Head Snake

Hi All.

I need to travel to Thailand at short notice and was looking at the pages in my passport.

I have 4 empty pages, plenty enough room for the thai immigration at the airport passport control to stamp but upon exit last time some immigration officer placed a stamp on the last page.

Will this now make my passport full and if I fly with this passport risk being refused entry at BKK International or am I worrying unecessarily?

Thanks...Slippery

If you have problems getting in, tell them you plan to get additional pages from your Embassy while in Bangkok.

Once you are at your hotel, see if the concierge has the form for the extra pages and see if they can run your passport to the embassy for same day service.

The Conrad Hotel did that for me. I would think other hotels can.

Regarding the last pages on the back of the passport. Typically those are for amendments. Odd they put a stamp there. I also think most countries look at the back page first to see if there is any notes.

Would this be a good time to make paper birds?

What happened in '73? 92?

protests can be peaceful, ya know?? Perhaps I am naive; but, are people suggesting there will be a crackdown on the crackdown protest?

Thanks for the laugh. It sounds like you ladies are/had alot of fun.

That part about wooing a woman even though I have a wife

Thanks

You might be a thai redneck if you've EVER been hit with a flying banana .......either in a bar or..... at home.

You might be a thai redneck if you've ever been threatened with penal dislodgement ; but....., you do what you do anyway.

You might be a thai redneck if you've ever had a discussion about being a katoey..... as a career option.

You might be a thai redneck if you find yourself sleeping next to a water buffalo.... and an empty bottle of SangSom

You might be an international redneck if you view Totster's avatar and think... 1) really, who hasn't kissed or slept with Madonna?? 2) It sure looks like Britney wants more Madonna tongue

You might be a thai redneck if you serve your daughter's visiting falang boyfriend larb moo with one bright lime green tomatoe caterpillar that is still alive and moving. (true story)

if you spend all day asking farangs if they want a body massage, never specifying it would be from a lady.

if you ask farang if they want a taxi; but, no taxi is visible for 100 of yards.

if you still sit on a seat on the BTS with plenty of aunties and pregnant women forced to stand near you.

you like to drink your beer sitting in a group and you like to fight with the same group against any single person who pisses you off.

if you go to KFC for the air con.

if you ride the BTS for the air con.

I met a professional golfer in Jakarta yeasterday. After discussing the game, he bet me $100 the Pats would win. i asked 3 times" Are you sure you want to do this?" He said yes.

Its like I knew I was taking candy from a baby. If I am wrong, I will be shocked. $100 will be the least of my worries if my team loses.

Anyways, he is married to a beautiful woman. He introduced me to her sister. WOW!!!!

Saya Jatuh cinta!!!

GO Broncos!!!

The Football playoffs always get me worked up. Its good and its bad. I want the game to be on now but I don't want it to end. I don't want my team to lose. Here's to all the fans

And, I hope my team can do this tomorrow.

I've been to Simon's bar, the joop joop place. Its not a bad place. i thought the ambience was nice and not a typical b/g venue except for the walkthru leading up to the place. Its basically in the back of the hall. Another time I went, the A/C in the hall was in the fritz. It was hotter inside the place than outside.

I also like the Big Mango on the second floor of Nana. It has everything you would be looking for except the location is in Nana.

What about Boubon St?

I agree the sniff kiss is fantastic. Usually, I've got it to the side of my head - the sound and airrush on the neck feels great.

I like to vary it onto my gf by applying to the following areas:

1) the exposed wrist while carassing her hand

2) the exposed armpit ( a woman's pheronome source). Best while ya... you know.

3) pull the hair away from the back of her neck, massage the back of the head softly (more like playing with her hair with slight pressure to the head) and lay it deeply on her.

Is there any sports channels on the 15" black and white TV? Or, are we stuck watching endless streams of Korean soap operas and the Discovery Channel?

