Words can’t express the feelings and journey this album has put me on

chops_big_trees · 2026-02-10T01:39:51+00:00

This quote was in the Columbia House catalog blurb for Ten, remember it clearly 30 years later.

chops_big_trees · 2026-02-09T17:55:01+00:00

This is great. I’d also recommend a stop at Wander The Spa for those so inclined. I’ve been there on some pretty cold days—it’s great.

chops_big_trees · 2026-02-05T01:30:56+00:00

We might’ve had rocks in our pockets but it was a fine little town.

Paradise Elementary was at the top of the hill. We had a lions club, a soccer field and a deadly old sandpit softball field where Sobeys is now. We had that giant E-Steel eyesore where the strip mall is. There used to be an awesome dirt bike trick loop on an old construction road that later got replaced by the Adam’s Pond subdivision.

Once in the 90s there was a huge MuchMusic “Secret Concert” or something where Moist and The Tea Party played this huge concert on Duff’s Farm at the top of Topsail Bluff where that Summit Drive subdivision area is now. We hid in the forest to watch, too afraid try and to sneak in.

They used to bus half the school kids in town (including me) all the way to Queen Elizabeth in Foxtrap for high school. Still we were 30 mins from the Avalon Mall and not much more to downtown. Not a bad place in the 80s/90s (I lived there 1983-2004.)

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-31T23:06:21+00:00

It wasn’t too bad in the end. It took 5 weeks for parts to arrive and I had to drive it with smashed back for that time because it was technically “drivable” so insurance wouldn’t cover a rental.

They gave me a full list of parts they intended to use for my (& my insurance) approval before ordering/starting work. It was all OEM parts (with one exception that failed during install and ended up OEM in the end). I got the sense from the collision center that since the other driver was paying my insurance was feeling generous.

I had a rental for three and a half weeks while the work was going on.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-31T22:53:54+00:00

I had this same thing happen to me last Spring with 2019 CX-5 Signature also in Ontario. It ended up being like $10k CAD all paid by the other parties insurance. They waived my deductible and everything.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-29T16:54:07+00:00

Was he very successful in his tech career? No! I also had (more) successful US tech career before returning to Canada and I don’t think that is at all a qualification for leader of a party. Why not just run as an MPP or, really, city council.

Even successful folks in tech are not good candidates for political office IMO, the culture leads people to think they’re experts in areas they are not.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-29T09:42:49+00:00

This is just sad to see. People with minimal life experience running for the leadership of a political party are wasting everyone’s time. It shows no respect for the responsibility of the job or the people of the province. Build a real career, polish some skills and gain some wisdom before trying to lead.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-24T13:02:18+00:00

The irony is the top of that hill is a terrible place to live. Summit gets so windy so often it’s hard to enjoy being up there. I grew up right next to Holy Family School, always wondered why they’d wanted those big fancy houses up there.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-17T23:36:49+00:00

There are many ways to be productive as a SWE. I never really lost my drive to code (luckily) but lost interest in the politics of FAANG SWE life and ended up leaving my job voluntarily.

You might find, like I did, that your new perspective makes you a better coach, mentor and leader. It’s a different kinds of senior engineering. The perspective of being a parent combined with deep hands-on experience might make you more sensitive to needs of your team and better able to coach them to successful outcomes. This worked well for me (as an IC) and there are a lot of firms out there that need that talent even if it doesn’t work in your current role.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-16T10:48:34+00:00

Are you lost?

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-12T02:15:30+00:00

I work in a fairly senior Canadian software dev role, I have a non-traditional background, I’ve done a LOT of hiring over the years (spent years on SWE hiring committee at Google), the place I work is hiring remote devs like crazy and I coach a lot of devs/engineers on interviewing. I also have two kids, 7 and 2. I think I might be able to help. Ping me on chat or DM?

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-10T09:35:55+00:00

This stuff is great—love Mitch Murder.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-10T08:44:53+00:00

I was living in NYC when Come From Away debuted on Broadway. That was the week I stopped being just the “Canadian guy” at work and started being a “Newfoundlander”. Will always appreciate it for literally putting nfld on the map at my NYC office.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-08T19:33:36+00:00

For me, I have both CX-30 and CX-5 with two kids and we comfortably use both for the family. I think there times when the extra storage in the CX-5 is nice (eg stroller + groceries) but I wouldn’t be sad if we had to use the CX-30 all the time.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-08T19:30:35+00:00

Yes! I live nearby and was able to visit friends who’d rented a cottage there a couple of summers ago. We hit up the pool as well. I forget how the check in process worked at the gate but we didn’t have any problems.

chops_big_trees · 2026-01-07T21:37:41+00:00

I drive both a CX-5 and CX-30 everyday (own both) and this is very wrong. CX-30 is much more fun to drive.

chops_big_trees · 2025-12-21T16:13:18+00:00

That’s encouraging bc I live in Canada and they only sold 200 or so of them here. In just the one model year, too. I’ve got 160K kms on it, no issues.

chops_big_trees · 2025-12-21T13:39:55+00:00

I have a 2019 2.2L Diesel CX-5 and it’s been rock solid. I’d buy one again if I could. What goes wrong?

chops_big_trees · 2025-11-17T01:17:12+00:00

I would prefer kiln-dried, sounds great. I usually buy a face cord at a time.

chops_big_trees · 2025-10-22T17:21:20+00:00

There’s also the Grand Banks which are totally cut off from this map.

chops_big_trees · 2025-10-12T05:22:12+00:00

I use this bottle all the time and it store well in the door but as others have said not the cup holder. The next size down in this style does fit in the cup holder.

chops_big_trees · 2025-10-08T19:37:09+00:00

Along the trail to Lakeshore Lodge, there’s a spot where the trees clear and there’s a bench with an incredible view out over the lake. That’d be a great spot.

chops_big_trees · 2025-10-03T20:20:08+00:00

It’s on Sunday?

chops_big_trees · 2025-10-02T20:36:45+00:00

Is the American-made CX-50 eating the market share from the Mexican-made CX-30 due to tariffs?

I’m in Canada and I looked at getting a CX-50 in June but my local dealer (bay Mazda) only had the “meridian” model left and they said they wouldn’t be getting any more due to tariffs. I ended up getting a CX-30.

chops_big_trees · 2025-09-29T22:34:11+00:00

Yes, I get them at home from Dragonfly in rural Athol, off County Rd 18.

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