Through most of history humans lived in small groups of a hundred or so individuals, a pattern that has changed drastically in recent centuries.

A study by scientists at Britain’s University of York found that our facial recognition abilities allow us to process the thousands of faces we encounter in busy social environments, on our smartphones and our television screens every day.

“In everyday life, we are used to identifying friends, colleagues, and celebrities, and many other people by their faces,” Rob Jenkins, from York’s Department of Psychology, told AFP.

“But no one has established how many faces people actually know.”

For the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Jenkins and his team asked participants to write down as many faces they could remember from their personal lives.

The volunteers were then asked to do the same with people they recognised but did not know personally.

They were also shown thousands of images of famous people — two photos of each to ensure consistency — and asked which ones they recognised.

The team found an enormous range of the number of faces each participant could recall, from roughly 1,000-10,000.

“We found that people know around 5,000 faces on average,” Jenkins said.

“It seems that whatever mental apparatus allows us to differentiate dozens of people also allows us to differentiate thousands of people.”

– Never forget a face –

The team said it believes this figure — the first ever baseline of human “facial vocabulary”, could aid the development of facial recognition software increasingly used at airports and criminal investigations.

It may also help scientists better understand cases of mistaken identity.

“Psychological research in humans has revealed important differences between unfamiliar and familiar face recognition,” said Jenkins.

“Unfamiliar faces are often misidentified. Familiar faces are identified very reliably, but we don’t know exactly how.”

While the team said it was focused on how many faces humans actually know, they said it might be possible for some people to continue learning to recognise an unlimited number of faces, given enough practice.

They pointed out that the brain has an almost limitless capacity to memorise words and languages — the limits on these instead come from study time and motivation.

The range of faces recognised by participants went far beyond what may have been evolutionarily useful: for thousands of years humans would likely only have met a few dozen people throughout their lives.

Jenkins said it was not clear why we developed the ability to distinguish between thousands of faces in the crowd.

“This could be another case of ‘overkill’ that is sometimes seen in nature,” he said.

“The venom of some spiders can kill a horse, even though the spider has no need to eat a horse.”

NOW IN its 16th year, L’Oreal (Thailand)’s “For Women in Science” programme recently concluded with the awarding of fellowship grants to five Thai female researchers. The programme focuses on research and development leading to the sustainable development of society and the environment, and reinforces L’Oreal Thailand’s commitment to encouraging female researchers in the field of science. This year, the programme adjusted the categories to cover Physical Sciences and Life Sciences in order to bring it in line with scientific development and international scholarship criteria and comprehensively cover more research projects.

“Research has been at the very heart of L’Oreal’s business for more than 100 years and is closely aligned with the belief that advances in science and technology are key to improving quality of life around the world,” says the company’s Onanong Pratakphiriya.

This year, the three awards in Life Sciences were presented to Dr Chanchao Lorthongpanich from the Siriraj Centre of Excellence for Stem Cell Research (SiSCR), Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, for her distinctive study “Enhancing platelet production from Hematopoietic Stem Cells for thrombocytopenia treatment”. The second fellowship went to Assistant Professor Varisa Pongrakhananon, PhD from the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, for her outstanding work: “The study role of CAMSAP proteins on lung cancer aggressiveness”. The third fellowship was awarded to Dr Wirulda Pootakham from the Genomic Research Laboratory, National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) for her distinctive study “Elucidation of thermal stress response in corals and the assessment of genetic diversity in corals and their associated symbionts for sustainable marine ecosystem conservation and restoration”.

The two awards in Physical Sciences went to Dr. Chularat Wattanakit from the Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC) for her research study “Enantioselective electro-synthesis and chiral electro separation at chiral metal surfaces” and to Asst Prof Dr. Surapa Thiemjarus from the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre, for her outstanding study: “Pervasive Healthcare System for Elderly People and Patients”.

Each of these works was carefully assessed based mainly on its sustainability for community and country. The benefits of the research, accurate methodologies, ethics and peer acceptance were also taken into account by the judging committee.

Explaining her research, Dr Chanchao said: “Platelets are a component of blood whose function is to react to bleeding by clumping, thereby initiating a blood clot and maintaining body balance. Many patients require platelets as a routine therapy due to their limited platelet production, such as thalassemia sufferers or patients receiving bone marrow transplants. However, because of the limited amount of platelets from each donation, platelets from 4-6 random donors must be pooled in order to provide enough volume for a single dose. Patients receiving platelets might also receive donor’s leukocytes, which will trigger their immune system to reject donated platelets. The study on enhancing platelet production from Hematopoietic Stem Cells for thrombocytopenia treatment would solve the problem of donor shortage and reduce the use of pooled-random donor platelets. Prompt delivery of platelets will result in better health, reduce the workload of medical personnel and decrease medical expenses. It also allows Thailand to become a medical hub that can pass on the technology to neighbouring countries, enhance the recruitment of professional staff and serve as a sustainable development tool for society and the nation in the future.”

