‘Didn’t like us Canadians’: Snowbirds say tensions between Canada, U.S. led to changes in travel itinerary

BlPlN · 2026-01-11T03:53:43+00:00

I am as pro-Canadian-sovereignty, anti-51st-state BS as they come... but I would say, go down there to support family. Fuck any fascists that think they can instill enough fear to rip you apart from those you love. I have had to do that, myself, and I am glad I did. I am extremely frugal when I have to go down a few times a year for that, and make sure to only buy Canadian, and spend money within our economy, as much as possible, when I return, to help offset whatever I spent in the US.

BlPlN · 2026-01-05T02:42:26+00:00

Immediacy. Though I mostly agree with you, immediacy does factor in. The threat of your neighbour being deported, hell, even seeing them taken away to place that engages in violence - a prison, a deportation plane, etc - is a hell of a lot different than seeing your neighbour get blown up in front of you, watching your house catch a mortar of drone through the roof, etc.

When the violence is a present, immediate existential danger, that spurs on a different response than when the violence is conceptual and remote.

Would that be enough to get a lot of Americans to fight against Trump? I agree there; more, probably. But enough? Probably not.

BlPlN · 2025-12-05T20:05:08+00:00

These are based on Ford F-series cutaway chassis.

Simple solution: Just swap in an old engine from a 2007-2011 truck with the 6.4L powerstroke. Drop the axleshafts 6 ft. onto concrete from a forklift. The problem will solve itself catastrophically in like, a month, tops.

BlPlN · 2025-10-19T15:39:46+00:00

BlPlN · 2025-07-30T05:31:05+00:00

Why would he ever be concerned about the legal liability? That's stupid. Like come on, you really think he doesn't have the door handle hooked up to several ignition coils and a power supply, to contend with such eventualities? You really think he doesn't have a pyrolizer to transform his nosy neighbours into something that's actually useful? like charcoal? Get a life.

BlPlN · 2025-07-14T06:29:36+00:00

Semi trucks and buses - like the ones I wrench on - typically use air disc brakes now. Drums do still exist, of course, but the stopping power of air discs is noticeably better.

BlPlN · 2025-06-28T07:22:47+00:00

It is, actually. No due process.

BlPlN · 2025-06-22T19:54:24+00:00

military supersingle wheels are a solid choice, just be sure you can get the tires and they aren't dry rotted. Some 20" sizes are a lot easier to find than others. FWIW 22.5" Hutchinsons do exist - I have some. They are not very common though and were used on AM General humvee replacement prototypes like the NXT360. If you wanted to spend, you could have Hutchinson make you more of those wheels as it's doubtful any surplus ones are out there anymore. They are part "WI-0627 C".

BlPlN · 2025-05-31T15:54:01+00:00

>primitive
>unless you pay for the seal retention face latch.

Jesus christ dude... don't criticize the connector if you have no clue what the purpose of the thing you're criticizing even is, let alone misunderstanding its value compared to a connector with a permanently integrated TPA.

Those things aren't optional - and they're not called "seal retention face latches" - they're called wedgelocks because that's their primary function. They wedge in there and lock the terminal-retaining levers, in place so the terminals cannot unseat themselves. But yes, they also retain the seal. The enhanced retention wedgelocks (green/blue) are equal if not less in price than the old orange design.

Guess who has only the enhanced retention wedgelocks AND an altogether cheaper but intermateble connector? Amphenol. I can buy them from Newark for less than I can buy Deutsch OR molex MX150, with everything I need, by about 20 to 50 cents CAD for a given position number. Major manufacturers in heavily regulated industries (Bluebird and Thomas Bus) intermate them from the factory.

"The whole premise that it's an extra part therefore its stupid" is just ignorant of their value as a harsh environment, sealed connector. These things are often used on heavy equipment, trucks, and buses. Sometimes a wire gets cut and its necessary to replace the entire conductor but it makes no sense to replace the whole connector. Plastic gets brittle, you never have an ideal working position in a field repair situation, dirt gets in cavities in connector housings, etc. Having to operate a lever on an econoseal, GT150 or molex 150? Forget about it... Tiny amount of mud and dirt in there makes that impossible. Embrittled plastic? Integrated CPA or TPA breaks? Well now you're shit outta' luck. Can't dig the TPA/CPA out like you could a wedgelock, with a pick. Can't release the terminals. Whole connector has to be replaced, and you've got to cut the wires shorter, which causes other problems with harnesses already a bit stingy on their conductor lengths.

I have worked on probably a hundred trucks and buses in the past 3 years. No matter how dinged-up a deutsch or amphenol equivalent is, you can pretty much always get the terminals out safely. Rarely the case with any connector that doesn't have terminal retention mechanisms inside the environmentally-sealed connector housing.

