I had the same thought. The ballerina is incredibly talented, but so is her support.
Regarding the aerial collision at Washington’s Reagan airport; I was thinking about the difference between 200 and 300 feet. 2/3 of a football field compared to an entire football field. I often do uphill windsprints and many times have estimated 100 yards on a hill that is new to me and am later able to go back and measure it. My visual estimation is often off by 20 – 25 yards.
Visually estimating 100 feet (~33 yards) vertically, while hovering aloft, must be very difficult. Seems like it would be even harder than gauging it horizontally. But maybe experienced helicopter pilots are skilled at this?
“One-in-12 people living in London is an illegal immigrant, shock data reveals: Almost 600,000 of the capital’s residents have NO right to be in the UK, previously secret report says”
“ASYLUM INFLUX: More than 50 relatives of refugees are allowed to join them in Britain EVERY DAY – with the numbers trebling in a year”
Starker is giddy with the possibility of bringing down the UK.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
Sounds like the trainee pilot was out of position and the IP let it happen. Aided and abetted by short staff on ATC side. Some in the helo community say they should have had a fourth crewman aboard who would have given them extra eyes on the left side of the aircraft which is apparently common.
For the want of a nail or something like that.
Most everything you wanted to know about the extraordinary scope of Democratic Party Scammer schemes:
OTOH, when it comes to crime, the party that brought you Fast and Furious, Russiagate, the stolen 2020 election and the vast January 6 frame-up really should not be underestimated.
We get lots of helo traffic. Here are a Blackhawk and a Chinook. For scale, the reddish bush in left center is 110ft from the camera. The far shore is about 1700ft away at this state of tide. Note on the way back at twilight they are a lot higher and farther apart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtWSrcCy23M
Yep, when it comes to massive, systematic corruption, all roads lead to “Biden”…
(AND it’s one of the reasons why Menendez had to be Menendezed—Decent Joe don’t like anyone encroachin’ on what belongs to him, droit de seigneur ‘n all…)
Lots ‘n lots to keep Elon Musk busy!
(Hold on a sec. Isn’t Musk a Nazi??? — We have it on the absolutely highest authority…)
Hate to be redundant on PS Karoline Leavitt but it is so much fun watching what she does to DEM’s MSM progressive activists… 🙂
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has had a whirlwind two weeks in the job, winning legions of new fans for her putdowns and earning nicknames such as ‘fake news grim reaper’ and the ‘spinmeister’ … She has appeared in the briefing room twice in the past week and kept up a steady stream of TV appearances … The result has a slew of headlines complaining that Donald Trump is flooding the media with news, making it hard for factcheckers and opponents to hit back.
A literal ARMY of left-wing news sources, news rooms, investigative & Fact Checking reporters ‘n needed personnel, front-line reporters, Six O’clock & Eleven O’clock MSM news programs, etc. can’t keep up with President Trump!?!?!?!
Leavitt says there’s only one reason for the rapid pace in the White House press shop … ‘I think the main driver for doing so much in such a short amount of time is the president’s desire to deliver’ … He told his transition team he planned to sign as much as he could, as fast as he could, she continues, to show that he was going to keep his campaign promises … ‘And so we’ve done a lot,’ she says without the slightest hint of an apology. ‘I think it’s very difficult for the legacy media, especially the cable news folks, to keep up with all we are doing.’
Poor slow ‘n old “legacy media” and the “cable news folks” – snicker SNORT snicker…
I know this is an awfully popular site, but “Too Many Requests.”?
Anyone else getting that error message a lot today?
Cornflower … re: illegals invading London and all Britain:
It’s gut wrenching, from afar. And makes me ever more grateful how Nov. 5th went.
I wonder if Wales or Scotland is in a similar trouble?
Barry Meislin: “Starker is giddy with the possibility of bringing down the UK.”
Starker is “brother of another mother” to Obama and Biden, I’d say.
I’m sure they’d all get along well.
Karmi: “Karoline Leavitt doesn’t care if legacy media can’t keep up”
Yes, it’s all sooooo snicker SAAAADD! . LoL!!
…
And btw, days late but, thanks for your feedback /support on my getting back into the “modern” Windows laptop game.
I had a hell of a time with an HP laptop years ago. The customer support was the worst I’ve had! EVER! On ANYTHING!!
