panadolsandwich Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 I came upon this article on a recent medical junket to San Francisco whilst perusing the local rag over a cup of coffee and a bagel. I clipped it out and now I'm back in Australia I got one of the girls at work (thanks Stacy) to type it up. Quite an interesting article and real food for thought... Co-founder of runaway success technology start-up Blahbinar (based in Silicon Valley), Kunana Pooyoonwomboon has come up with a novel software application in his spare time that he hopes will revolutionise parent – children relationships in his native Thailand. “It's called WaoLen†he says, “which really doesn't mean anything, but sounds cool! Basically it takes a users input, then it calculates what their obligation is to their parents – in monetary terms. “ In Asia it is customary for grown up children to fund the retirement of their parents, and often their grand parents, and even great grand parents, not to mention the extended family and other relations if the child is particularly successful. His company has pioneered seminaaring over the interweb and Kunana's estimated worth is upwards of $100M, and with talk of Google and Microsoft both sniffing around it could easily double or triple overnight. WaoLen has received a mixed reception in Thailand, with some critics calling it a heartless, cold and calculating machine. “When I hear comments like that I do cringe a bitâ€, Kunana shyly relates, “ I built in the (patented) Empathy engine specifically to counter this type of thing, it takes your guilt, and then quantifies it – it's a function of your circumstances. For instance, say you were denied an ice cream when you were five, then the program is smart enough to take that and factor that into a debit to any potential ex-gratis payment. Parents expectations increase with the success (of their children), but how can I opt for 24k gold taps on my super yacht's Jacuzzi, with this albatross around my neck?â€. His parents couldn't be reached for comment, but they live in the remote North East of Thailand and work a small rice farm and water buffalo concern. Kunana sheepishly admits he only sends them about $12 a month, “but that is adjusted automatically by the program, depending on currency fluctuations at the time – it's very fair in that respect, the US economy might be tanking, but these payments are made like clockwork, and the payment is mathematically proven – it prints a out a log, which can potentially prove to be a tax deductible expense, that is if you talk to the right accountantâ€, he boasts proudly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 >Kunana sheepishly admits he only sends them about $12 a month... cheap cnut!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTEACH Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 What in the hell could they buy for 12 bucks? He must be quite an asshole if that's all he thinks about his parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unit731 Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Depends on where they live and their lifestyle. So I am assuming youze guys are sending a bunch more to long lost relatives and not so lost ones? How much do YOU send back? What is the proper amount to send back every month? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 Hi, "Depends on where they live and their lifestyle." Not really, $12 is 300 Baht. Impossible to live on that for a month. My guess is that the amount mentioned is wrong. Adding a zero would make it believable. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbaron Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 This is pure gold guys, panadolsandwich, make 1000 copies of that article, (pref in Thai as well), laminate it and whenever a BG requests a stipend, whip it out and demonstrate this guy who's worth $100 mil, pays $12/month - and he's Thai! Get out of jail free cards! Seriously... likely a misprint, just an idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 I think it’s a troll or a hoax. Googling any of the key words in the post, waolen, Kunana Pooyoonwomboon, Blahbinar (supposedly a runaway success technology start-up) only link to this thread. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 and Bing gives us: No results found for Kunana Pooyoonwomboon. Do you mean Kenana Pooyoonwomboon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhodie Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Maybe a made up story. Seems quite common these days. Google returns this post only when searching for "Pooyoonwomboon" and no results for "Blahbinar". I need a life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Waolen ... play speak? (That would be wao lin.) ... play kite? (Not likely.) It means nothing all right. "Kunana Pooyoonwomboon" means absolutely nothing and is made up too. (Sounds more like a place in Australia.) Panadol, are you having folks on again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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