noahvail

When they say "five dedicated counters" I would have preferred that they say how many employees are working at each one.

If we assume that it takes the same amount of time to process each visa, which og course it does not, and there's one emplee per counter, then

60,000 apps per year

/ 5 emloyees =

12,000 apps per employee per year

/ 50 weeks (their holidays, our holidays =

240 apps per employee per week

/ 5 days in a week =

48 apps per employee per day

/ 8 hours per day=

6 apps in an hour

So, 10 minutes per app!

As a brilliant mind once said, "What could possibly go wrong?.

Assume is sometimes a replacement word for guessing.

The figures seem to be hypothetical. What could go wrong? I wouldn't know as I cant look into the future.

The post was intended to be humorous. The words "if we assume" were put in there as a setup to go through the litany of numbers to reach AllSeeingEye's comment of of "What could possibly go wrong?"

I hope that provides you with a flashlight.

Here's another bit of humor: many of us have heard or been victims of out-sourced customer service. Many of these outsourcings have gone to India. I wonder where VFS is doing its outsourcing from - the Philippines?

When they say "five dedicated counters" I would have preferred that they say how many employees are working at each one.

If we assume that it takes the same amount of time to process each visa, which og course it does not, and there's one emplee per counter, then

60,000 apps per year

/ 5 emloyees =

12,000 apps per employee per year

/ 50 weeks (their holidays, our holidays =

240 apps per employee per week

/ 5 days in a week =

48 apps per employee per day

/ 8 hours per day=

6 apps in an hour

So, 10 minutes per app!

As a brilliant mind once said, "What could possibly go wrong?"

And how will he get to the UN? Can't get into the USA.

He can go the the UN regarless if the US will not allow him into the country for other reasons. Under the UN Charger No leader of a country who is attentding the United Nations can be bared from going.

He cannot have any other official function outside of the United Nations but cannot be stopped from going,

The United States is part of that agreement.

This is the reason despots like the Ex President of Iran can speak at the UN General Assembly. He cannot get a US visa but can get a travel documents from the UN

This is politics

I hope someone tells the Americans that...

I do not like the the idea of the UN being in the US it should be somewhere more neutral and less aggressive to control and dominate.

Geneva comes to mind.

Geneva was Headquarters to the League of Nations - the predecessor of the UN - and the United States was not a part of that. How well did that turn out?

Interesting question, Those more knwledgable than I will no doubt follow up on this. In the meantime, here's a short but interesting read: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_evolution

OP, do remember to buy travel insurance before you leave for Thailand, and make sure it includes treatment for scooter and muay Thai accidents.

I've found that by searching the website of the company you're trying to contact you'll usually find somewhere a non-toll-free number. The only thing I've found that this doesn't work for is fax machines. Were you able to get through today?

The OP was at 10:39 and the weather bureau had posted this at 10:00

"The high pressure from China over the eastern Northeast of Thailand and the upper South China is weakening. The southeasterly wind remains over the country. Isolated thundershowers with gusty wind are expected in the Northeast, the lower Central and the East. People should beware of the severe weather conditions."

I think there's a huge difference between "isolated thundershowers" and "severe widespread thunderstorms."

Chicken Little was right.

All kudos to Colin for his post.However the ultimate kudos has got to be for his having no hate for Thai's in general and indeed the lady he is married to now is indeed a gem.

As said, ''there is good and bad in every race'' trouble is though we only hear about and remember the bad ones.

That lady could have walked , but no, she stays and cares for her severely disabled husband.

As said in the U.K one would without family support become a living vegetable in an institution.

Keep that spirit alive Colin you are an inspiration to us all as is your wife too.

I've got to agree with everything Siampolee said. Good luck to you, Colin!

I don't think that saying you "believe" in Darwinism is the correct way to put it. I accept the theory of evolution until something scientifically verifiable can can break the Theory, or replace it.

One possibility is that the Universe as we know it is just a computer simulation from a super-intelligent race of beings. A professor of quantum mechanics and supersting theory has stated that you bring the equations to their conclusion, you get a string of zeroes and ones. But not just any string: it's the checksum string developed in the 1940s and, to the best of my knowledge, still in use in programming computers today. What's even more fascinating is that the checksum can be found in our DNA. A relatively simple article that does a pretty good job of explaining this, with references, is http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread832446/pg1

I don't pretend to understand it, but there's a kind of symmetrical beauty to it all.

edited for bloody typos

There is a reason that legalese is employed: it is to clarify the basic ideas. "Empowerment of the people" has no meaning until it is defined. The same goes for the other three ideas, or ideals. I can see the Constitutional Court running up a 20-year backlog in the first six months after the charter is enacted unless the meanings are specified and clarified beforehand. I think they are very good ideals indeed, but much work will have to be done to bring them to fruition.

edit...left out a couple of words

I don't know if your usual logistics compaies include Kelly, but we've found them to be punctual, adaptable, and affordable.