I’ve had a Sony VAIO ever since. Yep, that’s my Windows 7 “rock” — meaning I can’t get updates anymore. Soooo … I’m going to get a new laptop. Sigh … nearly as bad (to me) as shopping for a decent car. Heh.
I’m not a gamer, but would like good resolution, and I’m old enough to have vision problems.
Any advice on brands/models for a laptop under $1000 ?
Some suggest to stay away from Dell. (Sounded like my HP experience!)
Heh, it’s Scammers Wild!!!
(This one’s a spiritual one, though…)
File under: “If I had a scammer, I’d scammer in the morning, I’d scammer in the evening, all over this land…”)
Mike Plaiss:
Apparently it’s a bot attack. The server can’t handle it. It’s been happening more lately; I don’t know why, and so far there’s nothing I can do about it. Luckily it usually only lasts a little while. I have complained to my host. I hate the prospect of changing hosts – plus, there’s no guarantee another host would be better. If it keeps happening I’ll complain again.
Marlene:
My brother has used Dell laptops for years and would have nothing else. I bought a Dell XPS 13 9310 back in OCT of 2021, but it was over $1000. My brother’s are always much less than that.
Just called him and he’s had two Inspirons:
Dell Inspiron laptops are designed for everyday use at home or for light business, while Dell Latitude laptops are designed for business use. Dell Inspiron laptops are generally less expensive than Dell Latitude laptops
His first Inspiron still works, but the battery doesn’t, so he bought a new one in late 2021 instead of just getting a new battery…I have no clue (?!).
Depending on your needs…e.g., do you want a touch-screen or not. They show a Inspiron 15 Laptop: with 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1334U, Windows 11 Home, Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics, 16 GB DDR4, 1 TB SSD, and 15.6″ Non-Touch FHD (1920×1080) for $549.99 on sale now. I believe that is almost like my brothers that he bought in 2021, but newer CPU, etc. Jumps to $649.99 with Windows 11 Pro…
My first desktop computer was a Dell Viper back in 1992…something like $4000. It went thru lightning strikes, and survived until I rebuilt it and gave it to two Cuban kids who had just arrived in America. For lappies – I would only go with Dell…IMHO.
PS. Convert that old Sony VAIO to a Linux lappy, and it will almost be like new again…
I got that “too many requests” yesterday. Site was loading very slowly, I hit refresh, and got the message. I went away for a while and when I came back all was well.
@Marlene
I wonder if Wales or Scotland is in a similar trouble?
Not as much, for a couple of reasons.
First off, on the illegal front, England is between Europe and both Scotland and Wales for all practical purposes. Chunnel, ferries, or dinghy, they’re landing in England.
Second, the immigrant groups are city dwellers*, and while Wales has cities, and Scotland features a few big ones, none of that really compares to London.
The Welsh, and to a lesser degree, the Scots, also have a slightly higher place in the progressive stack, since they’re ‘oppressed’ by the English.
* Every few years, leftist pundits notice that the English countryside is infested with English, and conclude that they must be doing something to keep the non-English away.
Rufus @ 10:13am — Now you know why almost all flying machines have all those instruments. One of them tells the pilot how far down the ground is. Another shows whether your ride is right side up and parallel to the horizon, those things also getting confused when the normal reference points are not available.
There should have been no confusion as to what altitude the Blackhawk was flying at, least of all to the people with the instruments right in front of them.
I have shared this before.
My father had a red and white Cessna Super Skymaster. One bright sunny day we were up flying around so that I could play, I mean train with the nav equipment. We were in the traffic to return to Renton approaching from the North to land South to North. I am looking out the right side at a plane coming straight at us. We hear the tower say “Can you see the Skymaster? He is right in front of you.” I am looking at his prop boring in when my father made an immediate 360 left turn passing behind the guy. Most scared I have been I an airplane.
I’ve been a solid Thinkpad T-series guy since the 2000s. Mostly I buy refurbs off Amazon, which has worked out well for me. The shift from IBM (USA) to Lenovo (China) didn’t seem to hurt the quality.
The T-series isn’t the top of the line but is intended to be a high-end business machine. Not student or casual user level. My experience is that the Ts are solid road warrior machines.
Right now I’ve got 2 T-470 laptops and a T-430 over ten years old. All are working fine.
