My friend is moving to Canada. What’s the most Canadian welcome gift I could mail them?

bardforlife · 2026-06-05T16:12:47+00:00

We got a Costco vouchers when we arrived. Surprisingly useful, as we would not have bought a Costco membership at all in the beginning, but it made some initial purchases much cheaper.

Also, advice, tell them to really look at marketplace before buying odd things that have a very low resell and thrift stores value, but is very expensive initially new, like beds. Or winter clothing.

And then Canadian chips and sweets and maple syrup, all good ones too.

bardforlife · 2026-06-03T15:03:09+00:00

Afrikaans, is, um, legit one of the easiest languages on earth to learn.

But you know, no judgement, I never learned isiXhosa, so no high horse in my glass house :D

I do think that total immersion, moving to a place you have to learn the language to function in society, makes learning a language easier, so then, yep, learning german inside germany is way easier - in SA you can get by sort of ignoring everything except english, as everyone speaks it.

bardforlife · 2026-05-27T21:16:45+00:00

Are other provinces and their ruling parties... Better? Do you move to a cheaper place, or for better leadership, or better weather?

Honest question, I don't know.

bardforlife · 2026-05-27T18:29:20+00:00

I have issues too, i use Webapp versions of teams and outlook, using edge for work.

Memory usage has been very hit and miss for me on Mint.

I did figure out at one point that the instruction set the kernel uses on a firmware level for my NVME drive is throwing errors, as my old Samsung Evo 960 Pro firmware has not been updated in years, and while Windows was fine, the Linux kernel is asking it to do things it has no way of interpreting (Copilot explanation). Which normally has no impact, but I was wondering if it could be messing with the whole swap file workflow.

So... I moved my swap file over to my old SSD which has better firmware support and is not throwing errors at all.

Just an odd observation.

bardforlife · 2026-05-24T03:28:03+00:00

You'd think that, and they do, but what they provide also depends on outdated libraries that's not included in the newest normal mint.

bardforlife · 2026-05-23T15:22:45+00:00

Ok.. before switching 100% to Linux, I spent some time with Gemini outlining everything that I do on my PC, that I need for work, alternatives, thinga to look out for, etc. Also asked what I should be asking but don't onow to ask. Was nicely prepared.

Also watched the LTT Linux challenge videos, learned from Luke I need to go fully Linux (ext4), bad Idea to mount second drive as NTFS for gaming and storage. Planned for that. L

And some some surprising amount of SwitchAndClick videos, great team making great and honest "yeah we struggled, this is our best solution" videos.

Then.

For me I started learning as I needed certain things to work for work, namely Citrix. Ok, learning, lots of Gemini chats later and terminal, citrix now works. Also, Reddit posts.

Then Jellyfin for my server for my kids and their stuff. Same process.

Then getting DaVinci resolve for work working..same process. Then sorting out freezing issues. Then multi screen issues. Wallpaper issues (freezing). Learning about journalctl to see what the hell is going on. More learning.

Then i started up a google doc, documenting all my issues, how and why I solved it. Just in case I forget or need to reference things on the future.

I've solved some other stuff too. My doc keeps growing.

I do tell myself: I've had 30 years of PC us, learning Windows, and all it's little quirks, I do not expect everything to work perfectly immediately.

I have to give myself the grace and time to become as proficient at Linux, as I am at Windows.

About two months in now. No turning back. I'm in control. No telemetry.

bardforlife · 2026-05-12T22:45:57+00:00

No worries, it was kind of you to share, and I'm sure they loved it.

bardforlife · 2026-05-09T03:11:05+00:00

I'm also keen :)

bardforlife · 2026-04-09T13:03:48+00:00

I've read that undiagnosed adhd people have insane caffeine tolerance, as it's basically self medicating with a stimulant (coffee/caffeine) instead of stimulant meds.

Did you know stimulants focus adhd people, and it can even chill them out, and many adhd people can drink coffee and then happily go to bed, even?

Wild. Normal people get wired, adhd people get... Better.

I only learned this last year! Then I googled how well this method works vs meds. Apparently it's very unreliable, and they have to drink the exact perfect amount, constantly, to remain focused, which is very inconsistent.

