forcebwithu

Not surprisingly, as the day progresses the slow downs are getting worse.

While Google Maps doesn't show areas under construction, it does a pretty good job of showing where traffic is moving slow.

For international trips, only had one missed connection out a couple decades of travel. Thought I was safe with an 1.5 hour layover in ICN, but a very strong headwind ate up most that time. This is where the extra cost of a BC ticket pays dividends. On exiting the plane there was a very long list of passengers that were directed to a desk to handle reticketing, and a much shorter list where there was a gate agent handing out pre-printed cards that when presented at the gate would get you a boarding pass. In my case I got ticketed on an Asiana A380 flight to BKK. Result was I was only an hour late arriving in BKK and I got to experience the A380 BC product for the first time.

Here's a very detailed accounting of what happened, straight from the guy that would know. Surprised at his candor, not something we normally see after a tragic incident such as this one. Commander of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Amir-Ali Hajizadeh has, in a press conference, outlined the details of an “unintentional” downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane, which crashed in Tehran Wednesday. At several stages, the Alert Level 3, which is the highest level, is communicated and emphasized to the entire network. So all air defence systems were at highest alert level. For several times, these systems including the one involved in the incident were notified by the integrated network that cruise missiles have been fired at the country. For a couple of times, they receive reports that ‘the cruise missiles are coming, be prepared’. So you see the systems were at the highest alert level, where you should just press a button. They had been told cruise missiles were coming, and the air defence unit engaged in this incident and fired a missile. Now we have arranged an interview with this operator, which will be released soon as part of the plan to publicize the issue. He says in this interview that “we requested for several times that the country’s airspace be cleared of [civilian] flights.’ At the Alert Level 3, this is normal; such requests are made; well our dear brothers didn’t follow up the issue for certain considerations. So the planes fly despite the wartime situation. In those moments when the incident happens, this air defence unit realizes that there is a target – which it identified as a cruise missile – at a distance of 19 kilometres. Now I’m explaining it on the map. This is the place where the air defence unit is deployed … here is the city of Tehran … This is the air defence unit deployed here at 00:00 (Wednesday), and was prepared. And here’s the Imam Khomeini Airport. This plane takes off from here and takes this direction. It means this is the impact point. Given the information sent to this operator – that it is a wartime situation and a cruise missile has been fired – this poor guy identifies it as a cruise missile. Well at such a situation, he was obliged to contact, get approval. This is where this operator makes the mistake; but at that moment, his communication system was apparently disrupted – whether because of jamming systems or the high traffic. For that reason, he fails to contact [his commanders]. He had 10 seconds to decide; he could hit or not hit [the target]. Under such circumstances, he decides to make that bad decision; he engages, the missile is fired, and the plane is hit at this place. Then it returns through this track, and here’s the point where it hits the ground. I must explain some points here. The above is a snippet from this press release: https://ifpnews.com/irgc-releases-details-of-accidental-downing-of-ukrainian-plane

The list of airliner shootdowns is a long one. 2 1930s 2.1 Kweilin Incident 3 1940s 3.1 Kaleva OH-ALL 3.2 The Chungking 3.3 KNILM PK-AFV 3.4 BOAC Flight 777 3.5 AB Aerotransport SE-BAG Gripen 4 1950s 4.1 Cathay Pacific VR-HEU 4.2 El Al Flight 402 5 1960s 5.1 1961 United Nations crash 5.2 1962 Aeroflot Flight 902 6 1970s 6.1 1973 Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 6.2 1975 Malév Flight 240 6.3 1978 Korean Air Lines Flight 902 6.4 1978 Air Rhodesia Flight 825 6.5 1979 Air Rhodesia Flight 827 7 1980s 7.1 1980 Itavia Flight 870 7.2 1980 Linhas Aéreas de Angola Yakovlev Yak-40 7.3 1983 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 7.4 1985 Polar 3 7.5 1985 Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26, Afghanistan 7.6 1987 Bakhtar Afghan Airlines Antonov An-26, Afghanistan 7.7 1987 Zimex Aviation Lockheed L-100, Angola 7.8 1987 Air Malawi 7Q-YMB 7.9 1988 Iran Air Flight 655 7.10 1988 T&G Aviation DC-7 8 1990s 8.1 1992 Shooting of Armenian plane by the Azerbaijan military 8.2 1993 Transair Georgian Airline shootdowns 8.3 1994 Rwandan presidential airliner 8.4 1996 shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue aircraft 8.5 1998 Lionair Flight 602 9 2000s 9.1 2001 Peru shootdown 9.2 2001 Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 9.3 2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident 9.4 2007 Balad aircraft crash 9.5 2007 Mogadishu TransAVIAexport Airlines Il-76 crash 10 2010s 10.1 2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 11 2020s 11.1 2020 Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airliner_shootdown_incidents

I have two tanks. The one that's topped up from the city water supply is underground so can't tell when the supply is cut. The second one is above ground and topped up from the underground tank. That tank then feeds the house through a pressure booster pump, so always have good water pressure. Since my lady's main hobby is her garden, I estimate we use about 100L every two days for watering the garden. For that I just installed a 1000L tank to collect rainwater runoff from the roof gutters. All we need now is a good downpour to fill that tank and we're good for 20 days with no rain.

