Family Money: So what if you’re wealthy?

By Leslie Wright

Wealth management has traditionally been the preserve of private banks and boutique investment firms.

However, with a greater need for products that incorporate tax benefits and a certain level of return, offshore insurance companies are increasingly assessing the potential to attract a share of this growing market.

Insurance-linked products such as offshore insurance bonds (OIBs) provide investors with diverse investment opportunities.

This type of investment vehicle accesses a wide spectrum of funds which range from low to high risk, and generally offers tax efficiency along with performance and administrative simplicity.

High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) - those with financial assets that exceed ฃlm - who might one day return to the UK can certainly benefit from insurance-linked products for tax-efficiency reasons alone.

Other nationalities can benefit from them because of the flexibility, administrative simplicity and longer-term cost-effectiveness of such vehicles.

But according to one leading provider, only 5% of HNWIs hold offshore unit-linked investments.

Many investors - especially HNWIs - turn up their noses at the first mention of insurance. But unit-linked instruments are pure investment vehicles that just happen to be offered by insurance companies. You pay nothing for the nominal death benefit (typically 101% of the portfolio’s value.)

But no. Many HNWIs prefer complicated portfolios of stocks & shares, and commodities, futures & options, and a few non-traditional investments that are “interesting” (generally to impress their dinner guests) such as forests or distilleries in the Highlands of Scotland. Far be it from them to invest in anything as mundane as an offshore insurance bond accessing some of the leading collective-investment funds!

But offshore bonds should be attractive to HNWIs because they allow investors to roll up income and gains generated by the underlying assets without incurring ongoing tax liabilities.

According to a World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Gemini, HNWI assets have risen by 18% to $25.5 trillion, up from $21.6 trillion in 1998. In addition, the report estimated that there were 55,000 ultra-HNWIs whose total individual financial assets were in excess of $30m.

Who are HNWIs?

HNWIs normally acquire their wealth in two ways: inherited money or emergent wealth. The former is obtained through inheritance; emergent wealth is obtained by an individual’s own means.

People with emergent wealth are usually entrepreneurs or executives as young as 35 who are technology-aware and hungry for investment information.

They are interested in wealth creation as well as wealth preservation, and are more sophisticated than average in their investment knowledge.

Nonetheless, it would seem that many of these HNWIs have little idea how to invest their wealth effectively: to optimise gains while conserving wealth.

The report suggested that HNWIs are more likely to invest a higher proportion of their assets in higher-risk, higher-yielding financial instruments such as equities and venture capital.

Furthermore, it found that emergent wealthy ultra-HNWIs tend to take a shorter-term perspective than those with inherited wealth, and are also less risk-averse. They insist on top performance and are far more demanding.

It appears that ultra-HNWIs want a more sophisticated level of service as well as institutional calibre investment products with personalised service.

These include highly structured and bespoke products, often linked to their business affairs, as well as consolidated financial performance information to reflect ultra-HNWIs spread of financial assets across several providers and specialists.

Of increasing importance is access to a range of special advisory services, such as international tax and legal information, and a personal relationship with a savvy manager who has substantial depth and breadth of financial knowledge.

Greater importance is being placed on cutting-edge technologies - for instance the Internet - that immediately satisfy their needs for accessing information anytime, anywhere.

The demand for service

HNWIs quite naturally demand a more sophisticated service than small investors (although in my experience the smaller investor is the one who frets the most, and is the most demanding of having his hand held).

In my experience also, HNWIs like to deal through independent financial advisers (IFAs) because of the IFA’s knowledge and the fact that a personal face-to-face relationship can be developed.

All too often, personal banking services are impersonal, and one rarely gets a truly bespoke investment service from them, where the needs & requirements of the individual client come first.

HNWIs like to research their financial requirements with the support of an IFA. HNWIs also like to be able to switch their investments around whenever they want - or have their trusted IFA-portfolio manager do it for them - and are more sophisticated in obtaining information from the Internet. Again, personal banking services rarely provide this level of support.

HNWIs demand more services than the average investor, are aware of what is going on in the market, and want more website services. Many access the Internet daily to keep up-to-date with information on their portfolios of investments.

