Benjie

I always drive the car that the pump counter is beside the passenger window, at the same time I have the tank cap in full view in my side mirror.

It happened not so long ago to me at a Pattaya Shell station, where they have diesel and V-power wich is about 3 Baht more.

I order the attendant to fill with diesel and see in the side morror he indeed graps the diesel pump handle. At the same time another attendant is standing in front of the car and he signals him to take the V-power handle. So he changes and as soon as he points it to the car I shout, with my side window open, " NO " in Thai but the one that was standing in front of the car previously pretends not to understand Thai language anymore.

So I jump out of the car and get to them in full fury, which make them finally stop pumping. At that time there is 120 Baht of V-power in the tank already.

I tell him in my best Thai that I clearly ordered Diesel and will not pay for what they pumped already. So they change to diesel, but at the end when I pay they give me back change and include the 120 Baht V-power.

I simply make them once again aware that I didn't order that and that they can call the police or I will, after which I get back the 120 Baht in seconds.

I don't see why you would be entitled to any more than the difference in cost between 120 baht of Vpower and the equivalent amount of Diesel. Probably half that kids daily wage and it would have been taken out of his wage.

Why not try the local Soy milk. There are brands with no sugar at quarter of the price

Are you sure, I checked every single carton and they were all sweetened.

Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes is good, it's like Civ 5 with a Fantasy type theme (Orcs etc..). Also Company Of Heroes 2 has a free open Beta at the moment on Steam, that's also a very good game.

Previous comments from my friend:

Great system but fiddly.

Lots of channels but set up is a pain as

you have to go to each distributor/provider and wait for the list to

download which with some having over 500 channels can take time.

Once you've done that for the first time you are fine though.

He's going through training pains having to load up his favourites.

Has EPL so he's more than happy.

Movies on demand and he said he was watching the new die hard in blu ray quality with no pixelation, stuttering or stops

Speed is great but I will point out he gets high speed down as living in an area not densely populated.

Since then he has said it's a great system but wishes it came preloaded as you have access to many different "server systems" each with 100+ channels which every time you log onto a new "server" for the first time takes ages to download the program lists. Once you've done this tho the speed is fine and even though they say you should have a 4Mbits connection he says he's had it running fine with uTorrent hogging all the bandwith.

He added if you love porn then you'll never leave the house again!!

Note the 4,100 baht price appears to be to have it installed on your own PC by buying an SD card and having it posted - the small box and keyboard etc is 7,000 baht

I doubt that, BluRays are probably on average a constant 25Mbps and on top of uTorrent? streamed without stutter or pause in Full 1080p? Maybe on Google Fiber in the states.

When we found it we simply went into the warorot market building and asked someone for the Indian spice lady and we were pointed in the right direction. Please note it really doesn't look like you'd expect a spice shop to look like, but the spices are pretty good and she has a nice selection.

so was it a new mozzarella or cheeseless pizza told by the staff as claimed by ts? it still doesnt add up

on a note, ts should clear up if he was bullshlting about the pizza without cheese. great difference between different mozerella and a pizza without cheese

on the other hand if he was indeed served a pizza without cheese, i think the owner really own him one proper meal

damn . . pizza is serious business here

Hope this is not off-topic but...

The Pizza Company at Central Airport Plaza has really great pan pizza at a very reasonable price?

Even the 199 baht size was more than two of us could eat... and delicious.

It was really more than two of you could eat?

Nah.......c'mon you're kidding right?.........Really?

No, not kidding. We had to take half of it home.

My gawd, their pan pizza is about an inch thick.

You should go try it. I loved the veggie pizza.

Fabulous.

That means you and your friend only managed 3 slices of what, a 10" pizza?

If it were me I would seriously consider using an Android device for XBMC, Pi is just too slow in my experience and the XBMC seems to be forking towards Android anyhow. Not sure how a TV dongle will work here as there is no digital broadcast etc...

For in-ceiling speakers you should run speaker cable back from the general area of the speakers back to amplifier location (or closeby) make sure to use a speaker plate at the wall and conduit exclusively for the speaker cable, this should stop the cable getting cut, eaten or damaged. It sounds like you will be amplifying locally (in each room) rather than from a central location. I'd use outdoor speakers for the pool area as you don't have ceiling there anyway, these generally have a bracket.

The amplifier should be one that senses for a signal and turns itself on when it has an input, it will likely be a fixed volume so that you can control the volume from within XBMC.

Additionally it sounds like you should wire in a LAN with a socket in every room to the TV location, then you can store all of your music, movies, pictures etc... on a single server. Don't rely on wifi as it simply won't be good enough to stream HD etc...