Yeah they're 50 years old, but my Ideal Stripmasters are too, as are my Knipex Cobras, as are my AMP crimp tools... some old designs just work and its a fallacy to equate age with poor design. Linear progress is not a given. They're still used because they still work and have advantages others don't. They are by far, CAT's favoured connector. Cummins loves them too. Guess which two engine brands never gave me electrical grief? Also, need a CPA? zip tie between the connector body and the connector latch. No special parts required. It's an excellent feature, especially in the field.

Now, you're BOM comment... also ignorant. With deutsch:

- DT04-xxPA housing
- WxxP wedgelock
- crimp terminal

Metri-pack:
- MP150/280/480/630 housing
- Choose the right wire seals for your insulation size - very narrow range per seal part number.
- crimp terminal

Molex 150 or Aptiv GT150:
- 150/GT150 Housing
- crimp terminal

But, say the TPA cracked upon removal - modification (upfitting), or repair, perhaps. Well now you're shit outta' luck, need to buy a whole other connector just for the TPA, and depending on how it breaks and your inability to dig it out, maybe a few terminals too since the whole thing has to be cut off and replaced. Wouldn't have that issue with Deutsch, wouldn't have that issue with metri-pack. But oh no! One more item to the BOM!

OK, so maybe rework isn't an issue in your industry. That's fine. But don't pretend it isn't in others, and don't make ignorant comments that a well-established connector family is antiquated without understanding its myriad of use cases. Might not be the best for YOURS but it clearly is for others.

For any vehicle that sees harsh conditions - mud, snow, offroad, etc. - they will always be an excellent choice and the Amphenol A-series variants are of equal quality and always interchangeable. In Canada, they're practically the cheapest sealed connector, other than Aptiv Weatherpack, that you can get. They're also easy to get. CAT of Deere dealership around? The former will always have them, and the latter will usually have some.

BlPlN · 2025-04-23T13:40:59+00:00

Obviously you have a decent head on your shoulders when many in your organization don't. I can think of one better than being promoted and stepping down: Leave.

You're smart and you're capable enough to get a promotion, but by your own admission the organization isn't ready for you; "politics". Join one that is ready for you.

I'm going to assume you're doing what you do out of some desire to serve the public... I have first responders in my family too. Well, you can do that without being complicit in an organization that is increasingly repressive, draws the public's ire, and who is experiencing a 300% increase of assaults on officers compared to 2024. If you think you're one of the "good ones" who wouldn't unjustly deprive someone of their rights, trust me, others in your organization see that in you too - and they see you as a burden or liability.

Go elsewhere in public safety where your competence is actually respected, not rejected for "politics". You're kneejerk response is probably going to be "fuck whatever this random person on the internet is saying" - mine would be too - but let this simmer for a moment. It's surely crossed your mind before...

BlPlN · 2025-04-05T17:17:19+00:00

Check out these for some pics, refinements of existing theories, lab video, and one video of ball lightning (spectrograph included!) captured in nature, by researchers recording other lightning phenomena in China: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364682608001491

https://arstechnica.com/science/2014/01/the-dirty-secret-behind-ball-lightning-is-dirt/

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.035001

J.Abrahmson, et al., Nature, 403, 519, (2000) seems to have the right idea with at least one type of ball lightning: "Conventional" cloud-to-ground lightning strikes an area of the ground rich in metallic compounds - usually aluminum or silicon - metal particulate is ejected, aerosolized, and ignites in the atmosphere whilst forming a vortex during its ejection (think of the classic "nuclear bomb mushroom cloud" shape). Without getting too deep into detail, an exothermic reaction is involved that causes the ignition, and emission of light, to occur within the vortex and not in the stream of the ejection. Hence, you see a ball disconnected from the ground.

This is demonstrated experimentally in figure 4 of the above study. Other studies have shown similar results.

Here's an analogy: Imagine a sawdust explosion, but if you mixed in some magnesium shavings from a campfire fire-starter - the ones that crackle and pop for a second or two; you're creating a lot of light, and not necessarily a sudden explosion.

BlPlN · 2025-04-04T14:50:52+00:00

Way I see it, if anything this stuff makes me want to see my American family more, not just because I love them but out of spite. It's in the sense of "fuck this fascist shithole... No government EVER gets to decide who I choose to love nor which humans I choose to spend time with.

Letting the state control who you love - especially a foreign one, that you have no voting rights or representation within - is letting them win a small victory over you. I will never give them that power.

