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Nick Tsergas

@nicktsergas.ca
26K followers 2.9K following 2.6K posts

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤ Public-interest tech person, works with @smallchangefund.bsky.social ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤ nicktsergas.ca ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎ㅤ

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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 27/09/2026
Happening tomorrow in #ptbo
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 25/09/2026
Last week Sask. Premier Scott Moe announced the contentious 300MW AI datacentre going up outside of Regina is actually going to be 1,200MW. In #HamOnt, newly-obtained documents show Slate Asset Management has been planning for 800MW of datacentre capacity "at full scale."
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Bean & Sprout's Mom @beansproutsmom.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
@nicktsergas.ca
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Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Important Context is in the process of moving off Substack to Ghost. Check out the new site and please consider subscribing to support our work! www.importantcontext.news
importantcontext.news
Important Context
Independent investigative journalism.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 15/09/2026
Ontario is still writing its rules for datacentres. But Ford's pitchdeck for foreign investors explicitly markets Hamilton’s waterfront for deregulated AI datacentre development, including "sovereign" AI opportunities." Sovereign AI. Built for foreign investors. With no rules. #HamOnt
"Ontario — Your investment partner," reads the title of an investment prospectus circulated by the Ontario government at Mark Carney's private investment summit of 200 foreign CEOsrelevant section: "The Steelport site is undergoing
master planning following M5 Industrial zoning.
Commercial opportunities are expected
to be announced in Q4 2026, with Phase 1
construction anticipated to commence in 2027."
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 15/09/2026
Ontario is still writing its rules for datacentres. But Ford's pitchdeck for foreign investors explicitly markets Hamilton’s waterfront for deregulated AI datacentre development, including "sovereign" AI opportunities." Sovereign AI. Built for foreign investors. With no rules. #HamOnt
"Ontario — Your investment partner," reads the title of an investment prospectus circulated by the Ontario government at Mark Carney's private investment summit of 200 foreign CEOsrelevant section: "The Steelport site is undergoing
master planning following M5 Industrial zoning.
Commercial opportunities are expected
to be announced in Q4 2026, with Phase 1
construction anticipated to commence in 2027."
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Cynthia Khoo @cyn-k.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
One of the last things I did at @georgetownprivacy.bsky.social before returning to Canada was designing & securing research ethics approval for a new project: investigating worker surveillance & freedom of assembly/assocn issues at Whole Foods post-Amazonificatn. The team took it from there, & how!!
law.georgetown.edu
Whole Worker Surveillance
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MJ Nabuurs @mjnabuurs.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Is #Canada ‘s #DigitalSovereignty a concern for you? Check out our epi to learn why it should be and what you can do about it (there is a lot you CAN do 😃): podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/n... Two important minutes from the epi are below. Thx to @nicktsergas.ca for giving us the head’s up!
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MJ Nabuurs @mjnabuurs.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
#Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s “playbook” for AI datacentres reminds me of a promise ring 🤦🏼‍♀️. Pls share our epi w @nicktsergas.ca w your political reps & ask those running in #Canada ‘s current #MunicipalElections where they stand. Vital info for people EVERYWHERE. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/n...
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 08/09/2026
Find a datacentre before it finds you. stopthedatacentre.ca/map
stopthedatacentre.ca
Canada-wide Datacentre Map
Find a datacentre before it finds you.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 08/09/2026
Find a datacentre before it finds you. stopthedatacentre.ca/map
stopthedatacentre.ca
Canada-wide Datacentre Map
Find a datacentre before it finds you.
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MJ Nabuurs @mjnabuurs.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Speaking of #DigitalSovereignty, have a listen to our chat w @nicktsergas.ca about the #AIDatacentre lovefest going on. MUCH to be said about them and so much more to do before allowing any more to be built: podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/n... open.spotify.com/episode/2TiE... stopthedatacentre.ca
podcasts.apple.com
Ep#10: Front and Data(Centre), with Nick Tsergas
Podcast Episode · No Ostriching Here. · September 7 · 1h 30m
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 04/09/2026
No AI datacentre proposed in your town? Good. That's the best time to get organized. Before it lands. Whatever you’d do if one shows up tomorrow, do that now. stopthedatacentre.ca Thank you Charlie Angus/@meidascanada.ca for the conversation
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 03/09/2026
Another government agrees that rules are needed for AI datacentres — a new type of facility which did not exist in Canada five years ago.. And that government releases a set of voluntary principals signed off on by Big Tech.
betakit.com
OpenAI, Anthropic sign on to Canada’s new data centre framework as public opinion sours on buildout | BetaKit
Big players agree not to shift electricity costs to consumers and minimize water use when building their data centres.
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Blayne Haggart @bhaggart.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
In reality, Canada still faces the Sidewalk Labs problem, since US tech is embedded in all parts of government and society, from Microsoft office products to governments’ continued insistence on using X to make announcements. Unlike Europe, they”re doing nothing to change this. From Jan:
theconversation.com
Microsoft’s AI deal promises Canada digital sovereignty, but is that a pledge it can keep?
As the U.S. government becomes increasingly authoritarian and issues threats to other countries, can Canadians trust U.S. tech companies with their data?
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 31/08/2026
All this Ring of Fire stuff is not new.
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Simon Willison @simonwillison.net · 28/08/2026
My LLM cliché highlighter is up to 38 patterns now tools.simonwillison.net/llm-cliche-h...
Screenshot of a writing-analysis tool showing paragraphs of text with phrases highlighted in two shades of yellow, brown circular "3" badges, and a black tooltip overlaying the first line reading: "No X, no Y" chains · 3 "no" items. The visible text reads: We r[obscured by tooltip]nd up. No sign-ups, no downloads, no hassle (3) — just paste your text and start writing. Everything runs locally in your browser. The reviewer read the draft twice. Did not flinch, did not blink, did not reach for the red pen (3). That's the whole review, honestly. Don't call it a rewrite — call it a rescue. The improvement is real, and it's not subtle. That loss is worth naming. Sit with that for a moment. The gains were modest, but that's not nothing. You already know the answer, of course. Consistency is the entire game, and the punchline is that nobody wants to hear it. The entire pitch is one sentence long.
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patatas @its.small.patatas.ca · 28/08/2026
Hey #HamOnt, data centres stand to get some *huge* municipal tax breaks from the City: 1/2
The City of Hamilton could give a 13 YEAR TAX BREAK to datacentre developersHamilton's ERASE Program:

The city gives out massive tax breaks to companies that develop on contaminated industrial sites.

If you own a house, and you build something that makes your property value go up (like an extension), you pay more municipal taxes. 

The City's ERASE program could let data centre developers pay no new taxes for 13 years on redeveloped properties.

https://tinyurl.com/hamilton-eraseThis tax break is meant to encourage development that create jobs, reduce pollution, and beautify the city.

But AI datacentres don't do that.Datacentres are not job creators.

Datacentre-lovers always promise lots of long-term jobs. 

But a $750 million, 90-megawatt data centre near Calgary will employ just 38 people, according to the Globe & Mail (and the company).

shortlink: https://tinyurl.com/globe-dc-jobs
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Christine Cooper 🇨🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @coopspeak.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
@theresisters.bsky.social had a chance to sit down with @nicktsergas.ca on our podcast “No Ostriching Here” to talk about the onslaught of Data Centre applications in communities all across Canada. Full episode dropping soon. In the meantime check out his website stopthedatacentre.ca
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 21/08/2026
According to a Senate of Canada brief, for every gallon of water used to cool US datacentres, 12.4 gallons were used to cool those datacentres’ power plants. Closed-loop can sleight-of-hand water usage away from the datacentres to the power plants. @its.small.patatas.ca @cdnaffairs.bsky.social
canadianaffairs.news
Op-Ed: AI data centres face waves of municipal resistance — for good reason
Responsible municipalities are taking the time to develop guardrails before saying 'yes' to AI data centres
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 21/08/2026
According to a Senate of Canada brief, for every gallon of water used to cool US datacentres, 12.4 gallons were used to cool those datacentres’ power plants. Closed-loop can sleight-of-hand water usage away from the datacentres to the power plants. @its.small.patatas.ca @cdnaffairs.bsky.social
canadianaffairs.news
Op-Ed: AI data centres face waves of municipal resistance — for good reason
Responsible municipalities are taking the time to develop guardrails before saying 'yes' to AI data centres
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Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
This whole thing scares the shit out of me—and the media coverage I’ve seen appears to neglect these basic facts. WaPo straight up ran with the headline, “Former Fauci aide admits hiding emails to thwart pandemic inquiry.” That’s…not what happened? It’s unreal.
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Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) @cajournalists.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Wondering how the program works? Here's what to expect when you submit a request through Lawyers for Reporters Canada. Learn more: caj.ca/lawyers-for-reporters-canada
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WA Whistles @wawhistles.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
July was ICE’s busiest month yet in the Puget Sound region. It’s a stealthy surge, without the helicopters or smoke grenades of Chicago and MN. But the surge is real, with real people taken every day. Each red pin is someone’s family member, neighbor, coworker, loved one.
Screenshot from iceout.org (People Over Papers) showing community ICE reports in the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett region from 7/1-2026-7/31/2026. 

