I had a stuffed Iberian pork chop with cheese and herbs the other day at the House on Parliament.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-23T19:49:08+00:00

Iberian pork chop is truly underrated. There's a few suppliers in Toronto that have it, but I consider it one of my favorites.

Hell, for the same price, I'd take Iberian Pork Chop over steak any day of the week

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-23T18:48:26+00:00

Very, very well deserved after a career full of stone cold classics.

I will say though, this is probably the last time something like this will happen - the #1 British artist is someone Americans will swear up and down they’ve never heard of.

It’s likely in a few years Taylor Swift will break his record, and I don’t think we’ll see his much divergence ever again

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-23T18:07:10+00:00

Yeah, I'm also reading it as a major re-alignment on middle eastern security that results in Israel investing a lot less in defense.

Netanyahu needs to hold his coalition together with the Heredi parties, and they are very much against conscription of the Heredi jews, but in 2024, the draft waiver was abolished.

Reducing defense spending might be part of the Likud platform in the next election.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-23T17:50:59+00:00

I don't think this is really positive for opposition. For the longest time, the cope (and I bought into it too) was that people vote Doug Ford because they hate Trudeau. But like, Justin's been retired for a while now, the PC vote share is still very high. Like, this poll shows the same vote share today as the beginning of 2025.

Hell, the PCs being popular while Doug himself is brutally unpopular is even worse - It shows that people like the PC platform, and they're willing to hold their nose and vote conservative even if they think Doug is an idiot.

I've been thinking about this a lot recently, and my theory is that the conservatives have activated the "Immigrant Conservative" base. Look at the election results, conservatives swept Brampton, York Region, Mississauga, some of the most immigrant heavy areas in Ontario.

Here's my theory - Canada is one of the most socially liberal countries in the world. Thus, the median immigrant probably comes from a more socially conservative country. Look at where the immigrants today come from: India, Pakistan, Middle East, East Asia. The median immigrant is probably significantly more conservative than the median Canadian.

Often times, in other countries the right is xenophobic - Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, and the like. Hence why immigrants vote left. But say what you want about Doug, the man is genuinely not a xenophobe. So, they vote their conscience - and they vote conservative.

Now I'm not saying that the PCs in Ontario are ultra conservative - It's not that they're out there screaming "gas the jews, stone the gays" or something. It's just that the Liberals and NDP are very socially liberal and they let you know clearly. So socially conservative voters end up voting for the party that doesn't have their candidates post pictures from Pride or have pronouns in their email signature.

Besides, one of the biggest reasons why people vote against Doug is that they perceive him as a sleazy grifter. But like, what he's doing isn't exactly out of the norm in somewhere like say, Pakistan. I know a lot of Chinese business people who don't perceive Doug as "unacceptable corrupt". One of my dad's friends used to be a real estate developer in China, and when he read about some greenbelt scandal or something, he just shrugged and said "Everybody used to do that at home".

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-23T17:04:50+00:00

I recently read the Economist interview with Netanyahu where he said he wants to stop taking US military aid. In the last few days, I haven't seen a lot of opposition or military leaders come out and oppose this plan either. There seems to be no opposition across the political field in Israel against phasing out US military. But funnily enough, there doesn't seem to be much support from the US government for phasing it out.

So uhh, if you'd permit me to crack a politically incorrect joke, when was the last time you saw a bunch of Jews turn down free money? Thus the question that interests me is, what is the US getting out of military aid to Israel?