The case for PPBs

Emergent wealth is currently outstripping inherent wealth, according to an executive with one of the leading offshore investment product providers. “With this newly-found wealth,” he says, “new demands on product providers have been created.”

Because of the tax benefits for UK investors, HNWIs are increasingly investing in offshore personal portfolio bonds (PPBs) to minimise tax.

A PPB generically is simply an ‘umbrella’ investment vehicle offered by all the large offshore insurance companies, into which can be placed a virtually unlimited number of investments of all types.

The most commonly used for British expats is that availing of the ‘collective investment option’ which limits the component holdings to collective investments like unit trusts or mutual funds.

This renders it highly tax-efficient for UK residents, since the holdings - like an ordinary OIB - fall outside section 739 of the 1988 Finance Act, and onshore drawdowns are then taxed as income with no capital gains being applied.

Also, due to recent legislation changes in the UK, tax benefits formerly applied to trusts have become less favourable. The tax on trusts has increased and investors are turning towards unit-linked insurance products for a tax break. Thus there has been an increase in importance for this type of product amongst Brits, either resident in the UK or semi-permanently expatriate.

But as touched upon earlier when looking at OIBs, PPBs are just as useful for citizens of other countries, or permanent expats, because of the ease of administration in creating and simplicity of monitoring & managing a sophisticated portfolio in a cost-effective manner.

In many cases, the normal entry costs into collective investments (mutual funds, unit trusts, ucits) are discounted - in many cases down to zero - within a PPB.

After all, what most HNWIs really want is investment products that are bespoke, easy to understand, and provide regular detailed valuations. And PPBs certainly provide these features.

No interest or expertise?

A senior executive from another provider believes it does not matter whether a HNWI has inherited or emergent wealth: it is their attitude towards risk that dictates what investment products they buy. “They like to invest their money,” he says, “but do not like to make decisions where they may lose it.”

To my mind, this would tend to indicate that the investor is either under-informed or has not established links with a reliable IFA who would be able to advise him on what degree of risk he should be taking on given his circumstances and investment objectives.

An objective client-orientated IFA should, in my view, be providing his client with sound advice in this regard, as well as providing views on which funds from which provider would be appropriate to include in the investor’s portfolio going forward.

Sadly, all too often, these decisions are based on flavour-of-the-month or past performance rather than future potential, no matter whether it is the investor who decides by himself or his IFA who recommends which funds to buy. After all, it is always easier to sell winners than losers!

For the most part, HNWI clients are not looking for highly volatile performance but steady and sustainable growth.

But many HNWIs do not have a professional portfolio manager on their doorstep who they can call on to manage their investments for them; or they prefer to deal only with household-name firms in the world’s major financial centres.

These investors can invest in discretionary managed-type products such as a multi-manager portfolio that provides investors with access to some of the world’s leading fund managers.

HNWIs often choose this type of product because they are unsure of when to buy and sell, or do not have access to the highly specialised information with which to make judicious investment decisions.

Yet by using this approach, investors get a packaged product and do not have to make the individual decisions themselves. Rather, they use the fund managers’ expertise to buy and sell.

The client receives regular performance reports, and lets the managers get on with their job of creating or conserving wealth depending on the profile chosen by the client at outset.

Keeping to the middle way

While each individual investor is different, with differing criteria and objectives, HNWIs who invest for the long term typically have a slightly higher risk profile, whereas short-term investors are likely to be more conservative.

This contrasts sharply with smaller investors, who in my professional experience tend to be more than willing to risk all their nest-egg for some get-rich scheme - which may well lose the lot - rather than conserving what they’ve got and steadily building more.

All investors, big and small, are driven basically by just two emotions: fear and greed. But I have found that in many cases the fearful ones need a bit of greed injected into them, while the greedy ones need a bit of fear injected into them.

As was the motto of my old school: “medioc ria firma” - the middle way is the firmest, which any Buddhist will affirm (if you’ll pardon the irreverent pun), and provides a balance between creating and conserving wealth in a sensible yet flexible manner.

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

By Mirin MacCarthy

Sandra Lambrinos is the operations manager of Kirwan Industrial Services, an Australian company that has expanded here in a very short time. Sandra Lambrinos is also one bright lady who enjoys a challenge and has helped make this happen.

