ma91c1an

Suddenly I'm reminded of Sex and the City, and the scene where Samantha is having sex after taking viagra and the scene suddenly cuts to an opera diva singing a very high note...

Ok..so...does anyone actually know of any woman who has taken viagra, to know if it really does have some added effect?

Certainly.

I had a girlfriend nearly four years ago who liked to eat a small nugget of Kamagra (a locally manufactured Viagra knock-off) before sex. She would cut a pill in half, then cut one half in half, then cut one of those halves in half, so she ended up taking a very small dose. It was plenty.

She claimed that the Kamagra engorged her clitoris (these were not her exact words, but my rendition for what I consider to be a PG-rated website), and I can attest that it did make her extremely horny. Extraordinarily horny. And I can confirm that her clitoris appeared positively enraged. Simply blowing on it caused her to shudder with pleasure.

I am not a doctor, so I cannot testify to the pharmaceutical effect of Kamagra (or Viagra) on women, but Viagra does increase blood flow to the erectile tissues of the male penis. It might make sense that it could do the same for the clitoris in the case of a woman.

I do not recommend that all you men out there start crushing a small dose of Kamagra into the som tam of your girlfriends, but... if a small nugget accidentally made its way down the esophagus of a girl with whom you are intimate, it might be interesting to know the results.

No we don't have any details, but lets apply a little common sense to this. This is not the Thai police looking for Tea Money. They were asked to arrest the guy by the FBI. So with all the shenanigans that go on in Thailand, Pattaya in particular, this guys shenanigans were the cream that rose to the top of all the other shenanigans. When you see what is overtly tolerated in Thailand by every sector of society, then consider that this guy was singled out by INTERNATIONAL law enforcement as being noteworthy, how much more do you need to know? The guy should be SHOT!

FBI is not an international law enforcement agency, they have no right to "enforce" the law anywhere outside of the USA...

Technically, this is incorrect.

American citizens are subject to American law worldwide.

An American citizen who breaks an American law, anywhere in the world, can be arrested, extradited, and brought before an American court.

It does not matter what the local "age of consent" might be. If the age of consent is below that mandated by American law, an American citizen can still be charged with a violation of American law and prosecuted.

It is far better to book a limo in advance to pick you up at the airport in Phuket than to pay the extortionate rates charged by the taxi mafias in that town.

Good work taking photos of the taxi driver's placard.

It is also a good idea to take a photo of the driver himself. Also, on the right-side rear door, on the inside, there is usually another placard with the number of the taxi.

It is illegal for a taxi driver to use another driver's placard. Taking photographs and handing them to the tourist police will get results.

If you are in a taxi and the driver attempts to charge you an extortionate amount of money at the destination, simply give him the correct amount and walk away. No point in arguing. Just tell him "no," or say "mai chai," and hand him the correct amount. He should be using the meter, anyway. If he follows you, (and this has happened to me just once in six years living in Bangkok), walk into a legit business and ask them to call the police. Point at the man and say "quigong," pronounced "kee gong," with the second syllable pronounced like "own" with a "g" at the end. Your driver will scram. He knows that the police will nail him.

If the meter is busted or rigged, then again, take photos. It is illegal for a taxi to be on the road with a busted or rigged meter. Complain to the tourist police.

It is easier to just walk away and to get on with your day, but if enough of us start taking pics and start complaining to the tourist police, more and more unscrupulous drivers will get punished.

On the other hand, when you get a sweet old driver who just does his job, make sure that you tip the man. Reward good conduct. Punish bad conduct.

In cases where you have a taxi driver screwing you around, take your mobile phone and take his picture. Then turn to your right (in the back seat), and photograph the number placard on the right-hand rear inside surface of the door. If you can (assuming that your driver is not attempting to wrest the camera from your hands at this point), photograph the photo placard on the left-front dashboard.

Get out, go to the nearest police station, and swear out a formal complaint.

That taxi driver will get jacked up--and rightly so.

It is illegal for taxi drivers to refuse to use their meter.

Conversely... when you get a sweet driver who takes you where you want to go with no drama, reward good behavior with a nice 10 or 20 baht tip.