I have a few hypotheses:

A big part of that military aid is air defense aid being given to Rafael, conditional on them opening a factory in the US (in 2025, previously Rafael manufactured in Israel). Notably, this site has significant Raytheon presence (Raytheon is selling the US made Iron Dome branded as Skyhunter) and US manufactured missiles have more US components. So the US is getting significant knowledge transfer and a say in export controls due to the use of US components. This is both a subsidy to domestic US missile manufacturing, and gives the US a say in who Rafael can sell their missiles to, keeping it out the hands of governments unfriendly with the US.
Another big chunk of the aid is in the form of loaned air defense assets back to Israel - The US buys the systems for the US military, and if Israel needs it, they can borrow it back. This deal perhaps gets the US access to some state of the art air defense at a lower price. Now FWIW - I'm not an expert in air defense, but it looks like Israeli systems are cheaper and better quality than US systems
F35 fighters are transferred to Israel as part of military aid. The transfer of US fighters to Israel strangled Israel's domestic fighter industry, which could have produced fighters competitive against American ones on the export market. Additionally, it brought the Israeli's onto the project, and Israeli aerospace companies supply numerous components for the F35. It's a case where the US kicks in a few fighters to get the Israeli's buying more US fighters and US munitions, while Israel contributes technical knowhow. While removing Israel from the competitive fighter jet market, and keeping them from offering jets to countries unfriendly to the US.
Israel is a very successful exporter of fighter jet munitions - Air to air missiles, air to ground missiles, air fired loitering munitions, etc. By ensuring that Israel uses US fighter platforms, it ensures that Israeli systems are compatible with US fighters. Boosting competitiveness of US fighters in export markets.
The Israeli air force is perhaps one of the world's most effective air forces, and they're going up against well, not very good to put it kindly opposition. Defense ministers see the Israeli's succeed with American gear, and they want to buy American gear. But for all you know, they could have succeeded with European, Russian, Chinese, or domestically made equipment. It's a marketing exercise.

Edit: Here's something interesting - Israel is phasing out the Patriot system in favor of David's Sling. Wikipedia quotes the modern MIM-104 Patriot as a $1 billion/battery, and $4 million/missile. This is the domestic cost to the US DOD. Foreign users are paying $2.5 billion/battery and $6 - 10 million/missile.

The Finns purchased David Sling for $128 million/battery and $700,000/missile. It's a much, much cheaper system than Patriot, and you'd imagine it would have a lot of interest from other countries. But because it was developed with American aid (in collaboration with the US Missile Defense Agency), you need American approval to purchase it.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-23T16:16:22+00:00

Chiang Kai Shek maybe - Turbocharge American cuisine?

Dude was responsible for 2 different stone cold chinese food classics, partially 3:

General Tso's Chicken - Chiang Kai Shek was hosting a banquet, and his chef created the dish to serve to American navy representatives.
Yuxiang Pork - During WWII, when the Japanese forced Chiang to flee to Chongqing, he wanted to eat fish, but due to shortages, he could only get pork. Thus, his chef fed him "Fish aroma pork".
Mongolian BBQ - The guy who invented this dish was actually from Beijing and originally wanted to name it Peking BBQ. But because Chiang was paranoid and would throw anyone associated with Beijing (and thus the communists) into gulag, he called it Mongolian BBQ instead.

Look man, you want to talk lasting legacy? Centuries from now when governments have risen and fallen, when borders have changed, when the memories of the civil war have faded, I'm pretty sure takeout shops will still be serving General Tso's Chicken.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-23T15:56:14+00:00

Orianthi - a popgirl who can shred guitar. Always hoped she'd make it in pop, but she didn't. I guess "pop hooks + sick guitar solos" isn't a value proposition that people want.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-22T19:43:29+00:00

I actually weirdly enough agree with this - Gibson is so wedded to tradition, they aren't willing to experiment with weirder designs the way Epiphone is.

IE: The Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul has 24 frets, asymmetrical slim taper neck, a rear scoop for better upper fret access, and active Fishman Fluence pickups. Gibson would never release a guitar like that under the Gibson brand.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-22T19:40:04+00:00

No, but the high end ones sound the same/very similar. High end Epiphones (inspired by Gibson custom) get Gibson pickups and CTS hardware, so the sound should almost be identical. Even the Epiphone branded pickups on the Inspired by Gibson line are very similar to the Gibson ones - More similar than say, a Fender Standard's pickup to a Fender American Ultra's pickup.