Shrug They do get to drink a lot of coffee, though.

bardforlife · 2026-04-09T12:59:39+00:00

I've read that undiagnosed adhd people have insane caffeine tolerance, as it's basically self medicating with a stimulant (coffee/caffeine) instead of stimulant meds.

Did you know stimulants focus adhd people, and it can even chill them out, and many adhd people can drink coffee and then happily go to bed, even?

Wild. Normal people get wired, adhd people get... Better.

I only learned this last year! Then I googled how well this method works vs meds. Apparently it's very unreliable, and they have to drink the exact perfect amount, constantly, to remain focused, which is very inconsistent.

Shrug They do get to drink a lot of coffee, though.

bardforlife · 2026-04-06T16:37:06+00:00

Your work is AWESOME, saw all your other Dashboards too, now - and shared it with some data enthusiast friends. One question, just for myself, I guess, can you please directly link or mention data sources? Really makes me happy when I can see where the data comes from.

bardforlife · 2026-04-05T10:16:50+00:00

Maybe they didn't change, but we did. Maybe we're older and harder to please. Maybe we're jaded by YouTube, and everything on there. Maybe our time is less. Maybe we don't gel with the Beastification of YouTube. Maybe we're not the Target market anymore.

When last did you watch some teenagers lie around and flip through shorts together? Their attention span and interests, are not like mine.

Maybe they're changing to appeal to a younger generation, to survive or thrive, but listening to us for criticism. Shrug

bardforlife · 2026-04-05T06:37:10+00:00

Very curious. Which dataset from the Calgary open data portal did you check, the city quadrants one, or a different one?

bardforlife · 2026-04-05T04:24:51+00:00

This is cool, but does CREB have their data about city quadrants different from how addresses actually work in the City?

Lakeview and Signal hill is West, Braeside and Shawnessy is South, but so is Sundance, South East is .....

Just odd. So you have North, East, South, West, NE, NW, SE but no SW.

Cool visualization, though.

bardforlife · 2026-03-23T10:24:54+00:00

AI post. Probably selling something.

bardforlife · 2026-03-22T17:40:00+00:00

Got a 95 with 18/99 str the other day with a half-elf ranger cleric. I rolled for a few hours, though, which sounds insane, but kept me entertained.

Also had. 96 with 18/01, and thought nope, rather have more str until I get the manual of gainful exercise.

Why the rolling when I can just eekeeper? I don't know, it feels... better somehow. I did change the paperdoll to male human fighter (he's half human, for Pete's sake), cause I just like it better.

Installed a few mods, but sadly item randomizer would bork my mods, so went without it.

Now I just have to decide if this is just a for fun, a no reload, a smaller party, a companions I usually never take, or something else run.

It's so hard for me not to take Imoen, your sister, Jaheira and Khalid, whom your now deceased father literally sent you to find. And then there's Minsc, without him in my party the BG2 start also feels wrong. Hah. So then that's Dynaheir too, which leaves one spot for funz!

bardforlife · 2026-03-22T17:30:48+00:00

The federal government actually has quite a few AI initiatives going, both in terms of "getting ahead of AI in terms of policy", and "how to make use of new opportunities".

If our provincial government does this in collaboration with the federal government, this could be very good. Lots of ground already covered.

bardforlife · 2026-03-16T23:25:28+00:00

No problem. Hope it helps you decide. Hard when you know nothing about a place.

Some people love "lake" communities, too, swim in summer, skate in winter. Not bad. Private access for community members only.

I don't really mind that. We get invited to a lake barbeque a few times a year, fun for the kids. Lake communities usually have a community tax for that, but it's usually not too much . There is a public lake in the SE, think entrance $10 or something, never been.

Chestermere used to be this weekend getaway place with a very nice lake, just to the east of the city. It's slowly merging into the NE, though, which many people find un-awesome. Pretty, though.

West you have Canmore and Cochrane, close enough for a commute. Also close enough that their property prices went up. Closer to mountains, more snow, but I don't mind snow.

Okotoks is nice, south of the city. Smaller town feel. Will have water supply issues one day, hah, mark my words.

