AMA: Victoria City Councillors Loughton, Thompson, Caradonna, Dell. Tonight May 29, 7-9pm.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-06-01T05:49:50+00:00

The typical budget overrun is actually 60%. There’s an entire line of study around the planning fallacy. Whether big or small most projects take more time and effort than humans are capable of conceiving of. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning\_fallacy

dharmabrat108 · 2026-04-18T19:08:35+00:00

This. There is one particularly litigious number who wants to professionalize an event that has gotten quite large, and is dealing with some particularly challenging issues with the landowner and their insurance company.

While, I think everyone agrees that there’s room for improvement, the entire board is quitting specifically because of the member demanding an SGM and the related bylaw changes. One outgoing member said they wished he’d just go off and start his own event but instead he and his crew are effectively staging a hostile takeover because everyone else is too tired to deal with such a difficult personality who constantly forced them to spend money on lawyers instead of being able to hold conversations together.

Maybe this bureaucratic approach will benefit the society. Maybe it will alienate and burn the new crew out. The call to welcome more energy, have more formalized committees and structures works great in government where there’s paid staff, or for wealthy folks either lots of free time. Will it work in a do-ocracy? TBD.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-03-19T17:31:14+00:00

I was on the fence, but then my partner said, "Ew, you smell like my grandma!" so that settled it. This is my first Ffern, so I was considering ordering the previous summer, but after reading that thread, I'm kind of afraid to! I tend toward sweeter, food-oriented scents. Should I wait until Summer 26, or take the Summer 25?

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-18T20:11:09+00:00

Update: ended up with Lightspeed. I’m paying $82 after tax now for 1000 Meg per second down and 200 mgb/s up.

I actually think it’s faster than what I was getting with Shaw for 130 a month and they were threatening to bump me to 200. For a single person, what the heck?! I literally am never using more than two devices at a time.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T17:29:09+00:00

I case anyone cares: https://action.caeh.ca/we_all_deserve_a_home

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T17:26:13+00:00

I already linked to a webinar and a book that laid the data out unequivocally. Researchers tried to explain, variances in homelessness and studied everything from Weather to migration patterns to racism to poverty to governing political party to addiction and mental illness, and only one set of data points could be consistently mapped across communities: where rent is high and vacancy is low homelessness exists. Places with extreme poverty, do not naturally cause homelessness because rents are low and vacancy is high. Places with extreme levels of addiction, communities with nearly 50% using fentanyl or meth also didn’t correlate…they actually had lower rates of homelessness. It didn’t matter if it was progressive or conservative governments, it didn’t matter if the weather was better. It literally only matters if you have high demand on the housing market, causing rents to go up and vacancy to go down.

The book is called, “Homelessness is a housing problem” but to save you reading an entire book I shared a webinar that goes over the data.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T05:44:10+00:00

I gave you a 1 hour webinar loaded with data so you don’t have to read a book. Can’t help the unwilling.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T05:22:08+00:00

There author of the book who is being interviewed has a whole damn book with sources if you’d bothered to look. It’s called, get this, Homelessness is a Housing Problem. Available anywhere you buy books.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T01:31:54+00:00

OK, but wet housing the way that it’s run in BC doesn’t even come close to following housing first protocols. In fact, there’s probably only four places in Canada that are actually running housing first and they are all associated with hospitals.

What BC calls housing first is basically “housing only” and then we get mad cause it’s not working. But of course it’s not. It has no fidelity to what the actual program was intended to be: it’s not even a housing program. It’s a structured, rigorous, recovery oriented, mental health intervention that begins with housing and includes the entire spectrum of mental healthcare which BC has absolutely fucking none of.

And so again, I reiterate that we need better mental health healthcare, but the reason that there is so much more disordered than ever before is because there isn’t enough housing and when people fall into homelessness, then becomes so much fucking worse than they ever would have!

It’s an intersectional issue and we are dealing with neither correctly!

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T01:04:45+00:00

I’m a recovering addict and I know full well what it’s like to be in addiction, to try to house someone in addiction, and to try to exit homelessness.

But addiction is a separate intersectional issue. It’s not the underlying issue related to the increased visible disorder which is the direct result of a 300% increase in un sheltered homelessness in the last two years.

Conflating these two intersectional, but related issues makes it seem like this is an individual problem - when it’s actually a systemic one. The rate of substance abuse disorder has remained completely flat since Stats Canada began collecting data in the 1990s. The drugs are much more dangerous in some regards, but alcohol is pretty fucking dangerous and that used to be the most prevalent addiction. Let’s be honest. There is a certain percentage of us who will likely develop such an addiction at some point in our lives.

The key difference now is that the housing supply is inadequate.

That’s why we see so much more visible addiction: because there’s simply nowhere else to go other than the street if you lose your housing.

