jaideeguy

About a week ago, my new [less than a year old] pc didn't want to boot up, so replaced power supply and now starts ok, but at the same time my monitor started to flicker....getting worse by the day. I have a new motherboard [asus graphics intergrated 64 bit w/dual core] and new samsung lcd monitor. tried another monitor and still flickers [twitches, jerks and gives headaches], so that leads me to believe that i need a new video card. my new motherboard is still under warantee, but dealing with warantee issues may hang up my pc for weeks, so should i go for a new video card @ 1,800bhatt??? or does anyone out there have any suggestions for a cheap easy fix????

Just go to Chiang Mai Ram 2 hospital...they do it all and have proper labs. cost used to be around 500 bhatt. fast and cheap....just do it!!!

My thai wife needs new motorcycle and likes the feminine style of the fino.

hard to find reviews and/or comparisons for these two [local] automatic scooters. any thai visa reviewers out there wanna give me their 2 bhatt worth?/ looking for reliability, safety and resale value

It's been how many? years that the underpass projects started, stopped, started again and now looks like stopped again. What a mess of traffic and no progress for many months. I'm sure that corrupt contractors and politicians are ultimately to blame and easy to point the finger at the last administration, but let's get on with it.

One of the best attractions to CM was that it was relatively easy to get around town, but lately traffic snarls are almost as bad as BKK.

does anyone know the story??

OK guys, can you please explain to me [like I'm a 10 yr old] the procedure for manually updating. I don't have the f1 any more, as my vendor advised me to upgrade to the new new-shine box that uses a smart card, that failed then he recomended the newer 'dream-500' box. now my head is spinning as i'm not much of a techno guy.....just a consumer [sucker?]. neither is movable, but i do have a moveable dish.

would you advise me to go back to the f-1??

Thanx p1p for your 'moderation' and your reply.

I am aware that we may be 'stealing' the signal with our set-ups and that the vendor enables us to do so, but maybe my complaint could be summed up as 'honor among pirates'.

my biggest complaint about my vendor is that he continues to sell units and promises back-up service, but doesn't. just wanted to warn others of the harsh realities of Thai business entics.

This posting is to warn anyone even remotely thinking of getting one of those Dynasat satellite systems……DON’T!!! [at least for now].

If you are considering the English programming from Agila satellite wait until they break the code because it will only work for a couple of days at most, then you have to go back to the shop for an update.

And when and if they do get back on line, I can warn you of a vendor NOT to deal with….although others may be just as bad. My vendor just sells and installs the equipment, then you’re on your own……no more service, doesn’t return calls or keep appointments. Meanwhile he continues to sell new installations of a faulty system. I’ve seen on several occasions [while getting useless updates in his shop] him selling new units to unsuspecting customers and I wanted to warn them to save their bhatt, but didn’t want to make a scene [in his shop]. Thanks to this forum, I can warn others.

And every time I go into a superstore, there is a Dynasat demo that has ‘suckers’ waiting in line to get screwed.

I hope this post doesn’t get me in trouble with the moderators, because I’m just trying to save some other 'thaivisa brethren' before they get swindled as I did.

BE WARNED of the ethics of this vendor in Chiang Mai!!! Is there such a concept as [after sales] 'ethics' here in LOS??

PM me if you want to know the vendor that took my bhatt.

This posting is to warn anyone even remotely thinking of getting one of those Dynasat satellite systems……DON’T!!! [at least for now].

If you are considering the English programming from Agila satellite wait until they break the code because it will only work for a couple of days at most, then you have to go back to the shop for an update.

And when and if they do get back on line, I can warn you of a vendor NOT to deal with….although others may be just as bad. My vendor just sells and installs the equipment, then you’re on your own……no more service, doesn’t return calls or keep appointments. Meanwhile he continues to sell new installations of a faulty system. I’ve seen on several occasions [while getting useless updates in his shop] him selling new units to unsuspecting customers and I wanted to warn them to save their bhatt, but didn’t want to make a scene [in his shop]. Thanks to this forum, I can warn others.

And every time I go into a superstore, there is a Dynasat demo that has ‘suckers’ waiting in line to get screwed.

I hope this post doesn’t get me in trouble with the moderators, because I’m just trying to save some other 'thaivisa brethren' before they get swindled as I did.

BE WARNED of the ethics of this vendor in Chiang Mai!!! Is there such a concept as [after sales] 'ethics' here in LOS??

PM me if you want to know the vendor that screwed me.

