Maizefarmer
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Posts posted by Maizefarmer
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I'm sure it will look more like this in reality :
Gropers & Pickpockets heaven.................
God, can you imagine a bomb going off in that lot while in a tunnel!!
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I can rent you a large 4WD 260hp Ford tractor with a 3 tine ripper on the back - the tines are adjustable i.e. we can move them round and add or take tines off. Spacing 2 tines at around 40cm - 45cm and then ripping the soil down to 3'/1m either side of the trunk is usualy enough to tear the roots sufficiently for the tree to then be pulled out with tractor mounted chains, or pushed over/out with a front end mounted blade on the tractor.
The all important question however, is: how big are the trees? (diameter of trunk???)
Rubber trees up to around 350mm diameter can usualy be dealt with as above, and euc's up to around 300mm (max) - but once you start getting any larger than this, although the tractor has plenty plenty sufficient power, even with duals on both the front and back axles (i.e. 8 tyres) my experience is that even a 150hp Cat, with it's high gear ratio's and far superior steel track traction and addition mass, offers much better traction and pulling ability
Could use the tractor to rip the roots, and a Cat to then pull them out
I can't help you on the Cat, but if you're interested (and if the trees are within size) - let me know and we can talk further.
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Don
3 questions:
- reg'd in your name?
- did you purchase new?
- any outstanding finance?
Send me a private message if you prefer
Thanx
MF
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Saiyan
Yup - what you more than likely have is an OEM product (Original Equipment Manufacture) product - an alternative in other words - so no prob's there at all - but here's my concern - can you post up,or send to my message box a digital picture of the filter its self and any packaging box it came with: I have a sneaky suspicion that while the size difference is no issue, you may have been sold a counterfit i.e. what folk call a "copy" [filter], and not withstanding whatever the OEM spec's for the particular filter type/part number/model should be, if you do have a copy it's not going to do the job it's mean't to do - the element inside will be inferior, consisting of little more than a poor quality incorrectly sized folded mesh paper, which will break down within a few hours and you won't be aware untill next time you change the oil (which will by then be pitch black and full of metal particles - the result of poor lubrication and surface on surface rubbing of moving parts) ..... then the service bills will start to mount.
I retail genuine Kubota, Iseki, Yanmar and Ford consumables, so I never have to purchase retail for my own use, but my advise to all folk (Thai's as much as ex-pats) is: when it comes to things like filters (which can easily be "reproduced" off a production line setup in any shop-house backroom) only buy from an authorised retailer - or if non-branded, invest in 2 filters and break one can open to check out the contents.
The likelyhood of been sold a counterfeit filter element (air - diesel - hydraulic ...whatever type) in Thailand, especially from rural hardware and spares shops is around 40% - that is how common they are on the Thai parts market.
A common giveaway to counterfieted spare parts? - check the graphics on the filter element can and/or it's packaging - very good chance you will find a spelling error in silkscreening if it is in English (and a good chance if in Thai as well - though most ex-pats will miss the latter).
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Yup - I can quote some success stories, but they all invovled Thai folk who I had known for a considerable amount of time and who had established and verfiable credit track records - and that has to be part of any lending/loan decision, afterall, it's not for no reason that commercial lenders undertake due dilligence when it comes to lending.
So yes - it can be undertaken with success, though I have to say, in the few cases I have helped out in the past and got my money back I wasn't lending in the first place on a commercial basis i.e. to make money out of the loan - it was to help out,and on the one and only occassion I have lent on a commercial basis, despite getting a credit check undertaken, I ultimately had to resort to auctioning the land title that was signed over as security.
In the long run, like lending anywhere else in the world, no matter what the motive or intention is (let alone lending on a commercial basis) you have to have security which can be realised if the debtor runs into default - without it, it's no business to be involved in.
