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On the subject of Sunday carveries, I had the misfortune to join friends at Dicey O'Reilly's last Sunday. It was just plain awful. The pork was msotly fat, the turkey was dry and over-cooked, the beef was thinly sliced, but still tough, the vegetables were dull and tasteless, and horror of horrors, the Yorkshire puddings were hard and more like crackers. On top of that, they had a duet singing and making it difficult to converse while they crooned ancient ballads with over-amped sound system. All this for, as I recall, 495 baht. Much, much better in town than this corporate joke.

Recent variation I read was "You have a bigger dick than your brother". Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

I'm gonna guess that grabcar calls a private car, similar to Uber. Just a guess. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Grab has two choices, GrabTaxi and GrabCar. Using a trip from South Pattaya to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, GrabTaxi is 275, while GrabCar is 124. Uber, using the same trip gives a range from 140-177 baht. I've not used Grab, so I don't know what the difference is between the two service levels.

Oh, I didn't see that. Since I had signed up last year when I was in Bangkok, my debit card info was already in the system. That's great for those who don't trust giving out payment card information.

Recently I have been using Uber for multi-person trips where drinking might be involved. Last night, 4 of us went to Aroi Pub on Sukhimvit Soi 89, about 5km from our pickup point. The cost for 4 people was 113.42 baht to go, and 125.92 baht to return. A later trip to Walking Street for the same 4 people, which costs 50-60 baht per person on a motorbike taxi, cost 75 baht for 4 of us with Uber. I used Uber in Bangkok last year, and was very pleased with it overall. The cars are late model, the drivers (generally) know their way around, and if there is a problem, Uber will adjust your fare if you have an issue. The Uber app works on Iphone and Android phones. It uses GPS to guide a driver to your location when you want a pickup. You specify where you would like to go by address, business name, or map location. You get an estimate of the cost of the trip from low to high. If you choose to book the trip, you then have your trip request sent out to nearby Uber drivers. One of them will pick it up, and you can watch their progress on the map at moving towards your location. For Android users, the app is at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ubercab I hope they can get enough drivers to keep the customers moving. So far, with no fanfare that I have seen, they have adequate drivers to get picked up in a very reasonable time (10-15 minutes usually). I like the fact that Uber trips are paid for (only) by credit card/debit card charge. No worrying about cash, getting correct change, etc. Tips have to be paid in cash, however. I've included a link below that will get you 75 baht off your first two trips if you use it, and I think I get a free trip or something if you use my code. Just do it! I'm giving you ฿75 off each of your first 2 Uber rides. To accept, use code 'martinc2668ue' to sign up. Enjoy! Details: https://www.uber.com/invite/martinc2668ue

RMPM is a good old down home American food spot. I'm attaching some pictures of the various, delicious meals I have had there.

My guess is that because the OP was using the Manila office, they're checking if he's still alive. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

You might find Walton Goggins character in SoA ... Uh, interesting! He's also got a new series, SIX, which is airing now. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

MLC, Sons of Anarchy was one of my favorite series of all time. I've been watching The Americans since the 1st season...still loving it. Breaking Bad...yeah, super. Recently, I binge watched Justified. It's quite good...each episode drew me to the next one.

I have had the chicken tortilla soup (fantastic), the chicken and beef enchiladas (very good), the chicken quesadilla (outstanding), and the pork burrito (excellent). I am working my way thru the menu, and so far, it's all very good.

Read the story above your reply...we posted simultaneously. Hehe, you're even quoted in that post.

The event I referred to where they wanted my laptop password or they would impound my laptop occurred back in 2005. I wrote about it here and here. Yes, exactly. During the search I described above, they turned on my laptop and asked me for my password. I told them they could log in as a guest, but they said they wanted the password to my admin user account. I told them there was personal, private, and business related information on there, and that I wasn't about to give them my password. They then told me that they would need to keep my computer to send to the lab to break the password protection. I might get the computer in a month or so. I gave them my password. They then scanned for all media files. I had some porn movies I had downloaded IN THE USA on a previous trip (to show to my GF ). They then entered the titles of the video files into some database they had which flagged any movies with underage actors in it. Luckily, none of them was a hit in their database. They also pulled up some pictures of my daughter I had taken during her horseback riding lessons. They asked me who she was. I said "That's my daughter". They then asked me her name and age. I was really offended that they would be inquiring about pictures of a girl riding a horse. Anyway, yes they can confiscate your computer. Encryption won't help you if they take it to examine at their labs. I'm sure they know all the tricks. midlifecrisis, on Sep 12 2010, 06:50 PM, said: I believe that is generally true. Also, since I have permanently moved to Thailand, and only return for brief visits, I have never been bothered. I think they pay more attention to US citizen/residents coming back from vacation than they do to people just coming for a short visit. I find that mind-boggling, since a terrorist would likely be coming for a short visit, rather than coming back from a vacation. It's all about morality, not security, IMHO.

