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From Khaosod English BANGKOK — Explore love, friendship, desire and more aspects of gay men in the urban city through the eyes (and hands) of a Spanish artist. Our World features a series of cartoon-style paintings by Bangkok resident artist Dani Monfort Gil who depicts the gay men he’s met on the sidewalk and in the mall, some of whom he’s approached for their stories. Admission is free. The event opens at 6pm on Friday and runs through the end of April. Serindia Gallery is located on Soi Charoen Krung 36. http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/events/2017/03/28/see-gay-bangkok-illustrated-spanish-artist/

Count on it.

Alexx, I always treat others as gentlemen unless they become otherwise. When you clarified a recent post about proposed changes in land law, I thanked you for pointing it out. That's what gentlemen do. However, you launched into an attack because the baggage scan article didn't meet with your approval. You know that you could have easily just gone to "stickmanweekly.com" and quickly located the original source, but you chose to make it personal. You reap what you sow. I'm willing to put this in the past. As I understand it, all members are equal here. It's generally been my impression that civility in manner is returned in kind.

Then why say it?

Despite your rant, the fact that bags of arriving passengers are going to be scanned is accurate. That it's Customs and not the AOT doesn't change that. I don't take posting instructions from you...for crying out loud.

From BBC Jordan Coe, 20, is reported to have been found dead in a heavy tracksuit after failing to return to his hotel. It has prompted speculation that the professional athlete, who is originally from Maddiston near Falkirk, died of heatstroke. His coach, Craig Floan, said the boxer may have been trying to lose a few pound before a fight. He had been due to fight Khon Bola, a Cambodian boxer, in the Muang district of Thailand on Sunday night. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-39400250

Since this is already on the subject of non-gay bars, Stickman this week lists his top 11 BKK lady go-go bars. For those interested in what's happening on the other side of the street, Tilac in Soi Cowboy cops the number one slot (no Patpong bars made the cut). Stick also carried a news item link that doesn't bode well for Swampy arrivals. The AOT has plans to begin scanning the bags of all arriving passengers. As accounts mount about maddening queues at immigration, going through an additional check sounds like cruel and unusual punishment. Only good news is that it won't start for another few years. Stickmanweekly.com

Fiction maybe, but it would still sell. McDonald's prices are on rise worldwide, but that won't discourage Buffett. He's bragged about his preference for it for years along with Diet Coke (CC is one of Berkshire's largest holdings). Used Hong Thong as a mixer once and never again. Headache the next day was stuff of legend.

Ditto Detroit.

From BK site Cloud 47, the Silom rooftop bar which took Thai beer garden-style boozing to the sky, is set to close at the end of March. The bar's owner, Pheeraphon Pipawakorn, made the announcement on his personal Facebook page late last week. Opened in mid-2013, the bar on the 47th floor of Silom's United Center Building hit the sweet spot for its sweeping views of the central business district, Chao Phraya River and beyond, as well as drink prices far cheaper than most rooftop competitors. According to Pheeraphon, the bar will cease operations on Mar 31 after the expiry of its lease, with the space then set to be converted into an office. http://bk.asia-city.com/nightlife/news/cloud-47-closing-down

From Coconuts The government has directed all street food vendors to halt sales on a popular section of Upper Sukhumvit. By April 17, stalls in Ekkamai, Thong Lor and Phra Khanong will be forced to shut down, despite the fact that Bangkok was recently named, for the second year in the row, the city for the greatest street food in the world by CNN. One vendor in Thong Lor told BK Magazine that a City Hall police officer handed him an announcement advising him about the forced closure and made him pose for a photo with the paper. The order, which apparently comes straight from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), will affect Soi Thong Lor, Soi Ekkamai, and Soi Pridi Banomyong (aka Sukhumvit Soi 71, the main street in Phra Khanong). http://coconuts.co/bangkok/food-drink/first-soi-38-closed-soon-therell-no-street-food-thong-lor-ekkamai-phra-khanong-either/

Thanks for clarification.