PS - there is a standard form that can be picked in shops, that rural money lenders to secure loans to farmers with - against the borrowers land/house papers. This doc is a gov approved/legal document and is quite common in rural areas - alot of rice farmers know exactly what it looks like and what it is. The interest rate is not set - it's something you (the lender) and the borrower agree on, along with the repayment timeframe and a few other points - but it lays out the law and how it pertains to both the borrower and lender. It is in short, a legaly binding contract to both parties.
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teh road to hel_l is paved with good intentions, good ideas at the time, and lack of the knowlege of the realtionships between people that are just below the surface of the community/village.
Well said....
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Air lifts are extremely effective organic matter/suspended protein removal mechanisms - add ozone and they are even better: at the top of the air lift you havea surrounding overflow cup - protein matter will accumulate in the overflow cup as a froth - very effective, but can be over effective because fish tanks need a biological load to support fish - changing water can and often does dmaage the bio-balance in a tank volume, and so does/can ozone in a water lift - in much the same way as ultra-violet light steralizes water.
Its a cas eof getting the balance right.
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Yes - the Baht 200k story is a true story. I remember it clearly (and with considerable suprize) - it was around 2002/2003 - and was written up in the Bangkok Post. Said taxi driver was well rewarded by the owner of the cash.
This and similar stories about taxi driver honesty get printed from time to time in one or other of the papers.
MF, Are you suggesting that just because the 'story' was in the paper that it must be a 'true' story??
Well - what do you think?? = anycase, how the hel_l am I supposed to know - you thinking it was made up by some hack - a bit of a laugh for print!!
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Nope - but Decheeso produce a lot of cheese, which explains the raw milk, and more than likely the dairy diet is adjusted for cheese production, though I doubt it would be a grain only diet - would cost to much to maintain cattle on a grain diet in Thailand. Grass and fresh forage - yes, common in Thailand, though most dairy farmers switch to dried forage and silage in the winter - unless they have the space and can aford to irrigate (which is not many farmers)
Bear in mind also that raw milk (and its all I drink - I milk 200 odd cows a day - twice) has a very very different taste to homogenised and/or pasturised milk - both processes which break down fat & protein content in retailed Thai milk -which by and large starts off with a much lower butterfat/milk fat count than does milk produced in the USA or Europe, and is also mixed with dried milk product (yes - powdered milk is mixed into fresh milk for retail as "fresh milk" in Thailand).
And most Thai's haven't a clue what 100% milk tastes like because they have never had a chance to make much of a comparison.
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I do forex trading online from Thailand - and I keep my trading account funds setup to move them on the press of the mouse left hand button - instantly, which means keeping them with a forex trading facility off-shore - who run the software program I trade through. That may not be an issue in share trading (?), but its an issue in forex trading - my point was: why keep the funds in a Thai bank account when they could be put into a trading account off-shore - wouldn't that all round be better (then just transfer to your Thai bank account what you need when you need it).
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Looking at my son's old scalectrix set the sticker on it says Thai Slot Car Co Ltd - and believe it or not - they have a web site of the same name.
Oh its the real McCoy - no doubt about it - not some cheap far east copy.
They still make scalectrix!!! ........ that takes me back a few years as well!!!
...more info from their website!
Scalextric is available in these retail stores:
Toys "R" Us on the 6th Floor at Central World Plaza, Bangkok.
Siam Paragon Department Store in the 3rd Floor Toy Department, Bangkok.
The Thai Slot Car Company showroom in Phra Khanong, Bangkok. Just a short walk from the Phra Khanong BTS Skytrain station, with easy parking.
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Good on you tartempion - taking care of your elderly folks 11/10!
Well it sounds like you have everything to keep them comfortable - just so long as they can cope with the heat and humidity (air con in their room!).
