I found this on Youtube this morning, easily one of the best videos I have came across. Another classic tech support video where the user (as always) hasn’t got a clue about computers and the tech support guy is far too busy to help.
It has taken me a while to write this post, not because the subject matter is hard or poses problems, but because I am angry, damn angry!
My last post detailed us trotting merrily off to Malaysia in search of a nice shiny new 1 year non-immigrant B multiple entry visa. A simple enough task when you consider that I have everything in place that I should regarding company papers and work permit. I pay tax every month, a damn sight more than many foreigners working here, and I know for sure that the application supporting paperwork was up to scratch; yet the Penang visa office still gives me a 3 month single entry! WTF!
I could go on and on about this; believe me I have on many occasions, about how small foreign owned/ran businesses aren’t welcome in Thailand. The government is against us, really, they put so many obstacles in your way and make every step a lengthy and costly process, we should all just have ATM stamped on our foreheads upon arrival at the border.
After numerous attempts to find out the reason for refusal as they also refuse to explain why or give you any reason whatsoever, it seems that the Penang office is interpreting some command from Bangkok in how to handle 1 year visa requests. It seems that the order is not to refuse them but they are simply refusing them all to be clear they are adhering to the new regulation, did they read the orders?
Better yet, it seems that also the law is changing soon RE: foreign owned businesses and visa regulations, quite what the changes are; no one knows, hence why the visa office is knocking back applications, in fear of the unknown.
Anyway, that’s that, if anyone is going to Penang for a visa longer than 3 months, good luck. I have also been told that even if you visit KL there is only a 75% chance you will get the visa, it must be filtering through the offices. So here’s to the next 3 months until I have to YET AGAIN leave the country, spend lots of money doing it, find an embassy that is going to give me a decent visa and then cross my fingers.
It really makes me wonder if this is all worthwhile?
Time is upon us yet again for the tri-monthly visa run, although this time its a big one. Our 1 year [12 month] visa allows us to stay for 15 months by doing the final renewal before the year is up. It is now 15 months since we went to Kuala Lumpur for our Non-B immigrant visa’s, now we gotta do it all again!!
I really do despise the visa runs, it is so much hassle, having to get lawyers involved, travel all the way to god-know-where, and spend a shit load of cash doing it. There may be a speck of light on the horizon though if we go for the full one year visa with no visa runs, I will embellish further when I have had the chance to digest all the details. Anyone that has frequented www.thaivisa.com will understand that it is so misleading and trying to understand what exactly you qualify for can be contradictory if you read everyone’s stories.
So I probably wont get a chance to post for the next week or so, we still dont know if we are gonna extend it slightly and have a wee break down in Koh Lanta, maybe, we will see.
Whoooaaaahhh so this is the merry ride that is Wordpress. For those that know, and those that dont, as a wee experiment I am running this site now on Wordress 2.5, brought to you by Automattic and Happy Cog Studios.
Well, what do I think, not bad so far, I have always had this dislike of content management systems, I much prefer to code everything by hand then I know more about what is going on. Maybe its the control freak inside me that needs to understand the code thats running under the page, but I do feel that you really need to know a product well to be able to do something different with it. Well, I suppose I will just have to learn the nooks n crannies of Wordpress and be done with the complaining. I feel that this may become a permanent feature although I am experimenting with Drupal and Expression Engine for two other projects that I am working on just now.
I am still in a bit of a transition stage as I need to go through all my old posts and change the paths of any image content contained within the posts. Its not Wordpress’ fault, its Lifetype’s (the previous blog engine I used on this site), the file paths are all wrong due to the way I set it up previously….. oops, my fault.
Anyway, there may be a bit of content still to tidy up, I should get it all sorted out within a few days. Any comments/suggestions are most welcome.
really, I have got far too much going on right now to sit and write a post.
I am in the process of a redesign [i know - where is the time?] that is long overdue, I am integrating the new Wordpress 2.5 to help me get control over my content, really its to get the functionality of their spam filters for comments.
It should be finished in a couple of days so I will maybe save my next post for the launch of the redesign.
Till next time…..
