Diary of a farang in Isaan

[bannork]

Lol Owl , umbrellas are for Beckham types. I feel the same way about air con, for sensitive types only. Even in April I prefer a decent fan next to the bed blasting away.

 

[owl sees all]

32 minutes ago, bannork said:

Lol Owl , umbrellas are for Beckham types. I feel the same way about air con, for sensitive types only. Even in April I prefer a decent fan next to the bed blasting away.

 

Beckham types! Oh, he is so much in touch with his feminine side. He wears my undies.

 

Air con. Sarnies cut corner to corner. Hair spray. Umbrellas. Creases in trousers. Cups. Hair clips. Shaving armpits. Nivea for men. Using a fork upside down. Soldiers to eat boiled eggs. Wearing knee pads in bed. Footballers jumping on each other's backs. Fox hunting. Sleeping with a dog. Using tissues to blow nose; then throwing them away. Putting plastic flowers in pots in the home. Ducks on the wall. Writing a letter on lined paper. Tattooing eyebrows.

 

The list goes on and on. Where's my club Mrs Owl?

 

 

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, bannork said:

Lol Owl , umbrellas are for Beckham types. I feel the same way about air con, for sensitive types only. Even in April I prefer a decent fan next to the bed blasting away.

 

I used to only use a fan in the bedroom, but since I moved into another house and got married, we always have aircon on at night. Not in any other rooms though. Even working from home in April I don't have aircon, only a fan. When I retire to Kalasin in 2023 it will be the same.  

[owl sees all]

8 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I used to only use a fan in the bedroom, but since I moved into another house and got married, we always have aircon on at night. Not in any other rooms though. Even working from home in April I don't have aircon, only a fan. When I retire to Kalasin in 2023 it will be the same.  

Of course, when one is married, one has to compromise a bit.

 

I usually have a little of a 20 Baht note sticking out of my top pocket. Mrs Owl often comes around to my way of thinking once she notices it.

 

We all have to compromise. It's an acquired art for a married guy; especially in Thailand.

[chickenslegs]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

 

Air con. Sarnies cut corner to corner <...> Umbrellas. Creases in trousers. Cups <...> Shaving armpits. Nivea for men. Using a fork upside down. Soldiers to eat boiled eggs <...> Using tissues to blow nose; then throwing them away.

 

 

Are you calling me a puff?

[bannork]

3 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Beckham types! Oh, he is so much in touch with his feminine side. He wears my undies.

 

Air con. Sarnies cut corner to corner. Hair spray. Umbrellas. Creases in trousers. Cups. Hair clips. Shaving armpits. Nivea for men. Using a fork upside down. Soldiers to eat boiled eggs. Wearing knee pads in bed. Footballers jumping on each other's backs. Fox hunting. Sleeping with a dog. Using tissues to blow nose; then throwing them away. Putting plastic flowers in pots in the home. Ducks on the wall. Writing a letter on lined paper. Tattooing eyebrows.

 

The list goes on and on. Where's my club Mrs Owl?

 

 

Does this list exclusively refer to men? I presume so.Why would a man shave his armpits?

Cups?!

As a nipper I loved my soldiers with my boiled eggs. They only work though if the egg is boiled to 3.5 mins. Beyond that they're too hard and the soldiers crumple.

Eating peas with the fork correctly held is a lesson in patience or futlity.

Can I add to the list?

Balding men with ponytails.

White socks with sandals and creased shorts.

Singlets with pot bellies.

Toddlers shoes that squeak loudly as they walk.

 

 

[Rampant Rabbit]

5 hours ago, owl sees all said:

It was yourself that gave me the impetus to order the units. Just 74 Baht each!

 

Been looking at the LEDs on the internet; very interesting too.

 

Sun's out.

For  lazy bstds  like me your  wall fan (same model) is  also avaiable with remote control at Tescosososososo  sorry  i mean  Lotus'ssssssssssssss, cheap as  well

[Rampant Rabbit]

11 minutes ago, bannork said:

Does this list exclusively refer to men? I presume so.Why would a man shave his armpits?

Cups?!

As a nipper I loved my soldiers with my boiled eggs. They only work though if the egg is boiled to 3.5 mins. Beyond that they're too hard and the soldiers crumple.

Eating peas with the fork correctly held is a lesson in patience or futlity.

Can I add to the list?

Balding men with ponytails.

White socks with sandals and creased shorts.

Singlets with pot bellies.

Toddlers shoes that squeak loudly as they walk.