You can buy a decent T-470 refurb for $200. However, those are Windows 10 machines and can’t be upgraded to Windows 11 without hacking.
For Windows 11 you would have to get a T14 — $300 refurb. I haven’t bought any of those.
Marlene – here’s an update to February 1, 2025 at 2:38 pm:
After a night to sleep on it – and reading huxley on February 1, 2025 at 8:24 pm – I have some more info for you. The specs on the Inspiron 15 Laptop mentioned for $549.99 looked like something that you might like; however, if 15-16” display is too big for you then maybe search for: Inspiron + Latitude + 14 inch + Non-Touch Screen at the Dell Laptop laptop page.
Example: 1) Inspiron 14 – Laptop $599.99 was $749.99, Intel® Core™ 5 120U, Windows 11 Home, Intel® Graphics, 16 GB DDR5, 1 TB SSD, 14″ Non-Touch FHD+ (1920×1200 is a 16:10 aspect ratio compared to 1920×1080 at 16:9). Also, the Latitude “Business” model is another option at more money.
Any product can have a lemon, but for me—if buying a PC then I’m buying a Dell (UPDATE: or Sony VAIO). I purchased that Dell XPS 13 because I had seen it rated for years as the Top Laptop. I saved money for it & purchased it at a time of year that their lappies had good sales in Sept. Am not a laptop person (I build my own desktops) but wanted one in case I ended up in the hospital for a long period. Dells can have lemons, but they have good support from experience and my brother’s experience.
HP’s … I had a Linux Blog and conducted tests on Chromebooks to see if they could be converted to a Linux laptop. 2 HP’s were very well built—the cheap one has a terrible display, but the $200-215 one was an excellent 14” laptop, but neither could be converted to a real Linux laptop with my choice of Linux Distro (OS). The 3rd test Chromebook was a 12.2” Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 XE521QAB – here is a post on converting it to Linux:
I don’t know how Chromebook OEM’s can build such great lappies at such low prices!? I can’t stand Chrome OS, but the 3 lappies I tested were excellent—other than the $160 HP with 1280 x 720 (800?) display. A grand nephew uses that Samsung at college…
Have heard some people have luck with used and/or refurbished laptops—not for me personally, but huxley’s comment on the Lenovo Thinkpad T-series talked me into checking the new ones out. Wouldn’t buy a Lenovo lappy personally—just don’t trust the Chinese Govt, but our own Govt is almost as bad. My Lenovo 9” Tablet that was recently purchased – is very well built and works great. Have read that Lenovo’s support is good, and their repairs are great. Personal choices…so to speak.
Looks like ThinkPads might be having a sale now (?). ThinkPads. A “FEATURED DEAL” is a ThinkPad E14 Gen 6 Intel (14?) @ $822.64 was $1469 with – Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 125U Processor (E-cores up to 3.60 GHz P-cores up to 4.30 GHz), Windows 11 Pro, Integrated Intel® Graphics, 16 GB DDR5-5600MHz (SODIMM), 512 GB SSD M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4 TLC Opal, and a 14″ WUXGA (1920 x 1200), IPS, Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, 45%NTSC, 300 nits, 60Hz display. That price jumps to $1049.75 when dropping Windows 11 from Pro to Home, and adding a 1 TB SSD M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4 TLC Opal storage drive. Some people need bigger drives…
Lastly, you have a Sony VAIO that has served you well – ‘that’s my Windows 7 “rock”’ – so here’s some info on a new one. *DURN*!!! They look like excellent well built machines…Geez! Looks like the F Series are within your budget range of less than “$1000”.
1) 16” – starting @ $960.00: Windows 11 Home, 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1335U CPU, 6” LCD IPS FHD Display, (1920 x 1200), Narrow-Bezel, Intel® Iris® Xe graphics, 16GB Memory (RAM), and a 1TB Solid State Drive.
2) 14” – starting @ $880: Windows 11 Home, 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1335U, 14” LCD IPS FHD Display, (1920 x 1080), Narrow-Bezel, Intel® Iris® Xe graphics, 16GB Memory (RAM), and a 1TB Solid State Drive.
