It Happened Again,

one of my crowns become loose during last nights meal,

 so off to Doctor Chanis, the dentist I use, whose surgery is opposite,

 the Friendship supermarket, I had left Diana doing our shopping in there, then crown reglued in place for 200 baht, I got a 100 baht discount as it was reglued just a short time ago, I then popped over to pick our shopping up, we had a cunning plan, I would take the shopping home, and Diana would go window shopping, (which I hate), to Central Festival and then get the 10 baht bus back home,

 as I walked to the motorcycle with the shopping this is the view of the middle entrance to Soi Bukaow market,

 a look back to Friendship, shopping loaded, on the motorcycle, and off I went, sailing almost literally into the traffic on Pattaya Tai, and why do I say sailing?

 if you are a motorcyclist this is what you do not want to see, the lever of the front brake against the handle bars, the front brake cable has snapped at a most inopportune moment, as I tried to slow down leaving the Friendship carpark,

 having said snapped, it actually did not, what had happened was that the nipple at the end of the cable had failed and allowed the cable to slip through, the effect, no brake!

 so two of the motorcycle shops mechanics set to work,

and fitted a genuine factory cable, 180 baht later and I was on my way home,

Diana returned home after a very successful window shopping experience, after our evening meal we settled down for a few Bargain Hunts, which we always find are great fun, then our film of the evening, The Titan, a sic-fi of the army's attempt to change a human being into a new species, that can live on Saturn's moon Titan, a bit slow in places, but it did have the occasional moment, we had thought there would be more time spent on the planet itself, and without spoiling the film the plot was a bit of nonsense in places, then to round the evening off, sadly we watched the last of the Columbo box set, and with that we were off to bed.

And Now For A Bit Of Fun,

or not depending on your view,

 a few new products in the Things-Could-Be-Worse mugs and Calamityware plates,

 we have featured the porcelain ware not once, but twice in the past, the basic premise of the design is to remind you of how lucky you are in not meeting any of the horrors that lurk in the willow pattern design,

 and the reason for this mention? a new teapot and cream and sugar service feature drawings of a traditional blue-willow paradise discombobulated by more than a dozen calamities, perils, and pests, you will find, if you look closely enough,

• hairy fiend 

• giant frog 
• pirates 
• cephalopod 
• unpleasant blob creature 
• dinosaurs
• dubious musician

as well as, 

• bear

• levitating demon
• voracious sea monster
• UFOs
• aggressive pterodactyls
• rambunctious robots
• capybara
• zombie poodle and other suspicious animals and shrubs

what great fun looking for them, just remember to finish your drink before turning the cups upside down in your quest to find them all! the set is the brainchild of Don Moyer, whose Kickstarter page can be found here, and no I am not on commission, but I would like a set, for our afternoon tea!

For Us The One Thing That Is Essential Out Here,

is our stepthrough motorcycle,

 with its carrier on the front and luggage hoops, shopping and parking is a breeze, but it could do with a bit more umph, well it was not designed with people of my weight in mind,

 so here is the answer, Malaysia’s FNGWorks,

 they’ve crammed a 600cc Honda thumper engine into a diminutive Honda C70 and somehow done it cleanly enough that it looks perfectly stock,

 and kept the front shopping basket!

the motorcycle was the brainchild of  Irwann Cheng, head of FNG Works Speedshop, which is a retail store that sells riding apparel and builds custom motorcycles, for the motorcycle new, wider tyres and rims were propped against the rolling frame and an engine from a Honda XR600R placed in front, then Irwann stood back. “From there I could see the proportion of the bike and decide on the position of the engine, stance, absorber length and swingarm length,” Irwann says. “I didn’t want to change the geometry too much and wanted it to look stock”,

 it will be a tight squeeze with Diana on the back, but if it were ours I am sure we would fit, somehow!