At no time should you raise your voice or get into a fracas with a taxi driver. You will loose, big-time. Be calm and smooth. When you talk to the police, be measured and reasonable.

You just might be surprised at the results.

Ask your Embassy to draft a letter asking Immigration to transfer your old visas to your new passport.

When I received a new passport, the letter was automatically provided to me at no charge. I simply handed both the new and the old passports with the accompanying letter to the immigration official at my next 90-day check-in. He grunted, began furiously stamping, and smiled at me when he was finished.

You do not mention your nationality, so you make it difficult for your compatriots to comment on the specific policies of your Embassy here in the Kingdom.

I have been favorably surprised by the quality and competence of True technical support lately.

The company has vaulted light-years ahead of where it was just a few years ago. When I call, which is rarely, I get a pleasant, polite, well-schooled technician who can advise me in English.

I am astonished by this, as I have some technical expertise from a previous career, and I generally only call Tech Support as a genuine last resort.

Well, I purchased two iPhones for my wife and I, and I encountered some set-up issues that should have been handled at the True Shop. When I could not overcome them, I reluctantly called True. I was up and running within ten minutes.

If anybody from True is aware of this forum, please accept my profound gratitude and my congratulations. Keep doing what you are doing. You are indisputable evidence that Thailand is very much evolving.

I live in a little house in a Thai neighborhood.

The houses of my neighbors are close, but not too close. We all have high walls around our gardens, so we have some buffer between our properties. This helps, as whatever happens in their homes has minimal impact on mine. One next door neighbor actually runs a small restaurant from her home.

I rarely see a cockroach. I have a maid come in every day, however, as I prefer that my wife have time to do yoga or anything else that she prefers to do instead of housecleaning. Of course, my neighbors all consider me a "rich farang" because I spend roughly 5,000 baht a month for the maid service. My house runs me 15,000 baht a month, and it is well worth it. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two floors. It is small, but well-appointed. I do not live ostentatiously, but I do live very well.

My house is spotless. The only time that I see a roach is when they come up out of the drains after a hard rain, and even then, I may see one or two every other month. Sometimes, I go months without seeing one.

I do have to battle the ants. We do that principally by keeping food in places unaccessible to them, and again, through fanatic cleanliness. I may have to spray Raid along an ant trail about once every two months. Other than that, I kill mosquitos that get into my kitchen. But that is it. Very few bugs invade my home, and that is remarkable, considering the tropical environment.

It is possible, in my opinion, to live here and to live without roaches infesting your home. One problem with living in a condo is that you have no control over what the neighbors are doing. If they live like pigs, then the roaches will migrate over to your place, and you will fight a war that you cannot win against them.

I think that you just have to maintain a very clean home environment, have commensurately clean neighbors (or sufficiently distant neighbors, as I do), and keep all food covered.

Ah, yes. About mice. I had a kitty, and he kept them out of the house. Then he disappeared a couple of years ago. I now have a small Thai soi doggie, but he is only capable of barking at things and letting me know when I have a rodent intruder. He is not fast enough or smart enough to actually catch them, and those bastards are slick and fast. So I have had to employ a glue trap twice in the past three years. Both times, I captured very handsome mice with expressive black eyes. I did not have the heart to kill them. I just put them in the garbage, out in the street. Maybe they got loose at the dump.

I rather hope so.

Better to fly to Buri Ram, it takes about an hour, then rent a vehicle in town to do your local sightseeing.

While it is interesting to drive there once, just to see the country, it is a long drive.

I am another satisfied customer of TRSC.

I had the procedure done when I was age 45. Now, at age 49, I no longer need contacts or glasses for normal activities. When I wore glasses and contacts, my vision corrected down to 20/15 bilateral. After Lasix, my vision was not that good, but it is fine. I have not had a test in a couple of years, so I do not know exactly what my vision rating is, but I see fine.

I do have to wear reading glasses, and TRSC did advise me that it would be likely that this would be the case. My reading glasses cost 80 baht on the street. I have easily a dozen pair scattered around my house, in case I need to read a label or look at something close up. I do not find it a huge imposition, and I consider it a very fair trade-off. I used to spend a pretty penny on contacts and on glasses. No longer.

