tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64642172024-03-08T19:11:30.773-05:00Bits and PiecesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger569125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-40276431172767706262012-04-22T00:43:00.001-04:002012-04-22T00:43:10.545-04:00Heading to EuropeAs you'll know if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, for the last year or so my partner and I have been in visa exile in Bangkok, Thailand. Unable to return to Mongolia (her home), I stole her away and settled for a while in Thailand, home of lax visa requirements and reasonably priced beer.<br />
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A little later this year, though, we'll finally have enough money to choose our home based not on price and visa requirements but our own preference, and we couldn't be more excited. I'm from the UK and the missus used to live in Paris, so we've decided to head to Europe for six months or so to catch up with family and friends.<br />
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We won't just visit the UK and France, though. Since my girlfriend's visa will allow her to travel to every country in Europe we're gonna take a little tour around the place. Just recently a few of my friends have taken <a href="http://www.javeavacation.com/">holidays in Javea</a>, Spain, and they've been raving about the diving down there. The sounds like a good place to start the summer (we're both avid divers). <br />
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After that, who knows? We'll eventually work our way up to Paris and then head on to the UK to spend Christmas with my family, after which we'll explore the winter wonderland of Scandinavia. I've been reading a <a href="http://www.javeavacation.com/">perfect travel destinations</a> blog post about North Cape, the northern tip of Europe, and that sounds like as good a place as any to end the trip. <br />
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So, six months in Europe and only a few destinations decided on. Any recommendations?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-17550721628592278482012-04-03T15:56:00.002-04:002012-04-03T15:56:20.601-04:00Paper Shredding RandomnessProcrastination takes many forms, but for me I've always had a solid fall back when I'm trying to avoid working on something really important: I research topics that have no real world application for me. <br />
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I wonder who else does this. Who looks at a messy room and a basket full of dirty laundry and then turns to Wikipedia to waste two hours reading about the world's longest suspension bridges or some such trivia? I've been doing it years, and it rarely adds up to time well spent.<br />
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Today, though, I finally used one of my 'research' bouts for something useful. A few months ago I was trying to put off an important writing job, and I spent an entertaining couple of hours learning all about <a href="http://besthomepapershredder.net/">home paper shredders</a>. Before that day I assumed all shredders were pretty much the same - they cut your documents into fine vertical strips. What I learned, though, is that there are many <a href="http://besthomepapershredder.net/different-types-of-paper-shredders-62/#axzz1lTNiswHn">different types of paper shredders</a> that each come in at different price points and offer varying degrees of security.<br />
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So, when I was out shopping for a shredder today I came across a smarmy salesman who tried to convince me that a cross-cut shredder was the creme de la creme of shredding technology, which justified the ridiculous price he was trying to charge me. I live in Bangkok right now, so each shopping trip involves a lot of tiresome haggling, and it always helps to know a little about the products.<br />
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So, when I came back at the salesman with the fact that cross-cut is in fact inferior to micro-cut in the shredding world I managed to beat him down a further $30. I went on and on about the fact that a micro cut shredder can turn a sheet of A4 paper into 12,000 pieces of fine, unreadable trash, and eventually he decided he was no match for me.<br />
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Score one for the procrastinators!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-13941061863909696152012-03-09T08:39:00.002-05:002012-03-09T08:39:59.214-05:00Back to Mongolia and a Wood Burning StoveWell, after many months living in balmy Bangkok my partner and I will soon to be returning to icy Mongolia, home of the minus 40 degree winters. We'll be spending about a year there this time, presuming my visa comes through in order, so once the relatively warm summer is over we'll be settling in for many months of extreme cold, tucked away in our little house with nothing but the fire to keep us toasty.<br />
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In advance of heading up there we've been looking at places to rent in the city. We'd usually stay in one of the many Soviet apartment blocks in Ulaanbaatar, but after the pain in the ass of going without hot water for two weeks last year we've decided to rent a real house for the year - one with its own water supply, generator and a couple of <a href="http://woodburningstovesreviews.net/">wood burning stoves</a>.<br />
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It's the stoves I'm most excited about. Mongolian central heating leaves much to be desired, and for much of the winter we're usually wrapped up in blankets even inside our apartment. A wood burning stove, though, will keep us going all through the winter provided we keep feeding it fuel.<br />
