 on Monday, which I presume also are wrong and that the online schedule is more up to date.... But I wouldn't guarantee it...knowing True.

About the subject of sinus irrigation, that seems to be one of the most universally accepted and recommended things to do...for anyone with sinus problems. And indeed, there are many ways of trying to accomplish that task. Generally, two or three times a day is recommended, usually using about 16 oz. or two cups of hot/warm water, with an added teaspoon of non-iodized salt and a pinch of baking soda mixed in.

The technique I have found to work best for me is one I found in the U.S....that involves using a standard electronic Water Pik device used for cleaning your teeth, combined with a different irrigator tip called a "Grossan" tip named after the sinus doc who invented it (a guy I still see in Los Angeles. (If anyone's interested, just do a Google search under Grossan and you'll find out about it). Basically, it's just like a Water Pik tip except it has a larger, rubber cone at the end designed to fit into the opening of one nostril.

You put the saline solution in the Water Pik device basin, place the tip of the irrigator up against your one side or your nose, and turn it on. The Water Pik machine then shoots the saline solution up into your sinuses on one side and then it naturally drains out on the other open side. Supposedly, the vibrating/pulsing action of the Water Pik unit does a better job of washing out the gunk from the inside of your sinuses. And having tried many different methods, I personally have found this to be true. Nothing else works as well for me.

No pain, no discomfort, it's actually something I've come to enjoy, and I know it helps keep my sinuses clear, because I can see the stuff that washes out in the water when I let it drain into a bucket on the floor below where I am sitting when I do this.

How is your nose after the operations JF?

Another thing I have used is a teapot with warm salt water. Over a basin tip head to one side and then pour the water thru the teapot into the high side nostril, water comes out the low side nostril and vice-a-versa. Then blow the nose, cleans the nose out very well. I use a 'Fess' bottle and there packet of salt/bicarb, which is similar to the teapot process.

JF's description of the operation to the nose sounds quite updated. My process, I had about 5 metres of cotton stuck up each nostril. I remember it coming out and thinking when is it going to stop.

About the surgery outcome, certainly the original surgery to correct the deviated septum did exactly what was intended -- corrected an anatomical flaw that I'd had for my whole life as best as I know -- that being a totally blocked sinus on one side due to a curvature inside my nose.

What the original surgery didn't adequately do was clear out the upper sinuses of all the accumulated junk that was clogging them up inside. Upon the second surgery about a year later with a different doctor, he showed me afterward a photo of all the "stuff" he had pulled out of my sinuses, and it was quite a tidy pile of mucus, etc...

As far as the general outcome is concerned, I think surgery is a clear call for cases of significantly deviated septum. To the best of my knowledge and understanding, nothing else except surgery is going to remedy that particular problem -- as was the case in my instance.

For other things, I think the longer term outcome on sinus surgery is mixed. Usually, it's SOMETHING that is causing the problem in your sinuses.... allergies, hereditary stuff, physically small sinus openings, or whatever. The surgery will open your sinuses and change the physical layout. But it won't necessarily solve allergies or other things that may be causing your problem. Surgery to open and clear the sinus cavities may make drainage more effective and efficient.

But it also disrupts the interior sinus tisssue and at least temporarily (maybe permanently) damages the muscosal lining of your sinuses. For things other than deviated septums or polyps or other anatomical corrections, I'd say sinus surgery would generally be considered the last resort -- after all other kinds of treatments have failed.

In my case, I had the surgeries, and while I felt better, I still didn't feel good and healthy. At one point, in the aftermath, a sinus doc suggested I go for a comprehensive round of allergy tests, which I'd had as a kid, and which showed I was allergic to dust, cat dander, weeds, etc etc. as I already knew.. But when I actually had the new tests as an adult, those showed I also had developed significant food allergies to wheat, barley malt, soy, and some other things -- of which I had no idea at the time.

In the ultimate irony for me, one of my sinus docs in Los Angeles had been telling me to avoid milk products because supposedly those contribute to sinus congestion. To this day, I can't figure whether that is a scientifically proven fact or not. But based on that advice, I'd been drinking and using soy milk instead for a couple of years, and feeling miserable all the while. And it turned out, based on allergy tests, that soy was one of the thing I had become most allergic to. And as soon as I ceased eating anything soy, a lot of my symptoms, including rashes on my skin, went away.

