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.

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.

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Daily elf sighting.  It appears the elf likes a nice beach vacation.

My granddaughter stayed with us Saturday night, so we had to assume Elf duties.  Here he was found eating donut holes.

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Has there been any talk of a Gangway on a NCL Encore collapsing? It  happened in Panama. Anyone have any more info on this? That had to be terrible, hope everyone gets well soon and it wasn't to serious.

Here's a thread on it:  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2892794-encore-gangway-collapse-in-panama/

3 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

My brother-in-law has a Bosch and it's so quiet that you don't even realize it's running. More than once I've opened it in mid-cycle to put a dirty dish in there.

Our Bosch dishwasher failed about a year in to the pandemic.  Would have bought another but the wait time was too long.  Ended up with a Jenn Aire dishwasher and it's quiet too.  Has a light on the front so you know what it is doing.  Blue for wash cycle, red for drying and white when done.

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

My daughter has a Bosch, and I absolutely hate trying to load anything in it,  It seems like the wires on the racks never fit what I try to put in there.  It takes forever to run a complete cycle.

 

Give me our old Whirlpool any day.  Easy to load and quick.  That’s why I was happy I was able to fix it after our flooding incident.  I still haven’t trusted to walk away and let it run yet, but I am getting more trusting.

The Jenn Aire we have now (see above) is the same.  Not as easy to load.  I've gotten used to it, but I know what you mean about trying to load it.

The old Bosch, and this new Jenn Aire, take 3 to 3.5 hours to finish.  Seems like a long time.  Overall it's not an issue, as long as it's finished by the next morning I'm happy.

The Jenn Aire does have a 1 hour cycle, but they say it uses more water and electricity than the other cycles.  

11 hours ago, singinalot said:

we’re replacing the dishwasher with a Bosch and I have my eye on a GE fridge 😍

We had a Bosch dishwasher for about ten years.  Quietest dishwasher I've ever heard.  

The cheapest Bosch dishwashers, noise wise, are comparable to the average dishwasher.  But once you go up a bit they get very quiet.  

38 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

@A&L_Ont and @Jimbo

 

As you guys are the experts in crap, er, I mean knowledgeable in waste management,  when I made my appointment to have my septic tank pumped, they suggested I have an addictive added to promote good bacteria growth. The reason is that ALL my wastewater drains into the septic: showers, dishwasher, washing machine, etc. which can breakdown the good bacteria.

 

Cost for my 1,000 gallon tank is $115, on top of the $450 to have it pumped. Seems like an unnecessary expenditure. (i.e. scam).

 

 

Here in Maryland the cost to have our septic tank pumped is about $400.  Fees vary a lot, your county may charge more.

My goal is to have our tank pumped every three to five years.  It really depends on how many people live in your household.  More people means more frequent pumping.

I've recently been adding a supplement called NuTank.  Mostly because I have a slow drain and have to use a strong drain cleaner.  The chemical in the drain cleaner doesn't do the septic tank any favors.  I use the drain cleaner every two months.  Then a week later I add the supplement.  The supplement is a small item that you flush down the toilet.

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

In the summer if the tank is under a few inches of soil the lawn will brown out and die when it is hot with no rain. It will be very distinctive and usually not far from the edge of the house where it exits.
 

 

We've lived here with a septic tank for 40 years.  Had to dig down to the two lids twice to have it pumped. Never did that again...had the risers and plastic lids installed.  From the grass, down to the two lids, is about 2.5 feet.

My tank doesn't affect the grass, but it's always the first place the snow melts (due to the heat from the waste water and aerobic action).

28 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Cruise Critic is really hacking me off. Still can't log in via my phone. I changed my password. It works on my laptop but not my phone. Anyone else having problems still?????

Just a hunch...delete the Safari cache on your iPhone.  Settings, Safari, Advanced, Website Data.  Swipe left to delete the data for Cruise Critic.  If the password is hard to type...be careful to not make a typo mistake.  

After deleting the cache I'd take Safari out of memory and re-launch it.  Probably not necessary but won't hurt.

1 hour ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

What a game.  No roof open last night. 😉

My morning show on ESPN says the Phillies often knew what type of pitch the Houston guy was throwing.  His arm motion and the way he angled the glove were "tells."  

I think they said the Houston pitcher gave up 5 homers last night, they said he had no home runs in his last 500 pitches.

1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

...but never again will I buy a Samsung fridge.  

Our previous refrigerator was a Samsung.  The water from a defrost cycle would drain down behind the interior back panel.  But it would freeze up and then we'd find water under the produce bin.  Our favorite appliance guy installed an update kit that was supposed to fix the problem but it didn't.  

The Samsung was otherwise working, but after ten years we decided to replace it.  The appliance guy recommended Whirlpool.  We're on year 3 with the Whirlpool and it works fine.  We bought one that has the regular ice maker but also has an ice maker in the bottom freezer section.  We use a lot of ice...and we love having two ice makers.

22 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

The only thing that had been a little wonky is that  sometimes the internet will just kick off and you will see you have no connection. Easily solved by reconnecting but I’m not sure what is causing it.

Just a guess: the ship's Starlink dish is transitioning from one satellite to another as the satellites move across the sky.

Dish owners, using the Starlink app, can see how often this occurs.

9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I’m recording it. I heard Hannah from BD is supposed to be on it.

We heard that too.  So we watched about 15 minutes of the new show, no Hannah.  It's not a good show.

The google tells me she's on the Australian version of the show.  I thought it might be on Paramount+, but a quick search didn't find it.

