Change your passwords

The most recent major hack appears to be Equifax.  As told in the media it affects US information.  If you're not a US citizen, it's no reason to sit on your laurels.  Hacks are a fact of life.  You may have the best security system on your computer, but your information is stored all over the world.  Equifax hack rumors fact-checked - Sep. 11, 2017

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Road delays, humid temperatures Pizza at home kind of a day

Multiple bridge repair / replacement projects underway

Caution, expect delays while driving this route today

Feels like temperatures continue to hover between mid to low forties

weather direction anticipated

ROCKY: Had some requests:

slower slideshow
when?

Use slideshow controls 

Movie streaming buffering problems

Search for  "internet speed test," run the test, check speed multiple times.  If it's not the speed you expected, contact your provider.

Buffering  can be a problem from your end or from the sending end. First you must insure your equipment is primed:

1. Connect your computer by Ethernet to your modem. A wired connection is generally faster than wifi. During my own tests I gained double the speed when wired over wifi
2. If you can't connect by ethernet move your computer as close to the modem as possible.
3. Clean your browser history, including cookies. Alternatively use a different browser dedicated only to streaming without any unnecessary extensions.
4. Clean out your computer startup folder.
5.  Check your task / activity manager and disable any unnecessary functions
6. Disable hardware acceleration in your video settings (right click on video).

Now fastening the track to the foam to keep it from moving

สกลนคร Sakon Nakhon

Kaspersky "such suspicions are baseless"

Of interest to advertisers: Scrutiny on the net is increasing CYA

"Alcoholic beverages may not be advertised in a manner which directly or indirectly claims benefits or promotes its consumption..." In advertisements instead use terms such as "tall one," "cold one, tall bottle," "drinks," "tap," etc. If you use graphics make sure they are "free to use."  Many graphics are free to use for non commercial use (advertisement). You can promote TV shows in your business if they are "free to air," or public live streaming, as is often the case on facebook and you tube.  If it's a pay service, you must have proper licenses and permits. If you play music in a public establishment, chances are it's copyrighted and you are required to have a license. Latest I read that license is 600 baht per year. There's a term widely used for people who give advice and don't know all the facts.  The graphic may be a hint. If I got some facts twisted or not up to date, or missed some important facts, feel free to comment.  Please do.

Sakon Nakhon

Fasten your seatbelts while traveling the web

Ad probably of interest to expats in the SNO area Rainy season also means discount season.   If it's of interest, click on the image it's linked to their mega sale page. You are cordially  invited to pay attention to that circle i. in the web address  Click on it delete cookies Check your settings Block stuff you want blocked permanently If you allow flash on trusted pages you won't be asked each time you visit It's actually more important for web pages you visit frequently

We should be seeing flooding news from the south any moment now. Here in the valley, lots of the heavy weather is detouring around us. see pink circle Accuweather warns "... rain ... some heavy, and thunderstorms wednesday evening into late Thursday Coconuts Bangkok May. 16, 2017 ↘ May 14  Pattaya  ↘

Sakon Nakhon

Thai internet speed improving ... slowly

We are still seeing what I like to refer to as the doughnut hole effect with feels like temperatures close to 46 for the day.  Rain may reach us sometime this evening, more definitely during the early morning hours friday. Indication are that it's going to be heavy tropical rain
The traditional holiday celebrated in past years on May 5, coronation day, has been deleted from the calendar due to HRH's death Royal Ploughing ceremony, May 12, is not a public holiday, the ceremony is broadcast live on Thai TV. The ceremony is believed to be an indicator of the harvest for the coming year

Sakon Nakhon

Wear Protection

9,000 servers in Asia infected. Hackers using NSA Spy Tools PC magazine The Best Antivirus Protection of 2017

Sakon Nakhon

Stock up for a rainy day

Yesterday's storm was a good indication of what's yet to come. Power outages and internet disruptions. Most of the time they won't last all that long, but not all the time.    Of course during lightning storms stay out of the swimming pool.  It's also a good idea not to walk barefoot, especially on wet grounds.    Time to turn on that battery operated fan to drive the humidity away.  A flashlight should be within easy reach  Fully charged laptops, tablets or mobiles and some saved music and movies come in handy during outages. Laptops are generally good for 4 to 6 hours, depending on what you got.    Some movie providers let you download movies. There's plenty of youtube movies you can download.  Add a movie download extention to your browser and stock up on entertainment for a rainy day. Added to the sidebar →  → "Movie Playlist" some of my favorites youtube freebies.

