Family Money: How assured are you?

By Leslie Wright

In a period of economic downturn such as Thailand has experienced over the past two years, the incidence of robberies inevitably increases.

These range from purse snatching in the street to house-breaking. More than one person of my acquaintance has come home recently to find all his valuables and electronic equipment were ‘liberated’ during his absence.

Obviously, avoidance is one way to safeguard your valuables. Wandering around town wearing expensive watches and jewellery is simply putting temptation in people’s path.

Similarly, having more in your wallet than you plan to spend that evening is tempting fate as well as the hungry eyes that might be desperate for cash.

It is not unknown for someone to fall asleep in a bar (whether from over-indulgence, over-exertion, or from something noxious having been slipped into their drink while their attention was diverted), and wake up to find their pockets emptied. And of course no-one saw anything.

Leaving cash and valuables in your hotel room is simply asking for trouble. Cash & valuables occasionally disappear whilst the occupant was out shopping, even if the items were inside your suitcase inside a closet. Of course it was the maid or some other member of staff, but the hotel management will not accept responsibility, and the police will do little to help you - especially if you have been in the habit of bringing casual acquaintances back to your room.

Most reputable hotels will provide safe deposit boxes for their guests, and these should be used to store all your valuables, including your passport and airline ticket - preferably wrapped up so the hotel staff cannot see exactly what your box contains. (It is also wise to keep a separate list of exactly what was placed inside your box, especially amounts of cash, and amend it each time you take something out, to avoid ‘misunderstandings’ later.)

Courting disaster

Tourists who take new acquaintances back to their hotel rooms should be aware that they are accompanying you because you are regarded as primary sources of income and support for their families, not because you are the most attractive man on earth.

Going with a new acquaintance to a short-time hotel she or he suggests is even more risky, inasmuch as there have been many instances of hotel staff being in cahoots with these demimondaines, and while you’re otherwise occupied (in the shower, on the job, sleeping it off), a master key is used to open the room door and the contents of your wallet disappear.

Accusations of theft are likely to result in more hassle for you if the police get involved (although one gathers the Tourist Police are more helpful in these instances than the ‘regular’ police, who are often the principal beneficiaries of these ploys) than against your short-time companion, who in any case may well have disappeared before you realise your money’s gone.

Another good one is to wait until you’re thoroughly engrossed (if you’ll pardon the pun), when a man bursts into the room and angrily claims your companion is his wife (which indeed may well be true), and threatens you with dire consequences unless you pay up considerably more than you had negotiated for the young lady’s favours. Just to intimidate you a bit more and hasten the proceedings, he may even be accompanied by a real policeman in uniform, who of course is just part of the scam.

Another trick still used by some of the sleazier hotels (although I’m assured none of these are in Pattaya) is the false-backed closet. Even though you locked and chained the door, you hung your trousers up in the closet, not realising that the back panel was in fact removable and could be entered from the passageway or the next room (with of course the full knowledge and co-operation of the hotel staff), enabling your wallet to be emptied whilst you were otherwise engaged.

If you live here, taking a new acquaintance back to your condominium or house may be okay (and if your acquaintance was bought out from a bar you would at least have some recourse to the owner), but it might also be an opportunity for your new friend to case the joint and find out when the best time would be for other friends to empty the place of its more easily removed and convertible contents...

Taking precautions

The most ‘popular’ items on a burglar’s shopping list are items which can easily be converted to cash with no questions asked, such as via a second-hand or pawn shop. These include computers and other electronic items such as stereos, CD players and TVs, and of course cash and jewellery.

Large items like furniture are hard to move, and their being carried out of your house at night more likely to be noticed by neighbours (although in Thailand, your neighbours will know every detail of your life except when you were burgled, when they inevitably were otherwise occupied and saw nothing.)

Being aware that these things happen everywhere on earth to a greater or lesser degree should remind you to take sensible precautions to avoid them, or at least make it harder for potential robbers to rob you.

