Jing and Jaidan's Dog

Today's song is: I Got a Feeling .. Black Eyed Peas

From time to time I like to recommend software. Jing is something I use daily, is free, and simply works exceeding well so I highly recommend it. I use it to capture portions of my screen. I have extended desktops and Jing handles it with aplomb. Jing can also create short 5 minute screen recordings but I seldom use it for that as Camtasia (also from TechSmith) does it much better, however it is a commercial product and fairly expensive.

https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Other free software I use extensively include:

NotePad++ a text editor that is so much better than notepad

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Notepad++ is a free (as in "free speech" and also as in "free beer") source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages. Running in the MS Windows environment, its use is governed by GPL License.

Based on the powerful editing component Scintilla, Notepad++ is written in C++ and uses pure Win32 API and STL which ensures a higher execution speed and smaller program size. By optimizing as many routines as possible without losing user friendliness, Notepad++ is trying to reduce the world carbon dioxide emissions. When using less CPU power, the PC can throttle down and reduce power consumption, resulting in a greener environment.

Paint.net, a great drawing and paint program

http://www.getpaint.net/index.html

Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for PCs that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.

There is an Ikea in Bangkok and sometime ago Jaidan fell in love with Puppy, a stuffed toy dog. We bought it and brought it home and they have been inseparable ever since. Jaidan has lots of stuffed toys, big and small but Puppy has a special place for Jaidan. They sleep together everynight.

TTYL

Our Night Out

Today's song is: Pusscat Dolls and Doncha

I started off at Robin Hood bar at 5:30 and stayed longer than I thought. My friend I were were trying to educate a Thai woman on the basics of saving a portion of your income every month and why it was important to have some money in the bank. Mostly a waste of time.

I headed out to Country Road about 8:30 but Thavorn did not arrive to join me until 10 ish. It seems Jaidan was not all that interested in falling asleep. By the time Thavorn joined me I was 2 sheets to the wind and we decided to walk down to Nana and Hillary 2 to give me a chance to sober up. Along the 25 min walk I notice a huge proliferation in tourists form the Middle East and Africa. However, Nana changed all that as it could be aptly named Punterville :-).

We arrived at Hillary 2 and were immediately recognized by one waitress despite not having been to Hillary in almost 2 years. She brought us to a great table in front of the band and we were greeted in mid song with 'Welcome back Jimmy and Pretty Girl!' They did not remember Thavorn's name but I am always remembered, mostly because, I think, the longish hair and my image.  Great to be welcomed back. I bought a round for the 7 band members and sat back and enjoyed the next 3 hours.

We left about 1:30 as I was famished as I had not eaten anything since breakfast. We stopped at our favorite hole in the wall restaurant and I had Pad Thai Gai and Thavrn had noodle soup. We then flagged down a cab and arrived home at 2 am to find all 3 children wide awake watching TV. Jaidan had a big grin on his face. Needless to say, off he went to bed, closely followed by everyone else.

Here are some pics of our night out:

At Country Road waiting for Thavorn

Hillary 2 - 2 male singers are a riot!

TTYL

Hump Day

Today's song is: sung at Hillary 2 bar on Nana  .. my favorite bar

Today is Wednesday so I am heading out for a beer with a goof friend at 6 pm to Robin Hood, a popular expat British pub at Soi 33 Sukhumvit, directly across from the new Dinosaur amusement park which appears to be losing popularity, judging from the crowds.

After a couple of hours I will head off to Country Road to wait for Thavorn who is putting Jaidan to sleep, hopefully around 8 pm and then she will join me.  We are then heading off to Hillary 2 for some music and dancing. This will be our first time in our favorite bar for over a year.

