el jefe

binjalin, on 2012-05-20 16:39:35, said:

I was reacting to what you wrote. I don't know 'very very well' as I haven't a clue who you are, and I didn't see your 'like' when I replied to your post.

But to be fair to you, there is a hidden agenda ... I have difficulty with people who are complaining about how bad 'the Thai ' care for their dogs and cats, while at the same time the shelter in our own countries are overfull. Don't know figures about western Europe but in the States MILLIONS of dogs are euthanized per year, because people 'luv them so much and take such good care of them'.
Not to mention the animal abuse that occurs (or 'occurred', hopefully. This year it was the first time they had 2 vets checking the dogs. And a few were kicked out due to too severe hereditary defects. among others, the best in show of the year before. ) at dog shows such as the world-famous Crufts.
And how about those dogs and cats in our countries that are so horribly fat, they can't walk anymore and hardly breath. Also THAT is animal abuse.

There are now laws in some states in America that makes undercover filming of the most appalling situations and abuse in large livestock factories a crime for which the ones, who wants to bring this into the open can, go to jail ... long term. For crying out loud!
France that wants more livestock factories, and thus much more suffering for the animals involved... by the thousands.
A Spanish king that thinks killing elephants is fun.
And then, bestiality. Read the other day a report on that. Too disgusting for words, and it occurs more than one may think.

It also goes indirect through the (very fast) destruction of the wild animals habitat, because we (westerners) still think having hard wood (such as teak) in our houses is so beautiful. If I remember well, Holland (where I come from) is nr. 3 on the list of consumers of hardwood.


That doesn't mean I condone the neglect and abuse of animals in Thailand, or think we should close our eyes because of what happens in our own countries.
I just have difficulties with the generalizations, as there are quite some Thai people who do care, and act accordingly.

I won't worry about the "Economic Power" of Burma until they can manage to keep their lights on for a full 24 hours.

OLDAUSSIE, on 2012-04-16 14:04:41, said:

Rubbish.  There is far too much of this 'everything is a scam' bullshit on this forum, when what is really happening is that people simply aren't reading properly or taking time to think issues through.

As other posters have said, it is CLEARLY not a scam.  The intro clearly said that Air Asia was offering a number of flghts to destinations around SEA (including Sri Lanka) FROM 790 baht.  Not FOR 790 baht.  FROM 790.

This is standard practice.  It is not misleading. It is factual.  They will obviously push their lowest fair, but surely only the most idiotic numpty thinks that every flight will be 790baht.

Every single marketer does this.  Open the Bkk post and you will see a thousand adds for hotels, flights, meals, car hire etc úsing the same tactic.

There is something about punters who come to Thailand who get so defensive and paranoid that everything - every single little think they don't like - is perceived as a scam.

Right.

So that's resolved then.  It isn't a scam at all and the Air Aisa rep was quite right - the OP not only doesn't understand the business and, in addition, can't read.

Tywais,

I hope you do not drop this thread from the pinned list.  Perhaps the title can be changed. Here's why I hope you'll reconsider:

Firstly, the effort was to gather together all the miscellaneous threads for 2012, just as they pop up annually when interest level is high, to avoid the confusion of too many threads basically on the same topic.  But there has been much useful posted that is relevant generally to the problem of air pollution over the years, not just in 2012  Hate to lose it. Very useful information has been posted in previous years' threads but buried. It is simply not so easy and certainly not efficient to get to it again using the search engine.

Also, because relevant information is found throughout the year not specific to 2012, but after the annual hubbub subsides, where is it to be posted?  Open another new thread?

Why not change the thread title to be more general, such as "Air Pollution in Chiang Mai" and append an editorial note before the first post explaining that the thread was begun in 2012, but that there are resources and information relevant to any year including comparative data.

Priceless,

Thank you for your answer in spite of our different viewpoints.

I think you confirm that we have a different viewpoint of believing in the PCD data.

Quote

If we are going on arguing it will be endless. Belief is no substitute for knowledge or reality. You explained only your belief, and not some exact knowledge of PCD‘s equipment.

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cannot convince me.

-   Delivering no results for some „hot“ days cannot be „complicated“, but well intentioned.
-  To miss out many days with a high pollution has the character of untrustworthiness, is a big shortcoming.
-  The poor number of (2) measurement stations in CNX  and in the North.
-  The unrepresentative location of these stations. There is none near to the point with the highest pollution.
-   As the government and all the other bureaucratic powers didn’t seriously move any finger  - figuratively speaking - to reduce the pollution all these years, so there cannot be a long-time downwards trend. How can the trend go down over the years without any human interference??? Specially the answer to this question should kill your belief into the downwards trend. You may write many pages about why you believe in PCD tables, but it is against the fact that the high or low fire pollution is only dominated by the weather conditions.

And weather has it’s own rules of ups and downs as long as the gov and the offices don’t work against the yearly fires and different polluters.
Rain, no rain, wind or storm, or an inversion like this year, they determine the pollution results.  Inversion is defined (in brief) as no air exchange/movement  between a warm upper and a cold lower air layer.

