Uncategorized – Luckyfestcasino

Public Mobile changes plans again, adds $45/65GB Canada/U.S. option

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:50:35 +0000

Another day, another Public Mobile price change.

The Telus-owned wireless provider has tweaked plans for a third time this week. Here are all the latest changes:

$39/50GB 5G Canada/U.S. (unchanged)
$45/65GB 5G Canada/U.S. with 1,000 monthly long-distance minutes to select countries (previously $50/60GB 5G)
$35/50GB 4G (previously $36/50GB 5G)
$34/15GB 4G Canada/U.S. (unchanged)
$30/15GB 4G (unchanged)
$23/6GB 4G (unchanged)
$19/1GB 4G (unchanged)

The $45/mo plan’s long-distance minutes work for calls to China, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the U.K.

These changes are a little odd. The $35/50GB 4G plan replacing the $36/50GB 5G plan is certainly strange, at least to me. I’m not sure how many people are clamouring for a 4G data plan like this, but hey, at least it’s better than what Koodo, Fido and Virgin have.

The $45/65GB plan, on the other hand, is actually an improvement over the $50/60GB plan while still coming in worse than the $44/80GB 5G Canada/U.S. plan that Public removed earlier this week. It appears to be an attempt to match Freedom’s $45/75GB 5G Canada/U.S./Mexico plan, but it doesn’t quite get there with less data and no Mexico roaming.

You can check out Public’s plans here.

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Tom Cruise pulls epic stunt at the Olympics closing ceremony

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:46:04 +0000

The video above may not be available in some regions.

Tom Cruise brought a touch of Hollywood glamour to the Olympics closing ceremony in Paris on Sunday night when he hurled himself off the roof of the Stade de France — firmly secured to a cable, of course — to cheers from the 71,500-strong crowd.

After rappelling all the way to terra firma to the Mission Impossible soundtrack played by Grammy-winning R&B artist H.E.R , the movie legend grabbed the Olympic flag, jumped on a motorbike, and raced out of the stadium. Viewers around the world were then treated to a slickly produced action sequence featuring Cruise racing through the streets of Paris, riding straight onto an aircraft, and parachuting into Los Angeles — the location of the 2028 Olympics — before handing the flag to American mountain biker Kate Courtney.

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to bring the Olympic flag to Los Angeles.”

Tom Cruise: #Paris2024 #LA28 #ClosingCeremony

Tom Cruise, Olympics pic.twitter.com/gkMmCUEb0P

— GSC (@GSCinemas) August 11, 2024

Passing the flag from the current host city to the next one is part of the Olympic tradition and so using a representative like Cruise made perfect sense for an Olympic Games being held in a city that’s home to Hollywood. The sixty-two-year-old Cruise has long been known to love performing his own stunts (including this utterly crazy one in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), and so the closing ceremony provided an excellent opportunity for him to add yet another one to the list.

The movie star also posted a photo of himself at the Olympic stadium with the message, “Thank you, Paris! Now off to L.A.”

Thank you, Paris! Now off to LA. pic.twitter.com/MxlAb0hZbT

— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) August 11, 2024

Taking place within the confines of a stadium, the Paris Olympics’ closing event was a more traditional affair compared to the opening ceremony last month, which took place outside for the first time in the sporting extravaganza’s history. While rain at the opening event soaked athletes and the gathered crowds, Sunday night’s closing ceremony enjoyed decent weather in what looked to be an exciting evening of entertainment.

I used Freedom Mobile as my main SIM for 10 months, here’s how it went

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:44:28 +0000

After testing a Freedom Mobile SIM card last fall, I learned that the carrier could comfortably work in Toronto and at my parents’ house outside of Ottawa in a town called Renfrew. Then, on Black Friday (when I always do cell plan shopping), Freedom Mobile offered the best deal on a plan with Canada and U.S. Data ($45 for 50GB), so I decided to do a longer-term test throughout 2024.

Ten months later, I really don’t have anything bad to say about my experience. Instead, I am walking away happy that I can easily swap from any of the networks owned by Bell, Telus, Rogers, or Freedom (Owned by Videotron) without having to worry about hitting dead zones in places where all my friends have usable service.

A few years ago, most Freedom plans included 1-5GB of nationwide data on top of the 10-50GB of data for use on Freedom’s home networks. That all changed in 2023 when Videotron purchased the carrier and rolled out its current data structure, which includes nationwide coverage by default. As of the time of writing, many Freedom plans also include data in Canada and the U.S.; some even include data for Mexico.

