Customer Service Numbers: Apple iTunes & Amazon.com

After hearing a Slate.com podcast, which listed the customer service numbers for Amazon.com and Apple iTunes, I thought it might be helpful if I listed that information here too - 'cause I'm a "giver."

So without any further delay...

Apple iTunes Customer Service Phone Number: 1-800-275-2273, note -
1.) This is the Apple Care Service and Support Line.
2.) When you hear the recorded greeting, enter 70. The recording will very likely reject that entry at first. If so, try again.
3.) When you're prompted to say the product that you need tech support for, say "iTunes."
4.) When you're prompted to say what type of computer you're using, say "a Windows machine" or "Macintosh."
5.) When you're prompted to say whether you're calling on behalf of a school, answer "yes" or "no."
6.) This will get you a live person. Please note: You will need to state the serial number of your iPod before you can proceed.

Apple iTunes Customer Service Email Address (that I've used): mswin@apple.com


Amazon.com Customer Service Phone Number: 1-800-201-7575.

To be fair, I should restate that I pilfered this information from Slate.com. You too can review the articles at http://www.slate.com/id/2124194/, http://www.slate.com/id/2124033/ and http://www.slate.com/id/2154994/.

Cheers,
Daino

Unlock Your (USA) Cell Phone

Tired of being told that your current cell phone won’t work with the cell phone servie carrier you want to move to? Now the law is on your side. The FCC has advised that a recent decision forcing wireless carriers to let you unlock your phone stays in effect until November 2009. SWEET.

Details: The USA Library of Congress (they oversee copyright) decided, per notice in the USA Federal Register, the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that effectively control access to copyrighted works shall not apply to persons who engage in noninfringing uses of six classes of copyrighted works through November 2009. In English that means that cell phone owners are now not considered copyright “infringers” when they move between cell service providers with their current phone.

Link: Here’s a link to the article in the Federal Register, http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2006/71fr68472.html, FYI.

Unlocking Your Phone: There’s no hard and fast process yet but essentially you can now call your cell phone provider and as ask them to walk you through unlocking your phone, which will both allow you to switch providers and use your phone in other countries (as long as you choose a network when you arrive in the other country). You may need to ask for a supervisor and to cite this Library of Congress decision a few times but if you’re patient and courteous you shouldn’t have too many problems.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Daino

No News is Good Coup

It’s now been nearly two weeks since the coup in Thailand.

Initially people here weren’t sure what to expect and feared for the worst. But then nobody fired a shot, a holiday was declared, people went back to shopping and watching movies (or shopping for copies of movies) and the country returned to normal. And that was just the first 24 hours.

Since then one can easily find soldiers posted on the corners of busy streets with yellow ribbons tied around the barrel of their guns, which appear to be unloaded. The soldiers have been very nice. So nice that the coup leaders saw an opportunity and ordered all deployed military forces to smile more. This has led to loads of people having their pictures taken with soldiers, or in front of the tanks. Apparently there are now tour groups being organized to bring tourists in to see the soldiers, tanks and get said photos taken of themselves.

There was an initial media black out but all channels have been restored but are monitored. When some news story on CNN or BBC is aired about the deposed PM the monitors interrupt it. The Internet is also being monitored but it hasn’t impacted us. That said our subscription of the Economist has not shown up for the last two weeks so I need to look into that pronto.

The coup went so well that some believe it was virtually scripted. For instance:
1) The now deposed PM was out of town, with a lot of his cabinet, at the UN when the coup took place. Very convenient.
2) Many ministers in the government already had their offices packed up and were not at home when the coup...uh...transacted.
3) The now deposed PM, upon hearing of the coup, immediately issued a statement that “the government was still in control.” To have a statement in response to a coup at the tip of your tongue while at the UN seemed very prophetic.
4) The now deposed PM’s impromptu phoned-in TV address to the nation was cut short minutes after it started airing. There are 5 local stations here (in various locations) and traffic in this town is a nightmare. There is no way any vehicle, tank or not, could get to the correct TV station once it was identified in under 10 minutes, unless they knew exactly which station to be close to...and were standing outside the control booth.
5) The PM’s wife flew to Singapore hours after the coup occurred – with 30-40 suitcases. I wonder what was in those suitcases. Putting aside the supposed cold, hard, green nature of the contents, it takes more than a couple of hours to pack, arrange transport for and check in 30 – 40 suitcases.
6) And the handy apartment in London that now deposed PM lives in – he purchased it recently.


Conspiracy theories aside, the most disruption seen and felt in the country has been at the new airport, which opened on Thursday. The opening didn’t go so smooth - as some predicted and many feared. Their new computers and servers malfunctioned in the morning leaving thousands of people checking in to wait in line until their reservations and bag tickets were manually generated. When asked about why the reservation system failed the head of the airport explained that the state of the art computer and reservation netword suffered an information overload. Note to self, make sure the next computer I buy has been built to handle future information overloads...and that I get plenty of food to feed the tiny gerbil running on the tiny wheel inside said new computer.

That’s our quick update of life in a military dictatorship.

Cheers,
Dindy

Coup Day 2

Per the last post Thailand is now under the control of military coup leaders. So what has changed since this all started about 1 ½ days ago, you ask.

Couped Up
Yesterday morning saw us staying in the house calling friends and relatives, checking the Internet news sites (all international news stations were off the air), observing what was going on in the streets and trying to get work done. There was a surreal feeling about it all in that BKK was silent - there was absolutely no traffic in the morning. No vendors, no people walking, no motorcycle taxis, no regular taxes, no horns – not even any dogs barking. That just doesn't happen in a city of 12 million people, at least not here.

By about 10 AM some traffic was returning to the streets. We continued to monitor as much media as possible but we were in the midst of a news blackout. After lunch I was feeling very couped up and decided to go walk around and see what was happening at the intersections by our apartment. Sounds potentially dangerous, right? I didn’t sense this. There weren’t armed opposition cruising the streets, there were no reports of violence or resistance to the coup and by that time there was a fair bit of traffic near our place. Any concern I had was centered on this: the situation changing at a more global level, without our being aware of it. A good example would be, oh I don’t know, people who were flying to Thailand for their dream vacation…when they took off Thailand was a democracy but when they landed it was a military dictatorship. It was a change in the tenor and tensions I was trying to stay alert to.

Our walk showed everything looked normal, just like the holiday that had been declared. Things looked so relatively normal Lindy and I even decided to meet a friend for a movie. Just as we returned from our walk the all the news channels were restored, but with images of military hardware in BKK being interrupted. In addition to news channels being ‘screened’ some Internet news sites started loading much slower.

On the way to the movie we saw an armed humvee with 5 soldiers in it. As we paid the taxi driver and thanked him he we noticed he was not happy – this was interesting as taxi drivers have been traditionally strong supporters of the overthrown prime minister. At the mall there were quite a few people but not as many as normal.

Back To Normal?
This morning an email from a friend said news agencies were reporting things are basically back to normal. In the most obvious ways that’s true. Today all the government offices, banks and schools will be open. Everyone is free to go back to work.

But here’s the “but.” Last night at dinner I received a text message from a Thai friend advising us to stay away from high profile areas because of threats from malicious third parties. The streets again this morning are silent. Things are not back to normal, they just appear that way, which is perfectly Thai. Quick lesson: if you pissed off a Thai you would never know it because they keep smiling. Quick Lesson #2: you don’t want to piss off a Thai. Thus seeing things are “back to normal” but the streets are very quiet in the morning and the taxi drivers aren’t happy suggests things aren’t back to normal, appearances are.

What Now?
The headline in the paper says the King is supportive of the new “military commission” that has taken control the country. As I’ve stated before the King is loved and revered by all Thais so the King’s support should go a long way to settling any opposing undercurrent and uniting the country’s people again. Also, that the King is supportive of this change doesn’t necessarily mean he is supportive of anything else. In other words, it does not mean he was involved in any aspect of the coup. I’m careful to point this out for the obvious reasons and also do so out of respect for our guest country.

Going forward, though the international community has voiced disapproval, things could get mended soon enough. That is, if there aren’t any incidents. The reality, no matter how normal everything looks, is still this - armed soldiers are patrolling the streets of a country that was once democratically governed only 2 days ago.

Coup d' Who?

Hi Y’all,

This wasn’t quite the update I expected to send but now seems like a good time to reach out.