As AF is not shown too much in SEA, I've tried to enjoy a soccer game or two on TV. I'd say it ok to watch particularly some of those highly skilled individuals. I cringe at the theatrics - the "I'm dying" flops where suddenly the man makes a miraculous recovery after the penalty is called and the waterboy applys his medical assistance. Watching the weekly goal highlights is pretty exciting.

I like to watch NHL Hockey just as much as AF. Those, I thiink, are some of the best athletes based on games played per week and the amount of conditioning that must be needed - and the hits!! Or maybe that was 2 years ago.

AF on TV is better than watching live. Why? THe replays, the cheaper beer, not having to drive home after a couple of beers. They also have good commentary/analysis between plays.

Going to a AF game is fun if you are rooting for the home team or have decent support from other fans. Just the size of the players qualifies it as a freak show.

Although I've sometimes cringed at the amount of time between plays for AF football, I also realize after playing the game, that it takes time to regroup after going full speed and getting the stuffing knocked out fo you. Its amazing tho how faster the game is during the final minutes of the 4th quarter in a tight game.

I had back surgery because of my days playing american football (only big and fast enough to play to the High Schoool level) ; but thankfully, my knees are still good.

I believe most american football players all have a certain amount of post concussive syndrome. So, take it easy on us. That last point probably explains alot.

What does this have to do with getting a thai visa? I can line up at immigration queue then motion to the faster line with a crossbuck maneuver, utilizing a stiff arm to thwart would be queue competitors.

I found this article humorous. Enjoy - only for humor.

Taken from:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page...ge=gallo/060109

Please Kneel before Tom Brady

This column will start and end with the New England Patriots because it's the only respectful thing to do.

As you might have heard, Tom Brady claims the Patriots don't get enough respect. And I wholeheartedly agree. I mean, come on -- all the magazine covers, TV commercials, awards and constant media love the team has received over the past four years have been woefully inadequate.

That's why I want to share with you 12 simple steps I take each and every day to make sure I adequately show respect to Tom Brady and the Patriots. I hope you will incorporate them into your own daily schedule. (And it's 12 steps, of course, out of respect for Mr. Brady's uniform number.)

Twelve Ways You Can Better Respect Tom Brady and the Patriots

1. Genuflect whenever you say, read or hear the number 12. (That's four genuflections already this column. So do it. Do it! You don't want to disrespect Tom Brady, do you?! That's better.)

Tom Brady

All hail our hero, Tom Brady.

2. Refer to the current year as "Year 47," not 2006, as history did not truly begin until the Patriots organization was founded in 1960.

3. Take a life-size cardboard cutout of a New England Patriots player with you wherever you go. And be sure to include it in all of your conversations so it doesn't feel left out. It will speak back to you when you are worthy.

4. Shave clean every day. It is disrespectful of you to think you can pull off the sexy stubble look as well as Tom Brady.

5. After lovemaking, apologize to your partner for not being Tom Brady.

6. Boycott network television until every commercial features at least one member of the Patriots.

7. Petition the NFL to have all of Tom Brady's fumbles over his career stricken from the official league record book because of the tuck rule.

8. Never call it a "butt chin." It's a cleft chin. And know that gazing deep into Tom Brady's reveals the secrets of life.

9. Refuse to attend religious services until your local church/synagogue/mosque acknowledges the Patriots' playbook as a holy book on par with any other.

10. Have all of Bridget Moynahan's movies playing on a continuous loop on every television in your home. But never ever gawk or leer at her in a lustful manner. Tom Brady knows and sees all, and you will pay for such a transgression.

11. Every time you come across a baby goat, give it a long and passionate hug. Tom Brady would expect nothing less.

12. (Genuflect.) And finally, just to be safe, begin every sentence -- no matter what it's about -- with: "No disrespect to the Patriots intended, but …"

Headlines That Are Probably in Newspapers This Morning …

Pittsburgh: "Steel Curtain defense holds Carson Palmer to just one completion"

New York: "Distraught Tagliabue promises Giants 16 home games next season"

Tampa: "Laissez-faire upbringing likely to blame for Chris Simms' loss-clinching interception"

Seattle: "Seahawks shocked, overjoyed to escape first round"

Indianapolis: "Manning's miscues prove deadly in playoff loss … but it's not our Manning this time!"

