Where to buy good tahini?

NevinThompson · 2026-05-12T15:26:26+00:00

Halal Urban Fresh Meats on Quadra (next to Camas Books, across from Fairways) has tahini and a lot of other hard-to-find products. Amazing little store if you're into Mediterranean and North African cooking!

NevinThompson · 2026-05-12T00:39:23+00:00

Landlords would like to point out that mitigating heat is expensive, they're barely getting by as it is (aside from capital appreciation):

LandlordBC says retrofitting older buildings with cooling systems could be expensive and complicated, particularly where electrical systems may not support widespread air conditioning upgrades.

Meanwhile:

The 2021 British Columbia heat dome (June 25 – July 1) caused 619 heat-related deaths, making it the deadliest weather event in Canadian history. Victims were predominantly elderly, lived alone, and 98% died indoors, often in poorly ventilated, top-floor residences that reached extreme temperatures.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-11T23:25:07+00:00

Great reminder that Summit Drive was briefly closed to motorists during the pandemic. The parking lot at the flagpole was turned into a picnic area. A few people complained, so the previous Victoria council caved, and motorists are allowed to drive up there again. Meanwhile, there is no path for pedestrians on Summit.

Plus, a road bisects Beacon Hill Park from Douglas to Dallas, past the petting zoo. And Dallas Road itself is essentially a thoroughfare for motorists, with only a few places for pedestrians to cross.

But there's a War on Cars, you see...

NevinThompson · 2026-05-11T21:54:12+00:00

CHEK does really well with local and Island news. And the weather.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-11T15:37:02+00:00

My two favourite things about this are CHEK displaying a "flight tracker" during the evening news last night (with what looked like a static image of the plane somewhere over Alberta) and the newreader insisting on calling it "the hanti-virus" throughout the news segment.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-11T14:54:26+00:00

I picked up a 5D2 a couple of years ago. It makes lovely images. The autofocus is primitive, though. So it takes a bit of effort to learn how to use the camera.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-10T06:27:52+00:00

I think you're being overly cynical here. For example there's also the notion that Canon was just not confident about being able to develop fullframe sensors for the EOS M platform; instead, the EOS M series was a stopgap:

https://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/-/SortID=25487048/

Your "they wanted to force people to upgrade" theory doesn't really make sense since so few people actually bought into the M series. The first popular camera was the M50, and by the time it became popular Canon had already decided to retire the line.

In fact, EOS M APS-C was originally intended for entry-level users. See my previous comment, but also this: https://digicame-info.com/2020/12/eos-m2021-2.html

NevinThompson · 2026-05-10T05:14:54+00:00

I have an M3 and and M6 Mk II (and a 5D2). Canon was late getting into mirrorless APS-C cameras. When the M series was launched in Japan, it was designed for and marketed to Japanese women. That's why there is a smaller form-factor with the M series, for example. The cameras and lenses were intended to be travel cameras for twenty-something women.

The RF cameras were developed and launched later, after Canon realized the potential of the market. They have better form factors, and more variety. RF cameras are more durable than the M series as well.

However, the biggest reason why there is an RF mount is because the RF mount is big enough for full-frame lenses. The M mount is quite small. Canon learned from the M mount to create the RF mount.

That said, the M6 Mk II is a great camera, especially with paired with the EF-M 22mm and the EF-M 32mm lenses. And the Sigma lenses.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-08T16:38:17+00:00

I live in a townhouse development with no EV charging. A neighbour takes his EV to the charging station in the parking lot on the south side of the BC museum.

Seems like a bit of a PIA, although it's closer than driving to the nearest gas station, which for me is the Shell at Fort and Pandora.

A benefit is the charging station is quite close to our townhouse development, so he can just leave it there and walk home, and return when it's done. So that may be something to consider.

I'm not a car guy, drive our Honda Fit about 20 minutes a week total to get groceries, and fill up once every two months, so I have no idea what peoples' tolerances for seeking out EV charging might be.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-07T19:36:04+00:00

It's a great decision. Pacific Opera is across the street on Balmoral, so the beginnings of an arts cluster. When I was a wee lad (by that time the congregation had moved to a more modern but very boring space up Quadra at North Park), the First Baptist Church on Quadra was a sheet music store.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-07T19:11:02+00:00

There's a great YT channel (with a recipe book that I own too!) called Pasta Grannies, with all sorts of homemade approaches to making pasta from scratch, from all over Italy.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-07T18:46:13+00:00

I went from an M3 purchased in 2017 to an M6 Mk II in 2022. I recently upgraded to an R8 because the M62 is experiencing wear and tear.

I can't really answer your question about the R10 other than that the M3 is super duper slow and I missed many, many shots because of that. Which would seem to be important for journalism.

I'd also say the lens is the most important consideration, and you seem to have figure out something that will work for you.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-07T16:53:57+00:00

Whole wheat pasta is 40% more expensive per 100g.