The popularity of valves is primarily in components that each cost more than what most people would consider paying for an entire stereo system. That “high end” of the market might be easy to mock as unscientific, delusional, a waste money or whatever, but many of the people who buy those products are happy with their purchases. While it’s to be expected that a distributor of mid-fi products such as Sonos would have a negative opinion about that segment of the market, it’s very strange that someone “in the industry” would be unaware of it.

mid-fi? Sounds like Hi-Fi snobbery to me,

I'm happy to work with whatever my customers want, it just so happens that has never been valve components. If you've spent a lot of money on valve equipment and are satisfied then I'm happy for you.

No, calling someone a "mid-fi hammerhead" would be Hi-Fi snobbery. But still, how can anyone be "in the business" be unaware of the existence of high-end audio? Fair enough if you think that it's an absurdity, but to be unaware of it defies explanation.

You said there is a HUGE valve revival all over the world, I said that I don't think that's true. I stand by that and personally for me, when I think high-end audio, valve equipment doesn't enter my mind.

I'm sure there are people that enjoy it, just as there are still people who like to listen to Vinyl records, good for them but I don't see either increasing in popularity.

The popularity of valves is primarily in components that each cost more than what most people would consider paying for an entire stereo system. That “high end” of the market might be easy to mock as unscientific, delusional, a waste money or whatever, but many of the people who buy those products are happy with their purchases. While it’s to be expected that a distributor of mid-fi products such as Sonos would have a negative opinion about that segment of the market, it’s very strange that someone “in the industry” would be unaware of it.

mid-fi? Sounds like Hi-Fi snobbery to me,

I'm happy to work with whatever my customers want, it just so happens that has never been valve components. If you've spent a lot of money on valve equipment and are satisfied then I'm happy for you.

Interesting, ... not venturing to make a purchase immediately, so not willing to call ... but would like to know where the new shop is in HDong, since I pass often. Last time I dropped into the Green the gentleman gave me some good info on the economy of Chinese digital to analogue valve amps that I should follow up on some time.

what is an "digital to analog valve amp"? Im Guessing an DAC with a valve (pre) amp output, otherwise it would be a house filling monstrosity if valves were doing the digital conversion.

Valves are very low-fi, don't know why anyone would want to use them unless you are trying to deliberately change the original sound.

Valves are very "low fi"??? LOL, I have used them in my business for more than 35 years now and there is no technology that comes close to being as high-fidelity as valve technology! There is a HUGE valve revival all over the world right now and the trend is getting more an more popular.

I don't think that's true, and I'm someone who is 'in the industry'. I run an A/V company here in Thailand and can't think of any time in the last 10 years someone has requested valve technology or that I've listened to a Valve setup and thought it's anything special.

Showing all my cards here I distribute the Sonos music system (amongst others) here in Thailand, we don't have a dealer here in Chiang Mai yet but seeing as I have moved up here I'm sure we will be doing something up here at some point.

Don't get me wrong I love a bit of analogue audio, it's just people are looking for easy to use and reliable, which isn't really valve.

Sorry but I just don't believe the numbers quoted:

- Thai students - 450 - believable.

- Singapore students - 550 - not believable because teachers actually teach 99%

of all classes in English in singapore, students totally immersed in English from

day 1 at Kindergarten. The averageTOEFL score for Singapore students must be

a lot higher than 550 / the gap cannot be just 100, impossible.

It's a test of English as a foreign language, rather than testing people who speak English Natively?

You could get a nice projection unit up and running if you have a light controlled room, reasonably priced nowadays.

Books are only Duty Free if you import them by themselves I thought. If you mix in other media then you pay duty.

Also the calculation of tax and duty works like this

(Cost + Shipping Cost)* Duty +7%

Does the PCM come out in 5.1 or just stereo?

if it's 5.1 then PCM should be your best bet as it's uncompressed. However, generally it's always better to trust your ears.

I have a 3 brm 3bath fully furnished detached house in a land and house moo Baan in San Sai/ Mae Jo about 15-25 minutes from the old city. Beautiful neighborhood . Two security checkpoints to my house. 30 baht a day extra Club house privileges with pool, jacuzzi, sauna, treadmills, weight machine and free weights. Modern kitchen with oven and stove. Extractor fan above stove. Washing machine, AC in master bedroom and living room only and two car carport, completely fenced with moderate garden/yard. I just rented it for a year for 18000 baht a month. Many people I talk to say I got beat. Now I am wondering if I am paying too much. Any input?

You are paying double the going rate.

3 bed in SanSai about 6k, add a bit more if nicely furnished.

I can't believe that every 3 bed house in Sansai is identical, one could be 80 sqm and another could be 480sqm with a pool.

Something that you may not be aware of is that a lot of dealers will charge you 4 to 5k baht to test drive the vehicle of your choice if they do not have it on the lot. I believe that this is a type of delivery fee to the dealership. Just ask first, although when we were looking for a new vehicle all the dealers were up front about the fee.

