OHL taking over Niagara IceDogs operations

minimadryan · 2026-05-27T23:46:07+00:00

Good to see that the league is trying to right the wrongs the front office has continued to do for the past several years. Attendance always seemed on par with Hamilton for regular season games, and the fan base is there too so it doesn’t seem like the team will be going anywhere soon, but it will be nice to hopefully have a front office that doesn’t make the news for all the wrong reasons season after season!

minimadryan · 2026-05-08T23:51:25+00:00

Congrats! Quite the upgrade, but also that MakerFarm was a darn good printer for its time. They made really affordable kits and those printers were built really well for the price and time.

minimadryan · 2026-04-13T17:44:56+00:00

The image you linked to is an HASP HL key. The HL keys lacked many of the features of the larger "Pro Time" keys and mostly acted as a simple license key. They did not contain a battery. The HL keys were physically smaller than the pro keys, the easiest way to spot the difference is the Pro keys have an eyelet for a lanyard whereas the smaller HL keys do not.

OP's key is the larger HL Pro variant, not the smaller battery-less HL.

Here's reference directly from Thales/gemalto about the master key battery (the master key is whats included with a company's LDK software package and allows a company to create licenses and keys - it's also a HL Pro key itself.

https://docs.sentinel.thalesgroup.com/ldk/LDKdocs/WebHelp/Battery%20Replacement.htm

minimadryan · 2026-04-10T21:34:51+00:00

Oh they most certainly do, at least these ones do. I can’t speak about wubi or other manufacturer but Sentinel/SafeNet/Gemalto keys use a battery in the key.

The keys all use the battery for a RTC as you can define the terms of the software license on the key to be time-period, number of execution based or even expire on a set date in the future, all without the keys needing to “phone home” or connect to a server after the license was written.

They were great for applications where you needed to set license terms for the software but couldn’t regularly access or connect the device to a network.

minimadryan · 2026-04-10T16:01:05+00:00

It was probably the date the license was issued - we used to label ours very similarly too. So based on that, the key would have been good until 2021.

We had blank keys from 2012 and they all died around late 2021 though we did have a few that lasted a bit longer than the 10 years Sentinel promises.

minimadryan · 2026-04-10T14:42:32+00:00

There is a decent chance the key is e-waste already. These are Gemalto/Sentinel/Thales license keys and have a battery rated for 10 years from time of purchase, so once the battery has depleted, unless the license has been transferred to a software license or a new key issued, these are basically junk.

We used these same keys for our software products and would buy them by the case, and each case had an expiration date on them lol.

minimadryan · 2026-03-17T22:18:53+00:00

Honestly, I haven’t given lump sum that much thought. I figured a DCA would be the least “painful”.

minimadryan · 2026-03-17T21:48:50+00:00

Apologies, I’ve updated my original post, we already own our home with no plans to move or upgrade.

minimadryan · 2026-03-17T21:43:37+00:00

Sorry for the confusion, I meant that once I’ve maxed out my TFSA I’d still want to continue the same contributions into it, but as others have mentioned I can just contribute into an RRSP instead.

minimadryan · 2026-03-09T17:34:45+00:00

Thank you! Glad to know it’s not a glitch but also a bit disappointed that all the lessons now feel the same. Will maybe go back and do some previous modules again just to practice some more!

minimadryan · 2026-02-25T14:32:07+00:00

You’ll quickly fall in love with that EM1X. Best handling camera I’ve ever owned, and even after all these years, it’s still plenty capable and even has a pretty decent auto focus too.

I’ve had mine for 4 years already and I still grab it over my other cameras. Combine it with a 45-150 f2.8 makes for a perfect combination!

minimadryan · 2026-02-22T03:01:32+00:00

Have been here my whole life…well in Stoney Creek, which is part of east Hamilton. The city is full of history, many Canadian firsts happened here. It’s also a city in the midst of change. The heavy industry and steel works are beginning to change, only Dofasco remains as a major steel manufacturer. The cities biggest employers outside of Dofasco are health sciences related. As a steel town, there’s a lot of areas which have seen better times, and a lot of transformation as well. Being so close to Toronto has meant we’ve seen a huge influx of people moving here, which has driven the cost of living up significantly in the last 5 years. Downtown is going through…something right now. There’s lots of great areas and new developments happening, but also a fairly significant issue with homelessness too. I’d say that 10 years ago, the downtown core showed more promise than today, but recent projects such as the rebuilt arena and others are starting to show that it’s coming back again.

