You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? Now with 3x more gears...

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I suspect people who have unpleasant experiences generally are unpleasant themselves. Almost brings it on them self.

Like how you think 95% of restaurants you visit are sub par because you're clearly a huge food snob?

[Reggie28]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

My goal when I get on to a plane is to have the least amount of interaction with any other person on the plane as possible.

Add this to getting a really nice pair of Noise Cancelling headphonesand ensuring I have a filled waterbottle when I get on, and I haven't had a "bad flight" in years.

I am confused about the maintenance comment though. In terms of quality of aircraft and cleanliness, I would rank Porter 1, AC 2, and WJ a distant 3rd. Always something wrong with the seat, the screen (if there is one anymore), an odor, or the heating/cooling.

I bring a set of Beats Studio Pro over the ear headphones, game changer. Can’t hear the annoying announcements for credit cards and is a clear indication to anyone around I’m not in the mood for a conversation.

Now, there has been a handful of times I have had interesting conversations with my seat neighbours, but usually people just want to be left alone and do their own thing.

[jayswin]

Man, haven't shopped for a PS5 in like 3 years. I was shocked to see they're basically the same price as when they came out like five years ago?!? Thats insane to me. Has it always been this way with consoles or was i just not paying attention before?

Either way, what's the best place to buy one at a decent price? Don't want to get screwed or scammed, but also dont want to spend $600 when the new system should be right around the corner. This is absurd.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by btimbit

There's no love lost between me and WestJet, but they're still miles ahead of AC despite trying their hardest to do worse and worse. And WJ is just flying their fleet into the ground, their planes are getting beat up pretty hard lately. But AC is miserable

WestJet has always been steady for me. Never spectacular but never awful.


My best flying experiences (with Canadian airlines) have been with Air Canada. And so have my worst.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Like how you think 95% of restaurants you visit are sub par because you're clearly a huge food snob?

Subpar food doesn’t equal bad service or a poor experience. But also a weird take because I’ve only mentioned 2 restaurants I can remember being subpar: Major Tom and Longview steakhouse. I didn’t have a bad experience at either of those places just not a fan of the food!

I ate at poco loco yesterday for lunch!!

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Man, haven't shopped for a PS5 in like 3 years. I was shocked to see they're basically the same price as when they came out like five years ago?!? Thats insane to me. Has it always been this way with consoles or was i just not paying attention before?

Either way, what's the best place to buy one at a decent price? Don't want to get screwed or scammed, but also dont want to spend $600 when the new system should be right around the corner. This is absurd.

I think a lot of it has to do with pandemic inflation. From launch in 2020 at $629, that's $753 in today's dollars, or almost 20% higher. Inflation over the 5 years form the launch of the PS3 is 9.4%. It'd be nice if they released cheap versions near the end of life, like Nintendo did with the Wii. But perhaps re-engineering everything with newer cheaper hardware doesn't make sense either.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Man, haven't shopped for a PS5 in like 3 years. I was shocked to see they're basically the same price as when they came out like five years ago?!? Thats insane to me. Has it always been this way with consoles or was i just not paying attention before?

Either way, what's the best place to buy one at a decent price? Don't want to get screwed or scammed, but also dont want to spend $600 when the new system should be right around the corner. This is absurd.

Yeah, I think Playstation (maybe not in north america?) and Xbox have both increased their consoles prices earlier this year. General inflation and tariffs being pointed at. It was extra surprising for Xbox given their relative sales numbers and smaller market share. I don't think we are going back to "slim" iterations where they keep the console power the same but shrink the form factor with technological efficiencies 4-6 years down the line.

There was talk about Nintendo increasing the price of their new console with all the tariff shenanigans but they held the line for launch. Wouldn't be surprised if they raise it sometime this year or next though.

