micksterbs

Well done grantbkk....... you have just told the scammer that your email address is indeed an active address and you can be sure to receive more as he passes your address to all his mates.

The easiest way to deal with them is to ignore the message, tempting though it is to reply. You will eventually fall off his mailing list.

Well, yeah but it gave grantbkk a bit of a laugh, didn't it?

Micksterbs! You get it. I wrote the criminal a note back that had a humorous twist for some of us. I'm sure most of it will be lost on Mr. Adams but I thought it may make a couple of people smile here on TV. As far as Mr. Adams and his ilk having my email address, I have filters for that sort of thing and do not fear electronic persecution from semi educated thieves.

Cheers!

A lot of very serious people on here, mate.

We only have air-con in our bedroom which, at this time of year, runs whilst we sleep; setting at 24. Most of the year, we just have the bedroom windows open and use a fan. Winter, open and no fan. Lecky bill goes from around B450 with no air-con to B1300-ish with air-con. I lived in the Phils with no air-con and just couldn't sleep well in the hot, humid months.

We're quite fortunate where we are. It's only about tree times a week and then at the comparatively civilized time of 7.30 by which time we've been up an hour anyway. Starts with some morlam and matey waffles-on for about ten minutes, a bit more music and that's it. I ask TW what he actually says but she says she never listens anyway, so I'm no help there, I'm afraid.

However, if it really pisses you off, don't cut the lead; it's too easy for them to locate and repair, if they can be bothered, that is. Arm yourself with a really slim needle, push it through the speaker cable ensuring that it passes through both cores then cut each end of the needle flush with the outside of the cable. Finish off with a bit of dust/muck to cover your handiwork. It would take them ages to track that down...

Bloody 'ell! Give her a pat on the back from me, mate!

Well done grantbkk....... you have just told the scammer that your email address is indeed an active address and you can be sure to receive more as he passes your address to all his mates.

The easiest way to deal with them is to ignore the message, tempting though it is to reply. You will eventually fall off his mailing list.

Well, yeah but it gave grantbkk a bit of a laugh, didn't it?

Garro, I'm a bum-gun convert; Thailand's sole contribution to civilisation.

IMO, suspension on a road bike (or a mountain bike that is to be used on the road) is a complete waste of money, your own energy and it's also extra weight; every cyclist's enemy. A substantial amount of pedalling effort is sapped by suspension; it's only really necessary on downhill mountain biking or very bumpy terrain. The only time that I can think that I would use it on the road is if I were riding the Paris-Roubaix and I don't plan on doing that. My road racing days are long-gone.

But it stands to reason that, on a cheap bike, suspension means that corners will have been cut elsewhere. If you want a cheap bike for just knocking around town, go for a basic granny-shopper with one speed.

Deadliest road in Thailand?

That's easy: any road with a Thai driver using it...

As a dear friend of mine once said.....

"There's more than enough for any man at home - It's just some guys can't reach it"

Yes, I'll drink to that, GH. I messed-up my first marriage back in the '80s by being jack-the-lad. I tend to equate this with drunk-driving; you give in to temptation once, get your fingers burnt and tell yourself "Never again".

Staring is a very powerful indicator of the level of sophistication to which a society has elevated itself. Staring is inversely proportional to civilisation. The biggest starers in the world are the French and the Chinese. The biggest non-staring country is Japan.

I rest my case.

:-)

Yep, I agree. I tend not to notice the stares here after having lived in the Philippines for a while. There, you can be sat in a jeepney and all the people sat opposite will be staring straight at you, totally un-selfconsciously. Very off-putting.

I would also suggest that we're probably more used to seeing foreigners in the West, especially if one lives in a university town. Here, there's still a certain novelty in seeing someone from "outside".

Done it in the past and that was fun. Now I just can't be arsed. I'd rather celebrate by firing-up the barbie and retrieving something cold from the fridge.

Do you seriously believe that the majority of Thais have a better education than most Westerners!

Thailand has an education system in which in most instances failure is not an option and everyone passes regardless of ability! Most Thais do not go to international school!

I have checked my nieces and nephews English homework many times and flicked through the textbooks to find many incorrect answers ticked correct and good answers scored out!

If a supposedly well educated Thai like Ms Pavena believes that an aphrodisiac is turning women into raging nymphos then I call that deluded!

Are you one of these people that think that everything in Thailand is wonderful and they are beyond reproach?

Absolutely. Every so often, my Thai wife, who teaches at the local vocational college, brings home a new english textbook which they are proposing to buy for the new term. I don't know if Thai publishers know what proofreaders are, but you can bet your life that every page will have at least one basic mistake; sometimes as many as ten. And no, I'm not exagerrating. When you combine that with a typical (and I've witnessed this at her college; not my wife, I'm glad to say) approach of "Open your books at page fourteen and answer the questions" and then the "teacher" sits down and starts texting her BF, it's amazing that anyone learns anything here at all.