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It's a little odd right now to be sitting on the balcony of my Bangkok apartment, sweating at 9PM in humid 30 degree heat while reading an article titled '<a href="http://woodburningstovesreviews.net/how-do-i-clean-a-wood-burning-stove/">how to clean a wood burning stove</a>'. This is a skill that would never in a million years be required in Thailand, but I suspect it'll come in very handy in the snowbound nation a couple of thousand miles to the northUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-69227973838356073212012-02-24T01:59:00.000-05:002012-02-24T01:59:07.405-05:00Shopping in BangkokIt's shopping day today. Here in Bangkok we have to plan our shopping carefully, though. It's a military operation, you see. Back in the UK a trip to the local Tesco would involve nothing more complicated than hopping in the car, driving a mile and deciding how many bananas I'm <i>really </i>going to eat before they go all mushy. <br />
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Here, though, it's a different story. The Bangkok streets aren't well equipped for the average foreign grocery shopper. 7-11s can be found on every corner, with a wide enough range of food to keep a man going for a few days (though you get bored of ramen noodles and prepackaged sandwiches pretty quickly). Fruit, veg and meat markets abound, but as a non-Thai I find it a challenge to negotiate prices, weights and exactly how many bananas we're talking about here (and are those really bananas? They look more like plantains, and I'm not sure of the Thai word).<br />
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In any case, Tesco ad Big C are the only real options for a proper grocery shop. The closest stores, though, are an hour away by two trains and two 15 minute walks between stations, so the logistics of carrying home a heavy load can be... difficult.<br />
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What makes it worse is that my girlfriend doesn't seem to understand the idea that we'll have to carry everything she throws in the cart. Last time we went shopping she bought a set of <a href="http://carseatcoversforgirls.us/">car seat covers for girls</a> and a <a href="http://parkareview.com/canada-goose-freestyle-vest/">Canada Goose Freestyle vest</a>. It's ridiculous.<br />
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So, I'm sitting here with a double whisky planning the shopping list. I think I may need the help of the A-Team.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-30460579462240585032012-02-23T03:13:00.001-05:002012-02-23T03:13:49.302-05:00How to Live in SpainMy partner and I have lived in Bangkok for the last several months. Before that we lived in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and before that Bangkok again. Before that I lived pretty much everywhere, bumming around everywhere between China and Europe, stopping off for a spell in the strange 'Stans of Central Asia. I'm no stranger to living outside my comfort zone, is what I'm saying.<br />
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Some people, though, are afraid of leaving the comfortable womb of their home country to experience the wider world, and many don't even bother to get a passport. I have several friends who have never left their shores, and while I always say 'each to his own' I can't help but feel a little sorry for them.<br />
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I understand them, too, in a way. It's rarely pleasant to find yourself in a situation as alien and unfathomable as, say, a government office in downtown Barcelona. The last time I was in Spain I parked my beloved mid-90s BMW by a gym in Barceloneta, spent a weekend admiring the Gaudi architecture only to return to find every window of the car shattered. I spent a day shuttling between police stations and local gov. offices to get the necessary paperwork to claim on my insurance. <br />
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That was bad enough, but imagine living in Spain and going through it every day (not the car damage, but the admin, of course). It can be stressful, so it's nice that people have made guides about <a href="http://howtoliveinspain.com/">how to live in Spain</a>. These things are a Godsend for foreigners looking to spend their retirement in a warm climate filled with sangria and tapas. They explain the ins and outs of dealing with visas, real estate agents and other troubling annoyances of an otherwise peaceful life. <br />
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<a href="http://howtoliveinspain.com/">How to Live in Spain</a> takes all the hassle out of expatriating yourself to this beautiful, welcoming country. It guides you through the process and helps you avoid the pitfalls of immigration. We need more guides like this. Bravo.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-52682037660151284542012-02-22T23:28:00.002-05:002012-02-22T23:28:39.391-05:00Leo Traits a Result of School Year Cutoff?Those who know me will tell you that I don't believe in astronomy. I don't believe the stars and planets have any effect on my personality or any impact on my actions. Simple as that.<br />
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However, I do have a theory that the month of our birth has an effect on our outlook on life. It's nothing to do with the stars, and everything to do with the way school years are organised. You see, I was born on July 23rd, right on the cusp between Leo and Cancer, and in the UK that means I was one of the youngest kids in class. The cutoff point for the school year is August 1st, so if I'd been born just a week or so later I would have grown up as one of the oldest kids in the year below.<br />
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Now think for a moment about how that would have affected the development of my personality. I would have been among the biggest in class rather than the smallest, for a start. As it happens I grew into a timid, retiring sort, surrounded by bigger boys and much more mature girls. A difference of a week would have flipped that on its head. Maybe I would have been better at sports, competing with smaller kids rather than those who had up to a year of development head start on me. Who knows?<br />
