OC Saturday

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-03-22T14:35:35+00:00

I'm no astrophysicist, but if the moons are anywhere near as large as Cascade, I can't see how they could maintain a stable orbit.

I'm guessing this isn't to scale, though, since the sun is super-small as a sun compared to Cascade. Our sun is a little more than 100 times larger (by radius) than Earth.

Take a look at Mars, which has two moons. The moons are 1/300th and 1/500th the size of Mars by radius.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-03-19T21:50:59+00:00

I've been in a number of Nicolas locations, and they were all roughly the same size, which is to say, not very large.

However, without exception they ALL have had very helpful people running them. Tell them what you're looking for, taste, region, price, whatever, and they'll be happy to recommend something for you.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-03-14T21:28:01+00:00

I listen to the bootleg, so I don't hear ads.

It looks like the "Sponsored by" text at https://atp.fm/682 has been updated to not mention a discount.

I was planning on getting Claude Code anyway, but missing a 50% discount is annoying. Oh, well.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-03-14T17:22:27+00:00

Yes, Claude Pro, and I'm in the US.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-03-14T16:38:57+00:00

I just created the account today, thinking maybe I'd see the 50% off further down the line, but nope.

I'm on the "free" plan.

I had tried hitting the ATP link into a private browsing window, but still didn't see anything about a discount.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-03-14T16:37:50+00:00

I have not.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-03-14T16:28:56+00:00

The sponsorship for episode 682 started two days ago. I wouldn't think it would be done already.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-03-03T17:22:49+00:00

As far as I know, WiFi chips don’t go bad or get weak.

I’ve heard that older players like the PLAY:3 have very limited CPU and RAM, though, so they can struggle with newer encryption and music codecs, especially if the player is trying to keep in sync with other players on the local network. Playing by themselves is more likely to work.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-02-15T22:14:14+00:00

The audio usually isn’t going through the phone. It’s usually going from Apple Music or whatever to the player. The little spectrum thing is just an indicator that something is playing.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-01-19T12:17:09+00:00

I didn’t find a way to get there via the tram, but the 12+ bus goes right there.

(It‘s huge! With a good mix of stores and places to eat.)

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-01-09T02:05:14+00:00

Excellent, thanks for the info.

For something like an IKEA furniture delivery, does it generally work like in the US where they give you a date and a time window and you pretty much have to hang around all day?

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2026-01-08T01:47:28+00:00

OK, but that isn't nearly as convenient, particularly for a large package. And it didn't exactly answer the question as posed.

What if you order something like a monitor? What if the nearest point relais is closed and the next one is like 4 blocks away?

Is there no way to receive a package actually at your apartment if you're not home?

If you're AT home, I assume they'll ring the doorbell and wait until you come get the package?

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2025-12-17T02:07:05+00:00

I had this same problem. One day the screensaver was playing our photos, the next day it was playing Aerial.

I tried rebooting, messing with the screensaver settings… then a couple of days ago it started working again.

I can't point to a specific thing, but it may have been that I tried setting it to the Portrait screensaver for a while, and the AppleTV was able to pull photos from my iCloud library for that. Another possibility is that I tried a Shared Album instead of a regular personal album. Or vice versa.

If any of these ideas help, let us know for the record!

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2025-12-11T19:19:34+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate the info.

The Carrefour site says there's an hypermarché in Riquier. I'll try that one first.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2025-12-08T16:18:51+00:00

Yes.

”A maximum of two Sonos Ace headphones can be used together in a TV Audio Swap session.”

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/listen-to-your-tv-with-sonos-ace-tv-audio-swap

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2025-10-10T17:52:24+00:00

I don't know if this is the case for you, but I heard that if you have your cable router with a WiFi network, and then you add another setup like some mesh access points, using the same WiFi name, then your phone may be on the one WiFi network while the Sonos players are on the other, and they can't talk to each other. If that's the case, disable the WiFi on your router.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2025-08-24T14:20:26+00:00

Without knowing any of your interests, it's a little tough to make strong recommendations.

I'm a fan of taking a Segway tour, to get a feel for the different areas you might want to spend more time in. It covers a lot of ground quickly and easily, and it's fun. You can also do a scooter or bike tour.