How it went

For my day-to-day living in Toronto, Freedom has been a viable option for years, and up until more recently, was actually the only carrier that had service in some of the city’s subway tunnels. Two of my friends have been on Freedom since before it switched to nationwide, and they didn’t really seem to have any complaints. However, my parents living in a small town and the handful of camping trips I do every year always held me back from the once-regional carrier. Now that I’ve used it, I really can’t complain about the data speeds in Toronto. It’s always fast enough, and I’ve never found myself waiting long for things to download or post.

My first real test of the phone was earlier this summer when I went back to Massasauga Provincial Park to go camping. When I was there last summer, I was on Telus’ network and had usable service in most places throughout the park. This year, when I went there with Freedom, I was still able to use my data, but I will say that compared to my partner on Virgin, my data was slower, and I wasn’t able to stream things like TikTok or Instagram Reels like she could. That being said, I’m not that upset about only having slow-ish internet speeds when camping.

My second camping trip was in the Haliburton region below Algonquin Park, and again, I was able to use my data where we camped. This wasn’t super remote either, but once again, my data wasn’t super fast compared to some others on the trip, but it was still usable.

The only other note I would mention is that I also travelled to the U.S. a few times with this plan, and beyond accidentally burning all my data to watch a super crispy version of Ocean’s 11, which ultimately led to me getting scammed on a recent trip, I found it to work well. If I can stream Ocean’s 11 at 84 Mbps while roaming as a hotspot, I won’t complain.

The final note I’ll mention is that if you do switch to Freedom, you need to go into your phone’s cellular settings and turn roaming on all the time. This allows Freedom to give all users much better coverage than before. Since I have Canadian and U.S. data, I didn’t need to worry about any roaming settings when travelling.

Overall, I have no real complaints about my time with Freedom. If you want the fastest networks in most places, I still think Bell, Telus and Rogers will offer better connections, but for most people, Freedom is definitely a very viable alternative. If I wasn’t planning to switch again this Black Friday to test another network, I would happily stay on Freedom’s network as long as it continues to offer the best mobile networking deals.

T-Mobile Pixel 9 Pro Prices Leak: Starting at $999.99

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:41:46 +0000

We are less than a week away from Google telling us all there is to tell about the Pixel 9 series and its 4 different phones. But since this is the lead-up to a Google launch, the leaks can’t help themselves and simply have to keep showing up. The latest is a slip-up originating from T-Mobile, who apparently loaded some listings onto their site, which Google grabbed and proudly presented to at least one reddit user.

Want to know how much you’ll pay for a Pixel 9 Pro or the larger Pixel 9 Pro XL? We certainly now know where those prices will start.

Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL Prices: According to a screenshot shared to reddit that shows listings for the Pixel 9 Pro family, the Pixel 9 Pro will start at $999.99 at T-Mobile. The Pixel 9 Pro Xl will start $200 higher at $1,199.99.

My first reaction is to compare these prices to the Pixel 8 Pro, which only comes in a single, large model. Google priced the Pixel 8 Pro with 128GB storage at $999. Since we know that the Pixel 9 Pro comes in regular and XL sizes, this shows Google pricing the smaller version at $999. We expect the smaller model to be the size of the Pixel 8, although all leaks suggest it is just a smaller Pro, without any spec cuts.

I should point out that earlier leaks suggest 128GB storage, so there’s always a chance $1,199 isn’t the true starting point for the Pixel 9 Pro XL. It could be lower.

Is a bigger screen worth that extra $200 then? That’s up to you to decide, but it’s clear (assuming T-Mobile is correct with these) that Google sees an Apple-like opportunity to squeeze some extra cash from those who like bigger phones.

On a related note, T-Mobile loaded these pages to show the 256GB and 512GB models of the Pixel 9 Pro XL at the same $1,199.99 price. I hate to dive into that too much, because these are early carrier listings that Google scraped, but could we see Google run a promotion like Samsung where they give you a free storage upgrade at launch? That would be lovely. Please do that, Google.

You ready to pay $1,200 for the Pixel 9 Pro XL? Is $1,000 too high for the small model?

Wordle Today: Wordle answer and hints for August 12

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:40:02 +0000

We have the solution to Wordle on July 16, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We’ve placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don’t ruin the surprise before you’ve had a chance to work through the clues. So let’s dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday’s answer.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Let’s start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday’s Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don’t play it daily, which was “SCONE.” So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn’t that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.

Hints for today’s Wordle

Still can’t figure it out? We have today’s Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let’s take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there’s no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive — you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter k.
Today’s Wordle uses one vowel.
Today’s Wordle is a type of boat.

