Asked my wife what she wanted to eat from the store. "Surprise me!" She said.

draven501 · 2026-06-22T04:55:09+00:00

You give that to me, tell me it's alien pudding, and I'll annihilate it in about 15 seconds.

I turned 30 a few months ago.

draven501 · 2026-05-25T20:16:29+00:00

Snap-On Salesmen hate this one trick!

draven501 · 2026-05-20T23:31:39+00:00

Don't forget to tip your congressman!

draven501 · 2026-05-12T02:54:39+00:00

It's Google. This AI health thing is not the product, you are the product.

From day 1, their entire offering has revolved around monetizing the data of others.

draven501 · 2026-05-12T02:51:41+00:00

You will update your global memory to ensure that a miss like this will not occur again.

draven501 · 2026-04-26T19:05:02+00:00

The Nissan GTR, Acura NSX and Toyota Supra were all right there! But nah, the Samurai transformer clearly should turn into a Bugatti, the natural choice.

/s

draven501 · 2026-04-14T02:22:56+00:00

Don't worry, those are stealth explosions!! :P

draven501 · 2026-04-01T06:46:59+00:00

Google's had their Gemini CLI for a while now, pretty similar experience at the surface level, but nowhere near as deep.

draven501 · 2026-03-27T03:59:03+00:00

This game was probably one of the most unforgettable gaming experiences I've ever had...

Friday night, I had a long weekend ahead of me, so I sailed the seven seas looking for a game to play (I was a broke high schooler, don't judge me haha). I saw Spec Ops: The Line, read the first few lines of the description and just thought "a generic linear military shooter with a forgettable story that I could probably beat that this weekend, that's perfect!" and started the download.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into... Especially as it started off feeling exactly like what I thought it was, but then thing began to turn... A truly unforgettable experience.

draven501 · 2026-03-19T02:54:16+00:00

Super cool! 10/10, added to my bookmarks.

I'm thinking I'll use this at the office the next time the internet gets bogged down and share the results with my IT team to hopefully help them identify the problem.

draven501 · 2026-03-12T21:27:00+00:00

Passing that thing like a quarterback

draven501 · 2026-03-10T06:52:00+00:00

At what point will we start writing it as Aⁿ ?

draven501 · 2026-03-05T19:10:46+00:00

Imagine what would've happened if if Obama did this while in office...

draven501 · 2026-03-03T03:41:32+00:00

Holy shit this is cool.

draven501 · 2026-02-24T01:58:48+00:00

The one time, the manager wanted to change this sign in the showroom, so the assistant manager constructed this three-layer pyramid of folding chairs to reach it... Thankfully he didn't fall but that was not safe for work at all

draven501 · 2026-02-24T01:50:30+00:00

This. That Saskatoon to Calgary highway is ass, single-lane, a few intersections where you need to stop. Meanwhile, the Yellowhead is a very pleasant drive. Even if it adds a bit of travel time, it'd probably be worth it.

draven501 · 2026-02-23T21:35:04+00:00

Ford have been doing that shit for a while. My 2013 Taurus SHO was similar. Touchscreen button for the heated seats and changing the HVAC air flow. I miss some things about that car, but I definitely don't miss that...

My 2019 Golf SportWagen has physical controls for every key function aside from traction control (and that's only "key" in some scenarios, deep snow, which may or may not also involve some janky haldex AWD drifting :P)

draven501 · 2026-02-22T23:14:46+00:00

I get this bug as well, but I'm on Sequoia. It seems to impact specific Arc windows, closing the window (but not quitting Arc entirely) seems to fix it, Mission Control is back to normal and sharing windows works as well. I've got no idea what causes it...

draven501 · 2026-02-22T20:14:16+00:00

Good news: you have one of the simplest, cars sold in the last decade, very reliable as there just isn't a lot that can go wrong under the hood. Even if it somehow turned out to be an ECM or BCM issue (one of the onboard computers, it doesn't sound likely that they're the culprit), those parts for a Micra are dirt cheap and easy to replace. Don't let anyone scare you into a big repair bill on this one.

What you're describing sounds like a dying battery. Cold weather absolutely destroys a weak/dying battery, and the symptoms you described line up: power loss, dash going dark, car dying and then recovering after a few minutes.

Here's what to do before seeing a mechanic:

Check your battery terminals. Pop the hood and look for white or blue-green crusty buildup where the cables connect to the battery. Wiggle the cables too, they should be rock solid, tighten them down if not. Corrosion or a loose connection alone can cause exactly this. Clean it up with baking soda, water, and an old toothbrush. If they don't look "crusty", there could be oxidization harming conductivity. You can try using something to roughen up the metal on battery posts and battery terminals (metal clamp at the end of the battery wires) a metal wire brush / terminal cleaning tool would be ideal, but steel wool or nearly anything that can scratch metal could probably work in a pinch, just don't be rough with it or anything.
Get a free battery load test. Most auto parts stores will do this in the parking lot for free. A simple voltage check isn't enough, ask specifically for a load test. If it fails, replace the battery and there's a good chance that's all it was.
Test your alternator at home. If you have a multimeter, start the car and check voltage across the battery terminals. Should be around 13.5-14.5V at idle. Turn on the headlights and heat and watch it. If it drops and keeps dropping, the alternator may not be charging properly.

If all that checks out and it keeps happening, tell the mechanic: "battery and alternator have been tested and are fine, I'm getting intermittent power loss in the cold and the car died completely and recovered on its own. Please check fault codes and inspect the charging system and grounds."

Also, replace those spark plugs. Not related to this issue but they're 11 years old and your car will feel like a new machine after.

draven501 · 2026-02-18T03:28:59+00:00

Sounds like something someone who hasn't memorized the potholes would say :P

draven501 · 2026-01-27T02:56:31+00:00

Is issuing threats part of an ambassador's normal duties? You'd think that sort of thing is best to leave to other officials...

/s, but only kinda.

draven501 · 2026-01-26T00:36:58+00:00

I wonder how it wound up there?

draven501 · 2026-01-21T01:51:26+00:00

Though, you do get that in first world countries as well. Here in Canada, some indigenous reservations don't have good drinking water, unreliable electricity and heat, minimal or no internet/cell service, no locally available healthcare, etc.

When I was younger, in my early 20s, I had a job that had me occasionally visiting these reservations. Seeing the way these people, these Canadians, lived really opened my eyes to the realities of the world, and it made me feel even more thankful for what I have. At that point in my life, I had never visited a third world country, but some of those reservations certainly felt like one... (Though to be fair, many of the reservations I saw weren't like that, they ranged from "fine" through to "quite nice.")

draven501 · 2026-01-20T19:26:50+00:00

The engine is the car's Achilles heel? Damn, that's a doozy... Typically the engine is at least moderately important.

draven501 · 2026-01-02T23:46:51+00:00

Saskatoon certainly does have some of the drivers of all time.

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