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

[Sunshine3601]

14 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

We are in Atlantic City, just won $1200 on my favorite machine!  Of course it took quite a bit before it rewarded me.  We enjoyed Happy Hour at McCormicks.   

Congratulations!!!     Is McCormicks still doing the half price appetizers?   Haven't been there in 3+ years.

[Sunshine3601]

14 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

 

Just had my first post op appointment. Everything looks great and I am doing really well.

 

 

Got my Cat-Scan back and as expected I have a hernia. My doctor will refer me to a surgeon. My knee surgeon wants me to wait 3 months before having another surgery. Hopefully it will not interfere with our April 1st Beyond sailing.

 

 

Congrats on the 2nd knee replacement being a success and easier on you.     Excuse for not knowing exactly what I am looking at but why such a big difference in the imagine from the right to the left knee after having both of them done?

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, DaniDanielle said:

Now Charlie is off to Toyota to get a new leased car.  Our lease isn’t up until March but they kept calling with these early return deals and he falls for them!  Like there won’t be another deal coming up.  Anyway, we didn’t win enough in Atlantic City to pay it off🤪

 

It's actually a great time to get a new car. Most people are busy with holidays so car sales are slow and dealers want to hit monthly and end-of-year sales quotas, so there will be deals to be had, whether buying or leasing.  Good luck and congratulations!

[Sunshine3601]

7 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good morning.

It is currently -4°C here and sunny.

Prayers 🙏 for Dani @dani negreanu,her family, friend's and country.

I hope everyone on here is safe and well too.

I hope everyone has a great day.

I hope today is better for you than yesterday 😍

[Ocean Boy]

44 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

The beauty is on the inside.  Don't be so superficial (light-hearted sarcasm 🙂)

 

Personally, I think the Radiance-class ships are the nicest looking, classic lines and well proportioned. Anything above Freedom class looks ungainly, like a floating apartment building, with a lot of fun & cool stuff within that building.

 

IMHO, of course.

 

I agree. I just would rather not be sailing in a floating apartment building. And sailing with 7600 guests and 2500 crew isn't helping me get past the looks. It will be interesting to see how embarking and disembarking, especially at ports of call, goes. I'm sure the inside and amenities will be impressive. I didn't think that I'd like the O class as much as I do so I could be surprised by Icon class too.

[Ocean Boy]

20 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

 

Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my favorites.   
 

My one grandson drew this a year or two ago, so we framed it and it hangs in our foyer at Christmas time. We have had lots of comments on it, when people see it when they come in our house. 
 

That is fantastic!

[bobmacliberty]

2 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

Can you unleash your inner geek again if I ask 2 questions?  

 

1) Does distance matter? To clarify, I know it does as I've done a speed test sitting next to the WiFi router and clock in at a 150+ mps. Then I head upstairs to the "far end" of the house so there is a few walls between me and the WiFi router and the speed test shows 40 mps.  Still sufficient but wonder if I upgrade my service to double the bandwidth, will it also double at that distance to 80 mps or stay at 40 mps due to  distance and walls & floors blocking?

 

2)  With only 2 people living in this house, only 2 devices may be actively in use at once but 6 more devices sitting passively (cell phones, tablets, Alexa, etc).  Are the passive devices much of a draw on bandwidth as they are "always on"?

 

I can't find any definitive answers to these questions so any thing you can share will be appreciated. TIA.

 

Distance definitely does matter, and it matters more for a 5 GHz WiFi channel than a 2.4 GHz WiFi channel.  Signal strength drops off faster with higher frequencies and can be affected more by walls or other obstructions that attenuate the signal.  That's why you'll often see things like WiFi doorbells, garage door openers, and outdoor lights use only 2.4 GHz WiFi...they want to ensure that the device will stay connected, even though 5 GHz can give you more speed.

 

Adding more bandwidth from your ISP will probably give you a little more bandwidth at the far end of your house, but a better solution would be to get a WiFi mesh system for your house.  A mesh system has a main router/WiFi access point and then you add another 1, 2 (for a large house), or even 3 (for a very large house) satellite access points that are spread around your house.  The access points all talk to each other and the satellites essentially act as signal extenders, so that you would see nearly the same 150 Mbps at the far end of your house.  You don't need a network connection for the satellite units, just power.  

 

We have a 3 piece Netgear Orbi system with the main device in the office, one in our living room, and one in our master closet. We probably only need 2 for the size of our house but 3 gives us great coverage all over the house and on our back patio.  My daughter just got Alta Fiber (part of Cincinnati Bell) for her house and they provided a 2 piece Eero system.  Your ISP may do the same if you don't want to buy your own.  I think she pays an additional $10 per month for the satellite unit.  Her main unit is in the front of the first floor, and she has the remote unit plugged into a bedroom upstairs in the back of the house.  She gets a great signal everywhere.  Google, TP-Link, and Asus also make good systems. 

