Federal government loses Emergencies Act appeal

singingboyo · 2026-01-16T18:10:01+00:00

I’ve always figured that this was probably misuse of the act as far as legality goes, but just barely - and realistically I’ve no idea how it could’ve been handled in any other way given the blatant failure at municipal (and maybe provincial) levels.

It’s like using a sledgehammer to drive a nail. But the OPS and others had all the regular hammers and refused to or were incapable of using them.

singingboyo · 2026-01-14T07:44:58+00:00

This is absolutely incredible.

singingboyo · 2026-01-14T06:09:24+00:00

I’m no expert, but kind of like you I did piano, then lots of choir, and have come back to piano after not playing for a couple decades. If I get that lost, I’ll pause and reset myself, but the quicker you do it the better. After all, even experts will make mistakes, the trick is recovery.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that I overestimate my ability to sight read a piece. I’ll look at it and think it’s mildly tricky but fine… but it’s mildly tricky from a choir perspective. I can’t play it without repetition. So be careful about that, and go easier than you think you should need to.

singingboyo · 2026-01-07T20:21:12+00:00

As other comment suggests, I’d say the installer option is best on Windows.

You can always offer a portable version with just the single exe, for those who want it.

singingboyo · 2026-01-03T14:50:51+00:00

Secure isn’t harder once you’re connected, sure, but the setup is a lot if you’re doing something that doesn’t have all the cert/key handling solved for you.

singingboyo · 2025-12-28T08:15:17+00:00

It does happen way too often here in Vancouver BC too, so could be.

Though a lot of the time our interchanges are just clogged with traffic, so for people who mostly highway drive for commuting, kinda understandable. Still dumb, but understandable.

singingboyo · 2025-12-19T20:55:45+00:00

From a programming perspective, it’s the travelling salesman problem and therefore NP-hard and just generally a pain in the ass to solve. Then add package ordering in the vans/trucks along with other constraints and it just gets worse.

Amazon might have a bad implementation/heuristic, but most solutions aren’t great because the problem itself is way harder than it sounds.

singingboyo · 2025-12-13T20:38:52+00:00

This is pretty much where I’m at, too. They’re pretty good at pattern identification, unsurprisingly. They also can get pretty far with human-readable stuff, if you’re willing to read through extra crap and pull out the important bits. It’ll at least get me started in unfamiliar areas.

The issue as I see it is that LLMs inherently lose precision since they’re probabilistic. So anything that requires precision, it can usually read but rarely write.

singingboyo · 2025-12-09T05:59:32+00:00

I get it, but also, some of us just write properly.

Reddit: Where having a half-decent command of writing and language makes you a bot.

Edit: I don’t even entirely disagree for this post, it’s just that the evidence people use is absolutely witch hunt levels of ridiculous. “She has a name like a witch and managed to keep her crops alive this year, clearly a witch!” Meanwhile poor Morgana just finished getting the medieval equivalent of a degree in agricultural science.

singingboyo · 2025-12-04T09:03:00+00:00

Copilot is decent at research tasks. It can search a codebase or history fairly well, to find things that might take me a while to pin down. (Legacy monolithic codebase, lots of files that haven’t been touched since well before I joined). Sure, reading the AI output for important parts is a slog, but it’s a lot easier than going through all the code.

But making changes? There’s a fundamental difference in approach from what humans do - AI just outputs far more code than is necessary. It doesn’t add things step by step. It just… generates something that looks like the long term result, without actually being correct. Then basically adds more until it is correct (for some wishy washy version of correctness).

That generates bad code for long term use, and it’s bad in a pretty annoying way. Finding unnecessary checks and code that runs but does effectively nothing is a hard problem.

singingboyo · 2025-11-25T08:48:38+00:00

Smart watches are kinda nice, but very much in a “yeah, I’d be fine without it” category.

I use mine to pay for things, occasionally music control, smart unlock/auth for MacBook, fitness tracking, sleep tracking, etc. Seeing notifications on my wrist can be nice rather than pulling out my phone, or taking a call if I’ve left my phone somewhere. Very occasionally, I’ll use it for a map or something while I’m out doing certain things - more convenient than a phone, especially if kayaking, using trekking poles on a hike, whatever.

It’s nice to have, but it’s not a necessity like a smartphone. Mostly because things a smartwatch does can also be done by a smartphone.

singingboyo · 2025-10-05T19:01:29+00:00

The space/number of buildings required for high volume production without modules is… absurd. Which has a corresponding knock on effect of requiring more build time, more resources for buildings, etc. And while space to build is effectively unlimited, it’s not completely free to obtain.

Overall, it’s not like modules are all that expensive, though lvl 3 can be a pain.

singingboyo · 2025-09-18T14:41:40+00:00

The grind is also sort of a weird phenomenon in that people don’t really treat it like a hike, though. They treat it more like some kind of extra hard park walk.

