Six Barrel Soda Co
12 years ago
Showing posts with label Entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Entertainment. Show all posts
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Backwards in time to Queenstown. . .
Chronologically backwards in time from September 20 to September 24:
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Do Kiwis drink their coffee All Black?
Cross-posted from my coffee blog. . .
With New Zealand about to be invaded by the Grendel clan I have been pondering the question of coffee.
I am sure that the two Junior Grendels will do their best to leave a lasting impression on our cousins across the Tasman – and I am just as sure the kiwis will also leave a lasting impression on them.
I am hoping for impressions of a different kind and have been doing some background on the best coffee places in New Zealand.
There are a number of roasters whose coffee has been recommended too me and obviously I will try to find the cafes that are renowned for producing their coffee in the way that best reflects the efforts of the roaster. Many of the cafes are in the major cities but there are also quite a few in smaller towns and even one at the top of a mountain that come highly recommended.
With only a few weeks to go I am busy with the final arrangements to ensure that the Junior Grendels are comfortable for the trip and that the plans are still in place (no more airline schedule changes please Mr Branson!)
So far I have the following list of roasters-of-interest:
Unfortunately only a little additional research revealed the following list:
My problem is that all, many, some or none of these could be amazing-roasters-that-I-must-not-miss. And I have no idea which ones those might be - any suggestions?
I am sure that the two Junior Grendels will do their best to leave a lasting impression on our cousins across the Tasman – and I am just as sure the kiwis will also leave a lasting impression on them.
I am hoping for impressions of a different kind and have been doing some background on the best coffee places in New Zealand.
There are a number of roasters whose coffee has been recommended too me and obviously I will try to find the cafes that are renowned for producing their coffee in the way that best reflects the efforts of the roaster. Many of the cafes are in the major cities but there are also quite a few in smaller towns and even one at the top of a mountain that come highly recommended.
With only a few weeks to go I am busy with the final arrangements to ensure that the Junior Grendels are comfortable for the trip and that the plans are still in place (no more airline schedule changes please Mr Branson!)
So far I have the following list of roasters-of-interest:
Unfortunately only a little additional research revealed the following list:
And is it just me or does New Zealand really seem to punch above its weight in the number of local roasters per head of population? Has this always Been the case - it would certainly be a logical occurence given the isolation from the main coffee trade. It has also not gone unnoticed in Australia that New Zealand produces some top notch baristas - always a welcome addition to a vibrant coffee scene.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Travellin' with tunes
The iPod is Apple's greatest gift to the world of travel - I am sure that iPhone users would claim otherwise but since I live in Australia and can't afford the usurious rates that our local telcos charge for data access I stick by my claim that for music on the move iPod has to wrapped up.
Keep in mind that I am very much a function over form guy but when the two happen to come together I can't go past it. For the last few years I have owned only the Shuffle, and that has been just fine - all I wanted was the music in my ears to block out the world when I was on the train.
I have to say though that the siren call of the green Nano has been calling to me for some time. My personal rule has also been to buy refurbished - I like the discount price for what is essentially a new iPod.
As of this week I have the 16GB nano - oh boy.
I love this one - I will be able to load almost every CD I own and have room left for some photos, audiobooks and even one or two games.
The audiobooks are important - I signed up to Audible a few months back and have been using my one credit a month to buy books to listen to on the drive into work. However they also have some material for free such as podcasts and even some classic children's stories.
You can guess where this is going - our trip to New Zealand will involve some long stretches of driving and some short audiobooks will be just right to break up the trip a little for them. iPod, FM transmitter, car radio = instant child entertainment and all in less than 200g.
I've loaded the iPod with a good selection of music, plenty of 'dad' stories (lots of space battles) and some for the Junior Grendels.
As a concession to Mrs Grendel I've even included a whole playlist of her music - and I suspect it will be the most often used as she really does not like mine at all whereas I can mostly tolerate hers.
Now if only Apple could design an iPos that plays two different playlists simultaneously into opposite sides of a car. . .
Keep in mind that I am very much a function over form guy but when the two happen to come together I can't go past it. For the last few years I have owned only the Shuffle, and that has been just fine - all I wanted was the music in my ears to block out the world when I was on the train.
I have to say though that the siren call of the green Nano has been calling to me for some time. My personal rule has also been to buy refurbished - I like the discount price for what is essentially a new iPod.
As of this week I have the 16GB nano - oh boy.
I love this one - I will be able to load almost every CD I own and have room left for some photos, audiobooks and even one or two games.
The audiobooks are important - I signed up to Audible a few months back and have been using my one credit a month to buy books to listen to on the drive into work. However they also have some material for free such as podcasts and even some classic children's stories.
You can guess where this is going - our trip to New Zealand will involve some long stretches of driving and some short audiobooks will be just right to break up the trip a little for them. iPod, FM transmitter, car radio = instant child entertainment and all in less than 200g.
I've loaded the iPod with a good selection of music, plenty of 'dad' stories (lots of space battles) and some for the Junior Grendels.
As a concession to Mrs Grendel I've even included a whole playlist of her music - and I suspect it will be the most often used as she really does not like mine at all whereas I can mostly tolerate hers.
Now if only Apple could design an iPos that plays two different playlists simultaneously into opposite sides of a car. . .
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