Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[DeltaOne]

1 hour ago, xpcdoojk said:

You guys are killing the purpose of a laptop.  If you are going to buy all of these add-ons just buy a mac Mini.  

 

Agreed.  Too many people choose a laptop and laptops are expensive.  And they used to be slower than a desktop model...though that has changed since the introduction of Apple silicon.

 

At a former job my boss would let new employees decide if they wanted a laptop or iMac.  I always thought this was crazy.  We were the IT professionals, we should be deciding what is the best tool for their job.  Especially since the decision had a big impact on budgets.

 

 

I'd always try to talk new employees in to an iMac and iPad.  Bigger screen, better performance with the iMac.  And better portability with the iPad (lighter, better battery life).  Best of both worlds.  Some took my advice, some didn't.  Those that didn't wanted to use the company's computer as their personal computer at home...so that's what they chose.

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Paul from Maryland

[dani negreanu]

 

 

Happy Easter to every one who celebrates 🐣

[Ozark_Kid]

1 hour ago, xpcdoojk said:

You guys are killing the purpose of a laptop.  If you are going to buy all of these add-ons just buy a mac Mini.  

So how hard is it to set up the Mac mini in your car or on a cruise or anywhere else outside the house.   Besides if you are not needing a strong processor why buy a Mac mini when you can get an iPad pro?  

BTW,  how long does it take to edit and process a 4k video on your Mac mini. Wouldn't you at least need a Mac Studio.   

[Ozark_Kid]

27 minutes ago, Paul from Maryland said:

Too many people choose a laptop and laptops are expensive.

I saved thousands by choosing the MacBook Pro.  After taking a long time considering building another computer,  buying a computer or buying a laptop, I kept coming back to the laptop.  If I was just needing needing something for spreadsheets or emailing I would just stick with my iPad.  When editing video etc you need more.  

[ValerieJo]

@brillohead  Definitely SALTYRN.   Let us know what you decide.  Plus, when I'm over on your side of the state, I can look for you.  😄

 

[A&L_Ont]

39 minutes ago, #55worktoplay said:

I was shocked the first time I was there when I found out why there were few balconies in Las Vegas.

I’d go with if people fall off cruise balconies I’d hate to think of how it would happen here. 

 

32 minutes ago, NHProud said:

That is a great view of The Strip . Are you staying at Caesar’s Palace and if so which tower ?  

Close. We are at The Bellagio. 

[DeltaOne]

13 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

If I was just needing needing something for spreadsheets or emailing I would just stick with my iPad.  When editing video etc you need more.  

 

Of course.  I should have been clearer, I was talking about just general office work...email, spreadsheets, that kind of stuff.

[dani negreanu]

2 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

We are at The Bellagio.

 

Is the fountain music still on?

 

[BonTexasNY]

2 hours ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I needed a new screen saver for the MBP.  I am later going to see if I can set up the screen saver to rotate pics like iPhones.  For now I am going with this.

I can't think of a better screen saver!  Pure perfection.

[lenquixote66]

18 hours ago, jagsfan said:

I remember Montauk Point being about the farthest you could drive and still make it home by bedtime. 
back then, the closer you got the more sand dunes and open spaces. 
I can’t imagine what it would be like now. 

I would imagine it is still quite nice.

[lenquixote66]

16 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Survivor tonight..

The person who left was one who I was rooting for but not from the beginning.

I am still rooting for Danny,Brandon and Heidi.

[lenquixote66]

15 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

I'd go with the chicken.

 

I would choose the ravioli

[xpcdoojk]

47 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

So how hard is it to set up the Mac mini in your car or on a cruise or anywhere else outside the house.   Besides if you are not needing a strong processor why buy a Mac mini when you can get an iPad pro?  

BTW,  how long does it take to edit and process a 4k video on your Mac mini. Wouldn't you at least need a Mac Studio.   

I think the new Mac Mini which has the M2 Pro chip would be an excellent tool for editing video with that chip set.  I haven’t used the new Mac Mini.  I have a 14 year old one that I use to project 4K videos out of our upstairs office for Halloween and Christmas.  I used to edit video with it but replace it in 2013 with a MacBook Pro 17” and I have that in my office as my video monitor projecting to a 27” tv in my office, I am currently streaming the Tiger group at the masters, usually it is playing my edited videos and pictures.  I replaced in in 2018 or 19 with the new version.  That is what I currently edit 4K video with.  I use it a lot.  

 

I am probably needing to upgrade to these new chips sets.  The current MacBook Pro I use is fast at the editing, the video, it is just not as fast rendering the final file.  So, in my opinion, the hard part on all of these devices is easy, which is the time to look at video, and to time the cuts, and if you add any voice over or music, etc.  The time when you say create file is where the faster chips make the biggest difference.  

 

My personal decision, about the next Mac is going to take the reality of spending a lot of the time on the road in a 23 foot Airstream, and being limited on space.  I will probably stick with a laptop again because of the screen included.  In a home, where you have space and the ability to use it with a giant tv or monitor, the Mac Mini M2 Pro would probably be a better option.  

 

The IPad Pro is not a suitable replacement for either. It is great for posting at CC… which is how I post here.  

 

JC<——— has been using Mac computers since 1987 with a Mac Plus.  Using Apple II since 1982 and crappy DOS and Windows computers at work since 1988.  

 

 

[NHProud]

44 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

I’d go with if people fall off cruise balconies I’d hate to think of how it would happen here. 

