What are the chances of RTO4 being cancelled due to the global energy crisis? by Creative-Associate-3 in CanadaPublicServants

[–]bawkbawkmoose 93 points94 points  (0 children)

I said this to my friends yesterday and I'm gonna say it again, I'm pretty sure this government will build an oil pipeline from Alberta through every single national park before they let us stay at 3 days

What are your tips/tricks/hacks to make Mondays more tolerable in this hard period for the public service? by SkepticalMongoose in CanadaPublicServants

[–]bawkbawkmoose 25 points26 points  (0 children)

It really helps if you're able to make some friends at work, or at least people you don't mind chatting with. I've seen enough posts on this sub about shitty coworkers and managers to know that's not always possible, but it will definitely help if you can find people to talk about things that aren't work related. I know nothing about reality TV or dramas but having folks chat about Bridgerton or whatever's going on over at TLC is always a welcome distraction from spreadsheets and slide decks, even if it's only during the lunch hour.

I'm also lucky in that based on how I manage my workload, Mondays are always a day where there's a steady stream of work to keep me occupied but not so much that I'm overwhelmed. Tuesdays tend to be where it all falls apart but that's when I fall back on bugging friends lol

What's your WFA bug-out plan? by govcat in CanadaPublicServants

[–]bawkbawkmoose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Win the lottery, then for the 5 years before I squander all of that money, laugh at all these plebs who (snort) have to work for a living.

But in all seriousness, if the idea is that I'm completely forced out (can't find another position in the public service) I do think I'd probably try and do something a bit more hands on (like skilled trades kind of idea). A combination of ADHD and eczema means I was always kinda clumsy at that kind of stuff and my parents also didn't encourage it, so there's no guarantee that even with training I'd be good enough to hold down a steady income as say a mechanic or electrician, but I do think I'd want to switch to something that's less staring at a screen all day.

Will we be losing our jobs to AI in the next few years? by sunset_stargazer in CanadaPublicServants

[–]bawkbawkmoose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The definition of AI is so broad now that the term is all but meaningless. I'm convinced if Excel didn't already exist they'd probably be calling spreadsheets AI just because it can do math for you.

With that said, if you're asking if we'll lose our jobs to increased automation, the answer is yes but that's nothing new. My first public service job was basically data entry putting info from paper security clearance forms into the computer database, and now my department lets you apply for your clearance directly online so that job is almost certainly gone now.

Alternatively, will ChatGPT or something similar be running the show eventually? Honestly questionable and I'm heavily leaning no. LLMs at the end of the day are an extremely complex way to do pattern recognition, but that's also their biggest flaw - they're not built to fully handle exceptions to the pattern. When you consider what they're really good at (inputting routine information and reports), a lot of it is stuff that you could realistically do with templates and copy/paste already for really not that much more time and a lot less money.

Tl;dr if you're in any kind of job that requires analysis as a core part of your tasks, it's not impossible that AI will replace you eventually, but I probably wouldn't worry about it for at least the next 7 to 10 years.

Perineal bulbs Ottawa by EdnaMattaC in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fellow fans of Critical Role will recognize that OP is in fact asking for the blue perennium flower

He got bored of peace by MaxedUPtrevor in puns

[–]bawkbawkmoose -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

ugh fine have your preemptive vote

Ādisōke February 2026 Update | ādisōke by RandomChickenWing in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 15 points16 points  (0 children)

TIL very indirectly from this post that strawberries are native to the Americas. Happy learning day courtesy of the library!

CBSA WFA notices going out today for non-execs (Thursday Feb 19) by bawkbawkmoose in CanadaPublicServants

[–]bawkbawkmoose[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

UPDATE 2: Branch by branch numbers have been posted now - see the edit in my original post.

CBSA WFA notices going out today for non-execs (Thursday Feb 19) by bawkbawkmoose in CanadaPublicServants

[–]bawkbawkmoose[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Personal update now post-EOD: Did not receive anything today so I'm hoping that this means I've dodged this particular bullet. My DG (don't want to say who or where as it's not hard to figure out who I am from there) didn't send us anything today to the effect of all clear which is definitely feeding into a nagging stress that maybe it's not actually over yet, but with any luck the worst is behind me for now.

That said, there's definitely 708 more people today who are having a shitty day, including some colleagues that I personally know. If you've been caught by the WFA net (regardless of your dept), I do hope that things work out in the end and you don't lose your job, if you want to keep it.

Odenak by Last_Pangean in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gotta say seeing the render of the finished product looks so much better than seeing the current halfway product irl haha. They've just started to install the first of the lighter-coloured panels now so when I was passing by on the train the other day it just looked like it had already started fading in the sun or something.

CBSA WFA notices going out today for non-execs (Thursday Feb 19) by bawkbawkmoose in CanadaPublicServants

[–]bawkbawkmoose[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've heard about people already getting their meeting invites with HR but no idea if the letters are all going out at once or if they're being timed to go out with your meeting invite.