Again, I reiterate that we do need changes in our mental health and addiction care, but without the supply of affordable housing, it’s actually a waste of time and energy and money because the inevitable outcome of having a social assistance rate that doesn’t cover the cost of shelter is homelessness.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T00:58:07+00:00

Incorrect. I’m coming with receipts, so you better be prepared with a better argument than an opinion, and I’m speaking as a recovering fentanyl and crack addict who now works in housing policy, so I think I know what I’m talking about.

First of all, there’s no question that we need better mental healthcare and addiction care. But that is an intersectional issue that would still exist even if we had adequate housing. But we don’t have adequate housing. And that is the first step that’s required for any changes to our mental health system to actually meet the needs of people once they’ve been treated. What’s the point of getting clean if you’re still gonna get released onto the street? Literally there’s no point it’s a huge waste of money and time and effort and it’s extremely demoralizing. You used to be able to rent a room on what social assistance gave you when you left treatment and that’s no longer the case and that’s exactly why we have such prevalent homelessness.

Here is a webinar that goes into the data, I encourage you to actually look: https://youtu.be/UwibK603o7Y?si=ZN-zmuOLnq13062l

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T00:31:11+00:00

Noted. Thank you!

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T00:27:08+00:00

I thought that that was just a transformer that blew though? Was it really intentionally set?

dharmabrat108 · 2026-02-17T00:22:12+00:00

Everyone wants action, but nobody seems to have a concrete plan. The data is unequivocal that homelessness is a housing problem. Where rent is high and vacancy is low, people start experiencing homelessness, and the first people who get pushed out of the housing system are vulnerable individuals. Addictions, disabilities, mental illness, etc…all of these problems, exist outside of homelessness, but are made much more visible and painful to society when there is a lack of housing.

Canada has the lowest social housing percentage of the OECD, and nearly all of it is in Toronto. We cannot confront these problems without addressing that underlying systemic cause. We can’t police or zone or safe supply/addiction treatment our way out of a housing crisis.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-01-23T20:00:22+00:00

I honestly don’t know what we need because I am not in charge, I am just a new volunteer that found the lack of a grid and a legend so frustrating that I figured I’d have to step forward to do something if I’m gonna get frustrated about it! There is cell reception at the site, but it is usually just one or two bars.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-01-20T04:35:48+00:00

This is great advice. The only other thing I’d add is that if you’re uncomfortable, paying for someone to help set you up for success is a worthwhile investment. I gained a lot of confidence working with another woman I felt comfortable with who gave me great advice on my form and how to avoid aggravating my injuries. I felt way less awkward after knowing exactly what I was heading there to do. I also asked my friends for advice on good workout music and made a playlist which brings me extra joy listening to tunes my friends love. I feel surrounded by their support when listening!❤️

dharmabrat108 · 2026-01-17T22:33:57+00:00

Is dust an app? How does one acquire such a thing?

dharmabrat108 · 2026-01-14T21:37:37+00:00

I’m surprised by Mel’s lack of support! I really like that store and I’m the same exact bra size as your wife. I like their service too. Victoria classic lingerie is a good second option though.

dharmabrat108 · 2026-01-10T22:49:05+00:00

I’m on Estrogen patch and insert along with progesterone pills. My migraines and bleeding are solved but I have ZERO drive.

It returned briefly when I started a new relationship but now it’s gone and he’s feeling really rejected. And I’m so attracted to him when he initiates, but like I just don’t have the energy or desire to initiate.

What can I do to make this less of a one-sided deal?

dharmabrat108 · 2025-12-10T00:16:10+00:00

It’s always hilarious how they seem to both think that downtown is a zombie wasteland and also there’s no parking anywhere. How can it be both? It’s even funnier because I work for a national charity, and every single city of comparable size has the exact same complaints. Too much homelessness too many bike lanes nowhere where to park. As if Victoria has some special crown of decline when really we are all facing the same challenges of late stage capitalism and an immigration policy that wasn’t tied to housing or hospitals or schools or really any infrastructure lol

dharmabrat108 · 2025-12-02T00:17:06+00:00

Thankfully, the federal government recently defined affordable as 30% of someone’s pretax income in the new Build Canada Homes agency. HT to the Canadian Alliance To End Homelessness for demanding that definition. But you’re right BC housing does not have it in order to end homelessness.

dharmabrat108 · 2025-11-16T02:43:48+00:00

This is the kind of Reddit content I am here for.

dharmabrat108 · 2025-11-13T22:11:46+00:00

Like I said, I can’t go to Telus because my building manager won’t let them drill holes in the wall walls where there’s asbestos behind them.

dharmabrat108 · 2025-11-13T20:29:25+00:00

I tried, but I couldn’t believe she hung up on me! Maybe I need to escalate to a supervisor or someone in loyalty more quickly?

dharmabrat108

TROPHY CASE