kandahar

It's my wifes due date today, I hope she doesn't go into labour yet, this is great!

Congrats on the upcoming event. Exciting stuff.

Please let us know when you have given the new arrival his/her new forum name. I am most anxious to read that first post. And we can do with a little higher population count on here.

Okay, NOW I can see surreal. But I swear, it wasn't here before.

I can't see the surrealism in this thread that a few others seem to be noticing. If there are any phantasmagoric entries, maybe someone could explain to me which ones are which. So far, in a very careful review of the postings, I can find only factual entries relating to well-known and accepted occurrences or, at the very least, entries pertaining to what is obviously something that is bound to occur or something that did happen even if none of us were there to witness it. If the tree fell, it made a noise, right?

It is very troubling to see anyone painting this serious thread, which is an obvious public disclosure of jubby‘s troubling life, as anything less than the mournful cry for help that it is. Who can see less than the sorrowful truth in such writings? Surely Sceadugenga will weigh in with his thoughts on forum etiquette here and bring some validity back to this thing. There is documented precedence for such intervention in the pursuit of following protocol.

Our forum seems to be having a bad week. Could things be any more boring?

Impossible while you have Jubby and Kandahar and their merry badinage, or however you spell it.

Do you two guys realise you have a book here?!

I've only just stumbled on this thread and your mixture of sage expat advice, gossip, and total surrealism. It's a treat! Really!

Get your stuff together, find a good cartoonist (I have one here in Chiang Mai and she is 28 and GORGEOUS) and compile a book. Put it on Amazon, give the world a treat and watch the dosh flow in.

Truly, you are the thinking man's Morecambe and Wise of Chiang Rai. And/or whatever the US equivalent is or was. Laurel and Hardy? Whatever, they are all dead and you two are more lively than fleas on a running dog's cods.

And that's a compliment!!

Keep it, as they say, up!

Well, there you have it. Another TV poster using an uncommon word, trying to get VF all fired up. Badinage. While my Thesaurus classifies it as a French derivative, it seems to be used here more as blind-sided punch below the belt rather than being used in the context of the actual definition.

It is strange how these wars can drag on for years, full on at times and then receding into quiet memory at other times, only to erupt into full-scale carnage again, with little notice. Biff takes a break. Limbo lays off. I too, decide to give VF a break, cut him some slack, give him a few days reprieve and a little extra time to collect some good word specimens from Google. jubby does the same, wiping the slate clean and treating VF as if he is just another anonymous poster that doesn't deserve special attention. And then WHAM!!!! The gauntlet flies through the air, over the heads of the aforementioned peacemakers, and falls with a resounding smack into the center of the ring. Shock and dismay, as all who witness this event realize that the silence of the big guns was temporary, a fleeting moment of solitude and solidarity, accompanied by serene, quiet bliss. We are jolted awake with the sudden knowledge that the peaceful days we enjoyed were sponsored not by brotherly love but instead, brought about only by the tardiness of an unexpected challenger.

I envision Flatouthruthefog trudging cross-country through the different forums, his tools of war weighing heavy in his rucksack and making his journey more difficult, especially as he climbs over the mountain ranges that separate the different forum locales. He is eager, sharp-eyed. But he has his scars, as well. This isn't his first picnic. I see him stopping in with the Pattaya gang, turning down invites to stay a while and enjoy the stories of beach life and tuk-tuk operators. "No", he replies, "Somewhere a rogue awaits his fate. Duty calls." The Krabi gang entice him with offers of quiet times, in the most quiet of locales and with seafood buffets galore. "I cannot. A battle rages and I must face my foe." The BKK forum beckons and, upon arrival, a war is under way. He realizes that the fight he is witnessing is between warring parties that have no specific goals and therefore, cannot be won by either party until more definitive battle lines are drawn and he moves on. The Chiang Mai forum issues a lively call and he responds. But alas, a forum that once had the reputation for being the Dodge City, shoot-out capitol of the forum world, had been tamed. After a short time of warily eye-balling him, the CM bunch go back to their lazy evening. Niceties and decorum have raised their ugly heads and permeated even the controversial thread topics. Idealism appears to have found a comfortable home with citizens content in their search of the perfect fish and chips and a nice book-shop that offers coffee and table service. "Good grief, man! Whatever could have happened to this place? At one time, such a wonderful place for a show-down, where one carefully typed sentence could cause a keyboard onslaught that evoked memories of the Huns and now...... Well, maybe again, one day. And maybe it is gone forever. Let me move on, past the mountains and see what kind of men and women occupy the forum on the northern frontier".