Conclusion
That was fun, Marlene, and thanks for asking my “advice”! I tried to get you at 16GB Memory (RAM) and a 1TB storage drive – display size would be for you to consider on. Windows 11 Home or Pro are both fine. Sony VAIO’s bold…:
Crafted for Business, Designed for Life
…quote stood out for me. Would definitely consider buying one myself…so a lesson learned from you. Good luck with your purchase, and please keep me up to date one it…
“JNS senior contributing editor Caroline Glick appointed as adviser to Netanyahu”
“Life takes you in different directions, and I am going back to the office where I worked nearly three decades ago as the prime minister leads Israel through the most difficult period in the history of the Jewish state,” Glick told JNS on Wednesday. “I take it as a profound compliment that at this critical juncture in our history, Prime Minister Netanyahu has asked me to join him as he continues his historic fight to secure the future of the Jewish state and people.”
Open Thread Sunday: Armaments
Next Generation Fighter Programs – The multinational race for air superiority (with Justin Bronk) – Perun
Timestamps:
00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:01:00 — Welcome Back to Justin Bronk
00:01:10 — What We’re Talking About?
00:03:15 — NGAD
00:15:22 — GXAP & Tempest
00:31:50 — FCAS/SCAF
00:40:49 — Russia
00:57:08 — Investment Decision & Teaming
01:04:37 — Channel Update
David Sacks returns to the All-In Podcast to offer some additional insight into the DeepSeek R1 model.
Couple of points. The $6 million is very ambiguous and probably was the amount spent for the final training run.
Still very innovative and might show that it was definitely done on a budget– though he thinks the budget (total cost to produce the R1 model is probably closer to $1 billion). It does show that the Chinese are closer to US technology companies than thought– possible only 3 to 6 months behind, since R1 is comparable to ChatGPT 01.
Not in this cut of the Podcast, it was amusing to learn that a pervious iteration of DeepSeek, when asked who it was, said ChatGPT. There is much more in the full podcast.
I don’t have any laptops as my work laptops were always company provided Dell Latitudes and my wife always had two or three work provided HPs. However my both my wife’s Windows 10 boxes have to be replaced. One I built (Pentium/win 95 => Win 98 => Core 2 Quad/XP => Win 7 => Win 10). The other is an Intel NUC Core i7. Her third is an Apple mini. She just decided wants a laptop to replace the other two when support ends or before.
Re: Intel NUC Core i7
Chases Eagles:
I’ve had the Intel NUC 9, Core i7 since 2021. Very happy with it.
Before I built most of my desktop PCs, but from now on I’ll stick with NUC style machines.
Marlene, my wife prefers a very small, light, laptop which she hooks up to a big display, external mouse & keyboard. Last 2 were HP, working well. (Almost 20 years ago, HP bought Compaq to become a better laptop maker. IBM sold out PC making to Lenovo. Both decisions in response to dominance of Dell.)
Karmi did fine work on PC models, but I don’t advise Linux for those not into tech admin enough to do their own configurations, like I’m telling my YA son.
Tom Grey
..I don’t advise Linux for those not into tech admin enough to do their own configurations..
C’mon Mr. Grey!? 😉 People didn’t have a clue about Android when mobile phones started out…now many are handling TV OSes, smart phones with ease, smart homes, and some of those autos have all kinds of technical stuff being ran by some OS.
I was talking about Marlene restoring her ‘Windows 7 “rock”‘ Sony VAIO to an almost new backup lappy. Linux has some easy to use distros (OSes) – with the Cinnamon Desktop Environment (DE) that is very similar to Windows desktops.
Ubuntu Cinnamon is very stable, lots of drivers, and easy to install. Lots of new Linux users swear by Linux Mint.
Certainly not for everyone tho…I just mention it when talking about old computers, but am definitely a Windows 11 person…
Elon Musk and President Donald Trump shut down the embattled government agency tasked with humanitarian relief overseas after they agreed the organization was ‘beyond repair’.
‘It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm it in,’ Musk said of the six-decade U.S. international aid and development agency. ‘What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.’
Don’t Know Much – about global economic stuff, so wonder how big the American buying market is when compared to other buying markets. Should others pay to enter our buying market?
Reporters: Are you going to impose tariffs on the European Union?
Trump: “Do you want the truthful answer or the political answer?”
Reporters: “The truthful answer.”
Trump: “Absolutely.”
