Regular features from April 2003 88th Issue

Kwarm when prefixed to an adjective indicates state, condition or quality, somewhat like -ness.
ความ - kwarm on its own can mean: thing, matter, affair, meaning, implication
เร็ว - reo - fast ความเร็ว - kwarmreo - speed
คิด - kit - think ความคิด - kwarmkid - thought
จริง - jing - true ความจริง kwarmjing - fact
จำได้ - jumdai - remember ความจำ - kwarmjum - memory
ดี - dee - good ความดี - kwarmdee - merit, goodness
แลว - laew - bad ความเลว - kwarmlaew - badness
ผิด - pid - wrong ความผิด - kwarmpid - mistake
รู้ - roo - know ความรู้ - kwarmroo - knowledge
ร้อน- rorn - hot ความร้อน - kwarmrorn - heat
รู้สึก- rooseuk - feel ความรู้สึก - kwarmrooseuk - consciousness, feeling
ความหมาย - kwarmmai - meaning
เห็น - hen - see ความเห็น - kwarmhen - opinion
สำคัญ sumkun - important ความสำคัญ - kwarmsumkun - importance
บ้า- bah - mad ความบ้า - kwarmbah - madness

The Digital Doctor - Spyware, Spam & Email

The term 'spyware' has cropped up a number of occasions whilst chatting about internet surfing amongst computer users. Admittedly it sounds like something James Bond should be dealing with and not us, but unfortunately it is something we should be aware of. Spyware generally refers to files or programs designed to send information about users back to where they were dispatched from. These are usually in the form of 'cookies' which are small files left on our computers by websites we visit and with no resemblance to what mum used to bake all those years ago. They keep data such as logins and passwords and return data such as how often we visit a site and what we look at. Some of the intrusive little ones however return a lot more personal information so web masters can create customer profiles on their visitors which they in turn can sell on to other companies.
You may also get prompted to download 'freeware' programs upon installation of other software. Examples of these horrible little invaders are Gator and Bonzi Buddy, both of which are about as helpful as kick in the butt and equally as painful to remove. I personally can't see the attraction of a randomly displaying a purple pop-up creature that invades your desktop, I mean would you leave a deranged squirrel running around on your desk at the office?
Worried yet? Well don't be, help is at hand and it comes in the form of a marvelous little program called ad-aware from Lavasoft. When installed (which takes 30 seconds) this will run a scan of your registry and hard disks, much like the antivirus programs mentioned last month, and notify you of any spyware that is lurking there. You then have the option of blasting it off into oblivion or continue to be spied upon. Ad-aware can be downloaded from www.lavasoft.com. There is a more detailed program called Spybot Search and Destroy but I would only recommend that one to advanced users as there are a few system tweaks included.
Another great hindrance to us computer users is spam (and I'm not talking about tinned meat). Spam, as I'm sure any of you with an email account will know, is commonly referred to as junk mail. Just the other day I was wondering how to get my degree via email or enlarge my wedding tackle when low and behold there they were in my inbox, telling me how to do it … aarrggh! There is no way to totally stop spam once you start getting it (apart from changing email addresses) but there are a few methods of spam prevention. Firstly never use your real email address when filling in anything online … 'Would you like to sign up for our monthly letter of pure drivel' what do you reckon? Create yourself an alternative email address for this purpose and use your real one only with friends, family and colleagues.
I'm also pretty sure a lot of you have Hotmail accounts. Hotmail is the king of spam, Microsoft have and will distribute your email address to interested parties, ie ones that like sending you this crap all the time. Simple answer: avoid Hotmail, there are plenty of alternatives. I have had a Yahoo account for over 4 years with very few spam emails (one or two a month). I opened a Hotmail account for experimental purposes (and to use Messenger) and now after around 3 months of existence I'm getting 3-4 junk emails per day and I never use the account. If you're thinking of setting up an account for your children would you do it where they could be exposed to pornographic spam mail in their inbox?
A step further than this would be to avoid webmail all together and get yourself a POP3 account. For this you'll need your own, or someone else's, domain such as yourname@yourdomain.com This you can use with an email client such as Outlook or Eudora which stores all of your email and address book on your computer. This will also save you connection time as you can work offline then send when you're ready. A domain and hosting can be had for pretty cheap now days, and the server side security far beats anything you would get from a webmail account. This method is also far more professional if you're running a business, what would look better to potential customers myguesthouse123@hotmail.com or myname@myguesthouse.com ?
Which ever email system you have it is important to manage it correctly. For web based accounts (Hotmail, Yahoo etc) try to keep the inbox small, this will speed up the time it takes to load up - all important when you're in that internet caf? on some small island in the middle of nowhere paying 10 baht a minute for a connection that's slower than the Sukhumvit Road traffic on a Friday evening. Delete stuff you don't need anymore, you'll be surprised how quick one of these inboxes fill up and mail begins to get rejected. Try to avoid huge attachments unless necessary especially if you're in the Bangkok on ADSL and the recipient is in Hua Hin on a pre-historic dialup.
Cleaning out the closet is not a bad thing to do from time to time, by this I refer to your browser closet. As you surf the net you browser will collect and store the graphics from each site, these are called temporary internet files and will, over time, occupy space on your hard disk. You can easily be rid of them by going to Tools, Internet Options (In Internet Explorer), then 'delete files' about half way down will clear out this storage of temporary files. If you're paranoid that someone else will find out what you've been looking at you can safely clear history and delete cookies also.
There are many other little tweaks you can do to make your machine run more efficiently but I'll cover those in another article. If you have any computer problems or questions feel free to contact the Doc at webmaster@observergroup.net or 01-1911742.