Anyone that has been to the site before will notice that the styling has been removed, honestly, It was here yesterday and will probably be back tomorrow. The reason for this - if you havent followed the page links, is to help promote the awareness of web standards and the benefits of semantic markup and external presentation styles.
For the last 3 years now Dustin Diaz has pushed this event till it is bigger than ever this year, attracting over 1,200 web profesionals to participate and remove their CSS for an international day, 48 hours. Check out the full list of participants and you will realise how important semantic markup is, although it is probably best comparing it to a badly marked up site and seeing how illegible it is.
This exercise has led me to further plan a sitewide redesign that I have been considering for some time now, I may just leave my styling off to force me to do so, still undecided on that though, tomorrow will tell.
I just want to belatedly congratulate my brother and sister on their new born babies, obviously to different people !
My sister last week brought baby Abby into the world, I aint seen any pictures yet but I am thrilled to bits for her. My brothers wife this week popped out the newest addition to the clan in the form of young Sophie, its all happening back home.
I am over the moon for them all but my only regret is that I am 6,000 miles away and probably wont see them for a while. So, raise a glass to my two new neices, Abby and Sophie
Cheers.
Came across this the other day from a link from my twitter feed, Its a cool application made by those clever guys at MIT. It allows you to utilize a projector with a touch sensitive whiteboard and create dynamic simulations that act and react in real time. Built for mechanical testing engineers it is a fantastic hybrid use for these touchscreen-projectors.
Seeing this made me dig a little further to find out exactly what is was. Its called ASSIST, A Shrewd Sketch Interpretation and Simulation Tool, it is tailored for the early stages of design when engineers would be creating prototypes with pen and paper anyway, this lets them act out their scenarios under realtime conditions.
The same technology has been employed on a number of projects under the Design Rational section at MIT, another really usefull is the Natural Sketch Recognition for UML diagrams, this allows software engineers to sketch out a UML diagram, an integral part of any development process, and the diagram is then able to be manipulated or changed in many ways, relationships can be set and classes can be built. Once the diagram is completed you can then generate a rational rose diagram that allows you to generate code from the diagram. A remarkable technology that is sure to have many different implementations across a range of industries. There is a video of this in action, but its a 20 meg quicktime movie, so give it a minute to load.
After many months of rumours and deliberation, finally work has began on the new Tesco-Lotus supermarket here in Thongsala. This may not sound significant to you but when you take into account that we are on an island where the nearest store is either on Koh Samui or the mainland of Surat Thani then it is big news. There were a number of sites up for consideration across the island, all of which has signs posted saying “Phangan Not Want Tesco”, put there no doubt by the family that already owns a number of supermarkets across the island. Everyone else wants it to come, although they wont say it too loudly for fear of who can hear them.
The site chosen is the one directly behind my office, its placement there will no doubt be good for my business. Here is a picture from this morning, yesterday this was all coconut trees.
So it has begun, the westernisation of Koh Phangan is taking one step further, god help us all….
…. anything, really… It has been such a busy week here with machines coming in the door for repairs at quite a rate. Yes, thats a good thing but all I can think about is the stuff that I WANT to do, but I dont have time for. Something that I dont have time for is updating this blog, I have only logged in today to check the spam (and delete them).
As an extra treat here is a picture we took the other day as we were leaving our house.
Another reason that its gonna be hard to get my mother to visit. Here is another , just to make sure we get no surprise visits;
The lizard shown is one of a family that live inside our roof, this is the daddy, there is a slightly thinner one (maybe female) and a baby one. They have a blue/green tinge to them sometimes with big red spots all over, cool when they are running up the walls.
Just to ensure that anyone visiting us is well aware that we truly do live in the jungle, be prepared for my bathroom buddy;
I hope I havent put off any potential visitors 
well …. so far so good, the machine booted normally, no apparent speed increase there.
Windows is up and running, everything seems fine, my anti virus went a bit cazy until it got an update but other than that its business as usual.
Give me a couple of days to run the system and see if it has improved my system.
Today I took the plunge, today I viewed not to look back, only to look forward, today I installed Service Pack 3 for XP.