Wife’s mini pc is a NUC 6. Since she uses an iPhone and Mac mini I think I have her leaning towards a Windows 11 Asus NUC 14 and an iPad Air. But fickle she can be. Then I can address my own. I also use a NUC 6 and a Windows 10 i5 that I built in 2016. Mostly I use a Windows 7 Dell Studio from 2010 that I keep off the internet.
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Having a ballerina’s toe spinning on your shoulder can’t be easy either!?
******
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room – ’Any more Questions’
Karmi,
I had the same thought. The ballerina is incredibly talented, but so is her support.
Regarding the aerial collision at Washington’s Reagan airport; I was thinking about the difference between 200 and 300 feet. 2/3 of a football field compared to an entire football field. I often do uphill windsprints and many times have estimated 100 yards on a hill that is new to me and am later able to go back and measure it. My visual estimation is often off by 20 – 25 yards.
Visually estimating 100 feet (~33 yards) vertically, while hovering aloft, must be very difficult. Seems like it would be even harder than gauging it horizontally. But maybe experienced helicopter pilots are skilled at this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JpJ7n3MHjg
Just another open-thread comment about something I read somewhere else.
Here are two stories that suggest some interesting demographic math for London and the end of the English. I haven’t tried to verify the data.
1. From the “Daily Mail” 22 Jan 2025 (https://archive.is/AJ1Qb):
“One-in-12 people living in London is an illegal immigrant, shock data reveals: Almost 600,000 of the capital’s residents have NO right to be in the UK, previously secret report says”
2. From “The Sun” 25 Jan 2025 (https://tinyurl.com/2n3yrtjt):
“ASYLUM INFLUX: More than 50 relatives of refugees are allowed to join them in Britain EVERY DAY – with the numbers trebling in a year”
Starker is giddy with the possibility of bringing down the UK.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
Sounds like the trainee pilot was out of position and the IP let it happen. Aided and abetted by short staff on ATC side. Some in the helo community say they should have had a fourth crewman aboard who would have given them extra eyes on the left side of the aircraft which is apparently common.
For the want of a nail or something like that.
Most everything you wanted to know about the extraordinary scope of Democratic Party Scammer schemes:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/treasury-depts-highest-ranking-career-official-rage-quits-after-musks-doge-team-probes
OTOH, when it comes to crime, the party that brought you Fast and Furious, Russiagate, the stolen 2020 election and the vast January 6 frame-up really should not be underestimated.
We get lots of helo traffic. Here are a Blackhawk and a Chinook. For scale, the reddish bush in left center is 110ft from the camera. The far shore is about 1700ft away at this state of tide. Note on the way back at twilight they are a lot higher and farther apart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtWSrcCy23M
Yep, when it comes to massive, systematic corruption, all roads lead to “Biden”…
(AND it’s one of the reasons why Menendez had to be Menendezed—Decent Joe don’t like anyone encroachin’ on what belongs to him, droit de seigneur ‘n all…)
Lots ‘n lots to keep Elon Musk busy!
(Hold on a sec. Isn’t Musk a Nazi??? — We have it on the absolutely highest authority…)
Hate to be redundant on PS Karoline Leavitt but it is so much fun watching what she does to DEM’s MSM progressive activists… 🙂
Karoline Leavitt doesn’t care if legacy media can’t keep up: Trump’s unapologetic ‘fake news grim reaper’, 27, on why she won’t slow down
A literal ARMY of left-wing news sources, news rooms, investigative & Fact Checking reporters ‘n needed personnel, front-line reporters, Six O’clock & Eleven O’clock MSM news programs, etc. can’t keep up with President Trump!?!?!?!
Poor slow ‘n old “legacy media” and the “cable news folks” – snicker SNORT snicker…
I know this is an awfully popular site, but “Too Many Requests.”?
Anyone else getting that error message a lot today?
Cornflower … re: illegals invading London and all Britain:
It’s gut wrenching, from afar. And makes me ever more grateful how Nov. 5th went.
I wonder if Wales or Scotland is in a similar trouble?
Barry Meislin: “Starker is giddy with the possibility of bringing down the UK.”
Starker is “brother of another mother” to Obama and Biden, I’d say.
I’m sure they’d all get along well.
Karmi: “Karoline Leavitt doesn’t care if legacy media can’t keep up”
Yes, it’s all sooooo snicker SAAAADD! . LoL!!
…
And btw, days late but, thanks for your feedback /support on my getting back into the “modern” Windows laptop game.
