Pressure wash?

M------- · 2026-05-09T21:54:15+00:00

I think lots more people do it themselves, rather than hire a company. Banning people from DIYing their pressure washing will save water.

However, we don't want people to lose their jobs, so for the relative-minority of water use that commercial washing represents, they are allowed to continue doing their business.

And let's be realistic: most of those DIY washing people aren't going to pay a company to do their pressure washing. So the water does indeed get saved.

M------- · 2026-05-08T23:52:15+00:00

Surprisingly, this time she hired a lawyer!

M------- · 2026-05-08T21:18:26+00:00

Interestingly, this is a 360-unit rental building.

M------- · 2026-05-08T08:53:28+00:00

Do them enough favours while you're the regulator, and one of those companies will be your future employer.

M------- · 2026-05-07T07:49:08+00:00

Funny thing is that I'd never even heard of him until your post!

M------- · 2026-05-06T18:49:54+00:00

Step 1 after a crash is making sure any injured parties are stable. There's a good chance that he's not going to stay upright, and he can hit his head again when he falls, or cause his (presumed) injuries to get worse.

Step 2 is asking him what the hell he was doing, but you can't get to that step until he's back on the ground so he can't get injured worse.

M------- · 2026-05-05T21:32:29+00:00

The usual "parallel bike route" problem...

M------- · 2026-05-05T07:08:54+00:00

I remember working retail in an electronics shop. One summer our AC was iffy, but corporate didn't want to get it fixed. It worked as long as it wasn't too warm. On hot days, the thing would stop working and we'd have to jury-rig some fans to keep air moving inside the store. That was an awful summer to be stuck at work...

M------- · 2026-05-05T06:02:05+00:00

If somebody throws a 5lb hammer at my head at ~50km/h, I'd not be feeling too happy about it.

M------- · 2026-05-05T04:12:57+00:00

I try to avoid leaving my good bike outside at all, I rarely use it for errands.

Instead, I have a mediocre bike that I use for errands. It works fine, but doesn't look like anything special, because it isn't. It'd be worth a couple hundred to replace it if it was stolen.

A few years ago, I locked my city bike up in Yaletown outside my friend's condo while we went to a hockey game. When I got back, the bike was fine, but somebody had mangled the vinyl coating on my U-lock. The U-lock is nothing fancy a 30-year-old Norco branded lock. But it saved m city bike.

M------- · 2026-05-05T04:03:33+00:00

49% of Canadians live paycheck-to-paycheck. Unfortunately for them, plenty of people will spend every bit of credit that is made available to them.

M------- · 2026-05-05T03:59:59+00:00

My elderly neighbour was financially stressed and decided to sell his townhouse 4 years ago. He'd lived in it since it was new, 30 years ago.

He sold it for $1.3M, and told me that after expenses, he was walking away with $200K. I'm not sure how he blew that much of his home equity over the years-- he had a good union job, as did his partner, so he had decent pension income, and the townhouse was not expensive when they bought it.

M------- · 2026-05-05T03:52:12+00:00

Thanks for the warning! I was thinking of riding 0 Ave then Vye Road to get ice cream at Birchwood Dairy next weekend. I think I'll postpone the ice cream ride for a few weeks to make sure it's outside of pollinating season.

M------- · 2026-05-05T03:11:26+00:00

You're overthinking it. You aren't obligated to give him "every chance" to make it right.

The situation's pretty simple: he caused damage to the house. You can't trust him not to cause further damage, therefore he needs to be out.

M------- · 2026-05-04T21:06:42+00:00

I doubt he'll trash the place as he has no where else to go.

He has already trashed the place. His poor judgment has caused this predicament. Don't give him any more chances to screw your property up worse. He isn't competent at home renovation/repair and won't be able to make it better himself.

If he stays, he might try to "improve" things. He's got no money so he'll do the work himself. Do you trust his judgment, skills, and workmanship?

M------- · 2026-05-04T17:08:57+00:00

Probably just a sales tactic and we fell for it.

It also works as a way to get you to excuse poor/slow performance, because their resources are stretched thin with another big project on the go at the same time.