Assistant Professor Varisa said of her research: “An increasing number of patients are today facing lung cancer. Lung cancer cells are highly malignant, spread rapidly and have high resistance to chemotherapy, leading to a low survival rate. The study of CAMSAP proteins on lung cancer aggressiveness is fundamental research in medical science. The research has helped to create new knowledge based on the biology of cancer cells. A basic understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer cells will lead to the identification of target molecules in anticancer drugs. It may also lead to further research in the development of anticancer drugs in a quicker and more efficient way in the future.”

Even though coral reefs cover less than 0.1 per cent of the ocean floor, they are one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, supporting extraordinary biodiversity and serving as homes to millions of fish and other marine species. With sea temperatures on the rise, Dr Wirulda chose to look into what can be done to save Thailand’s reefs.

“More than 500 million people worldwide depend on coral reefs for food, income and recreation. Reef ecosystems provide goods and services worth approximately $370 billion each year. Global climate change results in an increase in seawater temperature, which leads to severe bleaching of coral reefs around the world.

Even a slight elevation in ocean temperature (1-2 degrees Celsius) can cause a massive bleaching event and eventually the death of the coral reefs, having a catastrophic impact on marine ecosystems. In our study, we sequenced DNA barcodes from the collected samples from various locations in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea and used them to assess coral genetic diversity. In addition, we compared the differences in gene expression level between heat-tolerant and heat-sensitive coral colonies during thermal stress. Basic knowledge obtained from these studies will be valuable in predicting the survival rate of coral reefs in Thai waters as they encounter fluctuating environments in the future.”

Physical Sciences fellow, Dr Chularat explained her research, saying: “Pure enantiomers, which are important in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and analytical chemistry industries, are needed by the market. At the same time, they have limitations in terms of development, separation and production. The research team has developed and designed electrochemical catalysts together with asymmetric electrosynthesis for use in the manufacture of molecular structured products. This innovation provides new knowledge in the catalyst design and the use of electrochemical techniques in the production of high value-added chiral compounds from biomass or residues obtained from natural sources. This will be applied with environmentally friendly techniques and used in the medical, cosmetic and analytical chemistry industries. The outcome can help reduce production costs of medical items and cosmetics, which can in turn result in lower costs of the products.”

Dr Surapa’s study focused on the greying population. “Thailand is facing an ageing society and the ever-increasing demands on healthcare services will soon exceed what the government and basic health insurance can offer. Health services need innovative technologies to transform their services to provide the necessary and high quality care for the elderly and patients. Based on Body Sensor Networks and Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies, we have developed a continuous preventative monitoring system that addresses common health problems faced by older adults, such as bedsores and falls. Instead of relying on routine observation by the caregivers, the miniaturised and intelligent sensors can provide continuous monitoring of the wellbeing and safety of the elderly/patients and raise alarms/warning if any adverse event is detected, easing the workload of the caregivers. Early interventions and preventative care can potentially reduce the mortality and morbidity rate and lead to a significant reduction in care costs for the family or government.”

To date, the Women in Science programme has offered fellowships to more than 3,122 female scientists and researchers from 117 countries. In Thailand, the L’Oreal fellowship programme offers a Bt250,000 grant every year to each of the selected Thai female researchers aged between 25 and 40 years. The |programme has to date granted 69 |fellowships to Thai female researchers.

That includes fresh Tagliatelle with Chanterelle in Cream Sauce, Snow Fish with Mushroom Ragout and Pan-seared Pork Chops served with sauteed mushrooms in a creamy garlic and parmesan sauce.

The promotion is valid through the end of November.

Book your table at (032) 512 021.

Suds and sauerkraut

92 Cafe at the Golden Tulip Sovereign marks Oktoberfest all this month with German food and a variety of beers. The menu features such dishes as fried pork knuckle served with sauerkraut and mashed potato and mixed sausage and Bavarian salad. Other international dishes and desserts are also available along with a range of cocktails including Roselle Beer, Lychee Beer, Green Tea Beer and Blue Hawaii Beer.

The dinner buffet runs from 6 to 10.30pm and is priced at Bt950-plus from Sunday to Thursday and Bt1,200-plus on Friday and Saturday.

Book your seats at (02) 641 4777

Great deals on the Chevy

This month, Chevrolet Thailand invites customers to trade-in their current models for rebate deals on selected models of the 2019 Colorado, led by the 2019 Colorado Tornado Edition American C-Cab pickup truck, equipped with the “Thunder Light” package worth Bt9,711. Under the rebate deal, the 2019 Colorado Tornado Edition C-Cab 4×2 M/T LT Z71 is available for Bt799,000 and the 4×2 A/T LT Z71 for Bt849,000. Customers will also receive a trade-in allowance of up to Bt80,000.

