We've already committed to visiting NZ in early October, before we realized that October is the wettest month and there can be torrential downpours affecting the coast road. We plan to leave Greymouth around 2pm, and driving to Franz Joseph, a 2.5 hour journey (4 hours with stops, etc). The next day, we plan to drive from FJ to Wanaka - a 4.5 hour journey which we expect to take 8 hours with stops, etc.

I'm totally ready to pull over and wait if the rain is bad, but I've read that the storms in October can be long lasting. Could the storms be so bad as to prevent us making the journey? Do people cancel hotel reservations during this period, due to weather? Are the storms worst during the day, easing off at night? I'm just trying to get a sense of what to expect, and what to plan for.

I'm already familiar with the NZ weather page - https://www.metservice.com/warnings/home and I've loaded it on my phone.

I've read that cell service is pretty limited on this road. Do the police patrol this road pretty frequently, and/or tow trucks? (I'm just thinking about flat tyres, etc).

We won't have a car in Auckland so need to join a tour for Hobbiton.

All our research suggests there are early morning departures and late-morning departures.

The early morning departures seem to be big groups in large coaches; the late-morning departures all seem to be smaller groups in 'sprinter' vans (circa 14 occupants?). We are thinking the bigger coaches will be less claustrophobic and offer a better view than the smaller 'sprinter' vans, even though there are more people. But we really don't want to be getting up at 5am for a 6am departure!

Does anyone know of a late-morning departure offering that utilizes the bigger coaches? We've primarily been looking at GreatSights and Bush n Beach.

I discovered the 'We Have Ways Of Making You Talk' podcast with James Holland and Al Murray. Overall, I'm loving it - great discussions, great guests, great features (like the 'family stories'), and more. I discovered it earlier this year, and have since listened to every episode since 2019. I've now listened to over 400, and am up to mid-2023.

But Al Murray is starting to drive me nuts. He can't just ask a darned question; he has to expand on every question interminably and everyone else just has to wait till he shuts up! I don't know how his guests cope with it!

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To give an simplistic example, imagine the question of color.

"What color was it?"

would be a normal question anyone might ask. But Al Murray will ask

"What color was it? I mean, it could be yellow, or it could be red, but then again, interestingly, it might be blue. It's fascinating that there are so many colors to choose from and I just can't imagine what it might be" <pause ... is he done?> "I mean, there were blues and greens, there were reds and oranges, and even some purples. It's really interesting ..."

Answer - Green.

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It's getting to the point where my concentration starts to drift when he asks his questions! Does he ever improve?

But - it's still a great podcast and I really do enjoy Al's contribution overall. If only he could control his questions!

I've been struggling with Nocturia for several years. I have also been diagnosed with sleep apnea and have an ASV (variation on CPAP) machine but I cannot get used to it.

I realize the two things can be related (Nocturia and Sleep Apnea).

I've also been seeing a Urologist and he recently prescribed Oxybutynin (after no success with Rapaflo, flomax, etc). This sent me for a loop (cognitive issues) so I gave up.

In the process of all this, I read that sparkling water can be an issue. Reluctantly, I gave up sparkling water (Pellegrino) and all forms of soda / beer / etc. It's only been about 4 weeks, but it seems to be making a difference - I now only get up twice, compared to 3-4 before.

Could sparkling water make this much difference do you think?

Edit To Add: I'm 67M, healthy / active, no other conditions / medications.

A quick search is telling me that I can get from Queenstown airport to the Crowne Plaza by a single bus - the Orbus Route 1, for $10 NZD cash (or $2.50 with a Bee Card, $5 fee). Takes 25 minutes and runs every 15 minutes during daytime hours. Apparently the bus is well-suited to travelers with luggage.

The alternative is a taxi ($50-$85) or Uber ($35-$45) (which is still not outrageous).

This all sounds too good to be true ... am I missing anything?

After watching 'Fool Me Once' and vowing never to waste another minute watching ridiculous, non-sensical plots, my partner wanted to watch 'I Will Find You', so I'm reluctantly going along for the ride.

We're only 5 episodes in, and already it's driving me nuts ... but I've decided to 'hate watch' it to the end because it's so bad, its funny!

>!First off, the whole 'prison' thing ... Burrough's Godfather is the prison warden? What are the chances of that?! How convenient. And his Godfather's son is his best friend from school, and also a cop. Like Burrough's dad. Another amazing coincidence and convenience. And the prison break - really, you can break out of a high-security prison just like that? !<

>!Then there's Rachel and her conveniently rich ex-boyfriend Hayden - who lives in NYC, where Rachel just happens to need assistance. Good to have a buddy who can conveniently put up $1M bail to get you out of jail. Then we discover that Hayden's mother is Gertrude Payne - who just happens to also fund the clinic where Cheryl/Rachel had their fertility encounters. !<

>!And Gertrude just happens to have an 'orphanage' operation where she can source children's bodies from ... !<

>!And Cheryl's new husband was unwittingly involved in setting up the circumstances for the kidnapping of Matthew ... !<

>!I'm not even at the point where Hayden's role becomes apparent (I've read about it through spoilers here). !<

This seems like amateur hour on the writing side.