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In any case, that's my theory. When we talk about things like <a href="http://www.starsigntraits.com/leo-personality">Leo traits</a> - specifically, that Leos gravitate naturally towards leadership roles - I believe it's because the average Leo, especially in the UK (I'm unsure of the cutoff dates elsewhere), will have spent his or her formative years as one of the oldest in their class. They naturally adopt the same sort of leadership role you can see in Ralph in Lord of the Flies: confident, assured and (occasionally) a little arrogant and cocksure. <br />
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Just a theory, of course, with as much chance of being false as true. What do you think?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-81281679815993135942012-02-22T23:07:00.002-05:002012-02-22T23:07:56.354-05:00After Dinner EntertainmentThere comes a certain point in a man's life at which the way he spends his evenings shifts dramatically. In my twenties my nights would be spent in the local bar, shooting pool and drinking beers with friends who had no obligations more pressing than beating the hangover enough to work a production line. Life was simple, and we lived from paycheck to paycheck without a care in the world (provided the pay stretched until Friday).<br />
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Today, though, things are different. My social life rarely leads me back to the old bar with its bewitching aromas of stale beer and cheap perfume. Instead I find myself planning my downtime weeks and months in advance. My evenings are controlled by RSVPs, long weeks of phone calls and, for some reason, everything must go through my wife before I hear about it. <br />
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It's not that I miss the old days of carefree drinking, you understand. Well, I do, but my life now is so much better than it used to be that I don't wish to return to it. My evening entertainment right now is just different. No better, no worse.<br />
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Occasionally lots of fun, though. We tend to go to a lot of awards ceremonies, charity events and dinners in honour of this and that. I'm a Rotarian and my wife works for a high-profile law firm, so there's no shortage of events to attend. Every so often we'll find the organisers have arranged fantastic <a href="http://www.comedyventriloquist.com/after-dinner-entertainment.html">after dinner entertainment</a>, and I think you'd be surprised as to how damned good it can be. Back in my bar days I'd never dream that I'd enjoy an evening in a ballroom watching a ventriloquist, but today I find myself eagerly awaiting the announcement of who will provide the<a href="http://www.comedyventriloquist.com/"> corporate entertainment</a> at any upcoming event.<br />
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Hell, maybe I'm getting old. As a young man I was satisfied with a cold beer and a pool table. Today, in my early forties, I want a puppet show and a magician, damn it! <br />
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I'll still take a beer, though.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-52150657190737540522012-02-17T06:22:00.002-05:002012-02-17T06:22:27.869-05:00Jailbreaking the iPad 2I've really been getting into hidden object games recently (for an example, check out Hidden Chronicles on Facebook). They're a great time waster, and when you're stuck on a train for hours on end they're a great way to make it a little more tolerable. <br />
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I got a new iPad 2 the other week in Bangkok, and two days later I found myself on a train to Laos on a visa run. The problem is that money's a little tight these days, and I just didn't have the money in the bank to pay for a whole new set of games for the new iPad. For some reason I wasn't allowed to simply copy the games from my iPhone to may iPad, despite the fact that I'd already paid for them once.<br />
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So yeah, 12 hours before getting the train I was desperately looking for a way to <a href="http://www.jailbreakipad2.org.uk/">jailbreak iPad 2</a> in order to download a few games to pass the time. After a few hours of running around the Bangkok electronics markets to find someone to do the job for me I finally returned home and found a piece of software that allowed me to do it in 5 minutes (you can check the link for the site). After hours of downloading games I managed to get enough to last the 20 hour train journey. Score!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-23723120390614939512012-02-17T06:12:00.001-05:002012-02-17T06:12:04.255-05:00email soldiers to show your supportOver the last ten years or so there has been an ongoing groundswell of supports for our men and women in uniform. Before the 9-11 attacks we didn't really spare a thought for our soldiers, engaged in small, low profile squabbles in little known countries around the world. Iraq and Afghanistan, though, brought our soldiers once again to the fore, and every so often it's nice to offer a little appreciation.<br />
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These days you can <a href="http://www.internationalpenpal.com/email-soldiers/">email soldiers</a> to offer your support, thank them for a job well done or simply to chat with and get to know one of our brave young men and women working to keep us safe and secure. An <a href="http://www.internationalpenpal.com/">international pen pal</a> is a great thing to have... while you get the benefit of chatting to someone doing a difficult, dangerous job in a far flung land they get the opportunity to catch up on events back home, relax at the end of a long day and escape their difficult circumstances, if only for a little while.<br />