 

 

anyone man with an earring any woman with a pierced  nose anyone with a tattoo  who isnt a  sailor..................sod  it  anyone really

[Rampant Rabbit]

29 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Are you calling me a puff?

Have you got  a magic  dragon?

[Rampant Rabbit]

3 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Of course, when one is married, one has to compromise a bit.

Yes, I built  her a separate  house,separate  rooms wasnt enough

[owl sees all]

15 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Are you calling me a puff?

Of course not CL.

 

Some might think I'm of neanderthal, or cave man, mentality. But no!

 

I've been there with that 'in touch with his feminine side', and it didn't work for me. No! In fact I was unhappy about it. But I expect a lady to be tough too. I'll show her once, and if they can't do it after that, then too bad. Especially when I took a new bird fishing, and she wanted me to put the maggots on the hook for her. I'll show her the once, but after that; well!!

 

I'm not suggesting that we go out and whack a lady with a club, and drag her off to a  cave. But there is a lot to be said for cutting the sarnie across, instead of that corner to corner namby-pamby nonsense.

 

What I don't like is that kissing and hugging by footballers when their team scores a goal. Then tears when they lose.

 

Mrs Owl is calling me. Finish this rant later.

[owl sees all]

38 minutes ago, bannork said:

Does this list exclusively refer to men? I presume so.Why would a man shave his armpits?

Cups?!

As a nipper I loved my soldiers with my boiled eggs. They only work though if the egg is boiled to 3.5 mins. Beyond that they're too hard and the soldiers crumple.

Eating peas with the fork correctly held is a lesson in patience or futlity.

Can I add to the list?

Balding men with ponytails.

White socks with sandals and creased shorts.

Singlets with pot bellies.

Toddlers shoes that squeak loudly as they walk.

 

 

On the whole I agree with you Bannork.

 

I have a few more.

 

Eating a Big Mac with a knife and fork.

Preparing an avocado with a potato peeler.

Ladyboys that put one hand on their hip when they walk.

Men who dye their chest hair.

OTT matching clothes; purple socks, purple shorts, purple shirt and a purple hat; for example.

Nike trainers with pink socks.

Loud music playing in cars with the windows open.

Cricketers in the outfield, laying down between overs.

Men who use immac for their nose hair (I use pliers).

 

Cups - men drink from mugs.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by owl sees all

[owl sees all]

Interesting  thoughts of late.

 

Could I harness the effects of gravity to bring water out of a well 6 metres down? Without using leccy; either from the grid or solar cell. In fact with no power of any description. A bit like how a hand pump works, or one of those nodding oil donkeys, that are all over parts of the US; but without the human energy involved.

 

This line of thinking is not new to me. I've spent many hours thinking about it in the past. Hours constructing systems. And spent lots of money, that was ultimately wasted, buying stuff that was thrown away in the end. I've also ruined some quite expensive water holders.

 

Last night laying in bed, I had one of those 'light bulb' moments. It all suddenly became crystal clear. I showed Mildred this morning, and although she said she kinda understood my drawings, I'm sure she couldn't grasp the principles.

 

It all works on the principle on gravity creating a vacuum. Gonna see what bits and bobs I have stashed away at the farm and get to it.

 

Watch this space!!

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by owl sees all

[Golden Triangle]

29 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Interesting  thoughts of late.

 

Could I harness the effects of gravity to bring water out of a well 6 metres down? Without using leccy; either from the grid or solar cell. In fact with no power of any description. A bit like how a hand pump works, or one of those nodding oil donkeys, that are all over parts of the US; but without the human energy involved.

 

This line of thinking is not new to me. I've spent many hours thinking about it in the past. Hours constructing systems. And spent lots of money, that was ultimately wasted, buying stuff that was thrown away in the end. I've also ruined some quite expensive water holders.

 

Last night laying in bed, I had one of those 'light bulb' moments. It all suddenly became crystal clear. I showed Mildred this morning, and although she said she kinda understood my drawings, I'm sure she couldn't grasp the principles.

 

It all works on the principle on gravity creating a vacuum. Gonna see what bits and bobs I have stashed away at the farm and get to it.

 

Watch this space!!

 

I immediately thought of an Archimedes screw but then saw how deep, what about a 6 metre long boring drill sheathed in a plastic pipe and powered by a solar powered motor ???? 

[owl sees all]

28 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

I immediately thought of an Archimedes screw but then saw how deep, what about a 6 metre long boring drill sheathed in a plastic pipe and powered by a solar powered motor ???? 