Sandra was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Maltese parents who immigrated there in 1955 during that period when Australia was crying out for immigrants. She feels she had a great time growing up in Australia. “I had two brothers and a sister, we were very close. Our parents were very family orientated.” This, of course, was the Maltese family tradition and although Sandra speaks and looks Maltese with her dark hair and gorgeous flashing eyes, she considers herself to be an all-Australian girl.

After high school, Sandra completed secretarial studies at the well known RMIT, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Her first position was as secretary to the state sales manager of Ansett Freight Express, a big player in the field. This was a job she enjoyed for eleven years, but then transferred to another division, TNT Air Couriers, for two years. Sandra said and laughed, “It was a super job. As you can see I don’t change jobs very often. I’ve worked all my life, apart from six years having children. I’ve always enjoyed working. I like to meet people and know their ways.”

However, in 1984 she took the opportunity take a break from working and to travel, and spent three months travelling with a girlfriend, going to Singapore, London, Italy and Malta, her heritage. Surprisingly, “Singapore was my favourite country because it was colourful and clean and pretty. If I won two million dollars I would travel. It would be great to see the rest of Asia.”

In 1986 she met and married her husband Steele Lambrinos, who was working at Ansett, and spent the next six years raising their two sons who are now nine and eleven years old and attending the ISR here.

However, when she returned to the work force nine years ago it was to a completely different field - that of technical industrial cleaning. Sandra was the supervisor for the manager of Toyota responsible for both technical, and non technical cleaning of machinery, plant and material. The following year she took on the position of non-technical operations manager of Kirwan Industrial Services in Australia. “Most people think it’s a job cleaning offices,” she laughed. “When you are supplying industrial cleaning to automotive plants and other heavy industry, it is a complex business. For example, here in Thailand there are safety aspects, and operating procedure manuals to write and then teach as well as over 200 Thai staff to train and supervise.”

Sandra seems to take it all in her stride. When I asked how she could manage to juggle motherhood, a family and a demanding job she said, “You have to be organized. I enjoy a challenge. I hate losing. If I want to do something I want to give it 100%.”

In 1993 her husband Steele also joined Kirwan as national operations manager, but then in1997 he brought a division of the company, Kirwan Industrial, to Thailand. This career move was one which shows the resoluteness of this woman - Sandra did not follow Steele to Thailand for three years, and has in fact only been here on the Eastern Seaboard for six months!

“I loved my job in Australia, and the kids were settled at school and doing competitive swimming. We had to have a long distance relationship for the last three years. The most difficult aspect of living apart was not having adult companionship. I just did not want to be over here when Steele was working 24 hours a day setting up the company. He would not have been able to have any time for the family then anyway.” Sandra certainly was not afraid to make momentous decisions.

Success to Sandra is “Being Number 1, doing things properly, doing what we do best.” The major values in her life are honesty, a good family life and happiness. However, it is interesting to see that for Sandra the pragmatic approach to family life that she has had to take for three years still fits in within these parameters.

Although she loves Thailand for the friendly people and the weather and the nightlife, her plans for the future are further on in Asia. “We want to expand the company to China and the Philippines. It would be nice to see all of Asia,” she mused.

For many people, the constant strains of working alongside one’s spouse can be damaging to a relationship, but that does not seem to be the case with Sandra, who is often seen at functions beaming at Steele’s side, with the boys in tow. In answer to my question as to how difficult is it working with your husband, she replied forthrightly, “It is good. The only thing that you find difficult is constantly talking work. You just have to learn to switch off.”

Sandra Lambrinos, the daughter of poor Maltese immigrants to Australia, has certainly used her time in the “lucky country” to help her leapfrog up the corporate ladder. She is also one likeable lady who has organized her way to the success she deserves. More power to her.

by Mirin MacCarthy

by John D. Blyth

‘Take him for all-in-all, we shall not look upon his like again,’ wrote an unknown Chesterfield journalist in a report of the funeral of George Stephenson (1781-1848), and indeed many would agree that 150 years later his statement is till true. Born in poverty in a Tyneside mining village, illiterate until the age of 18, he started work in the fields, not a colliery, at eight years, only later getting posts tending the winding engines and, later, locomotives around the mines were seen, and young George thought he could improve on them, which in due time he did.