I had a hell of a time with an HP laptop years ago. The customer support was the worst I’ve had! EVER! On ANYTHING!!
I’ve had a Sony VAIO ever since. Yep, that’s my Windows 7 “rock” — meaning I can’t get updates anymore. Soooo … I’m going to get a new laptop. Sigh … nearly as bad (to me) as shopping for a decent car. Heh.
I’m not a gamer, but would like good resolution, and I’m old enough to have vision problems.
Any advice on brands/models for a laptop under $1000 ?
Some suggest to stay away from Dell. (Sounded like my HP experience!)
Heh, it’s Scammers Wild!!!
(This one’s a spiritual one, though…)
“Episcopal bishop lectures Trump while earning taxpayer millions to bring migrants into US”—
https://nypost.com/2025/01/31/opinion/episcopal-bishop-lectures-trump-while-earning-taxpayer-millions-to-bring-migrants-into-us/
File under: “If I had a scammer, I’d scammer in the morning, I’d scammer in the evening, all over this land…”)
Mike Plaiss:
Apparently it’s a bot attack. The server can’t handle it. It’s been happening more lately; I don’t know why, and so far there’s nothing I can do about it. Luckily it usually only lasts a little while. I have complained to my host. I hate the prospect of changing hosts – plus, there’s no guarantee another host would be better. If it keeps happening I’ll complain again.
Marlene:
My brother has used Dell laptops for years and would have nothing else. I bought a Dell XPS 13 9310 back in OCT of 2021, but it was over $1000. My brother’s are always much less than that.
Just called him and he’s had two Inspirons:
His first Inspiron still works, but the battery doesn’t, so he bought a new one in late 2021 instead of just getting a new battery…I have no clue (?!).
Find the right laptop for you
Depending on your needs…e.g., do you want a touch-screen or not. They show a Inspiron 15 Laptop: with 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1334U, Windows 11 Home, Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics, 16 GB DDR4, 1 TB SSD, and 15.6″ Non-Touch FHD (1920×1080) for $549.99 on sale now. I believe that is almost like my brothers that he bought in 2021, but newer CPU, etc. Jumps to $649.99 with Windows 11 Pro…
My first desktop computer was a Dell Viper back in 1992…something like $4000. It went thru lightning strikes, and survived until I rebuilt it and gave it to two Cuban kids who had just arrived in America. For lappies – I would only go with Dell…IMHO.
PS. Convert that old Sony VAIO to a Linux lappy, and it will almost be like new again…
I got that “too many requests” yesterday. Site was loading very slowly, I hit refresh, and got the message. I went away for a while and when I came back all was well.
@Marlene
Not as much, for a couple of reasons.
First off, on the illegal front, England is between Europe and both Scotland and Wales for all practical purposes. Chunnel, ferries, or dinghy, they’re landing in England.
Second, the immigrant groups are city dwellers*, and while Wales has cities, and Scotland features a few big ones, none of that really compares to London.
The Welsh, and to a lesser degree, the Scots, also have a slightly higher place in the progressive stack, since they’re ‘oppressed’ by the English.
* Every few years, leftist pundits notice that the English countryside is infested with English, and conclude that they must be doing something to keep the non-English away.
Rufus @ 10:13am — Now you know why almost all flying machines have all those instruments. One of them tells the pilot how far down the ground is. Another shows whether your ride is right side up and parallel to the horizon, those things also getting confused when the normal reference points are not available.
There should have been no confusion as to what altitude the Blackhawk was flying at, least of all to the people with the instruments right in front of them.
I have shared this before.
My father had a red and white Cessna Super Skymaster. One bright sunny day we were up flying around so that I could play, I mean train with the nav equipment. We were in the traffic to return to Renton approaching from the North to land South to North. I am looking out the right side at a plane coming straight at us. We hear the tower say “Can you see the Skymaster? He is right in front of you.” I am looking at his prop boring in when my father made an immediate 360 left turn passing behind the guy. Most scared I have been I an airplane.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_Skymaster#/media/File:Cessna_337_(8735367365).jpg
Re: Windows laptops
I’ve been a solid Thinkpad T-series guy since the 2000s. Mostly I buy refurbs off Amazon, which has worked out well for me. The shift from IBM (USA) to Lenovo (China) didn’t seem to hurt the quality.
