BeerBelly

If you want to try it in the States, doctors will give you a free sample of four tablets. I remember seeing ads on TV stating as much. Since I was seeing a urologist for kidney stones, I asked him about it and he gave me the samples and wrote me a prescription. I never got the prescription filled because of the cost. If you want a prescription for the real thing, just ask. They don't do a test for ED, so they will write it without question.

Here are some more pictures I took in Ao Nang. https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/100393320857423739587/albums/5950426018838365825 Most are from yesterday when I hired a longtail boat for six hours to do a "five island tour". The five islands are Koh Gai, Koh Tub, Koh Poda, Raiely Beach and Pranang Beach. The last two are not really islands but they are only accessible by boat. The cost was 2200 baht. I gave the driver a 300 baht tip because he was very good at slowing down and back tracking to get better pictures without even asking. If you do the tour, it will be 1,400 baht for two people, but you will be on a boat with 25 people, but at least it includes lunch.

I got some new ones in mid-October in California. Haven't tried to exchange any yet as cash is my backup money.

I take this as an open invitation to all board members to a party you will be hosting. What is the occasion for these fireworks?

Yes I made the climb. I did it 10 years ago and again yesterday. About 100 steps up, I wasn't sure I could manage it and my companion wanted to go on without me, then 500 steps up, my companion wanted to give up. I just made many stops (about once every ten steps) to let my heart rate come down. Some of the steps were like climbing a ladder they were so steep. Thankfully there is water at the top as I went through my 1.5 liters on the way up. Today my thighs are stiff, but my girl's calf muscles are in a lot of pain. The monkeys were very aggressive. On the way up, I didn't have any trouble, but on the way down there was a bunch sitting on the steps that wouldn't move. In fact, one of the monkeys climbed on the railing looking at my and waiting for me. I threw my bag which only had water in it to the side and he went after it. They don't like water though, so he was kind of disappointed when he checked it out. Here are some more pictures from the day. https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/100393320857423739587/albums/5950412324167339425 And this is a picture of the sunset on the beach across from Srisuksant hotel (two hotels away from Holiday Inn).

I just climbed the 1,237 stairs at Tiger Cave Temple yesterday. As an overweight out of shape guy, it took me 90 minutes up and 45 minutes down. Wiki says it is 600m, but that would make each step about a 1/2 meter high. Some are high, but not that high. My guess it's 600 feet bottom to top. I've got much nicer pictures than this, just not uploaded yet. Here's also a poor shot at the Emerald Pool. It was much farther away than I'd remembered. But since I like riding motorbikes, I didn't mind. But you will be on a big road for a while to get there. The Holiday Inn looks nice. It was built under a different name IIRC. They are currently expanding it, but I think construction will end soon.

My point was that back in 1988 they had problems with engine icing. They analysed what was wrong then corrected the problems. The 737s didn't go away. They still exist and are very popular. The 787s will continue to exist unless the 777x completely replaces them and Boeing decides to halt production of 787. Personally I hope not as I would like to fly in a 787 to see how the higher pressure, moister air and larger windows make a difference in comfort.

A Boeing 737 was forced to make an emergency landing because of engine icing. This was in 1988 of course, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TACA_Flight_110 . And the 737 continues to be one of the most successful planes. Plane and engine design is an iterative process. This is nothing more than that.

For me the crust and sauce were not good. The cheese, pepperoni, and bacon were okay though. But neither the crust nor sauce had any flavor. I think they simply use canned tomato sauce as their pizza sauce. This is what I normally get with Italian style pizza. I agree that the buffalo wings had an odd taste. Made me wonder if the chicken had gone bad. But even if they had not gone bad, I would not consider them buffalo wings. No tanginess at all. Buffalo wings need a bit of vinegar on them to be authentic.

I just tried this pizza www.nypizzahouse.com, based on the posts here and cannot agree. It is a poor pizza nothing like a New York pizza. And the buffalo wings were not buffalo wings. They had an odd taste, but my companion thought they were good. She commented that Pizza Hut was more tasty for both pizza and chicken and I'd have to sadly agree.

Started to make one for Samui, but my memory was crap since I'd only been there once in 9 years, so I abandoned it. Thought about making one for Pattaya. Since it uses Google Maps, it's easier to figure out where something really is compared to a drawn map with now scale. Also, one can get real directions. The reason I wanted to do it for Pattaya was the nicknames for sois that are not shown on Google Maps;

Have the speed bumps on Jomtien beach road been added since this accident, or have I just never noticed them before. The paint on them kind of looks new, but there already seems to have a lot of grime on them already.

Daredevil

There are three poorly populated areas with girls. I made a P4P map before, here it is http://goo.gl/maps/fQr25 .

I just ran into a problem with my Visa credit card here in Pattaya. It is a new style credit card with the RFID chip in it. The issue is the people at Chase decided having the embossed numbers is no longer needed. Well, it may be the case in the US, but here in Thailand there are still plenty of places that can only take a credit card by making an imprint with carbon paper.

