The Apple Page -- March 22, 2022

Apple: at the Apple event a couple of weeks ago, I was greatly concerned that Apple was doing away with large screens. I love our 27-inch desktop Mac which is used exclusively for movies, television, streaming, sports. I never use is for "computing." If Apple made a bigger monitor, I would buy it, so I was not happy when it looked like the 27-inch Mac was history.

Apple announced a 27-inch Studio Display but I thought it would only "work" with the new high-priced Mac Studio. 

But it turns out that the new Apple Studio Display "is the perfect all-in-one monitor all Mac users." Link here. The 27-inch display will work with any Mac. 

But there's a little "secret" that makes this even better. The display is not simply a display in the usual sense. It comes with an A13 Bionic chip, which is used in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro which:

... allows it to bring over many of the features that Apple users have grown accustomed to in their other products. The speaker system supports Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio, so watching movies and listening to music (especially on Apple Music) is a very immersive experience. And the webcam supports Center Stage, a feature on all the latest iPads that automatically pans and tracks your movements to keep you in frame and in focus. 

This pretty much says it all:

• a stunning 5K Retina display that works with any Mac;
  
• the Studio Display connects to any recent Mac computer via a single USB-C Thunderbolt connection; 
• this supports up to 96 watts of pass-through power, so the display can charge the laptop, too. 
• inside, the Studio Display packs a wonderful six-speaker sound system (Apple claims it's the best it's ever put in a Mac), 
• a studio-quality microphone, and,
• it has a 12-megapixel ultra-wide webcam, similar to the latest iPad Air. These are all components that aren't integrated in most external monitors; you'd have to purchase them all separately. 
  

My hunch: software developers are going to take advantage of this in a big way. 

**************************
Disneyland

Updates

March 24, 2022: yesterday, I opened a new account at Schway, our "Disney" account. It will probably never hold any Disney (DIS) stock. Such dolce irony. It was kick-started with $1,000 in new money. I will continue to add to this on a monthly basis with new money and RMDs from inherited IRAs. The great-grandparents would approve. It is amazing how fast it takes to open a new account at a discount broker. I think it took less than five minutes; then, wrote the check and deposited it electronically.

Original Post 

Experience of a lifetime.

$7,000 for three days for a family of four.

If this is an experience of a lifetime, then begin saving up for it, like it's an experience of a lifetime.

Plan that experience of a lifetime for seven years from now. One is never too old to go to Disneyland for the first time. In fact, I would argue, one's first trip to Disneyland should be when one is old enough to "date." [Do folks use that word any more?] My first trip was as a freshman in college. I would not have done it any differently.

So, $7,000 / seven years = $1,000 / year.

$1,000 / year = $20 / week.

Are you kidding me? An experience of a lifetime for a family of four will cost less than $20 week for seven years. When one is seventy years old, seven years goes by very, very quickly. 

This is just crazy enough to incentivize me to open a Schwab account, name it "Disney Fund" and start saving. 

I have a meeting with Schwab advisor tomorrow. This will come up in conversation. 

Many, many story lines here. 

 For one year, I will put $20 / week in an envelope in my sock drawer. At the end of one year, I will open the "Disney Fund" at Schwab with $1,000 plus whatever more I want to kick in. RMDs from IRAs might be a great place to start. 

And, yes, that Disney vacation will cost much more seven years from now but an investment in America should take care of that.

Oh, back to the experience. This is how I would recommend Disneyland. These are all various sections of Disneyland, names of which I have long forgotten:

• first-time visit for family with with five-to-seven-year-olds: the child-themed park only.
• second-time visit for family with seven-to-nine-year-olds: the child-themed park and the old-fashioned carnival-themed park
• third-time visit with middle school students: the original Disneyland
• fourth-time visit with high school students: the "new" Disneyland across the way from the original Disneyland

After my tenth or eleventh visit to Disneyland some years ago, as a 40- or 50- or 60-year old -- I have long forgotten how old I was when I made my last three visits to Disneyland -- the two adult couples with their four children, older elementary through middle school, took turns shepherding the children through Disneyland. I had the second shift.

We arrived at Disneyland when the gates opened, 10:00 a.m. The others began their Disneyland experience. Me? I immediately headed over to the Coca-Cola-themed restaurant on Main Street with my Wall Street Journal and had a roll and coffee, and say there for two hours in a state of bliss. Not one other person was in the restaurant at that time of day. It becomes popular after 2:00 p.m.

By noon I was ready to saunter around Disneyland. I don't recall doing any rides, but I do remember absolutely enjoying the non-riding Disneyland experience while sort of doing my job shepherding the kids around. These days it would be a whole lot easier. Everyone would stay in constant contact via iPhones. 

Okay, enough of this. I get to walk Sophia to the school bus. 

I'll check for typographical errors later.