connda

Thanks!

My US Passport has 24 Visa pages and 3 Endorsement pages.

I just noticed the difference today. All 24 my visa pages are full (with the exception of two pages in the middle of the passport that have only one extension stamp on each page???).

I'm I correct to assume that Thai immigration will not place an extension stamp on an Endorsement page or on a page in the middle of my passport?

My guess is I need to make an appointment with the US embassy to get pages added before my annual extension appointment with Thai immigration in April?

My Passport expires in mid-2017, so also assuming that getting a new passport now is not an option?

BTW

Is it just my imagination or are there really not a lot (way way more) TV commenters who have gotten wise to this Terrorist Two-Step and who are willing to ask questions and willing to talk about it ?

This increased inquisitiveness and scepticism BOUND to happen in the absence of any credible investigation of whats actually being perpetrated by the ever-vigilant guardians of our well-being.

They're getting better at it.

But not fast enough.

People are catching on.

The tide will turn.

Most people will never 'get it' DB. Most people don't have the attention span to educate themselves. It's much easier to watch and agree with the talking heads on main stream media. However, anyone who wishes to education themselves, who wishes to peel back the layers of the onion, who want to 'look down the 'rabbit hole' to see just where it goes", start by looking up Operation Gladio, specially as the "Strategy of Tension" applies to it. Then, draw your own conclusions. This is all public record. BBC Time Watch did a documentary in 1992. Everything can be sourced on the Internet. It can be found on YouTube. However, once you 'get it', once you understand, don't plan to talk about it with your family, friends, or acquaintances because you'll be relegated to the 'tin-foil hat' crowd.

I'm getting too old to be anything but cynical about anything that plays out on the world stage. But then again, I've done my best to remove myself from the stupidity and aim for something simpler, like getting off the soapbox and tending my garden in the village. If the TPTB wish to blow the crap out of the planet, hopefully it won't show up at my village until well after I'm dead, cremated, and floated down the river. Nice thing about Thailand, they have a way of staying out of the sh*t when it hits the proverbial fan, which is one of the reasons I came here. The internal melodrama in Thailand is amusing enough. The global melodrama is not. Now, where did I put my garden hoe... lol.

...like using digital effects to make a Thai model turn 'whiter' right before your eyes just by rubbing on a cream?

... or rubbing on a cream that contains large amounts of white zinc oxide and then using a electrical device that measures 'whiteness' reflectivity, and the meter reading doubles.

Good to see.

Maybe the term 'bombling' is being misused here a little. Are these really 'bombs', or the equvialent of fireworks?

When we were teenagers, we used to throw snowballs at cars. it wasn't smart, we just weren't adult enough to think through the possible consequences.

People here are literally shouting for the death penalty - 'hang them from MBK!' I think went one comment. Christ man...thank goodness you have no authority anywhere.

When I first saw it I had the same reaction. Heck, when I was a kid we'd throw 'Black Cat' firecrackers at each other. Stupid. Yeah.

But look at the device closer. There are metal shards taped to the firework. At that point, the firework becomes a shrapnel producing device, which in my dictionary is a "Bomb". These idiots need to go to jail, because the obvious intent of that device is to harm people. That's not a prank.

That should result in some serious jail time, but a wrist slap will probably be the outcome.

Same old stuff - different day.

Where do you apply for a work permit in Chiang Mai (i.e., name of government agency and where is it located at).

I don't see what the problem is. As a teacher I expect to develop the curriculum myself, write the programmes and develop the lesson plans as well as develop feedback strategies and marking schedules. On top of this I draw up daily lesson plans. All I get initially is the overall topics that need to be covered. That is why I work a 60hr+ week.

At a minimum, you should be given 1) a list of objectives to be achieved at the level you are teaching, and 2) a set of books and supporting course materials. If you have that much, some enthusiasm, and analytical skill-sets, at the end of the course you will have a fully written curriculum, course notes, and lesson plans. The first time you go though it, it's tough. After that, you're refining what you developed. And that's the dedication it takes to be a teacher. Some people love it (I do), some people, not so much. Not everybody makes good teachers. It can be challenging, but really rewarding too!

