[Leech’s eye for adventure: Thai trekker’s blood-curdling tale]

4 hours ago, Bobthegimp said:

You've got to laugh at the filthy fingernails holding the eye open.

Well spotted. You're right, but maybe the photographer's own fingers...  They were on a trek...  Still, you're right about the potential infection.

[Coffee pod machine.]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

And the fact that Pods like Nespresso are made of recyclable aluminium / illy pods are made from recycled plastics... which kind of dumps on Tropp's soap-boxing.

Come on, RIchard. He's not going to recycle....  Hopefully someone in the landfill will pick this stuff out of the trash.

[Coffee pod machine.]

They are an environmental disaster in my opinion. Plastic pods... Yuch. Better to buy instant if you're looking for convenience, otherwise buy a coffee maker of some sort, in my case I buy beans and grind them daily. I used to buy Maxwell House and used it in a single cup coffee maker. I'm still using the single cup coffee maker. When it dies or the screen 'parts' or tears I'll probably use a "French Press".

[True Money Account Locked]

10 hours ago, freeworld said:

Once again shows that any account and the contents/assets thereof one has with a financial institution, does not belong to the name on the account.

True is not a financial institute.

 

49 minutes ago, phetphet said:

i haven't looked at any of these myself,  just seen adverts, but what about Rabbit Line Pay or Grab Pay for local stuff? Would these do the same thing as True Money?

 

I think AIS have some sort of payment system as well.

None of these are banks. It's easy to open a bank account (especially if you've got a work permit) and just pay your bills 'online'.  I pay only my 'village fee' with cash and plan to ask if they have a transfer or payment account when I go to the office tomorrow.  If you're using "True Money" they're collecting a fee somehow, someway, somehow. 

[YouTube blocking]

On 11/3/2023 at 8:14 AM, Bangkok Barry said:

Ad blocking is the problem though, isn't it. YouTube is not allowing us to view videos with one. If Brave automatically uses one then in theory you can no longer watch the videos using Brave without turning the blocker off.

"in theory"...  I don't know. Using Brave, I get a message sometimes, but then just refresh, the message goes away and I watch the YouTube video...

Thank you for all the alternate methods. I might have to use them one day.

[Let's Plant Meat]

16 hours ago, kwonitoy said:

And just think of all the 'energy' required to extract all those processed ingredients. You're not really saving any cattle...

[Cold season may arrive in mid-November, last just a month]

A month... GREAT!  I remember in 1997, we had only about 1 cool day in Bangkok, which happened to be Christmas day.  Seriously, that was the only day I remember the girls in the office and my driver wearing a down jacket.

[Selling car still on HP]

Good luck with you and her endeavor.  Sometimes things happen which takes the future out of our control. It' good that she is regrouping. (I can't get my wife to do those type things).

[Seacrest-Typhoon]

I did not know anyone on it, but it's good to recall these events and to honour your friends memory. I worked on the Seacrest on the 3rd or 4th well ever drilled by it for Total in Indonesia. Not a bad rig, but I was glad to get off it.

[Would you use a driverless taxi?]

NO!

[Mudflaps in Thailand]

22 hours ago, george said:

Have you seen any worse than this one?

Worse? What's wrong with these? Them tires throw rocks just like a subsonic bullet.

[Hip Surgery]

23 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

I had hip replacement in a private hospital.

400k 

As for advice...suggest you don't push the exercise as hard as I did post surgery.

That backfired.

What type exercises were you doing? Swimming, biking, weights, etc? 

[Man Kills His Mother, Spends Stolen Money at Resort]

And that's the reason the death penalty should continue to be use.

[TDRI Urges Government to Implement Carbon Taxes in Response to Global Warming Challenges]

Just another excuse to implement a worthless tax. (worthless in that it will do nothing for the environment).

[What’s more expensive in Thailand]

20 hours ago, noobexpat said:

every laptop has thai script on the keys. That would be so annoying to use.

True, but the English letters are so big, I hardly notice the Thai script.

