zaphodbeeblebrox

If you have verifiable experience of at least two years as a mobile device software developer (android, iPhone, or blackberry), and want to live in Bangkok, we have a job for you. Comes with work permit, visa assistance, health insurance, life insurance, pension plan and a whole lot of challenges. Sorry, the 80K is baht per month, not dollars. Located near Phaya Thai BTS. This is not a start up, but a company which has seven years of success in the industry. PM me if you're interested. Be sure to send your CV and a recent photo. Zap

General counsel for a software company in Bangkok

Tonight, I think Vick demonstrated he is playing better than Eli Manning. Close game, but Vick was better in the clutch, when it counted. Eli, not handling the ball well, 2 INTs and a costly fumble at the end of the game.

Monday night's football game isn't over yet, but 4 passing TD's and 2 rushing TD's against the Skins on the road: 333 yards passing, 80 yards rushing. His stats are starting to look more like Elway. A dangerous passer, who can rush/scramble when there's a need. His passing rating is the top in the NFL at 105.3. This was a key game for Philadelphia because it puts them in a tie with the Giants for the run at the conference title, and pushes the Skins to 2 games back. You can't ignore a team that puts 59 points up on the board on the road against a defense that is 8th in the league in points scored against them (19.4 pts/gm average). You might hate Vick for what he did off the field, but he sure is making the Eagles look like they made a good choice by giving him another chance in the NFL.

Not sure if Ole Miss can do it, but I'm betting on another close game for Auburn. They have a cakewalk 'til they have to go to 'Bama in the final week. Meantime, MSU and Oregon will face some tough conference challenges. Even Boise St has to host my Hawaii Rainbows (4-0 in the WAC) on Nov. 6. I'm not sure Auburn deserves to be #1. They've beaten some of the #20-#25 teams, but all by close scores. #21 Miss St. 17-14 #20 So Car 35-27 #12 LSU 24-17 Their main claim to fame is beating the #19 Razorbacks 65-43 and that game was very close until Auburn scored four 4th quarter TDs. C'mon Obama. Do something right and give us a playoff system.

Only #1 in the Bull Crap Standings. All other polls had them behind Oregon, Boise St and TCU. Still, big win for Mizzou. Puts them right up with the other second tier teams: MSU, Auburn and Utah. Oklahoma and 'Bama may be hard-pressed to get a BCS bid.

The first day is Monday 12 April, and it will last 7-9 days this year.

Did you really expect to be able to drive through Pattaya during Songkran?

Didn't know Thai baht was legal tender in the U.S., although I agree that these prices for used LCDs are outrageous as you can buy a new one cheaper.

Hopf serves the worst pizza I've ever eaten. Their oven isn't hot enough, and the center of their pizza is always raw.

I'm like this guy. I could eat that in 20 minutes no problem, except for the black pudding.

If your computer has an edition of Windows from 2008-present (including Vista and Windows 7), you will need to install this quick update, if you get an error message that the program can't be executed. Visual C++ 2008 windows update http://code.google.com/p/namebench/issues/detail?id=37 Thanks for the links BigLeg

1) Pizza Big in Naklua 2) Dao Cafe on the Darkside 3) Pizza, Pizza at the Avenue In that order.

It's a border run, and not a visa run. You were given a free 15 day visa on arrival at the Cambodian border. For a visa run, you go to a Thai embassy in a foreign country, such as Vientienne, Penang, Phenom Penh or Kuala Lumpur.

Have you ever had a TG fry an egg? The Thais lack finesse in the kitchen to cook fried or scrambled eggs, although their technique works for a plain omelet. A Thai will put about 1 inch of oil into a wok, heat it up, break an egg in a cup or bowl and slide it into the oil, spoon hot oil over the egg, and when the yolk is cooked through, they will extract the egg from the hot oil with a slotted spoon. In the west, we heat butter up in a small frying pan, break the egg in the pan and cook at high heat, at which time eggs can be served easy up spooning a little hot butter on the top, flipped in the pan, or even steamed by covering with a lid. I love bangers and mash. I used to eat it in the states all the time, as I had access to several stores that carried British foods.

