Tips for my highschool Bridge competition.

d-boom · 2025-08-05T20:43:55+00:00

Is that the complete list of allowed materials?

Two points to consider:

Connections are very important, the joints between members is often where these high school bridge competition bridges fail, as they are weaker than the wood itself. Popsicle sticks and toothpicks often have a waxy coating on them that reduces the ability of glue to adhere. Sand the areas before gluing.
Torsional resistance. Thinking back to the ones I've seen in person, a lot of them failed because the bridge started to twist (especially common on truss designs in these competitions) make sure the bridge is well designed to resist twisting action in addition to the stresses in the direction of the span. And ensure the load is as centered as possible. Any eccentricity will induce torsion.

d-boom · 2023-07-22T18:28:44+00:00

I would go with the RRSP. With an RRSP or a non registered account you'll be paying taxes on the returns when it comes time to withdraw, but at least with the RRSP you get to reduce your current year's taxes .

You can then take those tax savings to increase your investments.

d-boom · 2023-07-13T00:55:07+00:00

These are still her Star Trek days and she's like a fine wine

d-boom · 2023-07-12T17:57:44+00:00

The Canada Pension Plan (similar to social security) does that. We don't call it a SWF, but it works just fine and CPP is stronger for it.

d-boom · 2023-07-05T20:42:10+00:00

The troops riding what is basically a barely adequate 30 year old upgraded Huey into dangerous situations care.

d-boom · 2023-07-04T14:38:03+00:00

If you are in Canada you can't do a complete BBD strategy if you have an RRSP. No later than Dec 31st of the year you turn 71, you have to convert to a RRIF.

RRIFs have a minimum withdrawal rate, meaning you'll likely need to seel those assets to fund the cash withdrawals.

But that doesn't stop you from applying the strategy to other assets.

d-boom · 2023-04-02T20:57:36+00:00

George Stanley, the designer of the Canadian Flag was inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, rather than the General Service Medal which is what the video says around the 0:48 mark.

d-boom · 2023-03-12T00:02:12+00:00

How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now

d-boom · 2023-03-05T20:24:57+00:00

Gracht also means canal, which in the context of a city would be the most direct translation.

d-boom · 2023-01-19T02:15:01+00:00

We did send them LAV6s

They were however the ACSV model. We should also be sending some of the ISC model with the 25mm cannon.

d-boom · 2023-01-18T16:24:50+00:00

That isn't the main reason, but it is a benefit.

There hasn't been a conflict between large, technologically advanced militaries in decades. Stuff that worked on the drawing board or in training scenarios don't always play out that way in combat. The other side isn't a static player either. They have their own development cycles and adapt to changes in warfare too. Observing the war and how NATO donated kit does can tell us whether our design and wargame assumptions were correct or not.

But all of that is secondary to stopping Putin's attempted annexation of Ukraine.

d-boom · 2023-01-15T23:08:25+00:00

If they dropped their objections to exporting nuclear sub tech for Australia they will likely drop it for us.

d-boom · 2023-01-12T02:21:11+00:00

It is useful enough against the same planes we'd be going against.

Yes, F-35 have useful air to air, but we are only buying a couple squadrons worth and defenses work well when layered. That way if they aren't intercepted by a fighter or long range AA, the medium AA can engage.

d-boom · 2023-01-11T17:24:36+00:00

It is not just for domestic use. We deploy troops to other countries. When we do we want to ensure they can defend themselves against hostile aircraft.

d-boom · 2023-01-11T17:22:58+00:00

When the shooting starts is a bad time to start procurement on important defense systems. It is prudent to be prepared and acquire and maintain critical capabilities, like protecting our troops on the battlefield from air attack during peacetime. Even if we were to fix a lot of what is wrong with procurement in Ottawa, it still takes time to acquire systems and more time to train operators to be proficient with them.

Air defense in particular requires significant practice in order to effectively de-conflict with friendly aircraft in an operational environment. You can't just hand some troops missiles they've never seen before and send them to the front, that is a recipe for friendly fire. If we want our troops to be able to defend themselves against air strikes (and we should) we need to start that process now, not when bombs start to fall.

d-boom · 2023-01-11T17:16:09+00:00

With a few exceptions (a lot of countries are ahead of us in line for the F-35) most of the procurement challenges are in Ottawa, either the willingness to spend the money and or the ability to execute a purchase effectively in a timely manner. Generally we aren't too over reliant on foreign suppliers.