Most of us don’t wish to live like prisoners in our own homes, and psychologically resist putting grilles on all the windows and doors. While it is safer to do so, at least as a deterrent, you can alternatively install alarms on each of the windows that will be activated if someone attempts to break in. A loud alarm going off may suffice to scare away your burglar - or at least give you time to grab your baseball bat...

But even these precautions may be insufficient, since the determined thief will find other means of ingress - such as taking the tiles off the roof (as sadly happened quite recently to a Pattaya Mail contributor.)

So, if the unfortunate event does come to pass, and they get in despite your having taken every reasonable precaution, having made adequate provision for recouping your loss will make it that much less painful.

The chances of your recovering your goods with the help of the police may be very slim, but being able to file a proper report will make it somewhat greater.

Thus it is important to have a complete list of all your valuable items - including the brand, model, and serial number of each item of electronic equipment; and if you have expensive cameras, watches or jewellery, a photo of each item may aid identification and recovery.

In any case, it makes sound economic sense these days to have insured yourself against loss of your equipment and valuables. Household contents’ insurance is comparatively inexpensive, and should you be the unfortunate victim of a kamoey, would at least go some way to easing the financial burden of replacing your lost goods.

If you have any comments or queries on this article, or about other topics concerning investment matters, contact Leslie Wright directly by fax on (038) 232522 or e-mail [email protected], or write to him c/o Family Money, Pattaya Mail. Further details and back articles can be accessed on his firm’s website on www.westminsterthailand.com.

Leslie Wright is Managing Director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd., a firm of independent financial advisors providing advice to expatriate residents of the Eastern Seaboard on personal financial planning and international investments.

The Computer Doctor

by Richard Bunch

From David Grimes, Pattaya: I have heard that there is a new virus around that infects by just opening an e-mail. Can you tell me if this is true? It certainly gives me cause for concern, even though I try to update my virus program regularly.

Computer Doctor replies: The virus you are talking about was I believe discovered by Network Associates and yes, it can infect a PC simply by the user opening an infected e-mail message. It is called the Bubbleboy virus, it has been described as the first view activated Internet worm and is spreading fast. Unlike other e-mail borne viruses, Bubbleboy does not require a PC user to open any attachment and it infects both Windows 98 and Windows 2000 systems. Whilst it doesn’t carry any destructive actions, if adapted it could be made into a malicious virus.

Infected users have few symptoms other than a change of the system’s registered owner and organisation to “BubbleBoy” and “Vandelay Industries. An infected email has the text “BubbleBoy is back!” in the subject header and the body of the email contains an invalid URL ending in bblboy.htm.

From Simon Thwaites, Bangkok: I am a newcomer to the Internet and am intrigued by some of the terms that are bandied about. I wonder if you can explain some of them, I am sure I am not alone in my ignorance. The terms I am particularly interested in are: bandwidth, URL and http.

Computer Doctor replies: Simon, you are not alone, I have had a number of similar requests, so for your information, bandwidth is the range of frequencies a transmission line or channel can carry. The higher the frequency the higher the bandwidth and the greater the information carrying capacity of a channel. For a digital channel this is defined in bits per second or BPS. For an analog channel it is dependent on the type and method of modulation used to encode the data. This is sometimes expressed in cycles per second (hertz), the amount of information that can flow through a channel. On the less technical side bandwidth is used to measure the amount of time it takes for a Web page to fully load.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) describes the location and access method of a resource on the Internet, for example, the URL http://www.netlingo.com describes the type of access method being used (http) and the server location which hosts the Web site (www.netlingo.com). All Web sites have URL’s. One could say a URL is what a telephone number is to a telephone or a street address is to a house. Although Web site URL’s are sometimes long and hard to read let alone remember, browsers have a favorite or bookmark feature which gives you the opportunity to save the location (URL) of Web sites you want to return to.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). The protocol that tells the server what to send to the client, so the client can view Web pages, FTP sites, or other areas of the net.

