noahvail

There are between 1-17 cases of bubonic plague each year in the US, generally in the western part. Up to four people per year die from it.

Compare that to rabies in the US, which kills only 2 people annually.

Scweppes has made a comeback in Udon. Both the ginger ale and tonic water are available in cans at Makro, the big Lotus on the way to Nong Bua, and the Villa Market.

BTW, Villa tells me they are working on closing up shop in Tukcom and reopening in UD Town.

No offence, but anyone who starts a "Let's talk about me" topic on a general discussion forum has some sort of issues.

It's funny that you keep mentioning 'issues' and demonstrating the same.

You keep pedalling around and around in circles with little or no effect. Will you ever give up? probably not. Does it matter? No.

Have a good day. Better luck next time.

Must be the tight fitting Lycra, ND

Reincarnated fool no doubt.

IMHO, anyone who starts a post with "No offence, but" and then follows that with an offensive, churlish remark, is demonstrating the signs of a troll who is new to his game. There is hope that he will grow out of it, in time.

Fugue state: An altered state of consciousness in which a person may move about purposely and even speak, but is not fully aware. A fugue state is usually a type of complex partial seizure. See: Seizure, complex partial.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=25505

If this is the case, I suspect it has happened before. In that case, traveling in a confined space without a care-giver could lead to any type of altercation. I assume he or his care-giver had a detailed letter from his medical doctor explaining his condition to the authorities.

On the other hand, compensation sounds like a pretty good hypothesis, perhaps coupled with deportation.

Wow, the censorship program automatically deletes F_F_S? Sheeit.

As a conneoissieur (with emphasis on the "sieur") of the written word, I sometimes find your posts to be acerbic, wielded with a rapier, to the point, and funny as all hell. Any sarcasm in your posts is to make a point or a mistake - in the former instance, delightful - in the latter instance, you apologize.

So, are you a trollish? Nah, just full of good banter usually stated as opinions or backed up with facts. If that's the definition of a troll, then 90% of us fall into that category <deleted>!

No quarantine?

Erlanger is a hub for i-Parcel, by far and away the worst courier I've dealt with. UPS bought them a while back, but they certainly don't work to UPS standards. I've experienced their lies as well. A couple of months ago, a package was sitting in BKK for over a week. I emailed them, and they emailed me back the next day with a fake Thailand Post tracking. But it arrived the same day, so I just blew it off.

Right now, their system says another parcel is sitting in customs for 8 days. I emailed after 4 days, got an immediate email back that they would check on it and get back to. Nothing since then.

The problem with Amazon is that if you don't buy a premium shipping, it's a crapshoot as to who the courier is. I made two separate orders from Amazon.co.uk on the same day, chose the same cheap shipping. One item got shipped by UPS and arrived at my house 4 days later; the other took a week to get to BKK and may still be sitting there 8 days later.

I understand your frustration.

Almost certainly settling on top of poorly compounded foundations. Have you seen the pavements and roads here?

Can you please explain a bit clearer what you mean by this statement.

During ground works if the ground is not compacted and/or doesn't have a decent ground water course then the weight of the building and/or the ground washing away will make the building settle. If you look at the pavements and roads here they are just placed on the surface or, at best, sand. This is why they disintegrate so quickly. Yes, it's cheaper in the beginning but the "whole life cost" is much more expensive.

Agreed. After 6 years here, I have yet to see a vibrating compactor. Not even in the building supply shops.

Artificial fish sauce is made out of what? Remember the artificial eggs made from gypsum and chemicals?

any more info on this?

i have come across boiled eggs which i considered to be fake. thats a perfect outer shell looking as best i could determine to be the genuine real thing, so was hesitant to call them fakes, but on the inside the difference is clearer, the eggs have a two tone same as real eggs but the yolk is not in a circle-oval but in a layer as though it has broken and sunk to the bottom. and then the taste is foul not fowl as you would expect. chemical foul. couldnt see how it would be worth their effort to fake eggs because they were being sold for even less than the real thing. must be a high production factory that is doing the faking.

result is i stopped buying any eggs that werent in a major retail chain, perhaps thats their motive?

next question would be who has the resources and motivation to do that? but TIT, so i wont ask it.

You've perfectly described the artificial eggs made in China. The factories were supposedly closed down a few months ago, but may well have started up again. The first clue is that the shells are just too perfect. And then it gets worse.

Reminds me of my younger days when fishmongers would sell scallops that were are perfect tubes of the same size. Turns out they were shark meat, which you could buy for a whole lot less then the artificial scallops. So we started buying shark steaks instead...hey, that was 50 years ago.

Has it been tested by a lab to see if it is dangerous to use.

No testing on animals, please. ?

