Excited about new phone tablet or Phablet: 5-inch Samsung Galaxy Grand

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Samsung Galaxy Grand

I’m pretty excited about this brand new mobile phone, Samsung Galaxy Grand five inch “phablet” , which I bought yesterday. Well, technically I didn’t buy it with cash, for say, but rather through my credit line.

The phone was priced at 11,990 baht, about 400 US dollars, and I took advantage of a First Choice credit card promotion, which allows me to pay for the phone in 6 installments of just under 2000 baht, with the first installment due early May.

Leading up to the purchase, over the last several months, I was looking to buy a mini tablet sized phone (phablet), preferably a 7 inch model. I had my eye on the 2nd generation Tab 2, 7.0, which came out early last year.

But I held back from buying it on the fore-knowledge that Samsung is getting ready to release a 3rd generation (Tab 3) tab sometime early this year. So, I decided to wait.

The main reason I wanted a newer model is because of the latest advancements in the Android operating system. Particularly, Android 4.1 or Jellybean, which has Google Now, which allows one to download its voice recognition software onto local their local device.

This means that you can use speech recognition or voice input typing, with or without a data connection. In fact, this entire post up to this point was composed by me talking to my new phone on the way to work this morning, while stopped at various traffic lights.

After composing the above memo, I simply emailed it to myself for edit on a computer. The voice recognition speech to type function was pretty accurate – I’d say about 90% if I had to give a number, with proper nouns causing the most inaccuracies. I imagine it is trainable for specific words, which I’ll look into later.

Also, it would probably be wise to start using hands free microphone for this function, so that I can talk while driving steadily. The idea is to become more efficient on the go, as far as recording thoughts, memos and work related content.

Well, in the coming days, weeks and months, will be planning to write some more reflections and reviews using and about this new technology device, which I’m quite pleased with at the moment.

Downtown Phuket Condo City and Sea View

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The view from my condo, looking South-east, and down towards the city 16 stories below. Photo: Steven Layne.

The view from  condo roof top, looking South-east, and down towards the city 16 stories below. Photo: Steven Layne.

DOWNTOWN PHUKET: At the beginning of this month, the Siamerican moved into a new condominium in the heart of Phuket city’s downtown area.

The condominium is a 16-storey building that just opened last year, and is currently one of the tallest all-residential developments in the heart of the city.

Previously, the Siamerican had considered buying a condo unit at this particular development, but ultimately concluded that it would be much smarter, for the time being, simply to rent a condo from a tenant, as to not have any unnecessary long term financial burdens. Continue reading →

Coastal Tornado Hits Thailand Eastern Seaboard

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A screen shot of the coastal tornado removing rooftops and windows in Chonburi today. Photo: Channel 3 Thailand news

A screen shot of the coastal tornado removing rooftops and windows in Chonburi today. Photo: Channel 3 Thailand news

Villagers today captured a clip of a small coastal tornado that formed near the old community of Laem Chabang in Si Racha district’s Thung Sukla Subdistrict of Chonburi province.

Scroll down for video link and screen-shot images of the tornado. Continue reading →

Dream: Breathing submerged in water

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Following is a description of a dream that the Siamerican had last night/early morning (March 1-2, 2013), followed by his own self-interpretation of the dream.

Nirvana’s Nevermind album cover of a baby underwater…

There was an infant baby, presumably my own, who was being held under water. At first notice of this action, I was a bit alarmed, but soon became at ease to learn that the infant was being re-trained to be able to sustain itself submerged in liquid, just like it had been as an unborn fetus in its mother’s womb. So now I was in the swimming pool honing in my own water submersion skills. Able to swim several laps under water without surfacing, I realized that I was able to do this by applying some special technique that allowed me to take breaths and regulate my requirement for oxygen, all while submerged under water.

Self-interpretation: I’ve read dream interpretations before about being submerged in or surrounded by water, that suggest one is overwhelmed in real life, i.e. flooded and overcome with day-to-day stresses. Perhaps this rings something true for me. After all, my job and all associated responsibilities and politics make my typical day anything but laid back. However, there was a special variable in my latest dream – the ability to breathe underwater. And so, the symbolism is clear is crystal. Despite all these day-to-day stresses (flooding), we possess an innate ability to be able to find peace/sustainability, even if – especially when – submerged. Therefore, the task is remembering, recalling and/or retraining ourselves to be able to apply this ability which we have forgotten.

Dream: Snow in San Diego

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After waking up this morning, the Siamerican jotted down the following recollection of a vivid dream he had late last night/early this morning:

My family landed down somewhere in Southern California…south of LA, surroundings mostly palm trees and desert. I had the desire and will to walk all the way to Denver if I needed to, but I knew that my accompanying family wouldn’t last such a test. After walking some distance, we were picked up by some old cab, and then dropped off in front of old Victorian houses, somewhere just to the northeast of downtown San Diego, agreeing with our driver to come pick us up later and chauffeur us at a rate of 50 cent per mile. Approaching down town, grounds are partly covered in snow! I’m holding a weird yet innovative Olympus camera focusing on downtown skyscrapers with snow capped peaks in the back drop / horizon…

The Quantum Leaper dilemma

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One of the best TV shows of all time, in the Siamerican’s humble opinion, is a Sci-fi series called Quantum Leap.  Comprising a total of five seasons, the show is about a quantum physicist in the near- future (though our present time as the show was filmed in the 80s), who has designed a special time traveling machine that he has wired his own brain into.  Continue reading →

Mapping out an environmental future

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Over the last several weeks since returning to Thailand from the U.S., I’ve been researching and considering potential paths to pursue in the near future. In the broader picture, I know I want to return to the U.S., along with my family, by about the middle of next year. In doing so, I plan to return to school, in pursuit of a master’s degree, if not a suitable graduate certificate, ideally starting in the fall 2014 semester. Continue reading →

Phuket Incinerator Woes: A false protest alarm

 

Utterly disgusted! … at the ignorance, shortsightedness, blindness, selfishness and shamelessness of the Sapan Hin villagers and their respective leaders tonight.

Phuket’s dirty little not-so-secret Incinerator in Southeast Phuket city.

Continue reading →

The end of 2012: The serpent of 2013 sneaks up

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It’s the final day of the Common Era’s 2,012th year. The roar of the passing year’s dragon has been loud, but now her time is nigh. While my comrades in Thailand are already welcoming 2013 – the year of the snake – at the time of this post, over here in the Mountain time zone, USA, we still got some 13-14 hours of the year left.

The final full moon of 2012 was on December 28. Chances are there will be many more full moons to enjoy in 2013

So it seems, 2012 came and went – for most of the world’s populous, it didn’t end. We’ve been ‘blessed’ – though some might insist ‘cursed’ – with a new beginning of another year.

Just as the Mayan Calendar’s long count ending December 21 had little-if-any physical significance for a majority of the earth’s people, so shall be the case of January 1, 2013, just like every other year (mind those tragic, isolated New Years’ disasters like this one four years ago)

And so, begs the question, what is the significance of the New Year? Continue reading →