Find out more by calling the Chevrolet call centre at 1734, or your nearest Chevrolet dealership or visit http://www.Chevrolet.co.th.

’Tis the season

Book early to celebrate Christmas and get a special deal at the Anantara Riverside hotel such as a Christmas Eve Cruise with Manohra Cruise or Christmas Eve Buffet Dinner at Riverside Terrace. Prices start at Bt3,000 and every prepaid booking made by December 15 entitles you to a 10-per-cent discount.

For more information, call (02) 476 0022 extension 1416.

Mediation in Thailand

The Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC) and Thai European Business Association (TEBA) are hosting a seminar entitled “The good, the bad and in between: Arbitration & Mediation, Bangkok rising hub for solving disputes” on October 26 from 9.30am to 12pm at the Radisson Suites Bangkok. The speakers come from Baker & Mckenzie, THAC and Mahanakorn Partners Group. Registration is Bt850 for members and Bt1,000 for non-members.

Find out more at http://www.Thaitch.org.

Dubbed “The Race of Legends” and made up of a 1.8km swim, 50km of cycling and a 12km run, the triathlon is expected to draw thousands of athletes and spectators from around the world.

To mark its 25th anniversary, the LPT will also unveil the inaugural “25 For 25 Sprint” triathlon (swim 0.5km, bike 18.5km and run 6km, total 25km race distance) and 2nd annual LPT Charity Fun Run “Run for Fun, Run for Kids” (5km, 10km and 2km Kids Run) that raises funds through the Children First Fund (CFF) for more than 400 children in seven orphanages in Phuket.

Runners participating in “Run for Fun, Run for Kids” on November 17 will be joined by charity ambassador, Thai actress Rachwin “Koy” Wongviriya.

In the weeks leading up to the race, athletes and visitors will descend on Phuket to train, practise on course and take interval rests to get ready for the race. With athlete’s followers and supporters also travelling to Phuket, the race is expected to generate more than Bt94 million.

“I am pleased that 25th Laguna Phuket Triathlon will once again attract athletes from around the world to Phuket,” says the event director Prapa Hemmin.

“We are expecting more than 1,200 athletes to join the race on Sunday, plus more than 2,500 to participate in the Charity Fun Run on the Saturday.”

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Phuket Province, Phuket Tourism Communities and the people of Phuket for helping us welcome athletes and visitors, as well as showcasing Phuket’s authentic food and culture at our race.”

Athletes booking their slots in Laguna Phuket’s sporting events are being asked to raise funds through donations and sponsorships for the resort’s l Laguna Phuket Foundation to operate its various charitable programmes such as Community Learning Centre, Mobile Learning Centre, Seedlings Phuket Social-Enterprise Restaurant and Children First Fund. Athletes can make donations via online event registration and at the donation booth at the event.

Registration is available online at http://www.LagunaphuketTri.com until November 11. Hotels and resorts within Laguna Phuket offer special rates during the race weekend when quoting discount code: LPT2018.

For more information, visit http://www.LagunaPhuketTri.com or Facebook @LagunaPhuketTri.

The Davao beauty bested 39 other aspirants to succeed Laura Lehmann.

Rodriguez also won a number of special awards such as Miss Blue Water Day Spa, Miss Cosmo Skin, Miss Resorts World Manila and Best in Long Gown.

During the question and answer portion, Rodriguez was asked how she could change the perspective of feminists who think that beauty pageants are a form of women exploitation.

The 26-year-old stunner admitted that she too was “one of those” feminists before, but later changed her mind upon learning the true meaning of beauty pageants.

“One thing I can tell you is that you may think this is very competitive, but in fact, you’ll understand beauty pageants when you know that it is actually not competitive towards the other women, it’s competitive towards yourself, and it’s all about women empowerment, and you can feel that in this group of girls, each girl knows that we are all individually beautiful,” she said,” she said.

Among the judges in this year’s competition were reigning Miss World Manushi Chillar from India, and 2016 Miss World Stephanie del valle from Puerto Rico.

Miss World Organization Chair Julia Morley also flew in from London to witness the national pageant.

Prior to competing in the pageant, Rodriguez was already hailed as 1st runner up in the Miss Intercontinental 2017 beauty tilt.

It was an emotional moment for veterans of the market, the beating heart of Tokyo’s culinary scene for decades, which many acknowledged had become too rundown to support its mammoth operations.

“I’m almost crying,” said Hisao Ishii, a retired seafood auctioneer who was back at the market for its final day.

“Today is a sad day of goodbyes. Tsukiji tried to meet the times, but it is getting older,” the 68-year-old told AFP. “I came here today to tell Tsukiji thank you and goodbye.”

In the weak early-morning sun, traders filed into a warehouse for the last tuna auction, an indispensable ritual in Tokyo’s culinary world, and a major tourist draw.

