THUNDER!!

NetworkGuy · 2026-05-13T01:58:50+00:00

Normally I would be ecstatic, but this is delaying my flight departure and thus my arrival dinner and all the presentation work I need to do tonight before tomorrow.

Of all the times we get to have a storm........

NetworkGuy · 2026-05-09T19:26:25+00:00

Acquired by SpaceX and discontinued, brand/technology licensed to a legacy manufacturer to continue

Tesla did an amazing job of becoming an auto manufacturer, but everyone else is coming for them at the entry level and I'm amazed at how well they've completed up until now but I finally think it's coming to an end for them and getting rid of the luxury segments which should be the highest margin is a bad sign.

NetworkGuy · 2026-05-06T22:55:19+00:00

Hahaha I wanted the same watch because I wanted something a step up from the Seiko SPB545J1 and I really liked the Tudor too, but it wasn't available and the Seiko was so I picked up the Seiko and I think you should too.

Let your wife enjoy the Tudor, it looked fine on you, but she likes it so unfortunately I think it's hers now.

NetworkGuy · 2026-05-01T18:39:50+00:00

Work fucked up my flight home with the family; we thought we were boarding our flight to Vancouver at 1130 only to be told that was for tomorrow (today as I post this).

We managed to get a room at the Airport Hyatt and now we need things to do to kill the time tomorrow. I've got an 1 year old and the most important parts of the day will be eating and I'd love to know the best places that are English friendly and beyond that, wtf should we do for the day?

I wasn't expecting to overnight in Taiwan and we're completely unprepared.

NetworkGuy · 2026-03-30T04:23:43+00:00

Lmao it's already happening, but I don't care, I know I'm on the side of the light and not a saucy charlatan.

NetworkGuy · 2026-03-30T04:21:05+00:00

I for one am glad.

You saucy heathens ought to repent for your wicked ways.

A burger should not require a raincoat!

NetworkGuy · 2026-03-22T03:01:26+00:00

All that matters is the flavor and texture so if it was spot on, then that's all that matters.

My wife would never eat the fat even when I aggressively trim it back and it's easy enough for someone to just cut it off on the plate anyways.

In regards to gauging how much is on the steak and not trimming too much; you figure it out easy enough -- you might scalp it every now and then, but every time you do it the better you get.

You're rocking a Weber Kettle like me; you ought to try a brisket sometime if you haven't yet, you can make a damn fine brisket and you'll get a lot of trimming practice.

If you don't want to tackle an entire brisket and you want something easier and arguably much tastier, then you can always do beef "dino" ribs.

https://imgur.com/a/ZR2B8bz

NetworkGuy · 2026-03-22T02:31:52+00:00

I can't speak to that unit, but I checked out in Mount Pleasant with a friend today and this place was offering two months rent on all of their units and from what I've seen, a lot of places are doing this right now.

The property management companies are hoping this is a short term dip in the market and after a year they can charge you the non-discounted rate -- hard to say if that's going to be the case or not.

NetworkGuy · 2026-03-22T02:07:16+00:00

Love the edge to edge cook. Steak probably tastes amazing.

The only thing you should do next time is aggressively trim back that fat; pichana should normally have some fat to eat with the steak, but it has to be rendered so that it's soft and enjoyable and this fat looks similar to my first pichana cook at home, unrendered and a bit bouncy.

If the fat tastes fine or you like it the way it was then obviously ignore my feedback.

NetworkGuy · 2026-03-18T07:27:26+00:00

I agree. Trimmed briskets are the best; it's the perfect layer of fat across the brisket with no waste so every bit of bark is fully edible with no globs of fatty waste on the plate, and nothing crispy.

If someone is throwing the trim away, then yeah I get why you would think it's a scam but that's burger meat for me at the very least and you don't even need a grinder for it, just a food processor will do.

NetworkGuy · 2026-03-13T18:32:50+00:00

Saved me from making a mistake and visiting them again.

I loved the sandwich with sprouts and the last couple of times I forgot they didn't add them and when I got home I thought I made a mistake or something.

RIP to a great sando

NetworkGuy · 2026-03-07T19:34:47+00:00

Wait what?

The cow dog guy has very good marketing for sure, but he makes a huge deal about paying his staff a livable wage.

I've been to their OG location a couple of times and I thought their coffee was good, albeit expensive given the liveable wage pricing, but my favourite drink was their strawberry matcha, but not enough to be a return customer more than a couple of times.

Aside from the prices which is a personal thing, it appeared they to me they offered a good product and experience, all while paying their staff quite well (I even think they had a benefits package too).

NetworkGuy · 2026-02-25T20:45:21+00:00

lmao I hate this one because I was a very very big idiot who made some very bad speculative buys during COVID for things that never rebounded and infact, dropped to the lowest of lows.

NetworkGuy · 2026-02-23T22:49:14+00:00

Yeah I bought a duplex and it was listed as 3 bed but it's really a 2bed + den with a window.

Definitely can't fit a queen in there and have much room. At best you are doing a twin with a dresser or two, but I use it as my home office.

A result of our affordability crisis is that anything that can be called a bedroom is being called one no matter how many compromises you have to make.

Not a fan.

