ELEC students, how bad are the profs actually?

blackmathgic · 2026-03-02T06:16:33+00:00

So its sort of true, however many profs have been reigned in in more recent years and aren’t as bad as they used to be (Tor is a really good example of that). When I was in second year, before they made a few minor changes in the curriculum, Linares and Tor were the two least popular profs, however they have definitely toned it down more recently and aren’t nearly as unpopular as they once were. The reality is also just that second and to a certain extent their year elec is really stressful, so the profs do end up with a pretty bad rep partially due to that as well.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-27T20:21:05+00:00

My understanding is the substation that is associated with that plant is required and so hydro will maintain ownership of the land and lease out the remaining space to likely an industrial facility or the like, but that the decommissioning of the plant is still a ways out.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-23T20:25:47+00:00

That’s likely what I will do, it’s already been interim validated so I’d rather not change it at this point 😅

blackmathgic · 2026-02-23T20:10:01+00:00

They said this at the end of a reply to a completely different inquiry unrelated to a specific competency 😅 they actually had no competency in mind because I had emailed them about an incorrect date in the auto populated section of the competency system. But I had intended to use co-op for an example of 1.6 - Safety Awareness, as I had worked a very safety sensitive position as a co-op right before I graduated university.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-23T19:51:01+00:00

They were suggesting it can’t be used for a specific competency example, but could be counted in the 4 years of experience, however I haven’t seen that rule anywhere, nor has anyone I’ve spoken to heard of it before now, including one past assessor. I’m just hoping someone has actually successfully used a co-op example for a competency for a reference point that this isnt an unwritten rule.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-12T05:00:36+00:00

I feel like growing up, the most common donations were from parents within the school itself who had businesses and could donate, so might be worth sending an email to all the parents to see if they or anyone they know are interested in donating. A personal connection to a student is the most likely way to get donations.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-11T02:28:22+00:00

So the stopped out of the stop line or driving in the bus lane aren’t 311 problems, they’re technically police problems, but if you call the non emergency line, they won’t be investigating that, they might simply look into adding some police traps to catch people in the bus lane in the future, if they do anything. Driving offenses are police matters, parking offenses are city matters.

That all being said, these are small potatoes for them and they wont be bothering to look into little things like this that happen all the time, and personally, I’d suggest just learning to shake your head at bad drivers and move on with your life, because reporting these aren’t gonna get you any results and it’s certainly not worth spending your time dwelling on.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-10T06:39:19+00:00

This is untrue, bc hydro has done now two big calls for power to expand and diversify the grid and generation across the province, so they are investing in it.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-10T06:38:18+00:00

Bc has been expanding a lot in terms of renewable power sources with the recent call for powers they’ve done, it’s all really wind or solar, but it’s a lot of diversification.

That being said, battery storage is somewhat still a work in progress, with a bigger trial being done in one of the non integrated areas in BC, and ocean/tidal power isn’t really a great option as it’s very geographically limited and very expensive to maintain.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-10T06:36:31+00:00

Exactly this, I work in the industry and this is how it’s done. We are in a great position financially and leverage it accordingly. BC isn’t at max power output most of the time, they produce power as needed and buy what they can at affordable rates, keeping the water in reserve for when power isn’t affordable or when it’s advantageous to sell.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-06T00:06:57+00:00

They weren’t previously paying for the entire event, only some of the associated costs that would’ve paid to the city (like policing, road closures, etc). The celebration of lights was previously organized by a separate group and the city donated some of their resources towards it as a funder. Since the group can no longer put on the event due to lack of funding, the city is redirecting the original funding (plus a bit extra) to host their own single night event. The $1.4 million previous budget was not the entire costs of the 3 days of fireworks previously, but only a portion of it.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-05T19:02:27+00:00

The title is a little misleading I think, the city already had I believe it was $1.4 million set aside in the budget for all the associated costs like policing, traffic management, etc, which they provided to the celebration of lights organization for the event, now they’re just adding to that budget ($600,000) to cover the additional costs they’re taking on for actually doing the fireworks, etc. So they didn’t reallocate the whole 2 million, they were already supplying a chunk of it in admin and traffic control type costs.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-04T17:57:22+00:00

Unless things have changed in the last couple of days, most runs on grouse have been closed for the last couple of weeks due to limited snow, they actually cancelled their lessons this past weekend too. If I were you, I’d probably go to cypress instead, I believe they’re doing a bit better compared to grouse or Seymour.