Hundreds of fresh and frozen tuna tagged with their weight and port of origin were laid out in lines in a refrigerated warehouse, as buyers in rubber boots quietly inspected the wares.

They rubbed slices between their fingers and shone torches into the insides of the fish, swapping information with rivals before the showdown began.

At 6:00 am sharp, handbells rang to signal the auction was under way and the air filled with the sound of auctioneers yelling prices at buyers, who raised fingers to indicate interest.

The highest bidder at Saturday’s auction paid 4.4 million yen ($38,700) for a bluefin tuna — a threatened species — weighing 162 kilograms (357 pounds) caught off Aomori, northern Japan, according to the market.

It was far below the record 155.4 million yen paid at the first auction of 2013. Buyers traditionally offer eye-watering prices as a “New Year gratuity” when the market resumes operation after winter holidays.

‘Pass the baton’

Fish wholesaler Takeshi Yoshida said Tsukiji had left “its mark on history” but it was time to “pass the baton”.

Tsukiji’s inner market, known as “Japan’s Kitchen”, will now move to Toyosu, a site in eastern Tokyo, where operations will begin on October 11.

“It will be the first massive move in our history,” said Hiroyasu Ito, chair of the market association.

“We want to club together and get through it,” he told reporters.

The move has been in the works for years, prompted by Tsukiji’s dilapidated state.

Wholesalers had raised concerns about the antiquated facility’s earthquake resistance, sanitation and fire safety, as well as the structure’s use of asbestos and its crumbling walls.

The crowds of tourists who would mob the market, including groups who lined up for hours to win one of just 120 spots for the tuna auction, would also irk wholesalers by interfering with business.

The new site will feature state-of-the-art refrigeration, while tourists will be confined to special galleries behind glass.

But the move has proved controversial, with rows breaking out over pollution and the loss of Tsukiji’s globally recognised brand.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike was forced to delay the move after a series of problems at Toyosu, formerly home to a gas plant, including soil and groundwater contamination.

Local authorities paid hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up the new facility and Koike took the final decision to move the market there in late 2017, ending years of delays.

– ‘Hopes and fears’ –

The move affects not only the famed fishmongers, but also fruit and vegetable vendors, restaurants and other shops in the inner market.

“I feel nostalgic as Tsukiji has been my home ground for 15 years. We are sad to lose the Tsukiji brand,” vegetable wholesaler Tsukasa Kujirai told AFP.

He acknowledged the need for the move but said he was torn between “hopes and fears” about the new site.

The final day of the market looked much like any other in the decades since it opened on the site.

Cars and small “turret trucks” used by vendors whizzed along the roads around the market, which was full of buyers.

As the market closed at noon, workers busily mopped the empty floor after the auction, while hundreds of tourists flocked to the gate, taking pictures of the market’s nameboard.

“It’s so sad to hear that this very popular and interesting tourist spot will be closed,” said Rodolfo Hernandez, a 28-year-old graduate student from Mexico.

The so-called outer market, with brick-and-mortar shops selling everything from seaweed to coffee, will remain after the move.

But the warehouses that housed vendors and additional shops and restaurants are expected to be levelled to make way, initially, for a transport depot for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Beyond that, Koike has suggested the site could be transformed into a kind of culinary theme park, commemorating the market’s colourful history.

DESIGNED ESPECIALLY for those who like to listen to their favourite sounds while exercising, Bang & Olufsen’s new in-ear Bluetooth Beoplay E6 headphones come with different types of fit to respond to every type of activity.

Light and comfortable, the phones boast four pairs of ear fins, four pairs of ear tips in different sizes and one pair of high performance foam tips – so you can choose a specific fit depending on what you’re doing.

The E6 is designed to be light and durable. The housing of each earpiece is made of from textured rubber and polymer designed to resist sweat and moisture as well as wear and tear. A machined aluminium plate mounted on the housing with a laser etched logo gives the phones a sleek look.

The cord is moulded directly into the rubber of earpieces to prevent dirt and sweat from getting inside and damaging the electronics. And the cord is encased in braided textile using the same materials found in sneaker production, making it easy to clean.

The neckband has an in-line three-button anodised aluminium remote on the cord near the left earpiece while the charging connector is on the right side of the neckband. A special snap-on charging cable is provided. The E6 has a battery life of five hours per charge so you must carry along the charging cable if you listen for hours of music on the go. The E6 is designed to be recharged while being used.

The remote control is easy to operate. You press and hold the centre button for five seconds to initiate Bluetooth pairing. The E6 remembers previously connected devices so when turned on, the phones will attempt to reconnect to previously connected devices.

The E6 is designed to be turned off easily too by using the magnetic ends on the ear buds. You simply connect the two magnetic ends and the E6 will turn off. It also automatically turns off when inactive for 15 minutes to save the battery.

The remote can be used for music and calls as well as activating the personal digital assistant of your smart phone to give voice commands. Just long press the centre button until a sound is heard to activate the voice recognition.