Just some advice for those with not much interview experience, or who are desperate for a job. The interview process is a two-way street. The potential employer gets a chance to ask questions of you, and in a normal interview with a legit school, you should be asking questions too. Ask about the curriculum, ask to see the books, lesson plans, and any documentation relevant to teaching the class. Ask to shadow a class. Ask to talk to fellow instructors. Ask about expectation, yours and theirs, and before you sign a contact, come to a meeting of minds. Don't like the contract? Fine, write specific conditions that you expect the school to adhere to. Contracts go two ways. If it becomes too much of a headache and they start acting confused, hostile, impatient -- keep your cool, keep smiling, negotiate, but at the end of the day if you and your prospective employer can't come to terms -- open the door and leave. Do it nicely, even leave a business card in case they wish to call back. But if they lied to you and can't follow through on promises and guarantees, you better have it in writing or you should never had signed the contract. If thing don't go well, check the terms of the contract. Most contracts specify that either you or the employer can cancel the contract after giving appropriate written notification, usually within 2 week to 30 days. Make sure that your contract contains a specific 'Termination Clause'. If things just don't work, hand in a resignation letter, keep a signed receipt, and on the day listed in your letter - quit.

Big win for the Canadian environmental lobby. Pump that goo across the US to be exported. US eats the risks for next to none of the reward. Canada save it's pristine forests and beloved Straights of Juan de Fuca and makes CND! US gets the pollution potential and change.

The US: Up-and-coming banana republic and EPA Super-Fund Site.

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Your all making jokes about drugs that have been proven to cause immense problems hence the restrictions and custodial sentences.

Kids unfortunately do stupid things , I did , everyone I know did. Its part of how you learn to be a responsible person in adulthood . If you go down the "Drugs , bad , death and destruction road, they won't believe you or anything you say. Many people do drugs and don't die or become addicts and enjoy it and then grow out of it. 17 of them taking a heavy duty sleeping pill in school just shows you their naivety. Yes its bad yes its wrong , but they just learned a lesson I doubt they will forget

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Otherwise, most of us Boomer's would be dead. Well, those of us Boomer who don't admit to living in a now sanitized world of revisionist history where nobody really inhaled (think Slick Willie).

nothing new, we used to take a bunch of travel sickness pills (a fair few) and trip off our heads at the sports carnivals..

This is a true story, at my school a kid in the year above me decided to take 11 and a half ecstasy pills in an ICT lesson. Subsequently went into a coma and nearly died.

I nominate this fine upstanding ICT student as a Darwin Award runner-up. Nice job! Try taking 11 ibuprofen tabs the next time, you'll get about the same results. Might actually move up to first place!

Wanna take a downer????

Sure?

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ 17 hours later

Wasn't that fun!!!

Nimetazepam = Qualudes of 2015 SE Asia. Generally used by yaba tweekers to 'come down' for awhile, but someone must have crashed Mom or Dad's stash.

Monkey see, monkey do. The smart kids will figure it out. Dancing all night long fun!!!; sleeping on the dance floor all night long, not fun. Well, unless you like other people to paint your face for ya and re-dress you.

Isn't France one of the nanny states that won't allow you to have a gun. When all of zees gun are out of zee hand of free citizens, zeen, only terrorest he have gun.

When terrorist start murder spreed and seconds count, zee polize are only minutes away.

That was a good book recommendation from Bruce. I read it some time ago, but just looking over the preface, I picked this out as it seems relevant to the current discussion.

Ajahn Chah, a Thai master who is considered the head of Ajahn Amaro’s lineage (and the teacher of Ajahn Sumedho and Jack Kornfield), referred often to the “One Who Knows” as a pointer to the inherent wisdom within awareness itself. Ajahn Buddhadasa says that “emptiness and mindfulness are one.” Ajahn MahaBoowa, a contemporary of Ajahn Chah’s who learned from the same master, Ajahn Mun, says of impermanence: “This vanishes, that vanishes, but that which knows their vanishing doesn’t vanish. . . . All that remains is simple awareness, utterly pure.”

Bingo!

PM not happy with road accident statistics

And will be doing exactly nothing to prevent it happening again and I am sure he will then be even more unhappy when the Songran slaughter on the roads begin, or will he manage to get a proper working police force organised before April, I doubt it nothing will change on the roads in Thailand as they are only number 2 on the world for road deaths if they were number 1 then the panic would set in.