What Happened?
As some of you have noticed, there was a Coup in Thailand last night, starting at about 10 PM BKK Time (8 AM Pacific). The army took up position at central and key locations in Bangkok and took control of the government without any conflict or resistance. Recent information suggests there had been rumors for a number of weeks of this kind of thing being imminent. I wasn’t aware of the rumors but a number of the government ministers were and quickly fled BKK at a moment’s notice last evening.

Lindy and I were asleep until 11 PM when, within two minutes, we received a text message and three phone calls. That’s never a good sign. After being told there were tanks in the city we watched CNN until it was taken off the air, monitored the Internet to make sure the city was calm (which it was) and got back to sleep at about 1 AM.

Some reporting suggests the coup happened now because there was an anti-government rally scheduled for today, for which the government had organized a counter rally. These two groups had recently gotten into squabbles and fights so it was thought today’s rally could turn ugly. Per said reporting, the coup was an attempt to both avert this potential violence and immediately install a path to national reconciliation (the government is either loved or hated, depending on who you talk to).


What’s Going On Now?
As of now everyone has been asked to stay home. Government offices, banks, schools and stores are closed. In short, today has been deemed another Thai ‘holiday’. Lindy and I are working from home and are fine. International news channels are still off the air but the Internet is up. The city appears to be calm but because we have no plans on leaving our apartment our view is quite limited – but let me say again we are fine. In fact there have been no reports of violence, conflict or harm caused to anyone.

There has been some reporting that suggests the King was ‘supportive’ of this action. Having lived in Thailand for over a year I want to caution everyone against making this kind statement – or jumping to any conclusion like this. Unless the press directly quotes the King please do not infer his support or opposition.


What’s Next?
We honestly don’t know. We are keeping tabs with CNN and BBC online and taking it easy. There seems to be more traffic on the streets so any tensions may be easing. That said, we aren’t taking any chances, aren’t making any assumptions and are staying safe. If conditions persist we’ll be watching a lot of Thai HBO.

Cheers,
Dindy

April "Monthly" Update

Prelog
Welcome to the next installment of the “Monthly Update,” which is not as monthly as the title suggests. I could tell you that since the last issue, in November of 2005, that we’ve been busy, that it takes a lot of time to do a monthly update (and do it right), that there’s been holidays and travel which have kept us at bay. In my own defense I might tell you that I got slothish…which really isn’t much of a defense.

Truth be told it’s been all of the above. So enough of my whining, the not-so-monthly update commences forthwith, yada yada yada.


Auspicious Day
As I write this we are living an auspicious day. Today is April 2, election day here in Thailand. Some of you might have caught news accounts of a few thousand people demonstrating against the Thai Prime Minister and their demanding his immediate resignation – multiple times. Actually there have been between 500 and 100,000 people demonstrating against Thaksin (pron. Tax-sin), depending on the day. All of the demonstrations have been peaceful, somewhat noisy and affected various businesses.

Being guests in Thailand we aren’t taking sides and offer no opinion on whether or not Thaksin should cede to his conscious and resign with some smattering of dignity intact. Instead, I’ll comment on how elections are held in Thailand.

This election is being held on a Sunday. As of noon yesterday, Saturday April 1, 2006, no sales of alcohol are allowed until the clock strikes midnight tonight. I assume this is because elections are auspicious and are thus treated accordingly. I remember two other auspicious days I was party to. Both were weddings. During first one the priest of the ceremony said, “May the great cucumber fall from the sky and hit you in the head.” Upon hearing that I turned to my friend, Amir, and said, “Does that mean what I think it means?” Amir said, “Uh, dude, I don’t know.”

On the second auspicious day the Catholic priest said, “As you celebrate this holy union tonight…(pause)…remember not to drink wine and ride your donkey home.” Upon hearing that I turned to my friend, Amir, and asked, “Does that mean what I think it means?” Amir said, “Yeah, dude. Don’t drink and drive your donkey drunk." Only from Amir could that explanation makes sense.

In Thailand an auspicious day means you can’t vote with a buzz, hangover and need to keep a clear head, in case something resembling a squash falls out of the sky.


Anonymous
There I was, starting up my cucumber, er, I mean computer and opening Outlook when I noticed an interesting email. It was from an anonymous doctor. His email said something like, “Delightful! Both humorous, enlightening AND auspicious. Have you any insights into the medical profession in Thailand?”

Yessss I do.

It’s been covered in multiple media outlets that Thailand was at the forefront of medical vacations. These are vacations where people make a reservations to get their…uh…to get anatomical upgrades while “on vacation.” They fly to Thailand, check themselves into the hospital, get procedures done and literally return to work a changed person. Apparently it’s cheaper than having it done in the US and the medical system is equally advanced.

Though I haven’t had my boobs done – yet - I’ve recently had reason to visit the local hospital. It seems that the EMBA program I’m going into requires a physical (because there’s a lot of heavy lifting or cardio reading?). I went to the hospital and told the nice receptionist, in very slow English, that I needed a physical. She consulted another receptionist and they gave me directions to – wait for it – Physical Therapy. Augmentation jokes aside, I found the reception desk again and was pointed in the right direction.

After making an appointment for the physical I showed up the next day, had my blood drawn, a chest x-ray done and was told to come back in 1 ½ hours when the tests results would arrive. I went downstairs to Starbucks and got a frappacino. After that I got a sandwhich at Au Bon Pain, hung out a bit, listened to some podcasts and returned at the designated time. After waiting about 2 minutes I met with the nicest doctor (who had a huge bag of oranges next to her desk, which were a gift from thankful patients) who spoke perfect English. She reviewed my x-ray on her kick-butt 27” inch Dell monitor while the nurse took my blood pressure and checked to make sure I had a heart. Five minutes after I entered the doctor’s office I had copies of all the documents I needed and was standing at the cashier’s desk, paying a grand total of $100.00 for a full line of blood tests, a chest x-ray and a consultation with a great doctor. Pretty cool, I thought.

However, I did had to pay for the frappacino and my lunch. It's the little things.


Podwhat?
My wife, the multilingual phenomena she is, loves audio books. Though she loves reading books, in English (we’ll not discuss how many books in Chinese or Thai that I’ve read) audio books help her perfect her speaking and writing skills. Unfortunately this is not a cheap habit to support. My answer? Podcasts.

Via iTunes, and multiple other methods, we download a boatload of NPR, news, music and comedy podcasts. It’s a great way for us to drown out the din of the passing tuk-tuks and keep abreast of the world as represented by this free service.

Free is a very good price.

My favorites? NPR, Wait Wait, Don’t tell me; 60 Minutes (especially the interview with Tiger Woods), NPR, Groove Salad, ABC News Nightline (unique Koppel hair style not included), The Onion Radio News.


Ice Cream Sandwhich, Take 2
You remember my telling of the Thai ice cream sandwich? A shorter, wider hot dog bun with lots of small scoops of ice cream in it. When I first broached the topic I apologized for not having a photo.

I have remedied this situation.



And Just What the Heck…
Have we been doing for the last six months?

1) We’re pregnant.
2) My mom and step dad visited us during the Christmas holiday. We took them all over Thailand, including Chiang Mai where they rode an elephant. They loved that! We showed them around some of the ruins of Thailand’s earlier capitol and took them to get foot massages.


3) We had two friends from Portland visit us during the Christmas and New Year holiday. Yes, there was overlap. It rocked. Everyone got along great, dealing with the heat and new culture with much patience and appreciation.
4) We had a friend from Taiwan visit during the New Year Holiday. Yes, there was overlap. It was very cool. The load of us, and a few other Thai friends, went to the busiest intersection in BKK, got onto the street with 500,000 other folks and rang in the New Year.


5) 500,000 people is a lot people, especially when you’re in the middle of them.


6) I went back to the US for work in Feb. I arrived in NYC 36 hours before a snow storm hit. It was the worst snow storm to hit the region in 126 years. From space the storm looked much like a hurricane, with an eye and a lot of energy.


Luckily it hit on a Sunday so most folks stayed home. Check out this photo of Times Square at 9:00 AM…


I, however woke up to thunder and lightening while it snowed (I’m from Alaska and had NEVER experienced that before) and waked to our trade show, braving the weather and snow drifts that sometimes came up to mid-thigh.