No GT! No leccy! I hope to do it without power of any description. If all works well, it will come in at under 2k baht. Me and Mildred are gonna make a scaled down version first. I've just drawn out a detailed plan. It works on gravity differentials.

 

Mrs Owl has just gone to Ban Dung on her own. When she gets back with the pick-up, I'll go to the farm and get started.

[Golden Triangle]

42 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

No GT! No leccy! I hope to do it without power of any description. If all works well, it will come in at under 2k baht. Me and Mildred are gonna make a scaled down version first. I've just drawn out a detailed plan. It works on gravity differentials.

 

Mrs Owl has just gone to Ban Dung on her own. When she gets back with the pick-up, I'll go to the farm and get started.

Good luck, hope it works, can't wait to see it ????????

[chickenslegs]

3 hours ago, owl sees all said:

No GT! No leccy! I hope to do it without power of any description. If all works well, it will come in at under 2k baht.

If you can lift water without using power of any description, you and Mildred will be richer than Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk combined.

 

Good luck - and put me down for a few shares in your invention.

[owl sees all]

40 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

If you can lift water without using power of any description, you and Mildred will be richer than Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk combined.

 

Good luck - and put me down for a few shares in your invention.

I drew out a detailed plan this afternoon. I'll get some fittings in Ban Dung and have it up and running next week.

 

Will have a prototype sorted for this week though; scaled down to about 20%.

 

I was rich once before. Gave it all away. Not interested in being wealthy.

Edited October 12, 2021 by owl sees all

[sotonowl]

I would pick up a box or two of Kleenex whilst you're in Ban Dung Owl.????

 

Good luck anyhow.

[owl sees all]

Gonna get the fittings to make my little 'water lift' mechanism today. I've gone over the maths and I'm quite confident that I'm on the right track.

 

The data is as follows:

 

Weight of water in the inflow pipe - 1.2 kg

Weight of water in the outflow pipe - 6.25 kg

 

So there we have it.

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2021 by owl sees all

[owl sees all]

Owl Log - 14-10-2021 - Thursday evening

 

The big storm is with us. Enough rain to stop a game of cricket for sure. But not so much that I had to put on jacket when I went out.

 

Had a look at Bella's farm leccy set up. All told over 75k Baht for the lot.

 

 

Four six by three solar panels.

 

And inside.

 

 

 

 

The guys were drinking on the roof. Bella and her mate were fishing in our pond.

Only caught four little ones.

 

 

I started building the water lift system today. A small one to start. If this works we will scale it up tenfold, and lift water from six metres down. I've worked out - according to the Bernoulli pressure chart - the water in the outflow will have to be about 500 kg. So that's a challenge to look forward to.

 

 

Set the tank in place and started filling it with water.

 

 

The basic idea is to use the weight in the two inch pipe to lift the water from lower down in the smaller pipe. No problems.

 

 

Nearly there. Just have to shut off the top valve and open the lower one. And Bob's yer uncle. Water continually going round the system. We can let it run for a month or two; non stop.

 

Drove past Gong's euca farm yesterday. Needs attention.

 

 

Have to keep everything ticky-boo for the first couple of years.

 

The two biggest mini-marts are closed. Last week a person had a covid test in Udon. It proved positive. Her boyfriend had been in the village and it was thought that he went into both shops. So that was that. Closed for a week or 10 days.

 

 

Warachip is still doing some business.

 

 

The shop next to us is unaffected, and quite busy.

 

Mildred cut loose with the camera.

 

 

Jack does like a stroke. No sign of Beauty.

 

 

The school on the main road has had its trees topped.

 

 

Very slow work for the water drillers.

 

 

 

We have four wells still active and one that caved in, with the pump lost.

 

Went past the twin's house in the week. Growing into beautiful young girls.

 

 

Grandpa Younge takes good care of them; while mum and dad are away.

 

 

Mildred feeding the fish.

 

 

Footy back this weekend. Just can't seen to raise enthusiasm for the Internationals. Ronaldo got his 58th hat-trick career lest Tuesday. Fantastic player he is.

 

Mildred's season of school home-teach has finished. A month off now. Chance to do some Art, English and Maths. And have a game or two of chess.

 

Still waiting for Mrs Owl's ear phones to arrive from Japan. Top of the range. Ordered them on 20th September. LAZADA says they are at customs in Thailand. Also ordered a length of LED strip lighting. The light in the bathroom has gone, and I'm replacing it with a foot or so of the new one when it arrives. It says you can cut it. I'll confer with Golden Triangle if I'm not sure.

