The totally off-topic thread

[oz_mark]

Well you’ve just put me off volunteering my time to get work experience

If you're just a worker bee in the volunteer organisation, you will probably be ok, but if you are an office bearer, prepare for snipers

 

[anat0l]

Absolutely stinking hot on the Gold Coast right now. Just had a short 10 minute walk outside around the block and the sweat was beginning to pour off me.

Traffic from the Northside of Brisbane resulted in my taking 2.5 hrs to get to university this morning.

Add to that transferring in the city underneath a boiling 34degC heat...I have difficulty remembering whether I was steaming due to frustration, being broiled outside, or both.

 

[samh004]

Traffic from the Northside of Brisbane resulted in my taking 2.5 hrs to get to university this morning.

Add to that transferring in the city underneath a boiling 34degC heat...I have difficulty remembering whether I was steaming due to frustration, being broiled outside, or both.

Do you drive or take public transport? That’s a heck of a long time :-|

I might have to take a dive into the pool to cool off

 

[NM]

I might have to take a dive into the pool to cool off

Now that is a good idea. I might just wait until the bite is gone from the sun first, then into the pool for a cool down.

 

[anat0l]

Do you drive or take public transport? That’s a heck of a long time :-|

Two buses to get to/from uni; transfer point in the city.

Insanely long time, if you ask me. Should take just over an hour altogether; 1.5 hours in 'bad' traffic.

 

[Dee Thom]

Two buses to get to/from uni; transfer point in the city.

Insanely long time, if you ask me. Should take just over an hour altogether; 1.5 hours in 'bad' traffic.

Talk to dear Anna, She told us she would listen to the people :mrgreen:
The Sunshine Coasts doing a boil also, NM's idea to fall into the pool sounds good.................

Cheers Dee

 

[samh004]

Two buses to get to/from uni; transfer point in the city.

Insanely long time, if you ask me. Should take just over an hour altogether; 1.5 hours in 'bad' traffic.

Have you bought yourself a GO card? It’s so much cheaper with a student GO card too

 

[anat0l]

Have you bought yourself a GO card? It’s so much cheaper with a student GO card too

Yes I have a go card.

Even with the higher differentials between go card and paper tickets, the differences between go card and a monthly paper ticket are marginal (it really depends on the number of days in the month!).

I'm hoping that the differential will be widened so a go card will be better, or they have a set up like the Oyster card in London where you can preload a monthly onto your go card.

I'm rather p*ssed that the go card doesn't have a "connecting" touch-on rule like they do in Perth with SmartRider, i.e. if you forget to touch off your last leg (bus, train) but you touch onto your next ride within the required transfer window (as a "penalty" it is timed as 60 minutes from when you commenced your first leg), your last leg is automatically touched off. At the moment with go card, when you touch on again without touching off your last leg, you get charged the fixed amount.

There's a lot of talk of the ethics of TransLink raising the fares by a considerable amount and at that raising the paper tickets a considerable amount too (i.e. some sort of potential consumer affairs violation)

 

[samh004]

At the moment with go card, when you touch on again without touching off your last leg, you get charged the fixed amount.

The penalty is $2.50 I think. Coming from the Gold Coast I’m almost encouraged to accidentally forget to touch on/off, as it’ll be far cheaper. Though I have a student go card which has significantly cheaper fares. Only $3.85 to/from the Gold Coast.

Another sticking point is that bloody AirTrain… $22 no matter what. :evil:

 

[QF WP]

Yes, it's damn hot in Fortitude Valley now as well. Just went out for lunch and cracked a sweat walking up and back to get lunch (all of 100m). Happy to be sitting back in 25 degree air conditioning.

anat0l, maybe you should change Uni's...a Sunshine Coast campus could suit (won't take you 2.5 hours). My commute this morning (from same suburb) at 9.30am to FV took 25 mins (I suppose you didn't want to hear that:shock:)

 

[drron]

Talk to dear Anna, She told us she would listen to the people :mrgreen:
The Sunshine Coasts doing a boil also, NM's idea to fall into the pool sounds good.................