Is it any good? are there any improvements? has it broken my system? - these questions will all be answered in due time, actually it is still installing. I havent taken the full plunge though, I am installing it on my laptop running XP Pro, if this is a successfull experiment I may port it onto my main development machine, but we will see what happens first with the laptop.
I actually downloaded it yesterday, the full 300+MB it took a while to download, mainly due to the crap internet access we have here. It tried to install yesterday afternoon but just kinda hung at 0% installation, I was ready to sack it until it asked to start the install again this morning - I obliged.
The main additions that this service pack includes affect your the machines security, networking and of course activation of the OS. The release notes for this service pack make for some interesting reading. The pack contains a number of stability updates that impact on how the already stable XP runs [is it needed?], therefore increasing the availably and reliability of the operating system. Obviously there are a number of performance updates that improve XP’s performance and enhance interoperability and hardware compatibility. You are also supplied with the full complement of security patches since SP2, essential to any upgrade
It is also an opportunity for Microsoft to foist upon us it various offerings that it has recently developed like MMC 3.0 and core XML services 6.0. Many of its extra services have been available to XP users as additional downloads from the Microsoft site for some time now, but now they are forcing them upon us. In total there are 1,073 software hotfixes included in this package, taking your installation up to date with all of SP1 and SP2 fixes. Incidentally of all the updates only 114 of them are security related, lets hope that the rest of them improve on speed and interoperability as promised.
The networking updates has been supplied to take XP to as close to Win Servers networking capabilities as is possible, are they really needed for the average computer user though? Many of them are services that run in the background, invisible to all but power users or Windows Server sysadmins.
The service pack also included updates to the activation services that Microsoft use to verify if your installation is legal. This is the part I am worried about, what are they going to break with this one, Vista contains services that block pirated software from being installed, while this is all well and good for the software vendors but what about the small man that cannot afford all these massive prices for software and has to resort to using torrents to keep up with the latest versions.
The update is still only in beta[3] but I am sure it is slated for a full release soon. It is not freely available for public download but if anyone wants to participate in the beta program then they can go to the the Microsoft website and download a small script that sets a flag in your registry to allow the update to be extracted from the update site.
- To obtain RC2 via Windows Update, download the script and run it on a machine currently running Windows XP Service Pack 2. The script sets a registry key on your system. The registry key is required for Windows Update to recognize your machine as a valid target for Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC2.
Many people are saying about how this is taking XP nearer to Vista functionality, let us hope that this is not the case as Vista has been dogged with problems since its release and is still not being as widely adopted as Microsoft would hope.
In the time it has taken me to write this post, the service pack has installed and my laptop is now sitting patiently waiting for me to condone a restart, it is with massive trepidation that I agree to its request …
right, where is that Fedora CD……
Lately I have been battling against the spammers on this blog, I was doing quite well but then a while back I closed the comments to allow me to make some changes. Yesterday I re-opened comments on all blog posts, today I have over 50 spam comments attached to the first blog post.
So, comments are off again, for now, I think I am gonna have to look at employing something similar to Akismet on WordPress, I was trying to get away from using a CMS on this site, I will maybe take a few days and see what my options are for spam filtering without employing a CMS.
Comments are closed, but you can always email me through the contact page.
Our recent visa run trip presented us with countless photographic opportunities. Most of the time I am far too slow at getting the camera out, the rest of the time I just forget, then think ‘I should have taken a photo of that’. I am trying to force myself to take the camera with me whenever I am out and about, lets see how often I update my flickr account from now on.
Saw this on the drive into Surat Thani;
and this poor guy, all together, aawwwww ;
and here is an older one of the coconut gathering crew taking a break;
I will keep them coming when I manage to get my camera out in time.
The tri-monthly visa run shennanigan is really a hassle that I could do without. Living and working legally in Thailand is fraught with so many stumbling blocks, keeping ahead of them can be a task. Our latest fiasco has been with the work permit renewals, these coincide with the visa renewals.
Before this gets too complicated I will lay down the facts.