Hypothetically speaking, if Ms Yingluck were to apply for and be granted asylum by the United States, wouldn't that chance pushing the current government even farther into China's corner? I think that result would be the opposite of what the US would want.

If she were to apply for asylum, it might be better for all parties concerned that she go to a neutral state.

Thailand might have to start introducing rules covering water shortages, like in the out back of Australia you never have a shower any longer than 10 mins regardless of the water situation, start introducing water restrictions.

TEN minutes. Make it THREE !

Shipboard showers for all! And remember, conserve water, shower with a friend

Last Time I read Red Bull's ingredient list, it was in there...to the tune of 1,000 mg per 8.4 ounce can. Do keep the intake under 1,000 mg/day, split into three parts with meals. It has been known to work to alleviate depression and lessen the effects of mood swings, but - over 1,000 mg/day and definitely over 1,500 mg/day can have the effect of sending your EEG into no-man's land.

I have often wondered whether the amount of Taurine in the energy drinks, and perhap made worse with alcohol, accounts for the aggression you frequently see on the roads and in the villages.

As for where to get pharmaceutical-grade Taurine, sorry, no clue in Thailand.

It was often said that work expands to fill the time allotted to it. Adding more jobs means adding more people-hours, so efficiency will be reduced. It's just one of those inevitable things.

Generally in a Democracy the government lets the business sector find its own momentum , only in a dictatorship , totalitarian or commo governments do you ever see governments strutting there stuff showing the population we are here for you, if this idea had been suitable for Thailand don't you think it would have already been done and as rightly pointed out who is the Idiot that picks up the short fall in costs, it is alright to wake up one morning with a vision it is another thing to put into practice, one thing for sure Thailand isn't short on being the HUB of brainstorming ideas.

You did start with the word "Generally" so I almost let you off the hook. But then you followed with "...only in a dictatorship..." and so on. Richard Nixon (in the USA, generally referred to as a democracy) established nationwide price controls during his ill-fortuned term as President. It was a disaster, as was foretold by anyone who has read world history. It had been tried many times before, but has never succeeded.

So I am agreeing with you in concept, just disagreeing over bringing democracy into it.

you can use debit cards for 'counter advances' or just credit cards?

i've been thinking it can only be done with credit cards.

i need some cash to start with, hence the ATM, later, will try the penfed , when i have a secure line/inet, which will take a few days, etc.

just asking about the ATM at a counter , was all was asking , dumb question , oh well.

but, on a side note, if you were to visit Laos or Vietnam, do you just carry bank notes, or do you/can you buy ?travellers check @ BBL, for example?

I am at a loss at many of these replies. I have a Bangkok Bank savings account. Making sure that I have the money on my account, I went into my branch with the bankbook and asked for ฿400 000.- I got it. What's to think about? Maybe the OP has a dodgy visa, doesn't matter, they just want to verify your identity.

@cooked, In your case the money is already in the your Bangkok Bank account, but first you had to get money to put money into your Bangkok Bank account like using a wire/SWIFT transfer, counter withdrawal using your foreign card, or ATM withdrawal using your foreign card. The OP is asking about how to get some money using his "foreign" card; not his Thai bank passbook or debit card.

@chubby, I think Langsuan Man's post pretty much covered it. Plus I think you said in earlier post you had got a no foreign transaction fee Schwab debit card which means you can withdrawal $1,000 per day from an ATM or doing a counter withdrawal....and if you use the ATM Schwab will reimburse the Bt180 fee at the close of your monthly cycle. Just use an ATM in any mall or at a bank branch. If wanting to pull up Bt30K per withdrawal I know TMB and Krungsri ATM allow that much and they both charge the Bt180 foreign card fee....better than using another bank/AEON ATM that only allow Bt20K or Bt25K with the Bt180 fee. I wouldn't worry too much about using a ATM that has a guard standing close by simply because if you are worried about carrying around a lot of cash, well, that security guard is not going to be able to help prev ent robbery after you leave the ATM area. If I remember right you have a Bangkok Bank account also, so just deposit the funds you withdraw with your foreign card right into your Bangkok Bank account and then use your Bangkok Bank debit card to withdraw funds as needed. And I just remembered, you also have a PenFed Promise credit card (no cash advance or foreign transaction fee) which allows up to $2,000 per day via counter withdrawal...and as you know Thai banks don't charge a fee like the Bt180 ATM fee for a counter withdrawal....I do it all the time with a couple of my PenFed credit cards. But remember the interest starts accumulating from day one of the cash advance so you should log onto your PenFed account and pay off the advance same day with an advance payment in full via an ACH pull---hopefully you have those ACH links setup already. Just take your PenFed Promise credit card to your Bangkok Bank branch (or any Bangkok Bank really as long as its a full branch vs some little 2 or 3 person outlet in a mall which usually won't do cash advances) with your passport, say you want a cash advance and deposit that advance into your Bangkok Bank account.....I've been doing this for almost a year now with my PenFed cards (and not at my home branch...just a nearby full branch which does happen to be in a mall), not one stang/penny paid in fees anywhere along the line, and since I make a card payment in full same day no interest. You are already setup...just go use your Schwab debit and/or PenFed credit card. Just as additional info, here's a partial quote from a PenFed Customer Rep email where I asked about the cash advance daily limit.