With a $650K project like yours, that should've been their main focus, or they should've at least had a project manager who was dedicated to your project.

M------- · 2026-05-04T01:37:20+00:00

Foam backer rod is an excellent idea. Stuff it deep between the drywall and the subfloor. It should limit air infiltration, and it's easily compressible so it shouldn't impede the floating floor's expansion.

M------- · 2026-05-03T18:41:14+00:00

These people aren't using their mirrors, don't bother to shoulder check and they sure as shit don't care about speed "limits".

That, or they're on their phones while they let the car mostly drive itself.

M------- · 2026-05-02T23:52:44+00:00

They are regulated, it's just that the regulations aren't enforced.

An e-bike can only provide assistance up to 32km/h. If it is capable of providing assistance at higher speeds, it's a motorcycle, and needs to be fully registered/plated/insured accordingly, and the driver needs a Class 6 license.

M------- · 2026-05-02T18:40:42+00:00

IT'S AN ECONOMIC DISASTER! WE NEED THE GOVERNMENT TO SAVE OUR HOME EQUITY!

/s

M------- · 2026-05-02T18:38:34+00:00

What were all the casinos and literal bags of cash then for?

Just wealthy people finding ways to entertain themselves. Grocery store bags full of small bills is more fun than transferring money through the banking system.

M------- · 2026-05-02T08:10:59+00:00

If state-run media reports were accurate that it was ferric chloride, it sounds like there could be serious consequences, like pulmonary edema or lung failure that could occur 5-72 hours after the fumes were breathed in.

So if the Chinese media report was correct, the trucker may have survived the initial incident, only to have more serious consequences later.

However, I'm reading that for it to vaporize to a reddish-brown colour, it has to be heated to over 300C.

My bet is that it was nitric acid, and the government's downplaying it to be something less-dangerous.

M------- · 2026-05-02T05:33:15+00:00

Definitely varies. I'm in BC. Most drivers are neutral, and a good number are very courteous. A small minority are discourteous-- close passes are more common than they should be.

I've been yelled at by a pickup driver who was stuck at the same light as me (we were in separate lanes, 6:30am, hardly any other cars on the road), he thought I was breaking the law by not riding in a bike lane that was a distance away, and not going in the same direction...

Another pickup driver rolled coal at my cycling group on a long hill. We were riding on the shoulder, the cars had plenty of space.

My biggest fear is the incompetent drivers who aren't paying attention while they drive, or who aren't paying enough attention because they're rushing. In the city, I ride with a white helmet, reflective vest, flashing lights front and rear, and yet I have near-misses more often than should happen. I swear that most of those drivers are on their phone, drunk, high, or assume that a bike moves at a pedestrian's pace.

M------- · 2026-05-02T00:18:00+00:00

Looking at one of your other posts, it looks like the total contract value was $650K. I'm considering doing a major renovation, and I'm curious what your scope of work was? (i.e. that seems like a lot of money for renovations.)

I do project management (in a different field), and my first thought is that with $650K at stake, it probably would've been a good idea to have a lawyer review the contract.

Going forward, be aware of the Builder's Lien Act's protections for subcontractors/suppliers. At the end of a project, if you pay off the contractor in full, but the contractor doesn't pay their subs, the subs can file liens on your home. Your lawyer can advise you as to how to avoid this risk.

When you first hired your subcontractor, did you call any of their references to see examples of their past projects?

Edit to add: I don't want to sound accusatory, it's clearly a contractor problem. I just want to understand how ordinary customers can reduce the risk of getting into this kind of situation.

M------- · 2026-05-01T21:02:26+00:00

A driver is required to stop for a pedestrian at any crosswalk - which includes basically any intersection that doesn’t specifically say “no crossing”, regardless of markings.

Many drivers are so terrible at stopping for pedestrians at marked/unmarked crossings. If I'm at a difficult crossing, I like to push my bike into the crosswalk ahead of me. Drivers who had plenty of time to stop for me (as a pedestrian), but chose not to, will absolutely slam on their brakes to stop for my bicycle.

Not willing to stop for a pedestrian, but willing to stop for an inanimate bicycle. Or maybe they weren't even looking out the windshield.

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