I wouldn;t have though getting a POA (power of attorney) issued in Thailand would be a problem - has nothing to do with the authrorities, it's a recognised document type in Thailand (I've used them before - albeit for different reasons) - just get hold of a lawyer to get it drawn up correctly in Thai using the correct terminology, layout, format ect ect .....(get an english translation copy as well), and get the lawyer to sign and stamp it (notarise it), witnesess ect .... It's a legal doc - nothig unusualy about it in Thailand.
And then go off to a bank (same bank as you use) and present it with their passports and whatever else is needed, and if you're Thai is not upto scratch in been able to explain what alzheimers is, take along with you someone who can explain all this - and you should have no prob's.
Yup - register them at the embassy.
You don't say where you are, so the hospital mater may be an issue, but my experience of Thai state hospitals is nothing but positive. Yes, its a bit of a culturale shock and the food is not exactly "ex-pat" (so bring food in for them) - but most have private rooms, and all the main regional state hospitals can offer all that the private hospitals offer - I wouldn't be to concerned about that.
I don't see these matters been issues, it's how caring for them is going to impact on your lifestyle and time - my guess is there'll be some big changes to your lifestyle(?).
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I know the area quite well.........
Well, if theres a bore hole on land next to yours - that answers the question: now you have to find out how deep it is and how much it produces - and using that info, along with how much water you need make a decision on how deep to drill yours and what diameter to make it.
You don't want to run sprinklers drirectly from the borehole - thats cost money through all the energy needed, and the depth of hole will have to be to keep up with the pressure/flow rate required to get the sprinklers working. You defienatly want to pump it into a dam first - for storage, and then from the dam into sprinklers when needed. The problem you have with your dam is that it leaks - so some of the water you spend money on pumping out the ground is going back into the ground before you can use it!
I think it makes some sense to repair the dam first I think!
By the way - have any idea what sort of volumes of water you are going to want to be irrigating each day with - this is going to determine your energy needs and borehole required depth - but you need to find out how much the old dear next to you guys can get from her borehole each day,before she has to stop pumping to allow it time to re-saturate - or maybe she doesn;t have to stop, if she keeps the pump rate below x amount, maybe she can just pump and pump and pump........
Pumping - pump with ac electrictity if you can: it's about 1/3rd cheaper than using diesel (that maybe okay for the borehole, but when it comes to driving sprinklers, few domestic supplies have suficient current avaliable to power a large enough pump, which means diesel - and if its anything more than a couple rai, then you'll have to use diesel I would think).
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Is the deceaseds wife the legal next of kin? My lawyer reckons that if she is, then it's her wishes that count and getting her to accept and sign for a full a final settlement should deal with that part of the matter.
Of course there remains the issue of skipping bail, but quite frankly if I was in your position I wouldn't worry to much about it under the circumstances - if you've an agreement sorted out and paid up with the next of kin then the primary reason for wanting you back in Thailand has been deal't with, and it weakens the extradition case of all these other "hangers on", which raises a question: just what are your chances of been extradited back to Thailand if a formal request is made?
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How do you move your money quickly if you need to or want to - takes time to move money into/out of current accounts when its going off-shore?
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....... and maize earns more per rai than rice does!
They only way I think one is going to get by on 10 rai rice paddy with a decent income to show for it, is to fillit all in and set up greenhouses to grow something intensive - e.g. canteloupe: I know someone earning/netting between Bat 7700 - 9300 per month per rai from 12 rai of canteloupe in greenhouses. There is an element of rotation to his farming model, so for any month round the year there is 4rai ready for market.
Thats Baht 30,2k - 37,2k per month nett off 12rai .
He needs 12 rai to be able to harvest 4rai per month on a constantly rotating basis - in very simple terms each 4rai of greenhouse area has cantaloupe at a different stage of growth.
By Thai ag production standards, this is a superb and very productive farming model.
Each pair of greenhouses shares a beehive - the hive is located mid-way between the greenhouses (only about 5 meters or so between the greenhosues - lengthways). The hive has 3 entrances/exits - one leads outside to "free air", the other 2 are tunneled along clear plastic corridors - one to each greenhouse. I don't think it needs any explaining - bees are responsible for nearly all crop pollination - and pollination is required for crop production.
