Digital Nomads

[Sirbergan]

10 minutes ago, Flustered said:

2,000 DVD! put them on a portable drive.

 

I am in the middle of downloading/converting our entire DVD/VHS library for those dark winter nights in Chiang Rai when I do not want to see another episode of Dr Tom in Thai.

 

Right now, up to 7 TB and climbing. Just starting to download the latest Game of Thrones episodes.

 

Re retirement, I would never want to go back to being 40 or 50 again with those 16 hour days, critical paths and milestones to meet. Now it's all about exercise, gardening, reading and being put in place by my 13 year old grandson when I try to teach him how to write real code (low level programming) rather than Mickey Mouse game coding.

Something tells me we're dealing with a pirate copy downloading (or buying) rodent here

[bkkcanuck8]

10 minutes ago, Sirbergan said:

Something tells me we're dealing with a pirate copy downloading (or buying) rodent here

Nope, whenever a classic TV show was on sale... I bought it.   Digital pack rat more like it...

[KhonKaenKowboy]

19 minutes ago, jspill said:

I make sure to spend 10% of my income down Nana and Cowboy. 

Uni tuition for these Thai girls is as taxing as a long time.

[Sirbergan]

Just now, bkkcanuck8 said:

Nope, whenever a classic TV show was on sale... I bought it.   Digital pack rat more like it...

My comment wasn't aimed at you

[bkkcanuck8]

1 minute ago, Sirbergan said:

My comment wasn't aimed at you

oh, was not paying as much attention 

 

Though I think digital pack "rat" still qualifies as a rodent 

[perthperson]

20 minutes ago, jspill said:

I make sure to spend 10% of my income down Nana and Cowboy. 

I am sure that buys you 5 minutes of "pleasure" 

[lkv]

.

[Flustered]

10 minutes ago, Sirbergan said:

Something tells me we're dealing with a pirate copy downloading (or buying) rodent here

My DVDs are all purchased by me and the downloaded films are on Amazon or SKy, all paid for. 

 

Copyright is a very grey area. In Spain and Holland it is perfectly legal to copy "owned" DVDs, VHS and paid for downloads. The UK courts have said it is illegal but this decision is being challenged in the EU courts as the EU is meant to standardize civil and human rights.

 

But apart form that.....You have me bang to rights.. The difference between this and tax is that I have paid in full for the DVDs/ VJS tapes and downloads but have no intention of selling them or making any profit from them. My main reason is that my VHS tapes are beginning to degrade and need saving. My DVD collection is from various regions and needed standardising. That's my excuse and I am sticking with it. By the time I actually take the portable drives out of the UK the EU courts should have ruled against the UK courts if only to spite them.

[Flustered]

7 minutes ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

Nope, whenever a classic TV show was on sale... I bought it.   Digital pack rat more like it...

I think Sirberga was getting at me.

[Sirbergan]

2 minutes ago, Flustered said:

My DVDs are all purchased by me and the downloaded films are on Amazon or SKy, all paid for. 

 

Copyright is a very grey area. In Spain and Holland it is perfectly legal to copy "owned" DVDs, VHS and paid for downloads. The UK courts have said it is illegal but this decision is being challenged in the EU courts as the EU is meant to standardize civil and human rights.

 

But apart form that.....You have me bang to rights.. The difference between this and tax is that I have paid in full for the DVDs/ VJS tapes and downloads but have no intention of selling them or making any profit from them. My main reason is that my VHS tapes are beginning to degrade and need saving. My DVD collection is from various regions and needed standardising. That's my excuse and I am sticking with it. By the time I actually take the portable drives out of the UK the EU courts should have ruled against the UK courts if only to spite them.

I'm sure the digital nomads are sticking to their guns as well, until there is a legal way to work digitally in this country their justifications are just as valid as yours.

[Flustered]

2 minutes ago, Sirbergan said:

I'm sure the digital nomads are sticking to their guns as well, until there is a legal way to work digitally in this country their justifications are just as valid as yours.