TTYL

RIP and Rain

Today's song is: Sympathy for the Devil ... Stones classic in England - 1990

a theme song for you Thai males

Today Thavorn is a little wistful. Last night her first husband died in a motorcycle crash. The carnage on Thai roadways is under reported but it is rampant. That is is one of the reason why I am purchasing a big pickup with many airbags. Drunk driving and a poor regard for safe driving and loss of life is a major reason for traffic deaths. Young Thai males without a future are often the casualties driven to careless with alcohol or yabba. He was 31 and the father of Tai and Dun who are currently visiting us. Tai and Dun hardly knew their father as Thavorn got tired of being beaten up when he drank or did drugs and left him long ago and refused him access to her children. Thavorn asked me for 1,000 baht to send to his village so that he could be cremated and put to rest by the village monks. As I said, somewhat wistful.

Last night we had our first rain in about 5 months and hopefully the drought is broken. April is Songkran and the advent of the rainy season in this part Thailand. Unfortunately it also gets stinky hot with very high humidity. The rain is frequent but usually lasts only 30 mins to an hour, similar to Florida in the summer.

I have started reading again. I really miss being hunkered down with a good fantasy story. Now that Tai and Dun are with us, occupying Jaidan I have more time to simply relax with a cup of coffee and a book.

Someone has opened up a dinosaur theme park in downtown Bangkok. I see it as somewhat tacky but the Thais are eating it up. Go figure. It will be interesting to see if it has lasting appeal. I can't see anyone visiting it twice, but there are over 10 million people in Bangkok.

I plan on getting back into coaching basketball during the summer of 2017 in Ontario. I have May-September available so if some organization is interested in getting a great coach during the summer months for a travelling team of player development I can be reached at CoachJimDale@gmail.com. Jaidan will be 3 by the summer of 2017 and I would like him to develop as a gym rat :-) similar to Jaime and Jordan.

In NCAA action, Kansas got beat by Villanova. Go figure, I thought Kansas had a lock on this year's madness. Perhaps the Tarheels will end their drought and make Larry happy :-)

TTYL

Thaied One On Last Night

Today's song is: One Night in Bangkok

Hangover 2 Trailer

Thavorn and I took advantage of her oldest 2 children and headed out at 9 pm for a night out in Bangkok. We lasted until 1:30. Will have to do better next time :-)

We decided to go to Soi Cowboy (of Hangover  2 Fame) to visit with her friend Tacky who works at Shark Bar but Tacky did not show for work that night. Not all that unusual for Tacky.  We stayed for a beer and then decided to visit the Dollhouse to see how the new ownership is playing out. Most of the former girls had moved onto other bars but a couple of girls I knew were still there. Thavorn and I switched to vodka and red bulls and watched the show (both spectators and girls).

After one drink we headed out to Tilac bar but it was quiet so we headed off to Country Road to play some pool, but their was a long waiting list at the tables so we headed off to Lighthouse for a couple of more vodka and red bulls. At Lighthouse we recognized a girl we knew who had migrated from Dollhouse and invited her down for a drink. When asked about the Dollhouse she answered they were down for over a week and a girl has to work so here she was. The Lighthouse has a gorgeous array of friendly girls. Highly recommended. Our friend had just had her node done so Thavorn was quite interested in finding out the costs and what was involved with the procedure (pain, recovery, etc.)

We decided to move onto Crazy House as it is always full and lots of fun. Definitely over the top in terms of naughtiness. If you only do one bar in Bangkok, Crazy House is the one to do. We immediately bumped into Chocolate and one of her friends that is also lots of fun. We headed off upstairs where some free space existed. There we bumped into a Frenchman from France who was working out of Singapore and visits Bangkok as often as he can. He was definitely having fun and we joined in with him for the next 3 hours. Meeting people form around the world is definitely one of the perks of living in Bangkok. We haven't laughed as much in a long time.

We decided to head home around 1 am but we had the munchies so I grabbed a tuna sub at subways (open 24 hours) and Thavorn grabbed some street food.  When we arrived home, all three children were fast asleep on the couch. Great to be out and about again!