Members may take a cash advance from their credit card via one of the following

methods:

-Advance into their PenFed checking, share, or Money Market Savings Account

-Advance from an ATM;

- Advance at a Financial Institution;

Members are allowed a total of 3 cash advance authorizations per day, not to exceed each method's daily limit. The maximum cash advance amount per day for all methods combined is $5,000.

Members may advance up to $5,000 into a checking, share, or Money Market Savings Account.

A member may do a cash advance withdraw up to $1,000 per day from a ATM.

A member may withdraw up to $2,000 per day from a financial institution.

Just go do it...stop worrying about getting money...use the U.S. cards you already have...enjoy your couple months stay.

SCB used to do counter advances against debit cards, but the word came from on high this month that they will only do credit card advances, which are quite costly. So, I went to my local Bangkok Bank, where the debit card and copy of my passport was goood enough for a 70k baht withdrawal.

From what I hear from the Thais I socialize with, they fully expect a jail term handed out. Anyone else hear that rumour?

Haven't heard much of anything about that. Perhaps they know on several levels what that would mean.

My own crystal ball tells me that she will not receive a jail term, or at worst, get a suspended sentence and the customary 5-year ban from politics. But at the next trial, the crystal ball is predicting a much more difficult time for her. Not necessarily jail, perhaps confined to the grounds of her estate for some years.

Meh - my crystal ball is only more right than wrong by a very small percent.

I was kidding I didnt make an atm withdrawal yesterday, just wanted to see if these old timers would take the bait again hahahahahaha, and they surely did.

Side note: I dont use credit card here because skimming is very prevelant, I get my parents to WU me cash instead

hahahahahhahahaha old timers

Right...so instead of going inside a bank and getting a good rate from the tellers, without any chance of skimming, you use Western Union, well known for its exceptionally high fees and alarmingly bad exchange rates. I guess you just like either throwing your money away or lying to the forum. hahahahaha (I didn't use 5555555 because I figured you probably wouldn't get it).

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so what are those magical thai herbs ?

give at least the name

I can think of several, depending on which heavy metals/toxins you are trying to 'detox'.

There are the classic 'detox' herbs such as garlic ('Kratiam'), ginger ('Khing'), turmeric ('Kamin'), coriander ('Pak Chee') and Triphala. Spirulina, chlorella and detox shakes with Psyllium and activated charcoal are common in detox centres.

Tamarind has been shown to increase excretion of fluoride... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11840184

'Luk Tai Bai' (Phyllanthus Niruri) is a well known liver detox herb, with a number of other benefits. Thai Herbal Steam baths generally use a mixture of Thai herbs.

Chernobyl victims had good results using pectins/seaweeds.

I know it vexes you but those who do not believe detoxing is necessary or beneficial, please get out of the way of those who do. alt=wai2.gif width=20 height=20>

Cilantro and Chlorella can remove 80% of Heavy Metals from the Body.

It is not a quack, I have used this combination and it works wonders.

Read more: http://naturalsociet.../#ixzz3PMwA9EKL

Really? You're using some pseudoscience from Anthony Gucciardi's newsletter to defend your position? Google his name followed by the word pseudoscience, or the word skeptic. If anyone thinks Dr. Oz is bad, try reading what some call the number one anti-science website on the net, the one founded by Anthony Gucciardi. Sigh...never mind. Enjoy the placebo effect.

This would tick them off, especially if you looked them straight in the eye whilst stubbing it out. I used to have one that looked a lot different, from the Victorian era, when they were all the rage. This is the modern take:

http://www.amazon.com/Kiipr-Pouch-Pocket-Ashtray-3-pack/dp/B00DP7GSSIm