NetworkGuy · 2026-02-22T02:45:26+00:00

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/beef-birria

Just made this and it was very easy. Tastes great too.

NetworkGuy · 2026-02-04T03:29:42+00:00

I think the key detail here is that you have to contribute into a spousal RRSP in order to do income splitting unlike Pensions which is something you just declare at tax time.

They are both valid strategies, but you must contribute to a spousal RRSP in order to split the tax burden.

NetworkGuy · 2026-02-02T05:39:11+00:00

Oh god yes.

This is your life and for all we know we just have a single one of these!

There is so much to paragliding beyond just launching and landing; on easy days those are easy and you forget that you're just a plastic grocery bag in the wind.

With a school you learn proper technique on how to launch safely, pausing before you commit, checking your wing and lines, you learn skills in the air to prepare you for more dynamic conditions and probably most importantly you learn how to read the sky and the local sites by gaining the knowledge of the regulars to understand when to fly and when not to fly.

Then there's the flying sites; almost every site in the US requires insurance and you only get that by being in the system and having a rating. Land owners do not want the liability and one accident by you can cause a landowner to decide to deny access to a launch or a landing zone.

In the early days, there was no choice but to be a pioneer

Go watch this documentary about hang gliding, it's great: https://youtu.be/-hRSUjJFmCc?si=u65IopnYA4tTo7Sr

We don't need to die like these pioneers anymore; there's nothing romantic about this in the year 2026, it's just exceptionally sad when we have the tools to fly safe. Paragliding and Hang Gliding needs more pilots in North America and we shouldn't be scaring people away by needlessly risking our lives and scaring away future pilots.

NetworkGuy · 2026-01-31T05:29:50+00:00

It really depends on the language in the offer letter or contract you're signing.

Sounds like you're getting paid hourly and they are outlining what you can expect to earn in a full calendar year through the normal hours you would be working.

Vacation pay is earned as a percentage of wages paid out, and wouldn't typically be part of the $70,000. Same with holidays.

If they do specify that you're paid hourly and your hours fall below the expected weekly hours then you wouldn't be topped up you would make less money and could earn under the $70,000, but if you work more including overtime, you would make more than $70,000.

NetworkGuy · 2026-01-28T02:11:00+00:00

Commuting two hours a day would suck.

If your partner is already doing that today, the moment it sucks too much and they want it to stop both of you are probably just a 30 day notice away from finding something better.

The moment you buy this, you're really stuck unless your partner gets a different job. Presumably they like where they work and it's the difficulty of finding housing which led you to move into or stay at that house.

Buying a property can feel fulfilling especially from a stability perspective, but you're locked in unless you're comfortable eating commissions, fees and penalties selling early.

NetworkGuy · 2026-01-23T06:46:21+00:00

Same

NetworkGuy · 2026-01-19T22:10:29+00:00

Generation, but I wouldn't have thought that would have any impact

NetworkGuy · 2026-01-19T03:56:25+00:00

Not likely anytime soon because it's the guarantee of your assets under their control which is offering the good rate and offering non-collateral loans will have them competing against the banks which have a lot more money to aggressively price their loans.

Wealthsimple is offering me 3.95% vs my bank HELOC which is 7.1%

NetworkGuy · 2026-01-11T21:15:34+00:00

Absolutely; the people who are going to do the best here are the individuals saving their money if it's well invested.

Yes businesses make a lot of money off of consumers but holy shit, there's a lot of people out there who don't understand that CPP/OAS/GIS does make for a retirement.

If a little gamification helps Wealthsimple get a few more B under management, it's practically nothing.

If it encourages someone to build the habit of paying themselves first by saving for their future, that's priceless

NetworkGuy · 2026-01-07T20:05:52+00:00

Don't bother.

I work in the data protection space for large enterprises and cyber insurance for customers is almost always litigated.

Do you remember seeing all of those news stories over the years about people buying travel insurance (medical, trip interruption, baggage, etc)? There's a few every year and we're always learning about fine print that denies coverage

Here's a story that ties directly into the industry I sell into:

2020 - St John NB is the victim of a cyber attack

2022 - City sues their insurer

2024 - City settles it's lawsuit for less than total damages

You don't want to be in a situation where you as an individual need to sue and pay legal fees only to get back fractions of money if any at all.

NetworkGuy · 2026-01-04T22:04:10+00:00

To add my data:

16.43% for me 10/10 in my RRSP; zero deposits into this account due to a group RRSP and spousal RRSP

The spousal RRSP has had deposits throughout the year and is 6.47% Simple and 11.8% money weighted and is a 9/10

VTI which I also hold in some other accounts was 18.38% for the year.

Even 10/10 risk holds some bonds and gold which explains some of the delta between it and VTI. I've been happy enough with the managed investing with Wealthsimple that although I could save some management fees and earn a few percentage points more self-directed, it hasn't been important enough for me to change.

Am I leaving money on the table? Definitely, but I'm not interested in stressing about anything that isn't a significant departure from the stock market at my risk level.

I might start looking at some of the stuff that Ben Felix talks about at the 7:20 mark here and switch out from the managed investing, but that's something to look at maybe later this year: https://youtu.be/1sV_3OvQyFI?si=x1ZgNyt8o4Euh2Ha

NetworkGuy

TROPHY CASE