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RavingMac

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like many other forums, things seem slow. But, maybe because I enjoyed forums since very early 2000s I still like the few I pop into now. Just avoid the political stuff now like the plague. Nasty stuff.
 
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I enjoyed forums since very early 2000s I still like the few I pop into now. Just avoid the political stuff now like the plague. Nasty stuff.


And a lot of angry people with an excessive amount of hate spewing out… best to just avoid their negative output… there's too much alternative good that one doesn't need to miss out on…

And yes Groovetube, I think you may also be a member of a Canadian forum site that I also visit if I'm not mistaken that's gotten awfully opinionated and political..

PS: Nice barista work on your avatar. ;D




- Patrick
======
 
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Patrick, how are you. Yes, I know the place, have not been there now in close to 3 years, and never ever will for the reasons you mentioned. Don't need that sort of thing. Miss chatting with a couple peaceful types there (dr. G). I'm more interested in my music recording/Mac gear now I won't solve America's political issues I'm afraid ;)

Anyway, hope you're well.
 

cwa107


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It's hard to believe no one has resuscitated this thread since 2017! This used to be one of the most popular threads on the forum.

So, here goes... how is everybody? What have you been up to?
 

pigoo3

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Hey Chris...thanks for waking this area up.;)

How's the heat in Central Florida? Building towards "hot as heck" I bet! Lol

That new MacBook Pro doing ok?:)

- Nick
 

cwa107


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Hey Chris...thanks for waking this area up.;)

How's the heat in Central Florida? Building towards "hot as heck" I bet! Lol

That new MacBook Pro doing ok?:)

- Nick

Hey Nick. Yep, it's starting to heat up for sure. Humidity is back as of yesterday. It was all I could do to finish a 5k. Hoping I'm good by this weekend as I have a race on Saturday morning.

I ended up with the latest gen MacBook Air, not the Pro. I actually really like it. I have a keyboard protector on it to stave off those potential issues, and I wish it had MagSafe and a Kensington lock slot, but otherwise it is impressive. Literally, I get 10 hours of battery life in casual use. The sound quality in particular is really remarkable. I love watching Netflix on it. The lack of ports is not an issue either as I have a sweet USB-C "hub" that includes 3x USB 3.0, Gigabit ethernet and a 4K HDMI port. Apple really ought to include something like that in the box, considering the prices they charge, but it's not all that bad.

Today, I just got a new black Magic Mouse to replace my original one. Though I loved the original one, the difference is HUGE. I waited too long to upgrade.
 

pigoo3

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Hey Nick. Yep, it's starting to heat up for sure. Humidity is back as of yesterday.

I'm sure the 4-5pm daily thunderstorms should be returning soon as well.;)

It was all I could do to finish a 5k. Hoping I'm good by this weekend as I have a race on Saturday morning.

Really Great to hear you've kept up with the exercise routine. Believe me...I know the feeling of running in the heat & humidity. The only solutions I've found are to run very early in the mornings...or run in the dark at night (which I've done many times). Running inside with air-conditioning never worked for me...just not the same. Lol

Good luck in the 5k this weekend. You running to finish...or do you have a personal goal in mind?

I ended up with the latest gen MacBook Air, not the Pro.

Sorry about that...I remember now. I think I got confused with your old MacBook Pro.

I actually really like it. I have a keyboard protector on it to stave off those potential issues, and I wish it had MagSafe and a Kensington lock slot, but otherwise it is impressive. Literally, I get 10 hours of battery life in casual use. The sound quality in particular is really remarkable. I love watching Netflix on it. The lack of ports is not an issue either as I have a sweet USB-C "hub" that includes 3x USB 3.0, Gigabit ethernet and a 4K HDMI port. Apple really ought to include something like that in the box, considering the prices they charge, but it's not all that bad.

Today, I just got a new black Magic Mouse to replace my original one. Though I loved the original one, the difference is HUGE. I waited too long to upgrade.

Wow...that sounds very positive!:) I know you've had your reservations with Apple products (especially portables)...since Apple took away a lot of the user upgradeability years ago. I think my wife's MBA is a 2015 model...and she also got one of those cool hubs recently with all sorts of ports.:)

I REALLY got to upgrade my main computer soon. Still using my 2011 17" MBP. Kinda still amazing how much I can still get done with it. It still has a "spinner HD" in it (which I replaced within the last 12 months) thus a pretty new drive. The biggest complaint I have is slow shutdowns, slow reboots, and slow launching of apps. I think a decent size SSD would really breath some new life into it.:)

- Nick
 

chscag

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I had forgotten about this forum. Like Chris said, it used to be one of the more popular discussion forums. Maybe we can put some life back into it.

