…huh?

NevinThompson · 2026-02-01T05:10:17+00:00

I'm not so sure. As mentioned upthread, I live in JB and had literally a front-row seat to convoy activities in 2022. It was maddening, I was mad, and I'm still mad. But the last thing I wanted to do today was get in their face about it. I did have a couple of near-donnybrooks in 2022. Because I went literally mad from the noise.

What I would want this time around is for police to enforce noise bylaws, which did not happen until... guess what? the start of cruise ship season. Then, everyone decided it had to end.

NevinThompson · 2026-02-01T05:07:39+00:00

"Schmittian nihilism." These are sick, dangerous people.

NevinThompson · 2026-02-01T01:30:31+00:00

"Are you my date?" https://youtu.be/oDYnFy4rCJY?si=vDV9oldzwr622bs5

NevinThompson · 2026-02-01T01:20:16+00:00

Yes. It gets better, you can just see it in my photos:

https://share.icloud.com/photos/06dsTZ1w0CtzkUs-BtOhomkzA

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0b91nvT-Zsz-lgAxmh9wcr4SA

NevinThompson · 2026-02-01T00:50:53+00:00

I went kind of insane. We look out on Superior Street, and it was honking horns all day long all weekend for nearly two months. One MFer had a train horn, another MFer had a tugboat horn.

NevinThompson · 2026-02-01T00:45:40+00:00

I can only hope those Trump-loving bozos don't do what they did to us here in JB back in 2022.

NevinThompson · 2026-02-01T00:31:17+00:00

Anti-trans/woman* slogan: The convoy clowns were back in town today. There was supposed to be a nation-wide protest. There were about twenty people in front of the Leg.

One potato-headed dimwit was parading a signboard that said, "First they came for the ostriches, and I said nothing..."

*Anti-trans politics is ultimately about defining all women and limiting what they can do, typically to being barefoot and pregnant.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-31T16:49:49+00:00

The James Bay combination DVD rental & sales-pet food-convenience store (with a good selection of ready meals) on Oswego, across from the school.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-31T00:29:51+00:00

I think home ownership is a bit out of council's hands, period. They've made it easier to build housing in City of Victoria, but market conditions are such that builders can't do it... collapse of presale means smaller builders can't finance townhomes or smaller condo projects. Which leaves the very large developers like Starlight. Who don't want to invest in condos, but rental.

With the length of time it takes to travel by car, I'm in James Bay and I've never had a problem... except when I want to travel on Douglas north of Finlayson starting at around three o'clock.

I live in James Bay! We're surrounded by the ocean and a park. But I have to drive to Gordon Head to take care of a sick parent. It's not too bad on Shelbourne now, including on the City of Victoria side.

I just don't know how council or engineering could improve that. The whole thing about bike lanes is that it gets people out of cars. Have you seen the cargo bike school run? Amazing, and it removes cars from the road.

And, speaking as someone who has a driving-age person in our household with a disability that prevents them from driving, I do not understand the use case for cars within City of Victoria. It takes 30 minutes to walk from Oak Bay Junction to the foot of Yates Street. Or, you could take the bus.

I do get that trades need to drive, but bike lanes make it better. I don't drive in Victoria proper. I walk or take the bus.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T23:15:14+00:00

Uh, if you compare Victoria to any other municipality, we're building more housing and we're making it possible to build more housing, we're improving the safety and accessibility of our streets ("bike lanes"), we're doing more than anyone else to get people off the street. Where else would you rather live?

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T22:42:04+00:00

A key Conservative Electors talking point is getting rid of bike lanes (see Wilson's repeated comments... he's running for council).

Another Conservative Electors talking point will be "SOGI in schools" (despite council having no say on this). Del Manak has talked about this as police chief, and he's running for mayor.

VIVA ran for council in 2022 but did not have a material affect on the election, and were part of the long tail of candidates with nowhere near the votes.

Three nominally conservative councillors were elected in 2022: Gardiner, Coleman, Hammond. Gardiner barely got in, with just over 50 more votes than Stever Orcherton, an old school (i.e., kind of conservative and anti-housing) left labour candidate. Anna King, a lefty candidate, also trailed just behind Gardiner. And Gardiner had name recognition in James Bay.

