potate

joined 2 years ago
[–] potate 5 points 1 month ago

I always appreciated the old adage about Canadian politics that the outcome will always be the most boring option. This was not that.

[–] potate 5 points 1 month ago

John Timmer does an incredible job with with articles like this.

[–] potate 16 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thank you so much for providing the source! I LOVE THIS.

[–] potate 12 points 1 month ago

Totally! I checked and over half the stuff that I forward is posted by @ickplant - posting content is a lot harder than lurking - but giving credit adds so much depth.

I LOVE that they just posted the source because I get to TRULY enjoy the post now.

[–] potate 28 points 1 month ago (9 children)

I love the sentiment - but does anyone know if it's real? Or who the original poster is? @ickplant posts a lot of... borrowed content... I mean it's great content - but I sure don't trust the veracity. Fact checking and due credit matters - even on 'feel good' stuff.

[–] potate 2 points 1 month ago

A bunch o' ridings were gearing up for recall campaigns before the federal election got called. A whole lot of folks were distributing literature and rallying volunteers until folks refocused on the federal election.

Once the election is done, I'm pretty confident that'll ramp up again - the UCP ain't getting less corrupt. Check out abresistance.ca for info.

[–] potate 7 points 1 month ago

I was at a farmer's market here in Calgary remarking at a) how amazing the quality of local greenhouse veggies are and b) sad how quickly everyone forgot about the price gouging of the major grocery chains.

Now, being able to pay a few extra bucks for local farmers market stuff requires having the disposable cash to afford it and a lot of folks are more worried about feeding their kids than shopping as a statement - so no judgment - but it's a shame we've been distracted by Trump as to the way corporations have been killing competition through monopolistic practices.

[–] potate 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Looks like a knock-off of the 1UP bike rack. The 1UP racks slap as long as you are okay with Made-in-USA. They are mostly aluminum construction so none of the corrosion issues you see in less expensive racks.

Personally, I'm planning on a Khyber (made in Canada) for my new car.

[–] potate 3 points 1 month ago

This is absolutely fantastic

[–] potate 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The provided link is to a directory site and the link dead ends. There seems to be a ton of low effort copy-paste spam from this directory site.

I can understand providing a link to the directory site in one post - but a post about a specific business should provide direct links to the Canadian business in question - not to this directory.

[–] potate 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I kinda like pet-chem if we're going to do more upgrading - and sure enough we're seeing activity in the space.

Refineries produce gasoline (for old cars), diesel (for old trucks), and oils (there's alternatives). Refineries are for antiquated tech that were trying to phase out IMO.

Upgrading light ends (methane, ethane, propane, etc) are what I'd be investing in if I was looking at fossil fuels investment. We have LOTS of gas plants sweetening and fractionating that stuff so the product streams are there and the emissions intensity of that end is WAY better than liquids.

Dow is building a huge ethane cracker to produce polyethylene. IPL has the Heartland petrochemical complex that's going to be soaking up immense amounts of propane to produce polypropylene pellets. I haven't checked what Nova is up to lately, but I can promise you they're looking to grow in the space.

I don't love polymers, but we COULD recycle it if we were smart and unlike combustion where everything ends up in the atmosphere, a landfill full of plastic is actually carbon sequestration when you think about it.

Methane (natural gas) is worth approximately nothing at the moment, but coastal LNG exports will help China et al. ween off coal while they continue to build out renewables and Europe needs LNG for similar reasons and timescales.

Source - random internet person

[–] potate 13 points 1 month ago

I live and work downtown Calgary in an O&G related field (emissions reduction analysis - it's a frustrating job). I listen to a LOT of anti-Smith diatribes. The UCP mostly gets elected by rural ridings. They have about half of Calgary, and I don't know why they even bother running candidates in Edmonton.

There's a lot similarities to BC actually - BC votes conservative (whatever they call themselves) most places outside of Vancouver and Victoria.

There's even recall campaign talk in Calgary at the moment because people are hoping to force an early election to try and force the UCP out. (abresistance.ca for any Calgary homies who are interested in getting involved)

 

The federal government just increased support for individuals with major disabilities by $200/month. Smith and the UCP are clawing it back by reducing AISH by the same amount.

I've volunteered with folks on AISH - they aren't getting by. They have to beg and plead for the basic supports to live life with the hand they were dealt. The UCP thinks they can do this because most of us don't have a close friend or family member who depends on AISH.

We need to prove them wrong.

 

A public inquiry seems pretty justified given the magnitude of the financials involved...

181
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by potate to c/canada
 

I haven't done adequate due diligence yet - could be inaccurate

I came across this article alleging that Germany is considering bailing on the F-35 aircraft because the US can remotely disable them.

If the US could do this to German F-35s, presumably they can do it to ours....

Additional reporting alleging concern in Canadian defence circles

 

tl;dr: Police "Insulted" by insinuations photo radar has been used as a cash cow. Also police: Requirement to restrict photo radar to school zones, construction sites, and locations with demonstrably higher collision rates due to speeding has resulted in a $28M funding gap for Calgary ALONE.

47
Made in Canada boots - solid value (www.canadawestboots.com)
submitted 3 months ago by potate to c/buycanadian
 

Shoes and boots are one of the few items where you have a ton of made in Canada options.

I've gotten pairs from a few different brands and the stand out value is the WM. Moorby line by Canada West. My set haave been durable, and look as good as boots I've bought at twice the price. They aren't cheap ($300+) but they can be resoled so they should last roughly forever.

 

Got the pretty brutal news that one of our three cats is suspected to have FIP. Luckily, treatments have become available in the last couple of years so I'm trying to not get carried away freaking out - but this poor thing has had a tough go.

She came to us as part of a foster litter of kittens without a mom. She was half the size of her siblings and super malnourished. Long after her siblings were adopted, she stayed with us. She had allergies requiring special food and daily (expensive) meds and no one wanted to adopt a higher needs cat. She then had a reaction to her meds which caused excessive gum growth so the shelter decided she needed all of her incisors pulled. At that point she'd been with us for over a year and was fully integrated with our two cats. We decided that maybe this was her forever home and hoped that we could better manage her care by working directly with our vet instead of coordinating through the shelter.

Wrapping our heads around her now having FIP is rough - but we're going to do everything we can to help her through it and are hopeful she'll recover. Poor kid deserves a win...

 

I have an absolutely incredible set of moose hide trigger mits by Hides In Hand - a traditional leather crafter in Canada who use locally sourced hides.

I backcountry ski a lot and DESTROY gear. My hides in hand mits are the most durable and comfortable mits I've ever had. The issue is the acrylic fleece liners - I blow through them.

So I decided to make a set of sheepskin liners. I went to Bill Worb Furs - who source pelts from traditional hunters and trappers (read: mostly, but not all indigenous) and scored some hides.

I deconstructed the original liners, made a pattern and made these new liners. Cost me $30CAD and I have material for a couple more.

Totally pointless, could have bought replacements, but it was a super fun project for someone who has never made something like this before.

 
 

I put this together to help me understand how fluctuating emissions from the electrical grid and outdoor temperature impact the environmental performance of a heat pump compared to a natural gas furnace.

Would love feedback!

 

Information is limited - and likely to remain that way given the recalcitrance of police when it comes to their own.

Right now all of the news outlets are running the same wire service article, but hopefully a journalist digs in farther.

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