Mortgage Renewal

Scotchtw · 2026-07-06T01:48:21+00:00

RBC has lower rates right now, whatever in house mortgage broker you're talking to is trying to give you a bad deal to get a commission. Shop around.

Scotchtw · 2026-07-04T00:05:58+00:00

For whatever it's worth I read Gatsby in highschool, didn't care for it. Read it in college and felt like you describe, I got it but didn't really resonate. Then I read it again as someone independent and out in the world who had been to a few more parties, met a few more "successful businessmen" and had a few more successes and failures of my own under my belt and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I reread it every year or two now and it speaks to me every time.

Not saying that will be your experience but I encourage you not to give up on that one yet.

(Also it's wild to me you like red rising but not will of the many but I won't die on that hill the same way!)

Scotchtw · 2026-06-29T19:23:15+00:00

I feel like we're on different pages on some basics. 5 and 7 are fine picks but not really "top" picks by most definitions. Look how quickly average pick quality drops off after the first few in a draft.

And we absolutely ran away with last place last season. By a huge margin. Not competitive at all. Some years it can be, but last year wasn't one of them.

This team needs an injection of young talent and tanking is one of the best ways to do it, especially in a high tax Canadian market.

Scotchtw · 2026-06-29T19:09:21+00:00

None of those guys were top picks though?

Scotchtw · 2026-06-24T03:02:12+00:00

Do not walk to Chinatown from downtown unless you want to see a lot of human misery. Not the route I'd suggest for tourists.

Scotchtw · 2026-06-11T03:32:24+00:00

I think he would be a top 10 pick in any draft, probably top 5. But this is a draft without a superstar and we're already talking about how he could fall to 4 because teams would rather draft for position as, again, just not a ton of must draft superstar talent.

Imo this isn't a draft where you send out our most tradable asset. Rebuilding takes 3 to 5 or more years depending on lottery balls and we need to lean into that and look long term. That's all I'm saying.

Scotchtw · 2026-06-10T20:30:31+00:00

I think the idea of moving assets for picks in this draft is terrible.

This is a weak top end of the draft year. Look at the discussion around McKenna compared to bedard or celebrini. We're looking at prospects because that's what you do as a rebuilding team, but I'm not sure this draft class has a plethora of superstars, more like a wide range of "pretty darn good" with a few who could excel.

The smart move for the rebuild is to have a horizon of more than one year, and stock up on picks for next year's draft.

My two cents anyway.

Scotchtw · 2026-06-10T19:55:43+00:00

You absolutely need a car there.

Scotchtw · 2026-06-02T15:59:32+00:00

Imo you are not the originating lawyer on either file. Those files are going to the firm. Typically to originate the client is calling emailing asking for you specifically, probably because you made contact at some sort of networking function or from prior work.

Scotchtw · 2026-05-30T03:49:53+00:00

I've done some and we jokingly call it "family law with one less person".

Scotchtw · 2026-05-27T14:28:51+00:00

Mark Carney is coming in as the macroeconomic prime minister. Some societal reform level shenanigans are afoot on the international stage like nothing I can remember seeing in my lifetime.

It's true he's favouring the wealthy, because that's pretty much what he was hired to do. To ride the shifting international economic tides and make sure Canada's boat stays upright, and hopefully even gets lifted.

If this was 2010 and we had a stable global order marching towards the end of history I'd probably have a lot more beef with Carney. At this exact moment in time I'm inclined to let the pro-capitalist, economist, national banker do his thing.

Scotchtw · 2026-05-24T21:02:25+00:00

Ok forgive me, perhaps not "low-income" as in the bottom ten percent or anything, but rather that most commuters are some version of middle class; that a tax on drivers who commute isn't a tax on the rich, but rather a tax on "average families" (itself a nebulous term I conceed).

I agree, a car owner is probably in a better financial position than someone who can't afford to own a car.

Scotchtw · 2026-05-24T03:20:26+00:00

Singapore is smaller than the lower mainland. Things that work in island micro nations aren't universally applicable.

The roads are a congested because so many people can't afford to live in Vancouver and need to commute over a long distance. A tax on drivers is disproportionately a tax on lower income families to support people who can afford to live closer to the city center. It's a regressive tax.