 

Close. We are at The Bellagio. 

Very nice !  The food at the Michael Mina restaurant at the Bellagio is delicious.  We took my hubby’s employer and his wife to dinner there . It was very good but quite expensive. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by NHProud

[George C]

Just got back from having our taxes done , we are getting back several thousand, should pay for our entire New York City and Buffalo trip 😁😁😁, I would have stayed in New York for 5 nights rather than 4 if I knew this . But I sure kitchen remodel will cost a little over estimate, so far new tile floors are in kitchen and hallway and a new vinyl laminate is in den area , along with new lighting. 

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, Momof3gurlz said:

We keep saying one of these trips down to FL we’ll take the inland I-81 route just for something different than I-95.  Would love to do this as well. 

 

Thanks for the Sous Vide suggestion, unfortunately I don’t have time to get one and get a handle on the technique before tomorrow night.  I think I’m going to go with Bobby Flay method which is sear in cast iron, remove and cut from the bone and slice (as pictured in my original post), then reassemble it in the pan and finish under the broiler.  🤞

Since you are coming from the North get off at Exit 6 of the NJ Turnpike to I-81

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/40.102793,-74.7246627/40.2278946,-77.1374099/@36.0903439,-84.1515038,6.42z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0

 

This way you will skip, going by Philadelphia area, Wilmington, De. area plus skip going through Baltimore, Md.  and Washington DC.

 

 

[xpcdoojk]

41 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Is the fountain music still on?

 

Yes

[Arzeena]

15 hours ago, Jimbo said:

If not in a rush and have the time take the Skyline Drive from Front Royal, Va. and then get on the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way to North Carolina.   It goes through the Shenandoah National Park. It's an amazing drive with beautiful scenery. Plenty of chances for amazing pictures.

That is a drive through Paradise!. We did that once. Were going to Ashville to see if they can strike a deal on the Biltmore mansion but didn't work out so will have to settle for our villa in Florida.🤣

[voyager70]

3 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

One more Pinehurst story...the story of Payne Stewart.  Payne was a very successful golfer who won the US Open at Pinehurst in 1999 (along with 2 other previous major championships).  He was part of the 1999 US winning Ryder Cup team a couple of months after his US Open win. He was known for his traditional golf attire with a flat cap and "plus fours" pants. 

 

Shortly after the Ryder Cup win, his jet was flying from Orlando to Dallas and lost cabin pressurization.  It's believed that all on board were incapacitated from hypoxia.  The plane flew off course on a northwest track.  Air traffic control tried to contact the plane but there was no response.  The jet flew for several more hours before running out of fuel and crashing in South Dakota.  I remember watching this play out live on TV for a couple of hours.  It was almost certain that all on board were dead, but there was still hope that something could miraculously happen, until the plane crashed.  It was a very spooky thing to watch, especially being a golf fan and having Payne Stewart, one of the best golfers in the world at the time, onboard.

 

Pinehurst has a statue behind the No. 2 course 18th green showing Payne in his celebratory stance after sinking a 15 foot putt to win the 1999 US Open.  

 

 

Here's an 11-minute documentary about the plane crash.

 

 

They had an episode of “Air Disasters” on Smithsonian Channel about the Payne Stewart crash. Very sad. 

[Jimbo]

2 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

That is a drive through Paradise!. We did that once. Were going to Ashville to see if they can strike a deal on the Biltmore mansion but didn't work out so will have to settle for our villa in Florida.🤣

So true, you don't get scenery like that on a cruise out in the ocean do you?

[lenquixote66]

The first time we went to Vegas was in 1996.We stayed at the Luxor which was very different than every other hotel there.

I had the idea to go to a casino ar 2 AM .I won $400.00.

That was my only winning experience ever in LV

[akcruz]

8 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Since you are coming from the North get off at Exit 6 of the NJ Turnpike to I-81

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/40.102793,-74.7246627/40.2278946,-77.1374099/@36.0903439,-84.1515038,6.42z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0

 

This way you will skip, going by Philadelphia area, Wilmington, De. area plus skip going through Baltimore, Md.  and Washington DC.

 

 

 

Or get on 78 further north which runs right into 81.

 

We keep saying we are going to go all the way on 81 coming from the Poconos but haven’t done it yet.  Usually make a atop in DC to see the grandkids instead.  One of these days.

[DaniDanielle]

We first went to Vegas in 1972, the group who ran the casinos knew how to treat their customers right. Food was inexpensive, shows were also.  We saw so many big names, it was great!  

[Sea Dog]

47 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

JC<——— has been using Mac computers since 1987 with a Mac Plus.  Using Apple II since 1982 and crappy DOS and Windows computers at work since 1988.  

 

 

Good for you. My first Mac was a Mac Classic with 4mb of ram and a 30mb hard drive. I also owned a Quadra 840AV and a Power Mac G3. I still have my iMac but just got a new Mac Studio last month with 128gb ram and a 8TB SSD. Blazing fast. Nice to see other long time Mac users.

Edited April 6, 2023 by Sea Dog

[ValerieJo]

4 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

We first went to Vegas in 1972, the group who ran the casinos knew how to treat their customers right. Food was inexpensive, shows were also.  We saw so many big names, it was great!  

 

I agree.  First time I went was 1978.  Totally different than now.  Went back in 1998 and it was still similar to the old days.   We go back regularly and sadly, notice a big difference every time we go back.