This same teacher, BTW, came to one of our BBQs a few months ago and I attempted to get her talking. She's not a shy person by any means but I soon discovered that her english was practically zero. I mean, she couldn't even construct a basic sentence and she's an english teacher. How do these people gain their degrees? Oh, and all her students passed their most recent exam, apparently.

As for the OP's question; yes, I believe some people can do that. I remember being in Crete in 1989 and we were walking up to a small square in Heraklion and we were approached by a waiter who wanted us to dine at his restaurant. Anyone who knows the Med will be familiar with this. We were pretty hungry and needed a beer so we agreed and sat down. After he'd taken our order and departed, we realised that he'd spoken english to us from the outset. And no, I don't now and didn't then have a shaven head, wear a football shirt or sport numerous, lurid tattoos. Our curiosity was aroused by this so we watched him in action whilst we had our lunch. He would walk up to couples and families and speak their language to them before they hed a chance to speak. We heard English, German and French and he was right every time. None of the people, to our eyes, gave themselves away too easily but he just knew straight away. It was a virtuoso performance.

E: Typo

Thanks for all the suggestions, everybody. I'll be getting at least one of the above.

I can answer your question about the wing mirrors. The young lads in Bangkok remove them because they think it will better the drag factor and make them go faster. It certainly makes them die faster!!!

Before I moved I lived in Sapansoong Bangkok. It is a muslim area and the local herd of cattle is an everyday site wandering up and down Krungtepkreetha Road or just hanging out chewing the cud at the local market. They have no sense of traffic rules (well they are Thai cattle) but you soon get used to it.

Also, quite often the mirrors are damaged in minor accidents or just if the bike gets knocked over outside the 7-11, etc. But they're not going to spend vital beer/lottery/ciggy money on a new mirror, are they? Anyway, the mirrors are hardly ever pointing at the traffic behind but aimed at the rider's face for checking make-up, hair, or for acne search-and-destroy missions while waiting at the traffic lights.

Yep, home with a fridgefull.

I don't know what I'd do if I witnessed something like that, I really don't. What a horrible way to meet your end.

R.I.P.

I would try my best to remember the license plate number of the truck, the general appearance of the truck...etc and then report to the police. That's what I'd do I guess.

Yes, that's exactly what I'd do but if you read the OP again, you'll see that the truck had no plates or markings.

Mate, you should count your blessings that she's reading at all. Or, for that matter, even interested in news and current affairs. Seems to me that a heck of a lot of Thais are more interested in the television and celebrity gossip. Ok, so it's a bit of a generalisation...

I don't know what I'd do if I witnessed something like that, I really don't. What a horrible way to meet your end.

R.I.P.

filipinas have bigger breasts!!

Now that is true!

Treason, are you sure?

I don't think he was the only one involved in this, probably acting on orders from somewhere, but not someting that can be discussed here.

Yep, with Prem as a go-between.

1. The company are charging what the market can stand.

2. You really like their product but can no longer justify the expense.

3. Such a shame.

Hmm. I wonder if he'd 'adder before the wedding night? That would account for the mother-in-law's venomous looks. Perhaps she should take an asperin.

In this day and age it may be a male snake ! puff adder maybe ?

Oooh, you're on form tonight...

Hmm. I wonder if he'd 'adder before the wedding night? That would account for the mother-in-law's venomous looks. Perhaps she should take an asperin.

Thanks for posting this, bingobongo. I was wondering what the latest was about this little <deleted>. I shouldn't be surprised to learn that there is no "latest". My wife advises me to be jaiyenyen about this and the system behind it as I tend to get a bit indignant on the Thai's behalf whenever I'm confronted by cases such as this. But I find it hard to be detached. I tend to think of "karma" and "face" as two excellent ways of maintaining the status-quo. Whilst such deeply engrained social forces are in evidence, I expect to see more cases like this and very little change for the better.

When "change for the better" occurs (ie; ordinary Thais ceasing to lick the boots that are kicking them), you might find that the things that you like about this place change too.

Oh yeah, kmart, I know what you mean. An adjustment here, a tweak there and who knows what the consequences might be in the years to come. But I find it very hard to just shrug and ignore such blatant inequality. We all know that if the perpetrator of the "vehicular homicide" had been Somchai in his old pick-up, his feet wouldn't have touched the ground. The media would have been full of stories of the declining morals in Thai society, he would have been paraded on TV so that everyone could see what a monster he was and he would have to take part in the usual re-enactment for the benefit of a prurient public.

Thanks for posting this, bingobongo. I was wondering what the latest was about this little <deleted>. I shouldn't be surprised to learn that there is no "latest". My wife advises me to be jaiyenyen about this and the system behind it as I tend to get a bit indignant on the Thai's behalf whenever I'm confronted by cases such as this. But I find it hard to be detached. I tend to think of "karma" and "face" as two excellent ways of maintaining the status-quo. Whilst such deeply engrained social forces are in evidence, I expect to see more cases like this and very little change for the better.