Just found out I am 100% legal. The law allows the original purchaser of a DVD/VHS to copy this for his/her own use do sorry no rodents here. The grey area was the copying of hired DVDs etc for personal use rather than buying them.

[Sirbergan]

Just now, Flustered said:

Just found out I am 100% legal. The law allows the original purchaser of a DVD/VHS to copy this for his/her own use do sorry no rodents here. The grey area was the copying of hired DVDs etc for personal use rather than buying them.

As far as morals goes, that's completely irrelevant. You were sticking to your guns when you thought it might be illegal a few posts back. Whether an illegal action is OK or not seems to depend on your own acquired taste. I'm sure the air is fresher up there, but you might wanna get off your high horse.

[Flustered]

2 minutes ago, Sirbergan said:

As far as morals goes, that's completely irrelevant. You were sticking to your guns when you thought it might be illegal a few posts back. Whether an illegal action is OK or not seems to depend on your own acquired taste. I'm sure the air is fresher up there, but you might wanna get off your high horse.

Don't try to compare apples with oranges, it doesn't work.

 

I have always said to abide by the laws of the country you are in. I do this. If it was illegal to copy my own collection, I would not do it. I did it while the UK Government had declared it was OK. The UK courts merely interpreted it differently in regard to hired or borrowed DVDs. At the time of your statement, I realised that I may have been in breach of the law but as it turned out, I was not.

[Sirbergan]

5 minutes ago, Flustered said:

Don't try to compare apples with oranges, it doesn't work.

 

I have always said to abide by the laws of the country you are in. I do this. If it was illegal to copy my own collection, I would not do it. I did it while the UK Government had declared it was OK. The UK courts merely interpreted it differently in regard to hired or borrowed DVDs. At the time of your statement, I realised that I may have been in breach of the law but as it turned out, I was not.

What do you do when you've created a life for yourself here in Thailand, with a wife and children, doing legal work with a work permit, then an opportunity comes along which will let you work from home for triple the pay or more? Move back home because this country (at times) is decades behind most developed countries as far as adjusting to the modern day and age goes, or keep your head low while biding time for this backwater country to catch up?

 

Thailand should put provisions in place so that people working digitally can pay taxes and work legally. When they've done that, you'll be preaching to the choir when you condemn people working digitally without paying taxes. A hell of a lot of them don't pay taxes because they're not allowed to!

[lkv]

1 minute ago, Sirbergan said:

Thailand should put provisions in place so that people working digitally can pay taxes and work legally. When they've done that, you'll be preaching to the choir when you condemn people working digitally without paying taxes. A hell of a lot of them don't pay taxes because they're not allowed to!

The first step is for some of their websites to open with more modern browsers, not Internet Explorer only.

 

Please, let's take it one step at a time. :)))

[Flustered]

I take it you were perfectly happy with your wife, children and job in Thailand prior to this offer?

 

Life is full of tempting offers that will increase your income but at a risk. happiness and contentment is far more important than money. I used to think money was everything until I realised that there was more to life than becoming a millionaire.

 

Work with what you have and is important to you. Don't take risks that can end up in tears.

[Sirbergan]

2 minutes ago, Flustered said:

I take it you were perfectly happy with your wife, children and job in Thailand prior to this offer?

 

Life is full of tempting offers that will increase your income but at a risk. happiness and contentment is far more important than money. I used to think money was everything until I realised that there was more to life than becoming a millionaire.

 

Work with what you have and is important to you. Don't take risks that can end up in tears.

I was happy with my family situation, but hated my job. You seem blinded by morals, with no regard for practicalities and a complete disregard for the fact that circumstances can change.

 

Thailand would benefit greatly by implementing a work permit for freelance workers, depending on the qualifications for getting it. Why deny people the right to live and earn money for doing work that is completely legit? It makes no sense at all.