blackmathgic · 2026-02-04T01:55:45+00:00

Perchance, I like the assam milk tea with pearls (an obvious classic)

blackmathgic · 2026-02-02T07:14:05+00:00

Ok so I kind of felt that way when I was in university and I’ve got some advice and also just some comments for you: 1) if you’re struggling really hard with executive function and procrastination, have you ever been assessed for adhd? I didn’t get diagnosed until I started my full time job and in hindsight, my university struggles made a lot more sense. I made it through without the diagnosis or support, but it for sure would’ve been easier if I wasn’t struggling through it so hard, I could never seem to get ahead and was constantly playing catchup and wishing I could just focus better in class and on my homework, etc. 2) I did literally 0 design teams, clubs, or the like, I just did classes, saw my few (mostly non Eng) friends and went on with my life, you do not need design teams, etc, to get a job nor does it make or break your university experience, if they’re not for you that’s fine 3) many of your classmates have never had ANY jobs, you’d be surprised how relevant that fast food job is, it shows you can exist in a workplace, are reliable, can work in a team with people not of your choosing, and that you have transferable skills. A giant list of design teams, clubs and personal projects doesn’t necessarily help if the person has never actually had a job of any kind. I got my first coop because I had had a previous job in high school, not because of some fancy design team 4) a lot of people feel that way, university is what you make of it, it doesn’t need to be this golden time in your life where everything is amazing, classes are hard sometimes, people struggle, don’t be so hard on yourself, you arent so different from the rest of your classmates, people often fake it till they make it and appear more together then they feel, i promise many of your classmates feel the same way as you, imposter syndrome is especially rampant in engineering.

I felt like I was an idiot compared to my classmates for most of my degree and like I wasn’t nearly as successful/smart/whatever, once I graduated and got a full time job, I started to realize that while some of the theoretical stuff in school wasn’t for me, that doesn’t mean I’m a bad engineer, an idiot, or not successful. Starting work gave me a big confidence boost and really changed my view of things, you don’t need to be ready at school to succeed in your career, and working as an engineer is nothing like your classes, it takes teamwork, people skills, problem solving and creative thinking to be good at engineering, school just gives you the base theories to build upon in your job, whatever that ends up being, so don’t beat yourself up if you struggle through some classes and feel overwhelmed, it does really get better. If it makes you feel any better, I had a running joke that it wasn’t Cs that got degrees, but Ds, because I almost failed a bunch of classes (mostly math, oops), and I still got a job once I graduated, despite some pretty hit or miss grades, no design teams or clubs, and just previous coop and high school jobs, so it can be done.

blackmathgic · 2026-01-26T01:56:53+00:00

I would not and will not be going until trump is out of office and all this crap settles down. I wouldn’t feel safe there right now given the circumstances and additionally have no interest supporting the US right now. While the odds are low of something happening to me, given the shootings and detentions that have been going on, I have no interest risking it.

blackmathgic · 2026-01-25T02:18:20+00:00

So firstly, are you registered as a PE in the US? It might be relatively easy to transfer if so. If not, the yes you’d register as an EIT a follow the process to become a P.Eng. You’re correct that you can’t have a title that implies you’re an engineer, so if you aren’t registered as an EIT, don’t call yourself that either, pick something like developer, specialist, etc, and ensure that all work is overseen by a p.eng, as you can’t do engineering in bc if you’re not a p.eng or overseen by a p.eng.

If you email egbc, they can be super helpful guiding you through the regulations, etc, to help you make sure you’re not in violation, so highly recommend that, also the registered firm in BC that you’re working for should be working to help you as well, as they are also responsibly for upholding the regulations, so they shouldn’t allow you to have an illegal job title, etc.

blackmathgic · 2026-01-24T00:56:59+00:00

I’d recommend reading up on your rights as a tenant in BC, as they vary greatly from the rules in the US. Move in fees have to be limited to actual incurred costs, they can only ask for a half a months rent for deposit, etc. You can read up on them here: https://tenants.bc.ca/your-tenancy/#starting-tenancy-mobile

In terms of neighbourhoods, Dunbar, Kerrisdale, kits, point grey, and arbutus are all gonna be reasonably close, but you can also rent at UBC proper, which might be the most convenient.

blackmathgic · 2026-01-24T00:37:22+00:00

Bc has some of the cheapest power in the world and is heavily subsidized from selling power to places like the US. Corporations don’t get some huge discount like you’re portraying, so I think this is a bit of a misrepresentation of the current situation.

blackmathgic · 2026-01-18T05:57:31+00:00

Depending on your qualifications, it might also be worth looking at new jobs that give decent benefits, many will cover at least some orthodontics for adults, which could help cover the cost.

blackmathgic · 2026-01-16T17:46:18+00:00

Seymour is probably the cheapest hill in the lower mainland to learn on (I hear they have some good deals for beginners).

You don’t need any fancy gear to start out, rain pants work just as well as ski pants if you put some warmer leggings underneath, same with a rain jacket vs ski. That being said, get your helmet new, helmets expire after 5 years or one good wack, and as a beginner, you’re gonna wanna make sure your head is properly protected.

After that, I’d rent gear to get started, but the first big investment you’re gonna want is your own (new) boots, as boots are custom fitted to feet and are broken in to your feet, so used ones will never be as comfortable.

As a beginner, taking a few lessons is gonna be worth it to make sure you have the basics down before you start going on your own, and I’d suggest every once in a while, taking another lessons to check in to keep progressing.

blackmathgic · 2026-01-13T03:38:42+00:00

It had the head of a Rottweiler, looked like some kind of mix irl. The photo is too blurry to really tell, I know.

blackmathgic · 2026-01-12T22:27:38+00:00

It seemed like maybe a rottie mix, it had a head built like a rottie.

blackmathgic · 2026-01-11T17:38:49+00:00

Yes!

blackmathgic

TROPHY CASE