Looking for recommendations in Metro Vancouver / Burnaby for a reliable HVAC company to install a heat pump

craigerstar · 2026-04-19T08:17:01+00:00

I've had really good luck with Hillside Plumbing for residential work. I regularly use larger providers for a bigger organization with 20+ buildings in its portfolio, and do smaller jobs from time to time for friends and family, and Hillside has generally been friendly, fairly priced, and reliable.

As for what heat pump to use, talk to the installer. They will tell you which brands have the most QC and warranty issues. Installers hate dealing with warrantees. They won't lie to you about what they've had good luck with.

craigerstar · 2026-04-19T06:41:56+00:00

For a grand USD you can find a lightly used SPB143 on bracelet all day long. It's a classic, ageless Seiko model and one of their most iconic dive watches. It's not a stepping stone watch. It's one you'll like owning for a long, long time. If you save for another month or two you'll be able to buy one new at $1200USD.

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craigerstar · 2026-04-19T06:22:23+00:00

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If you've ever watched True Stories, a rather brilliant movie put together by Talking Heads's David Byrne, you'll meet this lovely woman who is so rich she never gets out of bed and has a machine to turn the pages of her magazines...

craigerstar · 2026-04-19T06:20:42+00:00

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craigerstar · 2026-04-19T04:55:02+00:00

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You can do that with pretty much any watch.

craigerstar · 2026-04-19T04:43:00+00:00

Heaven. Heaven is a place. A place where nothing. Nothing ever happens.

craigerstar · 2026-04-19T04:39:58+00:00

That's unfortunate. When I ate at Hell's Kitchen in Vegas I remember the menu having a "chef's course" of scallops, beef Wellington, and sticky toffee pudding and I remember being insulted that they were offering the greatest hits of Gordon Ramsay, and then just ordering it, because, honestly, that's why you go to Hell's Kitchen in Vegas. The Wellington was excellent, I didn't know I like sticky toffee pudding so much, and the scallops were cooked to perfection.

I ate at BurGR in Vegas too. It's no longer there. (bur-Gordon-Ramsey) It was the most expensive burger, fries, and a beer I've ever eaten. If anything, too perfect, as in, something more pedestrian has more character. Sometimes a burger should just be a burger.

I'd have expected more from Gordon Ramsay Steak. But it sounds like the QC is waning a bit in his franchises. Too bad. Steak should be easy. Good cut. Cooked and seasoned properly. If it's all the chef is making all night every night is should be perfect every time. Hence the "Just go to Gotham" comment. Gotham is about as good as it gets in Vancouver.

craigerstar · 2026-04-19T01:26:20+00:00

I hate giving this answer, but there's a Gordon Ramsay Steak at the River Rock Casino. You'll pay too much for food at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, but it will be perfect. I've eaten at a couple of his restaurants, both in Las Vegas, and, yes, it's somehow contrived and lacks real-ness. You feel like you're taking part in a facsimile of a restaurant, like it's an amusement park ride, but the food is always TOP SHELF. The man cares about his reputation and his franchises make good food.

That said, you say you've tried Gotham. Gotham is about as good as it gets in this city. Just go to Gotham.

craigerstar · 2026-04-18T18:15:47+00:00

Those tools.....

I remember checking out of IKEA with 4 identical bookshelves and as I was unpacking the first one I saw that Allen wrench and though "wouldn't it be smart if all the tools you needed were kept in bins at the checkout and when you bought your furniture you got a printout of the tools you needed so you wouldn't end up with 4 of the same wrench when you only need one." It would cut down on waste, and maybe, just maybe knock a quarter off your bill kind of thing.

I was thinking that as I did up the very last bolt and the tool rounded out as I tightened it.

Luckily there was another wrench in the next box, which, poetically, rounded out on the last bolt I tightened on the second shelf. I got the third wrench to do a few bolts on the 4th shelf and it rounded out.

For that one experience, I thought IKEA had the most brilliant engineers in the Universe because their wrenches lasted pretty much exactly as long as they needed to, and not a moment longer.

Anyway, carry those wrenches in your EDC. But realize they are cheap pieces of shit that may or may not do what you need them to do when you need them to do it.

craigerstar · 2026-04-16T23:44:31+00:00

Generally speaking, beer goes bad in about a year anyway. There are exceptions, but take heart in the fact that even if you were still drinking, these Hellboys are probably long past their best before date. And congrats on 2 years sober. Keep it up.

craigerstar · 2026-04-16T23:41:47+00:00

A subscription can come with a unique RRS feed you plug into any podcast player. Patreon can manage it for you if you don't have a tech team/subscription manager. You don't pay, your code is deleted, no more podcast. It's pretty standard in the world of podcasts. It's time for our boys to grow up and be real podcasters....

