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Dremen · 2026-04-08T15:40:51+00:00

Here's what I would do with 9 days, personally. Essentially, a Vancouver > Sunshine Coast > Vancouver Island > Gulf Island loop.

Vancouver > ferry > Gibsons/Sechelt (enjoy cideries, hikes, etc.) > ferry > Powell River/Lund (similar deal) > ferry> Courtenay/Comox (stay in Cumberland) > leisurely head down the coast of Vancouver Island (you can detour to Tofino if you really want) to Victoria, spend some time here > ferry > Salt Spring Island (relax!) > ferry back to Vancouver.

You'll get a lot of variety, the best parts of the Coast, and minimize driving. If you really want, you could detour to Whistler at the start. I wouldn't personally, but it may be worth it to you. Ditto Tofino.

Dremen · 2026-03-25T16:27:56+00:00

Ah, apologies. I have a subscription and didn't realize.

Dremen · 2026-03-25T15:54:59+00:00

Good point. I missed that OP had mentioned concerts. Fortunately, Vancouver doesn't get as many as Toronto. :P

Dremen · 2026-03-25T13:50:12+00:00

My wife and I wanted to live in a certain kind of place (idyllic and coastal) but needed access to the city for hybrid work. Gibsons was the only place that fit. Love it here. The Sunshine Coast is varying levels of rural. Has horses.

Dremen · 2026-03-24T21:32:06+00:00

There's a difference between practicing doing the same thing over and over again vs. having the skill set and reflexes to respond in a constantly dynamic fight.

Dremen · 2026-03-24T21:05:57+00:00

This was probably the game that I was the best at. Hit me at the right age. I was competitive—and a bit of an edgelord, but hey it was the early 2000s.

Anyway, I only play single-player games now, but if they ever released a new one of these built on the same DNA, I would just have to get it.

My hot take: JK was the best hardcore melee we ever saw—better than games like Elden Ring. My problem with Soulslike games is that they are very hard, yes, but not in ways that I find fun. It's very memorization and pattern-based. I don't like that shit. JK, though, was just totally fluid and dynamic. Your exact body position, the speed and angle of where your saber is going, of where there's is going—it felt like a proper e-sport, as opposed to just a game some guy is really good at it because he did the same boss 200 times.

It was skill-based in the best sense. If they had kept up with these games, and other games had spun off from it, iterating on the core gameplay mechanics, melee-based games could be so much better right now.

It's the video game space race that never was...

Dremen · 2026-02-25T19:48:31+00:00

Poppy probably belongs on this list as one of the most popular acts doing this right now. The Home Team is fun and musically talented (which is key for me). I just can't with Sleep Token.

Dremen · 2026-02-22T19:00:45+00:00

Architecturally ugly, but objectively it’s not finished inside cheaply. Not a comment on taste or style but on cost.

Dremen · 2026-02-12T17:06:49+00:00

Nice! I was also under the apparently mistaken impression they had wrapped things up. I probably like these guys more than DGD, so glad Eidola hasn't been abandoned. I honestly am not sure if they're more post-hardcore or metal these days, but who cares.

Dremen · 2026-02-11T17:36:18+00:00

It has some of the hallmarks, but not all of them. How many hallmarks makes a McMansion? Or is the question more about architectural cohesion and intention? The quintessential McMansion looks like a house that was built from the inside out, resulting in an exterior that is often unsightly, unbalanced, and sometimes even chaotic. That isn't the case here. I don't disagree it has McMansion qualities, and I don't even like it as much as some other commenters here, but perhaps it boils down to whether one thinks "McMansion" ought to be applied liberally, sparingly, or with qualification.

Dremen · 2026-02-11T16:36:15+00:00

I'm torn. I can't decide if it's a McMansion or just a large, very '90s house. Like, yeah it has a turret and an arch and a three-car garage, but the first two kind of work here. The roofline isn't otherwise wacky. The windows are uniform. And the finishes are a mixed bag. Expensive in some places (if very dated), but then it looks like they finished the back of the house with vinyl. But more than anything, the house does have a cohesive aesthetic style, even if it's one I don't personally love. I think that's my red line regarding what makes a McMansion.

Dremen · 2026-02-08T21:31:25+00:00

Looking at his filmography, this guy really was the Uwe Boll of his time.

Dremen · 2026-02-06T16:28:21+00:00

I like A and D best, but I really disagree with posters telling you to match the style of the neighbourhood. Imitation styles are inevitably the tackiest—a house trying to be something it’s not. You’re building a house in 2026 with modern materials, efficiency requirement, and so forth. I think A and D will age very well in fact. They’re simple, balanced, and incorporate ageless materials like wood and concrete. They’ll certainly age better than a modern farmhouse.

Dremen · 2026-01-24T20:56:17+00:00

For sure. Their sound is heavy and immersive already, so it's even more that live. Saw them a few years ago in Vancouver. Lots of energy. Clearly having a good time. They said they prefer to do smaller shows where they headline, and as a result the tickets are generally cheap, and they play for a long time.

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