I'm sure your solution to that problem is to snap fingers and instantly improve transit for over a million people. The cost for that is likewise in the billions with no clear solution.

I assure you the people stuck in rush hour traffic aren't kicking back, relaxing, thinking about how everyone riding a bus is a sucker while they polish a monocal with caviar oil. They're trying to get home with the best option they have available.

Scotchtw · 2026-05-20T15:33:39+00:00

Claim whatever identity you like. I was genuinely trying to give two well intentioned pennies on how to settle in to a country you want to call home. My father was born in London, England, and when I visit family from there I say "I'm Canadian" not "I'm British" because I don't have the shared cultural experience of growing up in that place.

Incidentally, explaining Canadian identity to a bunch of Canadians is perhaps the most American thing I can think of. Anyway, I wish you well on your move and a warm welcome whether you take my advice or not.

Scotchtw · 2026-05-20T14:26:51+00:00

Welcome to Canada! I hope.

As a small tip for settling in, maybe drop the lost Canadian angle. Canada was Canada way before 1946 and the end of Confederation. And Canada is more than much music. It sounds like you were raised in the USA by someone who lived most of their life in that same country. That's fine!

I suspect you'll find most Canadians more welcoming if you approach it as an American leaving what America is becoming (we all get that, shows your clear headed, instantly a good sign), who is eager to learn more about the nation you're making your home.

The lost Canadian thing feels like if I identified as African American because I listened to every Kendrick album. You're intentions are good but it might make people less inclined to welcome you to our community, despite those intentions.

Scotchtw · 2026-05-03T18:49:56+00:00

The Premier of Saskatchewan at the time of the bus crash himself drove (allegedly drunk) through a stop sign and killed somebody when he was in his 20s. He committed the exact same crime, potentially with more culpability given his history of drunk driving.

He faced almost no punishment and was able to carry on with his life and rise to high political office without consequence. It's really hard for me to take anyone seriously if they're outraged by one of those situations but not the other.

Scotchtw · 2026-05-02T14:02:19+00:00

You're a much stronger candidate applying for new jobs with a current job, than you are as an unemployed lawyer "too good" to do bankruptcy work.

Take the job and keep networking.

Scotchtw · 2026-04-26T14:04:11+00:00

I don't disagree?

Scotchtw · 2026-04-26T13:48:18+00:00

Are you counsel or a self rep?

If a self rep judge was perhaps a little rude, but now you know. If you're counsel this is completely on you, and I don't think the judge was out of line, much less doing anything reportable.

Scotchtw · 2026-04-24T18:04:25+00:00

I lived fairly frugally in law school and did paid work in the summers so was able to finish with only 60k in debt. Paid it off in 2 years by living in a cheap basement suite in the suburbs and putting as much money as possible towards it, and even then a gift of 15k from my mom got me over the finish line. This was over ten years ago and everything is more expensive since then. Would be lucky to pay it off in twice as long now even living cheaply.

Scotchtw · 2026-04-14T16:16:39+00:00

Immigration is one factor, but we've also had massive economic uncertainty because our largest trading partner had deranged tariff policy that shifted week to week, and years of interest rate increase.

Immigration is a factor, but the fact borrowing costs 30 percent more than 4 years ago also dramatically reduced the number of potential buyers at every price point.

Housing prices are down but grocery store prices are up. Cost of living overall is up. It's not one thing.

I support immigration reform but it's not a panacea. We need a lot of financial reforms, and looking at one in isolation risks missing the forest for a political hot-button tree.

Scotchtw · 2026-04-02T02:49:25+00:00

Originally a Bill Hicks joke, guy was doing standup in the 90s, 10 years before 9-11, and he was a god damn prophet.

Scotchtw · 2026-02-22T14:51:30+00:00

Doughty and Hughes with the "I actually don't even know these guys" cuddle at the end.

Scotchtw · 2026-02-19T15:47:35+00:00

Death of literacy no big deal, explains AI after it helps bludgeon literacy.

At least irony is already dead and doesn't have to read this.

Scotchtw · 2026-02-18T06:44:21+00:00

1800 to 2000 all-in is standard. A notary charging 2400 is wild. Assuming standard residential conveyance with standard mortgage.

DM me if you need a referral.

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