The painful recovery process

Many savers and investors feel that the markets over the last few years have done irrecoverable damage to their investment portfolios.
In reality many have had their personal wealth decimated by up to 50% and they in many cases are the lucky ones. Technology and telecom investors have lost much more.
The problem is that when an investment falls by 50% it requires growth of 100% just to get back level.
So what should investors do?
One thing not to do is give up, pull out and put your money in the bank. It would take over 20 years at their rates while they would use your money to take advantage of any rebound and pocket your profits.
The markets will recover. Think about it. They always have before and if they don't then the capitalist system will collapse. How likely is that?
This doesn't mean that you should do nothing. I suggest you contact your broker. Like most people you probably have a portfolio of mutual funds with an offshore insurance company. The big advantage of these contracts is that you can switch between different funds absolutely free. This means for example if you are currently holding European Equities and you feel US Equities will come back first you can change without cost.
It's important to study the markets first and then sit down with your broker.
Do this quickly because when the big rebound comes, those in there in the first few days will profit most.
One other way takes courage. If when you originally bought your investment and thought it fair value then it really is good value now with the buying price reduced by 50%.
Let's say your original investment was US$ 100,000 and the current value is US$50,000.
Then you require 100% growth to break even.
Let's be courageous and invest another US$25,000 now.
That would bring the total current value of your portfolio to US$75,000.
And the huge bonus is that you now only need growth of appro. 34% to break even overall.
Still a huge task. And how long will it take to gain 34% and where? you may ask.
Well I have recommended this company before on these pages and their performance continues to sparkle. Since 1990 Annualised return of 19.7%. Year to date performance of 11.1%.
While world stock markets have been hammered in the last few years Man-Ahl Diversified futures has in year 2000 returned 18.8% 2001 18.8% 2002 11.1%
One other startling fact. In the tragic month of September 2001 when world stocks dived
This fund unbelievably returned 10.4%.
This really shows that this investment does not depend on markets for its returns. Looking at these figures 34% growth for your portfolio is possible in a shorter time than you think.
Obviously the sensible investor will say O.K. you can show me these fantastic returns but high returns mean one thing- High Risk. You're right that is normally the case and most people in to days economic environment cautiously stay away from any risk.
But one of the great thing about Man (besides the fact that they have been in business since 1784) is that they introduce (four times a year) a capital guaranteed produce.
Their current offering for instance is guaranteed by ABN AMRO N.V. a relative youngster having been founded in 1825 by Dutch Royal Decree. ABN AMRO is also the largest foreign banking group based in the USA.
So all is not gloom in the investment industry. Look for a deal similar to this, which is not based on market direction and if that company has a rock solid pedigree then either as a new investor or as a traumatized investor trying to recover, it could be well worth your consideration.

If you would like further information on anything discussed please
Contact Jerry McMenamin at info@swissinvestcenter.com

Flight News

With thanks to Alain De Rocker
Due to our press deadlines, a lot of Alain De Rocker’s article may have become invalid due to a war in Iraq.

Iraq War Fears Hit Delta
America's third largest carrier, Delta Air Lines, echoed industry-wide fears about war with Iraq when it announced that it expects to lose money on its operations during the first quarter. The Atlanta-based airline said that soft traffic and fewer bookings, caused by concern over military action, would impact its cash flow which it now expects to be negative. Delta is cutting capacity by 1.5 percent. "Current geopolitical uncertainties have weakened the already depressed revenue environment more than initially expected. Bookings for the quarter are down and we expect this to continue," said Michele Burns,
Delta's executive vice president and chief financial officer. "Changes to capacity and additional fuel hedging agreements continue to help us manage through these difficult times." Delta's previous guidance, in early January,indicated that the March 2003 quarter capacity would be up 0.5 to 1.0 percent. At that time the airline also stated that cash flow from operations was expected to be slightly positive for the quarter.