The earliest known illustration of the ‘Rocket’, as built, from the ‘Mechanics’ Magazine’ of 29th October 1829.

His son Robert was born in 1803 and was given the kind of education George himself had lacked, and in 1823 an engine-building factory was set up in Newcastle, with Robert as manager, and which was to bear his name for over 100 years. Stationary engines were mainly built, but by 1825 sixteen locomotives had been produced. In the latter year Stephenson locomotives were to work the first public railway in the world to have steam power – this was the Stockton & Darlington Railway mainly carrying coal to the navigable River Tees. The first locomotive to go into service there was the ‘Locomotion’, happily still in existence.

In addition to engineering, George was also a natural surveyor by eye; he could sit on a horse, look over the country around him, and ‘see’ the best route for a railway. This of course had to be confirmed instrumentally, but George was seldom wrong. He also became competent in instrumental survey work, an ability which caused him to be appointed surveyor for the planned Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1826. It fell to him also to be in charge of much of the building, and his fame (as it was becoming) could well have foundered, as part of the line chosen was over a notorious bog area called Chat Moss. Few really believed that it was possible for a railway to cross this, but sheer determination led eventually to success.

The remains of the ‘Rocket’ at the Science Museum in 1923; since then some very poor replacement parts have been added.

The L. & M.R. directors were not in favour of locomotives as the power for their new railway; they had seen the stationary engines that operated parts of the Darlington line and preferred this method of working. George could be very persuasive at times but when in full flow, his Northumberland dialect, or ‘burr’ became almost impossible for one from another part of Britain to understand, so there was much difficulty between the two sides. Eventually, and not with good grace, they agreed to a trial, but a condition was that locomotives from other builders should be allowed to compete. The event caused great public interest, and was held on the L. & M. line at Raihill, about ten miles from Liverpool. At one stage there were about ten locomotives entered - but in the event, only five ‘came to the party’.

These were Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’, Hackworth’s ‘Sans Pareil’, Braithwaite & Ericson’s ‘Novelty’, Brandreth’s ‘Cyclopede’ and Burstall’s ‘Perseverance’. Hackworth was well-known to the Stephensons, and the cylinders for ‘Sans Pareil’ were actually cast in the Stephenson works in Newcastle – it was a sad fate that one of them developed a serious crack during its tests, but the real failure was a burst tube. ‘Novelty’, a most original and lightweight design very much the public favourite, also suffered the same fate. Brandreth’s ‘device’ was disqualified as it was driven by a horse, trotting on a moving platform – thus it was not ‘mechanical’, although steam operation was itself not a condition. Finally, Burstall’s engine having been prepared was allowed to perform some test running, but was hopelessly incompetent.

The trial was to convey a train of three times the weight of the locomotive; with this it was required to run in each direction on the course, which made just 3.5 miles for a round trip, which was to be repeated ten times. After taking water, a further ten trips were to be completed, the resulting 70 miles being equal to a round trip between Liverpool and Manchester. Only the ‘Rocket’ completed this quite severe test, yet it was not a very popular success. The ill-informed, which included many of the L. & M Railway’s directors, thought it an ugly engine, and that ‘Novelty’ or ‘Sans Pareil’ ought to have been the winner. There was a ฃ500 prize, which was duly presented to the Stephensons. But whose locomotive was it? George, as we know, was at the railway end much of the time that ‘Rocket’ was being built, although he did contrive to keep a fatherly eye on progress, but I think it must be conceded that almost all the responsibility for ‘Rocket’ fell on the shoulders of son Robert.

The fame of the Stephensons, father and son, was spreading (although it is ‘old George’ whose name is recalled today), but their future success as providers of railways for the world was now assured. Had ‘Rocket’ failed, there would gave been no fast rail transport for years to come, and line-side stationary engines would have been the rule. The two surveyed railway routes all over Britain and Europe, and often beyond, and many lines also bought their early locomotives from the Newcastle workshops, too. One can hardly measure the degree of change in life-style that came about in the lives of men and women who could now travel at speeds and in a manner unknown only a few years before.

