TallGuyJohninBKK

25 minutes ago, tonray said:

The Health Care revamp was all about 2018 and election promises than providing solutions. If the boobs would have just worked with the other side, all they need is less than 60% of each side of the aisle, leaving the extremists on both parties in the cold, where they should be. Centrist policy for all of America not just 50% of it is the way forward.

And yet, amid the collapse of their own legislation, Republican leaders in both Houses were showing no indication they planned to now attempt any bipartisan solution via working with the Democrats. It's their one horse, and they're apparently going to continue to ride it alone.

2 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

Denny's which certainly can be called a family restaurant serves beer and wine

The Carl's Jr. at Nana Square in BKK has a tap for beer and advertise it on site, so apparently they serve it there also.

Everything the Republicans in Congress have been talking about re health care reform was going to be WORSE for the average American than anything that's part of the current ACA system.

What's sad and amazing at the same time is that so many Republicans in the House, and almost half of the U.S. Senate, were very willing to boot tens of millions of Americans out of their current health insurance, and substantially raise premiums on the elderly and those with lower incomes.

It's because of the crazed anti-Obama propaganda from Fox News over the years and Trump and Co. more recently, perhaps with the help of the Russians, that so many Americans at least used to believe ACA was bad for the country. But now that things have gotten real, it's 2-to-1 in favor of ACA over what the Republicans were planning.

Wake up America, and start paying attention to what these proposed laws and regulations would actually do -- not what Trump and Co. and Fox are telling you they'll do. A wonderful health care plan with coverage for everyone????? Just another in the unending stream of B.S.

Quote

 

On the one hand some of his work has exhibited inappropriate behavior that may not be a suitable role model for Thai youth. However, if he were to atone for this and change his ways then a permit might be granted, pointed out Ranon.

 

 

 

I like the part where the Labor official is saying that the decision on whether to grant him a work permit will depend (at least in part) on whether his work serves as a good influence on Thai youth!!!

Maybe I missed it somewhere, but I don't recall that being any part of the criteria for eligibility for Thai work permits.

Aww....forget all that stuff about having Thai employees, paying taxes, submitting periodic accounting reports, etc etc...  What we REALLY want to see is, whether he's a good influence on Thai youth!

17 minutes ago, Roymac said:

You must have had a run of bad luck. I only buy SAMSUNG products and have had only good experiences. 

I gave up my S6 for a J7 because of its minimally larger screen and I dread the day I will need to change it !

My wife got a J7 thru AIS more than a year ago now, and it's worked perfectly fine for her ever since. I haven't heard any bigger/broader issues going on with that model, which is a good thing.

2 minutes ago, speedtripler said:

They have said that to me in the past too... 

Its hit and miss when you buy these devices 

 

Did you ever get any Samsung repair center here in Thailand to repair a non-Thai purchased Samsung phone?

If so, which repair center agreed to do so?

4 minutes ago, speedtripler said:

Most recently they  said additional surcharge of 500thb to work on a non Thai import phone

I had an older Samsung Galaxy phone from the U.S. that after some years developed a hardware problem, and so I took it to the Samsung repair center in FortuneTown. It wasn't under warranty anymore, and I knew that. I was perfectly willing to pay them if they'd just do the necessary repair for the phone, which I'm sure they could do -- it involved replacing the little metal SIM carrier cover.

They took one look at the model, said this wasn't purchased in Thailand (which it wasn't), and said they would not/could not service the model. Only Thailand bought Samsung phones, they said.

4 hours ago, kaorop said:

Shit 7 here, easily the worst ph ive ever had and then its also faulty,

The O/S updates have slowed it down considerably (which is how they insidiously "force" you to buy the new model)

this is not just a shitsung scam, crapple do it amongst many others

I think the quality control issue with mobile phones lately is not just with Samsung, but with lots of manufacturers. The constant turnover of hardware models, the constant changing of the underlying Android OS, the constant OS upgrades and security fixes, etc etc. often times seems to end up breaking things. Or models get pushed out the door without adequate quality control.

I had a budget smartphone from the U.S. die recently due to a swollen lithium ion battery, and so started shopping for a new phone via Amazon U.S.  Began to lock in on a Motorola Moto G4 as having a good price and the features I wanted.  And then began reading the Amazon reviews, and found a full 20% of buyers of that model were giving it the lowest 1 star rating, complaining of malfunctioning hardware and ghost touches taking over the screen. OK, pass on that.

Began looking at a different ASUS model phone again with good specs and a reasonable price. Began reading the comments on GSMArena. Pretty much everyone liked their phone originally, but then ASUS pushed out an Android 6.0 update that had many many owners complaining that the update literally killed the battery life on their phones and caused them to begin overheating... etc etc...

There's always a lot of review hype whenever new mobile phone models are released. But it's hard to find any particular model that gets consistently high satisfaction marks from its owners/buyers once they've been using it for awhile.  I just want a phone that works and doesn't cause me any grief, and that's not an easy device to find.

