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Wheelbarrow01
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  #3264922 26-Jul-2024 22:38
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eracode:

 

the Gold Card.....gives free public transport including the ferry to Waiheke (usually $55 return). And when you get there, the buses to the wineries for the tastings are free too. Brilliant.

 

 

I'm 11 years older than my wife, but she loves Waiheke and wineries. She will be stoked when I tell her about this!! She will of course use my free concession and I'll have to pay for myself LOL




  #3264924 26-Jul-2024 23:09
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I was late to the gmail party (I've just found my welcome email dated Feb 2005).

 

However, I did join hotmail before Microsoft bought it.


Wheelbarrow01
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  #3264925 26-Jul-2024 23:18
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I remember dialing up on Netscape Navigator at my brother's house probably around 1994 (I used to babysit my nephew born in '93). It was at this time that I signed up for Hotmail - early enough to get my first and last name with no other characters.

 

When I was 16 or 17, I had a Minicall numeric-only pager - the height of cool that was soon forgotten with the advent of the prepaid mobile 3 or 4 years later. Weirdly I still remember the number - 086-800-257. I assume nothing happens if you try to dial that number these days...

 

New Zealand Phonecards Telecom Mobile Minicall

 

I remember buying it from Ben Rumble personally at his Christchurch store. Coincidentally one of Ben's baby faced protégés who started at the ground floor as one of his after school teenage salesman would ultimately go on to manage and then own a number of Telecom/Spark business hubs before switching his business interests to an entirely different industry a couple of years ago. My wife has worked for this (no longer baby faced) guy for coming up on 10 years now. It's a small world for sure...

 

That old pager is hanging out in a box of crap in my garage somewhere, no doubt soaring in value along with my extensive turn-of-the-century Nokia collection. I remember the good old days when I used to prepare for a night out on the town - standing at the dresser trying to decide which phone to accessorise myself with - which one will impress the ladieeeees the most as I sip my $2 drinks on student night at Bar Bodega 😂. "Yes I think it will be the 8310 tonight - compact and elegant with a touch of sophistication. Pair it with Lynx Africa for an unforgettable combination..."

 

Speaking of which, you know you're getting old when you visit your old stomping ground (in my case - Wellington) and find that virtually none of all those wonderful venues you spent your 20's in even exists anymore. Courtenay Place and surrounds really seem to have peaked in the 90's/early 2000's, but when I went back for a visit last year it just seemed a bit sad and dejected. The Grand seems to be the only notable exception.

 

[EDIT: I just HAD to add a link to this Ben Rumble gem. It was the subject of multiple complaints and ultimately withdrawn from air on or around 24 May 1996]




eracode
Smpl Mnmlst
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  #3264927 27-Jul-2024 05:13
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Wheelbarrow01:

 

eracode:

 

the Gold Card.....gives free public transport including the ferry to Waiheke (usually $55 return). And when you get there, the buses to the wineries for the tastings are free too. Brilliant.

 

 

I'm 11 years older than my wife, but she loves Waiheke and wineries. She will be stoked when I tell her about this!! She will of course use my free concession and I'll have to pay for myself LOL

 

 

I’m sure you know this but just in case: You don’t just use your Gold Card on AT’s buses and trains (and the Fullers ferry). You need to apply for the gold version of AT’s HOP Card and use that. 

AT are trialling new contactless card readers on their fleet now which will enable payment by credit card/payWave from next year. Unfortunately it looks like this won’t apply to Supers using the gold HOP card.





Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.


  #3264928 27-Jul-2024 06:06
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In Christchurch you just need to show your Gold Card to use the buses.

 

Some restaurants and cafes also give discounts with the Gold Card.


cshwone
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  #3264929 27-Jul-2024 06:42
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larknz:

 

In Christchurch you just need to show your Gold Card to use the buses.

 

Some restaurants and cafes also give discounts with the Gold Card.

 

 

Same in Wellington for Off Peak Bus and Train journeys. It gets a bit farcical for me if I stay later for work and get the 6.18 train from Wellington to Masterton. I tag on in Wellington with the Snapper. When we get to Petone it's 6.30 and Off Peak starts. So I jump off the train and tag off then back on the train and the rest of the journey is Gold Card


kiwifidget
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  #3265095 27-Jul-2024 11:12
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When I am stopped in the street by some young thing wanting me to donate to the Fred Hollows Foundation.

