Something Random

[sdbardwick]

I'm in my room at a Las Vegas Casino Hotel and feeling really old 'cause the cover band I can hear through my door is playing all the hits from my high school days. Also I noticed that the Muzak feed also features the same, so somehow I've aged into the casino's target demographic.

 

[LunarMist]

I was relatively in Merc's neck of the woods. It was crazy warm for April.

 

[Handruin]

It's been rather warm here the past few days. I was surprised to see 85F today.

 

[ddrueding]

We're now in my perfect weather, 15C and overcast. Occasionally it gets to 20C, but then a bit of rain cools it down.

 

[Mercutio]

I was relatively in Merc's neck of the woods. It was crazy warm for April.

Hot April is great because it's the time I can absolutely get away with doing questionable outdoor modeling shoots. I was out on the lake shore this morning, even.

LM, you gotta let me know if you're through here. Even if you're just at ORD on a layover, there's places to meet up as close as one stop away on the blue line. I just need to know with a half day of lead time

Saw Renfield. Nicholas Cage playing Dracula is exactly the good time you think it'll be. The whole thing is over the top violence that's played for laughs.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm in my room at a Las Vegas Casino Hotel and feeling really old 'cause the cover band I can hear through my door is playing all the hits from my high school days. Also I noticed that the Muzak feed also features the same, so somehow I've aged into the casino's target demographic.

My domestic partner is 22. Her father is a few years younger than, young enough that he MIGHT be a millennial. She's also involved in Chicago-area concert venues and music festivals, so she's always talking about who is going to be where and which things are worth making plans, because she can almost always get in to whatever-it-is. She loves a lot of music that would've been huge in the late 90s. We have conversations about bands that should've been all over my youth AT LEAST a couple times a week.

There's a bit of a joke in this, because there are very few members of Gen X. Our window of ascendency in culture will also be brief.

 

[jtr1962]

There's a bit of a joke in this, because there are very few members of Gen X. Our window of ascendency in culture will also be brief.

I'm a member of Gen X spiritually, even though I'm technically near the tail end of the Baby Boomers. I can relate a lot more to your generation than mine. I think it's much the same for most of the people born between 1960 and 1964.

22 yo domestic partner and you're what, 47? Good, there's hope for me. A bigger age difference in my case hooking up with someone that age. Since I only like Asians though, and they hook up with much older guys more often than other groups, often for financial security, my age shouldn't be a big deal. As I said earlier, I still look like early 30s, so it wouldn't be like she's with a parent or grandparent.

 

[sedrosken]

I'm in that awkward position where I'm technically early Gen Z having been born in 1998, but I can't relate to really anyone born after 2001 or so. I think the term that's picking up steam for that is "zillennial". I could probably get dates if I wanted, but I don't have the time, money or energy to be wasting on that. I'm also in that awkward spot where I'm simultaneously boring and childish, so my 'time to shine' likely won't be until my middle 30's when (optimistically) my career finally hits a good groove and I'm looked at as a mature provider-type.

 

[Mercutio]

The age gap isn't terribly relevant to either of us, jtr. We just get along really well and recognize the mutual benefits of being a team for some period of time.

It's a good model to have for people who aren't necessarily trying to start a family or find til death do us part.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm in that awkward position where I'm technically early Gen Z having been born in 1998, but I can't relate to really anyone born after 2001 or so. I think the term that's picking up steam for that is "zillennial". I could probably get dates if I wanted, but I don't have the time, money or energy to be wasting on that. I'm also in that awkward spot where I'm simultaneously boring and childish, so my 'time to shine' likely won't be until my middle 30's when (optimistically) my career finally hits a good groove and I'm looked at as a mature provider-type.

Go looking now. The opportunities evaporate as you get older and the chances that someone will see your professional success as a way to correct their youthful mistakes just increases with age. Even someone's adult offspring still mean you get static from another parent and potentially two sets of grandparents about aspects of the relationship you have with a single parent.

 

[jtr1962]

The age gap isn't terribly relevant to either of us, jtr. We just get along really well and recognize the mutual benefits of being a team for some period of time.

It's a good model to have for people who aren't necessarily trying to start a family or find til death do us part.

I wouldn't be looking to get married or start a family, either. I never wanted kids. I'm certainly not having them in my 60s, plus I couldn't afford them anyway.

My opinion is age gaps only matter if your biological age differs a lot. Sad to say, a typical person my age probably can't walk more than a few blocks without tiring. They certainly couldn't do over 80 miles on a bike like I did over the last four days. I remember the woman on the corner, who is about 2 years older, acting like the mile she did on a bike was some kind of big accomplishment. I remember what it was like going out with my mother once she hit her late 50s and early 60s and I was in my 30s. Basically, I had to do everything at half speed. So put your typical 50 or 60 year old with someone in their 20s or 30s, and the age gap will matter just for physical reasons alone. But get someone who kept in shape, then it doesn't really matter. My brother and I both joke that most 20-somethings couldn't keep up with us.

