S-BAC commemorates Sunthorn Phu on Friday

 

Memorial in Wat Sri Sudaram, Bangkok
Fotograf / Photographer: Heinrich Damm

Pronounced Soonthornphu, 
he is Thailand's most famous poet (1786–1855).

Read his biography at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He is generally commemorated on his birthday, June 26.

Scheduled to appear at the school at 1 PM are two Thai singers, sisters Katey and Katei.

A Thai Soap Opera, "3G"   now in it's seventh year

• 3d Generation telecommunications still a stranger to Thailand
• Thailand Business News 
• True Move filed a criminal complaint against its bigger rival DTAC
• Bangkok Post

What's that floating in the drinking water?

• Coliform levels in Ubon tap water far exceed standards
• THE NATION 

Crackdown HIGH SEASON

• Crackdown on (formalin-soaked) contaminated chicken
• THE NATION 

Hey Big Spender

A couple recently toured through Muang Sakon and blogged their experiences

• Rice Transplanting
• Tour with the monk
  Last time I visited the temple the elder monk tried to sell me a musical statue for 2,000 Baht.
  Final paragraph of the tour with a monk entry, all I can say "Been there done that!"
  
  First week in Sakon Nakhon I told my friends I'm going for a walk and see the city.
  Sometime later I returned to the restaurant where I started.
  They told me I had walked past the restaurant four  times.

Thaicom 6 to launch in 2013

• Los Angeles Times
  Very PANG (expensive)

Thai Airways announces purchase decision

• Seattle PI
  six Boeing 777-300ERs
  five Airbus A320s
  four Airbus A350-900s
  

It's NO LONGER Science Fiction

Tourism Authority of Thailand TAKE NOTE

• Brazilian tourist spend more... than any other nationality TIME
  
  

Drought in the forecast

Lion manipulation Sakon Nakhon

The title is probably "lost in Google Translation."

The video was recently added by the regional offices (Nakhon Phanom) of Tourism Authority of Thailand.

The performance took place in Sakon Nakhon, however, where and when is not mentioned.
Reading the placards in the background "Chuc Mung Nam Moi," is a traditional Vietnamese New Years greeting.

Such public performances can be seen during the Chinese (and Vietnamese) New Years celebrations.
In 2012 the Chinese New Year is January 23

Teacher Job Offer

Foreign Teacher with degree in math and/or science wanted at Banmuangpitthayakhom school in Ban Muang.
Ban Muang is 127 km north-northwest from Muang Sakon Nakhon.
Date of this posting is unknown.

Details at  AJARN 

Nut and Fruit Congress Research Findings

Orange Juice isn't all that healthy after all...

...according to the "Nut and Fruit Congress.
Didn't realize there was such a congress. Who's the Nut Congressman?
The squeezing process concentrates the sugar content.
A glass of juice contains ALMOST as much sugar as a soft drink.
In other words eat the fresh fruit and throw out your juicer.
Read more about recent research findings at    EXPRESS CO UK 

Thailand Report of E-coli found in imported avocados: OH NEVER MIND

When I first read the news. Oh Sh _ _!
Well I wasn't doing that, no digestive pains. So I must be safe.
I did check the label: Australia! The E-coli findings where on imports from Spain.

Of course there was a retraction in the news the following day. "Never Mind They ARE SAFE"
But wait,  they just found E-coli in imported cabbage.  Those are preliminary findings.
Test result for conclusive findings take up to five days.

I'll marinate my cabbage in red wine and eat it as sauerkraut.
The E coli should be too drunk to care ! Me too.

Spanking

A few people, me included, already concluded before the game that Sakon would not come out ahead in this game.
A few of the players who had made it known that they would leave the team  had been benched for their final game.

And then of course there was the fact that some of Sakon Nakhon's former best players where part of the Nakhon Phanom team.

At times the game looked more like a sad keystone comedy.

Hope someone has their thinking cap on and decides on some major improvements in Sakon Nakhon FC football.

Sakon FC vs Nakhon Phanom FC

The game starts at 4 pm, Saturday in Nakhon Phanom and is the final game of Season One.
Season two gets under way later this month.

At the beginning of the season five Sakon FC players moved to play for Nakhon Phanom.
After tomorrow's game an equal number of players is leaving Sakon Nakhon. 
Among those leaving is Ken.  He'll be in a different league playing for Phrae.

A few former  Sakon FC players have indicated that they would like to return to Sakon Nakhon.
The team is surely going to look quite different as season two gets underway.  Two of Ken's countrymen will take up the slack left by his and his friend's departure.

Of course there's also the question who will coach the team, since the coach was canned a few weeks ago.

.

The ant problem this year is probably the worst

Hacked away a few lower hanging branches on the coconut tree yesterday.

Within seconds I had thousands of ants all over me.
Quite lucky they weren't biters. must be vegetarians.
Also saw mice making their escape over branches to a nearby tree.

Time to call for help.  I'm no longer that nimble to climb trees.

The ant problem this year is probably the worst I've experienced in the years I've been here.

It was time to fight them on the perimeter before they came into the house.

Plenty of pruning and spraying with dish soap outside.

When it came to pruning one of two lemon trees I was pleasantly surprised.  WE HAVE LEMONS.  Had these plants for about four or five years without lemons.  The only reason I did not chop them down was because the leaves can be used in many Thai dishes.

Then of course the lemon grass needed trimming.
Always remember my first year in Thailand with a bit of an embarrassed blush.
Offered the clippings to my neighbor.  Learned it's the roots that are used in cooking, not the grass

Sakon Nakhon facing drought? I don't think so

A Pattaya Mail online article, dated 9 June 2011 predicts that

Sakhon Nakhon Province is facing Drought

• I don't see it from where I am sitting 

May 15 One of four downspouts to my roof

May 18 Toyota Cup

June 1 Road trip

June 4  North Eastern Region Football

For the immediate future intermittent rains, occasional thunderstorms are in most forecasts.

Much of the local weather is generated locally after periods of high humidity.
We haven't had much weather comming from the east. I'm keeping my eye on the South China Sea where a big storm seems to be expanding west-north-west.

I'm not saying it's coming this way, but I'm keeping an eye on it.