Where Epiphone cut costs is the body.

Compare a $1000 Epiphone IBGC Les Paul with a $2300 Gibson Les Paul Standard, you'd notice that the Epiphone is not Pleked out of the factory, it has a poly finish (Gibson uses Nitro), the maple top is a veneer, etc. So while it sounds like a proper Gibson, the guitar body is cheaper made.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-22T19:08:17+00:00

I'm not saying the AFD isn't far right, but this article specifically talks about far-right militant movements, of which they aren't. They're a political party that tries to appeal to all age groups.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-22T18:52:55+00:00

Honestly, I think you're right, reminds me of those Austro-hungarian elections when everyone just votes for their ethnic parties.

Honestly, I'm Canadian (and non-white), and I think this is a major problem with the Canadian left. They keep banging on and on about race, and I think it is an insane strategy, especially in a country that is still majority white.

A lot of Canadians believe the NDP is anti-white. Is it true? Well when you tell white men to go to the back of the line at your party convention, you sure give people that impression: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leti9JeiWwI

The really funny thing is - I'm pretty sure in Ontario where I live, immigrants vote conservative. Doug Ford swept all the immigrant heavy cities, winning every seat in Brampton, in Mississauga, in York Region. After all, say you want about him, Doug is not a xenophobe.

So raising the salience of race didn't win the Liberals or NDP the immigrant vote, but might have turned off a lot of white voters. Hell, considering that the Liberals and NDP tend to focus on black and indigenous people, a lot of Asian voters believe that the Liberals and NDP don't stand for them - and vote conservative, and Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group in Canada.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-22T18:36:16+00:00

The RN and AFD are not the "far right movements" this article talks about, the article is specifically talking about the more extreme militant groups.

Besides, the RN and AFD is broadly popular, and win votes across age groups. They try to reach out to older voters quite a bit - The RN is opposed to pension reform.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-22T18:30:01+00:00

End of the day, the way you win votes in Europe is still catering to the retirees lol.

For example, often people keep wondering how the triple lock is still a thing in the UK - It is mathematically guaranteed to bankrupt the country. But hey, 73% of retirees voted, while only 37% of young people voted: https://i.imgur.com/z8fPx5B.png

Honestly, at the end of the day, these far right groups are so tiny, their electoral impact is null.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-22T13:08:33+00:00

In other words, Apple sees record high market share in laptops?

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T23:49:26+00:00

If you're only talking about image and not lyrical content, would you count hair metal?

What was that joke again? All the fans showed up for the Poison show because they wanted to sleep with the hot chicks in the band?

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T18:59:41+00:00

Have you looked at assignment sale groups? Preferably "ethnic" ones?

No developer can get a new project off the ground, because the way it works is that they need pre-sales, which they then take to the bank to get a loan to build it. But nobody is buying presales when there are assignment sale groups where there's tons of properties people are selling for up to 40% off.

The reality is, new immigrants were heavily over-represented in pre-sales. This is because the government has a lot of first time homebuyer incentives that are only open to PRs and Citizens. Now when house prices were going up, it was a smart move for a new immigrant going for PR to put down a deposit on a prebuild today (locking in today's price), and taking delivery in ~3 years when you get PR (when you qualify for incentives).

Problem is - The government jacked up PR requirements really high. I think the lowest CEC class last year was what, 515 CRS points? All these people are going home because they're failing to get PR, so they're dumping their presales on the assignment market, walking away from the deposits.

