Diary of a farang in Isaan

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

We do it just do make it difficult for Americans. When they get the hang of it, we'll change the pronunciation again.

 

I went to see Blondie (Debbie Harry) in concert at the DeMontfort Halls in Leicester in the seventies.

When she said to the audience, "It's really good to be here in Lei-ces-ter," there was a lot of booing from the auditorium.

 

Fair enough, we developed Aussie idiom to confuse the Poms. Although I'm sure they are confused enough already, Welsh, Scots, Irish and even Northumbrians.

I'm puzzling over your moniker, is it referring to furniture or a music genre?

[Andrew Dwyer]

54 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

 

I'm puzzling over your moniker, is it referring to furniture or a music genre?

Closest I came to it , in the urban dictionary , is this :

 

 

I’d like to think his moniker is music genre related !!
 

 

[bluesofa]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Fair enough, we developed Aussie idiom to confuse the Poms. Although I'm sure they are confused enough already, Welsh, Scots, Irish and even Northumbrians.

I'm puzzling over your moniker, is it referring to furniture or a music genre?

All I'm prepared to say is that it's furniture related. I can't go any further due to it being a national security issue.

[owl sees all]

Owl Log 25-09-2020 - Friday evening

 

It seemed like rain. But no! 

 

At the salt fields, they are getting ready to flood the squares. They are confident that the big rain has finished. I agree.

 

The VW has moved. I snapped the family as they went off.

 

 

 

And off it went.

 

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

Finished making the floats. It didn't work out as I planned, as the 20 baht glue didn't stick fast enough. So blocked up the ends of the floats with mastic.

 

 

Window not yet fixed.

 

 

The finished floats. New pens put neatly away too.

 

 

How much is a blue ink pen in England? Less than 2 baht here. A business opp'?

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

Saw a nice looking Audi in Ban Dung tonight. The first one I've seen cruising about.

 

 

What's with the red number plate?

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

A bit of tree cutting .

 

 

Watch the motor!

 

 

I can see you up there.

 

 

Maybe no internet or leccy for someone tonight.

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

Of course it's not all green VWs and yellow Audis.

 

 

Look forward to seeing this one out and about.

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

If you don't want drivers to run onto the grass outside you home.

 

 

200 glass bottles, will do nicely. About 50/50 Leo and Chang. I take it they are all empties!?

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

 

Today, Mrs Owl asked me to repair the broken window. I'll fix it tomorrow. Gonna play a trick on her. See if she notices. Not been angry with me for two days. See if her mood changes. Watch this space for the big joke.

 

Looking forward to going fishing tomorrow with Mildred. Wow will probably join us. Pla Nin for food all next week; hopefully. Gonna try number one pond first.

 

M has no school on Monday. That's three days off. Much homework? None!

 

Got a loose tooth at the back. Getting on my nerves. Might pull it tomorrow. Get the tools out.

 

I miss some of the old posters. Rc2702, Marko KP, The Dark Lord and Scottiejohn spring to mind. I see Old Hippy is back.

 

Charkie has not eaten for a few days. Chicken, cat biscuit, fish or tinned food cannot tempt her. The last time I saw her eat was Tuesday morning. It's a worry. There is a big black and white cat that comes over in the night to polish off any leftovers.

 

Found a gynormous snail in number one pond this evening. It was as big as a baseball, but not quite cricket ball in size. Put it in the corner of the pond and went back to the pick-up for the camera. When I got back to the pond it had gone. Probably rolled down the side into the deep.

 

Take care out there.

 

Bye y'all,

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Your baseball/cricket ball quote had me wondering ..... “ hmm , I would have said that the baseball is bigger ???? “.

 

 

Seems like a baseball is slightly bigger ????

[GarryP]

Red number plate is a temporary one that you get with a new car, and switch over to the black and white one, which is the formal registration plate, when it is ready at the car sales place. Supposedly, you are unable to go on expressways or use the car at night if it is still on red plates, but seems everyone ignores the rules anyway.  

[owl sees all]

9 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Your baseball/cricket ball quote had me wondering ..... “ hmm , I would have said that the baseball is bigger ???? “.

 

 

Seems like a baseball is slightly bigger ????

Looks like it. Bigger than a cricket ball eh! How could those sloggers ever miss.

 

I was thinking the girl's game; rounders. Which everyone knows is the inspiration for baseball.

 

Now you have me thinking. What is the biggest, a snooker ball or pool ball? I think the snail was the same size as a number 9 pool ball; or slightly bigger.