Just got my water-sewer-drainage bill today and almost fell over! I'm actually paying more for water than electricity. I've been trying to keep up with the leaks and getting them repaired as soon as I can but it looks like I'm losing the battle.

Doing repairs on an older home can start to add up but with home prices sky high around here there is no way we are going to move out of this home into a newer one.
 
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It's hard to believe no one has resuscitated this thread since 2017! This used to be one of the most popular threads on the forum.

So, here goes... how is everybody? What have you been up to?

Just rocked into Seattle by sea, two weeks of a new city here I come!
 

cwa107


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I'm sure the 4-5pm daily thunderstorms should be returning soon as well.;)

Yep, we've had a few of those here and there.

Really Great to hear you've kept up with the exercise routine. Believe me...I know the feeling of running in the heat & humidity. The only solutions I've found are to run very early in the mornings...or run in the dark at night (which I've done many times). Running inside with air-conditioning never worked for me...just not the same. Lol

Good luck in the 5k this weekend. You running to finish...or do you have a personal goal in mind?

I run 5k three days a week and try to do an organized race now and then. I've put on a bit of weight in recent months, so I'm not as fast as I've been. This one is more about just keeping in touch with the community, since it benefits the local high school extracurricular/sports teams. My ultimate goal in running was to run a half-marathon, which I did back in January. So, now it's more about just maintaining my weight and health and getting outdoors.

Wow...that sounds very positive!:) I know you've had your reservations with Apple products (especially portables)...since Apple took away a lot of the user upgradeability years ago. I think my wife's MBA is a 2015 model...and she also got one of those cool hubs recently with all sorts of ports.:)

I REALLY got to upgrade my main computer soon. Still using my 2011 17" MBP. Kinda still amazing how much I can still get done with it. It still has a "spinner HD" in it (which I replaced within the last 12 months) thus a pretty new drive. The biggest complaint I have is slow shutdowns, slow reboots, and slow launching of apps. I think a decent size SSD would really breath some new life into it.:)

- Nick

I just picked up an 1TB OWC SSD (which I'm using as a USB-C external) for $120 on a sale the other day. It would easily breathe some new life into your MBP! Get that old clunker HDD out and put it in an external case for backups. You'll thank me later for sure.

Anyway, yeah, as much as I dislike the approach that Apple has taken, and as much as I think this machine was laughably overpriced, I am enjoying it. It is an excellent jack-of-all-trades and the all-day battery life is remarkable. I can't see buying another MBP.
 

cwa107


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I had forgotten about this forum. Like Chris said, it used to be one of the more popular discussion forums. Maybe we can put some life back into it.

Just got my water-sewer-drainage bill today and almost fell over! I'm actually paying more for water than electricity. I've been trying to keep up with the leaks and getting them repaired as soon as I can but it looks like I'm losing the battle.

Doing repairs on an older home can start to add up but with home prices sky high around here there is no way we are going to move out of this home into a newer one.

Eek! We have had similar problems in Florida... mostly because the pipes don't seem to hold up as well as they did up north. It is considered to be a "bad thing" to have copper plumbing here. In fact, my house was re-piped into the attic in the 90s and now needs a re-pipe with modern PEX since the old stuff is Polybutylene and known to leak (in fact we already had a manifold fitting burst a few years ago and take out my son's ceiling!). In addition, I've had numerous leaks at the meter (which is at the curb, underground) and had to do some work out there. So, I definitely feel your pain, Charlie!

- - - Updated - - -

Just rocked into Seattle by sea, two weeks of a new city here I come!

Sounds like an adventure for sure. Are you moving for work, or family, or just for a change of scenery?
 

dtravis7


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Thank you Chris for waking up this good old thread!

What I have been up to? Just doing my usual computer work and trying to get back into playing Guitar once in a while. Had to stop due to the Inner Ear issue. The Guitar would drive my ears crazy. Seems better lately.

On the Mac front keeping Mojave Betas updated. New Beta came in early this AM. Seems to work quite well.
 
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@cwa107
In fact, my house was re-piped into the attic in the 90s and now needs a re-pipe with modern PEX since the old stuff is Polybutylene and known to leak

cwa107, you may want to do some further checking and look into what you have been told.

ie, check the rebuttal comments from: Difference Between PEX(Polyethylene) and PB(PolyButylene) Piping

Dan Nelson
Small Business Owner at Nelson Marine electronics
The US had issues with the PB system due to a corrupt regulatory approval system that allowed acetate fittings to be used as a substitute for the traditional copper fittings used in PB. The Copper fittings the rest of the world uses with PB are identical to the fittings used with PEX with just a slight larger ID.
...
The United states was the only country in the world to approve the use of acetate fittings for PB plumbing and the US is the only country that had problems with this system the rest of the world uses copper fittings. One of the main benefits of PB over PEX is that PB is impermeable (oxygen barrier) while PEX is very porous and permeable. PEX allows just about all chemicals including VOC's to easily pass through its walls into the water supply. ...

