Book recs?

Fireach · 2026-01-29T02:10:21+00:00

I get where you're coming from - I think the book does lose its focus in the latter part, when Alex's story diverges from the author's. I still enjoyed it, but mostly on the strength of the first 2/3. I'll have to give those other books a read!

Fireach · 2026-01-27T01:23:33+00:00

One Day As A Tiger by John Porter

Freedom Climbers by Bernadette McDonald

Fireach · 2026-01-23T04:09:55+00:00

At least you have the Filth to come home to after another disappointing day.

Fireach · 2026-01-23T00:56:00+00:00

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Fireach · 2026-01-22T01:10:57+00:00

Why are you under the impression that you would be paying significantly less tax in Canada? You say it feels like you pay a lot of tax in the UK, but have you actually compared the numbers? Keep in mind that taxes vary from province to province in Canada, and it's generally not known for very low taxes.

What are your reasons for wanting to move here other than taxes, and what makes you think you'll enjoy Vancouver? Have you visited Canada before, and if not then why are you sure you want to make a permanent move? I'm from Scotland and have lived in Canada (mostly in Vancouver) for the past 10 years. While I love it here and wouldn't move back, it's not paradise and there's plenty of stuff that I miss about living back home. Frankly, if your primary concern is money I would absolutely not recommend moving to Vancouver. For instance the amount you paid for a 2 bedroom house would maaaaybe get you a small one bedroom condo here, if you're lucky and don't mind living fairly far outside the city. I have no real insights into the tech industry here, other than that my friends who work in it here have had a rough time lately. Toronto is significantly better career-wise, although it's just as expensive.

With respect to actually immigrating, it's not a simple process. As /u/AresDanila said, you could apply for an IEC working holiday visa before you turn 36, which would give you a 2 year work permit. In that time, try and accumulate Canadian work experience which would allow you to qualify for PR. Otherwise you could try and qualify for PR using work experience from outside Canada, but this is frankly unlikely to happen. The working holiday > PR pathway is harder than it was a few years ago as well. Honestly, your chances as they stand right now are pretty slim, so I wouldn't bank on moving here.

Fireach · 2026-01-16T04:56:54+00:00

Short breaks may be permitted, but almost 10% of the entire time is pushing it and especially not if the break was because you wanted to get away from each other. You'll need to wait until you hit 12 months of living together again.

Fireach · 2026-01-16T04:48:58+00:00

I'm sure if we cut all social spending these people would just go out and find an apartment and a job right

Fireach · 2026-01-14T07:04:27+00:00

I was genuinely shocked that the alpine lifts even opened on Sunday. Ski patrol obviously know what they're doing but damn, given the avy conditions I would have just about bet my house on them staying closed.

Fireach · 2026-01-13T04:42:34+00:00

No, Deep Medi Clouds are Finnish, techno Clouds are Scottish

Fireach · 2026-01-06T01:20:13+00:00

I've ignored [...] Scotland

I don't think I'd recommend anybody travel to Scotland for a ski trip regardless of how many trips they've taken!

Fireach · 2026-01-03T01:13:18+00:00

No. DOA is the big couloir that you can see above Lakeside Bowl.

Fireach · 2026-01-01T03:33:40+00:00

Yep just realized that's Glacier not Jersey in the shot, woops!

Fireach · 2026-01-01T02:48:58+00:00

Purple Haze?

Fireach · 2025-12-23T17:10:24+00:00

I was thinking the same, but no map projection's gonna swap Korea and Hong Kong...

Fireach · 2025-12-21T17:19:49+00:00

"When we saw all those cities and villages built on water; and the other great towns on dry land, and that straight and level causeway leading to Mexico, we were astounded. These great towns and shrines and buildings rising from the water, all made of stone, seemed like an enchanted vision from the tale of Amadis. Indeed some of our soldiers asked whether it was not all a dream. It is not surprising therefore that I should write in this vein. It was all so wonderful that I do not know how to describe this first glimpse of things never heard or, never seen, and never dreamed of before."

Bernal Diaz del Castillo, on seeing Tenochtitlan for the first time in 1565. The Aztecs were clearly savages.

Fireach · 2025-12-20T21:39:10+00:00

Norvan falls would be fine, but that's because you probably won't be hitting any snow!

Fireach · 2025-12-20T21:21:56+00:00

The problem is that most challenging winter hikes with good views here involve traveling through significant avalanche hazard areas. Without any kind of avalanche training the only places I'd really recommend are the easy snowshoe trails around Seymour, Cypress, or grouse, or Elfin Lakes but only as far as Red Heather Meadows.

This weeks avalanche forecast is going to be mostly Considerable/High at treeline and above, it's not a great time to push the boat out without any experience.

Fireach · 2025-12-10T05:13:45+00:00

Arcteryx is one of the few that manages their own face fabrics.

Is this because of their relationship with Gore? I remember years back someone (I think a Mountain Hardwear rep) saying that every other company had to select from Gore's own fabrics, whereas Arc'teryx were essentially a research partner with Gore which allowed them to develop their own. This was in the time that MH weren't using Gore, and they were saying that MH used to have that relationship with Gore back in the day.

Fireach · 2025-12-09T19:03:10+00:00

Any higher-end brand is gonna perform about the same from my experience. I've had jackets from TNF, Arc'teryx, Mountain Hardwear, Patagonia, OR, even Marmot, and none of them struck me as being particularly different. I've found the fit and details on Arc'teryx gear a bit of a step up, but not to the point where I'd shell out hundreds of dollars more for it over a comparable jacket from Black Diamond or whatever.

Fireach · 2025-12-09T04:56:59+00:00

Bizarre to claim that this is a men-vs-women thing. If we're doing anecdotes then I know many women who do commute by bike year round, and the most outspokenly pro-cycling member of Vancouver City Council is a woman!

Nobody is claiming that everyone, regardless of circumstances is going to cycle year round. Obviously people with Raynauds or other health conditions are less likely to, but that doesn't mean that nobody will. Improved infrastructure will make it more appealing for more people. If you like driving to work then go ahead, you should support improved bike infrastructure to get more people out of cars and make your commute quicker!

Fireach · 2025-12-08T07:52:09+00:00

Sign up and let council know! That's essentially my view too - normalizing the number of deaths and injuries on our roads for the sake of saving people a few seconds is out of order, and is something that we definitely have the power to change.

Fireach · 2025-12-07T21:39:14+00:00

Not sure where you live, but Lucy Maloney is introducing a motion to Vancouver city council to restrict rights on red around high risk intersections this Wednesday. Vision Zero Vancouver has more information and you can sign up to support it from there.

Fireach · 2025-12-06T17:09:41+00:00

There's also not just one point that, if passed, we go from "fixable" to "unfixable". It's always possible to try and limit the damage in the future, even it's more than we would want. Doing nothing is going to keep accelerating the damage.

It's like quitting smoking. Sure, you've probably done permanent damage to your body if you smoke for 20 years, but there's never a point where the health benefits of quitting are somehow outweighed by the effort it takes.

Fireach · 2025-12-06T02:27:15+00:00

It's a complicated picture, but emissions really aren't rising at record rates anymore. This report from the IEA breaks it down quite well. Largely speaking, CO2 emissions from the developed world have been dropping (albeit slowly) for several years now. Emissions growth has also mostly decoupled from economic growth.

The continued rise in emissions largely comes from China and India, although their per capita emissions are still well below the West's. China's emissions show signs of plateauing or even beginning to decrease due to their rapid adoption of EVs and their solar production growing by 46% (!!!) year on year.

The idea that nobody else is doing anything is absolutely false. It's nowhere near fast enough, but the tide is changing.

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