 

"Excuse me, have you heard of the Fred Hollows Foundation?"
Me: "Honey, I've known about that longer than you've been alive!"





Delete cookies?! Are you insane?!


 
 
 

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richms
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  #3265109 27-Jul-2024 12:02
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jamesrt:

 

My original "welcome" email is still in my GMail:

 

Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 03:12:43 -0700 (PDT)
To: James .....
From: Gmail Team <gmail-noreply@google.com>
Subject: Gmail is different. Here's what you need to know.

 

First off, welcome. And thanks for agreeing to help us test Gmail. 

 

 

 

That's almost 20 years old now.

 

 

As it mine. Missed the 20 year anniversary of it.

 





Richard rich.ms

MadEngineer
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  #3265120 27-Jul-2024 13:11
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Every year, the couch gets lower and lower




You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

eracode
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  #3265129 27-Jul-2024 13:54
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MadEngineer: Every year, the couch gets lower and lower

 

Yep. Recently I have trained myself to stop saying ‘oof’ each time I get off the couch.





Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.


pdh

pdh
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  #3265137 27-Jul-2024 14:30
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Anyone else remember knowing the name of the super helpful guy on IBM's NZ internet helpdesk ?

 

OS/2 days - with (I believe) the first native OS support for internet dial-up.
I loved that operating system...

 

I seem to remember taking up an offer made to us in the trade (maybe by Renaissance ?) for internet via IBM. It was a neat system, for me - when I travelled, as there was an international list of numbers you could dial into - basically everywhere there was a local IBM office. You then were piggy-backed onto IBM's internal network - and connected out at the far end. I remember it being a very well-managed system. 

 

I kept it up as a backup subscription (10$NZ per month) to IBM & then ATT for years - great for travel and used whenever my local ISP (probably IHUG) fell over (which wasn't all that infrequent). Saved my bacon a few times, when onsite and needing an up-dated driver or patch.

 

My Outlook email archive starts in 1998 - but my older OS/2 email backup files go back to June 1995.
Doesn't time fly ?


neb

neb
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  #3265138 27-Jul-2024 14:31
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I've found people are generally pretty good about Gold Card holders, they'll give the discount even if the holder has forgotten or can't find their card.  And in stores people will offer the Gold Card discount even if it's not explicitly requested if the person looks like they'd be eligible for it.


neb

neb
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  #3265140 27-Jul-2024 14:33
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eracode:
MadEngineer: Every year, the couch gets lower and lower
Yep. Recently I have trained myself to stop saying ‘ooph’ each time I get off the couch.

 

The correct term is actually "wargh".  If I find the Unhappily Ever After episode that has it I'll post a link.

 

Edited to add: Here's the link.


Dynamic
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  #3265162 27-Jul-2024 15:22
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johno1234:

 

jrdobbs:

 

One of my mobile numbers is about 22+ years old now. Thats about a third of my life!

 

My phone number is mostly the same as my original BellSouth number from the mid nineties. Just the prefix changed in 30+ years!

 

I have my original six digit 025 number that I signed up for when I started working at Computerland in Wellington.  I moved it to BellSouth shortly after their launch and it became 021.

 

This was about a month before I started a contract with IBM Service Plus supporting the rollout of Windows 3.11 for Workgroups to Telecom Mobile.  I worked from their Manners Street offices. We used Digital branded computers, typically with 486 DX 66 processors and a 540Mb hard drive.  Power users got Pentiums!  We had a pile of new processors shipped to us for replacing the factory processors due to the 'pentium bug'.

 

The mainframe guys who babysat the CRM and billing systems (ICMS?  MRCMS?) were cool and gave the quiet OK for me to bring 2-3 friends up on a Friday or Saturday night to spin up a few of the yet-to-be-deployed machines and play (from memory) Descent on the workbench just across the office from them.

 

My final task there before my contract ended was to set up a pager gateway.  I can't recall if it was a simple web form or an email to pager gateway.  This let staff send simple alphanumeric messages from their LAN computers.

 

Oh the memories!





“Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose.” Douglas Adams

 

Referral links to services I use, really like, and may be rewarded if you sign up:
PocketSmith for budgeting and personal finance management.  A great Kiwi company.


k1w1k1d
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  #3265172 27-Jul-2024 16:23
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I remember being able to lift the bonnet on a new car and see the whole engine.


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