It seems that some of the various US Regulatory Approval Systems have a habit of screwing things and their approvals up!!! Sounds familiar!!! :p



- Patrick
======
 
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cwa107


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@cwa107
In fact, my house was re-piped into the attic in the 90s and now needs a re-pipe with modern PEX since the old stuff is Polybutylene and known to leak

cwa107, you may want to do some further checking and look into what you have been told.

ie, check the rebuttal comments from: Difference Between PEX(Polyethylene) and PB(PolyButylene) Piping



It seems that some of the various US Regulatory Approval Systems have a habit of screwing things and their approvals up!!! Sounds familiar!!! :p



- Patrick
======

Interesting. Thanks for the feedback!

When we bought the home, our home inspector specifically called out the PB plumbing and said that many insurance companies were reluctant to insure a home with PB due to leaking issues. He said most of the problems were related to the fittings, but pointed out that we had brass fittings and those should be less likely to leak. He said that insurers really didn't care about that distinction and many would refuse to insure just based on the fact that PB was used anywhere in the home. We asked the seller for a $5000 credit to compensate for the re-pipe cost and they obliged.

That was in 2015. We never did get around to re-piping and in January of 2017, we had a fitting leak at a manifold and had the entire manifold replaced with PEX. I figured that should help us get by for at least a few years and that eventually we'd just repipe with whatever is the standard these days. I assumed that was PEX, but judging by your comments, I wonder what is considered safe these days.
 
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pigoo3

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I run 5k three days a week and try to do an organized race now and then. I've put on a bit of weight in recent months, so I'm not as fast as I've been. This one is more about just keeping in touch with the community, since it benefits the local high school extracurricular/sports teams. My ultimate goal in running was to run a half-marathon, which I did back in January. So, now it's more about just maintaining my weight and health and getting outdoors.

Keep setting small goals...it helps from things getting stale. I know how hard it can be some days to get out there...especially in the heat & humidity. For me I don't need to run a race very often...the goals I set are usually related to running a little longer some days...or running a little shorter but faster other days. It's good to mix it up.:)

I just picked up an 1TB OWC SSD (which I'm using as a USB-C external) for $120 on a sale the other day. It would easily breathe some new life into your MBP!

Wow...that's a nice price...I should watch for a good sale. I did buy an "el cheapo" 240gig SSD at a local Micro Center about a month ago for about $25 just to play with.:)

Anyway, yeah, as much as I dislike the approach that Apple has taken, and as much as I think this machine was laughably overpriced, I am enjoying it. It is an excellent jack-of-all-trades and the all-day battery life is remarkable. I can't see buying another MBP.

My wife loves her 2015 MBA...and she uses it quite a bit on battery power. So thin & light...my 17" MBP is like an Abrams Tank in comparison.;)

When I FINALLY replace my 2011 17" MacBook Pro...I can see my next computer being a 15", 6-core, dual GPU, 2018 MacBook Pro with 16gig of RAM and as large an SSD as I can find (which I will purchase used).:) That will probably be in 2-3 years when the used price drops to a point I find attractive. Lol

- Nick
 
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We're finally going to escape the miserable heat of Northeast Thailand. We've had a long string of 40ºC and over days with high humidity. (That's about 104ºF.) We're off to the beach (Cha Am) where it's in the low 30ºs (90ºs).

My webcam from there: Cha Am Web Cam
 
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We're finally going to escape the miserable heat of Northeast Thailand. We've had a long string of 40ºC and over days with high humidity. (That's about 104ºF.) We're off to the beach (Cha Am) where it's in the low 30ºs (90ºs).

My webcam from there: Cha Am Web Cam



Wow, that seems to be about a 6hr, 425 km drive according to Google Maps!!

But worth it to avoid that extreme temp and humidity IMHO!!!


EDIT:
Thanks for the nice webcam views and specs!! Nice.



- Patrick
======
 
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Right around 3AM Detroit time, having a "slept too late on my day off, now my sleep schedule is ruined" kinda night. Feels like it's been a minute since I've posted anything here but I've been meaning to stop in more often.

Picked up one of the new M1 MacBook Airs as a living room/portable computer (You don't realize how chunky the mid-2012 MBP is until you get your hands on a newer Mac) Also got a 2,1 Mac Pro and a FW800 MDD PowerMac G4 today for $50, so that was nice.

Anywho, not sure who of the old crew is still around but I hope everyone's doing well!
 

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