Sakon Nakhon

Take a 3 d animated tour of Sakon Nakhon

Google Earth in your browser arrow points from 7-11 to the Lil Pimp check out in the handy tools in the left sidebar
A bit cooler today, or am I just getting used to the heat? Feels like 104 F 40 C. Increased chance of scattered thunderstorms most of the week ahead
Where the top visitors came from this week. 1,937 pageviews

Sakon Nakhon

It's like stepping out of a Pinto and climbing into a racecar

A great big thanks for all your visits: March 6 through April 6:  10,174 Page views at this rate I should reach one million in July
New computer.  With the old PC I could open a dozen windows and go make me a cup of coffee. With the new one, when I open a dozen weather windows, they are instantaneous.  Always thought it was the internet connection.  Now I know it was the ten year old computer. To load all my google photo albums I could load the page and go make lunch. Now that's nearly instantaneously.  It's actually faster than my three year old Macbook.
Noteworthy: Free Microsoft 10 upgrades from earlier versions can not be transferred to a new computer.  I wasn't all too eager to spend 4,000 baht for the home edition, or even nearly 7,000 baht for the pro edition.    At a suggestion I searched E-Bay and was totally flabbergasted GBP 4.99.  The Key was in my e-mail in less than 12 hours

Sakon Nakhon

Suck on what?

I'm trying to get the pronunciation just right so SIRIUS on my macbook understands. Told it "Sakon Nakhon".  It understood "Suck on a Nikon" and said "that's not nice." I've tried everything but SIRIUS keeps telling me "Suck on" various objects.. and "that's not nice."    Tried the Sakorn version, that didn't come out any better. When I asked Sirius for local restaurants, the closest it came to was Bangkok restaurants

Sakon Nakhon

Video downloader

There's times when the power goes off, probably more-so during the rainy season.  Then there are moments when there is no internet available. Not sure if internet is available tomorrow when I spend overnight in the hospital.    That's when a laptop with a long lasting battery becomes handy.  I use video downloader and download enough movies from you tube to keep myself entertained. I use free software 'video downloader professional,' a browser extension.    Of course I also have bluetooth earphones to avoid disturbing others.

Sakon Nakhon

Connection problem solved

 Received this notice from a website I use daily.  
At first thought it was a website problem. 
Only had this notice on one of two computers.
Ran a virus program, no help.  Internet searches did not help much either.
Then I decided to save my bookmarks and other pertinent browser details. Uninstalled Chrome completely and reinstalled Chrome.  Problem solved.  Appears an undetectable addon may have been in the browser.  Have to uninstall and reinstall other browsers on that computer

To some of us it feels cool

Coldest night of this coldspell tonight, 11 to 14C, 51 to 57F A few cool nights and by next midweek overnight temperatures may be 20 - 21C, 68  - 70F.  Temperatures appear to be doing a wave up and down. Daytime temperatures warm up day after New Year 33 - 34C, 91 - 93F. Thailand weather: be prepared for a cool new year celebration
Mobile Phone security is still a big topic in the media.  Bank accounts, SSN, everything is susceptible to hacking. Extreme measures suggest you copy information you want to keep, such as phone numbers, to an external device, then reset your phone to to factory settings and delete all data When disposing or selling your phone remove all memory cards

Sakon Nakhon

Free WiFi at public places 'Risky Business'

Public WiFi Risks and what you can do about it Kaspersky Most people unaware of the risks of using public Wi-Fi cnbc

Sakon Nakhon

You Android phone has pre installed spyware

Censorship is happening all over the world

Here in Thailand, posting false news will become a crime.  My view:  Hackers already have all of your information, the government is playing catchup Meanwhile in England

Sakon Nakhon

Speed Test

Did the speed tests at 5:05 pm with a minute between tests while I changed providers.  From about 4 pm to 7 pm services tend to get bogged down.  The lowest priced service had the best download speeds.  I used an HTML5 test purported to be the most accurate. All tests were conducted with WIFI connection STV cable True G3 Air card 3BB cable

Sakon Nakhon

No cheering please

day 32 :: night 24 real feel day 42 :: night 27 Light scattered rain afternoon and evening UV 7 (high)
Reports differ, many say all free, others say some free
For stateside TV anywhere  free   once you register:    (ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC, PBS, My9)   paid plan: ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC, PBS, My9, A&E, Animal Planet, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CNBC, CNN, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, ESPN, FX, Fox News, History, Lifetime, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, Spike, Syfy, TBS, TNT, USA, AMC.

Running out of power

Battery life of the camera allowed me to record one hour, fifteen minutes, using 1/5 of the memory capacity.  To extend recording time I bought a   BLL 18000 mAh Power Bank at a cost of 860THB.


Of course the battery is also ideally suited for other mobile devices