TRSC has a lifetime guaranty. I can pick up the phone at any time and make an appointment to be seen at no charge. Additional procedures are free, except for hospital supplies, generally around 1,000 baht. I considered making a small adjustment a couple of years ago because my dominant eye for shooting changed, but since I am otherwise satisfied with my eyesight, I decided to forego the procedure. I do not wish to tempt fate. I see very well. I figure that cutting your eyeballs can be a risky endeavor. I did it once and I got away with it. I see no real need to try it again.

I strongly endorse TRSC, and in case anybody wonders, no, I have no relationship with the firm or with anybody associated with it. I am simply a satisfied customer.

Have a friend who reads Thai break out the Yellow Pages. Look up the manufacturer authorized repair shops.

I have a monstrous Philips projection TV. The picture started shaking, then the TV died completely. My wife called one of the factory-warranty repair shops, and they sent a couple of extremely competent guys out. They disassembled the TV in my living room, diagnosed the problem (some chemical used by lamps needed to be replaced or replenished, and a couple of parts needed to be replaced), and they took care of it in a couple of hours. Total bill was around 5,000 baht, which seemed expensive until they told me that their work was warranted for a year. They also showed me the replacement parts, which were all name-brand. The TV has been like new ever since, and the repair was done over a year ago.

This is a good way to go, in my opinion, if you have an expensive TV. If you just have a small unit, then just ask around your neighborhood. Your neighbors will know who does stuff like fixing TV's. Have a Thai friend make the call, and have a Thai friend present to explain things to you. This can also help you avoid "farang surcharges."

The Department of State will revoke a passport in a heartbeat if your name appears on the HHS black list of deadbeat parents. They do not care where you are, or what you are doing. Their position is that you have an obligation that needs to be resolved in the US. They have no "wiggle room" here. They do not have the option of "forgetting" to check the black list. They do it for every single person that enters Embassy Consular Services. If you hand them your passport, they are going to run it. If you come up as a match on the system, they will revoke your passport.

Now, it is possible for an American to remain overseas for as long as his or her passport is valid, under the assumption that they never step onto the grounds of a US Embassy. Transiting immigration in third-party countries should not present a risk, unless the immigration authorities consult a US database, and I am not aware of this happening anywhere in the world.

Even in cases where the black listing is in error, the Embassy is still required to revoke the passport. I am familiar with a case where a gentleman had paid his child support obligations in full several years prior, and was no longer required to pay child support, as his progeny was older than 20 years old. His name was on the black list, because the child support enforcement agency in his state neglected to ask HHS to remove his name.

It took him six weeks to get confirmation from the child support enforcement agency that his obligation was paid in full, and a further four weeks for that confirmation to percolate at HHS, resulting in the removal of his name from the black list. For that entire time, he was stuck in Cambodia, and he could not leave, unless he wanted to return to the US.

Thinking that the Embassy will not revoke your passport while you are overseas is just plain foolish. They will not hesitate. The way that they see it, you can always just go back to the US to handle the situation.

I need to amend my earlier comments. Based upon the following data, it appears that the Embassy can and will seize a revoked passport.

Q. HOW CAN A U.S. PASSPORT BE DENIED TO A PERSON OBLIGED TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT?

A. . U.S. passports cannot be denied based on requests from private individuals. 42 U.S.C. 652 (k) provides that the Secretary of State must deny issuance of a passport to a person who is in arrears of child support of more than $5,000 based upon a certification to that effect by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). See 22 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 51.70 (a) (8) . If a person applies for a U.S. passport or other consular services abroad, and that person's name does not clear the Passport Name Check System due to an outstanding child support obligation certified by HHS, the U.S. embassy or consulate will deny the request for a passport or revoke a passport already issued.