 

If you buy your own mesh system, you'll see very large price differences depending largely on which version of WiFi you use.  WiFi 7 is the newest and very expensive.  Unless you're an online gamer looking for every advantage you can get, you don't need WiFi 7.  You're probably good with WiFi 6 and might even be able to still find older, cheaper WiFi 5 systems that will work for you.  

[Sunshine3601]

3 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

I'm back in Florida, recuperating from helping my daughter move into her house.  I'm too old for that...stuff.  At my age, I'm supposed to write checks, not climb ladders and carry washing machines into a basement on a dolly.  I also like being back where the temps are in the 70s, at least for a few days.  Micheline decided to stay there and do more work.  We didn't get the kitchen painted and there is still more cleaning to do.  Not sure when she'll decide that she's done enough for now and give up.  Momma wants her baby girl to be happy. 😁

 

I took a few videos when the living room and bedroom were at their best...before move-in day and the explosion of boxes everywhere.  It's amazing what Scott's Liquid Gold Floor Restore can do to a  hardwood floor.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking Great!   I really like her paint selections and the floors looks fabulous!   I wish her many years of happiness in her new home.

[HBE4]

My top 5 Christmas movies:

 

1) Miracle on 34th Street.

2) It's a Wonderful Life

3) Christmas Vacation

4) Elf

5) The Christmas Chronicles (Netflix).

 

Honorable mentions: Scrooged (with Bill Murray), Fred Claus and March of the Wooden Soldiers.  That last one I'm surprised it hasn't been remade yet. With today's CGI, it would be an awesome movie!

[bobmacliberty]

21 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

 

According to the ultimate authority, the NHDSC (National Hot Dog and Sausage Council) gives 12 solid, scientific and logical reasons as to why a hot dog is not a sandwich.

 

https://www.hot-dog.org/culture/hot-dog-sandwich

 

😄

 

Hard to argue with that logic.

[Sunshine3601]

32 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

 

Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my favorites.   
 

My one grandson drew this a year or two ago, so we framed it and it hangs in our foyer at Christmas time. We have had lots of comments on it, when people see it when they come in our house. 
 

He's an Excellent Artist!  He really did a great job with Charlie

[George C]

8 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

My top 5 Christmas movies:

 

1) Miracle on 34th Street.

2) It's a Wonderful Life

3) Christmas Vacation

4) Elf

5) The Christmas Chronicles (Netflix).

 

Honorable mentions: Scrooged (with Bill Murray), Fred Claus and March of the Wooden Soldiers.  That last one I'm surprised it hasn't been remade yet. With today's CGI, it would be an awesome movie!

Wife loves #1 and #2 she loves all the old Christmas movies, we have a nice selection on dvd .

[Sea Dog]

23 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Congrats on the 2nd knee replacement being a success and easier on you.     Excuse for not knowing exactly what I am looking at but why such a big difference in the imagine from the right to the left knee after having both of them done?

Actually my mistake that was the wrong picture.It was before surgery Here is the correct picture after second surgery.

 

[HBE4]

5 minutes ago, George C said:

Wife loves #1 and #2 she loves all the old Christmas movies, we have a nice selection on dvd .

 

I have a huge selection of Christmas movies on dvd as well.  My wife would play many of them as background noise while cooking, cleaning etc. My step daughter has seen Christmas Vacation so many times, she can recite every line from the movie and almost be in perfect sync while watching it.  Not sure  if I should be proud or worried. 😄

[HBE4]

@bobmacliberty

 

Thank you for your prompt replies, much appreciated . You gave me the exact info I was looking for. 👍

 

And your daughters house looks fantastic! Great job, especially on the floors.

[HBE4]

All caught up. Is it too early for Kraken-spiked egg nog?

[bobmacliberty]

6 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

All caught up. Is it too early for Kraken-spiked egg nog?

 

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

 

And all this time I thought it was a just a Bruce Willis movie😁

I watch it every Christmas Eve.  When Hans Gruber falls to his death from atop Nakatomi Plaza it always brings a little tear to my eye and reminds me what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. 😉 

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, HBE4 said:

Been away for the better part of the week & with the exception of a random pop-in to like a post or two, I've fallen waaayyyy behind. Normally, I'd just read back 2-3 pages to see the current conversations but for some reason - probably too much time on my hands - decided to read all 25+ pages since I last left off. 

 

Glad I did as I found the conversations related to Cable TV costs, Internet Speed, Streaming Platforms & YouTube TV most interesting.  With XFINITY cable, I have middle of the road Internet (300 mps) and channel line up (175 channels but no premium channels) which is costing me $197 per month. I probably watch 10 channels at the most and would say 90% of my TV viewing is now thru a steaming platform. NetFlix, Hulu, Prime, Max, Disney+, Paramount and Peacock are the 7 streaming platforms that I either subscribe to or use a someone else's password to access.  I may cut the cord & get rid of the cable TV going and shop around for just Internet. From what I reading, I can easily save $100 a month, maybe even as much of $150. While I do like watching my local news stations, I can't really justify the cost anymore.

