Evil Penevil

Simplest is usually best when it comes to rules: Insults and derogatory comments about the real-life family or loved ones of a board member are strictly forbidden. But if you feel it's necessary to be more explicit, perhaps you could add: There is never any valid reason for drawing real-life family members or loved ones into an Internet squabble. The civil status (i.e., single; married; divorced; long-term relationship, etc.) of a board member is irrelevant and may not be used in an attempt to discredit his opinions. Evil

I've yet to have a disappointing meal at Mama's Cafe on Soi 6, whether I've chosen Thai or farang. This squid dish was excellent: I seldom eat pizza in Pattaya because it's rarely any good. But I saw the pizza another customer had ordered at Mama's and decided to give it a try. Definitely tasty, with the crust baked perfectly. Evil

It reminds me of the weekend "street festivals" in NYC, the "street meat" events in particular. A lot of the cart and truck food vendors would line a street and offer samples for free or at very discounted prices. Not, I fear, a very practical approach for Soi Six bars. But it sounds like a fun event and I'll be there for sure. Evil

I had the same problem with Chrome, but I closed all tabs, closed the browser and rebooted, then everything was fine. Evil

Getting the same as tomcat when I try to click on a specific post from the Member's Bar thread. Evil

They are sure as hell flash enough for me! I wouldn't kick any of them out of bed. Thing is, unless I hit the big numbers on the Power Ball, I'll never get the chance. Evil

Bell Bus has become a victim of its own success. In the beginning, it was a fast, convenient and cheap way to get to Pattaya from Swampy. The reclining seats made it much more comfortable than a taxi. But I stopped using Bell about 18 months ago because the trips had become lengthy, uncomfortable .hassles. The buses were full to the last seat and some passengers had so much luggage that all of it wouldn't fit under the bus. Delays of 30 minutes or more in departing Swampy weren't uncommon. Transfer at the North Pattaya bus station to the mini-vans that transported passengers to their hotels had become chaotic due to language difficulties and the huge number of suitcases, boxes, bags, etc some passengers had. Four or five years ago, the Bell buses always departed on time and the "door-to-door" trip to your hotel in Pattaya would be less than two hours. On one notable occasion, I took a Bell bus at noon and at 1.30 p.m. was not only at my hotel, but in my room unpacking my suitcase. But my last trip with Bell, in October 2011, took nearly four hours "door-to-door," mainly because of delays (30-minute delay in departing Swampy, another 30-minute wait for the mini-bus to leave the North Pattaya station) and the large number of passengers than had to be taken to their hotels. Unluckily, I was the last of 12 to be dropped off. Sure, Bell is cheaper than a taxi, but definitely not worth the extra hassle any more. Evil

Maybe her ancestors picked up some hobbit genes along the way. Did she have pointy ears? Evil

At least not at 1,000 baht S/T, no matter how many bowls of noodle soup or buckets of KFC you throw in. Or 5,000 or 10,000 baht, for that matter. Girls of that caliber probably won't go with any farang not named Bill Gates or Tom Cruise, but they might go with an Asian customer for 20,000 to 30,000 S/T. However, for the real Bangkok elite models, the bargaining starts at a gold ring on their left index fingers or at least a long-term sponsorship to the tune of a couple of hundred thousand baht a month. You can look, guys, but you can't have. Evil

Waitress: May I take your order? Customer: Fakkhew! Gang Fakkhew!

