Acoustic Cafe: Live music in Saigon aka HCMC

Live @acoustic bar
Originally uploaded by thomaswanhoff

The story behind this crappy picture: Acoustic Bar in Ho Chi Minh City is one of the best spots if you like live rock music. When we went there we really liked a band called Coconuts, with a lot of coversongs from Aerosmith to Police. Good singer, good covers. The houseband itself (started at 10pm) was good in music, but the singer was just horrible. He actually cannot sing, so he was more shouting in the mic. Really bad performance, we left early. But that might not be the case everyday, so if you like live music, you have to check this place out. Come early (8pm) to get a seat or table since most of them a pre-booked.
6E1 Ngô Thời Nhiệm, Phường 7, Quận 3, TP. Hồ Chí Minh
Điện thoại: (+084-8) 930 2239
Fax: (+084-8) 930 7941
Email: info@acoustic.com.vn

Vietnam: Visa on arrival?

Just got this news in:

The Vietnamese government has then officially announced that Vietnam will "soon" start to provide visa-on-arrivals at international airports and border crossing points for all international travelers. Vu The Binh, head of the travel department of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), officially gave the information to reporters. The implementation will take a few months to give time for the Customs Department to adapt its information technology system to accommodate the new system. VNAT and other concerned departments will then look at the new visa procedures.

Actually the visa problem is one of the biggest obstacles for tourism in Vietnam. although Germany is the largest trading partner in the EU, it's tourists are still needing a Visa in advance. No idea why it takes months, but, oh yes, that's Vietnam

charity for waste

Looking for a legitimate charity to donate 2nd hand gear; clothes, for men, ladies, kidswear mostly boys, & some toys, books etc
If anyone works for one, and has a car to pick up this gear one day this month fro - please reply to this email.

ok beeing a good person means get rid of stuff you dont want anymore. but doesnt include paying a taxi or minitruck. wow. these people are sooo good.

Banana Pub and Restaurant in Phu My Hung

There is a new so called Pub in Phu My Hung, which hopefully not a sign of a general change in this area.

Banana Pub and Restaurant is located in the Parkview Building, in the former Pat au Chou shop (same building as Tokyo Deli). They have a huge bar you can sit, a billiard table, dart, some tv screens and - beergirls. They also offer food, mainly western style, french fries with whatever. The salmon steak was not that bad, the chicken was under average. Beer is cheep, the girls (would not call them waitresses) doing there best (what includes sitting on you legs) to serve you.

What I like: When it's closed. (As I said, the salmon steak was ok, the beer was cold, and you might like it to sit outside in the early evening for people watching).

What I don't like: It's one of this sexpats bars, where older grey haired overweight westerners together with lonesome koreans gather to have what they call fun with vietnamese girls. I saw two men actually grabbing the girls butt, and they cannot complain, otherwise I am sure they get fired.

One day they were partying until 2.30am, the music was to hear all over the Parkwview B tower as well as the neighboring appartments and villas. (Disclosure: As neighbors we were really pissed to stay awake until early morning)

Open 10am to 12pm.

What is cloud computing? Now it's a sales word

Has 'cloud-computing' lost its VC luster? | The Wisdom of Clouds - CNET News

A big part of the problem is the now almost unresolvable definition of cloud computing. How do you define the term? My own definition has shifted over the years, to where I use the term quite ambiguously. It's kind of like that famous old quote about pornography from the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart. The judge wisely noted: "I know it when I see it."

Indeed it is not easy to make a definition. Wikipedia says:
Cloud computing is Internet ("cloud") based development and use of computer technology ("computing").[1][2][3] It is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualised resources are provided as a service over the Internet.[4][5][6][7] Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them[8]

So James Urquhart made a nice statement on CNEt about how the definition is changing. It's worth reading it, especially for investors, because they are buying in everything what is labels cloud computing. As if there wasn't a internet bubble years before.

How to spread rumors...

I got through a email list this message:

A few days ago our 2 year old cat died of stomach cancer.
I' ve heard some stories about Whiskas biscuits causing cancer in dogs
and cats but I'd never really heard something concrete, and how on
earth can they keep it on the shelves if its so harmful!?

Yes, how can they keep it in the shelves? Maybe because this rumor is just not true? I can't believe that people are not ashamed to ask this publicly (and spread rumors with those postings). But the worst is, that instead of just thinking for some minutes or search in the internet, the rumor is spread first and others should do the work.

Wonder what they do if I post "I've heard some stories about Ms. XXXX that she steals and cheat, but I've never really heard something concrete..."

People just stop thinking when the next conspiracy theory is so close..

Dogs for sale in Saigon: Buy and see them die

Just want to bring attention to this article about the people seeling cute dogs in the streets in Saigon.

In Vietnam, the phrase “man’s best friend” has little value and dogs are seen as valuable currency and dinner.

In Ho Chi Minh City on Le Hong Phong Street in District 5, between Hung Vuong and Tran Phu, and on the corner of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai are the two main locations that display dogs for sale.

Along the stretch of Le Hong Phong are shops crammed with cages displaying various dogs and cats. The animals, for the most part look healthy, but living conditions are grim, with several living in one cage.

.. read the full article