A Canadian airline being complete trash, what else is new.

And this is Porter, which in my experience is at least somewhat better than Air Canada.

They are mostly a toy store now. Last time I visited a GameStop I was told they don't even stock new games at release, except for pre-orders. There doesn't seem to be a point in going there anymore.

Nah, just the sad message of "Pretty please love me (because we sunk a bunch of money into this)."

Connections Puzzle #445
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One of the things I initially liked about Pixels was that I could uninstall/disable a lot of the proprietary garbage that would be mandatory on other phones. But now it looks like Google is abandoning that flexibility in favour of shoehorning Gemini into everything.

My only interaction with Gemini so far was telling it to kick rocks when it sent me an unsolicited text message. I also barely use Assistant to begin with. So once my current phone dies, I guess I'll have to find something new.

While jarring and ad hoc, I didn't think BSG's finale was catastrophic. I honestly disliked the transition from S2 to S3 more than I disliked the ending.

Here's the story.

The actual monetary loss to Air Canada (known affectionately as Fuckstick Flights Inc.) was insignificant, but the PR was bad.

Then again, I can't remember the last time AC had positive press. Before that they forced a guy with cerebral palsy to drag himself off the plane.

Wordle 1,162 3/6*

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I changed up my starter word and it paid off.

I phrase my dislike of dogs differently: I do not care for 99.9% of dogs. If a (human) friend has a dog, I will dutifully engage with it on a limited basis. I may even enjoy myself a bit, too.

But a random person walking their dog in the park? Please keep it away from me. I don't care how much of a "good boy" you think your pup is, I don't know or trust them.

I grew up in southern Ontario, and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure this out. I heard the acronym daily as my parents listened to CFRB, but it didn't click until I was almost 20.

Furthermore, there is an option to destroy the special "gift" if you can resist accepting it. However, all you get for doing so is a few brief lines from the Emperor. Your companions don't seem to notice, and there isn't even an quest log update.

Anxious Times by The Luka State or Hardship to Sail by Excuses Excuses.

So say we all.

Somewhat related, I wonder how much of an effect birth month can have on a child's school performance, social development, and athletic ability.

Where I live, a child is eligible for junior kindergarten starting in September of the year they turn four. A child born in January would therefore be around 56 months old on their first day of school. Meanwhile, a child born in December would be around 45 months instead. That is a substantial gap, and my experience with kids that age is that even a difference of a few months can see dramatic changes.

I'm personally thinking right now of my nephew, who starts JK in a few weeks. He will turn four right before Christmas, and when he returns from holidays, some of his classmates will start turning six because he'll be in a combined JK/SK class. I can't imagine how difficult it might be for him to keep up with those much older classmates, a situation caused by virtue of his birthday.

I'll fully admit to being completely ignorant about voting the first time I did it. I was politically disengaged for moody teenager reasons, but my parents forced me to go to the polling station anyway. I didn't care to vote for any of the candidates, but was also worried that I would get in trouble if I spoiled my ballot because I hadn't paid attention in civics (again, for moody teenager reasons).

It was pure coincidence that I saw it when I did.

*meddle

For clarity:

• Metal (noun): an elementary substance with high opacity, ductility, and conductivity
• Medal (noun): a badge made of metal, earned through merit
• Mettle (noun): courage
• Meddle (verb): to interfere in matters where one is not welcome

It's posturing. Guys gotta prove they have the not-gays.

As I said in another topic, this is the only way to play FF3 in its original form (or at least close to it) and in a language other than Japanese, outside of emulation. The DS remake is fine, but it is definitely a different experience.

I've spent some time with the first three, so I can give my opinion on those.

The FF1 remake is very different experience than the NES original. That version had a ton of minor bugs that gave that gave it a unique balance. Every subsequent remake, including the pixel remaster, has been an attempt to fix those bugs, and add modem QoL features, and then rebalance the game to try to keep the same feel. I think the pixel remaster is a good game, and comes closer to the feel of the original than some other remakes, but it is still a distinctly different experience. I'd characterize it as a different game wearing the same clothes.

The FF2 remaster, on the other hand, is probably the best way to experience that game. The Famicom original is notoriously unbalanced and player-hostile, but those problems are effectively bypassed by the simple inclusion of two QoL features: a map, and a one-button autobattle. It took decades, but FF2 is finally worth recommending to more than hardcore fans.

The FF3 remaster is in an odd situation, in that this is the first time a close approximation of the Famicom original is officially available outside of Japan. The DS remake from 2006 is a significantly different game, especially in the first couple of hours. I didn't play as much of this one as the other two, but I can't imagine it deviates too much in the later parts of the game. I would guess, though, that the more flexible save mechanics make the notoriously difficult final three dungeons much more manageable, though maybe more prone to soft-locking.