7) I flew from NYC to BKK. 17 hours later we left to go to New Zealand for our dream vacation.
8) An hour after leaving for our dream vacation we returned home. It seems we overlooked New Zealand’s requirement for Chinese citizens to obtain a visa before visiting their country and were thus not allowed to leave BKK.
9) 16 hours later we left for San Francisco. We spent the next two weeks driving down the Cali coast, seeing friends, checking out some national and state parks and surprising my mom and step father with a visit. It’s the best vacation we ever had.
10) April fools!!! We aren’t pregnant.

That’s enough for now. You kids get back to work. You’ve already squandered billions of dollars tracking the NCAA tournament from work. Reading this could get you fired…except your boss is probably a bigger March Madness addict than you are.

Cheers,
Dindy.

November Update

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!! (aka, our November Update)

Got Game?
We know you’re busy. We understand that you had the best of intentions when you got a recent email telling you how and where you could buy a very cool game. That’s why we are providing you a timely reminder as the shopping frenzy begins. The plastic version of our very popular game, Rapid 4

is now available at Toysrus.com. This is a great game for kids and adults alike that loves living at home or going on camping trips as well as attending ski weekends and trips to the beach. This holiday season buy it for yourself, for friends, for your friend’s kid/s. The great news is it’s only twenty bucks, which is a excellent entertainment value. And hey, don’t take our word for it, check out the review on the Toysrus website.

Lost that earlier email? Forgot the link to Toysrus.com? Have no fear, that link is here

Rapid 4 at Toysrus.com

or

( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/toys/B000AEPYAM/qid=1133262684/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/102-2610095-0958546 )

We thank you, the folks you give it to will thank you and the kids programs we actively support in Thailand thank you too.


The Buzz
One of my good friends (we’ll call him Allan Schrock) loves telling the story about this guy he knows. Said chap once claimed he couldn’t wait to get married because then he could stop using Rogaine and spend that money on other things…like beer. As the story goes, Allan’s friend got married and when he told his wife (we’ll call her Lindy) about his intention to stop using Rogaine she immediately rejected the idea and stormed out of the room. Apparently this story is a real hoot; a guy who’s wife wouldn’t let him stop using Rogaine. Allan’s friend (you can guess who) has since taken a proactive approach and found another way to save money. I bought some shears and now buzz my hair to a short but suave length of 9mm.



Sure, I sort of look like a fuzzy bowling ball but I’m saving all that money by not getting haircuts… so Lindy can spend it.


Ice Cream Sandwich
Since we’ve been in Bangkok we’ve seen many things that are either just like home, almost like home or nothing like home. One recent “almost like home” observation was the Thai Ice Cream Sandwich, which we do not have a photo of (sorry). This sandwich is a little different than the Eskimo Sandwich of my youth. To visualize it imagine taking a traditional hot dog bun, shortening it by 1/3 and making it twice as wide. Next, add 8 small scoops of ice cream in the doughy middle where the hot dog would go. Voila, now you have the Thaice Cream Sandwich. Ketchup is optional.


Quick Quiz
Quick, tell me what Suhtahbuks is. What about Suhtawahs. Answers will be forthcoming.


At Your Own Risk
After my first trip to Asia I decided the place could also be called, “Asia: At Your Own Risk.” After walking the streets of Thailand, where wires hang at eye level from telephone poles and some of the busiest roads have no pedestrian crossing signals, one could quickly come to the same conclusion. Apparently people in Asia take the approach that each person is responsible for their own actions. I won’t discuss how that relates to an overly litigious US (that would be too easy). Making said point even more clear is my recent experience at the local indoor go-kart race track.

Not long ago a couple of buddies (Dude1 and Dude2) and I got hall passes, so we hit a nearby pub for dinner, suds and abashed debauchery. Being unable to come up with debauchery that was fun but wouldn’t get us divorced, thrown in jail or badly hung-over we opted to hit the go-kart track. We’d never been before and were pleasantly surprised to find we had three sizes of karts to choose from: 110 cc, 160 cc, 210 cc. Liquid courage assured us that 110 cc was way too wimpy – that was the size of all the motorbikes on the BKK roads. We opted for a races in the 160 cc and 210 cc karts, each race lasting five minutes on a course that had tight turns and Jersey Barriers for dividers. Did I nearly forget to mention the karts had no harnesses or seat belts?

Many Thai Baht later (Thai currency) the three of us started the 160 cc race with about 10 other Thai folks, who just flew by us like we were big, slow farang…which we were. Becoming more competitive we threw caution to the wind and really started going for it. I did pretty well. My two buddies, however, had a run in, er, runover. Dude1, while trying to pass as he came out of turn, bumped Dude2 and forced him up onto the barrier at about 20 mph. Dude1’s kart then ran over Dude2’s left side, while he was still in his kart sliding down the barrier, as he passed by. The 160 cc race ended with me feeling Andretti-like and them talking about the bump and Dude2 learning soon thereafter that the incident left him with two rather large gashes in his side.

When the 210 cc race started we thought the karts might be too powerful for us. Actually, they were too powerful. During the course of the second race: Dude1 hit the wall so hard he was literally popped straight up and out of his kart. Dude2 hit the wall as well – hard enough that he came right out of his tennis shoes, and then he pulled out of the race. I spun out around a corner and hit the really freakin’ hard…and cracked three ribs. Yup, Asia’s a risky place, but it’s a blast too! I can’t wait to race those karts again, now that my ribs are fully healed.


PA Quote
“Pennsylvania is the great unironic state. In Pennsylvania we don’t go in for irony, we take everything very seriously.” John Updike, November 10, 2005.

This quote sort of struck me as both accurate and ironic. If you know someone from PA think about the quote and that person. If you don’t know someone from PA think about the Amish


Quick Quiz Answers
Suhtahbuks is Starbucks.
Suhtawahs is Star Wars.


Shopping Cart Technology
When shopping in BKK one will instantly note there aren’t escalators in the grocery stores, there are moving metal ramps so you can take your groceries from floor to floor.



This is pretty cool. The cart wheels have metal hoods that lock into grooves in the ramps allowing one to let go of the fully loaded cart and do other things, like take pictures of shopping carts. Or maybe this prevents one from releasing a fully loaded cart at the top of the ramp and watching the ensuing chaos.


Techno Stuff
Check out this link: http://maps.a9.com/. Plug in an address and you may be able to see photos of the area. It’s useful if you’re traveling, wanting to check out a location, or have a restraining order against you.


Sudoku
This isn’t new, but it is new to us. We came across this number puzzle while we spent a weekend in Koh Samui. We normally wouldn’t do puzzles when on a Thai island but our plans got changed. While eating dinner on the island Friday night, next to the water, our waiter said, “Koh Samui is great. Very safe. No tsunamis, just monsoons.” Suddenly curious I said, “Monsoons? When?” He said, “November.” I replied, “It’s November now.” He then said, “Oh, no problem. Not until November 20.” I said, “Dude, tomorrow’s the 19th.” He then said, “Oh. December.” and walked away. That night it rained like I’ve never seen rain. It sounded like someone was emptying a bucket into a ½ full bathtub for almost the entire weekend. Thus we spent a lot of time working on Sudoku (http://www.sudoku.com/). It’s a fun challenge is and sure to be the next not-so-big thing.

Koh Samui Post Script
Though our weekend was very wet the sun did finally come out…Sunday evening just as we arrived at the airport for our flight home.


Frame by Frame
The following are photos taken during every day life in Bangkok in November. If you’re having trouble seeing them, hit the blog Daino An Alaskan in Bangkok (at least for now) where all updates and photos are uploaded.

Produce Shopping…



Dragon Fruit




Squash




Peaches (Yikes!!!)




Rose Apples




Black Berries…costing $13.40


Misc…



New Bike Lane…On Sidewalk. Becareful of the cable thingy.




Alterations While You Wait (hopefully for the pants you weren’t wearing)




Koh Samui Airport. It’s a smallish airport.




Chicken on a stick…prehatched.




Someone, somewhere, is waking up with a bad headache wondering where the heck they left their shoes


That’s all for now. We hope you had a great and safe Thanksgiving and have even happier holidays!

Cheers,
Dindy

Got Game? Probably Not This One...Yet

After announcing I was employed by a toy company many of you emailed asking for more details about my work, the games we make and where they could be purchased. To give folks an idea of the kind of products we make I've attached a message from our president noting the recent listing of one of our games on Amazon.com.

