The future is now

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. How make a graceful exit, will the NHL send players to Milan to play on smaller ice, and how about double Jeopardy, for realsies 🤓🤓

Let’s get into it!

Are you one of those people that has a tremendously difficult time leaving a party or social gathering due to the awkwardness of saying a proper goodbye?

With Christmas parties right around the corner putting you to the test, we got you.

Some take their leave the Irish way, while others inadvertently stay until the end, but etiquette specialists are here to save you the trouble. According to Amy Arias, a senior lecturer of communication studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, there are two ingredients for a sturdy and convincing goodbye.

The first is making a short and sweet declaration of your exit, with no room for interpretation. “I’m gone!” or “It’s time!” are examples that some may try to debate, but there’s no doubt what you’re intentions are.

“It’s important not to over-explain,” Arias says. “You don’t use qualifiers or hedgers, so no phrasing like, ‘Probably time to leave,’ or ‘Probably should get going,’ because then it opens you up to, ‘No, no, no, so-and-so is going to make a toast,’ or, ‘Oh wait, we haven’t brought out the cake yet.’”

The second is making sure the host knows you’re grateful and had a good time. “Great party!” or “That was a blast!” are good ways of succinctly expressing these sentiments. According to Arias, they’re also a great way of taking the focus off the fact that you’re leaving and instead drawing the rewarding concession of “thank you for coming!”

Ta-ta!

OpenAI’s ChatGPT was the first AI-powered chatbot available to consumers, but Google’s Gemini is stealing the headlines lately. It’s seen steady growth since August and a measurable rise in daily active users as well.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman isn’t taking it lightly, issuing a “code red” notice to employees last week in response to the good press the latest version of Google’s tool (Gemini 3) is getting, along with reports that ChatGPT has lost 3% of its market share.

That code red was followed by several notable actions, including OpenAI killing what appeared to be a beta test of running advertisements inline with ChatGPT disguised as organic recommendations made by the chatbot. The user backlash—particularly during a pivotal moment for the company’s future—resulted in the elimination of the recommendations feature for the time being.

On top of that, OpenAI published a survey of 9,000 workers across 100 companies that painted a flattering picture of ChatGPT. Respondents said they saved nearly an hour every day using the tool’s enterprise version, and the report mentioned enterprise usage has risen about 80% in the last year.

The NHL and NHLPA agreed the league’s players would be permitted to return to the Olympics in 2026, but the latest news regarding the state of the rink in Milan is raising questions.

Aside from the arena still being under construction with multiple tests incomplete and the Olympics just under two months away, the IIHF confirmed the rink’s dimensions are smaller than the NHL’s, measuring 196.85-by-85.3 feet instead of 200-by-85 feet—which the federation defended in a statement.

“While these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are consistent with IIHF regulations, match the rink size used at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and are fully consistent with the dimensions the NHL requires as part of its Global Series Game arena specifications,” it said.

“…the differences in rink specifications are insignificant, and should not impact either the safety or quality of game play.”

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told Daily Faceoff last week that the NHL wouldn’t send its players if the arena isn’t complete.

As far as the rink’s dimensions are concerned, there doesn’t appear to be a problem; as far as its completion, Daly said the arena is currently on track to be completed by Feb. 2, three days before the first Olympic hockey game is scheduled.

If not for them parting their hair in opposite directions, it would maybe be impossible to tell Ray and Ron Lalonde apart at one point in time. Now it’s probably a little bit easier, given the record the identical twins from Thunder Bay, Ont. just set on Jeopardy!

You may be familiar with Ray, who went on a 13-game win streak on the show three years ago, and walked away with $386,000. A scenic artist for film and television, he now lives in Toronto.

Ron, however, is a medical physicist who lives in Pittsburgh, and with a title like that, it probably isn’t all that surprising that he, too, just wrapped up a win streak on Jeopardy!/ He won three shows in a row but came up short during the episode that aired on Monday night.

“We’re pretty identical,” said Ron. “In fact, we have the same goatee and the same style of dressing, as well. “[Ken Jennings] called me Ray a few times on the air. So, a little annoying, but it was fun.”

The two became the first identical twins ever to each win multiple games of Jeopardy!, and their upbringing forged a rivalry that almost made the feat inevitable.

“We grew up in a very smart, very competitive family, we watched Jeopardy! as children with our older siblings, and that was a family thing,” said Ray.

December box office

Did you ever give it a try, Staker? Did you take up the challenge and stick your tongue to that pole, egged on by your rival or best friend?

Well don’t feel bad because your escapades were shared by that legendary scene in A Christmas Story - a classic December release. You’ll find that, and many more of your faves, in today’s trivia!

Complete the game, and you’ll earn a shot at a $25 eGift Card ;)

Winner will be notified on Thursday afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox and don’t forget to check your spam folder!*