During an incoming call, you can short press the centre button to accept the call or long press to reject it. During a call, you can long press to terminate the call or double press to transfer the call from E6 to be continued on your smartphone.

While playing music, you press the centre button once to pause or resume the play, twice to skip to the next track and three times to return to the previous track.

The two other buttons are for increasing and reducing volume.

Best of all, the sound quality of E6 can be further tweaked with Beoplay App. You can use the app to choose one of the preset profiles, such as working out, commuting or relaxing.

You can also choose to tweak the tonality by using the intuitive ToneTouch interface. You drag the white dot from the centre of the interface to the four corners, labelled as Warm, Excite, Relaxed and Bright while playing your music to experience different tones. You can also pinch with two fingers to increase the spaciousness of the sound.

The app is very useful as it also reports the battery level of E6.

During the test, I enjoyed using the E6 to listen to rock music from Joox app for hours on end. I was particularly impressed with the powerful and solid bass coming through as well as with clarity of the mids and highs. The solid bass was really noticeable while listening to Metallica and AC/DC,

RTB Technology Co Ltd distributes Beoplay E6 for Bt12,900 and it’s available at Munkong gadget, Dotlife, iStudio by copperwire and Spvi, Studio 7, Digital Lab Siam Discovery, Power Mall, Power Buy and King Power.

For online channels, visit Gadgetthai.net, Lazada, Shopee, JD.com and Mercular.

Key Specs

Speakers: Electro-Dynamic 6.4mm diameter

Impedance: 15 ohms

Frequency range: 20 – 20,000 Hz

Sensitivity: 113dB SPL +/-3dB

Wireless connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2, AAC codec

Remote: 3 control buttons

Microphone: omnidirectional, MEMS

Battery: 2x50mAh, 5 hours playtime, 2-hour charging time

Dimensions: 47 mm x 26.3 mm x 22.2 mm

Weight: 21g

Readers of American crime-thriller specialist Thom Locke, who lives in the Thai North, must wonder if he’ll eventually settle on one sleuth-protagonist, because he’s got several on the go. Each hero has starred in a title or several and seems poised to reappear at any time.

The phrase “on the go” might equally refer to both the bracing action of the books and the ever-present lure of the go-go bar, which offers, it has to be said, a completely innocent entertainment pastime – until bad guys show up.

Locke’s most recent release, the already two-year-old “Repent: A Bangkok Murder Mystery”, proves worthy of a long-postponed visit. Colin “Big Mac” McDonald is the detective of the neon-glare moment. He punches past previous gumshoes Sam Collins (“The Ming Inheritance”, “Jim Thompson is Alive!”), Declan Power (“Chiang Mai Chronicle”) and Dan Burdett (“Vinland”) to stake out the Thai capital as his own personal turf.

Rival contenders to the title deed must study this case carefully first, because Big Mac knows his Bangkok. And he’s here with a multifaceted story that covers a lot of ground at a very fast pace. Among other curiosities, we meet John the Baptist, con men, Russian gamblers, a “pear of anguish” and a Burmese python that’s somehow swallowed an American football.

Part of the appealing fun of expatriate novels set in Thailand is the namedropping of familiar places, and Locke goes one step beyond that by dropping a lot of names of people that will be familiar to devotees of the Asia-based crime/mystery genre.

Thus we have the real-life writers Jim Algie, James Newman and Kevin C Cummings stumbled upon at the real-life Sukhumvit Road watering hole Check Inn 99, catered to by proprietor Chris Catto-Smith and the late, much-missed Mama Noi. Keith Nolan is at the keyboards. Poet noir John Gartland scuds past on his way into exile in Phnom Penh. (Elsewhere, a Chris Coles painting decorates a wall.)

Since no one’s shooping at Bangkok’s abandoned New World Shopping Mall, other than thrill-seekers browsing for spooks, it might as well be the setting for a murder.

Interestingly, this is Check Inn at its original location up Nana way, and meanwhile Big Mac is opening an office downstream on Soi 33, “Soi Dead Artists”, which is where Check Inn lives now. Coincidence or prescience, it’s hard to say two years on, though Locke does allude to “the impending forced closing” of Check Inn.

It turned out to be a forced move, as did the closure of restaurant Hemingway’s, also mentioned here. But, back then, “A pall of despair had begun to hover over Bangkok’s substantial expat community. The iconic venues where they had spent their carefree nights were coming down one by one.”

This gets Mac thinking about the current of religious zealotry already darkening his case, in which the killer he’s stalking anticipates the fall of Jerusalem and the apocalypse foretold in the Bible.

Pairing Bangkok’s redevelopment with end-of-times Revelations is quite a stretch, but Locke has much in common with his fellow taffy-puller Dan Brown, including a filing cabinet full of historical and hysterical cross-references, certain reservations about the Church and a gift for page-turner suspense. Even Constantine Phaulkon will eventually show up.

