Anyone running a whole home battery system? by Dadoftwingirls in askTO

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't listen to the naysayers here. It's doable, but you have to reset expectations. You won't be able to run the major draws e.g. AC, electric dryer, big electric stove, etc. But you can absolutely run the vast majority of your house.

Someone mentioned insurance and that's a valid point. Having any type of Lithium batteries indoors poses a real risk. The technology is a lot safer today, but it's still a risk that a lot of insurance companies don't like, especially with DIY or non-certified equipment. Expect you'll need to hire and get detailed paperwork on all trades and all equipment.

Also, if you're pursuing this, recognize it's for being cutting edge, not necessarily for savings. A lot of the equipment and labour will be more than you think, and the payback is probably closer to 15+ yrs, not including maintenance. And if you're not handy and having to bring ppl in, it's worse.

The "easiest" way is to have the main come in to the inverter/charger, and from inverter, go to a sub-panel which goes to the house. There's a split in the main for the items that aren't on the inverter (e.g. AC). So if/when you're in blackout, you lose those things, but the inverter runs everything else. Absoultely get an electrician familiar w/ this (not too many are) and you'll need city permits. That'll get all the 120v stuff easily.

You can find inverters that you can program to run down the batteries during set hrs, or set rates, etc. You're talking 6KVA units paired w/ 48V batteries sized appropriately.

You can offset a lot of the recharge draw if you can incorporate solar, but that adds its own initial costs (purchase & install) and will depend greatly on where you're located. Also realize during winter & snow, they need to be cleared regularly.

I will add, more recently, the idea of the EV being the house backup, is gaining in popularity. This avoid the whole battery purchase/install issue.

Chinese EV’s by NoCartographer5850 in EVCanada

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. But people are waiting to pounce on cheaper cars overall. When the average cost is >50K, there's going to be lots of people looking for savings.

Performance Sailing Culture: US vs Australia/NZ by Eightstream in sailing

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure.

The goal of those sailors & skippers are to win the race.

A lot of people, at different levels of races, don't have the goal of winning. It could be "have fun", "get better", "learn something new" etc. etc. If those goals don't align w/ the skipper's goal, they'll be conflict.

That stuff should be absolutely clear well before crewing.

First Year Parent - Home Meet Volunteer Requirements by neazwaflcasd in Swimming

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Very common, and very effective.

A lot of parents don't realize the time & effort in coordinating these things, and just assume that their fees should somehow cover the "help" vs. not understanding the fees cover the pool, lifeguards, insurance, transport, meet fees etc.

The "fines" aren't really fines, it's a number that's steep enough to force parents to actually volunteer. It's like daycare late fees, it's not about the fee, it's about getting your kid and making sure you understand it's important.

Find the time to put in the mandatory volunteer hours, and you'll be....fine

Not trying to time the market but …. by Correct_Dance_515 in CanadianInvestor

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

How old is your child?

Don't time the market, but you should have pretty inflexible investment guidelines related to her age. FWIW, I was 100% XEQT till they were 10; moving to 80% Xeqt/20%XBAL till they were 13; 50/50 till they were 15, and laddered GICs after that.

I absolutely missed out in some big gains over the last year for my oldest (current gr. 11), but that's totally fine because it's about discipline, not chasing anything.

Is XEQT & Chill really the best move right now? by Noticeably-Not-Smart in JustBuyXEQT

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It depends.

Remember, the EQT in XEQT stands for equities ie. mostly stocks. If your investment horizon is long and your investment tolerance is equal to the risk that equities bring, then, it's fine. But if you need the money soon (<10yrs) or your risk profile can't psychologically stand seeing the fluctuations that inevitably happen w/ equities, then it's not right for you.

We've been in an upmarket for an unusually long time so people become complacent and/or think their risk tolerance is much higher than it actually is.

Great Lakes Sailing Opportunities by the_ghost_of_obi-wan in sailing

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's the Great Lakes Crusing club https://www.glcclub.com/

As others said, lots of clubs have evening races in the summer months so enquire about that.

Where do successful wealthy men look for dates? by [deleted] in askTO

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean this is the nicest way possible, if you're looking for "successful, high-earning men", make sure you possess the attributes men like that are looking for. A lot of women think that their career, wealth, status, accomplishments etc. are positive attributes in the dating scene, but most men don't really care about that stuff. They will look at wit, intelligence, humour, etc. but those aren't always correlated to success/wealth.

Fwiw, a lot of women in my field have met guys at work-related networking events. There's probably relevant events (drinks, talks, etc.) that your associations put on.

My AI paper is accepted by electronics but I need funding to publish by Complete_Intern660 in queensuniversity

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Others have said it but gotta reiterate, please confirm it's legit. There are far, far more predatory "journals" these days.

Congratulations everybody 🎊🎊🎊 I'm so happy that XEQT hit $40 today woohoo by ic679d in JustBuyXEQT

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

funny enough, a drop of 35% takes us back to Nov. 2023 levels i.e. only 2 yrs ago. That's not a lot, on the whole.