I'm assuming we'll wrap it up tonight and I'll be even more exasperated!

ETA - Oh yeah, and ... in the crucial photograph that starts everything in motion (the photo showing the boy in the background), what kind of criminal mastermind kidnaps a boy and then takes him out in public in the very neighborhood where he grew up and where everyone knows him?

I'm going to be renting a car for a week in the South Island (Greymouth to Te Anau), and will be using a smartphone (iPhone) with Google Maps for navigation. I don't plan on straying off the main roads, but I always like to use GPS for traffic delays, emergency re-routes, and 'last mile' navigation. Is Google Maps considered to be good in NZ? I prefer it to Apple Maps and Waze but will use whatever is considered best. Is it pretty accurate in terms of traffic conditions?

Are there any unusual rules I need to be aware of? I'm aware that you can't touch the phone, and I assume they are pretty strict - as they are in Europe (unlike in the US, where I live). https://www.nzta.govt.nz/driving-skills/safe-driving-habits/driver-distraction/using-mobile-phones-while-driving

The rules I've read say the phone can't block your view of the road; does that mean a window-mounted (suction cup) mount is not allowed? At home I have a dash-vent adapter that lets me mount the phone conveniently but those dash-vent mounts don't always work with different car brands.

Now, if all the rental cars support Apple Carplay, I'm golden ... is that likely to be the case? Any words of wisdom?

https://preview.redd.it/ugx0xwviwx8h1.png?width=1436&format=png&auto=webp&s=c19149a4d6f4898af4cfb4ce8f60f24d62456cb0

We have an ancient JetFlo MC-655 and we love it. The handle just broke on it. I'm currently trying to glue it back together but not optimistic that it will 'hold'. The handle has part numbers AMC22BL00 and AMC23BL00 (two halves) stamped inside. I know we could easily buy a new vacuum, but this one has sentimental value.

I've tried numerous online searches, and AI tools. There is some suggestion that part AMC94B-L00 may be the part number for the assembly with switch.

I'm assuming I'll need to pursue a 'salvage' source, but nothing is coming up on eBay or similar.

Are there good sites to focus on in my search?

Note - in the photos, the white banding is my current attempt at repair (super-glue plus baking soda on the outside, and Epoxy plus mesh reinforcement on the inside). Screws are loose because I'm waiting for the epoxy to cure (assembled it just to take a photo, and to make sure the parts 'fit' after gluing).

Thanks for any help!

I'm enjoying my first pass through PB, and I'm mid-way through S3. However, I can't believe Tommy hasn't killed his entire family by now!

>!As far as I can tell, John (and to a lesser extent, Arthur) is responsible for Grace's death (because he aggressively pursued the 'Changretta' issue, disfiguring 'Angel', and inspiring a reprisal against Tommy). I've just learned that Arthur is blabbing the secrets of the 'robbery' to his wife Linda. And I've just witnessed Polly giving a stupid confession to her priest, revealing to him that another priest is about to be killed, and thus putting Tommy in extreme danger. !<

With family like that, who needs enemies!

I've been using Quicken on a windows computer for decades, and I've been storing the datafile in a one-drive enabled folder for much of that time without issue. I'm now getting the warning 'Your active quicken file appears to be stored in a OneDrive folder location ....'.

First of all, I am very careful to ensure that the entire quicken data folder is marked as 'always keep on this device', and that means that the individual files within that folder (including the 'active quicken file') is marked as 'Always Keep on this device'.

This means that the data file is completely and permanently resident in the local folder. Yes, it is synced to a 'cloud copy' of that folder, but the active file is local.

I've read a long thread in this sub where several people are saying that OneDrive is interfering, somehow, with the quicken data files. However, OneDrive recognizes that the Quicken Data File is in use, and stops trying to upload it. This is what I see when I click the OneDrive icon in the 'tray' when Quicken is open:

https://preview.redd.it/0ymvob1cy65h1.png?width=538&format=png&auto=webp&s=4b6461475e99ecbee161e4669b69cc89c227c2c2

So OneDrive is leaving the 'active' file alone, and it's only backing up the other files when quicken is done writing to them.

