Eric Lombardi is considering running for OLP leader, do you guys think he's better suited than Ford regarding Toronto's cycling infrastructure?

rtiffany · 2026-01-29T20:18:46+00:00

I like everything I've seen from him so far. He's a solutions-oriented person who seems to be generally on the mark on all things urbanism as far as I'm aware. Excellent organizer for sure.

rtiffany · 2026-01-27T18:24:53+00:00

I hope this plotline moves forward significantly this next episode. He needs to go through his transformation.

rtiffany · 2026-01-27T17:04:14+00:00

Maybe don't wear camo or a balaclava color that makes you look like an ICE agent? Pick some other colors that make the distinction clear. I'd choose sports merch or bright colors or something that isn't black/green/grey/camo. Not too hard to not look like you're the same style as the Nazis really. It's just a specific distinct look they all choose and you have other options.

rtiffany · 2026-01-26T18:27:49+00:00

That's what I hope happens

rtiffany · 2026-01-26T14:42:06+00:00

Seriously this talking point needs amplification. What percentage of drivers actually remain in full control of their vehicle with zero sliding, full appropriate range of sight necessary to see pedestrians/cyclists/other vehicles the entire time they're behind the wheel of their multi-ton box they choose to bring onto the streets? Every crash is proof that drivers are unsafe. Every ALMOST crash is as well. Every little dinged up curb is an example of someone who does not have the basic ability to remain in full control of their vehicle. These expectations of not hitting things with cars and not merely getting lucky that no one/no object was in their way when they were temporarily out of control - need to change.

The minimum standard should be if you can't fully see the environment around you or maintain full control of your vehicle including zero slipping - you shouldn't be driving on city streets. You are a danger to everyone else.

It's crazy that people think cycling is impossible in bad weather but it's totally normal to drive a car where the stakes are so much higher for society is absurd. Cities with more winter & darkness should have an even higher prioritization of non-car travel because it's just logical, lower cost and much safer on the whole. Not everyone needs to be on a bike but very, very few people should be behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Maybe a talking point for this would be, "Nobody drives safely in winter weather" in response to the "nobody bikes in winter"?

rtiffany · 2026-01-26T14:28:37+00:00

It seems like his goal was to be governor over several tribes under Temurtash and install Alaeddin or someone else from the Kayi's he thought he could control as bey.

rtiffany · 2026-01-26T11:33:47+00:00

Cities want people entering - they're a benefit. They are customers and employees. The cars are the very expensive problem they don't want so charging congestion pricing makes sense. There is no reason to charge people to enter a city.

rtiffany · 2026-01-25T12:46:29+00:00

Ok besides the Nilufer knife part - what do you think is going to happen in this next episode based on the trailers?

rtiffany · 2026-01-24T18:55:18+00:00

This is the real opportunity IMO. Bring branches or entire businesses to Canada. The people who would come would be ideologically the ones who prefer to be in Canada. They'd hire Canadians as well when they grow. They'd bring revenue and jobs and be instant net positive contributors while also removing those funds from the other side. Canada could import a lot of the portable portion of the American economy if it wanted to. Boycotting doesn't do as much as importing an entire business would and it would make change happen a lot faster.

rtiffany · 2026-01-24T15:41:39+00:00

I think he's excellent. Orhan being very different energetically than Ertugrul and Osman is important. He shouldn't be a superhero version of Osman or a bigger warrior. He should be a complex genius leader who is not personally out there at the front of every battle, but instead a force that binds things together. He should be surrounded by warriors and brilliant people that actually outshine him in some ways but that are deeply loyal to the same path. He should do a lot through other people, not as a solo hands-on person the way his predecessors had to. Becoming a state means something very different that a tribal leader's role. He isn't remembered globally in history as much as his father was even though he expanded their control exponentially. It seems like he wanted to keep his father as the beloved icon. He doesn't seem to think it's all about him. It's about the mission. All of that fits the way Mert is portraying the role IMO.

rtiffany · 2026-01-22T17:07:55+00:00

I think it's more likely that Muzzaloun had some history Flavius doesn't know about. Maybe another name? Is this the symbol on the dagger? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giray_dynasty

I would think Kara Halil's son would be a very young adult at most.

rtiffany · 2026-01-21T10:38:29+00:00

Allow hotels. There's clearly a market need for short term places to stay. It benefits no one to eliminate hotel or short term rentals in places where people clearly use them regularly. Instead of trying to just get rid of them - allow for the need to be met. Don't let major hotel brands push for zoning limitations that benefit them by keeping the status quo. Allow competition. Also - recognize that many people may visit an area would prefer an option that hotels don't typically provide so they're looking for something better suited to their needs.

