Posts by Raffe Smith
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Air NZ? Service? You must have been flying Business Class then?
No, unfortunately not! However the aircraft was only 75% full. Everything is relative, but I found it better than Virgin, and Qantas for that matter. Admittedly I haven`t flown Singapore for years, and probably won't, either.
It depends on the 777....the short haul ones used by Singapore are cramped and horrible, whereas the long haul layout is fantastic. But its worth remembering that it's only the threat of Airbus that has forced Boeing to take a step forward from the tin can approach. My first flights on an Airbus many years back were eye openers.
Sounds like the short haul 747s used in Japan?
I don't know about the tin can analogy - it is up to the airlines how they configure the individual aircraft. Absolutely true in that competition from Airbus has helped Boeing along, and they seem to be doing much better of it recently, too. The A380 seems unproven and the A350 (answer to the 787) isn't generating nearly as much interest, or orders.
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Also if flying AirNZ, you get to travel to AKL on the 777 which is a much more roomy and modern airplane than the workhorse 747-400s that ply the LAX route.
777s are the business. Looking forward to the 787. I did have a nice time on an A340-600 the other day, but the service (Virgin) was nowhere near as good as AirNZ.
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Yeah, totally fly through San Francisco rather than LAX. I was through customs in 15 minutes when I arrived there a few weeks ago, and I was pretty much last off the plane too.
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This video was mentioned in the Out of The Groove thread, but as far as I know, not posted anywhere.
Anyway, its awesome.
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This is more a of a general comment, but I have felt for some time now that the high water mark of the NZ music 'boomlet' was in 2005.
That year Fat Freddy's, Bic Runga and the Phoenix Foundation all released stellar records. This probably exposes my own bias, but while there have been good records put out in the last 18 months, I feel the only interesting NZ record released since then was from the Mint Chicks.
Goodness me, I am already getting nostalgic.
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Always.
Grr. I even previewed that to check the link, but missed the typo. -
Nice, as awlays Hamish.
Give Ross Taylor a Test already! Oh, that's right, we don`t play a Test until November.
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I understand there are three commentators on the World Cup Speaker blog? Would it be possible to put a by-line for each post so we know who wrote what?
Great concept however, keep them coming.
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Yep, distilleries a mile apart, isn't it? But don't they taste very different to you? The Lagavulin is richer and more complex and, of course, the casks are exposed to the sea air. So it's more, say, Lyall Bay ...
Yes, they do taste different - I guess I am just registering my surprise that you like one but not the other. To the best of my knowledge, the Laphroaig casks are aged in warehouses adjacent to the sea wall, thus they also get a wash of salty sea spray...
Lyall Bay is probably more accurate. :) Seatoun can be Ardbeg. Someone should set up a distillery on the south coast of Wellington - that would be awesome.
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Oh well, I will be snob then. Sort of.
I like a peated whisky, but that's me. Each to their own! There is a whisky for every occasion: sometimes you just feel like being knocked around by a cask strength highly peated whisky from Islay, and sometimes you feel like an older, soft, heathery, complex Highland whisky.
So, peat can help make a fantastic whisky, but I can understand how it can get in the way, as it tends to dominate. Just drink what you like!
Also I find that island or coastal whiskies that are peated are very distinctive and drinkable from a young age, while the Highland and Speyside whiskies generally need a bit more time: 10yo Glenlivet is boring, but the 25yo is fantastic.
Russell, I am curious as to your distinction between Laphroaig and Lagavulin: both are heavily peated and coastal, although Laphroaig is more pungent and oily to the Lagavulin's dry elegance. Also, geographically the distilleries are as equivalent to each other as are Island Bay and Seatoun.