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We love the idea of emailing soldiers, and we think everyone should be doing it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-91432464990310006152012-02-08T14:25:00.000-05:002012-02-08T14:25:08.263-05:00Hello Kitty Car AccessoriesI've always hated <a href="http://carseatcoversforgirls.us/hello-kitty-car-accessories/">Hello Kitty Car accessories</a>, so when my girlfriend arrived with her brand new Toyota last week I was horrified to see that she'd decked out the interior of the car with seat covers, fuzzy dice, floor mats and all sorts of other things, all carrying the Hello Kitty brand.<div>
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Now I can't go near the car without seeing that blank, horrifying cat face staring back at me from every surface. I love having the car, but I can't bring myself to drive it over to a friend's house for fear that I'll be rightfully called 'whipped'. </div>
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<a href="http://sortapundit.hubpages.com/hub/Hello-Kitty-Car-Accessories-Are-The-Best">Hello Kitty can kiss my ass</a>. </div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-80223617320987975112012-02-06T12:23:00.002-05:002012-02-06T12:33:37.254-05:00Car Seat Covers for Girls<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">After two years without a car we finally picked up a beat up old Toyota yesterday. We don't really have the money to pay for gas, insurance and everything else you need to get on the road, but we were so sick of riding the Bangkok BTS every day that we splashed out a little. The BTS costs about 3 dollars a day, so driving around the city is sure to cost us much, much more. Oh well. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">We did splash out on one thing, though. My girlfriend is a huge fan of pink, girly things, and since I convinced her to cut back on her shopping in order to afford a car she backed me into a corner and got me to agree to buy a couple of </span><a href="http://carseatcoversforgirls.us/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #cc2288; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><b>car seat covers for girls</b></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">. I'm now the proud owner of a pair of Hello Kitty car seat covers. Oh dear. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">Now, I'm no fan of Hello Kitty. I spent a couple of months living in Tokyo in 2010, and that experience was enough to turn me off the sugary, oh so sweet and innocent phenomenon. I'd just as soon not have </span><a href="http://carseatcoversforgirls.us/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #cc2288; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;">Hello Kitty car seat covers</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"> in my Toyota, but I guess this is what happens when you stumble into a relationship. It all starts great, then you start to compromise who you are for the sake of your girlfriend. Before you know it you're driving around Bangkok in a beat up second hand car with Hello Kitty kissing your back. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Grande', lucida, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://horseracingfreepicks.blogspot.com/2012/02/hello-kitty-car-seat-covers.html">Well, it's better than getting the train</a>.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-33904445852883078332012-01-31T06:30:00.002-05:002012-01-31T06:30:48.072-05:00Finally Learning ThaiWell, I've been living in Asia for three years now and I think it's high time I learned a language other than English.<div>
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Now don't get me wrong. In the last three years I've picked up enough Thai, Mandarin and Mongolian to get by from day to day, and my Mongolian girlfriend is often impressed by my command of her language (in that polite, patronising way that people who speak three languages fluently display when a dullard such as myself manages to order a meal in broken Mongolian). Unfortunately, my attempts at anything more advanced than 'restaurant' and 'taxi' language - i.e. enough to order a meal and get home by cab - have fallen flat. </div>
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I've recently been looking into <a href="http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/langlearning.htm">language learning methods</a>, and I've come across a few promising examples of <a href="http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/langlearning.htm">software for language learning</a>. We're living in Bangkok for the next six months or so, so I've registered for a course to learn conversational Thai in three months. </div>
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So, check back around April and we'll see how I'm going. Will I be talking Thai like a native, or will I be bumbling along in broken phrases interspersed with English? Who knows? Only time will tell. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-69514088865068966882012-01-30T23:51:00.003-05:002012-01-30T23:56:19.633-05:00Freezing in MongoliaGod damn, it's been cold recently. I've spent the last few days <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Packing-Thailand-Before-Backpacking-ebook/dp/B0072C2XCW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1327982538&sr=1-1">packing for Thailand</a>.<br />
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I really want to get out to exercise, but short of wearing my <a href="http://parkareview.com/canada-goose-freestyle-vest/">Canada Goose Freestyle vest</a> beneath my <a href="http://parkareview.com/columbia-bugaboo-parka/">Columbia Bugaboo parka</a> (a bulky combination, to be sure) I can barely make it out the front door! It's just ridiculous, and I can't wait until next week when we move back to Bangkok.<br />