As for a discounted price, I haven't seen anything like that at retail for new sealed ones. Not sure you want to go used but you can always follow lbabinz on twitter for gaming deals. Maybe there will be sales in November for Black Friday coming up. Also can't hurt to call Video Game Trader in town, they'll probably have used stuff but back them up.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I think a lot of it has to do with pandemic inflation. From launch in 2020 at $629, that's $753 in today's dollars, or almost 20% higher. Inflation over the 5 years form the launch of the PS3 is 9.4%. It'd be nice if they released cheap versions near the end of life, like Nintendo did with the Wii. But perhaps re-engineering everything with newer cheaper hardware doesn't make sense either.

I think that's part of it, but wasn't Sony selling many console units at a loss for a while? I assume the price not changing is also partially due to them no longer trying to give them away and break even/be profitable instead.

After all these years, I believe the PS5 are one of the few things out there effectively using 5500 MB/s+ NVMe SSD to their full potential. It does so right out of the box, and it's been doing so for nearly 5 years now (a really long time in terms of technology years).

Deals wise, IIRC, the base consoles rarely go on sale, but bundles frequently do. I think most deals like Black Friday just give you an accessory or game for free vs drastically dropping the price? The only other way I can think of to get it for cheap is to try and figure out how to abuse loyalty rewards when purchasing, or second hand/open box. Like abusing bonus redemption at Shoppers if you can find a place stocking games and accessories etc. (but I think a lot of stores stopped stocking consoles).

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

One of my buddies is a WestJet flight attendant, and he may be the happiest person on earth. I'm dying to take a flight he's working on. Says his job is super easy, and has amazing perks. He's always off partying somewhere exotic for free. Its to the point where if I ever got laid off, I may seriously consider just doing that haha. And my quirky FA arse would be downright loveable.

I was on my cousin's buddy pass for WJ for about 6 months and it was awesome.

Flying into Vancouver for a day just for food. Taking day trips to Winnipeg and Toronto to go comic book shopping. lol

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

I was on my cousin's buddy pass for WJ for about 6 months and it was awesome.

Flying into Vancouver for a day just for food. Taking day trips to Winnipeg and Toronto to go comic book shopping. lol

You might be the first person I’ve heard of who went to Winnipeg for enjoyment and not work / family.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Deals wise, IIRC, the base consoles rarely go on sale, but bundles frequently do. I think most deals like Black Friday just give you an accessory or game for free vs drastically dropping the price? .

Case in point I stopped into best buy today. There's a PS5 slim digital bundle with Call of Duty for $509.99 at both Best Buy and Gamestop.....sold out in store and online across Canada for weeks, no more stock coming, apparently.

I don't play Call of Duty so she was like "Oh, awesome I do have lots of the Digital slim console only, should be the same price if you don't care about the gam......oh wow, nope it's $580 for console only". I was like sweet, so I have to pay $70 extra to NOT get Call of Duty for free? We both laughed at how stupid it was and I left.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

You might be the first person I’ve heard of who went to Winnipeg for enjoyment and not work / family.

Winnipeg has a bunch of great comics. They used to have Canada's distribution centre back in the 80s and early 90s.

and hence why I would not stay the night. 6-8 hours and then outta there!

[Sr. Mints]

It never occurred to me that I ought to get furnace ducts cleaned before the installation of a new furnace. I just never thought of it, and I sure wish one of the five companies that I received a quote from mentioned it specifically, especially after I mentioned to at least two of them that they're way overdue to get cleaned.

It was the installer today who, as he was showing me how everything works, pulls out the filter and it's already filthy and he's like "haven't you had your ducts cleaned??"

I genuinely thought it was better to have the ducts cleaned after renos, and this furnace was the last of a string of them. My bad, I guess, but it feels better to blame someone else

[topfiverecords]

Duct cleaning is snake oil.

[ripTDR]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I think that's part of it, but wasn't Sony selling many console units at a loss for a while? I assume the price not changing is also partially due to them no longer trying to give them away and break even/be profitable instead.

After all these years, I believe the PS5 are one of the few things out there effectively using 5500 MB/s+ NVMe SSD to their full potential. It does so right out of the box, and it's been doing so for nearly 5 years now (a really long time in terms of technology years).

