David R Posted November 17, 2013 Report Share Posted November 17, 2013 Already getting into the European culture eh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 If it is free you can't refuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted November 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 Status update: Sunday: 2:13pm flight delayed, bugger I could have had another cigarette. Status update: Sunday: 2:20pm I was feeling young and popular, with young people crowding around me in the departure area. Have realized that I am standing next to a double point power outlet, and the young folks are getting a bit of free electricity to charge their devices. Great world eh. I am hoping for a USB port on my seat. Time will tell. The flight is delayed another 20 minutes, so I got that cigarette in after all. Status update: Sunday: 2:56pm In my seat. Hmmmm. No USB port, oops my reading might be limited? Seems to be nowhere to put all my junk? Status update: Sunday: 3:07 Depart. I think that all my junk is supposed to go into the storage lockers. I look like such the poor cousin. Status update: Sunday: 4:00 Got the travel pack, errr. Status update: Sunday: 4:30 should stop after 8 satay sticks, as lunch will be coming soon. Status update: Sunday: 4:52 Salmon Confit with melon and pear salad, mizuna lettuce and kaffir lime leaf aioli. Plus a selection of breads. Status update: Sunday: 5:08 Grilled Rib Eye, I have to put up with this for another 9 hours, how will I get a movie in? Status update: Sunday: 5:33 Blueberry cheesecake. I think that was lunch? Status update: Sunday: 6:06 pm. Ice cream. I have the most excellent Bose quiet comfort 15, noise canceling headphones, and they pretty much cancel out everything. When I take them off there is this terrible noise...... I think they may have a downside, as when people speak, I can see their lips move, but nothing happens. I think I may be ignoring the air waitresses, but only because I do not realise they are talking to me. Status update: Sunday: 8:55 pm one movie down. Must be time for a coffee. I am convinced that my seat must be cursed. Upon arrival, it was quite confusing as to where I should put all my stuff. Then the couple next to me got moved to another seat, as one of the tv's was broken, so the problem of where to put my stuff was solved, I just put it all over the seat next to me. Then a man up in front also had a broken tv, so he got moved into my row. Now, other than the seat the man came from, the only empty seat is the one next to me. This has created some kind of space / time vortex where stuff happening around me is not happening to me. Previously the air waitress with the drinks trolley was zooming up and down the aisle furthest from me like an insider trader with shares in Montana wines, whilst the one in my aisle must have sponsored someone for AA. Just now I pushed the "require service" button, and an air waiter shot out of the "place they stay", ripped up the insider trading aisle, spoke with some random dude, and then as the air waiter took off, the little light above my seat went out. I mean for fooks sake, I even wore a shirt with a collar! So I pushed the button again and the man came over, and I ordered a coffee and also a bottle of water, since I was the only one in the cabin that didn't get water when they did the water thing around the space / time vortex thing. It has really confused them this empty seat thing. I have put my blanket and pillow onto the spare seat, until I am ready for them. The air waitresses have also given these away as they seem to think they are spare, just like the seat. They do not seem to remember that they have already given away the spare ones......... Still another 5 hours until the first stop off. Will need to change planes then. Go onto the A380 at that point. Hope they have a USB port. Status update: Sunday: 11:58pm more food. Status update: Monday: 2:33am in KL. Found the smoking lounge Status update: Sunday: 10:50pm (KL time). Found the other smoking lounge. If ever there is a reason to give up smoking then hanging out in either of those smoking "lounges" should do the trick. Must get back in for another puff before the flight leaves. Malaysia Airlines are upgrading their lounge, so it's temporary lounge time. Airport is not very busy. Interestingly I was talking with the Johnny Walker sales person at Auckland Airport about breeding fish. I was almost thinking that I could put her to sleep and then I might be able to get away with the booze for free. She just couldn't understand how anyone could get started in it, and was seeking support from another sales person. Turns out he used to be the fish manager at an animates. Hilarious Status update: Monday: 4:30 am (KL time) plane was late leaving, so still have 8-9 hours to go. Managed an hours sleep, which is not that great since my seat pretty much lies flat. Have thought about making a movie. Like snakes on a plane, but "Catfish on a plane", there are a few plot issues to work out. I have the punch line / catch phrase though...... "So long suckers". Perhaps I need to sleep on it? They have a USB port. Doesn't seem to work though. Status update: Monday: 6:18 am (KL time) managed another hours sleep. Yeah. Status update: Monday: 3:43 am (UK time) 1 hour 23 minutes to destination. About time too, it gets a little tiring after 24 ish hours in the air. Hopefully they let me into the UK. Shouldn't be an issue though. Status update: Monday: 5:10 am (UK time) so the lady at the immigration counter may very well have been a failed comedian, or perhaps she was just practicing being a B!