Such is the injustice of man to man that neither of these brilliant public servants received any title, honour, or decoration for their work. In an era when a pop-singer can ‘earn’ a knighthood, this is something to ponder on.

The ‘Rocket’ did not remain on the L.& M.R. for long; it was quite extensively modified, and later was sold to a colliery in Cumberland. Later the remains were brought to the Science Museum in London; proposals to restore the engine to its pristine condition were not carried out - in my opinion, rightly!

by Lesley Warner

I was standing in the checkout queue at Big C the other day and in front of me was a not unattractive lady in her 40’s. She was smartly dressed and looked very respectable. The smell of the perfume emanating from her, however, was extremely unpleasant and I found it difficult to stand behind her. It makes me wonder why people cannot smell themselves’ in this hot climate. It is so important to monitor your perfume; what is suited for a cold climate will not necessarily suit in the heat, and ‘little is better’. I decided to find out what the difference is between the strengths that they offer us in different perfumes. Usually, if we are lucky, our perfume is a gift so we have no choice on the strength we are given, in which case we need to know how much to put on - don’t just plaster it all over.

Fragrances are comprised of many different scents; these scents are called “notes.”

Top notes are very light and last just a few minutes (5-10 minutes).

Middle notes become apparent in about 15 minutes after application. These can last up to an hour or more.

Bottom notes are the heavier ingredients. These last the longest, usually for several hours.

So, what is the difference between Perfume, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, and Eau de Cologne?

The differences are simply a matter of the amount or concentration of oils in the fragrance. These oils are called “juice.” The higher the concentration of “juice” the longer your fragrance will last, and the less you need to apply.

The highest concentration of “juice” is in perfume (or parfum). Next would be Eau de Parfum, then Eau de Toilette, and finally Eau de Cologne.

Actually, Eau de Toilette and Eau de Cologne are generally interchangeable, particularly in men’s fragrances. After-shave has the least amount of oils.

Some people complain that their perfume never seems to smell for very long; this is generally because people with dry skin usually find their fragrance holding time shorter than those with oily skin because oily skin has more natural moisture to hold in the fragrance.

pH levels (amount of acidity in our skin) also vary slightly from person to person. Our individual levels of pH will determine how each ingredient in a fragrance will react. Alcohol is added because it makes the fragrance emanate from your skin. Without alcohol, you would be the only person who knew you were wearing any fragrance at all.

You can help your fragrance to last longer. Try layering your fragrance by using the fragrance bath gel (if the company offers one), then the moisturizer or powder, and then the Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum or Eau de Cologne. This will usually have a longer lasting effect.

Also, apply your fragrance low on the body, as well as behind your ears and on your neck, so that the scent rises and you won’t lose it as quickly. A light spray on the hair can last all day.

There is absolutely no difference in the fragrance. The only difference between a splash and a spray is in the application. However, a spray bottle, being ostensibly sealed all the time, may have a longer shelf life. Making the decision between spray and splash is entirely a matter of personal preference.

Shower gel is soap in a different form. It is made for use by both men and women, foams up well and leaves your chosen fragrance on the skin. It then enhances your cologne or perfume and the fragrance will last much longer.

To keep your perfume from going bad put it in a cool, dry area, away from windows, as sunlight can unbalance the various ingredients. An opened bottle should be kept in its box to insure a longer shelf life.

Quality of Life Is Improving

We often complain that our quality of life here in the Kingdom is deteriorating. Traffic gridlock, overcrowding, noise and pollution have certainly taken their toll on the environment in the rush to industrialise in the past two decades. The ruthless overbuilding without zoning or careful planning in cities like Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Rai, will testify to a degradation of the natural beauty these places once enjoyed. However, there is a growing movement to increase the level of awareness of how important it is to protect Thailand’s natural beauty and still modernise its lifestyle and economy. Tourism is a well-promoted industry here and has enjoyed enormous success. But tourist delights, lovely as they may be, are not what gives a nation a well balanced economy and its citizens a civilised lifestyle.

