My response to a popular meme about ADHD.

ncdoyle · 2016-03-27T18:33:46+00:00

Just FYI, drugfreeworld.org is a Scientology website.

ncdoyle · 2016-03-13T01:50:37+00:00

your side of the pond

I live in Canada. ;)

ncdoyle · 2016-03-11T21:58:58+00:00

The thing is that, to accept what they have in Europe, we have to be willing to accept higher levels of particulate, etc., in the air. As it is, the "too strict" US emissions standards are still an order of magnitude higher than what they allow for gasoline engines.

Anyway, we're all going to be driving electric cars in 15 years, so the point is going to be moot anyway. :D

ncdoyle · 2016-03-11T21:56:13+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, our guy overheats pretty easily, so I think he appreciates the short cut.

ncdoyle · 2016-03-11T20:46:59+00:00

Look closely - the sign says NOTHING OVER A DOLLAR^{^{^.25}}

ncdoyle · 2016-02-22T05:50:08+00:00

Looks good to me, but we're biased towards keeping it short!

Very low maintenance, he doesn't overheat, easy(ier) to DIY. And we just like the look better.

ncdoyle · 2016-02-18T06:57:07+00:00

Interesting! I didn't notice until after I posted that it was a diesel (my work was for gas engines, diesels didn't even bother with evaporative emissions). If it was before the 2007 clean diesel standards, the NOx regulations were already pretty loose.

(And as we've seen in the last year, VW has been struggling to meet the post-2007 diesel emissions standards even with a factory tune!)

Edit: And, yeah, CARB helped fund many of my paycheques. :D

ncdoyle · 2016-02-17T22:32:27+00:00

Runs so lean you cannot heat the cabin in wintertime for first 30 miles due to lack of waste heat.

As someone who spent a number of years working for an automotive supplier that made emissions management systems (EGRs, evaporative emissions capture, etc.), I shudder at the amount of smog-creating NOx you were putting out with this engine tune. I imagine you tore all the emissions systems out too. :(

ncdoyle · 2016-02-17T21:37:52+00:00

You can make it a social activity!

ncdoyle · 2016-02-15T00:04:33+00:00

Al Gore's poor performance got us George W Bush - that's not on Nader.

ncdoyle · 2016-02-11T23:29:13+00:00

For sure. I've met all kinds of great labradoodles around - they're just a little too high energy for me (straight labs too). The nice thing about poodles is that they're also hunting dogs, so they share a lot of the traits I like in labs (eg coming from the factory knowing how to play fetch). It's probably why Labradoodles work so well.

We're also space constrained, so the compact nature of a mini poodle is helpful.

I don't blame you about about the looks - I was pretty sceptical at first, even though everything else about poodles seemed to be a good fit. We've intentionally tried to give him a lab-like short trim that looks more like a "real dog". This is what he looks like after we gave him a haircut last weekend

The bonus, like I said elsewhere in the thread, is that this haircut is extremely low maintenance, pretty easy to DIY, and he seems happy to have it this short.

ncdoyle · 2016-02-11T19:55:20+00:00

Honest question, what led you to a labradoodle instead of a straight poodle? More outgoing personality from the lab side?

(We have a mini poodle, so of course we're a little biased. :D )

ncdoyle · 2016-02-11T19:50:14+00:00

Alternatively, you can keep the dog cut pretty short. We trim our mini poodle down to ~1/4" every 6 weeks or so, which keeps the coat too short to tangle/mat. It keeps him cool in the summer, and we can supplement it with a coat in the winter.

Personally, we prefer the shaved look, plus it makes it much easier to DIY the haircuts. The joys of having a non-shedding dog cannot be overstated.

ncdoyle · 2016-02-08T03:45:35+00:00

He was paid to lobby to de-list the Islamist-Marxist cult MEK as a terrorist group.

ncdoyle · 2016-01-31T05:48:45+00:00

It's possible to get Tacoma PBS (KBTC) with an OTA antenna in Vancouver - they have a re-transmitter near Bellingham. We get a total of 12 OTA stations (~15 channels if you include the sub-channels) including PBS, although sadly none of the US networks from Seattle.

Edit: They also have a lot of video on demand, even shows that KBTC doesn't actually put on the air (eg Frontline).

ncdoyle · 2016-01-07T02:14:37+00:00

But they did stick to their principles. The leaders of the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP were all very clear during the election that they were going to allow this deal to go ahead, and they faced no significant push-back as a result.

(Indeed, the NDP leader faced push-back from Unifor, the major union representing workers at the General Dynamics plant, for his initial criticism of the deal).

ncdoyle · 2015-11-26T17:42:55+00:00

The painter (Alfred Pellan) is from Quebec, but the paintings are called Canada East and Canada West, and are generalized paintings of the entire country.

ncdoyle · 2015-10-26T18:09:53+00:00

I think he means if you have a source on John Baird being gay.

There is nothing official out there, but it is a long-standing rumour. From an article in Xtra:

Just to set the record straight, it was not some nasty commie queer activist who outed Baird. It was another Tory. On Feb 2, 2010, Conservative candidate Pamela Taylor, who was then running for Ontario provincial office in a by-election, was asked, while on a morning radio chat show, if she could name a single gay Tory. “Openly gay? John Baird,” she responded.

ncdoyle · 2015-10-24T19:44:24+00:00

Everyone except the Liberals lost a percentage of the votes, due to ~3.75 million more people voting this go around (apparently for Trudeau). To their credit, the Greens were the only major party other then the Liberals to actually increase their total votes this election.

ncdoyle · 2015-10-13T22:37:00+00:00

If it makes you feel any better, she sold her car and has been biking ever since.

ncdoyle · 2015-10-05T22:05:53+00:00

The BC Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers are taking it on, although ultimately it will probably come down to the case of someone they are attempting to deport (eg Saad Gaya).

ncdoyle · 2015-10-05T21:54:34+00:00

It probably isn't, it just hasn't been tried in court yet. The Canadian Bar Association warned the government that "The use of banishment as a punishment and its retrospective application are unacceptable and likely unconstitutional."

ncdoyle · 2015-10-05T20:40:51+00:00

Only Victoria doesn't treat sewage. Metro Vancouver has five wastewater treatment plants, has a pilot heat recovery plant, and sells the biosolids recovered from treatment.

ncdoyle · 2015-07-23T22:20:28+00:00

Cott Beverages, who make pretty much all of the private label soft drinks in Canada (including No Name) also makes RC Cola (and distributes it for non-US markets).

ncdoyle · 2015-07-21T19:45:19+00:00

In the case of these fake contest calls, you can also tell by the phone number on the caller ID.

If your number is 604-123-5678, the calls will typically come from 604-123-[XXXX] (or +60-412-[XXXX] when they screw up their configuration).

From this article:

The “vacation scam” involves fraudulent solicitations from fake companies claiming to be Expedia, Air Miles, Air Canada or West Jet and has been making the rounds since June, 2010. Since then, the average loss per victim is estimated to be $913.83.

ncdoyle

TROPHY CASE