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GottaDEAL 2021 Black Friday Prize Club Thread

Brad

By Brad
in 2021

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ytmomof4

ytmomof4

Posted
Posted
Happy August! Late checking in this month. It’s been a crazy busy one. Daughter had a pretty big surgery this week. She is doing fantastic better then I thought she would be this soon.
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Bopeep

Bopeep

Posted
Posted

We had a great time in Vegas, but I'm sure glad to be home!  Now, if I could only keep my eyes open while at my desk "working", that would be great :).

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freesia39

freesia39

Posted
Posted

We had a great time in Vegas, but I'm sure glad to be home!  Now, if I could only keep my eyes open while at my desk "working", that would be great :).

 

That's good! What did you wind up doing?

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packratfamily

packratfamily

Posted
Posted

Hi . Late checking in this month. The only good thing is that I have lost my appetite and lost over 20#. But will never be too thin.

The funny part is I am almost at my drivers license weight.

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Bopeep

Bopeep

Posted
Posted

That's good! What did you wind up doing?

Walked and walked and walked. LOL  

 

I think we hit most of the highlights we wanted. We watched the fountains at Bellagio 2 or 3 times. We went to several of the casino's on the strip. We went over to Freemont Street (and zip lined down it! - major accomplishment for my heights averse self :)).  My favorite part of the trip was the Venetian! I could have lived in there for days and not gotten tired of it.

 Pw7pr7jl.jpg

 

The only thing we didn't do that I had on my list was visit the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory. I wanted to watch them mold the chocolates. But that wasn't a big deal.

  • Like 3
rlbarajas

rlbarajas

Posted
Posted

Walked and walked and walked. LOL

 

I think we hit most of the highlights we wanted. We watched the fountains at Bellagio 2 or 3 times. We went to several of the casino's on the strip. We went over to Freemont Street (and zip lined down it! - major accomplishment for my heights averse self :)). My favorite part of the trip was the Venetian! I could have lived in there for days and not gotten tired of it.

Pw7pr7jl.jpg

 

The only thing we didn't do that I had on my list was visit the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory. I wanted to watch them mold the chocolates. But that wasn't a big deal.

I have always wanted to go to Vegas. I hear its a lot fun with all the shows and things to see. I hate asking people to watch my kids so i was going to wait until they got old enough to stay on their own until my cousin told me recently she takes her 11 yo daughter and they go on a girls trip with her mom and sister.

 

The chocolate factory sounds cool. I like going to places like that.

rlbarajas

rlbarajas

Posted
Posted

Hi . Late checking in this month. The only good thing is that I have lost my appetite and lost over 20#. But will never be too thin.

The funny part is I am almost at my drivers license weight.

Hopefully things are okay and you have good reasons for losing your appetite. Losing weight is always hard, something i need to start working on. I’ve been trying to work on my mental health first and it looks like things are going well… however school just started so hopefully it will be nothing like last year [emoji23]

  • Like 1
freesia39

freesia39

Posted
Posted

I have always wanted to go to Vegas. I hear its a lot fun with all the shows and things to see. I hate asking people to watch my kids so i was going to wait until they got old enough to stay on their own until my cousin told me recently she takes her 11 yo daughter and they go on a girls trip with her mom and sister.

 

The chocolate factory sounds cool. I like going to places like that.

 

There's plenty to do for kids in Vegas as well, so keep that in mind. I mean Circus Circus has an amusement park and the midway, New York New York has a roller coaster and midway too (or used to, not sure if they still do) and Excalibur feels more geared towards families. 

  • Like 1
Gator Pam

Gator Pam

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hopefully things are okay and you have good reasons for losing your appetite. Losing weight is always hard, something i need to start working on. I’ve been trying to work on my mental health first and it looks like things are going well… however school just started so hopefully it will be nothing like last year [emoji23]

^this^

 

As someone who developed a bleeding duodenal ulcer in response to the pain killer regimine I was put on after my DIEP FLAP reconstruction surgery, I remember the lack of appetite and lethargy I developed due to becoming severely anemic. I hope all is well.

Edited by Gator Pam
  • Like 1
jesusluvu

jesusluvu

Posted
Posted

I have always wanted to go to Vegas. I hear its a lot fun with all the shows and things to see. I hate asking people to watch my kids so i was going to wait until they got old enough to stay on their own until my cousin told me recently she takes her 11 yo daughter and they go on a girls trip with her mom and sister.

 

The chocolate factory sounds cool. I like going to places like that.