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The next four months in Bangkok are going to be the time to get in good shape. Our apartment block has a gym and two pools, and the bar scene sucks for anyone over the age of 25. I'll be giving up the beer in favour of the pool most nights, and I don't think I'll miss the bars too much. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-14816378971349983072012-01-26T04:51:00.001-05:002012-01-26T04:51:26.479-05:00Addicted to Gun GamesRight now I'm living in Bangkok, busily researching for a book we're writing for first time visitors to South East Asia. It's hard work, but it should eventually pay off. <br />
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Unfortunately I'm being side tracked every day, from two different directions. First, the apartment block in which I live has just reopened the pool after a few months of renovation, and it has one of those crazy glass walls that let you swim to the edge of the building and look out on the city from underwater, 25 storeys above the street. It's pretty wild.<br />
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Second, I just can't seem to stop playing these damned <a href="http://www.gungamezone.com/">gun games</a>. Every time I sit down to type up a few notes or do a little work on a chapter I black out for three hours. When I finally wake up I realise I've played several hundred games. My scores are through the roof, but my productivity has never been lower.<br />
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What's worse, I just discovered a whole new section of the site focused on <a href="http://www.gungamezone.com/games/zombie/">zombie games</a>. I. Just. Can't. RESIST! I'll be playing these for weeks, emailing lame excuses to my publisher, and before you know it I'll be stuck out in Bangkok without a book deal but with an awesome high score on 'All We Need is Brain'.<br />
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Oh well. I've made my bed, and now I must lie in it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-62368062932159168402012-01-26T04:43:00.000-05:002012-01-26T04:43:02.975-05:00We're Moving to Vancouver!Well, my girlfriend and I are finally looking to settle down. I'm British, she's Mongolian, and neither of our countries want anything to do with the other. Fortunately, I also have a Canadian passport, so as soon as we get married later in the year we'll be heading over the Vancouver to find a place to call home.<br />
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I'm a little scared about the prospect of buying a house, but a Canadian friend of mine assures me that <a href="http://www.kevinfrank.ca/">Vancouver realtors</a> aren't nearly as pushy as those from the UK. All the same, I hate dealing with salesmen of any stripe, and I'd much prefer it if they'd just hand me the door key, point me in the direction of the house and send me on my way. If I have any questions, I'll call. <br />
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Anyhoo, we've been looking online and the prospects so far are looking pretty good. Naturally, the property prices are much higher than we've found in Ulaanbaatar and Bangkok, but then again it's possible to earn so much more in Vancouver. I guess it all comes out in the wash. Right now I earn just enough to afford a nice condo in Central Bangkok, but back in Vancouver I'd expect to earn at least twice my current salary. Should be enough to buy a decent property, fingers crossedUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-86577287692783219812012-01-26T04:23:00.000-05:002012-01-26T04:23:09.103-05:00I Need the Best Skin Care Products!Out here in Asia it's pretty tricky to get the <a href="http://www.madhippie.com/blog/?p=294">best skin care products</a> of the west. When I was living in Mongolia all I could find were Russai knockoffs of western brands, and now we're in Thailand for a while I daren't buy anything for fear that it will contain a chemical skin whitener (that's a big thing here, a country in which pale=beautiful).<br />
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My sister is visiting us in the next few weeks, and this morning I emailed a huge list of skin care products I want her to bring over. We won't be back in the west for another 8 months yet, so I need enough stuff to last me through most of the year. <br />
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I can't wait until she arrives, though. My skin looks just terrible right now, old and tired, always red from the sun and shiny as hell from the humidity. I'm desperate for some kind of face mask and an exfoliant. I want to get rid of this nasty, blotchy skin, slough it all off and replace it with something much, much more healthy.<br />
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Good lord, I'm getting giddy just thinking about it. I'm really looking forward to seeing my sister, but I'm sure that, right after the hugs are done, I'll be grabbing for her bag! <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-32768401220648903112012-01-22T22:44:00.002-05:002012-01-22T22:44:48.502-05:00Social Advertising with LinknamiIn recent months I've been experimenting with <a href="http://www.linknami.com/social-ads/">social advertising</a>, and it just got a hell of a lot more interesting with a few recent updates made by Google.<br />
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For the last few years Facebook and Twitter have been emerging as the new driving forces of viral marketing. You see something interesting, you like it on your page or tweet it on Twitter. If it's good, your friends like it and retweet. If it's <i>really</i> good it goes viral, and in a matter of hours you could see tens of thousands of visitors to your site. It definitely makes Internet marketing a lot more exciting, knowing that you can find success in a day rather than wait impatiently to rise through the ranks on Google.<br />