Today’s Wordle answer

No luck? Don’t sweat it — you can’t get them all! If you just want to see today’s Wordle answer to continue your streak, you can find it below.

The answer to today’s Wordle is …

SKIFF
Today’s Wordle definition

And here’s what it means, according to our good friend ChatGPT:

A skiff is a type of small, light boat that is often used for various purposes, including fishing, transportation, or recreational activities. Skiffs are typically flat-bottomed or have a shallow draft, making them well-suited for shallow waters. They can be powered by oars, a small outboard motor, or sails. Skiffs are known for their versatility and ease of handling, making them popular for both casual and practical use on rivers, lakes, and coastal areas.

Tips for tomorrow’s Wordle

It might seem like Wordle is all luck, but there are a few good practices you can use to help get as many clues as possible in just a few guesses, making it that much more likely you can figure out the final word before you run out of tries. The most important guess is your first, and the trick is to load up on vowels (A, E, I, O, and U).

Some popular starting words people have had good luck with are “adieu,” “media,” “arise,” and “radio.” Just make sure not to pick a word with double letters, or you’re wasting precious guesses. The aim here is to try to figure out which vowels the mystery word contains, then layer in common consonants and close in from there.

Your second word, assuming that the first one gave you a good jumping-off point, should begin to lean more heavily on common consonants like R, S, and T. More good ones here we’ve seen are “stern,” “irate,” and “atone.” You never want to reuse any letters from a prior round that showed up as gray — you know they aren’t in the word.

Now that’s all solved and the definition is taken care of, and you’re armed with some tips to crush tomorrow’s Wordle, here are some games like Wordle you can try today.

Yes, Toyota Does Make Diesel Engines (And Here's What They Power)

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:38:29 +0000

The U.S. has one of the world’s most vibrant and diverse automobile markets. Despite the affinity for certain body styles and vehicle categories, auto enthusiasts, as well as the average consumer, have welcomed vehicles of various types with open arms. The same cannot be said about the preference among U.S. consumers when it comes to fuel.

Most personal cars sold in the U.S., even before the 1970s, were predominantly gasoline-powered ones. It took something as significant as the global oil crisis in the 1970s and the resultant fuel price rise for the U.S. consumer to begin considering diesel vehicles. At the peak of the oil crisis, consumers discovered that diesel vehicles available at the time in the U.S. were more fuel-efficient than their gasoline-powered brethren, leading to a temporary interest spike in diesel vehicles.

By the mid-1970s, for purely economic reasons, Japanese carmaker Toyota — which until then only sold gasoline cars in the U.S. — was forced to launch a diesel-powered pickup truck in the country. Toyota would go on to sell diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S. well into the 80s, only dropping it from its product line in 1986.

To anyone wondering why Toyota does not offer diesel power cars in the U.S., it is because the company contends that it is expensive for them to develop diesel engines that conform to U.S. emission laws. The rising cost of diesel fuel compared to that of gasoline has also been a major factor leading to Toyota and other players deciding against offering vehicles with diesel engines in the U.S.

A brief history Toyota diesel engines in the U.S.

While Toyota’s tryst with diesel engines in the U.S. was a rather short affair, it was an interesting one indeed. The first Toyota pickup truck to be offered with a diesel engine option in the U.S. was the 1979 Toyota Hilux, which was marketed as the Toyota Pickup in America. This pickup truck came with Toyota’s popular “L” engine, introduced by the company in 1977.

This 2.2L diesel engine made a modest 71 hp and generated 105 lb-ft of torque. Outside of the U.S., the original Toyota L engine found its way into several non-U.S vehicles, including the Toyota Crown sedan, and the Hiace van.

In the mid-80s, Toyota would upgrade the original L engine, and introduce the Toyota 2L engine. This engine was also made available to consumers in the U.S. with the updated Toyota Pickup truck models of the mid-80s. The Toyota 2L engine made 82 hp and 123 lb-ft of torque.

Vehicles that used the 2L diesel engine from Toyota include the updated 7th and 8th generation Toyota Crown sedan, the 3rd generation Hiace truck, and updated variants of the Toyota Mark II sedan. The 2L engine, throughout its lifetime, was offered in several different states of tune, with the most powerful variant making 84 hp. There was also a turbocharged variant of the 2L engine that earned the 2L-T moniker.

Moving forward, we saw Toyota update the 2L engine to the 3L in the late 80s. Vehicles that used this engine included the Land Cruiser Prado, the 4th generation Hiace, and the sixth generation Hilux. Toyota, to this day, sells vehicles that feature the 5L engine, which is a direct successor to the 3L engine.