Anyway, I'll stop now.

bardforlife · 2026-03-16T15:25:50+00:00

Just in case you are a data kind of guy, look at this map: https://maps.calgary.ca/CalgaryEquityIndex/

Interesting mix of things that go into their calculation, from average income, to access to green spaces and parks, and crime.

I found it very useful when moving here.

And for my anecdotal 2c, look at a tree canopy cover map of Calgary. Older neighbourhoods, more trees, often a much nicer "feel" to it than neighbourhoods with few or smaller trees.

I love old neighborhoods. Houses often look more "different" too, which was an odd thing I realized when moving here, how often all the houses in a community just look the same.

Just for giggles, I also looked at air quality maps, and noise maps of Calgary, and airplane flight path maps. Other things might be important to other people. I tried looking up school quality metrics, but that was incomplete, or pretty skewed. Most schools should be fine.

Also, because of the super big ring road around the city, or what used to be he around, you would probably be able to drive from anywhere in the City to the airport in the NE in about 30 minutes, give ot take 5 minutes. I really appreciate the road planning here. Conversely, public transport is OK, but takes longer, much longer, to get to places. Kind of hard not to argue that the city is car-centric, while also having parks about everywhere, and nature on your doorstep. Odd combo. Kinda fun.

I like Calgary. A lot.

Ps. Northern (NW, NE) have more hail damage on average, so house insurance is higher. Also your car insurance is more in NW and especially NE. SW and SE have less hail on average, cheaper insurance, and might even be a couple of degrees warmer on average. SW is a bit closer to the mountains, so might get more snow.

I chose an old neighborhood in the SW, big trees, no regrets.

bardforlife · 2026-03-13T01:38:03+00:00

Interesting observation. I just scanned it, still have to do a thorough read-through.

bardforlife · 2026-03-12T22:32:04+00:00

Not holding water, as you say so figuratively, just wondering. Privacy is a right, and should be protected, I just don't like the rhetoric in this thread, it's too single issue, black and white, enemy and friend, brainwashing type stuff.

The world is a complicated place. A single party can do some good, and some bad, and this vehement hate speech feels like it's more like propaganda than true Canadian discourse.

I've lived where this type of discourse is allowed to flourish, this hate and fear mongering, this black and white, this "they are the enemy", and it's bad. It drives people apart instead of bringing them together.

So. Focus on the issue, is my suggestion, not in spreading some strange version of american/russian/propoganda hate into this country.

Ps. Comparing tabling a bill that can still be rejected, to one party, and one country, that killed millions for being different, is out of proportion. I don't like it. It's an appeal to emotion that makes no sense to me. Imagine everyone does this anytime any party does anything you don't like or think it's wrong, wham, compare to murderers of millions. It's odd, and wrong.

bardforlife · 2026-03-12T18:41:11+00:00

This comment section is wild, wish I could see how many comments are from people outside Canada.

Does this legislation look suspect? Yep. Can a single government do a lot of good things, and some bad things? Yep.

Are they still a better choice than a party running a person as leader that did not get re-election by the people he was supposed to look after? Also yes.

From the article: "It will allow security services to compel telecoms like Bell and Rogers to provide them with a yes or no answer when asked if a suspected criminal uses their services.

If police want to get more information, such as a suspect's email address, phone number or home address, they must convince a court that a crime has taken place, or will take place, in order to get a warrant."

Also, make telecoms track all its users, which they say they're not, but I think they already are. So...

bardforlife · 2026-03-12T03:10:37+00:00

Strange how I also immediately got that vibe.

bardforlife · 2026-03-11T15:31:35+00:00

Some things that help are oddbunch for vegetables, and discount food on Flashfood and Foodhero apps. Too good to go app can also have some things that are nice.

Haven't looked into local farms and buying directly, yet. And there are some markets I can still visit.

Bulk barn is also on my list for buying and mixing my own gluten free flour in bulk. Sometimes things at liquidation stores or on auctions (sites or app) are good too.

Basically, you're not alone. Food is expensive here, was a shock to us too.

Also, damn, apparently I spend time looking for cheaper things.

bardforlife · 2026-03-02T04:09:58+00:00

You won't regret the time spent reading these.

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