And now, here he is. Practically unknown but apparently armed to the teeth. No doubt he has at least some years of university under his belt. ( I mean, c'mon, badinage? You don't find that just laying around on the pages of a periodical in the barber shop.) Probably a pocket sized edition of the latest Thesaurus rests next to his monitor. Two hot-keys ready to simultaneously search Google and Word-Search in a split/pane screen with the touch of a finger.

This is going to be ugly. I had better jockey for a good seat with a view before the crowd gathers. At times like this, I wish I was a beer drinker. This black coffee just doesn't accompany and compliment the adrenalin as well as another beverage might.

I see VF has put forth a feeler, seeming to ignore the guy, pretending to engage jubby-the-outlaw and myself, all the while trying to up his connection speed with the Google website. He's even trying to make this look like it is about us, instead of himself. Sly move on his part; divert the attention of the challenger for just that critical moment.

Time to sit back and wait and see. jubby, are you gettin' this? Time to pay attention to every word and commit them to memory. This is stuff that legends are made of....

They most certainy are. A very good friend of mine was a fibre optic engineer and did a lot of work for the military. As he had a very good security clearence he also did work for the Ameruicans as well. the NSA operate a very large listening post in the UK. Menwith hill. Do a Google search. They record every telephone call, both mobile, satalite and landline, fax, email and internet activity. As already mentioned they havethe ability to screen these for certain words and they can even search for a particular voice pattern, That is how they eventually captured or rather killed Pablo Escobar.

So yes be worried. As they say " Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean that they aren't all out to get you ! "

Have a look here

http://www.euronet.nl/~rembert/echelon/mwh.htm

They most certainly are not. If they were, they wouldn't be wasting time getting court orders to allow them to review phone logs of known or suspected criminals, now would they?

Do they monitor suspects that they have a good reason to monitor? Of course. Are we all suspects? Of course not.

It is funny how children are afraid of the bogey man under their beds and when they grow up, they just imagine the same bogey man in different places. BTW, there is no Santa Claus, either.

Yeah, you're worrying needlessly. If they do employ the technology and skills to accomplish this task here, they won't be spending their time watching you. They have real criminals and activists to be concerned with. And I doubt that they are even watching the bad guys. If they were, they would be arresting people BEFORE major landmarks burned, not after. As far as I can tell, you have to actually make it onto YouTube with a video of yourself loudly announcing your criminal plans before anyone starts to suspect that you are up to something. Even then, it takes another week or two for them to act on the info.

Rest easy, man.

Quote: "Oh yes, don't let us forget that he also developed the Chiang Rai street pattern."

Limbo must be speaking about the few blocks surrounding the clock tower. Other than that, the only noticeable "pattern" to the streets is the lack of any pattern. I get so tickled at myself sometimes when I follow a street and, all too soon, end up right back where I started.

But hey, maybe it was done intentionally to throw off invading forces. I can see how a patrol column could set out in search of the enemy and soon come upon the rear guard of another column. Quite the battle could ensue before the forces realized that the rear of the patrol was being attacked by the front of the same patrol. It is all about attrition, isn't it?