So my question is - as long as you keep the 'always available on this device' flag set, why is Quicken warning us?

https://preview.redd.it/1qjq239nz65h1.png?width=1100&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9444c8d214f6e718dbb5a7893bfdc1a47044968

The Fiji Airways cabin baggage allowance page on their website says this:

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Important Notice

*As part of our Travel Ready Covid-19 safety programme, our Cabin Baggage allowance has been amended. You may carry the allowance stated below, however, your personal item needs to be included in the 1 (in economy), or 2 pieces (in Business), and not in addition to it.

Total dimensions* of 1 piece should not exceed 118cm (46in) for economy class and 126cm (50in) for business class

====================================

We're traveling in economy, international (NAN to SFO). This seems to be clearly stating that you can only bring on ONE item total ... your personal item must be included in the carryon piece.

But just below that, it says:

====================================

Economy Class

Total dimensions of the bags must not exceed 118cm (46”) with maximum dimension of 55cm X 40cm X 23cm (including handles and wheels). Each customer is permitted one small personal item, such as a laptop or purse, in addition to their Cabin Baggage allowance.

====================================

So this is saying 'Each customer is permitted one small personal item ... in addition to their Cabin Baggage allowance'.

How do these two sections make sense? Basically, we want to carry on a typical 'carryon bag' plus a 'personal item'.

We are planning to take the InterIsland ferry from Wellington To Picton, then the 'Coastal Pacific' train to Christchurch in October.

The ferry departs at 8:45am and arrives in Picton at 12:15pm. The Coastal Pacific train departs 1:40pm, so plenty of time to get from the ferry to the train.

However - I'm reading that the ferry is prone to delays due to weather (and mechanical issues, staffing issues, etc), especially in October. There's only the one train per day to Christchurch, so if we miss it due to the ferry delay or cancelation, I'm guessing we don't have many options? There's a bus to Christchurch, but it leaves at the same time (roughly) as the train. I guess renting a car is an option, assuming the ferry finally makes the crossing. And/or, spending the night in Wellington for the next day, or (if we get to Picton but later), hotel in Picton, then car rental the next day. How do people generally deal with the ferry getting cancelled or seriously delayed? I also get the impression the train is going to be fully booked so catching the same train the next day is not going to be easy?

Planning our first visit to NZ in October.

We're taking the TranzAlpine train from Christchurch to Greymouth in October. Today, I tried to reserve a car in Greymouth from 'EZI' - a highly recommended car rental company. They had ZERO cars available for our arrival date, which was concerning, given we are 4+ months out.

After a bit of Googling around, they suggested it may be because I was trying to get a 'one-way' rental (drop off in Queenstown). Sure enough, if I changed it from a one-way to a round-trip rental, ONE car showed up. So I guess they heavily restrict car rentals away from their base to manage inventory.

Then I tried the Apex rental page, and they had several cars available, as did Europcar. So is this something unique to EZI? If I keep trying, is it likely EZI will release some inventory? I can imagine, statistically, just as many people pick up one-way rentals from Greymouth as drop them off, so they ought to have a fairly steady inventory ... but that's just conjecture.

Any solid recommendations for a rental company? EZI and Apex seem to be highly recommended (GO Rentals also, but they aren't at Greymouth apparently).

I always use foaming handsoap on my glasses, rather than dish-soap. But I keep reading here that I should use Dawn.

Then today I saw a few posts saying how 'Dawn Ultra' is bad for the coating, and to use 'plain Dawn'. So I went to the old Safeway, and tried to buy 'plain Dawn'. All I could see was Dawn Ultra, Dawn Platinum, and Dawn Platinum Plus. Is there such a thing as good old simple 'Dawn', and if so, who sells it?

EDIT TO ADD: Further reading suggests that "dawn ultra" is today's regular Dawn; it's stronger and has a different fragrance, but has the essential qualities of original Dawn. Dawn Platinum, on the other hand, has added chemicals, surfactants, scrubbing agents, etc that make it unsuitable for eyeglasses.

Just a word of caution regarding Google Maps for navigation with public transit. It does a great job of telling you all the many options (which trains to catch) but in a place like Tokyo it will present you with almost too many options - all the different ways to get from A-to-B, and it doesn't really pay much attention to the logistics within the station. Some gates / lines are easy to get to, others not so.

And if you miss one train, you might think you need to go with the next option on the list (which will likely be a different line/transfer combo), but in reality, you should just wait for the next one at the platform/line you are currently at.

EG - if you are at Tokyo station and want to get to Shinjuku station, there will be several options presented - first might be Marunouchi line, second may be Chuo line. The Marunouchi line 'gate' is a LONG walk from the Chuo line gate (5-10 minutes, lots of level changes). If you've already settled on the Marunouchi line, the last thing you want to be doing is then walking to the Chuo line; just wait at the Marunouchi line for the next train, which will arrive in 5-10 minutes. If you zoom in far enough, you will see the different gates within the station and where they are located.