the hardest part of the build? Well, according to Irwann the answer is simple. “Fitting the 600 engine to the frame without modifying the frame geometry. The proportion, fork rake and position had to be in the same (or similar) position as a stock bike. I didn’t want it to look weird if sitting next to a stock C70. The space was tight and a lot of reinforcements had to be made and hidden from view”, 

but what a job he’s done! Cramming an engine into an existing frame is one thing, but making it look as coherent and ‘correct’ as this is incredibly difficult to do, and Irwann is understandably delighted with the result. “I like that the seat and swingarm are horizontal and so much of the bike has lines that are parallel to each other. The front basket makes it look soft. But when it starts and the sound roars through the stainless exhaust it spits fire. It’s like having two different personalities”, would I like one? of course! and no I am not on commission, I just think it is a great practical, but ludicrously fast run around, to follow FNG here is their Facebook page, photography by @kaptenohdeer.

This Is In The,

'what a neat idea', department,

 on a blueberry farm in Oregon it was estimated that a farmer was losing over 25% of his crop, to birds, enter the Bird Control Group, which produces an automated laser gun which is mounted on a pedestal, these laser guns shoot a steady green laser beam across the bushes, the birds seem to mistake the laser for an incoming predator, and will immediately flee whenever the laser comes close to them, 

 at the start of the blueberry growing season, the farm installed 6 units, the results have been immediate; Bird Control Group, claims that their technology has reduced the number of birds on the farm by 99%, the farm believes that the lasers have saved around 262,500 kilogrammes of blueberries, that is around $99,733 saved,

“We learned the characteristics of what we call the ultimate laser beam for dispersing birds,” says Steinar Henskes, CEO, not only do the lasers now operate in farms around the world, but they are also used in settings such as airports and oil rigs, the laser technology is now in place at over 6,000 facilities worldwide, unlike other methods of dispersing birds (such as scarecrows), birds do not become accustomed to the laser; it can remain effective years after its initial installation,

and the good news the bird deterrents are effective in vineyards as well, there is one downside—the laser’s amazing results don’t come cheap, each laser gun costs around $10,000 and most places will need more than 1, at the moment, the lasers are not capable of differentiating between different types of birds, nor is it possible for them to only activate when birds are present,

since there are over 12,000 bird species in the world, it is not surprising that the device doesn’t work on every single type, the lasers work best on birds who have natural predators, birds that are predators, (such as hawks), are not really intimidated by them, which is a welcome byproduct of what could be seen as a shortcoming, it is in fact a bonus, luckily, those kinds of birds aren’t really a problem for farmers, and are indeed a welcome guest, as I said, what a neat idea, hopefully the unit price can be brought down.

Alex Called Round During The Afternoon,

so we had a tea and a chat,

 then in the evening we were out, so glad rags on,

 and we were off to Cherry's,

 for their International buffet,

 as there were not many dinners as we arrived,

 I took a few pictures of what was on offer,

 new for his week,

vienna schnitzel,

 as well as tom yum goong, the soup of the day was pumpkin,

just in time, a new plate of salmon,

 another new dish for this week, as well as rock lobster and cheese, stuffed mussels,

 also new, a pizza station,

 18 or so covered dishes, 

 and this week lamb as well as beef, pork and chicken, 

 plenty of desserts,

 and it was eyes down and tuck in,

 'Cheers!',

 next stop the carvery,

 for slices of lamb, pork and beef, as well as duck,

as well as roast and mashed potatoes,

 we were joined tonight by Mr. Tony,

 who had as his main course spinach and fish, 

 as I was still a tad peckish, a few more starters, to finish the meal off, fruit salad and ice cream, Cherry's is located on Third Road opposite what was once the X-Cite disco, the International buffet every Wednesday and Saturday and is 450 baht per person,

 Mr. Tony kindly dropped us off, after saying our farewells we walked along Dongtan beach to our home,

 as we passed this electrical pole there was an electrical buzz, 

 difficult to see, but in the middle of the picture there was a small electrical short flashing and buzzing,

we passed a couple of the beach side restaurants as the last customers were leaving, then for us, feet up, nearly the last from Columbo, a nightcap, and we were off to bed.