Pilot Fatigue Study Is World First
Pilot fatigue is to come under intense scrutiny in a major new airline safety study announced in Australia. It will be a joint project between the country's aviation authority,
pilots, researchers and the nation's biggest airline, Qantas. The three-year study will set a world first by developing a new risk
management-based system for flight crew rostering. This is the first time that an airline, safety regulator, pilots' association and academics have collaborated to find a scientific way of managing the risks associated with fatigue. Joining Qantas in the project are the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the Australian and International Pilots Association and the Centre for Sleep Research at the University of South Australia. The first phase, which is already under way, has involved volunteer
flight crews being monitored for sleep patterns. Further research will try to discover how quickly pilots body clocks adapt to changes in time zones and use flight simulators to compare pilots actual performance
with predicted fatigue. CASA's Director of Aviation Safety Mick Toller said the study would provide real and lasting improvements in safety. "This project gives the regulator the first useful access to scientific data to predict when pilots are likely to have lower performance levels due to fatigue," he said.
"We all know when we are tired, but fatigue is more complex, particularly for pilots doing long flights and operating through numerous time zones most of their working week. Aviation safety will be better for this knowledge."

Three Die In Helicopter Hotel Crash
A helicopter has fallen from the roof of a hotel in the Indonesian capital Jakarta killing the three people on board. The aircraft crashed into the hotel swimming pool 20 floors below the heli-pad. No one on the ground was injured. Reports say the helicopter may have been blown off the roof by strong winds. Those killed in the accident at the Sahid Jaya hotel were the Indonesian pilot and two passengers, a man and a woman. They were not guests at the hotel.

Deaths In Philippines Airport Blast
An explosion in the arrivals area of Davao City airport in the Philippines is reported to have killed as many as fifteen people and
injured many more. The blast ripped through the arrivals hall early Tuesday evening and
airport officials at Davoa, which is located on the island of Mindanao, said it happened soon after a Cebu Pacific flight had landed.
It is not yet known what caused the explosion but the island has a history of attacks by rebel Muslim groups. Last month a car bomb at Cotabato Airport caused one death and a number of injuries. Davao, the largest city on Mindanao, is around 600 miles south of the Philippines capital, Manila. Rebel groups have been active on the island for many years and there are regular clashes with government force.

BA Concorde Hits Engine Problems
A British Airways Concorde is reported to have twice abandoned take-off from a Caribbean airport last weekend after the captain was warned of engine problems.
The supersonic plane, with more than 70 people on board, was leaving Barbados on a flight to London when warning lights told the cockpit crew there was a problem with a booster on one of the aircraft's engines. The airline emphasized that there was no danger to passengers and that the plane could have continued its journey to Heathrow in safety.
Questions over the reliability of Concorde have come to the forefront in
recent weeks after engine troubles hit two flights to New York. BA has also hinted that it may retire its supersonic fleet earlier than anticipated because of falling demand. In Saturday's incident, the aircraft remained in Barbados for repairs
and passengers were accommodated on the island or offered alternative flights to the UK.

American Settles Wheelchair Passenger Complaints
American Airlines announced today that it has resolved a complaint from the Department of Transportation involving wheelchair service to disabled passengers.
The department said it had uncovered a number of apparent violations, including claims that some passengers experienced long delays in getting wheelchairs. The DOT also said other passengers complained of being left alone in wheelchairs or on-board planes for unacceptably long periods. In a statement, American said that the initial DOT complaint, made in 2001, proposed financial penalties of USD$2 million which the carrier
considered excessive. After prolonged negotiations, the company has agreed to a settlement that significantly limits its cash exposure. The airline will have the bulk of the fine set against service improvements already carried out and pay USD$100,000 in installments over a 12 month period. "Our focus for more than a decade has been to provide customers with disabilities a safe, dignified and comfortable experience on our airline," said Bella Goren, American's vice president - Customer Service Planning. Goren said that while any service failure is unacceptable, American's complaint record is very low.

