A quick note about the Garmin nüvi 1450t

I bought one today for navigating around my home country… Took it home from Walmart and thought it was broken because it wouldn’t sync with the satellites. Eventually decided to look it up online and one Amazon reviewer said that it took quite a while to acquire a satellite signal upon first use – so I took it outside, restarted, and let it sit on a plastic table for a while. Almost ten minutes later, it was good to go.
It’s funny, though, if I hadn’t read this review on Amazon, I would have thought it was defective for sure.

Dave and Michiko Visited…

…Bearing many gifts, one of which is a Radio Flyer with more bells and whistles than you might believe:
20100503dave-michiko0021.jpg

  • Padded neoprene cushion on wagon bed
  • Front and rear seatback cushions
  • Modular drink holders
  • Front and rear saddlebags
  • Huge wheels with inflatable tires
  • Removable sun shade
  • Genuine cork grip handle
  • Foldable (underneath wagon) handle for easy storage
  • Rack and pinion steering (to prevent tipping)

Max and Mina now cruise in more comfort than daddy in his Kujira Crown. Thanks for the gifts, guys!

Rishi Indian Food – Roi Et, Thailand

A friend told me about this restaurant more than a year ago, but with babies and whatnot, we never had the chance to try it (although we were actually parked in front of the shop debating whether to order take away six months ago – we didn’t have the time to wait). Our friends Dave and Michiko are visiting from Japan, so yesterday, we all piled in the Crown (4 adults + Max) and drove for an hour out to downtown Roi Et just down the street from Roi Et Plaza and the Roi Et City Hotel.
Nam ordered a bunch of stuff on the phone before we left home, and simply stated, it was one of the best Indian meals we’ve ever had while also undoubtedly being the most affordable.
We cannot recommend this place enough.
RISHI INDIA FOOD
37/1 Santisuk Road, Amphur Muang, Roi Et
043-520413
089-1869495
088-2622211

Facebook Privacy Policy Timeline

I haven’t written about Facebook’s privacy policy for a long time, mainly because everybody who cares about it is already in the know, but the EFF’s timeline for Facebook’s eroding privacy policy is worth reading.

“Facebook originally earned its core base of users by offering them simple and powerful controls over their personal information. As Facebook grew larger and became more important, it could have chosen to maintain or improve those controls. Instead, it’s slowly but surely helped itself — and its advertising and business partners — to more and more of its users’ information, while limiting the users’ options to control their own information.”

You are worth money to them, and not much else (hell, they won’t even give you a Dislike button!).

Around Mahasarakham: The Saengcharoen Theater (4711 Theater)

Across the street from our friend Tong’s house and cram school is a massive old theatre that’s been converted into a church. I’ve never taken photos of it or been inside, but I’ve admired it from the outside and parked in its shade many times.
I stumbled upon an excellent write up of the church (posted just two days ago) by a blog called The Southeast Asia Movie Theater Project, which is a “photographic archive of derelict or converted movie theaters in Southeast Asia.” Reading it makes me yearn for the days when many blogs were works of passion written about specific subjects…
I think I’ll ask Tong’s father about the significance of the number 4711, although I dig the idea of the Hopeful worshiping in the house of the occult.