Tigers (Melton) vs Twins (Morris): 09/01/26, 6:40 PM

[Cory Engelhardt]

3 minutes ago, Tlaker said:

I have a friend in the Marlborough region…. anywhere close? 

That's the north portion of the south island. Probably a 12 hour drive and then a ferry from where I am. But there really aren't highways here that drive anywhere NEAR as fast as what I remember in Minnesota. Still, not close. 

[Vanimal46]

5 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Lots of reasons. Being by nature more, by the ocean more. I've always felt better when by water. A more stable government it seems (even though locals here don't love their government either.) I don't at all hate picking up our kids from school in the afternoon and not worrying throughout the day if something would happen. But really in the end, more it was the thought that we only live once, and we have a chance for an adventure, so let's go for it. 

I miss family. I miss friends. I miss being at baseball games. But I don't regret the move.

There’s a lot of places in this world with nature and ocean. I hope it works out for you and your family there my friend. But I bet that’s tough being isolated on an island. Years ago I reported into a sales manager who was a Kiwi growing up 

[Cory Engelhardt]

Just now, Vanimal46 said:

There’s a lot of places in this world with nature and ocean. I hope it works out for you and your family there my friend. But I bet that’s tough being isolated on an island. Years ago I reported into a sales manager who was a Kiwi growing up 

I like quiet and slow pace and nature. I really do want to become Tom Bombadil if possible. Nothing wrong with any of that :)

[mrmpls]

67-72-23

[Vanimal46]

13 minutes ago, S Bart said:

My favorite vacation...Queenstown, Christchurch....Auckland...all wonderful...all very different

How long is the flight there from MSP approximately?

[Rodney29]

I think it's commonly accepted in NZ that Possum is the most frequently seen roadkill.

Maybe they aren’t really dead. Perhaps they are just playing Possum. 

[S Bart]

1 minute ago, Vanimal46 said:

How long is the flight there from MSP approximately?

I live in San Diego..flew nonstop from LA.  Cannot recall...nonstop...you actually lose a day due to the time change

[Vanimal46]

Just now, S Bart said:

I live in San Diego..flew nonstop from LA.  Cannot recall...nonstop...you actually lose a day due to the time change

Longest flight I’ve taken is MSP to Heathrow London 8 hour flight that was pretty brutal for a person like me who cannot sleep for more than 30 min on a plane 

[ashbury]

13 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

It must be hard for him to not tell us the final score at the top of the game thread.

[Tlaker]

26 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

I'm actually really new to New Zealand. Moved here in April. Basically all family is still in the states. I always think of it has 7 hours ahead, but yesterday. That way calls in for us in the morning are in the afternoon in the states. Not too bad that way, and technology is WAY better for that than it probably was even 10 years ago.

Like right now it's about 2:30pm and my kids are still in school. I like baseball games during the day, or even in the early morning. 

I asked because you said you are excited about being close to nature… my friend used to be the head of the US National Park Foundation and is now on the board of NZ Nature Fund.

[Parfigliano]

Just now, Vanimal46 said:

Longest flight I’ve taken is MSP to Heathrow London 8 hour flight that was pretty brutal for a person like me who cannot sleep for more than 30 min on a plane 

We did that a few years ago when Vikes played Saints at Tottenham.

[Cory Engelhardt]

6 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

How long is the flight there from MSP approximately?

Not direct. You can get to any number of cities on the west coast of the US first. We did LA. From LAX it’s about a 12 hour direct flight, maybe 12 and a half hours. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

1 minute ago, Tlaker said:

I asked because you said you are excited about being close to nature… my friend used to be the head of the US National Park Foundation and is now on the board of NZ Nature Fund.

That’s awesome, and sounds like a super fun job.

[ashbury]

32 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

A 17 hour difference has to be wild. 

As mentioned elsewhere, 17 hours forward is only 7 hours back, so as a practical matter that's the challenge.

My worst project was when I had  to work with a team in India.  The people were fine but they were precisely 12 time zones distant from us, so no one could come up with workable times for meetings during our respective 8-hour workdays.

[Tlaker]

1 minute ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Not direct. You can get to any number of cities on the west coast of the US first. We did LA. From LAX it’s about a 12 hour direct flight, maybe 12 and a half hours. 

Holy smokes!! I can’t imagine doing that flight very often.

[Vanimal46]

1 minute ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Not direct. You can get to any number of cities on the west coast of the US first. We did LA. From LAX it’s about a 12 hour direct flight, maybe 12 and a half hours. 