BTW, it sounds like your domestic partner left home really early. My sister was the youngest of us when she left, and she was already 24. My brother was 27 or 28 I think. I never left. Just never had the desire or money. Housing in NYC is really expensive, even 30 years ago. Lots of people here have adult children in their 30s, even sometimes 40s, still at home.

 

[jtr1962]

I could probably get dates if I wanted, but I don't have the time, money or energy to be wasting on that. I'm also in that awkward spot where I'm simultaneously boring and childish, so my 'time to shine' likely won't be until my middle 30's when (optimistically) my career finally hits a good groove and I'm looked at as a mature provider-type.

Here's my take on this. I really never dated. I liked getting to know people I saw everyday in school. A bunch of us took the subway to/from school each day. When you spend over an hour a day with people, you get to know them fairly well. You also see them unfiltered, whereas on a date people will try to put their best foot forwards. Unfortunately, after high school the opportunities ended. College was a bust for me. Afterwards was even worse. How do you meet people when you don't really have much of a network of friends? I guess there was personal ads, and now online dating, but then end result is the same. You have to spend a lot of money to be with a person for a relatively short amount of time. I didn't have that kind of money. Plus I just thought the concept of dating was stupid. If I had a job where I could potentially get to know people first that might have worked. Besides all that, what do people typically do on dates? See movies and/or eat out. I'm not that big on either. My idea might be a long bike ride, or spend a day in Manhattan, or a bunch of other things I might enjoy more. As we get to know each other well, it would also include trips.

Next thing is I can't see going on dates, or otherwise hooking up, unless the person really blows your socks off. Seriously, I remember people hooking up in high school seemingly just for the sake of saying they had a boyfriend/girlfriend. I only knew two people I was interested in. One didn't seem all that interested in me, other than as part of our group of friends. The other was, but I was chasing after the first person at the time, and was too stupid to see it. I saw her on the train two years later a few times a week while I was commuting to college (she was in her senior year in high school at the time). Unfortunately, it seemed like she had some lingering bitterness over us not having hooked up two years earlier. I ended up with a broken heart, and after that never really met anyone I found that interesting. I don't hook up just for the sake of hooking up.

All that said, if by chance you do meet someone who seems right for you, don't wait. Just go for it. That was my mistake with the person I mentioned. I should have jumped at the chance in my senior year in HS. As cliche as it sounds, sometimes you only get one shot at love in your life. I hope that's not the case for me, but consider I'm already 60 and don't really have any opportunity to meet people beyond random encounters when I go out.

 

[Mercutio]

it sounds like your domestic partner left home really early.

The pattern among my closest friends has been a family that is extremely religious that for one reason or other isn't willing to support daughters who are unwilling to get with the program. My current partner's family are Scientologists. She was expected to start her journey in that faith at 16 and was being pressured to commit to church service. She chose to leave instead and has since been disowned by her family.

 

[jtr1962]

Scientology? Say no more. I really feel sorry for people born into ultra religious families. Nice of you to give them a safe haven.

 

[Mercutio]

Scientology? Say no more. I really feel sorry for people born into ultra religious families. Nice of you to give them a safe haven.

Ironically, another dear friend came from a weird Lutheran offshoot. You don't really hear a lot about Lutheran fundamentalists, but they're out there.

 

[LunarMist]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is just terrible.

 

[Mercutio]

Do you know someone with that condition?

 

[LunarMist]

Yes. It's four years on.

 

[Mercutio]

I am sorry to hear that.

 

[ddrueding]

That sucks Lunar.

 

[LunarMist]

Why didn't I get it or will it come later?

 

[jtr1962]

Why didn't I get it or will it come later?

Family member has it?

Yes, it's largely genetic but if a family member has it that doesn't necessarily mean you'll get it.

Yes, it sucks big time for whoever got it. Sorry to hear that.

 

[LunarMist]

No, it's not generic so the point.

 

[Handruin]

Sorry to hear that Lunar

 

[Handruin]

This audio device is interesting. I've not seen such a complete all in one like this FiiO R7.

 

[ddrueding]

It does do a lot of things. So many things that, for my use cases, it would feel like overkill for any one of them. Very rarely is either a DAC or an amp with bluetooth support not the right answer for me.

 

[Handruin]

It does do a lot of things. So many things that, for my use cases, it would feel like overkill for any one of them. Very rarely is either a DAC or an amp with bluetooth support not the right answer for me.

I'm 100% with you that it does far more than I might want or need. I just like that it exists and seems relatively decent for all that it offers.

To your point, something like the Topping DX3pro+ is a much better value to concisely deliver those features without breaking the bank. I know there's a lot of amp and dac options these days.

 

[Mercutio]

Speaking of random audio ranting:

These days, I'm using all of the following in my home:
Plex for my local music files. This can be nice since I spent a long time going out of my way to collect and rip multichannel audio recordings, but it's also sluggish to use and relies on my home internet bandwidth, which isn't amazing when I'm not at home.

