Udom Matsayawanigul, director of the Thailand Film Office, which is part of the Tourism Ministry, said that as competition to lure foreign productions has stiffened, Thailand has had to sweeten its offers to keep up.

Traditionally, the way to stiffen a polymer network is to add more crosslinks.

Over time, the valve thickens and stiffens, making the heart work harder to pump blood effectively around the body.

Certainly, the competition level stiffened recently with Indiana and Ohio State handing the Cornhuskers losses in their two most recent games.

Opponents argue that by stiffening penalties we’ll refill our prisons after having dramatically reduced their populations to meet a federal court order.