Racing airplanes on the long bridge to KIX.
Month: May 2005
Harf
heh.
Random Cattlecar
This is a fairly common sight on the dusty roads of the Thai countryside:
Men riding on the top or other exposed areas of a vehicle often wear full bank robber hoods to block the sun; the heat underneath is apparently preferable to the killer rays of the midday sun (I can attest to the discomfort caused by prolonged exposure).
Another shot:
It’s hard to tell how the cows feel about it all. Maybe it beats grazing in some hot ass ditch on the side of the road; who knows?
Required (Geek) Reading
Forgive the unimaginative title of this article and just be sure to read the whole thing:
How a Bookmaker and a Whiz Kid Took On an Extortionist – and Won
DDoS – It’s like a valley full of bandits and their armed slave captives wildly firing small arms at heavily armored airship transports passing above, but today is Friday the 13th and not Crappy Analogy Day, so I will quit now while I’m ahead.
Ugly Association
I hereby dub these ugly-ass stock Alfa rims the “S&W Chief Specials.”
Warning Signs
Here’s a couple of interesting signs I found on the trip:
This is actually the best “slippery when wet” warning illustration I have ever seen. Seen outside a public restroom at a highway rest stop on the way to Mahasarakham.
Likewise, this is the best “Caution: Falling Durian” illustration I’ve ever seen. I came upon this sign in the middle of the jungle at the backside of a roadside fruit stand/cafe. Awesome.
Balance of Powers
To offset previous linkage to the Dark Darth Side, I hereby offer the musings of a certain L. Skywalker: I Miss Biggs
Even better than “scientific purposes”
It would logically follow that residents of Chiba Prefecture can look forward to cheap all-you-can-eat yakiniku this weekend.
The Ruins at Buri Ram
On the return trip from Nam’s hometown of Mahasarakham to Bangkok, we made our first stop at Buri Ram (the “City of Happiness”). It’s located in a quiet province which was an important district of the Khmer empire during the Angkor period, and contains numerous Khmer ruins. There are three of four very well-preserved Khmer temples, and we visited one at the Phanom Rung Sanctuary. It was built during the 12th century and is set on top of Phanom Rung Hill. According to the pamphlets I picked up at the museum, the sanctuary is dedicated to the God Shiva and symbolizes Mount Kailasa, the heavenly abode of Shiva.
Unfortunately, we did not make a full tour of the ruins and limited our excursion to an hour because it was ridiculously hot that day; the air was dead still and my brain went into meltdown. As such, I didn’t take any serious photos, which is good, because I suck at those anyway. Here are a few shots I took with one hand on the camera, and the other wiping sweat from my brow (click on photos to enlarge):
Nam taking a break on an ancient Khmer windowsill.
Taro kicking it on an ancient Khmer stoop.
That’s me practicing ninja jumps over ancient Khmer walls.
Me and my baby… in front of ancient Khmer ruins.
The Downside of Turing
All I was trying to do was sign up for a Yahoo Group… Can someone please tell me what code is hidden in this capcha? I’m all for anti-spam countermeasures, but this is ridiculous.