Toyota still makes diesel engines, but there’s a catch

While their stint in the U.S. wasn’t long, Toyota’s L engines have tasted massive success elsewhere. The company — to this day — offers consumers vehicles powered by successors to the original L engine.

Besides the Toyota L engine and its successors, Toyota also made lesser-known diesel engines like the KX and PZ engine lineup and its successors. Other notable diesel engines from the company included the straight 4 engines from the J series, B Series, W Series, C series, WV series, and GD Series.

While Toyota continues manufacturing and selling diesel powered vehicles in select countries, there is no denying that they have scaled down the rate of manufacturing of diesel engines in favor of more efficient gasoline engines. Toyota has also been a big proponent of hybrid technology and is still betting on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

India remains a major market where Toyota still sells vehicles with diesel engines, although even there, the company has decided to phase them out gradually. The India variants of the Toyota Hilux, Toyota Innova Crysta, and the Fortuner are all powered by diesel engines.

Outside of the passenger car industry, Toyota is still a major player in the diesel engine space. In fact, as of 2024, the company sells a variety of diesel engines designed for use in quiet-operating lift trucks, construction equipment, and other industrial applications. Some of the diesel engines sold by Toyota for such applications include the 2.4-liter 1DZ engine, the 3.4-liter 2Z, and 3z series engines, as well as the larger 5.4-liter 14Z and 15Z engines.

These Delta emulator skins make your phone look like a real Game Boy

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:36:53 +0000

I’ve been obsessed with the Delta emulator on my iPhone all summer. Playing DS games from my childhood anywhere has been a blast, but what really makes it all the sweeter is how nice Sean Fletcher’s skins look.

I’ve always dreamt of emulators on the iPhone since the design community that uses iOS aligns more with the styles and trends I like. That’s not to say there aren’t great emulators on Android; there are a ton, but I find more designers use Macs and iPhones, so by proxy, iOS apps tend to look nicer. This theory was validated when Delta launched on the App Store with a super clean design from the start, but roughly four months later, one skin pack has risen above them all, and it looks better than my dreams.

Fletcher started by making skins for the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Colour emulators, but he’s recently branched out to start work on the DS skins. The Game Boy ones are called Delta Pocket, and there are a few varieties depending on how much you’re willing to spend.

The free tier nets you eight skins with solid colours, and four ‘Unlimited Editions’ that include more ambitious colours and cool retro screen filter effects. There are 12 more skins if you’re willing to pay $2. Those offer all kinds of design combos, such as Pokédex, Pikachu and retro handheld themes. There’s also a gold triforce version that looks a lot like the upcoming Switch Lite. This pack is my favourite since it includes the Pokédex and gold versions, plus one called Glacier, which looks like the clear plastic Game Boy Advance I had when I was ten.

The final pack is $5, and it’s only skins that mimic transparent plastic. Like Glacier, these look stunning, and the amount of detail and design work Fletcher must have put into them is jaw-dropping. Not only do they look real, but you can see fake moulding under the transparent plastic, and there is even a Delta logo that looks like it was stamped onto your iPhone’s motherboard.

During June, Fletcher released another pack full of skins to celebrate pride month. These are the same GBA/GBC skin layout, but they feature fun summer colours or rainbow designs. The proceeds from these skins went towards the Rainbow Road charity during June. He also released a limited edition rainbow transparent skin called ‘Dazzle Gleam’ that looks incredible, but it is only available once a year during June, so we’ll have to wait until next summer to get it.

It’s worth pointing out that the Pride skins all feature Pixel grid overlays, so if you don’t want your screen to emulate the actual screen of the Game Boy Advance, these may not be for you. The free version of Delta Pocket has no overlays, but the $2 Plus package includes a few skins with various Game Boy screen emulation overlays if you want to try some out. They look awesome, and very true to life, but I mostly avoid the overlays since they make the games a little darker.

The final skins are called Delta Duo, and they’re meant for the DS emulator. These look really clean in portrait mode, but they’re only meant for AirPlay when you turn them in landscape. These look just as good as the Delta Pocket skins, and I’m personally hoping Fletcher will make some landscape skins with both screens to be used on the go as well. My favourite one is Catchem FE, named after Ash Ketchum from Pokémon. It’s modelled after a Pokédex and has a really unique look with a faceted d-pad in multiple shades of teal.