I hope you guys realise that being a grumpy old man is merely a hobby and not a lifestyle choice for most of us. It takes years of refinement and often needs fortification by bouts of no fornification. (I'm copyrighting that word.) I was feeling quite spry on Friday and thinking of an evening of blissful dalliancing, when my daughter rang up and said she was coming down for the weekend. She's half Thai, but a full blown nag, and set the mood for a miserable weekend in which I could indulge my hobby of curmudgeonism. Sadly, I shall be happy again after I finish work tonight and can watch the Kiwis destroy the Kangaroos.

Re: kiwi, kangaroo comment. You bi t c h. 5555

Hey there ND, you be kind to my Kiwi compatriot or we shall have to have words after the Roos go down in flames

Hello CC,

I enjoyed laughing at you too....I mean with you at David or was it me we were laughing at ?

No that's right, it had to be the little hairy guy, Greek milking Costas.

Life's a bitch, then you marry one then you have one and then you die. You either laugh or you cry. Simple really.

Some people will never get it, sad to be them.

wise words!

I believe if TV had a sub forum "adults only" we could turn some of the above mentioned members into more happy( in the english meaning) people.

my favorite discussion would be the difference about pla ra and swallo....

sorry i am a naughty boy today...

I am laughing so much right now...too bad there's no emoticon SIMP - sh*ttin in my pants.

oh wait...that one's for David's thread.

Try charcoal tabs.

That's another no vote for me. Activated charcoal is what you give people who have ingested certain poisons, to make them vomit.

Prevention is best done by year-round consumption, I think. But you might try two tablespoons of honey before the meal. It's sugar, but it coats the stomach and intestinal walls longer than yoghurt, giving the chilis more time to get absorbed. It sounds counter-intuitive, but no more so than yoghurt.

Wish I could think of something funny to say to go along with the crowd. I didn't realize that farming made for thick skin so quickly

"As the cultured host of PBS long-running Masterpiece Theater, Alistair Cooke was an emblem of American taste and refinement. Since his death in 2004, Cooke has also become emblematic of a macabre and little-known market: Americas distinctly shady traffic in human remains. Unbeknownst to his family, Cookes bones were cut out before he was cremated and sold for $7,000 to two companies that prepare human tissue for transplant. Cookes fate was ghoulish in the extreme but what is even more disturbing is that it was not at all unusual."

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-billion-dollar-body-parts-industry-medical-research-alongside-greed-and-corruption-2/

Not knowing the circumstances beyond what the OP wrote, it sounds like his friend is up the proverbial creek. He will no doubt be giving out subconscious clues of his nervousness, making him a targeted profile for immigration. Depending on what kind of entry permit he'll be holding, he should carry 20,000 That baht in case immigration asks him to show proof of funds.

Prepaid cards are the way to go.

Good for you..even if he was drunk you tried to help. Well done

What he said /\. /\

Morphine and amphetamine tests for retirees? I would have thought that of all people applying for visas, retirees would be the least likely to test positive for these drugs.

What a complete and utter waste of time (everyone's) and resources.

Morphine and other opioids are illegal in Thailand except for post-op pain, so the docs tell me. If you're dealing with chronic pain, Paracetamol and Ibuptofen offer no help at all, nor does Tramadol. For me the only thing that stops the pain but doesn't slow the reflexes is Demerol, a semi-synthetic opioid, available only in syringes for immediate pre-op patients here.

There's the letter of the law, the spirit of the law, and selective enforcement of the law. I've had no opioids since I've been in Thailand, and I have gotten to the point of needing assistance with even small chores on most days. Still, it's worth the pain to be in somwhere warm all year with a wife who cares about me in peaceful surroundings.

100% not true. Anesthesiologists can prescribe morphine and other opioids if they see fit for chronic pain. Whoever told you this is simply wrong.......

Oncologists also routinely prescribe morphine for cancer patients...... Whether surgery is involved or not.

As for your statement being "the letter of the law" as you say...... Well..... Far from it.

By the way.... If you are in as much pain as you say and have trouble doing household chores.... I suggest you get to a new hospital and a new Dr right away so you can start getting the care and treatment you need.

I concur. You just need to find a doctor who gets it.

If you are want to solve it quickly, take your medical history documents and go to some of the big name hospitals in Bangkok which have 'Chronic Pain' specialists. Prescribing opiates is not illegal, but it is a class of drugs that is very highly restricted. And for which you should get a letter from your doctor saying that you have been prescribed these meds, in case you find yourself needing to explain this to police, or traveling abroad.

Thanks. With the info gleaned from this thread, that's the plan! Obviously, the 5 docs I've seen here either don't want to prescribe or don't want scripts to show up in audits. New plan, Chronic Pain Specialist!

