For visas, the safest thing is to get a work visa. If your employer can't or won't do that, you are stuck with the visa run. After talking to a number of people making the run to Penang, Malaysia, and making a couple myself to Myanmar, the situation in October was, as I understood it:

The absolutely safest way to do a visa run is to go to Malaysia or Singapore and apply for a two month tourist visa, return to Thailand, and when the visa expires, make the run again. It is best to stay out of the country for three nights or so. This presents several problems. It is expensive, though with the budget airlines, not outrageous. After all, you know two months ahead of time, and booking that far in advance gets you the best rates. You also have to be away from your work for several days. The Thai consulates no longer do the 'apply in the morning, pick up in the afternoon' thing. As in all visa runs, there is always the chance they won't let you back it. Staying away several nights should help with that. In theory, you can do this forever, since the 180 day rule only applies to non-visa entries.

The non-visa, 30 day entry stamp is a bit murkier. You can, in theory, stay 90 days in Thailand out of 180. However, the days you cross the border count as two days, so if you go to Myanmar and come right back across the border, you have used your last day of the 30, and the first day of the next thirty, and so have used two of your ninety days. You are then supposed to be able to go to Penang or Singapore, and get a 60-day visa, but some people thing that you are less likely to get it if you have more than one 30-day stamp.

The situation changes almost on a daily basis.