* * *

Dear friends and family and fans of Uncle Skunkle Toys:
I hope every one is doing well as the Holiday season approaches. Things are going well here in Thailand. As a matter of fact our award winning games, Rapid 4 and Destruct 3, are now available online!

http://www.UncleSkunkle.com

Timing could not be better with Christmas and holiday season that fast approaches so if you need a great gift for your Kids, grandchildren, friends, take a look at Rapid 4. This is a great game for young and old, the best part being a kids can play with their grand parents and it is challenging for both!

For those of you hooked on our games, rest assured that new games are in the pipeline for upcoming seasons. During the last week we have been testing out a new game that truly seems to be a hit for next year, for every age. We'll let you know more as soon as it's ready.

Lastly, and very importantly, Uncle Skunkle Toys is dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world, so let's make them happy and play with them. :)

David
Uncle Skunkle Toys

October Update

Before you now lies our October update. Ohhh the humanity.


Intro
This is, as expected, our October update. You’re receiving it in two forms: simple text in the email you’re reading now and as an attachment with photos. Experience has shown me that I can’t depend on the various versions of Word, and other applications, to provide all of you with the same view of my updates when sent as an attachment. But I’ve also gotten requests to include photos thus the two versions. Photos, you ask, possibly because my prose lacks? Neigh, neigh I say. Most likely to add chips to the vanilla that is frequently the update format. In sum, I hope all of you can download the attachment and see the photos. One disclaimer – these photos may not be super great because I took them with my cell phone but they should still say at least 300 words, if not the traditional 1000.


Welcome Home
After returning from the US I was again back at home in Bangkok. That next Monday morning our maid showed up at 8 AM to clean, etc. Upon seeing me bright and early that morning the first words out of her mouth were, “Fat!” I stood frozen, a bit shocked by her observation and stinging honesty. Seeing my response she quickly recovered by saying, “Really fat!” I said, “Hello” and promptly walked into my office, closed the door and went to work. What a way to start the day.


T-Shirt Culture Club
For the record, I think Culture Club is overrated, Boy George was/is sans talent and I fear all those horrible songs that were once pop radio staples will make comeback within my lifetime. But that has nothing to do with this topic.

There appears to be a t-shirt sub culture in Bangkok with boys and girls, women and men wearing t-shirts whose messages shock, mock, stir emotions, make you laugh and make you think or nod knowingly. Here are a couple of t-shirts that caught my eye:

“I’m not with Stupid anymore.” I wonder how may of my ex-girlfriends wore that shirt.

For the next one think of all the t-shirts you’ve seen that have a swoosh, marketing tag line, logo, trademark, etc. This t-shirt speaks to those. It was red with a black box on the front with white lettering that said, “Something Corporate.” What a great, tannic, reflection of what t-shirts so often are.


Great Quote
“When I die I want to come back as one of my dogs.” My step father recently said this. To be honest, when I die I want to come back as one of his dogs too.


Misquote
Speaking of quotes, I saw a blue misquote, which I found humorous. There’s a weekly paper insert here that is meant to attract the young adult demographic. It’s supposed to be hip, clever and edgy. In their “pearls of wisdom” section there was commentary on sex as it pertains to the human psyche. To make their point they cited a quote by Woody Allen, but gave credit instead to Wood Allen.


Go Ducks!!
Not all of you are Ducks (football) fans and I respect that. To be honest, I stopped being a Ducks fan in 1984 while I was suffering from hypothermia in Autzen stadium as I watched my team throw away yet another lead in the 3rd quarter. I renewed my interest when coach Bellotti joined the program. As I write this our Ducks have come from being ranked outside of the top 25 to being ranked 14th across the board, and ranked 11th in the BCS. For the record please disregard all those bad things I’ve said about the BCS over the last few years. Those comments were short sighted and unjust, at least until next week.


Six Degrees
All y’all know the theory of six degrees of separation: all of us are only six people removed, at most, from someone we know. Thus no matter where you are and who you’re sitting next to that person will know someone that knows someone, etc., that within six people will know you.

Three weeks ago Lindy and I decided to get out of the city and explore a beach town, Hua Hin, that is about a 2 ½ drive southwest of Bangkok. That Sunday, while sitting by the pool of our very crowded hotel, the guy next to me commented on how nice the groove was. I agreed. We started chatting a bit and I found out he worked in Afghanistan. I asked where home was. He said, “Alaska.” I grinned and told him I grew up there. We chuckled and talked about his house and the life of living up North. He then noted he grew up in Oregon. I mentioned where our home was. We again chuckled at this second coincidence. He said he went to school in Oregon. Interested, I asked what degree. “Engineering” he said…ergo OSU. Politely I said, “Oh. That’s great.” He stopped and looked at me as I said nothing else. He then said, “You’ve got to be kidding.” I said, “Nope.” He then turned to his wife and said, “Honey, Dain, who grew in Alaska, and is here from Oregon…is a Duck.” She said, “What? That’s too much. I’m going for swim.”

Who could’ve imagined that sitting next to each other at a pool, almost three hours south of Bangkok, Thailand would be Alaskans, via Oregon, who were also a Duck and a Beaver? Note: all you Ducks can insert your jokes about OSU here. All you Beavers can stow it (see Go Ducks!! above).


This Just In
Per the BBC this afternoon (10/31/05), scientists in America have discovered that male mice can, and do, sing. On a related note, the same scientists also found that female mice are unimpressed and continued shopping and going to the bathroom together.


Delicacy
You’ve probably already guessed where this is going. As the photos show on the attached version of the update, there are a lot of street vendors selling food. All kinds food. One day a couple of months ago, while walking back from foot massage, I saw one such vendor right outside my building. I glanced over and saw a cart full of fried bugs. Grasshoppers, cockroaches, preying mantises, mosquitoes (kidding), maggots and a couple of other large things I didn’t recognize. It was quite amazing to see, all those bugs that had been caught, hopefully not from my building, and prepared french-fry style.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I was out on Saturday night with a couple of guys. After visiting a few establishments we spilled out into street and saw one of those bug carts. One of the guys with me had to take a closer look. He then asked me to find out how much a fried grasshopper was. I did and he immediately bought one and popped it in his mouth. While chewing he said, “Wow, this is really good. You should try one.” Yeah, right, I thought. “Come-onnn – try one. I’ll pay for it.” Surprising even myself I pulled the trigger. The vendor dude pulled the legs off the grasshopper and I barely looked at this three inch delicacy and popped it in my mouth.

I thought, as I chewed, that it tasted pretty good - really, really crunchy, but good. Then it sort of stayed crunchy for a while but I was able to get all the pieces down, no worse for the wear. My buddy then bought a bag of ten and walked into the night eating his grasshoppers soon to torment his wife with beer/insect breath. Turns out she was unimpressed.


Watch Your Step
There are many hazards in this city. One of them is walking down the streets, most of which don’t have sidewalks, where motorbikes and cars constantly veer, zizzagg and whiz by. Add to the motorized threat the peril I found as I walked home from a movie one night last week. As I passed through one of the darker sections of the street (there aren’t street lights here) I was lost in thought, in full gate, when I looked up and found myself three feet from a baby elephant walking straight at me. Shocked I jumped to my right just as the elephant and his handlers walked passed me, laughing their butt off. In retrospect I’m sure they were really looking forward to watching me walk into the elephant and bounce off his head that was level with my chest. Yeah, that would have been a laugh-riot. Big white farang, sitting on his butt on in the street, dazed, wondering what just ran over him. Ha freakin’ ha.


Christmas In the City
I noticed in August how many US and British news stories qualified their content by noting it was the end of summer. That was weird for me because every day I look out the window it’s sunny and will be 100 degrees (with humidity). What was weirder was grocery shopping three days before Halloween and seeing Christmas decorations for sale. It wasn’t just not Thanksgiving yet, it wasn’t Halloween yet. I thought maybe it was a fluke until I looked out our windows last night and saw two nearby buildings with over half their apartments displaying flashing Christmas lights from windows and balconies. If this an indication of how festive the city gets I can’t wait to see some skinny Thai Santa walking down the street in a red suit, white beard, very tanned skin saying, “Ho, ho, ho” with the local accent.


Phone Photos – Food Carts
This is a small sampling of some of the food that is available on the streets of Bangkok.


Kabobs: fish balls, sausage, chicken.


Nuts for sale.


Grilled, stuffed fish, with a salt rub.


Pancacky thing.


Spring Rolls


Peeled pomello (very large grapefruit).


Grilled shrimp.