Morphine and amphetamine tests for retirees? I would have thought that of all people applying for visas, retirees would be the least likely to test positive for these drugs.

What a complete and utter waste of time (everyone's) and resources.

Morphine and other opioids are illegal in Thailand except for post-op pain, so the docs tell me. If you're dealing with chronic pain, Paracetamol and Ibuptofen offer no help at all, nor does Tramadol. For me the only thing that stops the pain but doesn't slow the reflexes is Demerol, a semi-synthetic opioid, available only in syringes for immediate pre-op patients here.

There's the letter of the law, the spirit of the law, and selective enforcement of the law. I've had no opioids since I've been in Thailand, and I have gotten to the point of needing assistance with even small chores on most days. Still, it's worth the pain to be in somwhere warm all year with a wife who cares about me in peaceful surroundings.

Love your avatar and nickname! Have you tried Celebrex? Or Tylenol 3 or Tylenol for Arthritis....many Tylenol products (maybe not available in LoS).

How about methotrexate? Of no avail?!!

Post-op opioids are only available via prescription in most countries, yes?

Thanks for your kind words and suggestions. Yes, I've tried what I think are all of the standard painkillers. Fifteen years ago I had open heart surgery, causing a staff infection that led to the removal of 90% of my sternum. They weren't able to close the incision, just pack it, and see a plastic surgeon once a week to debrade the dead skin. It took 10 months to close on its own. I took Demerol because it took away the pain but didn't make me groggy. After a month, I asked about addiction. The surgeon's reply: Better to be addicted and out of pain till it heals - if you get addicted, we can deal with that later. At the end of nine months, I just stopped taking them, with no withdrawal. It's the one thing I know that works for me. I'm going to try to find a chronic pain specialist here who can prescribe something of sufficient strength to help.

And yes, of course you're right, one needs a prescription for such things. I'm not drug-seeking, I'm pain-relief seeking. I don't drink or take recreational pharmaceuticals - I want to stay in control of my thoughts and actions.

No apology necessary, it's a friendly board.

I don't think of it as jaded or cynical, just realistic. There is so much that I love about Thailand, but I'm aware of certain things that are not so nice. Pretty much like any country, but I feel more alive in Thailand :-)

Answer to first question: Google the history of Chalerm's son.

Answer to second question: See answer to the first question.

Answer. to third question: No.

Suggest you. learn a bit of Thai history over the past decade or two. With over 3,200 posts, you should have realized the irony and economy of words used.

Have a wonderful day!

Final Answer: If his son is Duang, then you have chosen a poor example to support your defense since he did not kill a police officer, which was clearly the point of my post.

Suggest you recognize that your years here have left you jaded and warped.

Cheers

One never knows the final answer in Thailand. But here's a quote that references a Time magazine news article on the subject: http://bangkokdave.blog.com/2012/08/07/chalerm-son-still-the-untouchables/

Last week, even jaded observers of Thailands corrupt and unscrupulous political scene were taken aback by the news that Duang Yubamrung, the son of Deputy PM Chalerm Yubamrung, had joined ranks of the Royal Thai Police (RTP) and, whats more, would serve as its sharp shooter. To anyone familiar with the history of these two men, the news was nothing short of surreal. The idea of Duang donning a police uniform and sharp shooting at something (or worse yet, at someone) is just so wrong on so many levels, you cant help but think its just a really bad joke.

Duangs previous experience with RTP and sharp shooting (of sorts) is widely known in Thailand. The incident that would become Duangs claim to infamy is described in Robert Horns Time magazine piece, The Untouchables:

"On the morning of Oct. 29 [2001], at the Twenty Club discotheque, the three Yubamrung brothers, sons of powerful politician Chalerm Yubamrung, began trading blows with a group of plainclothes police. According to witnesses, Duangchalerm Yubamrung, the youngest of the brothers, had his party restrain Suvichai Rodwimud, a police officer awarded Crimebuster of the Year honors, as he executed him with a bullet to the head."

Granted, after that he did hide for a while, and came back to a trial whose witness developed mass amnesia.

So, my point stands. Not just a cop, but the Crimebuster of the year.

Answer to first question: Google the history of Chalerm's son.

Answer to second question: See answer to the first question.

Answer. to third question: No.

Suggest you. learn a bit of Thai history over the past decade or two. With over 3,200 posts, you should have realized the irony and economy of words used.

Have a wonderful day!

So, what's the SOP now? Bail, then sneak across the border to Malaysia for a few years, then come back as an instructor at the police academy? Or is that reserved for the privileged few?

Good list. Add to that for making outmeal flour - the kids won't eat regular oatmeal cookies, but when it's a flour they love the taste.