From Asia One BANGKOK - Thailand is studying a law to allow foreigners to buy property through 50-year leasehold contracts and also to sell them, which would help boost demand for the country's property sector, the finance minister said. Foreigners currently cannot sell leasehold property. "The finance ministry is looking at this idea, which is highly possible," Apisak Tantivorawong told a seminar late on Thursday. "If we can do it, the property industry will boom again because demand will come from all over the world," he said. http://news.asiaone.com/news/business/thailand-studies-leaseholds-foreigners-land-windfall-tax

From Bangkok Post WASHINGTON - The Central Intelligence Agency is able to permanently infect an Apple Mac computer so that even reinstalling the operating system will not erase the bug, according to documents published Thursday by WikiLeaks. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/1220021/cia-also-can-bug-your-apple-wikileaks

From NY Times Travelers, beware: When you take your gadgets abroad, maintaining the security of the data on your devices is just as important as protecting yourself from muggers. For whatever reason, foreign and domestic governments may have an interest in your personal data, including your social media accounts. This is not just theoretical. Several travelers, including American citizens like Haisam Elsharkawi, were recently pressured into giving officers from the United States Customs and Border Protection access to their cellphones at the airport. Some travelers now face additional privacy risks because of a new regulation that separates them from their computing equipment. This week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that passengers traveling from eight majority-Muslim countries to the United States could not bring devices larger than cellphones onto planes. So computers, tablets and other devices will have to be stowed in checked luggage. What to do? There’s one thing all the experts agree on: Do not lie to government officials about your passwords or social media accounts. “They’d make your life miserable if they found that out,” said Jeremiah Grossman, the head of security strategy for SentinelOne, a computer security company. But there are methods for safeguarding your cellphones, tablets and computers from invasive searches, all while remaining honest. Here are some of the best tips, based on interviews with security and forensics specialists. The best way to prevent your information from being searched is to travel with a device that never had any of your data in the first place. It’s a wise idea to invest in a so-called travel device, a cheap smartphone or computer that you use only abroad: You don’t want your nice equipment to get lost or stolen while traveling, anyway, let alone searched by border agents. So leave your fancy equipment — along with your photo album, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter apps — at home. Fingerprint sensors, like the ones found on many Apple and Android smartphones, are a nifty security feature for unlocking your phone quickly. But Jonathan Zdziarski, a security researcher who has taught forensics courses to law enforcement agencies on collecting data from smartphones, said your best bet when traveling was to turn the feature off. That’s because in the United States, law enforcement agencies have successfully used warrants to compel people to unlock their cellphones with a fingerprint. But because of your right to remain silent, it would be tough (though not impossible) for the federal government to force you to share your passcode. So disabling your fingerprint sensor when traveling is generally a safer move. Article continues at: http://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/technology/personaltech/crossing-the-border-heres-how-to-safeguard-your-data-from-searches.html

You're definitely on to something there, Christian. From CNBC Warren Buffett is the third richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of $75 billion. But the Oracle of Omaha still values a good deal. In Bill and Melinda Gates' 2017 annual letter, which they addressed to longtime friend Buffett, Bill tells the story of a particularly economical lunch Buffett took him out for years ago. "Remember the laugh we had when we traveled together to Hong Kong and decided to get lunch at McDonald's? You offered to pay, dug into your pocket, and pulled out … coupons!" writes Bill. Buffett is a regular at McDonald's. On his five-minute drive to the office, which he's been doing for the past 54 years, he stops by the fast-food chain and, depending on how prosperous he's feeling, orders one of three items: two sausage patties for $2.61, a sausage, egg and cheese for $2.95 or a bacon, egg and cheese for $3.17. He's not just thrifty when it comes to meals. The billionaire lives in the same home he bought in 1958 for $31,500, or about $260,000 in today's dollars. Buffett is perfectly content being cheap. "My life couldn't be happier," he explained at his annual shareholder's meeting in 2014. "In fact, it'd be worse if I had six or eight houses. So, I have everything I need to have, and I don't need any more." http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/17/warren-buffett-once-paid-for-bill-gates-mcdonalds-meal-with-coupons.html