Bug cart with Grasshoppers

August & September Update

Apology
As some of you know, I was recently in the US for almost three weeks. This is why there was no August update – I was busy trying to get things tidied up here before I left and once I got back to the US I had long list of honey-do’s like going to the dentist and shopping at Costco. I had, in my wishful thinking, hoped to see so many more of you while I was back but there simply wasn’t enough time to run errands, get shopping done, visit my mom in Cali, attend various meetings and see everyone. For those I didn’t get a chance to catch up with, I’m sorry.


Telecommunications
Like approximately the 42 million before me, I now have Skype (www.skype.com). Skype allows people to call each other from PC to PC. The call is free and is good quality, respectively, and allows conference calls as well as chat sessions. I know what you’re thinking, “Big deal – I can do the same thing with any messenger program like MSN or Yahoo.” True, very true. But wait, there’s more. Skype allows one to also call a phone, cell or otherwise, and also includes a call forwarding feature (in the current beta version). Now if you want to chat it up with Dindy just call the number below. If I’m (we) aren’t online your call will get forwarded to the number we choose. Give us a ring when you want to see what were up to by calling…

1-503-298-4815

You have to dial the 1, even if you live in or near Portland. Remember we are 14 hours ahead of most of you and will be 15 hours ahead after daylight savings time so please dial courteously.


Telemarketers
Guess what happened to me today? I got a call from a Thai telemarketer. It was as though she knew I wanted material for today’s update. You can imagine how it went but I’ll run you through it anyway…

She said hello, in Thai.
I replied, in Thai.
She said a lot of something, in Thai.
I didn’t say anything.
She said all that again.
I asked if she spoke English, in Thai.
She said she didn’t speak English, in English.
I said I spoke very little Thai, in Thai.
She said, “Never mind.”, in English and hung up.


Got Space?
During my flight back to the US I guessed that I would have some sort of culture shock, even though Lindy and I have been gone for only 7 months. I thought I would notice how big the people were. I figured the fresh air would just knock me out. I thought the pizza and beer would be way too rich for me, now that I’m drinking Heineken and eating smaller, lighter portions.

After I landed Tuesday morning I went to lunch with the friends that picked me up. We went to Chevy’s. I ordered a salad to quench my yearning for ruffage and Mexican food. My first shock came when my salad, or buffet, was delivered. It was big enough to feed five people. I ate about a ¼ of it and took the rest home out of guilt, but salad is salad so it went bad. That felt like such a waste.

Later that afternoon I stopped by my old company to pick up some things and say hi. As I walked up to their offices (near Pioneer Place) I was struck by how big the sidewalks were…and how empty they were. The streets were the same way, four lanes with 3 cars in the entire block. In Bangkok you’d have 100 cars, 40 motorbikes, five busses and at least two food carts in that same amount of space. It was odd to think that if I crossed the road against the light I wouldn’t get run over and/or killed, that there wouldn’t even be a close call. I felt like I’d just walked on to a movie set where an entire town’s population had been abducted by aliens…or the Chinese.

The next day I was downtown at the same time the farmers market was open. I had to check it out. My eyes couldn’t get enough of all those fresh fruits, veggies and berries. It was such a rich, colorful, tantalizing sight! Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing and eating mangos but fresh berries are from another world, the New World actually. To make up for lost time I ate 4 pints of berries and multiple pounds of peaches during my visit. It was glutinous but sooooo delightful.

And the beer. It’s really, really strong compared to here. It turns out I was right, the beer and pizza is too rich. But after three beers I didn’t seem to notice anymore. Cheers!


Sugar Burrito
To know me is to know that I’m a fan of the amazing, decadent, chocolate dessert. But after living in the heat such desserts don’t really appeal to me any longer. Even the locally much beloved mango and sticky rice is too much most days. There is, however, a perfect – ‘from outa nowhere’ successor, the sugar burrito. Up in Ayutthaya, which is about an hour north of BKK, they make these super thin and spongy crepes which are to be filled (just like a burrito) with sugar that looks a lot like thick strands of hair. To be fair, the sugar looks and feels like hair taken off of a very old and very bad strawberry blonde wig. It might not sound attractive but believe me when I say it’s good. And when I say it’s good what I really I mean is that it’s habit forming. Oy.

And Finally…
I have a job. I’m the managing director for Uncle Skunkle Toys, Inc. We make plastic and wooden games for folks of all ages. These games are designed to fun, fast, strategic and have a degree of ‘screw your buddy’ built into them. It’s a startup that has great potential and is getting great feedback and awards from the industry. More on that next time.


That’s it for this update. Y’all enjoy the Fall colors and remember what they say…”It never rains in Autzen Stadium!” Go Ducks!!!!

July Update

Without further adieu the July Update:

POPQUIZ
*Which country has the most national holidays?
*What happens when you eat durian (a popular, though very stinky, Thai fruit) and drink beer?
*When should you ride a bike in Bangkok with your mouth open?
*Who is Piakudin?
*What else was did the Thai recently use sticky rice for?
*What is Lopo?


ANSWERS
*Thailand. We live in the country with the most national holidays. Combine a monarchy with Buddhism and you have a lot of holidays…most of which are smack-dab in the middle of the week. Sounds cool, but it’s a little odd when on a Tuesday everyone sleeps-in and then goes back to work on Wednesday like Tuesday never happened.
*You die. It’s not a Thai urban legend, it’s a fatal combination. Literally food for thought, don’t eat durian and drink beer (alcohol).
*Uh, that would be never, especially when it rains. Take it from someone that knows.
*He is…wait for it…Pierre Cardin. When the Thais mention his name it’s Piakudin.
*Glue. No kidding, the sticky rice was rolled into workable sizes and used as glue for posters, making kites, and the like…because it’s sticky.
*It’s a hugely popular cologne from the 80’s, silly. You know the one – Polo. Lopo is what the Thais call it. Sometimes I really love this place.


THE FRENCH
Some of you are familiar with the negative reputation the French have outside of France. It can be summed up by a quote from a British dignitary, “France is such a beautiful country. Pity it’s filled with the French.”

This quote sums up much of the English sentiment towards their neighbor but is also one which gained some credibility as I tried to watch the final stage of the Tour de France last week. Being Thailand none of the English speaking stations were covering the last ride of the only person in the history of time to win seven, consecutive, Tours de France…an historic event. I nearly was about to turn glum until I remembered we got the all-French-all-the-time channel, which might be showing the Tour live. They were, but in French...of course. I watched the entire stage, in yet another language I don’t understand, for more than two hours so I could witness Lance riding to the end of his legacy. Lance finally crossed the finish line ending an era the likes of which I may never witness again. I sat rapt, waiting for the podium ceremony, eager to hear his parting words. Instead, moments after Lance crossed the finish line the French announcers filled the screen, spoke for about 30 seconds, nodded with smiles and signed off. I hoped for the best thinking that after commercials we would all get to see the final ceremony of the Tour de France on French television. Nope, snooker, cricket or some such thing now on.

Suffice to say I went to bed peeved, imagining what MIGHT be happening while shaking my head and saying under my breath, “The French.”


TURTLES
Asia’s charm, I believe, is in its people, no matter what country you may be visiting. A recent story underscored this observation.

Lindy’s brother and her mom (Ma) share an apartment in Xi’an, China. When we visited them in Feb of this year we noticed they had pets – about 13 turtles. Turtles are apparently good luck thus everyone in Lindy’s family had turtles in their house. While talking to Lindy’s mom a couple weeks ago we learned that Ma’s turtles started dying recently for no apparent reason. Ma became very concerned after two turtles died in three days. The remaining turtles looked lethargic and, dare I say, unhappy. Ma decided to take matters into her own hands. Being a retired doctor she carefully took the surviving turtles out, one by one, and used a toothpick to pry open their mouths so she could administer a tiny dose of antibiotics to each reptile. The next day all the turtles were peppy, thrashing about and happy as clams. Since then Ma treats the water with a few drops of drugs every week to keep her little guys healthy.

I don’t know about you but it’s pretty touching to think of Ma taking such measures to provide tender loving, and modern, care for the wee turtles.


SHOPPING
I noticed in a store the other day a piece of furniture which allows you to store magazines. The name on the box was, “Magazine Lack.”


MENU
There are quite a few English misspellings on menus and signs, which is very understandable, but also entertaining. One such menu item recently described a drink that was made with various natural ingredients including, “Hiney.” (Honey)

Hiney. That kills me.