 

Anyway. Thanks for the info' Andrew. If I do catch the snail I'll measure it; I'm sure to recognise it.

[Andrew Dwyer]

1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

Looks like it. Bigger than a cricket ball eh! How could those sloggers ever miss.

 

I was thinking the girl's game; rounders. Which everyone knows is the inspiration for baseball.

 

Seems like a little dig at our cousins over the pond there Owl ??

 

I’m all for a bit of friendly banter ????

 

Worked a lot with Americans ( worked for an American company for 31 years ) and me and my colleagues would amuse ourselves with some sarcastic banter at their expense, it usually went straight over their heads !!

 

But the easiest way to upset an American was :

I lived in Brazil for many years and worked with many Americans, those who p1ssed me off ( and there were many ) I would drop the following phrase into the conversation “ of course Brazilians won’t let the world forget that they invented the aeroplane !! “

This usually set the Americans off into a rage and I would drag a Brazilian into the conversation while I sat back to watch the fireworks !!

 

Google Alberto Santos Dumont and you will see there’s some truth in the story , certainly 210 million Brazilians believe him to be the inventor of manned air flight and are oblivious to the name “ The Wright Brothers “, as Americans are to Santos Dumont !

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/10/brazil.santosdumont.reut/

[chickenslegs]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Looks like it. Bigger than a cricket ball eh! How could those sloggers ever miss.

Difference is less than 1/10th of an inch diameter - also ...

 

In baseball the pitching mound is only 20 yards and 6 inches from the batter.

 

In cricket crease to crease is further - 22 yards, so the ball appears smaller.

 

I can remember when British golf balls were smaller than the USA ones. But the holes were the same size (4.25 inches diameter) - I can never work out whether that was an advantage or not.

 

I just realised that I need to get a hobby.

 

Oops, just realised that it's 22 yards from stumps to stumps.

 

Buggery - that's thrown out all of my calculations.

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by chickenslegs

[owl sees all]

51 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Seems like a little dig at our cousins over the pond there Owl ??

 

I’m all for a bit of friendly banter ????

 

Worked a lot with Americans ( worked for an American company for 31 years ) and me and my colleagues would amuse ourselves with some sarcastic banter at their expense, it usually went straight over their heads !!

 

But the easiest way to upset an American was :

I lived in Brazil for many years and worked with many Americans, those who p1ssed me off ( and there were many ) I would drop the following phrase into the conversation “ of course Brazilians won’t let the world forget that they invented the aeroplane !! “

This usually set the Americans off into a rage and I would drag a Brazilian into the conversation while I sat back to watch the fireworks !!

 

Google Alberto Santos Dumont and you will see there’s some truth in the story , certainly 210 million Brazilians believe him to be the inventor of manned air flight and are oblivious to the name “ The Wright Brothers “, as Americans are to Santos Dumont !

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/10/brazil.santosdumont.reut/

How could the Americans get it so wrong?

 

Rounders into baseball.

Rugby into Am' footy.

Horse racing into trotting.

Netball into Basketball.

Saturday night brawling into wrestling.

 

One day they might dominate the world of soccer; just like us English.

Edited September 25, 2020 by owl sees all

[chickenslegs]

3 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

One day they might dominate the world of soccer; just like us English.

If they ever learn to stop shooting each other they may dominate all sports, and not have to invent World Championships in which only they can participate.

[owl sees all]

15 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Difference is less than 1/10th of an inch diameter - also ...

 

In baseball the pitching mound is only 20 yards and 6 inches from the batter.

 

In cricket crease to crease is further - 22 yards, so the ball appears smaller.

 

I can remember when British golf balls were smaller than the USA ones. But the holes were the same size (4.25 inches diameter) - I can never work out whether that was an advantage or not.

 

I just realised that I need to get a hobby.

 

Oops, just realised that it's 22 yards from stumps to stumps.

 

Buggery - that's thrown out all of my calculations.

 

 

 

Not to worry about the few inches one way or t'other. What's important is to enjoy! Who would want to win, if it wasn't enjoyable?

 

Can a baseball be pitched into the ground and be legal? I'm gonna check. Cause a cricket ball does not have to touch the ground.

 

It doing things that we enjoy that makes us happy.

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by owl sees all

[chickenslegs]

1 minute ago, owl sees all said:

Not to worry about the few inches

As the actress said to the Bishop ????