Irrigation is drip type - fed from about 10 or so large raised tanks, which are feed through about 3 - 4 solar powered pumps drawing up underground water. I never checked the solat panel rating, but from the size of the panels (3 for each pump) my guess is they wre around 150watt each - so around 0,45Kw per pump
Yes - thats a sizable investment which will take time to recoup, but with that set up there is no monthly energy/diesel/electricity bill to be paid.
Pesticide usage/cost? - next to zero: greenhouses are seldom totally pest free, but are close on damnit to been pest free, and when a breakout does occur, it's contained and quick to deal with.
Extended artificial lighting? - none. I asked about that: it was considered and, yes, it does increase crop yield but the extra income would be more than offset by the energy cost - so it simply wasn't worth it, even if it was solar energy based the capital outlay would be enormous.
Organic? - yes and no: some of the greenhouses are organic, but most of crop production is supported with commercial fertiliser which is fed through the drip irrigation system
Capital outlay? - good question: it's on filled in rice paddy land, so there would have been the land cost, then the cost of filling in, the cost of the greenhouses (actually they're not to expensive in Thailand as the frames and covering is all made here (and setup labour is cheap), and then the cost of setting everything up in the greenhouses (large commercial plastic paint and chemical containers are used) and last but not least the cost of the irrigation system and solar pump setup (which would have been a sizeable slice of the overall budget).
All in I would have thought one would have little change from Baht 2mill.
If you;re wondering how it is a small Thai farmer can afford to set this all up, the guy who owns this setup (Thai) has other interests - he doesn't just farm cantaloupes, so this doesn't represent his primary income - in fact, it's probably a small part of his income (a very small part!): he owns a large Hino truck dealership in Loei, and also keeps horses.
Is it worth it?
Well, you certainly aren't going to earn +/0 30k per month at current bank rates with 2mill in an account, and the land will keep it's value - so, in my opinion - yes, it's a good call, and if gauged against farming and net farm incomes for similar land sizes across Thailand, it starts to look very good.
So - can you earn a decent income from 12 rai [farming]?
Depends what you're growing and how much you're willing to invest - and, dare I say it: if those greenhouses were setup as hydroponic greenhouses, it wouldn't suprize me if you could reduce growing times and also increase crop yield to close on double these income figures.
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......... just wait till you have to tolerate a couple hundred dairy cows "mooo......ing" at 3:00am each morning to get their udders relieved - and half a dozen geese (who'll go off at the slightest unusual noise any time of the night).
........ah, yes - the pleasure(s) of rural/farming life. Mind you far better than Bangkok traffic!!
Nice pic's Ian.
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DazednConfused555
Brilliant topic - 5,4,3,2,1 .....!
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Its one of the most pesticide resistant pests in Asain rice fields .......
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Are you high up by the prison (or right hand side of the motorway) or low down in valley on the left on the left hand side of the motorway?
The granite layer passes just above the waterline of the resevouir.
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3K - a bit low for anything other than a bag of skin and bones ready for slaughter.
Can you post up some digital picks of the animals in question then I'll give you my opinion.
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Putting a price on a piece of farm land is like putting a price on a used car - untill you see it and consider all the factors involved it's close to impossible to put a value on it, but that aside, earning anything but a "hand to mouth" living off 10rai of rice paddy will be neigh on impossible.
Your question regards land purchase with forex touches on just a point I have tackled in the General Topics section (in reply to an OP who feels Thai land ownership policy is racist) - it's perfectly safe and legal if you give the money to your Thai partner and she then pays for the land and registers it in her name - no prob's. If you guys are concerned about "Smith" on the land doc's - then complete the land pruchase and re-reg prior to the marrige so the and is on the books in her Thai name.
.....all the best for married life.
