JustinTI

Never will happen - any many will disagree...but if I could make one change that would fix most of the carry on related issues, it would be to eliminate cabin baggage with wheels.

Rolling suitcases are in general bigger and heavier. They take up more space on the plane and allow people to pack much more to carry on. It also allows the situation in which someone carries on a suitcase they cannot physically put into the overhead bins.

If people had to physically carry their bags through the airport, most of these issues would be eliminated quickly.

With the class finished, I pulled together some comparisons over the last 10+ years (since 2014). It is all based on mlb.com rankings because (1) they are free and generally available - so they are the only ones I have a long term record of and (2) I find them to be as good as any of the rankings. There may be a slight discrepancy in the numbers here or there, as I usually grab the last full rankings and do not go back and adjust after they drop a player who removed himself from the draft - for example, Nate Davis this year.

In terms of where this class stands relative to others, it has the most highly ranked players by a decent margin:



On the individual players, Logan Schmidt is up there in terms of highly ranked players making it to campus, but he is not even the most highly ranked on next year's pitching staff ( that goes to William Schmidt). I stopped this last at top 150 players to keep it reasonable, but I noted a few outside of that. 2026 signees are highlighted for quick reference:

quote:

---

If he's successful year 1 at a JUCO he could also sign for $3M-$4M maybe and this is all a moot point.

---

While this is possible, it is definitely not the likely outcome. Relying on AI - but it lines up with my memory - only 4 guys have gotten over $2.5million out of juco. Out of those 4, only two (Harper and Cam Collier) got over $3.5M. Total, only 8 have gotten over $2M

Additionally, Schmidt is not a top 10 prospect. He was #45 on mlb.com. That puts him closer to Mac Marshall (#66 out of high school) than to being a top 20 prospect. Marshall got $750k after his juco move.

All that to say, it is possible he could come out and absolutely dominate juco and get one of the biggest juco signing bonuses ever, but historically he is more likely to stay the same or get a lower bonus. The juco route just doesn't make a ton of sense, and I would have taken the $1.7M if he was that ready to get his pro career started. Also, it seems like his management let him down by letting it play out this way.

For a while now, I make a chart of the signees before the draft with the rankings I can find. Helps me to get to know the class and who to pay attention to. I've shared it before, but it's been a couple years. See below for the 2026 version. I added Koki's odds and Hunt's odds (which required some interpretation). No guarantee that I didn't miss anything, but it should be pretty accurate. Also, it's dense, so I added a separate high/low rank column.

quote:

---

Snowbasin. They don’t like my kind at Deer Valley

---

You're in good company. My son is of your kind, which is one of the reasons he is not making this trip. :lol:

Fingers crossed for snow...or at least favorable snow making conditions.

The Alila Ventana Big Sur. Lots of outdoor options in that area, and the hotel is all inclusive. Not the easiest to get to, but not too bad. Finding point availability can be tough if not booking right when the schedule opens. Another option in that area is the Hyatt Carmel Highlands. I would also think some of the ski properties have good summer hiking options (Vail, Beaver Creek, Park City).

Did a Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica cruise a couple years back. Had a blast. South Georgia is one of the most naturally beautiful places I've been and has an astonishing amount of wildlife. Antarctica is notably different but also awesome. Enjoyed the Falklands, but we were only there for a day.

What operator and vessel are you traveling on? Preview of some sites below:

Anyone have upcoming Hyatt stays through the end of February? I have a suite upgrade cert and 2 guest of honor certs expiring 2/28/2025 that I won't make use of and will gift to anyone that can benefit. I don't believe you can apply a suite upgrade and guest of honor to the same stay. Leave your email if so.

Saw the Monday show at MSG and thought it was awesome. No surprises there as Gilmour is my favorite, and this was my first time seeing him live.

Gilmour obviously has some age on him, but he stills sounds great and plays guitar as well as anyone to do it. As is typically the case with Floyd/Gilmour, the visuals were also fantastic. Going into the concert, I was probably more excited about the first set because it had several of my favorite Floyd songs - and it was fantastic. That said, I enjoyed the second set every bit as much. Sorrow, Piper's Call, A Great Day for Freedom, and In Any Tongue started it off and were great live.

He "finished" (pre encore) with Scattered, which seemed a little anti-climactic to conclude with a new song when I first saw the setlist, but he crushed it with that one. Could be recency bias/seeing it live, but that is probably my favorite of his solo songs.

Overall, I'm super happy I made the trip and would not hesitate to go see him again if he has another tour in him - which I think he may. He seemed to be really enjoying playing with his daughter and mixing in a lot of the new/lesser played songs.

Speaking of the new album. I too listened to a single or two when released, then kind of forgot about it. But I started listening to it prior to going to his concert, and it really grew on me. As noted, I think Scattered is great and A Piper's Call is probably my next favorite, but they're all worth a listen. It's Gilmour, and it definitely sounds like him...but if you like Gilmour, you should give it another shot if you've moved on.

Here is Comfortably Numb in MSG and Scattered at the RAH. Neither does being there justice, but it gives you an idea. I suspect he'll release a DVD eventually as well.



Scattered:

Youtube Link

I have a 48" RNB Blue Star all burner range and absolutely love it. Some thoughts:

We like and have frequently put to use the two ovens on our range. The big side absolutely fits a full size sheet pan, which is enormous. The small side fits a half size sheet pan, which is a pretty good size as well.

I would definitely go with the all burner setup again. You can put a griddle on top over multiple burners if you want, and I personally don't have much use for the charbroiler. The burners are much more versatile.

Speaking of which, the burners put out substantial heat. I went with an oversized high powered hood (54", 1200 cfm) and think that is an absolute necessity if you don't want your kitchen always smelly/smoky. I have enjoyed having a proper hood as much as the range. Definitely don't cheap out on the hood/hood ventilation.

You had mentioned dual fuel. That is something Bluestar has added since I bought mine. I would lean to the all gas version as the simplicity and lack of electronics is one of the main things I like about the oven. It should last and be relatively easy to fix over the long run. If you really want an electric oven, you can get a countertop one or a built in stand alone oven/microwave combo...or steam oven if you really have cash to burn.

Happy to answer any other questions you have, but I would buy my range again without hesitation if I were doing it over after ~5 years of use.