[sotonowl]

On 9/23/2020 at 2:10 PM, owl sees all said:

One thing had me baffled though. Why did the tradesman start with the middle letters?

 

Reduce chance of errors and to keep the whole word central to his chosen target i'd expect.

[sotonowl]

Strange thing that with the cricket, how it never really flourished over in Canada. What with having sent the clever ones there and the thick eds to oz, suppose all that snow didn't help.

[faraday]

6 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Alberto Santos Dumont and you will see there’s some truth in the story , certainly 210 million Brazilians believe him to be the inventor of manned air flight

 

Well, I'm amazed; things I didn't know, I didn't know. ????

 

Then of course, Leif Ericson gets a rise from them

 

I worked for a US company for many years, & yup some jokes aka Blitish humour did go over their heads. Decent lot though - a few on here, but they do think Hershey bars are ok. ????

 

 

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by faraday

[Fat is a type of crazy]

In the States I went with my old boss to see the Baltimore Orioles at a beautiful stadium. One team got a few runs early on and then the game just seemed to go on for ever. It was fun to be there but the game got boring. The crowd just talked amongst themselves and drank beer. They were drinking Fosters which I find funny as it's hard to find it in Australia.

Won free tickets to the Ashes a few years ago and took my Thai girlfriend. Hate to say it but that was boring too. One team slowly batted all day. She liked the big crowd but we were too used to tv and the players just seemed too far away. More fun with a bunch of blokes I suppose.

 

If you are near Ubon today, and your wife needs something for the Temple for the upcoming Buddha days, you could do worse than get these 'Baisri' as she calls them, made by my partner and on sale at her cousin's flower shop. You can get fancy ones or the basic cheap ones on display at the shop. Happy she's keeping busy and getting a bit of spending money. 

 

We've got a polar blast here today. Winter is back. I would just love to be in Thailand - be in the heat, be with the girlfriend, get my favourite combination of fried chicken, som tam and beer, can't wait.

 

 

 

[owl sees all]

2 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

In the States I went with my old boss to see the Baltimore Orioles at a beautiful stadium. One team got a few runs early on and then the game just seemed to go on for ever. It was fun to be there but the game got boring. The crowd just talked amongst themselves and drank beer. They were drinking Fosters which I find funny as it's hard to find it in Australia.

Won free tickets to the Ashes a few years ago and took my Thai girlfriend. Hate to say it but that was boring too. One team slowly batted all day. She liked the big crowd but we were too used to tv and the players just seemed too far away. More fun with a bunch of blokes I suppose.

 

If you are near Ubon today, and your wife needs something for the Temple for the upcoming Buddha days, you could do worse than get these 'Baisri' as she calls them, made by my partner and on sale at her cousin's flower shop. You can get fancy ones or the basic cheap ones on display at the shop. Happy she's keeping busy and getting a bit of spending money. 

 

We've got a polar blast here today. Winter is back. I would just love to be in Thailand - be in the heat, be with the girlfriend, get my favourite combination of fried chicken, som tam and beer, can't wait.

 

 

 

Some of these lovely creations look like the ones that they float on the water. Might be wrong there. Not the right time of year. But what do I know? Nothing about any religious practices; apart from what I have gleaned from living with believing ladies. Fatima was a Muslim. Kath a RC. Loraine a 7 day Adventist and Mrs Owl a Buddhist follower. 

 

Had a friend whose wife grew flowers for Kham Chanod. Before the C-19 kicked in, there were thousands of visitors each day. Many from China. Dozens of places where these trinkets could be bought. All gone now.

 

Me, Mildred and DinL at Cham Chanod about 9 years ago.

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by owl sees all

[Fat is a type of crazy]

26 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Some of these lovely creations look like the ones that they float on the water. Might be wrong there. Not the right time of year. But what do I know? Nothing about any religious practices; apart from what I have gleaned from living with believing ladies. Fatima was a Muslim. Kath a RC. Loraine a 7 day Adventist and Mrs Owl a Buddhist follower. 

 

Had a friend whose wife grew flowers for Kham Chanod. Before the C-19 kicked in, there were thousands of visitors each day. Many from China. Dozens of places where these trinkets could be bought. All gone now.

 

Me, Mildred and DinL at Cham Chanod about 9 years ago.

 

Nice picture. You would have had a handful with those religious ladies. My current girlfriend is a bit full on sometimes. I used to go out with a serious catholic who wanted to wait till marriage and all that..

