Work – Page 7 – C. Buddha's Hasty Musings

Downtime monitoring via Google Docs

This is the coolest idea for a site monitor: Use Google Docs to Monitor Your Website’s Uptime

I’ve set it up and I’ll check it when I get back from my faculty trip (we leave tonight for Koh Kud).

Web
Work

Your internet pass is revoked

Some pimply-faced expert got in my face about the educational value of e-learning: “What’s wrong with books? Don’t you know what books are? Books are like the internet printed on paper!”

Just, wow.

Work

Study level: Bad Asian

Me: Your speaking topic is about something you would like to own. Please speak about this for one minute.

Student: I would like to own my hair.

Me: … What?

Student: My hair.

Me: WHO OWNS YOUR HAIR NOW?

Student: I want to color it red.

Me: Well, I guess you should own your hair first before you dye it.

Student: …

Photos
Work

Hin Suay Nam Sai Resort, Rayong

I’m in Rayong with 110 students and 10 teachers on a business English education project. It’s hot and sunny here, but these are some of my favorite beaches in Thailand.
For me, Rayong is the perfect mix of convenience, desolation, and value for money. You can eat fresh seafood under the tall shade trees running almost all 12 kilometres up the coast, then run down to the water and pretty much be alone for hours, if you’ve chosen a good spot. The one hour separation from the fleshpots of Pattaya keeps most farang away, and Rayong is primarily a resort town for Thais – this fact in itself makes Rayong appealing, but it also serves to keep prices down and keep parasitic vendors, taxis, and ladyboy hordes away.
Anyway, I’m here for work. My unofficial role, as always, is as facilitator, so I’m about to go facilitate the hell out of the breakfast buffet followed by a facilitative facilitation of a morning swim in the sea.
This resort, which literally translates as Pretty Rock Clear Water Resort, is an interesting mix of crusty old failed bubble venture and competent staff. The climb to and from the beach is a bit hard for young kids, otherwise I’d think about bringing the family here some time.

“…credible and meaningful in foreign cultures.”

The university where I teach, Rajabhat Maha Sarakham, used to be a teacher’s training college. My uni is just one Rajabhat institute of about 40 spread all over Thailand, that were turned into universities by the king with something called the Rajabhat Act in 1995. Therefore, when we clean up, move, or renovate offices and I see asset tags with “teacher’s college” or the like, I know I’ve found something at least 17 years old, and sometimes much older.

The last time somebody cleaned out a storage room on the 3rd floor, above my office on the 2nd floor, a bunch of cool old stuff was put out to be thrown away. I’ve started documenting what I’ve saved, and this is one of my coolest finds:

I’d never even heard of the United States Information Agency before, and I can only assume that “U.S. Information Service” was an alternative name for the agency.

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Now if I can only find a working 16mm film projector!