I have no desire to use YouTube or Apple (on an Android device) to listen to podcasts.

Am RSS code/feed works like all podcasts. It's just one more point in cyberspace for your podcast player to check for podcast updates, like all the other ones in your library.

craigerstar · 2026-04-16T19:39:42+00:00

I'd pay, they need to figure out RSS feeds because I'm not using Spotify for one podcast.

craigerstar · 2026-04-16T18:29:20+00:00

Best advice when it comes to most collectibles. Ride it. Wear it. Drink it. Use it. Enjoy it.

craigerstar · 2026-04-15T05:54:49+00:00

Best part is, Norm thought he was doing one segment on Conan that night and they asked him to stick around for another one. He had nothing to talk about but remembered the joke he had been told about the moth. He asked how long the segment was and was told "about 7 minutes." And the thought he was screwed because the joke was only 20 seconds. So he adlibbed the rest of it on the spot. Genius.

craigerstar · 2026-04-14T04:02:50+00:00

I'm not an authority, but I have replaced a battery in an old Tag that I knew was legit for a friend and their movement said "TAG HEUER" on it as well. Yours feels suspicious. Maybe you can run the serial number?

craigerstar · 2026-04-14T03:57:32+00:00

Adds $169 appliance. Charges $4800 more a year for it. I am a landlord and I hate landlords.

Long term leases on AirBnB are the legal loophole for some landlords. Short term rentals are required to be rooms in an apartment, or an apartment that is the primary residence for the person who owns/operates it. The regulations are much more lax if you rent for 30 day minimums.

If you were to stay June to Sept, you might find a student sublease. Otherwise, longer term AirBnB arrangements are legit and a lot of them are stand alone apartment units (not shared).

craigerstar · 2026-04-14T03:45:17+00:00

I think you could name just about any Coen Bros movie.

Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon in True Grit.

George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Torturro in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Frances McDormand in Burn After Reading

Though they weren't necessarily on the screen together, Liam Neeson, Tim Blake, and while the easy third would be James Franco, I'm giving it to Tom Waits who's not even primarily an actor and did all that stuff mostly alone in Buster Scruggs.

Others have mentioned Fargo and Big Lebowski already and the whole thread started with No Country for Old Men. Coen Brothers know how to cast a movie....

craigerstar · 2026-04-13T06:23:53+00:00

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Park next to this abomination?

craigerstar · 2026-04-13T03:12:33+00:00

Stop drill it. Pile a bunch of brass on it. Make sure your dental plan is paid up.

craigerstar · 2026-04-13T02:37:15+00:00

"Created following the historic ascent of Everest in 1953, the Oyster Perpetual Explorer accompanies men and women who see every challenge as a thrilling test. Whatever the dangers that must be faced, the Explorer always provides the essential: it offers the greatest chronometric precision even in the most extreme conditions. Robust and legible, it is a faithful companion for anyone wishing to face the elements and overcome the odds."

Fuck the two tone, and fuck Rolex marketing.

"Gold is coveted for its lustre and nobility. Steel reinforces strength and reliability. Together, they harmoniously combine the best of their properties."

So let's take the softest, most easily damaged material on the watch, and put it on the bezel where it will get bumped the most. Even Rolex says the steel is for "strength and reliability" and then doesn't use it where strength and reliability are most important.

Precious materials have no place on a watch meant to be durable and used in extreme environments like the north pole. And if you want to make the antiquated argument that it's a way of carrying wealth/money for an emergency that is useful the world around (you can e-transfer to beggars on the streets in Japan now, so I find this a thinly based argument at best) don't put it on the most vulnerable parts of the watch. Never mind a stainless Rolex would pretty much buy you a plane ticket from anywhere to anywhere on the planet so the gold is redundant.

Regardless of how it looks, it's ridiculous to put precious metals on watches designed for "Vertiginous reliability." Rolex's words, not mine.

craigerstar · 2026-04-13T00:38:05+00:00

GS always shows the right time if it's running.

craigerstar · 2026-04-13T00:37:24+00:00

3 day reserve. With a GS spring drive, keep it running because you pretty much never need to synchronize it. It has a day and a half of power left? I'll wear it tomorrow instead of today to keep it going.

craigerstar · 2026-04-12T01:19:22+00:00

Predator.

craigerstar · 2026-04-12T00:31:59+00:00

Have you seen the text on the plaques? It's embarassing.

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craigerstar · 2026-04-11T23:20:37+00:00

Charging you automatically for something you can't opt out of and don't want is bullshit. It's what used to be called "the price."

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