The whole urban region is covered with map pins in red, yellow, and green. The pins stack on top of each other, making them impossible to count. Screenshot from iceout.org (People Over Papers) showing community ICE reports in the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett region from 6/1/2026-6/30/2026. 
Most of the urban region is covered with map pins in red, yellow, and green. In some places, the pins stack on top of each other, making them impossible to count. North Seattle, Bellevue, and Bothell have fewer reports than Tacoma, South Everett, and S King County. Screenshot from iceout.org (People Over Papers) showing community ICE reports in the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett region from 5/1-2026-5/31/2026. 

There are several dozen pins in red, yellow, and green — few enough to see each individual pin. South King County has the biggest cluster. There are no pins in Everett and only 1 in TacomaScreenshot from iceout.org (People Over Papers) showing community ICE reports in the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett region from 4/1/2026-4/30/2026. 

There are ~20 pins across the region, mostly green with a few yellow and red. Only one pin in Seattle. Biggest cluster in Tacoma-Federal Way area
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 07/08/2026
Again and again, people have been asking for a national map. So we made one. Other maps exist, yes. But they're either out of date or woefully overinclusive. I don't need to see every hospital's tiny datacentre. stopthedatacentre.ca/map
stopthedatacentre.ca
Datacentre proposals map · Stop the Datacentre
Interactive map of active datacentre proposals and local campaigns across Canada.
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patatas @its.small.patatas.ca · 05/08/2026
@nicktsergas.ca and I wrote a thing: www.thespec.com/opinion/cont...
thespec.com
Council won’t learn much about data centres from lobbyists. They should look to other cities instead
It is deeply embarrassing that Hamilton city council fell for proponents’ empty promises and fear-mongering.
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Amanda Hu @amandalhu.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
A group advocating against data centres has launched trackers for several municipalities on councillors’ support for data centres. Here’s the one for Calgary City Council #yyc #yyccc calgary.stopthedatacentre.ca/election-tra...
calgary.stopthedatacentre.ca
Election tracker · Stop the Datacentre
Think there should be rules for AI datacentres? Us too.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 31/07/2026
Here's how it all went down. blundervalley.ca/blog/what-fl... #HamOnt
blundervalley.ca
Why Hamilton councillors voted down a pause on datacentres
In only three weeks, Mayor Andrea Horwath and eight councillors flipped their votes
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 26/07/2026
This is absolutely going to have an effect on AI search results and bot-summaries. Looking closely at how the page is constructed, that seems to be the point.
A new CDC webpage, seemingly engineered for bot-ingestion, states "the claim 'vaccines do not cause autism' is not an evidence-based claim..."
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 23/07/2026
The datacentre debate is spreading across Canada. Are you a city councillor wondering what you can do to protect your community. Or maybe a very cool person who wants to stop one or more datacentres?
Image promoting webinar discussing Hamilton, Ontario’s datacentre pushback,  the story and tactics.

July 27 at 7pm. Info in thread.
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Luke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 15/07/2026
These photos of FNs community members fleeing their homes by boat are genuinely apocalyptic (Photo via Wayne Wastaken of Collins, Ontario, who says his “hometown is gone”) www.facebook.com/share/r/1ArN...
Photo via Wayne Wastaken