Ten Things I Thought I Thought While Bathing in a Tub of Hot Coffee …

1. What an absolutely terrible break for Carson Palmer to go down like that. And I mean for me personally, because just last week I had retained him for next season in my fantasy football keeper league. Yes, yes -- it was also kind of bad for the Bengals, too. But at least they have a backup quarterback. I have nothing. And that's simply not fair.

2. After Bengals rookie receiver Chris Henry was told by the team's training staff Sunday that his injury would keep him out of the game, I wonder how long it took for him to ask someone: "So if we win and I end up being out for the rest of the season … uh, how do I ask this … does the league still test, you know, for drugs and stuff … like, for instance … marijuana, if you're on injured reserve? Not that it matters or anything. I'm just curious."

3. I am intrigued by all of the Eli Manning apologists saying: "Hey, don't forget, his brother Peyton lost his first playoff game, too." As though that's somehow supposed to make the guy feel better. It would make him feel better, perhaps, if Peyton's disappointing playoff debut had been followed by years of postseason dominance. But, if I remember correctly, that hasn't exactly happened. In fact -- and again, I might not be recalling this correctly -- but I believe Peyton has developed a bit of a reputation for the exact opposite of postseason dominance.

4. How many Giants players do you think were trying to persuade Lawrence Taylor to run from the sideline onto the field during the second half Sunday and take Eli out Theismann-style? I'll set the over-under at 12. (Genuflect.) And how much do you want to bet that Taylor came to the game only because he thought the Panthers' cheerleaders traveled with the team?

5. Regardless, if you're a Giants fan and a Madden Football gamer, you might want to look into purchasing a 60-inch HD plasma screen if you have any hope of seeing Eli's passing cone when Madden '07 comes out.

Jerome Bettis

Look at the big guy go!

6. Speaking of HD, that technology was made for moments such as the up-close, slow-motion replay of Jerome Bettis' 25-yard run down the right sideline in the fourth quarter yesterday. With regular TV, you could see his stomach fat jiggling. But in HD, you could actually see each fiber of his jersey screaming out and begging for mercy. It was stunning.

7. You have to wonder whether Pittsburgh's game plan prep for the Colts will be hurt by assistants Russ Grimm and Ken Whisenhunt interviewing this week for some open head coaching jobs. And you also have to wonder why any teams are even considering the clean-shaven Whisenhunt when Grimm already has the requisite head coach porn 'stache.

8. Fantastic new commercial for the NFL Network, the one about "getting your story straight" for the playoffs in which a fan in the preseason says: "Man, that Drew Rosenhaus … that guy knows how to manage his athletes." I can only hope that commercial aired while Terrell Owens and Rosenhaus were watching a game together this weekend. It would have been the greatest awkward silence of all time -- broken finally after a few minutes by Rosenhaus' screams from Owens beating him to death with his cell phone.

9. In all seriousness, I don't actually think Tom Brady believes the Patriots aren't respected. He's not stupid. But he uses the "no respect" line all the time because it still -- somehow -- fires up his teammates. Which makes me wonder -- if the Patriots actually believe they aren't respected by the media, they might be the dumbest collection of human beings known to man. Good football players, yes. But quite lacking in the intelligence and awareness department. That said, I might even root for them to win another ring because I know how important shiny, sparkly things are to those with lower IQs.

10. Just because I feel as though it has been a bit too long since I paid my respects: 12. (Genuflect.)

Divisional Round Previews …

Last week in this space, I not only predicted the winners of all four wild-card games correctly but nailed each of them against the spread. So, I thought I might as well try to luck out again.