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Well, the carpet was soaked, but where was it coming from?  It turns out, it was from clogged sun roof drains.  I never even thought about there being drains for the sunroof, let alone them getting clogged.  

Same thing happened to my brother's Ford Explorer.  The drains through the pillars must be a common thing.

Our Toyota Sienna has a sunroof but it clearly seals to the roof and doesn't need any drains.

27 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

I don’t like how he posts his photos with no spaces between them. As a live reviewer it drives me nuts. 

I skip the Benny Brun reviews.  Too many pictures...and too many similar pictures of the same thing from a different angle.  Too much.

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I always tell people “I’m so busy doing nothing I don’t have time to do anything.”

My version of this is: "I don't have anything to do but I have all day to do it."

10 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Watched the last of the Tour De France coverage yesterday.  I just love the full coverage of the mountain stages - The Alps & The Pyrenees.  The sweeping views from the helicopters, the challenge of the tough gradients going up the mountains and the equally challenging rapid descents. The cyclists dealing with the passionate roadside fans in the narrow roads near the top of the mountains. All this keeps me glued to the screen.

 

It was a great tour.  We enjoyed it here too.

La Vuelta (the tour in Spain) will be on Peacock and begins August 19th.  I don't know if we'll watch as much...thinking of just watching the last hour or so each day.

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

No we do not have AC.

We live on the North East coast of England about 100 miles south of Scotland and we never get temperatures any where near like it is currently.

Shops have AC but no houses to my knowledge are built with AC installed certainly not in the North of England.

I was curious and checked google.  Google says only around 5% of homes in England have A/C, while Japan and the U.S. are around 90%.  

Here in Maryland we typically have around 50+ days a year above 90 degrees.

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

Good morning.

After a record breaking 80°F last night it is currently 82°F in our garden in North East England with a high of 92°F expected later today.

London is expecting 100+F today and a new record temperature.

Graham, does your home have air conditioning?  

What percentage of homes/businesses would you say have air conditioning?  News reports here in the U.S. about the heat wave in Europe say air conditioning is not as prevalent as it is here.

7 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

 

...and BD Down Under premiers too on Bravo even though I watched it on the Peacock App. I think you have said you did not care for it. I know Aiesha can be a little grating because of her voice but I actually liked the first season. I did think the chef was a total a$#. I loved the scenery of Australia and made me want to visit there. 

We also watched BD Down Under on Peacock.  I think it's certainly as good as the others and Cap't Jason is my favorite captain now.

You're right...the scenery is gorgeous.  

The Tour de France starts this Friday (on USA network).  We've been watching for a few years.  The cycling competition is interesting...but the scenery and history in France is to die for.  And they show/discuss a lot of the scenery stuff...historic churches and homes.  We fast-forward a lot...the coverage is 4 to 6 hours each day...so a lot of fast-forwarding.  Race lasts about a month.

2 hours ago, TracieABD said:

When we returned to our room last night, at least 50 nautical miles behind us, the smell was there. And it was worse than ever. We are not sure what it is (any guesses????)

Check all the floor drains in the bathroom. Sometimes the traps in the floor drains dry out and you'll smell sewer gas.  Especially if the room hasn't been used for a while.

There will be a drain in the shower, of course.  But look for other floor drains by the bathroom door, etc.  Pour a half gallon (or gallon)  of water down each and every drain.  Wait an hour...and hope the smell goes away.

Is there a floor drain on your balcony?  Check it too.

Longtime Cruise Critic member chengkp75, a retired ship chief engineer, mentions this subject from time to time.

7 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

The Samsung is going to always stay competitive with Apple. Most industry analysts say Samsungs camera are superior to Apple’s.

All Apple guy here too.  I'd argue that if all you look at is pixel count then maybe Samsung is ahead.  But the post-picture processing technology is important too, and I feel Apple clearly has the lead here.  

These modern day smartphones pretty much have higher pixel counts than any of us need.  Apple often only mentions pixel count in passing and they have completely stopped mentioning clock speed for the CPUs in their computers.  Yet the new Mac Studio, even without knowing its clock speed, is probably the fastest consumer computer one can buy today.

21 hours ago, Torfamm said:

One thing that bothers me is that waiters love to bring extra food and/or dishes I didn’t order. It may seem silly to some but seeing a double order on my plate makes me lose my appetite.

I don't think it's a new thing since the restart.  I always figured the waiters are happy to bring multiple dishes thinking it will get them extra tip money.  It's odd that the cruise line allows this since it must greatly increase costs, at no cost to the waiter.

Our first cruise was in 2011 and we were at a medium sized table with a husband, wife and teenage son.  The husband always asked for 3 or 4 of the entree courses.  Some he'd take a single bite and push the plate aside.  Some he'd eat a few bites and then push it aside.  Lots of waste.  He also had the waiter bring a small plate of diced up jalapeño's to the table for each dinner.

56 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

So speaking of taxes.  I got a notice from the IRS yesterday that someone filed a 2021 tax return using my SSN.

The IRS has a program where you can apply for a PIN.  Then they reject any return that doesn't include the PIN.  It's the only way to safeguard against someone filling a fraudulent return in your name.

I always get a PIN for myself and wife in January...before the IRS begins accepting returns (which is usually the last week in January).

I believe you will be automatically enrolled in the PIN program since you have been a victim of a fraudulent return.

6 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I owe 20 grand from gains on condo sale. 🤣

Much better than trying to write off a loss.  

Many saying paying high taxes is an indication that your investments did well.  That's always good news.