recom273

4 hours ago, Peterphuket said:

Had the same experience last week with Flashexpress, it involved an order from Ali E. worth 500 thb.
Received notification that it had been delivered but had not received anything, complained to both Ali and also Flash, you get a big middle finger and a lot of sorry and your 500 thb is lost.
I now think twice before ordering anything from China, where you have to pay upfront.

I notice all my aliexpress orders are via flash these days - They are getting really good these days. If I have an order of electrical components, shipping is usually free and the components so much cheaper than from a Thai supplier. I spread the order amongst different companies, I can pretty much guarantee a bag of parcels will arrive within a week now, it used to be two months.

Currently watching @Jingthing recommendation Griselda - worth a look if you enjoy South American drug stories

I sometimes feel that companies in this country are its worst enemy.

The other day I needed to send a subwoofer back to the service center - the importer / agent is Powerbuy - I called Powerbuy and I / my wife couldn't get it across to them that we couldn't carry a 18kg subwoofer in a box 70cm cube through central festival. After a few days of back and forth we got to discover they had a collection service - however, it was just two employees who turned up in a Nissan March. The guy called and said he was leaving the shop and we were to pay 300B x2 trips, we had to pay 500B for the technicians in BKK to open the box and check it - all of which I was delighted to pay, the employee gave an account number, which we then discovered was his personal account. The guys showed up and took the speaker, I asked my wife for the service receipt, nothing was offered, they just took the speaker.

I can't think of the specifics, but there are a few times where I have had to pay employees personal accounts and presumably they forwarded the payment to the company, I have no reason to assume otherwise as receipts were always provided - but it does happen quite frequently.

I assume in this instance the email is warning us of a scam call centre rather than rogue employee, but true occurrences like this are quite frequent.

4 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

1. MD, any update on how your alternate setup above is or isn't working since your prior post on this?

 

2. Anyone else with a 3BB fiber setup manage to replicate MD's experience with this?

 

 

 

Yes, I have a 3BB supplied GPON ONT running for many years, the Huawei model numbers seem to be different, but they still do the same thing, maybe the same inner workings.

@Mutt Daeng Is your setup still functioning? 

4 minutes ago, TeacherJane said:

Fakes are indeed readily available. But who exactly checks them, and how rigorously?

I think you have the answer here.

I was a non-degree teacher for some time, I knew many others in the same situation and the problem wasn't getting a job, it wasn't the authenticity of a degree, the provincial labour office were never a problem, I even had a work permits. The issue was with immigration who wouldn't issue the one year extension without the collection of correct paperwork from various sources. The system used to be self policing, without a visa, how can you stay?

16 hours ago, wozzlegummich said:

Did anyone get the UFiber NanoG working with 3BB Fibre? I would love to stick to all Ubiquiti Unifi stuff.

You can contact Ubiquity Thailand 02 114 7275 to check if it's possible. I haven't seen them for sale here, have you?

I don't actually see much benefit  - they aren't unifi, so im guessing the don't appear on the conroller dashboard. I can monitor my 3BB ONT (same model as @Mutt Daeng details above, on my own home dashboard.

58 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Times are changing.  Universities now have IT departments, and the old microfiche records have been digitized.

 

I was able to have my precambrian degree certified via an online clearinghouse, required for a position in China.  In this instance, precambrian means before personal computers existed.

Yes, for sure - agreed .. I know two people who still use old photocopied certificates (one from SA, one from UK), they say that their universities don't exist any longer, they have become part of other universities or other excuses and immigration and their employer, a university still believe them (I think working in a Thai uni is has different rules to a Thai school, right?) The OP is asking if certificates are checked, and the answer is generally no - you obviously wanted the job in China and wanted to supply all the necessary paperwork to get the job, so you went the extra to get the job, but a lot of schools still don't ask too many questions, they just want the teachers. Anyway, If you take a look at the OP posting history they admit they don't have a degree in another post, so the question should be "will I get caught as a non-degree teacher on the blag"

There is no TEFL governing body, so accredited TEFL courses are a bit of a misnomer, some are accredited by some schools or organizations. If you look closely, you often find that these organizations are connected to the school that's offering the certification. So, no they dont check the accreditation - however, as mentioned, you dont need a TEFL certificate to teach - teachers who worked at my agency were asked to provide TEFL certificates by the labour office, most just did a $20 course online, smashed out in a day to keep everyone sweet. It doesnt stop people from studying a well respected TEFL course, but even then just because you pay good money, doesnt mean its a good course.