Send your questions or comments to the Pattaya Mail at 370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, 20260 or Fax to 038 427 596 or E-mail to [email protected]

Richard Bunch is Managing Director of Action Computer Technologies, on South Pattaya Road (900 metres from Sukhumvit Road). Providing total computer, IT solutions, website and advanced graphics design to corporate clients and home users on the Eastern Seaboard. Please see our advertisement or call 038 374 147 or 411 063 www.act.co.th.

Successfully Yours: Dr. Tapasit Prapawiwat

by Mirin MacCartthy

Dr Tapasit Prapawiwat has had a most unusual reverse of the direction in his life - unlike all the Thai graduates who go overseas to work, he spent most of his earlier years and education in America. He was there from age nine to age 34 years, before returning to Thailand to live and work.

His choice of a dentistry career was possibly influenced by the fact that both his parents were physicians. Although Dr. Tapasit laughs; “I didn’t want to be on call all night. That is why I decided on dentistry.” The sage words of someone who had seen his parents’ arduous lifestyle. Towards that end, he entered Dentistry College in America, finally studying the specialty of Prosthodontics there and graduated from Georgetown in 1988.

This just begs the question, “Surely you are aware that many people are scared of dentists. How do you overcome this?” “Indeed a great many people say to me on their first visit, ‘I hate all dentists, nothing personal though.’ This is just fear. It is important to reassure them and explain exactly what is involved in the procedure, and of course adequate anaesthesia is important also.”

Dr Tapasit is certainly amazing - from my own personal experience, he is the only painless dentist I have ever encountered. This from one who has all her life been likewise terrified.

His first return to Thailand in 1981 changed his destiny when briefly became a monk, and ended up meeting the girl who would eventually become his wife. “It was mainly to please my grandmother that I became a monk for a few weeks. I was lucky I met up again with Khun Sineethorn whom I went to primary school with. I then kept spending as many summers as I could in Thailand and ten years later we were married.”

Dr. Tapasit returned here permanently with his family a few years ago because of, “Family business that needed to be attended to.” Again, contrary to what many would imagine, he prefers working in Thailand. “Dentistry is less stressful with all the litigation and insurance regulations in the States. Dentistry is definitely just as advanced here. For the middle classes there is an equal health care delivery system.”

Was relocating a major upheaval in his life? “Not particularly. Long ago I learned to separate the East from the West. My wife was educated in the U.K. I guess you could call me a Westerner with Thai mannerisms. The main differences are that in the West there is a degree of aggression and in Thailand it is a hierarchy. In America what you do is a more important fact rather than how old you are.”

Dr. Tapasit practises ‘Esthetic Dentistry’ at the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, and in his time off loves spending time with his family and his German shepherd dog, reading, and playing tennis.

The important values to him are “Integrity, being up front with people. Being decisive is important also.” Being a dentist with these attributes is very comforting (as well as his pain free procedures).

Success to him is, “Being able to do the things you like and provide for your family.” So what does this well traveled dentist have as advice for people about their teeth? “Think about them as you would a loved motor car that you would have serviced every ten thousand kilometers. Preventative maintenance is all important with your teeth. See a dentist every six months.” (Perhaps if I had followed this advice several years ago, I would not be requiring the dental work I am having right now!)

His advice to the young school leavers of today is simple, and reflects his own upbringing. “Get as much education as you can. There can never be enough. Curiosity is invaluable, and maintaining that attitude. Do a lot of reading.”

Dr. Tapasit, with your reassuring smile, thank you for being my “Tooth Fairy”!

Snap Shots: Panning - for gold?

by Harry Flashman

Well, panning for gold really is not a photographic technique, but by panning with your camera you can come up with some “golden” results!

Panning is just one of the ways you can record movement in a photograph. There is a tendency these days for the auto camera manufacturers to provide an “action” setting. Unfortunately all this does is to select super fast shutter speeds to “stop” the action. The final shot very often lacks any impression of movement at all.

Blur is often a much better way of indicating that the subject is in motion, than totally stopped activity. Mind you, what we are talking about here is blur, not out of focus photos. There is an enormous difference.

