Valentine

Another sad & tragic accident which are a common occurence on our roads but instead of producing another statistic the story shows the human tragedy which is left behind because for every one of these there are always the long term effects on surviving family members.

Ever since motorized vehicles arrived in Thailand the most common phrase in newspaper reports about road accidents must be "the driver fled the scene". When I first stared reading newspapers here this phrase struck me as being quite odd until I realised how commonplace it was.

How long does your PC run when in safe mode?

To me it looks more like either a ram problem or a power supply/overheating problem.

The funny graphical effects indicate maybe your graphics card going on the blink...

It can run for quite a while in safe mode. It is an old computer but my daughter has a similar problem on her PC which is only 2 years old. This morning I ran a programme called VRIPRE & went out. It was running in DOS mode & when I came back the computer had shut down. When I booted up it all seemed pretty normal so I will wait & see.

Many years ago on another computer I had a virus which none of the regular anti virus software could find or do anything about it. I took it to a shop & they ended up running a Thai anti virus programme which fixed it.

I have a PC with Win XP installed & have a problem whereby it keeps rebooting for no apparent reason. Sometime it happens after the desktop appears or before. Some indications that it is about to reboot are a black square on the right side of the taskbar, the cursor gets elongated, everything just frezzes. Sometime it wont reboot & I hit the reset button or turn off the power. I am currently running in safe mode.

I have previously AVG Free & now currently Avira free along with Spybot & am religious about scanning downloaded files before I open them. I have run a full scan with Avira which identified 3 low level viruses & repaired them. I have also run a full scan with Spybot a couple of weeks ago which also detected & repaired some problems. It also seems to be getting worse & any advice will be helpful.

I basically have all my data backed up apart from some recent files but I am also concerned there may be problems in the back up data which will come back to haunt me if I reformat & install XP then reload my data.

You should try reformatting the info as I see 4 sets of numbers & unsure which is BTU & which is price. To me you should only show model, BTU & price.

Using your remote click menu, then Set Up, then Channels. Once into channels you it tells you how to move the channels. A friend on Facebook said it took him over an hour to get the channels back into some sensible order. I undertsand True are making some changes & may offer new packages soon but the way the have just rearranaged the channels is completely ridiculous. What a <deleted>&*#%ng outfit.

Thanks for the advice.

All the plastic bags we receive from supermarkets are used for our household rubbish disposal & I do not see any alternative other than buying plastic bags to get rid of our rubbish if we end up using our own bags when shopping. I can imagine the stench & grime which will accumulate if everyone takes a reusable container with their rubbish & empties it in the dumpsters & rubbish bins.

The use of bioderadable plastic bags makes more sense to me as littering is also a big problem. How often do you see stuff being tossed on to the side of the road? This is a result of pure laziness, a lack of public rubbish bins, a lot of which apparently get stolen, & a lack of public awareness.

Recycle. This is happening all over the place by the numerous people who pick out all the plastic bottles & other recyclables from the bins plus there are recycling bins in the schools & elsewhere. No doubt this can be improved but the plastic shopping bags are just one of many cogs in the endless plastic waste e.g. how often do you buy an item that is encased in plastic many times larger than the actual item.

I am thinking about storing my fathers car for a fairly lengthy period & wondered how to do it properly, apart from disconnecting the battery, so it can run again without any serious maintenance.

The incident highlights the rude, arrogant manners of many drivers on our roads. Ignoring it means they will continue to do it but trying to block them from getting back in could result in an accident or road rage plus any lessons will never be taken in by the offender. This queue jumping causes all the traffic behind to slow or stop.

I have no idea what the above post has to do with the subject of this thread & should be removed.

A few years ago one of my neighbours had his own tuk tuk & plyed his trade in Phuket Town. For a reasonable fee I used to have him take me to the airport in his private car & when I returned to Phuket would arrange for him to pick me up. I suppose under the crackdown this would not be allowed anymore which to me is plain annoying & restricting our freedom of choice. Soon we will not be able to take family & friends to the airport.

Seems like a bit of buck passing going on. Although he wont be charged the forestry dept has been ordered to take back the land & I think another report stated the land was now under the control of another dept.

There are many politicians & ex PMs who claim "honest mistake" but by virtue of being in that position they should know the law & "honest mistake" should never be an excuse. Howver the mindest amongst the high & mighty is they are above the law & until more of them are hurt financially &/or jailed "honest mistakes" will continue.

I thought birds do not normally fly around at night although I suppose it is possible there was a flock sleeping in the runway area & were startled by the jet taking off.

Do these meetings ever start later? 6:30 probably isn't doable for those that work or have prior committments at this time.

Originally the start time was later but some members requested an early start so they could come straight from work. It's a good laugh & the meetings do not last too long unless you want to carry on which some do.

I have never been to Ellis but based on the good reviews & directions I told some friends who are regular visitors to Phuket & love good Italian food. They found it Ok but almost did not go in as it did not look very inviting. However they did venture inside & consider it to be the best Italian in Phuket. Italian is not my number one but I will definitely try this place.

While not condoning the driver or the passenger for their actions this incident highlights the sad & sorry state of Phuket's tourist industry. I have seen for many years the mindset about another plane load of tourists arriving so why give a hoot about the ones being ripped off now. In early days most of the tuk tuks were owner drivers but now it seems that they have to rent them by the day plus pay a fee for their space on the street which is probably why there has been a call for more tuk tuks so the bosses can make more money.