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This however is close to been an exception ....... Ruperts, your comments may well reflect your experieince and perception of Thailand and it's people, but after 20 years of living here ful time (and that doesnt include a large part of my childhood spent growing up in Thailand), I can assure you my friend that that is all it is i.e. your experience and perception - and far from reality it certainly is.
Theres this perception amongst many (some?) ex-pat visitors/short term stayers and repeat visitors that Thai's are inferior, that their ways are not as good/refined/sophisticated or developed as Caucasians or Westerners. This attitude is more a reflection of the prejudice and sense of superiority those individuals have of themselves and of their Western culture. It is ignorance on a grand scale.
Interesting post, Maizefarmer, and I must say that I have been suprised by the lack of apologists in this thread, so it is nice to see someone defending the Kingdom.
I do take exception to your assumption that I believe Thai's to be 'inferior', because I certainly don't. I treat people as individuals as I would expect to be treated in return.
But is their culture inferior?
At 2.30am it's difficult to think of any set criteria by which this can be measured. But a few things that instantly come to mind are the nationalistic attitude - not allowing foreigners to buy land, this is racism, however you package it, and by western standards is very backwards. Corruption at every level. Talking about the UK Great Expenses Scandal is very 2009, but does it really compare to a persons ability to commit murder and then buy themselves out of jail? I don't think so. Not even close.
Other things: sports, arts, music, science, technology, space programs, medicine, you name it... On the world stage Thailand is well behind. This is obviously no fault of any individual Thai, but is this an indication of an inferior culture? I think you'd struggle to argue otherwise.
I would like to make it clear again that it is not so much the people I dislike but the culture and more specifically where it is headed.
Perhaps you have been in Thailand too long, MF, and haven't been to the west to see the destruction of society that has been a direct result of our culture. Fortunately, there are increasingly large waves of well-aimed discontent spreading through the west which should pave the way for actual change. I see Thailand adopting our self destructive ways with such gusto, that my worry is that they won't see the problems beginning, maybe they won't care, mai pen rai, and even if they do, it might be too late. Unlike you, I've seen it once already, and in a country which I could so easily like so much, it hurts to see it happening again.
Ruperts
The rule preventing foreigners from purchasing land is not racist – for a start it’s legislation that applies to ex-pat Westerners as much as it applies to South Koreans or Japanese as it applies to ethnic Thai’s who hold foreign passports!! …… and it’s not exclusively Thai either, other Asian countries have the same or very similar legislation.
It is primarily an economic policy to protect national land values from been distorted through the comparatively stronger buying power of nationals and companies from many Western/European and certain other Asian countries.
Look what has happened in Cambodia recently - when a certain Mid-East state organization tried to purchase land there – it distorted regional land prices so much so that locals, who through their comparatively waeker financial standing found themselves priced out of their own national land markets!
That is why Thailand (and other Asian countries) have restrictions on foreigners owning land, and as said, it’s a policy that applies equally to ethnic Thai’s with foreign nationality as it applies to Westeners, Koreans, Japanese and other foreign nationals..
Your comments:
“Other things: sports, arts, music, science, technology, space programs, medicine, you name it... On the world stage Thailand is well behind. This is obviously no fault of any individual Thai, but is this an indication of an inferior culture? I think you'd struggle to argue otherwise……”
do not single Thailand out at all – they are characteristics that you could say of 101 other countries around the world.
These are characteristics in many ways the preserve of wealthy 1st world nations – Western Europe or the USA – and in many respects like your comments regards land ownership, revolve around the comparative financial & economic status of the West versus Asia – and there is nothing in them that is exclusively Thai.
Your comments regards the legal system are though a point I agree with - Thailand has a shocking legal track record, and a police force that is severly lacking in leadership and integrity.
