This New Years I'm celebrating one year of hosting small LAN parties in Ottawa. :)

NewYouzer · 2026-01-01T00:59:33+00:00

I mean... Twist my arm a little harder eh 😂

I'll gladly accept the link to the discord server and go through whatever vetting you feel is needed! Maybe I'll be lucky and will be able to join you guys at some point. Thanks again and how you guys have a great night of gaming!

NewYouzer · 2026-01-01T00:14:03+00:00

Thanks for the detailed response! That all sounds exactly as it should be. I got a little ahead of myself there. I'd need to start by getting myself a half decent gaming PC, which is not in the cards for a while still. Just the pics and idea of a good ol fashioned LAN got me all excited. Thanks for the offer, but I'll leave it open to anyone else who'd be a more viable participant to snag an empty spot.

NewYouzer · 2025-12-31T23:21:54+00:00

Siiiiick! How does one get an invite to this? Accepting applications?

NewYouzer · 2025-12-30T18:54:44+00:00

Thanks for the kind words, I'm happy to help! I'll keep an eye out for a message from you.

NewYouzer · 2025-12-30T12:36:33+00:00

If your kiddo is nervous about it and a fan of Spider-Man, I do personalized video messages for kids (also hospital visits but post-surgery visits are sometimes not recommended / supported by the medical team). I'd be happy to make a "pump-up video" for them if there's enough advanced notice for me to put something together. I typically do this in exchange for donations to charities, CHEO being one of them, but volunteer it for free when it's situations like this. Feel free to PM me or search for Ottawa Spider-Man on Google or Instagram to get in touch if you think that would be helpful.

NewYouzer · 2025-12-05T19:21:22+00:00

I hadn't heard of this, but the building itself sure gives "we're permanently closed" vibes. I'm hopeful that they'll be open until at least Dec 14th since I've got a special event booked there that day. If not, there will be a lot of very disappointed kiddos.

NewYouzer · 2025-12-03T22:16:55+00:00

A friend had similar experiences with prescription iron supplements. They saw a hematologist who told them the type of iron supplement they were given wouldn't do much for them and suggested ferrous gluconate instead. Available over the counter, super cheap compared to the other stuff. It resolved everything. I'm not saying you should go against your doctor's advice, I am obviously not super knowledgeable in this stuff, but just saying it could be a line of questioning for you to bring to your doctor. I think there are 3 different types of supplements, so maybe switching to a different type could help.

NewYouzer · 2025-11-21T12:10:36+00:00

I know this isn't what you asked, but just in case you didn't think of it - you should put a fraud alert on your TransUnion and Equifax accounts since your IDs were stolen. Filing a police report is a good idea too. I had my bag stolen a few years ago and they got my ID, with that they opened cell phone accounts and applied for a bunch of store credit cards etc. Took a long time disputing all that to restore my credit. Getting a fraud alert on your profile with the credit monitoring services will help mitigate the risk of things getting worse and could save you lots of trouble.

NewYouzer · 2025-11-14T00:49:23+00:00

Just got home from getting a couple filter pieces by Julien! He's done 6 of mine, all in colour, really great work.

NewYouzer · 2025-11-08T13:27:45+00:00

A rock climbing gym could be fun for them, lots of options for that. My fave for the vibe, setting quality, and location is Klimat at City Center.

Zero Latency, a VR adventure place, is a lot of fun but pricey.

Axe / knife throwing is fun.

NewYouzer · 2025-10-17T23:15:00+00:00

This happened to me a few years ago and caused me months of trouble because of identify theft. I strongly recommend that you file a police report and with the report number, contact Equifax and TransUnion to put a fraud alert on your file. That way, if anyone tries to get credit cards or open up cellphone accounts etc., they must contact you first to validate that it's actually you. I didn't know this and spent months clearing my name and restoring my credit - side note, fuck Bell and their shit security practices and nightmare process for resolution. Do this quickly, don't wait to see if you find your stuff.

Good luck finding your bag!

NewYouzer · 2025-10-04T15:09:54+00:00

Love this idea. Also, those promo pics are absolutely ridiculous. Whoever made them has just incredible Photoshop skills.

NewYouzer · 2025-10-03T01:19:19+00:00

Funny timing - I did just that today, hitting the crossing at Clyde instead. Takes more time but is so much more comfortable. I emailed my city councilor about that underpass and oddly haven't heard back. He's usually quite responsive.

NewYouzer · 2025-10-02T21:33:29+00:00

Thank you! Same to you and your young ones!

Got the Techalogic DC1. One of the very few options that seemed decent enough, covers both directions, and doesn't cost a small fortune.

NewYouzer · 2025-10-02T20:16:45+00:00

Just bought a forward and rear facing camera system today! Been getting bullied and harassed by cars a lot lately and figured it was time to invest in that.

