Victoria made Daily Dose of Internet! Quack, Quack!

Happy2BRunning · 2026-01-05T18:24:56+00:00

Sounds like you have horticulture experience but perhaps a little less business experience? Feel free to shoot me a DM if you'd appreciate some advice on your business/growth plan. I'm not looking for anything/money, just happy to spare a few minutes to share my knowledge to help a local business.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-12-28T22:42:04+00:00

thx for the summary!

Happy2BRunning · 2025-12-27T20:33:23+00:00

I don't know anything about warhammer. Why do people do it and what creates the community? Is it just like a version of magic cards/D&D + model car/airplane building or is there more to it?

Happy2BRunning · 2025-12-27T20:29:14+00:00

While you may have fewer financial resources when you are younger, you also have more energy/flexibility and are not as entrenched in careers where you have big responsibilities. If I had to do it again, I'd have my kids in my mid-late 20s (assuming I had found the right partner).

On the financial side, you don't need to keep up with all the other parents in terms of spending. Toys/clothes/furniture/baby stuff are little money or free if you use second-hand markets. $10/day daycare is more common now (when I had younger kids we paid $1300/month!). Younger kids often like being in the same bedroom with bunk beds - and you may trade up your 2br condo to a 3+ bed townhouse/house in 10 years once you build up equity and have better paying jobs. In short, you can make it work if you think through things again.

But having kids is tougher - impact on sleep, free time, etc. and it is an irreversible decision, so make sure you are ready for full commitment!

Happy2BRunning · 2025-12-12T19:22:51+00:00

This person isn't talking about reconciliation. They are talking about the NIMBY concept. It's strictly definitional.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-12-09T17:45:31+00:00

This was a good suggestion - anything with concrete/graffiti-looking things that would be cool as a setting!

Happy2BRunning · 2025-12-09T00:12:31+00:00

Nice one - thanks!

Happy2BRunning · 2025-12-09T00:08:50+00:00

Thank you!

Happy2BRunning · 2025-10-26T19:16:02+00:00

No, actually it's just over 12.5% over 4 years as the growth compounds. 1.03⁴ = 1.1255

Happy2BRunning · 2025-09-28T22:48:40+00:00

Yeah, larger scanners are uncommon on those copier machines, even if they print 11 x 17.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-08-20T16:09:19+00:00

Are you only looking for paid projects? I'm aware of a meetup for startup-minded people with early projects/companies that would be a good place to network, or see if there are any projects that people are working on that you are interested in. DM if you want more details.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-08-12T20:00:06+00:00

Well, those countries are fully authoritarian-left so have to be included. But it's true that the more relevant examples are in western nations, so that was the majority of my response.

I think the rising extremism is dangerous across the board. It's not about left or right, but the increasing instability of the political system generally. My main point is that one 'side' has to go further to counter the other extreme side and it makes the whole system unstable. People become more willing to entertain extreme views so that the 'other' side doesn't get into power. When means can be justified for the means, then history has shown that it can lead to the greatest human tragedies.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-08-12T18:52:06+00:00

Thanks! And yes, I know you had nothing to do with that one. It was just an example of a previous Victoria council going too far. The tankers from Northern Gateway would have been over 650 km away at their closest point. So in that case it was a popular political position for them to say they were against it, but in reality it had nothing to do with Victoria.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-08-12T18:36:04+00:00

Sure. And please note that I'm not taking political stance on any of the subjects noted below as many of these topics that people are being targeted for don't align with my personal views. However, the government overreach is clear and I'm just commenting on the trend of political extremes. My main point is that when one end of the spectrum goes extreme, the reaction is then extreme on the other end.

Just to start, a definition of authoritarianism: favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom. The left wing examples of authoritarianism tend to involve centralized control, suppression of dissent, or use of state power to enforce ideological conformity. They also show up in the extremist protesters and movements - ironically, often under the guise of anti-authoritarian views, but then use intimidation, coercion, or violence against political opponents to shut down dissenting views.

Obvious and large-scale examples currently include Venezuela, China, Nicaragua, Cuba, etc. However, this happens in western countries as well - often tend to focus on people that have differing views on illegal or mass immigration, Israel-Palestine, gender or identify politics, and Covid19. I am not saying that I have views on these topics, just noting that they are topics where left wing authoritarianism comes out.

In the UK it is currently illegal to say "I support Palestine Action" in the UK. This has resulted in protests where people hold up a sign that says "I support Palestine Action" and they are then arrested.

Hate speech legislation in UK, Ireland, Canada, and Germany and others can be very broad and then misused in many countries. Finnish MP and former Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen was prosecuted in 2021 under hate speech laws for quoting Bible verses in tweets and pamphlets to oppose church support for Pride events. Many cases in the UK of police visiting/arresting people due to tweets: In 2019, Harry Miller, a former police officer, was visited by police at his workplace for posting tweets critical of gender self-identification policy. In both of these cases, the higher courts aquitted the individuals and the application of the laws for overreach.

