Saturday, January 24, 2009

I can hear money leaving that wallet

"Wosh."

Stopped by "Toon Army."  
Definitely lots of action there.  
Cement mixing, painting, woodwork, plaster boarding.

When I first heard that the walls were going to be painted in black and white stripes I thought of the old prison uniforms, (groan).  
But seeing the finished wide stripes... I can get used to that.
Freshly painted (white) ceilings.  The place just looks a lot brighter.  New colored lighting.

New outdoor furniture.  Heavy wood.  Really looks nice.  Hope there will be pillows available for all us bony old and injured derrières.

The leaky roof has also been fixed.  Tests postponed until the rainy season.

If the note I received is any indication, those dozens of booze bottles on display in the past, will now be full bottles.  The note is the makings of the Thai menu





Friday, January 23, 2009

Plane Landing in Hudson River, NY



Sure they had an award winning pilot and crew.
But there was a hell of a lot of good luck involved

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Toon Army bar to reopen January 27

Formerly known as Ned's bar,  the Toon Army bar is closed for renovation.

The establishment will reopen on January 27, 7 p.m. with a party.

Free Thai & Western Buffet and Coyote dancers.

The bar will also offer internet services.
For further details call them at 086-8157174, or 042-718920



Virus Alert - send this notice to everyone you know

I get them all the time, you probably do too...
Forwarded e-mails from friends warning you of viruses, worms and other infectious programs.
These warnings are generally forwarded without confirmation of authenticity.

Most of these e-mail warnings are hoaxes. Spam with a purpose to slow down internet services.

If you receive an authentic notice of a virus, you have already been susceptible.
By the time new viruses are detected and defenses created, they've had plenty of time to propagate and cause damage.

Your best bet is a good virus protection program with automatic and continuous updates to remove malicious software.

The computer worm Conficker is a typical case in point. Apparently of German origin

As of January there are news stories appearing in legitimate sources all over the world,
yet the worm surfaced in October 2008 and seems to continue to propagate on unprotected computers.


Read more at WIKIPEDIA

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Mosquito Battles - Lessons learned

Coke bottle mosquito trap REALLY WORKS.

You can find instructions how to make them all over the internet, here is one.
I made one of those a while ago.  Nothing happened.
It was the cold season and the yeast was too cold.

Now the days are starting to warm up, the yeast is becoming active,it does work.

The first thing I realized was a bad choice of location.
I had placed the bottle outside my kitchen door.
There where hundreds of mosquitos at my kitchen door this morning.
I'm building more of these traps, but definitely will locate in better places, 
away from my doors and windows.


I wrap the bottles in dark plastic

Monday, January 19, 2009

Goings on

  • Temperature forecast


It's just my opinion. 
The large gap between highs and lows is what makes the lows feel colder than what they are.
The average difference is 15 to 20 Celsius. 33 to 40 Fahrenheit. 
That's a big daily temperature change.
Locals they are saying "coldest in a decade."

  • Juice for Health


This is not a brand advertisement.
I was recently prompted by an interview on t.v. to investigate the nutritional values of pomegranate juice.
Rich in antioxidants
Reduces cholesterol.
Israeli researchers suggest drinking a daily glass of pomegranate juice reduced blood pressure

Might prevent prostate cancer or slow its growth

Used extensively in skin care products.

I've given up on soft drinks, switched to at least two glasses of juice, daily. 
I'm also consuming daily multivitamins and at least four fish oil pills.
After almost a month of this I noticed changes.
Ulcer pains and the frequent 'runs' caused by too much coffee drinking - gone!
More energy !!

  • Party Time at Toon Army
More of his pictures at 090118 Joey 1/19/09 9:56 AM


Wonder how long it will take me to get used to the name change.  
Arrived early, but not first.  
Graham, the new owner was running behind.  At least an hour.

The place was quite packed.  
The outdoor seating in the early evening is very pleasant.

I'm a morning person.  I was on my home by 10 p.m.  
I just did not have the energy to stick around for the 11 p.m. show.  

First Sakon Nakhon Dental Experience 2002

The year 2002,
prices have gone up!

I had lost a filling and was sucking on the hole in my tooth almost constantly during a month long vacation.
I went to a local dentist:
  • Cleaning, temporary filling, another cleaning, etc..
  • Three days of short dental visits.
  • The treatment was outstanding.
  • That tooth has not been of any special concern in seven years.

Then came the bill. I was standing in a fully occupied waiting room when I was handed the bill.
Everyone in the place was sitting up at the edge of their chairs when I VERY LOUDLY exclaimed:
What ?
The dentist rushed from his office " Too much?" he asked.
No. I was in joyful tears: 300 baht ($7.50 at the time).

More recent dental treatment (2008),
cleaning, drilling and filling Bt 1,000




Sunday, January 18, 2009

Drinking and Dining

I like 'em really young.. Coconuts that is !!!

My favorite beverage is Thai rum with fresh coconut milk. 
Oh I know it's fattening.
Even better, put the juice and flesh of a coconut into a blender, then strain.

.
Picture on the right was taken two months ago.  
All the locals have been telling me to wait at least another month.
Give the coconuts time to mature.  Temptation got the best of me.  
I had to try one. Really glad I did.  
The average hard shelled coconut produces 12 to 18 ounces of juice.

Once I opened this coconut I noticed the inner hard shell was just starting to form and was paper thin.  The real surprise came when I began pouring the juice.  Not one 12 oz glass, not two, but two and a half.

30 ounces of juice.. that translates into five cocktails.

Thai diets seem a lot healthier than most Western diets.

Less meats, more vegetables.

 
I can do with half the garlic and peppers, and please ease off on the fish sauce.