SHOPPING II
I recently learned in my language classes that there are some serious bargains to be had if one is up for the challenge. Stores, in an attempt to draw more customers, run live and somewhat random promotions. These promotions work like this: an announcer gets on the PA and tells the entire store that starting immediately all shoes in section “x” are on now on sale for an 85% discount. This causes a mad dash to section “x” and an even more frenetic search though bins for shoes that match style, color and size. Once the customer has their shoes they must quickly check out to get the discount. If they take too long (20 or 30 minutes) the announcer comes back on and says, “All shoes in section “x” that were on sale for a 85% discount are now on sale for a 15% discount.” Anyone stuck in line waiting to check out now only gets a 15% discount.

Sounds like a bit of a raw deal but if one waits long enough shirts in section “y” will go on sale for a 90% discount.


LEARNING THAI
My Thai immersion class has been going well but our teachers never hesitate to discuss in great detail every bodily function, habit, symptom, disease or condition. At first this was a little alarming but then I realized that Thais are not as sensitive to such topics because they know everyone deals with these things.

The stakes were raised however when, in an attempt to illustrate various skin conditions (from chicken pox, to boils, etc), they drew the back of man with a naked backside and announced to the class, “Khun (Mr.) Dain.” They then drew all sorts of blemishes on the image, especially in the southern regions. Now, with the teachers and class all laughing quite hard, they said again, “Khun Dain.” Being a good sport, I joined the fun and tried to defend myself by going up to the white board and erasing the blemishes down under. In the seconds it took for me to return to my chair the teachers and class erupted with even more laughter. I turned to find the blemishes were gone but a very sexy thong was now drawn in. Again they said, “Khun Dain.” By this time the teachers had tears in their eyes they were laughing so hard. The Japanese women in the class were trying to be respectful but kept giving in to the moment by both bowing to me and laughing their butts off and shaking their heads.

If there’s one thing marriage has taught me it’s when to sit down, shut up and smile. This was one of those moments.


That’s it for July. Take care of yourselves and stay cool during those dog days.
Dain and Lindy

June Update

Howdy to One and All, here’s our June Update.

Job Search (Send Photo)
As of May we had been here for three months. In that time I focused much of my energy getting us settled, locating the various shopping establishments that sell cool things like chocolate chips, kettle chips and Washington apples (you know what they about the Oregon boy, you can take him out of Oregon…). Once all that was done I began my job search. I knew from the outset this wasn’t going to be a slam dunk because BKK has a lot of foreigners competing for the jobs that I would want.

On May 16 I officially began the search by going through the classified ads in both of the English papers. There were a lot of jobs posted, but not many that “fit”. By fit I mean I wasn’t what they were looking for, as evidenced by the requirements for a random posting:

“Candidates will be:
*THAI NATIONAL ONLY
*M/F not over 30 years old (often a specific gender is required)
*Good command of written and spoken English
*Send recent photo and resume to….”

Wow. Who knew I might have to use Photoshop on myself so I could get a job in Thailand.


Kevin’s Place
After a couple weeks of searching, which hadn’t produced results yet, an old friend visited for about a day and a half. With an old cronie in town it was time to change gears. The night he landed we found ourselves walking the streets of Bangkok at midnight looking for a not-too-seedy place to grab a refreshment. We ducked into this tiny subsoi (back alley), and found a little dive that had air conditioning, a pool table and a lot of soccer jerseys on the wall. After about 30 minutes of catching up in this fairly deserted place a Brit sauntered up to the table and, in quite an affable way, asked us where we were from, what we were up to in Bangkok, etc. Gerry noted he was visiting me and I chimed in that I lived in the area. With that, this Brit introduced himself as Neal and asked where I lived. Pondering the odds and the huge size of the city I told him the soi I lived on. Neal’s eyes grew wide open. “Right there on soi 18!? In Dera Mansion?” My reply was a reluctant, “Yes.”

Neal quickly shot his hand across the table and said as we started aggressively shaking hands, “I used to work right across the street from Dera Mansion. Let me buy you guys a drink.” Neal left us while Gerry gave me that, “That wasn’t too smart” look. I told Gerry I had a backup plan.

Neal returned with a wider smile and two free drinks in hand and asked our names. I said, “That’s Gerry and I’m Kevin.” Gerry shot me another look, noting my new alias. Neal said, “Nice to meet you blokes. You’re here on a grand night – tonight I took ownership of this place. Welcome to my bar!” We started congratulating Neal while he introduced Gerry and Kevin to all six people in the bar. My grand plan of trying to cover my real name with an alias in hopes that this evening would be forgotten by Neal was now very derailed. After another hour at Neal’s place we headed home and Gerry asked me what I was going to do about my new name. I told him the next time I went back I’d tell Neal the truth, that initially I hadn’t trusted him so I lied to him. But he turned out to be a good guy so I wanted to tell him my real name.

It sounded kind of thin and Gerry laughed at the hole I had so quickly dug for myself. As luck would have it I was back at this little bar about three weeks later with Lindy and a couple of friends. I had briefed my party on my alias, that I doubted Neal would remember me anyway and that at some time I was going to tell him my real name. As we entered the place Neal shouted, “Kevin, great to see you again, mate! Who’s this you brought with you?!”

No, I have not been back to this little bar to fess up, but my wife has appropriately renamed it to Kevin’s Place as a little reminder of unfinished business.


Charades
Once Gerry left my job search got back on track and, as I suspected, my being able to speak Thai appeared to be a great benefit while finding work. In hopes of improving my Thai I entered a language immersion school that my friend had told me about. This is a very interesting setting. Students are only required to listen as two instructors tell stories, draw pictures and act out charades during each one hour class. The theory is that by hearing words and phrases repeated over and over again the student will start to speak the language naturally, the same way children learn a language.

To keep students involved (awake) the teachers touch on relatively edgy topics. My first class involved one teacher acting out being a proctologist and giving an imaginary patient a two-fingered exam…over and over and over again for one hour. During said class I sat transfixed with a look of surprise and horror plastered on my face. In the next class the hour was divided up into 30 minutes of graphic charades of what happens when diarrhea strikes, with the assistance of pictures and repetitive toilet mimicry, and how to kill a pig with a knife.

So has my Thai gotten better? Yes. I’m able to converse more, barter with vendors and tell the taxi where to stop. My friend, who turned me on to this school, can also tell a taxi where to stop but she mixed Thai with French and later found out she told the guy, “Stop, I have to poop!” He apparently stopped very quickly.
Ayutthia
As you know Thailand is rich with history. We recently traveled to Ayutthia, the second capitol of Thailand (circa 1380), to visit the ruins of this historic city. This still beautiful but destroyed city burned for 15 days when the Burmese waged war on the Thai. The structures that remain are mostly made from brick and are striking in their terracotta beauty set against the lush green of the tropical grass and trees.

The trip was made especially memorable because we rented motorbikes and toured the island independently, discovering the charm of the locals and ancient relics as we went along. Lindy, who has hated motorbikes her entire life, has now decided it’s time we buy one for ourselves. Unfortunately the traffic, pollution, and driving habits in Bangkok scare the living stuffing out of me so until I find extra courage somewhere, and a motorbike with airbags on the outside, we’re still hoofing it.

In a few days I plan to have photos of Ayutthia on my blog so you can view some shots there.


Amazing Thailand
We were blessed 1 ½ weeks ago with another friend from Portland visiting for a week. She had only been to Asia once before and was taking her first solo trip to an Asian country by visiting us. It was great to have her here and it was great for her to catch up with a Thai friend she met in grad. School back in the states. While here we all talked to her about Amazing Thailand (as the language teachers call it). We gave her perspective on the sights, sounds, smells, people, what was safe to eat/drink and what was not safe to eat/drink.

The first part of Steph’s visit went swimmingly. We took her to see the Palaces used by the Royal Family in Bangkok, took her on a day trip to Ayutthia, took her to great Chinese dim sum, took her shopping at the local markets and took a dinner cruise on the river. After four days Steph agreed that though hot, Thailand was amazing.

Then everyone in the house got sick after the dinner cruise. In retrospect we can’t put our finger on what affected Steph, Lindy and I but it wasn’t pretty. Poor Steph was down all day Sunday and ½ of Monday. Lindy was under the weather all day Sunday but rallied for work on Monday. I had a bit of something on Sunday and followed a friend’s advice taking a shot of tequila at noon to kill this bug. The results were mixed…literally. On Monday I went on the offensive and took Steph to buy some over the counter antibiotics. After a couple doses of drugs we were back in business. By the time Steph left on Tuesday morning she had gotten to experience the real Amazing Thailand.