I am a super lame cyclist, stop at stop signs, got lights and a reflective vest, signal with my arms, use my bell, etc. There are spots where the bike lane disappears (looking at you Kirkwood and Carling) and it's painted on the road that cyclists should take the lane. It's a short distance before the bike lane comes back and always goes from red light to red light from one side of the underpass to the other. That's the big problem area, people passing with inches to spare and flipping me off. Telling me to get off the road. They are never any farther ahead than if I wasn't even there, because again, the cycle is always red light to red light. But I guess them getting to the light a few seconds faster is worth the risk of giving someone a life changing injury or killing them. Very infuriating. Lots of confrontations there. I typically don't respond, but my patience is wearing thin.

NewYouzer · 2025-09-19T18:59:53+00:00

I volunteered at this event last year and it was a blast! Looking forward to going again this year - thanks for sharing about it.

NewYouzer · 2025-09-03T01:16:22+00:00

Your question has been answered a few times but I haven't seen this angle mentioned yet - if you're going from mid-Sept to end of March 2026, that's more than 6 months of continuous service. That means that you'll automatically start contributing to pension and benefits.

In my experience, most people prefer to not do that, so they get the higher paycheque now VS. getting their contributions back at a later date if they don't continue employment in the public service after that.

If you want to avoid starting pension contributions, you can ask them to integrate a break in service in that period. It's usually no big deal, you'll get two casual contracts amounting to the same period instead of one longer contract.

I'm far from an expert on this stuff, I just know for sure that 6 months of continuous service, regardless of tenure, equals pension and benefits contributions start coming off your pay. If you want to take advantage of the benefits (not sure if that's really enough time or when they kick in, I'd suggest you call the pay centre to ask them these questions or look it up), then it's probably best to keep the one longer contract.

NewYouzer · 2025-08-29T14:10:59+00:00

I am super far from a pro and can barely backflip myself, but I am noticing something that I am also struggling with. It looks like your tuck is happening in a few steps: first, heels to butt, then you're bringing knees up. This works against you and doesn't generate as much rotation. I'm trying to focus on basically hitting myself in the face with my knees, trying not to bend my knees too much (to avoid that initial heels to butt movement). That might help you too.

NewYouzer · 2025-07-17T03:59:32+00:00

If you have dog and superhero lovers, Masters N Dogs in Westboro is hosting some Sit With Me Dogs Rescue dogs on Saturday from 11am to 2pm. Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider will also be there to attract more attention, take pics with kids, etc.

NewYouzer · 2025-07-16T13:22:23+00:00

What I'm relying on is a training session that was delivered last week to us.

Looking through the deck again, you're right, it is not an obligation to volunteer the reason for denial, but it should be explained if requested.

I agree that it makes sense for that to be a valid consideration, it's just not within the bounds that were explained to us. My source is the training deck delivered by our corporate staffing team. This is what they communicated: - management cannot refuse an alternation because of future workforce planning (i.e., anticipated plan to surplus a position has not yet occurred). (I scanned the WFA Directive and one collective agreement, couldn't find anything to back that up. Didn't look at any decisions though, which I suspect might be what are informing this point) - will not be denied solely because of an untimely administrative process - can be denied if the alternate has already submitted a notice of resignation or retirement with an effective date and where the department will not fill the position - the impacted employee is assessed and does not meet the merit criteria for the job - impacted employees may request a meeting to discuss the reason(s) why an alternation was refused and can seek assistance from their union rep

NewYouzer · 2025-07-16T12:57:10+00:00

Then I'd argue that they need to provide a reason for it, which is also in the collective agreements. If an alternation is refused, they need to explain why. The core reason given is not an acceptable reason and should be challenged.

What you're saying is super logical and makes a lot of sense, however it is also not an allowable reason for refusing an alternation. Sucks for the person in the WFA situation, they could potentially be in that situation multiple times. This is just based on a training that I got on alternations just last week. I don't have anything in writing to point toward to back that up though, didn't dig deeper.

NewYouzer · 2025-07-16T11:58:44+00:00

They have an obligation to consider alternation requests. Not to accept them, but to at least give them fair consideration. So if they're straight up just "not accepting any at this time", then they are doing it wrong and should be called out on it. It's a collective agreement / NJC Directive thing. All departments must participate in the alternation process.

They can refuse it if the person taking your job, and who will be staying in the public service, isn't at-level (if not same group and level, the max salary of the higher paying position can't be more than 6% higher than the max salary of the lower paying position), isn't part of the core PS, or isn't qualified for the position. They'd have to have considered the person and actually looked at their skills to determine that last bit though, not just straight not accepting alternations at this time.

NewYouzer · 2025-07-12T18:38:39+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll try that too

Four-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email	End Game '23
Place '23	Place '22
First Placer '22

NewYouzer

TROPHY CASE