There was a time when the only goods and services worth having were to be found only in the capital city. The provinces simply did without or people drove into Bangkok to buy what couldn’t be purchased in local talads. Less than 20 years ago, there was no international dialling system in Pattaya, for example. There were no major banks, no schools, no hospitals. Jomtien Beach did not have a paved road. Brahma cows and water buffalo roamed the beaches where there are now posh condos and five star hotels. Visitors to Jomtien packed their food and water and walked their motorbikes most of the way to reach the desired stretch of sand.

Pattaya City didn’t have many paved roads, either. And full time housing was impossible to find. Supermarkets did not exist. Everyone bought their food at the old Naklua market near the giant tree which still grows in the centre of the street. They tossed all of their purchases into the back of the few baht buses that plied the town, or tied all their packages with pink plastic string to their mopeds and prayed they would make it home without incident.

There were plenty of tourists, even in those days. But one could count the number of Western women living here full time on the fingers of one hand. All the farang families lived in Bangkok where they could send their children to international schools and buy imported food at Villa Supermarket on Sukhumvit, where the core of the international community was housed. Some of the lucky ones had tiny weekend beach houses dotted along the Chonburi beaches. These basic abodes were lacking in amenities, and families would load up their chauffeur driven cars with food and cooking utensils with which to barbecue fish purchased straight off the fishing boats when the fishermen came ashore at the end of the day. Before the new expressways were finished, and the old Sukhumvit Highway was the sole route to Pattaya, the driving time could be as long as five hours. This was a daunting trip, and only worth the exercise if one was serving what amounted to a prison sentence in Bangkok most of the year.

The sea was clean in those days and children could snorkel with schools of fish not far from the shore. These cloistered groups of Westerners didn’t stray far from their beach huts unless they had a working knowledge of the Thai language. English speaking locals were a rarity even in the few hotels and bars which catered to foreign visitors.

Pattaya is no longer a pristine beach resort in a tropical paradise of peace and serenity. It has become a “city by the sea” which attracts full time residents who are moving in from other regions of the nation, including Bangkok. The industrialisation of the Eastern Seaboard has brought with it the introduction of all the goods, services and modern conveniences that allow residents a lifestyle which can be accommodated without hardship or regular trips to Bangkok for the necessities of everyday life.

One of the most amazing improvements is our telephone system, which has allowed us access to the Internet, and also the ease with which it is now possible to obtain a telephone line. Another bonus is the new network of expressways and toll ways that crisscross the region and have reduced driving time to nearly all parts of the country. Western style housing is everywhere. Cinemas and shopping centres are abundant. European restaurants and fast food chains provide variety in the diet of even the most gluttonous diner and shopping centres are filled with imported goods. Frankly, we never had it so good!

by Richard Bunch

From Jay Gordon, Rayong: I work for a large company on the Eastern Seaboard, where we have a substantial network which is based on Windows NT servers with mainly Windows 2000 clients, although there are still a few NT workstations remaining.

Generally speaking I am really impressed with the stability Windows 2000 has achieved. I honestly can’t remember my PC locking up which was an all too frequent occurrence with Windows 98. This being the case I would like to put Windows 2000 on my system at home, which is a Pentium III 733 based PC about 6 months old. However, some friends tell me this is not a good idea in a domestic environment and I should install Windows ME. I honestly don’t know which operating system is best for me. The PC is used by myself, my wife and ten year old son. Normal everyday applications like Word and Excel are the order of the day and of course the Internet. My son does have some games that he plays and I would like him to be able to play these, so this may sway towards one operating system. Your unbiased advise would be appreciated.

Computer Doctor replies: Well, I’ll try to be unbiased, although saying that, I am rather fond of Windows 2000. It is true to say that when Windows 2000 first came out there were some problems, particularly relating to communication and USB devices. These problems have been well addressed and although hardware manufacturers now have Windows 2000 drivers available, certainly for non-prehistoric devices, great improvements were made and many bugs fixed within Service Release 1. One of the main things that prevents some users switching to Windows 2000 is that it will not run some games and indeed others will not even install. This is principally because Windows 2000 masquerades as NT 5.0 and games say a big “no thanks” if they detect NT. Thankfully there is a solution which will work in many cases, should you encounter this problem. On the installation CD ROM you will find within the Support Folder a utility called apcompat.exe. Simply copy this to your hard drive, execute it and follow the instructions. In essence it allows you to dictate the operating system that is reported to the games installer. Naturally, before even contemplating installing Windows 2000, ensure that you run the hardware compatibility test and make any changes necessary, including obtaining new drivers. Another reason for choosing Windows 2000 is the security features provided by users, groups, permissions, etc.

