Robbogeordie

The Gold Package test that I did included the PSA screen,but it is not listed as being included on this package on the website.

This package at McCormick includes the extra screening 4860 baht.

http://www.mccormick...eckup09-en.html

It includes PSA prostate cancer test.

McCormick Hospital is where I got mine done - 2540 baht.

http://www.mccormick...eckup03-en.html

Good attitude and nice story.

In the West it would have been a huge hassle - good to hear everything was done friendly and sorted quickly.

I had a similar experience when our bike was hit by a pickup.The police came and we loaded it on the vehicle that hit our bike.Drove to see our mechanic - he gave a verbal estimate and it was all agreed and sorted there and then.

You have to build up trust with Paypal,particularly so when it's a Thai Paypal account.

Kasikorn and Bangkok Bank are good for PP,don't know about the others.

What I'm saying is contrary to what most people say,but it's my logic anyways.

I've always left a balance of 1 - 2 months money in my PP Account - it's a quality signal to PP. If you just empty it out every time a deposit goes in there then of course PP are going to watch your account closely.

Granted PP are supposed to be a bit of a nightmare when things go awry,but if you're serious about taking money online then PP is essential and you have to try to look after your account like you would a bar of gold!

Nurture it along and it'll be good for you long term.

There's one place I found in Bangkok that takes amalgams out and their procedure seems better than others,but I've no idea what they are like.Just found them when I was surfing a while ago.

The pictures of the implants on their website put me off.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone's used them:

Thantakit International Dentist Bangkok

Some info and questions answered here for those interested :

John K. Char, DDS, DHM, PhD, LMT

Perhaps the reasons why the ADA have not given the truth about mercury amalgam fillings is because it and 95% of its members would be sued out of existence if they do.

Removed amalgam fillings are classified as an Envirinmentall Hazardous Substance and require extreme caution and the use of specialist toxic waste contractors for disposal. Why would amalgams be hazardous outside the mouth, but not inside?

Amalgams as mentioned have been linked to Alzheimers and auto immune illnesses... oh and also read up on health problems linked to root canal fillings,

Interesting video here:

Smoking Teeth Film

James,

Amalgam fillings should be removed following safety procedure protocols - be very careful and read up on it if you havn't done so already.

If a dentist only uses a mouth dam whilst removing them it is better than nothing,but nowhere near sufficient protection.

Huge amounts of mercury are released when these fillings are drilled and removed.There are protocols to safely remove them which protects yourself and the dentist.Agreed that the replacements are not brilliant either,but a lot better than mercury and if you go to an holistic dentist they use the safest materials and check compatibility with your body.

I can't find any dentist in Chiang Mai that removes amalgams safely,or really takes the issue seriously as most seem to be putting new amalgam fillings in peoples mouths.

Search holistic dentistry - Hal Huggins.

It's unbelievable that dentists have put mercury the second most toxic element in the world behind plutonium into our mouths next to our brains and told us it's safe because they've mixed it with a bit of silver!

Here's a place I found on my research with some info on the correct removal protocol (I'm thinking about going there myself to get mine done) - :

Amalgam Removal

I remember reading a couple of years ago that passwords in filezilla were stored in plain text xml file.Crikey it still hasn't been secured!

Warning: FileZilla FTP Passwords now Stored in Plaintext

WinScp is good free alternative and you can use SFTP

It's not free,but the one I use is Backup4all. It can encrypt,but I use Truecrypt instead.

Backup4all

If someone else put this software on YOUR computer it's a total identity theft toolkit.I wouldn't want this software near my machine.

Encrypt,backup and if you are worried... take out insurance on your laptop.

Scrub my last post - Post Office confirmed the weight restriction today.

This gets stranger the more I read.

We sent parcels yesterday from CM main Post Office - they were under 453gr,but when we asked about weight limit restrictions for parcels to US no-one had heard of this at all.

They checked for any instructions from Head Office and told us there wern't any.

Nothing about this on Thai Post website and they are still giving post estimates here for parcels to US over 453g.

For those of us with export businesses it's been tough - every year for the last 3 or 4 years there have been major obstacles thrown up. Be it Red shirts,Yellow shirts the rise and rise of the Thai Baht,World recession and now this.

To all those in similar positions to us it's good to remember that if you've got this far then this is just another issue to deal with, another obstacle thrown in the way,another stick wacked through the spokes of our wheels just as we had got back on the bike and started to ride again.

Keep resilient,innovative and profitable,downsize or whatever it takes.Hats off to ALL business owners (not just exporters) and remember that the personal qualities that enabled you to choose the route without the safety net will see you through.

Paypal account for 8 years - no problems.

Thai Paypal 3 years - no problems.