I am on a non-immigrant B multiple entry 1 year visa, these can only be aquired from a Thai embassy outside of Thailand. These are probably easier to get from your home country. I got mine in Kuala Lumpur last year. Previously I got my initial non-B-single from Penang, which is closer-but still 3 hours by boat and 12 hours by train, but I have heard many stories about Penang refusing visas - reasons for which are sketchy. Any way, the non-B-multiple allows me to hit the border and renew my 3 month visa, this you can do 5 times, effectively giving you 15 months on a 1 year visa.
Going back a bit, when I got the non-B-single, this allowed me to apply for a work permit, once the work permit is in your hand you can then on your next visa run, which has to be to an embassy, you can change your non-B-single into a non-B-multiple.
So the work permit, this is the scam, initially like everyone else we used a lawyer [see *robbery,daylight], I think we paid 15,000 Baht for the permit application/paperwork etc, add to that the two times they came back incorrect, which cost another 8 - 10,000 Baht to get corrected. Each visa-run you have to renew your work permit upon arrival, the visa and permit are connected, to do this the lawyer was asking for 2,500 Baht, this is every 3 months. Upon the years expiry ,ie when the visa expires, we have to then go to an external embassy again, this period for me is now approaching. Asking around the lawyers, they seem to be asking for 12 - 15,000 Baht for a work permit renewal!!!
Surely not, that is what we paid for the initial setup. So we researched further, bear in mind this ‘research’ has been going on now for 8 months or so, from when we discovered how easy and cheap it is to renew your own work permit, on a yearly or tri-monthly period.
For any foreigner living in Thailand I would advise them to at least try and do some things on your own, you would be surprised how easy they are. For people that have never lived in Thailand, well, it can be quite frustrating sometimes, the language barrier is massive, but with a few simple gestures and common phrases communication is possible. If you are dealing with someone working in a goverment office, chances are they can understand basic english.
Our first task was to find the Labour Office in our local district. We know Surat Thani quite well, we often joked that is was the land of riches, but it is a fact that prices there are 20-30% cheaper than here - for everything. So where to find the Labour Office, ask someone, a friend tells us it on the same road as Makro, but go the other way, then stop on you left 5 miles down the road when you come past the golf course. Fair enough, give it a bash next time we are over there, beleive it or not it was that easy. For anyone that likes maps, here it is in Google Maps marked with the yellow house icon;
View Larger Map
Now we have already prepared our paperwork, you need to photocopy every page in your passport, even the blanks, You also need a copy of form WP5-Work Permit Renewal, which needs to be filled out in Thai, this is where you really need the help of a Thai friend. So once you have your photocopies and your renewal form in your hand its off to the local Labour Office, if the other ones are anything like the one in Surat then you will be in and out in ten minutes and end up paying less than half of what the lawyer wanted.
Earlier I touched on the one-year-renewal fee, stated by all the lawyers as a 15,000 Baht service, well, we asked in the Labour Office the other day, same as what we have just done, another jaunt into the town, hand over the forms as usual, and then the standard 700-odd Baht renewal fee!! not 15,000, surely this is morally incomprehensible, the lawyer, who you need to trust, is just as ready to rip you off as the next man and its not just a couple of quid they are putting on top. Thankfully we managed to find out how to do all these tasks before we shelled out even more money on lawyers.
In conclusion, as the post header states……..who do you trust?
This is really starting to get to me now, but lo-and-behold, we have got to do yet another visa run. They really do come round soooo fast, three months, whooosh - gone. In all the company setup and work permit carry on we have been through we ensured throughout that we would be 100% legal, I often ask myself if it was really necessary and worth all the money, time and hassle. Even though we pay tax, have non-immigrant visa’s and have valid work permits, we still have to leave the country every 3 months. I often wonder if it is just a cash cow for the Thai government, after all most Thai’s seem to think that johnny-foreigner has loads of cash to splash, why should the government be any different.
There are many different ways that a farang can live and work in Thailand, not all of them kosher, but they are legal. For instance, if I was to one day decide that I wanted 4 Thai staff members, staff that dont need to be seen (make them on paper essentially), now if I pay tax and insurance for these staff members I can then increase my own tax threshold by declaring more earnings and before you can say ‘is that legal?‘, I will have my one year visa in my hand (with no visa runs). Sounds easy, it aint, sounds cheap, it aint, anything you want you can get here - for a price.