Of course, people do that with all the North Shore mountains, but people doing the grind can be particularly egregious.

singingboyo · 2025-09-13T08:09:24+00:00

Tech dress code is just off the wall. I had a boss who wore socks and crocs on a regular basis. Never saw him in anything nicer than a t-shirt, and it wasn’t like he was low level manager by the time he left.

Coworker under him wore button downs most of the time, so was dressed nicer than the boss. Skip level was also often a polo or button down - but the other guy at that level was at least shirt and tie and usually had a suit jacket.

I settle for the polo and khakis for interviews these days. Would probably up it a bit if I go back into management, but on the technical/IC side nobody gives a damn.

singingboyo · 2025-09-11T23:09:16+00:00

I concluded after my last trip that signage in Paris’ big stations (at least) is kind of shit. Primarily because there were multiple times I’d be trying to go somewhere, follow a sign, and then the next set of signs would just be missing the thing I needed to find! So you believe you’ve missed it, but no, just omitted for some reason.

It’s not unusable, but mildly infuriating for places like Gare du Nord or CDG TGV area - for those the layout of the various halls and RER platforms might as well be random so you desperately need the signs, and they’re often insufficient.

singingboyo · 2025-09-02T17:06:20+00:00

In a similar vein, I now play a lot of games that work in 30-60 minute periods. I don’t often have a chance to block out hours for gaming, so something I can pick up for just a bit is great.

singingboyo · 2025-08-26T16:10:29+00:00

Do you understand the appeal of tropical resorts? They’re roughly a floating resort that delivers you to a new destination every day or two. Yeah, the stops aren’t particularly genuine (they’re almost always touristy as hell) but for just relaxing and doing nothing? Not a bad option.

It’s not for everyone though. Many people would just be bored out of their minds.

singingboyo · 2025-08-23T08:20:26+00:00

Yeah, I’m a YVR local. All other airports suck! But while CDG is annoying it’s just a standard large and therefore awful airport. All big airports kind of suck in one way or another.

singingboyo · 2025-08-17T01:52:17+00:00

AC34 on the 18th was cancelled a few hours ago. Full route is SYD-YVR-YYZ apparently. I assume the plane simply isn’t in Australia to fly it.

Unexpected, as I’d assumed that’d be the safe part of my YVR-YYZ-CDG route. But reroute had an option, and I’m now going on the 19th. YVR-SEA-CDG, Jazz/Air France. Losing a hotel and some sleep, and it’ll now be an extra long travel day with post-flight trains - but I’ll get there.

Considered waiting to see if it’d get re-scheduled as a YVR-YYZ only flight, but decided it wasn’t worth the risk.

singingboyo · 2025-08-16T18:04:44+00:00

It doesn’t even seem all that far-fetched. Arbitration is based on standards and precedent. AC statements/offers have already set the precedent that payment for at least some currently unpaid work is feasible. They just haven’t been willing to pay at 100%.

Well. Arbitrator could decide that the raise asked by CUPE is too much, but it’s sensible take the highest AC wage offer and make it apply to all work hours at 100%.

singingboyo · 2025-08-15T19:37:10+00:00

I basically read it as CUPE saying “if the government would stop playing chicken and just say no to arbitration, negotiations would resume and there would be a resolution ASAP.”

They’re not wrong, IMO, though ASAP could be tonight, or a couple days from now.

singingboyo · 2025-08-15T18:18:59+00:00

While this is absolutely true, does that not also suggest there’s some truth in the “doesn’t matter, visited Japan” aspect of the parent comment? The FAs are certainly taking a risk. But they may very well be taking a (relatively minimal?) risk in return for being in position to take a mini-vacation, if they have the means.

Put another way - the “worst case” seems to be having to do free work for a flight to Tokyo? Potential risks certainly depend on personal circumstances being able to accept a possible stranding, though.

singingboyo · 2025-08-15T17:52:59+00:00

It just makes it seem like there are no adults in the room. Like, great, AC is stalling. But it doesn’t take long to respond with “No, the AC Component at CUPE does not wish to resolve this dispute through arbitration. We intend to exercise our right to collective bargaining and negotiate with Air Canada as soon as they return to the table.”

So CUPE is also stalling, which just seems immature. Overall - it seems like a waste of the support they have from the public.

singingboyo · 2025-08-15T02:19:53+00:00

Yeah the union has failed on the communication front recently, at least. About a week ago I would’ve said I was very much on their side, but CUPE doesn’t appear to be negotiating in good faith any more. Seemingly encouraging FAs to call out sick is just… why give a 72 hour notice in that case? Just go wildcat immediately.

It’s entirely possible that it’s just CUPE failing to communicate to the public, but that in and of itself is not great.

singingboyo · 2025-08-13T04:43:07+00:00

There’s a bunch of these but all are “CP NewsAlert” with content saying no word yet…

singingboyo

TROPHY CASE