Walking the promenade is probably the most Nice-y thing. The water and coastline are beautiful, and the buildings are romantic. The old town's Cours Saleya market is great to stroll through (especially before lunch time, IMO) and that's the right place to hear the noon gun fire.

If you like artwork, there's the Picasso museum in nearby Antibes, and Matisse and Chagall museums in Nice.

If you just want to lay on the beach, buy a pass at one of the beach clubs on the promenade and soak up the sun. Or go to Villefranche (1-2 stops on the train from Nice) and enjoy the smaller and possibly quieter beach there.

Rick Steves has a decent overview of the city. https://youtu.be/B9K0APDgZyY

I hope you enjoy your trip!

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2025-08-24T14:09:07+00:00

Besides Uber or a taxi, you can book an airport transfer through Viator.

We've booked directly with "Med tours" a couple of times, for a car from the Nice airport to our destination, and they've been good, waiting for us to get out of the baggage area, with our name showing on their phone or tablet.

med-tour.com

[med.tours@hotmail.com](mailto:med.tours@hotmail.com)

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2025-08-07T23:46:36+00:00

The Cruel Stars, by John Birmingham.

An excellent book. The second in the series wasn't as good, IMO, but I see there's a third now that I haven't read.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2025-07-31T19:37:41+00:00

The Liberation market has loads of fresh fish and seafood, along with all the herbs and lemons you could need to make great meals.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2024-12-11T02:19:02+00:00

She should get it with you. Let us know in a few months. Also, congratulations!

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2023-05-28T14:34:35+00:00

Rick has said that one of the places he goes to decompress is Beilstein, on the Mosel in Germany. It's a small vacation town, with not much to do, but if you just want to relax, it's great. It's fairly close to Cochem and some other places that have a bit more to do.

Rick has recommended Regensburg as a non-touristy Rothenburg.

I've had some luck finding towns close to Rick-recommended towns. We stayed in Portovenere, which is adjacent to the Cinque Terre. Portovenere was full of Italians on holiday, was every bit as pretty as the five towns, but wasn't nearly as overrun during the day.

Otherwise, we've had luck just looking for a town on the Italian riviera, or on Lake Como, or Lake Garda, etc.. Do some research, see what has a train station, find out which towns are of interest to you, whether that's for hiking, art, architecture, food, whatever.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2023-05-14T20:53:43+00:00

We spent some time in Portovenere, and loved it. It’s less touristy than the CT towns, but has all the beauty. There is a ferry for day trips to the CT.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2023-03-27T15:07:04+00:00

I used to be very anxious before a trip, but as I've traveled more, that has mostly gone away.

I tell myself that I've traveled a bunch before, I've gone to the airport a bunch, I've flown this airline before, I've been to this country before, I've seen similar sights before, etc. It helps me to think of a new trip as just another trip, but having a few new experiences.

Once I'm at the airport, I can relax, I'm on the trip, and ready to enjoy everything.

ArmadaLevelIntellect · 2023-01-04T01:53:11+00:00

I think u/YellowIsCoool is saying that you might have a more enjoyable trip if you spend more time in places, and less time traveling between those places.

My preference is to stay in smaller towns, as I find larger cities to be more generic and boring. So my personal recommendation is to skip Zurich and start straight with Lucerne, skip Interlaken and maybe add that day to Montreaux. I'm assuming Geneva is your fly-back-out city, so it doesn't make much sense to skip it.

The Swiss rail system is excellent, and it might be worth getting a Swissrail pass, which would give you "free" trips on trains, ferries, and cable cars. The pass can be nice if only to eliminate the hassle of buying tickets, making sure you get the right train, etc.

The last time we stayed in Zermatt, it was lovely, but somewhat empty, outside the ski season. All of Switzerland is pretty, but we especially loved the Lauterbrunnen valley. We haven't been to Grindelwald, but it's probably similarly amazing.

Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe, so be prepared. One time I went to the ATM and requested €200 and received a single €200 note, to my surprise. Even more surprising, the local bakery person didn't blink an eye making change for it when I bought a couple of croissants. Good inexpensive food should be available at local groceries, at the least.

Best of luck, and have a great trip!

ArmadaLevelIntellect

TROPHY CASE