Month: April 2007

Thai Kidnapping Gangs

If you have about 45 free minutes and any interest in kidnapping gangs operating in Thailand at all, you must see this post over at thaivisa.com: American Rescued After Being Kidnapped, Kidnappers included Thai Police
Go through the entire thread and download the supplemental documents linked there by a previous victim – it’s unbelievable.
Major props to Thai Visa forums, I get a lot of info there and they deserve credit for providing such a valuable resource.

MP3 downloads

Somebody asked me where to download music without using file sharing software. Without a doubt, the best search tool is here: Music Search Plus
Here’s what I’m starting my day with today:




I remember most of my CDs by their jacket art and the color of the disc. Even if I can’t remember the track names or album name, I can remember what it looks like. Also, I can generally remember what it sounds like in my room, in my car, and through a set of headphones.

My first speeding ticket in Thailand

So the short version of this story goes:

  1. Today I got caught speeding 50kph over the (unposted) speed limit
  2. I paid a fine on the spot and was released
  3. I love Thailand!

||||||||||||||||||||||||
I have this running joke with people who ride in my car and ask what the funny device attached to my windshield is – “It’s a 7-11 detector,” I always say (I’ve NEVER seen another radar detector in Thailand, so their curiosity is understandable). Sure enough, it starts beeping madly whenever we pass a convenience store (or anywhere else with automatic door sensors), so this explanation may be less facetious than it sounds (then again, maybe not). Well as it turns out, it might as well have been a “7-11 detector” today when it started beeping wildly while I was driving on a flat stretch of highway between towns.
The beeping surprised the hell out of me, because all around, there was nothing but typical Isan scenery: A few trees, rice fields as far as the eye could see, a couple of skinny cows, and the tall spire of a temple half a kilo down the road. I consciously noticed that I had become desensitized to the sound of my radar detector – I didn’t brake and instead just let off the gas a bit, convinced that it had picked up on an errant signal sent from the cosmos, or perhaps a stray radar wave bouncing off the dusty Thai ionosphere. The last thing, the absolute last thing I thought it could be was a speed trap, so you pretty much see where this story is going.
The men in brown were waiting for me a kilometer down the road. Luckily, Nam was in the car with me and she took care of the whole thing. they wanted me to pull over and wait to be processed. They wanted my driver’s license. They wanted to know if I knew I had been driving at least 130kph. When all was said and done, they wanted to get paid. My fine for speeding 50kph over the limit?
200 baht.
That’s like, six bucks.
In Japan, I’d instantly have my license revoked and be fined thousands of dollars, plus maybe get a free night’s stay in traffic jail.
Like I’ve said before, some things are just really cheap out here in the sticks. The funny thing is, we actually paid more than normal (for around here, at least, in Bangkok, etc., it’s a lot different), because this was a special traffic safety crackdown taking place to reduce accidents for the Songkran holiday period, which starts tomorrow.
I love Thailand.

Random links for April 11, 2007

Thanks to the Internet, I now know that the pee shivers are (possibly) officially known as post-micturition convulsion syndrome.
How many incorrect stereotypes can you spot in this photo? Better yet, which ones are intentional, and which ones show just how ignorant the creators are?
A sea lion eating a shark
Christ almighty, that’s a huge rockfish! (and a century old…)
Hey, look: A published magazine illegally using and actually watermarking my brother’s photographs! Sue those bitches, Adam! (and yes, people think that the thieves are the creators. Hell, they even think so in Thailand!) This is obviously a bigger sin than, say, incorrect attribution.
Have a nice day.

Ctrl + F5 are friends…

So this is the theme I have chosen after trying out 30+. I am, unfortunately, too lazy to write my own all over again. If you are having trouble loading this page or the design looks funny, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while pressing F5.
Note: After the upgrade, I noticed that the search function of this blog times out quite a bit. I’ll iron out the bugs eventually. In the meantime, if your search for “naked fat men” times out, hit the back button on your browser and try again.

time for a new look

Having tackled core software issues, it’s time to work on our design. I’m having a great time screwing around with different themes, and I hope Adam does, too (sorry dude, I hosed your previous theme when I overwrote the MT directory).
It might be, um… colorful around here for awhile, until we decide on our designs.