Questions you want answered.

Yeah I'm going for something that let's him do this sorta thing. Probably won't be bringing any instruments in.

I think a number of pro's doing that sort of thing (like KRNFX) started out using the BOSS RC-30. Runs $299US on Amazon.

Rykin wrote:

I think a number of pro's doing that sort of thing (like KRNFX) started out using the BOSS RC-30. Runs $299US on Amazon.

KRNFX is wonderful. First heard him on the Walk Off the Earth a capella cover of Taylor Swift's "Knew You Were Trouble" a couple years ago. I heard this before Taylor's original and that's probably why I prefer WOtE's version.

Man do I like that.

That is the place I first heard him too and yes I prefer that version which I also heard first. Didn't even realize they were the same song the first time I heard Taylor's version.

Gunpey on DS then. Game and music! $50 or less!

Not a wholly serious suggestion.

Rykin wrote:

That is the place I first heard him too and yes I prefer that version which I also heard first. Didn't even realize they were the same song the first time I heard Taylor's version.

I heard TayTay's version first; WoE's is still better.

I need to get my niece a telescope for Christmas. What are some things I should look for and what to avoid? She is 14 and big into science stuff and went to Space Camp earlier this year, so I want to do this right.

Any help will be appreciated.

Peach is referred to as Mario's "special someone" in Mario Galaxy.
What's she called in the Japanese release?

Ego Man wrote:

I need to get my niece a telescope for Christmas. What are some things I should look for and what to avoid? She is 14 and big into science stuff and went to Space Camp earlier this year, so I want to do this right.

Any help will be appreciated.

First off, what's your budget?

Second, look for telescopes from companies that actually make telescopes - Meade, Orion, Celestron. Avoid most of what's sold at Target, Wal-Mart, etc.

- Aperture is king. Reflectors (use mirrors) will give you more "bang for the buck" than refractors (use lenses).

- The most aperture for the cheapest amount of money will be a Dobsonian, like this Orion 4.5" dob. However, dobs are big. The best telescope is the one you'll actually use. If she lives in a heavily light-polluted area, a good pair of binoculars might be a better start than a telescope.

- A telescope with an alt-azimuth mount (like a dobsonian) is cheaper than one with an equatorial mount, which lets you align the scope with the earth's axis. Makes start tracking easier and is required for any kind of astrophotography. Nice if you can get it, but not essential.

- You see a lot of Go-To computers these days, in my opinion they take half the fun out of a telescope, actually learning to navigate the sky. I'd avoid.

Feel free to PM me if you want more input.

Why won't Friends stream in HD on Netflix for me?

I can get HD content on Netflix just fine - the X-files is HD, Jessica Jones is HD, I've watched movies in HD. Can't do it on Chrome, but I just use another browser. For some reason, though, Friends (which was advertised everywhere as being HD on Netflix) doesn't have the little HD box in the control bar when I play it. Not HD.

So, no one told you life was gonna be this way?

oilypenguin wrote:

So, no one told you life was gonna be this way?

*slow claps*

Rykin wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

So, no one told you life was gonna be this way?

*slow claps*

*clap clap clap claps*

Rykin wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

So, no one told you life was gonna be this way?

clapclapclapclapclap

FTFY.

muraii wrote:
Rykin wrote:
oilypenguin wrote:

So, no one told you life was gonna be this way?

clapclapclapclapclap

FTFY.

Au contraire. Only 4 claps. And it's wrong every time I hear it, but there are 4 claps. /picard

So... nobody else has watched Friends on Netflix?

Also remember, it's "your love life's DOA" not "your love's like the old way."

I have watched Friends on Netflix. It was pretty good.

In HD?

Oh, I can't recall. I mean it said it was in HD and it looked clear enough, so maybe?

I'm actually wondering if it was even recorded in high enough quality to be HDified. 90's sitcoms are pretty well known for being filmed in rather low quality.

Rykin wrote:

I'm actually wondering if it was even recorded in high enough quality to be HDified. 90's sitcoms are pretty well known for being filmed in rather low quality.

Friends was filmed rather than videotaped, so the HD scans are full resolution. In fact the HD aspect ratio added some things to the sides of the image and people obsessively watching the Blu Ray version have seen things like stage equipment and even a Jennifer Aniston stand-in at the edge of the frame.

You're right, though, many series from the 90's are stuck on low resolution video tape.

I guess I better contact Netflix support to find out why I'm not getting Friends in HD but everything else seems to work.