The T-series isn’t the top of the line but is intended to be a high-end business machine. Not student or casual user level. My experience is that the Ts are solid road warrior machines.
Right now I’ve got 2 T-470 laptops and a T-430 over ten years old. All are working fine.
You can buy a decent T-470 refurb for $200. However, those are Windows 10 machines and can’t be upgraded to Windows 11 without hacking.
For Windows 11 you would have to get a T14 — $300 refurb. I haven’t bought any of those.
Marlene – here’s an update to February 1, 2025 at 2:38 pm:
After a night to sleep on it – and reading huxley on February 1, 2025 at 8:24 pm – I have some more info for you. The specs on the Inspiron 15 Laptop mentioned for $549.99 looked like something that you might like; however, if 15-16” display is too big for you then maybe search for: Inspiron + Latitude + 14 inch + Non-Touch Screen at the Dell Laptop laptop page.
Example: 1) Inspiron 14 – Laptop $599.99 was
$749.99, Intel® Core™ 5 120U, Windows 11 Home, Intel® Graphics, 16 GB DDR5, 1 TB SSD, 14″ Non-Touch FHD+ (1920×1200 is a 16:10 aspect ratio compared to 1920×1080 at 16:9). Also, the Latitude “Business” model is another option at more money.Any product can have a lemon, but for me—if buying a PC then I’m buying a Dell (UPDATE: or Sony VAIO). I purchased that Dell XPS 13 because I had seen it rated for years as the Top Laptop. I saved money for it & purchased it at a time of year that their lappies had good sales in Sept. Am not a laptop person (I build my own desktops) but wanted one in case I ended up in the hospital for a long period. Dells can have lemons, but they have good support from experience and my brother’s experience.
HP’s … I had a Linux Blog and conducted tests on Chromebooks to see if they could be converted to a Linux laptop. 2 HP’s were very well built—the cheap one has a terrible display, but the $200-215 one was an excellent 14” laptop, but neither could be converted to a real Linux laptop with my choice of Linux Distro (OS). The 3rd test Chromebook was a 12.2” Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 XE521QAB – here is a post on converting it to Linux:
How to turn a $314.57 Chromebook into a Fedora Linux Laptop/Tablet/Sketchbook
I don’t know how Chromebook OEM’s can build such great lappies at such low prices!? I can’t stand Chrome OS, but the 3 lappies I tested were excellent—other than the $160 HP with 1280 x 720 (800?) display. A grand nephew uses that Samsung at college…
Have heard some people have luck with used and/or refurbished laptops—not for me personally, but huxley’s comment on the Lenovo Thinkpad T-series talked me into checking the new ones out. Wouldn’t buy a Lenovo lappy personally—just don’t trust the Chinese Govt, but our own Govt is almost as bad. My Lenovo 9” Tablet that was recently purchased – is very well built and works great. Have read that Lenovo’s support is good, and their repairs are great. Personal choices…so to speak.
Looks like ThinkPads might be having a sale now (?). ThinkPads. A “FEATURED DEAL” is a ThinkPad E14 Gen 6 Intel (14?) @ $822.64 was
$1469with – Intel® Core™ Ultra 5 125U Processor (E-cores up to 3.60 GHz P-cores up to 4.30 GHz), Windows 11 Pro, Integrated Intel® Graphics, 16 GB DDR5-5600MHz (SODIMM), 512 GB SSD M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4 TLC Opal, and a 14″ WUXGA (1920 x 1200), IPS, Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, 45%NTSC, 300 nits, 60Hz display. That price jumps to $1049.75 when dropping Windows 11 from Pro to Home, and adding a 1 TB SSD M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4 TLC Opal storage drive. Some people need bigger drives…Lastly, you have a Sony VAIO that has served you well – ‘that’s my Windows 7 “rock”’ – so here’s some info on a new one. *DURN*!!! They look like excellent well built machines…Geez! Looks like the F Series are within your budget range of less than “$1000”.
F Series show two:
1) 16” – starting @ $960.00: Windows 11 Home, 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1335U CPU, 6” LCD IPS FHD Display, (1920 x 1200), Narrow-Bezel, Intel® Iris® Xe graphics, 16GB Memory (RAM), and a 1TB Solid State Drive.