##H. Her: "Why are you coming to England" Me: "I'm going to a fish breeding conference, and am meeting a friend in England first" Her: "so are you coming here to work? And what does fish breeding have to do with your stated occupation as an IT Manager?" If I was an idiot who had thought up a weird way to get into the country, she may have had me there..... Me: "Fish breeding is a hobby, and the conference is in Germany, so I am not here to work" Her: "So you are visiting friends or family then" Me: "that is correct" - note, in hindsight this may it have been a yes or no type question. Her: "so where does your friend live?" Me: "Scotland" Her: "so where does your family that you are meeting live?" At that point I figured I had a few of options. Option 1 was to ask her if she enjoyed her job, and was it more challenging performing well when she was not listening to the answers to the questions she asked. Option 2 was to offer her a part in my Catfish on a plane movie, she could be victim 1, and have her ears rasped off by a large Panaque, as she doesn't seem to use them. Option 3 of course is just to play along with her silly little game. So.... Me "I don't have any family in England, you asked if I was meeting friends or family, to which I said yes because I am meeting a friend, he lives in Scotland and I couldn't get an international flight into Scotland, and I have to land somewhere, so her I am. Tomorrow I am catching a train the Crewe and meeting my friend there, then I am going to Scotland and then I am going to Germany for the conference." She didn't really seem to believe me, and started looking carefully at the photo in my passport (which is, like 8 months old, and actually looks just like me, just like criminal me - as all good passport photos do) I was contemplating asking her if she knew whether or not they sold disposable SIM cards at the airport. I didn't ask, and she let me through. So hey, here I am in England! Status update: Monday: 5:30 am (UK time) nothing to declare, and it's off to get a bus to my hotel, except the busses don't run from the airport to my hotel. So I ask for directions and you wouldn't believe it but my hotel is nowhere near where it is supposed to be! Anyway, I catch the train, and then get off the train at the correct place. Then I walk for 20 minutes in the dark and the drizzle to get to the hotel. Then my luck changes as they let me check in even though it is only just 7:00am. Perhaps it was because I didn't look very happy. Status update: Monday: 3:15 pm. Well I've had a nice day playing on the tube rail system. Didn't get to do the things I had planned as I am no where near the area I thought I would be in. I did manage to take my first "selfie" so I will post that at some point. Starting the serious fish stuff tomorrow. Trying to stay awake until a decent time for a nap, as I fear even a wee "nana nap" will turn into a full blown sleep, and I really want to reset my the body clock....... Until the next update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 :gpo2: Ah, the joys of international travel. Could be worse - you could be going to the States... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 18, 2013 Report Share Posted November 18, 2013 and they did let you in! :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Yeah love that long-haul flight, glad I don't have a nicotine addiction to contend with too! Which airline are you flying? Food sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted November 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 Flying Malaysia Air. It's 1:47am Not quite in the time zone, but it gives me a chance to test out which layers of clothing are the most effective combinations....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 please keep your clothes on Geoff :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted November 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 please keep your clothes on Geoff :oops: Yes ... Well....... It's mildly nippy, so not having clothes on is out of the question :bggrn: Layers sorted, breakfast in a couple of hours and then off to photograph some Fishes........ Also heard earlier that our work cat, which went missing a month ago, has returned so it is turning out to be a great day. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calculator Posted November 19, 2013 Report Share Posted November 19, 2013 "cat fish on a plane" definitely a horror, and now I am going to have nightmares about goonch trying to eat eat me :ton:. Maybe your work cat is avoiding you, and was waiting for you to leave? Have fun and looking forwards to seeing photos of some fishies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 Promise this is the last post off subject. Incubator sorted: $nz 221.91 off Ebay and free delivery. Courier $nz178.75. Total $nz400.66 and waiting for delivery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted November 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 Status update: Wednesday 6:48 pm Scotland. To be fair, yesterday was sort of like a wet dream. The kind of wet dream when you are in a wet world of all these wonderous fishes, so that you think you are dreaming. Unfortunately I was a day (or two) early as there were 5 different shipments of fishes coming in the next day. It started out, subsequent to the previous post, catching the train up to Crewe to visit Rare Aquatics. Rare is kind of like a giant fish room, a really clean and tidy fish room. My tour started off with a coffee, and then a looky at all the fishes. Nick was really good value and we had a great chat about importing into NZ, and all the other issues that we have and why we have them. I saw some stuff...... The cute little sting rays, and some cories that were just massive! Longer than my finger. I got a photo of that just to prove it. It was just damn interesting, plenty of pictures. Then Jools picked me up and we went up to Wigan to look at Pier Aquatics http://pieraquatics.com/index.shtml Again this tour started off with a brew! When I went around the corner and into the shop propper, it was just amazing! I have not seen so many tanks. It was made a little more interesting as they were moving around all the fish to make room for the shipments the next day, so most of the labels did not match the fish in the tanks. So my photos are of cool fish 1 through to cool fish 1000 There were enough adult Pseudacanthicus to give David a heart attack. The photography was difficult as there was a lot of reflection from the so many tanks. Today I managed to sleep until 8.00 ish, so am happy enough that I may have adjusted to this time zone. Jools took me for a guided tour of Edinburgh, which was pretty cool. It