 

Funny thing is, XFINITY just sent me a new cable box as a replacement as they deemed mine too old. It's 4K capable. Great, I thought to myself, I finally can get the full benefit of my 4K TV.  Until the rep told me that they don't actually broadcast in 4K, so still same picture quality. 🙄

You will still get local channels when switching to Youtube Tv, just put in your zipcode and it will tell you all the available channels you will get.

 

Right now we are on the 21 day trial for YouTube Tv, just trying to get used to the new platform.

 

We are most likely going to keep our Xfinity Internet. Our speed coming into the house is 400 mbps underground fiber cable lines, Just switching over the cable TV to (You tube TV) and Cell Phones to (Verizon)

 

Here are our result with like 4 items running at the same time. Doesn't seem to have any problems streaming all 4 at once.  using YouTube TV.

Internet speed test

 

 

Testing upload...

226.6

Mbps download

10.6

Mbps upload

Latency: 12 ms

Server: Washington

Your Internet connection is very fast.

Your Internet connection should be able to handle multiple devices streaming HD videos, video conferencing, and gaming at the same time.

LEARN MORE

TEST AGAIN

 

 

 

 

[Jimbo]

6 hours ago, DeltaOne said:

 

You'll see the name of the show that is playing (live or taped) at top of the screen.  Press the UP button until it's highlighted and then press the OK (or SELECT) button...I don't know what remote you're using.  On the Apple TV remote it's UP and then the center (OK) button.

 

Another question when watch Youtube Tv on my Android Phone is it possible to get the picture on the full screen , rather then only about a 1/4 of the screen?

[Momof3gurlz]

I’ve been a bit under the weather the past day or so after getting my souped-up (senior version) of the flu shot.  Much better today and doing some Christmas decorating.  
@dani negreanu always happy to see you posting and your meal looks fantastic. I love stuffed peppers but am the only one in my entire family who does, so they’re never on the menu here.  I should make some just for me and freeze them individually.  
@Sea Dog Greg, I saw this on IG this morning and immediately thought of you! Two of your favorite things, if you’re ever in the Tampa area. 

 

[bobmacliberty]

11 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Another question when watch Youtube Tv on my Android Phone is it possible to get the picture on the full screen , rather then only about a 1/4 of the screen?

 

I've got an iPhone so not sure about Android, but I'd assume it would be similar.  Touch the part of the screen where the show is playing to pull up the timeline and controls.  To the right of the timeline at the bottom, there's a square with broken lines.  Touch the square to go to full screen.  To get out of full screen, touch the same area that now looks sort of like a broken tic-tac-toe grid.

[Sea Dog]

3 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

I’ve been a bit under the weather the past day or so after getting my souped-up (senior version) of the flu shot.  Much better today and doing some Christmas decorating.  
@dani negreanu always happy to see you posting and your meal looks fantastic. I love stuffed peppers but am the only one in my entire family who does, so they’re never on the menu here.  I should make some just for me and freeze them individually.  
@Sea Dog Greg, I saw this on IG this morning and immediately thought of you! Two of your favorite things, if you’re ever in the Tampa area. 

 

Looks great. Next weekend we are going to a Christmas Tiki pop up bar called “Sippin’ Santa. Looks like they have a good tiki cocktail menu.

 

 

 

 

 

[NHProud]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I agree. I just would rather not be sailing in a floating apartment building. And sailing with 7600 guests and 2500 crew isn't helping me get past the looks. It will be interesting to see how embarking and disembarking, especially at ports of call, goes. I'm sure the inside and amenities will be impressive. I didn't think that I'd like the O class as much as I do so I could be surprised by Icon class too.

There’s an article in today’s Wall Street Journal about The Math Behind The Megaships and the Icon is mentioned.  It is powered by liquified natural gas , can hook up to shore power , treats its own waste, and can produce nearly almost its own water through desalination.  The hull has a special coating to reduce friction.   Almost a self sustaining floating apartment building .  I’m curious about the life boats . How many and how large ?   Some ports are not welcoming cruise ships because of the effect they are having on the environment . Who will welcome this big boat ? 
 

 

[lenquixote66]

14 hours ago, BonTexasNY said:

I you tubed her singing that song.  Not even close to Robert, IMHO.

 

@Ozark_Kid Hugs to you ((((((((John)))))))))

 

 

From age 8 to age 47 I had a very good singing voice .I sang in the style of Vaughn Monroe mainly in HS and college productions.One of my favorite songs to sing were the songs from Camelot.Even though I sing weekly in the Singing For Parkinsons my voice is not even close to what it was.Today I decided to sing this great Robert Goulet classic .Nobody was here to hear me torture the song.