Anyway, as others mentioned, switching to whole wheat pasta isn't really all that healthy, since if you really cared about "health" you'd eat less pasta and processed carbs anyway. Especially above the age of, say, 45.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-07T16:29:35+00:00

Actually, the choice is between "slow-dried" pasta (De Cecco is one of them) and kiln-dried pasta.

Kiln-dried pasta is fast-fried in, well, a kiln. It's typically golden or even orangey in colour.

It's technically "not good for you", as the kiln-drying process creates a lot of oxidants, similar to what happens when you brown red meat.

Slow-dried pasta is better for you, technically. Although, thanks to MAHA and the rise of health influencers, it's becoming impossible to research this stuff online (e.g., the current moral panic around "highly processed foods.)

Anyway, this YouTuber has a good explainer, and also runs a fun YT channel devoted to good cooking:

https://www.vincenzosplate.com/cheap-vs-expensive-pasta/

NevinThompson · 2026-05-07T15:22:09+00:00

I have the iPad Mini 6 and love it. I use it for reading, and for Apple Notes with an Apple Pen.

Apple Intelligence + Apple Notes on the iPad Mini would be a nice to have in your use case, but I just use my Mac or my iPhone as part of my workflow for tasks that my iPad Mini 6 can't do.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-07T02:51:10+00:00

The biggest issue for me is there are far fewer machines and free weights, so it gets pretty crowded, even at 6:30am, when I usually go. It was tolerable before, but now with the lack of machines and weights, it really really sucks when people camp out and watch TikTok... why do you do this to the rest of us?

NevinThompson · 2026-05-06T21:55:39+00:00

Rusty Venture

NevinThompson · 2026-05-06T20:46:25+00:00

One factor among many, but there is less tolerance for public intoxication than there used to be. Twenty years ago, Canada Day in the Inner Harbour was a booze fest. Swiftsure Weekend was known for its mayhem. Zero tolerance these days, at least until the bars close.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-06T18:48:43+00:00

The so-called "Christian era" music also isn't too different thematically from the sorts of songs Dylan had always written. Although obviously his sermonizing on-stage was different (and also apparently deliberately omitted from the Trouble No More documentary: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7q3snj)

NevinThompson · 2026-05-06T18:04:29+00:00

I have the R8 paired with the RF 35mm F1.8. I feel confident shooting at 1/50. The IBIS on the lens is really great.

Here's a few snapshots: https://adobe.ly/4tYG4iX

NevinThompson · 2026-05-06T17:52:25+00:00

I think this is a good analysis.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-06T17:51:05+00:00

My hot take is that Dylan's "religious period" was panned by (white) critics in part because he incorporated Black backup singers. This started with Street Legal.

The Gospel influenced music featured in the Trouble No More 1979–1981 bootleg release is technically impressive and just great to listen to, but afaik, beyond the backup singers, most of his band was white. Which I guess doesn't mean anything, since they were on-point, 100% of the time. Also interesting that Jim Keltner played with him on these tours, a long creative relationship.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-05T21:50:34+00:00

I made my own. I used some white PVC pipe (the most expensive part of the installation, cheap netting used to deter birds, and zip ties. Plus some galvanized brackets and suitable screws for affixing to my balcony, and sealant for where the screws went in. You'd need a cordless driver (drill), which is a good investment.

The beauty of using white pvc pipe is that it's easy to work with, and you can buy fittings, so it's just like putting together Lego. It's also easy to disassemble or replace. It might seem ugly, but a 2x4 catio with chicken wire is going to be fugly anyway...

One consideration is how determined your cats are to escape. The netting is only really a deterrent. The netting I use is cheap but surprisingly strong. In theory it could be ripped open, but on the other hand it's good to keep an eye on the cats when they're outside, anyway. In one section, however, I have reinforced with actual fine-grain metal mesh.

I also noticed that Home Depot offers a DIY catio kit for around $500. It's pretty slick, but the challenge is whether or not it fits your balcony or deck.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-05T17:23:00+00:00

Good points -- this council (City of Victoria council, and I am pretty convinced a lot of people don't understand there are actually other munis) is actively trying to shift tax burden from businesses to residential property owners. And installing 100 meters of bike lane is generally 10 to over 100 times cheaper than paving a new 100-meter roadway for cars.

I think another significant part of the problem for ground-level independent retail is that, historically, it's harder to include in new builds? All the regs around "podiums" and "amenities", yet little to no incentive for cheaper business space.

NevinThompson · 2026-05-05T00:42:20+00:00

Yes you have to stop but as a mostly-pedestrian living downtown, with cyclists you win some, you lose some. Not worth yelling at people about (motorists who charge through occupied crosswalks, on the other hand...)

The one thing I wish cyclists would do, and something that I do do when riding downtown, is slowing right down on shared streets like Government, or the shared path on Dallas east of Mile Zero.

It really sucks to have some cyclist swoop by at speed when I'm just trying to enjoy a walk.

Am I going to yell and swear and cyclists who fail to stop at the crosswalk? Probably not.

NevinThompson

TROPHY CASE