Parting Shot
Currently this is my favorite image in Bangkok.

BKK Mailbox

We have officially found the center of the universe…and they have mail service here!


Can’t Sleep? Try Chinglish
The other night we were very tired but had trouble falling to sleep. After about five minutes of silence, Lindy muttered, “One ships….two ships…three ships…four ships…” Curious, I asked, “What are you doing?” She replied, “Counting ships.” (DUHHHHH). I said, “Do you mean sheep?” She said, “yeah, ships.”

It turns out laughing about Chinglish is a great way to fall asleep.


That’s all for now. For those of you without media access, the Tour de France starts this weekend, during which Lance Armstrong will attempt to do what no other human has ever done, win a 7th tour. Here’s my prediction, for you bike geeks out there: George Hincapie has been on all of Lance’s tour winning teams. I think that if Lance doesn’t have it in him to pull out a victory this time, he’ll switch tactics and work to support a victory for someone else on his team – probably George. For those of you that think I’m crazy, let me just say that when Lance won his third tour I predicted then that he would go for seven, because that’s the kind of guy he is. So there.

All y’all take care and book your flights to Amazing Thailand soon!
Dindy

P.S. Fresh from the market, vegetables that would be great names for bands:
• Hairy Basil
• Holy Basil
• Sweet Basil
• Stink Weed

The Measure Of...

FRIENDS: The measure of friends, I think, can be measured in moments. Moments that stick in your head, that don’t get left behind like broken vacuum cleaners or stuff you give to Goodwill.

Case in point, I have some great friends that are amazing people, but just about every single one of them is at least one ocean away. This last weekend one such amigo was able to visit on the tail end of his business trip. We got to hang out for about 36 hours. Though brief, it was great. It wasn’t such fun because of any grand plan or exciting event –it was fun because of the almost boring stuff we did. We saw Star Wars, talked about politics, watched a video, had high tea at 4 PM and ate really great food. What made it great were the moments that made up that boring stuff and being able to share that with a friend. The measure of friends are those moments, that while you do normal stuff, you can be honest, you can exaggerate (maybe even too much), you can admit your fears, you can accept advice humbly and challenge ideas in the name of good sport. That’s the measure of friends, I think.

RAIN: The measure of rain can be in feet or meters here. Bangkok has very recently turned from the hot season, where the heat index topped out at 130 degrees, to the rainy season. People, that know such things, told us it rains hard here and some of the streets (called soi’s) flood. It’s rained pretty hard over the last few weeks with thunder and lightening but I had yet to see any flooding. Then it rained last night.

While driving back from dinner clouds converged on the city’s traffic, quickly giving way to broken stitches of lightening and thunder that cracked high and roared low, rolling right through us. It was a new experience for me to hear and feel thunder. Though this was dramatic it was only the opening band. All went quiet for about 30 seconds then a rush of wind blasted us, ferociously bending trees and forcing pedestrians to take shelter. Taking all this in, I looked ahead of us and realized the building that had been ¼ mile away was now opaque, turned almost invisible by a dark grey veil. A few heartbeats later, as though we had been parked in the middle of a car wash waiting for someone to flip the switch, the switch got flipped. Sheets of rain pounded us, running through the streets, between the cars, on the sidewalks like tall thin soldiers seeking vengeance (in my colorful view).

After 40 minutes we made our way off the main drag and turned onto a soi near an exclusive hotel – the street had become a small pond. Passing cars were creating wakes. That seemed pretty cool, because it was still manageable. This, I thought, must be the flooding I’d heard about. We then turned off to another soi and that’s when I got a sense of what happens in the rainy season. Water was over the curbs (which are about 8 inches above the road) and up on the sidewalks. As we navigated the traffic I felt the laps of water slapping the car floorboard under my feet. Motorbikes amazingly plowed through in the middle of the road while cars and taxis took it slow being careful (of what I don’t know, and didn’t feel like asking about). As we drove up the soi at about 2 knots, the water receded to curb level. The storm had quieted some but was again pounding everything and everybody with a fury of torrents.

Minutes later, we pulled up and into our soi, which had no flooding. How amazing, I thought, that those people we just left would have to deal with yet more water and by total luck our street was a littler higher and drier. Apparently it gets worse later. Hopefully I’ll have pictures to share.

OVENS: The measure of ovens is different. Does size matter? It does if you were thinking about making a Thanksgiving turkey. Based on the size of our oven I think we’ll be making Thanksgiving game hens.

Or going to the Hyatt.


Cookie Sheet


Oven


Doh.


Cheers.

An Update on Thailand

After being in Thailand for about 6 weeks characteristics of this place are starting to emerge.

Drought
In Thailand's north east provinces there is a drought. Not a drought like I'm familiar with in Oregon where you get a ticket for washing your car or watering your grass. This is a drought with over 200 villages in 26 districts and six sub-districts being affected, meaning entire villages are bone dry. No water in their wells, reservoirs and none falling from the sky for drinking, washing or growing. 350 million liters of water have already been distributed and more is on the way, but the issue still remains a national emergency. The King, who is absolutely revered, is leading the effort to seed clouds in hopes of creating rain in the driest regions. The King is using technology he developed and patented, which is bearing fruit in a few target regions. Though the rainy season will be here in a few months, this drought has already damaged about 30-35% of agricultural areas in the affected provinces and thus promises to further sour food prices, business that rely on those harvests and farmer welfare.

BK Magazine Worst of the Worst
A weekly rag recently published the best and worst of 2004 in Bangkok. The worst of the worst, as determined by reader polls, was Bangkok traffic. It's true that my history with traffic includes Alaska and Oregon so my take on traffic here is naïve, I'm sure. However, the traffic here does suck. Though a future blog will provide more insight, traffic here is virtually nonstop every hour of the day. Outside of our current apartment is a 10 lane artery. From 4PM until 8PM it's a 14 lane parking lot. Between 8PM - 9PM it loosens up so the motorcycles can finally ride rough shod at every intersection, treating every light like the start of a drag race. This continues, right outside our window, until midnight when the large trucks deliver goods to customers, revving and jake-braking their engines until about 3 AM. Let's just say it's loud, very loud.

Tsunami
Last weekend Lindy and I went to Phuket to support one of the areas affected by the 12/26/04 tsunami. The island is beautiful and has a great, relaxed feel to it.

Phuket at Sunrise


One car per lane. No motorcycles trying to burn rubber at the line and clean air. The people at the hotel were very nice, but quiet. Where we stayed the tsunami didn't do nearly as much damage as other areas, or countries, but the people were still a bit shell-shocked. It was hard not to imagine that morning, how the waves came in, how lives were changed forever. Yet great care had been taken to remove any evidence of damage and the staff were just terrific.

More striking, though, was how empty everything was. Our hotel had about 1000 rooms, but only about 100 people were staying there. The hotel's restaurants were deserted; bars served two, maybe three people (Lindy and I made it four). The beaches were vacant.

Phuket Beach (left view)


Phuket Beach (right view)

The local jet ski and snorkeling hawkers sat under a tarp each day waiting for tourists to buy their services, yet no sales were made.

Thailand is trying hard to put the word out internationally that their resorts are ready for business but the Thais aren't buying it. There is a fear that the ghosts of those lost are haunting beaches and hotels. Local reporters traveling to said resorts on all-expense-paid junkets admitted their fear of the purported ghosts, but none were sighted or reported. Still the fear exists among those I've talked to. Locals are upbeat and confident that their resorts will survive but in the same breath say it will take two to three years before the Thai people will go back.

Nonetheless, Phuket was a great escape from the mad world of Bangkok. We did little but rest, chat with people we met and feed the local elephant.

Hungry Elephant

Elephant Munching

Elephant Eyes Lindy's Plate

Lindy Wonders How to Get Elephant on the Plane (our apartment accepts pets)


But most interesting thus far in our adventure is the Thai spirit, especially when there is so much happening here. Between the droughts, traffic, rising oil prices that are sure to sucker-punch the economy and the tsunami, the people are still able and eager to laugh.

For example, this room was being remodeled at our hotel, probably because of the tsunami
Room Construction


The construction workers hung this on the outside doorknob.