From Khaosod English BANGKOK — An advocate for Bangkok’s homeless population on Thursday decried the state railway’s decision to shut the Bangkok Railway Station, or Hua Lamphong, to the people who regularly sleep there overnight. Last night the terminal abruptly ended its longstanding policy of allowing people to sleep within by making it off limits to them from 11:30pm to 3am. Natee Sarawaree, an activist with a foundation that provides aid to the homeless population, said the decision is bad not only for those who used the station as a safe place to sleep, but the community as well. “This will affect Bangkok directly. Now, the homeless who used to sleep in the station will have to sleep and [go to toilet] along Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem, disturbing everyone else,” Natee of the Issarachon Foundation said. “You have to take care of people too, not just of places.” The change in policy came hours after photos of people sleeping in the station were posted at just after midnight early Wednesday morning. The images were posted to the massively popular YouLike page, where they received little attention. http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/transpo/2017/03/23/long-homeless-refuge-hua-lamphong-now-locks/

Cheap at twice the price.

Upload of a video to your phone that best mimics your desire. When you find a guy who you think fits the bill, show him the video and ask, "you do for me?" If he's interested, leave it up to him to work out the details for you.

Consult ChristianPFC's blog. He covers all eventualities.

If you use Firefox for a browser, you may notice that the latest update (version 52) has a new feature that warns users about the security status of the web connection they are about to log on to. When you click to enter your log-in ID and password, a pop-up alerts you if the connection is not secure. Firefox advises uses who choose to go ahead that they should select passwords that are unique to that site only. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/52.0/releasenotes/

From Financial Times Airline passengers travelling from eight Middle Eastern nations, including Jordan and Egypt, will be barred from carrying large electronic devices into the main cabin under new regulations from the Trump administration. The rules, which come into effect on Tuesday, also apply to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to a US official. Passengers from the eight countries will have to check laptop computers and other large devices, such as tablets, into the hold on all flights bound for airports in the US. But the restrictions will not apply to flights leaving the US for the same countries, according to the official, who requested anonymity. While some outlets have reported that the ban applies to 13 countries, the US official said only eight nations were on the list. The biggest impact will be felt by Emirates, the huge Dubai-based airline that operates 119 weekly flights between Dubai and a range of US destinations, including New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle. The airline also carries passengers from Asia to the US via Dubai, meaning the impact will be more broadly felt. It will also hit the operations of Etihad, another UAE-based airline, which operates Airbus A380 superjumbos twice a day between Abu Dhabi and New York and serves a series of other US operations. NOTE -- Other sources report that the ban will apply to all devices except cell phones. More information is expected be released within 24 hours. http://www.ft.com/content/a69c65f4-0db7-11e7-b030-768954394623

Maybe guys supporting ladies from afar are just more curious than guys supporting BF's are. But I've hardly heard of any gays who go to the extent that their straight counterparts occasionally go to learn just how faithful their beloved actually is. In his current (Mar. 19) column, Stickman reveals that he frequently conducted investigations at the behest of clients. In about 90% of the cases, he reports that the lady in question was still available for dating. Perhaps guys supporting BF's seem less curious is because they automatically assume that he's still on the market. Or maybe they just don't wish to know for sure because it would dispel the fantasy nurtured by frequent calls, texts and messages to the contrary. If you're interested in reading how Stickman did his investigations, go to stickmanweekly.com.

When all else fails, or you simply suspect that the ID might not be legit, it's always wise to fall back on your first hunch. If it crossed your mind that he looks too young, disregard information to the contrary and go with your instincts. It's not a foolproof method but it's as close as you'll come. Forget the old "Thais look so much younger than they really are." Although that may sometimes be the case, there's always another reason they look so young: they are.

He appears to be quite a hunky young man. It's a shame to put this kind of talent put to waste on pursuits of an unrequited nature. I believe local members should feel a duty to mount some sort of appropriate outreach and redirect his prolific need for release--indiscriminate of what direction he chooses to face.