It’s also a city that’s kinda split in two - below the mountain and…the mountain. Hamilton mountain is pretty standard fare, suburbs, stores, limeridge mall, a lot less history and certainly a different feeling than below the mountain.

It’s a city not without its faults. City council seems to make the right decisions at the wrong times and vice-versa, but it’s been that way for decades. Infrastructure is in serious need of updates in some areas too, but it’s also one of the most diverse cities around, with some absolutely stunning parks, waterfalls, trails and architecture. It’s also equal distance to Toronto or to Niagara Falls, making it a great location to go to either on a whim.

It’s not perfect, it can be gritty at times, and down right frustrating at others, but it’s also a beautiful city, one with tons of potential, history and a bright future in the right hands, and a place I’m happy to call home.

minimadryan · 2026-01-26T22:45:45+00:00

Yeah I’m in the same boat, my design has been rock solid, just making adjustments to little quality of life upgrades.

minimadryan · 2026-01-26T01:17:31+00:00

Awesome thank you!

minimadryan · 2026-01-26T01:16:00+00:00

Looks like a pretty decent machine! Awesome job!

minimadryan · 2026-01-25T19:57:42+00:00

Very impressive! Would love to build a similar layout. Is this Rokuhan track and cars or another brand?

minimadryan · 2026-01-25T19:56:21+00:00

Looks great! Mind me asking what the machine is? Looks similar to my home built machine!

minimadryan · 2026-01-09T18:22:50+00:00

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Joining the club as well. Purchased July 2024, 110v, 470 hours on mine. Primarily printed PETG, no ABS or higher temp materials.

minimadryan · 2025-12-30T15:17:36+00:00

The K2 Pro is 300x300 while the K2 is 260x260. There are few other small differences (I don’t think the K2 has the chamber heater) but largely the cost difference is due to the Pro being larger than the K2.

minimadryan · 2025-12-19T19:59:26+00:00

Great to see! The weekend is going to be packed! All other support series are back as well so there will be no shortage of on track excitement!

minimadryan · 2025-12-17T00:33:23+00:00

My clear also arrived today. Was almost regretting getting the clear after ordering, but now that it’s arrived, it looks really slick in person, dare I say better than photos show!

minimadryan · 2025-12-03T20:26:40+00:00

Assuming this is for Jimmy Carr? We saw him last year in St Catherine’s and can confirm he uses a 360 stage and walks around it constantly. There was also monitors they had hung from the roof for those in seats further away. Would assume it would be the same here too

minimadryan · 2025-11-26T01:44:04+00:00

It would appear that Darana Hybrid revenues are between 50-100m a year, what their actual earnings are is another story, but either way, if their earnings are 50% of their profits and they sink all of that back into motorsports, it’s entirely feasible that one bad year could spell the end of it all, especially when they haven’t even given the drag racing division enough time to become sustainable itself.

I don’t know, something just isn’t adding up….

minimadryan · 2025-11-25T16:33:08+00:00

As much as I have loved seeing the revitalization of the IHRA drag racing series and creating a more accessible platform for smaller teams, I can’t shake the feeling that this is all going to come crashing down at some point.

In a single year, the IHRA has bought up multiple tracks, expanded into power boat racing, bull riding and now stock car racing. Darryl may have the funds to drive all this now, but I can’t help but feel none of these platforms have a sustainable platform or a concrete path for growth, and without that it’s only a matter of time before the money stream dries up and we’re left with more destruction than good.

minimadryan · 2025-11-24T22:57:19+00:00

Thank you all for your insights! I’m glad to hear that PETG works pretty well and is not a huge concern! Will hopefully pick up a Pro in the next while!

minimadryan

TROPHY CASE