So overall, it was only after I then modified my diet to avoid those things I had tested allergic to that much -- but not all -- of the sinus symptoms began to lessen. To this day, I'm not entirely sure, but I believe the MANY repeated rounds of antibiotic treatments I had in the prior years trying to resolve sinus infections led to an overgrowth of something called candida, a kind of yeast that can cause serious food and other allergies. And frankly, western doctors are pretty clueless about this entire topic.

Having fought my way thru this over the past five years, I've of the opinion that most sinus doctors are pretty worthless. They most often only have two answers -- either prescribe antiobiotics in an attempt to cure the problem, or suggest you have sinus surgery -- which may or may not resolve your problem as mentioned above. Far to few seem to take any time or interest to get to the bottom of what actually is CAUSING the problem. And if they don't do that, then, chances are they're also not finding a solution.

Having gone thru it all, I think each person needs to take responsibility for their own health, and not just listen and accept the standard advice you will hear from doctors. If they recommend something, ask WHY they are recommending that. And how do they know that will solve your problem. And do they really know what is causing your problem. And if they say they do, ask, on what basis to they claim to know. Or are they just guessing.... Only by doing that are you likely going to have a good result.

If this is as it appears at present on the surface to be, gotta say, a pretty crafty move on the Brits part....

Would have been nasty/bad PR business trying to do anything while the couple were actually staying in Britain to get them out. But to punch their ticket, figuratively, while they're already out of the country, that would appear to make it nice and neat.

I read in the prior posts that T might be headed to the Phils for a meeting with some of his PPP chums... Who knows, maybe he will set up permanent residence there, how about Angeles City??? After all, when it comes to poor people, the Phils has more than its fair share... Certainly enough to keep Mr. T busy for a lifetime....

ConAir personal steamer...good for keeping sinuses moisturized...

To the OP, I'd offer my advice as something of a non-medical sinus expert, having fought this problem for the past five years and through three sinus surgeries in the U.S.... What fun....

Re sinus surgery, these days, with the advent of laser and/or endoscopic (meaning they do it inside your nose, as opposed to the old style of cutting an incision to get in) procedures, it's a pretty easy, non-major procedure. For each of the sinus surgeries I had in the U.S., they were all outpatient -- go in the in morning, have the procedure, and go home that afternoon. No complications, no serious after effects, even though all three were under full anesthesia (they put me out completely).

I had similar symptoms, significant deviated septum on one side and blocked/clogged up sinuses leading to repeat and unresolved sinus infections. The first surgery (the most substantial of the three because it involved making the most substantial physical changes inside my nose) solved the deviated septum, and I could breath clearly thru that side of my nose for the first time in my life.

That also involved them placing special cotton tubes up into my sinuses for a week or so during the healing time, which later were removed (pulled out...gently). That part probably was the worst of the whole experience, 5 minutes of uncomfortable wincing in the doctor's chair... But in the end, that surgery didn't do enough in cleaning out the upper reaches of my sinuses, so I had to go back a year and two later for additional work.

I don't know if they use the technology here, but in the U.S. they now have what they call computer-guided surgery. That involved going for a CT scan just prior to surgery, where they take imagery of your sinuses aligned with a special headset. They you go for surgery, and the surgeon uses the headset and CT imagery to guide the surgery as a means of being very precise in what areas they do.

About moisture, yes...absolutely, it's VERY important to keep your sinuses well moisturized. There are many ways to do that. One thing I do that works really well is as follows: go to the ladies section of a department or drug store, and get one of those (like Conair brand) electric facial steaming units (really just a small basin for boiling water to create steam and then a plastic tube/cone to fit over your nose and mouth or face area). Use that for 10 or 15 minutes, breathing in deeply thru your nose. Even better if you add 4 or 5 drops of some pure oil like eucalyptus, which helps clear any congestion.

A low-tech way to accomplish the same thing is to pour boiling water into a large pot or bowl, and then cover your head and the bowl with a towel, to keep the steam contained. But the electric unit is much nicer, and can just sit on the table in front of you while your do other things, as oppose to sitting for 10-15 minutes with a towel over your head. Likewise, especially in the hot and air conditioned climate here, drinking a lot of good, clean fluids (water, green tea, etc.) is important.

In terms of air con, one thing you could also consider is getting an electric humidifier and running it in your closed bedroom at night while you sleep. I've never done that, because of all the issues about keeping those units clean and sanitary, and filters and such. But I gather, these days, the manufacturers are getting much better about producing units that really are more low-maintenance than in the past.

Although I didn't have any sinus surgery in Thailand, I did run into one BKK sinus doc who does those surgeries at BNH Hospital on Convent Road near Silom with whom I have been particularly impressed.... He's really knowledgeable, considered, and a good diagnostician... If you want more info, just PM me.

