Extended VISA overstay now subject to jail time

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Wax Castle and Boat Racing Festival 2010

Wax castle brochure containing the schedule of events is now available.
Ask your hotel desk clerk for a copy.
I'll have the schedule translated later in the day and will post the information as soon as I receive it.


Boat races are already underway in some nearby villages and towns.

I stand corrected

Liver fluke larvae can penetrate the skin of a human host.

Wikipedia

I had  been ill advised to think that they entered  through mouth, ear and nose membrane, including anal and sexual organs and open cuts.
read about the leaf shaped flatworm Trematode

The larvae attaches to fish skin and plants such as watercress.
Snails and slugs are the main carriers of liver fluke and transfer them to vegetation.
Liver flukes are also common in a exposed wild and domestic animals.
Nong Han (Lake) is known to be infested with the parasite.  
It stands to reason that surrounding waterways are similarly invested.

10,000 Monks to assemble in Sakon Nakhon

Castle construction is underway

Preparations for the annual Wax Castle Festival are well underway.
You can visit any of the local temples and watch how it's done.




   
    
    
    

One kilo five baht

1 kilo of CD's for 5 baht (2.2 lbs for 16 cents).  
Most of the Thai music CD's seemed to have been well worn. There were some copies with Thai writings, and there were English titled movies which seemed less worn.  Some looked like new.

I was not offered, and not interested in buying.  Who would buy this stuff, for what purpose.  I imagine there were probably some usable, but most seemed too scratched for use.

Made me wonder if these are part of the stash the government recently "destroyed".

Just had some dental work done.  Four sessions in total.
Yesterdays session required an injection and lasted 45 minutes.
Cost was 500 baht.  I really felt guilty, considering this would have been hundreds of  $ in the U.S.

I was reminded to use toothpaste and mouthwash with fluoride to keep the teeth from going soft.
I think I'll ignore that advice.  You may too after watching this video

Sakon FC Down

Heavy tropical rains early in the morning made the football field resemble a marsh.
Mud puddles and water puddles.  Players were doing a lot of slipping and sliding.
White socks worn by the Nong Kai players turned to the color of the landscape within moments.

Most of the time players were far ahead of the ball, anticipating it to bounce.
Of course there's no football bounce on water.

This wasn't football, it was mud puddle ball.

In the last game of the season Sakon FC got thrashed.

 

Win or loose, the team has consistently played a great game.  There was never a boring moment.
The team has improved quite noticeably over past seasons.  Hopefully that improvement trend will continue next season.

 

 

Time out: Stray on the field

The game started earlier than usual, 4 PM. Everyone wanted to rush to the nearest TV for  the 7:30 Manchester Liverpool game

Party Mix

Your definition of Party Mix
may differ from mine.

• Juice from 3 freshly picked coconuts.
• 1 liter blueberry juice (marinated for three months in a bottle of rum)
• A few drops of jasmine extract

No driving today

Squirrel Happy hour

After I squeezed all the juices, I placed some of the blueberry pulp in the squirrel cage.

That sweater you're wearing looks familiar.
Mommy is that you?

 

T.i.T. plus

Unwelcome house guests
Had a four foot snake in the front porch rafters.  A bit of insect repellent made him fall down.  Two whacks with the brush. Both the snake and the brush were history.  
Later in the day I heard metal on pavement sound.  Clink - clink.  Sounded like someone was preparing chopped liver. It was a three inch snake. 

Stepped on some broken glass and decided to wear shoes.  A fat mama toad had homesteaded in my shoes.  I'm walking barefooted.

Pool Talk
The vacuum head should be simple to replace parts when needed.  The handle, generally an aluminum pipe, should be able to reach the other side of the pool.  Using plastic water pipe as a handle may not the suitable, as the pipe tends to flex.
The vacuum hose should be able to reach the farthest point of the pool to the pump attachment.


Thai internet generations behind
Was really looking forward to the 3G (3rd Generation) contracts being awarded.  
It would have meant new equipment and improved service.  
The auction had already been put on hold for the past three years.
While the user base has increased drastically, service has gone way south.
With the auction halted, so have the dreams of better internet service, at least for the foreseeable future.
Foreseeable? How far can you see?
The rest of the planet is already at 4G, while businesses are at 5G.
further reading

No Smoking Oom-Pa-Pa
Oktober Fest goes smoke free 

In New York all public parks and beaches are now smoke free. It's alright to smoke on certain sidewalks, but don't step off the curb.
In the U.S., when the government sued tobacco corporations, they promised to use the money to help people stop smoking.  Then they used the money to clean up beaches.  I'm still waiting for that help.


School Project under way at my house.

I'd hate to ask how much to paint a mural on my walls