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I came across an old story from back in 2013, when the world was seemingly a little brighter, that I thought might be worth a share as we near the end of 2025.

Canadians have been raising a stink with the Bank of Canada about the new plastic bank notes.

Emails to bank officials from the public in the months after the polymer bills were introduced repeatedly ask whether a scent of maple syrup has been added to the notes.

The correspondence, obtained under the Access to Information Act, asks the bank to confirm whether a scratch-and-sniff feature has been quietly added.

Rumours of the maple-syrup scent got started on the internet soon after the first bank notes were introduced in 2011, and have persisted in YouTube videos, blogs and Tweets.

The bank insists it has not added a scent, maple or otherwise, to any of the new plastic bills.

But the maple myth is likely to persist, with some Canadians claiming the odour might be an unexpected byproduct of the manufacturing process.

The voters chose a minority government and expected the parties to work together, and I don’t think it’s right for Carney and his team to try to undermine that,” said Kofman. “But then I think of Poilievre’s stupid little face being told about one floor crossing after another and I giggle for about 10 minutes.”

But also:

Kofman went on to acknowledge his concerns that a Carney Liberal majority could force through a Western pipeline without any environmental or Indigenous consultation, before dissolving back into giggles picturing Pierre Poilievre’s sad face becoming a popular reaction gif used to denote “whiny pouting” across the internet.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/56742707

If you haven’t gotten around to it already, Sunday is looking like it’s going to be a great day to be ready with your snow tires.

Changes are coming to how blue and black bins are collected across the province. Under regulations from the Government of Ontario (link is external), responsibility for collecting and processing recycling across Ontario will transfer to producers of paper and packaging. This means that Ontarians will be able to recycle the same materials no matter where they live.

What this will mean for curbside recycling collection in Ottawa:

• Continue to put your bins out by 7 am on your collection day. They will be collected by a different truck and collection may occur at a different time of day than usual.
• There will be minor changes to what can go in your blue and black bins as of January 1, 2026. A full list of items that can be recycled is available on the Circular Materials website(link is external). The City will provide more details in the coming weeks.
• You can continue to use your existing standard sized blue and black bins.
• Beginning on Thursday, January 1, 2026, you will no longer contact the City for any recycling-related services such as a broken bin or a missed collection.

More details will be provided in the coming weeks on who residents can contact for recycling collection services in 2026.

• Main and Secondary Displays: 4-inch IPS / 640 x 480
• Processor: RockChip RK3568
• GPU: Mali-G52 2EE
• RAM: 3GB
• Storage: 32GB + microSD
• Battery: 4000mAh (~6 hours)
• Charging: 5V/1.6A (~3.5 hours)
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz/5GHz
• Extras: Hall Magnetic Switch, Quick Switch Key, Six-Axis Gyroscope
• Colors: Turquoise Blue / Red Black / White
• Software: Android 14

AliExpress listing shows three different configurations, as you’ll be able to choose whether you want a 128GB microSD card, 256GB microSD Card, or just the handheld. The price itself starts at $108.99 for the “No Games” version, leaving us to surmise to that the sub-$100 price that was originally touted will just be for pre-orders. This means that the RG DS will range between $108 and $138 after pre-orders have concluded.

George Springer topped them all with a come-from-behind moment that will go down as one of the biggest homers in franchise history.

Springer hit a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh inning and closer Jeff Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth to lift the Blue Jays to a dramatic 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Monday night.

The victory gave Toronto its first AL pennant since 1993 and a berth in the World Series starting Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The news of Nelvana's closure hit like a plot twist no one saw coming, but industry insiders point to a perfect storm of challenges. Reports from employees indicate the studio closed its doors on August 29, 2025, with no official statement from Corus yet. This follows a wave of layoffs and restructuring that began in 2024.

Parent company Corus Entertainment has been grappling with severe financial woes, including a steep advertising downturn fueled by economic uncertainty and the lingering effects of the 2023 U.S. writers' and actors' strikes. In July 2024, Nelvana paused all development and parted ways with VP Athena Georgaklis amid cost-cutting measures. Corus's broader issues include shutting down Disney Jr. and Disney XD channels in Canada by September 2025, signaling a retreat from kids' programming.

Experts cite industry-wide shifts: streaming wars have squeezed traditional animation budgets, while AI tools and offshore production reduce demand for in-house studios. Corruption allegations and executive pay hikes amid layoffs haven't helped public perception. For Nelvana, which integrated its operations into Corus in 2006, these pressures proved fatal.

The AYN Thor is the company's first clamshell handheld, featuring dual-screens and comes in response to the AYANEO Pocket DS.

cross-posted from: https://sopuli.xyz/post/32109389

Plex has notified some of its users on Thursday to urgently update their media servers due to a recently patched security vulnerability.

The company has yet to assign a CVE-ID to track the flaw and didn't provide additional details regarding the patch, only saying that it impacts Plex Media Server versions 1.41.7.x to 1.42.0.x.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/post/1096000

As always, don't shoot the messenger!

This is slop!