Immigration to Go Paperless

Agency Plans Electronic Overhaul of Case-Management System

By Spencer S. Hsu

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, November 7, 2008; A17

The Bush administration has launched a major overhaul of the nation's immigration services agency, selecting an industry consortium led by IBM to reinvent how the government handles about 7 million applications each year for visas, citizenship and approval to work in the United States, officials announced yesterday.

If successful, the five-year, $500 million effort to convert U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' case-management system from paper-based to electronic could reduce backlogs and processing delays by at least 20 percent, and possibly more than 50 percent, people close to the project said. Those problems have long frustrated new Americans and other immigrants.

The new system would allow government agencies, from the Border Patrol to the FBI to the Labor Department, to access immigration records faster and more accurately. In combination with initiatives to link digital fingerprint scans to unique identification numbers, it would create a lifelong digital record for applicants. It also would eliminate the need for time- and labor-intensive filing and refiling of paper forms, which are stored at 200 locations in 70 million manila file folders.

Known internally as the transformation initiative, the long-awaited and much-delayed effort is considered a cornerstone of any broader effort to fix an immigration system considered one of the most broken bureaucracies in the federal government.

If Congress were to overhaul immigration laws, by creating a guest-worker program or allowing illegal immigrants to gain legal status, for example, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects it would have to make even greater changes. The agency suggested to potential contractors during last year's immigration debate that $3.5 billion worth of work might be required, officials said.

The case-management system "is going to transform the way USCIS and its predecessors have done business for the last 50 years, and the success or failure of this venture will determine the effectiveness" of any future immigration overhaul, said Prakash Khatri, a homeland security consultant at KPK Global Solutions. Khatri served as the immigration agency's ombudsman for the Department of Homeland Security from 2003 through February of this year.

Acting USCIS Director Jonathan "Jock" Scharfen announced that International Business Machines Corp. was selected over rivals CSC and Accenture to serve as a "solutions architect" for the $2.6 billion-a-year agency, which employs 10,700 government workers and 8,000 contractors at 200 locations nationwide.

The contract, awarded this week and the largest federal homeland security bid on the market, includes a $14.5 million, 90-day assessment period with options over five years worth $491.1 million.

The agency in a statement called the initial task order "just one of the building blocks of USCIS' overall transformation plan." That plan is being funded with the help of a summer 2007 fee increase on immigrant applicants, which freed up roughly $650 million over five years, said Scharfen's acting deputy, Mike Aytes.

Government investigators have reported that the agency's pre-computer-age paper filing system incurs $100 million a year in archiving, storage, retrieval and shipping costs; has led to the loss or misplacement of more than 100,000 files; and has contributed to backlogs and delays for millions of cases.

Modernization efforts, proposed in 1999, have been delayed by funding problems, inertia, post-Sept. 11 security demands and reorganization triggered by the creation of the Homeland Security Department. The department's inspector general in 2007 faulted the agency for being "entrenched in a cycle of continual planning, with little progress."

Analysts said USCIS moved carefully in the past two years to structure the project to avoid flaws that derailed other major Homeland Security contracts, including SBInet, a Customs and Border Protection effort with Boeing to build a "virtual" border fence using surveillance technology, and Deepwater, the Coast Guard's massive fleet-replacement effort with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

"We're proud of 2008 and the milestones we've met," Scharfen said in a statement. "But, much work remains."

(end)

Based on the photo above, it appears that an extremely high percentage (8 out of the 9) are complying and following the edict of the thread title. Perhaps it's related to their freshman status (white sneakers), but irregardless, it's a disheartening trend.

Actually, an ex-GF/uni student here explained it to me once, because I was back then, as a newbie, perplexed by the very different styles (lengths) of skirts worn by female university students -- ranging from the shortest of the short to the almost ankle length pleated variety.

During their freshman year, she explained, the ladies are required to wear the longer style skirts and forbidden to wear the other. But once they reach their second year, they are then free to wear the shorter styles, which most seem to do.

I knew her during her first and second years at university. And, I must say, the change of style starting with her sophomore year was much appreciated....

The Nachos Supreme (with meat, etc.) at Charley Brown's are particularly good and a very large, meal size portion.

Their margaritas are nicely prepared also, though they pretty much focus only on the traditional flavor...not much in the way of exotic alternatives...

Their menu isn't the largest/broadest in terms of many choices. But it's an amiable place and has prices more reasonable than Coyote by and large....