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In the last few days I've been trying a promising service called Linknami. If you have a site or page you'd like to promote, the hardest thing is to get the ball rolling. With Linknami you can hire regular people to publicise your content, paying them a small amount to talk about your stuff. It's a great idea, and so far it's showing a lot of promise. I tested the service with a gallery of photos taken over Christmas in Mongolia, paying for ten Facebook likes. Since then my page has been liked organically another 28 times, and the traffic has begun to increase.<br />
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Here's the best part: Google is beginning to take notice of social signals. A few dozen 'likes' will give you a nice bump in the SERPS, and if you manage to get something to go viral you could potentially push yourself all the way to the top of the results. <br />
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Right, back to the grindstone. I'll keep you updated with my test over the next few weeks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-60429598632101496522012-01-14T20:44:00.000-05:002012-01-14T20:45:42.800-05:00Smoking a Sähkötupakka<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we're going through a bit of a financial rough spot here in Bangkok right now. My girlfriend and I arrived a few days ago after a looooong trip down from Mongolia to take advantage of the low cost of living, and while we're here I'll be working 12 hours a day to try to build up a little capital before heading back to Ulaanbaatar for the summer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing I really miss about Mongolia is the price of cigarettes. You can get a pack of Marlboro Lights up there for the equivalent of £1.50, which makes smoking pretty damned cheap when you take 2 days to finish a pack. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's still reasonably priced here in Bangkok (especially compared to the excessive cost of cigarettes in the west), but it's still expensive enough to make me want to quit. Fortunately I have a partial solution. About six months ago a Finnish friend of mine brought me a gift of what he called a </span><span style="background-color: #f9f9e6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://e-tupakka.info/">sähkötupakka</a>. When he told me the name I assumed he was going to hand me one of the God awful Finnish snacks he always brings with him, so I was pleasantly surprised when he told me it was just the Finnish name for an e-cigarette. He's been trying to get me to quit for years, the big lug. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f9f9e6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, the </span><span style="background-color: #f9f9e6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sähkötupakka went in a drawer until now. I wasn't too interested until I decided to try to quit. I've tried it a couple of times and the taste is pretty good. I even managed to go 24 hours without a real cigarette yesterday! I'll keep going, and report back. Wish me luck!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-43331088822239340222012-01-11T11:16:00.001-05:002012-01-11T11:16:47.021-05:00Replacing Lost WatchesOne of the most annoying things about travelling is the fact that, no matter how careful you may be, eventually you'll lose something of value. In the last two years I've managed to leave an expensive leather jacket in a hotel closet in the middle of India, an expensive pair of sunglasses in a cab in Bangkok and about half my wardrobe in an apartment in Ulaanbaatar. When you're trying to live cheap it can be frustrating to have to pay to replace all of this stuff.<br />
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Right now we're in Hong Kong visiting a good friend of ours, and thankfully he has a spare room for us (Hong Kong hotels are tiny and ridiculously expensive). When we arrived a few days ago on the train from Beijing I dumped my bags on the floor, did my usual equipment check and noticed that I seem to have lost my watch somewhere along the way. I suspect I left it hanging on a hook in the bathroom of the train. I remember putting it there while I washed in the morning.<br />
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<a href="http://www.watches2u.com/mens-watches.html">Men's watches</a> can be damned expensive to replace, so I was pretty pissed off to say the least. <a href="http://www.watches2u.com/">Watches</a>, fortunately, sell pretty cheap in Hong Kong, so I was able to pick up a replacement for less than $30 (nice watch, too). Still, I'd be much happier if I could just get over my habit of losing things whenever we move to a new city. Money is tight right now, and I can't really afford to replace another lost item. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-50075295628664216242012-01-07T13:06:00.001-05:002012-01-07T13:06:35.289-05:00How to Remove Newspaper ArticlesInternet safety experts often complain about the dangers of social networking sites such as Facebook, about the effect our online breadcrumb trail may have on our future employability. They warn us about those drunken photos tagged in our profiles, and the ill-advised drug and alcohol related status updates. All of this information will be there forever, they tell us. It doesn't matter how private we think our data may be. Eventually the truth will out, and one day it'll come back to bite us right on our collective asses. <div>