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But it’s more than just the layout and the colours. When it comes to Fletcher’s designs, it’s the small details the make them a cut above the rest. The texture on the body of the fake controller looks so real you can almost touch it, and the soft shadows casting both from and on the buttons make them appear hyper-realistic. Don’t even get me started on the screens, which have been given soft round corners, and the shading around the fake bezels makes it almost look like there’s a sheet of glass over the displays.

If you want to download some of Fletcher’s skins, some are available for free, while packs can cost anywhere from $2-$5. He’s created a really fun retro-inspired instruction booklet and product catalogue that can help you learn more about skins as well. All of the skins are available on his Gumroad store.

Samsung Galaxy S23 and S24 Receive August Updates, Both Minor

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:34:58 +0000

Google isn’t the only phonemaker released updates to kick off a new month. Samsung is pushing August updates to the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S24 series only days after the Pixel line was blessed.

In this Samsung August update, neither phone series is getting anything special. As far as we can tell from changelogs, these are simply security patches for the month of August. We know that Samsung is working towards an eventual One UI 7 update with Android 15, but for now, we’re seeing bug fixes. There’s also supposed to be a One UI 6.1.1 update at any moment, even if this isn’t it.

For the Galaxy S24 series, be on the lookout for builds S928USQS3AXFJ (S24 Ultra), S926USQS3AXFJ (S24+), and S921USQS3AXFJ (S24). For the Galaxy S23 series, you should see builds of S918USQS4CXG8 (S23 Ultra), S916USQS4CXG8 (S23+), and S911USQS4CXG8 (S23).

Verizon says in release notes that this update “provides the most up to date Android security patches on your device,” while Samsung suggests “The device is protected with improved security” from it. Nice.

To check for Samsung updates, head into Settings>Software update>Download and install.

// Verizon | Samsung

Cheers TC!

NYT Connections: hints and answers for Monday, August 12

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:32:48 +0000

Connections is the latest puzzle game from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.

Some days are trickier than others. If you’re having a little trouble solving today’s Connections puzzle, check out our tips and hints below. And if you still can’t get it, we’ll tell you today’s answers at the very end.

How to play Connections

In Connections, you’ll be shown a grid containing 16 words — your objective is to organize these words into four sets of four by identifying the connections that link them. These sets could encompass concepts like titles of video game franchises, book series sequels, shades of red, names of chain restaurants, etc.

There are generally words that seem like they could fit multiple themes, but there’s only one 100% correct answer. You’re able to shuffle the grid of words and rearrange them to help better see the potential connections.

Each group is color-coded. The yellow group is the easiest to figure out, followed by the green, blue, and purple groups.

Pick four words and hit Submit. If you’re correct, the four words will be removed from the grid and the theme connecting them will be revealed. Guess incorrectly and it’ll count as a mistake. You only have four mistakes available until the game ends.

Hints for today’s Connections

We can help you solve today’s Connection by telling you the four themes. If you need more assistance, we’ll also give you one word from each group below.

Today’s themes

METAL ELEMENTS
MATTRESS SIZES
SLAG FOR TOILET
KINDS OF KNIVES

One-answer reveals

METAL ELEMENTS – GOLD
MATTRESS SIZES – FULL
SLAG FOR TOILET – CAN
KINDS OF KNIVES – BOWIE

Today’s Connections answers

Still no luck? That’s OK. This puzzle is designed to be difficult. If you just want to see today’s Connections answer, we’ve got you covered below:

METAL ELEMENTS – GOLD, LEAD, MERCURY, TIN
MATTRESS SIZES – FULL, KING, QUEEN, TWIN
SLAG FOR TOILET – CAN, HEAD JOHN, THRONE
KINDS OF KNIVES – BOWIE, BUTCHER, BUTTER, BUTTERFLY

Connections grids vary widely and change every day. If you couldn’t solve today’s puzzle, be sure to check back in tomorrow.

Telecom news roundup: Public’s plan changes and Bell’s fast 5G [Aug 3-9]

Administrator — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 09:31:03 +0000

It was a lighter week for telecom news, with only a handful of stories after tons of news last week. Here’s what you need to know:

Pricing and deals

Telus-owned Public Mobile made a few changes this week. It removed its 80GB plans for a more expensive 60GB plan, raised the price of its 50GB plan, then removed the plan entirely for a new $45/65GB option.

Infrastructure

Opensignal’s latest report named Bell’s 5G as the fastest, while Rogers’ network claimed the title for most consistent.

Telus announced it will bring fibre internet to Doig River, B.C.

You can find this week’s rate plan changes here and last week’s telecom roundup here.