Washington at Seattle

The Seahawks go up early, 17-3, and can extend their lead with a fourth-and-1 on the final play of the first half, but Shaun Alexander is stopped short of the goal line by a huge Sean Taylor loogie. Joe Gibbs' halftime decision to turn play-calling duties over to Coach Janky Spanky gets Washington's offense rolling again in the second half, but it's too little, too late: Seattle 24, Washington 20.

New England at Denver

Before kickoff, Tom Brady accuses God of disrespecting the Patriots by not adequately oxygenating the thin Denver air to the level New England has grown accustomed to. When the final gun sounds, the poor Patriots are disrespected yet again. By the scoreboard. Broncos 30, Patriots 20. (That's right, I'm sticking with the Patriots/disrespect stuff. Hey, it's no more lame than Tom Brady doing it.)

Pittsburgh at Indianapolis

On the Colts' second play from scrimmage, Steelers defensive lineman Kimo von Oelhoffen hits Peyton Manning flush across his left knee with a metal chair. The move backfires for Pittsburgh, however, as knocking Peyton Manning out of a playoff game is about the last thing an opponent should want to do. Bill Cowher's decision to go for an onside kick after every touchdown doesn't help Pittsburgh's cause either. Colts 30, Steelers 23.

Carolina at Chicago

In a contest between two evenly matched teams, the Bears have the advantage because their style is better suited to cold conditions. But more so because they can nestle deep within Kyle Orton's neck beard for warmth between series. Bears 17, Panthers 16.

And finally, God bless the New England Patriots.

DJ Gallo is a regular contributor to ESPN The Magazine, as well as the founder and sole writer of the award-winning sports satire site SportsPickle.com. He also contributes headlines to "The Onion."

So it's fair to say the AFC championship will be between the Colts and the Pats.

In that case, let me inform my Broncos they need not bother to show up or maybe they just show up in sweats and scrimmage the Pats.

I truly hope the Pats aren't looking too far past the Broncos. Perhaps they should be arranging tee times if they are.

There are 3 playoff goals for the Broncos. And all the players know them.

1: Get a playoff victory. Denver has not won a playoff game since Elway left and we had the back to back Super Bowl wins

2: Beat the Colts. 2 straight years the Broncos got their a$$es kicked in that dome.

3: Super Bowl win. That goes without saying.

Of note: the Browns Dline that we acquired in the offseason are looking forward to all the challenges for some REDEMPTION.

Leaders on the Bronco defensive team: Champ Bailey, John Lynch, and Al Wilson.

Leaders on the Broncos Offensive team: Jake " The mistake" Plummer, Rod Smith (UFA with HOF numbers), the O line with "The Marine" at running back.

Both NE and Denver have strong team leadership. I think Denver is more hungry though this year.

Light reading for AFC fans.

Sloppy play didn't hurt the Patriots ... this timeBy Michael Smith

ESPN.com

Archive

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- With a 28-3 wild-card win over Jacksonville on Saturday night, Tom Brady (surely he would much prefer we say "the Patriots") improved his playoff record to 10-0, best ever. New England has won its last 10 postseason games, also an NFL record. That's 5-0 at home, 3-0 at neutral sites (also known as the Super Bowl), and 2-0 on the road (both at Pittsburgh in AFC title games, which, as Steelers fans know all to well, can be just like playing at home for visitors). Wherever, against whomever, however, you can't do anything else but respect (here you go, Tommy boy) what the Patriots have done over the past four years.

And yet after they were done dispatching the Jaguars -- whom most sane observers felt had little shot to end the run of dominance, anyway -- the Patriots expressed great respect for the task at hand. If the Bengals were to beat the Steelers on Sunday, then fourth-seeded New England would travel to Indianapolis for the divisional round. Should Pittsburgh knock off Cincinnati, the Patriots would head to Denver. Playoff history with the Colts aside, you're talking six one way and half a dozen the other. At 14-2 the Colts were the best team in football for the regular season, and at 13-3 the Broncos weren't far behind. The Patriots couldn't keep up with either the last time they played; Denver beat New England, 28-20 -- and it wasn't that close -- at Invesco Field at Mile High in Week 6, and three weeks later, Indianapolis reversed its Foxborough curse, 40-21, dropping the Patriots to 4-4.