2) 14” – starting @ $880: Windows 11 Home, 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1335U, 14” LCD IPS FHD Display, (1920 x 1080), Narrow-Bezel, Intel® Iris® Xe graphics, 16GB Memory (RAM), and a 1TB Solid State Drive.
Conclusion
That was fun, Marlene, and thanks for asking my “advice”! I tried to get you at 16GB Memory (RAM) and a 1TB storage drive – display size would be for you to consider on. Windows 11 Home or Pro are both fine. Sony VAIO’s bold…:
…quote stood out for me. Would definitely consider buying one myself…so a lesson learned from you. Good luck with your purchase, and please keep me up to date one it…
https://x.com/JNS_org/status/1885947775466037349
https://www.jns.org/caroline-glick-appointed-as-adviser-to-netanyahu/
“JNS senior contributing editor Caroline Glick appointed as adviser to Netanyahu”
Open Thread Sunday: Armaments
Next Generation Fighter Programs – The multinational race for air superiority (with Justin Bronk) – Perun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTjdEtHYDJ4
David Sacks returns to the All-In Podcast to offer some additional insight into the DeepSeek R1 model.
Couple of points. The $6 million is very ambiguous and probably was the amount spent for the final training run.
Still very innovative and might show that it was definitely done on a budget– though he thinks the budget (total cost to produce the R1 model is probably closer to $1 billion). It does show that the Chinese are closer to US technology companies than thought– possible only 3 to 6 months behind, since R1 is comparable to ChatGPT 01.
Not in this cut of the Podcast, it was amusing to learn that a pervious iteration of DeepSeek, when asked who it was, said ChatGPT. There is much more in the full podcast.
AI Czar David Sacks Explains the DeepSeek Freak Out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j00YbDJwMNQ
The full espisode:
DeepSeek Panic, US vs China, OpenAI $40B?, and Doge Delivers with Travis Kalanick and David Sacks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RkgkOqWs0s
I don’t have any laptops as my work laptops were always company provided Dell Latitudes and my wife always had two or three work provided HPs. However my both my wife’s Windows 10 boxes have to be replaced. One I built (Pentium/win 95 => Win 98 => Core 2 Quad/XP => Win 7 => Win 10). The other is an Intel NUC Core i7. Her third is an Apple mini. She just decided wants a laptop to replace the other two when support ends or before.
Re: Intel NUC Core i7
Chases Eagles:
I’ve had the Intel NUC 9, Core i7 since 2021. Very happy with it.
Before I built most of my desktop PCs, but from now on I’ll stick with NUC style machines.
Marlene, my wife prefers a very small, light, laptop which she hooks up to a big display, external mouse & keyboard. Last 2 were HP, working well. (Almost 20 years ago, HP bought Compaq to become a better laptop maker. IBM sold out PC making to Lenovo. Both decisions in response to dominance of Dell.)
Karmi did fine work on PC models, but I don’t advise Linux for those not into tech admin enough to do their own configurations, like I’m telling my YA son.
Tom Grey
C’mon Mr. Grey!? 😉 People didn’t have a clue about Android when mobile phones started out…now many are handling TV OSes, smart phones with ease, smart homes, and some of those autos have all kinds of technical stuff being ran by some OS.
I was talking about Marlene restoring her ‘Windows 7 “rock”‘ Sony VAIO to an almost new backup lappy. Linux has some easy to use distros (OSes) – with the Cinnamon Desktop Environment (DE) that is very similar to Windows desktops.
Ubuntu Cinnamon is very stable, lots of drivers, and easy to install. Lots of new Linux users swear by Linux Mint.
Certainly not for everyone tho…I just mention it when talking about old computers, but am definitely a Windows 11 person…
Elon shuts down USAID after Trump agrees 60-year-old foreign aid agency is ‘beyond repair’ as 10,000 employees face the chop
Don’t Know Much – about global economic stuff, so wonder how big the American buying market is when compared to other buying markets. Should others pay to enter our buying market?
President Trump responds to speculation that he will impose tariffs on European Union countries.
Wife’s mini pc is a NUC 6. Since she uses an iPhone and Mac mini I think I have her leaning towards a Windows 11 Asus NUC 14 and an iPad Air. But fickle she can be. Then I can address my own. I also use a NUC 6 and a Windows 10 i5 that I built in 2016. Mostly I use a Windows 7 Dell Studio from 2010 that I keep off the internet.