Degrees - Not really checked, because imho, who from Thailand is going to make a call to a university to check. I was told by a school manager, that they could tell who had a fake degree by touching the quality of the paper, they would know and wouldn't care, at that time, they just needed to see a degree. I think that in this day and age of data protection and privacy the person who picks up the phone won't be able to confirm or deny. However, it's not as simple as that, you will need a teachers license, to receive a waiver, I think you must provide sealed university transcripts. Anyone can provide a fake degree certificate, you can make them yourself, but to provide authentic looking transcripts is impossible. No one is going to check you paperwork, but if you cant provide the right papers, then immigration isn't going to grant you an extension of stay, therefore there is no need to check degrees, the system is self policing. Things are a little different for older teachers who may find it difficult to provide papers other than a dog-eared photocopy of their degree certificate, but it think these guys are gradually fading away. Fresh graduates should be able to provide the correct papers.

6 minutes ago, Startmeup said:

The same document are require either way so why not do it right the first time?

Because you seem to be having difficulties - you mentioned getting your girl to talk the dealer around.

I find it easier to do this, there are no misinformation such as "you need a work permit to buy a bike here" - I don't advocate keeping the bike in your wifes / girlfriends name, just let her buy it and just transfer the name at a later date, its standard procedure at DLT, you don't need to deal with clueless salesmen, everything is fast, you walk-in, get it on order, pay and done - no time wasted on Internet forums asking the details.

16 hours ago, Startmeup said:

No im only back a week. I'll bring my girl with me and should be able to talk them around.

 

This is all new to me, I just expected they would come with red plates. If it comes with no plates I can still drive it out of there and if I get stopped (which is likely) I just say I just bought it and need to register it? I wouldn't mind choosing my own plate, whats the restriction in regards to that?

The bike has to be ordered. I was told it will take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month. The residency cert is valid for only 30 days someone mentioned so I can see that catching me out but we shall see. I want to order the bike now and will get registration in the next 10 days, I resume that it will be ok to hand over all the paperwork at that point and not when I put the order/deposit down.

Just buy it in her name and then change the name to yours at a later date at DLT with a certificate of residence.

5 minutes ago, CG1 Blue said:

Personally I would have just ignored them and carried on. Why should we be worried about 'provoking the Chinese', especially a bunch of entitled student pro CCP activists? 

 

I don't agree with Dr K's way of handling it (he's an attention seeker), but I also don't agree with appeasing bullies like the passive aggressive shouty man. 

Exactly what I would have done, said, "certainly, that's no problem - but you understand that it's a livestream" watch them scuttle off, then just upload the video anyway.

17 hours ago, Keeps said:

Interesting. Never thought of it from that angle. Maybe drumming up a bit of anti west propaganda for the homeland. They can then put whatever spin they like on it when presenting to the masses. 

This was my first thought, by acting as he did Dr. K was playing right into their hands - but, apparently it didnt appear on Weibo or any other of the Chinese social media sites.

1 hour ago, CG1 Blue said:

I agree Dr K comes across as a bit of a tw 4t. But why should he give in to bullying from a group of Chinese activists? 

 

Especially the Chinese guy who starts shouting at Dr K for 'touching' the Chinese girl. Apparently this is a popular tactic in China. Over reacting to something to get the other person in trouble so you can sue them. 

Funny how shouty Chinese boy was so quiet when then the big younger English guy confronted them towards the end of the video. Typical bully. 

 

A selection of the comments online: 

 

The "don't touch her" overeaction was purposeful. They wanted to create an scenario where they could win, because they realized they were not going to win with their request. It is a manipulation tactic.

Hong kong stands with you ,Dr.K. loved your performance

You got my support man. From California. How dare they come here and dictate what you can do in your own country.

Montréal, Quebec Canada. Great playing and in a democratic free society you are a beacon of light. The show must go on

Support for your stand from Australia. That guy appears to be a CCP officer who’s not used to hearing “No”!

Hell Yeah!! Thank you so much for your beautiful speech Dr.K. We Japan stands with you. We’ll follow you for protecting freedom of speech

As a Chinese, I also stand with the YouTuber. Don't know what those guys are doing and watching this video makes me feel embarrassed.

Absolutely, he should not bow down to bullying - but living in Asia, do we not understand different ways of dealing with situations than direct confrontation?

The media outlets that seemed to have picked up the story are a bit predictable .. TalkTV, Daily Mail, Fox News.

9 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

 

   You need to watch it again , he was being filmed playing the piano and then the camera moved around and the Chinese people were in the back ground and it was then that the Chinese politely asked him to stop filming them 

I was watching the livestream as it happened - I like boogie woogie, I thought Dr. K was good to begin with, but his playing and content is pretty boring after a while. I agree, he just played the part of an obnoxious Brit (im British myself) - why not just tell them, "yes, of course I will delete your images on a livestream, ok, yes, no problem" and let them walk away - no need to provoke the Chinese, who may be visitors to the country. If it was Thailand, Dr. K would just smile, say yes and then upload, making some excuse how it wasn't possible.

