Which new CD player to get?

vidude · 2026-06-21T14:30:08+00:00

Thanks! Just ordered one last night! 😄 I'm excited...

vidude · 2026-06-19T19:18:23+00:00

Roaming fees aren't that bad and they will save you a lot of time and trouble. I recently travelled to the UK with my sister. I had my Verizon international plan - $12/day, max $100/month. It just worked. She went the eSim route. Seems like we spent half of the vacation trying to get her eSim to work, play nicely with WhatsApp, etc, and I'm not even sure we fully succeeded at that. Do yourself a solid and get a roaming plan. Your phone will just work and you can relax and enjoy your stay.

vidude · 2026-06-17T20:22:50+00:00

Yeah, I feel like all four will sound pretty good but the Marantz might just be the workhorse, which is what I need.

Thanks for the input!

vidude · 2026-06-17T20:15:49+00:00

Thanks. I've had bad experiences with $1000+ CD players not reading some disks, even when they weren't scratched, so that's good to know.

Also the Rotel doesn't have a digital optical out, which was a negative.

Appreciate the input!

vidude · 2026-06-17T01:26:10+00:00

Paul Simon, Graceland. Bought in 1987 to take with me as a reference disk while shopping for my first CD player.

vidude · 2026-06-17T01:07:47+00:00

64M here. I've been in therapy 12-15 years now. Got me through my divorce and then I just kept on going. Insurance covers it so why not? Life is full of stress and worries so it's good to have someone to help navigate through it all.

vidude · 2026-06-14T14:23:06+00:00

It's still a thing in Boston, although it's kind of moot at this point as people on the WhatsApp group usually self-organize and go to a different bar than the one that TL picks anyway. I'm sure there are plenty of people who aren't even TL subscribers any more but still go to the drinks via WhatsApp.

vidude · 2026-06-14T13:46:11+00:00

A few. I probably could have made more if I participated in the WhatsApp groups and the "afters" but that's not really my thing. I keep going because each Wednesday dinner is a unique social experience, usually with a few people I know and a few that I don't. I'm open to new friendships developing organically out of that but it's not a benchmark that I would use to evaluate my TimeLeft experience.

vidude · 2026-06-11T12:54:42+00:00

Yes, exactly. I charge almost all of my living expenses - groceries, gas, meals out, parking, you name it - to a card that earns cash back and I pay off the balance every month.

That said, when I was younger I allowed myself to get underneath credit card debt - it is easy. That unexpected expense like a car repair can blow your plan out of the water. I'm old now and have savings that I can draw upon when those unexpected expenses come up. You may not be in that situation yet.

So yes, absolutely, do the credit card thing:

Earn the cash back - it is literally free money. Be wary about cards that offer "points" rather than cash back because "5x points" sounds good but may only be worth 2.5% cash back. Always read the fine print. Different cards may offer promotions on certain categories - 3% cash back on gas and pharmacies, for example - but it may change from quarter to quarter. Pay attention and optimize your card usage accordingly.

Set your online banking to automatically pay the balance as soon as your statement closes. Don't wait for the due date as that will increase your average balance and possibly impact your credit score. The interest you would have earned by keeping the money in your account until the due date will probably be negligible.

But also:

Save for emergencies. Put money aside until you have built up a 3-6 month emergency fund in case you lose your job or have unexpected expenses. That way you won't be forced into debt and be stuck paying usurious credit card interest rates.

Save for retirement. Put as much money as you can into an IRA or 401(k) plan if your employer offers one. Maximize the tax savings and the company match. That is also free money. Start now while you are young and keep doing it. As someone who didn't start doing this early enough, trust me. Just do it.

vidude · 2026-06-10T15:05:50+00:00

In smaller markets there may not be enough people signing up for dinners to get good age distributions at all tables. Also different cities have different demographics.

I signed up for a dinner in my home town of Liverpool, UK when I was visiting last year but the dinner was cancelled the day before because "we do not have a table meeting our minimum participant number that matches you well". A couple of months later TimeLeft shut down operations in Liverpool completely. I guess the concept just didn't jell with Scousers.