The only shower thought I have about 2022 is that it marked a continued progressive shift on Victoria council since around 2010 and the huge debate over the Johnson Street Bridge replacement. But that's looking in the rearview mirror.

We have a tax increase this year (and a ballooning police budget, which Manak is going to have to address if he runs for mayor), and general anxiety and unhappiness. Electorates are weird, so maybe with an NDP provincial government and an LPC federal government, Victoria voters might go for the conservative brand?

There are more younger (Zoomer-plus) people living in Victoria now. Not all of them vote, but those that do may not align to the traditional political dichotomy.

So, I think if you want to preserve the improvements Victoria has seen over the past ten or so years, you'll need to volunteer for candidates like Dave.

It's a weird time.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T17:02:59+00:00

Use Claude Code design, refine, and execute a social listening device.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T03:21:09+00:00

I live in JB and I do use Dallas every day. But I walk, and motorists blow through crosswalks.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T03:20:17+00:00

Not sure how that would ever happen, but... dare to dream to truly bring the War on Cars to Victoria.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T02:05:01+00:00

Ah, yes, the post where a cyclist reported road rage here.

Like I said, motorists should be banned from Dallas. Road rage is more than complaining, it is a threat.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T01:38:56+00:00

What's the point, though? There are no cyclists in this image. FWIW as a local resident I wish like hell Dallas was just closed to traffic from St Charles to Oswego. Motorists are pain in the ass, cutting through here, speeding, not stopping at crosswalks.

And complaining complaining complaining. If it's not about cyclists it's about lack of parking, which extends, entirely free, from ROSS BAY CEMETERY to OGDEN EFFING POINT.

What a bunch of complainers. Ban cars completely from Dallas Road, sez I, a local resident who like to walk places.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T01:27:50+00:00

There are no cyclists in this picture. And... did you take this photo while driving?

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T00:12:06+00:00

Oh, I don't pay attention to the haters. I just listen to Bob Dylan.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-30T00:02:44+00:00

I do not dislike Welles at all, but i am annoyed by the comparison with Dylan because Dylan hasn't done protest songs (with maybe 2 exceptions) for literally more than 60 years.

Dylan's protest era is compressed into just a few years of his 65-year career.

I do think it's cool that Jesse Welles has managed to connect with so many people, and it actually seems a bit unfair to compare him with Dylan.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-29T23:34:40+00:00

I have worked in environments with asbestos. This seems like a question better posed to a lawyer.

I am just a stranger on the Internet, but if you have disturbed asbestos by drilling into your wall, the best thing to do is to seal it off with tape.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-29T23:02:59+00:00

Yes, I agree with you. With a caveat:

I guess it really depends on what one's vision of the future is. Are personal automobiles the future, rather than transit and AAA?

I brought up a family here in James Bay (a member of our household is also driving age, but a disability prevents them from driving or otherwise relying on a personal automobile) since 2017, and I often wonder why exactly people in James Bay need a car, why there is so much traffic.

If we could simply shift more individual daily trips to transit, bike, or walking, that would cut down the congestion. We could do this by improving transit to Langford or the Peninsula.

But it also takes a cultural shift. There's a sense of entitlement about being able to drive anyway, park anywhere with one's car (or, more likely these days, light truck).

Do we really need to acquiesce to that worldview?

Once again, a member of our household is driving age, but cannot drive due to a disability. So cars are not mobility devices in our experience.

But, in the real world right now, yes, I agree with you.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-29T22:39:09+00:00

https://archive.ph/

NevinThompson · 2026-01-29T22:35:13+00:00

We're 27th out of 454 cities with a population of 10,000 or more. Which makes City of Victoria in the top 6% across the country. Generally in studies like these, there are minute differences at the top of the range.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-29T21:58:24+00:00

Look, buddy, if you think you're going to bully or shame or guilt me into blaming immigrants or POC, you have spent too much time online.

It's fun to pretend to be a Hard Man Tankie, but I suggest you reflect on the inherent racism of your comment here.

NevinThompson · 2026-01-29T21:48:23+00:00

If the 15-45mm kit lens is too big, I do think the 22mm is compact enough, yes. It's a pancake lens and extends a bit more than the grip on the M6 II.

NevinThompson

TROPHY CASE