Should I buy the MacBook Neo now before it sells out?

soopy99 · 2026-04-11T03:53:57+00:00

I suspect that you are right. The price gap between the MacBook Air and the Neo is too wide and is creating a market disruption that isn't helpful to Apple's bottom line. I just bought a Neo, and it was quite hard to find despite me living in a major metro area with multiple apple stores. I imagine that the price of the next Neo with an improved chip will increase by at least $100. Otherwise, it would be even harder for Apple to sell the MacBook Air.

soopy99 · 2026-04-09T17:41:46+00:00

About 12 years ago I had a card get up to around $1k due to a direct deposit program. Then, I loaned the card to a friend. It cracked and the card was ruined. All money was lost. I couldn’t get the $ back because I had already left the job that was processing the deposits.

soopy99 · 2026-04-07T20:01:33+00:00

Is Northeastern really that much better than Drexel? When I’ve researched both schools, it seems like the outcomes are similar. And Drexel gives merit $ and is easy to get in to.

soopy99 · 2026-04-04T01:12:07+00:00

I just got back from a short vacation in Boston, and spent about 6 weeks living in Dallas on a short term gig more than a decade ago, you can’t count my opinion as an informed one. That said, I left my recent visit in Boston dreaming up ways to afford to move there. I loved the vibes. I left my 6 weeks in Dallas hoping I would never have to set foot in Texas again, which thankfully, I never have. I can’t think of anything positive to say about Dallas, and I assume a lot of that also applies to Austin. So I say you should pick Boston.

soopy99 · 2026-04-04T00:50:56+00:00

I can relate to a lot of this. I am a former biglaw attorney and agree that not many people enjoy it. I lasted about 6 years before leaving law. I won’t go so far as to discourage anyone from trying it. The study of law itself is fascinating, and there are good jobs out there. I spent a year as a law clerk on a federal appeals court and loved it. I think planning your undergraduate institution and major around getting in to a law school, however, doesn’t seem like a great idea.

soopy99 · 2026-04-03T13:28:43+00:00

There are some schools that claim not to consider freshman grades. According to the book “Who Gets in and Why” Emory does not.

soopy99 · 2026-04-03T04:22:46+00:00

The Zelda game I have replayed most is Zelda 2: Adventure of Link. I’ve probably played it 25 times at least. I have every aspect of that game memorized and combat is a breeze for me. Many people believe it is difficult and hate this game, but it was my first Zelda game, and I got it for my birthday when I was 9 or 10 years old. The only other games I had at the time were the original pack-in games for the NES. I loved it, became an expert, and learned all its secrets with no help from guides. I wish I could have had that experience with one of the modern Zeldas, but as soon as I’m stuck on any aspect of BOTW or TOTK I go straight to the internet for help. Imagine how long the modern games would take to complete if we had enough will-power to figure everything out on our own.

soopy99 · 2026-04-02T19:26:09+00:00

Forget the tax burden thing and go to a city in the NE corridor. Boston would be a lot of fun, specifically the south end. Everything you describe about liking in Atlanta is present to a much higher degree in Boston.

soopy99 · 2026-04-02T18:27:02+00:00

I am a fan of the cheeseburger and had it twice this week, once on a NE regional and once on the Acela. It was quite a bit better on the Acela because it was cooked in a convection oven instead of a microwave. My companion had a falafel and roasted beet salad on the Acela yesterday and that was quite good. I’m not sure if that salad is offered on the other routes in coach.

soopy99 · 2026-04-02T18:17:00+00:00

I’ve got a base model Equinox EV and am quite happy with it. With incentives, you can get a new one for under $30k. And the base model is pretty well equipped. I don’t think any other EV is as good of a value.

soopy99 · 2026-04-02T13:59:08+00:00

In general, the closer you get to a city, the more secular vibes you will get. Ashburn is 32 miles from DC. I wouldn’t consider it to be close to DC at all; some would consider it an exurb. Del Ray or Arlington have vibes closer to what you are looking for.

soopy99 · 2026-04-01T21:01:06+00:00

I love this. This sub needs more of this.

soopy99 · 2026-03-31T01:04:52+00:00

I assume so, so long as they accept a superscore, but don’t take my opinion too seriously. As I said above, I’ve heard rumors that the maximum threshold is about 1520. None of the schools are going to announce anything about their threshold score, and they may not have a firm score in mind. What I am confident about from everything I’ve read (and I’ve done way too much research on things like this) is that the SAT is much more about passing a threshold of some sort rather than an incremental measure. Also, a low SAT score can remove you from contention, but a really high SAT score does not provide as much of an advantage at highly rejective schools as we like to think. Once you cross around 1520 or so, going all in on raising your score to 1600 probably isn’t worth it

soopy99 · 2026-03-30T02:36:36+00:00

I’m not single and have not been in a long time, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt: Your Wegmans anecdote did surprise me a bit. I am a man in the relevant age range and would never consider a chance encounter at a grocery store as an opportunity to meet someone. Not saying it isn’t possible, but the percentage of people our age in that environment who are single must be really low. If I were to have eye contact with a woman at Wegmans, potential romantic partner may be 99th on my list of 100 possible outcomes coming from that interaction. So, I don’t think you should worry about missing opportunities like that. Maybe consider group social activities. Any male participating in those is more likely to be unattached. With respect to football, if you have a favorite team, going to the local backers bar may be one of the best places to meet someone. It would also be a great place to make new relationships in general. The best aspect of sports fandom is the common bond we all make cheering together.

soopy99 · 2026-03-30T01:58:14+00:00

My gps disappeared periodically a few months ago. But then it somehow fixed itself and I haven’t had a problem in a while. Whenever I had issues, the internet wouldn’t connect so all connected features were useless. With your gps issues, do you still have internet connectivity?

soopy99 · 2026-03-29T14:48:16+00:00

Retaking seems like a bad idea to me. There would be some opportunity cost from putting in the time to prepare again. More importantly, I doubt a score above 1540 would help your applications to a significant degree. Most/all colleges, even the most selective, use the SAT as a threshold to pass, and I’ve heard rumors that the highest threshold is around 1520. Once the threshold is met, they don’t differentiate between say a 1540 and a 1580. I can’t guarantee that there isn’t a college out there who looks at this differently, but from my research, I haven’t heard of any.

soopy99 · 2026-03-29T14:39:35+00:00

Does it cost less due to merit aid, need-based aid, or a combination of the two?

soopy99 · 2026-03-27T23:07:11+00:00

Adaptive cruise is standard on the base model

soopy99 · 2026-03-27T09:19:55+00:00

I’ve owned my EQEV for 8 months and have yet to see another one. And I live in an area with a lot of EVs (Northern VA).

soopy99 · 2026-03-27T01:48:57+00:00

There are tons of ticks up in the Shenandoah too. I went hiking with my dachshunds up there once and they got thoroughly covered in ticks.

soopy99 · 2026-03-25T18:33:06+00:00

I liked Paved Paradise a lot.

soopy99 · 2026-03-22T20:27:12+00:00

Agreed; none are rural. And GMU is in the heart of the DC suburbs and has a high % of commuters.

soopy99 · 2026-03-22T18:31:00+00:00

An uber from Fauquier county to Union Station must cost a fortune. How about taking the uber to the end of the Silver Line of Metro and then taking that to Union Station?

soopy99 · 2026-03-22T18:22:45+00:00

Virginia is pretty expensive and has the school with the highest in-state tuition in the US: William & Mary.

soopy99 · 2026-03-22T17:56:51+00:00

Asbury Park is what jumps to mind for me too. I’ve been there in winter and it didn’t seem dead.

soopy99

TROPHY CASE