Used customer phone support last week for the first time and it was excellent.I even had an email a few days later from Paypal asking if things had been dealt with to my satisfaction and a questionnaire to rate their support employee in assisting me.

I remember reading that "Post by former Paypal employee" about 5 years ago and it was probably old then - Is the source verified?

I also leave money in my Paypal accounts,so I seem to be doing things wrong.

Must've just been lucky.

• Several dealers are known as idiots, check their reputation. I would recommend the Indian dealer at 126 Ratanakosin Road Tel. 053-233603 (from east moat to Tesco/flower market) just before first traffic lights off the moat, right side corner) The one just before is known as one of the idiots.

I would also recommend this place - the guys called Vinod Sachdev .I bought my truck off him 5 years ago - he keeps trying to sell me a new one when I say hello to him ,but it's still going strong so I'm keeping it!

He couldn't have been more helpful. His cars are usually priced a bit higher than average,but if you look at the quality of them on his forecourt compared to elsewhere you can see why.

I used the old adage when I was looking:

Rough people = Rough cars = Avoid Most of the places I visited fitted this description - Vinod's was like an oasis.

I speak only from my experience and a pal that also bought off him who was also very pleased.

We havn't found a satisfactory solution either.

Https almost dead up here in Chiang Mai.

They are doing it again,for me at least.Up in Chiang Mai.

Https pages either don't load at all,timeout,or take 10 minutes for 1 page.

Helpline not answering.

Just to confirm here in Chiang Mai 3bb/Maxnet has no https access all day.

Helpline don't know what an https page is.

I'm not bothered about the software on my computer - I am bothered about protecting my Data and preventing someone I don't know getting access to it.

To address the OP question "Can You Sleep At Night Knowing the repair guy is looking at your Personal Stuff" - Yes I can and no he can't.

My Requirements:

A. Security of my data - At home,when travelling,or in the repair shop,

B. Good data backup system,so that if the worst happened I have a recent backup - not a month old one!

C. Portability/transferability of my data to USBs,laptop etc whilst maintaining security.

Nothing's ever 100%, but this is part of the basic system I use,it's pretty crude,but it should work well for most normal users:

1. All my data is on a separate internal hard drive.The operating system and installed programmes are on another.You can then just pull the separate data drive out if you need to send the computer in to get fixed,or when you get a new computer just bolt it on!

2. All my data on hard drive/usb/external hard drive is encrypted with Truecrypt (Free - Open Source) and a very strong password - If the lappy was stolen,the USB stick fell out of my pocket, or the computer went in to get fixed no one can access the container with my data on - it's in a safe so to speak.

3. Backups - I use Backup4all- this software is commercial and costs about $50,but the backups it does can simply be copied and pasted and does not require their software to unpack it if you are using a full mirror backup of your data - It can be scheduled to run daily,or whenever and it mirrors all my data to an external hard drive showing the date of the backup and then checks the integrity of the copy.This is done when I'm sleeping and it switches the computer off when finished.

I have tried many programmes including this one for incremental/differential backups and find that NONE have worked correctly when I have checked the data,so be very,very careful if you use these features.For this reason I only ever use full mirror backups,it's also so much easier to restore then.

Note this is data that is backed up and not the operating system.I do about 60GBs each night - It takes a couple of hours and I alternate external hard drives,so that even if one broke I still have recent copies on other ones.

4. I use PortableApps - No registry entries,just copy it from your desktop to your usb,new laptop and there you have it,done.All your bookmarks,emails etc - a mobile office wherever you are.

Most things you need can be added to it - Firefox,Thunderbird,KeePass for all your passwords,Open Office,Xampp,Filezilla and many more.It is essential that this should also be locked in a Truecrypt container,so that if you lost your USB stick or whatever then no one could access your PortableApps, or data.

That's the basic system I use a few other things not mentioned,but it should be good enough to protect your data and get you up an running again should the worst happen.

Another topic could be on security of using wifi which in most cases is wide open.

Another thumbs down for 3BB.

TT&T Maxnet premier was excellent for me after I switched to them from the appalling TOT which never worked.Things were great for 2 years and then sadly 3BB came along ...everything about the service is worse ... slow,especially late PM onwards,or not working at all,call centre don't answer calls.

Also, seeing annoying posters everywhere promising 4 meg. We call them jute 4 meg ... 0.4 meg !

100% Export only company of Thai products and foreigners can own 99% of shares.Maybe 100%,but if you have Thai shareholders then you can't have it all!

To recover the VAT you will need to have your own Thai company.

Just to repeat - after reading your new post - Even if you transfer the money from your Paypal account and then withdraw it from your bank it is not yours if there is a dispute,or fraud.

This is 100% fact - Don't listen to anyone who says otherwise as they don't know what they're talking about.