I have a Thai friend who has recently been trying to get their child into one of the better schools on the mainland. When they went over a few weeks back to meet with the school admin staff regarding the tests that their child would have to take to gain entry, they were told that if they wanted to pay 100,000 Baht now, then their child will pass the entrance exams! They can wait until the tests are done if they want, and pay then, but the Thai way is to pay now and then ’success’ is gauranteed. Do you really think that that child will try and pass the test?
The point I am trying to make is that Thailand is a wonderfull country, full of fascinating, friendly people, but the corruption here is normal, its a way of life, something that everyone accepts and gets on with, most Thais dont think that this will ever change, neither do I.
So, wish me luck on the boat journey to Donsak and then the scenic jaunt up towards Chumphon and then up over the mountains towards Ranong and the Burmese border
Christmas and new year were busy for the southern-islanders, Had-Rin is always bouncing but this year I hear it was quite busy. As per usual the northern end of the island was pretty dead, not much happens up this way, but thats the way we like it.
By all accounts the island seems to be developing into an ibiza-style of resort with ee-d up tourists spending a couple of days here during the full moon and then slinking off on the Raja to the mainland. Indeed the island [and Samui] is attracting a lot of big name DJ’s to the bars and clubs, one such recent visitor is Brandon Block, who done a few sets at various venues here and on Samui. When I say he ‘done-a-few-sets’, I should have said he was ‘booked-to-do-a-few-sets”. I have never really rated these DJ-gods, at the end of the day its down to how good the music is, not who puts the records on, well Mr Block it seemed wasnt quite up to scratch with many people saying that he played crap tunes, sometimes at the wrong speed, every one of them regretting paying over the odds for a ticket.
I heard from one friend that when booked to appear at the Weang Thai pool party - something they had been advertising for weeks and charging 500 Baht a ticket for entry - he eventually turned up at 4am pissed as a fart and unable to play. Fair enough, after all it is a holiday island, but when you get paid for these gigs, the least you can do is turn up, straight. I found this quote from a travel blog regarding an earler appearance he made in Haad Rin;
“I saw Brandon Block there he was more fucked than anyone else he was
off his face and trying to fight everyone!! What a state he had a
bottle of JD in one hand and a thai girl on his arm trying to hold him
up his eyes bulging I do not know what he was on!!!”
taken from : http://travelog.uberblog.com/viewwholearticle.yatta?articleID=2490&userID=232
I just hope that event organisers on the island take note, big name DJ’s usually have their heads up their arse, dont try and get up there with them.
Found this on YouTube this morning, lol
I know I aint really been doing many proper posts lately, although trawling through youtube can be fun, I will try and sit down and actually write something, soon, promise.
Found a cool new idea whilst surfing the other day, Johnny Chung Lee hacked away at the Nintendo Wii remote and came up with a Minority Report sytyle of navigation control for his PC.
Cool idea, obviously the guy has a bit of brains, but like all good ideas some company has gone and taken it a stage further. Cynergy Labs have taken the idea and improved upon it by manufacturing a pair of light reflective gloves and interfacing it with a Microsoft Silverlight application.
It may be a while before a similar product is released to the general public but if it is as easy as it looks then maybe we can all chop up a Wii remote ourselves and pretend we are Tom Cruise, but taller.
I reaquainted myself with YouTube today, I had only ever used it for viewing funny clips or trying to find TV programmes from back home. Today I added to it for the first time. You see, I have tons of video clips that I have taken over the years, some of them are quite cool, from Cambodia, Thailand and America, I always intended uploading them but never quite found the time. To be honest I havent really got the time now.
Shown here is a view from where we live, indeed this is the view we wake up to each morning through our bedroom windows, truly breathtaking with a different scene each day. I must also have a thousand pictures of this view, with different weather conditions it looks more dramatic from one day to the next.
The clip is shot from midway up a mountain in Hill-La-Ley [dont think thats the correct spelling], the bay infront is Woktum with Thongsala over to the far left and Sri Thanu over to the far right and Koh Samui in the distance.
