Dood...

FALKOR.

That adorable pooch is the only hope we have of stopping the nothing.

If I can offer an alternate perspective..

By making such concrete plans you may be ceding too much "control" to someone who you don't yet know will have the same reliance on solid planning or respect for other's time as you do.

So, if that's the case, what can you do about it?

Plan differently.

Plan a one hour "date with yourself" that also works for you + a date.

Example: Make a plan to meet at a coffee shop or cheap bistro near a park... but bring a book/kindle/podcast/homework, or whatever you'd otherwise do on your own.

If they show, cool, you now have topics to discuss. If things are going well, continue over a walk in the park.

If they flake, cool, you've now got a solid hour to do something you enjoy, in a (hopefully) interesting place, and you've done it for cheap... Maybe take yourself on a walk in the park. :)

Hope that helps a bit.

Granted. They are immediately more endearing than any pet anyone has ever had... But by 3 years of age they are more delicious than any food anyone has ever eaten.

Agreed.

The exploit was discovered by a security research firm who did the right thing and reported it to the SW creator, giving them the opportunity to distribute a patch.

Since it hasn't yet been reported as being exploited "in the wild" publishing details on how to perform the exploit would be at best negligent, and worst carelessly malicious.

..that will now reflect the information United has compiled on individual travelers, like where they live and destinations they've traveled to.

I, for one, can't wait to have my personal info proudly displayed to whatever randos they seat next to me! /s

I ran into the same with the "D1 Mini". The few cases available were expensive for what they were and not a great fit for my needs.

If you have access to a 3D printer, there are some pretty good models on thingiverse and printables. But YMMV depending on which board you're using.

Another possiblity... I wanted to permanently put one in my car, so having some basic protection with the least amount of bulk was important. I ended up buying some shrink tube large enough to go around the entire board (IIRC it was 40mm, 2:1 shrink ratio), got everything wired up, slid the tubing over and shrunk it down. Could probably "double wrap" for more complete coverage. Again, this is board dependent and worked well for the D1 since it doesn't have pre-soldered pins.

Cheers!

You're right about the shield being the most capable box out there and, IMHO, worth splurging on.

On the other extreme, if you're in the U.S., the Walmart "Onn TV 4K" streaming box is only $20. It should have all the stuff you listed and will be way more responsive than the anemic HW the TV makers use. Note: The remote feels a bit chinsy but it has a lots of buttons (many can be remapped with apps available in the Play store).

"Middle" option might be a "Chromecast with Google TV". More than 2x what the Onn box costs but the build quality is noticably better.

I hear that. Gotta be economical these days. Hope it works out for you.We'll be at the show too, should be a good one. See ya there!

Long-time MN Orchestra attendee here. Try calling the box office during regular hours. The phones are manned by actual people who, in my experience, can (and often will) go above and beyond what their site allows. They might permit a return on one ticket.

Failing that, as the other reply mentioned, they don't check ID so you can send the QR code to whoever you sell the ticket to.