Deals wise, IIRC, the base consoles rarely go on sale, but bundles frequently do. I think most deals like Black Friday just give you an accessory or game for free vs drastically dropping the price? The only other way I can think of to get it for cheap is to try and figure out how to abuse loyalty rewards when purchasing, or second hand/open box. Like abusing bonus redemption at Shoppers if you can find a place stocking games and accessories etc. (but I think a lot of stores stopped stocking consoles).

I find the PS5 to be a good console but not great. I'm a gamer not obsessed with frame rates or performance. I just like a good looking game with fast load times which is what it gives. The thing is kinda ugly and I keep it in the back of my display out of the way. I enjoy it in a utilitarian way.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

It never occurred to me that I ought to get furnace ducts cleaned before the installation of a new furnace. I just never thought of it, and I sure wish one of the five companies that I received a quote from mentioned it specifically, especially after I mentioned to at least two of them that they're way overdue to get cleaned.

It was the installer today who, as he was showing me how everything works, pulls out the filter and it's already filthy and he's like "haven't you had your ducts cleaned??"

I genuinely thought it was better to have the ducts cleaned after renos, and this furnace was the last of a string of them. My bad, I guess, but it feels better to blame someone else

And someone not trying to scam you would just say “dude change your filter more often…”

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by Nufy

One year ago. Almost to the week. I was stranded in Montreal after my flight to Calgary was cancelled.

Guess where I am again. FFS !!!

Air Canada never fails to fail.

Follow up...

You would think that when your flight is cancelled and you are re-booked on a different flight number...that your luggage would automatically be assigned to the new flight.

However...Air Canada in their wisdom...re-scheduled me for a flight leaving at 1:30 pm from Montreal.

My luggage though...had to wait for the same later flight that was cancelled the previous day.

I think I might become one of those people that bang their carryon down the aisles on every flight now instead of using my free checked bag...

[troutman]

https://bkvenergy.com/blog/air-duct-cleaning/

Does air duct cleaning really work?

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), duct cleaning has not been proven to prevent health problems or significantly improve indoor air quality. In fact, multiple studies indicate that most household dust settles on surfaces, not in ductwork. Dirty air ducts are not a primary source of airborne pollutants in homes. The EPA further notes that there’s little to no evidence suggesting that routine duct cleaning improves HVAC performance or reduces energy costs in a measurable way.

That said, there are exceptions. Duct cleaning may be beneficial in specific cases such as after a mold infestation, rodent infiltration, or major home renovation that introduces excessive debris into the ductwork. But for the average homeowner, scheduling a duct cleaning every few years is more of a marketing-driven upsell than a necessity. HVAC systems are designed to filter and manage airflow efficiently, and if your system is functioning properly with a clean filter and regular maintenance, duct cleaning likely offers minimal return on investment.

So, is duct cleaning worth it? In most cases, the answer is no.

As for Radon remediation:

https://www.forensic-applications.com/radon/radon.html

A large portion of the general population is under the misconception that the frequently published risks associated with radon are well accepted scientific facts. In reality, the vast majority of well designed studies do not support US EPA policies or Radon Industry positions that exposures to indoor radon pose a significant threat to health.

There is almost no scientifically valid evidence to indicate that radon concentrations, as typically observed in homes poses a measurable risk to nonsmokers.

The majority of reliable studies that have thus far been performed indicate that, at concentrations typically seen in homes, as the level of radon increases, the risk of lung cancer goes down, not up.

To date (in 2021), there are no epidemiological studies that reliably demonstrate a positive dose - response relationship between normal residential radon concentrations and the incidence of lung cancer

[FurnaceFace]

I would submit the duct cleaning is perhaps half of the service. The servicing/inspecting of the furnace, usually tied to the cleaning, is worth it in my mind. I know in my case having EVERLAST out last year resulted in increasing my awareness of some pending issues.

[MolsonInBothHands]

Originally Posted by FurnaceFace

I would submit the duct cleaning is perhaps half of the service. The servicing/inspecting of the furnace, usually tied to the cleaning, is worth it in my mind. I know in my case having EVERLAST out last year resulted in increasing my awareness of some pending issues.

Username checks out.