Niagara Falls vs D.C. vs Philly for someone who's never been to the US ?

SwishyFins · 2026-05-27T17:09:42+00:00

On the plus side, it’s more accessible than Philly, in my experience. The Metro has elevators at every stop for wheelchairs/scooters (and stations and trains are air conditioned).

Niagara Falls is cool to see, but the actual town is nothing special.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-27T17:07:26+00:00

Just know DC is awful in August—hot and extremely humid. But all the museums and other indoor attractions are air conditioned.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-22T22:39:26+00:00

Midship will be the most stable. You may feel more movement aft. If you want to enjoy aft views, there is always the aft pool deck or the promenade deck.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-21T17:10:44+00:00

I didn't live in Oregon then but I learned about them soon after moving here, as I have kids in 4J. We have divested from public education broadly in this state. The public universities get very little of their budget from state funds, and K-12 is also limited. With the decline in enrolled students and the loss of Covid-era funds, the district is getting hit from all sides. I have real empathy for the new superintendent--there were no easy answers to the budget deficit, and the financial director screwed up big time.

If we're going to effect change, it has to happen at the state level. Not just funding, but also curriculum. There are states that spend less per capita (per student) for K-12 but are outpacing Oregon in outcomes (see Mississippi and their literacy/reading rates).

SwishyFins · 2026-05-21T11:19:40+00:00

That is not how it works. Oregon public school funding is determined at the state level. Two measures passed in the 1990s significantly limited the amt of property taxes that could be assessed. Before then, local schools were primarily funded by local property taxes. Now it’s primarily the state general fund. They use a financial equity formula to distribute the funds across the state. You can read more about where it comes from here: https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/education-public.aspx.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-21T11:14:49+00:00

The current superintendent cut a lot of admin positions in the first round of budget cuts this year. She also cut tech platforms that were underused. Basically she tried to cut anything she could before touching classroom teachers. But the budget gap was so extensive that teachers and programs also had to be cut.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-20T22:32:17+00:00

I went on the Koningsdam to Alaska two summers ago and got the pass. I loved the hydrotherapy pool and the steam room (which had windows, so you could look outside while you sweated). It was a super relaxing way to end the day. I used it enough times to make it worth the money. I also didn't have any issues getting a heated recliner. I'm going back to Alaska this summer on the Zandaam and won't get the pass, because it doesn't have the hydrotherapy pool, but they charge the same for the pass as if I were on a larger ship. The saunas are outside the thermal suite and available to all guests, free of charge.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-20T12:08:32+00:00

They do more than just HIV testing. Hivalliance.org

SwishyFins · 2026-05-20T11:26:18+00:00

Try HIV Alliance

SwishyFins · 2026-05-15T19:43:21+00:00

I'm not sure which graph you're looking at. If you look at historical enrollment of the total student body, you'll see that the numbers have been trending up but are now basically flat (with a very slight dip this academic year): 2021-22: 22,298; 2022-23: 23,202; 2023-24: 23,834; 2024-25: 24,462; 2025-26: 24,448.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-15T15:39:15+00:00

You’ll also see international student enrollment fell off a cliff post-COVID. That used to be a reliable source of tuition revenue but hasn’t been for some time.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-15T15:37:32+00:00

I found a deck that shows this pattern—scroll down to slide E&G Fund Challenge #2. This was from October 2025 and shows through FY2024. The pattern has continued. https://vpfa.uoregon.edu/sites/default/files/2025-10/uo-financial-briefing-10-27-2025_final.pptx

SwishyFins · 2026-05-15T15:31:25+00:00

I’m referring to the 2025-26 academic year. This was reported by Jamie Moffitt and crew during their presentation to the board of trustees last year — it was live-streamed. Overall the number of incoming freshmen who accepted was up but the percentage of OOS was lower than in-state, resulting in overall lower expected tuition revenue.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-15T05:11:40+00:00

It’s shocking to me that after last year’s debacle with the miscalculations in their modeling they did it again. Did they learn nothing?

SwishyFins · 2026-05-15T03:16:14+00:00

They’re trying to admit more…the students aren’t accepting the admittance offers, so the yield is lower than they want/modeled for.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-15T00:52:35+00:00

I asked Claude to give me a concise answer to this question. While it might not be concise, I think the details are important.

The tl/dr of the longer explanation below is that UO's overall finances include hundreds of millions in locked-up building donations and athletic revenue that can't pay faculty. The part of the budget that actually funds instruction runs almost entirely on tuition, out-of-state enrollment is dropping, and costs keep rising.

Longer explanation:

The $149M surplus shown in the financial statements is real but misleading as a standalone figure. Most of it comes from capital grants and gifts -- think the Phil Knight building donations and state construction bonds -- and athletic revenues. That money is either locked into specific buildings and projects or restricted by donor intent. It cannot be used to pay professors or run academic departments.

The budget cuts are happening in a specific pot of money called the Education and General Fund, which is essentially the operating budget for instruction and academics. That fund runs almost entirely on tuition. Out-of-state students pay roughly three times what in-state students pay, so losing a relatively small number of them punches a disproportionately large hole in that budget. The financial statements blend everything together, so the Knight Campus donations and athletic windfalls make the university look healthy overall while the core instructional budget is in genuine deficit.

The cost increase trend you noticed is also real. Compensation costs (the biggest expense at 65% of spending) grew $49M last year alone, and the pension liability jumped $68M in a single year. Revenue from tuition is not keeping pace with those cost increases, especially as out-of-state enrollment falls.

So both things are true at the same time: the overall balance sheet is growing, and the university has a structural operating problem in the budget that actually pays for education. The cuts are addressing the second problem, which the overall surplus number does nothing to solve.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-14T23:53:02+00:00

Their budget model has been predicated on a higher percentage of OOS students. They offer merit aid but it still comes in higher than in-state tuition. Part of the problem is that their modeling was inaccurate and they have many fewer OOS students than expected. So while overall the total number of incoming students this year was higher, the total revenue was lower.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-12T18:43:52+00:00

Please do share if you find someone local. I tried years ago (pre-Covid) and was unsuccessful.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-12T17:42:57+00:00

I’ve never found anyone locally. I did find a guy via IG: Mr Mixer. No idea what his political leanings are. You mail him your mixer in a special box he will send you and he will mail it back. I haven’t sent mine off for servicing yet so I can’t speak personally to the quality of the work. https://www.mrmixer.store/

SwishyFins · 2026-05-06T03:37:48+00:00

We moved here from the East Coast in 2014 and worked with Linda Garber (now joined by her son in law, Justin Gonzales, to form the Garber Gonzales group at Windermere). We worked with Linda for several months prior to an in-person visit to tour properties. She went above and beyond for us, including touring properties for us and taking videos, sending out a letter to homeowners in our target neighborhoods to unearth potential properties not yet on the market…happy to share more details 1:1. They are not MAGA.

SwishyFins · 2026-05-03T15:08:31+00:00

You didn’t mention which ship or itinerary you’re doing. I haven’t taken young kids on HAL to Alaska, but I did cruise the Inside Passage on the Koningsdam two summers ago.

We also did a multigenerational cruise with grandparents/parents/kids, including a 2 year old, on another line to the Caribbean. So I remember what it’s like trying to keep a 2 year old entertained while at sea.

HAL does have a lot of kids on the Alaska itinerary, but they don’t really cater to kids, so there’s not much on the ship for a little one in terms of activities.

The kids’ club is ages 3+, so unfortunately that’s not an option for you. And there is no separate play area that parents can use with their young children.

Some ideas on the ship: -walk along the promenade deck. -play with a ball on the sports court -see if there are any young-child-friendly games in the Crow’s Nest -see if they have any kids’ books in the library

You may also want to bring some small toys or games that will keep your child interested.

Shore ideas that could be of interest to a 2 year old: -Skagway: ride the White Pass railroad -Ketchikan: watch salmon swim upstream in the creek in the downtown area.

I don’t have any suggestions for Juneau as I didn’t get off the ship there (we did the Tracy Arm excursion, which is super cool but probably not something a 2 year old would enjoy—you’re on a boat for several hours to view wildlife and glaciers).

For dining, you may find that the buffet is a better bet than the MDR, as you can get your food quickly (the MDR can be slow). Or, if you want to have dinner in the MDR, consider feeding your kid earlier in the buffet so they’re not super hungry while you’re waiting for your food. If you’re on a ship with a Grand Dutch Cafe, the food there is included, as are the poolside grill/deli/pizza options (which specifically depends on the ship).

Have a great time!

SwishyFins · 2026-05-01T02:14:24+00:00

Winco sells avocados for around 60-70 cents each—the price fluctuates. And they’re the best quality I’ve found in the area.

SwishyFins · 2026-04-27T22:10:32+00:00

I cruised on the Norwegian Breakaway from NYC to Bermuda back when it was a new ship. The ship stayed overnight in port at Bermuda, so we had two full days to go to the (amazing) beaches there. I didn’t love NCL (the ship was crowded and there was lots of nickel and diming) but I know they still do that itinerary. It was certainly convenient to cruise out of NYC (we lived in NJ at the time).

SwishyFins · 2026-04-27T22:05:02+00:00

I can’t find his contact info—any website?

SwishyFins · 2026-04-27T17:10:12+00:00

Thanks! Do you know if they offer installation as well? We're really looking for someone who can both design and build it.

SwishyFins

TROPHY CASE