is always best to get a local to show you around, and his knowledge of the history of the city was impressive to say the least. Have quite a few pictures also. It turns out his brother happens to own a bar, so after a warmup drink at an old pub, we went to see his brother for lunch. Since I couldn't decide which beer to drink, I had a 1/3 (ish) pint sampler from 7 or so of the tap beers, which was a jolly good idea. A bit more looking around, and then off on the train to be home in time for dinner. Tomorrow it's off to Germany for the preliminary conference drinks :bggrn: It has not snowed yet, but it is pretty close to 0 degrees. It is quite funny when it starts to rain and people say "look, it's getting warmer". Which means it's not cold enough for the rain to freeze. Later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 There were enough adult Pseudacanthicus to give David a heart attack. Not sure if that is David me, but if not it is still applicable! Glad you talked to Nick about the possibility of importing, their stock list updates on Facebook make me rather jealous, and there are a few gems that we could bring in. Great beer, awesome fish, plenty of trains, if it weren't for their utterly miserable winters I'd have relocated years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted November 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Not sure if that is David me Yes that would be you. We are meeting up with "the English contingent" today to invade Germany enmass it would appear. The Singaporian folks have already arrived in Hannover. The Norwegian contingent are "already drunk".. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Anyone else keen for a 'Kiwi Contingent" for 2015?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Anyone else keen for a 'Kiwi Contingent" for 2015?! :bggrn: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatfish Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Anyone else keen for a 'Kiwi Contingent" for 2015?! Might be tempted. Sounds like an awesome trip so far Geoff. Where are the pics. A scarlet pleco would be nice for a start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted November 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Might be tempted. Sounds like an awesome trip so far Geoff. Where are the pics. A scarlet pleco would be nice for a start. Have plenty of pics of them, but not able to get them off the camera and onto the interweb. Also can't load them directly from the iPad as they are the wrong format? For the forum. So it will take about 5 days of my upload speed at home to load them onto the photo streaming site. They will come..... There were a good 1/2 dozen of them at Pier, and they were all at least 1 foot long. I'm looking at the pictures now, if that helps :bggrn: If I do say so myself .... :cophot: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 I'm looking at the pictures now, if that helps :bggrn: :sml1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Have plenty of pics of them, but not able to get them off the camera and onto the interweb. Also can't load them directly from the iPad as they are the wrong format? For the forum. If only someone had invented a way to take a photo with your phone or ipad and upload it directly to a web page that was full of your own content so that all your friends (who could have similar pages for sharing their own content) could see it! :sml1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted November 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 If only someone had invented a way to take a photo with your phone or ipad and upload it directly to a web page that was full of your own content so that all your friends (who could have similar pages for sharing their own content) could see it! :sml1: That would be cool eh :facepalm: I wonder what it would be called........ But I chose to use the camera so that I could have higher resolution photos, and also it keeps you in suspense a little longer having to wait. Us oldies still remember having to wait for things......... :bggrn: The conference starts proper tonight, and looks like it is going to be a real cracker. Met up with a few of the English folks on the plane last night, entertaining! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted November 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Status update: Saturday: 9:05am Yesterday I got in a spot of shopping in Hannover. It was great that I remembered where the shop I was looking for was. The Christmas stuff is still being set up and looks like is does not kick off until next week... Then it was time for beer, and registration to the conference. This took longer than expected, from an organizers point of view, as there are many more people than last time. Then is was time for dinner. The 7pm talk did not start until after 8pm, so it was going to be a late one. The last talk did not finish until after 10:30pm and then it was time for drinking. Met up with lots of people this time. Met all the people that I had organised to meet which was good. At least my picture had been published on the German version of the website, so the people I was meeting could recognize me. I managed to escape the drinking about 12:30am, unlike some other participants, who we may not see today. 9:15 am and still folks are meandering into the conference so it might be another late one since the talks run from 9:00 am until 8:30 pm so it is a really long day, even for the hard core folks as talking about catfish will put most people to sleep. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted November 24, 2013 Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Sounds like a blast! Any particular talks of interest? Anything on the future of the Xingu? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrazyGeoff Posted November 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Sounds like a blast! Any particular talks of interest? Anything on the future of the Xingu? Friday night and all of Saturday was about the Xingu. No good news though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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