War Could Force Airline Nationalization
The US airline industry could be forced into nationalization and, at worst, up to 98,000 jobs could be lost if America goes to war with Iraq, a new report has warned.
The report, from airlines' trade body the Air Transport Association, calls for government action and says that the economic damage could be so severe that "there is serious risk of chaotic industry bankruptcies and liquidations" and "the prospect of a forced nationalization of the industry is not unrealistic."
Coming on top of the already desperate situation in the airline industry, war could not only cripple the carriers to the extent of USD$13 billion in losses but have a severe impact on the whole of the nation, the report states. "The economic risks go far beyond the airline industry, the stakes for the entire US economy are extremely high," said ATA President and Chief Executive Officer James May. "Airlines have supported decisions taken by the US government in the past, and we do so now. Yet, we know from the first Gulf War that there will be serious economic consequences for the airline industry. Without government action, the outlook for the airline industry is bleak." The report points to the impact of the Gulf War when airlines were in a far stronger economic situation but still took four years to recover and
saw four carriers forced into liquidation. The state of the airline industry today is dire, the report continues. Since September 11, airlines have lost USD$18 billion, and even without open hostilities in Iraq, 2003 losses of USD$6.7 billion are projected. February 2003 fuel prices were up 108 percent over the previous year. Additionally, airline cash reserves are nearly exhausted and the ability
to borrow is virtually nonexistent. The ATA claims that a major contributing factor to the present economic state of the airlines is an increase in government-imposed costs. Since September 11, taxes, fees and unfunded mandates have added USD$4 billion annually, it says. It wants the government to cut taxes. "To try to meet the economic reality of the past two years, carriers are cutting tens of billions of dollars in expenses, have laid off 100,000 employees and have taken several hundred aircraft out of service," said Mr May. "The nation's air carriers will continue to do all we can, but we fear that the consequences of this war will be severe." The report outlines four possible scenarios which might impact the
airline industry. The most likely projects 2003 airline losses of USD$10.7 billion, the loss of 2,200 daily flights and 70,000 additional jobs. The more severe view forecasts losses of USD$13 billion, a reduction of 3,800 daily flights and the elimination of 98,000 additional jobs.

China Eyes Airbus Super Jumbo
China has given a strong indication that it may be a future customer for the world's biggest passenger jet, the Airbus A380, and is looking at its compatibility with the Republic's airports. The country's aviation authorities are holding a seminar to discuss the super-jumbo plane and how Chinese airports could handle it, the government news agency reported. "This is extremely important for the development of China's aviation and the selection of aircraft types. As a super large passenger aircraft, the A380 has a new design concept, and its operation in China needs airports to make changes," said Yang Guoqing, deputy director of China's Civil Aviation Authority. "Although Airbus entered China's market later than its competitors, its business has developed quickly in China. Airbus' market share stands at
more than 20 percent and is still increasing. Apart from the CAAC, Airbus has also carried out cooperation with airports and airlines," Yang said. Airbus China president Guy McLeod said: "I firmly believe that with the fast development of the economy and aviation China will introduce the A380 in coming years." The A380 goes into service with airlines in 2006, but rival Boeing is still predicting that medium sized aircraft will dominate the Chinese aviation market in the next few years.

News from Hua Hin Dog Rescue Centre.

Hua Hin Dog Rescue Money Stolen!
Alain De Rocker. (A.J.P.B.E. & O.M.P.P.)

As you may have noticed, HHDRC collects some funds with the help of money boxes placed all around Hua Hin, in shops, restaurants or hotels.
Each of the places hosting such money boxes has its management sincerely concerned by the situation of Hua Hin stray dogs and HHDRC's crusade.
The Center cannot be thankful enough to those owners who are showing humanity and concern about animals' welfare in their business.
HHDRC encourages all animal lovers to favour those businesses when it's time for shopping or eating out.
It has been reported, that the money was stolen by the staff of one of those 24Hr convenience stores in the city. As the Center is short on money, the boxes were initially made of a cardboard tube sealed by tape, which are indeed easy to open, but not that easy to re-seal! Once Christine discovered that money was disappearing from that one and only shop, she installed a new box, made of nicely painted wood and locked with a padlock. Well, the shameless bandits did not even try to open the very simple padlock but unscrewed the wood panels and just fixed them together again. The missing paint on the screw heads was the shocking evidence of the theft!
HHDRC wishes to sincerely apologise to the kind donors who left some money in that store. The box has now been removed from that particular outlet.
The Center thanks, as well, all donors who help, Baht after Baht, while leaving some coins or small notes in the boxes around. It really helps and without it, the help and care for the dogs could simply not be pursued. Thanks again for your generosity and concern.
(Follow the crusade on http://www.dogrescuecenter.com)
Picture shows: Elisa - half of her body is disabled with no feeling. She drags her dead around. Her case is hopeless and the Center tries to make her life as good as possible for as long as she survives.

Phil and Debbie chose to be wed in Hua Hin with a magnificent reception at Methavalai Hotel Cha Am

Enrico and Nipa celebrate their wedding in style at the Dusit Resort and Polo Club

Many happy returns to Bill who enjoyed his cake at Billy’s Bar

Mark (2nd left) celebrates his birthday at Guys Bar

Mark, Pai and Russell at Jack Bar grand opening

Observer girls, Ouh and Fak enjoy their joint birthday

Fun for all at Harry’s birthday

Duan and Mick (again) this time celebrating her birthday!

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