And this is the “subjective experience”  of many posters here. Therefore we don’t need dubious tables with very questionable roots and incomplete data of a pollution downward trend. A statistic of the sick people resulting from the fire pollution would be nearer to the reality than your calculated trend.

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Thank you for your well intentioned advice.
I didn‘t make any statistic about my erroneous prejudices. Maybe I‘m sometimes nearer to the reality than you or some tables.
BTW, I never had  „apparent conviction that anything said or published by Thai authorities or Thais in general has to be false.“
Cause for distrust should be allowed.

Priceless, you will never get it.

You believe in the bible = PCD measurements. Some guys, me too, don’t. You try to convince us that we have to believe. You would like to make us believe, that Jesus walked over the water without plunging. To be fair we, the infidel, cannot improve the opposite that this really didn‘t happen.

We, PSCD-statistical disbelievers, cannot improve that their measurements are wrong/manipulated, and you cannot improve that they are realiable.

That is the moment when it is time to use our sanity, experience etc.. I wouldn’t like to refresh all the decisive points  against your holy belief in those statistics. You stubbornly defend these numbers without any relationship to the weather conditions of the dates in your tables and against someone's common sense. You repeat it like a robot:

The yearly  pollution curve in CNX  has a downwards trend because the numbers show that result. Period.

Then any discussion is in vain. Knowing and believing can exclude each other. Yes, then Jesus walked over the water, because you believe it. If the PCD would show  you  that you have 6 fingers on your left hand, you would believe it.
PCD says
you have 10 fingers on both your hands. Then count backwards starting on your left hand and moving each finger:  thumb (10), forefinger (9), middle finger (8), ring finger (7), baby finger (6 = six)

I’m sure you would believe it because these are numbers from PCD - against all common sense. You never answered convincingly to our objections.

The discussion in this thread is not that this year is so bad. The problem is your belief in a declining air pollution over the years by using a very, very dubious source and that the Thais worked against polluting.  

It’s the weather…, Clinton would tell us. The weather only is the reason for the ups and downs in the pollution tables here in Thailand, nothing else. Early rain like in 2011  ->  low (fire) pollution; late rain like in 2010 -> high (fire) pollution.

Having seen a topic about the disappearance of a member called Naam in the General forum, It occurred to me that there are plenty of no-shows on the Chiang Mai forum lately. I've been following it for quite a time but now It seems very quiet, and boring. Not much banter or fun being had, just a few posts asking for the usual 'where can I buy a .......".   At this moment 7 of the first 10 posts fall into this category

I'm told that the Chiang Mai forum on TV used to be one of the most popular but I doubt if that is the case nowadays.

If traffic is down, and people aren't posting as much, I would have thought that an open discussion as to why that is would be welcome, but somehow I get the impression that this topic will go nowhere because very quickly it will be closed. Most good businesses welcome customer feedback, but other than sending PM's to the Mods, open discussion here is frowned upon, right?

caf, on 2010-08-25 21:05:03, said:

I agree with that.

Until anything becomes fact, all of this is just assumptions.

Ratsima...
8 August 2553

....know your agony. Consider it a rite by fire or something. Your Syphius Wheel.
I had 28 flats on my Yamaha motorbike while riding about Baja some years back. I learned MUCH about tyres
and repairing them. Fast.

Head to electrical or hardware store and ask for rubber reinforcing grommets, various sized diameters. You might have to overbore your current valve
stem hole to accomodate. Use soap or detergent for lube. If have trouble visualizing this, or explaining to hardware guy, pop the bonnet on your
car's hood to expose the engine. Point to any grommet, wire or cable running through the firewall to the passenger compartment. He'll
get the concept immediately.

Thai hardware stores are the best in the world. USA used to have them everywhere. Not anymore. 85% of them have gone underwater, as in out of
business to to the chain stores. Too bad. Now you've gotta buy a box of 100 bolts instead of two from some chain store.
I always sponsor my local hardware stores, always. I'm in there weekly getting something.

You want to reinforce your stem hole with rubber. You want all snug, no sloppy seconds.

I've been riding my Continental Sport Contact Slicks (made in India) that have a 3M reflective sidewall bead. I can be seen from 1km away.
I like night riding the best. I suss out my ride routes during the day on my Honda Wave and then ride like a maniac when the temps drop.
I have two front white strobe flashing headlights and two rear red Blinkies.

The front white strobes are the best. They reach 1km ahead of me, igniting the reflective Thai highway signs. This pulsing alerts the drivers
still far behind me that something is ahead. No close calls. Thailand is a supreme place to ride a bicycle. Some of my best rides, ever.
This front strobe light also alerts a Thai Specialty: oncoming motorbike traffic going cross grain. Which is a polite way of saying "the wrong direction."
Hey, it's Thailand. Oncoming traffic in your lane? Get used to it......

No flats in 3 years, touch wood.
Here's the systems approach I employ:

Start with high grade tyres and tubes. Get ahold (or have mate bring over) some Kevlar tube savers. Or they are called tyre liners.
You apply some talcum powder into your tyre first! Yes, get your OWN bottle. Your greasy fingers will upset your loved one.
As it is, she will find it more than hilarious that falang is ting tong ADDING talc powder to his feckin' bicycle tubes, hahahahahah!
Don't laugh, it works.