So, we have plenty of living persons wafting in and out in a parade of pals, but Big Mac has his own roster of well-sketched fictional characters to bed, bemuse or batter. The classic tough guy with a heart of gold, Mac is as smart as he is self-deprecating and carries the yarn all over town with a measured manliness.

He gets to Above 11, Grease, Cheap Charlie’s, the Baiyoke Tower, a B&D joint, Charley Brown’s Mexicana, Sacha’s Hotel Uno, the S33 Hotel and the Sukhumvit Grande, and a couple of key scenes take place at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church – those shady priests, you see.

That’s a scary place, if you abide by what Locke says is in the cellar, but the hairiest stuff happens amid the decaying fallen-Jerusalem temple known as the New World Shopping Mall, one of Bangkok’s “ghost towers” abandoned when the cash ran dry.

Mac’s go-go-dancer girlfriend Ai doubles as his “secretary” but is more co-investigator, prodding the case along when one of her customers “tips” her with a passage from Revelations. It’s a clue to the occult madness that’s inked all over what begins as a double murder and then swiftly multiplies.

A Christian is on a “divine project” to eliminate sin on Soi Cowboy. On a bed sheet at the first crime scene he’s left an intricate rendering in the victims’ blood of Albrecht Durer’s seven-headed beast.

Panic over a serial killer is not something the ruling junta would have wanted just prior to the constitutional referendum a couple of years back, so Mac is told to keep his snooping sneaky and his cop partner, Doi, is ordered into plainclothes.

The writing in “Repent” is not destined to win a Pulitzer. “The big breakfast put me in the mind of sleep. But that would have to wait,” goes one passage, going nowhere. But there are some admirable turns of the language, such as “Peter Daly wore defeat much like a runway model flashing the newest design.”

Pete is recently landed in Bangkok from Birmingham – “he waddled onto a plane and into the heart of hedonism” – and he’s already heartbroken.

Mac has been there and done all that and frequently encounters former girlfriends who still lust for his warmth. The female form is admired. “She was hot in a Japanese geisha way.” But his heart and other parts now belong solely to Ai.

“Riding Ai, listening to her cries of passion, completely took me out of the world and cast all worries and stress to the curb. So it was no surprise that the pounding on the door went unnoticed.”

If in his erotic throes Locke can be politically incorrect, he largely makes up for it by forcing his protagonist to settle down and stay faithful. In some of the book’s more engaging entries, Mac contemplates a quieter, more balanced life and yearns along with Ai to have kids. “Perhaps the freedom that was a rogue’s life was gone,” he thinks. “Now I DID have something to lose.”

Repent: A Bangkok Murder Mystery by T Hunt Locke

Published by Locke via Amazon, 2016

Available at Amazon.com,Kindle US$2.99 (Bt97)

GONE ARE the days when husbands and boyfriends were forced to hang around for hours while their women were pampered at the beauty salon. Now it’s the guys who are keeping their ladies waiting as they take full advantage of the bespoke services offered by newly opened Artisans’ Royal Club at Gaysorn Village in downtown Bangkok.

Metrosexuality, that much-touted trend of the ’90s, is not only alive but positively thriving in Bangkok as an increasing number of men take personal grooming to another level.

“The Artisans’ Royal Club is akin to a gentleman’s club offering a complete experience for males with superlative tastes. It offers diverse bespoke services under the same roof from the gents-only barbershop Truefitt & Hill, the made-to-measure shoe shop Mango Mojito, the tailor-made suit shop Notch to the customised denim store Selvedgework, and the whisky bar-cum-cigar lounge Duke,” says Jirarot Pojanavaraphan, co-founder of shoe maker Mango Mojito.

Mango Mojito offers a range of classic custom-made leather shoes. 

“Men used to shy away from paying Bt1,000 for a haircut. Today, they have no problem shelling out bundles of cash to look smart,” adds Bundit Sriwattanangkoon who operates the British barbershop chain Truefitt & Hill at Gaysorn and bespoke tailoring brand Notch.

When Jirarot introduced his customised shoe brand Mango Mojita to the market eight years ago, well-groomed men were already ready to pay more than Bt5,000 for a pair of shoes, albeit those bearing a premium international label. Today, the made-in-Thailand brand is well accepted for its meticulously hand-made, classic-style, customsied shoes.

“It takes time to communicate to customers that we’re a premium Thai leather shoe brand and our craftsmanship is on par with international brands. It took us about three years to be recognised in the market. Our customers are generally between 18 and 45 years old and consider shoes accessories that represent their characters and styles,” says Jirarot.

Prices for a pair of bespoke shoes range from Bt6,000 to Bt13,000 a pair depending on the leather. Customers can choose from Oxfords, loafers or boat shoes, select the leather and customise the colours for different part of the shoes from vamp, body, outsole to laces and stripes.