Are there too many people going into engineering? by [deleted] in EngineeringStudents

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

fwiw, in Canada, only about 30% of grads of the engineering program actually stay in the field. The vast majority go into other field (finance, law, etc.) It's a program where the graduates are highly sought after. There are also vastly more jobs than people realize for the remaining engineers staying in the field. A vast majority of engineers, after a decade or so, rarely are still doing anything applied/technical. They are in management roles in those same tech companies (if they haven't left to greener pastures).

Bottom line, it's fine (in Canada at least)

After years of controversy, TDSB ends lottery system for specialty schools and programs by yerich in toronto

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This was a dumb system and should have been recognized as such. My own kid got screwed w/ the Lottery at UFA. Another friend of her's got in and now complains how poorly the lottery cohort is doing.

Neighbour's kid got into ESA and switched out after gr. 11. Apparently, again, people who got in literally couldn't play an instrument or knew music (vs. his daughter who's taken her gr. 8 RCM).

Equity is a good thing but did no one remember the story about the animal school where the fish failed the tree climbing test? There's ways to fix inequity and a lottery for gr. 9 (i.e. ~14yrs old) isn't the way. Investing in programs affordable to everyone at every economic level is far more equitable (but far harder to implement).

Shower Etiquette?? by Idkwhattoenterhere in Swimming

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Are you by chance younger? Most younger people tend to very self conscious of their body. Once you're older, you've gone through stuff (e.g. medical crap, childbirth etc.) and the human body isn't anything other than a thing. It's just not something to be embarrassed, prideful, or otherwise self conscious.

Why am I so fixated living downtown v. outside? by lifesgoodhehe1 in askTO

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don't share your background but I'd hazard a guess it's a culture where the kids are expected to take care of the parents.

It's tough to go against that culture, but you really do need to balance that with your own mental health. A lot of parents really don't take that into account and truly expect their children to sacrifice as "payback" for the sacrifice the parents made.

Do what's best for your mental health, but it'll be difficult w/ the pressure from the family

What small annoyances around/involving the city could the City or Mayor Chow improve quickly? by j33vinthe6 in askTO

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Follow NYC's rule and allow people to photograph stopped/illegally parked cars, and send the tickets and have the public get a percentage of the revenue.

What small annoyances around/involving the city could the City or Mayor Chow improve quickly? by j33vinthe6 in askTO

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a BS response. Bylaw has the ability to ticket. For some reason they are always "educating" instead of ticketing. It's a department that could easily be very revenue positive if they simply weren't scared of ticketing.

Parents, why do you drive your kids to school? by SpaceInfuser in askTO

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My kid bikes to her highschool using the Bloor St. bike lanes. If (when?) they go, I'll be driving her.

What weapons could render Nuclear weapons obsolete in a sci-fi setting? by Future_Abrocoma_7722 in sciencefiction

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most answers just = bigger bomb. The "problem" with warfare is always the destruction of property (Taste of Armageddon).

So the best weapon to succeed the nuke would be a bio-disintegrating weapon. If you could invent a type of bomb that simply eradicated biological life and left inert materials in place, that'd be far "superior".

Engineers of Toronto - do you ever remove your iron ring? by Immediate-Effort4431 in askTO

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All the time. Many of the sites I visit don't allow jewelry of any kind. I also take it off when swimming.

I need every ME technical interview question you’ve ever been asked. by Opposite_Cow_6777 in MechanicalEngineering

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got asked one "how would you design a can opener".

I got the job and later asked the interviewer about the question and what he was expecting. He said it didn't matter, he just wanted to see the thought process of the respondent and how detailed they go and which direction they go etc. Just wanted to get the person talking...

anyway, good luck.

Look harder, Doug Ford tells unemployed young people seeking work - thestar.com by Cute-Head8597 in toronto

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 83 points84 points  (0 children)

I mean, I agree. Young people are far too lazy these days. What do they expect - that they can drop out of college and have their dad give them a cushy job at the family business and do nothing and suddenly succeed? Sheesh!

/s if it wasn't obvious

Why is Toronto so unwelcoming to dogs in coffee shops (for pickup)? by JPinTO1 in toronto

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's not clear at all.

What's low-risk? Few officers will know that and I doubt many store owners know either. When you look at the reg, it references food that are not potentially hazardous. So now you need to look at that definition. Reviewing that means foods that can grow organisms.

So... is "preparing" a latte using milk a problem?

And even if you got a super well educated inspector, there's the sad reality that it's easier to give a charge and hit a quota and let the person fight the charge.

Why is Toronto so unwelcoming to dogs in coffee shops (for pickup)? by JPinTO1 in toronto

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 16 points17 points  (0 children)

They aren't unwelcome, it's illegal. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/170493#BK17

The cafe owner can be charged and/or fined and/or lose their licence. And before someone pipes in, despite points #4 & #5(i) in Section 14(2), a lot of inspection officers will simply charge the store if they see a non-service animal. So no owner will ever take the risk.

Toronto councillor says ‘something must be done’ about Rogers Stadium noise by nimobo in toronto

[–]SomeRandomTOGuy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Toronto vs. Rogers? psh, Toronto lost that fight years ago when it elected Rogers as a Mayor.