The person may be issued a limited validity passport which is also limited for return to the United States. "Revoke" means that the U.S. government has officially removed the passport from the person - it does not necessarily mean that the original passport (which may include multiple foreign visas) is destroyed or canceled. If there is a hold for HHS certified child support reasons, the passport will not be returned to the person until the name clears the passport lookout system. The formal passport revocation letter prepared by the U.S. embassy or consulate informs the person that the passport is legally revoked and he or she is not entitled to it until HHS gives the Department of State official permission.

Once the name of the person clears the passport lookout system electronically, the passport may be returned. This means that the state where the child support is owed must notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that the $5,000 or more in arrears has been paid. HHS will in turn notify the U.S. Department of State that the individual's name may be removed from the passport name check system. The Department of State and its embassies and consulates abroad have no information concerning individual child support obligations and have no authority to take other action until HHS removes the person's name from its list. Please direct any questions to the appropriate state child support enforcement agency. You may go to the Department of Health and Human Services - State Child Support Enforcement Web Site for a listing of HHS state and local agencies. See also the HHS letter to all state IV-D Directors requesting updated information.

You are killing yourself.

You need to consider a stay in a residential facility to get yourself under control. You need to quit drinking, period, and you need to have a competent psychiatrist concoct an appropriate cocktail of psych meds for you. This can be done far more effectively and efficiently if you are in a residential facility under a psychiatrist's care than if you attempt to do it on an out-patient basis. Then you need to sit down with a competent psychologist to do some work on your demons. A social worker can help you map out immediate, mid-term, and long-term goals, and help you draft a plan to attain them. It will probably cost you less than you realize. When you consider that it will probably also save your life, that skews the cost-benefit ratio even further in your favor.

No one with an ounce of sense is going to recommend any medications for you over an internet forum. That would be the height of malpractice. There is a good reason why most psych medications require a doctor's prescription, even in an over-the-counter mecca like Thailand: they are hazardous in the hands of the untutored. Many of them have nasty side-effects. Some can make you suicidal. I feel a responsibility to give it to you straight: you are stupid for even contemplating an effort to medicate yourself, especially when your liver values are probably compromised, and you may not even be capable of metabolizing certain medications. You do realize that you are destroying your liver, right?

You are clearly not making good choices for yourself. You can reverse that trend with one simple phone call. Just for the record: I have no relationship with the firm below, and I gain nothing from offering you this advice. If you must know, others assisted me when I was in your shoes a decade ago. Out of gratitude to them, I am "paying it forward," and recommending that you hear me, and not simply let my words go in one ear and out the other. You can treat yourself better. And you should.

To get started, call Psychological Services International on Sukhumvit Soi 43: 02 259 1467. They can make the appropriate referrals for you. They offer a sliding fee scale which is based upon your ability to pay. I am pretty sure that they accept insurance, in the event that you are carrying any coverage. If not, do not worry about it. Make the call, and handle the financial end of it as you go. It will not be as costly as you expect. In fact, it will probably cost significantly less than what you spend on alcohol on a weekly basis.

Or, you can just keep boozing it up in your little room. Until you die.

Though I do not know you, I hope that you make a constructive decision. Good luck.

I would say that opening an authentic place that served "genuine" Tex-Mex almost could not fail, despite the competition. You will obviously confront a lot of the same challenges as the pre-existing "Mexican" restaurants in Bangkok, but I think that if you simply hew as closely as possible to a genuine Tex-Mex menu that you will be fine.

In my personal opinion, every single Mexican restaurant in Bangkok at the present time falls short. Every time that I am in the mood for Mexican food, and I either order out, or I go out to eat, I end up dissatisfied and grouchy. There is no doubt that I am particular about Mexican food... my own family comes from Southern Colorado, and I still remember my great-great grandmother making tortillas by hand, from scratch. There was nothing like a fresh, warm tortilla from her hands. If you made your own.... you just might establish that one point of differentiation that sets you apart from every other place in town. I would buy fresh home-made tortillas. You could sell them. Yes, I am aware that tortillas are sold at Villa and Foodland. I buy them, on occasion, and again, I get grouchy when I eat them, because they just do not compare to grandma's tortillas.