Jirarot Pojanavaraphan

“All parts are hand-made using premium leathers from Italy and Japan and hand-painted with special colourings to make each pair unique. Though our shoe mould is imported from Italy, we have adjusted its proportions to match the general foot shape of Thais whose foot width is generally in the shoe size of 4E (extra wide) while Europeans are about 3E (wide),” Jirarot adds.

Far from being about the traditional “short back and sides”, Truefitt & Hill styles the hair, trims the beard, cleans the ears or just lets the customer relax with a facial treatment under a hot towel while hands and feet are thoroughly pampered.

Men are precision-groomed from head to toenails at the British barbershop chain Truefitt & Hill.

The world’s oldest barbershop, the original Truefitt & Hill opened on London’s St James’s Street in 1805. The Gaysorn outlet’s floor plan is circular and customers move through five grooming stations, each with its own upholstered, reclining swivel chair and adjustable headrest.

“Customers tend to have their hair done in classic cuts rather than fashionably styled for a true gentleman’s look,” says Bundit. “Truefitt & Hill exudes English style, luxury and comfort and thus meets the needs of discerning customers. When our hair is neat, we want to look good from head to toe.”

The barbershop offers a broad ranges of services from haircut with shampoo and blowdry (Bt1,100), bread trim (Bt500), hot towel wet shave (Bt1,000), pedicure (Bt1,100), ears cleaning (Bt600) and shoe shine (Bt550).

Bundit’s family has run a tailoring business for more than five decades, cutting suits for many tailor shops in top hotels, and he decided to open his own custom-tailored brand Notch after the British term top-notch and a kind of classic suit.

The custom-tailored suit brand Notch allows guys to choose their preferences at every step for perfect measurements.

“We have imported wools from Europe and cotton from Japan as well as lining fabrics that are soft, yet durable and light – perfect for Thailand’s climate. Customers can customise their preferences every step of the way to ensure a perfect fit,” he explains.

Prices range from Bt15,000 for cotton and Bt20,000 for wool and a styling consultant is on hand to ensure the suit matches the gentleman’s lifestyle and other items in the wardrobe.

Bundit Sriwattanangkoon

“Several customers ask us to design complete sets of outfits for a five-day working week, from shirts, trousers, vests, and suits. The classic two-button, single-breasted suit is making a comeback thanks to its timeless look,” says Bundit.

Selvedgework offers custom, handcrafted selvedge denim jeans and jackets.

More casual though no less meticulous, Selvedgework offers custom, handcrafted selvedge denim jeans and jackets in more than 30 choices of fabrics from Japan, Italy, Thailand and the US. You tell them how you want your jeans cut – super skinny, skinny, slim, straight or regular – and your preference in thread colour, button shanks, rivets, leather patches, logo tags, pocket linings and even the font for your laser-etched initials. The prices start at Bt6,900 and production time is around one to two weeks. If you can’t wait, the shop also stocks ready-to-wear fits for both men and women with waist sizes from 25 to 42 inches.

Selvedgework is the brainchild of designer Vitchapong Hutasuwan, an avid denim collector whose family runs a denim factory. He started making his own jeans when he was in high school and had no trouble selling them to his friends.

“Craftsmanship goes into every production process. An artisan develops one pair at a time, step by step from the beginning to the end with perfection, just like a piece of art,” says Vitchapong.

Premium fabrics are hand picked to bring unique and rare selvedge fabrics woven on vintage shuttle looms. Vitchapong works with denim mills like Kaihara and Kurabo from Japan, Cone from the US, Candiani of Italy and Thailand’s AMC.

“Like a woman buying a luxury handbag, my male customers treat their personalised jeans as special accessories that speak volumes about who they are. Aged from 25 to 40, they are knowledgeable about denim fabrics and they look for value.”

 Duke combines a whiskey bar, cigar lounge and art gallery. 

Duke, meanwhile, combines speakeasy whiskey bar, cigar lounge and art gallery. The cigar lounge offers a full range of cigars from Cuba and other prominent producers and boasts a hand-painted wall by noted Thai artist Alongkorn Lauwattana and another two private rooms for members only. Both are decorated with works by such artists as Panya Vijinthanasarn and Alex Face.

More than 300 whiskies are available and snacks and light meals are also served. The artworks on display rotate every month.

FORMULA  FOR SUCCESS

The Artisans’ Royal Club is on the second floor of Gaysorn Village at Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong intersection.

It’s open daily from 10am to 9pm. Visit “Artisans’ Royal Club” page on Facebook.

For more about Mango Mojito, go to http://www.Mango-mojito.com.

Selvedgework denim can be found at http://www.Selvedgework.com/custom

Check out Truefitt & Hill go to wwwTrueFittAndHillThailand.com.

Learn more about Duke at the “duke.gaysorn” page on Facebook.