TTYL

Adapting to Civilization

Today's song is: You Can't Always Get What You Want - Stones

Thavorn's children, Tai and Dun have been with us for 2 days now. Thavorn has been picking head lice out of Tai's hair for both days now and she is still not lice and egg free but hopefully close. Dun has short hair and hence no lice. At first I wondered why Thavorn's mom doesn't pick lice but I can only assume she has given up as the school is probably full of head lice. However, Tai should be lice free for at least a month. Something to look forward to :-)

The issue I have with village folks is they simply drop garbage everywhere and do not pick up after themselves. Eventually when things start sticking to their feet they bring out a broom and sweep things into a pile and set it on fire. There is no garbage pickup in the village. I think I could make a living supplying steel barrels for storing and burning garbage in the village. They could also be used as a source of heat when the temperature drops for a few weeks of the year.

Thavorn's brother and his son have just left for the village and I suggested to Thavorn to take Jaidan, Tai, and Dun for a swim and I spent an hour cleaning the apartment and it is now spotless. BTW, Thai men find it amusing that I actually do housework. They look at that activity as beneath them although they are quite capable of lounging on the couch, without a full-time job, watching me clean. I blame the way that they are raised, often without a male in the house, usually by their grandmother. Of course this is lo-so but I doubt that hi-so spouses do housework. That would be the lo-so maids's job.

This morning Dun dumped a full glass of coke over Thavorn's Samsung Note. I caught it in time and managed to skim the fluid off it before it found its way inside. Then into the bag of rice it went for a couple of hours and thankfully it is okay. Dun is a wrecking machine. Thai not go moon :-)

There have recently been quite a few articles on the web talking about the Thai obsession for Facebook and how obsessed they are with posting the most mundane things in their life such as what they are eating, what they bought, and most of all, doctored pictures of themselves to make themselves look better than they are. It is not unusual to see a Thai girl sitting on the BTS, preening herself as she takes selfies to post on Facebook. Thais are quite narcissistic and Facebook is the ultimate social network for that outlet.

Thavorn and I never did get out by ourselves over the weekend as we were just too tired entertaining the 4 children and her brother. Maybe tonight.

TTYL

Thavorn's Children

Today's song is: Couple of Songs by Clean Bandit  .. some great visuals

The Gonzaga Bulldogs just destroyed the Utah Utes by 30 points. I love the Zags in March madness. Mark is a great coach.

Thavorn's children arrived last night and today we all jumped in the pool. The first time they visited 2 years ago they could not swim and now they are very much at home in the water. Jaidan really likes his half brother and sister and now has no time for Papa!

Thavorn's brother Tum brought Thavorn's children via bus to Bangkok and brought along his 2 year old son who is big for a Thai but much smaller than Jaidan.  Jaidan also out weighs his brother Dun who is 9 years old but Dun is a skinny dude.

Here are some pool pics:

TTYL

March Madness

Today's song is: Not a song but the 10 best moments in March madness History

I can actually watch the NCAA bball tournament unfold courtesy of ASN that I watch on iLikeHD, a streaming service I can purchase as I need and what I want. I get 5 hours for 50 baht. I stream it using my phone for data and it never seems to break up. Somebody is doing something right here. Of course my phone is using 4G which has great speeds here in Thailand.

Round 1 saw many upsets so it will be good to see if the Cinderella teams can keep upsetting the brackets in 2016.

Thavorn's 2 older children, Tai and Dun arrive tonight around 9 pm. Too late for Thavorn and I to head out but Sunday night will be our first night out (without Jaidan) in over a year. We will probably just go to Country Road as it is close and we can be back home in 5 minutes via motorcycle taxi. That is the huge advantage of living in the city center.

My swimming is going well as I am nearly back to where I was before hurting my back. Today we purchased a small life jacket for Jaidan and he was thrilled to swim by himself. Reminds me so much of Jordan.