Lastly, I am not an apologist for Thai's or Thailand - I am all to aware of the problems and failings in this country: from it's corrupt police to it's abuse of human rights, to it's bent judiciary as mentioned earlier, to it's chaotic politics and nepotism ...... the place is far from perfect, but little of what you have highlighted is in any way "Thai" - it is charcteristic of many Asian countries.
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"I've been visiting Thailand on and off for a couple of years now. Seems to me they're taking much of the most horrible and embarrassing aspects of western culture and taking it to a whole new level. Lots of greed, lots of status desire. Lots of materialism. Everything I hate about western society, they are taking to with incredible enthusiasm. Are they so stupid to be duped by marketeers or are they just not very free thinking people? They also seem very racist.
If I stay here will my dislike of the people continue to grow or is this the natural ebb and flow of life in the LOS?
I'm thinking it's time to get out of here before it's too late......"
Most who read my comments on TV will know that wherever possible i try to add constructively to comments - even when I don't agree with what is been said .... after all, we are entitled to express our opinions and because we don't share the same outlook on a subject with someone else, doesn't mean we have to take the easy route out and join the mob.
This however is close to been an exception ....... Ruperts, your comments may well reflect your experieince and perception of Thailand and it's people, but after 20 years of living here ful time (and that doesnt include a large part of my childhood spent growing up in Thailand), I can assure you my friend that that is all it is i.e. your experience and perception - and far from reality it certainly is.
Theres this perception amongst many (some?) ex-pat visitors/short term stayers and repeat visitors that Thai's are inferior, that their ways are not as good/refined/sophisticated or developed as Caucasians or Westerners. This attitude is more a reflection of the prejudice and sense of superiority those individuals have of themselves and of their Western culture. It is ignorance on a grand scale.
Your understanding of "status" in Thai society is quite incorrect - that, or you don't understand it: in fact, there is little about "status" as it is expressed here that is unique to Thai society - it is common throughout many countries in Asia.
Thai's as an ethnic or social group (in Asian society) are no more or less racist than are Brit's or Amercians as an "ethnic" or social group (in Western society). Where is your evidence that they are? Why is it you think they are?
If anything in what you have said is credible, I'll give you this: indeed the rampant like and association Western society has with materiliasm and consumarism has not "transferred" well into the values of Asian society. The world is a fast changing place - technology has impacted on culturale groups the world over at a rate far faster than many Asian societies have been able to adapt at/to. The gap between the "haves" and "have nots" has grown, and wealth has become more and more concentrated amongst smaller and smaller groups in each society. Yes, there is certainly some truth to your comments in this regard, and most significantly it's with some irony that they are changes/forces that originate in Western culture. There is certainly corruption and excess greed amongst those in priviledged position(s) in Thailand, but I'll have you know something: there is excess greed and corruption in Western society as well - you only have to look at how UK parlimentarians abused and violated the trust that was given them regards their expense accounts - all, but a handful were "at it" so to speak. This was corruption and greed at it's worst - and where was it happening on the grandest of scales?? Amongst those representatives of that institution universaly held to be the father of democratic institutions - the UK parliment!
Lets not also forget the greed that has come to light now by way of the problems Western banking has suffered over the last couple years(??)
No sir - your observations may not be without merit, but to present them as charateristically Thai in type, or character carries no merit: that you can identify with them is in no small part because they are as much prevalent in Western culture and society as they are in Asia!!
Will your dislike of locals (Thai's) continue to grow if you stay here ......?
It certainly will unless you take time out to look at yourself and your attitude to those around you and how you interact with them. Remember, you take yourself with wherever you go in life - it's what you make of the oppurtunity. For every one person who comes across as you do, there are a truckload who have managed to fit in and adapt. My advice to you is: do just that, or the sooner you move on the better it will be.
Naga River Snake Fireballs.
in General Topics
Posted
Been there done that ............... I think the consensus now is that it's a hoax (fireworks designed to burn underwater) - but it's well done and a lot of folk belive it's supernatural - all sorts of spirit stories have grown up around the event.