I was watching an episode of Panorama, "Is China watching you?" one girl comes from the same group as mentioned in the program, one that harasses Hong Kong dissidents - so there is a little more to this, they weren't just average Joe tourists in the background enjoying the spring vacation holiday like they claim. There was also a Japanese film crew there, filming British station pianos. There are too many random occourences, I dont believe this is setup, but everyone is milking it.

The media circus that has been following this - like c'mon, the guy has been on TalkTV, Piers Morgan and Fox News - what an embarrassment - no such thing as bad publicity, right, this guy makes a living from YouTube views, as long as he keeps dragging this out, he's quids in. While I agree that he's well within his rights to perform and film, the Chinese have no rights to request he delete footage, but he should respect their right to ask without appearing as a sarcastic British <deleted> and the rail management should just remove the security guards from Elton Johns piano - it hasn't stopped anything, he has just moved to another station with his predictable playing.

22 hours ago, Martin71 said:

Saw these in Lotus today for the first time thought I would give them a try...... hand down down best fries I have had in Thailand... cooked in an air fryer

Have you seen Talley's frozen peas, sweetcorn and mixed veg in the freezer section - the best around.

I'm a fan of Farm-Frites, but my Makro stopped selling my favorite, the big square ones. Anyone else?

10 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

You suggested there was no demand for foreign teachers in Isaan other than for teaching English.

 

My experience tells me different.

What? I am agreeing with you. 

I taught in Thailand for over 15 years, I worked in two Mathayom schools and they both had foreign language programs which included French and Korean alongside compulsory English, but I have never taught in Issan.

After moving to Issan, a friends kid told me he has a western French teacher at his school in Khon Kaen city. 

—-

I also can’t agree with the poster who talks about agencies in a bad way. I worked for both agencies and directly with schools, the best jobs were with agencies - generally we only taught the classes we were scheduled to teach, we did “some” activity days and ceremonies whereas direct hire schools would demand more work, the teachers had to be in school at all times, unpaid weekend activity camp every term, a weekly assembly performance. Wages were the same. I would rather work for an agency with a few schools on their books. 

9 minutes ago, youreavinalaff said:

Yes, in Isaan.

 Meaning, I have taught in Thai government Mathayom schools that have run French programs, but although I live in Issan, have never worked here .. You also mentioned German too, which I agree with - Many posters think that English and Chinese are the only foreign languages that are taught here. I think we are on the same page.

I have a couple of 8 drive PCIe card labelled LSI and Dell, they don't make them any longer and you can pay a lot for an second hand original  - They can be flashed into IT mode, the same as the original cards can. I think most home server guys run these counterfeit cards. They haven't let me down yet. As you say, these days. components can be manufactured the same or as near to the original for a fraction of the price of a used card.

Would I use conterfeit RAM? probably not.

On 1/13/2024 at 12:16 PM, Celsius said:

Also, do you think there is demand for teachers anything else than English in Issan?

Not in Issan, but I have taught in two government Mathayom schools that reasons beyond me have run French courses. the teachers were Thai. The teachers all had a good ability having studied in France for some time, they would talk with the French English teachers :D

I know of one native French teacher working in a Khon Kaen high school - most prestigious mathayom schools will have a couple of foreign language classes other than English, for example French, German, Korean or Chinese.

Not saying there are lots of jobs from French native speakers, but they do exist.

12 minutes ago, Pouatchee said:

 

if this bruce guy is the one i think... out of khosamet, he runs bogus schemes and the degrees he helps people get are worth less than tissue.

i knew this guy who got a degree outta bkk at one of mr bruce'sa recommended schools. the guy never had to go to class and he didnt even have a high school degree. maybe that is what you want?

https://puie.ac/overview/

I believe he's talking about this guy, he started the course at Thongsook, then moved to Siam Tec ..

9 hours ago, surreybloke said:

Thank you recom 273.    Distance maybe 1/4 mile maybe less.    I had similar thoughts about sd card.   I was thinking of putting something on a tall heavy duty bit of steel pipe  concreted in the ground.          

I think you got to start somewhere, 1/4 mile isnt so big.

My main concern would actually catching someone, then what happens? There seems to be a reluctance of anyone to do anything further (like village headman or police).

Put some solar floodlights ontop of the pole along with your cameras further down, and some motion sensors and see what happens.

The optimal distance for a post mounted CCTV camera is 2.5m off the ground .. maybe enclose the whole thing in a metal box. They have traffic cameras around my way in metal boxes and the locals way with dealing with it is to take the post, box and camera for a walk, the experiment is never to be tried again.

Hope you have an idea on how to get the footage from the sd card every day. I have a dash cam with sd card and I thought to download the footage of a python crossing the road, it was going to take hours to download direct to my phone, that's my only experience with a wifi camera.

Hope you get everything sorted.