If anyone of them does that... Just call the headquarters of that brand. You will see you get your test drive for free and very quickly at that. Just farangs getting skinned by ignorance.

Maybe not just farangs. We have a Thai working for us and he deals with all the Thai related stuff (Gov Depts etc). When we were looking for a new vehicle he went on his own to Toyota in Ari and made some enquires. He came back and told us about the fee. So maybe gullible Thais as well.

Depends, did you give him the money?

Does it contain Asbestos?

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy would be the way forward, basically forcing yourself (in small ways at first) to do the things that make you anxious, over time your anxiety level will drop and you can start to feel normal again, other forms of psychotherapy may help as may anti-depressants in the short term. The newer ones are certainly better than taking Xanax or similar, Social Anxiety/Depression etc... are very common there will be specialists at just about any hospital, choose the setting and Dr/Therapist that you feel most comfortable with.

What's the worst thing that could happen on a phone call, being over here the language barrier should shield you from embaressment as the person you will be talking to will be self concious of their English Language skills.

I think you will struggle to get hold of any meaningful X10 technology here so will likely have to import (which is generally a whole load of fun). X10 relies on powerline technology so here in Thailand you will have to make sure that your electrical install is entirely up to scratch else you'll be pulling your hair wondering why it isn't working consistently.

Most European installations use EIB/KNX nowadays so most of the hardware you will find out there is 110v, X10 feels Archaic compared to KNX and the reliability on good electrical wiring is a real issue here in Thailand, any reason you favour it?

Thai Whiskey = Poison

SangSom is actually pretty good stuff...in moderation, of course. Are you prejudiced?

SangSom is Rum

Na mate it was the 84K that lost it for you and life bored up-country!

Na mate it was the 84K that lost it for you and life bored up-country!

Nothing wrong with 85K a month for a chemical engineer. There is a chance in the future that she will be involved in Wheatstone, if that would give a clue to her employer.

Yeah she would have all of what? 2 maybe 3 years experience and still be a trainee, 20k baht more like.

As Jayman pointed out, I doubt these stick computers have enough processor power to be useful, but the geek value is incredible!

Another problem with all these Chinese Android knock-outs is complete lack of post-sales support. I doubt there are going to be any updates available, and with the speed and level Android is developing these days it effectively would mean a 3-6 months usable life spam for these gadgets. Rather pay a little more and get a device with some support, either by the manufacturer or the hacking community.

I own 3 or 4 of these devices and they can all play 1080p video, youtube, 1080p games etc... it's not like resolutions are going to go up any time in the next 3-4 years. The amount of these boxes/sticks they are selling, its likely the community will be where to go for updates if they become necessary. The great things about some of these is that they can be powered through your TV's USB port so use minimal power.

The ones with AMlogic chipsets can also play nicely with XBMC and one of the manufacturers or OEM companies is actually the main sponsor of XBMC, so it's likely that it will fork off in that direction considerably.

Thanks for your input. Would you please share your experiences on which if these cheaper sticks we are discussing will handle XBMC without stuttering the playback.

I've just got them but will be focussing solely on xbmc, My Amlogic box was $80 delivered and is about the size of an AppleTv

As Jayman pointed out, I doubt these stick computers have enough processor power to be useful, but the geek value is incredible!

Another problem with all these Chinese Android knock-outs is complete lack of post-sales support. I doubt there are going to be any updates available, and with the speed and level Android is developing these days it effectively would mean a 3-6 months usable life spam for these gadgets. Rather pay a little more and get a device with some support, either by the manufacturer or the hacking community.

I own 3 or 4 of these devices and they can all play 1080p video, youtube, 1080p games etc... it's not like resolutions are going to go up any time in the next 3-4 years. The amount of these boxes/sticks they are selling, its likely the community will be where to go for updates if they become necessary. The great things about some of these is that they can be powered through your TV's USB port so use minimal power.

The ones with AMlogic chipsets can also play nicely with XBMC and one of the manufacturers or OEM companies is actually the main sponsor of XBMC, so it's likely that it will fork off in that direction considerably.

Would be interesting to know if Nissan intend to actually manufacture anything, or to just assemble the imported parts here. I believe Ford were very clear in stating that their intended new plant in Thailand would only assemble and not actually manufacture anything.

There's the first one!... desperately trying to put a negative slant on a positive report.

Sorry to dim your rose-tinted specs, just trying to put things in perspective (and not really desperate at all!). There really is a huge difference between manufacturing and merely assembling. The former would show a real long-term commitment to Thailand in training a skilled workforce, the latter could be merely a short-term expedient to get round import duties, etc. to be easily shifted elsewhere once the AEC comes into operation.

Surely all manufacturing is simply assembly of components into a product?

I'm still trying to work out the food they left out of the unmentionable dish, why aren't you allowed to say what the dish was or what it was missing?