A different kind of 4-and-4 marked the Patriots' win Saturday night. Try four sacks of Brady and four fumbles, two of which, had the Jags managed to recover, may have changed the complexion of the game. First, Jacksonville defensive end Reggie Hayward strip-sacked Brady in Patriots territory in the final minute of the first half. Had it actually been a turnover, perhaps the Jags could have turned it into points. Instead, New England went into the locker room ahead 7-3. On the Patriots' first possession of the second half, Mike Peterson forced a Ben Watson fumble inside Jacksonville's 10-yard line, and the ball got kicked around until Patriots wideout Andre' Davis fell on it at the 3 for a gain of 9 on what easily could have been a drive-killing turnover. Instead, the Patriots went ahead 14-3 on the next play on David Givens's touchdown catch.

Watson dropped what would have been a touchdown catch in the first quarter. Brady dropped a low shotgun snap in the first. In the third, Deion Branch broke free behind the Jags' last line but couldn't come up with the over-the-shoulder catch just short of the goal line.

The Patriots gained 118 yards on the ground, but their primary running back, Corey Dillon, was more a problem for the local media during the week than he was for the Jags on Saturday night -- 40 yards on 17 carries.

Here's the point: The margin of victory was wide, but the win was not impressive, particularly from an offensive standpoint. Frankly, the Patriots won this one thanks to a little luck; a tremendous individual effort by Watson on a third-quarter, 63-yard touchdown catch-and-run that, in the words of Bill Belichick, "really should have been probably a third-down stop"; and a great call by defensive coordinator Eric Mangini in the fourth quarter that put Asante Samuel in perfect position to pick off a Byron Leftwich pass and take it 73 yards for a touchdown.

Belichick told his team after the win that, now, they're even with the best teams in the league, Denver and Indy, as in they're with them in the second round. But a performance like Saturday night's, which was more than good enough against Jacksonville, won't cut it against either the Broncos or Colts. Play like that again, sloppy, and that record's going to be 10-1 after next week. And the Patriots know it.

"I don't think history matters a whole lot. I really don't," said Brady, who with three touchdown passes and no interceptions raised his career postseason TD-to-INT ratio to 14-3. "As a team we're going to need to play our best. We just can't afford some of the mistakes we had [saturday night]. If we don't play our most consistent brand of football, I don't care whether it's on the road or at home, we're not going to win."

Tight end Christian Fauria agreed, saying, "We need to play our best game of the year for either one of those teams. Both of them beat us up pretty good when we played them last time. I definitely think our best game is still out there. I don't think we've seen it yet. We've seen glimpses of it."

You won't see many efforts such as the one Willie McGinest put forth: a league-record 4½ sacks, giving him 16 career postseason sacks, also a record (sacks became an official statistic in 1982). McGinest led a defense that, despite playing without linebacker and leader Tedy Bruschi, kept Jacksonville out of the end zone, stopped 11 of 12 third-down conversions, and held Leftwich to a 61.1 passer rating in his return from a six-week layoff. New England's defense, we've got no problems with it. "Defense played terrific, as usual," Brady said.

When the Patriots play the Broncos, Denver usually gets the better of the matchup, having won three of the past four meetings, losing only a thriller with Danny Kanell at quarterback. And while New England has ended the Colts' season the past two years, there's a big difference between those Colts and this year's team -- specifically a defense, plus Indy will be at home this year. Based on Saturday night's uneven performance, if we had to rate New England's chances next week, we'd be inclined to say "no" to a win in Denver and "probably not" to a victory at Indianapolis.

But the Patriots are a better team than the one that went to Denver and fell behind 28-6 and the one the Colts trounced at Gillette Stadium two months ago.

"From a distance," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said of the Patriots' early-season struggles, "it appeared that several of their leaders stepped forward and just basically let it be known that it wasn't going to be the way it was going, that they were going to pull together and get it done. You could just see it kind of galvanize.