I will second the recomendation for Khun Malai at BKK Bank, KadSuan Keau [Central]. She is IMHO the most falang friendly bank manager in CM and i had no problems w/o work permit 7 yrs ago and have been with her since then. Good english, helpful....but busy.

Well, that storm just passed bo sang w/o a drop.....just a little wind, like most of the pissy little rains that we have had so far.

CM has so many micro climates.....i've heard of downpores just a half a k from us when we didn't get a drop.

I thought that the common use for the neem tree [or one of it's components] was for a natural insecticide. is the same tree??

2 bhatt worth of free advise [from one who was looking for that perfect one for 8 yrs in Asia and finally met one in the daytime].....don't take the girls that you meet at night seriously, they are mostly for play. it's the ones that you meet in the daytime that are [generally] the 'keepers'.

and, why do you want to learn a sport [science?] that harms others????

Peace to you man........ make love, not war.......and look 5 times before you cross the street in LOS!!!!

Maybe Al Gore is right? [only 5 words for you guys with a short attention span]

Any suggestions on where in LOS to stay for a while during these hot months. preferably an affordable place with some basic amenities, like fast internet, decent bread, etc....

Q.Why do we have 'weather'???? A. to complain about or to enjoy

Q. Why do we have this forum??? A. to voice our complaints or pleasures.

To be honest, i would almost prefer the haze to the hot sun as it blocked some and lowered the temp a little.

too bad it boils down to the lesser of two evils. and FYI....i always welcome the rains as it cools things down and waters this parched earth. we water our grounds at least 3-4 times a day and lawn is still brown.

gimme a little rain, please

This is my 7th summer here in CM and i've come to know that most summers are hot, this one seems much HOTTER than any I've experienced so far, making me feel lazy, stupid and irritable.

Are others feeling the same, or is it just me???

Please let me know if others are feeling same-same....

Thanx

Yea, I would suggest Kham Tian market for all your gardening needs. They have the rice husks by the bag and another by-product of the rice husks is called klab dom [which is burned rice hulls with good potassium and areation qualities]. another good product for lightening up your clay soil is shreaded cocoanut husks.

many shops on the tesco lotus end of the market with seeds, tools etc. if you haven't been there, you will love that place.

oh, and in the back left hand side [facing away from tesco] you will find some small shops with many vegetable seedlings, saving you time to wait for germination of seeds.

I would like to purchase some mature asparagus plants here in Chiang Mai area. I've heard they are grown in and around San Kapheng, but hard to find out exactly where. once tried to grow from seed, but takes too long to mature.

Thanks in advance for info......

Agree with Chonah above and will add to it a little of my experience with back yard garden......

lots of clay soil here in CM valley. when wet, it's sticky and not easy to work, when dry, it's like a rock and hard to work...so my solution was to work some rice hulls [or leaf mulch] into it when it's semi wet.

agree that winter is best growing season here and you have to adjust your crops acordingly.

i have had good luck with lettuce, carrots, chard, kale, beets, mustard and arugula. have been using mostly organic methods and let the bugs have their share.

where i live, doi saket, we have lots of cow dung for fertilizer and work that into soil with rice husks with my imported Honda mini roto tiller.

don't save much money when you look at the low prices of veges in the market, but it keeps me occupied and out of trouble.

would love to get ahold of some asparagus plants....love them and low maintenance.

Thanx Ajarn, as always you come up with the best....so far!!

I was high and dry myself. Did some taxi driving of neighbor's pick-up and got a free car wash!!

Hey you guys that braved the crowds, traffic, madness and WATER!!!

I didn't do it this year and would appreciate some fotos of those dancing wet bodies....so please post um here for us dry old foggies.

Having lived 7 yrs in the Phil and 7 yrs in LOS, i feel qualified to put in my 2 pesos worth of opinion.........

I agree with most assessments posted so far and would still be in the Phil, if I had not discovered Thailand 12+ years ago. While living in the Phil, I used to make visa runs to LOS every 6 months....maybe I should call them visa/sanity runs because it is absolutely insane over there and comming to LOS was a nice inexpensive sanity break, then it became obvious that life here as a retired expat was so much more comfortable, and inexpensive [until i got married to a Thai and now have a couple of kids]. But, i think it can be said that here, you get [mostly] what you pay for...where in the Phil, we are fair game for the locals to rip off the foreigner [they call us 'hey joe' there]. lots more beggars, corruption on all levels, polution of air,water, land, but mostly confined to urban areas. once you escape the cities, it is another story...you can find pristine islands, a few native rainforests in the remote mountains where i lived for a couple of years, but with no tv, internet, fresh milk, decent bread etc.

and transportation is mostly painful, crude and slow. for example, it takes 8-10 hrs to travel 250 k from Manila to Baguio City and here it takes less time to travel 750 k from BKK to Chiang Mai. that's because of dreadful road conditions, poor infrastructure, natural calamities [avg. 26 major storms/ yr], no bypases around small towns that have bottlenecks. Inter island travel on the larger 'superferries' can be cheap, comfortable and fun and you can access most islands in the comfort of your own stateroom for small$$

Dangers are more real there as lots of guns, both in the hands of police/security guards but ordinary people like taxi drivers carry home made guns........but i only had a gun pointed at me once in 7 yrs. Common sense will keep you safe in most places and cities are the most dangerous, as is everywhere.