MSP to LA is a little over 3 hours so anywhere from 15-17 hours in the air. Not including time between connecting flights. That’s a heavy haul to make it out to your neck of the woods. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

3 minutes ago, ashbury said:

As mentioned elsewhere, 17 hours forward is only 7 hours back, so as a practical matter that's the challenge.

My worst project was when I had  to work with a team in India.  The people were fine but they were precisely 12 time zones distant from us, so no one could come up with workable times for meetings during our respective 8-hour workdays.

Absolutely sounds awful. And I do not want to work past 5pm if I don’t have to

[Cory Engelhardt]

3 minutes ago, Tlaker said:

Holy smokes!! I can’t imagine doing that flight very often.

Not planning on it being often :)

[Tlaker]

1 minute ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

That’s awesome, and sounds like a super fun job.

Is wife is from that area and he thought it was time for them to go back to her roots and spend some time with her folks. He is pushing 70 so after years of her living in the states, he said it was time for her and him to reverse roles, so to speak 

[Squirrel]

11 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

How long is the flight there from MSP approximately?

I flew to Australia first … Ottawa to Toronto to LA to Sydney. Was long enough. Two weeks in Australia then flew to NZ, two weeks there, then home … Auckland to LA to Toronto to Ottawa. I arrived home a couple hours after I left. Or something like that.

[Cory Engelhardt]

2 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

MSP to LA is a little over 3 hours so anywhere from 15-17 hours in the air. Not including time between connecting flights. That’s a heavy haul to make it out to your neck of the woods. 

Sure is. My sister lives in LA, so we actually usually take time to stop there for days to a week to break up the trip a little. Otherwise, that’s a LONG time

[Vanimal46]

3 minutes ago, ashbury said:

My worst project was when I had  to work with a team in India.  The people were fine but they were precisely 12 time zones distant from us, so no one could come up with workable times for meetings during our respective 8-hour workdays.

Welcome to corporate America in 2026. So many jobs have been outsourced to people in that region because they’ll take $15 an hour for dev time vs. $50 an hour in the states. 

[umterp23]

5 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

That’s awesome, and sounds like a super fun job.

Corey, I have work responsibilities for a company call Agpro in ANZ. I come to Auckland every 6 months or so and do back there in December. We always stay downtown near the harbor, have had good food and beer. Have been to Christchurch and Rotarura a couple times. Outdoor activities with great weather, can’t beat it. 

[Tlaker]

3 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Sure is. My sister lives in LA, so we actually usually take time to stop there for days to a week to break up the trip a little. Otherwise, that’s a LONG time

So are you able to watch the Twins on tv? If so is it pricey?

[ashbury]

4 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Welcome to corporate America in 2026.

That was somewhere around 2010.  But it certainly contributed to my readiness to retire along about 2013.

[Cory Engelhardt]

7 minutes ago, Tlaker said:

So are you able to watch the Twins on tv? If so is it pricey?

I bought it through the mlb app, so just stream on the phone or through the app on the tv. No sweat 

[Cory Engelhardt]

29 minutes ago, S Bart said:

I live in San Diego..flew nonstop from LA.  Cannot recall...nonstop...you actually lose a day due to the time change

In October my dad is flying out here from LA. It's fun seeing the flight time/time change; he will leave Auckland about 8pm on the day he is leaving, and then land in LA about 12:15pm or so that same day. Always find it funny

[S Bart]

24 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

Not direct. You can get to any number of cities on the west coast of the US first. We did LA. From LAX it’s about a 12 hour direct flight, maybe 12 and a half hours. 

So much to experience there...Queenstown is laid back hippie type location...outdoor hikes///much more....I was in Christchurch just before the earthquake...there is an incredible Antarctic museum at the airport (base for many of the expeditions) walk among the penguins at the museum....Auckland is a big city...did hignsiding on an Americas Cup Yacht...

[Cory Engelhardt]

1 minute ago, S Bart said:

So much to experience there...Queenstown is laid back hippie type location...outdoor hikes///much more....I was in Christchurch just before the earthquake...there is an incredible Antarctic museum at the airport (base for many of the expeditions) walk among the penguins at the museum....Auckland is a big city...did hignsiding on an Americas Cup Yacht...

Yeah, north island is more volcanoes. It's been so awesome to hike up volcanoes and look in them. That and seeing the ocean every day are some of the reasons I feel I am so much calmer lately. All of it helps. 

[S Bart]

6 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

In October my dad is flying out here from LA. It's fun seeing the flight time/time change; he will leave Auckland about 8pm on the day he is leaving, and then land in LA about 12:15pm or so that same day. Always find it funny

i actually resided in England and Spain for many years...traveled all over Europe...one thing I found strange was the airport check at entrance..very extenisve...