Let us take some specific examples. First, waterfalls and running water. By putting the camera on slow shutter speed you can end up with the water turning white, foamy and smoke-like. The shutter speed to get this will be anything from 1 second upwards. Now to be able to get the correct exposure will need a very small aperture and sometimes there will still be too much light. Screw a polarizing filter on your lens and this will reduce the light by one and a half stops and you might be OK. You can also screw another one on as well, making for a three stop reduction. One trick here, is to do your focussing before you put the polarizers on, because when you get a massive light reduction like this it is almost impossible to see through the lens enough to do the focussing necessary.

With shutter speeds as slow as this you will need a tripod - or be able to place the camera on something solid and still - and hold it firmly yourself!

Second, let us look at photographing people in action such as running, playing sport or whatever. The secret here is to use a shutter speed of around 1/15th to 1/30th of a second and to follow the action. You will end up with the people in focus, but the arms and legs will be blurred as the extremities are moving relatively faster than the head and body. This does take some practice, and you should experiment with the different shutter speeds. I would even suggest you include 1/8th of a second as well as it is really very easy to handhold at that speed. When done well, you will even blur the background as you follow the action (panning). These shots, well executed, are worth all the effort.

Another interesting blur shot is the zoom while photographing. Again this is a mount on a tripod shot. What you do is to focus on the subject with the zoom lens at its “wide angle” setting. With a shutter speed of around four seconds, then you zoom in while the shutter is open. This is particularly good for night neon shots. If you want to try it during the day you will really need to drop the light levels entering the camera. There are special filters available for this, called Neutral Density filters and they come in strengths of 1, 2 and 3 stops of light. You can even combine them to get up to a factor of 6 - but as mentioned previously, focus first, before putting the filters on! These are also not easy shots to do. You have to keep the focus, while zooming and not bump the camera either. But it is worth a try.

As Harry has said many times, film is the cheapest item in photography. Compared to the cost of your equipment it is very cheap indeed.

Modern Medicine: Cirrhosis

by Dr Iain Corness

Cirrhosis of the liver is a nasty condition and is characterised by the liver tissue being progressively replaced by fibrous tissue. This change slowly affects the ability of the liver to deal with all the toxins it clears out of the blood and the person with cirrhosis eventually may succumb to liver failure.

The causes of Cirrhosis of the liver are many, but the principal one is our old friend ethanol - especially the forms of ethanol that comes in dark glass bottles with labels on them. Yes, booze! Whilst social drinking may be beneficial to our system, excessive drinking is not and the end result can be liver damage.

The next important causes of cirrhosis are the viral liver infections Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Both of these conditions have a statistically high chance of ending up damaging the liver. By the way, Hep B we can immunise against - for Hep C there is no immunisation vaccine developed yet and the only form of “treatment” (Interferon) is expensive and makes you feel even sicker - and results are not guaranteed!

After that the causes become more rare, with some metabolic disorders like Alpha 1 antitrypsin and such conditions, which we medicos do not meet too often, thankfully, as we can do very little for these people.

So how do you know if you have cirrhosis? Well, to begin with you don’t feel well. In fact you feel unwell most of the time. You are likely to have weakness, weight loss, lack of appetite, decreased libido, nausea and vomiting. From there, as the condition progresses you get ankle swelling, a swollen belly, jaundice and start vomiting blood. All in all, it’s not a pretty picture.

Diagnosis can be presumed from the clinical symptoms and signs, but definitive diagnosis is best done through a liver biopsy. This is a fun procedure where we stick a large bore needle through the right side of your abdomen and “core out” the tissue we need to examine under the microscope.

So what can we do about this condition after we find you’ve got it? Well, the first thing you have to do is withdraw the offending agent - which generally means you have to cease drinking forthwith. Next is treatment of the various symptoms and a period to wait and see if the liver can return itself to anything near reasonable function. If it cannot, then the last resort is a liver transplant. This is not a form of treatment entered into lightly, and anyone who will continue to drink alcohol is automatically rejected from the list of people looking and waiting for donors.

