nkped

Posted in the wrong thread.

Strangers on a Bridge by James B. Donovan. This is the Donovan played by Tom Hanks in the rather ponderous Spielberg produced Bridge of Spies, and is about about defending the Soviet spy Rudolph Abel and the later exchange of Abel for the U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers. Not too far in, but it appears they got Abel's character right. Donovan, on the other hand, is a whole lot more interesting than he is played by Hanks in the movie. The movie barely mentions that Donovan was a prosecutor at Nurenberg. It turns out he was also legal counsel with the Office of Strategic Service. Spielberg also "adjusts" some other things, possibly for 21st century political reasons.

Not intact. I have some qualifications in that regard. There were a couple of models of A-1 Skyraiders, and an A-37 along with CH-47 and UH-1 helicopters. There was also this F-5 Freedom Fighter. I rather think that those would have all been in VNAF (Vietnamese Air Force) livery at the time of the change in management in 1975. There were also B-52 parts, probably from December 1972. And, yes, I very much appreciate Firth sharing all of his photos.

I don't put maple syrup on my baked beans at any meal.

I like baked beans, but having them for breakfast is weird.

Didn't make it up to the Thepprasit intersection last night. Traffic was massively backed up along Thappraya. One of the problems of running a market there consistently would be lack of parking. VT security was turning away a lot of cars driven by nonresidents.

On the west side of Thappraya slightly south of VT5.

Go to Phnom Penh or Vientiane where you do get a visa on arrival. Then imagine everyone doing the same thing at Suvarnabhumi. It's not just semantics.

As I am staying here for a longer period, 6 months plus, one of the things I am considering is some form of transportation beyond the baht bus and taxis. I have ruled out motor bikes as being just a little too self destructive. That leaves something with 4 wheels. One of the concerns was whether my nerves could handle driving in Pattaya and there didn't seem to be any other way to find out than to try it. I have driven a little bit before in Thailand, the last time being on Koh Samui a few years ago, but nothing like Pattaya. That's also my only experience driving on the off side of the road. Mainly due to location I rented a Toyota Vios from Expat Car & Pickup Rental on Thappraya just north of Thepprasit--opposite the Food Mart. It's in pretty good shape with about 23,000km on the odometer. They did a walk around to note a few scratches on the outgoing inspection. I don't have the experience to strongly recommend them, but so far, so good. As to the driving experience, it's not that bad. Behaving like a rational person and not changing lanes every 100 meters in order to gain a car length does go quite a ways. Still, you're go to have to check the mirrors and make a lane change occasionally when somebody decides to use a traffic lane to park a delivery truck or whatever. Also, sorting out an intersection when the light changes is interesting. So far, I am a big believer in planning routes that have lights and/or left turns rather than than turns which require crossing traffic without lights. As to driving on the off side, I am duly appreciative of an automatic transmission. A stick would have made things a bit too interesting. I'm cutting down on the number of times I have tried to turn on the windshield wipers as a turn signal. Yesterday, I turned left off Beach Road onto Pattaya Tai and got into the right lane with the intention of staying on it to go to the Big C on Sukhumvit. I was momentarily flummoxed to see that there was traffic pointed at me as I approached Second Road. Fortunately I had an open lane to the left and corrected before going through the intersection. The only truly insane practice I have seen so far is motor bike riders passing on the curb side at an obvious turning point when I had my turn signal on to turn towards the side on which they passed. BTW, one was Thai, the other farang.

Good rain in Jomtien at the moment.

Actually, it's the fourth Thursday.

26 November

Diceys did a very good Thanksgiving buffet the last time I was in town for turkey day.

The procedure itself using a single focus lens was a bit more than 62K baht. With exams and follow up, it still won't exceed USD2K. Depending on the doctor's schedule, you probably need to allow at least a couple of weeks from examination to the one week followup. I'm going back on Friday for a one month followup, which I'm sure is warranted but may not be quite as important.

Just had one go straight through on another thread. And this one went through in about 5 seconds.

Let's see.Same, same.

Not that I have any problem with watching the avatar girl waving.

You should be okay. Remember that your day of arrival is day one of your authorized period of stay.

Yes

We seem to have taken the requisite one step back this afternoon, no voting buttons and no first unread dot.

Agoda link worked fine.

Voting buttons and the dot to the left to get the first unread post are back.

Standard operating procedure

I've seen it before, probably on another PI board. It's too effing gross for me to get past the first 30-45 seconds to see if there are any tells as to location.

Message for U.S. Citizens U.S. Embassy Bangkok October 2, 2015 Consular Outreach: Pattaya The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is pleased to inform you of the location for the scheduled consular outreach visit to Pattaya on Friday, October 9, 2015. Consular staff will be available to provide services on October 9, 2015 from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM at the: Dusit Thani Pattaya 240/2 Pattaya Beach Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi, Thailand, 20150 + 66 (0) 3842 5611 - 7 www.dusitthanipattaya.dusit.com The following consular services are available during our outreach visits: Passport renewal applications ($110.00 or Baht 3960.00 for adult passports, and $105.00 or Baht 3780.00 for a child’s passport). There are two options for obtaining your new passport; (a) The mail back option: There will be prepaid Thailand Post envelopes (costing Baht 80.00) available for purchase if you wish to have your passport mailed back to you. Please note your current passport MUST be submitted to the consular officer if you will be requesting this option. ( Collecting in person from the Embassy: You may collect your passport in person from the Embassy in Bangkok and be sure to bring your current passport. Or, you may give written authorization for someone to collect the passport on your behalf. Choosing this option will allow you to hold your passport until you pick up your new passport at the Embassy. Passport applications for minors under 16 years of age require the minor and both parents/legal guardians to appear in person. Please refer to http://www.travel.state.gov/passport /get/minors/minors_834.html for more information on the requirements to apply for a passport for a minor. First-time adult passport applications and passport applications for a lost or stolen passport ($135.00 or Baht 4860.00). In the case of a lost or stolen passport, be sure to bring the original and a copy of the police report, and any copies of the lost or stolen passport that were made prior to its loss. There are two options for obtaining your new passport; (a) The mail back option: There will be prepaid Thailand Post envelopes (costing Baht 80.00) available for purchase if you wish to have your passport mailed to you. Please note that your current passport MUST be submitted to the consular officer if you will be requesting this option for a first-time adult passport. ( Collecting in person from the Embassy: You may collect your passport in person from the Embassy in Bangkok and be sure to bring your current passport if applicable. Or, you may give written authorization for someone to collect the passport on your behalf. Notarial Services and Certified Copies ($50.00 or Baht 1800.00). This includes income affidavits for retirees in Thailand. Extra visa pages ($82 or Baht 2952.00). Note: we can accept applications, but the passports will have to be brought back to the Embassy for final processing. There are two options for receiving your passport back. (a) The mail back option: There will be prepaid Thailand Post envelopes (costing Baht 80.00) available for purchase if you wish to have your passport mailed back to you. ( Collecting in person from the Embassy: You may collect your passport in person from the Embassy in Bangkok. Or, you may give written authorization for someone to collect the passport on your behalf. After December 31, 2015, the Department of State will no longer add extra visa pages to U.S. passports. Social Security, VA, or other federal benefits questions will be limited, but we will try to provide forms and answers. Please bring exact change! We do not bring change with us. Please see http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service.html for more information and requirements for each service. Consular Reports of Birth Abroad cannot be processed during consular outreach trips. Appointments are not necessary for consular services during outreach visits. If you have any questions, please email acsbkk@state.gov or call the American Citizen Services Unit at 02-205-4049. Also, please follow us on Twitter by searching our username @ACSBKK.