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The same holds true for newspaper articles. Individuals and businesses featured in unflattering articles have never had so much cause for concern as they do today. Way back before the days of the Internet we could hope to keep our heads low in the wake of a bad article, secure in the knowledge that today's newspapers will be lining tomorrow's litter trays. Today, though, newspaper articles are not just archived in microfiche form but published and immortalised online. Every article is available at the touch of a button, and every business should be praying for the development of a '<a href="http://www.internetreputation.com/information/removing-internet-newspaper-articles">remove newspaper article</a>' option in their browsers. </div>
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It's no simple matter to have an unflattering newspaper article removed from the records, and every newspaper will put up a fight before deleting a story, but if you feel you or your business has been unfairly portrayed in print you should follow this guide about <a href="http://www.internetreputation.com/information/removing-internet-newspaper-articles">how to remove newspaper articles</a>. There's no guarantee of success, but you might as well go down swingin', right?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-21041732949338165662012-01-07T00:18:00.002-05:002012-01-07T00:18:14.696-05:00Investing in Web DesignThe last year or so have been lean times in the Taylor household. Lean, lean, lean. In May of 2011 I moved out to Asia to be with my Mongolian girlfriend, and since then we've been travelling around China, Thailand and Laos, awaiting the day I'm taken off the Mongolian blacklist (I had some visa problems in 2010, and ended up being deported). <br />
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Well, in early November we finally returned to Mongolia, and within two months we were ready to leave again - Mongolia sits around -40 degree Celsius right now, which is daaaaaamned cold. So, we arrived in Beijing yesterday, tomorrow we get the train to visit a friend of ours in Hong Kong, and by the middle of next week we'll be in our apartment in Bangkok. </div>
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Anyway... as you can guess, none of this comes cheap. Ogi and I haven't been able to work since May and the reserves are just about to run dry. I'm spending my days frantically trying to turn my random collection of websites into something resembling a small online empire, and pretty soon we may be self sufficient, living on Adsense and Amazon affiliate earnings. </div>
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To achieve this goal, though, I need the help of a <a href="http://www.coded.ie/">web design company</a>. My stable of sites all look pretty rough right now, and if there's one thing that drives Amazon sales and Adsense clicks it's attractive design. Readers faced with a shoddy looking site click the back button as quick as a flash, but a good looking layout = instant trust (or at least the benefit of the doubt long enough to wow the reader with your rich content). </div>
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Before spending money I didn't have on web design for all my sites I decided to do a test run on one of them. I hired a web design company to play around with my Wordpress theme, delving into the coding and modifying the theme to fit my site better. They rearranged Adsense blocks, added some shiny buttons and inserted a few well-chosen product images. Three weeks later I've seen my Adsense CTR jump from a pathetic 0.3% to a much more impressive 5.2%. My Amazon conversion rate has jumped from 3% to 8%. </div>
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In real terms this means that the site is generating about $5 more each day (the traffic wasn't great to begin with). It doesn't sound like much, but over a year that adds up to an extra $1,825 - 18 times more than the web design fee. </div>
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So, I'm investing much of our remaining cash into my other sites. If the same performance boost holds true for my stable, an investment today in a web design company should add up to an extra $50 each day - over $18,000 a year. Worth it? Definitely. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-46075300803112005402012-01-06T23:26:00.002-05:002012-01-06T23:26:43.467-05:00I am Pissed Off<br />
Those who know me will probably agree that I'm a pretty mellow, laid back kind of guy. I take life as it comes, and I'm not easily riled. The way my life has been for the last couple of years has tested my resolve a little, and for the last two months I've been living in a country in which I would probably be beaten on the street in broad daylight if I held my girlfriend's hand (Mongolian guys need some serious re-education about acceptable behaviour), but all in all I'm usually calm.<br />
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For the last couple of weeks Ogi and I have been hanging out with an Argentinian guy on his way around the world. We put him up for a few nights at our place before booking him in to a local hotel, and when the time came for us to leave Mongolia and return to China for a while, Dan asked if he could take the train with us. <br />
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and so it was that last night on the Chinese border at 3AM we handed over our passports to the Mongolian border guards to check ourselves out of the country. Dan, the owner of a pretty impressively spiky head of hair, was called 'pineapple head' by one of the female guards with who he was clumsily trying to flirt. He doesn't speak a word of Mongolian, and I made the mistake of translating into English.<br />
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He. Went. Crazy.<br />
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Dan suddenly turned into the human form of the website I am <a href="http://www.iampissedoff.com/">Pissed Off</a>. He started yelling about professionalism, human rights and God knows what else until we calmed him down and pulled him away. After being deported from two countries I've learned that you just don't fuck with border guards .<br />