These ones don't float but if she's in Australia in November she'll make the floating ones for Loi Krathong 

Edited September 26, 2020 by Fat is a type of crazy

[bluesofa]

52 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

Me, Mildred and DinL at Cham Chanod about 9 years ago.

 

Nice picture. You would have had a handful with those religious ladies. My current girlfriend is a bit full on sometimes. I used to go out with a serious catholic who wanted to wait till marriage and all that..

These ones don't float but if she's in Australia in November she'll make the floating ones for Loi Krathong 

Edited 44 minutes ago by Fat is a type of crazy

'Nice picture.'   Nice shoes.

[Odysseus123]

Hi Owl, I was thinking about you and your fish the other day....not the best photo i'm afraid but it reminded me of 'Jaws'-that duck is a gonner..????

 

 

[owl sees all]

32 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Hi Owl, I was thinking about you and your fish the other day....not the best photo i'm afraid but it reminded me of 'Jaws'-that duck is a gonner..????

 

 

 

Just getting their own back.

[Leaver]

15 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Some of these lovely creations look like the ones that they float on the water. Might be wrong there. Not the right time of year. But what do I know? Nothing about any religious practices; apart from what I have gleaned from living with believing ladies. Fatima was a Muslim. Kath a RC. Loraine a 7 day Adventist and Mrs Owl a Buddhist follower. 

 

Had a friend whose wife grew flowers for Kham Chanod. Before the C-19 kicked in, there were thousands of visitors each day. Many from China. Dozens of places where these trinkets could be bought. All gone now.

 

Me, Mildred and DinL at Cham Chanod about 9 years ago.

 

Bit of an age difference between the two kids.  ????

[Damrongsak]

16 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

... I used to go out with a serious catholic who wanted to wait till marriage and all that...

My Thai wife is Buddhist and we've been married 42 years next month.  I think she wanted to wait until she was reborn.  But I forced myself upon her and kissed her once after  we were engaged.  We did manage to squeak out two sons.  

[owl sees all]

7 hours ago, Leaver said:

Bit of an age difference between the two kids.  ????

Yes!

 

I think it is 14 years.

[chickenslegs]

19 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

My Thai wife is Buddhist and we've been married 42 years next month.  I think she wanted to wait until she was reborn.  But I forced myself upon her and kissed her once after  we were engaged.  We did manage to squeak out two sons.  

Regardless of religion, nationality, age-gap, or anything else - 42 years is cause for congratulations!

[sotonowl]

6 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

Regardless of religion, nationality, age-gap, or anything else - 42 years is cause for congratulations!

Congratulations? That bloke needs a medal as big as a dustbin lid, so does his wifey as well I expect.

[FarFlungFalang]

Been busy trying to finish my Chainsaw mill thingy with height adjustable legs to plumb the blade. 

 

First turn these things into adjustable thingies

 

 

Then add a few bearings and a goose neck from a bicycle and bingo.Complete with anti kickback mechanism.

 

 

Then plumb up the blade.

 

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by FarFlungFalang

[owl sees all]

27 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Been busy trying to finish my Chainsaw mill thingy with height adjustable legs to plumb the blade. 

 

First turn these things into adjustable thingies

 

 

Then add a few bearings and a goose neck from a bicycle and bingo.Complete with anti kickback mechanism.

 

 

Then plumb up the blade.

 

 

Fantastic work FFF.

 

How does it work? Does it cut legs off?

[FarFlungFalang]

43 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Fantastic work FFF.

 

How does it work? Does it cut legs off?

It works great I've tried it set up on wooden saw horses similar to the steel ones in the photo with the wooden bench under the saw and it worked good but lots of frigging about lining everything up.I haven't tried cutting any legs off yet due to a lack of volunteers.It's a bit difficult to get one's own legs in a position and to get enough purchase to pull the saw enough to cut off one's own legs but I'm sure some sticky tape and a pulley system with ropes would do the trick.If you look closely in the last photo you can see a rectangular piece of steel next to the top chain above the bolts,that's the anti kick back thingy which prevents the saw rising more than the level position which makes it much safer than normal use.I was actually thinking of installing a similar thing to prevent the saw from going past the vertical position back towards the operation end but to actually cut one's self doing that you would have to cut through the bench supporting the log first.

The next step is to come up with something to support the logs whist cutting. 

 

Frame-28-09-2020-01-01-07.tiff

Edited September 28, 2020 by FarFlungFalang