10 hours ago, alocacoc said:

Don't buy at Lazada. Easy as that.

I don't think the OP ever specified WHICH kind of Lazada purchase he made:

1. purchasing an item direct from Lazada itself, or

2. purchasing an item from one of the many 3rd party shops that sell on Lazada.

My guess is, the likelihood of getting a B grade mobile phone is going to be greater if buying from one of the 3rd party shops that sell there vs. buying a phone directly from Lazada itself.  Though, I don't know if Lazada itself is an authorized Samsung retailer.

Bottom line is, you want to buy from someplace where the manufacturer warranty is going to be honored, and where if you're paying for a NEW phone, you're really getting a NEW phone!

3 hours ago, Totster said:

That's not Lao Kao they are drinking.

 

totster :)

One bottle looks like Hong Thong whisky... Cheap and not great whisky, but not lao khao, AFAIK.

39 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

It is called meritocracy

Thailand has its own special version of meritocracy, unlike the meaning elsewhere.

Instead of meaning the most talented rise to the top, here apparently it more likely means people rise to the top based on "making merit" to those above them, either by payments, or groveling or whatever. Hence the Thailand meaning of "merit-ocracy."

Whenever I read news reports like this, about someone being passed over here in Thailand, I always wonder:

--Is it really because the person at hand is not up to snuff, and they really wanted to choose someone better.

--Or more likely, the person passed over didn't cozy up enough to the right people, didn't pay enough, or didn't pay his allegiance to whomever's in power at that time.

You read the OP article, and have no way of telling which is which.  After living here for some years, though, I'm always inclined to believe the reason is usually one of those in the 2nd category.

If the authorities kept choosing BETTER people for the jobs that need to be filled, then Thailand would be in a whole lot better place and position than it is, and things would function a lot better than they actually do. All in all, it's pretty dysfunctional.

2 hours ago, bamukloy said:

You are often signing all sorts of papers you cant even read

 

No rights, checked up on like a criminal and if marriage over or wife dies you are turfed out quicksmart

 

I'm married to a normal, every-day, feet on the ground Thai woman who works for a living in a regular job. So far, so good.

1. I'd never sign all sorts of papers I can't even read, not even for her. If need be, I'd have them translated by a professional service. Never yet had to do that, however.

2. I'm eligible for a marriage-based extension of stay. But I've never given up my retirement-based extension of stay for exactly those reasons. I qualify for the retirement extension based on my own situation, and it's not dependent on me continuing to be married and isn't going to disappear were my wife to pass away or if we ever were to divorce.

Interesting... in looking at Lazada this morning, I found:

--absolutely no Roku players (1 3rd party Roku 3 listing showing out of stock)

--yes Chromecasts in all the several iterations, including audio only

--a variety of Apple TV devices up thru gen 4

--several options for the international version of the Xiomi Mi Box, and sold only by 3rd parties showing just 1 item each in stock.

--One 3rd party listing each for the Amazon Fire TV stick and box, with both listed as out of stock, back in stock soon.

Lazada has a category for streaming media players under:

Electronics / Video / Media Players / Streaming Media Players

I have and sometimes use a Roku stick at home, though I prefer and use more the Amazon Fire TV box and sticks as my primary streaming tools.

Actually, though, I also have a new Roku Premiere +, which I bought at a good price in the U.S., because it has both HDR and 4K support -- unlike the Fire TV box right now that only has 4K support but no HDR support.  The Xiomi MiBox also supports 4K and HDR if I recall.

One good thing about Roku, unlike Apple, is they do a very good job of updating and refreshing the firmware on their older devices, so they don't become obsolete a year or two after you've bought them. But as SooKee points out above, no Kodi on Roku and not likely to find Thailand local services, since Roku has never been officially supported in Thailand.

Also keep in mind, the Thai government announced recently that it was making it illegal to import streaming media boxes that have not been licensed by the NBTC -- which at this point would seem to be every single major streaming box in the marketplace. What's going to happen with that decision, and whether it's going to be enforced or not, is anyone's guess.

On 4/15/2016 at 10:31 PM, JHolmesJr said:

Best way to get one is get it from amazon and to you via a service like borderlinx.

I would NOT use a service like Borderlinx to shop/send from the U.S. In looking at their info:

--From the U.S., they appear to ONLY offer DHL shipping, which means high prices and the certainty that your product will be dutied by Customs. I got a quote from them that has a price four times what you'd pay by using either of the services below.

Better services for something like that are Planet Express or Shipito.

6 hours ago, candide said:

The issue here is not that rotten rice may be sold for human consumption. The issue is that the rice sold as rotten may not be rotten. Two possible explanations come to mind. One is that it may allow the company buying the rice to make extra profits and give a cut to people involved in the deal. Another is that it contributes to the bad image of the rice scheme.

It makes sense to think that the PPT has connections in the rice business and may have got reliable information before raising this objection.

Yep, that's certainly possible...