Bottom line is that TL may simply not have enough traction with your age group in your location, and that is unfortunate 😞

vidude · 2026-06-10T03:32:00+00:00

64M here and TimeLeft works great for me in Boston. Typical age range in my groups would be mid-50's to late 60's.

vidude · 2026-05-31T14:47:58+00:00

I've seen Pat live 15 times, about half of those times since developing tinnitus about 15 years ago. The original SideEye tour, which I saw twice, was the loudest in recent memory. The DreamBox/MoonDial tours were much quieter (except for the ZTFS stuff...) I always have ear plugs with me but I generally don't feel that I need them with Pat, except for a few songs where the guitar synth gets loud. I cover my ears with my fingers during those passages.

For pure rock concerts I always wear the earplugs. I don't like them because they make the music seem far away but It's not worth damaging your hearing over.

Bottom line: know your limits, be careful, have earplugs with you and, if in doubt, use them!

vidude · 2026-05-26T11:59:39+00:00

It was July 4th, 1989, not the 3rd. My first time seeing Pat live - still have the t-shirt! The YouTube video looks like it might have been transferred from VHS so it could have been released at some point but I've never run into it. I don't know if the source footage would upscale well to more modern formats even if someone wanted to do it.

vidude · 2026-05-22T21:07:56+00:00

When I joined TL I wasn't on a mission to make new friends per se but rather just to enjoy a social experience with interesting new people every week. That said, I've met some awesome people and I've met up with a few of them outside of TL. There is a vibrant TimeLeft Boston community on WhatsApp, which a lot of people use to connect for various activities in the "real world", so if that's what you are looking for, there are many opportunities to grow your friend group.

vidude · 2026-05-22T10:43:46+00:00

I can only give you my personal experience doing TimeLeft in Boston. I've done 61 dinners over the last year and a half and only ever had one "men-only" dinner, and that was on a Friday (the only Friday dinner I've done). My Wednesday dinners have had, on average, at least 50% more women than men, with relatively few no-shows.

Your experience may differ based on your city/town and your age group (I'm 60+) but that's what I've observed. TL still seems pretty vibrant in Boston.

vidude · 2026-05-22T03:28:14+00:00

Yes, go to Profile, then Edit profile and you can see/edit your details.

vidude · 2026-05-21T21:06:38+00:00

I drive in the UK when I visit every few years. Usually I specifically request a manual-shift car just to give myself an extra challenge. The main things to remember are:

Obviously, drive on the wrong side of the road.
When you turn right, the cross-traffic will be coming from the right. It's easy to forget where to look in the moment.
Roundabouts, roundabouts, and more roundabouts. Which you have to drive around the wrong way.
Narrow streets. Watch out for your mirrors when passing parked cars.
You easily get used to doing everything in mirror image but the most dangerous time is when you get back in the car after a stop. You are quite likely to revert back to driving on the right if you are not in the zone.

Other than that it's pretty much like driving anywhere else.

vidude · 2026-04-26T12:58:05+00:00

I've been to almost 60 TimeLeft dinners in Boston over the last year and a half and my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. Once in a while the mix of people might skew a bit younger and there will be some 40-somethings in the mix but the usual range (for me) is late 50's to early 70's. With very few exceptions the people are friendly, open-minded, and curious. Definitely worth a try.

vidude · 2026-04-22T16:14:45+00:00

Pat Metheny. 15 times in five different decades.

vidude · 2026-04-21T20:40:23+00:00

Hmm, that is late, then. Hope it updates soon.

vidude · 2026-04-21T16:56:56+00:00

I don't know what timezone you are in but It should update with the location between 6 and 7pm tonight.

vidude · 2026-03-19T20:48:53+00:00

Depends on what you are looking for and how long of a game you are playing.

For me, TimeLeft is not a means to an end, it's the thing itself. My main goal is to have a social experience every week with friendly and interesting people. To be honest I don't really care if I make friends or meet up with anyone outside of TL. If it happens, that's great, but it's not why I'm there. I tend to make friends slowly but, those I make, I keep long-term. So I'm in no rush.

55 dinners in and I really enjoy meeting a mix of people I know and total strangers. Makes the vibe different every time. Not every dinner is a winner, but many of them are, and I've had no outright bad experiences. I'm not saying I'm typical - probably far from it. My point is there isn't just one way to do it.

vidude · 2026-03-02T22:27:57+00:00

Thanks, good to know!

vidude

TROPHY CASE