TTYL

Beautiful Women

Today's song is: The Sage by Emerson Lake and Palmer .. RIP

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/13/keith-emerson-obituary

I had a great day yesterday. It started early with a trip to the government office complex to complete my 90 day stay report. I have discovered the best day to go is Wednesdays and I was done in an hour. I then caught a taxi to the Mo Chit BTS station and jumped on the MRT train back to Sukhumvit. I then headed over to Hustlers for some pool practice, followed by a quick snack of Phad Thai Gai at my favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant. You know you have been in Bangkok for a while when the serving staff greets with you with, 'Where baby?'.

After my lunch I headed over to Hillary 4 on Nana to people watch and await my buddy. My buddy arrived in due course and we started off with the first of seven 'Black Sodas and Vodka and Red Bulls'. We still can't understand the attraction of Hooters across the street where the beer and drinks are twice the price and the women less obtainable, although quite cute and friendly. Hillary 4 is a much better deal and once I got past the 'Where baby?' much more fun.

I also sit at the railing that looks over the street as it is great for people watch, both tourists and Thai. My buddy and I both commented on how there is no other place in the world where so many beautiful women pass by in the quantities that occur at this particular spot. And, wonder of wonders, they smile back, confident in their beauty, and entertainment value of the two us enjoying the scene. Some of the best looking women are Katoey, as they are masters of makeup. After 6 years, we can spot them easily but nooby's beware, unless that is your thing :-)

After about 3 hours I received a call from Thavorn wondering where I was and stating that both she and Jaidan needed to get out of the apartment and do something, so I regretfully said goodbye and caught a taxi home and then we proceeded to Big C for diapers and formula which we were running out of. A quick supper at KFC and we were back home about 8 pm and Jaidan was ready to call it a night. Almost forgot, we purchased Jaidan's first bicycle with training wheels and had to catch a Tuk Tuk home but seeing as we are regulars the driver only charged us 60 Baht rather than the usual 100 Baht they extort from others.

My favorite hole-in-the-wall eatery

Bugs for sale outside Hillary 4 .. no shortage of bar girls lined up for a snack

Jaidan and his new wheels

TTYL

Swimming

Today's song is: Stronger by Clean Bandit

I am back into a routine of swimming every second day and I am about 90% recovered from my back injury with a little bit of hip bursitis left. The swimming should get rid of that as long as I start slowly. Very little stress on the body.

Thavorn is very much looking forward to us buying a truck and learning how to drive. However, she seems incapable of choosing a color for the truck. I personally do not care and I am leaving the choice to her. It comes in 4 boring colors; white, black, silver and grey. Now, if it came in fire engine red :-)

Next week I head off to the Canadian embassy to get a letter stating how much my income is. This is required for the truck loan. I will provably do that Tuesday as Monday and Fridays are busy days at the embassy. I also have to go to Thai immigration for my 3 month pit stop to show I am still in Thailand at my registered address. Most countries actually keep tabs on you when you are a visitor in their country, unlike Canada and the United  States. Every time I check into a hotel I am required to show my passport which is always photocopied and checked to make sure I am in the country legally. North America can learn something from this. The local police will also stop you and ask for your passport but I never get checked because they all recognize me as a regular.

There is a drought going on in most areas of Thailand and there is talk of asking Thais to not waste water during the upcoming Songkran water festival. The water from the tap is also starting to taste a little brackish as the water level in the main river that flows through Bangkok has dropped so much that the ocean water is starting to enter the system.

I purchased a split unit air con at Big C and will install it in our sleeping room at Thavorn's house back in the village. It will aid greatly in my stay in the village for over a month this summer. I get grouchy when I don't get enough sleep. I also plan to do some running back in the village, but it will be in the early morning hours before it gets too hot. The air conned bedroom will also be where I set up my work area for programming. The village had quite good internet connectivity. Go figure, I think it is because of the school in the village.

I started organizing my pics and found some good pics of Thavorn.