On Wednesday night, I braved eating at Taco Valley, the new Korean-owned eatery on Klang, just west of the Top's parking lot. The restaurant is very attractive, looking almost like a sushi bar, and is well-located. It seats about 24, and there's an additional table outside giving a nice view of the action on Klang. The menu is sparse, with only five choices: fajitas, tacos, burritos, quesadillas and nachos. All come with a choice of beef or chicken. The reason for the small menu becomes obvious, when you look at the kitchen facilities. There's a stove, a grill and a microwave, but there's almost no preparation area, and no back kitchen for prep work. Any prep work must be done on a little counter next to a sink towards the rear of the dining area. The menu choices are all based on about 17 ingredients: beef/chicken, Mexican rice, white rice, kidney beans, bell peppers (red, green and yellow), jalapenos, green onions, Spanish onions, cheeses, sour cream, flour tortillas, corn tortilla chips and salsa. Basically, the menu items are variations on these ingredients (the burrito has no cheese and comes with Mexican rice, the taco has no rice or cheese, the fajitas have white rice, the quesadilla and nachos have no rice). I ordered a chicken burrito and nachos (they ran out of beef - I could tell they had some large parties in the restaurant before I ate, as the tables still had not been bussed). The good news is the burrito was surprisingly good. The grilled flour tortilla had a great texture, the salsa and jalapenos gave it quite a kick, and the Mexican rice is very good. No refried beans however, and this makes the burrito similar to Sunrise, but I thought it tasted a little better. As the burrito was quite spicy, it was nice to have some sweet taco sauce as a condiment to balance the heat. The nachos, unfortunately, were an abomination. In addition to the real cheese, the nachos were topped with some processed American cheese. While this might be acceptable at a cinema or ballpark, it is not acceptable at a restaurant. I did like the paintings of the classic rock musicians on the wall, and the music in the restaurant is good classic rock. The burrito is 120 baht, and I would go back for a burrito snack. Unfortunately, I wouldn't say this is a restaurant for dinner, and, while the service was good, you might wait 10-15 minutes for your burrito. I'm not sure it's worth waiting that long for a snack.

My TG loves cheese, and if you get out of Pattaya, you will find many Thais have acquired a taste for cheese, just as they acquired a taste for pizza. I have had several conversations with Thais about cheese in stores like Tesco and Big C. The younger generation is not as set in the old ways as you may think.

Great idea. Capitalize on their love of gambling and lotteries. Hope to roll by for a Friday draw next month.

Good review Bruce. The garlic naan is great there, but, as with most high quality Indian food in Pattaya, is expensive. I'm sure that Mr. Madan Mansharamani is happy he took early retirement from CitiBank when they merged with TIG. Another review, and the complete menu can be found here. Ahaar review

10 years after the fact. Not a lot for the GOP'ers to talk about, is there?

Let's see how the Brits stack up: Stupid British Kids Stupid British Bitches Bottom line Kolobos, is that things must be pretty fuckin' boring over at Live, for you to come over to Talk in order to troll.

Some rural government schools, which are well-connected, can send a letter to the provincial MOE asking for a waiver of the requirement of a bachelor's degree requirement for teachers, and the waiver will be granted. A CELTA/TESOL/TEFL certificate is rarely required by a government school, although some private schools will either require one, or pay more to a new hire who has a certificate. You are correct that there was a scam called "teacher licensing". Teachers with less than 5 years of verifiable teaching in Thailand were required to attend a 2-weekend culture course and take an exam (cost about 6,000 baht). Also, teachers without a B.Ed. were required to take a TKT exam battery (cost 3,000 baht) or take a 1 year graduate education course (cost 60,000 baht). The pass rate on the TKT was less than 5%, ensuring that the certified courses were well-attended. A few private schools and a few immigration offices were duped into thinking a teachers license was a requirement to get a work permit. When the Abhasit administration took office, the entire licensing program was eliminated by the MOE, but a new program will take its place in April. Students attending the certified courses were notified that the courses were canceled, and no refunds have been issued.

I baked lasagna tonight. I probably cook Italian better than any other cuisine. Still prefer to eat Mexican food, though.

No, those are made with corn tortillas. You need to look at the texture of the tortilla, not the color. Most corn tortillas are made from white corn, as there is a shortage of yellow corn, and yellow corn flour (masa) has become more expensive than white corn flour. white corn and yellow corn tortillas flour tortillas

Just not working for the right employer. I work 28 hours a week and make 70,000 baht/month (USD $2000). I get 8 weeks of paid vacation per year. I haven't worked a weekend or holiday since I started 1 1/2 years ago. I've managed bars and restaurants, it takes up your life, and isn't worth it unless you have an ownership interest.