Given the above it can be concluded the drivers who are being exploited & possibly brainwashed by the bosses are under immense pressure to earn enough to survive & while there is no excuse for the violence it can be seen that the stress contributes towards it.

There has to be at least one million people living in Phuket with a pitiful transport system which needs to be overhauled. The small steps such as the yellow & pink buses which traverse Phuket Town are nowhere near enogh to address the problem.

The mindset is likely the biggest obstacle to change along with the fact of the many who receive their cut from the takings.

Any Chinese restaurant recommendations? where can I get a proper peking duck around here?

You could check the Chinese restaurants at The Metropole or Royal Phuket City hotels in Phuket Town.

I am on AIS & occasionally get calls from +601 which I think is Malaysia. It is not always the same number but as soon as I say hello they hang up. To me it seems like a problem in the system although I suppose it could be some scam operation.

Dances with Smurfs !!

It kind of reminded me of Dances with Wolves meets The Mission meets Total Recall.

"Eco-Preachy fraggle rock.. But with computers"

I enjoyed it.. Despite the story..

Yes. Feeding the corporate greed at the expense of the environment but told in a very unique way.

What has all this discussion about press freedom got to do with the original post other than it was reported, uncensored, & discussions continue about the "plot". It is has any relevance please enlighten me otherwise you should open another thread about press freedom which certainly is an important topic in its own right.

There are now many posts about press freedom which really have nothing to do with the original post other than it has been reported widely here in Thailand & continues to be so which to me constitutes that press freedom is alive & well regardless of what figures or justification you can come up with.

I never notice the new "bright" lights unless I think to look for them but the circle does seem to be a work in progress. New blocks have been installed & adorned with plants plus a festive season sign complete with nice little flashing lights.

I still maintain that allowing those new constructions on the corners have basically negated any chance to improve traffic flow as now the left hand turns cannot be widened & made less sharp. Whenever you approach the circle & you end up at the back of a long line waiting to get through do you always think the circle must be under manual control?

The airport limo drivers can be extremely dangerous especially with their tailgating but they are not the only ones as can be seen by the increading number of white marks on the roads showing evidence of rear end collisions. Metered taxis servicing the airport drive just the same. A couple of years ago I remember number 8 who's antics, which I witnessed many times, on the roads far surpassed any of the limo drivers but have not seen this taxi for a while so maybe it was written off in a crash.

The dreaded tuk tuks can also be dangerous when they are crawling around looking for a fare causing others to commit dangerous overtaking after the frustration of being stuck behind.

Anyway, back to the topic. The mere fact that CNN is airing this, even if it is a fill in, means this issue is not going away & is becoming talked/written about more & more. This continuing adverse publicity, especially as the high season is not looking very good, may eventually force someobe higher up, who does not have his snout in the trough & yes I am sure there are some but not many, to do something about it. Actually the whole tourism sector needs cleaning up & most of you could name many rorts you know of or have been a victim of.

I'm pretty sure it is something to do with getting the car registered, and I don't think it is illegal not to have them.

There was a rumour that red plated cars were not to be driven after dark, but I never heard of that law being enforced.

I have had a few cars here & have never been asked to go about with just one plate. When buying a new car you will be given two red plates until such time as the white ones arrive, the dealer will then call you to come in & will install two white number plates. After one year when the registration is due for renewal you simply pay for it, no one checks your plates or takes one off. The dusk to dawn red plate law is ludicrous & the police obviously think so as well as I have never seen or heard of it being enforced.

Having driven around Phuket for many years it is only in the past few months I have seen this which is why it strikes me that something is amiss.

I don't know if this will help but when we go to SFX we should all ask to speak with the manager & complain about the lack of 3D in Phuket & just possibly they might listen. It cannot hurt to try as many of us do not have the luxury of being able to go to BKK.

Although I enjoyed Avatar in 2D right from the start I felt it would be awesome in 3D.

Workplace inspections by the Phuket Provincial Labor Protection Office have found that minors make up a very small fraction of the Phuket workforce

Every child younger than 16 which have to work is one too much.

Only two cases from my area.

An about 10-11 y.o. Burmese girl worked on a building site, carrying stones and cement buckets

and two little girls 12+9!!! years old HELP her mother work in a rubber plantation. They are carrying heavy buckets with rubber, and cut into the trees to make

the rubber latex run.

When I asked them why they dont go to school they ansered NO MONEY .....I always thought schools are free in Thailand for EVERY kid and poor people

get their uniforms and school materials provided too

My kids still had to pay school fees (not expensive) at a government school but at the beginning of the school year they were given an allowance towards uniforms & text books supplied for free with no discrimination between so called haves & have nots as this would be a beauracratic nightmare. They still had to buy their own exercise books & writing materials.

I agree there are still many children who do not go to school for economic reasons or their "parents/caregivers" are simply exploiting them. Then there are the children of the Burmese workers who's life revolves around a work camp & are denied education although I have heard of some camps where they have set up their own classes to give the kids some semblance of education. There are many worthy groups out there trying to assist the poor kids in getting an education but there are still far too many who fall through the cracks.