And they can impound your password protected device if you don't give them the password. Perfectly "legal".

From https://medium.freecodecamp.com/ill-never-bring-my-phone-on-an-international-flight-again-neither-should-you-e9289cde0e5f#.tfu4rnpa5 I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again. Neither should you. A public domain image of a US Customs and Border Patrol agent in an airport. A few months ago I wrote about how you can encrypt your entire life in less than an hour. Well, all the security in the world can’t save you if someone has physical possession of your phone or laptop, and can intimidate you into giving up your password. Image credit: XKCD And a few weeks ago, that’s precisely what happened to a US citizen returning home from abroad. On January 30th, Sidd Bikkannavar, a US-born scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory flew back to Houston, Texas from Santiago, Chile. On his way through through the airport, Customs and Border Patrol agents pulled him aside. They searched him, then detained him in a room with a bunch of other people sleeping in cots. They eventually returned and said they’d release him if he told them the password to unlock his phone. Sidd Bikkannavar’s hobbies include racing solar-powered cars. Photo by The Verge Bikkannavar explained that the phone belonged to NASA and had sensitive information on it, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. He eventually yielded and unlocked his phone. The agents left with his phone. Half an hour later, they returned, handed him his phone, and released him. We’re going to discuss the legality of all of this, and what likely happened during that 30 minutes where Bikkannavar’s phone was unlocked and outside of his possession. But before we do, take a moment to think about all the apps you have on your phone. Email? Facebook? Dropbox? Your browser? Signal? The history of everything you’ve ever done — everything you’ve ever searched, and everything you’ve ever said to anyone — is right there in those apps. “We should treat personal electronic data with the same care and respect as weapons-grade plutonium — it is dangerous, long-lasting and once it has leaked there’s no getting it back.” — Cory Doctorow How many potentially incriminating things do you have lying around your home? If you’re like most people, the answer is probably zero. And yet police would need to go before a judge and establish probable cause before they could get a warrant to search your home. What we’re seeing now is that anyone can be grabbed on their way through customs and forced to hand over the full contents of their digital life. Companies like Elcomsoft make “forensic software” that can suck down all your photos, contacts — even passwords for your email and social media accounts — in a matter of minutes. Their customers include the police forces of various countries, militaries, and private security forces. They can use these tools to permanently archive everything there is to know about you. All they need is your unlocked phone. “If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged.” — Cardinal Richelieu in 1641 What’s the worst thing that could happen if the Customs and Border Patrol succeed in getting ahold of your unlocked phone? Well… Think of all of the people you’ve ever called or emailed, and all the people you’re connected with on Facebook and LinkedIn. What are the chances that one of them has committed a serious crime, or will do so in the future? Have you ever taken a photo at a protest, bought a controversial book on Amazon, or vented about an encounter with a police officer to a loved one? That information is now part of your permanent record, and could be dragged out as evidence against you if you ever end up in court. There’s a movement within government to make all data from all departments available to all staff at a local, state, and federal level. The more places your data ends up, the larger a hacker’s “attack surface” is — that is, the more vulnerable your data is. A security breach in a single police station in the middle of nowhere could result in your data ending up in the hands of hackers — and potentially used against you from the shadows — for the rest of your life. Wait a second. What about my fourth and fifth amendment rights? Isn’t this illegal? The fourth amendment protects you against unreasonable search and seizure. The fifth amendment protects you against self-incrimination. If a police officer were to stop you on the street of America and ask you to unlock your phone and give it to them, these amendments would give you strong legal ground for refusing to do so. But unfortunately, the US border isn’t technically the US, and you don’t have either of these rights at the border. It’s totally legal for a US Customs and Border Patrol officer to ask you to unlock your phone and hand it over to them. And they can detain you indefinitely if you don’t. Even if you’re a American citizen. The border is technically outside of US jurisdiction, in a sort of legal no-man’s-land. You have very few rights there. Barring the use of “excessive force,” agents can do whatever they want to you. So my advice is to just do whatever they tell you, to and get through customs and on into the US as quickly as you can. The US isn’t the only country that does this. It’s only a matter of time before downloading the contents of people’s phones becomes a standard procedure for entering every country. This already happens in Canada. And you can bet that countries like China and Russia aren’t far behind. “Never say anything in an electronic message that you wouldn’t want appearing, and attributed to you, in tomorrow morning’s front-page headline in the New York Times.” — Colonel David Russell, former head of DARPA’s Information Processing Techniques Office Since it’s illegal in most countries to profile individual travelers, customs officers will soon require everyone to do this. The companies who make the software that downloads data from your phones are about to get a huge infusion of money from governments. Their software will get much faster — maybe requiring only a few seconds to download all of your most pertinent data from your phone. If we do nothing to resist, pretty soon everyone will have to unlock their phone and hand it over to a customs agent while they’re getting their passport swiped. Over time, this unparalleled intrusion into your personal privacy may come to feel as routine as taking off your shoes and putting them on a conveyer belt. And with this single new procedure, all the hard work that Apple and Google have invested in encrypting the data on your phone — and fighting for your privacy in court — will be a completely moot point. Governments will have succeeded in utterly circumventing decades of innovation in security and privacy protection. All by demanding you hand them the skeleton key to your life — your unlocked phone. You can’t hand over a device that you don’t have. When you travel internationally, you should leave your mobile phone and laptop at home. You can rent phones at most international airports that include data plans. If you have family overseas, you can buy a second phone and laptop and leave them there at their home. If you’re an employer, you can create a policy that your employees are not to bring devices with them during international travel. You can then issue them “loaner” laptops and phones once they enter the country. Since most of our private data is stored in the cloud — and not on individual devices — you could also reset your phone to its factory settings before boarding an international flight. This process will also delete the keys necessary to unencrypt any residual data on your phone (iOS and Android fully encrypt your data). This way, you could bring your physical phone with you, then reinstall apps and re-authenticate with them once you’ve arrived. If you’re asked to hand over your unlocked phone at the border, there won’t be any personal data on it. All your data will be safe behind the world-class security that Facebook, Google, Apple, Signal, and all these other companies use. Is all this inconvenient? Absolutely. But it’s the only sane course of action when you consider the gravity of your data falling into the wrong hands. If you bother locking your doors at night, you should bother securing your phone’s data during international travel. This may upset Customs and Border Patrol agents, who are probably smart enough to realize that 85% of Americans now have smart phones, and probably 100% of the Americans who travel internationally have smart phones. They may choose to detain you anyway, and force you to give them passwords to various accounts manually. But there’s no easy way for them to know which services you use and which services you don’t use, or whether you have multiple accounts. We live in an era of mass surveillance, where governments around the world are passing terrifying new anti-privacy laws every year. “Those who are willing to surrender their freedom for security have always demanded that if they give up their full freedom it should also be taken from those not prepared to do so.” — Friedrich Hayek With a lot of hard work on our part, enlightenment will triumph. Privacy will be restored. And we will beat back the current climate of fear that’s confusing people into unnecessarily giving up their rights. In the meantime, follow the Boy Scouts of America Motto: always be prepared. The next time you plan to cross a border, leave your phone at home. Thank you for taking the time to reading this. If you liked this, click the ? below so other people will see this here on Medium.