The other thing that really matters to me is, your guacamole needs to be done right. And you need to provide a LOT of it. I really enjoy good guacamole, and I have to resort to making my own when avocados are not too ridiculously priced at the grocery store. It is extremely frustrating to order guacamole for delivery with Mexican food from any of the present restaurants in town, only to receive a pathetically small plastic container that contains an amount equivalent to a couple of ketchup packs. I do not know if avocados are grown in Thailand. If not, you may want to make a deal with a farmer to start a plantation for you, regardless of how long that it will take before the trees become productive, because avocados are one of those fruits that are difficult to come by here, in a place that is otherwise a paradise for fruit. I know that I would purchase avocados every week, if they did not cost 100 baht per piece. I would gladly pay 20 baht per piece. And I would buy a lot of them.

The previous comment on sour cream is also on the money. I think that freshness of these staple items, making them by hand, fresh, daily, would set you very much apart from your competition.

I really enjoy a good echilada. I have yet to encounter one in Bangkok that is satisfactory. The sauces that are foisted on customers in this town suck.

I also miss authentic peppers and eggs. And green pork chile with eggs. There is something to be said for rolling these contents into a fresh hand-made tortilla.

If you want to sum up the way that you can put the other "Mexican" restaurants out of business, just make your food like your grandmother made it.

I do not know, honestly, whether it is possible to teach a Thai how to cook in an authentic Tex-Mex fashion.

I wish you much luck with that, and with your endeavor.

If you have second thoughts.... consider the fact that there are no authentic Philadelphia-style sandwich shops in town. Nowhere to get a real cheese steak sandwich done right. No place to get a real weighty hoagie. Subway... just does not cut it. I never stepped into a Subway franchise back in the states, in the Philadelphia area, because any neighborhood hoagie store run by Italians blew them away. Here... they are pretty much the only game in town. And they still suck.

Anyway, thanks for doing some market research here. I look forward to trying your food.

As of 2006 (the last time that I was involved in such matters), the threshold amount of child support arrears that will result in the revocation of a passport (or a driver's license, or a license to practice law or medicine, etc.) was $5,000 USD. At that time, if you owed less, then your passport was not subject to revocation. These particulars may have changed since then, and I must note that I am not an attorney or a specialist in these matters.

The way that it worked in 2006, the child support agency in a particular state would report a deadbeat parent (it can be a woman or a man, depending upon the terms of the court order for child support) to the federal agency for Health and Human Services, or HHS. HHS maintains a "black list" of child support deadbeats, and this list is checked by US Embassies worldwide whenever a US passport holder seeks consular services like additional passport pages, replacement of a lost passport, etc. A deadbeat parent will also have their child support arrearages entered onto their credit report.

There is a distinction between the revocation of a passport, and the cancellation of a passport. When a passport is revoked, it is considered a punitive action. When a passport is cancelled, it is considered an administrative action. Passports that are revoked or cancelled will both be stamped, and their front covers defaced with holes. A passport that is cancelled will generally be cancelled in order to issue a new passport. The consular official will, under these circumstances, also provide you with a letter addressed to the Thai immigration authorities requesting that your visa be moved from the cancelled passport to your new passport.

As of 2006, the US Embassy would not seize a revoked passport. Unless procedures have changed, the passport remains in the possession of the holder. The Embassy will, however, revoke the passport with ugly black markings that say "REVOKED," they will punch holes in the front cover which indicate that the passport is invalid at a glance, and they will enter a stamp on the Endorsements and Amendments page that states ""This passport has been revoked on (Date) under the provisions of 02 C.F.R. 51.70 and 51.72.". The Embassy will also issue a travel document that complements a revoked passport, to facilitate travel back to the US, upon the request of the passport holder. This document is not automatically issued. You have to request it. It goes without saying that using a revoked passport for any purpose can result in arrest under Thai immigration law. The matter is simple: the passport is no longer valid. The Embassy will also provide a list of child support agencies in the US, broken down by US states, and a letter explaining what they have done, and why they have done it. That is it. They will hand you back your revoked passport, and two pieces of paper. They will provide no further assistance. They hand you the list of child support enforcement agencies, and they tell you that they will facilitate your return to the US at your own cost. They do not report you to Thai immigration, at least they did not in 2006, but this may have changed.