Cheers Dee

Which is why I am spending a lot of the summer down here in Latrobe?Devonport.Struggled to 20.4C today so no dip in the pool here.Still the cherries are fantastic.Light until~2130.

 

[samh004]

Which is why I am spending a lot of the summer down here in Latrobe?Devonport.Struggled to 20.4C today so no dip in the pool here.Still the cherries are fantastic.Light until~2130.

House party at your place to cool down?!

 

[Mal]

Was -3 when I left home this morning. Very cold.

Wasn't on the look-out for ice, and managed to slip (yet again!) when I was giving way to a couple who were walking the other way. (I would have normally walked close to the fence line, but moved closer to the street, the driveway was wet/icy and sloped.)
I hate sloped driveways that have ice on them... No damage though!

But now at Heathrow and my trip begins. Got away with an overweight carry-on bag (it's about 11Kg - should be a max of 7kg, and was weighed when I collected boarding pass).

The airport is pretty quiet.

 

[Flashback]

Was -3 when I left home this morning. Very cold.

Wasn't on the look-out for ice, and managed to slip (yet again!) when I was giving way to a couple who were walking the other way. (I would have normally walked close to the fence line, but moved closer to the street, the driveway was wet/icy and sloped.)
I hate sloped driveways that have ice on them... No damage though!

But now at Heathrow and my trip begins. Got away with an overweight carry-on bag (it's about 11Kg - should be a max of 7kg, and was weighed when I collected boarding pass).

The airport is pretty quiet.

On the way to a warmer paradise, safe travels!

 

[Mal]

On the way to a warmer paradise, safe travels!

Thanks! Will be nice to get away from the cold for about a week!

Oh, and hopefully I'll get my replacement Netbook while I'm in Honkers too...

 

[docjames]

It's nice that my work is a comforable 23deg.

Outside a not so nice 33deg.

 

[samh004]

Just had my drink in the hotel bar that was due yesterday. Found the Bundy and coke to be a little strong taste wise, but the Mount Gay was very nice.

 

[anat0l]

Just had my drink in the hotel bar that was due yesterday. Found the Bundy and coke to be a little strong taste wise, but the Mount Gay was very nice.

That hotel you were in wouldn't happen to be operated by a certain automobile association (not belonging to this state)?

It's not a bad place but I liked it better when it was still in the hands of IHG.

Hotel completely lacks character - rooms are all exactly the same as one another. I think I found this out when I was looking up the word 'boring' in the dictionary.

The bar isn't too much to rave about - nice style, could use a better coughtail list.

 

[samh004]

That hotel you were in wouldn't happen to be operated by a certain automobile association (not belonging to this state)?

It's not a bad place but I liked it better when it was still in the hands of IHG.

Hotel completely lacks character - rooms are all exactly the same as one another. I think I found this out when I was looking up the word 'boring' in the dictionary.

The bar isn't too much to rave about - nice style, could use a better coughtail list.

RACV Royal Pines Resort, yes.

It’s useful to me because I can pretty much get blind drunk and still semi-safely drive the golf buggy home.

Not used any of the rooms for years, before the update really. They are planning some big changes for the suites and such though!

As for the bar, Hydrate is quite trendy, if not dead almost all of the time. The bartender remembered me though. Agree the coughtail list sucks, but they say they’ll make whatever you want, you just have to know what it is you want

If you’ve not tried the RPR’s bar at the top, that’s much older and offers good views, soon to be redeveloped. The dinner at RPR’s is also just $49.50 for 3 courses, hard to beat with views of the entire Gold Coast.

That said, I prefer the Japanese restaurant at the bottom of the hotel.

 

[Mal]

Well I am now in HEL... -20 outside apparently, and we landed at a remote gate. BRRRR!

The countryside and airport looks amazing though being completely covered in white.

The new Finnair lounge in HEL lives up to its reputation on Flyertalk - visually great, but lacking serious substance.

One brand of tap beer, plus tap wine. Other beers, champagnes and spirits can be purchased.

Food is very basic too - similar fare to a domestic Qantas Club around lunchtime. Finnair really could have done better.