Posts by Steve Barnes

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  • Hard News: Bean-Counting the Beat,

    Oh yes. And whatever happened to Country FM?

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • Hard News: Bean-Counting the Beat,

    Does Grey Bartlet really believe what he's saying or is he being just a little disingenuous?. He is, after all, an agent for several acts and he seems to be saying "everybody likes my artists but the radio wont play them because NZ on air wont pay them to"
    Well If that is true then why haven't one, or several, of that legion of people who love country music and/or poprea get together and start a radio station?. It would be an astounding success if what he seems to believe is true, I'm sure country fans buy as much advertised product as the minority that likes new or current tunes.
    Personally I like a bit of country music and may tune in to such a station myself on occasion, not so enamoured with Haley though, if I wanted to listen to that particular genre of music I could just get in the nearest elevator.
    So go on grey, I challenge you. Have a whip-round among that enormous fan base you have and put that cash where your mouth is. Then if what you claim is true then I am sure NZ on Air will be popping round to see you with a big fat cheque.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • Hard News: Cool,

    The thing i would love to see on long haul flights would be AC power and ethernet cables at all seats

    Hmmmm......electric chairs ;-)

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • Hard News: Cool,

    Not quite on topic but almost

    noise canceling is great sometimes they make me feel like my ears are going to explode.

    Is this because silence something that is almost impossible on this planet, there will always be some sound whether it is the wind in the grass or the birds in the trees, that when we encounter silence it is so unnerving that the brain just can't really hack it?
    Or is it that you just turn the things up so damned loud?
    Anypoo, I have never seen the point of going to all the trouble of loading video onto an ipood or whatever, it just seems a bit too contrived and you lose the spontaneity/randomness of what you can actually see in the real world when you're outside your comfort zone. Whenever I travel with a media player I always take an extra set of headphones and an two way adapter so's I can share. So much better than isolating yourself from others.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • Hard News: A night on the town with Mr Slack,

    Hearty congrats from this desk too.

    blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/blogger-bites-back a finalist in the best blog site???

    That seems very MSM leaning.

    Agreed (should there be an emphasis on the greed bit?)
    I had a look at that "blog" it didn't take long. Out of the ten posts there were only two comments, one of which was telling the author to check his facts before posting. That is just so Herald. :-(
    I suppose it's a little early for speculation on what Cunliffe will be offering us in terms of fibre annat but it will have to be something semi spectacular to beat the public perception that Key's offering something remotely possible. fibre to the node is, almost, a done deal. Bigger overseas pipes are already in the planning stage, well at least a MOU, by well.... PIPE and Kordia. So that would mean that any offering would have to be in the "last mile" and if not FTTH then what else? WiFi?

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • Hard News: Track to the Future,

    Apparently they knew all along it wasn't going to work ...

    I had suspected this all along. The first thing I noticed when Toll bought the network was a large number of toll trucks on the road and thought "why are they competing with themselves?" The answer is obvious with hindsight. The problem now will be Toll's influence over the shift of freight back to rail, they ain't gonna let that happen without a fight. I wonder what is in the small print on the deal. If Toll has sold out any bargaining power the first we will see is them selling the road freight business.
    I could be wrong. I was once, I said I'd made a mistake when I hadn't.
    ;-)

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • Hard News: Track to the Future,

    French-owned Veolia runs Auckland's urban passenger rail services under contract to the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) under their MAXX brand,

    From HERE

    How does this affect things?

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • Hard News: Track to the Future,

    Steve - One of the cnr stones of sustainability is to build for locals not tourists.

    I'm of the understanding Air Travel doesn't pay any tax on its fuel. So as far as passenger travel is concerned - The trains on our terrain can not compete with the plane

    I wasn't suggesting the sole purpose of sedate rail to be a tourist attraction but, all the same, they come here expecting to see the country and expect to spend money, what better way to see the country. Plus, not all tourists are foreign, some are local too. And plus since when did freight need to travel at 200kph?

    Airlines don't pay tax on fuel? Maybe international flights but I'm sure domestic flights have tax on the fuel, if not why not? As for competing, it's not just about the money. It could be to do with comfort and sustainability. Once you have driven to the airport, found a place to park, checked in, waited for the pilot to sober up and sat in the worst bar ever drinking the worst beer ever only to be packed into an aluminium tube and flung from one end of the country to the other and find your luggage was sent to Brisbane.....you start to long for the day long relaxing train jouneys of old.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • Hard News: Track to the Future,

    ,I was under the impression that the service was being run down

    NZ had little choice after Mugoon spent all the borrowed money on "Think Pig" projects. I would rather be able to have the choice of sedate travel, as would many tourists, over fast porn access.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

  • Hard News: Track to the Future,

    <quote<Ever tried to fly from London to Paris,</quote> I hitchhiked once, the French can be funny people, they pretend not to understand English and I can't fly, I don't have wings. other than that, what was your point? My point was about everybody being in such a hurry.

    Peria • Since Dec 2006 • 5521 posts Report

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