There is one legal way out of the situation of which I am aware.

The deadbeat parent needs to contact the child support agency in the former state of residence, and make arrangements to pay down the arrears below $5,000 USD. It is possible to make a one-time bulk payment which brings the amount of the arrears below $5,000 USD, and then engage in a payment plan to pay off the remainder.

Once the child support agency affirms to HHS that a payment plan is in place, and that the amount of arrearages is below $5,000 USD, HHS can then remove the deadbeat parent's name from the passport black list. Such removal is not automatic, in my experience. The deadbeat parent has to petition to have his or her name removed from the black list.

It goes without saying that the process will be dramatically facilitated if the deadbeat parent hires an attorney who is experienced with this process. It is my experience that US child support agencies are far more responsive to attorneys who are acting on behalf of deadbeat parents, than they are to direct coordination attempts by the parent themselves. I am not saying that the child support agencies will refuse to deal directly with deadbeat parents. I am saying that child support agencies are far more responsive to attorneys who are acting on behalf of deadbeat parents. This is unfortunate, but it can be very difficult for a deadbeat parent to resolve such a situation from within Thailand.

The easiest way out of this situation for the individual in question is to:

1). Hire an attorney in the US.

2). Have that attorney confirm the amount of the arrears. It is important to ensure that the arrearages are registered in just one state. It is possible for rival claims to be made in multiple states, and this can complicate efforts to effect the removal of his or her name from the HHS black list. It is possible for a lawyer to consolidate arrearages in multiple states into one claim in just one jurisdiction, satisfying claims in other states, and simplifying the process of paying down the arrearages with just one child support agency. Getting multiple child support agencies to acknowledge payments can be a frustrating exercise. It is far easier to deal with just one agency.

3). Pay down the arrearage below the $5,000 USD threshold, and create a payment plan incorporating automatic electronic deductions for the remainder to the child support agency.

4). Have the attorney ask the child support agency to request the removal of the deadbeat parent's name from the HHS black list. Request confirmation of this request, get a copy of it, and take it to the Embassy. The Embassy will have to receive formal notification directly from HHS via the Department of State using government channels, but if they have a copy of the letter that the child support agency sends to HHS, it can help them confirm removal from the black list from their end, here in Bangkok. If you simply let the bureaucracy grind at its own pace, the process can take weeks, and it is prone to human error. If you provide a copy of the letter to the Embassy, the process can take a single week.

5). Once the individual is removed from the HHS black list, the Embassy will issue a new passport.

It is not necessary to leave Thailand in order to complete the above process. The individual is vulnerable to expulsion from the Kingdom, however, for violation of immigration law, while the individual remains in the Kingdom with a cancelled passport.

Remaining in Thailand with a cancelled passport is not advisable. Virtually anyone who is cognizant of the situation can dime out the individual to the immigration police, and it goes without saying that the individual could then be subjected to extortion. It has happened before.

I see no reason why the OP should not ask this question of a diplomat at the British Embassy.

Personally, I find it offensive in the extreme that a man would abandon his child.

I suspect that there is a mechanism that could result in a court-ordered paternity test. Obviously, such a test would have to be ordered by a UK agency, and the mother would have to ascertain the whereabouts of the alleged father in order to refer that information to that agency. Considering the length of their relationship, it is possible that the mother has a copy of the alleged father's passport, or at least his passport number. If this is the case, the alleged father could be traced and located. In any event, any competent private investigator in the UK could locate the alleged father, through tax records or other data, under the assumption that the mother has the full legal name of the alleged father. This might be the best way to begin. Find the father first, then compel a paternity test through legal means.

In the event that paternity is established, I also suspect that there is a mechanism whereby the mother could sue the father for child support, or otherwise compel child support through a child support agency.

Yes, I imagine that this exercise may prove to be expensive.

I also think that it would be a worthwhile process to explore. The benefits to both child and mother could be significant. Even 10,000 or 20,000 THB a month in child support could mean the difference between abject poverty and an existence with dignity.

Deadbeat dads get no mercy from me.