Posts by Christopher Dempsey
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Hard News: Auckland City Nights, in reply to recordari,
You’re not the one with the colourful piano which my kids played on during opening weekend by any chance?
The piano is an idea from o'seas ganked by Waterfront Auckland. They've discovered it's cheap entertainment, and have organised a few spare pianos similarly painted.
WA knew it was a winner when they discovered one of the construction guys during lunchtimes would sit down and play beautiful classical music which everyone loved so they asked him to play more often!
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Hard News: Auckland City Nights, in reply to BenWilson,
When there are actually hundreds of good places to eat within a couple of kilometers, why would I waste my money?
I vote for a wholesale move of the Ponsonby Food Hall down to Wynyard Wharf.
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Hard News: Auckland City Nights, in reply to Russell Brown,
Meanwhile, back to Marvel Grill at Wynyard Quarter.
Friends went there last night: Late, undercooked mains, terrible service (one of them had a tray of drinks spilt on him) and a bill that bore little relation to what had actually been ordered. Half the group walked away without paying when the split bill mysteriously doubled after half of it had been had been paid.
The owner was there and told my friend he “didn’t give a fuck about the internet” when a potential review was discussed. Wow.
Perhaps I can influence Waterfront Auckland to put in some meal carts - you know, the little caravans and trailers where you could get a few tofu sticks with peanut satay sauce or a wee burger or an icecream. That certainly would help with the clearly huge demand down there.
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Having lived in Canada for six years, tipping was a foreign concept when I first arrived, but had it down pat within two months. You tipped at a restaurant/diner/cafe, bar, the cab driver, and hairdresser/barber amongst others but not the bicycle mechanic, or bookstore attendant. And you tipped after service, not before, which meant that the server either gave ok service (equals standard tip) or great service within the confines of their job at the time (equals a little more).
Mostly I tipped the loose change, and in bars the barman would leave the change on the counter (and not put it in your hand). You picked up what you wanted and left the rest as a tip, usually silver coins (quarters, dimes, nickels). The one time I left a penny tip (an insult) was in Montreal where the guy was appalling all over the place that perhaps he really should not have been working that day.
I think the discussion about tipping in NZ refers to the cultural concept. Tipping offends a cultural concept we have about tipping which is basically that we are not the United States, and therefore we don't tip - which explains why some people feel offended when offered a tip. There is a cultural construct that positions us NZ'ers as being (smugly) superior to Americans so we reject the idea of tipping. And explain about it in our national airline's magazine.
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Hard News: Auckland City Nights, in reply to Russell Brown,
Arrrggh. NZTA building cycleways alongside roads has been an amazing development. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with Joyce?
Wearing elected rep hat…The (ultra vires) Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Transport tells NZTA where to spend the money (and under Joyce – it's on RONS). NZTA to their credit have refused to ‘give up’ on cycling, but their position is that they will build cycleways only if it is part of a major roading project (as the cost of the path is diddly squat in overall costs) to get around Joyce.
The reason that the Northwestern Cycle path was done by the Northwestern motorway was because NZTA owned the land so they didn’t have to negotiate with anyone, and secondly because the BCR was apparently so stonkingly good for the investment of $3m that it would have been a waste of money not to build one. The BCR’s are still stonkingly good, but Joyce is perfectly happy to waste money, so NZTA are not in a position to do the CMJ extension for a while yet (I get the feeling they are waiting for a change in govt).
NZTA does point out that the number of big projects is coming to a close so they have little opportunities to build cycle paths now.
This is a subject matter full of complex motives (who on earth knew that cycling was so bloody political??) but the basic gist is that Joyce has squashed cycling funding, but will do the odd token project to get the votes.
The reason I said that the GPS was ultra viries is because essentially transport is one area of government where everyone would like to have a say, and usually is offered a chance to have a say, but in the development of the RONS, name me a person who submitted, as part of a formal consultation process, on the proposal to sink billions into it?
Doffing said hat.
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Hard News: Auckland City Nights, in reply to Russell Brown,
I have had very good individual service from a young guy at JB HiFi and, as ever, I made sure he got the sale when I went back.
This guy sounds like he's gold and will go a long way in life. JBHiFi will be but a mere blip in his memory and I suspect he won't be too friendly to them when they need him more then he needs them.
The Auckland Plan will include a Highline-like redevelopment of that off-ramp. I don’t know that access to it has been sorted (it certainly makes sense to get it off K-Rd or down the back of Rising Sun or something but it may have to be in from the Pitt St end)…
Wearing my elected rep hat... I had a presentation on that last week. a) the officers aren't at all keen on calling it a Highline (though they recognise the intent), so we have to come up with another name. Nelson Ramp Link? Dunno. b) the officers pointed out access will be difficult and BTW has anyone noted the distance between the back of the Rising Sun building (which I found out was first licensed under that name in the early 1900s) and the old Nelson St off-ramp? We thought for a second and said, pretty big? Yes, and if you want to bridge it, it costs money. So that's a challenge. And c) NZTA would be interested, if it were feasible (and I suspect if Joyce could back-the-f**k-off from NZTA and let them build cycleways) NZTA would consider linking the old Nelson St off-ramp to the cycle path they would like to build linking the end of the Northwestern Cycle path to Wellesley St/Beach Rd. How cool would that be? You'd be able to cycle up Hobson, nip onto that old ramp and get onto the Northwestern Cycle path in no time at all!
BTW if anyone is wondering why the ramp is there in the first place - it's because it would cost a massive amount of money to demolish it, so it's cheaper to leave it there.
So, to sum up, that ramp is under active consideration. Works are likely to be done in conjunction with the CMJ cycle path as it would form a link between it and Nelson/Hobson Sts. The question is, as usual, money.
Doffing said hat...
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Hard News: Complaint and culture, in reply to Russell Brown,
And that cover.
North and South has an embarrassing case of a teenage-girl crush on Mr Key. This month he turns 50! Last issue it was something about Key and his wife. The issue before that had a head shot of Key prominently centre of the page. It's just plain embarrassing.
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Hard News: Auckland City Nights, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
folks who profiteer off self-inflicted alcohol poisoning while blithely flouting licensing laws
In all cases I've seen, the majority of such folks don't flout the licensing laws. The licensing laws, as I've described before, means that it is very very easy to get a liquor licence and extremely difficult to lose one, and the law is sufficiently 'wide' enough to the point such folk hardly need to flout the law in term of hours of sale or discounting in supermarkets, or the development of alcopops.
Neo-liberalism delivered self-inflicted alcohol poisoning (it's a free market after all and your choice) while protecting the profits of those who merely enable such poisoning (it's a free market after all).
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Hard News: Auckland City Nights, in reply to JordanTCarter,
Now how long is it going to take to run the tram all the way to Britomart?
Tis a question on everyone's lips. Answer: Not long (comparatively speaking in Auckland speak). Give it three years or so.
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Hard News: Auckland City Nights, in reply to Andre,
Maybe when the Wyndham Quarter gets more residents it’ll attract more cigarette vendors?
Given the number of submissions to the Waitemata LB draft Plan asking for smokefree public places I would have thought cigarette vendors to be a sunset industry.