Me too. My wife's aunt lives there and we plan on going. Everyone that I know that has been really enjoyed themselves. 

bluebear

bluebear

Posted
Posted (edited)

Ugh. The Halo Xbox Console went on pre-order today, and I didn't know anything about it. :( Sadness.

 

ETA. I found one at Walmart! Yay! I have failed getting an Xbox and PS5 this year, so this feels like a great victory.

Edited by bluebear
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len_mullen

len_mullen

Posted
Posted

Ugh. The Halo Xbox Console went on pre-order today, and I didn't know anything about it. :( Sadness.

 

ETA. I found one at Walmart! Yay! I have failed getting an Xbox and PS5 this year, so this feels like a great victory.

 

I paid full freight for an Xbox One Series X last year.  I can't tell you how many hours I spent trying to secure it.  I was relieved when I finally prevailed, but I am still butt hurt for paying retail.

  • Like 2
packratfamily

packratfamily

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hopefully things are okay and you have good reasons for losing your appetite. Losing weight is always hard, something i need to start working on. I’ve been trying to work on my mental health first and it looks like things are going well… however school just started so hopefully it will be nothing like last year [emoji23]

Hi. thanks. Things are ok on that front.

I am determined to get weight off my achy knees. And am healthy.

Edited by packratfamily
bluebear

bluebear

Posted
Posted

Today was the day for my new granddaughter to be born.

But... it's a boy! :)

 

My poor daughter was in shock. And oh my goodness, all the pink...

But both are doing good, and now I get to go shopping again!

  • Like 6
magickallight

magickallight

Posted
Posted

Today was the day for my new granddaughter to be born.

But... it's a boy! :)

 

My poor daughter was in shock. And oh my goodness, all the pink...

But both are doing good, and now I get to go shopping again!

This happened to me - only I was told it was a boy (so lots of blue) but it was a girl - only that was 36 years ago! Didn't think that could STILL happen!

 

Either way - congratulations to your daughter and to you, grandma - such a blessing!

 

20210826194408x250x179.jpg

  • Like 1
Bopeep

Bopeep

Posted
Posted

Today was the day for my new granddaughter to be born.

But... it's a boy! :)

 

My poor daughter was in shock. And oh my goodness, all the pink...

But both are doing good, and now I get to go shopping again!

Congratulations!  

And I know what you mean. There were 37 dresses hanging in the closet the day my son was born 30 years ago (I had not had a sonogram, but my mother was convinced it was a girl because of the heart rate, how I carried, all those old wives' tales).

  • Like 1
bluebear

bluebear

Posted
Posted

This happened to me - only I was told it was a boy (so lots of blue) but it was a girl - only that was 36 years ago! Didn't think that could STILL happen!

 

Either way - congratulations to your daughter and to you, grandma - such a blessing!

 

20210826194408x250x179.jpg

Thank you! I'm excited. And we've been wondering the same thing. She had 3 or 4 ultrasounds, some were even the fancy 3D things that cost $$$. The first one was only at like 15 weeks when they called it, and I think it was probably still a little too early, and then I guess they never checked again.

  • Like 1
bluebear

bluebear

Posted
Posted

Congratulations!

And I know what you mean. There were 37 dresses hanging in the closet the day my son was born 30 years ago (I had not had a sonogram, but my mother was convinced it was a girl because of the heart rate, how I carried, all those old wives' tales).

Thanks! And oh my goodness!

My daughter turns 30 this year as well. I did have an ultrasound, but they said, "I'm pretty sure it's a girl..." so I mostly planned for that, but I had a boy name ready, and a neutral color nursery. But I did also have only one (pink) going home outfit so luckily they were right!

 

At least he'll come home to a dinosaur room. Pink and purple dinosaurs, but dinos nonetheless!

  • Like 2
budgetsRsexy

budgetsRsexy

Posted
Posted

Hey everyone, I’ve been MIA for quite some time. I’ve only just starting to come back out of hiding so to speak and I’ve been trying to catch up on everyone’s stories here on the forum.

 

It seems like everyone has had quite a roller coaster of a year. To those of you that have had new family members and new houses, congratulations. To those who have struggled with health (either physical or mental) or jobs, my heart goes out to you.