I love East coast pizza (New York style). Italian pizza is okay, but not a favorite of mine. After East Coast, I like Chicago style. Unlike many here, I don't have a hatred of Pizza Hut. In fact, I prefer their pan pizza to many of the "Italian" style, probably because of the oil/butter they use to add fat to the crust. Being in the mood for pizza, I called 1150 while staying on Soi 11 in Bangkok. They said it would take 45 minutes, but you are right on. It took only 15 minutes to get to my room! I was impressed with the English speaking person on the phone. She also asked questions that impressed me, "How far up soi 11 from Sukhumvit is your hotel? It is on the left or right hand side?" I swear her English was much better than someone taking orders in the States these days. Oh, one last thing. It was buy one get one free which was a nice unexpected bonus.

Mysterious Island (I was there when they filmed in Ao Nang). Not sure if it counts as I'm pretty sure it was a made for TV movie.

I know you already booked, but I wanted to add one more hotel. Once I stayed at http://www.aonangayodhaya.com/ . It's supposed to be a five star hotel, but I found the service and quality of the construction of the hotel to be below par. I went during high season, but managed to get a very good rate ($125). It was the largest room I've ever stayed in Thailand. Each room is a suite room. Huge room and bathroom as well as a sitting room. Nice swimming pool, average breakfast. But there were not that many guests and as a result, they had to cut back on staff. Regarding the build quality, examples include steps that must have been built without the use of a measuring tape as each step was a random height varying by inches. I nearly twisted my ankle on more than one occasion. Also, the shower had an architectural feature that left an opening between the shower stall and the rest of the room. Just inside the room, however, was the hair dryer. So the hair drying would get wet while taking a shower. From what I understand this hotel is owned by a Thai Chinese family and they must have chosen the cheapest architect and construction company. The hotel does look nice though build in the form of a large temple.

I've been to Krabi a number of times over the years. You probably want to stay in or around Ao Nang. Ao Nang has few hotels actually on the beach though. The area basically consists of Noparathara beach and Ao Nang beach separated by Krabi Resort, with Krabi Resort having its own beach. But I would not stay there again. it's a worn out Thai style hotel. Both Ao Nang Buri and Srisuksant hotels are middle of the of the road (price wise) hotels on the Noparathara beach side. This used to be the quiet area, but it's getting built up quite a bit. Both of these hotels have expanded over the years. A higher end, nicer hotel is Mercure. It's also not too far from these two hotels, but you would need to rent a motorbike for convenience of getting around town, which I recommend in any case. I really liked the Mercure, but I paid for it with hotel points I had and not sure what the price is. I do remember the breakfast was ridiculously expensive at around $20-$30 PER PERSON! I stayed at one of the Best Westerns in town and didn't think it was bad, but I think Ao Nang Buri is better. I've also stayed at Krabi Heritage hotel which is a very basic hotel, but in a good location with a nice beach and restaurants all within walking distance. If you want the island experience you can stay on Railei Beach. It's on a peninsula, but is only accessible by boat. It's got very nice beaches. I've never stayed there, I've only visited, so I cannot recommend a hotel. But I saw some nice hotels there. Another option is to stay near the Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort. This was the resort they used in the movie Hangover 2. Beautiful place, but expensive. I stayed in the area once but left after one night because I found it rather boring. My favorite restaurant to eat is "Krua Thara" restaurant. It is on the far end of Noparathara beach so you will need a motorbike or take a taxi (50 baht I think). If they don't know the restaurant tell the driver to take you to the restaurant with the two short women. It's a reasonably priced seafood restaurant with good Thai food as well. While there, you can do a "four island tour". This will take you to Railei beach, Koh Poda, Koh Gai, and one other place. Ask around at different tour desks as the price varies quite a bit. Another favorite tour I liked was the Hong Island tour. It also does a few islands/beaches for snorkeling, but includes Hong Island which is quite unique. It's farther away so expect to pay more. If you do rent a motorbike, you can drive to Tiger Cave Temple which is outside of Krabitown. It's got a cave, but no tigers. There's also a strenuous hike up to the top of the mountain via a stairway that offers a wonderful view when you reach the statue at the top. Another long enjoyable motorbike ride is to Emerald Pool. It's in a national park so expect to pay the 200 baht farang rate for yourself. Not too far from that is also another place with hot springs. You can take a dip in a stream of very hot water. Not sure of the price. When I went, I was charged the Thai price for some reason. Shell Beach isn't really worth it. It's basically some sedimentary rock with lots of exposed fossils.

My last stay in Pattaya, I made a special trip to RG to eat their breakfast. Excellent bacon and home fried potatoes. Coffee is nice as well. They did screw up my eggs, though. It was the first time in about a dozen meals so I'd still go back.

Mr Holland's Opus

There's no money in enforcing a law.

Do you have a source? Link to a news story?

Most camera, especially smartphone camera, sensors are much higher resolution than their lenses can support. Do a search on Airy Disk if you want to understand the physics behind it. Basically with the higher resolution, you just get a very large blurry picture. Regarding which type of camera is the best to have, it depends on what you want to do with it. I have all three, a smartphone, a Canon s90 point and shoot, and a Nikon D5100 SLR. The Canon is the most versatile, but the smartphone is the most used simply because It's with me all the time. The SLR is only used for going out with the intent of taking pictures. It is not something I would take with me just in case I want to take pictures.

The Fly