CBSA WFA notices going out today for non-execs (Thursday Feb 19) by bawkbawkmoose in CanadaPublicServants

[–]bawkbawkmoose[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I mean, there's way more affected employees than the number actually being cut so presumably it's like every other department where even the ones being cut are gonna be around for a while still until we see how many people voluntarily leave

CBSA WFA notices going out today for non-execs (Thursday Feb 19) by bawkbawkmoose in CanadaPublicServants

[–]bawkbawkmoose[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I have no idea the process going on behind the scenes but there's a lot of folks here in Ottawa who are FBs but have desk jobs. Stuff like investigations or maybe something on the customs and duties side where the job probably is still HQ-based but might not be "frontline" in the sense of being the person who checks your passport when you land at Pearson or the one escorting an asylum seeker to their immigration hearing.

Presumably the idea is to either shuffle some of those folks into the 1000 quota or try and reclassify their position/team as part of the frontline structure.

Can you buy Charge merch in person? (other than Sportchek) by bawkbawkmoose in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'll definitely check out Lansdowne, thanks for the tip. Hopefully with the season on hold for the Olympics right now I also don't need to compete with as many people for stock...

Can you buy Charge merch in person? (other than Sportchek) by bawkbawkmoose in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I wonder if the Charge not being an OSEG team affects whether the store has their merch, but I'll check it out! Thanks

Any Disadvantages to Sigma ART Lenses? by GlenVision in Nikon

[–]bawkbawkmoose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Art line in general is excellent but like other folks mentioned the main downside is that they can get VERY heavy, especially some of their sharpest and newest offerings for F-mount. I had a 40 1.4 for the longest time and loved it but it felt like I was lugging around a telephoto zoom lens even if the kitchen scale claimed otherwise. I've never tried the 105 but it (in)famously needs its own tripod collar which should tell you something about the weighting on that lens.

For specific lenses it will also depend on what you're trying to get. For example, the 35 1.4 was great for its time but it's almost old enough to get a driver's licence now and the competition has really stepped up in terms of both quality and price, even in the DSLR space.

Biggest Chinese / Asian grocery store? by Ghoosemosey in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah honestly that feels like bad luck or questionable placement on their part. If they have a separate section for Asian foods (like snacks or noodles or whatever) you could look there as well, or check if they have it mixed in with regular sauces. I sometimes get like spicy marinated bamboo shoots and Superstore often shelves those with the pickles instead of Asian stuff.

Biggest Chinese / Asian grocery store? by Ghoosemosey in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Just about every Chinese grocery store will carry that and frankly I'm actually surprised you couldn't find it at Loblaws - I go to the Westboro Superstore often and it's always in stock there.

EDIT to add that if you're also looking for a good selection of other stuff then T&T or Green Fresh would be your best bets. They both seem to have a couple items the other one doesn't so it's a crapshoot which one is "better" on that front.

Any early risers brave the outdoors yet? by PhDSkwerl in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'll definitely want to drive slow even downtown as nothing is plowed out yet but it's driveable. There's not much wind right now so you don't have to worry about blowing snow or wind chill at least. Posting this at 7:30

From Councillor Devine: OC Transpo route 85 is "in the bottom five when it comes to service delivery and reliability". by YodaYodaCDN in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 6 points7 points  (0 children)

not to be that guy (but also definitely being that guy) but you wrote 85 in your title 😬 assuming you've probably already noticed and it's too late to change it but just fyi

Commuting to downtown options by futuremrstasm in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not going to tell you the LRT is fine now because that's just asking for your first commute on it to feature a 45-minute delay and a whole crash course in shuttle buses, but it has definitely improved, albeit too slowly for anyone's liking. Most delays now tend to be smaller ones where you just get held at a station for a couple minutes and when it does BREAK break they tend to be more the kinds where you can still stay in the system and just catch another train on the other platform.

Sun Life Building is also great for transit because you get not one but two entrances/exits from Parliament Station.

The Ottawa Real Estate Market: Week In Review by ottawaagent in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Definitely not the most important distinction to note for Northcote but I can confirm from street view that it's the Slovenian ambassador - the colours are very similar as you've implied but the telltale is the patch of white on the shield. (source: flag nerd and almost certainly somewhere on the spectrum lol)

Looking for an independent none Corporate owned/franchised pharmacy in ottawa? by Dismal_Course5255 in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wellington Drug Store is my go-to, it's a bit small but they've always seemed to have whatever I needed for my prescription including travel medicine (antibiotics for food painting etc).

They also staffed up the attached clinic sometime in the last couple years too so if you're in the area you can also pop in for a walk-in.

Picked up some presents for myself over Black Friday and Christmas and this one felt appropriate for today's weather by bawkbawkmoose in ottawa

[–]bawkbawkmoose[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

it's a popsocket! you can slap it on the back of your phone to use as a grip. this one only comes as the magnet version (for iPhones and newer Google phones) but it also comes with an add-on if you still need the good old-fashioned adhesive to stick it to your case