"They're playing good football now."

Yeah. Except that good won't be good enough in Denver or Indianapolis. The Patriots need to be great if they're going to make it 11 straight.

New England in Denver. Go Broncos!!

Do know how often a team has beaten Belichick the second time in a season after beating him in the first meeting?

no, and I consider that irrelevant. hehe It is widely accepted in Denver that the Broncos only played 2-1/2 quarters during that first game. They went into hibernation once they built a lead and almost lost the game.

I don't know if you've followed the Patriots this season, but, believe me, the team the Broncos beat bears little resemblance to the healthy team we'll be fielding next week.

I know the national media has really played up the Patriots and for good reason. They are a good team and a good story. Sure, injurys play a part of all games. I think Champ Bailey was injured when we last played you too. I'd say the Pats have been part of a 3 year media lovefest. The Broncos are flying under the radar. I'll take that as the Bronco games I've seen have shown me we Broncos don't fear the Pats.

The Broncos are a good team, and Denver is a tough place to play. But I believe the Pats will take them by at least a TD.

Disagreed. The Broncos are a good all around team. Expect them to play the full game this time.

New England in Denver. Go Broncos!!

Broncos vs. Redskins (If Brunell is healthy and on fire) or...

Broncos vs. The SeaChickens

Either way, the Broncos will win.

Bet the farm!!!!

Stayed sober tonight and tried to get to sleep by 10 pm. No such luck as I was staying at Marriott at Pattaya. Firework explosions from 8:30 pm to 1 AM. Oh well., Now I'm trying to get redrowsy.

Staying sober on New Year's is almost a tradition with me. A means to stay away from an opportunity to really get plastered. That and if I am not with friends, its not much fun. Ok, being with drunk half naked thai women is fun but you can get that any night without all the high-season tourist drunks.

wondering if you have any advice for me...? anything that bites wants to bite me! i can be sitting with a group of people and no-one gets bitten but me. mozzies seem to particularly like me. everyone (ex-pat) i speak to says that they've got used to it and now they don't react to the bites - but i seem to be getting worse with them. i'm wondering if i'm developing an allergy... any help to avoid getting bitten, or to ease/reduce the reaction when i am bitten would be appreciated!

Try Coconut juice or Coconut Oil.

I was once on a diet board discussing effects of eating coconut products. One of them was that persons who usually were bitten frequently now were not getting bitten. My friend and I (who both get bitten by mozzies) went golfing and decided to put this to the test. My friend did not think this would work. Before getting to the golf course in Indonesia, we stopped by the side of the road and drink a young coconut and the "skin".

We sweated the coconut out as we played and neither of us once got bitten on the course. We could see the mozzies get close to our skin and then immediately leave once they got close.

The guy lost it. Plain and simple.

Hey buddy, Instead of practicing carpentry on your wife, perhaps a more appropriate response would be, "Hey, maybe we should get divorced"

Perhaps this was said before and perhaps the lady told the man she would take all the money and make his life hel_l. Perhaps. But that is no reason to kill

I am soooo glad I divorced my wife and did not resort to murdering her even though she drove me nuts. I'm sure my ex is happy I didn't strangle her too. You can rebuild your money. Even 30 days in jail is 30 days too long without freedom.

I agree with most folks. It would be absolute torture to spend time in Thailand with a unattractive western wife. If the western woman nags too, that would be even a crueler hel_l.

Condolonces to the woman and her family

Either Tom Petty and the heartbreakers at Denver University Coliseum or Pretenders/Police show at Denver's Rainbow (before the term was gay) Gardens. I went for the Pretender's Hynde; but the Police were very remarkable just before the went large

No thanks on hairy yellow offer. westy. Hey how'd you know my other name?? avatar?

My post was only tongue in cheek. Not meant to offend you.

I guess we all have different strokes. Me, I woulda perused the man's offer.

CHeers