On the ME front, or Windows Millennium, this is promoted as the true replacement for Windows 98 and as such, all hardware, drivers and software that worked under Windows 98 should work under ME. It is infinitely more stable than its predecessor, largely as a result of the absence of the DOS prompt. It also has some nice new features which can prevent a crisis should little Tommy get carried away and render the system unusable or should an application be installed that has a similar catastrophic result. Upon starting the system, pressing the F8 key will present the familiar boot options screen, one of which is Safe Mode, but this is Safe Mode with a difference, it offers a System Restore function, which basically means you can choose to start the PC with a configuration earlier in time, be it hours, days, weeks or months, whilst this will normally get the system going normally any applications that were installed or uninstalled in the interim will need to be redone. Similarly, any configuration changes, but it is a whole lot quicker than having to start from scratch again. Also with this feature, data remains intact, so no loss of e-mail, etc.

Generally both systems have good points and one will certainly be right for you. In a domestic environment, the decision really is personal and of course can be influenced by budget if new hardware is required.

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] . The views and comments expressed within this column are not necessarily those of the writer or Pattaya Mail Publishing.

Richard Bunch is Managing Director of Action Computer Technologies Co., Ltd. Providing professional information technology and Internet services which includes; custom database and application development; website design, promotion and hosting; domain name registration; turnkey e-commerce solutions; computer and peripheral sales service and repairs, networks (LAN & WAN) and IT consulting. For further information, please e-mail [email protected]  or telephone/fax 038 716 816 or see our website www.act.co.th 

A new way to get the Jack: Out there in the wilds off Soi Buakhow and just around the corner from Soi Chaiyapoom (also known as Soi Chock-A-Pom for the number of its English-run nosheries and watering holes) is a brand new and bold venture called the Lawn Bowl.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the sport of lawn bowling, let me try and enlighten you. Basically, you have a place the size of a small park, covered in carefully manicured grass on which teams consisting of anything from one to eight or so persons compete against each other.

The old lawn bowling caper has long been seen as the preserve of weatherbeaten old fogies tarted up in creams coming to grips with big black balls the size of coconuts and rolling them in the general direction of a tiny white ball (somewhat unfortunately called the ‘Jack’) that most of the rollers can barely see due to failing eyesight. Which is why there is usually a fellow team member standing at the other end of the park waving one or both arms like a demented traffic cop to the roller about his shot approach. Whoever gets his balls closest to the Jack gets the points.

Mind you, there’s always some smartie who thinks he’s the lawn bowling equivalent of Dennis Lillee or Glen McGrath and tries the fast bowl approach, aiming to smash through the balls already gathered about the Jack.

Clapping a good shot by one of your teammates or an opponent is not done in the regular fashion. Instead, your arms should remain loosely at your side and you swing your hands together in a slow clap that ends in front of the groin region. It’s best to put down knives and other sharp implements before engaging in the slow clap.

One of the major attractions of the game is the regular liquid replenishment programme so that dehydration, due to the hot weather, is avoided. This is done with regular trips to the bar after the players have got a few ends away. An end, for your edification, is completed after all the players on both sides have sent their big black balls down in the direction of the Jack and somebody has managed, usually by use of a tape measure, to work out who’s picked up the points.

On a serious note, the game takes quite a bit of skill and in recent years has gained an increasingly younger following, although the attraction may well be the trips to the bar as much as the game itself.

The Lawn Bowl clubhouse, just down the road from The Chippy take-away noshery, is of the style you might find in any respectable lawn bowling club from Timbuktu to Oodnadatta.

However, a major feature is that from about 8:00pm on any night from Wednesday through to Monday you can catch some great live music with a one-man show featuring great renditions of classics by artists such as Elvis Presley and The Beatles as well as popular country tunes and some modern gems. Considering the booze in the joint is served up at low prices, the entertainment alone makes the effort to go around and park your backside worth the effort.

