Suvarnabhumi

Damn, just got this dog of a public pc logged on and they called me for boarding. Later, be good

Platform an orderly queue

I'm off tomorrow to dry land and a trip to blighty. I seem to have developed food poisoning, which basically means I don't like being too far from the gents. That's going to make tomorrow's chopper ride interesting. Maybe half a dose of imodium will be in order.

Think it must have been the potato & ham soup. Generally the food is excellent here so I'm most surprised and disappointed. Oh well perhaps it'll clear up by morning eh?

So anyone around the New Mills area give my mobile a tinkle next week, would be nice to see some familiar faces.

Be good.

Red shirts? What red shirts?

Well the government seems to have won through in this difficult and turbulent political climate by, er, putting the protesters on a bus home. What a wonderful country this is.

And another thing - the stats are out for this year's Songkran festival period. This year 220 people died over the holiday, mostly in road accidents through drunk driving or speeding, but partly due to water-based horseplay. Are the Thai people dismayed by this? No, they are banging on about the 2 people who allegedly died in the "Riots". Search me for an explanation to that one. In fact last year over 400 people died during Songkran, so the protest and all the attendant violence have saved about 200 lives, going by my calculator. Go figure.

All of which tomfoolery means that my flight home is (almost) certain to go ahead. Sorted.

Be good.

Platform Shmatform

I'd give everything I own for a packet of chocolate hobnobs right now. Postal donations accepted, even encouraged.

Platform Chews

That would have been a nifty name for the previous post. Ah well.

I'm waiting for my computer to grind through a rather long list of tasks which I think will take about an hour. By that time it will be 8.40 pm and I'll still have a shed load of work to do before closing down for the day. What else would I be doing anyway? Hmph. Anyway I have lots of time but nothing to say, so I'm going to say it anyway.(isn't that in a song? anoraks please tell me)

There have been protests by the Red Shirts in Bangkok this week. No not the football supporters. I mean the people who were in charge when the Yellow Shirts closed down the airport a while back. Now the Yellows are in charge because they stamped their little feet so much. See this vid for typical Thai chaos, and check out the police being about as useful as chocolate fireguards...

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/nationvdo/showvdo.php?id=2105&name=News&cateid=13

I suppose the Red Shirts would loosely represent working class types whereas the Yellows are basically the well-off middle classes, who at the time weren't getting their palms crossed liberally enough so decided to take democracy into their own hands. Now the Reds are starting, albeit on a rather smaller scale. Can't help thinking I sympathise more with the Reds, since they just want a fair deal from those above them. They're also the underdogs right now, which appeals to my British sense of fairness. Speaking of fair, the Government expected more traffic-stopping measures today so declared a national holiday. Crafty buggers.

That's all the real news I have from rainy Thailand, apart from the day-to-day drudgery here. So that's what I'll write about.

There was a chap in my room at 5am this morning - he'd just come off a night shift - and he was making a terrible racket settling himself down. He must have unzipped his siutcase ten times, each time reaching in and crackling the world's most noisy plastic bag in search of some or other item. That last hour of sleep is important, and he took it away from me. I very nearly jumped out of bed bollocko, lashed his effing case down the corridor and heave-ho'd him over the side for his impertinence. As it was, and predictably, I muttered inaudibly, pulled faces into my pillow and made fists under the duvet.

Apparently my motorbike is ready and waiting in the shop. However since I leave here (the platform) and fly straight back to Blighty, and on my return straight back here, I won't get to ride it until the end of May at the earliest. Bummer. By that time of course I could be looking for work, in which case it will be for sale. Talk about low mileage, one careful owner.

What else is new? Well I've now finished my next-to-last Iain M Banks book which means he needs to write some more SF now please. I suppose I should start on his non-SF books, in fact I already did that years ago. The Wasp Factory and Crow Road were particularly good as I remember. I could download them onto my new "Kindle" when I get it, hopefully for my birthday later this month. Never heard of it? Well it's like a book except it's electronic. It can hold 1500 books and has a special screen that's easy on the eyes for long periods. I think it's a really good idea, even though the books you download are subject to DRM laws and can't be shared, ie copied to any other device or a computer. Shame - if it catches on it could be the end of lending books, which we're always saying we shouldn't do anyway. And no, you can't borrow my Kindle.

The other gadget I'm excited about is my new watch, which is also birthday tackle, but from myself. It's a Casio Wave-Ceptor, which means it gets adjusted automatically to the right time via a radio signal. I'm funny about my watch being right so it's perfect for me. only problem is, the signal isn't broadcast in Thailand - nearest to here is Japan about 4000km away. I'd need a watch the size of Jodrell Bank to pick that up. Oh well, it'll be right whenever I'm in Europe, and I'll be back to listening for the pips at all other times. Lyn thinks it's hilarious that I cannot hear the pips without surreptitiously checking if I'm more than the maximum allowance of ten seconds out. It's an affliction I suppose.

I see my computer has now almost finished its task and will soon be bleating for more so I'd better go.

Be good.

Platformica Worktop

Hello all, got some food-related waffle for you.


In times of stress I tend to comfort-eat, which in my case involves a return to the stodgy fare I sort of grew up on (if in fact I ever did grow up). Here's an example - a chip butty. Yum


Her's a more healthy meal - French onion soup, duck a l'orange with rice and asparagus. This is the stuff I should be eating and, not this:



Finally a self-portrait:



Well I was bored.

In other news, Wifey's told me what I'm getting for my Birthday and I'm SO excited. Oh shut up.

Be good.

Rainy day

It rained. It was miserable all day. I took a picture in the toilet. Ho hum.

Hmm, that's enough about toilets for now methinks. Must find something else to talk about. I know, feet. This one's for Lyn, she'll know why. I won't go into it here but suffice to say it's good news.


That's got you wondering eh?

Flush

They flush the toilets with hot water here. Now that's just showing off. You think I'm joking? Seriously. I'm sure there's a reason for it, but buggered if I can work it out - I'll ask Bob Zitsch - he'll know.

In other news, the job's progressing well, thanks for asking.