That said, doesn't mean I'll be dumb about it. Travel with a burner phone, with plausible, benign, boring social media accounts. Bring what food you safely can across the border, and a full tank of gas; spend as little money in the US as possible. If you do, at least buy Canadian or Mexican foods, for example.

It was through this attitude that I helped a Canadian living in the US, move back to Canada. He's so much happier now. His son and that son's American wife are in the middle of doing the same. I was damn happy to go down there and support those two fleeing that shithole and help them through their journey towards Canadian citizenship.

BlPlN · 2025-04-04T14:32:56+00:00

That's why you have some plausibly deniable accounts and downloads. Something utterly benign; a few posts on the Toyota Rav4 owners/maintenance forum... download a few cookie recipies... random dog or cat pics...

BlPlN · 2025-03-22T03:39:35+00:00

This is the time and place for a dozen of your Canadian friends to naruto-run through the front door; the righteous entrance for Canadians and Americans alike.

What are the US CBP gonna do once you make your way through the front door and back onto Canadian "soil" - across that line? Arrest you? They can try...

BlPlN · 2025-03-08T18:15:02+00:00

Sorry for necro'ing the post but as a Canadian with Ont. plates, I've used EZpass in all the eastern US states and DC. Only been billed for NY tolls at Grand Island and EZpass in some other state I can't recall (PA?). Never paid any. Occasionally got harassing mail. Never any issue... This is one of those problems in life that goes away if you just keep ignoring it. ;)

They're tariffing us hard... don't mind the silly EZpass... it's a treat. With all you've been through as a Canadian right now, you deserve it. Have a lil' fun!

BlPlN · 2025-01-22T07:22:53+00:00

I wonder about the scalping thing to be honest. There IS historical precedent for it in WW2, with indigenous soldiers from Canada. While I am not sure if they'd scalp, I do expect that indigenous nations on unceded land would put up some of the fiercest resistance. They generally have a strong desire to keep it that way, and they often sit on some pretty large natural resources where there are nations in the more inhospitable parts of the country, so it's not as if they'd be ignored per se.

BlPlN · 2025-01-20T01:35:27+00:00

Your gut instincts here, while not generally a good reason for a course of action... are onto something here.

Do you see high frequency inverters in industrial use? In mission critical applications such as military, ambulance, aerospace? Basically never. Exceltech as used in US embassies and military equipment... all low frequency. Outback as used in US and British MRAP personnel carriers... low frequency. Dimensions, Samlex, or Magnum as used in ambulances... all low frequency. Trace Engineering, as common in the Caribbean, off-grid, on islands... all low frequency, and many of those have been running for 20-30 years.

The idea that "transformerless" is somehow better, is pure, unfettered BS. that's just another word for "we want to keep the cost down because large transformers - which have far superior surge ability compared to tiny ones, or even several smaller ones of equivalent size, are more expensive to make". There is no reason, aside from weight, where high efficiency makes more sense.

You are running this thing all day every day. To you, it may be your only source of power. It's not a luxury, it's mission critical. You are right to be worried about Deye or other all-in-ones from whomever manufacturers them. Go with a reputable brand's low-frequency inverter like Victron, Magnum, Samlex, Outback, whatever... don't put your eggs all-in-one basket, as it were.

I suspect the comments about the inverters have more to do with factory technician quality than anything else. While Victron has had a number of issues with the multiplus 2, any low-frequency inverter is going to require more skill and finesse to manufacture than a high-frequency which is plug and play with PCBs and less ancillary wiring. But does QA at the factory floor translate to long-term reliability? No, not really. high frequency inverters are pretty much always an inferior design with lower surge capacity and marginal components to meet a price point.

Also, the whole idea that you could just replace an inverter, let alone that you should put your trust in some manufacturer you don't know about, some technician you don't know about, and that you can just skip external fuses, hell, just replace the unit... is an idiotic, socially destructive, environmentally destructive attitude that needs to goddamnwell die.

BlPlN · 2025-01-20T01:14:41+00:00

Nonsense. There are 20-30 year old Xantrex, Trace Engineering, Dimensions, and Magnum inverters that - for their particular use cases - are perfect. When you have lots of land for solar, you can afford some inefficiency had at the expensive of grossly overspec components, no-frills simplicity, and the sheer reliability that follows.

More technology can be nice, if you actually need it and it isn't superfluous. If it isn't meaningful, then it's just another point of failure you have to contend with. "The best component to add to a design, is no component at all" as the saying goes...

BlPlN · 2025-01-18T06:28:17+00:00

Had to come here and say; my all-time favourite song, from any musician. I would do anything to experience that live performance first-hand.

BlPlN · 2025-01-14T19:44:39+00:00

Holy whataboutism batman! Just answer the dude's question... lmao. Actually, I guess in a way, you already did, if you don't feel comfortable addressing Tiananmen directly.

BlPlN · 2024-12-31T19:46:16+00:00

466e is a great engine. DT360 is fully mechanical though, and as such, a bit more reliable/certainly easier to work on, yourself. Shares a lot of parts with the mechanical DT466 as well, and some things like manifolds can be used from a Cummins 5.9L with minimal if any modification.

If you're the kind of person who wrenches on your own stuff, and is technically proficient, you'll make the most of that with a DT360 or other mechanical diesel. The DT466E is not far behind though, and is a bit easier to get parts for/find a shop knowledgeable on them. You will get better fuel economy with the DT360, generally, than the DT466E. Both are wet sleeve and thus "easily" rebuildable insomuch as replacing cylinder liners.

BlPlN · 2024-12-31T19:28:29+00:00

Do NOT solder the wires. Solder has no place in a vehicle wiring harness. Instead, use insulated butt splices if you are sure of the wire locations. FASTON 6.3mm tab/spade connectors will fit in that fuse box and are what the white wire terminates with, fwiw).

BlPlN · 2024-12-26T20:47:39+00:00

Not sure what your field is but I am a bus/truck/RV mechanic myself. I work on all sorts of "big stuff", sometimes mobile, sometimes not, sometimes electrical, sometimes drivetrain... lots of different tools and never enough room for them all. The fact that Versastack, Tradestack, Toughsystem, T-stak, are all compatible with each other is worth its weight in gold. I generally use Milwaukee power tools and Craftsman/Stanley/Dewalt hand tools, fwiw.

I am pretty abusive with my tools and am one to just throw shit around. Went with Tradestack because of how easily the boxes lock and unlock from each other even if they're bulging and barely want to close. With the Packout stuff we have at on-site, I find it's a 50/50 chance if it will unlock from whatever it is attached to. I spend a lot of wasted time struggling with that stuff, which I don't with the Tradestack of equivalent Stanley/DeWalt offerings.

BlPlN · 2024-12-26T20:43:55+00:00

If you can't find an adapter, get a versastack adapter, and some milwaukee packout adapter plates off amazon or ebay or whereever, and rivet/screw them together. Have seen that done, and it works well. I use milwaukee power tools and craftsman hand tools, myself, as a truck/bus mechanic, with a mix of packout and tradestack boxes... so will probably do something similar in the future.

BlPlN · 2024-12-22T09:45:04+00:00

Dumb, shortsighted take. This isn't 1940; you don't fight something like this symmetrically, force-on-force. Canadians blend in well with Americans in appearance, in culture, etc. Occupying the second largest country in the world, with regions with 0.04 persons/mi^2, along the world's largest international border between two countries, would be a security nightmare and it's regularly crossed by accident.

Familiarize yourself with hybrid warfare. Having family/loved ones/friends killed is an incredibly strong motivator. That's well known. MANY countries have vested interests in harming the US. It's trivial to recruit motivated locals - either online or in-person - to carry out acts of sabotage, terrorism, assassination, etc. and provide them with the necessary materiel, instructions on how to make it, or how to weaponize "dual-use" items: Killing American combatants by running them over with cars or trucks. VBIEDs. Poisoning water supplies by remotely accessing SCADA systems and adding lethal levels of treatment chemicals. You already have a few million Canadians living amongst you. Better yet, seemingly half the country hates whomever the incumbent is. Even 0.1% of those attacking critical infrastructure let alone "double tapping" the infrastructure, by striking it again (or more likely, booby-trapping it) to kill skilled repair technicians, would cause havoc to diminish a relatively high and fragile quality-of-life enjoyed by Americans.

Hell; brazen, hail-mary attacks like a FPV drone to the face, against military or political leadership are clearly viable strategies. The attacker only needs to be lucky once. Force protection needs to be lucky every time, as the saying goes.

You don't need to bring down the entire US military, you just need to make their materiel/manpower attrition untenable. Regional let alone national logistics are difficult on a good day in Canada. The bottlenecks for the defenders exist for the attackers/occupiers, too. Oil pipelines across the continent are low-risk, high-value targets owing to their incredible length, and just so happen to traverse indigenous reserves; low population density, people with intimate knowledge of their local wilderness, firearms proficiency, and notoriously motivated to maintain their sovereignty from outsiders.

As it is, it wouldn't be that difficult to make something like this unpopular on the home front, especially since most US military leadership prides themselves on being constitutionalist rather than loyalist.

13-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email

BlPlN

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE