AyG

My top three (in no particular order):

- Puppets Who Kill

- The Ascent of Man

- The Daily Show

French, large part of Africa & Canada will be able to speak it.

Are you sure about that? In my experience in northern Africa it's only the older generation that still speaks some French. It's very similar in that respect to Vietnam - the younger generation is much more interested in English. There is also a sense of backlash against colonialism. And as for Canada, even educated people outside the French-speaking areas have very limited French (again, in my experience).

Portfolio allocation makes sure you don't put all your eggs in one basket - hence the topic.

Actually it is not really an issue- if you buy all your stocks and funds through one broker ( say etrade) and the broker goes bankrupt , they don't own your stocks and funds they are still in your name and will be transferred to u. The only problem is your cash deposited which are only covered upto 250000 us $ by FDIC.

What if there's been fraud? Your securities just aren't there?

There are have also been numerous cases in recent years of brokers not correctly segregating client assets. Barclays Capital was recently fined £1.1m for failing in this regard.

And even if there hasn't been any wrongdoing by the broker, you still probably face a delay of many months before you can get your hands on your assets.

Always keep enough liquid cash to hand to carry you through a few months. And don't rely solely on a single broker. (Personally I use four, with the reasoning that if I lose absolutely everything with one of them I'm not going to be destitute.) Each broker is in a different country (UK, Luxembourg, Singapore, Hong Kong) for a little extra security should one country become a basket case.

3. House of Cards, the original starring Ian Richardson. I have not seen the latest USA version starring Kevin Spacey yet.

Excellent series. In my opinion the US remake is actually better than the original.

Natura is produced by Aceitera General Deheza, an Argentinian company. On that basis, I'd believe you can probably trust the label.

The only really good moo baans I have seen around bkk have been sansiri ones and not so expensive either at 4-5 million, just as you describe, clean tidy with great upkeep and fairly quiet.

Sansiri maintains the moobaans well until they are complete. It then pulls out a few months later, handing over management to a third party. In my moobaan, that third party then tried to hike fees dramatically one year later. The residents refused, and it was then a challenge for the committee to find another company willing to run the place.

Sansiri also does nothing to control people extending their houses. My dining room window now looks out at a breezeblock wall from the neighbour's new garage. Some gardens have been completely built over, meaning that when it rains their driveway turns into a torrent running into the street.

Even with the better developers, there are going to be problems and nasty surprises.

If the OP's career is in Engineering, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend German.

However, for other careers it would be important to consider both the usefulness of the language to that career, as well as local competition. There may not be much point in learning a Chinese language for use in Thailand where there is already a large number of speakers.

I'm pleased the OP has only had positive experiences at Vejthani. My last experience there (I'm not going back) was made awful by the billing department. It's not much fun arguing that they had made a mistake with the bill by more than ten thousand Baht when you're very woozy after a general anaesthetic. (And yes, in the end they admitted I was right.) These days I tend to use Samitivej Srinakarin, which is fairly close by.

So many series start great and then trail off. Dexter certainly falls into that category, as does Doctor Who, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, House. In fact, pretty much any series I followed became a chore to watch towards the end. American TV channels in particular push series long past the point where they should be put down humanely.

By the way what is difference between a Mutual fund and a fixed income fund ?

Mutual fund refers to the structure. A fund manager takes money from a number of individuals and invests it, typically in equities (shares) and/or bonds.

A fixed income fund is a mutual fund that invests exclusively in bonds (and has a little bit of uninvested cash, too).

A HND is not a low quality qualification.

In many industries such as engineering it more valuable than a Degree.. a HND shows that you can "do the job" and not simply "talk the job"

I done the industry sponsored part time equivalent of the HND (Called a HNC)

With the HNC I was able to move straight onto a Masters Degree, so it is equivalent to a Bachelors Degree.

The issue may arise where the qualification is not too well known outside UK for example..

An HNC is not equivalent to an HND. It's a lower qualification. Typically (full time) an HNC takes one year, and HND two. And the assertion that an HNC (one year - A-levels not required) is equivalent to a Bachelors (typically good A-levels required, 3 year course) is frankly ludicrous.

I'm not attacking HNCs and HNDs. For less academically gifted individuals they can be an excellent choice. I just want people to be aware that these are vocational qualifications (and to be fair to the OP, this is very clear from his website) and are not a path to a good quality, academic degree.

So I guess there is no chance of rolling up to Oxford with one of these.

Oh, I don't know. Oxford Brookes University (formerly the Oxford School of Art) might be delighted. The OP's website is strangely coy about mentioning which British "universities" welcome its alumni with open arms.

Hallo perhaps I missed something but we have a Be1Rst card but we did not succeed in making any payments. We called the bank and they had no clue what we were talking about. Any advice on what to do to make our card work ?

Thank you

You need to be a bit more specific. What kind of payments?

If you are starting out with a few decades to go, I just don't think it matters much to worry about over/under valuations, Sharpe ratios, alpha, beta and all the rest.

Find an asset allocation, stick with it over the long term via regular contributions and re-balancing and get on with the rest of your life.

Dangerous advice. Think back to the late 1800s in America. Railroad stock was the investment to be in - and it wasn't even a bubble situation. The certificates now are largely worthless.

Later, most private portfolios were in government bonds - little or no equity exposure.

Then came the interest in equities.

For the last decade equity returns have been much poorer than in the past. Could it be that for years to come they will only average 2-3% a year, rather than the 10-12% that most of us are used to? Could there be another up-and-coming asset class that will replace it in popularity? Are equities dying?

I took it that SpokaneAl was advocating a diversified portfolio, so sure any one stock/bond in amongst hundreds if not thousands may underperform, but it will make little difference esp as the automatic rebalancing will have given a poor stock short shrift.

This isn't a question of one holding amongst many performing poorly. It's possible that the entire equity market has had its day. It's possible that America will disappear as a world power. In the long term everything is reduced to dust.

Over a period of decades it's important to be aware of long-term trends. Having a particular asset allocation model and rebalancing is a very good idea in the short term - but it needs to be kept under review.

If you are starting out with a few decades to go, I just don't think it matters much to worry about over/under valuations, Sharpe ratios, alpha, beta and all the rest.

Find an asset allocation, stick with it over the long term via regular contributions and re-balancing and get on with the rest of your life.

Dangerous advice. Think back to the late 1800s in America. Railroad stock was the investment to be in - and it wasn't even a bubble situation. The certificates now are largely worthless.

Later, most private portfolios were in government bonds - little or no equity exposure.

Then came the interest in equities.

For the last decade equity returns have been much poorer than in the past. Could it be that for years to come they will only average 2-3% a year, rather than the 10-12% that most of us are used to? Could there be another up-and-coming asset class that will replace it in popularity? Are equities dying?

No, it doesn't have your name on it (apart from your signature on the back, of course).

Yes, you can use it for online purchases. However, each time you use it there's an horrendous process of 'phoning the bank and navigating through multiple menus to get the necessary security code.

A word of caution: the quality of the chipped cards is terrible. The plastic lamination starts peeling off after a few months. Even with sticking it back in place, there's no way my card is going to last until its expiry date, so I'll have to pay to get a replacement (and then be very, very careful with it).

Undoubtedly the best brand of curry pastes sold in Tesco-Lotus (I'm assuming that's what you meant - not the UK supermarket) is the one that comes in small glass jars and costs about 45 Baht. It keeps well in the fridge after opening. That range of pastes is small, but does include a phanaeng paste.

A brand to avoid is Lobo. Their pastes are way too salty.

Thank you very much, AyG. That's excactly what the (removed )OP meant. Tesco-Lotus, indeed, not the UK branch. I am looking for the brand name of the jar in question now..

The brand name (je let) is only written in Thai script on the jar. That shouldn't be a problem, since it's the only brand of curry paste they stock that comes in a jar. It does have "PANANG CURRY PASTE" in English on the label, though, along with a picture of the curry.

Usually after biting they do not go too far. Catch the snake

... but only if there's no danger of getting bitten again.

A few good photographs is probably a better option. I believe close up (zoom'd) pictures of the head are particularly diagnostic.

According to the respective websites, the ingredients for the Thai version are:

68% tomato pulp concentrate
14.5% sugar
10% vinegar

(Not 100% - Other ingredients not listed. Same figures given on bottle.)

And for the US version (percentages not given):

Tomato concentrate from ripe red tomatoes
Distilled vinegar
High fructose corn syrup
Corn syrup
Salt
Spice
Onion powder
Natural flavouring

The British version:

Tomatoes (132g per 100g sauce)
Spirit vinegar
Sugar
Salt
Spice & Herb extracts (contain celery)
Spice

It would appear that the British version is not made from concentrate. (They used to advertise many years ago in the UK "not from concentrate" to position the sauce as superior to rivals.) The others clearly use concentrate. The British version also doesn't have onion powder.

The US version uses high fructose corn syrup, the other two use proper sugar.

Lets us get back to the topic then.

OP, phanaeng is very simple and easy to make, the main ingredients are curry paste, coconut milk, meat and vegetables of your choice, they are accessible throughout Thai market places.

Right, Can anyone recommend a curry paste which I can buy in Tesco for phanaeng?

Undoubtedly the best brand of curry pastes sold in Tesco-Lotus (I'm assuming that's what you meant - not the UK supermarket) is the one that comes in small glass jars and costs about 45 Baht. It keeps well in the fridge after opening. That range of pastes is small, but does include a phanaeng paste.

A brand to avoid is Lobo. Their pastes are way too salty.

A few points:

Pharmaceutical companies don't really spent a lot of money developing drugs (particularly new ones). They spend massive amounts on advertising to doctors to encourage them to prescribe their latest, most profitable offerings, which are usually simple tweaks on older drugs. The prices charged bear little relationship to the costs of development.

Very little money is put into developing new drugs for conditions that primarily affect people living in third world countries. Those markets simply aren't as profitable as the developed world. This means that a lot of development is focused on first world conditions such as obesity and high blood pressure.

The Thailand-United States Free Trade Agreement is currently being negotiated in extreme secrecy. It has been reported that one of the conditions of the agreement is that Thailand stop making drugs important for the health of Thai people (such as anti-HIV medication) that violate US pharmaceutical company patents.

In short, big business pharmaceuticals are all about profit, not about people's health, and the US government acts at their behest.