After gaming for a century I've decided to do the unthinkable. The unimaginable. I've turned my desktop rig backwards. All the ports (ALL THE PORTS!?!?!) now face me. No more fiddling in the dark (or in the unseeable) when swapping an audio cord and such.

I feel this is the right way to go. This is a life choice, I'm making it, I've made it and now I'm living with it.

Has anyone done the same? Has anyone forsaken the perfect desk for one more true to life? Messy, in-your-face but more easily hands-on-able?

I don't connect/disconnect devices from my PC often enough to justify that.

NSMike wrote:

I don't connect/disconnect devices from my PC often enough to justify that.

Same here. My desktop is in my living room so that would be one hell of an eyesore. Mine is on a small table with casters though so I can pull it out for easier access to the back panel.

NSMike wrote:

I don't connect/disconnect devices from my PC often enough to justify that.

I'm always fiddling with my computer so it's a must for me.

Rykin wrote:
NSMike wrote:

I don't connect/disconnect devices from my PC often enough to justify that.

Same here. My desktop is in my living room so that would be one hell of an eyesore. Mine is on a small table with casters though so I can pull it out for easier access to the back panel.

So is mine, but I refuse to streamline or shiny-coat my PC. I prefer the open and exposed veins look of my rig. For example, since I switched around my PC, I've yanked my DVD-CD player from its housing and it now sits atop my rig facing me.

I usually only need USB ports and my current towers both have multiple USB ports out front.

BadKen wrote:

In HD?

I watch Friends all the time on netflix, but that's old content so it's just upscaled best I can figure. The stream quality is always good though, not fuzzy or anything.

b12n11w00t wrote:
BadKen wrote:

In HD?

I watch Friends all the time on netflix, but that's old content so it's just upscaled best I can figure. The stream quality is always good though, not fuzzy or anything.

No, Netflix made a big deal about Friends being HD when it became available it Jan 1, 2015. The HD conversion was done in 2012 for the Blu-Ray release. 35mm film is much higher resolution than 1080p!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchow...

http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/1/747...

https://bgr.com/2015/01/02/friends-o...

BTW, Netflix support was completely useless (as I expected they would be). The person I talked to had no idea whether it was supposed to be HD or not.

Boudreaux wrote:
Ego Man wrote:

I need to get my niece a telescope for Christmas. What are some things I should look for and what to avoid? She is 14 and big into science stuff and went to Space Camp earlier this year, so I want to do this right.

Any help will be appreciated.

First off, what's your budget?

Second, look for telescopes from companies that actually make telescopes - Meade, Orion, Celestron. Avoid most of what's sold at Target, Wal-Mart, etc.

- Aperture is king. Reflectors (use mirrors) will give you more "bang for the buck" than refractors (use lenses).

- The most aperture for the cheapest amount of money will be a Dobsonian, like this Orion 4.5" dob. However, dobs are big. The best telescope is the one you'll actually use. If she lives in a heavily light-polluted area, a good pair of binoculars might be a better start than a telescope.

- A telescope with an alt-azimuth mount (like a dobsonian) is cheaper than one with an equatorial mount, which lets you align the scope with the earth's axis. Makes start tracking easier and is required for any kind of astrophotography. Nice if you can get it, but not essential.

- You see a lot of Go-To computers these days, in my opinion they take half the fun out of a telescope, actually learning to navigate the sky. I'd avoid.

Feel free to PM me if you want more input.

Thanks, this is awesome info. I think our budget is in the $50-75 range, but it gives me lots to think about.

BadKen wrote:
b12n11w00t wrote:
BadKen wrote:

In HD?

I watch Friends all the time on netflix, but that's old content so it's just upscaled best I can figure. The stream quality is always good though, not fuzzy or anything.

No, Netflix made a big deal about Friends being HD when it became available it Jan 1, 2015. The HD conversion was done in 2012 for the Blu-Ray release. 35mm film is much higher resolution than 1080p!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchow...

http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/1/747...

https://bgr.com/2015/01/02/friends-o...

BTW, Netflix support was completely useless (as I expected they would be). The person I talked to had no idea whether it was supposed to be HD or not.

are you watching on a PC? If so press ctrl-alt-shift-s and see what the highest bit rate is. Also make sure you're not watching in Chrome. Friends plays fine for me at the highest 1080p quality (5800kbps), but to be honest it doesn't look much better than 480p.