Kofty's Blog

• Just barely survived a "dry needling" treatment by the nice Physio doctor at Bumrungrad for my lower back. Hope the pain goes away now. #

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• The house owned tuk-tuk had its first accident today, after three years of ops. The way my taxi driver is going, I think I might be up next. #
• I just unlocked the "Crunked" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/cjK50X #
• I just became the mayor of Mandarin Oriental Dry Cleaning Service @ Emporium on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/9nI8YW #

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I have been following the construction of this high speed rail line and had a hunch about this becoming an epic fail. Now it’s open, and it’s offical.

I always wonder how people are able to use proven and successful concepts (like a speed rail link to the airport) and mess them up big time. Greed and corruption are just two possible reasons. In combination with stupidity, they are deadly.

Oh, Poor Airport Link from TAN Network/thaivisa.com

• I just unlocked the "Photogenic" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/dqTPRh #

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Victor Bout, the Merchant of Death, awaits extradition to the US. Seems like someone turned on the heat on the Thai government – US govt plane is already waiting at BKK to pick the guy up, but they’ll have to wait.

Apparent reason: some new charges from the US prosecutors which have not been dealt with. How can that be? Once the court has cleared the first case, what impact does a second case have? Even if the charges in the second case are dismissed, the first case is still valid – IMHO.

More to come, I am sure, so that everybody can keep their face.

From AFP

• He marcado como favorito un video de YouTube — Battlestar Galactica: the Board Game re… http://youtu.be/AXbXySipd-U?a #
• At Amarin today, event for Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2010 in Phuket from Sep 22-26. Sounds good to me. http://bit.ly/d4SAiv #

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One of the reasons I like living in Thailand is the news. They’re never ever boring. Let me explain by summarizing a few news topics that are hot in Thailand today.

Starting with the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, and the decision to extradite him to the US: obviously there was a lot of pushing and shoving behind the scenes, both by the US and Russia. Today they are stressing the fact that the court made the right decision, but now Thailand “is standing on the horns of a dilemma”. (BTW, I never heard of that expression, but it checks out).

Next up: after months of hearing about drought, “Disaster zones across country as rain falls, levels rise“. It’s either not enough or too much, but never right. Climate change, anyone?

Colombian robber tries to escape from jail in Pattaya – Thai police shoot him twice, shoulder and hip. No wonder, he robbed 20 homes, one of them belonging to a Police Lieutenant Colonel. That definitely helped motivate the cops to get the guy.

The rail link from Bangkok to Suvarnabhumi airport is finally open, after years of delay, the final one for not having drivers trained for these trains. However, the location of Makasan station, where the train departs, is far from ideal – think about schlepping suitcases for 500m from the next Underground station. There’s a non stop leaving every 40 minutes only – as they also have slow trains that make stops on the route, the fast trains can’t overtake them – a typical Thai planning desaster.

And, most important, Thai Beauty Queen wins photo, costume awards in Miss Universe 2010. Not winning the title for Miss Universe, but two “sub-titles” is quite an achievement for Fonthip “Pook Look” Watcharatrakul, check it out yourself.

I enjoy this eclectic mix of local news, it becomes more lively with local background stories and rumours you’ve heard. The global news are the same everywhere, but it’s local news that add flavour and colour to my life .

• Look Tung DVD in the taxi. Amazing cultural insights.You wouldn't believe. #
• Outstanding Japanese fusion at Isao, Sukhumvit 31. Oyster shooters! Sushi sandwich! A scallop volcano! Fantastic! http://yfrog.com/5lr9wj #

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• Facebook Places is out today. Thailand does not work yet. Wonder what this means to the future of foursquare (which I enjoy using)? #
• Flipboard http://www.flipboard.com/ is finally working properly on my iPad. Love it. Creates a magazine out of your social contacts posts. #

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Why would anyone do that, unless he’s scared of some documents that might be released soon? And why risk that more people will be aware of this website? I have heard there are programs that makes circumventing this block as easy as ordering a cup of tea.

Thailand blocks access to WikiLeaks website from thaivisa.com