The Kevlar tube liner ends overlap each other inside. You do not trim to size. If you looked at one on edge, the twin edges are tapered.
After tube liner is installed, air up..slightly, your tube. I use SLIME tubes with Schraeder valves. These are tubes that have a green latex puncture resistant self-sealer
added to the interior of the tube. if you cannot get ahold of these magical tubes. you can find the equivalent via Google search for latex tyre tube additive.

I use the latex additive on my motorcycle tyre tubes as they do not make a SLIME tube for motorbikes.....yet.
Yes, they are self sealing. Who knows, maybe I did have a flat, but it sealed itself?

Punctures...or flats, take the wind out of anyone's sails. Use the latex additive. You'll be smiling AND riding.

You can air down the tyre tube slightly, but first inspect your wheel carefully for any knicks, rough seams, etc. Use a nail file or piece of
sand paper to smooth all rim dings out. Pop tyre and tube assembly onto wheel. If you use tyre levers, BE CAREFUL.
We all know of guys shredding their tubes during install. NEVER use a screwdriver, ever.

At the most use some aluminum or plastic tyre levers. You local tyre repair shop will have some long handled tyre levers, but be very careful.
Usually, I just pop on with my thumbs. I try to avoid levers at all costs.
Air up a bit more (10 hand pumps) and bounce the wheel as you spin it on a hard surface. You are sitting chair, spin tyre while holding the hub...bounce
on pavement. Repeat. You want to remove any pinches or tube creases.

Air up. You can go to hardware store or--- Home Pro or Tesco and suss out a 12v air pump for about 200b. Yeah, made in China. Everything is.
I added a quick disconnect from my 12 v battery terminal from my Honda Wave. This quick disconnect has a waterproof cap. It runs my GPS and
now, my tyre pump when called upon. Beats emptying out my boot to get to the battery to access ther terminals for 12v power. Make sense?

Or, use 12v car battery and alligator clips. Chug away. I run my tyres at 95lbs.
I weigh 110kgs and 196cm.
Rock hard tyres, great rolling resistance.

Suss out:
www.biketiresdirect.com
Go right to their tire section and tire accesories.
Or tyre?

Okay, no Kevlar tube liners in sight, what you do? Take a dead tube (looks like you have several) and cut the stem off. Split this tube down the
middle of inner line. What do I mean? Imagine an assembled bicycle wheel. Look at where the spokes enter the wheel itself, not at the hub.
You want to split that inner seam of your tube. This will become your reinforcing boot between your tyre and tube, got it?
You just made your own tube liner. I do this all the time for my motoscooters and motorcycles.

Yes, use talcum powder generously between each step and layer.
Your aluminum wheels have rec'd the grommet treatment and you are good to go.....

BTW, even if one has a damaged tyre carcass, yet with good tread, you can salvage some wear from this tyre.
Recall my Baja flats? I had hit a rock at speed, causing a percussion flat. it looks like rattle snake bite. I compressed everything
so severe that the rim ripped twin holes into tube. I fixed these punctures, but forgot to realize that the tyre CARCASS itself was damaged.
It kept re-flatting itself from a sprung steel cable within the tyre itself, d'oh. I felt like a dope for not realizing it sooner.
We all learn, sooner or later......

I finally sussed this out and fixed by applying a tube patch to the interior wall of my tyre. I've done this numerous times on my bicycle
tyres since. Works like a charm.

Happy riding....
Jim

here's a YouTube vid on the after-market latex tube additive. I have motobuddies swear by it, kinda pricey:



Nope, I have no connection with this product line, nor folks involved.
BTW, some people like SLIME, others do not because it is messy.
Best that when you add this stuff, go for a ride immediately to spread it all about within your tube
via centrifugal force.

If one is riding in an area with many punctures, in the 1970s and 80s, NashBar and other bicycle places carried
this weird looking vinyl tube-wire tyre cleaners! Tough to mount if you are running fenders which are req'd in Thailand.

The principle was thus: for every wheel rotation, the adjustable gizmo would flick off your tyre any thorn, piece of glass, or nail
before it got jammed in further to create a puncture. I used them all the time on my road bike. Easy to make at home.

One loop of wire attaches to the bicycle frame or fender..then add two short, very small diameter vinyl tubing pieces. Like aquarium tubing.
Then a loop of wire in a humped form, the profile of a tyre. This wire gizmo is adjustable as you do not want it too far away from the tire, nor
burning pressure. You could adjust it just right and it's job was to flick off any accumulated road debris. Maybe NashBar still carries them?

Personally, am not a big fan of mtn bike tyres...they make too much noise. I used to live in a mountainous area where the knobbies were req'd.
The hills were 1/18s
That is, you were in 1st or 18th gear...either walking your bike up, or white knuckle race to below. Ugh.
I like rolling countryside and Thailand fits the bill.

All those great dalats along the way, the smells and plenty of places to stop for a quick bite to eat
and to replenish one'e water stash.....