Somebody doesn't like you, but you have a guardian angel. You are back to 0 for that post. Evil

I have some of the same problems as others describe, plus a few that haven't been mentioned. Drop-down box (with My content, My profile, etc. under "Evil Penevil" at the top of the page that usually appears when I put the pointer on EP has disappeared. Line and paragraph breaks don't work, plus all editing extra functions (text color, font, size, etc have gone. Can't upload more than one pic at a time. On the profile page, only rep points received appears (given is gone). Problem is constant on four different browsers (IE9, Firefox, Chrome and Opera). Has Java or Adobe Flash upgraded recently and that is causing problems? I remember that happened in the past. Evil

The military exercises of Cobra Gold run Feb. 11 through Feb. 21, so I imagine some Navy and Marine personnel will be visiting Pattaya on the weekend. Some logistic and security specialists have been in Pattaya for several weeks already. Early last January (edit in- January 2012), when I was checking into the @Mind Residence, a group of about 20 US military guys was also checking in. One of them told me they were part of the onshore support team for the port call of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group later in the month and would remain in Pattaya through the end of Cobra Gold 2012. He asked me about pretty innocent stuff: hang-gliding; jet skiing; go-carting; miniature golf (!) and even visits to temples. One night during mid-January last year, I met in FLB two sailors off the USS Abraham Lincoln. They knew nothing about Pattaya. They'd walked into FLB because they saw the sign advertising "Live Music," one said. MM and I stood them a few rounds, but they weren't interested in visiting go go bars, only music bars. They also wanted to buy some souvenirs. Evil

HAPPY Evil

I read an explanation for the occasional extremely high price for some hotels on Agoda and other booking services. I can't vouch for its accuracy, but it did sound plausible. It has to do with the contract the hotel signs with the agency. During periods of peak demand, when the hotel management knows from experience the hotel will be fully booked, it doesn't want to pay a commission to the booking site. However, the contract doesn't allow them to temporarily withdraw the listing and there's also a penalty for claiming the hotel is fully booked when it isn't. So to discourage customers from booking through Web sites, it raises the price of the rooms listed on Agoda and similar to such levels that rooms won't be booked electronically. Sort of like a go go that ups bar fines in high season to keep the girls in the bar. The price for a room at Page 10 goes back to the $70 range on Agoda after the Chinese New Year. Evil

BKK to BRU (Boeing 777-300ER) Jan. 10, 2013 I'm writing this somewhere above Russia on a Thai Airways flight to Brussels, so I'll be posting it from the biz lounge at Brussels airport while waiting for my connecting flight to New York. So far, the trip has gone about as well it possibly could. Since I only had light carry-on luggage, I caught the bus to Swampy outside Foodmart in Jomtien at 8 p.m. The ticket only cost 134 baht, but saving money isn't the main attraction for me. The seats on the bus recline enough that it is easy for me to sleep most of the 90 minutes to the airport, plus it's a smoother and safer ride than a taxi. This time, I dozed off before the bus got to Sukhumvit Road and didn't wake up until the interior lights went on as it pulled into the departure drop-off area at Swampy at 9.34 p.m. By 9.45 p.m. I was checking in at the Thai Royal Silk counter, then fast track through security and Immigration Control. Incredibly, by 10.00 p.m. I was sipping a drink in the Royal Silk lounge. I guess there had been a minor problem because there was a delay in boarding and we took off 30 minutes late. The flight itself has been very comfortable, but flights in biz class usually are on any airline. A decent meal, lay-flat seat for sleeping and a large video screen make the time past quickly. So far I've slept six hours out of a 12-and-a-half hour flight. This contrasts with the bad flight I took in early December from Bangkok to London Heathrow on a Thai Airbus 340-600 in economy class and an even worse one back to BKK from Zurich, Switzerland, a week later on the same type of aircraft. More about those flights later. Update: TG934 landed at 7.19 a.m. Brussels time. De-planing and the security check for transfer passengers were quick, but it took me about 30 minutes at the United transit desk to get cleared for the Newark. Most of it was waiting in line, even though I was in the Premier Lane reserved for Global Services and 1K passengers. Anyway, I'm in the Star Alliance lounge (actually Brussels Airlines) filing this report. Good wifi connection for an airport lounge. I'll continue with the other TG flights I've taken to Europe and will also do the Oslo-Bangkok flight I'm scheduled for next week. Evil