 

For me, covid was a huge source of a lot of work stress and long hours. There were times where I didn’t know if my employer company was going to survive and if I’d have a job in a week. Then there was the stress of me being very high risk and with that the isolation in order to stay safe and hopefully healthy. Like everyone else I tried to adapt but I wasn’t able to manage under the stress terribly well. I got very depressed. I became introverted. I couldn’t even get into the holiday spirit and only managed to get my tree up on Christmas Eve. My depression got worse and led to insomnia and then over eating. I regained all the weight that I had worked so hard to lose which just made the depression worse. Then on my birthday in March we had to put our dog of almost 13 years down due to nasal cancer (it was very sudden and unexpected). Im vaccinated now (since April) and my job has finally started to get back to normal. Im currently working hard on trying to reconnect with people and get back into better eating habits, both of which should help my mental health. Eventually I will work on getting back into an exercise routine and doing more outings that i still feel are safe. I feel like things are heading in the right direction and that I’ve got a better handle on things.

 

So that’s what has been going on in my life since I last posted. I’m glad to see you all are still on here. I just wanted to say hi and let you know that I’ve missed the community here. I look forward to being more active on here and keeping up with all the fun.

  • Like 7
starbeck96

starbeck96

Posted
Posted

20210814225132x250x192.jpg

Thank you!

Today was the day for my new granddaughter to be born.

But... it's a boy! :)

 

My poor daughter was in shock. And oh my goodness, all the pink...

But both are doing good, and now I get to go shopping again!

Congratulations!  This happened to my sister except she was supposed to have a boy and it was a girl.  It worked out well though, because now my daughter and my niece are only 9 months apart.  So, they've grown up being good friends.

  • Like 2
len_mullen

len_mullen

Posted
Posted

Most of the time, I watch television on a TiVo Roamio/OTA.  I have five of these and am in the process of upgrading each to 3t.  I carefully select programming to record on each to facilitate the whole of them as a 10t program and movie archive.  I would not pay $800 for any set top box.  I got my first three for $300 (May of 2015x2 and August of 2015) each with the 'all in' service.  I added the last two (November of 2016 and November of 2017) at $200 each with 'all in'.  The two Minis are attached to less used televisions.  The Minis are supposed to be wired, but I find they work fine using ethernet over premise wiring.  TiVo requires an internet connection at least once every two weeks to function.

 

I do not think TiVo will be in the set top DVR business for long.  I do not expect them to release an ATSC 3.0 set top DVR.  I do not expect them to pull the plug on their service any time soon and broadcasters are required to simulcast ATSC 1.0 for five years after transitioning to ATSC 3.0.  I can live with that.  To date, I have had the five TiVos for a total of 316 months with a cost per month per TiVo of $4.11.

 

I have a couple SiliconDust HDHomeRuns.  I bought these to add Live TV to my Plex server.  I mostly use them to point, monitor, and maintain my antennas.  These could be my ATSC 3.0 solution as additional ATSC 3.0 (already available) could be integrated into my existing infrastructure.

 

I cannot remember life before Plex.  I've used Plex to serve up videos for as long as I can remember.  I paid for a Plex Pass so that I could watch and record broadcast television via an HDHomerun.  Plex has always intrigued me, always brimmed with potential, and always failed the WAF test.  The WAF test is Wife Acceptance Factor or the likelihood that a solution will be embraced by nontechnical people.  To be honest, despite having a robust library, it is rare that I run the Plex app on a television.

 

I think that is about to change.  Three changes have made Plex a very interesting television option...

  • A 'modern' user interface  The latest Plex update introduced a new user interface which is tiled, but includes a description of the highlighted program.
  • Content  Plex is a 'free content' provider adding 14,000 on demand movies and 100+ channels of streamed 'live tv' 
  • ATSC 3.0  Plex supports 4K OTA Free TV via the SiliconDust HDHomeRun Flex 4K.

Plex pluses include...

  • Unattended viewing  Autoplay option facilitates binge viewing and lets me doze off to a favorite show.  Autoplay stops after two hours of inactivity.  Setting the television to do the same means I wake up to a quiet home after falling asleep to television.
  • Antenna flexibility  Plex integrates multiple network tuners so you can point multiple antennas to broadcast stations in different directions for best OTA reception -- no rotors is a good thing.

Plex server requirements are modest.  I run it on the HP Pavilion 590p0050 I bought in November of 2019...

  • 2.8GHz Intel Core i5-8400 6-core processor with up to 4GHz turbo frequency and 9MB cache memory
  • 16GB memory
  • 1TB hard drive
  • 16GB Optane
  • GTX 1650 OC 4GB

Plex runs in the background and I do not even notice.  In fact, at times, I run the Plex web client on the same PC as I am running the server while doing other stuff.  No problems.  I use USB 3.0 disks for storage.

 

Right now, you can get a PC for use as a Plex server for $249.00.

 

Happy September!

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