Where have all the tour buses gone? As the high season begins to get into swing, the 700 or so hapless shopkeepers of Duck Square (South Pattaya Road) are becoming increasingly frustrated as the promised busloads of tourists keep failing to materialise. One of the main reasons why so many people took up the challenge of hanging out a shingle at Duck Square was the promise by management of up to 20 coach loads a day of free-spending tourists, most of them from countries such as South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China. That the buses and the tourists haven’t fronted as yet has led to angry scenes between struggling vendors and an embattled Duck Square management. A solution had better be forthcoming, some time before hell freezes over, otherwise the place will have to be re-named White Elephant Square.

For the Thirsty: The best and most delicious orange juice in town can be had for just 50 baht. Peter’s Bar, right next to the Bamboo (South Pattaya Road), serves an orange juice that just has to be tasted to be believed. It comes in a large glass with plenty of ice and pieces of tangerine inside just to add a bit more zing. It’s more like a meal than a drink.

Heard This One: A German restaurateur and long-time resident of the Land of Smiling Scammers recently managed to strike the mother lode yet again when flogging his smart-looking noshery. The purchaser turned out to be a Frenchman whose command of the English language was almost non-existent and his Thai much the same. The German seller left a swag of unpaid bills and inflated the takings figures leaving one long-term resident to exclaim, “H.... has struck again!” Hardly a serene start to operations and, needless to say, the recalcitrant Kraut has gone to ground.

My e-mail address is: [email protected] 

by Apichart

Exploration

We began using deep diving submersibles in the late 20th Century. The first crafts were called bathyscaphes. These were deep sea cousins to balloons. The idea was relatively simple. A pressurised capsule carrying a passenger was hung beneath a giant, gasoline filled steel balloon. When the passenger wanted to descend, he released gasoline from the balloon. To rise, he dropped steel shot which formed the ballast, from a magnetised drum. These early diving vehicles were eventually replaced by submersibles which were more self contained, easier to power and manoeuvre. Now it is possible to work and explore 24 hours a day for weeks or more.

Bathyscaphe

Paradoxically, the more we learn about the ocean, the more we seem to abuse it. Every year millions of tons of waste from homes and factories, or oil spills enter the seas. All kinds of plastic packaging, metal cans, and other rubbish entangle and strangle sea turtles, sea birds, sea lions and fish. Not only do we dump poisons in, we take too much life out. Drift nets meant for tuna and squid also accidentally snare blue sharks, dolphins, porpoises, sea birds, seals, marine turtles, and even whales.

Alarmed at the deteriorating state of our oceans and marine life, conservationists and an increasingly informed public are pressing nations around the world to write and enforce laws and form treaties to prevent further devastation of this precious source of life on our planet.

Myths and Misinformation

In the Ancient World, people were conceptually wrong about the shape of the ocean. But they were correct about its primal character. For the ancient Greeks like Homer, and for the Egyptians as well, Earth was flat, and the ocean was an eternal river flowing around its rim. In the Egyptian scheme of things, a boat carrying the sun made a daily circumnavigation. This is not celestial mechanics or geography as we know them today, of course. But in some particulars, the ancient views were not so very far off the mark. The primordial substance postulated by Greek philosophers describes the “essence of life” as fluid, all-pervading, endowed with inherent powers of movement. This idea certainly sounds an awful lot like water!

The ocean is an opaque, three-dimensional, storm-tossed medium. It is unfriendly to human inquiry. Our knowledge of the seas has advanced since the time of the ancient thinkers. Yet we have hardly scratched the surface of this subject. Our ignorance of the ocean is like the ocean itself; vast, and deep as the abyss. But we are learning. Popular notions come and go with accumulated facts and knowledge. Myths about sea monsters lurking in the deep have pretty much been explained away. Even the “terror of the deep”, the shark and its many varieties of the species, is being re-examined, and is losing some of its horror for sailors and swimmers.

It is too much to hope that we have ended our penchant for error about the ocean. Some of our current theories will be corroborated, some laughed at by future generations of marine scientists, who themselves will be proved both right and sometimes wrong. In recent decades, new technology has brought us new knowledge, particularly about the ocean floor and its life forms. As we solve puzzles about the ocean, however, no doubt more questions will open up before us.

Copyright 2000  Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
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