But is there any actual evidence of that? And moreover, how long now has the unsold YL rice scam rice been sitting in warehouses since its original harvest??? Not exactly this year's crop anymore.

Meeting the parents, especially if they live in a different city hours away, is usually something you'd only want to do once you're relatively sure about someone and thinking about getting married.

If the Thai girl takes you to meet her parents out-of-town, that's what she's thinking about in terms of the purpose of the visit. If you're thinking the same, that's fine. If you're not ready to be thinking that yet, then politely suggest meeting the parents can wait till another time in the future.

Bringing the farang BF to meet the Thai parents here is not quite the same thing as a casual, polite social call visit might be in one's home country. At least the Thais don't think about it that way.

To be fair, got to give them credit for apparently finding those responsible, at least hands-on responsible, for this horrible massacre. Doesn't look like they just rounded up the nearest available misfortunates.

However, all the post-arrest commenting does leave a lot to be desired -- especially considering that the prosecution and sentencing is not their role, and add to that, the likely fact that the promised death sentences will probably never actually be carried out...

Unless the local socks vendor stops by and the CCTV repairman happens to be making his rounds. Or there's a sudden outbreak of blood infections in the detention facility where they're being housed.

I guess some people just get bored with drinking Thai tea all the time, and decide they want to have some hot chocolate for a change. That's, of course, after growing up on white milk...and outgrowing that habit.

You guys seem to be missing the point. According to The Nation article, most of the rice that the government has been selling lately has NOT been being sold for human consumption at higher prices, but instead, for animal feed and other purposes at lower prices.
 

Quote

 

The last inventory of 2.87 million tonnes has been in the process of being sold, consisting of 167,000 tonnes of rice for people’s consumption, 2.14 million tonnes for feedmill, and 568,000 tonnes for the energy sector.

 

Frankly, I'd rather they did NOT try to sell out old moldy, chemical infused rice at higher wholesale prices for that sub-par quality product to be bagged and passed along to consumers masquerading as decent rice.

Yes, the current government may be taking a loss on the current/recent sales, because they're left with tons and tons of old rice that really probably isn't largely fit for human consumption. So what other choice do they have other than to sell it at cut prices for animal feed and other non-human purposes?

If there's something wrong with all this, I'm not seeing what it is.

2 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

You could probably enter that address in a way to make it look like an apartment or work address....

CA taxes what they are might be a concern....Unknown.....

I had a couple of follow-up email exchanges tonight our time/this morning their time with Planet Express. They responded directly and quickly, much to my surprise and appreciation.

On the address issue, their support staff advised that it's fine to substitute something like "Suite" instead of "Mail Box" when addressing things to them, so long as you still use the proper "AXXXX" number for your box. So that's good.

I also asked if they had been "blacklisted" by any of the big retailers that somehow try to identify mailing house addresses and then refuse to ship to those addresses. Target and Walmart are among those that have done like that in the past. Their support staff said they didn't know of any major retailers that would NOT ship to their address. So, I'm planning to test that, and see if they're correct about that.

Both Target and Walmart pretty much would not ship to Shipito's address any time I tried to use it in the past.

I just signed up for a Planet Express account. It was relatively easy to do.

You create your email address and password for their account, and then they send a confirmation email you need to validate. As part of that process, you also fill out and have completed online a required USPS Form 1583 giving Planet Express permission to handle your mail. After that, you log back in and they ask you to pay some unspecified deposit amount in order to receive your shipping address with them. They accept both PayPal and Amazon Pay, which is nice.

I put a small deposit down thru Amazon, and everything went smoothly, and as soon as my deposit was credited, which just took a moment, the banner info for my online account with Planet Express suddenly showed my shipping address with them in the following format:

Account Holder Name
Mail Box #AXXXX
17224 S. Figueroa Street
Gardena, CA 90248, USA

The only question I'd have about them thus far is, that kind of address format sounds and appears a lot like a post office box address, and there are a lot of retailers/shippers who won't ship to what appear to be post office boxes.

Only a current customer with Planet Express would be able to advise whether the address format issue has been a problem with any of the typical online retailers.

On the other hand, I also just now looked at Planet Express, and they do appear to have substantially better prices available than Shipito for 1, 2, 3, and 4 pound packages from the U.S. to Thailand -- which are the sizes I priced via the shipping calculator on their home page.

https://planetexpress.com/

I've never dealt with them, so I have no idea how reliable they are, or how they are to deal with. But in many respects they do appear to be imitating Shipito in a lot of their account pricing details. But their stated shipping rates are much lower.

Here are their rates for 1, 2, 3, and 4 pound packages -- which are significantly better than Shipito's $12 per pound average for their Economy Airmail service.

Planet Express 1 lbs. package U.S. to BKK -- 12x12x12 -- $50 value

Planet Express 2 lbs. package U.S. to BKK -- 12x12x12 -- $50 value

Planet Express 3 lbs. package U.S. to BKK -- 12x12x12 -- $50 value

Planet Express 4 lbs. package U.S. to BKK -- 12x12x12 -- $50 value