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Anyway, here's my point. There are some people who can happily drift through life without ever getting pissed off. It's easy. Most of the people I meet will never see me again, so there's no point getting angry with them. There are other people, though, people like Dan, who fly off the handle at the slightest provocation. These are the people who need to head to I am Pissed Off to vent their feelings before they tell the wrong person to <a href="http://www.iampissedoff.com/">fuck off</a> and end up in jail. <br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-74920206604466143772012-01-03T22:27:00.002-05:002012-01-03T22:27:48.022-05:00Hire a Babysitter in Mongolia? NaaaaahIn recent months my partner and I have been living in Mongolia, an unusual country sandwiched between China and Russia. Many things about this country are different from the west (obviously), but the one thing that strikes me most is the difference between the level of hovering care provided by a parent for her children.<div>
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You see, back in the west we've grown used to living in a society in which our child's every move needs to be carefully monitored lest he or she accidentally run in front of a bus or be abducted by psychopaths. The real and imagined dangers of parenthood make it a pretty damned stressful experience. </div>
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Out here in Mongolia, though, they're a little more relaxed about parenting. Parents here would rarely <a href="http://www.bestselfhelpproducts.com/Care-Com-Review.html">hire a babysitter</a>, for instance. Instead (assuming there isn't a parent around to do the job) they'd simply knock on the doors of their neighbours until they found someone who'd take the kid for an hour or two. I'd never dare do that in the US or the UK (I don't know my neighbours, in any case). </div>
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Anyway, my girlfriend and I are toying with the idea of setting up a <a href="http://www.bestselfhelpproducts.com/Care-Com-Review.html">baby sitting service</a> in the same vein as Care.com. I'd love to get kids taken care of by responsible, trained carers rather than the potentially drunk neighbours who look after them now. We're off to Thailand for a while next week, but when we get back we're gonna launch right into it. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-37365630047200047092011-12-31T04:22:00.000-05:002011-12-31T04:22:07.384-05:00Buy iPad Now and Pay LaterI always seem to buy my gadgets at the worst possible time. I buy a laptop, and the week later my house is robbed. I buy an iPhone, and the following month I'm in a car accident in Mongolia - the only casualty the phone's screen. It sucks, but I'm cursed.<br />
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When I bought my iPad it was so much bad luck as poor planning that caught me out. I'd been living in the middle of Thailand with my girfriend for a few months, lagging behind on the tech news for a while, and on a trip down to Bangkok I decided to grab an iPad on a mad impulse. I didn't need it at the time, and as it turned out I wouldn't use it for about 6 months.<br />
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Just two days after I bought my iPad, the iPad 2 was released. Slimmer body. Better screen. Faster processor. Same price. <br />
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This Christmas I decided to treat myself to an iPad 2, but I hit a bit of a problem. I'm poor. I didn't used to be - I was quite wealthy at the start of the year, but I lost my job and ended up travelling around Asia for 10 months with my girlfriend. There's just no money left right now. <br />
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Anyway... I took a look at one of my favourite shopping blogs, <a href="http://shoppingkim.com/">Shopping Kim</a>, and found a couple of <a href="http://shoppingkim.com/buy-ipad-2-now-pay/">buy iPad now, pay later deals</a>. Irresponsible? Maybe. I don't care. My iPad two will be with me in three to five days. <br />
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Happy new year, everyone!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6464217.post-73643842552151586782011-12-29T05:59:00.002-05:002011-12-29T05:59:30.837-05:00A Pet Pharmacy in my HomeSo for the last few weeks my girlfriend and I have been dogsitting for a nice Czech couple, in return for free accommodation in their apartment. At first this seemed like a pretty sweet deal. We're running a little low on funds, so a month rent-free sounded pretty good...<br />
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... That is, until we met the dog. <br />
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This little thing is insane. She's a mongrel. Part spaniel, mostly wolf. She eats more than Ogi and I put together, and a couple of days ago she broke a table, she was jumping around so much. <br />
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Now, the couple want to move little hyperactive Zaya from Mongolia to the UK, and in order to do so she needs shots, blood tests and a whole host of checkups to make sure she's healthy. This month we've visited the vet almost a dozen times, and we have so much medication in our bathroom (where the dog can't chew it to pieces) that we have a veritable <a href="http://www.myinternetvet.co.uk/">pet pharmacy</a> on our hands.<br />
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Anyway... it'll be sad to leave little Zaya next week when her family return from holiday. This last month has reminded me of my love for these furry little creatures. I expect after we leave her I'll have to get my fix from reading the occasional <a href="http://myinternetvetblog.co.uk/">pet blog</a> and chasing after puppies in the street :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com