Fire clouds over Collins, Ontario as community members flee their homes by boat
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Janet 🇨🇦 @jansplanet.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Excellent site & the methods are demonstrably impactful! #Alberta let’s get organized with stopthedatacentre.ca #Hamilton #YEG #YYC #CdnPoli #PutTheBreaksOnDataCentres #NoGasForAI
Screenshot of stopthedatacentre.ca
Find your local campaign.
Or start one.
ACTIVE CAMPAIGNS
• Calgary
• Fredericton
• Hamilton *
• London
• Mississauga
• Olds
• Red Deer
• Regina
• Saint John
• Toronto
Vancouver
• Vaughan
→Questions every city in Canada now has to face.
Don't see your hometown?
Reach out, we can get you up and running in minutes.
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The Breach @breachmedia.ca · 09/07/2026
Mark Carney is overseeing a massive expansion of AI data centres in Canada, and it’s raising all kinds of concerns. Marcus Werner reports on the fast-growing movement that’s rising against the wave of planned data centre projects—and in some cases, already winning. breachmedia.ca/inside-the-r...
breachmedia.ca
Inside the rising country-wide movement against AI data centres ⋆ The Breach
Canada is getting hit with an AI data centre boom. But resistance is emerging, getting coordinated, and already clocking wins
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 04/07/2026
I have tried and tried, and cannot beat @its.small.patatas.ca high score on this game. This game. This game that I myself made
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Anne Pasek @apasek.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I've got an op-ed in the Globe today with @nicktsergas.ca. We're thinking about how Hamilton's movement towards a data centre moratorium could snowball across Canada and help reset the way data centres + cities interface in the future. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/com...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Hamilton just hit pause on all AI data centres. This is big
The Ontario city is the first to confront a question all Canadian municipalities will soon face: How to build AI data centres responsibly?
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 25/06/2026
Hamilton council voted 15–1 to stop datacentre development while the city writes regulations for the facilities. @apasek.bsky.social and I think it isn't really a Hamilton story. Hamilton is the first domino in an urgent national conversation. gift: www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/1c12514... #HamOnt
theglobeandmail.com
Hamilton just hit pause on all AI data centres. This is big
The Ontario city is the first to confront a question all Canadian municipalities will soon face: How to build AI data centres responsibly?
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 23/06/2026
Hamilton is poised to become the first Canadian city to write the rules for AI datacentres. Good projects aren't afraid of good rules. www.thespec.com/opinion/cont... #HamOnt
thespec.com
Hamilton is open for business. What it’s not open for is irreversible decisions
The city has a rare chance to become one of the first municipalities in Canada to decide what responsible AI infrastructure actually looks like.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 20/06/2026
This is why a one-year pause on datacentre builds in the city of Hamilton makes sense. Without loopholes or exceptions. A snippet from my comments to #HamOnt city council earlier this week.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 20/06/2026
Hear me now quote me later: It's datacentre. Not data centre. Not data-centre. I know you think it's not datacentre. But it is. Remember when everyone used to say "corona virus?" Or worse.. "CoronaVirus." Yes. That feeling you have. That's how I feel when I see you write "data centre."
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 17/06/2026
Datacentre moratorium passes #HamOnt committee vote unanimously. Final vote next week.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 14/06/2026
As of this week, I am no longer responsible for the editorial direction or day-to-day publication of Canada Healthwatch. I'll have more to say about what's next in due course. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported the project over the past three years.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 14/06/2026
As of this week, I am no longer responsible for the editorial direction or day-to-day publication of Canada Healthwatch. I'll have more to say about what's next in due course. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported the project over the past three years.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 10/06/2026
Hamilton's datacentre debate is now a key election issue. We've launched an Election Tracker documenting where candidates stand on proposed hyperscale datacentres and on the need for stronger municipal regulation. Some have responded. Some have not. stopthedatacentre.ca/election-tra...
stopthedatacentre.ca
Election tracker · Stop the Datacentre
We're contacting candidates and documenting stances on the Steelport datacentre proposal.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 03/06/2026
AI datacentre builds are being proposed all over Canada with unprecedented speed.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 01/06/2026
Canadian cities are increasingly resistant to datacentre builds being fastracked by the Carney government. It's worth asking what we know of the health effects of these facilities on surrounding populations. Maybe someone will write up a comprehensive analysis, as a treat. #HamOnt
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 01/06/2026
Canadian cities are increasingly resistant to datacentre builds being fastracked by the Carney government. It's worth asking what we know of the health effects of these facilities on surrounding populations. Maybe someone will write up a comprehensive analysis, as a treat. #HamOnt
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André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Private health care keeps getting sold as “innovation.” So why does it keep making things worse? Every few years, Canadian health care rediscovers privatization, and and it is touted as the next great solution, by Braden Manns bradenmanns.substack.com/p/private-he...
bradenmanns.substack.com
Private health care keeps getting sold as “innovation.” So why does it keep making things worse?
Every few years, Canadian health care rediscovers privatization.
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 25/05/2026
Something cool happens at level 10
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The Breach @breachmedia.ca · 22/05/2026
The Pentagon is buying “unprecedented” ownership stakes in Canadian mining companies. Nessie Nankivell tracks how Canada’s critical minerals are being extracted to build weapons for the U.S. military—all while the Canadian government is helping fund these projects. breachmedia.ca/elbows-up-ca...
breachmedia.ca
Elbows up? Canada is letting Pentagon take ‘unprecedented’ stakes in Canadian mines  ⋆ The Breach
By fast-tracking critical minerals, Canada is not simply building a green economy. It is being further integrated into the U.S. war industry
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Nick Tsergas @nicktsergas.ca · 19/05/2026
Guys check out this dumb game I made
magnets.nicktsergas.ca
Magnets
Red attracts red. Blue attracts blue. They repel each other.
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