OP, I think you're wrong to remove the child from school. In my opinion, you are better off to aggressively pursue the removal of the teacher. If you have had four good years with the place, then there is a lot going on that is right and, by your account, there is ONE thing that went wrong. Fix it. Other parents don't need to learn the hard way that this happening. Protect your child and the rest of the children. Go back to that administrator and let her know you aren't going to drop it. Let her know that the school has a reputation and it is her responsibility to uphold that reputation. If indeed there is a law on the books prohibiting hitting, quote it to her and insist that she perform her duty.

Let your child know that if ANYTHING further happens along these lines, she needs to let you know, whether at this school or anywhere else she goes. Let her know that when these things do happen, it is the responsibility of parents to act and remove the threat, not to run away and face the same thing or worse at another location.

Education begins at home. The schools can teach math and dancing. It is up to you to produce a member of society that values the rights of each person and is willing to stand up for what is right. If we all run away instead of addressing the problems, one day there will be nowhere left to run to.

Fix the problem. If the place is a good school, then you have just helped them to retain the standards that brought you to them in the first place. And your daughter has learned a lesson in how to live life as a responsible adult. Show her and explain to her how it is done and at the same time, show the weak-kneed administrator how it is done.

This is not the last time your daughter will encounter bad behavior from an adult. But it can be the lesson that will stay with her for the rest of her life concerning how to deal with that type of behavior. Let her know that bad things happen and when they do, bad people lose if we don't sit on our hands. She will get over this. We have all had our bad moments as children. The courses of action that our parents took and explained to us is what makes us who we are as adults. Perhaps she will be a manager of people in her adult life. Perhaps she will be an activist that changes the world. Perhaps she will be a stay-at-home mother. Give her the tools now to help her succeed and to be independent. These lesson come to us all of our lives. Use them well.

While I understand the legal reason, the story without the name of the school is useless.

Not so useless. He can PM you or anyone else the name of the school if you or they need it.

Lots of the optical shops in Thailand sell authentic branded sunglasses. One of the reasons they can discount is the fact that they tend to purchase discontinued models at discounted prices. Often, if you find the perfect sunglasses at a Thai optical shop and decide later that you want a second one, it can't be found. Searching the Internet will show that model for sale previously but each site will show "discontinued" or "not available".

There are some good deals on branded sunglasses at the more well-known Thai optical outlets. They also sell some junk. Stick with the brands that you know. Their RayBan selection is authentic.

Brian will be released from the hospital today.

My opinions, based on what I see and hear. I haven‘t been here all that long.

1. Quantity: There is a surplus at this time. A BIG surplus. Most open rentals aren’t even advertised except by word of mouth or an easy-to-miss paper sign stuck on the wall of some café or on a post near the street.

2. Quality: From what little I have seen, the homes available are, for the most part, of inferior quality. While some of the styles may be okay, most of the homes for rent seem to be thought out from the view of saving baht. That of course is the way of this society. Those homes were not built for rentals. They were built for budget conscious families and later, became rentals, sometimes with some small concessions made for Farang clients. Overall, not up to snuff for Farang but maybe surpassing the expectations of some of the locals. Even with the remodeling, silly mistakes in planning are evident and what one house gains in the way of a nice add-on kitchen is lost when the new addition isn’t sealed up against rodents.

3. Value: I rented initially when I came here to stay. I would not have even considered the higher prices you mention, no matter what amenities were offered. I don’t know any person here that would consider a place with those prices.

4. Location: I lived in the country, initially, six km’s out. That was too far for the wife. The outer edge of town would be perfect for us, which is pretty much where we are now. Convenience trumps a view, in our book. However, any place that has a karaoke bar within earshot is out. So, even if you build in the country, it is important to make sure that some bamboo bar isn’t going to be constructed within a half km in the near future. And if one is built close by, and it shows any indication of success what-so-ever, several more will pop up within a few weeks. The owner of the rentals where I stayed initially has lost plenty of customers because of the late-night partying nearby. Make sure you have the right people on your side if you build. You might need their help later on to keep the pop-up bars at bay. The place where I rented before has ten houses on 16 rai. It was isolated and quiet when the guy first started building. It is still isolated, out in the country, but there are two bars within 100 meters of the place now.