Amazon Music. I bought almost all my music from Amazon and I'm grandfathered in for the 200,000 uploaded tracks on the web player, plus Amazon is where almost all my playlists live. Amazon supports CD quality audio and in some cases supports Atmos sound on some devices for newer streaming tracks. The down side is that Amazon's app and web interfaces suck hardcore. The only reason Alexa is tolerable is the years I spent customizing playlists to do what I want. Amazon Music will also talk to my Plex Server, although it can't handle multichannel music. I'll go so far as to say that Amazon Music is actively regressing to the point of uselessness.

Spotify. It has the best and the fastest app experience. Everything is zippy. Every search, every download. Audio quality is hot garbage. It works OK for podcasts (I use Pocketcasts for that), but if I just want to listen to something where quality is important, it's blown away by everything else. I get my Spotify because one of my customers pays for his employees to have it. Spotify has been telling users for years that it's going to support CD-quality audio since 2019. It still does not do that. Spotify also has the most problems with misidentified recordings IMO. It loves to attribute albums to an ensemble or conductor rather than a composer.

My roommate uses Apple Music, so she's signed in to it via Alexa and on my STBs and AVRs. Apple is also fast and has good quality audio, but
I don't know of any way to to get it to recognize groups of smart speakers or to play on multiple Chromecast outputs, even when those are supposed to be supported directly by Apple. She ALSO falls back on Spotify, though in her case it's because she frequently switches between her earphones and listening on smart speakers, and since she doesn't use a Mac, that's something Apple Music doesn't do properly. It's just a button in Spotify or Amazon and apparently it's all sunshine and roses to go from Airpods to Mac to Homepod and deliberately crippled for everything else.

This is a first world problem, but there's no one streaming audio application that has all of full compatibility and quality of source audio, a good app AND multiple source playback.

 

[Handruin]

I've been fine with Spotify for my casual listening while working, doing home renovations, or in the car and it's been fine with their streaming quality to their "Very high" which is allegedly 320kbps Ogg Vorbis format. Usually this gets downgraded when streaming Bluetooth anyway but in those situations I'm not likely to care when I'm painting a wall or sanding something while listening to my Sony BT speaker. When I listen from my laptop that's wired to my Emotivas speakers it sounds pretty decent while working.

I agree for any critical listening a standard CD audio source would be preferred.

I've heard Tidal HiFi quality is FLAC or their Master quality is even higher but I've not tried their service or know if the user experience is any good.

 

[LunarMist]

I have no clue who needs that, but I'm not a fan of weenie little speakers.

 

[Handruin]

Are those headphones you're referring to?

 

[Mercutio]

I've heard Tidal HiFi quality is FLAC or their Master quality is even higher but I've not tried their service or know if the user experience is any good.

A/B testing between Spotify and either Apple or Amazon makes the difference pretty clear. The other guys are just delivering more bits per second. Apple and Amazon always deliver lossless-equivalent sound. This is Tidal's deal as well, from back when CD quality audio was more of a point of attraction. All those guys CAN deliver 24bit/192Hz audio (~3.5Mbit for audio on Amazon and 4Mbit on Tidal) on the highest setting, assuming there's a source for it.

Spotify tops out at 320kbps Ogg. Definitely not bad, but also a BIG and audible difference over anything nicer than $20 earbuds.

If you have access to both products, try listening to the track called "America" from the 2021 version of West Side Story on both Spotify and Amazon. It's pretty easy to hear, especially in the horns.

 

[ddrueding]

I just use YouTube Music Premium (256kbps AAC). I know it is technically inferior to many of the competitors, but it still sounds quite nice on my gear (in my sig).

My main reason for using it is just ease of use on my computer and Android, and that I'm already paying for YouTube anyway.

 

[ddrueding]

Has anyone noticed that our accounts here are (or just about) old enough to drink in the US? And that is without counting the time at SR...

 

[Handruin]

It is wild to reflect on how old our accounts are. Was it end of year 2000 or early 2001 this site came online? Strange feeling so old now.

 

[LunarMist]

It's all because Davin f'd up the database and then copied over the good one. It was ~December 28, 2001 based on what Tim told me.

 

[Mercutio]

SR doesn't even HAVE forums any longer. I do think I like the new site better than the previous ownership though.

 

[LunarMist]

The charts are whack. For example, the VD logins.

https://www.storagereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/StorageReview-Samsung-990-Pro-2TB-VDI-Monday-Login.png

 

[ddrueding]

SR doesn't even HAVE forums any longer. I do think I like the new site better than the previous ownership though.

Indeed. Quite happy with the light and effective hands at the wheel here. Probably helps that we are a smaller, tighter group, but that is fine with me.

 

[LunarMist]

I took Merc to mean the new vs. old owners of SR.