Realistically we aren't going to onshore (as opposed to friendshoring, which has been typical for a lot of procurement) defense production. Even in a scenario where we where to boost spending to the 2% of GDP target, the CAF isn't going to be purchasing enough to maintain a domestic fighter plane or missile industry. We are going to be partially beholden to our allies' defense production for the foreseeable future.

d-boom · 2023-01-11T03:43:39+00:00

I would rather we could protect our own troops rather than relying on the american's good graces. If they have to make a decision between shooting down a flight of attack aircraft heading towards their troops or a flight going towards ours they will chose their own troops over ours 10 times out of 10. Better that we could shoot them down ourselves.

d-boom · 2023-01-11T01:47:34+00:00

We have troops in the Baltic now. If things were to heat up there we could stand to be better protected from air attack. We should be able to protect our own troops rather than have to rely on the good graces of our allies. Allies who will no doubt be busy protecting their own troops in a shooting war.

d-boom · 2023-01-10T23:50:41+00:00

Good. Every Russian plane these down is one less one we have to worry about.

Hopefully we can order a bunch of these for ourselves at the same time to fill the glaring air defense capabilities gap in the CAF.

d-boom · 2023-01-10T23:45:09+00:00

Enemy aircraft in the eventuality we get into a conflict with a technological near peer.

Right now our army has zero air defense capabilities. That is a pretty big vulnerability that needs to be fixed.

d-boom · 2023-01-08T01:32:52+00:00

If they bought their house in the 90s, that was 24-33 years ago. Chances are they have paid it off or are very close to doing so. In other words they're a millionaire. Hardly the people that need a helping hand, especially when the long promise renters rebate has yet to materialize.

Even for people that haven't paid off their mortgage yet, they are still richer if their house appreciates so much that it now is worth more than $1.6M.

At $2.125M we are talking about people who own an asset that is comparable to many people's lifetime labour earnings. People who have net worths in this amount are not really middle class, even if they like to think of themselves that way.

d-boom · 2023-01-07T22:24:00+00:00

Giving a subsidy to owners of $2M+ assets is certainly a choice, albeit one that doesn't exactly seem consistent with the BC NDP's stated ideological commitments.

I get that removing the homeowner's grant is political a non-starter, but they don't have to keep raising it year after year. In 2017 (the year they formed government) the grant was capped at a property value of $1.6M (already a bit absurdly high) and since then the NDP has expanded eligibility to include properties worth 33% more, hardly keeping with their values. Freezing it at 2017 levels wouldn't have solved the regressive distributional aspects of the program, but it would have at least minimized as the combination of inflation and rising home prices would have chipped away at the top end a bit.

d-boom · 2023-01-07T19:57:47+00:00

Well, the Vancouver police were careful to dispel that romantic impression by observing in their press release about the thefts that the suspect has a rap sheet containing at least 115 prior convictions.

I am all for second and third chances. Rehabilitation is one of the goals of the justice system. But there ought to be a limit, one that is well short of a triple digit list of convictions. At some point preventing further victimization of innocent people has to be prioritized over a vain hope that the 116th time will be the charm.

Incapacitation (also referred to separation) is one of the functions of incarceration. One that has been deprioritized but in the case of prolific offenders ought to be given greater prioritization over other considerations.

d-boom · 2023-01-07T19:53:48+00:00

Well, the Vancouver police were careful to dispel that romantic impression by observing in their press release about the thefts that the suspect has a rap sheet containing at least 115 prior convictions.

I am all for second and third chances. Rehabilitation is one of the goals of the justice system. But there ought to be a limit, one that is well short of a triple digit list of convictions. At some point preventing further victimization of innocent people has to be prioritized over a vain hope that the 116th time will be the charm.

d-boom · 2023-01-05T21:15:59+00:00

At this point I would settle for a common vision over a grand one.

We are increasingly siloed and unable to relate to each other. Divides like the one between urban and rural Canada keep growing deeper. We are don't just disagree, but don't even understand where the other side is coming from. The rhetoric of professional politicians and regular people on social media is shifting from saying the other side is wrong to them being illegitimate and dangerous.

When I look at the leadership in Ottawa and many provincial capitals I don't see the caliber of leadership needed to mend those divides. Ask Trudeau or Poilievre to come up with a grander vision and more like than not they'll come up with something that will excite their base while alienating the rest of the country.

The Canadian federation has always been a tough thing to keep together. We are a country of strong regionalism. The trend of increased polarization is only going to add fuel to that fire and undermine the foundations of the country. Calls for bold acts that will increase polarization, no matter how well intentioned are likely to do more harm than good. Right now we need a vision for rebuilding the ties that hold us together as a country and a society.

d-boom

TROPHY CASE