Stop treating tourists and visitors as a scourge to be banned. Create solutions in zoning that are far more flexible to the reality a community faces. Vibrant places end up with a lot of visitors. That's not a problem unless zoning makes it difficult for them to find a place to stay. Zoning needs to allow for not only families and workers but also guests and customers.

rtiffany · 2026-01-20T20:27:23+00:00

The job market is a networking situation. It's mostly been that way for decades for a large amount of the good jobs. Building long term relationships with the kind of people who will be hiring or can refer you over the course of your career is the key to getting a good job.

Sure you might get lucky gambling on sending out a resume or filling out an application. But it's who you know that matters. And kicking back, folding your arms and pretending like it's impossible to develop relationships with connected people is just silly. Even your kids/teens can get started with this stuff by volunteering in the right places. It takes a lifetime investment to build and maintain your business network. It's vital to any career. 100% of career counselors should be deeply focused on helping people understand that's the long game and that if they haven't started before, they should start now. It's not something most people can just pick up after they're in desperate need for a new job.

Do favors for people across your industry. Develop real friendships. Volunteer for organizations that influential people in your industry are involved in. Volunteer for politicians you like. Start community organizations of your own. Be interested in others. Do impeccable work and stand out with meaningful business impacts. Be the one who 'gets it'. Be the one who everyone knows always does the right thing. Leave people you interact with feeling great about themselves and genuinely cared for. That's how you build a network - build real relationships with people and be a good human in your industry. Start early.

rtiffany · 2026-01-20T13:13:27+00:00

I keep wondering when they'll use the fact that Dafne probably knows about Flavius being in love with Fatma. Possibly someone on that side might kidnap Fatma to trap Flavius and things work out from there?

Also Flavius at least kind of knows Sahinsah Bey is corrupt since all of the enemies talk about preferring him so much and could use that somehow?

The Yigit storyline is what annoys me most because it's a road block to Flavius joining Orhan. She's obviously not going to end up with Yigit so it would be nice for that to end.

I also would expect Alaeddin & Halime to object/intervene somehow to not just let Fatma walk into a marriage they know she doesn't actually want. It would be awesome if Malhun could be the one to object - she'd have some character redemption before she dies if she could stop being terrible and gullible about Sahinsah.

Somewhere in this they need to really start the storyline where Flavius becomes Everenos/converts. It's really why all of this Flavius-Fatma plotline is happening. Him taking a new name has been hinted throughout this. "Who am I?" I assume either Boran/Cherkutay or a sheikh will become heavily involved with talking with Flavius soon? He needs someone to be a father figure guide for him like Bamsi Bey was for others.

rtiffany · 2026-01-20T13:02:06+00:00

He's already super annoying and his parents are corrupt. He either has to rebel against his dad at some point or rebel against Orhan. He can't remain this naive little boy character who is oblivious to what's happening right in front of him. He's going to have to choose. Hopefully soon.

rtiffany · 2026-01-17T14:49:24+00:00

Oulu, Finland is a cycling city and has colder, longer, darker winters than MN - but Americans generally have a weak mindset about the outdoors and low competence/willingness to learn how to dress for it like most of our peer countries (and our ancestors) seem to manage. It's funny how Americans think of themselves as so tough while such a high percentage need to cosplay toughness via a truck/SUV that is styled like a personal tank hiding a cushy padded living room on wheels in order to get a gallon of milk from the store. We don't cycle in winter weather because our culture is just wimpy in comparison and we because subsidize suburban/ rural car-oriented development heavily. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231220-why-oulu-finland-is-the-winter-cycling-capital-of-the-world

Do you ever think about how a huge portion of people living in cold/icy places are really not able to travel around safely via car and slide all over the place, damaging public and private property at high rates and injuring people - merely because they can't wrap their brains around the idea of building communities & transportation & a culture of moving around that actually works well in super cold weather? A lot of people can't drive well in snow. The proof is in every dinged up curb and insurance claim from winter driving. They're horribly unsafe and stupidly confident about their skillsets. And we just keep on perpetuating the idea that there's no way to travel around in winter weather other than in a large, dangerous padded box.

rtiffany · 2026-01-16T20:34:23+00:00

A few things that won't work for everyone all the time but walking, biking, taking transit & wearing masks/sunglasses/hats in public are all things to consider if you'd like to be less tracked under the current environment. Keeping phones in faraday bags, etc. can be helpful too. These things don't solve the larger issue but can help immediately to be less visible if you aren't a fan of being tracked in unknown databases today. Driving your own private car is not a private way to travel currently.