The plight of those with cirrhosis is not a happy one and at this stage in medical science you are a lot better trying to avoid the condition rather than looking for treatment. In essence, moderate drinking, vaccinate against Hepatitis B and avoid behaviour that could leave you exposed to Hepatitis C.

To ensure you are not in the early stages it would be necessary to have some blood tests and perhaps a liver scan as well. If you’re worried, see your doctor and arrange it. Good luck!

Dear Hillary,

While surfing the free Internet in our public library in London SW2, on our day out, we came across your column in the Pattaya Mail. If anyone can help us, we’ re sure you can.

You see Hillary, we normally go to Majorca every year but understandably this year would “cost us”. However my cousin’s uncle’s friend of a travel agent has got us this incredibly cheap deal to Thailand over Christmas and the millennium period.

We’ve heard that Thailand is amazing but we don’t fancy Bangkok with all that traffic and all those foreigners! But we heard Pattaya is quite reasonable and they can speak English and even have McDonalds, we can’t wait.

Can you PLEASE help us with lodgings? We have a set budget of 300-400 Baht per night tops (Brekkie and all taxes included of course.) Can you suggest a nice hotel close to the beach and all the millennium celebrations? We’re not too worried about a pool because neither of us can swim, but we would like a pretty garden to sit in while we eat our take-away’s, and a large room with a sea view, air con, satellite T.V, and an electric kettle, as we do like a nice cuppa when we’re on holiday! A mini bar too and of course we’ll put our own stuff in there. Oh! And last but not least a huge en suite bath tub preferably a spa with lots and lots of hot water. And Hillary, could the hotel staff be friendly All Of The Time, because someone told us waiters and hotel receptionists especially, there are prone to the odd mood swing. Thanking you for your attention, The Miserly Family (Staying with friends at present), London, SW2, The United Kingdom.

P.S. Hillary do you think if we asked the hotel nicely, they would pick us up free of charge at the airport? We will have lots of luggage and will probably need two cars.

Dear Miserleys,

Did you realize that you would be putting your life on the line travelling over the Christmas millennium period? May I suggest Brighton, closer to home? Anyway all the cheaper hotels have been booked out for years. It is rumoured that Mackers will only be able to serve super chilli hot and spicy big Macs and sugar cane drinks over the millennium holiday time because of computer bug problems. All your other requirements are available at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, though at probably considerably more than your budget would stand. As for the friendliness of the Thai staff, all Thais are friendly and their mood swings depend on the loudness of your voice (softer is better) and the size of the tip, 100 baht tip is standard for any and every service including sneezing. Transport from the airport is available in several forms, none of which are complimentary. There are helicopter charters, hotel limousine services, Image Car Travel, taxis, and busses, all of which you pay between 4,000 baht and 160 baht each, for a one way trip. Why so much luggage, no-body wears much clothes here anyway, it is about 36* in the shade? We wish you a wonderful holiday season and please send us a post card from Brighton.

Dear Hillary,

For many months I’ve admired you from afar. I can’t stand it any longer and have finally summoned the courage to E-mail you.

How on earth do you get your uncanny wisdom? Is it something you eat, something you drink, or something that you do regularly - that makes you so wise? If you let us in on your secret, just imagine where we might end up!

Also - your wisdom covers everything Thai, everything Farang, most things culinary and everything amorous (concerning both Thais’ and Farangs’). May I dare to ask, whether you are: -Thai, -Farang, or, part Thai/ part Farang?

Utterly Overawed.

Dear Utterly,

Thank you darling for your precious compliments, but a girl has to have her secrets. Oh well, since you are such a sweetie I will give you a hint! My identical twin, and myself (our mama named us both Hillary), were born beautiful, brainy and before our time, with all true modesty. As for our Nationality, the answer is in the name.

GRAPEVINE

Cop this lot!

Copyright 1999 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
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Updated by Boonsiri Suansuk.