5. Isolated or not: Neighbors are good but not closely packed. 100 meters or more is a good distance. Too few neighbors, as in totally alone, invites crime.

6. Pond- Ponds are okay but the negatives about equal the positives. More snakes, bugs, etc.

7. Size: 3 bedroom

8. Swimmimg pool: Nah.

Carsten has had a pretty good run of good days. Today he was down. He had some bad news apparently. The hospital is also pushing for him to be released. He has some decisions to make. Tough times today. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Brian was admitted to Overbrook late tonight with some acute pains in his side. He suspects it is his pancreas. They scheduled some tests for him for tomorrow (Wednesday morning).

Life, no matter how many years, is too short a ride for most people, anyway. It is a good idea to get what you can out of it. Some people spend all of their waking time watching television, surfing the net, paying homage to a beer bottle or reading books. Actually living the life that books and television are made of is a much better deal if a person's health and bank account allows it.

Enjoy the new ride. We're still gonna have a little fun with you but only because we are fond of you. We each run our own risks every day. I spend way too much time under a welding helmet and I still get a kick out of my very functional creations. But even that, as much as I enjoy it, has its risks and I've suffered some of the drawbacks. I was nearly killed, dangling from piece of steel 200 feet in the air when the perfect, unlikely conditions turned my welding leads into a death trap. Things can go wrong. I won't stop enjoying my work, though.

are you supporting the child or have you abandoned the child it appears so far from reading what you said there is shame on you.

in first view yes, some child support 'must' be acknowledged. Maybe there is more to his story such as if he sends money for child support, will the child really get the support? rather see the money spent for their grandfather's drinking habits?

Someone is taking a lot of liberties with what little information was posted by the OP. The OP asked a specific question and asked for help with that question. Now we are seeing opinions on whether or not he is supporting the child. We don't know if he is or isn't, nor do we know if she ended up with a 6,000,000 baht piece of land with a house, a business, his entire savings, cars, motorcycles or whatever.

I suspect that if he wants advice on child support, he will post that question. Whether or not he is supporting the child wouldn't figure into blacklisting. Even if he was offering no support, it would be wise to allow him to return to Thailand in order to increase the chances of said support being recovered.

Nice to see someone who writes a lot who doesn't place all his trust in spellcheck.

Better a typo people can understand than totally the wrong word.

Like this?:

I halve a spelling chequer,

It came with my pea see,

It plainly marks four my revue,

Mistakes I dew knot sea.

Eye Strike a key and type a word,

And weight four it two say,

Weather eye am wrong oar write,

It shows me strait aweigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid,

It nose bee fore two long,

And eye can put the era rite,

Its rarely ever wrong.

I've scent this massage threw it,

And I'm shore your pleased too no,

Its letter prefect in every weigh,

My chequer tolled me sew.

Stolen from: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish...ing-checker.htm

Yeah, I'm kind of envious of the nice house in the pic. Makes my place look like a shack.

Okay. I really, really, really hope that is a typo. Perviously. Now, I know that isn't a word. Maybe you meant "previously"?

Perviously. Hmm..... Some connotations here, for sure. And if perviously isn't a word yet, it ought to be.

But yeah, overall, your vocabulary in this one has shut me down once again. Back to my Thesaurus in search of next week's big word. Be watching for it.

The Mae Sai Immigration folks are not callous. They are a pretty good bunch and we are lucky to have them close by. They do not have the leeway to make judgements about whether someone made that mistake honestly or otherwise. If they did, they would spend a whole lot of time trying to determine just how many others are trying to get over or just made the mistake. Give some people an inch and they will take a mile. You know that. They know that. The fellow you speak of learned the hard way what others learned the easy way. Such is life. Lesson learned, move on. Don't beat up the folks that are doing a fine job at Mae Sai.

Brahms, in answer to your first question:

Stolen for a website: http://pecuniarities.com/language-lesson-f...-a-fine-word/85

The word finance first appeared in Middle French around the year 1400, and it simply meant “ending, settlement of a debt.” This usage was derived from the Middle English finis, “a payment in settlement, fine or tax,” which in turn came from the Latin finis, meaning “end,” the origin of the present word “fine.”

If we travel back to c. 1200-1300, however, we see that that the word “fine” also had positive definitions as it still does today. In Latin, French and English, it meant things like “perfected, of highest quality,” “acme, peak, height,” “the highest good,” and “delicate, intricately skillful.”

Hence, the use of the word “fine” as relates to monetary matters, was to “make fine,” “make one’s peace,” or “settle a matter,” which is a much more positive way of looking at one’s financial affairs.

It wasn’t until 1527 that the word fine began taking on the modern and more negative definition of “sum of money imposed as penalty for some offense,” and 1559 when assigned the verb meaning “to punish by a fine.”

So, for those of us who tend to regard our financial matters as drudgery or a form of punishment, perhaps it would behoove us all to adopt the view of our predecessors and look at it as “making [things] fine.” So, go and make peace with yourself (or your bank account, or creditors, if applicable.)

I'm not sure I completely understand what you are saying. But I think you are saying that guy had a debt with you prior to the purchase of the house. When he purchased the house, you used that "house money" to pay off, or pay down, his other "previous" debt. If that is the case, then I see you as being in the wrong. The "other" debt is still open and the house is paid for. You need to seek payment of the other debt and let the house thing go. He bought the house per agreement with you but you used that money to pay something else. I would be really pissed if a bank tried that with me.

Now, did you stipulate that the house title would be a guarantee of payment against the other debt? If so, your lien offers you some recourse.

In my opinion, you need to calm down, maintain a decent relationship with the guy and proceed to work on getting payment for the "other" debt. Don't poison the relationship over this. He's right, you are wrong.

That is how I see it. But maybe I misunderstand your wording here.

Wow. It has been a while and no response yet.

I can’t imagine where VF could be. He usually takes the bait right away. Maybe with the rains we are getting, the forum signals aren’t making it to his house from CR. He does live pretty far out in the sticks.

Then again, maybe the trouble is on my end. I wonder if this thing is even working…..

HELLO!!!

HELLO!?!?!

VF!!! CAN YOU READ THIS?!?!

Hmmm…

I’ll bet the wife has been screwing around with my laptop again and has it all jacked up..

Hon!?!??!

Come in here!!!

Well, he claims to have a Thesaurus but I have it on good authority that he actually had to Google the word "Thesaurus" to get the correct spelling for his previous post. So, I suspect your guess is correct. Of course, I'm running the risk of irritating him by using the very word that he spent so much time researching for that previous post. It is very possible that I will find myself labelled a "word thief" or, I may even be accused of plagiarism before this is over.

Hey! Plagiarism! I did it again!

Ooohh..., he's gonna be pissed!

thanks - that link only has minimal information re sole trader. I guess the quickest route is maybe for her to visit the Tessaban and ask them - i understand that registering a Thai sole trader costs a pitifully small amount.

I will let you know how her footwear manufacturing business proceeds

Simon

You are welcome. Sorry it didn't help you more.

Footwear is timeless. There is ALWAYS a market for footwear. Put me down for two new soles, matching, preferably.

kandahar

Thank you for your comments. I can't say that they have been helpful. I will discuss with my partner as to the sanity of your post

Simon

Simon, I enjoy reading your posts. I read them often. I also know that you have a sense of humor. Thanks for contributing your thoughts in the past and for sharing your business experiences/ideas with the rest of us.

Here is the only link I could find on your query. There are probably others but I found this and with the phone numbers and addresses it supplies, I think you can get answers to your questions.

I Googled "Thailand Sole Trader Application". The link is:

http://thailand.angloinfo.com/countries/th...nd/business.asp

I would think that you have run across this website before. But with the info provided on this site, you can run down the exact answers to your question.

Best of luck to you.

kandahar