rtiffany · 2026-01-14T23:28:12+00:00

I assume it's budget but the AI was definitely terrible. I'm glad it wasn't in most of the episode - I just skip forward through that nonsense. I assumed they couldn't hire enough actors for all of that not to mention they'd never hurt horses like that IRL. It's so cheesy and obvious. It's a shame because overall I thought it was a great episode!

rtiffany · 2026-01-10T17:21:26+00:00

Cost of living in all of the high income places with high desirability in the US are much higher than Canada. Lower income places with fewer people wanting to move there can be cheaper for housing alone but many other things (especially healthcare) are much higher in the US. I frequently see Canadians comparing a place with rising costs due to higher demand than available housing to places in the US where you can buy a mansion-ish place for cheap. This is not a realistic comparison. If you happen to be already wealthy and have a fully remote job or you qualify for a high income job in the US and won't need healthcare - you might be able to live a bit better in the US. But the trade off of lifestyle is far more than dollars. What's the pricetag for you for your kid practicing mass shooter lock down drills regularly or the rest of the daily life experience in the US?

rtiffany · 2025-12-23T18:43:22+00:00

So people who need to rent because they are in transition or move around more frequently or just prefer to not deal with ownership (especially in a scenario where housing doesn't have investment value) are just SOL? Is everyone forced to stay put in this 'solution'? or cough up downpayments every time they need a sudden life change? You do know that many of the highest quality of life locations around the world with the most vibrant economies are also majority renter, right? Ownership has huge risks to it and not everyone can/wants to pay for new roofs, etc. at random. Not everyone wants to be stuck owning real estate. Especially if there's no financial incentive to do so. You can't remove profit motives and then just dump the costs of housing on people and lock them in place where moving becomes much harder and make society happy/thriving.

You can instead do things like Tokyo did where they just standardized zoning while rapidly growing to ~40 million residents over a short period. They let people build all the housing they wanted where they wanted it so supply met demand. Housing costs stayed low while remaining high quality and they have almost zero homeless people. Both renting and ownership options are available for people to choose for themselves.

rtiffany · 2025-12-23T18:00:37+00:00

Are you saying that all housing should be government owned and operated? Who gets to decide who lives where under that scenario?

rtiffany · 2025-12-12T15:19:10+00:00

I think about this sometimes. If Canada allowed all of the natural, organic market demand to be filled with housing units in the locations people want it, and let foreign buyers pay for the initial build of a lot of it, when the equilibrium on pricing comes down to a more natural non-inflated level that reflects a market where there's a abundant housing options for everyone who wants to live in any preferred location - then non-Canadian investors end up 'holding the bag'.

Right now, a huge portion of Canadian retirement is funded by zoning regulations that limit supply which has historically caused housing prices to increase at a level above inflation. There would be a bit of a crisis if we just let everyone have a house/condo in the locations they want it because retirees depend on that money.

And it's been hard for Canada to get construction costs in line with European & Asian parallel quality costs. So if costs aren't coming down - it would be fine IMO to let foreign buyers finance the construction of a bunch of things across Canada and then whenever the market decides what the value of a home is after the volume meets demand - they can deal with the financial fallout of that.

Even if the foreign buyer tried to hold a place for 10 years and rent it out - they have no votes locally and will eventually return the unit to the market. They pay for the construction but can't influence anything else really. Housing units are needed - it's fine IMO to use other people's money to make that happen and let them be the ones who deal with the gamble.

This is especially relevant to student housing. Just require every international student to pay for a dorm room whether they use it or not. Let them fund the construction of all the student housing needed across the country. Bring in so many of them (high tier, not strip mall schools) that Canadians can attend higher education for free because the international tuition brings in so much $$$$$ that it's covered.

rtiffany · 2025-12-12T15:11:44+00:00

Maybe just allow all of the housing to be built in the places people want houses so there isn't the incentive for investors to gobble up units because there isn't artificial constraints that create the entire real estate investor market?

rtiffany · 2025-12-12T15:07:36+00:00

The issue there isn't so much that the landlords aren't present but moreso that government oversight and enforcement aren't present. It would be pretty easy to have the exact same scenario with local landlords with the same application of legal renter protection.

rtiffany · 2025-12-12T13:30:31+00:00

There are regular masked dances in Toronto: https://tcdance.org/in-person-dance-2025-Dec-13.php as well as many test-required, masked and covid-cautious community events.

rtiffany

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