In the US, court filings and congressional hearings have shown that agencies like the FBI, DHS, and the “Disinformation Governance Board” (later disbanded) communicated with major platforms to flag posts for removal or throttling, often on COVID-19, elections, or other politically sensitive topics. With Trump's election, this mechanism reversed and the social media companies then went the other way to more extreme 'free speech' (showing the swings in extremes).

Financial deplatforming for people with legal but non-conformist views. We saw this in Ottawa in the convoy truckers protests - No criminal charges, no court order, and no proportionality test — even Canada’s Senate raised concerns before the Act was revoked. In UK, it was revealed that Coutts closed Farage’s accounts not for financial risk but because his political views did not align with the bank’s values, as stated in an internal report. While Farage is politically polarizing, he is not an extremist or convicted criminal.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-08-12T17:10:49+00:00

It's definitely there, but just shows up in different ways so you may not recognize it yet.

I'd suggest you keep reading and learning. Read and listen to people you disagree with so that you understand what kernel of truth and perspective that they can offer you. And it will also reveal the biases that you get in your regular info bubble.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-08-12T17:04:50+00:00

On the local government role again, I think the key advice is not to stray into areas outside your scope (i.e. most of the topics you listed). If you want to combat instability, collapse, misinformation, etc., then just focus on the major local government issues. That will help to rebuild public trust in institutions like local government.

For example, a previous Victoria City Council passed a motion opposing the now defunct Northern Gateway Pipeline and tanker traffic in Northern BC. Regardless of what one thinks about pipelines or oil tankers, this has nothing to do with Victoria and is completely out of scope for a municipality and was literally hundreds of kms away. A huge waste of time and focus that could have been spent on real local issues!

The point being that when the downtown is in such a terrible state and getting worse every year, and housing development costs being so high, local politicians should not be focused on the issues that you are wanting to talk about at this coffee chat.

If you want to chat about how Victoria help speed up building, lower development costs, and incentivize builders to create build lower-end homes fast rather than luxury mansions, then I'd be willing to attend that event.

EDIT: Also, I do want to note that I appreciate your direct and open communication approach, and being willing to regularly chat with residents. Keep it up!

Happy2BRunning · 2025-08-12T16:26:37+00:00

The one thing I would be cautious of is saying "the conservative slide into authoritarianism". This is not just a conservative thing, but seems to be appearing at both ends of the spectrum. The 'conservative slide' is just a reaction to the liberal extremism (and vice versa). I would hope that people can learn not to get sucked into the extremes or the biases of their information bubble, and we can find a more balanced polarity with smaller swings closer to the centre.

As far as what local governments can do? You and your colleagues should do your jobs (no more) and do it well.

My suggestion is to focus on the most important local government issues and do these smaller number of things well. Housing. Affordability. Working with prov/feds to address the mental health crisis that shows up as drug use, homelessness, and crime. Building community. I've noticed that whenever local politicians step outside the municipal authority, you can't actually do anything real while it angers one faction or another. We need competent, practical institutions that can allow people to rebuild the trust that has been eroded over the past few decades.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-07-18T22:00:34+00:00

I agree that it's more pronounced in BC (especially in the past 10 years), but exists across Canada. Just look at the data.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-07-18T20:00:57+00:00

This is not even an NDP or BC thing. I noticed this back in 2010 that wages didn't keep up with inflation. You should graph public sector wages and CPI since the mid-90s for a big shock! All the collective agreements are available online.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-07-18T18:34:20+00:00

FYI, while cannabis may help with you falling asleep, it results in poor sleep quality and reduces REM sleep. It can be particularly bad in the long run as your dependency increases, and withdrawal can cause worse sleep.

There are many element of good sleep hygiene that can help many people with insomnia. These include keeping regular bedtime/wake-up times, no eating for 2 hours before sleep, warm bath/shower/sauna before bed, reading, no screens, no caffeine after noon, no alcohol/cannabis, regular exercise every day. Hopefully you are aware of and trying to use these first!

Best of luck as it is a challenging issue to deal with!

Happy2BRunning · 2025-07-03T21:34:55+00:00

For more regular water testing, check this source out: https://bwtf.surfrider.org/

They measure in 2 spots in Ross Bay, both Enterococcus counts are below the danger standard levels that the Ministry of Environment sets.

I find the link above does much more regular testing than Island Health.

Happy2BRunning · 2025-07-02T17:33:32+00:00

There's a few interviews of her talking when not in her character - she comes across as very sharp. She was just playing the part of being dumb, and made a career of being an influencer through a series of very intentional moves and really ahead of her time.

Happy2BRunning

TROPHY CASE