 

only one thing left to say; bye y'all.

Edited October 14, 2021 by owl sees all

[chickenslegs]

On 10/13/2021 at 11:28 AM, owl sees all said:

Gonna get the fittings to make my little 'water lift' mechanism today. I've gone over the maths and I'm quite confident that I'm on the right track.

 

The data is as follows:

 

Weight of water in the inflow pipe - 1.2 kg

Weight of water in the outflow pipe - 6.25 kg

 

So there we have it.

 

 

 

How will you stop air from rushing back up the outlet pipe to replace the vacuum, like it does in a water dispenser?

[owl sees all]

12 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

How will you stop air from rushing back up the outlet pipe to replace the vacuum, like it does in a water dispenser?

I need a little upward bit of PVC. I thought I could get away with it on the first model. But once the bubbles started coming they stopped the in flow.

 

On the main one I have a big 3 incher, one metre high.

[chickenslegs]

20 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

I need a little upward bit of PVC. I thought I could get away with it on the first model. But once the bubbles started coming they stopped the in flow.

 

On the main one I have a big 3 incher, one metre high.

I think that will be your biggest problem. The vacuum will seek the easiest way to maintain the volume in the tank as water exits. As air is weightless, it will be much easier to draw air into the system than water.

 

Nice project to keep the old brainbox ticking over. Keep us posted.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by chickenslegs
clarity

[phetphet]

On 10/13/2021 at 11:28 AM, owl sees all said:

Gonna get the fittings to make my little 'water lift' mechanism today. I've gone over the maths and I'm quite confident that I'm on the right track.

 

The data is as follows:

 

Weight of water in the inflow pipe - 1.2 kg

Weight of water in the outflow pipe - 6.25 kg

 

So there we have it.

 

 

 

How will it stay primed? Won't the water in the pipe from the well to the top of the tank just flow back down to the well? You might need to put a non return valve in the line.

[owl sees all]

3 minutes ago, phetphet said:

How will it stay primed? Won't the water in the pipe from the well to the top of the tank just flow back down to the well? You might need to put a non return valve in the line.

Thought I would have two originally. One where it is now, and another at the underside of the tank.

 

Think the valve was a little too much for the system to open. When Mildred held the valve open. it worked fine for a while, but as soon as the first air bubble went up from the outlet, there was no more draw.

 

I screwed off the valve and adjusted the spring. Then I thought there was an air leak directly under the tank. By then it was getting dark and we adjourned for the day. Quite happy with what we learned though.

 

Also, couldn't get all the air out at the start; due to the shape of the holder. Thinking of drilling a hole in the top of the holder to completely fill it, then block it off before letting it run. But maybe just a little air wouldn't matter. Try again tomorrow.

[chickenslegs]

30 minutes ago, phetphet said:

How will it stay primed? Won't the water in the pipe from the well to the top of the tank just flow back down to the well? You might need to put a non return valve in the line.

In the original diagram there's a stop valve at the bottom of the inlet pipe, so water shouldn't return to the well.

 

The problem is with the outlet pipe. A non return valve would not be much use there, as it will be open as soon as water flows outwards. Once it is open there will be an opportunity for air to be sucked back towards the tank. Like holding a bottle of water upside down, water can be flowing out while air is being sucked in to replace the vacuum.

[sotonowl]

9 hours ago, owl sees all said:

The basic idea is to use the weight in the two inch pipe to lift the water from lower down in the smaller pipe. No problems.

 

Far be it for me to p--- on your chips Owl, so I won't.????

 

Love the enthusiasm though.

[GarryP]

I have seen Owl's trials and tribulations with avocados so thought I'd share how my wife handled it. She ate the avocado, removed the outer shell (thick skin) from the stone, couldn't be arsed sticking toothpicks in the stone as professionals (Owl) recommend, so threw the stone in the garden. Lo and behold it took off.  

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by GarryP

[owl sees all]

8 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I have seen Owl's trials and tribulations with avocados so thought I'd share how my wife handled it. She ate the avocado, removed the outer shell (thick skin) from the stone, couldn't be arsed sticking toothpicks in the stone as professionals (Owl) recommend, so threw the stone in the garden. Lo and behold it took off.  

 

Fantastic.

 

I've also tried this. But not with 100% success like your Mrs, Gary.

 

The one at the farm - planted from stone - should be giving fruit next year. How much? Who knows?! I'll settle for half a dozen to start with.