[blorg]

3 minutes ago, Sirbergan said:

 You seem blinded by morals, with no regard for practicalities 

 

He has no moral structure here beyond "I'm all right Jack", he's not paying tax here himself despite a pension being "income". But that's fine, because, reasons...

 

[Sirbergan]

And to add to that, I am still considering to move my company to a more business friendly country. Thai policy embraces large foreign companies, while making life hard for smaller foreign businesses. I could bring in 5 translators tomorrow, working legally, had it not been for their 4 thai employees + 2 million in capital per foreign worker, which would bring a lot of revenue to this country. But I can't due to their flawed policies.

[Flustered]

Actually, Digital Nomads in the sense that I know them, completely piss me off. When you are trying to relax by a swimming pool or in a cafe or bar, all you can hear is them talking over the internet or occupying an entire table with their laptops and work sheets. They have no consideration for others and this in turn makes people hate them.

 

It's a bit like Travellers in the UK. The majority are dirty, cheating, fly tipping thieves who give the minority who are law abiding a bad name. Same for Digital Nomads. there are some genuine ones who would like to be honest but the majority ruin it for them.

 

Tarred with the same brush I know, but then again aren't we all?

[lkv]

18 minutes ago, Sirbergan said:

 It makes no sense at all.

You're trying to find Western logic in Thailand now.

 

Facts: high level of corruption, way more expensive than before 2014, but everything can be bought, including crime (see Red Bull heir, see Ko Tao murders etc)

 

So nomads no nomads tax no tax it's all irellevant.

 

Let's take our mate Nate. Nate is not only making money from Youtube clicks in Thailand, shooting in Thailand (it's called video production what he is doing, with cameramen and all that), getting paid endorsements from Sony Thailand and Apple Thailand to promote their products in his videos. For the correct amount, it appears somehow no work permit was any longer required in this case.

 

I can assure you that a fat brown envelope has changed hands and they will continue to milk him now. For him, it's a business, just like a bar stays open because it pays bribes to the police, so he's in the game now. If he wasn't already by now.

 

And some of the older expats worries here are that somehow digital nomads are rodents etc.

 

You see, this is currently Thailand's biggest issue, digital rodent nomads.

 

I think some forgot what country we are in here. Time to wake up.

[Sirbergan]

2 minutes ago, Flustered said:

Actually, Digital Nomads in the sense that I know them, completely piss me off. When you are trying to relax by a swimming pool or in a cafe or bar, all you can hear is them talking over the internet or occupying an entire table with their laptops and work sheets. They have no consideration for others and this in turn makes people hate them.

 

It's a bit like Travellers in the UK. The majority are dirty, cheating, fly tipping thieves who give the minority who are law abiding a bad name. Same for Digital Nomads. there are some genuine ones who would like to be honest but the majority ruin it for them.

 

Tarred with the same brush I know, but then again aren't we all?

Takes a real man to admit that kind of bias, I'll give you that! Personally, I am the same person now (running a company and having a work permit) as I was back when I had no choice but to work illegally – I spend most of my time with my family (when not working), I'm considerate when out in public and I both speak Thai and understand (to a degree) the Thai culture.

[Sirbergan]

1 minute ago, lkv said:

You're trying to find Western logic in Thailand now.

 

Facts: high level of corruption, way more expensive than before 2014, but everything can be bought, including crime (see Red Bull heir, see Ko Tao murders etc)

 

So nomads no nomads tax no tax it's all irellevant.

 

Let's take our mate Nate. Nate is not only making money from Youtube clicks in Thailand, shooting in Thailand (it's called video production what he is doing, with cameramen and all that), getting paid endorsements from Sony Thailand and Apple Thailand to promote their products in his videos. For the correct amount, it appears somehow no work permit was any longer required in this case.

 

I can assure you that a fat brown envelope has chamged hands and they will continue to milk him now. For him, it's a business, just like a bar stays open because it pays bribes to the police, so he's in the game now. If he wasn't already by now.

 

And some of the older expats worries here are that somehow digital nomads are rodents etc.