I'm stuck in the past watching Banshee (season 2, at the moment). I've been downloading Taboo, 24:Legacy, TWD, Black Sails, Training Day, Billions, Homeland, SIX, and a number of others... don't know when I'll get around to catching up on all of them. Below is my current list of automatic downloads...

Check out this graphic...it's a bit out of date, but many of the places are still around. The FULL LOVE INN is pretty good, and it's reasonably close to Soi Buakhao and central Pattaya if you have transport.

To my darling husband, Before you return from your overseas trip, I just want to let you know about the small accident I had with the Ford F-150 when I turned into the driveway. Fortunately it was not too bad and I really didn't get hurt, so please don't worry too much about me. I was coming home and when I turned into the driveway I accidentally pushed down on the accelerator instead of the brake, while I was talking on my cell phone. The garage door is slightly bent but the Ford F-150 fortunately came to a halt when it bumped into your Ferrari. It missed our bikes. I am really sorry, but I know with your kind hearted personality, you will forgive me. You know how much I love you and care for you, my sweetheart. I am enclosing a picture for you. Your loving wife. *P.S: Your girlfriend phoned - she is pregnant.[/size]

Agreed... The thread has a stench. Locked. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

It's hit or miss. Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

So what? Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

As said before, it's not unusual for the Thai partner/wife not to know much if anything about income sources of the male partner.

Charles Laughton

The Blob Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Jeez. The alleged shooter has an active Facebook page too. https://www.facebook.com/abel.caldeira.7 Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk