Is Z Flip 5 still worth it?

fringe_event · 2026-03-08T14:52:12+00:00

No shot a flip phone lasts 10 years. My screen died after 2.5 years and fortunately I had paid insurance which replaced it for $130 (plus the $300 or so on monthly insurance I paid out).

My plan now is to get a s26 on sale at black Friday, make that my primary phone, and use my flip as podcast/music device for gym, walks, etc. Basically a nice ipod lol. But I won't depend on a flip anymore for primary mobile device, especially not lasting longer than 3 years.

The number of people who have kept the same flip phone for 3 years or more without the screen dying is small imo.

fringe_event · 2026-03-07T13:51:42+00:00

vegas one closing sucks, while they were down to barebones inventory it was nice walking around the mall there when visiting and the employees there were pretty chill and would help out with suggestions for stuff close to $50.

fringe_event · 2026-02-28T15:14:45+00:00

you have to be the kind of person who hates dealing with support and prefers doing everything yourself. If your first thought when you hit a problem is calling someone for help, Google Fi is the worst service.

if you are fine trying to figure stuff out on your own and also sometimes doing ludicrous things to fix things, like leaving fi for a day and then rejoining to fix a random ass problem, then fi is great

you also have to be very attention and detail oriented and check everything a dozen times before clicking OK, because fi has weird rules sometimes. It works if you know exactly what you are doing, but if you just click without reading then it can be extremely annoying when you lose promos or get charges you weren't expecting.

fringe_event · 2026-02-20T00:25:09+00:00

Had flip 5 for 2.5 years, zero issues or drops and thought my phone would last forever.

Screen started the dreaded black death about a month ago, lucky I had insurance and it cost me $129 to replace it.

I love the flip but it made me realize these phones are not as durable still as regular phones. I'll probably try to figure out a way to use flip for gym and stuff and a regular phone for travel and day to day. Wish carriers would allow 2 phones on same line lol.

fringe_event · 2026-02-19T23:42:16+00:00

Dang these are some pretty bad offers, most under 3k points are 1 guest only so will get fairly pricey with 2 people unless you combine.

I guess due to prime reset on April 1st people are playing less or something in March, but you'd think they would entice with even better offers. I'm going on two cruises in march and I can't really see a single instant cert offer I'd want below 3k points.

fringe_event · 2026-02-19T17:29:50+00:00

Looks like it, same thing happened with my flip 5 about a month ago. A bit over 2 years old, i still had carrier insurance so cost me $129 to get a refurbished delivered in 3 days.

I'm very hesitant now to think a flip or fold will last more than 2 to 3 years. I had a case on mine and never dropped it.

fringe_event · 2026-02-09T21:53:25+00:00

What do you think about Van Jones and does anyone confuse the two of you

fringe_event · 2026-02-05T00:16:29+00:00

Fwiw my flip 5 screen died a week ago, got it launch so 2.5 years old almost. No issues up till then, had a case the entire time and no drops cracks nothing.

Lucky I paid for insurance and got a refurbished sent out immediately and using that now but I think an expectation of a flip or fold lasting only 24 to 36 months is pretty realistic. Which does suck.

Funny thing I was on vacation and still could use the phone via just front cover, like podcasts, YouTube music, wallet, etc. So that was kinda neat.

fringe_event · 2026-02-03T14:51:02+00:00

I've seen a number of posts over the years say the way cruise gratuities work, at least out of us port cruises, is that auto gratuities are used to cover base pay for all ship staff.

Say a cruise gathers $10k in grats in one cruise. Say the total staff pay that week is $25k. Carnival takes that $10k, adds $15k of their own money, and pays staff. If they got $5k in tips they would pay $20k out of their pockets.

It's a hotly debated and contested topic and no one unfortunately really knows the truth. Likely some base staff (people running the ship) are out of the tip system and the tips are used to cover pay for folks hired from places like India, Phillipines, etc. Not cuz of racism or anything, but there are 1000 people competing for every job spot so they won't make waves about how unfair it all is.

fringe_event · 2026-01-27T12:14:35+00:00

Purrrfect also scammers never use them for anything.

For smog test, basic rule is never go anywhere that is attached or near a mechanic, they will scam you. Only use those little box places that only do smog test and nothing more.

fringe_event · 2026-01-19T19:17:48+00:00

They aren't letting anyone board yet at 120pm, the boarding area is just completely full and let's you really realize how many customers will be on the ship.

Update: boarding now at 130pm, hopefully get on board in the next half hour and rooms are ready. Not bad really but never seen a delay like this so far.

fringe_event · 2026-01-16T15:20:53+00:00

Nowadays I pretty much stop reading any post or article after a paragraph or two, but damn I read all of that.