Time for another bi-weekly update on the shrinking Mabprachan Reservoir. For this update the Google Earth screenshot below has markers that identify where a picture was taken. It will also give you a good idea of how much water has been lost from the reservoir. Satellite image is from Nov 5, 2018. Pic 1 Best estimate, down another 1/2 m from the last update on 26 December. Pic 2: Pretty soon the pumping station will be sucking more sand than water. This water intake has been left high and dry for some time now. Pic 3: The water in the channel is now shallow enough to walk across, but the problem is you'd be up to your knees in mud. Pic 4: Hard to see in this pic, but you can now walk, or in my case ride a mtn bike to the island without getting wet. Pic 5: A small waterfall where once was a lake. Pic 6: You can now walk to the fishing camp that once required a boat to access. Pic 7 pic 8 Pic 9: View from the north side of what's left of the reservoir. Pic 10 Pic 11: Standing near the north end of what remains of the main body of water in the reservoir. I'll mark how far the water has receded in future updates. Pic 12: Rode out to a point near the middle of the reservoir that used to underwater. Pic 13: Another path you can walk or ride out into the middle of the reservoir. Pic 14: View from the end of that path. Pic 15 Pic 16: Looks like they increased the height of the retaining wall of the pond.

I imagine the concrete pad won't survive the first trucks that drive on it to deliver tables, shelves and cooking stoves.

Read a report that not releasing the black boxes to the NTSB and Boeing is due to the US sanctions against Iran. As for speculation on the cause, doubt it was an engine exploding as the cowling is designed to contain the pieces to protect the rest of the plane.

And the report is Iran is refusing to hand over the black boxes.

Interesting discussion on the professional pilots forum about the crash. Some of the pictures of the wreckage strongly hint at shrapnel hits from a missle strike. https://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/628650-ukrainian-aircraft-down-iran.html

No doubt this is a temporary market next to Nirun judging by thin layer of concrete with no rebar reinforcing.

I think the reason @hyku1147 probably posted in members only section is the funnies in the open section where "racy pictures" are not allowed. Perhaps we need a "Quirky Humor" topic in members only.

At least Bangkok recognizes there is an immediate drought problem. Same cannot be said for the governor of Chonburi. Chonburi Governor reassures residents that Pattaya and Chonburi has enough water to last to the rainy season The only way Chonburi is going to make it to the next rainy season is if they start water rationing now. My estimate is our main supply, Mabprachan Reservoir, is dropping 1/2 meter every two weeks. Pic of the pumping station for the reservoir taken on 26 December. In another week I'll update the following topic to see if my estimate of 1/2 meter every two weeks holds true.

I wonder if you tried to book it if the airline would let it go through. Most airlines have minimum connection times allowed for a reservation to go through. Booking sites are probably not smart enough to take that into consideration when throwing up flight and route options.

Looks like a new Thai market going up behind Nirun.

My go to place for glasses is Euro Optic on 2nd Rd. https://www.facebook.com/eurooptic96/

Chernobyl was a great series, but like with most docuseries the producers do take a few liberties with the facts of what happened. HBO's 'Chernobyl' just won 10 Emmys — here's what it gets right (and wrong) about the world's worst nuclear power plant accident

No worries with using the eye test results here. I've done the same several times as the numbers are universal.

City of Life and Death, about the Japanese occupation of the Chinese capital of Nanjing in 1937 and the atrocities committed against the inhabitants. To borrow one reviewer summary, "Amazing piece of cinema, powerful, dramatic, moving".

There must be a software update available that fixes the issue as PA no longer has the problem. Correction: Saw on PA @RhinoTusk was correct, it was an expired cookie. Apparently the problem should rectify itself, although the Condensed/Expanded on PT still isn't working correctly for me.

When you go back I would recommend having the TM30 in your passport, but not bring it up unless they ask. Chances are if they're interested in at all, they'll see it in the passport and that will be the extent of their interest in the TM30. BTW, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you have a grace period of a week from when the 90 day report is due before the fine kicks in.

From your post I gather you didn't have your TM30 receipt with you, thus the probable reason you directed to the dreaded room 10. Go back with both the TM47 and TM30 and you should probably get processed with no further delays. BTW, the TM6, TM47 and TM30 I keep paperclipped in my passport so it's always available if asked for at immigration.

So it's a Y20K problem.

Here you go.