The women there can be as beautiful as Thai women....they are basicly the same stock, malay/chinese with a little extra Spanish and American to spice things up.......but the diference is 'maintenance'. the Thai women are definately better fed and maintain themselves better and are up on fashion, where the uniform of the day for Philipinas is [loose] t-shirt and jeans, not very flattering. Diet is terrible too, with too much grease. Another major difference between Filipinas and Thai women is that the Filipinas are much more romantic, where Thai women are practical. there are no illusions here

Another area where LOS is far ahead is food. Not only is food treated with more respect here from the market to the table, but it is always fresh and spicy. Where in the Phil, it is not respected from the market [where is is displayed with no ice and flies all over the meat] to the table where it is served and stored at room temperature....often, not hot or chilled under storage. And not much spices........... boring, greasy, and unfresh is the best description of Phil cuisine.

I do miss my friends in the Phil, where most speak some English and give you the ILLUSION that they understand it. They are beautiful people and have big hearts, but most would like to leave their country, not like the Thais that enjoy and are proud of what they have here.

All in all, i think that i made the right move by retiring here, but i still do look back fondly on the Philippines and may return to see for my self if it has gone even further downhill as i've heard from friends that still live there, but continue to bitch about the country. I feel lucky in that i was a bit younger when i lived in the Phil and could endure a lot more discomfort and now that i'm pushing 60, i find Thailand is a lot more user friendly for retirement.

And regarding bringing a Filipina wife over here...i once entertained that idea, 'best of both worlds', but saw the problems that occur with other friends doing that. as mentioned earlier, you BOTH will have the language/cultural barrier. Thais make wonderful wives as well and as far as understanding each other, time helps....

Why not spend the next 7 yrs visiting both places for extended periods and see how you feel.

OK Truman, sounds like you have some understanding on how to operate these new dreamboxes. mine is still in the shop getting new software and to be honest, i have never mastered the operation of it and can barely understand the potiential of it. what i need is a book titled 'dreamboxes for dummies' so i can get a handle on this new [to me] tech. Or, could we connect by PM or phone and if you have the time, maybe you could explain [like you would to a 10 yr old] the operation of my new toy that i don't know how to play with. I'd be willing to pay [in bhatt or beer] for your services.

Happy Songkran!!

Actually, your best bet would be to WAIT until they work out the new bugs in decoders...assuming that you will try to access the aguila sat. the following is an exerpt from an earlier post that i have made regarding alternatives to dynasat.

My history to date with dynasat......

2 and a half years ago, I purchased my first dynasat F1 box and movable dish and had near a couple of years of at least 90% good signal [on Aguila ku]....then signal started failing and my vendor suggested that i upgrade to the latest 'newshine' box. that worked for a couple of months and then needed upgrading every week or so. My vendor then suggested the ultimate box, the 'dream 500' and said that it would end all my problems........NOT!!! in the 2 months that i've had it, it's been down or in the shop most of the time and costing me lots of gas and time fetching it back and forth.

yesterday, i visited 4 vendors in CM and they all were having the same plobrem....updates last a couple of days at most then have to be reprogramed again. it could be the end of the 'dynasat honeymoon', so unless you have money to gamble, you should just wait for a while until things settle down.

I hope that i don't offend the moderator or anyone else by re-opening this thread.......but I am seriously interested in the LEGAL use of these dreamboxes. I just bought one and can't figure out how to ues it and was hoping that this forum could be of use for the understanding of it.

Can one purchase a LEGAL smartcard that would enable one to access all the many satelites that are beaming down their signals at us?? from Phil [aguila sat], Malasia [metasat?] or any others. maybe even UBC, if it was available at a fair price. I refuse to pay their rip off prices!!!

I have been screwed by my vendor up here in CM in that he sells the boxes but doesn't understand them or how to explain what he does [or more likely, doesn't] know in English.

So, what can these dream boxes do on the LEGAL side???