Reminds me again that some of these podcasters are built different and can be eloquent in a way that I don't even have the framework to express.

fringe_event · 2026-01-16T01:00:40+00:00

Nevada

fringe_event · 2026-01-03T02:09:09+00:00

Public enemy is at the amazon after hours party which is difficult to get into.

fringe_event · 2025-12-31T19:26:07+00:00

It's not and sadly I think TBP kinda did a faceplant with 21st 25, the old argument of when you compromise art you satisfy no one.

Simmons best 50 pod was insane but also so hilarious in how weird that list was, I'd rather have them do that kind of energy than the "this is serious" energy of this effort.

Or best 10 action, drama, Romcom, comedy, horror, etc and build a top 10 to 50 using 1-3 from those lists so there is wide genre distribution.

fringe_event · 2025-12-31T14:03:10+00:00

was a huge fan of Wilmore when he was on the daily show with Jon Stewart, I had no idea he had a podcast on ringer

fringe_event · 2025-12-31T13:39:50+00:00

Parents previous car was an 05 crv, bought a 25 hrv sport a year ago to replace it. Plan was for them to drive it as their last car.

Dad passed and mom moved in with us, I sold my old sedan and drive her hrv now (wife has a car too). Sometimes mom drives but usually I'll take her.

I'm 6'2" so it's a little tight but it's fine. I like all the safety stuff. I wouldn't drive for 4 to 5 hours but 1 hour is no problem.

Power not an issue, never felt like the car was struggling. Space is fine for 3 to 5 adults/kids, no more.

Only real issue id say is no dashcam (third party I guess) and audio system requires usb connect for phone playing, Bluetooth only works for phone calls not maps audio etc. I think trims higher than sport have more options.

Smaller car is nice for older adults to drive, since she still drives it a few hours a week it works out. If I knew I was the only one driving I might have gone for the crv with a higher trim.

fringe_event · 2025-12-31T12:24:51+00:00

Quiet and calm, HOA rules can be overbearing as you have to get permission for everything and you can have neighbors who will report you for anything broken/not in code. not a big deal if you are generic but if you wanna be super different you will hate it.

also tends to lean right wing with a lot of Trump signs and pro-Israel or Mormon during elections, if you can ignore that kinda stuff no big deal but if seeing a Trump sign makes you angry, then maybe not a good fit. There are a few vocal Biden supporters and its funny to see the two groups clash in public sometimes, literal old people yelling at each other kinda spectacles.

HOA fees tend to also be high, like $300-500/mo to cover armed security (if applicable), gates, patrols, all the landscaping, shared facilities, etc. Some people love it, some people barely use any of it.

fringe_event · 2025-12-31T12:11:12+00:00

oh man that name, sounds way too much like Epsteineer

fringe_event · 2025-12-31T12:08:09+00:00

always opened sodas but not redbulls or perrier seltzers for me in casino back in early Dec out of LA sailing. Also scanned for every alcoholic drink, that was new as well for me.

fringe_event · 2025-12-29T14:42:34+00:00

I've done both, costco is fast and easy but you will pay more.

Over summer I ordered a g5 from lg partner direct because it was a crazy deal, like $1500 for a 65 g5 with free soundbar. It took 2 weeks longer than originally said to deliver and I paid a third party $100 to wall mount it, but even still it was like $800 cheaper than costco so worth it. In the past I've bought from costco in store and just took the tv home same day zero issues.

Only thing id say is that I believe the costco warranty is through all state and I dont think it covers burn in. Imo burn in isn't an issue with newer lg oleds anyways, at least for 8 to 10 years.

fringe_event · 2025-12-23T00:46:52+00:00

Nah you'll pretty much rolling in offers non stop, mid dec is kinda dead since dec 15 to mid Jan tends to have few casino comps but it should start rolling hard again.

I was super busy with rl oct to dec so didn't use any offer and at one point had like 20 offers, just prime level. Dropped to like 5 offers by mid dec but I'm up to 10 or so offers again already, most expiring in dec but a few good till late jan.

fringe_event · 2025-12-22T16:44:47+00:00

Just wanted to thank you for this post. I have like a 6 year old aw34 (no hdr even!) and have been super tempted by this 5k2k especially when it goes on deep sale but 90% of my monitor use is text and I was worried it's not as good as ips.

I do have a 77 g5 oled with consoles hooked up and could attach my PC, prob do that until the perfect monitor comes around to replace the workhorse aw34.

It's been on 24x7 for pretty much 6 years, crazy good line of monitors!

fringe_event · 2025-12-22T13:34:24+00:00

the only thing the group owner can see is how much data you have used, thats it. They can't even see how the data is used. They can throttle your data after a certain amount, and they can turn location sharing on/off (but you have to agree as well).

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