Thread: What's on yer mind?

Is this on page 100?...

Heh...What do I win?...

Originally Posted by chassamui

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

Wondering how much it'll cost me to do an upgrade of the house in Pattaya. At a minimum need to upgrade the electrical wiring; upgrade the water PVC piping: upgrade the bathrooms: complete kitchen remodel; 4 new A/C units; would like to install one of those windows in the ceiling to brighten the place up and new tile wall-to-wall. Think a million baht will do the trick?

I don't kmow the area at all, but if you are investing that much in it, the place obviously works for you. Not worth cutting corners on any of that kind of work, so if you're happy with the place go for it.

Nothing fancy at all but good enough. Third generation farang owned house.

Originally Posted by panama hat

Originally Posted by Storekeeper

Wondering how much it'll cost me to do an upgrade of the house in Pattaya

Careful pompeyhadastroke will give you a good tongue-lashing for being 'affluent' (It also depends on how many aircons you have)

Third generation farang house so it was in need of work when we got it.

Spent an hour in the gym lifting weights with my son today. Strong kid...I was impressed.

^ I know the lad is 16 now. What age do you think it's appropriate for kids to start lifting weights?

16.....

How does he like it?

^ Fits in well with his coffee and cigarette breakfast...

Ya writing an Etiquette Book, blaney?...

Weight lifting and etiquette? What???

Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

16.....

That just happens to be the exact age dependents are allowed to work out in Navy base gyms unsupervised.

Back when I was in high school in the 70s the one rep bench press record for our school was 405 by a sophomore at age 16.

Originally Posted by Cujo

Not sure if this should go in daily moans but just booked a week in a resort on Phuket for the family arriving next Wednesday and I'm feeling oddly apprehensive.
I think mostly because I don't really like travelling in Thailand. I can feel the rip offs coming the minute I get off the plane, only this time before I even get on it.
Booked a package through expedia and after booking flights and resort I was given the option of booking a sedan to meet us at the airport and take us to the hotel and likewise on the way home for USD48.00. return I accepted.
Note 'sedan'.
AFTER booking and confirming and paying I was informed that the 'sedan' can only accommodate 2 people. WTF??
So I called the car company and yes a 'sedan' can only accommodate 2 people but I can upgrade to a van for 300 baht (each way).
Fuckers.I then discover after reading through the comments on tripadvisor (overwhelmingly positive for the resort) it's only a 20 minute drive to Bangtao beach where the resort is.

I had made allowances for the fact that transport on Phuket is a ripoff but still they could have waited till I got there.
I would have thought it better booking through a company associated with expedia. I will be making it my mission to make sure expedia know what a scam is going on there on their site and get this company removed.

Coulda picked a better holiday spot for the family, Cuj....
There are plenty of decent locales around that might present a more pleasing experience.


Why Phuket?

Originally Posted by thaimeme

Originally Posted by Cujo

Not sure if this should go in daily moans but just booked a week in a resort on Phuket for the family arriving next Wednesday and I'm feeling oddly apprehensive.
I think mostly because I don't really like travelling in Thailand. I can feel the rip offs coming the minute I get off the plane, only this time before I even get on it.
Booked a package through expedia and after booking flights and resort I was given the option of booking a sedan to meet us at the airport and take us to the hotel and likewise on the way home for USD48.00. return I accepted.
Note 'sedan'.
AFTER booking and confirming and paying I was informed that the 'sedan' can only accommodate 2 people. WTF??
So I called the car company and yes a 'sedan' can only accommodate 2 people but I can upgrade to a van for 300 baht (each way).
Fuckers.I then discover after reading through the comments on tripadvisor (overwhelmingly positive for the resort) it's only a 20 minute drive to Bangtao beach where the resort is.

I had made allowances for the fact that transport on Phuket is a ripoff but still they could have waited till I got there.
I would have thought it better booking through a company associated with expedia. I will be making it my mission to make sure expedia know what a scam is going on there on their site and get this company removed.

Coulda picked a better holiday spot for the family, Cuj....
There are plenty of decent locales around that might present a more pleasing experience.


Why Phuket?

It all really came down to a combination of factors, cost (initial cost of flights and accommodation very reasonable, I expect extras to add up pretty quickly) Ease of Visa for the wife and kids who will be travelling on chinese passports.
I considered Lankawi Malaysia but for some reason the missus has issues with the food in Malaysia. Got me stumped because they have every kind of food there.
Vietnam is a pain in the ass for Visas and I don't like the infrastructure, Bali too Passe. This just came out the best option.
And it was the most kid friendly place I could find.

Just home from work and the wife informs me that I have to go to my kids school tomorrow to discuss my youngest sons behavioral issues, apparently he is being quite disruptive and refuses to conform, as far as I'm concerned he is just being an individual. Nothing wrong with that right? But it's an international school and they are quite strict, I can see where they are coming from but fuk he,s 5 years old turning 6 soon, they are talking about him having sessions with a child psychologist to see if he can improve, if not they reckon they will kick him out. WTF? His bro goes to the same school ,I'm thinking perhaps if they employed real teachers with real salaries then we wouldn't be having this issue, the wife tends to believe everything they tell her, I'm sure there are some great teachers but how motivated can they be on a Tefler salary? This shits doing my head in.

Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker

Just home from work and the wife informs me that I have to go to my kids school tomorrow to discuss my youngest sons behavioral issues, apparently he is being quite disruptive and refuses to conform, as far as I'm concerned he is just being an individual. Nothing wrong with that right? But it's an international school and they are quite strict, I can see where they are coming from but fuk he,s 5 years old turning 6 soon, they are talking about him having sessions with a child psychologist to see if he can improve, if not they reckon they will kick him out. WTF? His bro goes to the same school ,I'm thinking perhaps if they employed real teachers with real salaries then we wouldn't be having this issue, the wife tends to believe everything they tell her, I'm sure there are some great teachers but how motivated can they be on a Tefler salary? This shits doing my head in.

I believe it's such a system that needs adjustment, not your lad.
He's a kid FFS.

Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker

I'm sure there are some great teachers but how motivated can they be on a Tefler salary? This shits doing my head in.

I thought international schools did employ uni trained teachers, for the money they charge I'd expect the best teachers going.

Don't worry. he'll be smoking doobies behind the scooter shed next year. That'll mellow him.

Originally Posted by Stinky

Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker

I'm sure there are some great teachers but how motivated can they be on a Tefler salary? This shits doing my head in.

I thought international schools did employ uni trained teachers, for the money they charge I'd expect the best teachers going.

thats what you would expect, yes,but mostly they are filipinos and a couple of farangs who got the gig because they speak english and own a couple of Ties to look the part. Also received a report that the young bloke was caught playing with a bottle of bleach he found in the hong nam, Why dont they have lockable chemical cabinets?

Meeting this evening to listen to the terms of an exceptional opportunity in Singapore for two years minimum . . . just when we'd made up our minds to go back to NZ in Dec/Jan.

Grumble, grumble . . .

Normally this would be a definite 'no' at this stage but Mrs Hat is being offered a senior role in the same group.

What to do . . . definitely on my mind . . .

Interesting story and don't know where to put this:

lost-at-sea-memorials.com » U.S.S. Frank E. Evans and the Sage Brothers?

"On the night of June 3, 1969 the U.S.S. Frank E. Evans (DD-754) was involved in a collision with the Royal Australian Navy aircraft carrier Melbourne in the South China Sea – an accident eerily similar to the U.S.S Hobson/U.S.S Wasp collision 17 years before. Flight operations were in progress on the Melbourne and the Evans was maneuvering into its correct position reference to the carrier. As in the Hobson incident, an error in judgement was made on the bridge of the Evans. The Melbourne struck Evans amidships, cutting her in half. The bow section of the Evans sank almost immediately, taking 74 of her crew to their deaths. One body was recovered, 73 were lost at sea. The photos at the top left show the Evans before and after the accident.

The whole story of the Evans can be found at the superb website of the U.S.S. Frank E. Evans (DD-754) Association: Official Site for the USS Frank E. Evans DD 754 Association, Inc.

Spend some serious time on this website. It is the finest website devoted to a single ship that I have ever seen, lovingly maintained by former members of the Evans crew during her long and proud history. She served in three wars with distinction. Her entire history is contained within the website. There are several memorials to the Evans’ lost souls in the United States, including one in Arlington National Cemetery. There is also a beautiful memorial in Australia.

There is one memorial to the Evans in the United States that personalizes the tragedy beyond all the others, however. It is not large in size. I doubt if it was designed by a professional artist or cost as much as the other Evans memorials. It is not on the beaten track either – it’s located on a plaza in a very small town called Niobrara, Nebraska.

Among the dead and forever lost at sea on that awful night in 1969 were three brother from Niobrara – Gary, Kelly and Gregory Sage. It was the worst single family toll in the U.S. Navy since the five Sullivan brothers were killed in the sinking of the U.S.S Juneau in 1942 near Guadalcanal. Even today, after four decades have passed, it’s difficult to comprehend the sense of loss that must have been felt by the brothers’ parents, the widow of one of the brothers, the immediate family, and the entire small Nebraska town that they called home".

^ Ever read The Cruel Sea?...Very good sea book...

Originally Posted by Looper

Off to Nepal soon for some trekking but the achilles tendon injuries I sustained at Christmas running 4Km on the beach every night without running shoes have still not healed. I forgot how long tendon injuries take to fix themselves. Maybe I can hire crutches in KTM!

For future reference if you've got a rolling pin?? They have there uses, i've cured my achilles tendonitis in a week after 6 months of suffering.

Check out the video..

^ Interesting vid, Chitty...The power of self-massage...

^^ You just responded to a post from 9 Apr 2014? How do even know Looper's still alive?

And that leads to what's on my mind. The OP has flounced. Who knows anything about November Rain's whereabouts? She gave me my first green. Her name comes from a song played by Guns N Roses. My avatar is Slash from Guns N Roses. Terry's avatar is Axl from Guns N Roses. I swore I would never change my avatar but if she has flounced, I'm going to.