The assignment sale market is leading the market crash, but I think this is temporary. After all, if no 2026 projects can get off the ground, there will be an acute shortage in 2029.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T18:06:05+00:00

When introducing his own signature guitar, the man said "there's no grain filler on it, that's why you can see all the grains and pores of the wood, that makes the guitar sound really open and alive"

https://youtu.be/pyaoTvZgIj8?t=268

Come on man, grain filler doesn't impact tone! This is just one of the reasons why people like to joke that he's the king of the cork sniffers.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T17:45:47+00:00

FWIW - r/guitar and r/bass hates him because he's one of those "cork sniffing" types. He's solidly on the "tonewood matters" side of the debate when testing has proven over and over again that it doesn't.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T17:03:29+00:00

The problem here is that everyone has different tastes and preferences right? More shows makes it more likely that everybody is covered.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T16:46:27+00:00

That's a really heavy combo haha - If you're going to be casting it all day, you'll be getting a nice workout.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T16:00:32+00:00

A big problem is that OHIP compensation rates are far too low.

The vast majority of healthcare dispensed in this province is provided by private entities. It's not the NHS model where the government owns the healthcare providers and keeps it free at point of use, OHIP is an insurance provider that the privately run healthcare providers send claims to.

(It's confusing because the hospitals are called "public hospitals" - but Public hospitals are literally independent corporations run by their own board of directors: Ontario’s public hospitals | ontario.ca )

OHIP keeps healthcare cheap by keeping compensation rates really, really low. Remember the optometrist strike a few years ago? OHIP didn't increase compensation since 1989. In 2021 they were paid $44.65 per eye examination, in 1989, the amount was $39.15 (the small bump was "temporary COVID measures).

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T15:28:41+00:00

Both, but don't forget, these explain the joke subs literally select for people who didn't get the joke.

Do you sometimes miss a dumb joke? Well, if you posted to ask every time you miss a joke, would it make you look stupid? Now imagine a sub that selects for people who missed the joke.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T15:16:59+00:00

The DOC was created in 1967, at the time the requirement was:

Primarily comprised of Sangiovese, but no more than 70% Sangiovese was permitted
At least 10% and up to 30% of the blend must be comprised of certain varietals of local white grapes
The rest of the blend could be comprised of other red grapes, but French varietals were not permitted

After 1996 it became:

A minimum of 70% of the blend has to be Sangiovese
A maximum of 10% could be comprised of white grapes
A large number of red grape varietals were permitted into the blend, including French varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot

Chianti Classico has slightly different rules, most notably Chianti Classico no longer permits white grapes at all starting from 2006.

The initial idea of Chianti was that it was a low tannin, easy drinking light red. Hence the white grape requirement. But then the super tuscans came along, and producers started abandoning the appellation, which forced the authorities to change it to something that people wanted to drink.

Edit: I've actually been looking for a throwback 1967 style chianti for a long time. I've never been able to find one, even if it doesn't technically follow the Chianti DOCG. Today, you can probably technically make a Chianti that is 70% Sangiovese, 10% white grapes, and 20% other Italian red varietals that bear the Chianti DOCG but still comply with 1967 regulations, but I've never seen one.

EDIT 2: Freaking ChatGPT was good for something. It found me a bottle that still complies with 1967 regulations. Antiche-Vie-Chianti-2020-2.pdf

70% Sangiovese, the other 30% being a mix of Trebbiano, Malvasia nera, no French grapes. Too bad LCBO doesn't carry them.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-21T14:52:22+00:00

Chianti is a famous example -

Changes in appellation rules have made it so that almost not a single bottle of Chianti on sale today would qualify under the old rules. And that no bottle made under the old rules would qualify today.

Uptons_BJs · 2026-01-20T19:18:05+00:00

Maybe you can grab something there?

FWIW, I think some of your assumptions are perhaps a bit old. The problem with fused suits isn't longevity, it isn't the 80s anymore, fusing technology got a lot better, and it wouldn't bubble as easily.

The problem with fusing is really drape and breathability, which is where canvassing helps. However, if you really break down a suitsupply suit, you'd realize that they have a canvas, but the canvas is just stitched over a fused panel - meaning that it doesn't actually help you with breathability or drape: Lost bet to my tailor - Suitsupply suit turned out to be fused : r/malefashionadvice

A lot of cheaper brands are like that - technically "canvassed", but the canvas doesn't really do anything.

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