 

You see, this is currently Thailand's biggest issue, digital rodent nomads.

 

I think some forgot what country we are in here. Time to wake up.

I have been too polite to address the apparent age of some of the posters.

[bkkcanuck8]

8 minutes ago, Flustered said:

Actually, Digital Nomads in the sense that I know them, completely piss me off. When you are trying to relax by a swimming pool or in a cafe or bar, all you can hear is them talking over the internet or occupying an entire table with their laptops and work sheets. They have no consideration for others and this in turn makes people hate them.

I can understand that.  I hate people talking to their phone in a restaurant or bar -- let alone skyping on their computer in a public place.  Other getting a coffee and plugging into wifi to check emails and a few things, I find the ergonomics of it painful.  These digital nomads that hump over their laptop will eventually probably pay for it with blown discs etc.   If you feel you need a better workspace and you want to work as a group there are better places for that.  People don't realize they actually talk louder to their devices than they do with people they are with -- which can be annoying...  

[Rc2702]

32 minutes ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

I can understand that.  I hate people talking to their phone in a restaurant or bar -- let alone skyping on their computer in a public place.  Other getting a coffee and plugging into wifi to check emails and a few things, I find the ergonomics of it painful.  These digital nomads that hump over their laptop will eventually probably pay for it with blown discs etc.   If you feel you need a better workspace and you want to work as a group there are better places for that.  People don't realize they actually talk louder to their devices than they do with people they are with -- which can be annoying...  

WHAT?

[Sirbergan]

27 minutes ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

I can understand that.  I hate people talking to their phone in a restaurant or bar -- let alone skyping on their computer in a public place.  Other getting a coffee and plugging into wifi to check emails and a few things, I find the ergonomics of it painful.  These digital nomads that hump over their laptop will eventually probably pay for it with blown discs etc.   If you feel you need a better workspace and you want to work as a group there are better places for that.  People don't realize they actually talk louder to their devices than they do with people they are with -- which can be annoying...  

The bias caused by a few annoying digital nomads is as irrelevant as can be. I'd be just as justified saying that people of a specific nationality are annoying, because I've experienced a few times that people of that specific nationality annoyed me. Moreover, how the hell do you know that5 the guy at the pool is a digital nomad? It might just as well be a person on holiday, taking a business call  by the pool.

[bkkcanuck8]

Just now, Sirbergan said:

The bias caused by a few annoying digital nomads is as irrelevant as can be. I'd be just as justified saying that people of a specific nationality are annoying, because I've experienced a few times that people of that specific nationality annoyed me. Moreover, how the hell do you know that5 the guy at the pool is a digital nomad? It might just as well be a person on holiday, taking a business call  by the pool.

I am just stating that I find the behaviour annoying - which he ascribes to digital nomads but is behaviour not necessarily limited to just digital nomads but businesspeople in general.  Sitting beside someone in a public place that is basically screaming into his phone (or at least it seems like it because it is louder than the average person chatting) -- is rather annoying and distracting and disrupts all conversations going on around them.  There is a level of respect that is often lost in the modern world especially in western countries.  In Japan you are expected to get up from your seat on the train and go to an area that is designated for you to talk on your phone etc.  I don't run into it often, but I still find it annoying.  But then I myself don't like talking to my devices and I don't like talking in public on my computer....  I am rather a private person when it comes to talking about things that are not of general interest to all those around me.  I have no problem with people working on their computer -- anywhere -- but quietly please 

[Flustered]

41 minutes ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

 People don't realize they actually talk louder to their devices than they do with people they are with -- which can be annoying...  

Especially as all phones and audio devices have limiters that level out a raised voice to a normal level.

[Zikomat]

Digital nomads = long time tourists. Tourists are not obliged to pay taxes in every country they visit. 

[Flustered]

Just now, Zikomat said:

Digital nomads = long time tourists. Tourists are not obliged to pay taxes in every country they visit. 

Pretty poor definition of a Digital Nomad and taxation obligation.