Little Construction Joke for the Housekeeper


What a great lesson, at least for me.

Cheers.

Buyer Beware

You should always be aware of what you are buying.

For example, when buying bottled water make sure the clear plastic seal is in place over the lid. This helps prevent you spending the next 24 hours in the bathroom. When buying fish balls make sure they don't read "Fish Balls (Pork)" - especially if you're the Kosher sort.

Here are a couple of other examples.…

I thought I was buying this

Capers...


But I seemed to have purchased this instead, thus our pasta tasted...different…

Caper Look-Alikes (aka small green peppers)




There are at least two kinds of the same fruit...
…
Orange, Obviously


and

Thai Orange.


Don't get them confused



I bought this, because I wanted a sandwich and because it looked so full, crisp and yummy...

Lettuce - Looks Yummy, Right?


But realized later that I'd purchased more than I expected

Actual Lettuce




Lastly, the word for white westerners here is Farang. In short, Dain =

Farang


Not to be confused with

Ferengi



Cheers.
Daino


P.S.

Careful where you buy your fast food in China.

This guy



Is not the Chinese cousin of this guy

If You're In Bangkok and a Fire Breaks Out:

Consult your escaple plan...



It would be very helpful if you read/speak English...



Or read/speak English or Thai...



But above all, drop your wine and run!

Most Missed

As I post those things that flow through my mind, publishing the chronicles of our travels, in nonchronolocal order, some light bulbs flash brighter than others. In this case it was billions of flashes that shown so bright.

Last Saturday as my wife (Lindy) and I were celebrating my 40th birthday. While we ate she asked what I missed most about Portland. In the first two weeks here we've found most of what we need a lot of what we love so nothing immediately came to mind.

I noodled on her question a bit and came up with a twofold answer: speed stick deodorant and good, reasonably priced wine. In Thailand the deodorant comes in the spray or roll versions with your choice of two different flavors. The wine over here is also a bit of a challenge because the taxes on imported wine are so high and they don’t make wine in Thailand. We chuckled a bit over my answer, finished our highly overrated dinner, that came with an overrated view, and went to grab a drink.

A few days later we attended our "welcome party" dinner in Chang Buri, a coastal town 100 kilometers south of Bangkok. The dinner was set in an eatery that was located right on the coast, so we were able to watch the sunset, shoot the breeze over drinks and finally start eating. About two hours into dinner I got tired of the conversation that centered only around Lindy's work. The private jokes about the various personalities at my wife's job drove me to absolutely disengage. I picked up my warm beer, took a slug, put the glass on the table and looked up. And to my surprise I saw what I missed more than anything…stars.

All the dust in China, the "haze" in Bangkok had been shrouding stars for the last month. Yet that night, there they were, quiet, bright, twinkling. I’d forgotten what a clear sky at night looked like. I have to tell you, it looks great! While the laughter about not reading an email continued I'd found a place where I could lose myself. What a perfect, peaceful place this was, finally.

Cheers.

Lunch Options in Bangkok, v 1.0

Pork

1) Pork Knuckle, small.

2) Pork Knuckle, large.

3) Boiled, Congealed Pork Blood.

#3 is a description of food sold at a stand in a food court of an office building, not just a single item.

Cheers.

P.S. And McDonalds doesn't sell diet coke. A Big Mac is nothing without diet coke. Then again a Big Mac is not much anyway.

China is an Interesting Place: Xi’an – Reflections on Traffic and Stuff

For those that don’t know, my wife and I live in Portland, Oregon…or used to.. She recently got a promotion and a transfer to Bangkok, Thailand (aka BKK). On our way to BKK we decided to visit her family in China (she’s Chinese).

Just so you know, her mom and brother live in Xi’an (pronounced: she-an), the first capitol of China (there have been three). Xi’an is a big city, with about 6 million residents. It’s in northern, central China where it’s dry and dusty. Let me restate that Xi’an is not a dirty city, it’s dusty – very dusty...


Dusty Bike in Xi'an


Dusty Bikes with Bags to Keep the Dust Off the Seats


Antique Chinese Cart


Same Cart (made with beautiful wood) with Some Dust

Three years ago when I visited for the first time it was REALLY, REALLY dusty, apparently from some wicked dust storm in the Gobi dessert, that eventually crossed the pacific and affected weather along the west coast of the US.

In fact, while I was there that first time it started raining. We happened to be leaving and I noticed it was raining so I stepped out from underneath the eve of the roof to check it out. As I did that there was this huge commotion and suddenly I was being pushed from behind into the waiting car with people yelling at me – Ronald Reagan/John Hinckley Jr. style. Everyone jumped in behind and closed the doors and then started pulling and tugging at my clothes, like they were looking for gunshots or something, though there had been no loud noises or anything. I was getting a little impatient with all this yelling, tugging and patting when I looked at the windshield and suddenly realized what had happened. It’s so dusty that when it rains in Xi’an it actually rains mud for the first half hour. No lie, the water picks up all that fine dust in each drop and it falls as chocolate colored mud when it starts to rain. My black coat was now spotted with chocolate specks of dirt and water, which all these people were trying to prevent from getting on my clothes – thus the unceremonious pushing of me into the waiting car. That also explained all the tugging and patting me down. By contrast, when it rains in Portland things turn brown, but mostly because they’re rusting. So that was interesting.

And China, being a developing county (I need to find out what defines a developed country), is going through some emergence pains. For example, the driving over there is in a constant state of evolution. Three years ago there was this very nice park that was about two blocks away from my wife’s family’s home. To walk there you used the sidewalk (crazy idea, I know) where you walked in front of all the apartments and people playing a VERY loud game of Chinese chess. Chinese chess is a board game of strategy and multiple board slapping, in-your-face victories, followed by that “I’m kicking your ass” laugh. It’s a game of constant one-upsmanship that is all in good nature. This Chinese sidewalk, with the chess and the people walking with their elegant bird cages and beautiful birds inside, was a path to a park of people practicing Tai Chi, playing badminton and basically building a community.

One year later the sidewalk had been removed and the road had been broadened. By contrast , in the US said project would have been a union job and it would have taken at least two years not a small number of months. Here in Xi’an the chess set evaporated, as did any space between the lanes and the apartments. The government apparently said, “Let there be four lanes instead of three” and it happened...quickly. That vibe of community, that place where people walked, laughed and gave kind hearted dope slaps went away.

So where do the people walk these days? Exactly where they used to walk, in the brand new fourth lane - because there isn’t anywhere else to walk. DUH! Where do the cars and trucks drive? In the same three lanes they used before. None of the taxis drive in the fourth lane because there are hundreds of people in it at any time of the day and taxi drivers don’t want to kill anyone. Busses, huge trucks, scooters all drive in the first three lanes while the Chinese peeps walk to and from their park as they had always done – right where their sidewalk used to be, in that beautiful new lane.

Interesting lesson there. A communist country is very unique in that they can make things happen, RFN (right f’ing now). The government says something is a priority or demands something be changed and it happens. People deal with the challenge of change for six months but afterward is a new park or road or mall or damn or something. However, having the power to make a change doesn’t necessarily mean that every change is an improvement.

But what I find most interesting about Xi’an’s traffic is how it has evolved in last three years. With the roads being populated by people walking, riding bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, taxis, vans, small trucks, busses and big trucks a taxi ride has become a real life journey in the game, Grand Theft Auto. The traffic lights are seen more as suggestions not hard and fast rules. The painted lines that create lanes are completely ignored. There aren’t really and speed limits just rules of thumb: 1) if you will run into a car nearby avoid it and/or slow down. 2) if the path is clear, go as fast as you want, just to don’t kill or hurt anyone. The resulting taxi ride can have you sitting behind some huge exhaust pipe one minute then careening around turns at break-neck speeds while the driver swerves in any direction to avoid cars, bikes, people crossing the street and anything else in the road (you would be amazed what can find its way into the road). It’s very interesting to compare the traffic in the US, and in Xi’an. In the US people honk their horns when someone gets in your lane; in Xi’an a three lane road instantly becomes a six lane, no-holds-barred undulating, dynamic – almost liquid – stream of traffic.

So what’s my point? I don’t have one – I just think what I saw is interesting.

Cheers.

Chronology

Over the coming days, weeks and more I'm going to translate my obersvations into prose. Hopefully it will be entertaining, interesting and full of tidbits. Stay tuned, be patient, and yes, I will be posting photos very soon.

Cheers,
Daino