If there are no moving patrols pulling dangerous drivers over and impounding their cars, ain't nothing going to change. It's a joke, a bad joke at that.

The real question should be this: Why is Thailand OK with being the 2nd most dangerous place to drive in the world? There has got to be a reason. It's working for somebody. Heck, the Insurance industry doesn't even seem to give a rip.

The average John and Jane Public actually believe there are fundamental differences between the Republican and Democrats. Dig though Plato's Republic until you get to the Allegory of the Cave. The people pulling the strings understand it - the rest are sheep getting ready to get sheared.

Understand the nature of the illusion, or get sucked in an split hairs over meaningless posturing and stage-play.

I learned this from my Grandad at a very young age: "There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." If it looks too good to be true, it isn't. Run!

On the opposite side of every con is an equally greedy mark. I'm just blown away that this massively obvious scam works like silk on glass, over and over and over and over -- It's just like the EveryReady Bunnie with nuclear batteries. There must be a sh*tload of really well off scam artists across the world -- and regardless of what this says, the chances of Prince (just got 400K richer) Charming is an American is about zero.

Elected US Congress: Financed by Wall Street, Lobbied by Wall Street, legislation written by Wall Street for the benefit of Wall Street with financial kickbacks to the their congressional sock-puppets. Rinse and repeat. Democracy? That's a joke. Legalized vote buying right out in the open endorsed by the Supreme Court. The institutionalize corruption by making the immoral and the unconscionable legal, make this (Thailand) third-world child's play pale in comparison.

Road blocks for traffic control is like pissing in the wind. The only thing that will change driving habits and accident statistics are the enforcement of "Moving Violations', including stiff fines that if can not be paid, your car / bike is towed away. In the US, if your doing 15 to 20 MPH over the speed limit, you get arrested and your car is impounded. Here? Go 160 KPM in a 60 KPM zone and no cops know or care. Western based Highway Patrol enforcement for moving violations would be an excellent start.

For sure, go live in that place with your friend. Be sure he can watch over you as you get used to everything.

What you are thinking of doing is definitely right for your age, because now is your time to get ready for a good death. Read the "Tibetan Book of the Dead" or commentaries on it to understand what I am saying.

There is a hint in your statement that you "want to do the world some good." Beware of this goal in the normal Westernized way of thinking like that because that is not exactly the goal of the life you will be entering. Monks traditionally do not wander around "doing good" like The Lone Ranger or a Christian missionary.

Definitely go give it a try, but you are starting at the most difficult situation, the most advanced. Send me a message if you want to talk; I took Bodhisattva vows.

Thanks for the post, once again my expectations have been overwhelmed by the responses in both this thread and PMs.

I just googled "Bodhisattva" and was struck by the meaning and its words about most people living their lives in Desire and not being fully "adult"

This certainly strikes a chord with my own personal standpoint and I will look into this further.

Thanks for the offer to PM you and I certainly will once I have digested all the content of the helpful advice and comments that have been given so freely

What forest wat is willing to take you on. Just curious.

The idea of "taking thoughts into samadhi" doesn't make sense to me because samadhi is free of thought. It is one pointedness because the mind is just experiencing its own nature, its undisturbed ground state without the fluctuations of thought.

I don't disgree with you TRD, but I see this often taught.

To take an idea into a meditative state in order to gain insight.

Perhaps others can comment.

Maybe their is confusion over the meaning of words here. I use samadhi to simply mean meditation. I'll tell my wife, in Thai, that I'm going to my room to practice samadhi. Can you take a 'thought' into meditation? Sure, it's called a mantra (actually a sound) or the thought "BUD" on the in-breath and "DHO" on the out-breath. These are your primary objects of meditation or your primary objects of samadhi. So a discussion like this is more of an exercise in semantics. The actual practice of meditation (samadhi) is not, it's direct experience. The objects of meditation, your breath, a sound, may disappear as your mind calms and reaches subtler levels, until they seem to 'disappear'. Again, I'm speaking from my own experience. Hope it helps.

Yes, your SSA-1099 will come to the same address as all other mailings from the SSA, i.e. your CM address.

Thanks Nancy, Approximately when have you (or I believe your hubby) been receiving the SSA-1099 in the mail each year?