Thavorn and her 2 best friends

Thavorn looking pensive

The 3 friends at the movies

In the park with Tacky

With a San Miquel Lite

Roadside bar

In Pattaya on my birthday

Great shape, first time in a bikini

A little bit shy

Learning how to play pool at Hustlers

Feeling good about herself

TTYL

Close to Normal

Today's song is: Rather Be by Clean Bandit  .. their breakout song

As my back heals my life in Bangkok returns to normal. A little bit of programming, a little bit of social life, and a lot of attending to Jaidan's needs. Jaidan is quite a growing concern at the age of 1 year and 7 months. For some reason Jaidan thinks he is boss. I think I rename him, Jaidan the usurper. Here is a photo of Jaidan commandeering, not only my computer but my chair.

Jaidan loves to watch Pingu over the internet mostly via Chromecast on the television but more recently on my 34" monitor while perched in my chair. Pingu is a clay animation cartoon series where the main characters are penguins and speak Penguinese. Lots of fun.

I will start to get back to my programming now that I can sit for longer periods. It is mostly just revisions to existing software that is in production. If you are a programmer you understand that maintenance is very boring and would rather be programming something new. Time to brainstorm for a new piece of software. Any ideas out there?

Life in Thailand goes on. The army seems to be doing a good job but the political pundits are wanting a return to democracy and that is on the horizon but there are disagreements over the newly drafted constitution that will be voted on during an upcoming referendum. Just like teaching, you can't make everyone happy as utopia does not exist in any form of government.

My home country has just resettled 25,000 Syrians in record time and is being touted as an example for the rest of the world, especially Europe. There was a recent article detailing the experience of one family that just arrived that has 11 children. The average Canadian family has less than 2 children. I am no sure how many children they would have had with Canada's support for children unlike Syria. I am not quite sure I would have brought 11 children into the world if I lived in Syria. Easy enough to criticize when I am not walking in their shoes.

There will definitely be a clash of cultures and worse still, a clash of religions. It will be interesting to see the Canadian response when they start building mosques and start broadcasting the call to prayer 5 times a day. I have lived in and visited Muslim and Buddhist countries and I know which I prefer. However, I will state that there is no place for religion in the governance of any country. I have been following the American pre-election primaries and there is always a lot of talk of the evangelical vote so even in America, the home of democracy, religion makes itself felt in the democratic process.

The world ... it is a changing ... Dylan at the White House

TTYL

Planning for the future

Today's song is: Clean Bandit ... Rather be FT with Jess Glynne

The past 2 weeks have been a wake-up call for me with regards to planning for the future, staying healthy, and contingency plans if needs arise.  My ideal life style is 7 months in Thailand and 5 months in Canada. Of course May - September would be in Canada as they are the best weather months and the worst hot and sticky months in Thailand.

Thavorn and I are planning to live in Bangkok for 7 months and then we would move our stuff to the village and I/Jaidan and me/Jaidan,Thavorn and me would fly to Canada. I would imagine that all 3 of us would go every 3 years and I would be in Canada by myself or perhaps with Jaidan the other two times. Thavorn has 2 children back in the village that she wants to spend more time with and her mom is getting on (in Thai years).

Staying in Ontario for 5 months a year qualifies me for OHIP coverage and my Teacher's extended health will cover me outside the country for about $1,700 a year for the 7 months in Thailand. I would also indulge myself and buy a motorcycle for my time in Canada. To facilitate our moving about in Thailand we will be buying a pickup truck sometime late this summer. Pickup trucks are very useful in the village and can be used to make money in a variety of ways from driving paying passengers to bringing goods to market.

Motorcycles are cheaper in Canada and pickup trucks are cheaper in Thailand. Most of the world's pickup trucks are made in Thailand, as are many motorcycles but large motorcycles get hit with a hefty VAT. I am considering an Isuzu Highlander D-Max.

My back is finally coming around and I can now sit for more than an hour which puts me back on the computer. In the meantime, I have come to rely heavily on my smartphone for info and entertainment. Smartphones have really changed the world.

I can easily get an 8 month lease in Bangkok but I am not sure where I would live for 5 months in Canada. I love camping so that could be an option and the other option is to buy a RV and live out of it while in Ontario. Lots of time to figure this out as the summer of 2017 will be my first test run.

TTYL