[Please Help To Find A Driver]

9 hours ago, Andyfez said:

Grab have a option to 'Drive your own car'.

Yeah, that's what I was suggesting, too.

[Please Help To Find A Driver]

I get only a little help from my son on this, but I know there is an app (my son says Grab) to where you can call and have someone drive your vehicle home when you are under the influence (or just don't want to drive yourself). Those 'spare' drivers are who you should target for the temporary type work you are describing. (or at least that's what I think)...

[Bangkok’s Sai Mai district set to receive its first hospital]

This is great. I live in Lat sawai, Lam Luk Ka, which is close to Sai Mai Hospital, but it'll be good to have a BMA-affiliated hospital.

[Number of Thai hostages held by Hamas rises by three]

9 hours ago, JCauto said:

That is Israel's fault too, correct? Just want to make sure I understand things from the enlightened perspectives of my friends on the Left.

There are no "enlightened" left.

[4 foreigners arrested for stealing 300,000 baht of gold near Bangkok]

4 hours ago, foreverlomsak said:

Daddy must have blocked their allowance

Not everybody Middle Eastern people are rich. 

[How Thailand’s seven-decade submarine dream hit the rocks and sank]

If I was going to buy a non-nuclear submarine, it would be from the Japanese or the French. What is Thailand's idiocy with China?

[Question for Parents of school children at International Schools with limited Thai lessons]

Well, fortunately, my wife did not work, so she spent time getting my son to read Thai, plus he took the required Thai course at school through the 11th grade.  I'd suggest finding a Thai tutor to supplement your child's school Thai. They are not expensive.

[Not Liking Thai People]

34 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

This article has highlighted how lucky I am, to be so happy living here in Thailand amongst these beautiful pleasant people.

Yes, I can't imagine living in the land of my birth (or really any other western nation that has taken on such warp perceptions about life).

[Not Liking Thai People]

26 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

It did work much better when i had that villa in chiang mai where i was much happier. it was gated and i felt much more relaxed and happy there. like you said, more just an escapism living situation

Well, that may be why I'm 'good'. I've lived in a 'seriously'  gated, secure village suburb in Pathum Thani for 18+ years. (I am rarely bored) My wife insisted on a house in 2003, so we found a good place, in a very good village and built a house. My neighbors are all Thai, but there are Farangs who live in the village, whom I visit with occasionally. My next door neighbor, Thai, very nice. The neighbor behind, my wife can't stand... This is life any place you live.

[Not Liking Thai People]

On 10/24/2023 at 11:20 PM, richard_smith237 said:

To deal with your generalisation respectfully is difficult because it's not a respectful generalisation, it's not even remotely accurate of any generalisation of Thai people I've encountered or read, in fact quite the opposite is often generalised - that Thai's are too relaxed.

 

Thus, the issues are far more likely to be due to your immediate surroundings than any general national character. 

 

Having recently spent some time in a nation known for having difficult nationals I was ready to dummy spit and started tarring all with the same brush, yet, on occasion I was pleasantly surprised and didn't allow negative generalisations to impact decisions. Under the premise of the very nature of a generalisation, those negative generelastions were true of course, but they shouldn't tar every interaction..... 

Now I'm 'out' I can safely sit back in with the knowledge that my own racist bigotry isn't actually that at all, its just that some national traits are what they are and having developed 'fair opinions' based on rounded experience is just that.... experience.

 

So... what you are experiencing may not be due to where you are, but 'where' you are...  i.e. IF you are in the very centre of a hustle and bustle tourist hotspot, then visit a different area and re-set.

 

After too long in any area its nice for a reset to once again appreciate the good.

Wow, @richard_smith237, I didn't know you had this depth of 'understanding' and 'psychology?' (not sure if I'm getting the right word) about you. But running around a rig all day and chasing up errant CoMen and service hands can have that effect on perceptions, too.  Your words of wisdom are spot on to @JimTripper. Living far away from any tourist areas and dealing with Thai people in my area, golf courses and schools, I think Jim's assessment needs a reset as you've suggested. Jim, best wishes on your journey.