Only downside is, Charley Brown's is closed for lunch during the week, and only open for lunch hours during Sat and Sunday. Rest of the week, I think, they don't open until 5:30 pm or so....

You should be able to freeze them, and then thaw... But I'm not sure the best route for thawing, in terms of keeping good consistency....

Flour and corn tortillas are easy to find... I believe I've seen various versions of the "Mission" brand... And a local company, Danitas, also makes theirs.... Generally available in Villa markets and some of the other international oriented places around BKK...

a young english guy started getting aggressive and got in the guards face...

...the consul came out, the young guy and an old american with a big beard got right in his face also and were threatening him. the consul said they limit it to 350 visas a day.

I can't help but saying, this strikes me as pretty stupid behavior.... And people wonder why we (who are, after all, guests in this country) get grief sometimes from officialdom....or find ourselves hit with seemingly silly procedures.

In some cases, it's probably because they have for years been dealing with idiots like those described above who understand nothing about Thai etiquette or dealing with govt. officials.

Ventianne is one of the relatively few nearby local consulates that's reasonably friendly toward farang visas... So let's encourage that by going there and threatening the consul?????? :D

I'm on about this...

Thai Air = old planes, poor/uninterested service on intl flights, and excessively high prices compared to their competitors.

And, re fuel surcharges, I think the subject of the post was EVA and Thai... not Emirates... EVA, as much as I like them and fly them regularly, has not reduced their fuel surcharges at all even while the barrel price of oil has fallen by half... Is that supposed to be a good thing???

Wake up folks, all the airlines going broke were small niche market players.

Both EVA & Thai are professionally run and are the apple of the gov't eyes.. think Tourism.

So whats all the panic about. All this was happening when oil was $145 a barrel, yet this was offset by higher fuel surcharges anyway, and the talk was oil to hit $200. So that's what all the panic was about, and oil at 200 would have indeed caused major problems for airline.

It's now $65 a barrel. They will put strategies in place, so whats all the fuss about? Prices are coming down, and airlines will survive. I doubt the likes of Eva or Thai will have much trouble.

Now whether they can put bums on seats is another matter, so relax and book your tickets.

You have nothing to worry about

Based on your comments above, I would presume you don't fly very much...

1. Saying Thai Air is professionally run flies in the face on the airline's long history of miscues and problems.

2. Barrell oil prices certainly have come down... But I checked with EVA earlier this week, and at that time, their elevated fuel surcharges have remained unchanged, i.e., they have not reduced them all at (as yet) from when barrel oil prices were at their peak (about double what they are now).

So sure, go ahead, buy your ticket. You have nothing to worry about.... Except getting ripped off on your ticket price, or enduring yet another bad flight on Thai Air.

For their regular bread mix box, it works out to about $5 U.S. per loaf.

That's certainly high for regular bread, but not so high for specialized (GF) bread to be had in a foreign country.

Considering a $5 home-baked loaf lasts me a week or so, I much appreciate the variation from rice....

Lately I've been fixing my own rice soup varieties in the mornings.... But I can't eat rice morning (breakfast), noon (lunch) and night (dinner) every day (not quite that Thai yet!!!! ).

As I think you pointed out previously, there's something so good about a nicely toasted slice of homemade bread with your choice of butter/marg/etc. melting on top....

As promised above, I made a shopping trip today to the Carrefour store near On Nut BTS, and found an unexpected assortment of gluten-free baking riches....but still no GF pasta to be seen there. Turns out, the On Nut store had an even better GF selection/stocking than the Lad Phrao Carrefour store that I had visited lately...

All of their GF products at On Nut were pretty well stocked, not just one or two lone boxes. The baking section is toward the back of the store, just opposite the long rice display. See the photos and corresponding prices below.

Politics and nationalistic diatribes aside, all I know is this...

When I walked past the local exchange booth today, I saw the baht to U.S. dollar rate displayed at 34.6 to $1 -- which is, as best as I can recall, the best $ exchange rate of the past year at least????

Try the Mexican Sunrise salad... It's like the traditional tostada salad (except minus the fried corn tostada shell).

So it's your choice of meat or grilled veggies on top of a very generous bed of rice and the beans of your choice (frijoles, black beans, etc.), topped with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and other things as you choose...shredded cheese, sour cream, guac, etc...

It's quite a meal all by itself, especially via delivery, where the portion seems to be somewhat larger than the in-house version.

And, depending on how you order it prepared, it can be a pretty health menu choice as well...