A POWERFUL tablet computer with a versatile stylus, the Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro can transform into a tiny, highly mobile notebook computer with an optional keyboard.

MediaPad M5 Pro is powered by Huawei Kirin 960 octa-core processor with four cores running at 2.4 GHz and four others at 1.8 GHz. Its graphics are powered by a Mali G71 MP8 GPU and it comes with 4 gigabytes of working memory or RAM and 64 GB of internal storage, expandable with microSD card by up to 256GB.

The tablet boasts a large 10.8-inch ClariVu 5.0 technology IPS display with 2560×1600-pixel resolution. The display is bright and more than adequate for viewing photos, reading ebooks and watching video clips. During the test, I watched newly released movies on the TrueID TV app of TrueVisions and was impressed by both the sharp and clean images and sound quality.

The tablet’s good sound system can be put down to its quad-speaker system with high-tech amplifiers. That makes it excellent for listening to music as well, and is further enhanced by the tablet’s support of Hi-Res audio. The four speakers are tuned by the renowned acoustic firm Harman Kardon Audio to deliver top-quality sound with good bass and less distortion.

The MediaPad M5 Pro does not comes with a standard 3.5mm stereo jack but Huawei provides a USB-C to 3.5mm jack adapter that you can use with your favourite headphones. I used the adapter with Sony’s MDR-1ABT Hi-Res Audio headphone during the test and found that the music quality was great with good details of instruments and powerful and deep bass.

The tablet runs on Google Android 8.0 with Huawei’s EMUI 8.0 user-interface on top of it, reinforcing its performance. Applications ran fast and the touchscreen and menus were very responsive.

The M5 Pro supports LTE 4G and it also comes with a speedy Wi-Fi 802.11ac connection.

I tested it on TrueMove H’s LTE network and I found the Internet connection was really fast and downloading of applications quick and smooth. I used Ookla Speedtest app to measure the speed and the tablet scored a download speed of 96.5 Mbps and an upload speed of 29.8 Mbps.

Buy the optional keyboard too and you can turn MediaPad M5 Pro into a notebook computer.

The M5 Pro has a connector for connecting to M5 Folio Keyboard, which also functions as the screen and back covers. The keyboard has locks on both left and right sides for attaching to the tablet and its back cover can be folded down to serve as a stand when you want to use the tablet as a notebook.

The keyboard worked effectively during the test and typing was both convenient and responsive. Moreover, the keyboard has a touchpad, which you can use as a pointer without having to lift your hand from the keyboard to touch the screen.

I tested the keyboard on the WPS Office app to work on Memo, Spreadsheet, Presentation and Document files conveniently.

MediaPad M5 Pro can also be used as a creative tool with the provided Huawei M-Pen.

The stylus pen is powered by rechargeable battery and it has a USB-C port for recharging. The M-Pen is light and comfortable to hold and it flows naturally on the display just like on a piece of paper.

The M-Pen supports 4096-layer pressure sensitivity, allowing you to draw with it on the M5 Pro just as you would with paper. It also supports tilt and shade functions.

You click on the stylus’ s lower button to bring up a floating menu of apps. During the test, the button brought up MyScript Calculator, Nebo for Huawei and Autodesk SketchBook apps.

The stylus can also be used to capture the screen. You just press and hold the lower function key on the stylus and draw a portion of the screen to capture that part or you can press and hold the same button and tap the screen twice with the M-Pen to capture the entire screen.

During the test on the SketchBook app, I had no problem using the stylus to draw and the stylus supported the Tilt and Shade function well. The provided Nebo app is great for taking notes and drawing illustrations of your ideas.

For security, the MediaPad M5 Pro provides a fingerprint reader for unlocking the screen.

The tablet has a large battery with a good battery life. The 7,500 mAh battery has Smart Power-Saving technology, allowing you to survive a day after one charge. It also supports quick charging, allowing you to replenish the battery in 2.9 hours.

Huawei MediaPad M5 Pro has a suggested retail price of Bt18,990. The M5 Folio Keyboard retails for Bt3,990.

Key Specs

Networks: LTE FDD / LTE TDD / WCDMA / GSM

OS: Android 8.0 with EMUI 8.0

CPU: HUAWEI Kirin 960 Octa-Core [4ืA73 (2.4 GHz) + 4ืA53 (1.8 GHz)]

GPU: Mali G71 MP8

Memory: 4GB RAM

Storage: 64 GB, expandable with microSD by up to 256 GB

Display: 10.8-inch, 2560ื1600 pixels 359 PPI display, ClariVu 5.0 technology IPS display

Cameras: Front camera: 8 MP, F2.2, Fixed focus; Rear camera: 13 MP, F2.2, Auto Focus (PDAF)

Connectivity: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4G/5G; Bluetooth 4.2

Battery: 7,500 mAh

Dimensions: 171.8 mm x 258.7 mm x 7.3 mm (H x W x D)

Weight: 498g